TCOEM 2021 Fall Webinar: Workers’ Compensation amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Snyder was appointed Medical Director for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in January, 2014 after 37 years of Orthopaedic private practice.A graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, he completed two years of general surgery training at the University of Pittsburgh before coming to Nashville to complete a residency in Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University.Special activities have included Associate Team Physician for Vanderbilt and Tennessee State University Athletics, Volunteer Orthopaedic Consultant at Fort Campbell during Desert Storm, Orthopaedics Overseas (an affiliate of Health Volunteers Overseas) in Peru, church related mission activities in Honduras, and the 1996 Hospital Strategic Planning Symposium in Prague, Czech Republic. He served as President of the Medical Staff at St. Thomas Hospital from 1997 through 1999, and on the Medical Care Cost Containment Committee for Workers’ Compensation from its inception in 1992 until 2014.Dr. Snyder has presented lectures for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Arthroscopy Society of Peru, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, the National Association of Workers Compensation Judges, and in Tennessee: the Tennessee Chiropractic Association, the Tennessee Orthopaedic Society, the Tennessee College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Tennessee Pain Society, the Tennessee Neurosurgical Society, the Tennessee Medical Society, and Tennessee Attorney Memo. He has made numerous other presentations to attorneys, case managers, employers, adjusters and insurers. He is the course director for the Bureau’s physician education conference.His activities with the Bureau include Medical Treatment Guidelines, the Drug Formulary, Utilization Review, Case Management, Fee Schedules and physician/provider communications.

Dr. Talmage is a graduate of the Ohio State University for both undergraduate school and medical school (1972). His orthopedic surgery training was in the United States Army.He is Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery and was board certified in Emergency Medicine 1987-2017.He retired from clinical practice in April 2016 after 36 years as a treating physician in Cookeville.He is a frequent contributor to multiple American Medical Association publications.He does peer review of article submissions for 3orthopaedic journals.In 2013 he was Acting Medical Director for the State of Tennessee Division of Worker’s Compensation.In 2014 he became the Assistant Medical Director for the Division.He has taught in Physician CME courses for IAIME, AAOS, ACOEM, SEAK, and the TN BWC. Since 1992 he has given 931 lectures to physician audiences

In 1994, Robert Walker graduated from Western Kentucky University, summa cum laude, with a degree in Government. He then earned his Juris Doctor degree by graduating from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, magna cum laude, in 1997.After several years with a large firm, Rob founded the law firm of Walker, Vaughn and Wallace, PLC, in 2001. For nearly the next two decades, Walker represented injured workers throughout the commonwealth.In July 2020, Rob was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Workers Claims in the Kentucky Labor Cabinet. He remained in that position until being appointed Interim Commissioner in May 2021.Rob resides in Louisville with his wife and two sons.

Nathan Fraley is the Corporate Claims Manager at The Kroger Co., managing Kroger’s workers’ compensation program, including oversight of all self-insurance administration, TPA management, and vendor management for workers’ compensation. He shares responsibility for the evolving Risk Management functions, including traditional risk management components such as insurance procurement, P&C claims management, as well as emerging and non-traditional components in the business insurance arena.Nathan is a graduate of Morehead State University, with Bachelors degrees in both Government and Philosophy. After 5 years in accounting, he entered the Property & Casualty insurance industry in 2004 with Roto-Rooter Services Company, spending seven years as their Risk Manager. He joined Kroger in 2009 in claims management.Nathan is involved in multiple workers’ compensation groups across the country, and is the Chairperson for the Kentucky Individual Self-Insurers’ Guaranty Fund.