Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Truck Accident Claim Basics

If you have driven the roads of Mississippi, you have seen 18 wheelers, big rigs, or long haul truckers hauling cargo across our state. Most of these drivers are responsible and are actually better drivers than your average passenger car driver. But too often I have had to meet with the family of a person killed or severely injured in a trucking accident. Because of the massive weight of these vehicles, there is no such thing as a minor trucking accident, and they are usually catastrophic.  In my first meetings with families of those injured in trucking accidents, I often review the essential elements of a trucking accident.  Because this is, unfortunately, such an ordinary conversation, I have written the following blog post to help people understand the general overview of a truck accident claim.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a trucking accident, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injuries, loss of work, pain and suffering, and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience you need.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Overview of a Trucking Accident Case

After a trucking accident, the first step is to hire an experienced trucking attorney.  The sooner you hire personal counsel, the better, as an experienced attorney has a team of experts ready to move in and photograph the accident site, take pictures of the vehicles involved, and take statements while witnesses’ memories are fresh.  The longer you wait to hire counsel, the more “stale” all of this vital evidence becomes. Another important task is for your attorney to speak on your behalf while you or a loved one recover.  The trucking company’s insurer will contact you and try to pin down a story, maybe while you are still healing. An attorney acting on your behalf can prevent insurance companies from pestering you with questions while you are trying to recover.  You should not make any statement until you have spoken with your attorney.

Most trucking accident cases are taken on a “contingency fee” basis. This means that you do not pay your attorney for his services.  Instead, your attorney works on your behalf for free but receives a percentage of any judgment or settlement you receive at the conclusion of your case.  If you receive no compensation, your attorney receives nothing as well.

After you retain an attorney, he or she will do a tremendous amount of work investigating the crash, usually with the help of experts.  The goal is to establish that the trucking company was negligent, meaning that they had a duty to protect other motorists from harm and did not act reasonably to meet that duty.

You always have the option to go to trial or settle your case for an agreed-to amount.  While there is far more risk in going to trial—a jury may award you nothing—the financial reward is also potentially much more significant.  The vast majority of cases end in some form of settlement, where the parties agree to a monetary award that satisfies them both. While settlements can also be substantial, they usually represent a dollar amount less than if the plaintiff were to win at trial.

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

If you or a loved one was injured as a result of a trucking accident, you should be compensated for your injuries, loss of work, pain and suffering, recovery and other expenses.  Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, taking pictures of the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the trucking company’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a seasoned personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury from a trucking accident or any other kind of accident. Contact our seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney today at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Why You Should Always Seek Medical Attention After an Accident

One of the most significant mistakes you can make after any kind of accident is to fail to seek medical treatment from a physician. While many people would say it is obvious to attain medical attention after a catastrophic accident involving severe injury or dismemberment, they are equivocal when it comes to a fender-bender or slip and fall on the ice. I cannot underscore enough how important it is to attain medical help even after a seemingly insignificant accident.  Failing to do so can prevent you from attaining financial compensation for later-developing medical issues and from getting reimbursed for your medical costs.  I will go over the reason for attaining prompt medical care in detail below and have written the following blog post to help people understand why I am so emphatic about attaining medical attention immediately after an accident.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of an accident, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injury and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately After an Accident

Even if you are not taken away from an accident scene in an ambulance, you should seek medical attention immediately afterward.  There are several reasons for this.  The first is that many people “feel fine” after an accident and believe they do not need medical attention. In fact, their bodies are pulsing with adrenaline and endorphins after the accident, which masks any feelings of pain or discomfort. Accordingly, you are in no position to accurately gauge whether you are injured or not.  In fact, you are in a state of shock that blinds you to the pain you may be feeling, or may be about to feel, and cannot gauge pain or injury. As a result, you should see a physician immediately to determine accurately whether you have been injured. An EMT’s decision not to take you to the hospital in an ambulance immediately after an accident is an assessment of whether you are in acute, immediate need of medical attention. That decision has absolutely no bearing on whether you will need serious long term medical attention for a condition that may develop later. Those later-developing conditions may be far more complex and far more expensive than any broken bone needing immediate attention.

