Happy Thanksgiving from Pollan Dobbs, PLLC

We at Pollan Dobbs, PLLC would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!

Employers without Workers' Comp Coverage can Face Serious Penalties.

Employers can pay a high price for ignoring workers' compensation rules.

Workers' Compensation coverage, or some similar policy for injured workers, is required for nearly every job in the United States.  Some employers try to avoid their legal obligations by avoiding their Workers' Compensation coverage completely. Many employers don't realize this opens their business to large unnecessary liability, fines and even jail.

Chicago, IL (WorkersCompensation.com) - Another uninsured employer has pled guilty to a Class 4 felony for refusing to obtain workers' compensation insurance. John Linek, individually and as President of SMS Logistics of Chicago, has been ordered to pay a $10,000 penalty for refusing to obtain workers compensation insurance. The IWCC's Insurance Compliance Unit had been requesting compliance with the Act from this trucking firm since 2010.

Insurance Companies Simplify the Process...Just Not for You!

...That's where we come in.  Pollan Dobbs, PLLC simplifies Workers Comp for the injured worker.

New Pollan Dobbs, PLLC Newsletter

Our firm regularly offers a Newsletter about Workers' Compensation and Disability issues.  Please click below to see the latest issue and email us here to be added to the mailing list!  Always remember, you can get help online at www.PollanDobbs.com or on the HOTLINE at 888.931.COMP (2667)

Rob Lunsford is the Newest Addition to the New Orleans Office

We are quite proud to announce attorney Rob Lunsford as the newest addition to the Pollan Dobbs, PLLC team.  Mr. Lunsford brings the skill and tenacity our clients have come to rely upon.  A graduate of Tulane University and Loyola University Chicago - School of Law, he calls New Orleans home. 

Fight to Unionize the Mississippi Nissan Plant Grows

For over a decade efforts have been made to unionize the Nissan automotive plant in Canton, MS.  Workers want to be able to negotiate over pensions, bonuses, and sharing the profits when the company performs well.  While some people may or may not support an effort to unionize the Nissan plant, a more serious problem is rearing it's head.  Instead of leaving the matter to an up or down vote, workers have been said to face intimidation to tilt the scales on when votes can be taken, how votes can be taken, and whether retaliation awaits workers who vote to unionize.

Nissan has often said it's workers overwhelmingly oppose unionization, but has not seemed willing to face a clean vote without sprinkling intimidation into the picture.

Interestingly, a new Report shows that Nissan will receive $1.3 billion in taxpayer handouts credits and incentives.  As reported in the MS Business Journal, the Mississippi Development Authority claims the study exaggerates the State's tax burden.  Unfortunately, they have not offered to show their alternative calculations.

On May 17, 2013 Nissan has stated they would respond later.

Nissan still has not addressed the issues a week later and workers still wait on a fair union vote.

Questions Answered Day or Night!

Pollan Dobbs, PLLC is one of the few places where Workers can get help on a toll-free hotline when they have questions about their workplace injury or Workers' Compensation claim.  Unfortunately, not everyone has time to make a call during normal business hours.  With our online system, this isn't a problem!

You can click here day or night and get professional help for your Workers' Comp questions.  Why face your claim alone when help is a click or call away? 

Lilly Cutter Joins the Pollan Dobbs New Orleans Office

We are happy to announce the addition of Lilly Cutter to our New Orleans office.  A native of Albuquerque, NM, she is a graduate of the University of New Mexico.  We are fortunate to have such a skilled new member on our legal team.  Ms. Cutter brings a range of previous legal experience to working with both Mississippi and Louisiana workers' compensation claims.

TN Employers to Pay Less for Firing Injured Workers.

The Daily News Journal reports the cold, hard truth about Gov. Bill Haslam's (R-TN) proposed new Workers' Comp law:  The new law would allow employers to take a discount when firing injured workers making a legitimate Workers' Comp claim.

