Workers' Compensation Notable People 2009

The LexisNexis Workers' Compensation Law Center is proud to sponsor the awards for Workers' Compensation Notable People for 2009.

These exceptional people have worked tirelessly on behalf of their clients and have made significant contributions this past year to the workers' compensation system and/or the workplace.

The recipients of the 2009 awards were selected by various organizations and experts in the field, including the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN), the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA), the Workers’ Compensation Forum on LinkedIn, and selected members of the Larson's National Workers' Compensation Advisory Board.

This list is by no means complete. The LexisNexis Workers' Compensation Law Center encourages you to post a comment, telling us who you would've nominated for 2009 and why they deserve to be recognized by our web community.

Workers' Compensation Notable People for 2009

The Humanitarian

 H. Douglas Jones, Esq., managing partner of Jones Dietz PLLC, in Florence, Kentucky, and member of the Board of Directors for the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network, is the founder and CEO of Shoulder To Shoulder, Inc., a non-profit organization that has provided direct assistance to the working poor in Northern Kentucky on a 24/7 basis since 2006. Due to the economic recession, the organization has seen a tremendous increase in need, delivering 50,232 pounds of food in 2009 compared to 28,898 pounds of food in 2008, and serving 168 families per month compared to 143 families per month in 2008. Shoulder To Shoulder, Inc. also distributed new toys to 516 children this past Christmas, 91 couches, beds, chairs and other furniture items to 69 families who were formerly homeless, and 5,163 scarves, hats, and gloves to cold, needy people from October to December. We salute Mr. Jones and his exemplary work at Shoulder To Shoulder, Inc., which values respect and dignity to the poor and hope for the hopeless.

The Icon

 Robert W. Lee, Esq., a workers’ compensation attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, passed away unexpectedly on August 16, 2009, at the age of 55. He was a pillar for the workers’ compensation legal community in his state and well-respected by all. His dedication to the injured workers’ plight earned him the recognition of the judicial nominating committee. Bob was one of the top three candidates sent to the governor to replace a retiring circuit court judge. He continued to educate the legal community through the updates on Alabama Workers’ Compensation Law and Handbook (LexisNexis), a book that he co-authored since 1999, as well as speaking at several continuing education seminars in the area of workers’ compensation. Bob certainly meets the criteria for a workers’ compensation notable person for 2009, if not his entire career. He will be greatly missed.

The Leaders of Movements

  iWAR (Injured Women After Reform), a new committee at the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, was formed for the purpose of ending discrimination against women in the workplace. According to iWAR, the California workers’ compensation “apportionment” law allows unequal treatment between male and female workers who are permanently injured such that women who break a bone at work, for example, receive less from the insurance company because osteoporosis is considered a “women’s problem”, and women of color are told their injuries are caused by “genetic pre-disposition,” and their compensation is reduced. iWAR seeks to have legislation passed to eliminate this type of discrimination against women in the workplace. The iWAR committee is led by Linda Atcherley, Esq., Linda Atcherley & Associates, San Diego, California, past president of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, Sue Borg, Esq., DuRard, McKenna & Borg, San Mateo, California, past president of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, Marguerite Sweeney, Esq., Law Office of Marguerite Sweeney, Redding, California, and a past recipient of the State Bar of California’s Outstanding Applicant Attorney Award, and Jamie Berenson, Esq., Law Firm of Glauber/Berenson, Pasadena, California. For more information, see iWAR on eBAY.

 Tammy Miser founded USMWF.ORG (United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities) after losing her brother, Shawn Boone, in 2003 due to an aluminum dust explosion. Tammy helps family member victims to become part of a national movement to ensure that workers come home safe and sound. USMWF offers families who have lost a one in the workplace support, guidance and resources to get them though grief, the OSHA process, Workers’ Compensation system and testifying before a Congressional hearings. USMWF has also strived to put a face on fatalities by providing Weekly Toll (a running list of worker fatalities) and the faces campaign that is now a permanent feature in the Federal OSHA's headquarters in DC. Tammy has testified in both house and senate hearings, including an April 2009 senate hearing on meaningful incentives for safe workplaces and roles for victims and families, as well as being featured in numerous newspaper articles and 60 Minutes. Tammy’s work to help family member victims and to give a voice to workers who have died on the job is unprecedented.

