Workers Comp Matters

With recreational and medical use of marijuana now approved in some states, concerns of workplace use are being raised. The impacts of this trend range from employee right to treatment and increased employer liability to OSHA regulations and ADA holdings. On this episode of Workers Comp Matters, host Alan Pierce discusses these issues along with medical studies, toxicology reports, and the intoxic...

Are you concerned about workplace safety? Learn how lawyers from the Workers' Injury Law and Advocacy Group, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Office of the Louisiana Attorney General can help. In this episode of Workers Comp Matters, host Alan Pierce interviews Douglas Sheff, Chuck Davoli, and Will Green to reveal how attorneys are making a big impact in workplace safety. Douglas Sheff is the cu...

Medical Treatment Guidelines are a list of procedures each state mandates to use when treating injured workers. The goal is for these guidelines to aid faster and better treatment for patients. The underlying issue is that they are crafted to cater to the general population based on trials and clinical tests, which allows for errors and variable factors. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters yo...

In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Alan Pierce chats with Teddy Snyder on the ins and outs of mediation regarding workers’ compensation cases. For those working in mediation, looking to work in mediation, or looking for a mediator to handle a case of their own, Snyder covers all the bases. Tune in to hear the advantages and disadvantages of mediation, a mediator’s role and goals on the...

“There has been a dramatic rise in shoulder injuries in the last five to ten years,” Doctor Michael Ackland says, maybe we’ve just gotten better at diagnosing them. On this episode of Workers’ Comp matters, your host, Attorney Alan Pierce, will chat with Dr. Ackland, an examining physician who has worked with a fair amount of attorneys and insurers on shoulder injuries. Dr. Ackland is an orthopedi...

Before The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, policy covered those working on land and those working within navigable waters, and neglected worker’s on the harbor. This left harbor workers with nowhere to turn but litigation when they were injured on the job. On this edition of Worker’s Comp Matters your host Attorney Alan Pierce has invited Steven M. Birnbaum to discuss The Longshore...

On the May edition of Workers’ Comp Matters Host and Attorney Alan Pierce talks with two highly-respected guests in the field of workers’ compensation attorneys. The first half of the show he will speak with President of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) Cathy Stanton regarding proposed Federal legislation reforming the law regarding the Medicare Set-aside requirements as well as t...

In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Michael J. Shor MPH, Managing Director of Best Doctors Occupational Health Institute. Michael talks about his view of workers’ compensation, how to make sure that injured workers are getting the best medical care possible and how he works with both insurers and injured workers through their attorneys to achieve best t...

The National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ) was founded in 2009 to provide educational opportunities for the workers’ compensation judiciary throughout the United States. On this Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce is joined by Judge John J. Lazzara and Judge Ellen Lorenzen, at the Workers’ Compensation Centennial in Boston, Massachusetts, to spotlight The N...

Workers’ Compensation was the first social reform in America dating back to 1911. On this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, joins Andrew J. Reinhardt from the firm Reinhardt & Harper, PLC, at the Workers’ Compensation Centennial in Boston, Massachusetts, to discuss the latest in workers’ compensation and celebrate 100 years. Andy talks about his work with Workers’ Inj...

Social networking has become a popular topic within the workers’ comp community. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Attorney Jon L. Gelman, to take a look a social networking in the workers’ comp world. Alan and Jon discuss privacy and their clients, client responsibility when it comes to putting up information on social media sites and how social netw...

Returning to work after a disabling worker’s compensation injury involves many steps. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Edmund C. Corcoran Jr., Director of Integrated Disability Programs for Raytheon Company and Daniel J. Knight, the Senior Manager of Workers’ Compensation for Raytheon Company, to take a look at the program, the interrelationship betw...

There is a phenomenon that we all see in workers’ comp cases, whether representing the claimant or the insurer. An insurer or its medical expert might call it symptom magnification. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes Attorney Douglas Jones, founder and Member-in-Charge of the law firm, Jones Dietz, PLLC, to look at the process, discuss related topics s...

The first constitutional workers’ compensation law in the United States was enacted back in 1911, and in recognition of this milestone of law, Massachusetts will host a centennial commemoration in April of 2011. In this edition of Workers’ Comp Matters, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, welcomes the Honorable Richard S. Tirrell with the Department of Industrial Accidents and Attorney Joseph F. Agnelli...

In this special edition of Workers' Comp Matters from an ABA TIPS 2010 Conference on National Trends and Emerging Issues in Workers' Compensation, host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce spotlights the intoxication defense in defending a workers' compensation claim. Alan welcomes Attorney Gregory T. Presmanes from Bovis, Kyle & Burch, LLC to discuss how to best investigate these cases, how to educate cli...

In this special edition of Workers' Comp Matters from an ABA TIPS 2010 Conference on National Trends and Emerging Issues in Workers' Compensation, host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Jodi Harris from Blue Eagle Investigations, to discuss the pros and cons of workers compensation surveillance. Jodi will give an inside look at surveillance, combating the fraud that exists in the workers' comp...

Health Care reform continues to be at the forefront of the Obama administration's agenda. Host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Jon L. Gelman to discuss health care and workers' compensation and the Occupational Disease Pilot Program: a close look at the delivery of medical benefits when it comes to occupational disease and how workers compensation may or may not fit into the big picture of un...

Host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of the Mass. Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) and Stacie A. Sobosik, Esq. from the Law Offices of Martin Kantrovitz in Boston, to discuss access to workers' compensation in the immigrant community and the overwhelming challenges immigrant communities face in the workers' comp system. Learn mor...

Is the Workers’ Compensation system really there to protect us if we are injured on the job? On this Workers’ Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce welcomes Dr. Patrice Woeppel to take an inside look at the ins and outs of the workers' compensation system and discuss her new book, Depraved Indifference: the Workers' Compensation System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

On this Workers’ Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce and Attorney Michael I. Fish, founding member of the Birmingham insurance defense law firm of Fish Nelson, LLC, will talk about the F word-fraud. It is something that makes workers comp attorneys on both sides of any case cringe. They will highlight employer fraud and hone in on premium misclassification and failure to obtain cove...

Did you ever want to know what goes on in an Independent Medical Evaluation (IME)? On this Workers’ Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce and Dr. David Cooper from the Knee Center, will take an in-depth look at the elements of the IME. They will discuss the Waddell signs, how long a comprehensive physical examination should take and the relevance of records from insurance companies. L...

Hear how to properly settle a workers’ comp case and comply with statutory requirements to create a medicare set aside program, allocation or trust. On this Workers’ Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, and Attorney Neal Winston from the firm, Moschella & Winston LLP, update Medicare Set-aside issues and discuss the implemented changes that will affect liability cases in 2009. Learn...

Cardiac injury claims in workers comp cases can be tricky. On this Workers’ Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, turns to Dr. Julian M. Aroesty, cardiologist from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, to explore the basics of proving and defending a work related cardiac injury claim focusing on basic causation issues, the importance of accurate history and a look at the ro...

Join host and Attorney Alan S. Pierce at the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Section (TIPS) conference in Chicago recently for a candid discussion of the AMA Guides to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 6th Edition in this Workers Comp Matters. Join Alan with special guests, Dr. Christopher Brigham, board certified in Occupational Medicine, President of Brigham and Associates and Senior Contributing E...

The future of Workers Compensation laws are changing. Trends show the laws are being reformed making it more difficult for employees and easier for big corporations when it comes to Workers Comp. Is there a trend to federalize the laws? The questions are raised during Attorney Alan S. Pierce’s Workers Comp Matters program discussed before an audience at the recent ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practi...