Experienced Mississippi BP Oil Spill Attorney Discusses Recent BP Oil Spill Settlement Distribution to…Mexico?

People here in Mississippi that were harmed by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill often come to me with the same refrain, “there’s no more money to distribute,” or “BP has already paid all the money it’s going to pay.” I always try to disabuse people of these notions, as there is still more money to pay for damages to those whom BP harmed. A great example of this is the fact that BP recently gave the government of Mexico—not the fishermen, not the citizens—$25 million related to the BP oil spill. That money appears to me to be in trade for continuing to remain silent regarding the spill and its effects on Mexican fisheries and people.

Were you affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Did you participate in the cleanup effort or come into contact with dispersants? Did you rent out your boat to those participating in the cleanup effort? Any of those activities may entitle you to a portion of settlement funds. If you think you are entitled to some of the BP Deepwater Horizon settlement, having experienced counsel help you attain your fair share is critical. Barrett Law has expertise in Gulf oil spill litigation and has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Mexico Receives 2018 Payment

As is common knowledge at this point, BP has agreed to pay more than $60 billion in the United States for its actions that resulted in the Deepwater Horizon spill and its aftermath.  Now, over eight years later, Mexico settled with BP for $25.5 million. This settlement comes in trade for Mexico dropping its lawsuit against BP, but must be seen in a broader context. BP has also entered into multiple multi-million dollar deals with the Mexican government recently and settling their case likely played in Mexico’s favor to attain these deals.

As in the U.S, the big question surrounding the Mexican settlement is whether any of the funds in question will reach those affected and harmed by the spill. 10,000 Mexican fisherman are still suing BP for the physical and economic harm they suffered as a result of the spill. It appears that the Mexican government ignored scientific evidence that could have been used to bolster its legal case against BP.

I am confident that all of this seems very familiar to those suffering in Mississippi and other Gulf states. The point of this blog post is not to go too in-depth regarding Mexico’s secretive settlement with BP, it is to underscore that if BP was able to come up with $25.5 million along with other multi-million dollar investments, they likely have the funds available to fully compensate folks here in the U.S. that continue to suffer as a result of their recklessness connected to the Deepwater Horizon spill and its aftermath.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured or Harmed By the 2010 BP Oil Spill?

If you were harmed as a result of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill or its cleanup, you might be due compensation for your losses. You may have heard that it is too late to file a claim or that there is no longer a way to attain compensation for your damages. The only way to understand your options is to hire an attorney with extensive experience in getting BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill claims paid.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi BP Oil Spill law firm, to represent you if you were harmed as a result of the Spill. Barrett Law has the experience to take on oil spill defense attorneys that are focused on denying your compensation for the harm you experienced.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

/by

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer Explains False Claims Act Pleading Requirements

As you likely know from other blog posts I have posted, if you knowingly sell the government a product that does not meet government specifications—whether it is a missile, a mammogram machine, or a mortgage-backed security—you are violating the False Claims Act, a 150-year-old law written to prevent war profiteering. You also cannot bilk the federal government by overcharging for services or pay kickbacks in an effort to attain contracts you aren’t entitled to. But even if you are aware of specific information detailing massive fraud, you must plead your case in a way that satisfies the legal requirement of the False Claims Act. If you fail to do that, your case will go nowhere. Because careful pleading is so essential, I have written the following blog post to help explain it to my clients here in Mississippi and included a link to the Federal Rule that outlines pleading.

If you are considering becoming a whistleblower here in Mississippi, you will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney.  Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505 to attain the guidance you require.

Why Careful Pleading in False Claims Act Cases is So Important

When you hear someone use the term “pleading,” they are referring to a case’s “complaint.” A complaint is a legal document setting out the facts and legal reasons that the plaintiff, here the whistleblower, believes support a legal claim against the defendant, the party against whom the suit is brought. A complaint is the first formal action taken to begin a lawsuit officially. The False Claims Act is a federal statute, so claims brought under it must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9 dictates that the complaint must contain: the allegations against the defendant, the specific laws violated, the facts that underlie claim, and any demands made by the plaintiff.

The first thing that a defendant in a whistleblower case, usually the corporation that you alleging defrauded the U.S. government, will try to do is to have your case dismissed under Rule 9(b).  In a nutshell, a case will be dismissed under 9(b) if your complaint fails to contain sufficient facts to support a claim that an individual or corporation violated the False Claims Act. This is called failing to plead your case with particularity.

