Webinar - 6/17/2024 Summer Medical Seminar

Dr. Vamsy Bobba is a fellowship-trained spine surgeon with specialized experience in treating various conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. Dr. Bobba’s areas of specialization encompass conditions such as spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, herniated discs and spinal trauma. He is adept in a range of surgical techniques, including minimally invasive, robotic, and revision surgeries. Firmly committed to providing patient-centric care, Dr. Bobba devises individualized treatment strategies aimed at optimizing each patient’s quality of life through both surgical and conservative approaches. 

Outside of his clinical pursuits, Dr. Bobba enjoys spending time with his wife and dog. They enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling.  

Rafael Gonzalez graduated from University of Florida then earned his Jurisprudence Doctorate degree from the Florida State University. During law school, Rafael interned for Rep. Lincoln Diaz Balart at the Florida House of Representatives. He also clerked for Judge Charles McClure at the Florida 2nd Circuit Court, Judge James Joanas at the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal, and Justice Gerald Kogan at the Florida Supreme Court. 

After graduating from FSU, Rafael practiced auto, liability, no-fault, social security disability, and workers’ compensation law at Barrs Williamson. He then served as corporate counsel for FCCI Insurance, as Chief Executive Officer of The Center for Lien Resolution, The Center for Medicare Set Aside Administration and The Center for Special Needs Trusts Administration, as Vice President of Medicare & Medicaid Compliance for Gould & Lamb, as Vice President of Strategic Solutions at PMSI/Helios, as President of Flagship Services Group, and as President of UnitedHealth/Optum Settlement Solutions. Rafael is currently a partner in Cattie & Gonzalez, PLLC, focusing on Medicare and Medicaid secondary payer law and compliance.

Always interested in sharing his knowledge and expertise with those around him, over the last 35 years, Rafael has published over 300 articles, book chapters, and books, including his series on Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability, and Medicare Set Asides, and has lectured over 600 times on a national basis on the history, substance, and legislative composition of the US workers’ compensation system, the federal social security disability system, and the interplay between Medicare and Medicaid, including the Medicare Secondary Payer Act and Affordable Care Act’s requirements affecting both. (Read the full bio)

Dr. Leon S. Benson began his medical career in Evanston, Illinois, the town where he was born and raised. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, he continued as a chemistry major at Northwestern University. In 1981, he began medical school at Northwestern University in downtown Chicago and completed a five-year residency in orthopedic surgery at Northwestern before pursuing an extra year of specialty training in hand and upper extremity surgery at Harvard. Dr. Benson returned from Boston in 1991 and has practiced with the same orthopedic group ever since. He is currently Chief of the Division of Hand Surgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem, which is a four-hospital system in the northern Chicago suburbs and includes a physician staff of over 2,400 doctors. NorthShore also serves as the northern teaching campus for the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Benson holds an appointment as senior attending within the NorthShore system and is currently president of the NorthShore Professional Staff.

He has additionally been active in clinical research relating to hand surgery. His scholarly production includes more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals, a single-authored text on teaching orthopedics, ten book chapters, and more than 40 scientific presentations to national audiences. Dr. Benson also serves as an associate editor for The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume), and he writes a regular column for a national hand surgery newsletter. Dr. Benson does academic consulting work for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery by writing questions for the national certifying examination in orthopedic surgery as well as for the certifying examination in hand surgery. He currently holds the rank of Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Benson spends much of his free time training his Portuguese Water Dog, Cruise. In addition to training his owner, Cruise participates in the sports of dog agility, obedience, water work, lure-coursing, and also works in the clinical setting as a certified therapy dog.

Dr. Nitin Goyal isa fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in care of the hand andupper extremity. Dr. Goyal believes in empowering patients through education to makethoughtful treatment decisions that will optimize return to daily activities,hobbies, and work. Treatment options typically include observation,occupational therapy, bracing, injections, or surgery, and Dr. Goyal’sgoal is to work with patients to select the least invasive option that providesthe most reliable outcomes.

Originally from Naperville, Dr. Goyal graduatedwith honors (Summa Cum Laude) in Economics from Northwestern University, wherehe was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. He received his medicaldegree with honors (Cum Laude) from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.Dr. Goyal completed his orthopedic surgery residency at RushUniversity Medical Center, where he received the Surgical Specialty Intern ofthe Year Award and was selected to attend the AOA Resident Leadership Forum. Afterthat, Dr. Goyal completed his hand and upper extremity fellowship at theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Tyler Berberich devotes his entire legal practice to representing and protecting the rights of injured workers in front of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Tyler grew up in southern Michigan, later attending Michigan State University. After college, he moved to Illinois to attend law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Following graduation, Tyler began his legal career practicing workers’ compensation law in Springfield, Illinois before moving back to Chicago to join Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Ltd.