The Defense Attorneys

 Mary Ann Stiles, Esq., an attorney from Tampa, Florida, has been in the forefront of legislative efforts to reform Florida's Workers' Compensation laws since at least 1979. Her participation is so well recognized she was given the title of the "Queen of Comp" by all the various parties and legislators in Florida. She is currently serving as the Immediate Past Chair of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network and as a board member of The College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers. In 2009 she was asked by the Secretary of the Department of Children and Families to take a leave of absence from the private practice of law to serve as Interim General Counsel, where she provides legal advice to the Secretary and his office, oversees the Department's litigation, and coordinates the reshaping of the agency's legal department and the General Counsel's Office to better serve the agency's responsibilities for the care and protection of Florida children that become dependent upon that agency to provide them services.

 Ronald E. Weiss, Esq., the managing partner of Hamberger & Weiss’s Rochester, New York office, has served both as Secretary and as a member of the Board of Governors for The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers since its inception in 2007. In 2009 he co-authored the ninth edition of the New York Workers’ Compensation Handbook (LexisNexis), the first treatise in a generation on all aspects of New York workers’ compensation and the leading authority on the subject. The 2009 edition of the handbook covered numerous changes wrought by the 2007 Reform Bill, including new developments on the phase-out of the Special Disability Fund, the imposition of mandatory payments into the Aggregate Trust Fund of permanent partial disability awards made after June 30, 2007, and the procedures regarding the new expedited hearing process for litigation of controverted cases. Mr. Weiss has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Workers’ Compensation, each year since 1995. His law firm is the New York State representative for the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network.

The Claimant’s Attorneys

 Steven M. Birnbaum, Esq., an attorney with offices in California and Hawaii, practices exclusively in Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act cases. He was elected in 2009 as President of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG), where he searched for and hired a new Executive Director for WILG, monitored all workers’ compensation problems and issues at both the state and federal level and devised WILG’s response and/or plan of action, set WILG’s policies and legislative priorities, met with several legislators in D.C., lectured to numerous bar associations, and advocated on a national level for further benefits to injured workers. Mr. Birnbaum is also the founder of the WILG annual Longshore Seminar. Prior to assuming the Presidency of the WILG, he served as Chair of the San Francisco Bay Maritime Claimant’s Bar, where he helped build that group from a core of about 10 Longshore attorneys to the unprecedented number of approximately 80 of the most recognized Longshore Attorneys in the country who represent claimants. In addition, he has served as an advisor to the Annual Longshore Conference put on by Loyola University New Orleans. He is the Chief Editor of the soon to be released Longshore Textbook 6th Ed., and has written numerous articles for the Benefits Review Board Service, Longshore Reporter (LexisNexis), where he has served on the Advisory Board since its inception in 1996.

 Joshua T. Gillelan II, Esq., Longshore Claimants’ National Law Center, Washington , D.C., co-represents injured maritime workers in matters arising under the Longshore Act, the Jones Act, and general maritime law, and workers injured under the coverage of the statutory extensions of the Longshore Act. Previously he was with the Longshore staff of the Office of the Solicitor of Labor, where he was the lead attorney for the Director, OWCP, in over 300 cases before the United States Courts of Appeals, and was honored by the Secretary of Labor with the Exceptional Service Impact Award, the highest award bestowed by the Secretary, citing him for his invaluable service to disabled workers. For the last two years, Mr. Gillelan has devoted much of his time and efforts to clarifying the application of the “fee-shifting” provisions of Longshore Act § 28.  He has met with mixed success challenging the Benefits Review Board’s longstanding rule that, even when the employer has denied all liability and litigated a claim unsuccessfully, the employer is not liable for fees for the claimant’s attorney’s time expended before the employer was served with the claim by the district director and denied liability. In several 2009 decisions by the courts of appeals, he successfully attacked the administrative tribunals’ practice of setting the hourly rates of fee awards solely by reference to their own past fee awards, rather than any prevailing “market rates.” Mr. Gillelan has lectured extensively on Longshore Act and Defense Base Act topics, including most recently at the 2009 Triennial Conference of the Northwest Longshore Administrators Association and the 2009 Annual Conference of the Longshore Section of the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group, and has contributed to several publications, including most recently the soon to be released Longshore Textbook 6th Ed.

