Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Discuss Horrific Accident at Auto Parts Plant

Auto parts manufacturing is a growing industry across the American South. While the factories and the jobs that they provide do benefit the local economy and provide jobs for many people, there are risks associated with working in automobile parts manufacturing facilities. The machines that are used to make auto parts are diverse and complex. Workers who use the devices are supposed to receive training on how to use the machines, and what to do when they malfunction to keep themselves safe. A horrific accident at an Alabama parts manufacturing plant illustrates just how dangerous the equipment in auto parts manufacturing facilities is.

A young woman got killed at the Ajin USA plant in Cusseta, Alabama. One day, she was working with a robot which mounted pillars for side view mirrors on dashboard frames. The machine often stopped when bolts got stuck in it, and when the machine stopped that day, the team that was working in that area called the facility maintenance crew to come and fix it. The woman and her co-workers watched and waited, becoming more and more impatient as time passed because they had quotas that they were expected to fill. The pressure to fill quotas and work quickly is a common characteristic of auto manufacturing plant jobs.

Unfortunately, the pressure to fill quotas and to fill them quickly can cost lives, when workers take matters into their own hands, as evidenced by what happened next. After a while of waiting, the young woman grabbed a screwdriver and went into a screened-off area around the robot. She tried to clear the fault herself, and as she did, the robot turned on and pinned her against a steel dashboard frame. The robot impaled her upper body with a pair of welding tips. A co-worker activated the emergency shut-off, and the young woman got trapped in the machine. Co-workers tried to free her from its grasp to no avail. Someone went to get a maintenance person, and another person called for help. The maintenance worker did not know how to free the woman from the robot, but when emergency personnel arrived at the plant, they locked out the robot’s emergency power switch so that it could not reactivate and extracted her from the machine. The young woman got rushed to the hospital and then airlifted to a trauma center. She died as a result of her injuries the next day.

Locking out an emergency power switch is an essential safety procedure that factory workers at all kinds of industrial facilities should be trained in and equipped for. Under Federal law, no one is supposed to examine an industrial machine or robot without first having locked out the switch. It is alleged that workers at the Ajin plant did not have access to safety locks or lockout training.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for the Families of Victims of Fatal Mississippi Workplace Accidents

If someone that you love lost their life in a manufacturing facility accident, it is imperative that you get assistance from a Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney. Workplace accident attorneys understand worker’s compensation law, as well as the dangers of modern workplaces of all kinds. They work to serve families like yours in their times of need. To learn more, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a consultation.

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Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Talk about Forklift Accidents

Last year, a man died after he got struck by a forklift at the Armstrong Flooring in Jackson. Forklift accidents are a common cause of workplace injuries and deaths across America. Forklifts are in many different types of workplaces, so it is important that all workers who encounter forklifts in their workplaces know about the dangers of forklift accidents so that they might be able to avoid them.

Forklifts are involved in approximately one percent of factory and warehouse accidents, yet the injuries caused by those accidents are often serious and sometimes even fatal. About eighty-five people die in forklift accidents each year. Nearly thirty-five thousand people are seriously injured by forklifts every year, and another sixty-two thousand receive non-serious injuries in forklift accidents.

The most common type of workplace accident involving a forklift occurs when the forklift tips over. It is not surprising that this is how many forklift accidents happen, because of the nature of forklifts and the functions that they perform. Forklifts are very heavy, weighing in at approximately three times the weight of an average car. They do not have brakes in the rear, only in the front, and this, combined with their unevenly distributed weight (more in the rear, less in the front where the forks are) makes them handle much differently than the passenger vehicles that people drive every day. Sometimes, it’s hard for a forklift driver to see around the large or awkwardly shaped load on the front of a forklift, and this increases the risk of a collision with a person or an object. When a forklift is lifting a heavy load to a high place, there is the danger that the load will fall or the forklift will tip.

