Workers Compensation and CTP Update
Finish up the year by attending this timely roundup. In the morning session covering workers compensation you’ll examine capacity for work, suitable employment, exiting the workers compensation system, PIAWE, psychological injuries and a critical case update. In the afternoon session on CTP claims you’ll explore the latest liability decisions and income loss benefits and receive an in-depth guide to merits and judicial review of motor accident cases.
Description
Attend the full day and earn 7 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on NSW legislation
Session 1
Workers Compensation Update
Chair: Paul Macken, Partner, Leigh Virtue & Associates; Recommended Public Liability Compensation Lawyers (Plaintiff) Doyle’s Guide 2019
9.00am to 9.05am: Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am: Challenges for Lawyers and Clients of s32A of the 1987 Act
- What does ‘current capacity for work’ mean?
- What is considered ‘suitable employment’?
- Aggregation of injuries
Presented by Jasmina Mackovic, Partner, Workers Compensation Practice Group Leader, Slater & Gordon
9.50am to 10.35am: Workers Compensation: Exiting the System
- Ways you can choose to exit the system
- The ways in which the legislation causes workers to exit the system
Presented by Michael Vella, Manager, Workers Compensation Independent Review Office
10.35am to 11.20am: The Different Definitions and Evidentiary Requirements to Establish Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings (PIAWE)
- Definition of PIAWE prior to 1January 2019 for injuries prior to 26 October 2018
- Effect of Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 Regulation
- Litigating PIAWE disputes
- Evidence in PIAWE disputes
- Role of Solutions Section of WIRO
- Recent decisions on PIAWE
Presented by Con Ktenas, Lawyer, Stacks Goudkamp; Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law
11.20am to 11.35am: Morning Tea
11.35am to 12.20pm: Update on Psychological Injury Claims
- From perception to pre-existing conditions: latest developments in the Workers Compensation Commission
- When is action reasonable and the challenges of section 11A
- From Koehler to Briggs and beyond: an update on work injury damages claims for psychological injury
Presented by Amanda Bond, Partner, Gillis Delaney Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law; Pre-eminent Workers Compensation Lawyer and Leading Public & Product Liability Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2019
12.20pm to 1.05pm: Workers Compensation Case Update
- Review of some recent decisions of the Court of Appeal, such as Hochbaum and Hill
- Analyse recent presidential decisions of the Workers Compensation Commission covering issues such as the law relating to grounds of appeal.
- Discuss some arbitral decisions addressing work capacity and section 38
Presented by Will Murphy, Partner, Bartier Perry; Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law; Workers Compensation Lawyers (Defendant) Doyle’s Guide 2019
1.05pm to 1.15pm: Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
CTP Update
Chair: Susan McTegg, Executive Lawyer, Walter Madden Jenkins
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Liability Decisions in CTP Claims: Content and Concerns
- The legislative framework for CTP liability decisions
- Principles of decision-making
- Is there room for improvement?
Presented by Belinda Cassidy, Special Counsel, Stacks Goudkamp
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Income Loss Benefits
- The legislative framework for economic loss in CTP claims
- Statutory benefits under the 2017 scheme
- Damages claims under the 1999 scheme and the 2017 scheme
Presented by Sarah Warren, Barrister, 9 Windeyer Chambers
4.00pm to 4.15pm: Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm: An Updated Guide to Merits Review and Judicial Review in Motor Accident Cases
- A practical guide to the steps for:
- An internal review
- DRS applications
- Merit review
- Avenues for judicial review when merits review fails or isn't available
Presented by Jnana Gumbert, Barrister, Jack Shand Chambers; Recommended Insurance Junior Counsel Doyle’s Guide 2019
Presenters
Paul Macken
Paul Macken BA LLB is a partner of the firm of Leigh Virtue & Associates. He is an accredited specialist in personal injury law (since 1993) and has over 30 years' experience acting for workers and employers in work injury disputes. He has particular experience in representing a large number of self-insured employers in all types of work injury claims and in related industrial disputes. He is an honorary legal advisor to the NSW Self Insurers Association, the Chairman of the Medic-Legal Liaison Committee, a member of the Injury Compensation Committee and the personal injury specialist accreditation board of the Law Society of NSW.
Sarah Warren
Sarah was admitted to practice in 2008 and was called to the Bar in 2015. Prior to being called to the Bar, Sarah worked in-house for a national insurer, practising in insurance litigation. Sarah has experience in defendant and plaintiff personal injury in addition to commercial litigation, insolvency, debt recovery, wills and estates, and property law. Sarah has appeared in numerous jurisdictions from the Local Court through to the Court of Appeal, as well as tribunals such as NCAT and the Workers Compensation Commission. In 2018 Sarah was appointed as a DRS (Dispute Resolution Service) Claims Assessor, a statutory appointment under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. The Dispute Resolution Service handles claims in relation to motor vehicle accidents occurring after 1 December 2017. In 2019 Sarah was appointed as a CARS Assessor (Claims Assessment and Resolution Services), a statutory appointment pursuant to the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999. Sarah has been involved in NSW Young Lawyers since 2009. Sarah was the Chair of the NSW Young Lawyers Civil Litigation Committee from 2015-2017 and an Executive Councillor between 2015 and 2017. Sarah was also a member of the Law Society Injury Compensation Committee in 2011 and 2012 and a member of the NSW Bar Association Common Law Committee between mid-2015 to mid-2018. Sarah is currently a member of the NSW Bar Association Diversity and Equality Committee.
