Grace, James P.

Peter J. Gough is an associate at the firm and concentrates his practice in the area of workers’ compensation, exclusively representing injured workers.

Born in Brooklyn New York and a graduate of The University of Buffalo, Peter J. Gough came to the Pittsburgh area to achieve his J.D. from Duquesne Law School.  He fell in love with Western Pennsylvania and has been practicing law, primarily civil litigation and workers’ compensation law here since 1990.

Peter has written and lectured on workers’ compensation throughout Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and The Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and was a frequent guest speaker on The Legal Checkup 1480 WCNS AM Radio.  A member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Westmoreland Bar Association, Allegheny Bar Association, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and American Inns of Court, Peter is admitted to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Within two year of being admitted to the bar, Peter tackled the then newly developing area of psychological injuries in the work place. He successfully convinced the Commonwealth Court that if a work-related psychological disability is associated with physical injury, the injured worker need only prove the basic requirements of a workers’ compensation claim; that the injury arose out of and was related to the employment. He successfully argued that a heightened burden of proof does not apply, making it easier for workers who sustain injuries such as post traumatic stress disorder to receive their deserved benefits.  Bell v. WCAB (Allegheny County Housing Department), 620 A.2d 589 (1993).

More recently in the case of HCR ManorCare v. WCAB (Bollman), 951 A.2d 1242 (2008) the Commonwealth Court agree with Peter’s arguments that a medical provider’s failure to provide medical records as part of procedure to determine if the treatment is reasonable and necessary does not necessarily relieve the insurance company from paying the bills.  The Court adapted Peter’s position that the Judge has jurisdiction  to determine if proper procedures were followed and if not, why they were not.  The Court also agreed that the Judge has the authority to order a whole new procedure.  This important decision saved many injured workers from getting stuck with medical bills caused by their work injuries.

Peter now lives in Penn Township and can frequently be seen hiking the trails of Western Pennsylvania with his beautiful daughter and their two dogs.  Peter’s other passions including music, running, skiing and mountain biking.