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Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Advises Persons Injured in the BP Oil Spill Cleanup to Contact Him Now

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill was a devastating event for the Gulf Coast economy, culture, and environment. While BP has come to a settlement with many plaintiffs and the government regarding their negligence, you may still have a claim based on injuries incurred during subsequent the cleanup of the spill.

However blameworthy BP is for the acts that led to this disaster, that is no excuse for the despicable individuals who attempted to falsely benefit from the $20.8 billion dollar settlement by filing false claims. Recent articles in the Financial Times and Petronews highlight that the government has successfully prosecuted over 300 people for defrauding the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility, with over 100 of those convicted receiving sentences involving incarceration. Not only are these individuals criminally blameworthy for their attempts at fraud, they also reduced the amount due to legitimate claimants and injected the claim process with an unnecessary and unhelpful degree of distrust.

Four cases, in particular, were highlighted by the Financial Times:

Thi Houng Le, 34 from Pascagoula, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Gregory P. Warren, 52, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez, was ordered to pay over $600,000 for her role in filing false Deepwater Horizon claims. Alejandrez, 51, previously pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in connection to the case and was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release

Some of the fraud convictions have even involved people who worked to administering the claims funds. In June 2015, a claims adjuster for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility in Louisiana pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge in connection with an attempt to defraud the fund. Charlie English III pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge tied to false documentation he submitted to support a claim that his income was impacted by the spill. The fraudulent claim allowed English to obtain $257,400 from the fund.

If you have had an experienced legitimate physical or economic injury as a result of the Gulf oil spill or its cleanup, you may be a legitimate plaintiff in this case. BP placed Gulf residents in physical danger and made promises that they did not keep—there may be claims for negligence or violations of a contract. If you have suffered these injuries, whether physical, mental, emotional, or financial, you may be entitled to be made whole.  However, recent convictions of hundreds of residents caught seeking to reap an illegitimate financial windfall show that the government is taking false claims seriously.

If you were harmed by the BP Gulf Oil Spill, important deadlines, statutes of limitations, and filing requirements make consulting with an experienced plaintiffs’ attorney with BP oil spill experience a vital step to protecting yourself, your livelihood, and your rights. While this article discusses the ramifications of filing a false claim, many legitimate claims are still unaddressed.

Contact Mississippi personal injury attorney Jonathan Barrett at Barrett Law immediately to protect your rights at (800)-707-9577.

Call attorney Barrett to set up a free initial consultation. The claims you may have based on your participation in the BP oil spill response or cleanup are not simple, and you should not trust them to an attorney lacking the plaintiffs’ law and BP oil spill experience attorney Barrett possess. Call now to protect your livelihood and life.

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Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Advises Persons Injured in the BP Oil Spill Cleanup to Contact Him Now

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill was a devastating event for the Gulf Coast economy, culture, and environment. While BP has come to a settlement with many plaintiffs and the government regarding their negligence, you may still have a claim based on injuries incurred during subsequent the cleanup of the spill.

A case recently filed in the U.S. District Court in New Orleans against BP PLC, BP Exploration and Production and BP America Production Co. (“BP”) claims that BP chartered the plaintiff local resident’s fishing and shrimp boat for the cleanup and employed the resident as part of the cleanup effort. As part of that work, BP instructed him to drive his boat through the oil so that his spinning propeller would agitate or stir up the spilled oil.

As you can imagine, driving a propeller through oil causes it to become agitated and enter the air either as a vapor or liquid. There are health risks associated with breathing and coming into contact with oil. Similarly, dispersants were present in the water at the time also could become airborne as a result of this practice. It is not hard to understand that driving a boat through oil and dispersants would cause the boat to become coated with those substances. Allegedly, BP told employed boat owners that their boats would undergo extensive cleaning and detoxification.

According to the plaintiff in this case, BP’s instructions to him had several results. First, he was exposed to crude oil—both in liquid and gas form—as well as dispersants and other chemicals present in the water from both the well release and cleanup effort. He allegedly did not receive any respiratory protection such as a mask or respirator as part of his work and has suffered physically as a result. Additionally, after participation in the program, the plaintiff’s boat was not cleaned or detoxified by BP, and he was forced to bear extensive costs of cleaning and refurbishing it so that it could be used for fishing.

If you have had an experience similar to the plaintiff in this case, you may be suffering from a number of problems, such as physical ailments (headaches, trouble breathing, eye problems) and mental or emotional issues (depression, memory loss). You may also have financial damages due to having to bear the costs of cleaning a boat and lost wages while you were unable to work either due to physical problems or because your boat could not be used while it was being decontaminated. All of these damages may be actionable, or, in other words, the basis for a lawsuit.

