New York Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Turley, Redmond & Rosasco : Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk, Bronx, Staten Island

Not another workers' compensation attorney seminar?  That's what my understanding partners are asking!  Yes - but when the prestigious New York State Bar Association asks you to participate in one of their excellent and well attended continuing legal education courses, it really is an honor one cannot refuse.

This one takes place this Tuesday, November 21st, at the Huntington Hilton on Long Island and will be a Practical Skills day long session entitled "Basic Workers' Compensation Law Practice".  Our local Seminar Chair is my good friend and colleague, Doug Hayden, Esq., former Chief Legal Officer and Acting CEO of the New York State Insurance Fund, and now a Vice President with Wright Risk Management.  Doug has asked me to speak on "Compensation from the Claimant's Perspective" and "Issues of the Day", including Section 32 Settlements and Medicare Set Aside agreements.  Although labeled "basic", this course would be a great refresher for even experienced disability lawyers, even those specializing in Social Security Disability or ERISA Long Term Disability claims.  It should be an instructive day.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks to my colleague Bill Crossett from the NYSBA Torts, Insurance and Compensation Section for asking me to speak.  Finally, Happy Thanksgiving to all readers of the Disabled Worker Law Blog. 

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On Monday, November 13th, I will be lecturing at the Suffolk County Bar Association's Plaintiff's Personal Injury Committee on the always confusing subject of Workers' Compensation Law Sec. 29, liens, consent and Kelly calculations.  The Kelly calculation formula derives from the seminal New York Court of Appeals decision in Kelly v. State Insurance Fund, 60 NY2d 131 (1983).  The Kelly case said that  the workers' compensation carrier must pay it's equitable share of the claimant's litigation costs based upon their "total benefit" from the claimant's recovery.  This "total benefit" includes both the amount of the lien they recoup and the present value of future workers' comp benefits they will not have to pay (credit/offset rights) due to the claimant's recovery.  We will be handing out a Kelly Calculation Worksheets that personal injury lawyers can use and will practice on several hypothetical cases.  Bring your calculators! 

In addition, we will discuss the impact of the recent Appellate Division case of Burns v. Varriale, 2006 Slip Op. 6346 (3d Dept.) which states that Kelly may not apply in some permanent partial disability cases. My  friend and fellow New York legal blogger Matt Lerner at the New York Civil Law Blog has an excellent synopsis of Burns, as does fellow workers' comp attorney Ray Seligman in the Albany Bar Association newsletter - so the issue is hot.

The seminar panel will include notable experts such as Leonard Tartamella, Esq. giving the Personal Injury attorney's perspective and Robert Manning, Esq. giving the workers' compensation defense counsel perspective.  It starts at 6:00pm and is worth three continuing legal education credits.  Call the Suffolk Academy of Law on Monday at (631) 234-5588 if you would like to sign up.  There are still a few seats left.

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Need another reason to vote for Eliot Spitzer for New York Governor tomorrow?  This guy just keeps on working for the little guy (including one of my corporate executive clients receiving over $400,000 per year in disability payments from UnumProvident) and fighting greedy insurance companies right up to his presumptive landslide win on Election Day. This wasn't about getting votes (he doesn't need  any more at this point) - it was about doing the right thing for disabled workers.

Late last week, Unum agreed to $15.5 million dollars in restitution to over charged policyholders and a $1.7 million dollar civil penalty. This settlement with UnumProvident, the nation's beleaguered yet largest long term disability claim insurer, comes on the heels of Spitzer's prior settlement with UnumProvident requiring them to re-access tens of thousands of previous unfair long term disability claim denials.  Give Eliot Spitzer credit and your vote tommorrow - to date, he has done more to protect injured and disabled than any past NY Attorney General of recent memory.  Now let's hope he protects New York workers' compensation claimants just as well in his new role as Governor!

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