A second important reason to immediately seek help is if you are not injured at the time of the accident.  Many serious, life-altering injuries take many months to develop and aggravate. Getting a baseline analysis from a physician can help you show later, that a problem developed as a result of your accident.  If you fail to do this, the defendant’s insurer will likely claim that you caused your injuries in some subsequent activity unrelated to the accident.  If they succeed in this argument, you will receive no compensation for your injuries.

 

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

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident of any kind, you should seek medical attention immediately and contact an experienced personal injury attorney.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.

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.  Our seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney is ready to help you now!

 

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Common Types of Daycare Negligence

Our children are our most precious resource.  We entrust their safety to daycare providers here in Mississippi and believe that the provider acts in the child’s best interests.  But what happens when a daycare provider is negligent or reckless, injuring your child? Who will pay for medical bills and costs of long-term treatment?  How would you know if a seemingly innocuous playground accident will develop into a brain-stunting disability in the years to come? Determining how to proceed when a daycare accident occurs is a decision fraught with pitfalls. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney is your first step towards resolving this issue in you and your child’s best interests.  I have written the following blog post to help people understand the problems that this type of claim raises.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a daycare accident, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for his or her injury and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What You Should Do if Your Child is Injured at Daycare

In Mississippi, a daycare provider will be financially responsible for injuries your child suffered on your property if the injuries are the result of the provider’s negligence.  “Negligence” is a legal term that means that a person had a duty towards someone—here, the daycare provider had a duty to your child. Part of that duty is acting reasonably to protect your child from reasonably foreseeable harm.

What do those legal terms mean?  Well, true “accidents” do happen regardless of how careful we all are.  Imagine your child falls off of an age-appropriate swing set and breaks her wrist. Your daycare provider was likely not negligent in that scenario, as we all know that children fall of swing sets from time to time, no matter how careful we are. On the other hand, imagine if your five-year-old child was playing with “lawn darts” that a daycare provider bought at a garage sale over the weekend and skewered her leg with a falling dart.  As you may remember, “lawn darts” are a dangerous toy that has long been recalled.  No adult in their right mind would let a five-year-old play with them.  That lawn dart injury would constitute a failure of the daycare provider to protect your child from harm reasonably—they were negligent.

Similarly, you may be able to prove a violation of the daycare’s duty if they failed to meet a licensure requirement—railing heights, number of adults supervising children, class size—and an injury resulted from the failure.  Negligent hiring is often a problem with daycares, and if they fail to perform adequate background checks and hire a person who should not be working with children, you may have a claim if that person harms your child. For example, if the daycare hires a person with a record of DUI’s to drive the daycare van, that is a fairly clear violation of the daycare’s duty to protect your child.  Similarly, no one with any record of abusing or hurting children should ever be employed at a daycare.

What Should You Do If Your Child Has Been Injured?

If your child is injured in a daycare accident, you must hire a personal injury attorney to assess your case, provide you a clear path forward, and defend your rights.  You should be compensated for medical costs, educational remediation, counseling, and other expenses.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, documenting the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the day care’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.

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.  The seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Jonathan Barrett is ready to assist you now!

 

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains “Catastrophic” Accidents

People always think that their injuries are the worst I have ever seen. Luckily, many people who are initially in tremendous pain and are seriously inconvenienced by their injuries go on to heal and live completely healthy lives.  Those are not “catastrophic injuries” a term reserved for the most extreme, debilitating, and expensive types of accidents.  I have written the following blog post to help people understand the common types of catastrophic injuries, and the sort of compensation injured parties receive.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation. Barrett Law has the experience to help you.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What Makes a Catastrophic Injury “Catastrophic”?

Accidents result in many types of serious injuries—broken bones, tissue damage, head injuries—that all have a significant impact on the injured person’s life. What separates one of these severe injuries from a “catastrophic injury”?  While there is no bright line dividing serious injuries from catastrophic ones, generally, catastrophic injuries are so severe that they result in long-term disability or debilitation for the injured party.  They also have a significant impact on an injured party’s life, including the lives of loved ones. Catastrophic injuries usually involve physical deformity, the loss of some physical capacity, or the loss of mental capacity. A partial list of catastrophic injuries includes brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, and spinal cord injuries, and loss of a limb or limbs. Many of these injuries require personal care for much of the day, every day, a massive expense.  Others may not need personal care, but permanently diminish the injured party’s ability to earn an income and enjoy life.