This is one of the challenges of a whistleblower case, as there are competing pressures. First, only the “first to file” will receive any reward. So there is always pressure to file your claim before someone else in your company or with similar information does so first. But second, the case must have sufficient details alleging a violation of law; that means that you have to quickly gather a lot of information, which can be a challenge for a single person within a company.

If you fail to meet the burden of Rule 9(b)’s pleading requirement, you can try again or can file for leave to amend, or add to, your complaint. Leave is usually liberally granted if you can show good cause that if given leave, you can sufficiently augment the complaint to overcome any deficiencies. You cannot get endless leave to amend your complaint, however. If you ultimately fail to gather enough information, your case will be dismissed

What Should You Do if You are Considering a Whistleblower Claim?

Adequately pleading your case is vital to receiving any whistleblower reward. Are you considering filing a whistleblower case?  The reward for submitting a successful claim can be massive. But you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced False Claims Act attorney. The United States Department of Justice gets thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that are reported in a way that triggers their interest are investigated.  Careful pleading is key to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505.

Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful False Claims Act case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.

/by

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer Explains: Recent Court Case Clarifies what Qualifies as Whistleblowing

Many clients here in Mississippi come to me with questions about fraud, asking if they can be whistleblowers. The answer is usually “maybe.”  It is not enough to allege fraud against a company simply because you believe they are “up to no good.” Being a whistleblower means that you are inside the company, are aware insider information about fraud, and are willing to expose that information to prevent further fraud against the United States government. But what if you work within a company and become aware of fraud due to the company’s public release of information, such as financial disclosures. This a much closer call and is the subject of a recent case in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia. Because this case’s holding provides a detailed look at what does and does not qualify as whistleblowing, I have provided a summary in the blog post below and a link to the full case.

If you are considering becoming a whistleblower here in Mississippi, you will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to help make sure your claims are construed as true whistleblowing by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505 to attain the guidance you require.

The Omnicare Case—The Whistleblower’s Allegations

As I have explained before, the False Claims Act prohibits defrauding the government. Fraudulent activity can manifest in many different ways, including providing sub-par products, paying kickbacks to receive government contracts, and inflating billing. In his whistleblower case, Mr Marc Silver alleged that PharMerica Corp. defrauded the federal government by undercutting pricing for some Medicare patients to attain more lucrative government contracts for services to other Medicare patients.

Because nursing homes bear the financial risk for drugs dispensed to their Part A patients, they are always interested in negotiating with pharmacies like PharMerica for the lowest possible drug prices. Once PharMerica secured government contracts for those Medicare Part A patients—resulting in lower prices billed to the nursing homes—it also guaranteed inflated prices for Medicare Part D, which is paid directly to PharMerica. Nursing homes do not care as much about Part D payments because they are collected directly by the pharmacy from Medicaid.

This seems like a classic whistleblower case—a person alleges that a company is bilking the federal government. The exception here was that Mr Silver derived much of his information about PharMerica from the company’s public disclosures.  Accordingly, PharMerica sought to have the False Claims Act case dismissed because it was not based on “inside” information and, therefore, could not be whistleblowing.

The Lower Court’s Decision

The U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, agreed with the argument that Mr Silver’s case could not proceed under the False Claims Act and dismissed Mr Silver’s whistleblower lawsuit against PharMerica. The court agreed with the firm that the fraud Mr Silver alleged had already been disclosed by PharMerica in public documents, barring False Claims Act case.

The Appeals Court’s Decision

The good news for whistleblowers is that a federal appeals court overturned the district court ruling, reinstating the whistleblower suit filed against PharMerica, finding that Mr Silver had not relied solely on the publicly available material. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the public documents Mr Silver relied upon, “…merely indicate the possibility that such a fraud could be perpetrated in the nursing home  industry, which is an allegation that would alone be insufficient to state a claim for fraud under the FCA.” The appeals court went on to explain that Silver made a particular claim setting out specific acts committed by PharMerica and that his specific claim was based on “non-public” information.

