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1977-1979 CBA Rep. 1 (1977-1979)

handle is hein.barjournals/cbarpts1977 and id is 1 raw text is: CINCINNATI BAR ASSHIATION l REPORT Published by the Cincinnati Bar Association January 1977 Sweeping changes affect Workers' Compensation law After 65 years, the Workmen's Compen- sation law is no more. As of January 17, Workers' Compensa- tion goes into effect, with sweeping procedural changes in filing, appealing, and administering claims in the State of Ohio. The biggest change, according to Louis J. Finkelmeier, chairman of the CBA Workers' Compensation Committee, will be in how claims are adjudicated. Up until now, we've had to contend with a two-headed monster of a system that included the Bureau of Workmen's Comp and the Industrial Commission, and it was a matter of figuring out who did what-when. The new law, accord- ing to Finkelmeier, delineates the precise functions of each department. All disputes will now fall under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Commis- sion, he says. The ministerial duties, the paper work, will be handled through the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Some of the 36 major revisions in the law are in response to criticisms and reported abuses in northern Ohio. Finkelmeier maintains that revisions have been brewing for the last few years. Had there been no scandals, there still would have been some changes in the Workmen's Comp law. he says. Some revisions have been needed for years. The goal of some of the rule changes is to limit the possibility of any favoritism, a long-time criticism of the old law. Other rules limit the terms and outline the duties of the administrator. Several sections deal with a comprehensive plan to publish all data, rules and regulations on the policies and procedures of workers' claims. It puts the Bureau in the publishing business, Finkelmeier says. Some lawyers are predicting that the Bureau is simply not equipped with the manpower to publish and process all that is required under the new law. The changes that will most directly af- fect the bar concern the procedural changes in moving a claim through the now even more complex adjudicative system. Initial hearings on applications to determine initial allowance, extent of disability, etc., will be presented to a District Hearing Officer. An appeal of that decision will then be channelled through one of five Regional Boards of Review, with a right of appeal extended to the claimant, the employer, and the State of Ohio. The right of the State to appeal any and all decisions as guardian of the fund adds a new twist to the law. Finkelmeier feels that regardless of the intent of the law, it puts the State on the side of the employer in Workers' Comp claims. How the State will interpret their rights and responsibilities under the guardian of the fund statute remains to be seen. Another twist in the regulations provides that all possible appeals through the Commission must be exhausted before the claim can be taken to court. According to Finkelmeier, this procedure alone will add months, perhaps as much as a year to processing a claim. Many appealed cases now take two years or longer without the new restrictions. Four specific types of claims will be heard directly by newly appointed Indus- trial Commission Staff Hearing Officers; permanent total disability, lump sum payment, lump sum settlement, and safety violations. All parties including the administrator then have an appeal as of right to the three member Industrial Commission in Columbus. After 75 years, Workmen's Comp is no more. The new law, with its juggled semantics (out of deference to working women) and procedural changes has been defined and outlined by Finkelmeier's committee. Please call the CBA office for a copy. In Memoriam Memorial Services will be held at 11:30 a.m., January 20, in Judge Nurre's court room. Services honor the members of the bar who have died over the last year: Joseph A. Roach Raymond J. Kunkel Florence Hornback Charles B. Ginocchio Catherine C. Embshoff Lawrence W. Crowe Robert P. Goldman Preston E. Garrison Clyde M. Abbott E. Craig Lovett Carl H. Woest Elizabeth Pinger Hubert T. Campbell E. Lynch Smith Herbert C. Lykins Joseph A. Rave Calvin Cramer Robert W. Elder Eugene B. Beckman Col. Raymond Wilson, Jr. Robert L. Leroux Richard M. Gay Simon Lazarus, Jr. Harold R. Latimer William J. Graham