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Now in Season 5! We are still breaking down complex issues of workers' compensation into bite-sized nuggets, one conversation at a time, with one slight twist. We are finally doing what we set out to do when we started: discuss the nuances of our fascinating system in "Cliff Notes" style summaries.
Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez approach workers' comp conversations from different backgrounds. Still, they share many similar things, such as their love for family and friends, a passion for Latin culture, and good old-fashioned belly laughs. Join them as they chat with their industry friends and colleagues, learn more about their roles, laugh, and have fun on the journey. You might learn something along the way! See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!
136 Episodes
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Send us a text In this episode of Deconstructing Comp, Yvonne and Rafael welcome Gina Jacobs, a defense attorney with Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel LLP, to share what it’s like navigating workers’ compensation from the defense side. Joining from Orlando, Gina brings a candid look at how defense counsel approaches claims, collaborates with employers and carriers, and works toward fair resolutions within Florida’s workers' compensation system. Gina’s journey into law is one of purpose and pa...
Send us a text In this episode of Deconstructing Comp, Yvonne and Rafael talk to Paolo Longo, a claimant attorney based in Florida, to explore the realities of representing injured workers, especially first responders. Paolo shares how his career path led him from the state attorney’s office to becoming a dedicated advocate for employees navigating the workers’ compensation system. He explains the unique legal protections and presumptions that apply to Florida’s firefighters, police officers,...
Send us a text In this episode of Deconstructing Comp, Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez welcome Scynthia Syfrett, Workers’ Compensation Program Manager at SHARP Healthcare in San Diego. Scynthia offers her perspective on managing a large deductible program, with a $1 million per-claim deductible, and the lessons in risk that come with operating at this scale. Our conversation examines how large deductible programs shift a significant portion of the claims exposure back to the employer, pres...
Send us a text Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode are Judge Robert Rassp’s personal opinions and do not reflect the official position of the State of California, Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), or the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). In this episode of Deconstructing Comp, Yvonne and Rafael are joined by Judge Robert Rassp for a straightforward discussion about the fundamental benefits of workers’ compensation and why they a...
Send us a text In this episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk to Dr. Marcos Iglesias, Chief Medical Officer at AF Group. Dr. Iglesias shares his journey from occupational medicine to the executive level and the lessons he’s learned about helping injured workers recover faster and more fully. Drawing on decades of experience, Dr. Iglesias offers candid, practical advice for younger clinicians entering the workers’ compensation space, emphasizing the importance of looking beyond symptoms to understand...
Send us a text In this episode, we talk to Kirsten Kaiser Kus. She is a defense attorney and an equity owner at Downey & Lenkov LLC, leading their Indiana practice. She brings deep experience from both the plaintiff and defense sides of workers’ compensation. She shares how her involvement with CLM and litigation education shaped her expertise and helped grow her professional network. We explore the many stakeholders in the workers’ compensation system. Kirsten discusses distinctions betw...
Send us a text In this episode, we sit down with industry powerhouse Mollie Kallen to explore the often misunderstood role of case managers* in workers’ compensation. With over 30 years of experience leading one of the largest case management companies in the country, Mollie brings unmatched insight into how effective communication, not just clinical expertise, drives better outcomes for injured employees, employers, and claims professionals alike. We talk about what makes a great case manage...
Send us a text In this engaging and insightful episode, co-hosts Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez sit down with legendary industry leader Bill Zachry for a deep-dive into the realities shaping today’s California workers’ compensation system, and other state systems around the country. We explore rising WC costs, why it makes sense to manage and treat psychosocial barriers to recovery early on in the claim — or risk higher costs down the road, and other tips and observances he's made a...
Send us a text Melissa Steger returns to walk us through the building blocks of the unique Texas UT System workers' compensation program. While the program is self-insured, they use a third-party administrator (TPA) in a hybrid system where the TPA staff sit on-site with the UT System staff who oversee the program. Covering 160,000 employees and over 250,000 students, UT System uses a variable rating system and has set up a culture where the individual institutions within the system com...
