Agenda / Content Covered

All times are shown in Eastern time

1. Calculating Lost Earnings and Lost Earning Capacity Damages
   10:00 - 10:30, James K. Theisen
   1. Calculating Lost Wages
   2. Assessing an Injury's Impact on Vocational Capacity
   3. Conducting a Vocational Analysis
   4. Handling Self-Employed Plaintiffs
   5. Addressing Limited or No Work History, Irregular Sources of Income etc.
   6. Anticipated Earnings Increases
   7. Using Medical and Vocational Experts
2. Evaluating Medical Expenses and Property Damage
   10:30 - 11:00, Daniel Torrens
   1. Evaluating Past Medical Expenses and Services
   2. Applying the Collateral Source Rule
   3. Quantifying Future Medical Expenses and Life Care Plans
   4. Determining if a Medicare Set Aside is Needed
   5. Assessing Property Loss
   6. How to Address Diminution in Value
3. Quantifying Pain, Suffering and Other Damages
   11:15 - 12:15, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Factors to Consider in Quantifying Pain and Suffering Damages
   2. Finding Evidence: What to Look for, Where to Get It
   3. Medical Records, Charts, Prescriptions and Doctors' Notes
   4. Documenting Psychological Harms
   5. Liability and Apportionment
   6. Authoritative Resources to Use
   7. Using Experts to Quantify Pain and Suffering
   8. Calculating Future Pain and Suffering
   9. Emotional Distress, Loss of Enjoyment and Loss of Consortium Damages
   10. Pursuing Punitive Damages
4. Wrongful Death Cases: How to Value a Life
   12:15 - 12:45, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Determining Life Expectancy
   2. Calculating Lost Income, Benefits and Services
   3. Valuing Loss of Spousal/Parental Consortium
   4. Quantifying Damages for the Loss of a Child
   5. Conscious Pain and Suffering
5. How Insurance Companies Evaluate Claims: Insider Insights
   1:15 - 2:00, Daniel Torrens
   1. Key Factors Adjusters Consider
   2. Investigating the Claim - The Insurance Company's Perspective
   3. Colossus/Software Programs
   4. Claimant and Attorney Factors
   5. Setting of Reserves
   6. Insurance Coverage
   7. Documentation That Makes a Difference in an Adjuster's Evaluation
6. Drafting Demand Letters That Get Results
   2:00 - 3:00, James K. Theisen
   1. Drafting a Notification Letter
   2. Timing Your Demand
   3. Drafting a Demand Letter That Gets Results
   4. Sample Letter Review and Critique
   5. Tips for Settlement Package Documentation and Exhibits
   6. Getting a Higher Reserve
   7. Responding to the Adjuster's Initial Offer
7. Negotiating with Insurance Adjusters 3:15 - 4:00, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Working with Adjusters
   2. Determining the Adjuster's Settlement Authority (and Going Beyond)
   3. Negotiation Styles and Tactics
   4. Addressing Weak Points in Your Case
   5. Getting Past Impasse
   6. Settlement Agreements and Releases
8. Legal Ethics Considerations in Personal Injury
   4:00 - 5:00, Daniel Torrens
   1. Managing Client Expectations
   2. Attorney Fees
   3. Legal Marketing Ethics
   4. Ethical Guidelines for Settlement Negotiations
   5. Duties Owed to Third Parties

Accreditation Details:

ROBERT J. KASIETA is the founder of Kasieta Legal Group, LLC, in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a certified civil pretrial and trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Kasieta practices in civil litigation, with an emphasis on plaintiff personal injury and employment cases, as well as commercial litigation. He has written and taught extensively in the areas of trial practice, personal injury law and insurance law, and is an instructor of trial practice at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr. Kasieta is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and all Wisconsin courts. He is a member of the Dane County Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin, and the American Association for Justice. Mr. Kasieta earned his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from Northern Michigan University and his J.D. degree from Marquette University Law School.

JAMES K. THEISEN is an attorney in the Rockford office of Hupy and Abraham. With more than a decade of experience, he handles personal injury claims. Mr. Theisen earned his J.D. degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he received numerous awards and scholarships, including the Phi Delta Phi Award for outstanding achievement in legal ethics and the Academic Achievement Scholarship. He also served as a student ambassador for Southern Illinois University School of Law and participated in William & Mary School of Law’s summer program in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Theisen is licensed to practice in Illinois’ state and federal courts, as well as the state of Missouri. He also is a member of the Winnebago County and the Illinois State bar associations.

DANIEL TORRENS is an attorney with the Scottsdale law firm of Portmeirion Law Offices, where he practices in the areas of personal injury litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and administrative law. Mr. Torrens lectures nationally in the areas of insurance, personal injury damages, and trial advocacy. He is a faculty member of the Arizona College of Trial Advocacy and a graduate of the State Bar of Arizona's CLE Institute. Mr. Torrens is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and the Colorado Bar Association. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is a judge pro tem with the Maricopa County Superior Court. He earned his B.A. degree from Arizona State University and his J.D. degree from the University of Nebraska.