Chip Wagar | Mandeville Personal Injury Lawyer

We represented a family in which the husband and father was belatedly diagnosed with a glioblastoma, two years after an MRI had been mis-read as normal. Although the client would have had a terminal prognosis either way, we were able to get the client a substantial settlement based upon our assertion of Louisiana's Loss of Chance of Better Outcome doctrine. This has enabled the client and his family to maximize the time he has remaining and quality of life with his wife and children with no undue concern about the expenditure of money to make things happen.

Slowly at first and then quickly ... I was a defense lawyer for several decades but due to my extensive trial experience, began to receive referrals of personal injury cases, particularly in medical malpractice. As word spread, my personal injury practice eventually displaced most of my corporate defense work to where it is today. My daughter and I started our own practice in 2018 to accommodate the new character of our practice and we have never looked back.

You have to trust your lawyer, in the end. And you need to find a lawyer who specializes in your need. Today, the law is so complex that most lawyers specialize in narrow areas of the law to maintain an expertise in one or two types of cases. Even within the field of personal injury, there are car-wreck cases, workers compensation, premises liability and so forth. While we practice in all of these areas, we have developed a particular, deep expertise in medical malpractice, which is the most risky and difficult or all personal injury cases. Only a couple dozen lawyers in Louisiana really have the expertise to represent clients in medical malpractice.

Lawyers are licensed by state for a reason. Each state has different laws. Local knowledge of civil procedure is very important in both federal and state court cases. A mistake in procedural matters can be fatal to the prosecution or defense of a case.

We can advise people generally of the services we provide. It is important for us to understand from potential clients something of the nature of their claim so we can determine if we can help. We do not practice law in areas outside our expertise and refer such individuals to other lawyers we know who specialize in their problems. So it is a two-way process when someone initially contacts us.

We have a well-developed questionnaire in which we can develop essential information quickly to determine if we can help. For example, determining at the outset whether the statute of limitations (prescription) has or has not run with respect to a claim. Louisiana has the shortest time for filing a claim - generally one year from the date of the injury - but there are several exceptions to the rule. We do not need to know a life history of the caller at the outset, but we do need to know some basic information. All this is to ascertain whether we can help you or if you need a referral to another lawyer who can.

Personal service. Once you become a client of ours, we keep you advised of all significant developments in your case. We carefully prepare you for all aspects of the case in which you must participate, including your deposition and trial testimony. We advise you every step of the way. We welcome your phone calls and visits to know more about your case. We look to our clients as teammates in the successful prosecution of their case. Each of us has our role.

While it is a business, it is immensely satisfying to help someone through a disastrous situation to obtain full and fair compensation for their injury or loss. We love what we do.

I am a published author and podcaster. I enjoy travel with my wife to interesting and beautiful places.

Yes. In terms of my local community, I have a long record of involvement in youth sports including being a founding member and two term president of the Mandeville Soccer Club. I am also active in the legal community; current Vice President of the local chapter of the American Board of Trial Attorneys (ABOTA) and an adjunct faculty member of the Loyola University College of Law, teaching medical malpractice to law students. I have also taught trial advocacy to recently graduated lawyers with Tulane University School of Law, LSU and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA).

• Louisiana State Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, Admitted pro hac vice in numerous other states and federal districts of the United States.  Admitted to the Supreme Court and all inferior State Courts of Louisiana in 1979 and Texas in 1982 by passing the bar examination in both states.  Admitted to the US Supreme Court, 1981, Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, 1980; US Districts Eastern, Middle, and Western Louisiana, 1979; Eastern and Southern Districts, Texas, 2010; Northern District, Texas, 2015.  Various other admissions to federal districts in multiple states 1996-2015.

• Selected for induction into Louisiana SuperLawyers® | 2011 - 2020
  International Association of Defense Counsel
  American Board of Trial Advocates
  Martindale-Hubbell “AV” attorney since 1986.

• Settlements
  As of mid-2021, $22,371,772 in verdicts and settlements in medical malpractice since 2010. In relation to verdicts & settlements over $1 million, general damage awards in Medical Malpractice are capped by law at $500,000.00.

• Author | An American in Vienna, iUniverse | 2011
  Author | The Carpathian Assignment; Createspace | 2014
  Author | Double Emperor, The Life and Times of Francis of Austria

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