 Henry N. Patterson, Jr., Esq., a partner with Patterson Harkavy LLP, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has practiced for more than 40 years representing employees on workers’ compensation claims as well as employees and their unions before administrative agencies and the courts. Over the years he has either chaired or co-chaired committees at the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He also served on the Board of Directors, 2004-2007, for Kids’ Chance of North Carolina. He currently serves on the Advisory Council for the North Carolina Industrial Commission, and is a fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group, where he has worked with others to try to enact a revision to the Medicare Secondary Payor Act to solve some of the problems that workers’ compensation practitioners have had with satisfying the requirements of the Act regarding conditional payments and set asides. Mr. Patterson has delivered numerous presentations at various seminars, including most recently presentations on the Medicare Secondary Payer Act at the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives May 2009 conference, the ethical considerations in a workers’ compensation practice at the Fourteenth Annual North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Education Conference in October 2009, and structured settlement annuities and the North Carolina Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Education Foundation meeting in December 2009. Both the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group awarded him an Outstanding Service Award in 2009. Mr. Patterson has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Workers’ Compensation, from 1987 to present.

 Peter M. Sweeny, Esq., an attorney in Leesburg, Virginia, and a member of Larson's National Workers' Compensation Advisory Board, challenged for the first time in 33 years the Virginia practice whereby employers and insurance companies unilaterally suspended an injured worker's benefits in advance of a hearing and a decision on the merits of the claim. Asserting that such a unilateral suspension deprived Virginia workers due process, he "resurrected" a 1974 United States Supreme Court case defining the Rules of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission completely contrary to the way these rules have been interpreted and applied over the last 33 years. As a result of this challenge, attorneys representing injured workers in Virginia have begun to challenge the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission's application of its rules in more and more cases, thereby raising the focus on due process. The attack, known as "Sweeny's Revenge," has resulted in one of the three full Commissioners of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission asserting in a recent decision: "I believe that the current procedures for suspending benefits before an evidentiary hearing is held are inconsistent with the Act and unconstitutional."

The Risk Managers

 Jeff Hilton, the Director of Insurance and Claims at The Limited, has done an incredible job building out The Limited’s insurance program. By using his brokers and companies for advice and council and using his knowledge when he was both a broker and insurance company representative, he has enabled The Limited to manage risk in a profitable way even in the most turbulent financial times. His close interaction with The Limited’s CFO and product specific managers has led Jeff to understand the insurance needs of his organization and build a program to protect it all while acting as a global ambassador for The Limited brands.

 Fred O. Pachón, WCCP, CPDM, ARM, Vice President of Risk Management and Insurance, Select Staffing Inc., has led an impressive risk management program for this $2 billion company with 400 branches nationwide, and over 100,000 temporary employees on assignment on any given day. Under his direction, Select has implemented an innovative Risk Management program that encompasses the very essence and principals of this doctrine: risk avoidance; risk detouring; risk transferring and risk reduction. Some of his most innovative initiatives include the development of a risk dashboard, attorney performance benchmark, investigators performance reports, and TPA quarterbacks. As a result of his program, he has saved Select close to $300 million of what could have been a costly liability. Fred now leads a Risk Management department with over 60 safety, claims, and underwriting professionals. His program is considered the most sophisticated and successful risk program in the staffing industry and among the best in the nation. In April 2009, he was named “Risk Manager of the Year” by Business Insurance & RIMS (Risk & Insurance Management Society).