Belinda Cassidy
Belinda Cassidy is Special Counsel in the Stacks Goudkamp Sydney office. She has over 28 years of personal injury knowledge and experience. Belinda was admitted as a solicitor in July 1989 and is a member of the Law Society of NSW. She is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law. Before joining Stacks Goudkamp, Belinda worked for 18 years as the Principal Claims Assessor of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (formerly the Motor Accidents Authority), where she honed her skills in motor accident compensation assessment, dispute resolution and administrative law. She has published numerous articles on personal injury and insurance law in the Law Society of NSW Journal.
Jnana Gumbert
Jnana Gumbert has an extensive practice in the areas of common law, administrative law and insurance law. Prior to being called to the Bar in 2012, Jnana was a litigation solicitor for over 6 years and a Director of Stacks/Goudkamp Lawyers. She was also a Law Society Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law, and an Assessor for the Specialist Accreditation assessments. She has over 18 years’ experience conducting personal injury litigation in the areas of motor accidents, civil liability and medical negligence. Since coming to the Bar, she has also worked extensively in the area of administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative decisions within the NSW CTP scheme. In 2009, Jnana was awarded a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney, focussing on the areas of tort law, healthcare law, and administrative law. She has presented papers at numerous continuing legal education seminars and conferences, and she has written many articles for publication in legal journals. Jnana held the office of President of the NSW Branch of the Australian Lawyers Alliance from 2009 to 2015, and was a member of the Common Law Committee of the NSW Bar Association from 2013 – 2017. She is co-author the Motor Accidents chapter of the Personal Injury Law Manual (Goudkamp & Morrison), and the Thomson Reuters Law Handbook.
Jasmina Mackovic
Jasmina Mackovic started her career working with Keddies for 8.5 years until they merged with Slater and Gordon Lawyers in 2011. Currently she is a Practice Group Leader overseeing ComCare, Workers Compensation, Motor Vehicle and Superannuation practices in the Ashfield and Liverpool offices.
Amanda Bond
Amanda Bond is a partner of Gillis Delaney Lawyers who specialises in work injury damages and liability claims. She leads the worker’s compensation and work injury damages team at Gillis Delaney. Amanda has a particular interest in complex multi-party work injury damages claims involving the interaction between employers and third parties and has expertise in section 151Z claims. Amanda regularly appears in the Workers Compensation Commission, District Court and Supreme Court of NSW in claims for both employers and liability insurers. She is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law and has over 20 years of experience in acting for insurers. In the last four years Amanda has been recognised by the Doyles Guide as a leading liability lawyer, pre-eminent worker’s compensation lawyer and recommended lawyer in CTP demonstrating her breadth of experience.
Will Murphy
Will is a partner at Bartier Perry. He practices in industrial accident law: workers compensation, common law claims and Work Health and Safety. In his personal injury practice Will acts exclusively for insurers and self-insurers. Will was one of the first accredited specialists in personal injury law in NSW.
Con Ktenas
Con joined Stacks Goudkamp in September 2018. He has over 30 years of experience in litigation in every jurisdiction. He is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury, a member of a number of Law Society Committees such as the Injury Compensation Committee, the Accredited Specialist Advisory Committee and the President of the Law Society’s Commercial Arbitration panel. Con is a Local Court Arbitrator and a former District Court Arbitrator. He is a past President of the City of Sydney Law Society and a current member of the Supreme Court Users Group chaired by the Chief Judge at Common Law. Con is also a Notary Public. He has volunteered in various community legal centres and worked as a part time legal academic for many years. At Stacks Goudkamp he practises in the areas of personal injury litigation including Workers Compensation, Work Injury damages, Total Permanent Disability (TPD), Occupiers Liability, Professional Negligence, Medical/Dental negligence, asbestos litigation and toxic torts litigation such as the herbicide “Roundup”. He is passionate in representing the rights of injured workers and is very approachable and empathetic to all his clients. In his spare time in the past Con loved to travel overseas with his family to many parts of the globe. He enjoys reading and current affairs.
Michael Vella
Admitted in 1990 I practiced in suburban Law Firms before joining MMI as a technical Officer, involved in claims management of statutory and Common Law Matters and managing premiums and risk. In 1998 I commenced as a Conciliator with the Workers Compensation Resolution Service which then became the Workers Compensation Commission. In the Workers Compensation Commission I conducted Expedited Assessments until 2012 when I joined WIRO as a Principal Lawyer. I am now a Manager of an ILARS Team involved in funding workers compensation matters.
Venue
The Grace Hotel
77 York St
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia