Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys Share The Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

Personal injuries come in many forms, from slip-and-fall accidents to car accidents and all kinds of other catastrophes. Whatever type of personal injury you have experienced, you might feel confused about what to do next. You may also be concerned about what your future will be like, both in the short term and in the long run.

Family and friends may be offering you help with everyday tasks if your injury prevents you from doing things like grocery shopping and taking care of your home and children. Those helpful acts of kindness are fantastic and can go a long way towards helping you recover from your injury. Your doctors are also likely working closely with you to create a treatment plan that will help you recover from your injuries. Their assistance is also critical for you during this challenging time in your life. In addition to friends, family, and doctors, there is someone else who can provide you with critical assistance after a personal injury – a Mississippi personal injury attorney. It is to your advantage to connect with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after you experience a personal injury so that you can begin to receive all of the benefits that come from working with them.

Personal injury attorneys understand the rights of injured individuals like you. They have extensive training and experience that has prepared them to stand up for your rights. Each day, personal injury attorneys help clients like you stand up for their rights and pursue claims for compensation for their personal injuries.

Right now, your job consists of healing from your injury and managing the details of your life as best you can. Your attorney knows how to take on all of the tasks associated with filing and pursuing a personal injury claim from start to finish. It’s a lot of work, but they have done it many times before for other injured clients, and they have helped those clients receive the compensation that helps them recover financially from the effects of their injuries.

One of the essential components of a personal injury claim is evidence. Personal injury attorneys know what evidence they need to present in support of your claim. What’s more, they know how to go about obtaining that evidence, even if other parties are not willing to give them the information that they ask for. With the proper evidence in hand, your personal injury attorney may be able to obtain compensation for your claim promptly.

However, insurance companies are not always quick to settle personal injury claims, even when they are presented with clear and convincing evidence in support of those claims. Insurance companies are notorious for denying claims, dragging out the claims process, and extending settlement offers that are far short of the amount needed to compensate injured individuals adequately. One of the best benefits of working with a personal injury attorney is that they have experience with negotiating with insurance companies, and they can push for a settlement offer that is as close to the value of your claim as possible. If a settlement cannot be reached, your personal injury attorney can take your case to court and continue to press for the compensation you need.

Working with a personal injury attorney has many benefits. If you would like to know whether you have a personal injury claim, ask a personal injury attorney. Call the seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney at our office at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free initial consultation.

/by

Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Talk About Heat-Related Workplace Injuries

The cold days of winter are mostly behind us, and warmer weather brings with it many different types of outdoor work. Working outdoors in the springtime can be enjoyable. Still, as summer draws near and heat and humidity levels rise, the risk of heat-related on the job illnesses and injuries increases.

The types of outdoor work available in Mississippi range from agriculture to construction, landscaping, paving, and so much more. If your work brings you outside into the summer heat, you are at risk for heat-related injuries and illnesses. Heat exposure causes more deaths per year than any other type of environmental exposure. Learning about heat-related illnesses and injuries can help you stay safe when the temperature rises in your outdoor workplace.

Heat-related illnesses occur when a person is exposed to high temperatures, and their body temperature rises faster than their body can accommodate through its natural cooling mechanisms like perspiration. If you are working in a hot place, watch out for nausea, dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps, or fainting, as these are signs of heat-related illness.

Heat exposure illness and heat exhaustion can progress into heat stroke if the body temperature rises above one hundred and three degrees. Severe headaches, confusion, dizziness, and a rapid pulse are signs of heatstroke. An individual who has heatstroke may even become unconscious. Heatstroke requires immediate medical attention, as brain damage, organ failure, and even death can result from having a body temperature of over one hundred and three degrees for a prolonged time.

Sun exposure can add sunburn and sun poisoning to the list of work-related illnesses and injuries that can happen to workers who work outdoors in hot weather. If you work outdoors in the heat, you must have access to shade, and your employer must provide you with opportunities to get out of the sun. Dehydration is also a common heat-related illness that can happen to individuals who work outdoors in hot weather. Dehydration happens when your body sweats out more water than it takes in. Fatigue, headaches, and lightheadedness are some of the symptoms of dehydration.

