PITTSBURGH, November 21, 2011 — Burns White LLC announced the promotion of six attorneys to member status today: Benjamin Basista, Theresa Cignetti and Lyle Washowich of the Pittsburgh office, Maria Granaudo Gesty of the Wilmington, Del. office, and Valerie Lieberman and John Skrocki of the Philadelphia office.
Mr. Basista’s area of focus is in addressing Medicare compliance issues in workers’ compensation, general liability and Federal Employer Liability Act claims. Well versed in Medicare Secondary Payer Statute compliance, Mr. Basista is retained as National Medicare Counsel and Advisory Medicare Counsel by numerous insurance carriers, third party administrators and self-insured entities.
Since 2004 Ms. Cignetti has specialized in workers’ compensation issues and litigation, representing both self-insured companies and insurance carriers before workers’ compensation judges, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. In addition to litigation-related matters, she advises employers on a wide variety of risk management issues related to workers’ compensation, as well as Medicare compliance.
Serving the Wilmington and Philadelphia offices of Burns White, Ms. Granaudo Gesty focuses her practice in nursing home, assisted living and medical malpractice defense matters, identifying potential liabilities associated with medical record documentation and ways to improve the standard of care.
Ms. Lieberman, a manager of the firm’s Workers’ Compensation team in the Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, N.J. offices, has been practicing in this area of the law for more than 17 years, representing insurance companies, as well as self-insured and uninsured employers from a variety of industries. An active member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, she held the position of Defense Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section in 2006.
With an interest in long-term care, Mr. Skrocki specializes in insurance defense, including nursing home, medical malpractice, premises liability and general liability, with extensive jury trial experience in medical professional liability cases.
As Co-Chair of the Banking and Financial Services Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Washowich represents a diverse clientele from the financial services, business and manufacturing sectors, handling civil, commercial and complex litigation matters.