It was dueling lawyers at the annual Workers' Compensation Educational Conference in Orlando in mid-August. The packed session was moderated by Attorney-State Mediator Stuart S. Suskin of Gainesville, Fla., who offered four Hot Topics for discussion: fraud, major contributing cause, permanent total disability, and Florida's Emma Murray v. Mariner Health/Ace USA case. It was — not surprisingly — the Murray case that got the most play and prompted some of the best quotes.

The panel members facing off were:

• Defense Attorney Susan N. Marks of McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope & Weaver, P.A., in Pensacola, Fla.
• Defense Attorney Dawn R. Traverso of Eraclides, Johns, Hall, Gelman, Johannessen & Goodman, LLP, in Aventura, Fla.
• Claimant Attorney Michael D. Rudolph of Harris, Guidi, Rosner, Dunlap, Rudolph, P.A., in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Claimant Attorney Glen D. Wieland of Wieland, Hilado & DeLattre in Orlando

Suskin posed the question, "Is Emma Murray dead?" encouraging the panel members to freely weigh in — and they did.

"First time I ever saw a workers' comp bill swapped for a cigarette tax," Wieland declared, referring to lawmakers' actions during the 2009 legislative session. In Murray, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in October 2008 in favor of the claimant and found that a judge can determine reasonable hourly attorney fees for claimant attorneys. However, during its Spring 2009 session, the Legislature deleted the word "reasonable" from the statute. Suskin asked if panel members thought there now was an argument that the statute is unconstitutional on its face.