Tuesday, August 21, 2018

8:45 – 5:00 pm
Palms Ballrooms – Canary & Sabal
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 – 11:00 am
New Tactics New Responses
Palms Ballroom – Sabal
Convention Level

Moderator:
Scott H. Silver, Attorney
MKRS Law
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Panel:
Victor Ontaneda
Branch Manager
Next Level Administrators, LLC
Orlando, FL

Pamela Last
Assistant Vice President of Claims
Summit
Lakeland, FL

Kerri Friederich
Branch Manager
Gallagher Bassett
Tampa, FL

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubts.” In dealing with post-Castellanos challenges and exposures, how a petition for benefits is responded to can set the tone as to how aggressively a claim will be litigated. This panel will focus its’ expertise on petition investigation/litigation to maximize claim defense strength and earlier favorable settlement opportunities by ensuring that a petition response does not serve as “blood in the water” to attract “fee hungry sharks.”

11:00 – 12:00 pm
Attorney’s Fees
Palms Ballroom – Sabal
Convention Level

Moderator:
Sean S. O’Connor, Attorney
McConnaughhay, Coonrod, Pope, Weaver & Stern, PA
Gainesville, FL

Panel:
Crystal Chancey
Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager
Publix Supermarkets, Inc.
Lakeland, FL

Jonthan Hampel
Senior Claims Examiner
Broadspire
Tampa, FL

Honorable John J. Lazzara
Tallahassee, FL

Syvia Scremin-Pace
Claims Manager
Broward County Public Schools
Fort Lauderdale, FL

The recent changes in claimants’ attorney’s fees have impacted all aspects of claims handling including overall claim cost exposure, strategy on benefit provision, and settlement allocation. Hourly attorney’s fees must be considered when litigating even minor issues, and precise and thorough initial claim investigation is more important than ever. The venue in which a claim is litigated may impact the amount of hourly fee exposure as Judges of Compensation Claims are awarding differing attorney’s fee rates and requiring varying evidence in support of fee awards. This panel will discuss the impact of the changes in attorney fee calculations on claims handling and provide practice guidelines to manage fee exposure.

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 – 2:45 pm
Oral Argument
Palms Ballroom – Canary
Convention Level

Handout

Presented by the First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

Panel:
Honorable James Wolf
First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

Honorable Stephanie W. Ray
First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

Honorable M. Kemmerly Thomas
First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

Kristina Samuels
Clerk
First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

Kevin Taylor
Marshall
First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee, FL

This session is back by popular demand! Talk about a reality show. Two actual cases will be argued live before a panel of Judges of the First District Court of Appeal. The decision of the Court will be posted on the Court’s website several weeks after the oral arguments take place. The facts and issues argued should be posted mid-June 2018 on the WCI® website, www.wci360.com, referencing Annual Conference, Breakout for Adjusters, Program Two.

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

2:45 – 3:00 pm
Break

3:00 – 4:00 pm
How to Avoid Litigation (Trying to keep the horse in the barn)
Palms Ballroom – Sabal
Convention Level

Moderator:
Kimberly Sprouse
Claims Supervisor
Gallagher Bassett
Orlando, FL

Panel:
Pauline Miller
Manager, Claims
FCCI Insurance Group
Sarasota, FL

Christine Jermin
Claim Manager
CCMSI
Maitland, FL

This panel of industry experts will pool their cumulative experience to educate as to how to better control claims handling/investigation, and to minimize exposure to poor decisions that may lead to difficult to defend litigation. As much as there is little ability to control the claimant’s right to retain counsel, this presentation will focus on preparing the claim from onset through closure, so that the audience will have a new set of tools and strategies to litigate/negotiate from a position of strength.

4:00 – 5:00 pm
How To Recognize Complex Cases Which Require A Totally Different Approach Than Most Injuries And Accidents
Palms Ballroom – Sabal
Convention Level

Moderator:
Raymond A. Lopez, Attorney
Rissman, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue, McLain & Mangan, PA
Orlando, FL

Panel:
Maria Dayi
Claims Consultant
AmTrust Financial Services
Maitland, FL

Maggie Conatser
Claims Manager
Next Level Administrators
Bradenton, FL

Kim St. Jean
Divisional Assistant VP, Claims
Summit
Lakeland, FL

This panel will tackle complex cases with very high exposure, and cases that could involve multiple claimants. The ability to recognize these challenging cases is only the beginning. The panel will analyze the different components of these cases including: duration of claims, pharmacy issues, MSA challenges, specialty experts, and multiple parties. Analyzing the appropriate exposure and obtaining the necessary authority is crucial to settlement of these difficult cases.