Mississippi Auto Accident Attorneys Discuss Myths About Auto Accidents

If you or a loved one has recently been injured in a car accident, you are probably feeling a range of emotions and significant anxiety.  When coping with the pain and suffering associated with your injuries, you might be overwhelmed by the prospect of navigating the claims process, dealing with insurance companies, and managing spiraling expenses associated with your accident. These obstacles can be magnified by a lack of familiarity with the claims process and the challenge of negotiating insurance and legal obstacles.  In this blog post, our experienced Mississippi Auto Accident Injury Lawyers demystify the process by dispelling common myths about car accident claims. Keep reading to learn more!

Myth No. 1: I Don’t Need an Attorney to File a Car Accident Claim

Although you theoretically can handle your own auto accident claim, the fact that you have the right to do so does not make it a good idea.  Insurance companies salivate at the prospect of devouring injury victims that do not have the benefit of an experienced Mississippi Auto Accident Lawyer.  Attorneys who routinely handle auto accident case understand the tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying claim, as well as the legal, procedure, and evidentiary standards for navigating the litigation process.  Because well-established personal injury law firms will have established relationships with individuals with specialized knowledge, such as accident reconstruction experts and medical experts, they can effectively work with expert witnesses who might be necessary to your case.  Car accident victims almost certainly will recover less compensation without legal representation.

Myth 2: The Insurance Company Will Reach a Fair Settlement

Many people presume that since the at-fault driver paid premiums for coverage, the insurer will pay the reasonable value of a liability claim for personal injuries.  However, insurance carriers maximize their profits by denying as many claims as possible and underpaying claims.  The other driver’s insurance company has a duty to accept reasonable settlements to protect their insured from a judgment that exceeds policy limits, this duty has nothing to do with treating an injury victim fairly.  If the insurance company can find a basis to deny the claim or to mitigate the amount paid to a policyholder in damages, the insurer is strongly motivated to minimize the amount paid.  The insurance company might unjustifiably claim that the injury victim shares a significant amount of the fault for causing the accident.  Alternatively, the insurer might contend any permanent disability is unrelated to the accident.  Law firms that have been representing personal injury victims for decades have the knowledge and experience to anticipate and respond effectively to such strategies.

Myth No. 3: I can wait until I have fully recovered and get back on top of things to pursue a legal claim.

Insurance companies have no reason to pay a claim once critical deadlines have passed.  The statute of limitations is a timing requirement that indicates the period of time that an injury victim has to file a lawsuit.  The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for injuries suffered in a car accident generally is three years in Mississippi, but special rules may apply depending on the identity of the victim and the circumstances surrounding the accident.  If a lawsuit is not initiated before the statute of limitations “runs” (or expires), the lawsuit typically will be permanently barred.  If you are suing a government entity because your accident involved a dangerous road, there might be even shorter time limits for providing notice to the public entity.  The entire process of litigation is governed by strict timing requirements, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible following an accident.

Call a Mississippi Auto Accident Lawyer You Can Trust to Pursue the Compensation You Deserve

If you have been injured in a car accident and are unsure whether to pursue a claim, the Mississippi Auto Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law, PLLC are here to help.  Our firm has been advocating for personal injury victims for decades. Contact our firm today at (601)790-1505 to schedule your free consultation, so we can answer questions you might have regarding filing your auto accident claim.

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Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys Discuss Causes of Rollovers and How to Avoid Them

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Rollover crashes are dangerous, and sometimes, even deadly. Because rollovers involve a mixture of factors such as weather, a driver’s reaction, vehicle type, and road conditions, there are a variety of things that can cause rollover wrecks. Fortunately, there are also a number of ways in which to address rollover causes through improvements in driving skills and technology.

Some physical features of vehicles can make them more or less likely to roll over. While any vehicle can roll over, the vehicles that have the highest rollover risk tend to be tall and narrow. These vehicles, which include many SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks, have a high center of gravity and can be rolled over with less force than it takes to roll over vehicles with a lower center of gravity, such as cars that have been designed with a low, wide stance.

