Total Credits: 6.5 MCLE, 1.0 Ethics, 1.0 Elimination of Bias, 6.5 Kansas Credit-General, 1.0 Kansas Ethics
(Exact times may change)
9-9:52 a.m. | State of the division/department
Speakers: Commissioner Rodney J. Campbell and R. Lucas Boling, Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, Jefferson City; Hon. Hannelore D. Fischer, Hon. Angela C. Heffner, Pamella B. Lewis, Ben Qualls, Hon. Carl W. Strange, Kevin R. Thomas, Elizabeth Walters, Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation
9:52-10:41 a.m. | Addressing bias: Age discrimination and generational issues
Speaker: Paige Tungate, Downey Law Group LLC, St. Louis
10:41-10:51 a.m. | Break
10:51 a.m.-12:03 p.m. | PTSD for First Responders
Speaker: Jared P. Vessell, Vessell Bridges Murphy Law Offices, Columbia
This session will discuss the requirements for mental injury under Missouri law, prior firefighter provisions, the implications of the Mantia case, and details about Senate Bill 24. Participants also will review common exposure for first responders and real-life scenarios.
Topics of Discussion include:
12:03-1:03 p.m. | Lunch
1:03-1:54 p.m. | Case law update
Speakers: Christopher T. Archer, Archer & Lassa LLC, St. Louis; David G. Plufka, Keefe & Griffiths PC, St. Louis; Morgan Westhues, Office of the Attorney General, Jefferson City
In this session, panelists will review important decisions from Appellate courts in Missouri from the past year.
Focus points include:
1:54-2:50 p.m. | PTSD: The medical perspective
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Brockman, MD, Forensic Psychiatry Specialist, Kirkwood
2:50-3 p.m. | Break
3-3:51 p.m. | Future medical treatment
Moderator: Patrick J. Platter, The Law Firm of Neale & Newman LLP, Springfield
Panelists: Hon. John K. Ottenad, Division of Workers' Compensation, St. Louis; Hon. Angela Heffner, Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation, Kansas City; William C. Love, Hyde, Love & Overby, LLP, Springfield
What you will learn:
3:51 p.m. | Adjourn
Moderator:
MAY 17 | Sharon L. Centracchio, Attorney at Law, St. Charles
Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.
| 01 State of the Divisiondepartmen (342.4 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 02 Age Bias and Generational Issues - 04-04-2024 (2.8 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 03 PTSD for First Responders (669.9 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 04 Bulletin Summaries from 2023 thru Jan 2024 v3 (140.4 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 05 PTSD The medical perspective (449.5 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| 06 Future medical treatment (3.2 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Chris Archer is a principle of Archer & Lassa LLC which provides legal representation as well as education for employers, third party administrators, as well as insurers in the area of Missouri workers’ compensation. He has defended Employers for 33 years in the state of Missouri.
Lucas Boling is LIRC's Chief Legal Counsel. He previously served as OCDC staff counsel and The Missouri Bar's CLE/Practice Management director. His workers’ compensation experience includes Missouri AGO Labor Division Unit Leader, LIRC counsel, and DWC Deputy Director. He is a graduate of Truman State and MU School of Law.
Dr. Brockman received her undergraduate degree from Emory University. She completed both medical school and her psychiatric residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she served as chief resident from 2004 -2005. She then completed a forensic psychiatric fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Brockman subsequently completed an integrative medicine fellowship at the University of Arizona and earned her Master in Health Care Management degree from Harvard University in 2020. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is board certified in both general and forensic psychiatry.
Dr. Brockman, over the last two decades, has worked in a wide variety of clinical settings including academic institutions, correctional facilities, and community mental health centers. This has included her, since 2007, providing outpatient adult psychotherapy and psychopharmacology services at The Center for Health and Wellness. Dr. Brockman, throughout time, has maintained an interest in forensic psychiatry/medical-legal consultation activities resulting in her serving as an expert in both criminal and civil matters.
Dr. Brockman resides with her family in St. Louis, Missouri. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming, and traveling. She may be contacted by calling 314-843-7500.
Rodney Campbell currently serves as the chair of the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. Rodney was appointed to the Commission in April 2022, and he was appointed as chair in July 2022. Rodney previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor Division of the Missouri Attorney General's Office. He then practiced workers' compensation law at Archer & Lassa and The Petraborg Law Firm before joining the Commission. Rodney is a graduate of Missouri State University and Saint Louis University School of Law.
Judge Hannelore D. Fischer: Admitted 1977; University of Kansas, B.A.; University of Kansas, J.D.