Fortunately, there is room for improvement as far as forklift accidents are concerned. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that the number of forklift accidents could be reduced by over half if the people who operate forklifts and work in places where forklifts are in use received more comprehensive training about how to run them and work near them safely. It is possible to prevent injuries by installing barriers around forklift work areas to keep pedestrians safe. Shields and barriers that can be placed on doors, corners, shelves, and other areas to prevent property damage from forklift impacts.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Helping Workers Injured in Mississippi Workplace Accidents

If you work in a facility where there are forklifts, you are at risk for a forklift injury whether or not you operate or work with the forklifts yourself. If you got hurt in a forklift accident or someone that you love was killed in a forklift accident, it is crucial that you seek assistance from a Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney. Your attorney knows the details of worker’s compensation law, and they can help you navigate the claims process. If you have questions about worker’s compensation or workplace accidents, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a consultation.

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Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Discuss Changes to Workplace Safety Rules

Last summer, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) changed some of its workplace safety rules and increased its citation structure to encourage employers to be diligent in keeping workers safe and fulfilling their regulatory obligations. Some information about the rule changes may have been passed along to some employees in some workplaces, but many employees may have no idea that some of the rules have changed, let alone how any of the changes apply to them.

Some of the OSHA rule changes involve the procedures for tracking and reporting illnesses and injuries that occur in the workplace. Some employers must now begin submitting illness and injury information to OSHA electronically. This is not a huge change because the information that must be submitted is information that they were already required to collect and keep under previous OSHA rules.

While the electronic filing requirement is important, only some individuals are likely to be aware of it, particularly those people who will be submitting the information to OSHA as part of the work that they do. All employees may be more interested in learning about another change in the OSHA rules, the anti-retaliation provisions. In the interest of collecting accurate data regarding workplace injuries, employees must feel safe reporting injuries and discussing the details of their injuries. Employees who fear retaliation are unlikely to disclose the types of information that OSHA wishes to collect, and so OSHA has created three provisions that it hopes will create a workplace atmosphere in which employees feel safe reporting the details of their injuries.

You may have seen a poster in your workplace that reads “Job Safety and Health – It’s the Law.” This poster, along with statements in your employee handbooks and orientation materials fulfill your employer’s obligation to let you know that you have the right to report any and all workplace injuries. Also, your employer must have a reporting procedure for injuries and illnesses which is reasonable. If the reporting policy at your workplace discourages employees from reporting illnesses or injuries in any way, it could be a violation of this provision. Thirdly, employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees who report work-related lionesses or injuries by having incentive policies, drug testing policies, or disciplinary policies that would have a retaliatory effect.

Sometimes, it can be hard to distinguish between a retaliatory disciplinary policy and one that is not retaliatory. For example, it is okay for an employer to impose disciplinary consequences upon an employee who violated one or more safety rules, even if they got hurt while they were violating the rule. In contrast, it is not acceptable for an employer to terminate, reassign, harass, or suspend an employee merely because they reported an injury. There must be a valid grounds for any termination, suspension, or reassignment.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Representing Injured Workers Throughout Mississippi

If you got hurt at work, report your injury to your employer right away. Reporting injuries and illnesses in the workplace is your right, and it is important that you follow the proper procedure for reporting the injury so that you can file a claim for worker’s compensation if such a claim is appropriate in your situation. Worker’s compensation claims can be complex and time-consuming, so it is best to get help from a Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney. Please call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a consultation.

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Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Talks about Employability

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Workplace accident cases seem to have a language that is all their own. The terms that are used in workplace accident cases often define the outcomes of those cases. Anyone who has gotten hurt at work is likely to find themselves immersed in a sea of unfamiliar words that will be used to determine whether they receive compensation for their injuries and how much compensation they will get.

One recent workplace injury case in Mississippi sheds some light on what it means to be employable. The Mississippi Court of Appeals’ decision in Hathorn v. ESCO Corp., No. 2015-WC-01528-COA (Miss. Ct. App. 11/15/16) tells us that there is a difference between being unable to find a job and being unemployable.

