PTSD 101: What attorneys should know (2024 Edition)

Dr. Ron Heredia | Good Mood Legal

Dr. Ron Heredia has worked in a forensic psychology practice for 24 years where he has interfaced with workers’ compensation claimants and he has reviewed/critiqued psych reports from AME, QME, IME and treating psych doctors who have submitted substantially flawed reports and/or testimony. Dr. Heredia is also a psychology professor at the college level and has proficient knowledge of psychological testing which is a tool capable of detecting when an applicant is being honest and truthful or is faking during the examination. Dr. Heredia is a faculty member with workcompcollege.com and an ambassador for The Kind Souls Foundation. Dr. Heredia has presented at the following conferences: National Comp, PARMA, Southern California Defense Attorney Association, CAJPA, Workers’ Compensation Forum, California Self-Insurers Association, Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group, Workers’ Compensation & Risk Conference, Association of Northern California Defense Counsel, Hana Brophy Academy, Fresno Industrial Claims Association, Valley Industrial Claims Association, Stander Reubens Thomas Kinsey firm wide seminar, Bradford & Barthel Rating & Analysis Seminar, North Bay Workers’ Comp Association, Mid-West Medical Fraud Symposium.

Karen Muñoz | Dolan Law Firm PC

Karen Munoz is a lawyer and wellness advocate. As a managing partner at Dolan Law, a boutique trial law firm, she is dedicated to serving and representing clients who have suffered traumatic injuries and who have been victims of crime. Her work on cases has led to impactful changes in laws designed to better protect people. Working towards positive change through advocacy whenever possible is a tenet of her practice.

Wellness and mindfulness for lawyers and in the workplace is very important to Karen. She is working to earn her master’s in counseling psychology, and is a certified yoga teacher. Karen was a member of the Illinois Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and has taught pro bono yoga for the Illinois Lawyers Assistance Program. She is vigorously engaged in teaching, writing, and providing workshops that promote lawyer well-being by serving on legal committees and providing wellness support to law firms and legal organizations. Since the start of her career, she has been a contributor on wellness topics for a variety of Law Bulletin publications. She is a firm believer that we can truly serve our client’s best-interests and fulfill our ethical obligations by being healthy and balanced individuals.

Session I – PTSD Diagnosed Correctly and Implications for when PTSD is Incorrectly Diagnosed | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

• Understand the DSM criteria for a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and what reports would constitute substantial medical evidence for an appropriate PTSD diagnosis
• Recognize the major problem-areas in psych medical-legal reports and treatment records that have an unsupported PTSD diagnosis and how to challenge those opinions
• Determine effective cross-examination methods for challenging opinions of psych doctors and what is appropriate information to send to evaluating physicians that aid them in assessing for PTSD

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

Session II – Thriving Through Adversity: Addressing vicarious trauma in the legal practice | 3:10pm – 4:10pm

• Vicarious trauma in the legal profession
• Emotional and mental toll the work can take on lawyers
• Strategies to promote well-being and resilience