This represents a new low for the Tennessee legislature when it comes to protecting the backbone of the state:  It's workers.  A fast track by the governor threatens to create a new bureaucracy that supporters confess will be a multi-million dollar burden on tax payers and will now give a break to employers when they fire able bodied workers.  With higher costs for taxpayers, rewards for employers targeting injured workers, and more hardships for the injured, we may have one of the most perfectly awful bills seen out of Nashville in years.

Misti Bryant Makes the Front Page for a Good Cause!

Hogs for the Cause is a great cook-off that raises funds for the families of children with pediatric brain cancer.  Misti Bryant, from our New Orleans office is part of the Sweet Swine 'O' Mine BBQ team competing this weekend and has landed herself on the front page of The Tinmes Picayune NOLA.com page.  The festivities and events begin Friday with the cook-off in full swing on Saturday.  Drop by city park fo good food and a good cause!

HOGS FOR THE CAUSEA barbecue competition and festival to raise money for families coping with pediatric brain cancer.

• Friday, March 22: A new Friday Night Tailgate Experience will open the gates of City Park's Festival Grounds from 4 to 11 p.m. The public will be allowed to mingle with the teams as they cook and hold fundraising parties. Drinks and food will be sold. Also on Friday night, the Fatback Collective, an A-team of star chefs, will cook for the new Southern Asado gala dinner, a meal in the style of Argentine meat feasts.

• Saturday, March 23, 11 a.m.: Professional chefs and backyard barbecue enthusiasts vie for bragging rights and pig-topped trophies in the Ben Sarrat Jr. "High on the Hog" Cookoff. Teams sell samples of their dishes to the public. There also will be live music on two stages.

• Where: City Park Festival Grounds.

• Cost: Friday Night Tailgate Experience tickets are $5; the Southern Asado gala dinner tickets are $300, and general admission for the barbecue festival and cookoff are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate. Details: Hogs for the Cause. 

BOOM Jackson Awards Pollan Dobbs, PLLC

We are proud to announce that BOOM Jackson Magazine recently visited our Jackson, MS office and selected Pollan Dobbs, PLLC as the office with the "Coolest View" in their Coolest Office article! Pick up a copy around town or click above and check out the article and photo shoot!

Tennessee Bar Journal Cautions Against Reckless New Workers' Comp Laws

The Tennessee Bar Journal has published an article by David H. Dunaway concerning proposed new changes in TN Workers' Compensation Law.  Even the the Program's biggest supporters admit a minimum $600,000 increase in costs before factoring in new support staff and logistics--all to handle the current workload.  Dunaway adds:

From 2004, until 2011, there has been a 71% reduction in the litigation of workers’ compensation claims. This also means that the Insurance Industry has saved 71% of its previous costs. One can hardly say that the Court system is awry. Additionally, since 2004, workers’ compensation disability benefits have also been reduced by 40% across the board. Now the out­of-state consultants who have recommended the current administration’s draft reform have created an unprecedented amount of rulemaking, and have quietly placed the costs of the administration of workers’ compensation benefits on the backs of the taxpayers, for the benefit of the insurance industry through which these costs were previously paid. 

No honest conservative can look at a 71% reduction in litigation and a 40% reduction in benefits paid and then claim this new law is the "answer".  Creating a new taxpayer funded bureaucracy that costs more and does a worse job protecting workers benefits one group:  The Insurance Industry.  

Contact your Tennessee legislator today and tell them to vote NO on new government agencies to help insurance companies while taxpayers pick up the tab!  

Gov. Haslam' Workers' Comp Plan Creates New Problems

The Tennessean's Bobby Allyn has reported on deepening concerns about new Workers' Compensation legislation.  In Gov. Haslam's Workers' Comp Reform Plan Causes Concern the real cost of 'reform' are beginning to appear.

State lawmakers have long sought ways to streamline the multimillion-dollar workers’ compensation system, and both workers and employers agree that the system, plagued with long delays and what many see as ineffective solutions, could run more smoothly.
Under Haslam’s plan, a new state agency would handle all claim disputes. Instead of moving to the courthouse after that, which is how the system operates now, the new agency would hear nearly all appeals.

