(INDIANAPOLIS) — Worker’s compensation has long been an important issue for Hoosier companies, and it’s also an increasingly costly one. Leaders of businesses big and small can learn strategies to handle claims and keep premiums low at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Indiana Worker’s Compensation Conference. The event takes place Aug. 24 at the Ritz Charles in Carmel.
The conference – which is presented by statewide law firm Kightlinger & Gray LLP – is ideal for a variety of business leaders, including human resource and personnel directors, safety coordinators, risk managers, benefit administrators and health care providers.
Aubrey Noltemeyer, senior partner at Kightlinger & Gray LLP, says the featured speakers will tackle various issues and “hot topics.”
“There really is something new that is always coming up,” she stresses. “Now we have COVID. People are very hungry for information about whether or not COVID is going to be a compensable injury – whether it would be considered an injury that would trigger Indiana worker’s compensation being owed.”
Between medical expenses, wages and the challenges of reduced productivity, the average cost of a work-related injury is roughly $38,000, according to national data. On top of that, those injuries will increase a business’s rates – and could have a dramatic impact on a company’s bottom line.
There will be four main topics covered at the conference.
Dr. Robert C. Gregori, president and founder of The Objective Group of Companies, will lead the discussion about the obvious one still on everybody’s mind: COVID.
Workplace violence and its compensability will be another of the areas highlighted at the event.
“Whether at a manufacturing plant, distribution facility or retail mall, workplace violence is happening more frequently and has become an increasingly important issue,” emphasizes Noltemeyer.
Separately, Dr. Gregory T. Hale, a psychologist, will lead a discussion on understanding psychological evidence in worker’s compensation cases – which is becoming more of a necessity.
“It’s easy to dismiss these types of claims because it’s not something we see as frequently, and there isn’t a corresponding physical injury. We want to educate employers on what to look for when they are investigating a claim of a psychological injury and make a careful, informed decision as to whether the alleged injury should be compensable,” Noltemeyer states.
Avoiding general employment litigation while managing worker’s compensation rounds out the four key discussion items.
“The Indiana Chamber has long been a conduit for employers to find experts for their (worker’s compensation) cases,” Noltemeyer says. “Dr. Gregori and Dr. Hale are two really great resources for employers, and access to these very specific experts is an added benefit to attending this event.”
To add a little fun to the conference, there will be a bingo game to learn worker’s comp jargon, which will be played through an app. And of course, there will be prizes for the winners.
In addition to presenting sponsor Kightlinger & Gray, event sponsors are Indiana Spine Group, Paradigm and Workers Comp Management Systems.
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The Indiana Chamber partners with 25,000 members and investors – representing over four million Hoosiers – to achieve the mission of “cultivating a world-class environment which provides economic opportunity and prosperity.”