Fortunately, there are things that workers and employers can do to reduce the likelihood of a heat-related illness, injury, or heat stroke. Hydration is critical in hot weather, and employers must not only ensure that adequate water is available to their employees, but that workers are encouraged to take time to drink water throughout their workday. Some people may not be aware of how much more water people need when they are working outdoors on a hot day. For example, eight, eight-ounce glasses of water each day is enough to maintain proper hydration for most people hydrated most of the time. If you work outdoors in the heat, you’ll need to drink four, eight-ounce glasses of water every hour!

Workers who plan to be outdoors this summer can do so confidently, knowing that sticking to the recommendations for hydrating and spending time in the shade can prevent many cases of heat-related illness or injury. If you do start to feel sick while you are on the job, tell someone right away. Move to a shaded place or an air-conditioned area, drink water, and seek medical attention if your symptoms do not improve.

If you have been hurt at work, you and your family do not need to file a workplace injury claim alone. Call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to learn more.

/by

Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys Explain Personal Injury Law

Last month, we shared information about several basic types of personal injury claims. You may have experienced an injury that is not one of the injuries discussed in that article. Your injury could also possibly give rise to a personal injury claim if you were hurt by no fault of your own.

The first thing you must do after an injury is to seek medical attention. Not only may the injury be more severe than it appears, but you also need to know what treatment is recommended for your injury so that you can begin the process of healing and recovery. When you receive medical care at a doctor’s office or a hospital, you create a record of your injury as well as the care that you have received for it. If your injury later gives rise to a personal injury claim, your medical records will provide valuable information to your attorney that they can use to support your claim.

After you have received medical care and you are on your way to recovering from your injury, it is a good idea to explore whether you might have a personal injury claim. It is wise to get started on working with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident, as personal injury claims take some time, and it won’t be long before your medical bills begin to arrive. If another person’s negligence caused your injury and you have information available to you that demonstrates that your injury was the result of their negligence, you may be able to work with a personal injury attorney to pursue a personal injury claim. The medical records mentioned in an earlier paragraph are a vital part of the proof you’ll need to support your personal injury claim. Other types of information your attorney can use to build your injury claim are witness statements, photographs, security camera footage, police reports, and your testimony about what happened to you before, during, and after your injury.

If you do have a personal injury claim, your attorney will work with you to file the claim and develop a settlement proposal. A settlement proposal is a document that your attorney sends to the defendant, the person or business entity that you believe is responsible for your injury, that outlines the reasons why they are liable for your injury as well as the compensation you expect to receive from them. What happens next depends upon the defendant’s response to your personal injury claim. Some defendants may acknowledge that your injury resulted from their negligence. They may agree to pay the amount your attorney requested, or they may attempt to negotiate with you and your attorney to reach an agreement to pay a lower amount. The defendant could also deny responsibility for your injury. If that happens, your attorney can file a lawsuit against them. You, your attorney, the defendant, and their attorney could settle your case before it gets to court. If not, you’ll appear in court with your attorney and present your personal injury case there in hopes of receiving a verdict in your favor.

If you would like to know whether you have a personal injury claim, ask the Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys at Barrett Law today. Call our office at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free initial consultation.

/by
,

Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Discuss Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can change lives in an instant. If you are in a workplace accident and you suffer a bump or blow to the head or any other type of head injury, it is critical that you seek medical attention immediately. Head injuries of all kinds are incredibly dangerous, and prompt treatment increases the chance of survival and the chance of recovery. If you suffer a head injury or if you witness an accident where someone receives a head injury, do not delay in seeking medical care or in calling for help for the accident victim. Head injuries do not always produce immediate pain or other symptoms, and dangerous, potentially deadly injuries like bleeding of the brain may not be visible to the eye.

Traumatic brain injuries disrupt the normal function of the brain. The impact of TBIs ranges from mild to severe, and they affect the way the injured person thinks, feels, acts, and moves. Traumatic brain injuries are a frequent cause sof disability and death in America. While automobile accidents are the most frequent cause of traumatic brain injuries, they can happen on the job, whether you are riding in a vehicle or not. For example, in any workplace where there is a fall hazard or the danger of being struck by an object, there is the risk of traumatic brain injury should you fall and hit your head or be struck int eh head by an object.

There are many types of head injuries, including skull fractures, concussions, contusions, and intracranial hematomas. Prompt medical attention after a head injury is the best way to obtain an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment as soon as possible. Treatment for traumatic brain injuries often starts at a hospital or trauma center and then progresses to a rehabilitation facility that specializes in helping patients recover from TBIs. As rehabilitation progresses, TBI patients may be able to work with their treatment providers and employers to make a plan to return for work. In some cases, a job change may be necessary, and additional training and support may become part of the patient’s rehabilitation plan.

Traumatic brain injuries can vary significantly in the amount of recovery time required to resume many activities, including work. The highly complex nature of the brain and the ways that brain injuries affect the victim’s entire being can make it difficult for care providers to assess a patient’s progress through recovery. It also makes it difficult for care providers to develop reliable timelines for when a patient might be able to resume things like walking, talking, writing, driving, and so on.

Traumatic brain injury workplace accident cases can lead to complicated worker’s compensation claims. You and your family do not need to face the challenge of filing a workplace injury claim alone. A workplace accident attorney can help you and your family navigate your workplace accident claim while you focus on your recovery. Call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to learn more.

/by

Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Want You to Know What to Do if Your Vehicle Catches Fire

Automobile accidents are one cause of vehicle fires, but they are not the only cause. Did you know that collisions cause only about five percent of vehicle fires? Many vehicle fires are caused by the failure or malfunction of one or more of the vehicle’s mechanical or electrical components. Over one hundred and seventy thousand vehicle fires are reported in the United States each year, which makes vehicle fires a safety concern that every driver and passenger should know about.

Vehicle fires can start quickly and without warning. If you notice smoke coming through the air vents of your vehicle or flames or smoke coming out of the hood, find a safe place to pull over right away. Turn your car off, to stop the flow of fuel within the vehicle. Exit your vehicle quickly, and ask anyone else who is in the car with you to do the same. Do not open the hood or the trunk if you suspect that the fire is in one of those areas – increased access to air can cause a fire to burn even more intensely. Do not try to put the fire out – people are often injured when they try to put out vehicle fires, and some people have died trying to extinguish vehicle fires. Make sure that you and anyone who is with you move to an area that is at least one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet away from your vehicle and call for help. If you or the others with you do not have a cell phone, or if all of you left your phones in the vehicle, flag down someone driving by and ask them to call for help. Do not return to your car to retrieve items that are inside of it.

Some vehicle fires are preventable. Keeping your car, truck, or SUV maintained properly could prevent a vehicle fire. Check fluid levels regularly, and get any leaks repaired promptly. Many problems that lead to vehicle fires, such as frayed electrical wires or shorts in a vehicle’s electrical system may cause fuses to blow repeatedly or make a smell of burning plastic. As you are driving, be sure to look at your gauges occasionally. If your vehicle experiences sudden changes in the fuel or oil level or a sudden rise in engine temperature, that could be a sign of a problem.

When multiple fires are reported by people who own similar vehicles, the manufacturer of those vehicles must determine if a faulty component involved in the production and assembly of the cars is the reason that they are catching fire. If a vehicle manufacturer discovers that a component used in the manufacture of some of its vehicles is causing fires, the automaker must recall any cars manufactured using that part. They must then repair the affected vehicles with a part that does not create the risk of fire, at no cost to the vehicle owners. If you receive a recall notice for a car that you own, it is essential that you make time to have the recall work done as soon as possible, whether the recall is because of a fire risk or some other safety concern.

If a vehicle fire hurt you, we’re here to help. Call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation.

/by

Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Talk About Caught-In-Machinery Accidents

A California woman recently lost her life in a workplace accident when her clothing became stuck in a machine. The woman was working at the Del Ray packing plant when the fatal accident occurred. She was employed as a contract employee for the plant for two years before her death.

The woman was working near a machine that breaks apart bunches of raisins, when a piece of her clothing became entangled in the machinery. Two employees who were working nearby shut down the machine, but she hit her head before it came to a stop. The woman died at the accident scene from the blow to her head.

Manufacturing and processing jobs are not the most dangerous jobs out there, but they are not without risk. One of the biggest dangers to employees working in manufacturing and processing facilities is the equipment they use to manufacture or process the goods that their employer produces. One of the most common types of workplace accidents at manufacturing and processing facilities is the caught-in-machinery accident. This type of accident can severely injure or kill workers, even if other employees working nearby see the accident happen and rush to turn off the machine. Many caught-in-machinery accidents happen when workers are not actively using a machine. Workers who service machinery are at work of being caught in it if the machine turns on while they are working on it.

Unfortunately, manufacturing and processing facilities are not the only workplaces where caught-in-machinery accidents happen. Landscape and logging companies, as well as utility companies, use tree chipping and debarking machines that can quickly amputate limbs or otherwise severely injure or kill people who accidentally become entangled in them. Agricultural workers also face the risk of being caught in many types of farm machinery at work. From balers and combines to the power take-off (PTO) units and driveshafts used to transfer power from tractors to farming implements, many moving parts can entangle workers, causing severe injury or death. The mining, construction, scrap metal, and recycling industries also involve machinery that workers can become caught in.

The ways that caught-in-machinery accidents can occur are varied. Some accidents happen when clothing or hair becomes entangled in the machinery, as happened to the woman who recently died at the raisin processing facility. Others become caught in a machine when they try to service it while it is running. Sometimes, a worker turns a machine off to repair it and then is injured or killed when another worker turns the machine on while they are servicing it. Other workers become entangled in machinery when they try to reach over or across it. Some caught-in-machinery accidents happen when workers fall into machines.

Prevention of caught-in-machinery accidents involves active participation by employers and employees to make safe operation procedures known and ensure that they are followed. Machines should be operated with safety guards in place. Workers who service machinery must be trained in the safe and proper procedures for doing so. These procedures may involve lockout/tag-out procedures and other safeguards against accidental activation of the machinery during service, and they must follow them to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

If you were injured in a caught-in-machinery accident, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577.

/by

Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys Say Slip and Fall Accidents Can Be Dangerous and Even Deadly

It’s winter again, and the risk for slip and fall accidents is higher than it is at other times of the year. Slip and fall accidents are dangerous. They can lead to severe injury and even death. Last February, a college student died after slipping on ice on the campus at the University of Washington in Seattle. The young woman suffered a head injury from the fall and passed away at the hospital.

Winter weather in Mississippi is as unpredictable as it is elsewhere in America. There are dry days, wet days, cold days, warmer days, and all kinds of storms and patterns that make it hard for people to know what to expect when they go outdoors. The highly variable nature of winter weather can make it hard for building owners to keep track of the condition of sidewalks, parking lots, and even the flooring inside of their establishments. Try as they may, they might be unable to remedy every safety hazard promptly. This makes the winter season a time where people are more likely than usual to be injured in a slip and fall accident.

Slip and fall accidents can cause anything from minor scrapes and bruises to serious, painful injuries that require lengthy recovery time, physical therapy, and sometimes even surgery. Every part of your body can be hurt during a slip and fall accident, and some slip and fall accident victims also end up suffering from a concussion in addition to other injuries. Cold weather can make muscles tight, and more likely to be pulled or strained during an unpredictable or unanticipated movement like a slip and fall.

