Legal Theories for Imposing Liability for a Car Owner When Not Driving

While a car accident can disrupt the life of an injury victim and the victim’s family, the challenges are far more difficult if the at-fault driver does not have insurance.  Although it is possible to obtain a car accident settlement or personal injury judgment even if the other driver has no insurance or lacks adequate insurance, there may be no source of funds to pay the car accident judgment.  When the responsible party in a Mississippi car accident does not have insurance, our experienced San Francisco personal injury attorneys may conduct an asset search or other investigation to determine if the negligent driver has other property and assets against which a judgment or settlement can be collected.

One source of recovery for injuries and economic losses in a Mississippi car accident is the owner of a vehicle.  In situations where the driver of the vehicle has no insurance and no substantial assets, the ability to pursue a legal claim against the vehicle owner may offer the best option to obtaining recovery.  Many people do not realize that the owner of a car, truck or SUV may be liable for injuries to an auto accident victim even when the vehicle owner is not driving the vehicle.  However, the owner will not necessarily be responsible for injuries caused by another driver in the owner’s vehicle.  We have provided an overview of some of the legal doctrines that may be used to impose liability on the owner of a vehicle involved in a Mississippi car accident:

Allowing Another Person to Drive: When an owner permits someone else to drive his or her car, Mississippi law still deems the owner of the car to be in control of the vehicle if the owner is in the car.  Even if the owner of a vehicle is not present in the car at the time of the car accident, the vehicle owner may still be liable based on a theory of “negligent entrustment”.  A car owner may be responsible for making a vehicle available to a driver that the owner knows or should know is incompetent because of intoxication or inexperience.

Employer’s Vehicle: When an employee is involved in a Mississippi car accident while performing job related functions or errands for the benefit of one’s employer, the employer may be held liable for injuries caused by a negligent employee while driving.  This type of liability is referred to as “vicarious liability,” which involves imposing liability on a third party for the acts of another based on the special relationship between the parties, such as an employer-employee relationship.

Family Purpose Doctrine: If a child who resides in your family home is involved in a Mississippi car accident while driving a vehicle made available for use by family members, a parent may be liable for a collision resulting from the child’s negligence.

If you or a loved one has been injured or you have lost a loved one in a Mississippi car accident, our experienced Mississippi car accident attorneys at Barrett Law represent clients throughout Mississippi so call us today for a free no obligation initial case evaluation at (662) 834-2376.  Our law firm has roots that reach back over 75 years helping car accident victims in Mississippi just like you.

 

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Tire Separation and Tire Blowouts a Particularly Serious Mississippi Car Accident Hazard

Motor vehicles of all types pose potential hazards when driven by careless or inconsiderate drivers, but bad drivers are not the only cause of serious car accidents.  Sometimes defective vehicle equipment or poor maintenance can equally contribute to serious accidents involving passenger vehicles, SUVs, tractor-trailers (commercial trucks), 15-passenger vans and other vehicles.  The tires of a car, truck or SUV are one of the most important safety components of any motor vehicle.

Defective tires can result in dangerous tire blowouts that cause vehicle rollovers, particularly in vehicles prone to rollover accidents like SUVs and 15-passenger vans.  Manufacturing defects often cause tread separation which can result in drivers losing control of their vehicle.  Tire blowouts are a leading cause of certain types of accidents including lane departure accidents, run off the road accidents and rollover accidents.  While there are multiple factors that can contribute to a tire blowout, such as improper tire pressure, worn or weathered tires and tire defects, many times a tire blowout accident is the direct result of a tire manufacturer’s failure to produce tires that are free of defects and safe to install on motor vehicles.

Tread separation is a common cause of tire blowout accidents in Mississippi.  Most tires on motor vehicles are steel belted radial tires.  When the tire tread separates from the inner portion of the tire, it can cause the tire to blowout.  Though steel belted radial tires are the most popular variety of tires, the risk of tread separation is inherent in the process of manufacturing these tires.  Defects in steel belted radial tires can be the product of both design and manufacturing defects.  A fundamental issue with steel belted tires is that rubber does not naturally adhere to the steel belts.  Tire manufactures coat the steel with copper to facilitate the rubber adhering to the steel belts.  However, copper degenerates quickly creating a risk of tire separation.

