Agenda / Content Covered

1. OVERVIEW OF LAWS AND CONCEPTS
   9:00 - 9:45, Gregory M. Taylor
   
   1. State and Federal Workers' Compensation Laws
      1. Scope of Employer Liability
      2. Who is Covered? - Employees, Independent Contractors, Subcontractors
      3. Compensability? - Injuries and Occupational Diseases
      4. Affirmative Defenses
      5. Extraterritorial Application of State Laws
      6. Non-Occupational Disability Benefit Laws
   2. Types of Benefits and Claims
   3. Statute and Case Law Update
2. PREPARING YOUR CASE: PROCEDURES FOR CLAIMANT AND DEFENDANT
   9:45 - 10:15, Charles A. Blades, Valerie A. Foote, Lindsey E. Mills, Kent M. Smith, Britney J. Steele and Gregory M. Taylor
   
   1. Claimant's Attorney: Intake, Investigation and Case Preparation
   2. Defendants' Attorney: Receipt of the File, Investigation and Case Preparation
3. DETERMINING THE VALUE OF THE CLAIM
   10:30 - 11:30, Lindsey E. Mills
   
4. MEDICAL ISSUES DURING THE CLAIM
   11:30 - 12:15, Kent M. Smith
   
   1. Medical Discovery Issues
   2. Choice of Doctor
   3. Second Medical Opinions
   4. Medical Evaluation Issues and IMEs
   5. Vocational Rehabilitation and Functional Capacity Evaluations
5. MEDICARE SET-ASIDES, MEDICAID LIENS AND OTHER SETTLEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
   1:15 - 2:00, Valerie A. Foote
   
   1. Mediation Strategy
   2. Liens
   3. Medicaid Liens - What You Need to Know Now
   4. Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) Considerations and Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA) Requirements
   5. Dual Medicare and Medicaid Eligibility Settlements
6. HEARINGS: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
   2:00 - 2:45, Britney J. Steele
   
7. RECOVERY FROM THIRD PARTIES
   3:00 - 3:30, Britney J. Steele
   
8. ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS
   3:30 - 4:30, Charles A. Blades
   
   1. Rules of Professional Conduct
   2. Communication with Other Parties
   3. Attorneys' Fees
   4. Lawyer Liability

CHARLES A. BLADES is an attorney with Smith, Mills & Schrock Law in the workers' compensation, civil trial practice and employment law practice groups. He earned his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College and his J.D. degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. Mr. Blades is a co-author of The Iowa Tort Guide, a reference book that is widely used and recognized by practicing lawyers and insurance professionals in Iowa as the primary resource on all aspects of tort laws in Iowa. He is a member of the Iowa State and Linn County bar associations. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern and Southern districts of Iowa. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Iowa Association of Workers' Compensation Lawyers.

VALERIE A. FOOTE is a partner attorney at Smith, Mills & Schrock Law, where she actively defends employers and insurance companies in workers' compensation cases. Ms. Foote joined the firm in 2013 and practices out of the West Des Moines office. Ms. Foote earned her B.A. degree from Tusculum University and her J.D. degree from Drake University Law School. She is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association.

LINDSEY E. MILLS is a shareholder with Smith, Mills & Schrock Law. She is currently serving as vice president on the firm's Board of Directors and is a member of the firm's workers' compensation and employment law practice groups. Ms. Mills represents employers in the defense of workers' compensation cases, employment matters, and civil litigation. She is a council member of the Workers' Compensation Section of the Iowa State Bar Association, and a member of the Blackstone Inn of Court. Ms. Mills is a current member of the American Bar Association's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and a past chair of its Workers' Compensation and Employers' Liability Committee. She is a frequent lecturer on issues involving workers' compensation and employment law. Ms. Mills is licensed to practice in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. She earned her B.A. degree from Iowa State University and her J.D. degree from Drake University Law School.

KENT M. SMITH is a shareholder with Smith, Mills & Schrock Law, where he is currently serving as president on the firm's Board of Directors and is a co-chair of the firm‘s workers' compensation practice group. Mr. Smith's areas of practice include workers' compensation, employment law, civil trial practice, criminal defense, and legal mediation. He is a member of the Iowa Defense Counsel Association; Iowa Association of Workers‘ Compensation Lawyers; Iowa Self-Insured Association; National Council of Self-Insurers; and the American, Iowa State, and Nebraska State bar associations. Mr. Smith is licensed to practice law in Iowa and Nebraska. He earned his B.A. degree from Central College and his J.D. degree from Drake University Law School.

BRITNEY J. STEELE is an associate attorney with Smith, Mills & Schrock Law. Ms. Steele earned her B.A. degree from Simpson College and her J.D. degree from Drake University School of Law. During law school at Drake University, she was a student attorney for three semesters with the Drake Legal Clinic and practiced in the following areas of law, civil litigation, family law, elder law, and criminal defense. Ms. Steele joined Smith, Mills & Schrock Law as a summer law clerk and has since transitioned into an attorney role after being admitted to the Iowa bar. She is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Ms. Steele is a certified tax preparer for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and serves on the Board of Directors of Animal Lifeline of Iowa

GREGORY M. TAYLOR is an associate attorney at Cutler Law Firm, P.C., and has been practicing in the area of workers' compensation since he graduated from law school at the University of Iowa with distinction in 2012. In law school, he worked as a research assistant drafting and editing criminal and health law casebooks. Mr. Taylor has also clerked for the Advocacy Center in New Orleans serving people with disabilities, and clerked for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Iowa.