The case involves a man who hurt his hand when he was operating a grinder at a facility that makes steel parts for mining equipment. His injury was deemed compensable, and he was eventually able to return to work with medical restrictions. His doctor told him not to use a grinder or lift more than fifty pounds, so he did janitorial and maintenance tasks, and he ran errands. He worked in this way for over a year, and one day he was asked to operate a forklift, so he did. That evening, his hand swelled up dramatically, and he went to see his doctor. The doctor examined his hand and told him not to do any more work involving forklifts.

A couple of weeks after the man had been told by his doctor to refrain from operating forklifts, his employer asked him to use one again. The man asked whether someone else could do it because he could not, and told his superiors that he was medically unable to operate the forklift. He was placed on leave and given a few days to obtain a note from the doctor to certify that he was medically unable to operate the forklift. When he did not produce the note within the prescribed amount of time, he was fired for insubordination.

As a result, the man looked for work, but he was unable to find a job. The fact that he had been working for over a year, taken together with the fact that he was able to perform a range of different tasks while he was working show that he can do at least some types of work. While this man may not be as employable as a person who has no medical restrictions on the types of work that they can do, the man’s injury does not make him unemployable. It also does not seem as though the man exhausted all of the possibilities during his job search – he admitted that he did not look for security, maintenance, or housekeeping jobs, even though he has the skills and the physical abilities to perform at least some jobs in those fields.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Representing Workplace Accident Victims Across Mississippi  

If you got hurt on the job, it is important that you know that you do not have to learn and apply the language of worker’s compensation all on your own. The Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC are here to guide you through the worker’s compensation claims process while you work on recovering from your injury. Please call us today, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a consultation.

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Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Talk about Accidents Involving Contractors

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The Mississippi Supreme Court recently issued a worker’s compensation decision that addresses a somewhat unusual but not completely unheard of employment scenario – the situation in which a premises owner acts as its contractor. The case involves a man who got severely burned while he was working at the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula. At the time of the accident, Quindon Thomas worked for a company called American Plant Services (APS), with which Chevron had contracted to perform maintenance services at its refinery. In 2012, Thomas was at the Chevron refinery, doing maintenance work, when a Chevron employee that was working in close proximity to Thomas opened a valve which released hot water, steam, and coke onto Thomas, severely burning most of his body.

After he was injured, Thomas collected worker’s compensation from Chevron as was provided for by a 2010 contract between Chevron and APS that established that Chevron would provide workers’ compensation insurance for all APS employees who were working at the Chevron refinery through Chevron’s Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP).

After Thomas had exhausted the worker’s compensation insurance policy limits, he and his wife tried to sue Chevron over dangerous conditions at the refinery. The circuit court ruled against Thomas, and he appealed the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which recently issued decision NO. 2016-CA-00101-SCT in his favor. That decision allows Thomas and his wife to bring a suit against Chevron for damages that he sustained as the result of dangerous conditions at the refinery. Specifically, Thomas and his wife plan to sue Chevron and the employee who opened the valve for negligence and premises liability.

Chevron had sought immunity from that suit, claiming that it was Thomas’s statutory employer, and, as such that it was entitled to immunity from the lawsuit under the Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Act’s exclusive remedy provision. Specifically, Chevron claimed that Mississippi Code Section 71-3-91 granted it immunity from tort liability because it had acted as its own general contractor in providing worker’s compensation benefits to Thomas. Thomas asserted that premises owners are often employers who carry workers’ compensation insurance and who contract with other people who are not their employees to perform work on their premises. In fact, he references the worker’s compensation coverage contract between Chevron and APS which clearly labels APS as a contractor, thus negating Chevron’s assertion that he was their statutory employee. The Court’s ruling states that Chevron may not obtain immunity from tort liability by voluntarily purchasing worker’s compensation benefits for APS’s workers.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Help for Families Affected by Mississippi Workplace Accidents

If you work as a contracted employee on another company’s premises, Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision in the Thomas case may apply to you under certain circumstances, depending upon the nature of the contracts between your employer and the owner of the premises. This case illustrates that not every worker’s compensation case is simple and straightforward, in fact, they rarely are. If you were injured on the job, it is best not to take any chances when pursuing a claim for compensation. A Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney understands the nuances of worker’s compensation law, and they can take over the task of pursuing your claim for damages so that you can devote your time and energy to healing from your injury. To learn more, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a consultation.

