CWCI Presents Workers’ Comp Seminar

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute has announced that it will conduct a one-day case law seminar in May in San Francisco and in Long Beach. The program will examine trends in workers’ compensation case law in light of recent statutory changes to the system, and discuss appropriate negotiation and defense strategies for claims personnel, attorneys, hearing reps, and others with negotiating authority.

CWCI will present the seminar from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, and Wednesday, May 25 at the Grand Long Beach Event Center.

CWCI General Counsel Mike McClain, who will moderate the seminar, says this is the seventh year in a row that the Institute has conducted its case law program.

“As usual, our focus will be on the practical effects of case law for those working in the system,” McClain said. “With all the legislative reforms of the past three years, the structure of the system has changed, so it’s important to take a look at both old and new case law in the context of those changes. Our speakers include attorneys with experience on both the applicant and defense side who will discuss recent rulings and identify issues related to the statutory changes, as well as examine old case law to see what still applies and what does not.”

The 2005 program will cover topics including penalties, psych injuries, use of medical experts, medical control under LC Section 4600, “ghost” statutes and WCAB “observations,” and apportionment.

Tuition is $395, with a discount available for regular employees of CWCI member companies. The fee includes a syllabus containing brief summaries of significant decisions with full citations, Continental breakfast, and lunch. Preregistration and prepayment are required. Continuing education units will be available for attorneys as CWCI is a state bar of California approved MCLE provider (5 hours), and the Institute also will provide certificates of attendance in anticipation of the new workers’ compensation claims administrator certification requirements and for submission to the Association of Hearing Representatives of California.

For more details and registration forms, visit www.cwci.org or call Mel Long at 510-251-9470.