2019 Winter Convention Panels

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

Panel: Elliot Berkowitz, Esq. (Moderator); Dirk Stemerman, Esq.; Erika Vargas, Esq.; Rosanne Wong, Esq.; Rosabel Young, M.D.
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

Panel: Rick Wooley, Esq. (Moderator); Keith More, Esq.; Julie Hirsch, Esq.; Steven Feinberg, M.D.
Credit: 1.5 MCLE, 1.5 Legal Specialization, 1.0 QME

6:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception - "Welcome Aboard"

Join us in the Exhibit Hall and visit vendors, enjoy great music, and enter our drawing for a chance to win. Convention registrants will receive one (1) complimentary drink ticket and hors d’oeuvres. Must be a CAAA Regular Member to win.

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

Panel: Adam Dombchik, Esq. (Moderator); Eustace de Saint Phalle, Esq.; Honorable Craig Glass
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

Panel: Larry Stern, Esq. (Moderator); Russell Ghitterman, Esq.; Aaron Kaufman, Esq.
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

Panel: Chairperson Katherine Zalewski (invited); Commissioner Deidra Lowe (invited); Commissioner Marguerite Sweeney (invited); Commissioner Jose Razo (invited); Commissioner Juan Pedro Gaffney (invited); Commissioner Katherine Dodd (invited)
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

Panel: Megan Ruble, Esq. (Moderator); Joe Capurro, Esq.; William Herreras, Esq.; Ronald Feenberg, Esq.; Honorable Colleen Casey
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?

Panel: Jason Marcus, Esq. (Moderator); Doug Bloch, Political Director Teamsters Joint Council 7; Member of the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC); Martin Brady, Executive Director, Schools Insurance Authority; Member of the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC); Mark Rakich, Chief Consultant, California Assembly Insurance Committee

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

Panel: Bret Graham, Esq. (Moderator); Dennis Thomas, Esq.; Tiffany Speers, Esq.; Steve Chapman.
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

Panel: Art Johnson, Esq. (Moderator); Barry Gorelick, Esq.; Honorable Clint Feddersen; Honorable Eric Ledger
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

Panel: Christel Schoenfelder, Esq. (Moderator); David Dugan, Esq.; Edvin Minassian, Esq.; Matthew Gale, Esq.; Honorable Ivy Mi
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

Panel: Bernie Baltaxe, Esq. (Moderator); James Yoro, Esq.; Adam Turner, Esq.; Honorable Linda Atcherley
Credit: 1.5 MCLE, 1.5 Legal Specialization

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