T.H. Lyda

A litigator with more than 20 years of experience, T.H. Lyda concentrates his practice in occupational disease, toxic tort/environmental and products liability litigation. He also serves on Burns White’s Executive Committee.

As Chair of the Environmental Group, T.H. handles the defense of DEP and EPA citations, notices of violation, and any ensuing litigation. He is a preferred provider of regulatory services for the National Association of Chemical Distributors. T.H. has also litigated numerous environmental and personal injury cases on behalf of manufacturers and distributors, including claims of brain damage, pulmonary disease, and various cancers due to alleged chemical and toxic exposure. He currently represents clients in class action matters relating to the accidental release of hazardous substances, and has successfully defended environmental and personal injury cases at trial. T.H. has also been involved in commercial litigation involving breach of contract.

As Co-Chair of the firm’s Railroad Law Group, T.H. represents Class I and short line railroads in a variety of business and legal matters across the country. He advises his clients on risk management and risk avoidance techniques, regulatory compliance issues, FELA, and proposed legislation. With an active caseload of several hundred cases, T.H. has extensive experience litigating repetitive stress injury and occupational illness cases throughout the United States. He has served as National Coordinating Counsel for two Class I railroads with respect to their occupational illness dockets.

In addition, T.H. handles OSHA citation contests and inspections for clients in several industries and is an invited speaker on the topic at national conferences. He also has a deep understanding of the issues surrounding the defense of food-borne illness claims, and writes and presents about food liability litigation generally.

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh office of Burns White, T.H. practiced in Atlanta, where he focused his practice on products liability and toxic tort matters representing large, self-insured companies. He also handled general insurance defense matters, including premises liability, automobile accident liability, and professional negligence cases.

T.H. teaches “Pennsylvania Practice and Procedure,” a continuing legal education course, on behalf of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and is an invited speaker to Transportation and Chemical Industry Conferences on a national level.