Regardless of how Mr Silver’s case against PharMerica turns out, the 3rd Circuit’s decision is illuminating for whistleblowers everywhere. As I have said many times, the Department of Justice receives thousands of these allegations every year and only the most compelling are investigated and prosecuted. Based on the 3rd Circuit’s ruling, whistleblowers should also be prepared to show how their information, if based on a foundation of public disclosures, uses the specific information only knowable by a corporate insider.

What Should You Do if You are Considering a Whistleblower Claim?

Do you know about fraud occurring against the government, particularly in the medical industry? Are you considering filing a whistleblower case based on conduct you have observed or are aware of due to your employment?  The financial reward for submitting a successful whistleblower claim can be massive. But you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced False Claims Act attorney. The United States Department of Justice gets thousands of potential claims each year, and only a small minority of those trigger their interest are investigated.  Whistleblowers can contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505.

Experienced Mississippi whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful qui tam case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood.

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer Explains Huge Medical Industry Whistleblower Settlement

I have said it before—if you want to know where the next big whistleblower case will come from, “follow the money.” In the United States, if you follow the money, it will lead you to health care. Healthcare comes into play in False Claims Act cases because the federally-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs pay the vast majority of medical bills. As a result, if you commit fraud in the medical industry, you are likely defrauding the U.S. government.  As you probably know from other blog posts I have posted, if you cheat the U.S. government through over-billing or selling sub-par services—whether it is a missile, a mammogram, or mortgage-backed security—you are violating the False Claims Act, a 150-year-old law written to prevent war profiteering. I found the following False Claim Act case to be an excellent example of the sort of case, and whistleblower bounty, that entices employees in the medical industry to come forward about fraud. I have provided a link to the Department of Justice’s press release if you want to read more about the DaVita settlement.

If you are considering becoming a whistleblower here in Mississippi, you will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney.  Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505 to attain the guidance you require.

DaVita Medical will Pay $270 Million—Whistleblower to Receive $10.2 Million

DaVita Medical Holdings has agreed to pay $270 million to settle False Claims Act violation allegations related to fraudulent billing information submitted by DaVita contractors in an attempt to attain inflated Medicare payments.  The facts of this case illustrate how one does not even have to work for the government contractor in question, but instead can be a sub-contractor or sub-sub-contractor and still be a whistleblower.

Physicians contracting for DaVita submitted incorrect diagnosis codes. DaVita collected and submitted diagnoses and received a share of the payments. In one example, physicians used an improper code for a spinal condition treatment that increased reimbursement. The case against DaVita alleged that it provided guidance to the doctors that resulted in fraudulent diagnosis aimed at increasing DaVita’s profits.

Due to DaVita’s self-disclosure of this fraud and decision to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigation, the U.S. agreed to a settlement that was less than what DaVita might have paid had the matter been fully prosecuted. DaVita agreed to pay $270 million which settles whistleblower allegations.

A whistleblower brought these allegations of fraudulent billing and diagnosis under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the Federal False Claims Act. The whistleblower in this action is James Swoben, who was a former employee of a medical provider that subcontracted with DaVita. Swoben will receive $10,199,100 for the settlement of these allegations.

What Should You Do if You are Considering a Whistleblower Claim?

Do you know about fraud occurring within the medical industry? Are you considering filing a whistleblower case?  The reward for submitting a successful claim can be massive, as this DaVita case illustrates. But you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced False Claims Act attorney. The United States Department of Justice gets thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that are reported in a way that triggers their interest are investigated.  Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505.

Experienced Mississippi whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful qui tam case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Negligence Claims Related to Bar Fights

I was intrigued by the story of new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s brush with the law back when he was a student at Yale in 1985. According to witnesses and police reports of the time, he got into at least a shoving match with a gentleman whom he believed to be the lead singer of the British reggae/pop band UB40. While you may never be on the Supreme Court or get into a UB40-inspired shoving match, you may end up in a bar fight or, more likely, may be injured when a bar fight breaks out near you. If you are injured in a or by a bar fight, you may be able to attain compensation for your injuries.

If you have sustained an injury as a result of a bar fight, you must hire experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your pain and injuries. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Bar Fights and Negligence

To recover for any injuries you received as a result of a fight, your attorney will have to establish negligence. Generally speaking, negligence means that a person was aware of a risk or should have been aware of a risk to you and ignored that risk or failed to mitigate it, causing harm to you sufficiently.