Tread separation and tire blowouts are particularly dangerous when a driver is operating a vehicle that tends to be top-heavy because the vehicles are prone to rollover when a tire on the vehicle blows out.  When a person is involved in an accident caused by a defective tire, a driver may have legal recourse to pursue financial compensation against anyone in the production or distribution chain for the tire.  Mississippi product liability law permits liability to be imposed on a designer, manufacturer, distributor or retailer of defective tires based on negligence, strict liability and breach of implied or express warranty.  If the defective tires were installed on the car when you made your new car purchase, you may even be able to pursue a claim against the automaker.

If you or a loved one has been injured or you have lost a loved one in a Mississippi car accident caused by a tire blowout, our experienced Mississippi car accident lawyers at Barrett Law represent clients throughout Mississippi so call us today for a free no obligation initial case evaluation at (662) 834-2376.  Our law firm has roots that reach back over 75 years helping car accident victims in Mississippi just like you.

 

 

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Mississippi Drivers in Danger of Being Involved in Auto Collisions Because of Rental Car Defects

When you are making plans to get away for the summer, rental car reservations are merely one of the many tasks that must be handled.  Although you may give a fair amount of thought to issues like how much to spend, size of your vehicle and type of vehicle, you probably will not spend a lot of time worrying about if the vehicle is actually safe.  Unfortunately, major rental car agencies currently can and do rent cars, SUVs and vans that have been recalled without remedying the problem.

The notion of renting a car while traveling that has a leaky fuel system, faulty brakes or tires prone to a blowout is frightening.  However, there is no legal requirement that a rental car agency repair a defective motor vehicle before it is again re-rented to another patron.  Federal law does protect consumers from defective motor vehicles by issues vehicle recalls.  Sadly, the requirement that unsafe component parts or systems be corrected prior to a vehicle being made available to a consumer applies to new vehicle sales but not rental cars.

Given the substantial danger posed by renting a car with a safety defect, the House of Representatives announced a proposed bill this week that would force rental car agencies to eliminate product defects that are the subject of a recall before the vehicle can be rented to a new customer.  While the four largest car rental companies in the U.S. claim that they do not rent cars subject to recall until the problem has been addressed, three of these car rental companies have refused to sign a voluntary agreement assuring consumers that they would not do so in the future.

The reluctance of rental car companies to take appropriate steps to prevent consumer from being exposed to defective motor vehicles has prompted the federal government to take action.  The Safe Rental Car Act of 2012 would impose a mandatory requirement that rental car companies comply with any defective vehicle recalls before a motor vehicle can again be made available for rental by patrons.  Because the legislation has not yet been passed, consumers should specifically ask whether the rental car that they are being offered is the subject of any pending recall.

While some might believe it unlikely that a defective rental car would be involved in a Mississippi car accident, the mother of two daughters that died in a fatal collision involving a defective rental car created the motivation for this legislation.  Two sisters in their early twenties died in a head-on collision with a commercial truck after their vehicle rented from Enterprise ignited because of a defective fuel system that had previously been recalled.  If you or a loved one has been injured or you have lost a loved one in a Mississippi car accident, our experienced Mississippi car accident lawyers at Barrett Law represent clients throughout Mississippi so call us today for a free no obligation initial case evaluation at (662) 834-2376.  Our law firm has roots that reach back over 75 years helping car accident victims in Mississippi just like you.

 

 

 

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The Complex Challenges of “Failure to Diagnose” Medical Malpractice Claims

When a medical professional makes a diagnostic error, the mistake can result in a less optimistic prognosis or even result in shortening of one’s life.  Diagnostic errors by healthcare professionals can lead to ineffective treatment, inappropriate medication and even wrongful death.  Medical malpractice claims based on diagnostic mistakes require an experienced medical malpractice attorney supported by knowledgeable medical experts. These cases typically involve extensive review of medical records including analysis of diagnostic tests.

Although not every misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose an illness necessarily constitutes medical malpractice, this type of omission may be the subject of a medical malpractice lawsuit if your doctor should have reached a proper diagnosis by complying with the standard of care of other similar medical professionals in the community.  More than 120,000 people per year die because of the failure of a medical professional to properly diagnose a medical condition or illness.