If BP indeed placed cleanup participants in physical danger and made promises that they did not keep, there may be claims for negligence or violations of a contract.  Other claims based on safety violations. If you have suffered these injuries, whether physical, mental, emotional, or financial, you may be entitled to be made whole.

Important deadlines, statutes of limitations, and filing requirements make consulting with an experienced plaintiffs’ attorney with BP oil spill experience a vital step to protecting yourself, your livelihood, and your rights if you have suffered as a result of your participation in the cleanup.

Contact Mississippi personal injury attorney Jonathan Barrett at Barrett Law immediately to protect your rights at (800)-707-9577.

Call attorney Barrett to set up a free initial consultation. The claims you may have based on your participation in the BP oil spill response or cleanup are not simple, and you should not trust them to an attorney lacking the plaintiffs’ law and BP oil spill experience attorney Barrett possess. Call our Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer now to protect your livelihood and life.

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Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses How to Estimate the Value of your Car Accident Claim

Most car accidents are the result of someone driving negligently. If you suffer an injury in a car accident that was the result of someone else’s negligent driving, then the other driver is liable to you for damages. It is fairly common for insurance companies to offer settlements to injured people, but the offers are often calculated to be less than a person might recover in a lawsuit.

If you were harmed in a car accident, you may wonder what your claim is worth. Of course, every claim is different, so your best bet is to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney in order to have your claim assessed, but understanding the factors that impact the amount of damages available to you can help you work through the process with some sense of what to expect.

Medical costs related to any injuries

One of the more obvious expenses resulting from a car accident is the cost of medical care. There could be bills from a visit to the emergency room, but there could also be surgeries and rehabilitation costs. In addition to costs for medical care already provided, you might also need to estimate the future medical costs that will likely arise as a result of any injuries. Some types of injuries can require physical therapy and other treatments for months or even years, and in the case of severe accidents, injuries might lead to the need for medical care, equipment or even caregivers for the rest of the injured person’s life. The damages from medical bills can, therefore, be extremely high.

Missed wages

If your injury caused you to miss work, and therefore prevented you from earning money that you otherwise would have earned, you should be compensated for those lost wages. If you will continue to miss work in the future as a result of the injury, you should estimate the impact on your future earnings and include this as well.

Pain and suffering

Non-economic costs of the accident, such as your pain and suffering and emotional distress are compensated as well. These damages are often tricky to determine. Additionally, it is important to remember that Mississippi currently has a cap on non-economic damages of one million dollars.

Punitive Damages

In some cases, when the defendant acted in an extremely wrongful way, the court will award punitive damages. These are meant to punish the defendant, and not to compensate the plaintiff.

Property damage

In addition to your bodily injuries, damage to your vehicle should be considered in your estimate of damages.

Reductions for your own negligence

In Mississippi, if your own negligence was partially to blame for the accident that you were injured in, you can still collect damages from the other driver who was also negligent. However, your damages will be reduced based on your percentage of the blame. For instance, if you were found to be 20% responsible for the accident, and the other driver was 80% responsible, you will only be able to collect 80% of the damages. This means that if you suffered $100,000 in damages, you could collect $80,000 from the other driver.

Every accident is unique, so it is important to consult with an experienced attorney in order to get the best advice on how to proceed with your claim, and what you can expect to recover as a result of the harm that you suffered as a result of the accident.  Contact the seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer at Barrett Law PLLC today at (800) 707-9577 to learn more about how he can make a difference for you.

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Car Accidents and Damages in Mississippi

Car accidents impact thousands of people in the United States every day. If you were in a car accident and suffered an injury, you might be able to collect compensation. If the accident was caused by another person’s negligence, or another person’s negligence contributed to the cause of the accident, then that other person could be liable to you for your injuries.

What are damages?

In a lawsuit, the person who is suing someone is called the “plaintiff,” and the person being sued is the “defendant.” When the case is a personal injury claim the plaintiff is typically seeking monetary compensation because the defendant caused the plaintiff to suffer injuries. The compensation paid to a successful plaintiff in a lawsuit is referred to as “damages.”

Economic damages

Damages come in several different types. First, there are economic damages. Economic damages compensate a plaintiff for an actual financial harm that resulted as a result of the injuries incurred. This means things like medical bills, lost wages and the cost of rehabilitation are all economic damages. While some of these things can be proven with great accuracy through medical records and bills or other forms of proof, some level of estimation often comes into play with economic damages as well. For instance, you might have missed several weeks of work and accrued medical bills at the time of the lawsuit, but you might also be facing future surgeries as a result of your injury, or you may not be able to return to the same type of work as you did prior to the accident. In these cases, an estimate of what you lost will be made in order to come to a number of damages.

