Every job has specific risks associated with it. Plumbing does not make it to the top of lists of the most dangerous jobs, but there are many ways that plumbers can get hurt or even killed at work. An Australian man recently died in the hospital from injuries he received when a pressurized water pipe burst and struck him in the head. The man was working at the iMax theatre construction site at Darling Harbour. This fatal workplace accident is currently being investigated by authorities, who are concerned about several workplace safety concerns that have been reported at the Darling Harbour site. Earlier this year, a Nebraska plumber died when the ceiling of the building where he was working on fixing a leaky pipe collapsed and pinned him under the debris.

Plumbers sometimes have to work on ladders or scaffolding to reach pipes and other equipment that are in high places. There is a risk of falling from a height when a plumber does a job that requires the use of scaffolding or a ladder. Confined space injuries are a job site risk for plumbers, who sometimes must go into pits, ducts, and other places that do not have a safe level of oxygen. Severe injury and death can result when a plumber is unable to breathe or becomes trapped in a confined space like a collapsed trench with no way to escape.

Some of the tools that plumbers use regularly are rather heavy. Pipe wrenches can weigh a lot. When a plumber uses pipe wrenches and other heavy tools frequently, the strain that their body experiences from that work can add up over time to produce repetitive motion injuries like muscle strains, back injuries, or soft tissue damage. There is a great deal of bending, carrying, and lifting, in a plumber’s typical workday, and injuries can result when loads are too heavy, or lifting is done improperly.

Sometimes, plumbers must work in areas where water and electricity are present near each other. That is a dangerous combination and can result in severe or fatal injury from electrocution. Plumbers use torches for soldering, and they can get burned by the torch, hot pipes, and even the solder itself. Soldering and working with plastic and metal pipes involves a range of chemical compounds. Some of the chemicals that plumbers use can cause severe damage if they get into eyes, and could contribute to illness or injury if used over the long term or without proper ventilation. Plumbers also come into contact with sewage regularly. Many serious and potentially fatal diseases can occur as the result of contact with raw sewage or soil that is contaminated with sewage. Hepatitis, E. coli, giardiasis, and encephalitis are just some of the illnesses that plumbers could be exposed to through their work.

If you are a plumber who suffered an injury on the job, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577.

 

The public often misperceives personal injury attorneys. Unfortunately, television dramas, social media, and other societal influences are doing little to dispel personal injury law myths or do away with the ambulance-chaser caricature. The worst thing about the widespread misunderstanding of who personal injury attorneys are and what they do is that it can prevent people who have a legitimate cause of action from filing a lawsuit.

Consider what would happen if personal injury attorneys really were the way they appear on tv. They would be unable to find any clients, and they would be unable to sustain their business. With many lawyers handling personal injury cases and many clients receiving compensation for their injuries, there must be something more going on. The practice of personal injury law is alive and well because attorneys have worked diligently to earn the trust of their personal injury clients by helping them pursue claims for damages in a way that supports their clients’ healing and recovery. Personal injury attorneys have the privilege of coming alongside their clients during a difficult time in their lives and helping them move forward after their injuries. Compassion, perseverance, knowledge, and experience are required to complete that task well. If you are injured, take time to meet with several personal injury attorneys and get to know them. There’s a good chance that you’ll encounter someone that you can trust to help you.

The public also scorns personal injury plaintiffs. If you were injured by someone’s actions, you might be able to file a claim for damages. That claim could hold the party who hurt you responsible for their actions while also providing you with compensation for the damages that you have experienced as the result of your injury. That’s a far nobler and much more accurate portrayal of a personal injury plaintiff than the bitter, resentful complainer that society so often portrays them to be.

All too often, injured people blame themselves for their injuries instead of acknowledging that another party may be partially or fully responsible for their injury. There is often societal pressure to “own your mistakes,” and while personal responsibility and accountability are essential, it’s also important to hold others accountable when they have not acted responsibly. For example, if a business has a legal responsibility to keep its parking lot and entrance safe and accessible. If a customer slips in the icy, unsanded parking lot or on the unsalted sidewalk, it is entirely appropriate to file a claim for damages against the business for failing to maintain their parking lot and entryway in a safe condition.

The Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC have helped a diverse group of plaintiffs and their families pursue claims for damages or losses in connection with many different types of injuries. To learn more about how our Mississippi 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.

 

 

Wood pellet stoves and boilers are fast becoming a popular way to heat buildings of all kinds. Manufacturing facilities that produce wood pellet fuel make various types of wood pellet fuel and sell it to their customers in bulk or bag it in preparation for sale to consumers through a diverse selection of retail stores. Every workplace, including wood pellet manufacturing facilities, has an array of different injury and accident risks.

