ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section To Hold National Program On Emerging Legal And Medical Issues In Workers' Compensation

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 10 Mar 2008 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Lawyers from around the country will learn about some of the timeliest legal and medical issues facing practitioners and policymakers in a two-day program, "National Trends, Emerging Issues, and Cutting Edge Medical Disability Determinations Affecting All State Workers' Compensation Laws." The program, sponsored by the American Bar Association's Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, will take place March 26-28 at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago.

Issues to be discussed include: apportionment as it relates to the AMA Guidelines used to rate permanent impairments; risk management in occupational medicine; an examination of the relationship between employers and physicians and potential legal risks to either party; "Sick Buildings" - an examination of the causes and the health effects of exposure, what can be done to effectively treat ill employees, and what can be done to reduce potential third party liability; emergency management and animal law as it pertains to the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act; and a review of the new language on workers' compensation added by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. These issues are of prime importance to those making decisions in legislative bodies, including the U.S. Congress, as well as to judges at all levels who face an increasing number of cases that involve disability decisions and workers' compensation laws.

Some of the nation's most noted legal experts in the field of workers' compensation, as well as cutting-edge practitioners in the field of occupational medicine, have been assembled for this program. The level of expertise of the speakers who will present at this event is truly second to none. The esteemed faculty includes: Julie A. Burger, J.D., assistant director for the Legal Fellow Institute for Science, Law & Technology in Chicago; Honorable Janet M. Coulter, Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Anaheim, Calif.; Professor Bellur Prabhakar, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago; Gilda I. Mariani, New York County District Attorney's Office; Leonard Y. Nason, The Law Offices of Leonard Y. Nason, P.C., Bedford, Mass.; Matt B. Schiff, Schiff & Hulbert, Chicago; and Honorable David B. Torrey, Department of Labor & Industry, Pittsburgh.

The program is tailored to a wide audience, who include: practitioners in workers' compensation law, products liability law, toxic tort litigation and employment law; lawyers who represent injured employees or defend insurance companies; self-insured employers; government agencies; claims adjusters for insurance companies; third party administrators; and practitioners of occupational medicine.

Among the topics to be covered:

- Analysis of disability v. permanent impairment, together with the concept of apportionment and the increasing use of the AMA Guidelines for Evaluating Permanent Impairment

- "Risk Management in Occupational Medicine: Cooperation and Conflict Between the Employer and the Physician"

- Volunteer Healthcare Practitioners' Act and other disaster relief measures

- "Utilization of 21st Century Science and DNA Lab-based Evidence in Workers' Compensation and Civil Litigation," together with a tour of Cytokine Institute to be held on the campus of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago (UIC)

The tours arranged by the UIC College of Medicine will offer first-hand exposure to the work of a top DNA lab. For the first time, litigators will be able to see, touch and smell the science that they have begun to rely upon or have only heard about. This program may be a once in a lifetime experience for those who spend their days in the courtroom.

The ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section unites plaintiff, defense, insurance and corporate counsel to advance the civil justice system. TIPS is a national source of expertise in tort, trial and insurance practice and brings lawyers together to share information and speak out on issues of importance. The section has more than 35,000 members and 34 general committees that focus on substantive and procedural matters in areas across the broad spectrum of civil law and practice.

With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

American Bar Association
321 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60610 United States
http://www.abanet.org

• Additional
• References
• Citations