Fort Smith, Arkansas – The Law Office of Jason M. Hatfield, P.A., based in Fort Smith and Springdale, will host the Arkansas Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section continuing legal education program at Mount Magazine on April 10, underscoring the growing focus on medical evidence and capacity evaluations in workplace injury cases.
The Workers’ Compensation Conference, organized by the Arkansas Bar Association, will be held April 9–10 at The Lodge at Mount Magazine in Paris, Arkansas. Jason M. Hatfield, who serves as chair of the association’s Workers’ Compensation Section, is one of the program planners and will present a session titled “Demystifying the Functional Capacity Exam.”
Functional capacity exams, or FCEs, have become a central feature of many workers’ compensation disputes, influencing determinations of impairment, return-to-work decisions and settlement valuations. Hatfield’s presentation, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. April 10, is expected to examine how attorneys, claims professionals and injured workers can better understand the methodology and limits of these exams.
“In many cases, the functional capacity exam ends up carrying outsized weight in how a claim is resolved,” Hatfield said in a prepared statement. “Our goal with this program is to take a closer look at what these exams actually measure, what they do not measure and how lawyers on both sides can approach them with more precision and transparency.”
As section chair, Hatfield has helped guide the Workers’ Compensation Section’s educational programming, which often reflects evolving pressures in the system, from rising medical costs to more complex return-to-work issues. Organizers say the Mount Magazine conference is intended to provide a forum for discussion across the bar, including attorneys who primarily represent injured workers and those who represent employers and insurers.
“The section has long tried to make sure that our programs are useful to lawyers regardless of which side of the docket they are on,” Hatfield said. “Functional capacity exams are a prime example of an area where everyone benefits from better, shared understanding — judges, lawyers, doctors and the workers whose futures are affected by these reports.”
For the Law Office of Jason M. Hatfield, P.A., participation in the program reflects a continued engagement with statewide discussions on workplace safety, medical evaluation and access to benefits in Arkansas’ workers’ compensation system.
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At the Law Office of Jason M. Hatfield, P.A., we are seasoned veterans of the Arkansas legal system. We have families who are proud to live, work, and play in Northwest Arkansas – from Fayetteville to Bentonville.
Law Office of Jason M. Hatfield, P.A.
1025 E Don Tyson Pkwy Springdale, AR 72764
(479) 888-4789
https://www.jhatfieldlaw.com/
Press Contact : Jason Hatfield
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