A long-time employee of a Mississippi wood pellet plant died in a workplace accident this month. Fifty-five-year-old Johnny Dale Bishop served faithfully as the maintenance manager for years before he died in an early morning accident on October 25. Bishop was working on a burner bin when he fell several feet to the ground. The Monroe County Coroner reports that Mr. Bishop died at the scene of the accident. OSHA and several other authorities are currently investigating the fatal accident.

Wood pellet manufacturing facilities can be dangerous places to work. Proper training and safe work habits can prevent workplace accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Some risks are inherent in the production of wood pellet fuel. One threat to workers at wood pellet plants is the amount of combustible material in their work environment. If a fire or explosion occurs in a pellet manufacturing plant, it can get out of control quickly because of the amount of available fuel. It took firefighters four hours to contain the fire that resulted from an explosion at a Connecticut pellet manufacturing facility in 2013.

The dust produced during the pellet manufacturing process creates a risk of fire and explosion. In 2013, a dust explosion at a New Zealand pellet factory injured an employee. In 2011, a hundred firefighters worked for fourteen hours to put out a fire that started in the dust conveyor system of a pellet plant in New Hampshire.

As evidenced by the aforementioned Mississippi pellet plant fatality, fire and explosion are not the only risks employees of wood pellet manufacturers face during their workday. Falls from equipment and machinery can cause injury or death. The machines used to make and package the pellets can cause crush injuries and other types of injuries or fatalities from employee contact with moving parts. The equipment used to load and move pellets can injure or kill workers.

Wood pellet manufacturing facilities can be dangerous places to work. Unfortunately, so can many other workplaces. A job-related injury can keep you out of work and out of a paycheck for a while as you work through the healing process. Medical bills can pile up if you have to miss work while you pursue the medical care that you need to heal and return for work. The process of filing a workplace injury claim can be daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone. If you were injured at work, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to learn more.

A thirty-five-year-old man died after a train struck his jeep. He was traveling south on St. Paul Avenue in Pass Christian, and the train was traveling west. The gravely wounded man was taken to the hospital, where he died from the blunt force trauma that he experienced in the collision. There were no other injuries or fatalities as the result of this wreck.

While reports about the fatal crash did not specify whether the accident occurred at a railroad crossing, drivers must understand how dangerous and deadly accidents at railroad crossings are and how frequently they happen. A person who is in a passenger vehicle that hits or is hit by a train is forty times more likely to die than they would be if the other vehicle involved in the crash were a passenger vehicle.

Nearly six thousand collisions involving a train and one or more motor vehicles occur in America each year. Many of those crashes occur at railroad crossings, while some of the wrecks occur in other types of locations that are not railroad crossings.

When you add the number of car-train wrecks to the number of train- pedestrian accidents, statistics show that in the United States, one vehicle or person is hit by a train approximately every two hours. That’s an estimated twelve train-related collisions every day. What’s more, the frequency of train crashes has been increasing since 1997.

Railroad crossings are dangerous places. Some intersections do not have any safety devices to warn motorists of an oncoming train. Some have safety devices that don’t work correctly. It is estimated that eighty percent of America’s more than two hundred thousand railroad crossings have inadequate safety devices. Over half of all train accidents happen at these unprotected crossings. Drivers must pay close attention to what’s happening around any railroad crossing they encounter and make wise decisions about when to proceed through the crossing.

Accidents at railroad crossings often look different during the day than they do at night. At night, half of all vehicle-train collisions occur when a driver of a passenger vehicle runs into the side of the train as the train is passing through the crossing. During the day, three-quarters of the collisions that happen at railroad crossings result from a train hitting a passenger vehicle.

While many things can cause a train crash, some of the most common causes of train accidents are recklessness, human error, and negligence. Reckless actions by drivers or pedestrians such as walking on train tracks or trying to speed through a crossing before the train cause some train accidents. Human error by the train conductor or signal operator can cause a wreck. Negligence by the railroad, an equipment manufacturer, or a government agency can also result in conditions that cause a collision.

If you were hurt or if someone in your family was killed in a motor vehicle- train crash, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to arrange an initial consultation.

 

 

One man died in a recent Mississippi motor vehicle accident involving a levee. It appears as though the man drowned after his vehicle slid down a levee into the Mississippi river, and he was unable to get it back up the levee. The accident happened near East Carondelet, at a time when the river was at an elevated stage.