Just suffering a catastrophic injury does automatically qualify you for a settlement, however.  The person who caused your injury must have been negligent towards you, and that negligence must have been the cause of your injury.  Imagine a car that changes lanes correctly on a busy highway at night.  As it changes lanes, it hits the front wheel of your motorcycle, which had a broken headlight.  You fall off your motorcycle and, because you were not wearing a helmet, sustained a traumatic brain injury.  While you have suffered a catastrophic injury, you will likely not recover any compensation because it will be difficult to show that the motorist that hit you was negligent.  On the other hand, imagine that the car driver was drunk at the time of the accident and that your motorcycle headlight was operational—that driver likely violated his duty to act reasonably towards you.  As a result, it is likely that you could recover compensation from the second driver, as he was negligent towards you.

If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury, and the person who caused your injury was negligent, you are likely due your fair share of compensation for all medical costs, lost wages, future medical costs, mobility devices such as a wheelchair or scooter, ongoing personal attendant, counseling and psychiatric care, compensation for diminishment in the enjoyment of life, compensation for loss of ability to have an intimate relationship.

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

If you or a loved suffered a catastrophic injury because of another party’s negligence, you should be compensated for medical costs, counseling, and other expenses.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, taking pictures of the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.

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.  The seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney is ready to assist you now!

 

 

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Four Common Mistakes People Make After an Automobile Accident

Automobile accidents happen every day here in Mississippi, and I work with clients whose families have suffered a wide range of injuries, from no injuries at all to death.  Whether you have been involved in a minor fender-bender or a catastrophic or fatal accident, there are a few simple steps that everyone should take to protect their legal interests. When an accident happens, it can often be traumatic, and it is hard to remember what steps to take. I have written the following blog post to help people remember four mistakes they should avoid after any accident, no matter how insignificant.

If you or a loved one was injured as a result of an automobile accident, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for injuries and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Failing to call the police—Always call the police after an automobile accident.  Even if there appears to be no damage or injuries, there is no harm in having an objective, third-party law enforcement officer document the scene.  This report may be vital later if injuries arise, and photographs and notes that the police officer creates may carry more weight than ones made by a person involved in the accident.

Failing to exchange insurance information—Always exchange insurance information with the other driver and take a picture of the information with your phone.  Even in situations where you believe no damage to your car occurred, and you were not injured, exchange insurance information.  Also, always attain the following information from the other driver: Name; Phone number; Address; Driver’s license number; License plate number; Insurance information; Make and model of the other driver’s vehicle.

Failing to attain medical care—Attain a medical examination immediately if you are injured in an accident. Even if you “feel O.K.” after an accident, see a physician, as you are likely in shock and in no position to judge your medical condition. It is essential to establish a baseline of your physical condition so that if injuries develop subsequently, there is evidence establishing when they began. If you fail to do this, the other driver’s insurance company is likely to claim that some later incident caused your injuries, not the accident.  In that scenario, without any medical records supporting your claim you are unlikely to recover any compensation.

Failing to take pictures—We are lucky that we now live in a world where almost everyone has a camera on them at all times.  If you are physically capable, take as many pictures as possible of the accident scene.  It becomes much more difficult to establish what caused the accident and who was to blame once the vehicles are towed away.  The other driver’s insurance company will likely attempt to construe the police report in a way that paints you as negligent, and there may not be police photos to prove otherwise.

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

If you or a loved one was injured in an automobile accident, you should be compensated for medical costs, loss of work, and other expenses.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, taking pictures of the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.

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.  The seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Jonathan Barrett is ready to assist you now!

 

/by

Experienced Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorney Provides an Overview of New OSHA Rules Regarding Injury and Illness Reporting

Workplace injuries and illnesses are universal, regardless of whether you work on a fishing boat, an oil rig, or in a cubicle.  As a result, most people are aware that all Mississippi employers must carry worker’s compensation insurance. What many people do not know is that large employers must also report their employees’ work-related illnesses and injuries to the federal Occupational Health and Health Administration (OSHA) for tracking purposes. These statistics allow the federal government, unions, and employees to track health and safety issues at employers.  The Trump administration has made a significant change in these reporting regulations, however, and I wanted to highlight the differences and how they will likely affect Mississippi workers.

