Provocation of Aggressive Drivers Can Turn into Road Rage Incidents

Most Mississippi drivers have had the experience of traveling down the road or highway and encountering an extremely rude or aggressive motorist.  Aggressive drivers may tailgate while flashing their bright, speed, weave through traffic, drive on the shoulder or otherwise engage in multiple traffic violations simultaneously.  As upsetting and stressful as it can be to deal with a driver engaged in such conduct, the safest option usually is to simply to stay clear of such a driver.  Aggressive drivers may become easily agitated or angry if you retaliate.  Retaliation may result in an aggressive driving situation escalating into a road rage incident.

While many times people use the terms “aggressive driving” and “road rage” simultaneously, they are very different concepts and pose unique types of injury risks.  Aggressive driving refers to drivers that consciously engage in multiple acts of unsafe driving or motor vehicle violations at the same time.  An example might include a driver that is speeding and swerves onto the shoulder to pass you.  While aggressive drivers pose a substantial risk of causing a serious car accident, there conduct may exhibit a high degree of negligence and even rise to the level of recklessness, but there is no intentional goal to cause harm to others.

The motivations of drivers engaged in road rage are far more malevolent.  Road rage involves drivers that engage in acts intended to cause injury to another.  While some of the better publicized examples involve shooting firearms into the passenger compartment of other vehicles, an automobile can just as easily be used as a weapon.  A driver who attempts to run down a pedestrian or force another vehicle off the road in a fit of anger is another type of conduct that may constitute road rage.  Road rage that results in injury to another does not just expose a driver to civil liability for money damages but may also result in serious criminal charges.

Many people make the mistake of responding to aggressive drivers by making gestures, yelling, or otherwise antagonizing aggressive drivers on Mississippi roadways.  There is little value in this form of provocation and an extreme risk of escalating the situation.  If you or someone you love has suffered serious injuries or a loved one has died because of the negligent driving of an aggressive driver or an act of road rage, the experienced Mississippi aggressive driving attorneys at Barrett Law may be able to represent you in a personal injury action. At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Defective Airbags: When Car Accident Safety Equipment Makes Us Less Safe

There can be little dispute that airbags are a valuable safety component in any vehicle and that they can prevent catastrophic injuries, vehicle ejections, traumatic brain injuries and even wrongful death.  Many manufacturers of motor vehicles are now increasing the number of airbags in vehicles and placing them in positions that previously were not subject to airbag protection.  The proliferation of side impact airbags and side window airbags provide notable examples.  Despite the many benefits of airbags, they can serve as an independent cause of devastating injuries when they malfunction because of product defects in their design or production.

The vast majority of severe Mississippi car accidents that result in life-changing injuries are caused by negligent motorists, but sometimes defective safety components like airbags can cause injury in relatively low impact collisions where no injury would have occurred had the airbag not deployed.  They may also cause more serious injuries than otherwise would have been suffered when deploying in such situations.  If you have never experienced an airbag deploy, it is important to understand that when they deploy they do so with phenomenal speed and force.  This means that it is essential that an airbag be completely deployed before making contact with the head or torso of a vehicle occupant.  If the airbag deploys late, it may “deploy into” a vehicle occupant causing devastating injuries, such as broken bones, severe head trauma, serious damage to internal organs, eye injuries including blindness, and spinal cord injuries.

Many airbag injuries occur because of faulty or defective sensors that are designed to trigger airbag deployment.  These sensors may be not be appropriately located in the vehicle or may be susceptible to malfunction caused by simple environmental factors like exposure to moisture.  When these sensors malfunction, an airbag may deploy early, later or not at all.  All of these scenarios can be extremely dangerous for the driver or passengers in a vehicle.  Another serious safety issue with airbags is that they are designed to accommodate a male who is 5’8’’ and weighs 180 pounds.  Children that have a height or weight that deviates substantially from these dimensions may be exposed to greater harm from an airbag than benefit depending on the circumstances of deployment, and how the vehicle occupant is situated (e.g. position and orientation of a car seat).