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Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys Discuss Rail Yard Accidents

A man died in a rail yard at the Nucor-Yamato Steel plant. The worker was fatally injured when he got caught between two rail cars. It is unclear exactly how the accident happened. This accident is a devastating reminder of the dangers that are present in rail yards of any type, whether they are stand-alone rail yards or rail yards that are part of a steel plant, feed mill, or some other manufacturing facility where materials and goods move in and out of the facility by train.

As is the case with any workplace fatality, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident and try to determine how it happened. Rail yards are dangerous places, with trains and heavy loads moving about all day long. In rail yards, there is always the danger of an accident, for both novice and experienced employees alike. The worker who died at the Nucor-Yamato Steel plant was an experienced locomotive operator who had been working at the facility for almost thirty years. Fatal rail yard accidents are tragic for both the deceased employee’s family and their co-workers as well. A deceased worker’s family faces not only the loss of their loved one but the loss of their support as a family member and their income. As co-workers grieve the loss of a teammate, they often wonder whether the accident was preventable and whether any of them are at risk for a similar fate. A showing of support from the facility for both the worker’s family and their co-workers can help to heal the hurt that follows a workplace fatality.

While the recent rail yard accident at Nucor-Yamato resulted in death, other rail yard accidents cause serious injuries. While these injuries are not fatal, injured workers sometimes face lengthy recovery times and must miss work while they recover. Unfortunately, some employees are disabled in rail yard accidents and are unable to return to rail yard work. Depending on the injury or disability that a worker has, they may not be able to go back to employment in any position at their previous workplace and may either require training to do other work elsewhere or are unable to work in any capacity. For example, one young man severely injured both legs in a rail yard accident at a steel mill. Depending upon the nature of his injuries, he may be temporarily or permanently disabled, or he may be able to recover and resume work, either in his previous position or a different position. Prompt treatment and diagnosis of workplace injuries is the best way for an injured employee to ensure their best chance at physical and financial recovery.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Supporting Families Affected by Mississippi Workplace Fatalities

If you got hurt in a rail yard accident at work or if you lost a family member in a workplace rail yard accident, a Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney could help you pursue a claim for damages so that you can focus on healing from your injury or our family’s loss. To learn more, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule an initial consultation.

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Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorney Talks about Workplace Injuries for Older Employees

More and more adults are working past the traditional retirement age of sixty-five. Some of these older workers simply enjoy their jobs and don’t see any reason to stop doing what they love. Others may want to retire, but they feel locked into the work force because they need the income and benefits that come from their work to survive. Workers over the age of sixty-five make up one-fifth of the American work force. The number of employees in this age group is expected to increase even more, due to rising costs of living and increasing concerns over the future of social security.

As people age, they face increased risks of illness and injury whether they are at work or not. Consequently, older workers experience a greater risk of workplace injury than younger workers do. Workplace injuries among older workers are the topic of continuous research because employers and regulators want to learn how to make it safe for workers to be employed for as long as they would like to work. Older workers contribute a lot of knowledge and experience to any workplace; they often have a very strong work ethic, and they often inspire positive feelings in the workplace environments in which they are employed.

Research has revealed that the most common health concerns for older workers are arthritis and hypertension, neither of which may be explicitly caused by their work. Each of those conditions can occur in individuals whether they work or not. Over three-quarters of workers who are age sixty-five and over have at least one chronic health condition that must be managed. While these numbers are not tied to work-related health conditions, they do have the potential to affect worker performance and safety in the workplace.