If you have sustained a workplace injury, you must find experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your loss of income and injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

New OSHA Reporting Regulations for 2019

This past January, OSHA revised the rules regarding workplace illness and injury reporting requirements. This revision eliminates reporting requirements instituted by the Obama administration that required businesses employing 250 employees or more to file electronic reports describing all employees’ illnesses and injuries. Companies must still keep these records, but they no longer have to submit them electronically to OSHA.

Is this change a positive or a negative for employees?  It is hard to say.  OSHA contends that this is a net win for employees, as the records that had previously been submitted contained sensitive employee information regarding health information.  OSHA’s position is that it was too much of a risk to employee privacy to be providing this information electronically. Additionally, the agency sees this change as a business-friendly move to relieve an administrative burden. Critics contend that this is a move away from employer transparency and that OSHA’s shift in position will allow large companies to keep unsafe work conditions shielded from outside eyes. The ultimate answer to this question may come from the courts, as six states are suing OSHA to reinstate the Obama-era rules. The states involved claim that the change in policy will have the net result of making workplaces in their states more dangerous.

I am on the fence regarding these changes.  I do not have tremendous confidence in OSHA’s ability to keep sensitive employee data safe, but believe that that justification is likely just an excuse to remove an onerous responsibility from employers.  Employers must still compile the data in question and make it available to OSHA inspectors, but I have to wonder if administrative pressure on OSHA will also make these inspections occur less frequently.  In the end, I anticipate that this is a growing trend in making workplaces less safe for workers.

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

If you or a loved one was injured or sickened in a workplace accident, you are due compensation for any time you have been out of work, the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation, your pain and suffering, and other damages. But finding the right type of claim that can make you most whole requires careful analysis and thoughtful legal advice.  Call me today to begin the most critical legal conversation of your career.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi worker’s compensation law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury in the workplace. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.  The seasoned Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorney is ready to assist you now!

/by

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer Discusses the College Admissions Scandal

Americans have been abuzz with a whistleblower case concerning college admissions. Wealthy parents have been paying a fake nonprofit corporation to either have paid test-takers boost their children’s college admission test scores or to have college coaches claim that their children were top athletes deserving of special admissions considerations. The universities involved are some of the tops in the nation, including Stanford and Yale, along with some second-tier colleges such as USC, Georgetown, and the University of Texas. This entire enterprise was brought down by a single whistleblower and has snared dozens of people, including top college coaches, attorneys, and several Hollywood stars.  Because this case has received so much press, I have devoted a blog post to describing its facts.

Are you considering becoming a whistleblower?  You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to guide you through the process.  Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505 to attain the advice you need.

A Three-Part Scam

As part of operation “Varsity Blues,” the Department of Justice has announced charges against dozens of individuals for participating in a long-running college admissions scam.  The scam had three different components.  First, some parents paid to have someone else take their child’s ACT or SAT for them.  That involved the child being diagnosed with a disability and receiving more time on the test as an accommodation.  Once the child received more time, crooked test administrators allowed fake adult test-takers to take the test in the child’s place, boosting his or her score considerably.

Second, other parent paid to have a false athletics profile created for their children.  Coaches at prestigious colleges were then able to subvert the regular admissions process, bringing in these “athletes” through the recruiting process.  The coaches were paid huge bonuses to “recruit” these students, who were not athletes and never joined the athletics teams once they were admitted.

Finally, the parents involved in both of the above schemes were then allowed to present their bribes and fees as tax-deductible donations to the ringleader of this scam, William “Rick” Singer, who ran a college counseling business for the well-heeled. He allegedly collected over $25 million as part of his scheme. While all of the above remains allegations at this point, the evidence supporting the allegations, including audiotaped conversations between Singer and the parents, coaches, and administrators, is damning.