Send us a text In this episode, Yvonne Guibert catches up with Nelson Gonzalez, Executive Director - Florida, Rehab Without Walls® NeuroSolutions, and they talk about Return to Work. In the workers' compensation system, a return-to-work (RTW) policy or program helps injured or ill employees safely and efficiently return to work. The goal or purpose is to minimize downtime, reduce costs, and maintain employee skills and productivity. Join the conversation to hear Nelson's perspecti...
Send us a text In this episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk to Amy Cooper, Vice President Sales, Carrier Practice at Gallagher Bassett, and founder of Rise®, an amazing insurance community dedicated to empowering early-career professionals, attracting new talent, fostering networking opportunities, and providing access to invaluable resources, as described on the Rise® website. We are so excited to have Amy as our guest. We've been watching the tremendous growth of the Rise® community and th...
Send us a text Recently, Yvonne and Rafael attended the 2025 Florida Bar and WCCP Workers' Compensation Forum, April 9-11, in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, there was no wi-fi available to do live streaming, which is what we planned to do, but we did talk to several folks and conducted short interviews to capture their excitement and thoughts about the conference. Conference interviews include: Judge David Langham, Florida Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims Stacy H...
Send us a text After much anticipation since we started this podcast, Stuart Colburn joins us for a special episode focused on Texas! Stuart, a shareholder at Downs & Stanford, P.C., has over 25 years of experience in workers' compensation. He shares his journey into our industry and expertly navigates the evolution of the Texas Workers' Compensation system since the 1980s. Throughout the conversation, he highlights the unique aspects that make Texas' approach distinctly different ...
Send us a text We like to have fun with our episode titles when we can, hence "Alphabet Soup." Still, despite the fun name, this is an informative episode, particularly for those newer to the workers' compensation industry. Our guest is Jennifer Wolf, president and CEO of MWCIA in Minneapolis, MN. Jennifer expertly navigates through many of the common terms and acronyms we use. This is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive list of terms, so we have included several links for a m...
Send us a text Joe Paduda joins us to explain the basic framework of our workers' compensation system. In this episode, we discuss why our system is so complicated and some of the key features of several states. While Yvonne tries to keep the conversation focused on basics, Ralph and Joe wander on a few tangents, such as discussing the potential of a federalized workers' compensation system. Joe explains why that is not likely to happen and they explore Medicare and Medicaid components....
Send us a text Join us as we kick off Season 5 with Alex Swedlow, President of CWCI and the "History of Workers' Compensation." Alex Swedlow is the President of the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI). Alex is a previous guest on our podcast and we are so happy to welcome him back with his version of a brief "History of Workers' Compensation." As you will see, he is also a Workers' Compensation "nerd", just like Yvonne and Rafael, and he loves to talk about the histo...
Send us a text Here we go with Season 5! We can't believe we are kicking off the fifth season of Deconstructing Comp! Co-hosts Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez are back and ready to welcome a new season of conversations with their guests. This year, we are returning to our original idea of breaking down the workers' compensation system into bite-sized digestible nuggets of information. We call it the "Cliff's Notes" approach to understanding workers' compensation. Pl...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael take some time to relive and review 2024 Season 4 and chat about a few changes they will make for Season 5. Thank you for listening! ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp
Send us a text We are so happy to introduce you to Elise White, President of Change Forward Industries, based in the Atlanta Metro area in Georgia. Join us for an interesting conversation with Elise. You'll learn about her educational background, including that she studied criminal justice and how that led to a career in insurance and claims management. Elise has 16+ years of experience managing claims for some of the biggest insurance companies, including Liberty Mutual, Travelers, a...
Send us a text In this episode, we get to know Evelyn Eury, Director of Program Claims, Occupational Risk/P&C Lead at Crum & Forster—a leading carrier in property and casualty, accident and health, and specialty insurance solutions. Evelyn shares her journey from studying journalism to her current role, where she navigates the intersections of workers' compensation, property & casualty, and other insurance lines. Our conversation covers a variety of topics, including: Saluting Vet...
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