Attorneys

Shareholder

John C. Webb, V

John is a Shareholder with LGWM, heads LGWM’s Workers Compensation Practice Group, co-chairs LGWM’s Insurance Fraud/SUI Practice Group and is a member of LGWM’ Executive Committee. John’s practice focuses on workers comp... Read More »

880 Montclair Road, Suite 100, Birmingham, AL 35213

Back To Top

Full Bio

John is a Shareholder with LGWM, heads LGWM’s Workers Compensation Practice Group, co-chairs LGWM’s Insurance Fraud/SUI Practice Group and is a member of LGWM’ Executive Committee. John’s practice focuses on workers compensation defense, as well as ancillary claims of retaliatory discharge, outrage, bad faith and other tort claims that may arise out of claims for workers compensation benefits.

John also has vast experience defending federal black lung (pneumoconiosis) litigation and handling claims involving coal mining operations. He has tried over 100 black lung cases before federal Administrative Law Judges in Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Florida.

John also assists insurance carrier’s Special Investigative Units (SIU) in investigating suspicious fire and theft claims, including conducting Examinations Under Oath (EUO) and preparing opinion letters regarding coverage.

John also frequently contributes in the areas of construction defect litigation, product liability and personal injury claims.

Back To Top

Professional Profile

AV Preeminent Martindale Hubbell Rating
Member, Alabama Bar Association
– Member, Workers’ Compensation Section
– Former Member, Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum
– Former Co-Chair, Dispute Resolution Section

Member, Birmingham Bar Association
– Member, Workers’ Compensation Section
– Former President, Workers’ Compensation Section
– Former Member, Executive Committee
– Former Member, Birmingham Bar Foundation
– Former Member, Young Lawyers’ Executive Committee

Registered Mediator on the Alabama State Court Mediator Roster
Member, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
Member, Alabama Workers’ Compensation Organization
Member, Alabama Self-Insured Association
Member, International Association of Special Investigative Units (IASIU)
Member, Alabama Association of Arson Investigators (AAAI)
Member, International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)

Admitted

All Alabama State Courts
The United States District Court for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Education

University of Alabama School of Law, J.D. (1995)
– Member, ATLA National Trial Team – national tournament champions
– Recipient, George Peach Taylor Award recognizing outstanding trial team performance

University of Alabama, B.S., cum laude (1990)

Back To Top

Cases of Note

  • Lead counsel in a case before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on novel and complex legal issue dealing with statutory interpretation of the automatic entitlement provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which altered the burden for survivors to prove claims for benefits under the Federal Black Lung Benefits Act.
  • Lead counsel in a case before the Alabama Supreme Court involving the Plaintiff’s attempt to re-litigate, in state court, its designation as the party responsible for payment of Federal Black Lung benefits. Following oral argument, the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s order dismissing our client from the case.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in Jefferson County on behalf of a construction company in a workers’ compensation case in which the defendant employee suspected the plaintiff was impaired from illegal drugs, but no post-accident drug test was obtained.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in Madison County, Alabama on behalf of a national staffing agency in a case in which Plaintiff claimed to be 100% permanently and totally disabled. Successfully argued that Plaintiff failed to establish legal causation.
  • Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a large coal-mining company in the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County in a workers’ compensation hearing loss case.
  • Successfully argued the Plaintiff’s alleged hearing loss was not related to his employment.
  • Successfully tried a workers’ compensation case to verdict in Montgomery County that involved a claim of successive injuries by Plaintiff. Trial judge assigned a 0% impairment rating regarding Plaintiff’s first alleged injury and entered a defense verdict on Plaintiff’s second alleged injury.
  • Obtained a defense verdict for a Blount County restaurant in a workers’ compensation trial involving issues of whether the plaintiff’s accident occurred in the course and scope of her employment.
  • Successfully argued at a compensability trial in Calhoun County that plaintiff’s carpal tunnel syndrome was not related to her employment with a chicken plant. Presented overwhelming evidence that plaintiff’s hand condition was related to other, non-employment factors.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a workers’ compensation action pending in the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County. The summary judgment asserted a novel res judicata argument and was based on the proposition that Plaintiff could not recover benefits after previously asserting, and settling, a claim for permanent and total disability against the same employer.
  • Obtained a summary judgment in Marshall County on behalf of a third-party administrator in an outrage case alleging a claim adjuster’s mishandling of a worker’s compensation claim.
  • Obtained a summary judgment in Walker County in favor of an above-ground coal mine in a case where plaintiffs alleged the mine’s operation created a nuisance and trespass.
  • Successfully defended an automobile supplier in Dallas County in a case brought by over 50 plaintiffs claiming chemical exposure in the workplace.
  • Successfully represented an employer in Mobile County in a claim for death benefits where there were issues as to whether the employee’s death was a result of his work-related injuries.
Back To Top

Reported Cases

  • Dillard v. Calvary Assembly of God, No. 2210341, 2022 WL 4394872 (Ala. Civ. App. Sept. 23, 2022)
  • Betty Thomas, Claimant-Respondent, No. BRB No. 21-0141 BLA, 2022 WL 1422741 (DOL Ben. Rev. Bd. Mar. 30, 2022)
  • Patrick v. Mako Lawn Care, Inc., 2021 WL 3234914
  • United-Johnson Brothers of Alabama, LLC v. Billups, 2021 WL 4234152
  • Henry D. Sellers, Claimant-Respondent, No. BRB No. 19-0504 BLA, 2021 WL 2036252 (DOL Ben. Rev. Bd. Mar. 26, 2021)
  • John Berry Jackson, Sr., Claimant-Petitioner, No. BRB No. 19-0325 BLA, 2020 WL 5366153 (DOL Ben. Rev. Bd. July 23, 2020)
  • Ex parte Warrior Met Coal, Inc., 294 So. 3d 780 (Ala. Civ. App. 2019)
  • Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Viola Davis OBO Johnny Davis, deceased, 766 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2014).
  • Fleetwood Trucking Company, Inc. v. Cahaba Resources, 159 So. 3d 628 (Ala. 2014).
  • Wehadkee Yarn Mills v. Harris, 31 So. 3d 150 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009).
  • Cleckler v. A & C Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc., 820 So. 2d 830 (Ala. Civ. App. 2001)
  • Kenneth Street v. North Alabama Conference for the United Methodist Church, 753 So. 2d 1169 (Ala. Civ. App. 1999)
  • Ridgeway v. CSX Transp., Inc., 723 So. 2d 600 (Ala. 1998).
  • Hudson v. 3M Farms, 689 So. 2d 147 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996).
Back To Top

Practice Areas

Federal Black Lung
Read More
General Liability
Read More
Insurance Fraud & Special Investigations
Read More
Workers’ Compensation
Read More