Fortunately, some slip and fall accidents are preventable. There are several things you can do to help yourself and others in your family to avoid slip and fall accidents. First, select appropriate footwear for the weather. While winter boots don’t look amazing with every outfit, neither do casts, bandages, and neck braces. Put on properly-fitting winter footwear before you go out the door. If you’re heading to work or your kids are heading out to school, make sure that you and they take along indoor shoes to wear while they’re inside. Stashing winter boots near the door or in another designated storage area at work or school can help keep water, snow, and ice off the floors and reduce the chance of a slip and fall. When you are walking outdoors, take it slow and maintain an awareness of what you’re walking on. That means put away the cell phone – people can and do slip and fall when they’re texting or talking as they walk.

If you do have a slip and fall accident, seek medical attention right away. After you have received any necessary medical care and you are moving forward to recovering from your slip and fall, you may wonder whether you can pursue financial recovery for your injuries. The Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys at Barrett Law can help you determine whether you have a viable claim related to a slip and fall accident. To learn, please call our office today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free initial consultation.

 

 

/by

Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney Asks – Do You Work At One of America’s Ten Most Dangerous Jobs?

The end of the year comes with many lists, especially lists of the ten best or ten worst of just about anything. One of those lists is a compilation of the ten most dangerous jobs in America. The list is based on workplace accident, injury, and fatality numbers from 2018, and by now, you may be wondering whether your job is on it.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, over five thousand American lives were lost on the job during 2018. The number of lives lost at work is slightly higher than it was in 2017. Interestingly enough, a full forty percent of those fatalities involved transportation. Contact with objects and equipment is an increasingly common cause of workplace fatalities, causing thirteen percent more deaths than it had the previous year.

The tenth most dangerous job in America is supervising landscaping and groundskeeping work. Supervisors for these services often visit multiple job sites every day as they manage the teams that provide the landscaping and groundskeeping services, increasing the risk that they will be hurt or killed in a work-related transportation accident. Transportation accidents are the leading cause of work-related fatalities among groundskeeping and landscaping supervisors.

The ninth most dangerous job in America is also a supervisor’s job – supervising construction and extraction work crews. Again, transportation-related fatalities top the list of workplace deaths for this job, which involves a great deal of travel between job sites each day. Another significant contributor to workplace fatalities for supervisors of extraction and construction work is falls, slips, and trips.

Structural iron and steel workers have the eighth most dangerous job in America. Slips, trips, and falls were the most common cause of workplace injuries and deaths for structural steel and ironworkers, who often work at substantial heights installing structural components during building construction.

Farmers, ranchers, and others who work in agriculture have the seventh most dangerous job in America. Transportation accidents top the list of causes of injury and death for agricultural workers.  It is unclear whether those figures include travel between farms, using tractors, combines, and other farming equipment, or both. Most of the training that agricultural workers receive is on-the-job, so agricultural workers who are teaching newer workers how to do their jobs must emphasize safety during that training.

American workers provide valuable services to our communities and our nation. Without American farmers and fishers, our food supply would not be as diverse and accessible as it is, and we would be more dependent on other nations for food. Without American loggers, we would not be able to harvest our forests for the diverse assortment of wood products that many of us use every day. Every job on the list of America’s ten most dangerous occupations is vital to the success of our nation’s society and economy. When workplace safety is not the priority that it should be, American workers face on-the-job dangers that could hurt or kill them. If you were injured on the job, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577.

 

/by

Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Discuss Line Work Accidents

A Florida man died in November when he was electrocuted while working on a power line. Co-workers attempted to perform CPR on the man, and he was transported to a hospital after rescue workers arrived at the accident scene. The man died at the hospital as a result of his injuries.

Line work is one of the ten most dangerous professions. This is not surprising, because line workers work with or near electrical wires, and they often work in rain, snow, and other severe weather to restore service to homes and businesses that have lost power. Even when there are no power outages, line workers are busy installing, repairing, and maintaining the electric and utility lines that bring power, telephone, television, and internet to businesses and homes. Line workers do a diverse assortment of tasks in their work, from trimming trees and setting poles to stringing wires, splicing and soldering cables, replacing worn or damaged components of the electrical and utility distribution systems, and inspecting and testing lines.

