National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference

presented by Risk & Insurance

When, Why and How to Rebut and Defend Against PTSD Presumptions

  • Room: Islander E-I
  • Session Number: STI4
Thursday, October 21, 2021: 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM

Speaker(s)

Speaker
Ron Heredia
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Dr. Bruce Leckart & Associates
Speaker
Tyrone Spears
Chief Workers` Compensation Division
City of Los Angeles
Speaker
Vicki Lindquist
Attorney/Partner
Laughlin Falbo Levy Moresi

Description

There’s been a significant shift in mental injury claims across the country. Presumption laws pertaining to PTSD cover police, firefighters and peace officers place the burden on employers to disprove industrial causation. This panel session will provide the perspectives of a psych expert, a legal approach and the viewpoint from a claims administrator, exploring, from a forensic expert standpoint, the components required in workers' comp psych reports to establish substantial evidence of a PTSD diagnosis. Understand which employees are subject to the presumption, and the legal defenses available to employers to successfully rebut and defend against questionable claims.


Track(s)


Learning Objectives

• Understand the DSM criteria to correctly diagnose a PTSD, and how to recognize the major flaws in Psych QME/AME/IME Reports diagnosing PTSD
• Understand the practical impact the Presumption has on claims handling
• Understand that viable defenses still exist, and how to build a case for rebuttal of the Presumption

Handout(s)