If you or someone you love was recently injured in a Mississippi car accident by a negligent driver or a defective airbag, we encourage you to contact our experienced team of personal injury attorneys today.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Debate Rages on Regarding Red Light Camera Effectiveness in Preventing Car Accidents

The national debate over the role, effectiveness, and legality of red light cameras is heating up.  States are fairly evenly divided on the issue of using red light cameras at intersections to prevent collisions that result in injuries and fatalities.  A recent article in the USA Today reported that currently 24 states have at least some red light cameras.  Some states are passing bans completely prohibiting the use of red light cameras while other states are expressly authorizing use of the cameras to take a picture of vehicles that fail to stop then issuing tickets by mail.  There are also many states that take an intermediate position.  At the heart of the debate over the use of red light cameras is whether they are a cost-effective means of reducing car accident rates and preventing motor vehicle related injuries and fatalities.

Many municipalities that are installing red light cameras are being accused of focusing on generating revenue rather than public safety.  There is little dispute that using red light cameras in intersections can be an enormous source of revenue at a time when many local governments are drowning in red ink.  Red light cameras in Chicago generate a staggering $60 million per year in additional public funds according to the USA Today article.  Critics that view the cameras as primarily a revenue source take various positions, including:

  • Red light intersection cameras should not be used at all because they are ineffective at preventing car accidents.
  • The cameras should be used only with transparency so that it is clear what the program costs, the results in terms of preventing car accidents, the amount of revenue generated by the cameras, and the ways the revenue is used.
  • Red light cameras should only be installed in intersections with a history of significant car crashes.

One of the key issues involving the use of red light cameras is whether they play a significant role in reducing intersection collisions. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a study last year that found red light cameras reduce auto accidents by almost 25 percent.  However, many other studies have suggested that red light cameras are far less effective.  There have even been studies that suggest that red light cameras increase car accidents because drivers are overly cautious or focused on the presence of the camera.

The law is equally muddled on the appropriateness of red light cameras.  Some examples include:

  • A Florida court has ruled that the cameras are unconstitutional.
  • In Missouri, one court ruled the cameras invalid while another court found them permissible within a one month period
  • A court in Washington determined that voters could not prohibit red light cameras via ballot initiative.

These diverging views reveal that courts are as conflicted about the legal status of red cameras as the public, government entities, and safety advocates on the effectiveness of the cameras.  While our car accident attorneys are staunch advocates of motor vehicle safety, we also realize that the resources to promote safer roadways are not unlimited.  One positive aspect of this particular vehicle safety tool is that the program is self-financing.

If you or someone you love was recently injured in a Mississippi car accident by a driver who ran a red light or otherwise was driving negligently, we encourage you to contact our experienced team of personal injury attorneys today.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Summer’s Approaching So Focus on Swimming Pool Safety

With summer rapidly approaching, swimming is on the minds of more and more children.  Every swimming pool poses a considerable risk to a child’s safety, and they are the second biggest cause of death for children, who are under the age of 14.  Over 1,000 children drown in swimming pools every year, and more than 5,000 children end up in the hospital due to swimming pool accidents. Although swimming pools can be a great place to have fun during the summer months, or warm weather, they can also be a place fraught with dangerous hazards, resulting in slip and fall injuries, submersion accidents, and drowning accidents.

Many property owners who have swimming pools on their properties do their best to protect children from swimming pool and drowning accidents, but the reality is that any property owner who has a swimming pool on their premises can never be too careful when it comes to safeguarding their pool.  A recent study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommended that a swimming pool owners use multiple precautions to provide for the safety of any children who may resides on the same property with a swimming pool or live nearby. Some of the safety recommendations include: (1) installing a fence with a self-locking latch; (2) keeping emergency equipment in a convenient location in case a child has an accident; and (3) having a cell phone or landline available at all times when children are swimming to insure that 911 can be summoned promptly.

