My partner Marc Pakrul and I presented to the North Jersey Claims Association on March 31st. Marc presented on IMEs in liability claims; my part of the presentation focused on the use of IMEs in challenging medical treatment in New York and New Jersey proceedings. We had a really great time and the questions were great! Here are our slides.



If you are having trouble viewing the presentation here, you can view it on iwork.com.

Greg Lois will present "IME Best Practices" for the North Jersey Claims Association at their dinner meeting on March 31, 2011. CEU / CCM credits will be available.
5PM networking, 6PM seminar.

How to attend and more info available from the North Jersey Claims Association.

Recent Presentations:

• "New York Workers' Compensation Medical Treatment Guidelines" for Applied Risk/Continental Indemnity, Omaha, Nebraska. January 6, 2011.
• "New York and New Jersey Workers' Compensation Update" for Great West Casualty Company, South Sioux City, Nebraska. January 7, 2011.

For attendees: Here is a link to sign up for our e-newsletter.

Recent Presentations:

• "New Jersey Workers' Compensation 101" for North American Risk Services, Maitland, Florida. November 5, 2010.
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• "Workers' Compensation Update" for Gallagher Bassett Services, North Syracuse, New York. November 8, 2010.

For attendees:
Here is a link to sign up for our e-newsletter.

I just presented a 'Legal Update' to the North Jersey Claims Association on September 23, 2010. I had a really great time sharing with this growing group.

I talked about two new cases and the practical applications for claims professionals. The first case dealt with 'bad faith' on the part of a carrier and the second was on Medicare Secondary Payer (links are to places where I've discussed the two cases - Davis and Jackson, elsewhere).

Some links for attendees:
Here is a link to my 'checklist' for handling cases with Medicare complications; and
Here is a link to sign up for our e-newsletter.

I had a lot of fun presenting on two topics for the Sussex-Warren Society of Human Resource Managers on June 17, 2010. The first topic was "Workers' Comp 101 for HR Pros." The second topic was 'HIPAA for HR Pros." Both presentations were recorded and are available on the SWHRM webiste as an online course for HR profesisonals.
The course was approved for 1.5 hours of HRCI credits.

Greg Lois was named a partner at Tompkins, McGuire on January 29th. He joins 19 current partners in the leadership of the Firm. Greg has been with TMWB since March 2004.

Greg practices in New Jersey and New York with offices in both states.

Greg Lois Presented: 'HIPAA Privacy Rules' for Sompo Insurance Company/Broadspire, April 30, 2009.

The 2009 edition of 'New Jersey Workers' Compensation Law for Adjusters and Risk Managers' has been published. The introductory guide, now reaching 270 pages, includes a copy of the scheduled loss charts for 2009 and a new chapter on 'Motions for Med & Temp' and the new-for-2008 'Emergent Motion for Med & Temp.' Authored by: Joseph K. Cobuzio and Greg Lois. Click here to request a complementary copy.

Greg Lois & Joe Cobuzio led a Seminar entitled ‘Introduction to New Jersey Workers’ Compensation’ on November 18th, 2008 at Chubb’s Parsippany location. Does your team need a 'refresher' on the changes to the Workers' Compensation Act? Contact Joe to schedule a seminar!

Greg Lois led a Seminar entitled ‘Introduction to New Jersey Workers’ Compensation’ on October 16th, 2008 at Pepsi’s NJ HQ. Contact Greg Lois or Joe Cobuzio to set up a training for your human resources/workers' compensation team.

The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court in ‘Cucciniello v. The Sports Authority.’ Greg Lois wrote the Appellate Brief.

The Appellate Court found that a subsequent aggravating incident was not a “new injury” sufficient to break the chain of causation. This unpublished decision departs from the prior case law and basically holds that a superseding, new incident will not break the causal chains unless a doctor directly told the claimant not to engage in a specific activity.

Adjusters and risk managers are warned NOT to apply the reasoning of the Appellate Panel in reviewing specific cases; the poor reasoning employed by the Appellate courts basically serves to annihilate the ‘superceding/intervening’ defense which is one of the most well-settled tenets of western law/civil law.

Citation: Cucciniello v. The Sports Authority, App. Div. A-1235-07T3 (Decided September 24, 2008).

In a decision rendered March 5, 2008, the Appellate Division agreed with the Firm that a CGL policy exclusion which seemingly denied coverage for any subcontractor's employee sustaining injury on a construction site with the insured - whether or not the insured had retained that subcontractor - was invalid. In Pyramid Construction, LLC v. Essex Insurance Company, Docket No.: A-4290-06T3, the court found that the following language was inherently ambiguous and nullified the protections of the policy:

[T]here is no coverage under this policy for ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ sustained by any contractor, self-employed contractor, and/or subcontractor, or any employee, leased worker, temporary worker or volunteer help of same.

This particular language had never been passed upon by a New Jersey court. The court's decision was based primarily on the fact that immediately above the quoted language, was a requirement that the insured's subcontractors meet certain insurance requirements, or coverage would not apply. The obvious question then was why require subcontractors to carry certain insurance, when they were not covered in the first place? Under the facts of the particular case, the insured was itself a subcontractor on a construction site where a worker was killed. The worker was not an employee of any of the insured's subcontractors, but the carrier denied coverage anyway, exposing the insured to a potential multi-million dollar verdict. With this ruling by the Appellate Division, TMWB, lead by partner Joe Cobuzio, ensured a defense and indemnification for the insured.

TMWB regularly handles declaratory judgment actions on behalf of both insurers and insureds in the State and Federal courts of New Jersey.

Tompkins presented a seminar to Gallagher Bassett Services at the Parsippany, New Jersey location on the recent changes to the administration of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act. Attorney Gregory Lois, of the Tompkins workers’ compensation department led a discussion with the claims professionals at Gallagher.

The 2007 edition of the ‘Introduction to Workers’ Compensation’ is published. The book, produced by the Tompkins McGuire workers’ compensation department, provide a ‘soup-to-nuts’ overview of the workers’ compensation system in New Jersey, and includes valuable practice tips for claims professionals handling workers’ compensation claims in New Jersey.

The 2007 edition contains updated and expanded information regarding the intersection between OSHA and workers’ compensation, recent information regarding the Medicare Secondary payer Act, and case summaries of all recent decisions of the Appellate Courts. For more information about the book, or to request a free copy, please see this page.

Also, if your “revision” number on the front of you copy is lower than # 11.xx.xxx, please contact us to request an updated copy. The Medicare Secondary Payer chapter, Chapter 12, changed considerably and the newest revision, reflects the new information. Read More...

Greg Lois joins the faculty of the National Business Institute for a seminar entitled "Reducing Workers' Compensation Claims and Costs in Your Company." The seminar is to be presented on May 11, 2006 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Continuing education credits are available for attending attorneys (CLE credits) and toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR re-certification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). More seminar information can be found here.
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