Other factors that play a role in rollover crashes include speed, alcohol, and the driving environment. Fatal rollovers in particular often involve excessive speed. Alcohol consumption greatly increases the risk that you will make poor choices while driving, which includes the risk of losing control of your vehicle and rolling over. Approximately half of all fatal rollovers involve alcohol. Rollovers also occur more frequently on rural roads, where dividing lines are not as clearly marked and speed limits may be high despite the presence of curves.

As you can see, some of the causes of rollover crashes are directly tied to drivers’ behavior. This means that drivers can greatly reduce the risk of rollover accidents by making better choices regarding how they drive. Some examples of things that you can do to avoid rollover accidents include following posted speed limits, choosing not to drink and drive, choosing not to drive if you are fatigued, and avoiding distractions while driving. It is also important to remember not to make sudden, panicked movements with your steering wheel because those movements often lead to overcorrections and rollovers. Wearing a seat belt is always important, and it can save your life if your car rolls over. Close to seventy percent of rollover fatalities involve victims who were not wearing seat belts. Other things that you can do to decrease rollover risk include properly inflating and maintaining your tires and loading vehicles properly.

Vehicle design can also play a role in helping reduce the number of rollover accidents that occur. While it is essential that drivers learn how to reduce their rollover risk through making good choices, it is helpful when vehicles have additional features that reduce rollover risk even further. Stability control features have many different names, but they work in similar ways, detecting overcorrections and compensating for them by braking automatically. Side-impact or curtain-style airbags are another helpful technology that can reduce ejection risk and can reduce the amount of fatalities and the severity of injuries that occur during rollovers. It is important to note that side airbags that deploy during a rollover only work to reduce ejection risk if vehicle occupants are also wearing seatbelts. Variable ride height suspensions are another feature that can help vehicles adapt to changing driving conditions and make automatic adjustments to reduce the likelihood of a rollover.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Representing Mississippi Automobile Accident Victims

If you were injured in a rollover, the experienced and dedicated Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC would like to help you. Please call us today, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule your free, initial consultation.

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Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorneys Talk About Farming Accidents

Many farmers enjoy what they do, even though they know that farming is very dangerous work. There are many risks in the farm work environment, and accidents that cause severe injury or death are not uncommon. From accidents involving large, heavy animals to accidents involving machinery, danger is everywhere on the farm. Drainage ditches, water storage ponds, and manure lagoons create drowning risks. Fall hazards are everywhere, and some of them, including silos and grain bins, even create a risk of entrapment and suffocation in addition to the injuries that a worker could sustain in a fall.

Some farm-related injuries, like tractor roll-overs, are preventable. Unfortunately, not all farms use equipment that has the latest safety features, like devices which can prevent injuries and death from tractor roll-over accidents. Farm equipment causes many injuries, and older pieces of machinery may not have proper safety guards. Some farm workers operate dangerous machinery without proper training. Also, regular maintenance and safety checks that could prevent equipment failure and equipment-related injuries are sometimes overlooked when there is a lot of work to do.

Farm workers are also at risk for chronic injuries. Exposure to noxious gases and dust can cause lung diseases. Pesticides and other chemicals found in farm environments can cause cancer and other health problems. Heavy lifting and repetitive motion can cause chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders.

The physical conditions of farm work environments are not the only dangers that are present there. There are other challenges which may make it difficult for farmers to work safely. For example, time constraints imposed by nature create pressure for farm workers to complete tasks like planting and harvesting within limited windows of opportunity. Sometimes, weather conditions reduce the available time even more, giving farmers even fewer days to complete time-sensitive tasks. These time-related job pressures can lead to long work hours and fatigue, which can increase the risk of accidents and injuries.