Swimming pools are a somewhat unique hazard, and homeowners may be found liable for swimming pool injuries to a child even if the child trespasses and uses the property owner’s swimming pool without the homeowner’s knowledge or permission.  Swimming pools are considered an “attractive nuisance” under premise liability law. An attractive nuisance is essentially a manmade condition on one’s property that could foreseeably attract a child, and that poses dangers that a child is not likely to fully appreciate.  Because young children do not necessarily understand the risks of injury or fatality posed by a swimming pool, swimming pools are the archetype example of an attractive nuisance.

There are many types of hazards that may cause injuries in and around swimming pools, including:

  • Faulty life-saving and safety equipment
  • Faulty drains or missing drain covers resulting in entrapment injuries
  • Improperly installed diving boards
  • Lack of adult supervision
  • Gates that do not latch or missing enclosures

Some of the most common injuries that children sustain in swimming pool accidents include head trauma from falls, brain damage or death from drowning incidents or spinal cord injuries from diving accidents.  If you or someone you love has a child who was recently injured in a swimming pool accident, we encourage you to contact our experienced team of personal injury attorneys today.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Taking Texting and Driving to Extremes: Woman Arrested for Texting with Baby in Her Lap

,

Texting while driving is never safe under any circumstances, but a woman was arrested in Southern California after taking the practice of texting and driving to ridiculous extremes.  The woman was texting as she drove on the freeway with her one year old baby in her lap.  If this does not sound bad enough, she also had a four-year-old in the back seat who was not wearing a seatbelt.  The woman was charged with child endangerment and has a history of similar past violations for not securing her child in a car seat and not wearing a seatbelt.

While this is a rather extreme case, it highlights two common but unacceptable practices, texting while driving and failure to use safety restraints that cause serious injuries and even wrongful death.   A few statistics provide some alarming facts about the dangers of texting messaging while driving:

  • Nearly forty percent of drivers admit texting while driving
  • Almost twenty percent of drivers concede they routinely text and drive
  • Teen drivers who are texting spend ten percent of their time in the wrong lane
  • Responding to a text message results in diverting one’s eyes from the road for five seconds
  • A vehicle moving at freeway speeds can travel the length of a football field in five seconds
  • Studies show that drivers engaged in text messaging have response time similar to drunk drivers

There are three types of driver distraction: visual distractions, manual distractions and mental distractions.  Text messaging poses a distraction risk at all three levels of distraction.  A visual distraction involves activities that cause a driver to avert one’s eyes from the road.  A driver who reads a text message or looks at the keyboard to compose or send a text message must avert one’s eyes from the roadway.  Even when a driver is not busy trying to hold both a baby and a cell phone, texting on a mobile phone, iPod or other portable electronic device requires physically holding the phone and manipulation of the keys.  Regardless of whether you are reading a text, sending a message or composing a message, your mind also is distracted.

The other troubling aspect of this case is that the woman had the baby in her lap rather than a child safety restraint.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that a properly used child safety restraint system (i.e. car seat) reduces the child fatality rate in car accidents by more than seventy percent.  Child safety restraints prevent vehicle ejections, which are a leading cause of fatalities in car accidents.  Car seats also keep children from being thrown against the dashboard or other hard surfaces in the vehicle where they may suffer head injuries, spinal cord injuries and other catastrophic injuries.  Child safety seats also are tailored to the unique anatomy of children.  Car seats restrain a child while dispersing the force of impact to less vulnerable areas of a child’s body.

Motor vehicle accidents remain the leading cause of death for children ages 3-14 according to the National Center for Health Statistics.  Every day across the country, there are four children in this age range who die in car accidents and almost 530 more that are injured.  When parents drive the roads of Mississippi with their children in their car, they should exercise caution, pay attention, and require children to wear seatbelts and car seats.  If your child has been injured in a car accident, our experienced Mississippi car accident lawyers at Barrett Law may be able to help you obtain the compensation your child needs to promote the fastest, fullest recovery.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

 

/by

Rental Car Companies Putting Unsuspecting Customers behind the Wheel of Defective Vehicles

Many Mississippi residents are traveling for Spring Break or looking forward to visiting relatives for Easter.  If you are traveling by plane, there is a fair chance you will need to rent a car when you arrive at your destination.  Most motorists have no idea that many vehicles are kept in circulation for rental despite the vehicle or components of the vehicle being subject to a safety recall.  This is much more than a theoretical problem; for example, Enterprise settled a case for $15 million stemming from a horrific collision that resulted in the death of two sisters that was caused by a defective component in their rented Chrysler PT Cruiser.

