Pohren, Jason W.

Gary Plunkett was born and raised in New York, a lieutenant in the US Army, and has written many publications. He certainly has a lot of great stories and life experiences. Gary works at Hochman & Plunkett representing Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Department. He has been practicing for 17 years. He is a member of the Dayton, Ohio State and American Bar Associations as well as the Ohio Association for Justice.

In 2009, Gary Plunkett was named an Ohio Super Lawyer by Cincinnati Magazine. He enjoys golfing, reading, traveling, and spending time with his wife and children.

Gary says that he was "put on this earth to be a lawyer. People need honest help and we give it to them."

Gary speaks about the law firm:

I am proud to say that my entire legal career has been spent at one firm: Hochman & Plunkett Co., L.P.A. Hochman & Plunkett has had a presence in Dayton, Ohio, for over thirty years. We also have had offices in Springfield and Troy for more than 20 years. Our areas of expertise are in Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability claims. We have an active Personal Injury practice and have one of Ohio's top litigators in our firm, David F. Rudwall.

Hochman & Plunkett has a long track record of success, particularly in Workers' Compensation matters. We have obtained benefits for thousands of injured workers in Southwest Ohio over the years. We have an extensive history of representing injured workers before the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the Industrial Commission of Ohio, the Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court.
Among our successes include the monumental Ohio Supreme Court decision in State ex. rel. Gross v. Indus. Comm.(2007) 115 Ohio St.3d 249, 874 N.E.2d 1162, in which we successfully challenged the reach of the "voluntary abandonment" doctrine exception to the injured workers' right to receive temporary total disability compensation.

We were successful in moving the Supreme Court to grant reconsideration in the Gross case for the first time in nearly seven years. The reconsideration granted by the Supreme Court in Gross was also one of the very few times in the history of the Supreme Court that reconsideration was granted in a Workers' Compensation case.

The case attracted national attention, with articles in every Ohio newspaper, the New York Times, and segments on National Public Radio. We have also been successful before the Ohio Supreme Court in several other notable cases, including Gibson v. Meadow Gold Dairy (2000), 88 Ohio St.3d 201, 724 N.E.2d 787 (finding that a claimant's oral agreement to settle a self-insured workers' compensation claim is ineffectual), State ex. rel. Nickell v. Indus. Comm., 83 Ohio St.3d 185, 699 N.E.2d 69, State ex. rel. Clark v. Indus. Comm., 78 Ohio St.3d 509, 678 N.E.2d 1380, and State ex. rel. Haddix, 70 Ohio St.3d 59, 636 N.E.2d 323, 1994-Ohio-443 (obtaining permanent and total disability benefits for injured worker), and State ex. rel. Vanover v. Emery Worldwide, 80 Ohio St.3d 367, 686 N.E.2d 518, 1997-Ohio-109 (obtaining wage loss benefits for injured worker). April 5, 2010

In addition, we have successfully litigated cases of first impression before the various Courts of Appeals in Ohio, including Hirschle v. Mabe, 2009-Ohio-1949 (workers' compensation claim allowed to an employee injured while picking up her paycheck on her day off), Griffith v. City of Miamisburg, 2008-Ohio-6611 (workers' compensation allowed to police officer injured while playing a pickup basketball game after training hours at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy), Masden v. CCI Supply, Inc., 2008-Ohio-4396 (workers' compensation allowed to a construction worker injured in a knife fight at a motel paid for by the employer), and Klopfenstein v. NK Parts Industries, Inc., 171 Ohio App.3d 286, 870 N.E.2d 741, 2007-Ohio-1916 (holding that the statute of limitations found in R.C. 4123.90 does not apply to a wrongful termination tort claim based upon R.C. 4123.90).

In Ohio, a workers' compensation claim can stay open for more than 10 years before it expires. We are experts in deriving money for clients from these old workers' compensation claims. We will be more than happy to assist you in putting together ethical and appropriate letters to these clients, which may be extremely helpful for your clients in need of money. We have profitably and successfully resolved workers' compensation claims which have been more than 20 years old.

Our Social Security Department is currently very active and has been steadily growing in recent years. The department is led by Carla J. Lauer, a partner, who has been with our firm for over 17 years. She has helped thousands of clients receive their Social Security benefits. She handles Social Security hearings and appeals at all levels, including appeals into federal court. Her hearing dockets and approvals are all on the rise. Recently a testifying Medical Expert at a hearing stated one of her claimant’s files she presented that day was the best developed and documented file he has ever seen in the 10 years he has testified on behalf of Social Security. That client received an instant approval right there at the table. Our department currently serves clients in Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati and we currently also have active cases in Northern Ohio, Indianapolis, and Kentucky.