Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Thomas H. Bainbridge Named Chairman of the Ohio Industrial Commission

COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Industrial Commission (IC) announced today that Governor John Kasich appointed Thomas (Tim) H. Bainbridge as the Industrial Commission Chairman, effective July 9, 2013.

“I am privileged to be named Chairman at the Industrial Commission of Ohio,” Bainbridge said. “As chairman, I am looking forward to working with our customers and staff to simplify agency processes and continue to provide productive and well-organized hearings for employers and injured workers.”

Chairman Bainbridge, who will serve a six-year term that expires in June 2019, brings over four decades of workers’ compensation experience to his role as the Chairman and Employee Member of the Commission.

As an attorney, Bainbridge has spent a tremendous amount of time protecting the rights of Ohio’s workers and employers through his involvement with numerous organizations, which are dedicated to improving Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. He displayed his knowledge and expertise as the Chairman of the Columbus Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Committee from 1982 to 1983, and served as the Chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Ohio Association for Justice from 1991 to 1993. He also served as President of the Ohio Association for Justice. Later, he served Ohio’s injured workers and employers as the Commissioner for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Oversight Commission from 1995 to 2006.

Bainbridge’s passion for workers’ compensation has been evident throughout his career. Before arriving at the IC, he served as an attorney and managing partner at Ward, Kaps, Bainbridge, Maurer & Melvin from 1968 until 2009. He later served as a partner at the Bainbridge Firm from 2009 until 2013.

Bainbridge is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus Bar Association, Ohio Association for Justice and the American Association for Justice.

Originally from Steubenville, Ohio, Bainbridge earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and then received his law degree from The Ohio State University. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1967 and has also been admitted to practice before the US District Court in the Southern District of Ohio. Bainbridge resides in Columbus with his wife, Deidre. The couple has three grown sons.