30 October

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Ex-spouse entitled to my workers comp benefits in my divorce?

Name: Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A.
Price range: $

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

Maybe. It depends on the benefits at issue. I recently had the opportunity to testify in chancery court about whether workers compensation benefits were marital assets to be equally split in the divorce with the spouse. Every case is different, but in this case, the husband had received weekly payments for a period of 4 years, some argued to be before the parties separated and some after. Then well after the separation, the husband received a settlement package worth more than $300,000. The wife wanted her share. My testimony was that the settlement was intended for future lost wages and...

23 October

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Choose my own physician in a workers comp case?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Workers Compensation

Can I choose my own physician in a workers compensation case in Mississippi? YES, BUT be careful. In Mississippi, after you have had a surgery or treated with the same physician for six months, you are stuck and you lose your choice. This is critical because often insurance companies and employers will initially steer you to the doctors they know will be more on their side. They just hope they can keep you there for six months before you find out you could have chosen your own doctor and never had to accept who they recommended for treatment to begin...

16 October

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Is the Nurse Case Manager Allowed in My Doctors Visit

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

In many workers compensation cases, the insurance company (who is not on your side) will hire a nurse case manager to be involved in management of your medical treatment. Most nurse case managers are nice, compassionate, caring and will make an injured person feel good. But one has to ask: are they on the side of the patient or on the side of the insurance company that is paying them? A nurse case manager may be handy in scheduling appointments and keeping information flowing, but what happens when they meet with the doctor in private? Are they trying to maximize...

20 March

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How To Prep For Workers Compensation

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Helpful Information, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

The reality tv show “Doomsday Preppers” is about families who are preparing for the end of the world. Everyday ordinary people who believe that life as we know it will end due to earthquakes, nuclear war or cyber-warfare, or some other disaster. What’s remarkable is that the preppers are prepared for catastrophes that may or may not ever happen. We can learn from the preppers. Maybe we don’t need to prepare for global earthquakes, but the way preppers know exactly what to do in moments of crisis is something positive we can all apply in our own lives. At Chhabra and Gibbs,...

30 October

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I’m hurt but I want to Keep my Job

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

Unfortunately, many people who decide to hire a lawyer in a workers’ compensation case wait until something bad happens. Quite often, people wait until they are terminated before seeking a free consultation. This is a big mistake. Unfortunately, in Mississippi, you cannot sue your employer for wrongful termination that arose out of a workers’ compensation claim. There is some good news though. If you get fired after a workers’ compensation injury, it provides you with valuable evidence to help make your claim for permanent disability but there are certain things that you must do to establish this claim effectively. You...

28 October

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Can I choose my Own Doctor?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

Yes, but hurry. The recent change to the Workers’ Compensation Act takes away the right to choose your own doctor if you treat with the company choice for more than 6 months or if you have a surgery. Many times when people are hurt on the job, they are sent to the company doctor. What people don’t realize is that they are entitled by law to choose their own physician and the company has to pay for it. Companies will often ask you to sign a form saying that you accept the company doctor as your choice. Signing this form is...

25 October

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How many weeks am I entitled to be paid if I get hurt at work?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

There are two types of disability payments, temporary and permanent. The law allows up to 450 weeks of payments total up to the state maximum for the year of the injury. The maximum for an injury occurring in 2013 is $202,104. The benefits generally start as weekly or bi-weekly checks until the temporary period ends and the permanent period begins. The change from temporary to permanent usually occurs when a person reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). This is normally determined by the treating physician when they feel that treatment has reached a plateau (unfortunately this does not always mean complete healing...

21 October

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Workers’ Compensation benefits. How Long and How Much?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

You are entitled to medical benefits immediately in Mississippi. If you miss more than 5 days of work then you are also entitled to compensation benefits while you are off work. You will generally be entitled to 2/3rds of your average weekly wage up to the state maximum for that year. The state maximum for an injury occurring in 2013 is $449.12. Figuring out your average weekly wage is not always an exact science but it should be fair to the worker. It includes wages, overtime, mileage, per diem’s, housing or any other form of compensation averaged over the previous...

18 October

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Hurt at Work and Company Doctor is Not Helping

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

What do I do if I am hurt and the company doctor is not helping? First, you have a right to a choice of physician if you have not already made one, unless you treated with the company choice for more than 6 months or had a surgery. Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-15 requires an employer to furnish any and all medical treatment necessary for recovery of the work related injury. As the injured employee, you have the right to accept the services of a doctor recommended by your employer; or you may exercise your right to select a competent doctor...

18 July

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Grease Spilled Slip on Floor From Employer. Can I Sue?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog Posts, Rogen K. Chhabra, Workers Compensation

Spilled grease on floor from employer. I slipped and fell. I am hurting. Can I sue? No. You have a workers’ compensation claim and a workers compensation claim only. The law says this: § 71-3-9. Exclusiveness of liability The liability of an employer to pay compensation shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability of such employer to the employee, his legal representative, husband or wife, parents, dependents, next-of-kin, and anyone otherwise entitled to recover damages at common law or otherwise from such employer on account of such injury or death, except that if an employer fails to secure payment of...

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Ex-spouse entitled to my workers comp benefits in my divorce?

Choose my own physician in a workers comp case?

Is the Nurse Case Manager Allowed in My Doctors Visit

How To Prep For Workers Compensation

I’m hurt but I want to Keep my Job

Can I choose my Own Doctor?

How many weeks am I entitled to be paid if I get hurt at work?

Workers’ Compensation benefits. How Long and How Much?

Hurt at Work and Company Doctor is Not Helping

Grease Spilled Slip on Floor From Employer. Can I Sue?

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