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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Describes How to Strengthen Your Personal Injury Case

I sometimes meet clients who failed to attain legal advice regarding a life-altering injury. These folks lost so much due to their injury, yet simple mistakes kept them from being compensated. A simple mistake can mean the loss of your home and financial ruin for your family. I wrote the following blog post to help individuals and families avoid costly mistakes.

If you have been injured, 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.

Four Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Personal Injury Claim

Do Not Admit Apologize or Admit Fault—It may seem civilized to apologize for an accident, even when the accident is not your fault. The truth is, it is challenging to know who caused an accident, so any apology is premature. Worse yet, your apology or admission will be used against you by opposing counsel. Instead of admitting fault, ask anyone else involved in the accident if they are alright and only relate the facts as you saw them to law enforcement.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately—It is vital that you seek medical care for your injury immediately upon being injured. First, you want to make sure that you are not injured. Second, even if you feel unhurt, you are likely in shock and are unable to assess yourself accurately. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, even if you feel alright, it is essential to have a physician perform an exam. Many times, serious injuries do not arise until later, and if you wait to seek medical attention until then, there will be no “baseline” of your physical condition. The problem with not having a baseline is that opposing counsel will claim that your injuries arose as a result of an unrelated incident that occurred after the accident in question.

Once you see a physician, follow his or her orders precisely. If you fail to follow your doctor’s instructions, that failure will be used against you as an explanation for your injuries.

Save All Documents and Evidence—Once you are home from your medical examination, begin saving all documents, pictures, and bills related to your injury. Every record will be critical to either proving your injury or calculating the compensation you are due. Another focus should be organization; while it is possible to keep all of these documents in a box, it is not advisable. Instead, digitally scan and save each document into an electronic file. Also keep a paper record in a carefully organized binder with different sections for accident information, injury details, insurance company correspondence, and bills.

Keep Off Social Media—People love to post their trials and tribulations on social media. While fun, these posts can ruin your case. You may feel better after weeks of pain. If you post, “finally, I feel like my old self again!” An opposing attorney will argue that you are not due for any medical treatment or pain and suffering after that post. That may be the case even if your pain lingers for another year or two.

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

If you or a loved one was injured, you might have a viable claim for compensation for your injuries, loss of work, and other harm. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with your opposing attorneys. These are essential tasks that a personal injury attorney can handle for you while you concentrate on healing.

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.

 

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains: Failure to Monitor Errors

When you go to a medical clinic, a hospital, or any other medical facility, you may think that the operation or procedure you are undergoing poses the greatest danger to your health. While there is risk in any procedure, here in Mississippi I see a large number of injuries occur as a result of a “failure to monitor” a patient after a procedure is completed. So while a failure to monitor a patient may seem benign compared to a procedure that goes wrong, the results can be just as harmful and even fatal.

What is a Failure to Monitor Error?

Many medical procedures require some sort of monitoring after the procedure is complete. That requirement is the reason why you are not just immediately discharged after a medical procedure. Instead, you usually sit and rest for a period of time and your vital signs are taken periodically. There are many examples of procedures requiring this sort of period of monitoring, including any procedure requiring anesthesia, dialysis, child birth, and procedures requiring multiple drugs that interact. Other situations requiring monitoring are less acute, such as the monitoring of an elderly person who is confined to a bed to make sure he or she does not develop bed sores.

The responsibility of monitoring a patient is spread across the medical facility, but includes the physicians involved, nurses, and other medical professionals charged with monitoring a patient’s health and safety.

What is Negligence?

You are not necessarily due a settlement simply because you something unfortunate occurred in the course of your medical care, and there is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident?

Negligence means that a health care professional or health care-associated establishment fails to provide care in line with the generally accepted standards, and the individual is injured as a result. To establish negligence based on a failure to monitor you will have to show:  a) you were under the care of a medical professional; b) the medical professional failed to meet the “standard of care” for monitoring you; and c) you were injured as a result of that failure.

What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean for Monitoring?

Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. You do not necessarily need to be monitored constantly; however, there is a standard for how often your vital signs are to be taken and how soon you are to be sent home. If a medical professional fails to meet that standard, their behavior is considered negligent.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured as a Result of a Failure to Monitor?

Serious infections, injury, and even death can result from a medical professional’s failure to monitor you adequately in conjunction with a medical procedure. You deserve compensation. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately and let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an 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 that you believe is due to medical malpractice.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains: Needle Stick Malpractice Claims

One of the most common forms of medical malpractice that I see here in Mississippi is from “needle sticks.” This sounds benign, but the negligent pricking or cutting of a patient can lead to serious infections and disease. Those are serious consequences, and that consequence is compounded when a person loses their livelihood and lifestyle as a result of a needle stick. Even worse, needle sticks are commonly the result of avoidable malpractice.

Needle Sticks

According to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, there is a tremendous needle stick problem in the United States:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually among health care workers in hospitals…It has been estimated about half or more of sharps injuries go unreported. Most reported sharps injuries involve nursing staff, but laboratory staff, physicians, housekeepers, and other health care workers are also injured.