Spring and fall often bring heavy rain to Mississippi. That rain often causes rivers and streams to flood, or, at the very least, to run very high and fast. Drivers should not operate their vehicles on or near levees because it is unsafe to do so. Levees are, by nature, unstable, and they can collapse. Floodwaters can also wash over the tops of levees, sweeping away vehicles, and anything else that is nearby.

Likewise, roads that are near rivers and streams can suffer damage during times when rainfall is heavy or frequent. In addition to floodwaters washing over the road surface, culverts and storm drains can fail or collapse. Scrutinize the side of the road as you drive along because road collapses often begin on the shoulder and can happen quickly.

When there is flooding, do not drive your vehicle on flooded roads. Water that is too high can enter your vehicle’s exhaust system and stall it, leaving you and your car at the mercy of the rushing water. Rain on the road obscures holes and other debris that can damage your vehicle. It could even conceal holes large enough for a car to fall through. Just six inches of water can disable many vehicles, and water that’s moving fast can sweep vehicles away quickly and without warning.

A good safety rule to follow is to avoid driving through water that you could not walk through. Also, avoid any water that is moving fast, even if it looks shallow enough to drive through. Moving water is a powerful force. If you see that the water is not moving quickly and it’s shallow enough to drive through, proceed slowly and carefully. Creep along at one to two miles per hour to start. As much as possible, drive in the center of the roadway because that’s the highest point. Once you have exited the water, continue to drive slowly and dry your brakes by tapping them lightly several times.

If you get swept up in floodwaters unexpectedly while you are driving, exit your vehicle if you can do so safely and get to higher ground. Do not try to restart the engine if it stalls; you could damage it severely. After your vehicle is recovered from the water, have it towed to a reputable mechanic and explain what happened- they’ll need to know that it was in a flood so they can repair it correctly.

If you were hurt or if a family member died in a Mississippi automobile accident, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to learn more.

 

Workers who deal with trees as part of their job are often exposed to the risk of injury or death. The trees themselves can pose a threat to safety as can the saws, trucks, and other equipment that people who work cutting, clearing, and otherwise managing trees use in their jobs. A recent death in Mississippi involved a MDOT worker who was doing tree work.

Tree work injuries and deaths are not the exclusive provinces of novice or undertrained workers. The man who was recently killed in a Mississippi tree work accident had twelve years of experience with the highway department. The accident is still under investigation, and information has not been revealed about how it occurred. A statement from the Mississippi Department of Transportation says that after a severe weather event, MDOT workers go out onto the roads to clear away trees so that traffic, including highway repair and other storm response vehicles, can get to the locations they need to reach. Tree work is vital to keeping highways clear and communities in working order.

Whether you are a tree trimmer for a state or local highway department, a bucket truck operator for a utility company, a logger, or someone else who does tree work, following safe work procedures can reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and death. Unfortunately, investigations into some tree work injuries and fatalities reveal that those incidents may have been prevented.

One way to avoid injuries while working with trees is to stay clear of equipment that other people are operating. Trucks and other machines have blind spots, and some workplace injuries and deaths associated with tree work involve workers that got run over by a truck or other piece of equipment. If you are operating a truck or a piece of equipment, be sure that you know how to stabilize it and use it safely. Injuries and deaths can occur when trucks roll over because they have not been adequately secured. Steep slopes can cause skid steers and other equipment to roll over, injuring, or killing vehicle occupants. Know the limitations of the equipment that you are using, and do not operate it on slopes that it is not designed to handle.

Using safety equipment properly is key to preventing other tree work injuries and deaths. Also, regular maintenance and inspection of safety equipment are crucial to accident prevention, as some injuries and deaths have been caused by inadequate, broken, improperly maintained, or defective equipment.

Tree work can also be unpredictable because it is not always possible to completely control the movement of limbs, branches, and logs or the equipment that you are using to lift, lower, cut, and process them. Unfortunately, this means that not all tree work accidents, injuries, and deaths are preventable. Tree work has historically been a dangerous job. Though advances in safety equipment have made it safer, tree workers must maintain an awareness of the risks inherent in their work.

To learn more about how to file a workplace accident claim, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577.

 

Over eight hundred cases of lung illnesses related to vaping and e-cigarettes are reported from across forty-six states. Twelve deaths across ten states have been attributed to e-cigarette or vaping-related lung illnesses. At least one of those deaths is said to have occurred in Mississippi.

Officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently testified before panels in the House of Representatives regarding the illnesses, which they say are not yet connected with any particular e-cigarette brand or vaping product. Investigating the causes of lung illness in these patients is proving to be hard for doctors because there are many products available, and a variety of ingredients are used in those products. Also, some substances like marijuana, which are legal in some states and illegal in others, are sometimes included as ingredients in vaping products and e-cigarettes.