For every one hundred thousand people who work on utility lines each year, there are between thirty and fifty fatalities. In addition to workplace fatalities, line workers experience a high risk of on-the-job injuries. Electrocution is an obvious risk of line work. The risk of falls, fires and explosions, musculoskeletal trauma, confined space injuries, and stress-related injuries are also present on line work job sites. Electrical burns and mechanical injuries lead the list of the types of injuries suffered by line workers on the job. Some injured utility workers even lose limbs because of workplace accidents.

Many utility companies acknowledge the high level of risk associated with line work. Still, the injury and fatality rate for the profession is slow to drop despite their increased efforts to improve employee safety. While some companies have improved their employee training programs, others have not, and employees who are not adequately trained to perform this dangerous work pose a danger to others as well as to themselves because line workers work in groups. Sometimes, safety equipment is not maintained in good repair, or line work vehicles are not in good working condition. These issues increase the risk of a line work accident, as does the cumulative stress of working long hours, which often happens for line workers, especially during storms and widespread power outages.

A line work injury can keep you out of work for quite some time. Medical bills can pile up if you have to miss work while you heal, and you may face uncertainty about whether you will recover enough to be able to return to doing line work. If you were injured in a line work accident or if you lost a family member in a line work accident, know that you do not have to navigate the daunting process of filing a workplace injury or death claim alone. Call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to learn more.

/by

Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys Say Vaping Linked to At Least One Mississippi Death

Numerous illnesses and deaths related to vaping have been reported across America over the past few months. Unfortunately, Mississippi has not been spared the impact of this growing public health crisis. The state health department says that earlier this year, a vaping-related death claimed the life of a young Mississippi resident.

Many of the people who are being injured and killed in vaping-related incidents across America are young. The person who died from vaping in Mississippi was under thirty years of age, and there are at least four people in Mississippi who are between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four who have suffered severe lung injuries because of vaping. Vaping has been marketed as a smoking cessation method. Still, its safety and effectiveness are being called into question as more and more people who use e-cigarettes are getting sick. E-Cigarette companies are facing lawsuits related to their advertising, which is alleged to promote e-cigarette use by teens.

As of September 19, seven people in six different states were reported to have died as the result of vaping, and another five hundred and thirty reported vaping-related lung injuries. There is a nationwide investigation underway to assess the risk of severe pulmonary disease and lung injury associated with vaping. The risks related to using vaping products that contain THC may be more severe than the risks associated with products that contain only nicotine. It is important to note that all vaping products are likely to produce some degree of risk.

The investigation into vaping-related illnesses and injuries is proving difficult and complicated, as there are so many vaping products available from a wide variety of manufacturers. Adding to the complexity of the situation is the black market for e-cigarette cartridges, which makes it hard for investigators to determine what ingredients are in cartridges that were purchased on the black market. One particular ingredient, diacetyl, has been identified as a possible cause of vaping-related illnesses and deaths. Exposure to diacetyl can cause a potentially fatal disease called bronchiolitis obliterans. The chemical is widely used in the flavoring industry, and some food industry workers who manufacture popcorn and coffee, two foods that are often chemically flavored, have been found to have the disease. Diacetyl is a common ingredient in e-cigarettes, which is why it is being examined as a possible culprit in vaping-related injuries and deaths.

Public health officials are suggesting that people discontinue their use of all kinds of vaping products and get immediate medical attention if they experience any sighs of vaping-related illness or injury. Chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing, fever, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, and diarrhea are some of the symptoms that have been reported by people who have suffered vaping-related illnesses. E-cigarette sales have already been banned in at least twenty-eight other countries. Several cities and states are working on legislation that would limit access to e-cigarette products and pull flavored vaping products, which make the products very appealing to teens, off the market.

E-cigarette injury law is an emerging area of personal injury law. Some individuals who have been hurt or killed by e-cigarettes are pursuing litigation against e-cigarette manufacturers. To learn more about how our Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys can support you in pursuing your personal injury claim, please call our office today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free initial consultation.

 

 

/by