The March meeting of the Central Coast Chapter of Applicants’ Attorneys Association was held on Thursday, March 29.
Our guest speaker was
Mr. Albert Rivas, MBA – Vocational Consultant. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY AND HOW OF DFEC EXPERTS
was the topic of the evening. Mr. Rivas presentation included, are you planning to rebut the AMA Guides? Are you going to use a diminished future earnings expert?
- Who to use as a DFEC expert (will they work on a lien?)
- What your expert should know
- When you should hire one (can you get an A-DFEC?)
- Why you need one
- How you should elicit testimony at trial
CENTRAL VALLEY CHAPTER
James Peter Witherow, Esq., President
The December meeting of the Central Valley Chapter of California Applicants' Attorneys Association was held on Wednesday, December 20, 2006.
The meeting was a closed strategic planning meeting. Central Valley Chapter President James P. Witherow discussed the outcome of the recent statewide strategic planning meeting.
The next meeting of the Central Valley Chapter was held in February 2007, at noon at the Downtown Club in Fresno.
The February meeting of the Central Valley Chapter of California Applicants' Attorneys Association was held on Wednesday, February 21, 2007. The guest speaker was Sylvia Arredondo, marketing representative for Industrial Psychiatric Network. Ms. Arredondo provided the members attending with informational materials on the Industrial Psychiatric Network, its physicians and psychologists, and locations in California. Ms. Arredondo also provided handouts on ACOEM, AMA, and apportionment issues.
The balance of the meeting was an open discussion on Agreed Medical Examiners and issues arising from the new laws on the Panel QME process.
The next meeting of the Central Valley Chapter was held in March 2007, at noon at the Downtown Club in Fresno.
The March meeting of the Central Valley Chapter of California Applicants' Attorneys Association was held on Wednesday, March 21. The guest speaker was Albert Rivas, M.B.A, of Vocational Guidance, Inc. Mr. Rivas discussed the services that Vocational Guidance, Inc. provides. Vocational Guidance, Inc. prepares diminished earning capacity reports on a lien basis. The company also handles clients’ voucher needs.
Chapter president James Witherow reported on the recent Board of Governors meeting.
The next meeting of the Central Valley Chapter will be held in April, at noon at the Downtown Club in Fresno. The meeting date and time will be announced prior to the meeting.
GREATER INLAND EMPIRE
Charles R. Cleveland, Jr., Esq., President
The Greater Inland Empire Chapter continues to meet monthly on the third Wednesday of each month with the exception of December, January, June and August. On February 21, 2007 the Greater Inland Empire Chapter met at the Marriott Airport in Ontario. This meeting had excellent attendance with 68 participants was very successful for our first meeting of 2007. The meeting consisted of a program beginning with the Nuts and Bolts of the Selection, Use, and Presentation of the Vocational Expert, featuring Jayne Barton, M.Ed., Abve-D Board Certified Vocational Expert of Vasquez Vocational Experts, Inc. Ms. Barton gave an informative presentation on screening cases for DFEC evaluation and trial presentation. The second part of the meeting was a discussion on several legal topics including a briefing from the Board of Governors Meeting in San Diego and a case review of Sharon Babbitt v. Ow Jing (En Banc), Joseph Baglione v. Hertz (En Banc), Josh Pendergrass v. Duggan (En Banc), SCIF v. Echeverria, Vierra v. WCAB, Smith/Amar V. Wcab, Costa V. Hardy Diagnostic, Arciga V. WCAB, Ward V. Desert Hot Springs. At this meeting all attendees received Training Materials in print and on CD-ROM. The Attorney Panel consisted of Robin Schwebs and Charles R. Cleveland, Jr., Chapter President.
Our Chapter attendance continues to improve and we continue our efforts to provide a balance program of speakers, practice tips and educational materials. The next scheduled meeting for the Greater Inland Empire Chapter will be at the Marriott Ontario Airport at 2200 East Holt Blvd., Ontario CA at 6:00 pm on March 21, 2007.
