25 January

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My Workers Comp deposition. What should I expect?

in Amanda G. Fritz, Blog, Workers Compensation

In most workers’ compensation cases where the Petition to Controvert has been filed, the Employer and its Insurance Carrier will ask to take the deposition of the Claimant (the injured worker). Depositions are simply a question and answer session that take place while sitting around a table in your attorney’s office. They are usually very relaxed and conversational, but they are under oath, so the truth is paramount. The attorney for the Employer and Carrier just needs to find out certain information relevant to your case so that they can report back to the insurance adjuster. It is one thing...

08 December

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What should I ask my lawyer in the initial consultation?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, Helpful Information, Teresa Harvey

With lawyers asking many of the questions during the initial consultation, clients sometimes forget to ask questions that would like to know about the lawyer or upcoming case. Here's a list of questions you should ask your lawyer: 1-Will you always be honest with me about my case and not just tell me what I want to hear? Honesty between the lawyer and client is imperative. A lawyer needs to be able to trust his client and the client needs to know he can trust the lawyer 2-How long will it take my case to settle or reach trial? Depending on the...

24 November

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Prepare for your initial meeting with your lawyer

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, Helpful Information, Teresa Harvey

It is always best to be prepared to meet with your lawyer. You should bring with you all documents you have that may be relevant to the potential case or issue you will be discussing with your lawyer. You will want to let your lawyer review them to determine whether they are relevant to the case. If you have a timeline intensive case, it will be extremely helpful to write down or type out a chronological timeline of events in your case. If you have seen any doctors related to your case, you should bring a list of those doctors and, if possible,...

06 November

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My car wreck lawyers won’t take my Workers Comp case

Posted by chhabragibbs

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

I was in a car wreck on the job that is someone else's fault. I have a lawyer to pursue the person that hit me, but he won't take my workers compensation case. What can I do? You can have separate lawyers for both cases. But generally, our firm recommends that you get one firm to represent you on both aspects of the cases. The interplay between the two can be very complicated, but not all firms have experience in both areas. However, it is ok to get a separate lawyer to make sure your rights are protected on your workers...

02 November

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Can I fire my attorney?

Posted by chhabragibbs

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

Yes, but be careful. Lawyers are not magicians. Sometimes people expect results that are impossible to deliver. What you should expect from your lawyer is timely responses to your inquiries from the lawyer or properly trained staff and honest advice on the best way for your case to proceed. A few rules that you need to understand: 1. Lawyers cannot speak to someone already represented by counsel. 2. You can terminate your lawyer anytime, but you should make sure it is for a legitimate reason as opposed to unreasonable expectations on your part. 3. Terminating a lawyer requires no special form. It is as...

30 October

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

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, 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. 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 for future medical...

23 October

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Choose my own physician in a workers comp case?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Amanda G. Fritz, Blog, Workers Compensation

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 with. You do not have to sign a choice of physician form to get...

16 October

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Is the nurse case manager allowed to come into the doctor’s visit with me in a workers compensation case?

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, 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...

04 May

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Congratulations Rogen K. Chhabra

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, Firm Announcements, Rogen K. Chhabra

A big Congratulations goes out to our very own Rogen K. Chhabra for being the recent recipient of the Law-Related Public Education Award for 2015 by the Mississippi Bar Foundation. Rogen Chhabra attended Millsaps College and graduated Cum Laude in 1995 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics. He then attended Mississippi College School of Law and graduated in 1998 with a J.D. During law school, Mr. Chhabra was a member of the Law Review and recipient of the Frank Ming Deramus scholarship. He became a member of the Mississippi Bar Association in 1998. Rogen Chhabra has been admitted to practice law...

10 April

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I Want to Speak to the Attorney

Posted by chhabragibbs

in Blog, Helpful Information

Every day, we get calls where a client insists on speaking to an attorney. Sometimes they are new potential clients and sometimes, they have been a client for a long time. We strive to return every call every day and make our attorneys as accessible as possible. But where you find good lawyers, you find very busy lawyers. And where lawyers are busy, efficiency matters. So when is it ever appropriate to call and demand that an attorney get on the phone? Perhaps an analogy is appropriate here. Do you ever call up the doctor’s office and demand to speak to...