2016 CWCDAA Winter Conference

Session Description: This session will provide practitioners an update on recent and pending legislation, including a discussion or new and pending regulations in Workers’ Compensation.

Key Learning Objectives

1. The practitioner will learn about the pending regulation updates and how they will affect daily practice and what to look out for related to day to day claims handling that may need to be imparted to our clients.
2. The practitioners will learn about pending legislation and how it is likely going to affect the practice and how that legislation may affect pending and potential new regulatory changes.
3. Finally, the practitioner will learn how to find the pending regulations and pending legislation for comment by both their firms and client and how to present this information to their clients so that they too may comment on same.

Session Description: This session will provide practitioners with an understanding of the critical principles of litigating claims pursuant to Labor Code section 3852, et seq., best practices in drafting and negotiating waivers, credit and other pitfalls.

Key Learning Objectives

1. This session will aid the practitioners in determining when there is a potential 3rd party to subrogate against (factual identification) and when to file a lien vs. when to file a Complaint & Intervention (legal tactics for recovery which may limit expense) by asking the right questions early on in the case related to policy limits etc.
2. The attendees will learn not only about credit issues and how to take them but about setoffs and recent Court of Appeals case law affecting subrogation rights.
3. Finally, the practitioner will learn how to participate in 3rd party Mediation and draft documents including Third Party Compromise & Release forms to aide in Global Settlement of both the Workers’ Compensation Action and the Third Party Action.

Session Description: TThis session will discuss issues involving permanent and total disability, with tips and practical advice on calculations, reserves, COLA, benefits payments and issues relating to these claims.

Key Learning Objectives

1. This session will focus on seeing the 100% case before it gets there, in order to advise clients on issues such as reserving, MSA’s and potential structured settlements.
2. The session will aide the practitioner in finding resources that can aid in calculations related to the PTD case – whether that be the DEU or an outside rater and how to determine “present value.”
3. Finally, the practitioner will learn ways to settle the 100% case and be given tips on drafting those very precise settlement documents.

Session Description: Will provide you an update and anticipated industry trends in Workers’ Compensation Practice and will will provide an overview as to the recent trends and decisions issued by the WCAB.

Session Description: Update of current cases relevant to the Workers’ Compensation Attorney.

Session Description: Coming Soon

Session Description: Dr. Brazina will discuss and demonstrate Common Orthopedic test performed during Physical examinations and their significance. He will discuss common diagnostic tests their usage, relevance and abuses. Review and discuss how to analyze these tests.

Key Learning Objectives

1. To identify most important diagnostic tests on PE
2. To be able to identify meaningful laboratory tests and their significance
3. To “read between the lines” in the conclusion of QME reports to identify correct and incorrect interpretation of orthopedic tests

Session Description: Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Session Description: This session will debate the merits and boundaries of investigative practices, tools and adequate claim investigations, as well as address issues and strategies raised by employees for bad faith denials and crossing the line when investigating claims.

Key Learning Objectives

1. Coming Soon
2. Coming Soon
3. Coming Soon

Session Description: This session will discuss defense strategies involving causation issues relating to complex claims of injuries involving communicable diseases, aggravation of pre-existing conditions, going and coming issues, intoxication, employee serious and willful misconduct and other rare claims.

Key Learning Objectives

1. This session will focus on those Complex medical and legal issues related to communicable diseases and aggravations of pre-existing conditions so that the practitioner can identify them.
2. Once the practitioner has been given the tools for identifying those complex medical issues they will learn how to prove that there is no aggravation of the pre-existing conditions and/or how that particular communicable disease is not work related ever. The session will discuss recent case law on “blood born diseases” and what the WCAB has said about same related to “special types of employees."
3. Finally, the practitioner will be able to identify the “real” serious and willful misconduct and other rare add-ons to a case and how to defend against them.

Session Description: Ron Peters will provide a legal update on new California OSHA regulations as well as recent trends in Division enforcement. Mr. Peters will speak on the interrelationship between OSHA and workers’ compensation, addressing how OSHA claims can affect claims for serious and willful misconduct, workers’ compensation subrogation and more. Mr. Peters will describe how an OSHA matter is litigated and how employers and their advisors can draft and enforce safety policies to minimize injuries and related claims.

Session Description: Law schools do not teach the business of law but an attorney soon learns that the business side of the law practice is something that cannot be ignored. On the workers’ compensation defense side, attorneys who “just want to practice law” are or will likely be forever looking to be assigned cases by someone else. Lawyers who accept the fact that each communication with their client is an opportunity to get both a positive result in a case and a positive conscious and subconscious message to a client will reap the rewards of increased value to both the firm and themselves. This session will provide the basic strategy to develop current clients, as well as, finding, “landing”, keeping clients that the you have not met yet.