A sharps injury is a penetrating stab wound from a needle, scalpel, or other sharp object that may result in exposure to blood or other body fluids. Sharps injuries are typically the result of using dangerous equipment in a fast-paced, stressful, and understaffed environment. These strenuous demands often produce feelings of fatigue, frustration, and occasionally anger. In the operating room, for example, health care personnel do not have the luxury of “taking a break,” but must continue with their duties until the procedure is completed. These conditions can increase the risk of injury and infection for health care workers.

Health care workers may also incur injuries from improper procedures, such as passing sharps hand-to-hand between team members, placing sharps in a disposal container, or failing to use a safer sharps device. A report from the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) found that nearly half of all sharps injuries occurred during use of the sharp, and of the nearly 40% of needle injuries which involved a safety designed needle, the majority occurred before activating the safety device. Moreover, the report also showed that many sharps injuries occurred in patient rooms among nurses and operating rooms among surgical team members.

As I said above, the consequences of needle sticks can be extreme. Common consequences are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Herpes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Syphilis, Maralaria, Typhus, Spotted Fever, and many more. That is a list of potentially life-threatening infections.

 

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, accidents do happen in the medical environment. You are not due a settlement simply because you were stuck with a needle at the wrong time. However, there is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident?

Negligence means that a health care professional or health care-associated establishment fails to provide care in line with the generally accepted standards, and the individual is injured as a result. To establish negligence based on a needle stick you will have to show:  a) you were under the care of a medical professional; b) the medical professional failed to meet the “standard of care” for the handling of needles or for a safe workplace; and c) you were injured as a result of that failure.

What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean?

Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. This failure may be due to a physician or medical provider not staying current with their training, a failure to perform the correct procedure at the right time, a failure to adequately supervise or train nurses and other support staff, or poor sanitation within the medical environment.

Needle prick injuries can be caused by a number of different factors. Poor medical facility sanitation, lack of staff training, overworked staff, improperly administered protocols, and poor record-keeping.  Each of these areas has an associated standard care that medical professionals must meet.

What Should You Do if You Were Stuck by a Needle at Work?

I sometimes speak with Mississippi clients who have received an offer to settle their case after a needle stick causes a dangerous infection; they are sometimes offered a quick settlement in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.

Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an only a personal injury attorney can handle for you. If they are handled poorly by an attorney without numerous personal injury cases under his or her belt, they may be done ineffectively, costing you a tremendous amount of compensation.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury that you believe is due to medical malpractice.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains: Fetal Stroke Malpractice Claims

There is nothing sadder than the death of a child. It pains me terribly when clients meet with me after their child has been injured or killed, and whatever I feel is nothing compared to their pain. That pain is compounded when the injury or death was caused by another person’s negligence. That negligence is made worse when the person or person who injured the child was a medical provider charged with healing them.

Fetal Strokes

A stroke is an event where blood flow to the brain is restricted, causing death of brain cells, brain damage, and death. Many types of injuries result from a stroke, including cognitive deficiencies, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. A “fetal stroke” occurs while the baby is the womb.

As a personal injury attorney, injured people often meet with me to ask whether they can bring a claim against a doctor, nurse, other medical professional who may have caused a fetal stroke, leading to an injury or death of a child.  As a result of these frequent inquiries, I thought it would be useful to describe what makes a fetal stroke claim in Mississippi. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a medical provider. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, accidents do happen. There is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident? Negligence means that a health care professional or health care-associated establishment fails to provide care in line with the generally accepted standard of care, and the individual is injured as a result.

What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean?

Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. This failure may be due to a physician or medical provider not staying current with their training, a failure to perform the correct procedure at the right time, a failure to adequately supervise or train nurses and other support staff, or poor sanitation within the medical environment.

What is the Standard of Care in Fetal Stroke Cases?

Fetal stroke can have a number of causes, one of them being medical malpractice. Commonly, I see cases here in Mississippi where a physician inappropriately uses a vacuum extractor during labor or where efforts to pull a baby through the birth canal result in harm to the child’s nervous system.

What Should You Do If Your Child Suffered a Fetal Stroke?

If your child was injured or killed as a result of a fetal stroke, no amount of legal help will ease your sadness. However, some of the neurological conditions caused by fetal stroke are extremely expensive, and you deserve to be compensated if those conditions were the result of malpractice. Sadly, I sometimes speak with Mississippi clients whose children have died as a result of fetal stroke; they are sometimes offered a quick settlement in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.

Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an only a personal injury attorney can handle for you. If they are handled poorly by an attorney without numerous personal injury cases under his or her belt, they may be done ineffectively, costing you a tremendous amount of compensation.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury that you believe is due to medical malpractice.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains: Deep Vein Thrombosis Malpractice Claims

Deep vein thrombosis is a serious condition that kills too many good people here in Mississippi.  It is caused when a blood clot forms in a deep leg vein but also sometimes in the pelvis or in other parts of the lower body. Properly administered tests can detect these clots and allow for treatment. Detecting deep vein thrombosis is important, because if the clot dislodges it will travel through the blood stream to the lungs, where it cut off blood supply—a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolisms are often deadly.