The PT Cruiser in the Enterprise case had been recalled because of a defective component that posed a fire hazard.  The mother of sisters, Jacqueline Houck and Rachel Houck, filed a wrongful death action after the women died when the power steering failed because the vehicle caught on fire.  The failure of the PT Cruiser’s power steering resulted in the plaintiff losing control of the vehicle and colliding head on with a commercial truck.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has acknowledged issues with rental cars that are made available to the public despite the vehicles being recalled for safety issues. Although there is currently discussion about legislation to prevent recalled vehicles from being rented to unsuspecting customers, no legislation has yet been enacted.  While car manufacturers and new car dealers cannot sell vehicles to consumers until recalled components have been repaired, there currently is no similar requirement for rental car companies.

Legislation being discussed might extend federal oversight of the NHTSA to the rental car industry and require the repair of vehicles subject to recall before they are made available to rental car customers.  The frightening thing for consumers is that rental car agencies do not disclose that the vehicle a customer is about to rent is the subject of a safety recall.  This means that rental car agencies are knowingly exposing consumers to a known risk without warning consumers of this risk.

If you need a rental car during Spring Break or over Easter weekend, you should specifically ask the rental car agency if the vehicle you are being assigned is the subject of any recalls and whether the defect has been repaired.  Barrett Law has been representing those injured in Mississippi car accidents for decades.  If you or someone you love is injured in a Mississippi car accident involving a rental car that has unrepaired defects or any defective vehicle, the experienced product liability car accident attorneys at Barrett Law may be able to represent you in seeking compensation for your injuries or loss.

At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent personal injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

The Real Scoop Regarding Mississippi Car Accident Whiplash Injuries [Part II]

Basis of Liability in Motor Vehicle Collisions Resulting in Whiplash Injuries

Because many, though not all, whiplash injuries are caused by rear-end impact collisions, there are a number of types of unsafe driving that are more likely to cause a whiplash injury.  Some of the types of negligent driving that are most typically the basis for imposing fault in whiplash injury crashes include:

·         Distracted drivers who avert their eyes from the road so they do not notice traffic flow interruptions

·         Speeding drivers who cannot stop in time to avoid a rear-ender

·         Failing to allow a safe following distance so that one can stop if traffic comes to an abrupt stop

·         Drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol that have impaired perception and delayed reaction time

·         Motorists that do not adapt driving in adverse weather

·         Unsafe roadways that do not drain properly so that vehicles hydroplane

Special Challenges in Making Legal Claims for Whiplash Injuries

Any experienced Mississippi whiplash injury attorney at Barrett Law will be familiar with the common types of negligence that cause rear-end accidents resulting in whiplash injuries.  A whiplash injury lawyer will also understand the unique challenges in pursuing settlements and judgments in whiplash accident cases.  Despite the fact that many whiplash injuries leave car accident victims unable to work for months and with a lifetime of pain, it is sometimes difficult to produce objective diagnostic evidence of whiplash.

These challenges in litigating whiplash car accident cases are compounded by the fact that many times the symptoms of whiplash may take days or even weeks to become obvious.  Since many serious whiplash injuries occur in collisions at relatively low rates of speed, insurance adjusters will point to delays in seeking treatment, lack of objective diagnostic evidence of injury, and a lack of vehicle damage to suggest that whiplash victims are exaggerating or lying about their injuries.

Recovery for Serious Whiplash Injuries and Chronic Back and Neck Pain

Our Mississippi auto accident whiplash injury lawyers may refer you to a neurologist or neck expert promptly, which may aid your recovery and provide evidence to substantiate your whiplash injury legal claim.  If you suffer a whiplash injury in a car accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation for a wide range of damages, including:  medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, vehicle repair/replacement costs, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and adverse effects on one’s marriage and quality of life.