If you are injured because of a bar fight as an innocent bystander or participant, for your personal injury claim to succeed you must prove:

  1. The drinking establishment had a legal duty to protect you from injuries.
  2. The drinking establishment could foresee the risk that caused your injuries.
  3. The drinking establishment breached a legal duty to protect you.
  4. The breach resulted in your injuries.

One significant factor in the negligence analysis is whether you instigated the fight. Mississippi has a “pure” comparative negligence system. That means if your injuries were 99% your fault because you started a bar fight, you could still sue, but could only recover for 1% of your damages. This will not be a factor if you merely swept up in a fight that is not of your creation. On the other hand, even if you did start the fight, you may still have a viable claim for all of your injuries if the excessively violent security personnel caused them.

Bar Owners’ Legal Duties

A bar owner must hire adequate security to stop or substantially minimize the likelihood of bar fights. Again, they must reasonably remove or reduce the risk of injury to their patrons. Accordingly, the more likely bar fights are, the more security personnel must be present. If a bar typically has two security personnel present on a Saturday night, that may be unreasonable if they are hosting a spring break concert and expect five times their normal patronage.

In turn, security personnel must be trained and must take appropriate steps when tensions rise. Merely having security personnel in place will not help if they are not trained and do not take reasonable steps to defuse, de-escalate, and stop violent situations.

That said, bouncers can also cause problems for bar owners. If bouncers use excessive force to break up fights, and that force results in unnecessary injuries to the fighters and bystanders, they may cause as much liability as they prevent. Bouncers have to walk a fine line; they can use force, but only enough force to stop a violent patron. If they exceed that limit, they may cause incur liability for assault, battery, unlawful imprisonment, and other claims.

What Should You Were Injured Due to a Bar Fight?

If you or a loved one was injured due to a bar fight, you might have a viable personal injury claim against the bar owner and those involved in the fight for your injuries, any time you have been out of work, the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation, your pain and suffering, and other damages. This is my area of expertise.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Underinsures/Uninsured Motorist Cases

I have seen so many people devastated by car accidents. I’ve unfortunately watched them be  devastated a second time when they learn that the other motorist involved in the accident lacks sufficient insurance to cover the damage he or she caused. Of all of the advice I give clients, perhaps the most common one is to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your automotive insurance. Don’t just carry it, carry as much as you can afford. While it is called “uninsured motorist” insurance, the motorist you are really insuring is yourself. I receive many questions about uninsured motorists, so I have written the following blog post to provide an overview.

If you have sustained an injury in an automobile accident, you must find experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your loss of income and injury; this is especially true if the other motorist lacked sufficient insurance coverage. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Insurance

There are many types of coverages on your automobile insurance policy; for example, you can be covered for towing expenses or for new windshield glass. Many of these coverages are optional and a matter of personal taste.  However, one optional coverage is absolutely vital is commonly referred to as “UM” or “UIM,” Bodily Injury Caused by An Uninsured Auto and Bodily Injury Caused by an Underinsured Motorist. These are essential coverages if your accident is caused a driver who lacks sufficient insurance to cover you for your injuries and vehicle damage. Most people purchase the minimum insurance coverage required by law, while others purchase no insurance at all. If the driver that hits you has no insurance or too little insurance, these UM/UIM coverages step in and replace the other party’s insurance to provide coverage.

Imagine that the motorist who hit you has “bodily injury” coverage of up to $20,000.  That means even if you have significant injuries and tremendous economic damages, the most that the driver’s insurance company will be able to offer you is $20,000.  If they have a 20/40 policy, which is quite common, that means that the most they can pay you and everyone else in your care is $40,000. As a result, if there are more than two people in your car, you will not even be offered $20,000. That is a pittance compared to what you will need if you are injured and your car is damaged.

How much UM coverage should you purchase? I encourage clients to attain as much UM coverage as they can afford. Sadly, the UM coverage you purchase may be the only way for you to receive any compensation if you are injured by a driver with insufficient or no insurance. I recommend at least 100/300 and suggest 250/500 or more, if you can afford it. That means that instead your policy will pay $100,000 or $250,000 for your injuries, or $300,000 or $500,000 if multiple parties are injured. Remember that this may be your only way to recover money if you are injured due to the negligence of another driver.