Ann Schnure is Vice President of Risk Management, Workers’ Compensation Claims, at Macy’s Corporate Services, Inc. Macy’s has been a self-insured, self-administered company since the 1990s. The company operates more than 800 Macy’s stores and 40 Bloomingdale’s stores, with a workforce of approximately 167,000 employees. As the company has grown, so has its need to effectively manage workers’ compensation claims. As a result of Schnure’s foresight, the workers’ compensation team has easily kept pace with the company’s needs. Initially, the department served only three states. Today, her department services more than 39 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. Schnure is strategic in every aspect of leading her department to success. She is not afraid to refine processes or introduce new tools if they will increase productivity and streamline expenses. For example, she made the decision to invest in technology that makes it easier to administer claims, which contributes to the workers’ compensation department’s virtually paperless operations.

The Insurance Professionals

 Frank Pennachio, Co-Founder of The WorkComp Advisory Group, has leveraged his 30-year career in workers’ compensation to teach insurance agents how to market and manage workers’ compensation programs. He offers a consultative approach to sales, helping agents go beyond bidding and quoting to become valuable business advisors. He focuses on assessing employers’ needs and customizing solutions that address their insurable – and uninsurable risks. Mr. Pennachio has been working with new agents and experienced producers in an educational community setting for nearly a decade and has personally trained more than 1,000 agents. He is the founder and former owner of a Florida-based agency, WorkComp Partners, giving him “feet on the street” credibility with agent audiences. As a recognized expert and thought leader in the workers’ compensation industry, he regularly publishes articles in Risk and Insurance, Professional Insurance Agent, WCEC, HR Magazine, and Insurance Journal and speaks at numerous national and regional conferences, most recently for the National Council of Self Insurers, WRG Research Inc., Occupational Health & Safety, and the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals.

 Christina (Tina) Preisig is a Registered Nurse and Senior Vice President of Managed Care services for PMA Companies, a Pennsylvania-based national provider of commercial risk management solutions. She joined PMA in May 2008 and has applied her 30 years’ experience in the workers’ compensation healthcare arena to build tremendous efficacy into the Preferred Provider Network, Pharmacy Benefits Management, Medical Bill Review, and Medical Case Management practices for PMA Companies. Tina and her team support thousands of PMA commercial insurance and third-party administrator clients. Throughout 2009, their efforts significantly reduced pharmacy spending and created a streamlined vendor management program to further reduce clients’ claims costs. Tina continues innovating Managed Care measures that will bring PMA clients even greater convenience, savings and tangible value to their workers’ compensation risk management programs.

 Mark Walls is an Assistant Vice President - Claims with Safety National. He has over 20 years of workers' compensation experience and has worked with self-insured employers his entire career. However, it was his after-hours hobby that resulted in this award. In November 2008 Mark founded the LinkedIn group: WORKERS COMPENSATION FORUM. In just over a year, the group has grown to over 3,300 members representing all sectors of the industry. Included in the group are employers, carriers, TPAs, brokers, regulators, and journalists that cover the workers' compensation industry. This dynamic group allows members to ask questions, debate issues, and discuss industry news. It also allows members to network with industry experts from around the country. The Group’s active and spam-free Discussions board was recognized by LexisNexis as one of the Top 25 Workers’ Compensation Blogs for 2009. Many of the conversations on the Discussions board have been referenced in other industry blogs. Mark serves as moderator of the group and approves all applications to join the Group, posts news articles, monitors all discussions, and also contributes to the discussions based on his experiences.