Non-economic damages

Of course, just paying you for the time that the plaintiff missed from work, and the medical bills he or she accrued will not fully compensate that person for things like the pain and discomfort that he or she suffered, or the emotional distress that was caused by the accident. This is why courts often award non-economic damages for things like pain and suffering and emotional distress. Coming to a number for this type of compensation is a bit more difficult than it is in determining economic damages where there is a way to derive a reasonable estimate of what the plaintiff actually lost.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages are unlike the other two forms of damages in that they are not used as a way to compensate the plaintiff, but are instead meant to punish the defendant. Whether or not punitive damages are awarded does not depend therefore on the severity of the injuries suffered by the plaintiff, but rather on how egregiously the defendant acted. In Mississippi, a plaintiff must show “clear and convincing” evidence of the defendant’s “actual malice, gross negligence which evidences a willful, wanton or reckless disregard to the safety of others,” or that the defendant “committed actual fraud” if he or she is to recover punitive damages.

If you were injured in a car accident, you should contact an experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer to discuss your claim. Contact Barrett Law PLLC at (800) 707-9577 today to learn more about how the firm can make a difference for you.

 

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Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Provides More Important Answers about Dog Attack Injury Claims

This blog post is the second installment of our two-part blog post that addresses typical questions our personal injury law firm receives about legal claims for dog bite injuries.  While we have attempted to answer frequent questions, the best way to obtain information about your unique circumstances is to speak to an experienced Mississippi dog bite lawyer.

 

What do I need to know about the Mississippi dog bite statute?

 

Unlike the majority of states, Mississippi does not have a dog bite statute.  The State of Mississippi has delegated the issue of control of dangerous animals to municipalities.  A common law legal claim may be brought based on the “one bite rule” or other applicable theories of liability.

Does the type of dog owned by a person increase the risk of a serious dog mauling?

While any dog can cause severe injuries, certain breeds statistically account for the vast majority of fatal dog mauling incidents.  For example, Pit Bulls caused 82 percent of fatal dog bites in 2015 despite severe regulations and bans involving this breed of dog in over 700 cities across the country and military housing.  Rottweilers accounted for the second most common breed involved in fatal dog attack incidents during the same period.

Are particular groups of people more likely to be the victim of a dog bite?

The CDC estimates that fifty percent of children 12 and under experience injuries caused by a dog bite.  Further, children age 14 and under account for 48 percent of fatal dog attack victims.  Other groups frequently exposed to injury in dog bite incidents include the elderly, meter readers, mail delivery carriers, and other home service providers.  For example, 5,600 U.S. Postal Service carriers experience a dog bite in a typical year.

What legal deadlines apply to dog attack injury claims in Mississippi?

The statute of limitations is a legal deadline that requires an injury victim to file a lawsuit within a certain period to avoid having their claim permanently barred.  While there can be subtle issues that complicate this situation, the general rule is that a plaintiff must file a dog bite claim within three years of the incident that caused the injury.  This deadline applies whether the injury was caused by a bite or in another way such as knocking over a bicyclist.  If you delay in seeking legal advice, and you file your lawsuit after the statute of limitations has “run” (expired), the dog owner and his or her insurance company will ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit.  Typically, the request will be granted, except in rare circumstances when the time is “tolled” (paused).

What defense strategies might a dog owner and his or her insurance company use when I file my lawsuit?

While the specific defense strategies the insurance company might employ depend on the specific facts and circumstances, some approaches our Jackson, MI personal injury lawyers frequently encounter include the following:

  • Trespassing by the victim (not necessarily a viable defense if the injury victim is a child)
  • Provoking and teasing the dog
  • Unreasonable carelessness of the dog bite victim
  • Violation of the law at the time of the injury (e.g. police dog attacking fleeing suspect)
  • Lack of knowledge of viciousness of dog
  • Trivializing or disputing the injuries suffered by the victim

Our Mississippi dog attack lawyers analyze situations to determine the tactics an insurance company or dog owner will use to avoid taking responsibility for irresponsible canine ownership.

If you are in a Mississippi dog bite incident, our Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer successfully represented many animal attack victims.  At Barrett Law, we are here to help.  Contact our firm today at 800-707-9577 to schedule your free consultation, so we can answer any questions you may have regarding filing your claim.

