In What Works for the Marines Can Work for You, Barbara Karkula explained the model utilized for the United States Marine Corps for its civilian employees, and described the values and practices that have proved most effective for them.
The Marines’ work environment presents unique challenges, but developing trusting relationships, establishing respect for [...]

Tracing the evolution of law and workers’ compensation in 38-30-35: Dangerous Curves Ahead, defense attorney Zachary Sacks called for a restructuring of the convoluted and occasionally arbitrary regulations and labor codes that surround workers’ comp claims. Due to the increasing complexity of the legal system, changing regulations and “business procurement” model of injury [...]

In her presentation What Works for Schools, Cathy Aguilar explained the differences surrounding school workers’ compensation claims, highlighting such variables as industry and geographical regions. Even circumstances such as whether or not a claim is heard by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board changes the dynamics of processing. By discussing various outside influences, Aguilar hoped to [...]

In What Works in Washington State, Irene Suver called for a return to using certified research to support claims, instead of using opinions often based merely on previous opinions. Because a single specialist now is called upon to provide diagnoses across a multitude of medical fields, accuracy has decreased. Suver recommended refocusing to consider the [...]

In her session Healing Addiction in Work Comp: The Hanley Experience, Dr. Barbara Krantz explained the significant role of the neurobiology of addiction in treating and managing chemical dependency. Dr. Krantz explored the bio-neurological effects of chemical dependency, stages of treatment, relapse prevention,  and how research will impact treatment and recovery outcomes, demonstrating the addiction [...]

John Alchemy spoke to professionals willing to invest in what’s fair, reproducible, and sustainable to help renovate California’s workers’ compensation system. Alchemy railed against spiraling costs, subjective dispensing of our limited financial resources, and the diluted value of objective exam findings and science, and advocated joining a new movement and finding a passion for showing [...]

Priscilla Morse, head of workers’ compensation for the City and County of San Francisco, detailed her experiences working as a claims adjuster, examiner, and manager. By approaching claims in a practical manner, Morse was able to help reduce San Francisco’s workers’ compensation costs. She also discussed working in the field claims environment before many women [...]

Employment lawyers Ellen Bronchetti and Damon Ott outlined the importance of reshaping the boundaries of human potential and employment relationships under the traditional employment model in their presentation, “What Works in Labor Law and the Future of Employment and Labor.”
In a professional environment currently shifting because of advances in technology and creative workforce restructuring, employers [...]

In The Compensable Backache, M.D. Nortin Hadler illustrated the conditions of Regional Low Back Pain (LBP), and the incorrect notion that diagnosis and treatment are the only ways to resolve this injury. In our society, Hadler said, once a physician makes a diagnosis, a person has the option of becoming a patient, [...]

Mark Askins, Vice President of JH Askins Company.
With the adoption of LC4663, LC4644, and court cases that have primarily upheld the provisions of these two hastily-enacted additions to labor codes, the workers’ compensation defense community has been provided with a new tool to create a greater sense of accountability and fairness in our [...]