Workers Comp Matters

Medical Treatment Guidelines are a list of procedures each state mandates to use when treating injured workers. The goal is for these guidelines to aid faster and better treatment for patients. The underlying issue is that they are crafted to cater to the general population based on trials and clinical tests, which allows for errors and variable factors. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters your host, Attorney Alan S. Pierce, invites Michael Gruber to discuss Medical Treatment Guidelines, how strict and effective the guidelines tend to be, and the risks of cost-shifting medical fees. Michael Gruber recently finished Medical Treatment Guidelines: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. He is a practicing attorney for Pasternack, Tilker, Ziegler, Walsh, Stanton, and Romano, LLP, where he handles workers compensation cases for the firm. In 2012, Mr. Gruber was named as the chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Committee of the Brooklyn Bar Association and he is a member of numerous workers’-compensation-centered organizations.

“There has been a dramatic rise in shoulder injuries in the last five to ten years,” Doctor Michael Ackland says, maybe we’ve just gotten better at diagnosing them. On this episode of Workers’ Comp matters, your host, Attorney Alan Pierce, will chat with Dr. Ackland, an examining physician who has worked with a fair amount of attorneys and insurers on shoulder injuries. Dr. Ackland is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist. He focuses in arthroscopic reconstruction of the shoulder and the knee. What he considers to be the most gratifying cases are revision surgeries after a patient has had a failed shoulder surgery. Tune in to hear the basics of shoulder injuries, why they happen, preventative exercises, and how to handle a work-related injury.

Before The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, policy covered those working on land and those working within navigable waters, and neglected worker’s on the harbor. This left harbor workers with nowhere to turn but litigation when they were injured on the job. On this edition of Worker’s Comp Matters your host Attorney Alan Pierce has invited Steven M. Birnbaum to discuss The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, The Defense Base Act, and coverage for workers’ on the harbor. Steven M. Birnbaum, Esq. started his private practice in 1983 specializing in workers’ compensation under The Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act and the California Labor Code. He is a certified specialist in workers’ compensation by State Bar of California and a certified specialist in Admiralty and Maritime Law by State Bar of California. Birnbaum is a frequent lecturer on the topic of worker’s compensation and The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. Listen to the interview as two worker’s compensation specialists discuss coverage for those working on and along the water.

On the May edition of Workers’ Comp Matters Host and Attorney Alan Pierce talks with two highly-respected guests in the field of workers’ compensation attorneys. The first half of the show he will speak with President of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) Cathy Stanton regarding proposed Federal legislation reforming the law regarding the Medicare Set-aside requirements as well as the recently enacted SMART Act. Cathy Stanton is an attorney with experience in dealing with all types of workers’ compensation claims, including those related to occupational diseases. In addition to being the president of WILG, she is also a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and other organizations. Stanton has been named Super Lawyer for 2012 in the specialty of Workers’ Compensation by Super Lawyers magazine, this is her 6th time receiving the award. The second half of the show Pierce will chat with Deborah Kohl, past president of WILG, and current president of The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers about the college and it’s efforts. Deborah Kohl has been an attorney working in the area of workers’ compensation and disability law for more than 30 years. Kohl has been listed in the national publication Best Lawyers in America and is a frequent author and speaker on workers’ compensation law.

In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Michael J. Shor MPH, Managing Director of Best Doctors Occupational Health Institute. Michael talks about his view of workers’ compensation, how to make sure that injured workers are getting the best medical care possible and how he works with both insurers and injured workers through their attorneys to achieve best the quality of care.

The National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ) was founded in 2009 to provide educational opportunities for the workers’ compensation judiciary throughout the United States. On this Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce is joined by Judge John J. Lazzara and Judge Ellen Lorenzen, at the Workers’ Compensation Centennial in Boston, Massachusetts, to spotlight The National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary. Judge Lazzarra talks about the mission of the NAWCJ, education and the monthly newsletter and Judge Lorenzen discusses membership, common battles in the workers’ compensation field and the agenda of the Judiciary College.

Workers’ Compensation was the first social reform in America dating back to 1911. On this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, joins Andrew J. Reinhardt from the firm Reinhardt & Harper, PLC, at the Workers’ Compensation Centennial in Boston, Massachusetts, to discuss the latest in workers’ compensation and celebrate 100 years. Andy talks about his work with Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), legislative matters and upcoming congressional hearings in Washington DC pertaining to workers’ compensation.

Social networking has become a popular topic within the workers’ comp community. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Attorney Jon L. Gelman, to take a look a social networking in the workers’ comp world. Alan and Jon discuss privacy and their clients, client responsibility when it comes to putting up information on social media sites and how social networking can be used as a portal to monitor clients.

Returning to work after a disabling worker’s compensation injury involves many steps. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Edmund C. Corcoran Jr., Director of Integrated Disability Programs for Raytheon Company and Daniel J. Knight, the Senior Manager of Workers’ Compensation for Raytheon Company, to take a look at the program, the interrelationship between workers’ comp and disability, returning to work, cost containment and safety initiatives.

There is a phenomenon that we all see in workers’ comp cases, whether representing the claimant or the insurer. An insurer or its medical expert might call it symptom magnification. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Attorney Douglas Jones, founder and Member-in-Charge of the law firm, Jones Dietz, PLLC, to look at the process, discuss related topics such as malingering as opposed to a more legitimate form of pain disorder and touch on the broader subject of fraud, which many people equate to symptom magnification.

The first constitutional workers’ compensation law in the United States was enacted back in 1911, and in recognition of this milestone of law, Massachusetts will host a centennial commemoration in April of 2011. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes the Honorable Richard S. Tirrell with the Department of Industrial Accidents and Attorney Joseph F. Agnelli, Jr., partner at Keches Law Group, P.C, to discuss the early origins of workers’ compensation and look ahead to the Workers’ Compensation Centennial 2011.

In this special edition of Workers' Comp Matters from an ABA TIPS 2010 Conference on National Trends and Emerging Issues in Workers' Compensation, host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce spotlights the intoxication defense in defending a workers' compensation claim. Alan welcomes Attorney Gregory T. Presmanes from Bovis, Kyle & Burch, LLC to discuss how to best investigate these cases, how to educate clients, medical privacy issues and the intoxication defense in other jurisdictions.

In this special edition of Workers' Comp Matters from an ABA TIPS 2010 Conference on National Trends and Emerging Issues in Workers' Compensation, host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Jodi Harris from Blue Eagle Investigations, to discuss the pros and cons of workers compensation surveillance. Jodi will give an inside look at surveillance, combating the fraud that exists in the workers' comp system, ethical and privacy issues and the different types of investigations and surveillance when dealing with an illegitimate claim.

Health Care reform continues to be at the forefront of the Obama administration's agenda. Host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Jon L. Gelman to discuss health care and workers' compensation and the Occupational Disease Pilot Program: a close look at the delivery of medical benefits when it comes to occupational disease and how workers compensation may or may not fit into the big picture of universal health care or health care reform.

Host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of the Mass. Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) and Stacie A. Sobosik, Esq. from the Law Offices of Martin Kantrovitz in Boston, to discuss access to workers' compensation in the immigrant community and the overwhelming challenges immigrant communities face in the workers' comp system.