Thomas P. Roerden, Esq.

Thomas P. Roerden, Esq.Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability have been the core of Tom's legal practice for the past twenty years. A native of Long Island, Tom attended Cornell University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983. He then moved to Syracuse to attend Syracuse University College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1986. Tom has lived and worked in the Syracuse area for most of the past thirty years, with a few years spent in Rochester honing his new york state workers' compensation and social security disability (SSD) skills.

In the early 1990s, while Tom was working as a real estate attorney, he attempted to lift a heavy box of old legal files at work, and suffered a severely herniated disc in his lower back. This injury required urgent surgery to remove the ruptured disc fragment. That was the easy part. The hard part was yet to come--fighting the workers' compensation insurance company to get the surgery paid for and get benefits for a few weeks of lost time. 

Why I Came To Practice Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability

"Even though I did everything I could to get back to work less than two weeks after surgery, the insurance company still fought my claim. Although I was an attorney, I could not fight them alone. I had to hire a lawyer who was familiar with the intricacies of the new york state workers' compensation system to successfully pursue my claim. This was my first real introduction to the workers' compensation system, and it was not a pleasant one.

"That experience got me interested in learning more about this unique area of the law. A few years later I had the opportunity to become a compensation and disability attorney myself. Now, I have the expertise to successfully pursue your claim, and the empathy to understand the pain and frustration you are experiencing. With my unique background as both a claimant and as a claimant attorney, I can provide you with competent and compassionate representation. I'm ON YOUR SIDE."

Areas of Practice

  • New York State Workers' Compensation
  • Social Security Disability

Bar Admissions

  • New York, 1987
  • United States District Court, Northern District of New York, 1987
  • United States District Court, Western District of New York, 2002
  • United States Supreme Court, 1999

Education:

  • Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, New York Juris Doctor, 1986
  • Cornell University, College of Arts & Sciences, Ithaca, New York Bachelor of Arts, 1983

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Injured Workers Bar Association