The New South Wales Branch of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Psychiatry, Psychology and the Law and the Law Society of New South Wales invite you to attend an evening seminar on
Assessment of permanent psychiatric impairment: A conundrum.
Where: Law Society of NSW, 170 Phillip St. Sydney.
When: Thursday 23rd March 6 - 8 pm. (Opens 5.30)
Cost: $15.00 (tickets at the door)/ Full time students free with presentation of student card.
Considerable controversy has emerged within the legal and mental health professions over the definition and assessment of impairment in compensation matters. While, in principle, cut-off points for impairment may prejudice the claims of some injured parties, the use of some sort of assessment tool was imposed by legislators to limit the cost of minor claims, to focus Workers Comp claims on rehabilitation and to limit lump sum payouts. The Psychiatric Impairment Rating Scale (PIRS) was established to address what had been seen by some as arbitrary determinations. A distinguished group of panelists will address the pros and cons of the PIRS, as well as actuarial and clinical approaches to the assessment of impairment. A keynote outlining international trends will be delivered by Professor Katherine Lippel, and local representatives from the Legal, Psychiatric and Psychology professions will comment on the issues of assessment and policy direction for compensation in New South Wales. The seminar will conclude with a panel discussion and time for questions from the floor. The seminar will be of value to legal and mental health professionals.
Your Convener:
Dr Stephen Allnutt; Clinical Director of the NSW Community Forensic Mental Health Services; and a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the UNSW.
About the Presenters:
Professor Katherine Lippel holds the Canada Research Chair on Occupational Health and Safety Law at the University of Ottawa. Professor Lippel’s interdisciplinary analyses on work-related injury prevention and compensation regimes under occupational health and safety legislation specializing in worker's compensation. Her research focuses not only on the legislation, the rules and enforcement of which can be described by means of a conventional legal approach, but also on its impact on people’s health and in particular on workers’ well-being, prevention of and compensation for work-related injuries, and prevention of disabilities resulting from them in Quebec, Canada and other countries.
Ross Colquhoun is a consulting psychologist in private clinical practice. He is an Accredited MAA Assessor, having completed the course in using the Psychiatric Impairment Rating Scale in 2002 and writes Medico-legal reports incorporating the PIRS. He is Deputy Chair of the Sydney Branch of the Australian Psychological Society, a member of the Australian College of Clinical Psychologists, The Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs among other professional associations.
Mark Whelan is a Principal Lawyer at Slater & Gordon, Sydney practising in
Workers Compensation Law. He has been an Accredited Specialist in Personal
Injury Law since 1994 and holds a Master of Laws. He is a part time
Clinical Lecturer in Law at the University of Newcastle. Mark is on the
Arbitration panel in the District Court of NSW and has practised in Personal
Injury Law since his admission in 1987.
Dr Michael Epstein has been a psychiatrist since 1975 and a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists since 1976. He has an extensive clinical practice which continues. He is a co-author of the Clinical Guidelines to the Rating of Psychiatric Impairment and he has trained Victorian psychiatrists in the use of these Guidelines. He has been a consultant to the Western Australian Government and a consultant to the Commonwealth Government on Mental Health Service Issues. He is a member of the Victorian WorkCover Authority Medical Panel and the Victorian Department of Justice Forensic Leave Panel and is on the AMA/VWA/TAC Committee. He has a particular interest in stress-related illness.