Some farm workers are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents than others. Interestingly enough, these workers, who are often under fifteen years of age or over sixty five, are not often found in other types of work environments. The laws that regulate farming permit these individuals to work on farms, even though they might not qualify for other non-farm work opportunities.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Assisting Mississippi Farm Workers With Workers’ Compensation Claims

The experienced Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC provide top-quality legal assistance to injured farm employees across the state.  At Barrett Law PLLC, we understand how hard it is for many farm workers face to obtain full coverage for their work related injuries.  We are committed to helping you get the results you need from the complex workers’ compensation process by pursuing satisfactory resolution of your workers’ compensation claim while you work on making a full physical recovery.  Call the dedicated workers’ compensation attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule your free, initial consultation.

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Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Discuss Deadly Forklift Accidents

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Forklift accidents can be devastating and even deadly.  In 2010, a construction worker was killed in a forklift accident in Jackson, Mississippi.  The accident happened along Interstate 20 where crews were working to rebuild a bridge.  The forklift accident victim perished after being run over by the forklift. One year later, a Mississippi corporation in Cleveland, Mississippi was lobbed penalties of over $46,000 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration due to an employee’s death in a forklift accident.  OSHA cited 19 safety violations, including failure to ensure the forklift operator was wearing a seatbelt, not conducting sufficient inspections on the forklift, and allowing forklift modifications to be made without the manufacturer approval.  The forklift victim apparently died when the weight shifted on the forklift, causing it to turn over and crush the victim.

Each year, approximately 85 fatal forklift accidents occur.  Another nearly 35,000 forklift accidents happen, resulting in serious injuries to employees.  An additional 61,800 non-serious injuries occur due to forklifts.  It is estimated by the Industrial Truck Association that over 850,000 forklifts are in operation across the U.S.   This means that approximately 11 percent of all forklifts will be involved in an accident, ranging from fatal to non-serious, each year.  As forklifts have an average life of eight years, this calculates to 90 percent of all forklifts being involved in an accident at some point during their useful life.

Forklifts are used in numerous industries and any employee who operates one of these massive machines could potentially experience injury or death.  The majority of forklift accidents occur in the following fields:

  • Mining
  • Construction
  • Manufacturing
  • Retail Trade
  • Transportation
  • Wholesale Trade

Fatal forklift accidents can occur under a wide range of circumstances, but the most common causes of fatal forklift accidents include:

  • The victim is crushed between the vehicle and another surface
  • The victim is run over by the forklift after it tips
  • The vehicle tips, crushing the victim
  • The victim is struck by falling material on the forklift
  • Two vehicles crush the victim
  • The victim falls from the forklift platform

In Mississippi, nearly all employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.  This no-fault insurance system is intended to provide compensation for employees who are injured in the workplace, while in the course and scope of employment.  For many accidents occurring in the workplace, workers’ compensation will be the primary or only means of recovery.  Workers’ compensation benefits can include reimbursement for medical expenses, a portion of wages lost due to time off work, and compensation for any permanent disability or extended time away from the workplace.

 In addition to workers’ compensation, employees may sometimes have additional avenues of recovery, as in the case of a defective forklift causing the accident.  Your workers’ compensation attorney will evaluate your accident and determine your legal rights.

Barrett Law PLLC: Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Fighting for the Rights of All Victims of Workplace Forklift Accidents

Forklifts are massive and potentially dangerous pieces of equipment.  When a forklift malfunctions or an employee is not adequately trained in the operation of these vehicles, serious injury and even death can occur.  All employees injured in the course and scope of employment in the state of Mississippi are entitled to receipt of workers’ compensation benefits.  Obtaining the full benefits to which you are entitled, however, can prove challenging.  If you have been injured in a forklift accident, the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC can help.  For decades we have assisted injured workers through the sometimes complex workers’ compensation system, ensuring our client’s medical bills, lost wages, and disabilities are compensation.  For aggressive, dedicated, and knowledgeable assistance with your workers’ compensation action, call Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule your free consultation.

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