Walter E. Werner, III recently obtained three favorable decisions on Claim Petitions for hearing loss in front of three different judges in Westmoreland County.  In each case, the claimant alleged that he had sustained a work-related injury in the form of bilateral hearing loss, which was the direct result of exposure to loud occupational noise during the course of his employment.  In each case, the WCJ determined that the claimant failed to sustain his burden of proof.  Instead, the judges were persuaded by our complicated, affirmative defense that the claimant in each case was not exposed to hazardous occupational noise on a long-term basis as defined by the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.  In so doing, Mr. Werner utilized the testimony of numerous employer witnesses and a scientific expert who had undertaken extensive noise studies in our client’s heavy-manufacturing facility.  Each of these cases was litigated for over a year and required numerous depositions and hearings.  However, Mr. Werner saved our client approximately $120,000.00 in exposure.