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An Overview of Catastrophic Injuries in Mississippi

Each year, several thousand people in Mississippi are injured in serious car and trucking accidents located throughout the State.  A large proportion of these victims unfortunately sustain catastrophic injuries, which is defined as a sudden, life altering accident that leaves it victims disabled or seriously impaired for the remainder of their lives.  Unfortunately, catastrophic injuries often have devastating consequences, such as permanent disability, scarring, chronic pain, devastating disfigurement, loss of income, the inability to work, endless medical expenses and more.  In general, catastrophic injuries are typically caused by the wrongful misconduct or negligence of others, perhaps due to reckless driving, driving over the speed limit, driving while intoxicated or driving while distracted.  Overall, the most common forms of catastrophic injuries are as follows:

  • Back injuries & spinal cord damage
  • Disfiguring burns
  • Blindness
  • deafness
  • Traumatic amputations
  • Complete or partial paralysis
  • Traumatic brain injuries
  • Deep lacerations
  • Serious organ damage
  • Internal bleeding
  • Wrongful death

For victims that face these types of catastrophic injuries, much uncertainty remains as to the quality of their future.  In fact, catastrophic injury victims often have no idea as to whether they will ever be able to walk, perform routine tasks, work or enjoy life as they did before their accident.  Moreover, not only do catastrophic injuries greatly impact its victims, friends and family also feel the effects as they try to help them adjust to their new lives following their accident.  For those that ultimately lost a loved one as a result of catastrophic injuries, they are left with a lifetime of emotional trauma and pain.

While every type of injury is different, there are aspects that are similar to nearly all catastrophic injury cases.  For example, catastrophic injuries as a whole are often challenging to treat, have life threatening and sometimes fatal consequences, cause severe emotional trauma, leave many people with painful disabilities and can be complex to prove in a court of law.   Moreover, they often require a significant amount of medical treatment and numerous hours of painful rehabilitation.   Lastly, they may also require a victim’s immediate family members to greatly alter their in order to appropriately care for them in the future.

If you sustained catastrophic injuries, it is crucial that you speak with an experienced Mississippi personal injury attorney today.  We will take the time to review your case and advise you of all of your legal options.  Don’t wait until it is too late to fight for your rights and obtain the compensation you rightfully deserve for your injuries.

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The Steps You Must Take Following a Bus Accident in Mississippi

Dealing with the aftermath of an auto accident can be rather difficult, leading to a great deal of fear, confusion and uncertainty among its victims. However, when a crash involves a passenger bus, the moments following the accident can be simply terrifying. Unbeknownst to many people, accidents involving passenger buses can result in serious and sometimes fatal accidents. The main reasoning behind this is that people who use public transit on a regular basis typically do not wear their seatbelts. Otherwise stated, they often trust that the bus or taxi driver will take all protective steps necessary to keep them safe. Unfortunately, reality dictates that this is not always the case. Several people fail to realize that the way buses are generally designed leave passengers vulnerable to serious and sometimes fatal injuries. For example, many buses do not even contain seatbelts and other customary safety devices (i.e. passenger airbags), making injury and death more likely to unknowing passengers.

For those who have been injured in a bus accident, the good news is that there are steps you can take to protect yourself. These are as follows:

1. Seek immediate medical treatment should you be involved in a bus accident. The shock associated with being in this type of accident can cause a person to not feel anything for days after the incident, despite being seriously injured.

2. Follow all of the instructions of law enforcement and the first responders at the scene of the accident. Allow them to take you to the hospital should they believe that your injuries warrant further evaluation.

3. Call the police department to find out when your accident report will be available. Make sure to review the document and advise the police of any errors before accepting it.

4. Write down a summary of the facts underlying your accident. Do so immediately as delays in this regard could end up resulting in the loss of crucial information.

5. Do not allow yourself to be recorded when dealing with your insurance company without first speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney. Any statements you make could be construed against you. Having an attorney to guide you through this process can prevent you from making innocent, yet costly mistakes in your case.

6. Do not provide recorded statements to your insurance carrier without speaking to a Mississippi personal injury attorney. This way, they will not be able to misconstrue what you way or use your statements against you later on to deny coverage.

7. Contact a skilled Mississippi bus accident attorney. Specifically, bus accidents often involve many very complex and challenging issues that only an experienced attorney is capable of effectively handling. Having an attorney by your side can help maximize your chances of obtaining the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

For additional information, contact our office today to learn more about your rights and responsibilities. We look forward to providing you with superior legal representation.

 

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Compensatory Damages Versus Punitive Damages in Mississippi

Mississippi law allows victims and survivors to seek compensatory and, oftentimes, punitive damages when the legal standard of negligence is met. When another person harms you as the result of a car accident or another negligent action causing personal injury or death to you or a member of your family, you have the right to sue the negligent party for damages. Damages is generally considered a quantifiable monetary award paid to victims pursuant to judgment of the court (or a settlement agreement authorized by the court).