It is important to keep in mind that whiplash injuries frequently lead to chronic pain and long-term disability.  Studies have shown that almost one in seven whiplash victims continue to suffer from symptoms of whiplash including pain as much as three years after suffering a whiplash injury.  An experienced car accident whiplash attorney can provide effective legal representation so that you can obtain the financial resources that you need to obtain medical treatment, physical rehabilitation, and pain management.  An experienced whiplash injury lawyer understands that insurance carriers tend to disregard whiplash injuries and undervalue whiplash claims.  Your whiplash injury attorney can help you confront this dismissive attitude and provide aggressive advocacy for the full value of your whiplash car accident claim.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Mississippi car accident or a loved one dies, you may have a right to seek legal compensation for your injuries and loss.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

 

/by

The Real Scoop Regarding Mississippi Car Accident Whiplash Injuries [Part I]

Although whiplash injuries are among the most common injuries suffered in car accidents and other types of accidents, many do not understand the intense pain and degree of debilitation associated with whiplash.  A significant reason for this misconception is the tendency of television sit-coms and movies to make whiplash the object of comic fodder.  Despite these depictions of whiplash as a fabrication of malingers looking to “cash in,” whiplash is a serious injury that can inflict pain for months and even years after a car accident.  More than a million people experience whiplash injuries annually, and three-fourths of those who suffer such injuries continue to be affected by symptoms even six-months after their car accident.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries are alternatively referred to as “cervical strain,” and “hyperextension/hyperflexion” injury.  The term “whiplash” refers to the motion of the head and neck that are jerked forward then backward similar to the motion of a whip.  Whiplash is an injury that occurs most typically in rear-end accidents when one’s vehicle is struck from behind while stopped or moving slowly.  The force of impact on the vehicle results in the head being jerked backward.  Because the whiplash victim generally does not see and anticipate the collision, there is little chance to brace one’s body for the impact, but the natural reaction when one’s head is whipped back is to contract the muscles in the front of the neck to compensate for the sudden backward movement of one’s neck.

Common Symptoms of Whiplash Injuries

The intense whipping motion of the head and neck in a rear-end car accident can do additional damage to the back and neck, including injury to the cervical muscles, discs of the back, ligaments, nerves and intervertebral joints.  It is important that whiplash injuries be identified promptly so that treatment can be initiated as soon as possible.  Early treatment can accelerate long-term recovery and result in a more favorable prognosis.  Some of the more common symptoms of whiplash injuries include the following:

  • Neck stiffness
  • Pain in the back
  • Discomfort when swallowing
  • Impaired balance
  • Tingling in the back, neck and shoulders
  • Diminished concentration and/or memory
  • Hoarseness or sore throat

If you or a loved one is injured in a Mississippi car accident or a loved one dies, you may have a right to seek legal compensation for your injuries and loss.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Understanding the Tactics of Insurance Companies in Mississippi Car Accident Cases

If you are seriously injured by the negligence or misconduct of a third party, it is likely that any amount of compensation that you receive for your injuries will be paid by an insurance company.  This is both good and bad.  When the party that injures you has insurance, it means that there should be available funds to compensate you for your injuries if you prove your claim.  However, it also means that you may have to deal with the tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying valid claims.

While from the perspective of a customer who pays premiums, you may conclude that the function of auto insurance companies is to cover the financial risk of loss when someone is liable for a collision.  An insurance company function from the perspective of its stockholders and management is to increase profits, which is not accomplished by paying more claims and higher amounts of recovery.  Insurance companies use a wide array of approaches to deny, delay and minimize meritorious insurance claims.  We have provided an overview of some of the types of tactics and strategies that are frequently used by auto accident insurance companies:

Shifting Blame to the Victim: While many car accident victims know that the usual basis for imposing liability in a car accident is negligence, some victims do not realize that a court may determine that an accident victim is also liable for his or her own injures.  Insurance companies commonly argue that a car accident victim in a Mississippi car accident failed to take responsibility for the victim’s own injuries.  It is important to have an experienced Mississippi car accident attorney on your side that can defend you against the claim that your own negligence contributed to your injuries.  If you are found to have had some role in causing your own injuries, your recovery may be reduced based on the amount of fault assigned to you.