The level of skill and experience that older workers tend to have, as well as their long-term familiarity with safety rules and their tendency to be cautious workers all result in a lower injury rate for older workers than for younger workers. When these older workers do get hurt, though, they tend to suffer greater harm than their younger counterparts. Their injuries often take longer to heal, and they are more likely to die as the result of their injuries. This means that employers need to think proactively to keep older workers safe on the job. Work environment design and flexible scheduling are just a couple of the ways that employers adapt the work and the workplace to fit older workers’ needs. Some older workers may also be able to work from home, depending on what they do for work.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Helping Injured Mississippi Workers

The knowledgeable Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC take pride in meeting the needs of injured workers and their families. If you have questions about Mississippi worker’s compensation claims, please call the experienced Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC right away, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a free initial consultation.

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Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorney Says That Many Workplace Injuries Go Unreported

Although there is a seven thousand dollar per injury penalty for failure to report workplace injuries promptly, a recent report by the United State Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that only about half of the severe injuries that occur in American workplaces are reported within the required period. This figure, on its own, may seem concerning. However, OSHA has looked into the matter and found that the truth is not as alarming as it might seem just from looking at the numbers.

Why aren’t businesses reporting injuries to OSHA as required by law? It is possible that some businesses do not realize that the reporting rules changed recently. Recent changes to the reporting requirements went into effect in January of 2015, but not all of the reporting requirements changed. For example, the 2015 changes do not affect previous requirements to report any work-related fatality within eight hours. The changes do add a requirement that any work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or eye loss be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. Also, some small businesses were exempt from reporting requirements before the 2015 changes and may not know that there are now reporting rules that apply to them. Companies with fewer than ten people do not have to keep OSHA records, but under the new rules, they do have to report fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and eye loss. The general sentiment from OSHA is that most of the failures to report injuries are not intentional. That said, companies do have a responsibility to know what the rules are, know which rules apply to them, and follow the applicable rules. OSHA makes information about reporting rules available through many different means, and it is surprising that more businesses are not aware of them.

Representatives from OSHA have stated that the additional information that is coming to them as the result of the newly added requirements helps them respond to media inquiries regarding workplace injuries as well as helping them follow up with companies to ensure that dangerous conditions are corrected promptly. OSHA believes that the more inclusive reporting requirements for workplace accidents will significantly enhance the agency’s ability to direct its resources where they could save the most lives or prevent the most injuries or illnesses. The new reporting rules are also aimed at giving employees, employers, the public, and researchers greater access to information about workplace health and safety.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Helping Injured Workers and Their Families Heal

The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC dedicate themselves to meeting the needs of injured workers and their families. If you or someone in your family got hurt at work, get help from a knowledgeable attorney right away. Your worker’s compensation attorney can help you understand what is happening at every stage of the worker’s compensation case process so that you are not left wondering what is going on with your case.  Do you have questions about worker’s compensation claims in Mississippi? Please call the experienced Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule a free consultation.

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Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Attorneys Discuss Workplace Deaths

Did you know that an average of one American worker dies on the job every two hours? This sobering statistic is just one of many numbers that describe the picture of workplace deaths in America as compiled by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization’s (AFL-CIO) twenty-fifth annual Death on the Job report.

In addition to the workers who die on the job, other former employees die from illnesses that are related to their former employment, such as black lung disease and silicosis. It is estimated that fifty thousand former employees die from job-related illnesses each year. Unfortunately, in addition to presenting statistics that show numbers that exceed what many of us would think are the numbers of people who die on the job each year, the report also discusses ongoing issues that create continued safety risks to American workers. For example, the fines that state and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHAs) are low enough that they do not deter unlawful conduct by employers. Also, the OSHAs on both the state and federal levels are understaffed – under two thousand inspectors are charged with the monumental task of inspecting approximately eight million workplaces. If you calculate that statistic out, each workplace would have a state inspection once every ninety-seven years and a federal inspection once every one hundred and forty-five years.

Mississippi residents take note – your state is the state with the fourth most workplace fatalities. As far as professions are concerned, oil well and refinery work, construction, logging, farming, and fishing were the occupations with the most fatalities. The statistics show that older workers are more likely to die on the job than younger workers. Causes of death on the job include murder, and murders accounted for nearly twenty percent of female workplace fatalities and eight percent of male workplace fatalities.