Within the context of personal injury law, damages are either compensatory or punitive:

  • Compensatory damages — Reimbursable expenses, such as medical expenses and lost wages, and subjective considerations, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish are compensable.  In Mississippi, damages for personal injury are sought by petitioning a state court for compensatory damages under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-69 or, in the case of wrongful death, Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13.
  • Punitive damages – The courts have the discretion of ordering punitive damages as a matter of civil punishment and to deter similar behaviors in the future. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65 must be included in the petition if you wish to seek punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Simply put, criminal restitution is to civil compensatory damages, what a criminal fine or incarceration is to civil punitive damages. The former reimburses, the latter punishes.  Mississippi law has placed statutory caps on punitive damages and limits who is eligible to file for compensatory damages (e.g., certain family members may file on behalf of a minor child, incapacitated party, or decedent).

Contributory negligence is also applicable within the context of damages for personal injuries and/or wrongful death, which occurs when the victim is at least partially responsible for the cause of his (or her) own injuries. Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-7-15 does not bar recovery of a damages award due to contributory negligence, although an award can be reduced. The reduction is based upon a formula which assigns percentages of responsibility to each party – the plaintiff and the respondent.

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Compensatory Damages Versus Punitive Damages in Mississippi

Mississippi law allows victims and survivors to seek compensatory and, oftentimes, punitive damages when the legal standard of negligence is met. When another person harms you as the result of a car accident or another negligent action causing personal injury or death to you or a member of your family, you have the right to sue the negligent party for damages. Damages is generally considered a quantifiable monetary award paid to victims pursuant to judgment of the court (or a settlement agreement authorized by the court).

Within the context of personal injury law, damages are either compensatory or punitive:

  • Compensatory damages — Reimbursable expenses, such as medical expenses and lost wages, and subjective considerations, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish are compensable.  In Mississippi, damages for personal injury are sought by petitioning a state court for compensatory damages under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-69 or, in the case of wrongful death, Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13.
  • Punitive damages – The courts have the discretion of ordering punitive damages as a matter of civil punishment and to deter similar behaviors in the future. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65 must be included in the petition if you wish to seek punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Simply put, criminal restitution is to civil compensatory damages, what a criminal fine or incarceration is to civil punitive damages. The former reimburses, the latter punishes.  Mississippi law has placed statutory caps on punitive damages and limits who is eligible to file for compensatory damages (e.g., certain family members may file on behalf of a minor child, incapacitated party, or decedent).

Contributory negligence is also applicable within the context of damages for personal injuries and/or wrongful death, which occurs when the victim is at least partially responsible for the cause of his (or her) own injuries. Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-7-15 does not bar recovery of a damages award due to contributory negligence, although an award can be reduced. The reduction is based upon a formula which assigns percentages of responsibility to each party – the plaintiff and the respondent.

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What does “personal injury” mean?

Personal injury is a matter of assigning liability. The person who harmed you or a member of your family is the responsible party and, therefore, incurs liability. A car accident resulting in personal injury, for example, can be compensated with a damages claim to offset actual costs of lost income and medical care. There are, generally, no caps on compensatory damages in Mississippi, although punitive damage awards are capped.

Personal injury liability applies to claims of:

Negligence – The person responsible for injuries suffered by you, or a loved one, is the negligent party. The driver of car #1 runs a traffic light and t-bones car #2 at an intersection is the negligent party, for example, and the driver of car #1 incurs liability for injuries caused in the collision.

Product liability – The manufacturer, installer, and/or seller of a defective product is responsible if you, or a loved one, are injured due to a product defect. An example is a drug manufacturer that markets a drug that later results in injury or death to patients prescribed with the drug; the drug manufacturer incurs liability for ensuring injuries or death.

Strict liability – In cases of tortious intent or negligence, liability applies — although a finding of fault may not be applied. This is referred to as “strict liability.” In other words, the plaintiff (victim) has to prove a tort of dangerous or reckless actions occurred, and that the responsible party is the defendant. Strict liability frequently applies to product liability matters. Punitive damages may be additionally in order if the plaintiff can prove the defendant knowingly committed the egregious act that led to a personal injury or wrongful death.

Wrongful death – Civil liability can be assigned to the person or persons responsible for causing a death. Wrongful death and negligence coexist in a statutory sense, extending the elements of personal injury to specify fatal injury. The driver of a car that crashes, resulting in the death of a passenger, incurs liability for the wrongful death.

If you, or a loved one, have been injured in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, make an appointment with one of our Mississippi personal injury attorneys by calling (800) 707-9577.

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