David B. Torrey

Biography

Judge Dave Torrey, Prickett's Ft., WV (2011)
Dave Torrey, creator and author of the four-volume treatise Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation: Law & Practice (West 3rd ed. 2008), is a Workers’ Compensation Judge for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was appointed to his position during the Casey Administration. He is also a member of the Department of Labor & Industry WCJ Rules Committee.

Since 1996, Dave has also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and he has been a preceptor in the school’s Student Externship Program. He has published several law review articles dealing with workers’ compensation topics, and he lectures frequently on the subject.

In 2007, he was elected Fellow of the ABA-affiliate College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers. In 2010 he was elected to membership in the National Association of Social Insurance. He is Vice-President of the National Association of Workers' Compensation Judiciary.

He is a member and past chair (1998-99) of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section. He has written and edited the Section’s bi-monthly, magazine-style Newsletter since 1988. The newsletter includes an unabridged summary and critique of the latest court precedents, reports on developing legislation and trends, book reviews, and original articles and essays. In May, 2009, he published his 100th issue.

Dave is a 1982 graduate of West Virginia University, and received his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law, in Pittsburgh, in 1985. While at Duquesne, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.

Dave is a native of Alexandria, Virginia. He is a former member of the United States Army Band (“Pershing’s Own”), based in Washington, D.C. (1976-1979); and also served in the 201st U.S. Field Artillery, West Virginia Army National Guard (1979-1982). Dave is also a middle-of-the pack distance runner. Since 1993 he has been a member of the Pittsburgh Frontrunners. He has written and edited the club’s Newsletter since 1995.

Selected Works

Legal Treatise
Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation:
Law & Practice

The definitive treatise on the law and practice of workers’ compensation under the Pennsylvania Act.
Essay
Book Review: Dr. Nortin Hadler's "Stabbed in the Back: Confronting Back Pain in an Overtreated Society"
A review of an important book for the workers' compensation practitioner
Running the West Virginia River Towns--Part I: Wellsburg, WV
Marathon training in an old West Virginia river town.