Our attorneys were out of the office earlier this week, to attend the annual Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Conference, in Hershey, PA. While we hate to have our attorneys both unavailable to help our clients, we feel it is important for us to attend these seminars. This conference is presented by the Bureau itself, so there is an opportunity to obtain information allowing us to stay current on all topics of interest in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation.
While there are not many attorneys, like us, who represent injured workers in attendance, we think listening in is helpful. Most of the attendees at this conference are not attorneys at all; they are adjusters, risk management and safety officials from all across PA. Additionally, many of the Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) are in attendance. We can hear what these folks are being told regarding different aspects of the PA workers’ compensation system. This can help us anticipate issues and avoid some pitfalls that could pertain to our clients.
Topics addressed at the different sessions ranged from medical issues (including medical marijuana, the future of “telehealth,” and the role of nurse case managers), to internet surveillance, to Workers Compensation Medicare Set-Asides (WCMSAs), to different insights on how WCJs feel about varying issues.
We also get a chance to hear about updates in case law and legislation, so we can stay current on trends in those areas (we already maintain a watch in these areas, as followers of our blog know!). While we apologize for being unavailable on June 3rd and 4th, we believe we are best serving the interests of our clients by attending this important event.