Individuals who are suffering from lung illnesses caused by vaping and e-cigarettes want answers about why they are sick. In addition to the difficulties mentioned above, clear answers may be tough to find because many people who use e-cigarettes or vaping products have tried numerous brands and varieties of them. Vaping products and e-cigarettes come in a dizzying array of flavors, formulations, and brands, and many people who use those products enjoy sampling different products.

Some of the people who got sick after using vaping products or e-cigarettes are not willing to disclose to their doctors that they use those products or use particular varieties of those products. Some of the products that have been used by both young users and users of legal age were purchased on the black market, where ingredient lists and product descriptions may not be wholly accurate or reliable.

Despite myriad difficulties in pinpointing the cause or causes of vaping-related illnesses and deaths, the CDC says it has been able to determine that the diseases appear to be caused by some chemical exposure. Multiple chemicals may be causing the illnesses, but one likely culprit that is causing at least some of them is Vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E acetate is an oil that is often used by manufacturers of cannabis-containing products to dilute the THC oil that the companies use to fill their cartridges. Vitamin E acetate is safe to use in topical products like skin creams, and it is safe to ingest in multivitamins or nutritional supplements. Health care professionals say the substance is not safe to inhale, and it may cause shortness of breath, chest pain, and other symptoms that correspond with the symptoms described by many of the patients reporting lung ailments in connection with e-cigarette or vape use. Samples of products taken from some of the individuals who have gotten sick from vaping or using e-cigarettes were tested by the United States Food and Drug Administration, which found Vitamin E acetate in approximately half of the product samples that contained THC.

The Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC have helped many plaintiffs and their families pursue claims for damages or losses in connection with all kinds of injuries. Call our office today, at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a free, initial consultation.

 

No one old enough to witness video of the Rodney King beating can forget it. Sadly, I have seen similar injuries to clients caused by police. While clients often brought these injuries to me as potential police brutality cases, only a percentage of them ultimately ended up as viable claims. What is police brutality? Why aren’t all injuries caused by law enforcement officers considered police brutality? Clients frequently ask these questions, so I have written the following blog post, to provide an overview of Mississippi law regarding police brutality.  If you or a loved one was injured at the hands of law enforcement, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injury, damages, and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

Police Brutality in Mississippi

Legally, police have the right to use the force necessary to subdue a person during the course of an arrest. The force must generally be proportionate to the offense, meaning that a police officer cannot use deadly force to subdue a person who does not pose a threat of public harm. But police officers can use tremendous, pain-inducing, and debilitating force in the course of an arrest if they view it as necessary. The U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable seizures,” meaning that the level of force used in the arrest must not unreasonably exceed what was necessary to make the arrest.

Unfortunately, the law regarding police brutality is highly subjective. A police officer does not know whether a person is going to fight back during an arrest or whether he or she is armed. Accordingly, jurors usually find that any level of force that subdues the subject is reasonable. There are limits, however. Once a suspect is subdued, law enforcement officers cannot cause them further pain. Torture is clearly unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Recent examples of this sort of abuse are “rough rides” given to handcuffed defendants in New York City who were then driven erratically in the back of a van and were unable to prevent themselves from being tossed against the van’s hard sides.

Similarly, if police violence is motivated by racial or ethnic bias, it is also a violation of the arrestee’s constitutional rights. If a police officer uses racial epithets during an arrest or makes other demeaning comments, then you may have a strong claim for police misconduct.

What Should You Do if You are Arrested?

I always tell my clients the same things regarding arrests. First, do not resist arrest, even if you feel that the detention or its basis are illegal. If you resist, you may be justifying whatever violence ensues. Second, record your arrest. There is no legal basis to prevent you from recording your arrest. In this era of smartphones, every arrestee should document their arrest so that there is no subsequent confusion about whether there was justification for the force employed by the police. Encourage family, friends, and those nearby to record the arrest as well. Everyone enjoys a First Amendment right to record arrests.  Immediately following your arrest, contact a personal injury attorney.

 What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured as a Result of Police Brutality?

Police brutality can result in serious lifetime injuries and trauma. If you were injured as a result of police brutality, you will need the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney to gather evidence from the scene, attain information regarding the officer’s discipline record, and fight the police union, which always mounts a vigorous defense of its members.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have been injured by law enforcement. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

 

There has been a recent trend in the news over the past year, where patients undergoing some medical procedure recorded the procedure while it was being performed. At the time of the recording, the patient was unconscious. At first, these recordings were often accidental and were the result of someone accidentally triggering their phone’s audio recorder before being sedated. Some of these unintentional recordings caught egregious comments by medical staff that insulted the sedated patient’s race, ethnicity, or body. That sort of statement gives rise to questions regarding the quality of medical care being provided. Once these recordings received media attention, people began to intentionally surreptitiously record their medical procedures to make sure that they were being treated with dignity while they were sedated. Several questions arise from this conduct, mainly, is this a legal act in Mississippi, and is it a good idea?

