The Third Annual

North Carolina Workers' Compensation
Educational Conference

Sponsored by the N.C. Industrial Commission*

September 14-16, 1998

The Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center
Durham, NC (near Research Triangle Park)

*In association with the International Workers' Compensation Foundation, a
nonprofit association dedicated to workers' compensation research and education.


Program

Speaker biographies and resumes and background information will be posted upon receipt, so check this page for regular updates. This page was last updated on August 24, 1998.


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Monday, September 14

1:00 P.M.    WelcomeJ. Howard Bunn, Jr., Chairman

1:10 P.M.   Current National Trends in Workers’ CompensationPeter S. Barth, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut; former Chair of the Economics Department; and former Executive Director, National Commission on State Workers’ Compensation Laws

Questions from the Floor

2:00 P.M.    Interaction of ADA, FMLA, and Workers’ CompensationRaymond M. Davis, J.D., Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog, L.L.P., Raleigh, NC—Bio in PDF, GIF Page 1, 2, 3, and 4.

2:50 P.M.    Break

3:10 P.M.    Managing Emotional Trauma & Disease ClaimsVictor H. E. Morgan, Jr., Attorney, Ellis, Hooper, Warlick & Morgan, L.L.P., Jacksonville, NC

3:50 P.M.    Health Care Information PrivacyJ. Howard Bunn, Jr., Chairman, Moderator

Michael Griffin Okun, J.D., N.C. State AFL-CIO; Patterson, Harkavy & Lawrence, Raleigh, NC

Keith T. Bateman, Alliance of American Insurers, Downers Grove, IL

Alan Miles, Bailey & Dixon, L.L.P., Raleigh, NC

Questions from the Floor

5:00 P.M.    Adjournment

Reception begins in Exhibit and Lobby Areas

7:00 P.M.    Reception Ends

Tuesday, September 15

7:00 A.M.    Continental Breakfast served in Exhibit and Lobby Areas

8:30 A.M.    Concurrent Break-Out Sessions: Choose one of the seven sessions listed below. Each will be presented four times.

            (1)     Claims Processing, I.C. Forms Preparation, Discussion on ProceduresAuditorium

NCIC Chief Claims Examiner Patricia D. "Pat" Benton

Insurance Adjusters—Deborah M. Jackson, CPCU, AIM, The Zenith Insurance Company, Charlotte, NC; Kathy Goforth, Tyson Foods, Inc., Wilkesboro, NC; and Gail Blevins, EBI, Inc., Charlotte, NC

            (2)     Administrative Rulings—Mock Form 24 Proceedings, Rulings on Change of Physician and Other Medical Motions, and Compromise Settlement Agreement Issues, Including Social Security Disability Offset—Imperial Salon III

Executive Secretary Tracey H. Weaver

Special Deputy Commissioners Gina E. Cammarano, Jim Gillen, and Roland E. "Ronnie" Rowell

Special Participants

            (3)     Mediation—Mediation Conference Vignette, Discussion on Procedures—Imperial Salon IV

Commissioner Laura K. Mavretic

NCIC Mediation Coordinator John C. Schafer

Mediators W. Joey Barnes, J.D., Charlotte, NC; Thorns Craven, J.D., Mediation, Inc., Winston-Salem, NC; Kathy A. Gleason, J.D., Asheville, NC; Lynn G. Gullick, J.D., Mediation, Inc., Greensboro, NC; Robin E. Hudson, J.D., Raleigh, NC; Lawrence B. Shuping, Jr., Raleigh, NC; William H. Stephenson, Garner, NC; and H. Randolph Sumner, J.D., Alala Mullen Holland & Cooper, Gastonia, NC

            (4)     Medical Rehabilitation—Effective Communication—Imperial Salon V

Commissioner Dianne C. Sellers

NCIC Nurses Section Supervisor Margaret G. Dunn, RN, CDMS, CCM

Rehabilitation Nurse—Barbara Armstrong, RN, BSN, CCM, CDMS, CLCP, Armstrong and Associates, Inc., Charlotte, NC

Physician Facilities—Caroline Fortner, RN, CDMS, CCM, Orthopaedic Health Network, Charlotte, NC

Plaintiff’s Attorney—N. Victor Farah, Jernigan Law Firm, Raleigh, NC

Defense Attorney—Jeri L. Whitfield, Smith Helms Mullis & Moore, Greensboro, NC

Telephonic Case Manager—Ellen M. Hintzen, BSN, RN, CCM, CorVel, Charlotte, NC

Insurance Manager—Theodore R. "Rich" Reynolds, Jr., Harleysville Insurance Company, Charlotte, NC

Occupational Health Nurse—Candace Bertini, RN, BSN, COHN-S, Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC

            (5)     View From the Bench—Perspectives from Deputy and Full Commission Levels—Imperial Salon VI

Commissioners Bernadine S. Ballance and Renée C. Riggsbee

Team Leaders—Deputy Commissioners

Manuscript prepared by Deputy Commissioner John A. Hedrick

            (6)     Fraud and Non-Insured Employers—Imperial Salon VII

Commissioner Christopher Scott

Deputy Commissioner Douglas E. Berger

            (7)     Computers—Demonstrations—Royal Salon

Commissioner Thomas J. Bolch

Consultant Wendy L. Kuhn, Keane, Inc., Durham, NC

10:00 A.M.    Break

10:20 A.M.    Break-Out Session II: Choose one session from the list above.

12:00 P.M.    Lunch—Empire Salon

1:15 P.M.    Break-Out Session III: Choose one session from the list above.

3:00 P.M.    Break

3:20 P.M.    Break-Out Session IV: Choose one session from the list above.

5:00 P.M.    Adjournment

Wednesday, September 16

7:00 A.M.   Continental Breakfast served in Exhibit and Lobby Areas

8:15 A.M.   The Future of the Industrial CommissionJ. Howard Bunn, Jr., Chairman

8:40 A.M.   Case Law Update

Deputy Commissioners Phillip A. Holmes and Pamela Thorpe Young

Plaintiffs’ Attorney—Joseph B. Roberts, III, The Roberts Law Firm, P.A., Gastonia, NC

Defense Attorney—George W. Dennis, III, Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham, L.L.P., Raleigh, NC

Manuscript prepared by J. Brad Donovan

10:00 A.M.  Break

10:20 A.M. What’s Working, What’s NOT Working in the Workers’ Compensation System in North Carolina—From YOUR Perspective

Plaintiffs’ Attorney—Joseph B. Roberts, III, The Roberts Law Firm, P.A., Gastonia, NC

Defense Attorney—George W. Dennis, III, Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham, L.L.P., Raleigh, NC

Employer—Theodore R. "Rich" Reynolds, Jr., Harleysville Insurance Company, Charlotte, NC

Safety Expert—John K. Toay, Loss Prevention Management, Charlotte, NC

Adjuster—Deborah M. Jackson, CPCU, AIM, The Zenith Insurance Company, Charlotte, NC

Physician—Albert Osbahr, M.D., Haywood Regional Medical Center, Occupational Health Services, Clyde, NC; Chair, N.C. Medical Society Advisory Committee to the Industrial Commission—Bio in PDF, GIF Page 1

Vocational Rehabilitation Professional—Katherine L. Wickizer, MS, CRC, CVE, Resource Opportunities, Raleigh, NC

Questions from the Floor

12:00 P.M. Adjournment


Return to N.C. Industrial Commission Home Page

Return to NCIC Alternate Home Page


N.C. Industrial Commission · Dobbs Building · 430 North Salisbury Street · Raleigh, NC 27611
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