Tuesday, August 21, 2018

8:45 – 4:15 pm
Palms Ballrooms – Canary & Royal
Convention Level

8:45 – 9:45 am
Live Foot Surgery
Palms Ballroom – Canary
Convention Level

Surgery Moderator:
Travis B. Van Dyke, MD
Orlando Orthopaedic Center
Orlando, FL

Surgeon:
Joseph D. Funk, DPM
Orlando Orthopaedic Center
Orlando, FL

The 11th Annual Orlando Orthopaedic Center Live Surgery Event offers a unique interactive look into an operating room as Joseph D. Funk, DPM, performs foot surgery: a metatarsal procedure live from the Orlando Orthopaedic Center Outpatient Surgery Center. With the help of moderator Travis B. Van Dyke, MD, Dr. Funk, board certified in foot surgery specializing in foot and ankle care, will explain the procedure step-by-step and answer questions from the audience. The goal of the presentation will be to explain the Weil Osteotomy for Metatarsalgia (a common minimally invasive outpatient procedure) and examine how the injury and recovery period affect day-to-day activity, employment restrictions, and workers’ compensation claims processing.

Although this presentation is part of Breakout for Adjusters, everyone is invited to attend.

9:45 – 10:00 am
Break

10:00 – 4:15 pm
5-Hour Law and Ethics Update
(Adjusters must be present the entire 5-hours. No partial credit.)
Palms Ballroom – Royal
Convention Level

Co-Moderators:
Scott H. Silver, Attorney
MKRS Law
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Mike Bunte, CWC
Claims Team Manager
Liberty Mutual Insurance/Helmsman Management Services
Tampa, FL

Program One of the Breakout for Adjusters provides not only the educational requirement for claims professionals in need of CEUs (as now mandated by the State of Florida), but has been created for all professionals associated with a workers’ compensation claim (risk managers and employers) whose commitment to excellence has become their self-imposed requirement. While providing this opportunity to procure this accreditation, the panelists will attempt to thread ethical considerations through constantly evolving business/claims/litigation tapestry.

10:00 – 11:00 am
Disciplinary/Industry Trends: Federal Update to Include Medicare

Moderator:
Mike Bunte, CWC
Claims Team Manager
Liberty Mutual Insurance/Helmsman Management Services
Tampa, FL

Panel:
Michael J. Grimaldi
Claim Professional
Travelers
Orlando, FL

Yarah Dalmau
Senior Claims Examiner
Sedgwick CMS
Lake Mary, FL

Making ethical decisions in the workers’ compensation arena is paramount to how an adjuster does his or her job every day. Think you are just one of thousands of adjusters and won’t get caught if you are not acting in good faith? Think again! Learn about the most recent disciplinary decisions and enforcement actions, especially how they may affect you or your company. Learn the proper terminology and how to apply it every day. Also examined are unauthorized products and entities involved in commerce. Lastly, we will provide an update on pertinent federal law including Medicare.

11:00 – 12:00 pm
Regulatory Awareness: Including a Discussion on the Areas of Jurisdiction, Licensing, Advertising and Recordkeeping

Moderator:
Mike Bunte, CWC
Claims Team Manager
Liberty Mutual Insurance/Helmsman Management Services
Tampa, FL

Panel:
Kathy Green
Claims Rep II
CCMSI
Maitland, FL

Jana Cauley, FCLS, CWCL, CWC
Claims Manager
Summit
Lakeland, FL

How well do you know your jurisdictional duties and responsibilities? Do you know where to go and who to talk to in order to find out? It is your obligation to know both regulatory and licensing requirements inside and out, and act in good faith at all times. We will discuss the importance of adjuster obligations to insurers and third-party administrators. Your duties to maintain licensing are critical to yourself as well as your organization.

12:00 – 1:00 pm
Lunch (on your own)
Purchase lunch in the Exhibit Hall. Visit the “Comp Time” Diner… grab & go, or sit and network with clients and exhibitors!

1:00 – 2:00 pm
Adjuster Ethics: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of the “All about the Fee” Phenomenon

Moderator:
Susan N. Marks, Attorney
McConnaughhay, Coonrod, Pope, Weaver & Stern, PA
Pensacola, FL

Panel:
Jill Keene, CIC, CWC, CWCL
Claims Supervisor
Gallagher Bassett
Orlando, FL

Kathy Kelly
Team Manager
Sedgwick CMS
Lake Mary, FL

In this post-Castellanos landscape, aggressive litigation tactics are getting more prevalent. As this panel of experts addresses an adjuster’s ethical obligations, they will concurrently walk the “path of fee resistance” in exhibiting how ethical compliance can support employer/carrier’s denial of fee entitlement, while ethically providing a complete investigation and provision of benefits potentially payable to or on behalf of injured workers.

2:00 – 2:15 pm
Break

2:15 – 4:15 pm
CSI: Case Law Evaluation and Update

Moderator:
Thomas H. McDonald, Attorney
Law Offices of Jack D. Evans
Orlando, FL

Panel:
Michael Laseter
Claims Team Manager
Helmsman Management Services
Tampa, FL

Sandra L. Bock, CWC, SCLA
Team Manager
Next Level Administrators, LLC
Bradenton, FL

Tessa Chisolm
Claim Manager
Travelers
Buffalo, NY

This panel of experts will review the most relevant and controversial cases recently adjudicated and will put a “CSI” twist on the case evaluation (i.e. performing a case autopsy). The focus of attention will be on what could have prevented litigation at the claim onset and/or been vetted earlier or differently as to the facts and law.