This move streamlines the court system by creating an new entirely new administrative court system and attached bureaucracy to the same workload.  The risk here is a double loss for Tennesseans:  fewer legal rights for workers while doubling administrative cost.  Nothing in the plan has moved to control premium costs for employers or protect workers from unscrupulous insurance companies trying to game the system.  One form of 'simplification' is to deny workers the basic right of choosing their own doctor.

Quite bluntly, it's only pro-business if your business is insurance and only pro-worker if you manage never to get hurt.  Tennessee tax payers will feel the pain universally.

The "Company Doctor"

Don't get stuck with a doctor that works for the Employer rather than his patient!  We can help!

Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission E-filing?

Many Mississippi attorneys and claimants have been asking when and if MWCC will look to fully implement an e-filing system.  While e-filling in federal courts has become common practice, other Mississippi state courts are still playing catch up as the move to e-filling catches fire.  E-filing is being phased into many Chancery Courts throughout the state.  As for MWCC, while a partial e-filling system has been in place for some documents in Mississippi comp cases, a full fledged e-filling system seems to still be in the future.  There has been tremendous interest by both practitioners as well as court personnel towards advancing the idea and implementation of a complete e-filling system for all comp cases.  As is often the case, the hard working officials at MWCC as well as attorneys who focus their practices on handling comp cases will continue to push towards an e-filling system in an effort to streamline comp cases in the magnolia state.

Happy Mardi Gras from Pollan Dobbs, PLLC

 

Happy Mardi Gras everybody!

Major Changes in the Workers' Compensation Laws of Mississippi

The Chairman of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission has released a video discussing the radical changes in the laws of the state.  These new rules will affect nearly every worker, particularly workers who might be wrongfully denied a workers' comp claim.

  

Pollan Dobbs, PLLC can walk your case through every aspect of the new rules and work to make sure you're not shut out of the system.  Give us a call on the hotline for the assistance you need.  888.931.COMP (2667)

Misti Bryant and The Sweet Swine O'Mine BBQ Team

Our associate attorney Misti Bryant is more than a legal shark, she's part of the Sweet Swine O'Mine BBQ Team!  Check out their Facebook Page and give them a "Like".  The all-female grilling team fights cancer by smoking and kicking butts at Hogs for the Cause!  Everyone should check out Hogs for the Cause and see a great organization.

Now, if only we could get some of the 'practice' BBQ up here for lunch...

Ouch!

New 2013 Weekly Maximum Disability Benefit, Lifetime Maximum Disability Benefit and Mileage Reimbursement Set for MS

The Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission has posted the 2013 Maximum Benefits and Mileage rates for 2013.  For all injuries that occur in 2013, the maximum weekly disability benefit will be $449.12.  The maximum lifetime disability benefit will be $202,104.00.  The new rates reflect a slight increase from 2012 in which the maximum benefits were $436.68 weekly/$196,506 lifetime.  These rates are maximums (not minimums) and depending on a worker's average weekly wage, the benefits could be different.  Calculation of an injured workers average weekly wage is important and many times added benefits such as travel reimbursements, meal plans and other perks are not included when the insurance company initially calculates the average weekly wage.  Other confusing factors such as length of employment can also come into play.  An incorrect calculation could result in a significant decrease in benefits paid.  We can make sure that you receive all the benefits that you are entitled to and that your wage is calculated correctly.

The mileage reimbursement for 2013 has also been set at 56.5 cents per mile.  This is a small increase above the 2012 rate.  The mileage rates apply to all travel to and from related medical appointments with some exceptions.  We work to make sure all injured workers receive the correct amount for mileage reimbursements and that the mileage is paid as quickly as possible.

Call us at 888.931.COMP (2667) and get a proper analysis of all your claim's lawful benefits.