These cases require extensive medical knowledge to determine if proper diagnostic procedures were conducted and to identify faulty interpretations of these procedures.  Expert medical opinions also are necessary to establish “causation,” meaning that the delay in diagnosis affected the medical outcome.  The typical harm or injury caused by failure to diagnose a serious illness is either a less positive long-term prognosis or even a reduction in life expectancy.  For example, the failure to properly diagnose a form of cancer may result in a reduced life expectancy for the cancer victim.  We understand that this type of negligent medical care can literally rob a patient of their future and deprive a family of a loved one. Our dedicated and compassionate team works diligently to develop the strongest possible medical malpractice litigation strategy on behalf of those who had a medical condition misdiagnosed, diagnosed in untimely fashion or not diagnosed at all.

Medical malpractice claims based on wrongful diagnosis are extremely complex to litigate.  These cases often depend on highly technical interpretation of various diagnostic procedures, including x-rays, MRIs, CT scans and lab results.  Our Mississippi medical malpractice attorneys work with medical experts, including oncologists, hematologists, cardiologists, pathologists and other medical forensic experts so that we can develop the most persuasive case possible to establish a departure from the appropriate standard of medical care and that the failure caused a worse outcome.

While many types of cancer are highly treatable if detected early, failure to diagnose cancer cases are complicated by the fact that cancer is often fatal even when properly treated.  Sometimes cancer can be diagnosed at very early stages with relatively simple and inexpensive diagnostic procedures including a mammogram for breast cancer or a colonoscopy for colon cancer.  Even if it is established that the a doctor failed to conduct appropriate tests that would have revealed cancer at an earlier stage, medical malpractice carriers will typically argue that the delay in diagnosis did not impact the medical outcome.  This defense essentially amounts to the position that the patient died from the cancer and that the delayed diagnosis did not impact the life expectancy or medical outcome for the cancer victim.

While our experienced Mississippi failure to diagnose medical malpractice attorneys know that we cannot give you back your health or the life of a loved one that has been lost, we can help you obtain compensation so that you can obtain the best possible medical care and provide for the future of your family.  It is tragic when a medical diagnostic mistake is made because a medical professional fails to order appropriate diagnostic screening or misinterprets test results.  Our committed team of Mississippi wrongful diagnosis attorneys along with our knowledgeable team of medical experts engages in thorough analysis of medical records and diagnostic tests so that we can prepare a compelling and clear legal position and provide the most persuasive presentation to a judge or jury.

 

 

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Sparkler Bombs Cause Debilitating Permanent Injury in July Fourth Firework Accidents

Despite warnings from fire departments, public safety officials and even this blog, firework accidents on the Fourth of July seem almost inevitable.  A Kenner, LA man had his hand literally blown apart and suffered what law enforcement authorities called massive injuries to his other hand, arms and legs in a serious firework accident on the Fourth of July.  The initial reports revealed that the man suffered the loss of his left hand entirely, several fingers on his right hand as well as severe burn injuries and lacerations to his torso.

The fireworks injury victim attempted to remove the fuse from 144 sparklers that he had duct taped together in a “sparkler cluster” before it exploded.  This tragic firework accident is one of many that occur each year because fireworks are inherently dangerous especially if they are not used with a great deal of care and prudence.  This accident involving fireworks reveals the serious types of injuries that can be suffered when firework accidents occur.

While sometimes the comparative negligence of someone using fireworks inappropriately can limit or bar recovery, this is not always the case.  It may depend on the foreseeability of such misuse as well as the instructions and warnings that are provided with the fireworks.  Product liability law may form a basis for pursuing a claim against a company that manufactures or sells fireworks if flaws in the design, production or marketing of the fireworks result in fireworks injuries.

Many times firework injuries occur because the firework is defective or lacks adequate warnings regarding the safe use of the pyrotechnic device.  Fireworks pose some risk to consumers regardless of how carefully they are used but substandard manufacturing of these devices can put consumers at an extremely high risk of being injured in a fireworks accident in Mississippi.

Sparkler bomb accidents are particularly dangerous and growing in frequency.  In Arkansas, a teenager died in an accident where a sparkler bomb that consisted of 300 sparklers taped together exploded this Fourth of July.  The teen lit the fuse and tried to put an upside down trash can over the sparkler bomb, but it exploded before they could do so.

If you or someone you love is injured in a fireworks accident, we invite you to contact our experienced Mississippi firework accident attorneys.  At Barrett Law, 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.

 

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Will Spending More for Vehicles with Crash Avoidance Systems Put You at Greater Risk?