This entire scheme was reported by a whistleblower being criminally investigated for other illegal acts. His confession to the Department of Justice, in that case, piqued law enforcement’s interest in this case, which involves, wire fraud, tax fraud, and conspiracy charges for dozens of players.  Thus far, no children who received academic preference as a result of the scam have been charged.

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

Are you considering filing a whistleblower case?  The reward for submitting a successful claim can be significant, 15% to 30% of any amount recovered by the government, but you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. The IRS Whistleblower Office receives thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that meet their requirements and are reported in a way that triggers their interest are acted upon.  Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. 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 whistleblower 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 Discusses Recent $75 Million False Claims Act Case

I have written about it in other blog posts, but I love the history of the False Claims Act. Here is a law in use today that was signed into being by Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln created the False Claims Act to prevent individuals and companies from overcharging or profiteering off of the U.S. government during the Civil War.  Over one hundred and fifty years later and the law is still being used for precisely the same purpose.  One of the most potent tools in the False Claims Act is the whistleblower provision that provides the person who notifies the government of fraud to keep a large percentage—15 to 30 percent—of whatever the government collects as a result of prosecuting the case.  In the recent False Claims Act case below, the U.S. Department of Justice followed up on the same kind of tip that President Lincoln worried about, a company rigging bids to end up rigging the cost of fuel that the U.S. military paid.  I will discuss the case more fully below.

If you are considering becoming an IRS 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.

The Hyundai Oilbank Case

Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd. And S-Oil Corporation worked to rig the bidding process for supplying fuel to the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force bases in South Korea. The Department of Justice took over the investigation from a qui tam case filed by an individual with knowledge of the conspiracy to bilk the U.S. military.  In a nutshell, the two companies conspired with others to make sure that the price of oil supplied to the U.S. government in South Korea remained unnaturally high.  As a result, the U.S. government paid substantially more than it would have in a competitive bid environment.  That expense ultimately was passed along to the U.S. taxpayer.  Due to the whistleblower alerting the Department of Justice to the oil companies’ scheme, they have agreed to pay $75 million in a settlement, and the whistleblower, in this case, is entitled to 15% to 30% of that amount.  Other individuals participating in this scheme have been charged criminally.

The whistleblower in this case risked his or her career to make this claim and will receive a tremendous amount of money as a result.  But becoming a whistleblower is not as easy as just calling in a tip to the Department of Justice.  They receive thousands of potential whistleblower tips every year and only follow up on a small percentage. To catch the Department of Justice’s attention, as this whistleblower did, you will need the assistance of an experienced False Claims Act attorney to draft your complaint in a way that catches the Department of Justice’s attention and paints a picture of a case that is worth directing their scarce resources towards.

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

Are you considering filing a whistleblower case regarding government contracting?  The reward for submitting a successful claim can be significant, 15% to 30% of any amount recovered by the government, but you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the assistance of an experienced whistleblower counsel. 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 whistleblower 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 BP Oil Spill Attorney Discusses a Novel Diminished Wages Claim

As everyone in the Gulf region is aware, there have been many settlements of BP Oil Spill cases. Do not let anyone tell you that you have missed your chance to receive your fair share of compensation for oil spill damage or cleanup work.  There is still no end in sight to litigation and compensation for many of those affected by the spill. Some of you may remember professional basketball player David West, who played for the then-New Orleans Hornets in the NBA. West claimed that his career suffered and that his pay diminished after the BP Oil Spill. The courts agreed, and he was awarded $1.5 million to compensate him.  That amount has been recently overturned, but I wanted to write a blog post about it to highlight the fact that there remain many creative cases regarding the oil spill, some of which will result in significant compensation.