Contact Chapter President Charles Cleveland at Cleveland CAAA@aol.com or Christel A. Schoenfelder, President –Elect at C.Schoenfelder@rkmlaw.com for additional information.
SACRAMENTO
Maureen Burns, Esq., President
CAAA Sacramento Chapter open meeting was convened on March 1, 2007 by President Maureen Burns. Brief announcements by Holly Rutkowski, Vice President of the Sacramento chapter, regarding information resources for the workers’ compensation community were presented.
Presiding Judge Joel Harter from the Sacramento WCAB presented his “Annual State of the Board Address.” He reported on staffing changes, procedural matters and an eventual relocation of the entire WCAB facility, perhaps in 12-18 months.
There is new staff in the front office and they will need courtesy and consideration for procedural matters that may present difficulties from time to time. Judge Harter requests that concerns be addressed to him or the acting presiding judge.
Judge Ware will be leaving the Sacramento WCAB on April 1, 2007. He will be reducing his trial calendar and assisting Judge Harter with the conference calendar during March.
The Sacramento WCAB is still able to set MSC and expedited conferences in 30 days although some additional delays may be encountered in the months to come as a result of the time required for development of “EAMS”: Electronic Adjudication Management System.
The EAMS program is currently in the systems analysis stage of development and Judge Harter will be devoting all but 5 days per month to meetings for this program. Judge Robinson, Kathy Patterson and other WCAB personnel will also be impacted as their time is needed for development meetings. The EAMS system is intended to be a comprehensive computerized system to track case progress, provide statistical data, enable document scanning and provide access to information at varying levels of security.
Judge Harter announced that all WCAB offices, with few remote exceptions, will be adhering to an 8:30 am trial calendar. Walk through calendar (Monday – Thursday) will continue, but attorneys are urged to contact the front office to check that conferences are being held before showing up for a walk-through. Lien claimants must be served with settlement documents or the settlements will not be approved. Judges will be assigned as available, except that a file must be returned to a judge who took testimony in a case or declined to approve a settlement. See the Presiding Judge where exceptions may be appropriate or necessary.
Bart Melhop requested a pitch for Ex Parte Expedited hearings. Judge Harter confirmed that this procedure is available for cases that are ready for an expedited hearing for counsel to request a phone conference with the judge and opposing parties to attempt an early resolution of medical treatment disputes prior to an expedited hearing. Details on the procedure are available on the website www.DIR.CA.GOV.
We are reminded that LC§5502 establishes a court administrator who reports quarterly to the legislature on the timeliness of our conference, trial and expedited calendars. Timeliness has been improving statewide and judges will continue to discourage continuances without good cause. Expect an OTOC, especially if there is any continuing discovery.
Eventually, the WCAB in Sacramento will relocate. The current location has “problems” that it is hoped will be alleviated with a new facility. Parking, security and how to move the cat “Earl” will be primary considerations.
CAAA Sacramento Chapter open meeting was convened on April 5, 2007 by President Maureen Burns. Monteiko’s Grill was closed “permanently”, and those who tended to their e-mails convened at El Torito, 1212 Howe Avenue. We are reminded that CAAA Summer Convention will be held in Hawaii from June 21-24.
Representatives from Accurate Medical Assessment Rating Centers Inc. presented their approach to AMA report evaluation and rating to maximize PD. Sana Khan MD, PhD is a radiologist who has developed a standing (weight bearing) MRI procedure that can show lesions or other defects that are often missed with the normal supine MRI. Syd Shaber MD is an orthopedist who spent many years as a military doctor and is now preaching the importance of a careful reading of the AMA Guides and ACOEM together as a unified approach to providing treatment for injured workers.
The presenters showed slides and introduced their framework for identifying ratable conditions under the AMA guides, and obtaining full and complete reports based on a complete medical history.
The next meeting of the Sacramento chapter will be May 3, 2007. Location and program to be announced.
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