by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Riddled with fluctuations almost as cyclical as the current clothing fashions, the attorneys who specialize in workers compensation law must be ever diligent to the latest trends in the profession. The Workers Compensation Law Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association has stepped in to help disseminate the newest information to these lawyers.
Kristy Gavin, a partner at Gobelman, Love, Gavin, Blazs and Mathis and co-chair of the section, puts it like this: “Every three to four years there is a complete overhaul of the system. For background, the 1978 statute was overhauled in 1986, which was overhauled in 1990, then overhauled in 1994 and just again in 2000. The applicant benefits are based on the statute in effect at the time of the injury. But if it’s a procedural change, the new law may apply to the old law case.”
Basically, attorneys in this field work to recover lost wages and medical benefits for injured workers from their employers and the health insurance company involved.
“Because of the very statute-intensive nature, the section keeps members posted on statutes and procedural changes driven by the Supreme Court,” said Gavin.
The latest upheaval came last year when the authority for the Division of Workers Compensation was relegated from the Department of Insurance to the Department of Administrative Hearings. The new department in charge is now seeking to promulgate rules and procedures once decided by the Supreme Court, further adding to the confusion.
“The section provides a forum to meet other practitioners and ascertain how we need to change the way we practice,” she said. “With the changes in statutes and not knowing how they will be interpreted regarding its application to workers is the biggest difficulty.”
When judges wish to meet with section members to discuss the impact of changes in the rules, the section organizes these meetings.
With approximately 50 members in the JBA’s Workers Compensation Law Section and the fruit basket turnover legislation they have to constantly wrestle with, education is a top priority with the group. The section will not be able to hold another CLE seminar until spring, though, because the shift in departmental protocol has left the practice area in flux.
What they do have on the calendar is participation in a charitable program, Friends of 440, which originated out of the Miami chapter. Named after Statute 440, which deals with workers compensation law, the organization offers college scholarships to the children of injured workers who would otherwise not be able to attend school because of their parents’ condition. The Jacksonville chapter holds fundraisers for the Friends of 440 twice a year in informal, social settings. Outside of aiding a good cause, the soirees also facilitate networks between attorneys.
“Instead of filing, a lawyer may pick up the phone and ask what they [opposing counsel] think can be done to avoid litigation and work things out amicably,” said Gavin.