[TheForge] ABANA Conference work (long)

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

warning this is a long reply to dave mudge.

comments intermixed below:


On Thu, 7 Oct 2004, Dave Mudge wrote:

dave_m>
dave_m> Terry you should direct your questions here:
dave_m> Insurance Committee
dave_m> This committee is responsible for obtaining the best coverage for the 
dave_m> organization and monitoring the insurance needs of ABANA.
dave_m> Chairman: Clare Yellin
dave_m> Members: Bob Jacoby, ABANA Executive Board
dave_m> Clare Yellin (2004)
dave_m> 2nd Vice-President
dave_m> 721 Moore Ave
dave_m> Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
dave_m> H/W: (610) 527-2334
dave_m> FAX: (610) 527-2412
dave_m> clareyellin at abana.org 
dave_m> 
dave_m> Do you really think that when putting on a 3/4 million dollar event
dave_m> that we would forget about insurance? or written contracts?
dave_m> dave m
dave_m> 

insurance coverage is only as good as the company backing the policy. i
know this fact all to well. if anyone would have asked me on 25 nov 1996
if i was concerned about accidents and the consulting company's
workman's compensation insurance policy i would not have had an answer.
on 26 nov 1996, that all changed. close to the end of the work day the
accident occurred. that is when the many lessons in reality started.
over the next 8 yrs i would amass over 30,000 legal documents detailing
the nature of the consulting company's workman's compensation insurance
policy. i would follow the money trail to bermuda and the parent company
of legion insurance of pennsylvania, villanova insurance of pennsylvania,
and legion indemnity of illinois. we would endure nearly 2.5 years of
'stays of litigation' issued by the courts of the commonwealth of
pennsylvania and honored by the state of illinois, while the courts of
the commonwealth of pennsylvania sorted out the legal and financial
status of the above mentioned insurance companies. when the courts of
the commonwealth of pennsylvania finally placed legion and villanova
insurance companies of pennsylvania into liquidation and the state of
illinois department of insurance placed legion indemnity of illinois
into liquidation and additional 120 day 'stay of litigation' kicked in
under illinois state law. the entire illinois workman's compensation
accident claim has now kicked to the state of illinois guarantee trust
fund, which in turn is suing the consulting company to recover any and
all settlements. 

even now that we have finally gotten to the point of a trial the
employment aggreement between the consulting company and i, the contract
between the consulting company and the client to whom i was actually
consulting have all been subject to the interpretation of lawyers and
the courts. even with contracts and employment aggrements the state of
illinois labor law has provisions which can and do override the
contracts and contract law.

whether or not a written contract is any good or not is left up to the
lawyers and the courts to determine.

given that the company to whom i was consulting is worth more than a
couple billion usd and the consulting company is worth more than a
couple million usd and the accident occrred while building a cellular
telephone laboratory worth more than $5,000,000 usd an event such as the
abana conference costing 3/4 of a million is ripe for important issues
and items to be overlooked and/or insurance policies to purchased on
'the cheap' with no really idea what coverage there is or is not.

having talked with many people involved in personal injury and work
related accidents over the past 8 years being a 'comped' person for an
abana conference is a legal nightmare waiting to happen. i wish that on
no one even abana.

my personal advice to abana conference persons would be to hire
local companies in the vicinity of the abana conference and in
doing so perform 'due diligence' in chosing the local companies
to perform the work. do not seek or offer 'comped' positions.

to those who would accept a 'comped' position i would suggest that
they seek legal advice so that they have a better understanding of
the financial risks and liabilities they are assuming.

finally, i have become a firm  believer in the old adage:

"remember, no good deed shall be allowed to go unpunished."

From: "terry l. ridder"
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] ABANA Conference work
terrylr> 
terrylr> 
terrylr> > hello;
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > i have numerous questions concerning these 'comped' positions.
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > 0. is the person working the 'comped' position considered an employee
terrylr> > of abana (w2) or an individual contractor ( 1099 )? if not an employee
terrylr> > of abana are they considered an employee of the abana conference or an
terrylr> > individual contractor?
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > 1. is the person working the 'comped' position covered by abana's
terrylr> > workman's compensation insurance carrier or the abana conference's
terrylr> > workman's compensation insurance carrier? basically, who covers the
terrylr> > 'comped' person's medical bills in the event that injuries are sustained
terrylr> > while performing 'comped' duties?
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > 2. is this a verbal contract or a written contract?
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > depending on the answers to the above questions working an abana
terrylr> > conference in a 'comped' position may actually be a really bad idea for
terrylr> > the 'comped' person. accidents do happen and the financial impact of
terrylr> > such such injuries can and do have wide ranging effects. personal
terrylr> > finances can and will be thrown into turmoil and assets will dwindle
terrylr> > to next to nothing.
terrylr> > 
terrylr> > so my personal suggestion to anyone considering working a 'comped'
terrylr> > position at any conference put on by any organization is to consider the
terrylr> > legal and financial ramification to doing so. do not let personal
terrylr> > desires/wants/needs cloud your judgement and in doing so place your
terrylr> > family and you at considerable risk. finally, get everything in writing
terrylr> > do not rely on a verbal contract. ask for a copy of the workman's
terrylr> > compensation insurance policy. if there is no workman's compensation
terrylr> > insurance policy my personal advice would be to run run away fast.
terrylr> > 

<snip>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>