TOMMY L. SMITH  

 

Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

 

            Tommy L. Smith is a founding shareholder of Pappas & Suchma, P.C. and brings a wealth of experience from more than a decade as a claims manager for one of this state’s largest insurers to almost 20 years of legal practice in the area of workers’ compensation law. 

 

Mr. Smith’s practice is largely comprised of the defense of workers’ compensation claims and he has participated in hundreds of Benefit Review Conferences, Contested Case Hearings and disputes before the Appeals Panel at the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (formerly the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission).  In the early 1990s, Mr. Smith was among the first attorneys to participate in Contested Case Hearings under the newly created Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.

 

Mr. Smith frequently conducts seminars for the insurance industry and has written papers for and participated in the Advanced Workers’ Compensation Seminar presented by the Texas State Bar.  He is a co-author of  “Administrative Penalties and Sanctions” – Chapter 44 of Matthew Bender & Co., Inc.’s Texas Workers’ Compensation Law, Volume II.

 

            Mr. Smith was born in Pocahontas, Arkansas, and earned a B.A. in sociology and pre-med, as well as an M.A. in sociology from Baylor University.  Mr. Smith received his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 1988.  He is a member of the Texas State Bar.