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There are an increasing number of technological safety innovations that are intended to reduce the probability that drivers will be involved in auto collisions in Mississippi.  Many of these safety improvements involve crash avoidance systems designed to warn distracted drivers who are not paying attention to the road that they are at-risk of being involved in a collision.  Distracted driving is a growing epidemic that threatens to surpass DUI as the most significant auto accident safety risk.  Unfortunately, there is new evidence that crash warning systems designed to prevent serious injuries and wrongful deaths in car accidents may do more harm than good.

A recent study revealed that high-tech lane departure systems that are intended to prevent distracted drivers from drifting into adjacent lanes may be causing more auto accidents.  The lane departure systems, which are currently only available in high-end models, promote car accidents rather than prevent them.  The study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reached the surprising conclusion that lane departure warning systems increase the risk of being involved in a collision by ten percent.

The researchers advanced a number of theories to explain the unexpected results of the study.  The primary theory was that drivers annoyed by the warning alarms or the irritated by the over-sensitivity of the system in responding to minor side-to-side movement within a lane may simply disable the systems.  A similar explanation is that drivers simply grow indifferent to the constant warnings and disregard the alarms.  While this seems like a plausible response from drivers that are frustrated or annoyed by these early warning systems, it seems lacking as an explanation for the higher risk of collision.  It would seem that disabling the crash avoidance warning would put drivers in the same position as drivers who had vehicles that were not equipped with this technology.  This type of explanation would suggest that the car accident risk should be the same for cars equipped with lane departure technology rather than ten percent higher.

The unexpected results of the study are being dismissed as a result of the small sample size.  Even the IIHS has indicated that if all cars were equipped with lane departure systems that were used correctly (i.e. not disabled or ignored), the result would be over 7,500 fewer fatal auto accidents annually.  Despite the poor showing for lane departure warning systems, crash avoidance systems that warn drivers that they are about to collide with the vehicle immediately in front of them and apply the brakes to avoid such a collision performed much better.

While this technology may still need tweaking, technology that relies on cameras, sensors, radar and computer technology potentially represents a new era in traffic safety.   Most existing vehicle safety technology, such as airbags, lap belts and shoulder harnesses focus entirely on reducing the severity of injuries when Mississippi car accidents occur.  This new paradigm in traffic safety is intended to not only reduce injury severity and fatalities, but prevent collisions from even occurring.  If someone you love is injured or a loved one dies in a Mississippi car accident, our experienced Mississippi auto accident attorneys may be able to help you seek compensation for your injuries or loss of a loved one.  At Barrett Law, 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.

 

 

 

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Continuing Challenges of Preventing Mississippi Underage Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunken driving accidents involving underage drivers continue to be a serious hazard to those who operate motor vehicles.  Drivers under the age of 21 present “a perfect storm” of accident risks combining inexperience and unrealistic assessments of one’s own driving ability with more common high risk driving activity, such as texting, driving drunk and speeding.  Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers with almost a third of all teen driving collisions resulting from drunk driving.  There are approximately 6,000 teens killed per year in alcohol related incidents with the vast majority being alcohol impaired car accidents.

Alcohol plays a major role in many car accidents involving drivers who are under the age of 21.  One major issue is that parents often are blissfully unaware of the alcohol consumption habits of their kids.  Although one in five drivers under the age of 21 engage in binge drinking, less than one percent of parents believe that their kids binge drink.  When alcohol is mixed with other factors, such as driving distractions like using a cell phone or interaction of multiple teenagers in the same vehicle, the risk of a serious San Francisco DUI crash is significant.

Teen alcohol awareness campaigns and stricter laws that govern drivers under 21 have helped reduce the risk of underage drunk driving accidents, including Mississippi’s recently enacted social host law.  However, there is a major loophole in the social host law.  Mississippi’s social host legislation was designed to permit police to arrest social hosts that serve alcohol to those who are underage.  However, the Mississippi law has a significant loophole because it only makes it illegal for those under 21 to “purchase” or “possess” alcohol.  In a legislative oversight, there is no prohibition on consuming alcohol, which means that when police show up at a party to enforce the law they were unable to enforce the provision against parents serving alcohol to those under 21 unless they are physically holding an alcoholic beverage.

Parents should be vigilant about monitoring their teenagers driving habits during the summer months because this is the most dangerous time for teen drivers.  The highest number of underage auto accident fatalities occurs during the summer months between Labor Day and Memorial Day.  Many parents dramatically liberalize the rules regarding their kids’ car use during the summer months, which can result in poor judgment by inexperienced underage drivers.  If someone you love is injured or a loved one dies in a Mississippi underage driving accident, our experienced Mississippi teen driving accident attorney may be able to help you seek compensation for your injuries or loss of a loved one.  At Barrett Law, 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.