The report also detailed the current state of legislation affecting workplace safety. A 2015 two-year budget agreement includes a law that increases federal civil fines and adjusts them for inflation. The agreement also authorizes state and federal OSHAs to raise the maximum penalties by approximately eighty percent, which adjusts them for inflation that occurred since the last time the penalties were calculated in the 1990s. For example, the maximum penalty for a serious violation would increase from $7,000.00 to approximately $12,500.00, and the maximum penalty for a willful or repeat violation will increase from $70,000.00 to $125,000.00.

Barrett Law PLLC:  Helping the Families of Workplace Fatality Victims

The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC are dedicated to meeting the needs of families who have lost their loved ones to workplace fatalities. If someone you love was killed at work, seek the assistance of a knowledgeable guide who can help you through the workplace fatality case process.  Call the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (601) 790-1505 to schedule your free, initial consultation.

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Jackson Workplace Injury Lawyers Provide More Answers about Common Worker’s Compensation Issues

This blog is the second installment of our two-part article covering many common legal issues and questions our Jackson workplace injury lawyers receive from injured workers.  While our lawyers have attempted to answer frequent questions, the best way to obtain more specific information about your unique situation is to speak to an experienced worker’s compensation lawyer.  We invite you to call Barret Law to speak to an attorney at (601)790-1505.

Will medical providers under the worker’s compensation system charge deductibles or co-pays?

Injured workers do not have to pay any amount of money to receive medical care under the worker’s compensation system.  While an employer can work out a deductible arrangement with his or her worker’s compensation carrier, benefits are free to employees injured while engaged in work-related functions.

Will an injured worker receive compensation covering all days off work because of a workplace injury?

If an injured worker is only unable to earn a normal wage because of injury for less than fourteen days, compensation for wage loss will not be paid for the initial five days of missed work.  However, workers who are disabled for at least 14 days receive wage loss benefits for the entire period of their disability including the first five days of missed work.

Can an employee be denied worker’s compensation benefits if I am negligent?

Subject to limited exceptions, the fault of an injured worker typically is not relevant to an employee’s right to receive worker’s compensation benefits.  There are a few extreme scenarios where fault can be relevant, such as the following:

  • Engaging in a fight for reasons that are not work-related
  • Drug or alcohol intoxication on-the-job
  • Self-inflicted or intentionally incurred injuries
  • Injury while engaged in horseplay

Does a waiting period apply to the receipt of medical benefits?

An employee does not need to comply with a waiting period to receive medical benefits.  Employees qualify for worker’s compensation benefits from the first day of hiring and can receive medical benefits as soon as an injury occurs.

Can I select my physician or must I see the doctor my employer wants me to see?

Unlike in some other states, Mississippi workers have a right to select their physician or medical provider to treat a workplace injury.  Further, the selected physician may refer the worker to a specialist without obtaining approval or consent from the worker’s compensation carrier or employer.  However, subsequent referrals must be approved in advance.  Workers also have the right to select healthcare professionals other than an M.D.

Are injuries suffered during work-related travel covered by the worker’s compensation system?

If travel constitutes an integral aspect of the employee’s job and entails a risk more serious than a typical commute, injuries while on trips are covered.  For example, an administrative staff person who flies to a company meeting out-of-state should be able to pursue a claim for benefits.  However, injuries in the company parking lot or during breaks or the lunch hour generally will not qualify for coverage.

What is an “occupational illness” in the context of a worker’s compensation claim?

An occupational disease is defined under Mississippi’s worker’s compensation act as a disease contracted during employment where the nature of the job placed the worker at greater risk of contracting the illness than someone in the general population.  A condition that is purely psychological will not be covered unless it specifically arises from a work-related injury.  In other words, mental conditions caused by job stress are not compensable injuries.  When job-related stress causes a physical injury, the claim might be covered if the stress experienced exceeds the amount encountered in most types of jobs.

At Barrett Law, our Jackson Workplace Injury Lawyers are here to help.  Contact our law firm today at (601)790-1505 to schedule your free consultation, so we can answer any questions you may have regarding filing your claim.

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