Pam Lewis was appointed Director of the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation in April 2022 after joining the State in July 2021. She has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, focusing primarily on workers’ compensation claims, leadership, auditing, and training. Past roles have included eight years of service at CorVel Corporation, advancing to Vice President, Claims Unit, and 13 years of service with Hartford Financial Services. Movement within the industry has provided her with a broad experience with insurance carriers, third-party administrators, assigned risk programs, and brokers in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In her current role as Director, she is responsible for the Division’s $10 million administrative budget, program payments, and monitoring expenditures while the Division moves forward with modernizing its missions and legacy software system. Pam was born and raised in Kansas City, MO where she graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas with a Bachelors in Business Administration.
William C. Love is a partner with the law firm of Hyde, Love & Overby practicing in the areas of Medical Malpractice, Appellate Law, Workers’ Compensation and General Litigation. He is admitted to practice in Missouri and the U.S. Western District of Missouri, 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and US Supreme Court. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law. He was recognized for appellate advocacy as a recipient of the David J. Dixon Appellate Advocacy Award from the Missouri Bar. He is also a long time High School Football referee.
John Ottenad is an experienced Administrative Law Judge with a demonstrated history of adjudicating workers’ compensation cases and working in the government administration industry. He is skilled in public speaking, nonprofit organizations, event planning, nonprofit management, conflict resolution, and volunteer management. Mr. Ottenad is a strong legal professional with a Doctor of Law (J.D.) from Washington University in St. Louis.
Patrick J. Platter is a partner with the law firm of Neale & Newman, L.L.P. of Springfield, Missouri. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with undergraduate and law degrees. He specializes in workers’ compensation law, local government law, administrative law, and employment law. He has tried hundreds of workers’ compensation claims before the Division of Workers’ Compensation and appeals before the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and appellate courts. His appeals in workers’ compensation claims have spanned a wide range of subject in The Workers’ Compensation Law. Mr. Platter is a certified mediator under Rule 17. He is a member of the Mo Bar Fee Dispute Resolution Committee. He is published in the Journal of the Missouri Bar and speaks to many professional and trade organizations in workers’ compensation and employment law. He is recognized in Super Lawyers® in workers’ compensation law and The Best Lawyers of America© in local government law.
Ben joined the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) in 2004, holding various roles in the Self-Insurance Unit and then moving on to a Senior Research/Data Analyst role which included supporting both the statewide COVID Fusioncell response effort and DWC Modernization Project. He became Deputy Director of DWC in June of 2022. Ben holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Banking and a Minor in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia, as well as industry certifications Professional Scrum Master I – PSM I and Professional Scrum Product Owner I – PSPO I (issued by Scrum.org), Certified Change Practitioner (issued by Prosci, Inc.) and EDI Claims Professional (issued by IAIABC).
Paige earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Webster University, where she and her twin sister were stars on the Women’s Tennis Team, helping it qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2010 (and again in 2012).
Paige then attended the University of Missouri School of Law, where she was an associate managing editor of the Journal of Dispute Resolution.
Since joining Downey Law Group in May 2017, Paige has worked on a wide range of legal and professional ethics matters. These matters include virtually all practice areas of Downey Law Group.
Jared Vessell represents employers and insurers in workers’ compensation cases throughout the state of Missouri. His entire legal career has been dedicated to Missouri workers’ compensation law. His focus has been the representation of Missouri employers and insurers. Jared has appeared before every Missouri workers’ compensation Administrative Law Judge and has tried cases in every division office or venue of the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation. Jared has also argued multiple Missouri workers’ compensation cases in front of the Missouri Court of Appeals on behalf of employers and insurers. Jared offers extensive knowledge of the Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law and knowledge of each individual division office and venue. This benefits Jared’s clients by narrowly tailoring a defense strategy that best fits the individual set of facts and venue. In addition, Jared has given presentations to Missouri employers and insurers from a wide variety of industries. He has also been a speaker for the annual Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation Conference on multiple occasions.
Elizabeth Walters has worked for the State of Missouri Information Technology Service Division (ITSD) for over 7 years. She has an M.S in Information Technology Management, as well as industry certifications Certified Associate Project Manager - CAPM (issued by the Project Management Institute – PMI) and Professional Scrum Master I – PSM I (issued by Scrum.org). She joined the Division of Workers’ Compensation Modernization project in the fall of 2021. In her current role as Project Manager Elizabeth participates in design session, manages tasks across the project, and assists in facilitating adjudication sessions.
Morgan is an Assistant Attorney General and currently serves as the Unit Leader of the Labor Division in the Jefferson City office. Morgan's legal practice focuses on workers' compensation defense of both the State as an employer and the Second Injury Fund.
