1-16-12; More thoughts for everyone in the WC industry

In no particular order

The Illinois WC community mourns the passing of two of its members.

·         Vito DeCarlo left us much too early. He was one of the quiet deans of Illinois WC law and practice. He had over 50 years of experience representing injured workers before the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission, Circuit Court, Appellate Court, and Supreme Court of Illinois. He was a past president of the Workers Compensation Lawyers Association, Justinian Society of Lawyers and the St. Ignatius Alumni Association. In addition, he was named the St. Ignatius Alumnus of the Year in 2000. He was also a recipient of the prestigious St. George Award from the Boy Scouts of America. His daughter Anita DeCarlo continues to practice at the IWCC and is as brilliant as her father.

·         Adam Lagocki of Heyl, Royster was killed in a car accident, last Thursday during the storm. Our thoughts & prayers go out to Adam's family and to everyone at Heyl. His resume and photo are online at: http://www.hrva.com/attorneys/print.cfm?pageID=4&attorneyID=19&print

Onto more mundane pursuits, we are seeking rulings involving state workers where the workers are provided total and permanent benefits due solely to the State of Illinois refusing to provide alternative positions and/or vocational consultation. The decisions have to be issued in the last three years. Your editor will pay $25 for each new  IWCC ruling sent to our office.

We have also been asked by the folks who are reviewing the State of Illinois workers’ compensation system to provide the incident rate for lost time injuries in relation to the total employee population of your Illinois workers. They are concerned about the years 2009 and 2010. Your response will be kept totally confidential and is for legislative consideration only.

We appreciate your thoughts and comments. Please do not hesitate to post them on our award-winning blog.

1-16-12; Welcome to KC&A, Rod!!

We want to herald the arrival of another top-notch senior litigator in Rodney Phillipe, J.D. Rod has joined Keefe, Campbell & Associates as a veteran defense lawyer in 2012.  Rodney concentrates his practice in employment law defense and general liability defense.

Rodney has successfully defended numerous employment claims at both the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights. A portion of his practice is devoted to counseling management and HR professionals, prior to litigation, on issues related to employees and the workplace. 

He began his career practicing insurance defense in what has to be one of the toughest places to defend claims--Madison County, Illinois. Prior to joining the firm he worked as in-house corporation counsel overseeing all aspects of business operations and compliance. In addition, he handled all insurance defense and employment practices litigation.

His trial and appellate experience includes both State and Federal Courts. Rodney brings over 19 years of experience defending employers and businesses. Please feel free to contact him via email to rphillipe@keefe-law.com.

1-16-12; In case you want to know what the article below might say--Keefe, Campbell & Associates’ updated HIPAA-GINA compliant release is available in English and Española.

This will confirm we have a one-page updated medical release for your consideration and use in managing your WC/GL/EPLI and other injury claims involving medical care.

It is our intention to make the release easy to use and fully HIPAA and GINA compliant.

Yes, we know there is a “workers’ compensation exception” to HIPAA—the problem is many doctors and hospitals don’t know or care about the exception. Having a signed release in your file is a much better way to insure the free flow of needed medical information and documentation in handling WC/GL and other injury claims involving medical treatment.

You may note we have added protections to allow limited disclosure of care and concerns about AIDS/HIV that is now called “ARC” or AIDS-related complex.

Behavioral or mental health issues and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse are also added.

We recommend any employee who reports an injury or work-related disability sign one of these forms and it then be kept in all WC or other claim files related to that event.

It can also be used in an appropriate GL or EPLI setting. The use of this medical release is not limited to Illinois/Wisconsin/Indiana/Michigan claims.

One of our top KC&A paralegals, Angie Gomez, has translated it into Española for appropriate claims. She also translated the article in Espanola we published above.

If you want one or both versions, send a reply and we will forward it. We are also posting it on our website for future reference. We thank Angie for her hard work.