 

 

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Fourth of July Fireworks Can Result in Devastating Injuries

The Fourth of July is only a few days away which means many that many people will be lining up to purchase fireworks under the mistaken belief that because they are allowed they are safe.  There will also be many people who will completely disregard warnings on certain types of fireworks putting others at risk of physical injury.  The bottom line is that any form of firework can be dangerous and cause serious injury if not used carefully.  Even when they are used carefully, fireworks can cause severe injury.

Unlike many other states, Mississippi allows virtually all fireworks to be used legally including:

  • Bottle Rockets
  • Ariel Items
  • Skyrockets
  • Sparklers and Punks
  • Firecrackers
  • Missiles
  • Roman Candles
  • Fountains

These are just a few examples, but they convey the permissive extent of Mississippi law toward fireworks.  Fireworks can be extremely dangerous and cause 10,000 confirmed injuries annually with many more that go unreported.  Predictably, young adults and small children make up the bulk of these injuries.  Children and teens under the age of 15 account for forty percent of all firework accident victims.  Almost sixty percent of those who suffer reported injuries in firework accidents are under age twenty.

Many types of fireworks, such as airborne fireworks like bottle rockets, flaming projectile fireworks like roman candles and exploding firecrackers can be particularly dangerous.  These forms of fireworks create a high risk of causing serious injury including third degree burn injuries, loss of fingers, disfigurement and eye injuries.  Most of these injuries can be prevented if the user is under adult supervision and exercises prudence and caution when using the pyrotechnic device.  It is not uncommon for careless users to cause injury to innocent third parties when throwing fireworks, shooting projectiles or causing fires.  When someone is injured by the unsafe use of fireworks, the injury victims may have a right to compensation for injuries including those that result in permanent disability like blindness.

There are other cases where a user of fireworks is injured because of defective design or manufacturing of the firework.  When someone suffers injury because of defective fireworks, the person may have a right to pursue a personal injury claim against anyone in the production or distribution chain.  If you or someone you love is injured in a fireworks accident, we invite you to contact our experienced Mississippi firework accident attorneys.  At Barrett Law, 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.

 

 

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Fatal Train Accident Provides a Grim Reminder of Dangers Posed by Mississippi Railroad Collisions

A head on collision this week between a freight train and another train in Oklahoma serves as a grim reminder of the devastating impact of train collisions.  Federal regulators are trying to determine why a freight train remained on the main line rather than pull off to a side track to avoid a collision.  There are three employees of Union Pacific Railroad that are unaccounted for after the horrific train crash who presumably died given that investigators reported that there was “no survivable space” in the locomotives in the wake of the train crash.  The impact of the collision between the locomotives caused a huge fireball to erupt from the diesel fuel causing the locomotives to literally be welded together by the heat.

The investigation is focused on the possibility that the conductor of the freight train was distracted because there is no indication that the railroad signal was malfunctioning or that there were problems with the train track.  National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators plan to review records from the conductor’s mobile phone and the black box data recorders from the locomotives, which are similar to event data recorders on commercial airlines.  The NTSB has concluded that one of the trains clearly had right of way but the conductor did not divert the freight train to a side rail.

While train crashes may not be as common as those involving other modes of transportation like passenger cars, SUVs, motorcycles and tractor-trailers, they often result in catastrophic injuries and fatalities when they occur.  There are thousands of collisions involving trains and motor vehicles every year caused by the negligent operation of trains, defective switches or signals and poorly maintained track or railroad crossing signals.  When trains result in serious injuries or fatalities to motor vehicle occupants or pedestrians, the railroad company may be liable for failure to exercise reasonable care to prevent reasonably foreseeable train crashes.  Some of the common factors that cause train accidents in Mississippi include:

  • Failure of brakes, switches and crossing warning systems because of poor maintenance
  • Defective crossing signals and barriers
  • Distraction of train conductors and others
  • Improper speed on curves or near rail crossing

If you or a family member suffers severe injuries or a loved one dies in a railroad accident, our dedicated and compassionate Mississippi train accident attorneys may be able to represent you in seeking financial compensation. At Barrett Law, 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.

 

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