Join us for four expert sessions designed to strengthen your organization.
Expect real world examples, practical strategies, and actionable ideas you can implement immediately.
October 21 | The Museum of Flight
No cost for Approach clients and invited guests. Breakfast and lunch included.
If you’d like help registering, please email info@approachms.com and we’d be happy to assist.
This year, we’re tackling four big questions:
1. When a claim gets complicated, do you know what to do?
2. When an accident happens, is your response process ready?
3. Can preventing injuries also improve your bottom line?
4. Are your hiring, onboarding, and leave practices protecting your organization?
Agenda
8:30 am Doors Open and Continental Breakfast Begins
8:50 am Welcome and Introduction
9:00 am Dangerous Claims: How to Spot and Navigate High-Risk Conditions
10:00 am After the Accident: Turning Incidents Into Organizational Learning
11:00 am Lunch (50 minutes)
12:00 pm The Ergonomics Bridge: People & Business Optimization
1:00 pm From Day One to Paid Leave: What Washington Employers Need to Know
2:00 pm Closing
If you’d like help registering, please email info@approachms.com and we’d be happy to assist.
No cost for Approach clients and invited guests. Breakfast and lunch included.
Sessions & Presenters
9:00 am
Dangerous Claims: How to Spot and Navigate High-Risk Conditions
A workers’ compensation claim can start out relatively straightforward—until a new diagnosis or condition is added that significantly changes its complexity, cost, and long-term exposure. Mental health conditions, musculoskeletal issues, spinal degeneration, and other diagnoses can turn a manageable claim into one with serious financial consequences, including the potential for permanent disability or pension exposure.
In this session, workers’ compensation attorney Ryan Miller will explain how to recognize the warning signs that a claim may be heading in the wrong direction. Attendees will learn what to look for when new conditions or diagnoses are introduced, how to evaluate whether they appropriately belong on the claim, and what steps employers can take to respond. The session will also cover practical strategies for working with claims professionals and legal counsel to keep claims focused on legitimate workplace injuries and prevent unnecessary issues from driving up claim costs.
Presenter
Ryan Miller
Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Hall & Miller, P.S.
10:00 am
After the Accident: Turning Incidents Into Organizational Learning
The response to a workplace accident can affect employee recovery, claim outcomes, and organizational learning. While traditional investigations focus on what happened and who was involved, meaningful learning comes from understanding the conditions, influences, and decisions that contributed to the event.
In this interactive session, Ken Domorod will share an alternative approach to post-accident investigations that emphasizes learning over blame, understanding over cause-finding, and organizational learning over corrective actions. Through a series of case studies, attendees will follow incidents from initial response through analysis and identification of improvement opportunities while exploring the organizational, environmental, and operational factors that contributed to the outcome.
Attendees will leave with practical techniques and actionable ideas for strengthening their organization’s ability to learn from incidents, drive meaningful change, and enhance operational performance.
Presenter
Ken Domorod
Director of Safety and Risk Management
IMCO
12:00 pm
The Ergonomics Bridge: People & Business Optimization
Ergonomics is more than injury prevention. It can improve employee performance, support operational goals, and strengthen the financial health of an organization. In this session, attendees will learn how ergonomics connects with operations, physical and mental health, safety, belonging, sustainability, and profitability, while identifying common program gaps and the ergonomic risks that deserve the greatest attention.
The session will also explore how to calculate the true cost of workplace injuries, identify meaningful benefits and metrics, and build a stronger business case for ergonomic improvements. Attendees will work through practical examples, identify key stakeholders within their organizations, and begin developing a 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month action plan for putting ergonomic improvements into practice.
Presenter
Deborah Read
Owner / President
ErgoFit Consulting
1:00 pm
From Day One to Paid Leave: What Washington Employers Need to Know
From hiring a new employee to navigating an unexpected leave of absence, small mistakes can create significant challenges for Washington employers. In this practical session, Suzan Sturholm will break down what employers need to know to reduce risk and get it right from day one. Topics will include background checks, pay transparency and job posting requirements, what employers can legally ask before and after hire, essential policies and procedures, and onboarding dos and don’ts. The session will also cover the safety practices that should be incorporated into every new employee orientation, from hands on training and hazard awareness to reporting unsafe conditions and understanding job specific safe work procedures.
Suzan will also tackle Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program and the often confusing intersection of paid leave, workers’ compensation, FMLA, and other leave requirements. Attendees will learn how these programs can overlap, what employers are responsible for, and common areas where mistakes can occur. They will leave with practical steps they can use to strengthen their hiring, onboarding, safety, and leave management practices.
Presenter
Suzan Sturholm
Owner / President
All Things HR, LLC
Ready to Join Us?
Spend the day learning from industry experts, connecting with fellow employers, and gathering practical ideas you can put to work in your organization.
Wednesday, October 21
8:30 AM to 2:00 PM
The Museum of Flight, Seattle
If you’d like help registering, please email info@approachms.com and we’d be happy to assist. There is no cost for Approach clients and invited guests. Continental breakfast and lunch are included.