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

If you or loved one were injured an automobile accident, you are going to need the assistance of a personal injury attorney, especially if the other party has insufficient insurance coverage or no coverage at all.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have been injured in an accident. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Dental Malpractice

If you are like me, you do not look forward to going to the dentist’s office. Whether it is a just a routine cleaning or a root canal, it is rarely any fun. That said, I appreciate my dentist and the professional work he does to keep my teeth clean. But what if your dentist was not as professional as mine and was merely looking at your mouth as a gold mine? This happens, and some dentists cut corners by allowing undertrained staff to perform procedures they not certified to complete, while other dentists make mistakes due to overwork or addiction issues. What should you do if your dentist’s negligence injured you?

If you have sustained an injury as a result of a dentist, you are due compensation for your pain, trauma, loss of income, and injuries. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you—contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What is Dental Malpractice?

Dental malpractice is based on a negligence standard. As I have stated in other blog posts, negligence is established when a person has a duty to a person, such as a patient, and fails to protect that patient from a harm that he knew of or should have known of.  In dentistry, it occurs when a dentist deviates from the community’s accepted standard of dental care, and a patient is injured as a result of the deviation.

Forms of Dental Malpractice Vary

In my practice, I have seen a wide variety of deviations from a reasonable standard of dental care.  Most commonly, I see infections caused by non-sterile dental equipment, needless tooth extractions, failures to diagnose periodontal disease, wrongly administered anaesthesia, and general misdiagnosis of dental conditions that result in ongoing pain and suffering. Many dental problems stem from dentists who allow hygienists and other para-professionals to perform tasks that only a dentist should do.

Filing a Dental Malpractice Suit

Dental malpractice requires the help of an experienced personal injury attorney. To present a case that the dentist in question deviated from a standard of care that resulted in harm, a personal injury attorney will have to take depositions, hire expert witnesses, and subpoena records.  These tend to be contingency fee cases, meaning that, as the client, you will not have to pay anything for your representation unless you win your case. Your attorney will have to show that the dentist in your case took a course of treatment that was not reasonable under the current treatment protocols in use in your community or that he or she failed to treat a dental condition that was another dentist would have been reasonably expected to notice and treat.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured Due to a Dental Procedure?

If you or a loved one was injured due to a dentist’s negligence, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately to discuss whether you have a viable personal injury claim for your injuries, any time you have been out of work, the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation, your pain and suffering, and other damages. This is my area of expertise.  Let me take care of organizing your bills, attaining statements from expert witnesses, and dealing with the dentist’s attorneys. These are just a few of the critical, complex tasks that a personal injury attorney will handle for you while you heal from your dental injuries.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury because of a dentist’s negligence. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains How “Pain and Suffering” is Calculated

The term “pain and suffering” rolls off peoples’ tongues as if everyone knows what it means. It is a legal term that represents a particular category of damage—it is the emotional distress endured as a result of a third party’s negligent acts. Emotional distress covers a wide range of adverse effects, including emotional or psychological trauma, loss of consortium (i.e. the ability to have sexual relations with your spouse or partner), actual pain, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

If you have sustained an injury as a result of an accident, you must hire experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your pain and suffering. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

There are Two Categories of Pain and Suffering:

The experience of pain and suffering depends on the individual experiencing it. The measuring stick for that experience is how the injuries affected the harmed person’s emotional well-being and lifestyle. Pain and suffering falls into two categories:

Current Pain and Suffering—this is the emotional pain that you endure beginning with the injury until some end point. Because it has an endpoint, it can be measured.

Current and Future Pain and Suffering—this is the emotional pain you endure beginning with the injury, through medical treatment and therapy, and into the future indefinitely.  Because its endpoint is undetermined, it more difficult to measure

When you and your attorney calculate your settlement demand for pain and suffering, you must determine the category of pain and suffering yours falls into. If your suffering was limited to the time between the injury and completion of treatment, your demand would be lower, as it is finite. If it continues into the indefinite future, your request will be higher because there is no definitive way of knowing when it will end.

How Attorneys and Insurance Adjusters Calculate Pain and Suffering

The standard method of calculating pain and suffering is to use a multiple of your actual costs. These actual costs include your therapy bills, medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and any property damage. Taken together, these knowable, actual costs are known as “special damages.” Less easy to define is pain and suffering, which is referred to as “general damages.”

