Attorneys
What Kind of Law Firm is Mitchell & Associates?
When you’ve been hurt at work – and now you’re Too Hurt To Work™ – your situation is highly personal.
You’re struggling with your injury. You’re struggling to support your family. You’re struggling to get answers. You need help.
You want a high-caliber lawyer with deep knowledge of the workers’ compensation system, which has its own rules, courts and judges. You want someone to make sure your employer’s insurance company treats you fairly and provides the maximum benefits you deserve:
- The lawyers at Mitchell & Associates have more than 50 years of combined experience.
- We’ve handled hundreds of individual cases like yours – but you’re also getting lawyers who have handled wrongful death, class action and multimillion-dollar construction dispute cases.
- Other lawyers give us a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars in the Martindale-Hubbell attorney directory.
But you also want more than that.
You want a lawyer who’s in this for the right reasons, who’s on a mission to help people. And that’s the kind of lawyer you find at Mitchell & Associates.
We’ve seen too many injured people go to court and get treated poorly by people in the system (sometimes even their own lawyers!) who don’t seem to care about the well-being of other people.
At Mitchell & Associates, you’ll always get personal attention thanks to the values that Attorney Craig Mitchell and Attorney Kiana Mitchell bring to the firm. We’re a family firm that believes in fighting for other families.
We take your hand, look you in the eye and guide you through the process. We never forget that for you, this is personal.
We’ll provide an initial assessment of your case for free.
Attorneys
I really do love the way that they handled me and my case and made sure I understood everything about it. If anyone ever needs an attorney, I will surely send them to Craig Mitchell & Associates.
CRAIG MITCHELL
You’re smart to be taking the time to read lawyer bios like this one. Why? Because you probably are experiencing one of the most difficult times of your life. You have a lot at stake.
You need to find someone you can trust to make sense of all of the workers’ compensation paperwork, legal jargon and people pulling you in different directions. You may not know who to believe, who to trust, which way to turn.
You’re not alone. Many people have gone through what you’re going through. The ones who did what you’re doing right now – doing your research, understanding your options and not falling for the slick ads and fast talk – probably made it through just fine (even if they lost some sleep along the way).
You’ve taken the most important step toward getting some peace of mind. You’ve found a group of lawyers who can and will help.
My name is Craig Mitchell. I’m an attorney. I’m also a husband, father, neighbor and friend. I’ve seen much and helped many. And I thank you for taking time to find out how I can help you.
You’re going through something that is complicated, confusing and has consequences that can impact the rest of your life. Between me and my wife, Attorney Kiana Mitchell, we have four decades of legal experience.
Call us. We’ll talk about how to get the benefits, compensation and results you deserve so you can move forward with your life.
How I Got Here
Before I started Mitchell & Associates, I worked at a prestigious law firm in downtown New Orleans. I represented big corporate and insurance industry clients.
My job was to defend them at all costs, even when I thought they were wrong. I did my job, and I did it well. But I didn’t like it. In 1999, I walked out of the firm with one file, a case where my client was seriously hurt in a car accident. I was determined to practice law the way I wanted to, making a real difference for clients who need help.
I was able to sit down behind my desk and take as much time as I needed to learn a person’s case inside and out. I found the details other attorneys might miss. I made sure I did all I could to get my clients what they were entitled to under the law.
MY EDUCATION & CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
- Tulane Law School – 1996
- Louisiana Bar – 1996
- Fisk University – 1993
- Former Chair – New Orleans City Planning Commission
- Former Commissioner – New Orleans Recreation Development Commission
- Former Board Member – New Orleans Public Library
- Former Board Member – Tulane Alumni Association
- Sergeant at Arms – Young Men Illinois Club, Inc.
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha Chi Chapter Fall 1990)
- Martindale – Hubell AV Rated
Specific Types of Cases I’ve Handled:
- Wrongful death – student dies in a New Orleans public school
- Wrongful death – pedestrian struck by a vehicle
- Wrongful death – nursing home patient
- First class action lawsuit in Louisiana over mold
- Class actions for construction – related property damage
- Car accident – broken neck caused by drunk driver
- Medical malpractice – botched surgery causes stroke
- Workers’ compensation – denied claims, improper terminations of benefits
- Numerous other cases, including slips and falls and insurance disputes
Kiana Aaron Mitchell
I started my legal career as a law clerk to a judge in Civil District Court in New Orleans. Working closely with the judge, I quickly learned which arguments make a difference when a lawyer presents a client’s case.
I went on to work for a large law firm that defended insurance companies and doctors in medical malpractice cases. Doing this taught me the ins and outs of the medical aspect of cases. But even though the work was challenging and the experience great, it wasn’t fulfilling. I needed to be independent so I could call the shots for my clients.
At Mitchell & Associates, I spent years putting together a client list of employers and insurers and handled their workers’ compensation cases. My clients included public agencies, Fortune 50 companies, large insurers and self-insured organizations.
Going to court day after day, I saw good people who were hurt on the job who didn’t know what to do. I saw them trying to understand the forms and deadlines and all of the requirements they had to meet so they could get workers’ comp benefits. And I saw them fighting against lawyers who did everything they could to outsmart them and have the courts deny legitimate cases.
I saw so many honest people out there who were struggling to navigate the complex workers’ comp system. It has become a complicated maze. But employers get chauffeured through it by their attorneys.
I knew this was wrong, and I like challenges. So I started representing injured workers and set out to expand our firm with several attorneys and support staff solely there to assist the injured worker. I’ve now personally handled hundreds of cases involving nearly every workers’ comp issue that can come up. I make it a point to take the time to understand your situation and fight for the results you want and are entitled to.
A lot of different challenges can come up in your workers’ comp claim. You may have a dispute over your medical condition. Your checks might not be coming on time or in the right amount.
Maybe you’re hurt worse than your employer thinks you are. Maybe you cannot find a doctor who accepts injured workers as patients and/or workers’ comp insurance rates.
It’s a good idea to have a workers’ comp attorney handle your claim. The fact is, your employer will have a lawyer and claims adjuster on their side. They will try to limit the benefits you receive. You deserve to have a lawyer and a strong firm of your own to chauffeur you through this system. You deserve representation by Mitchell & Associates.
MY EDUCATION & CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
- Loyola University School of Law – 2001
- Louisiana Bar – 2001
- Mississippi Bar – 2010
- Wake Forest University – 1998
- Board of Trustees, De La Salle High School
- Former Chair, Minority Involvement Section – Louisiana Bar Association
- President, The Links, Incorporated, Pontchartrain Chapter
- Program Director, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. New Orleans Chapter
Specific Types of Cases I’ve Handled:
- Getting workers’ compensation indemnity and medical benefits started for clients
- Getting benefits reinitiated after they were terminated improperly
- Getting lumbar and cervical spine surgeries approved
- Getting knee surgeries approved
- Getting shoulder surgeries approved
- Successfully winning pretrial summary judgments against employers on compensability of claims, entitlement to indemnity benefits, entitlement to medical treatment, and penalties and attorney’s fees
- Successfully preparing appeals and variances to the State medical director to get our clients the treatment they need
- Successfully opposing the employer’s arguments that a claim should be dismissed because it was filed too late, too soon or the accident didn’t happen
- Taking the sworn testimony of claims adjusters and employer representatives to show that denial of a claim or medical treatment is wrong
- Successfully defending against bogus fraud claims made by employers
