About the Firm

In 1974, Terry Heggeness and Clifford D. Sweet, III, founded the Law Offices of Heggeness & Sweet, A Professional Corporation. Their goal was to offer quality and cost beneficial legal services to California employers and their workers’ compensation insurance carriers with respect to work-related injuries before the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, the United States Department of Labor, their related appellate courts, and the Supreme Court of California.

Heggeness & Sweet, A P.C., continued to grow and prosper. Additional shareholders, Robert LaBerge, John Muller, and Hernan Cetina were added.

In 2007, the Firm changed its name to reflect the transition from the founding members to the future management team. Margot Simington and Joseph Patrico were chosen to lead the Firm into the future, along with shareholders Linda Condra, and Sean Hermanson.

On July 31, 2007, the Articles of Incorporation were officially amended and the name Heggeness, Sweet, Simington & Patrico, A P.C. was chosen to reflect the new era of management.

The Firm is currently one of the preeminent workers’ compensation defense firms in Southern California. HSS&P has three offices serving San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties. The Firm appears at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board District Offices in San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Pomona, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Long Beach, as well as their branch offices.

HSS&P clients include numerous insurance carriers representing a large variety of employers as well as permissibly self-insured employers. The Firm has also represented state-wide industry organizations such as the California Self-Insurers Association in the capacity of amicus curiae in important cases before the State of California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. The national legal publication Martindale-Hubbell has given the Firm its highest ranking of A-V for ethics and professional competence. HSS&P has been selected by AM Best as Recommended Insurance Attorneys.

HSS&P’s civil litigation unit was formed to meet client litigation needs and to complement our well-established and widely recognized workers’ compensation unit. This unit offers legal services in civil litigation arising from workers’ compensation matters, including subrogation claims and fraud. HSS&P has successfully represented employers and carriers in action filed against medical and other professionals for unfair business practices.

HSS&P strives to maintain a cutting edge position within the workers’ compensation community. Firm attorneys have helped shape the workers’ compensation legislation of the past years, always with a clear concern for employer rights. HSS&P provides legal services to assist employers and carriers comply with requirements of newly enacted legislation and offer advice and counsel in developing employer/insurer programs designed to cut workers’ compensation costs.

HSS&P has created customized Medical Provider Networks on behalf of a number of its self-insured and insurance carrier clientele. The Firm has represented clients with regard to the negotiation and implementation of MPN’s and Return to Work Programs, resulting in significant cost savings.

All Firm shareholders have completed the post graduate educational requirements and have successfully passed the full day written examination in workers' compensation law administered by the California State Bar to earn a Certificate of Specialization in Workers’ Compensation Law. HSS&P associates are strongly encouraged to achieve certified specialist status. Consequently, HSS&P has one of the highest percentages of Workers’ Compensation Specialists on staff in the State.

HSS&P is also committed to providing continuing education to its clients and the workers’ compensation community at large. The Firm is one of only a handful certified by the State of California to provide Workers’ Compensation Legal Specialization credits. No other firm in the Firm’s service area has been awarded this distinction. HSS&P provides its clients with customized training sessions to assist the claims professionals with their mandatory training credits and practical knowledge. In addition, HSS&P maintains up-to-date web pages which provide insight and legal analysis into the latest workers' compensation developments, along with practical advice on claims handling strategies.

Upon receipt of a litigation assignment, all matters are immediately reviewed by Robert LaBerge, Margot Simington, Joseph Patrico, Linda Condra, or Sean Hermanson, and assigned to a member of the Firm for handling. Client requests for specific attorney assignments will, of course, be honored. The Firm will send written acknowledgment of a litigation assignment within three working days. The responsible attorney will prepare a detailed initial file evaluation letter setting forth specific recommendations for litigation management and an aggressive plan of action.

It is the philosophy of the Firm that the attorney’s role is to provide the client with an evaluation of the range of potential exposure of the claim and with recommendations for claims management, including settlement recommendations. HSS&P strictly adheres to the principle that all claims management decisions and settlement authority comes solely from the client.

Disclaimer

The materials within this Web site have been prepared for general informational purposes only. They are not legal advice and should not be used as such. Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state. Heggeness, Sweet, Simington & Patrico, A P.C. is unwilling to assume the representation of clients from those states where the marketing material does not comply with State Bar requirements and where the client is generated as a result of that communication.

Heggeness,Sweet, Simington & Patrico, A.P.C

About the Firm