Computing special damages is a straightforward task—you add up all your bills and receipts. That said, deriving a figure that fairly and accurately represents your pain and suffering always poses a challenge. This is particularly difficult because the insurance adjuster that is tasked with fighting your claim wants to minimize your pain and suffering.

Personal injury attorneys and insurance adjusters calculate pain and suffering reimbursement using the “multiple” method. To do this, they take the total dollar value of your special damages and multiply that amount by one to five times.  In severe, debilitating cases, the multiplier may be even higher.  A case’s multiplier will depend upon the severity of pain, the duration of pain, the type of pain and discomfort, and your attorney’s ability to persuade the adjuster.

I tell clients frequently that they cannot just demand a king’s ransom for their pain and suffering and expect the insurance adjuster to agree to it. The insurance adjuster’s job is to say “no.” Instead, with the help of a skilled personal injury attorney, you must provide evidence justifying the requested amount along with a reasonable argument. If you fail to provide both, the insurance adjuster will reject your demand.

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

If you or a loved one was injured, you will need the help of an experienced personal injury attorney to recover compensation for your pain and suffering, along with the other damages you are due. This is my specialty.  Let me take care of organizing your bills, attaining statements from expert witnesses, and dealing with the other party’s attorneys. These are just a few of the critical, complex tasks that a personal injury attorney will handle for you while you concentrate on healing and getting back on your feet again.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains “Rear-End” Accident Causes and Injuries

The most common accident I see here in Mississippi is a “rear-end” car accident, where one automobile strikes another from behind.  A host of physical injuries ranging from whiplash to death can result from this sort of accident, some of them develop immediately while others take years to become a debilitating problem. Cars often suffer a range of damage as well, from a dented fender to a total loss. Clients come to me wondering whether they can be compensated for these damages and who will do the compensating. I have answers to those questions and strategies for helping you through this challenging time.

If you have sustained an injury as a result of a rear-end accident, you must hire experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your pain, trauma, loss of income, and injuries. Our Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Rear-End Accident Causes

There is an endless variety of rear-end accident causes.  Here is a list of the ones I see most commonly:

Distracted Driving—with the rise of cell phones, it seems like fewer and fewer people are watching the road when they drive. Instead, they are checking texts, emails, or even watching movies. These distractions can result in an accident when a car stops in front of them while their eyes are looking at a device.

DUI—reduction in muscle reflex and response time is one effect of driving under the influence. If you are in a vehicle that stops with an impaired driver following you, it is likely that his or her ability to stop will be slowed, which can result in a rear-end accident.

Tailgating—driving too close to another car can result in a rear-end collision if the front vehicle slows or stops unexpectedly.

Unexpected Stops—sometimes a car must stop short, either due to a child or animal running out in the road or another car’s sudden stop.  A rear-end collision results if the following vehicles are traveling too fast to stop.

Weather—if the roads are unexpected icy or rainy, cars traveling too fast for the conditions can experience reduced or no breaking, resulting in rear-end accidents.

Rear-End Accident Injuries

Whiplash—this is a common term for stiffness and pain in the shoulders and neck occurring after the neck and head “whips” beyond their normal range. Remember, your head weighs as much as a bowling ball and is balanced on top of your spinal column.  When you are hit from behind, that weight moves back and forth so quickly that it strains the soft tissue—muscle and ligaments—that are meant to hold it in place.

Back Injuries—your spine is not a solid chord but is a stack of small bone discs separated by cartilage. Within that stack of bone discs is your spinal cord. The entire spine is held together with cartilage, ligaments, and muscle. Because the spine has so many moving parts, it does not take much of a car accident to shift one of those discs or strain one of the muscles supporting the spine. Any one of those small tweaks can result in long-term pain and discomfort. Any injury to the spinal cord itself can result in paralysis or death.

Face and Head Injuries— your face and head can be injured whether you are in a high-speed accident or a slow fender-bender. In a slow speed accident, your face and head may be injured because the airbags did not deploy, resulting in your head hitting the steering wheel or objects in the car. In a high-speed crash, your face and head may be injured by the airbag’s explosive force.

Seatbelts—while most people think of seatbelts as essential safety devices, they can also cause harm. In their effort to restrain your body’s forward movement when you are hit from behind, seatbelts can put extreme pressure on the shoulder, neck, torso, and internal organs.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured Due to a Rear-End Collision?