The Industry Vendors

 D. Diann Cohen, Director of Marketing and Training at Macro-Pro Copy Services, is a true advocate and a dedicated leader at providing outstanding continuing educational opportunities to our community. In 2009, Diann led the formation of the Mid Valley Chapter of the Professionals in Workers’ Comp (PIWC), an impressive fifth association she has founded, with a Bay Area chapter currently in the works. The number of claims professionals who have benefited from these organizations, the monthly meetings, seminars, conferences and newsletters is beyond measure. San Francisco attorney, Phil Walker states “Diann Cohen is brilliant at bringing our community together and creating educational opportunities. There is no one else like her.” In the spring of 2009, Diann ran both the PIWC Mid Valley’s golf tournament and the Fresno’s Chapters Crab Feed. In Sacramento, she was instrumental with the theme, topics, materials and speakers for the Valley Industrial Claims Association’s conference. Ms. Cohen dedicated months to organize and chairing the PIWC Fresno Chapter’s fall conference, the largest workers’ comp. event in the Fresno/Bakersfield area. Completing the year, Diann also produced several newsletters and provided multiple half-day seminars in San Francisco and Sacramento in conjunction with other industry leaders. Ms. Cohen is a valuable leader in our community and her efforts are greatly appreciated and matched by none.

 Evan Falchuk is President and COO of Best Doctors, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts, which offers expert medical consultation services that help injured workers and their treating physicians get the right care and thereby improve outcomes, minimize costs, and speed return to work. By avoiding the high cost of misguided care, Best Doctors results are extraordinary, changing the diagnosis in 20% of cases and treatment in over 50% of cases. Best Doctors helps claims professionals manage high cost and high risk cases by bringing nationally recognized experts in trauma, burns, brain injury, chronic pain, back injury, all while keeping the claims professional in control. Under Evan's leadership in 2009, Best Doctors significantly improved outcomes for back injury cases, which are the most common of all work-related injuries. Based on one client study, in the first year of the program, surgical treatment decreased by 50%, and return-to-work rates in high risk cases were 85%. This in turn helps minimize the overall cost of care for the injured worker and can amount to significant cost savings for both companies and carriers. Evan is a sought-after thought leader on health and welfare topics. In 2009, he started the See First Blog to provide his insight into the health benefits and workers' compensation industries. As a result of this, he was asked to testify before the State of Michigan Healthcare Reform Committee. At Best Doctors, Evan leads internal and public strategy, and is a leading voice in the effort to improve health care and workers compensation in America. He has been quoted and appeared in many media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily, and Fox Business Channel. He has also appeared in numerous regional TV and other media outlets, business publications and blogs.

 Kent Takemoto, MD, President of PMSI Settlement Solutions, has established himself as a leader in the industry by helping payors, insurers and employers through the barrage of continuing Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) issues. Throughout 2009, Dr. Takemoto led the development and deployment of innovative services and solutions that help PMSI’s customers address the growing challenges of MMSEA Section 111 Mandatory Insurer Reporting (MIR) requirements as well as the substantial changes in the way the prescription portion of Medicare Set-Asides (MSAs) are allocated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). To better enable MMSEA 111 reporting, Dr. Takemoto launched PMSI’s MedicareConnect^SM reporting and compliance web-enabled solution, which ensures complete compliance with MSP regulations, saves time, and increases efficiency for clients. MedicareConnect also has the distinction of being part of CMS’ reporting pilot program. With Dr. Takemoto’s industry-leading efforts, PMSI Settlement Solutions has become a clear thought leader in the effort to revise the CMS guidelines around pharmacy allocations. Dr. Takemoto and a team of expert pharmacists developed the Drug VALUE Review (DVR), which utilizes years of proprietary clinical pharmacy data from PMSI. The DVR applies clinical criteria and algorithms to appropriately calculate future drug allocations, supporting fair and equitable allocations. Dr. Takemoto also created PMSI’s web-based Drug VALUE Tool, an innovative decision making tool which calculates projected savings for a claim to determine if a comprehensive DVR should be performed for a MSA allocation. The Drug VALUE Tool has been released as the workers’ compensation industry’s first mobile computing application—another example of how Dr. Takemoto is bringing innovative solutions to the industry.

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