Do you have a health condition arising from your contact with the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Did you participate in the cleanup effort or come into contact with dispersants? You may be entitled to a portion of settlement funds. If you think your health condition entitles you to some of the BP Deepwater Horizon settlement, having experienced counsel help you attain your fair share is critical. Barrett Law has expertise in BP Oil Spill litigation and has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Background on the West Case

West played for the New Orleans Hornets in 2010.  As you likely remember the Hornets played in New Orleans beginning in the 2002-03 season and then moved temporarily to Oklahoma City in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  West’s continued to play for the Hornets after they returned to New Orleans, only to see his pay decrease significantly in the years after the BP Oil Spill. As a result, he filed a claim with the BP Oil Spill Claims Administrator, who applied the BP Oil Settlement’s test for compensation to West’s case and awarded him $1.5 million. Now, there is no indication that West’s decline in contract pay had anything to do with the spill whatsoever—in fact, he agreed to a contract with diminishing pay before the spill—but that was found to be irrelevant by the Claims Administrator. Unfortunately for West, the courts recently overruled this payment. The rationale for the appeals court’s decision was that the loss in income due to a Spill victim must be “unexpected.”  West’s contract’s decrease was agreed to prior to the Spill and, as a result, was not due compensation from the Settlement Fund.

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

If you were injured or developed one of the above health conditions as a result of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill or its cleanup, you are due compensation for your medical costs, loss of work, and ongoing pain and suffering. 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. You may also be able to submit a new application if your earlier attempts were unsuccessful. Don’t let rumors and misleading information get in the way of attaining compensation—the exclusive way to fully 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. Experienced Mississippi BP Oil Spill Attorney Jonathan Barrett has the experience to take on 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 Discusses A Recent U.S. Supreme Court Argument Regarding False Claims Act’s Two Statutes of Limitation

The United States Supreme Court just heard arguments on a recent case, Cochise Consultancy Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt that will likely end up clarifying the False Claims Act’s two statutes of limitations. As anyone who follows the False Claims Act knows, working fast is your number one priority—you must be the “first to file” to attain any reward. If another person notifies the U.S. government of fraud before you do, you get nothing.  But what about the other problem, if you act too slowly?  How long does a whistleblower have to report fraud against the U.S. government?  That is precisely the question before the U.S. Supreme Court right now.  Because the decision in this case will likely change the False Claims Act playing field, I wrote the following blog post to provide an overview.

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.

Statute of Limitations Issues and the False Claims Act

All laws have a statute of limitations.  A statute of limitations provides the amount of time a person has to sue under that statute.  After the statute of limitation “runs” or expires, a person is barred from bringing suit.  A statute of limitations also involves a concept called “equitable tolling” meaning that it is unfair to be able to sue another person after a certain period, as memories of the case fade, evidence gets stale, and it becomes increasingly difficult to weigh the evidence involved. In a nutshell, a statute of limitations is a deadline that a person must meet after they are harmed to bring suit regarding that harm.

The problem presented in the case before the Supreme Court is that the False Claims Act has two statutes of limitation and it is not clear which one applies in the case.  In this case, Hunt claims that Cochise Consultancy defrauded the U.S. government through fraudulent munitions cleanup contracts in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.  Hunt filed a False Claims Act suit in 2013, more than six years after the alleged fraud occurred.

The False Claims Act has two statutes of limitations.  The original statute of limitations requires lawsuits to be filed within six years of the alleged fraud.  The second statute of limitations, added later, allows for claims to be filed up to three years after the government has been notified of the complaint’s key facts, but not more than ten years after the alleged fraud. Whichever statute of limitations occurs last controls the case.

Here, Hunt brought his case in 2013, so he missed the first statute of limitations.  However, he is claiming that the U.S. government became aware of his case and did not intervene, so he should be allowed to continue his suit under the second, longer statute of limitations. Of course, Cochise Consultancy’s attorney argued that this sort of delay would allow whistleblowers to “wait in the weeds” and violates the principle of ethical tolling.

I agree with many comments made by the Court’s Justices, all of which focused on the fact that speed is on the side of the whistleblower and it is never really in his or her interest to wait to file a claim, as that delay could result in losing their claim to another whistleblower.  The Justices seemed persuaded by the fact that Mr. Hunt could have had the longer statute of limitations had the government taken an interest in his case, and that the longer statute of limitations serves the public interest of catching those who defraud the government.  I look forward to hearing the result of this case later this year.

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

The reward for submitting a successful whistleblower claim can be massive, 15% to 30% of any amount recovered as a result of your report, reinstatement, back pay and front pay, and expenses, but don’t fool yourself—you will only reap this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. Careful pleading is key to this process and will require the assistance of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (601) 790-1505.

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower 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