If you or a loved one was injured in a rear-end accident, you might have a viable personal injury claim for your injuries, for any damage to your car, for any time you have been out of work,  and the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation. This is my area of expertise.  Let me take care of organizing your bills, attaining statements from expert witnesses, and dealing with the other driver’s attorney. These are just a few of the critical, complex tasks that a personal injury attorney will handle for you while you concentrate on healing and getting back on your feet again.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorney Discusses Compensation for Workplace Forklift Accidents

I have represented countless people here in Mississippi injured in workplace accidents. While I have seen a wide variety of accident types, forklift injuries represent a recurring theme. Forklifts can be dangerous for many reasons, including ineffective driver training, overloading, lack of maintenance, or unsafe driving conditions. While any one of these dangers can harm you, you will need the help of an experienced personal injury attorney to make sure the claim is adequately pleaded or described and that claims are brought against the necessary parties, including your employer, the forklift manufacturer, and/or the owner of the premises where you were operating the forklift. You likely also viable claim for your loss of pay and medical bills through the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, which I have linked to below.

If you or a loved one were injured as a result of a forklift injury, you must find experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your loss of income, pain and suffering, and injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Forklifts and Forklift Accidents

Forklifts are used to move materials in almost every blue-collar workplace, including grocery stores, warehouses, and construction sites. Even though a forklift’s body is usually smaller than a car, they are extremely heavy and weigh three times as much as your average car. They lift heavy objects with their two front forks, and the body of the forklift counterbalances the weight being lifted. The large load being lifted can shift, however, causing the forklift to tip, the load to spill, or the load to obscure the driver’s field of vision. A driver with an obscured field of vision can strike other stacked goods, causing them to fall, strike electrical wires, causing electrocution, or strike other workers. It should come as no surprise that forklift accidents are the most common type of heavy machinery accident in the Mississippi workplace.

Common Forklift Injury Claims

Workers’ Comp for Forklift Accidents

Your employer pays into the Mississippi Worker’s Compensation program, so that much of its employees’ costs are covered in the event of a workplace accident.  The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation program will   pay your medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses, so long as you use a doctor approved by your employer insurance company. You don’t have to prove that your employer caused the accident; if you were injured you can claim workers’ comp benefits, even if your negligence caused the injury. You are also eligible for benefits if your workplace injury was your fault, so long as you weren’t intoxicated or doing something illegal. If you file a worker’s compensation case, you are prohibited from filing a lawsuit against your employer unless the employer was grossly negligent.

Third-Party Personal Injury Lawsuits

A third-party lawsuit is a claim for damages—lost pay, pain and suffering, compensation for injuries—against a party that is not your employer.  Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, in a third-party lawsuit you must prove that the third party was negligent. Negligence means that a person or company knew or should have known about a risk and ignored the risk, resulting in your injury. Third-party lawsuits involving forklifts and other powered industrial trucks are usually based on premises or product liability.

Premises Liability

Premises liability occurs when a landowner or property manager who is not your employer contributed to the circumstances that caused your injury. A landowner or property manager must maintain his or her property is a reasonably safe condition. If the landowner negligently maintains unsafe premises that result in your injury, you may have a valid third party-liability claim against them.

Defective Product Liability

Another type of third-party lawsuit is one based on “defective product liability,” meaning that the forklift itself was negligently designed, manufactured, or that its instructions for use were written in a way that encouraged injury.

Wrongful Death Liability

If a forklift accident causes a bystander or non-employee’s death, the deceased party’s family can file a wrongful death suit against the forklift operator, his or her employer, and the forklift manufacturer.  In a wrongful death lawsuit, the legal burden is on the family to demonstrate that the operator or the employer was negligent and that that negligence resulted in their family member’s death.

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

If you or a family member were injured in a forklift accident, you might have a viable personal injury claim for the time you have been out of work, the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation, your pain and suffering, and other damages. Filing the correct claim, against the proper party could mean the difference between being amply compensated and receiving nothing.  The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Board should also compensate you for your time away from work and medical expenses. Let experienced counsel take care of organizing your bills, attaining statements from expert witnesses, and dealing with the other parties’ attorneys. These are just a few of the critical, complex tasks that a personal injury attorney will handle for you while you concentrate on healing and getting back on your feet again.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury due to a scaffolding accident. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.  Our Mississippi Workers Compensation Attorney is ready to assist you now!

/by