On the Pulse...Other Notable Achievements

Michele Punturi (Philadelphia, PA) was awarded the 2008 Workers' Compensation Award of Excellence by the Pennsylvania Self-Insurers' Association for her initiative, creativity, and distinguished strategy for the performance of workers' compensation in Pennsylvania. Additionally, our firm was acknowledged by the PSIA for its continued effort to provide distinguished service to the workers' compensation community and to members of PSIA.

Andrew Davitt (Philadelphia, PA) has been appointed as a new member for the Pennsylvania Securities Commission Attorney Advisory Committee. The Attorney Advisory Committee's function is two-fold in that it reviews proposals for changes to the Securities Act of 1972 and regulations recommended by the Pennsylvania Securities Commission and staff. The Committee also generates recommendations for changes to the securities statutes and regulations.

Andrew Schwartz (Philadelphia, PA) recently served as "faculty" at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in the course A Primer on Collecting & Enforcement Judgments in Pennsylvania, covering collection issues under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Brigid Alford (Harrisburg, PA) served as a faculty member on the Mechanicsburg and Pittsburgh panels for the recent PBI Trial Tactics, Tips & Techniques seminar, speaking on "Direct and Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses."

Howard Mankoff (Roseland, NJ) recently presented a sexual harassment seminar to the department heads of Roselle, New Jersey, and was invited back to present a similar seminar to the police department.

John Swartz (Harrisburg, PA) recently presented a seminar offered by Sterling Educational Services on Fundamentals in Workers' Compensation to attorneys and adjusters in the Central Pennsylvania area.

Kevin FitzPatrick (King of Prussia, PA) was a presenter at the bi-annual Medical Alumni Symposium held at The University of Scranton on March 28, 2009. Kevin's topic pertained to current legal trends and an update on tort reform in Pennsylvania, as well as potential civil implications arising from the new Medicare requirements under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The symposium was well attended by approximately 80 physician alumni and current medical students of the University.

Matthew Keris (Scranton, PA) recently delivered two educational seminars on the developing topic of electronic discovery in medical professional liability claims. He was asked to prepare and present a nursing in-service education program for Mercy Hospital, Scranton, regarding electronic medical record documentation and anticipated litigation issues. As a part of his seminar, he provided a presentation and conducted mock depositions of nurses utilizing the electronic record regarding a hypothetical patient who developed pressure sores during a hospital admission. Matt also was asked to speak on this topic to several regional hospital risk managers/administrators and professional liability claims managers at the regular meeting of the Central Pennsylvania Association of Health Risk Managers in Harrisburg.

Robin Snyder (Scranton, PA) and Sunshine Miller (Harrisburg, PA) participated in a seminar offered by Sterling Educational Services on Employment Law. Robin spoke about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2008 Amendments, and Sunshine talked about the Family Medical Leave Act.

Robin Snyder, Vicky Scanlon and Matthew Keris (Scranton, PA) co-presented an all-day continuing education conference to the Northeast Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Senior Services in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Risk managers and administrators of several facilities attended the conference, which included sessions on Peer Review, Charting Pitfalls/Issues and Anticipated Legal Issues Pertaining to the Electronic Medical Record.

Samantha Kane (Philadelphia, PA) spoke at the Institute for Paralegal Education seminar The Paralegal's Guide to Deciphering Medical Records. She spoke regarding "How to Effectively Retrieve the Records You Need and the Case Reviews and Discussion" session.

Steven Polansky (Cherry Hill, NJ) presented the workshop Claim File Notes - Anatomy of a Claim File Gone Bad for over 100 attendees at the Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB) conference in Seattle. The annual claims conference is one of the largest programs for claims adjusters and supervisors.

Thomas Lent and Jay Habas (Erie, PA) gave a presentation on Medical Records Law to a group of risk managers, medical records managers, healthcare administrators, and attorneys. The presentation focused on electronic medical records and changes in HIPAA requirements under the Stimulus Plan, along with special circumstances in record keeping.

Timothy Rau (Philadelphia, PA) co-chaired the Pennsylvania asbestos litigation conference hosted by Harris Martin Publishing at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. James Gicking (Philadelphia, PA) presented at the conference on the issue of the Restatement (Third) of Torts and the effect its adoption would have on asbestos litigation.

Wilhelm Dingler (Philadelphia, PA) recently had an article published, "Remember Risk Management with Adoption of New Work Paradigms," in the Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Vol. 80, No. 1, Spring 2009, p. 16.

Defense Digest, Vol. 15, No. 3, September 2009