Any Injuries Were Pre-Existing: While a distracted, drunk, or otherwise unsafe driver may be liable for exacerbating a pre-existing injury, insurance companies frequently argue that an injury allegedly suffered in a car accident was actually the result of an earlier trauma in an attempt to reduce the amount of recovery for the injury.  Insurance companies often engage in extensive discovery and carefully scrutinize a Mississippi car accident victim’s medical records to make this claim.

Failure to Mitigate Damages: Although a careless driver or other negligent party may be liable for your injuries suffered in a car accident, the law imposes an obligation on accident victims to take appropriate steps to minimize any loss.  An accident victim that fails to seek medical treatment or follow through on physical therapy may be vulnerable to a defense based on lack of mitigation of damages.  This defense essentially provides that any additional harm that could have been reasonably avoided, but for the failure of the plaintiff to take reasonable steps to reduce his or her loss, should not be compensated.

War of Attrition: Mississippi car accident victims may have enormous medical bills and be unable to work for long periods of time.  Sometimes the insurance company will drag out the claims process as long as possible to increase the financial pressure on an accident victim to settle for less than the value of the claim.  An experienced Mississippi car accident attorney can counter such tactics and may even be able to advance certain amounts against the potential recovery depending on your case.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Mississippi car accident or a loved one dies, you may have a right to seek legal compensation for your injuries and loss.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by

Massive Verdict in McDonalds Case Shows Potential Seriousness of Slip and Falls

Because of the way that injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents are portrayed in the media, it is easy to assume that most slip and falls are trifles that do not cause significant injuries.  However, a major verdict against McDonalds for a slip and fall in the popular fast food restaurant belies the notion that falls are “no big deal.”  McDonalds was ordered to a pay a judgment in excess of $5 million by a federal grand jury for a slip and fall accident in which a 59 year-old woman suffered a severe injury to her spine.

The case illustrates the importance of carefully analyzing the maintenance policies of a business when debris, spilled liquids or other foreign substances on the floor cause a patron to suffer serious injuries in a fall.  The federal jury in the McDonalds slip and fall case determined that the fast food restaurant failed to follow its own policies for conducting inspections and cleaning up spills.  The experienced Mississippi slip and fall attorneys at Barrett Law recognize the importance of conducting a careful review of company maintenance policies in slip and fall accident cases.

The accident happened in a store owned by a franchisee who received a manual containing proper practices to prevent slip and fall accidents caused by spilled beverages, condiments, and similar items.  The guidelines indicated that the manager of the store should perform regular periodic checks of the floors and nightly checks as well.  The purpose of the checks is to discover spills of food or beverage that could make the floor surfaces slippery and to inspect for buildup of residue on the floor that may make it slick.

There was evidence produced at trial that this particular McDonalds was insufficiently staffed so that the inspections were not conducted.  The jury found that the failure to comply with the stores own policy to conduct the inspections resulted in the accumulation of a greasy coating on the floor that made it slippery.  The woman was awarded over $2.6 million for economic damages, such as lost income and diminished future earnings and $3 million for non-economic damages like diminished quality of life and pain and suffering.

When our Mississippi slip and fall attorneys at Barrett Law represent clients in accidents where they are injured in a fall, we conduct an investigation to determine whether the fall was caused by debris, liquid or other foreign substance on the floor as well as the duration of time that the hazard was present.  Our investigation also typically will include talking to witnesses and store employees, reviewing surveillance footage, reviewing the incident reports, identifying past accidents, evaluating procedures employed by the property owner to avoid such accidents, and other relevant factors.

The accident victim in the McDonald’s slip and fall case suffered a burst compression fracture to her vertebrae at the L1 level that required two separate operations.  If you or someone you love has been injured in a slip and fall accident or someone close you has died, our experienced Mississippi slip and fall attorneys at Barrett Law can investigate your claim and advise you regarding your rights.  At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

/by