A Mendenhall government employees workers comp lawyer search usually starts after the adjuster has already said something that made you nervous. Here is what that nervousness is actually telling you. Teachers, police, firefighters, and county workers across Simpson County are covered under the exact same workers comp law as any private employee, and an adjuster who implies otherwise, or who suggests a separate, lesser process applies, is not telling you the truth.

Mississippi Law On Government Employee Workers Comp Coverage

Miss. Code Ann. Section 71-3-7(1) and Section 71-3-5 govern coverage for government employees, and the coverage history is fixed and permanent. State agencies and institutions have been covered under the ordinary Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Law since July 1, 1990. Counties and municipalities have been covered under the same ordinary law since October 1, 1990. All other political subdivisions have been covered under the same ordinary law since October 1, 1993. There is no separate coverage track or separate system for teachers, police, firefighters, or any other government employee. It is the same statute, the same Commission, and the same benefits as every other worker in this state.

A Simpson County School District Injury And The Confusion An Adjuster Exploits

Picture a Simpson County School District bus driver injured helping a student off a wheelchair lift when the mechanism jams unexpectedly, wrenching her back in the process. Because she works for a public school district, the adjuster handling her claim on behalf of the district’s insurance carrier may suggest, subtly or directly, that a government job means a different, more limited process applies, hoping the unfamiliar territory of dealing with a public employer will discourage her from pursuing the same benefits a private sector worker would receive without question. Would you let your barber perform your root canal? Then why let a settlement mill handle your workers comp case.

Your TV Lawyer Has Never Filed A Petition To Controvert In His Entire Career.

When a government employer’s insurance carrier denies a claim, formally disputing that denial requires filing a Petition to Controvert with the Commission, ultimately argued at the Simpson County Courthouse on Court Avenue in front of an Administrative Judge. The TV lawyer running commercials during the evening news has never filed a Petition to Controvert in his entire career, in this courthouse or any other, because his business model relies on cases that settle quickly rather than claims that require formally disputing a denial through the actual procedural mechanism the law provides. A teacher, police officer, or county worker facing a denied claim deserves a lawyer who knows how to formally controvert that denial, not a lawyer who has never filed the paperwork that starts a real fight.

Documenting A Government Employee’s Injury Through A Public Employer’s Systems

Government employers, including the Simpson County School District and Simpson County itself, often route workers comp claims through a separate risk management office or a third party administrator, adding a layer of process a private sector claim does not have. Simpson General Hospital’s treatment records still form the core medical evidence, but a secretary who does not understand the specific reporting chain a public employer uses can let a claim stall in an unfamiliar bureaucratic process rather than moving it forward the way a private employer claim would move.

Notice And Filing Deadlines On A Government Employee’s Claim

Section 71-3-35 requires actual notice to the employer within thirty days and a filed application within two years, and these deadlines apply to government employees exactly the same as private sector workers, with no extension for the additional bureaucratic layers a public employer’s process may involve. A county worker who assumes reporting an injury to a supervisor through an internal government process automatically satisfies the formal notice requirement can find that assumption disputed later if the paperwork did not actually reach the correct workers comp contact. A TV lawyer’s secretary who does not confirm formal notice reached the right office is gambling with a deadline on a claim that should never have been at risk.

The TV Lawyer’s Fee Betrayal On A Government Employee’s Claim

A government employee’s claim requiring navigation of a public employer’s specific process is exactly the kind of file a settlement mill wants to avoid rather than properly build. There is the standard fee. Then a fee for identifying the correct risk management contact. Then a fee for the Petition to Controvert, if one ever gets filed at all. Then a fee for reviewing that fee. Then, on the biggest files, an invented expense line large enough to fund the new Lamborghini, a car the injured teacher or county worker will never so much as sit in, while her own claim gets abandoned as too complicated for a quick settlement. Nobody prints a percentage on the settlement sheet, because a percentage would let you do the math yourself before it is too late. I take a different approach entirely. I take $0.00 in fees from your temporary total disability check, no fee ever comes out of that specific check, on any case, and I would invite you to try getting that same promise in writing from a TV lawyer.

Every Mendenhall government employees workers comp case is covered by the Foster Fair Fee Guarantee, a written promise made before a single form gets signed that you walk away with more money than I do in fees. The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, the official state agency that administers Mississippi workers compensation claims, publishes the forms and rules that govern exactly this kind of claim, the same rules that apply to every private sector worker in this state.

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Ask Yourself Whether Your TV Lawyer Has Ever Actually Fought A Government Employer’s Denial

Ask yourself does it matter if the risk management specialist reviewing your claim has actually processed a school district injury before, not just a generic file, before you trust their answer. Ask yourself does it matter if the accountant reviewing a public pension has actually worked with government payroll before, not just private sector wages, before you trust the calculation. Ask yourself does it matter if the lawyer filing your Petition to Controvert has actually filed one before, not just advertised for one, before you let them fight your denied claim. The TV lawyer running commercials during the evening news has never filed a Petition to Controvert against a government employer’s insurance carrier. He has never navigated a public employer’s risk management process to move a stalled claim forward. He has never explained to a teacher, police officer, or county worker that there is no separate, lesser system for government employees.

Here is the part the adjuster is hoping you never read. It is not buried in fine print. It is not some secret clause. It is sitting right there in Section 71-3-5, in plain English, and the insurance company is counting on the fact that a government job sounds different enough to make you doubt your own rights. A government employee’s claim treated with the same seriousness as a private sector claim is not something a settlement mill fights to establish, because establishing it means real procedural work instead of closing the file this month. This is not rare. This is what happens on nearly every government employee file that comes through a volume shop. Every time. Same play, different name at the top of the folder. Whether your TV lawyer holds a Mississippi Bar license at all is a fact you can check yourself at the Mississippi Bar’s public attorney search in about a minute, and the courtroom where a Petition to Controvert actually gets argued is exactly where his media budget stops mattering.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mendenhall Government Employee Claims

Are Simpson County School District Employees Covered By Ordinary Workers Comp?

Yes. Counties and municipalities, including school districts, have been covered under the ordinary Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Law since October 1, 1990. There is no separate track for public school employees.

What Do I Do If A Government Employer’s Insurance Carrier Denies My Claim?

A formal Petition to Controvert can be filed with the Commission to dispute the denial, ultimately argued before an Administrative Judge if not resolved.

Since When Have State Employees Been Covered Under Ordinary Workers Comp?

State agencies and institutions have been covered under the ordinary Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Law since July 1, 1990. All other political subdivisions have been covered since October 1, 1993.

Does A Public Employer’s Risk Management Office Change My Deadlines?

No. The same thirty day notice and two year filing deadlines under Section 71-3-35 apply, regardless of the additional bureaucratic layers a public employer’s process may involve.

Where Are Disputed Mendenhall Government Employee Claims Heard?

At the Simpson County Courthouse on Court Avenue, in front of an Administrative Judge. A lawyer who has never filed a Petition to Controvert is not equipped to fight a government employer’s denial.

P.S. The insurance company handling your Mendenhall government employee claim is hoping the unfamiliar public employer process discourages you from fighting a denial. Before you give up, get the FREE book and find out what the adjuster is counting on you never learning about the Petition to Controvert and your equal coverage rights.

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