Continuing Education Credits awarded when attending the entire convention:
Minimum Continuing Legal Education: 14.75 MCLE (including 1.25 Ethics)
Legal Specialization in Workers’ Compensation: 13.75 MCLE
Division of Workers’ Compensation: 3.00 QME
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24TH, 2019
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Addition According to Kite
- Why add impairments?
- AMA Guides, pages 9-10, Section 1.4
- Can Kite be applied utilizing different medical specialties?
- Is a "synergistic effect" required?
- The De La Cerda and Taina cases
Panel: Justin Sonnicksen, Esq. (Moderator); Bert Arnold, Esq.; Jack Goldfarb, Esq.; Mark Hyman, M.D.
Credit: 1.25 MCLE, 1.25 Legal Specialization, 1.0 QME
2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Benson: How and Why Exceptions Apply
- Is there one continuous trauma injury, multiple specific and CT injuries, or are the injuries “inextricably intertwined?”
- Evidence needed to prove separate injuries
- Does Wilkinson still exist?
- The Herrera case
Credit: 1.25 MCLE, 1.25 Legal Specialization, 1.0 QME
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Strategies to Challenge and Rebut Panel QME Reports
- Procedural Grounds
- PQME reporting requirements
- Substantial medical evidence: Improper causation and apportionment
- Cross-examination of PQME doctors
- Using trater reports to rebut PQME
Credit: 1.5 MCLE, 1.5 Legal Specialization, 1.0 QME
6:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception - "Welcome Aboard"
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25TH, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
The Third Party Credit/Employer Negligence Trial: Everything you need to know to Litigate a Case
- A case study from start to finish will be presented
- Sample correspondence, affidavits, briefs
- Time for trial! How to get your case tried to submission with witness and admissible evidence
Credit: 1.0 MCLE
10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
The Dynamex Case: Employee v. Independent Contractor
- Does Dynamex apply to workers' compensation law?
- Borello and The ABC test
- Uber, Lyft cases
- The impact on the workers' compensation system and on workers' compensation insurance
- How to litigate a Dynamex issue
Credit: 1.25 MCLE, 1.25 Legal Specialization
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 a.m.
General Membership Meeting
- For regular members only. Name badge is required. Box lunch provided.
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Report of Administrative Director George Parisotto and Chief Judge Paige Levy
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Commissioners’ Panel
- The WCAB Commissioners discuss recent board panel decisions and the state of the WCAB
Credit: 1.0 MCLE, 1.0 Legal Specialization
2:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Marvin Shapiro Memorial: Most Important Cases
- The esteemed panel provides a critical review of the significant cases from the last 6 months
Credit: 2.0 MCLE, 2.0 Legal Specialization
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
After the Election: How will the new administration impact our workers compensation system? A Round Table Discussion
- Unscrambling the alphabet soup of the DIR, DWC, WCAB, and CHSWC
- Why these agencies matter
- Are there any changes anticipated in the AD's office? The Director's Office?
- What is the anticipated future impact of recent appointments to the WCAB?
- Will there be a legislative focus to "fix" workers' compensation with the new administration?
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26TH, 2019
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
How to Work with the Medicare Set-Aside that Lands on Your Desk
- What do you do when the amount of the set-aside created by the defendant's vendor is too low? Too high?
- How and when do you communicate with the set-aside vendor?
- How do you challenge the set-aside with the vendor? With CMS?
- Structuring the set-aside
- Administering the set-aside
Credit: 1.25 MCLE, 1.25 Legal Specialization
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Understanding Vocational Apportionment v. Medical Apportionment
- Understanding causation of "disability" (as contrasted with causation of injury or causation of impairment)
- Distinctions between vocational apportionment and medical apportionment
- Estrada and Ramirez cases
- Deposing vocational consultants
Credit: 1.5 MCLE, 1.5 Legal Specialization
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27TH, 2019
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Tips for Ensuring Ethical Representation at the WCAB
- 'This isn't my file"
- Ex-parte communication
- 8 CCR 1056; LC§5813
- Modifying boilerplate language on Compromise & Release
- Professional demeanor and decorum
Credit: 1.25 Ethics, 1.25 Legal Specialization
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Who's Got the Ball? The Burden of Proof
- Whose burden is it?
- How to develop the record
- Substantial medical evidence
- Apportionment
Credit: 1.5 MCLE, 1.5 Legal Specialization