Carl Edward Habekost

http://www.bugbeelawyers.com/attorney/carl-e-habekost/

CARL E. HABEKOST joined Bugbee & Conkle, LLP in 2010. Mr. Habekost represents employers in all aspects of safety law, workers’ compensation law, and employment law. Mr. Habekost is a Certified Occupational Safety Specialist and his in-depth training equips him to assist employers with safety issues that arise in connection with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), violations of specific safety requirements (VSSR) and intentional torts. Mr. Habekost has also earned an OSHA 30 hour Certification in General Industry & Construction. He works with employers at every stage of the OSHA process from pre-inspection consultation to citations and informal conferences, and is an expert in dispute resolution. Mr. Habekost successfully defends employers’ interests at unemployment compensation hearings, before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and at all injury and compensation claims under the Ohio workers’ compensation law before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Mr. Habekost is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in Ohio workers’ compensation law. From 1994 to 2005, Mr. Habekost served as a Staff Hearing Officer with the Industrial Commission of Ohio in Toledo, where he decided a broad range of disputed workers’ compensation claim issues including: permanent total disability, temporary total disability, occupational disease and death allowances, VSSR claims, and fraud claims. Mr. Habekost also has been retained in federal and state courts as an expert witness in Ohio workers’ compensation law.

Mr. Habekost has practiced law since 1990 after receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toledo College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Capital University. Prior to 1990, Mr. Habekost worked as a third party administrator representing employers in hearings before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and assisting employers with actuarial and premium matters before the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. He continues to assist state fund employers regarding premium and merit rating issues, and also represents employers in the process of qualification for workers’ compensation self-insurance. Prior to his position as a Staff Hearing Officer at the Industrial Commission, Mr. Habekost represented injured workers in claims before the Bureau and Commission. Since leaving the Industrial Commission, Mr. Habekost has focused his practice on representing employers in the management of their safety, employment and workers’ compensation programs through advocacy and consultation.

Mr. Habekost is married with three children and enjoys reading, physical fitness, and running.