In this blog post, I will provide an overview of the Mississippi law regarding surreptitious or secret recordings of conversations. But recordings aside, if you or a loved one was injured while receiving medical care, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injury, damages, and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

Secret Recordings in Mississippi

Starting at the beginning, Mississippi law allows anyone to make a recording of a phone call or conversation as long as he or she has the consent of at least one party to the conversation. Mississippi Code sec. 41-29-531. That means that if you participate in a conversation, you can choose to record it.

The question of covert recording becomes more complicated when you are present for a conversation, as you would be while a medical procedure is being performed on you, but you are not “a party” to the conversation going on around you because you are sedated. The Mississippi courts have not yet tackled this issue, but it is not difficult to foresee what the arguments would be. A medical professional would claim that you had no right to record a conversation going on around you if you are not a party to the discussion; moreover, he or she would likely argue that a conversation going on while you are sedated has no relevance to the standard of care you received. An injured patient would probably argue that he or she was “a party” to the conversation, just as a person is a party to a conversation even though they choose not to say anything during the discussion. Further, the patient would likely argue that medical professionals’ demeaning words are indicative of their attitudes toward the patient and the standard of care due to him or her. These arguments will be heard by the courts eventually, and I anticipate that the courts will find in favor of patients’ rights.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured as a Result of Medical Malpractice?

Digital recordings of conversations occurring during your medical procedure may be a vital piece of evidence if you need to go to court to attain your fair share of compensation for your injuries. But this is a small part of any medical malpractice case. Proving negligence, hiring experts regarding your injuries, and dealing with the defendants’ attorneys are other essential tasks that only a veteran personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have been injured. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

With the rise of smartphones, we all now have photography, videography, and recording equipment on our phones that rivals anything available commercially twenty years ago. That means that if you are in an accident, you can collect compelling evidence in real-time that might have otherwise been destroyed. But what evidence should you collect, and what steps can you legally take to obtain statements from other parties involved in the collision?

If you or a loved one was injured in a vehicle collision, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injury, damages, and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

Good Evidence is the Key to a Great Case

A vehicle accident is a chaotic scene. Injured people, broken glass, traffic streaming by—it is a dynamic and wild environment. But capturing that scene through photographs, video, and audio recordings may prove the difference between being compensated for your fair share of your damages and receiving nothing at all. The problem is that immediately after an accident occurs, tow trucks move damaged vehicles off the roadway, witnesses drive off, and the injured parties are taken for medical care. Everyone’s memory of the scene simultaneously dims and gets tainted by their self-interest. That is why recording the aftermath of an accident is vital to proving your case. Even police officers who come upon the scene later will not have the same opportunity to document it that you will if you were involved in the accident.

Obviously, if you were injured in the accident, focus your energy on attaining immediate medical care. But if you are able, you should use your smartphone to document as much as you can. But what should you document?

Standard Information

Of course, you always need to attain the standard after accident information, including names and contact information for all parties involved, VIN numbers for all vehicles, and everyone’s insurance information. Use your smartphone to photograph all of these documents and then send them to yourself as an email so that they are effectively saved in two places.

Take Photographs

Take as many photographs of the scene as possible. You want a photo of every vehicle, from every possible angle. These photographs will become crucial evidence if the other driver refuses to admit fault or, worse, blames you for the accident.

Make Digital Video of the Accident

As soon as you get out of your vehicle, turn on your phone’s video camera. People often admit fault as soon as they get out of their car, saying something to the effect of, “I should never have turned in front of your car,” or “I shouldn’t have looked down at my phone.” These statements may be crucial to your case later. This video will also be vital to document the time of day that the accident occurred, weather and road conditions, and the degree of darkness.

No one has to make a statement to you, and you cannot make them make a statement. Similarly, you should refrain from making any statement about the accident, your role in it, or its cause.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in a Vehicle Accident?

If you or a loved one was injured in a vehicle collision, you know that these accidents can require, expensive medical treatment and costly repairs to the vehicles involved. Inexperienced attorneys that do not deal with personal injury cases daily may lead you down a dead-end where you receive no compensation for your car accident. Don’t make that mistake—let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving your medical records, attaining expert medical opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a veteran personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have been injured. Contact our experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney now at (800) 707-9577.