As a personal injury attorney, injured people often meet with me to ask whether they can bring a claim against a doctor, nurse, other medical professional who failed to catch deep vein thrombosis, leading to an injury or death of a loved ones.  As a result of these frequent inquiries, I thought it would be useful to describe what makes a deep vein thrombosis case in Mississippi. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a medical provider. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, but accidents do happen. There is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident? Negligence means that a health care professional or any other health establishment failed to provide care within the generally accepted standards of care, and the individual was as a result.

What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean?

Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. This failure may be due to a physician or medical provider not staying current with their training, a failure to adequately supervise or train nurses and other support staff, or poor sanitation within the medical environment.

How Does Standard of Care Affect Deep Vein Thrombosis Cases?

Imagine your leg starts to throb at work. The throbbing does not go away, so you go in to see a physician about it.  Imagine that he ignores possible symptoms of deep pain thrombosis, does not perform any tests, and treats you for dehydration-induced cramping. Imagine that two days later the clot in your leg breaks free from the vein it’s blocking and migrates to your lungs, causing a deadly pulmonary embolism. Your family could sue on those facts, claiming that your harm was a direct cause of your physician’s failure to meet the standard of care.

What Should You Do If You Suffer from Deep Vein Thrombosis Due to Malpractice?

If you were injured in the course of receiving medical care, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. Sadly, I sometimes speak with Mississippi clients whose loved ones have died as a result of medical malpractice. In either case, you may be offered a quick settlement after an accident in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.

Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an only a personal injury attorney can handle for you. If they are handled poorly by an attorney without numerous personal injury cases under his or her belt, they may be done ineffectively, costing you a tremendous amount of compensation.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury that you believe is due to medical malpractice.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Hearing Loss Claims

Clients often come to me with questions about hearing loss, and they wonder whether they can recover damages as a result of this injury. Yes, hearing loss is a common type of injury, especially for those working in industrial environments. That said, if you experience hearing loss, there are a wide variety of factors that influence what sort of payment you can expect to receive. One thing is critical to know—you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation. Barrett Law has the experience to help you recover for hearing loss.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

Hearing loss is a significant problem in the United States.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website:

Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. Each year, about 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work. Over 30 million U.S. workers are exposed to chemicals, some of which are harmful to the ear (ototoxic) and hazardous to hearing. In addition to damaging workers’ quality of life, occupational hearing loss carries a high economic price to society.

That quote raises an important point.  First, work related hearing loss is a serious issue. Second, while we commonly thing of very loud noises as the reason for hearing loss, exposure to toxic chemicals is actually a greater overall threat.  This is particularly an issue in Mississippi, as we have a high number of workers exposed to loud noises in the industrial and farming environment, as well as in the petrochemical and plastics industry, both of which utilize potentially ototoxic chemicals.

In particular here in Mississippi, the following industries have the high risk of causing hearing damage: manufacturing, construction, welding, carpentry, airport work, entertainment, and the military.

An employer or business can be liable for your hearing loss if you are negligently exposed to either sounds or chemicals that damage your hearing. “Negligence” has many definitions, but generally means that a person or business fails to act reasonably under the circumstances.  What is “reasonable” is often a point of much disagreement. For example, we have all spent an evening at a concert or bar and returned home to find our ears ringing. In that situation, while there was some effect on our hearing, it was short term and we chose to subject ourselves to it. It is probably not reasonable to expect the concert promoter to hand out ear plugs. However, a bartender or waitress working in that venue night after night might need those ear plugs to prevent permanent hearing loss, and it is may be un reasonable for his or her employer to not provide them.  The same “reasonableness” balancing must go on in each profession and activity.

One challenge of hearing injuries is that they often occur imperceptibly and gradually. As a result, it is easy for an employer or business to claim that they were caused by poor health, natural hearing degradation, or some other intervening cause. If you feel your hearing ability decreasing, it is important to see a doctor or audiologist to document any decline.

What Should You Do If You Suffered Hearing Loss?

If you believe you are suffering from hearing loss, document it. You should also seek medical attention, as a doctor can provide clear documentation that an injury occurred and its potential causes.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with your employer’s insurance company. These are important tasks that a worker’s comp attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered hearing loss.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on your employer, defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for the injury you experienced.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains: 3 Myths About Elder Financial Abuse

As a personal injury attorney that has helped many Mississippi clients deal with financial abuse of their elderly loved ones, I can tell you that elder abuse is a problem here, as it is nationwide. Worried families meet with me to ask about elder abuse and to ask whether they can bring a claim against nursing home or nurse who stole money their family members.  As a result of these frequent inquiries, I thought it would be useful to describe three myths that often confuse people who have elderly family members who have been taken advantage of financially while in another’s care. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a nursing home or nursing provider. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

There is a common misperception that financial abuse of the elderly is something that happens in seedy, low-budget nursing homes run by uncertified staff. This could not be further from the truth, as financial abuse of the elderly more often takes place in their own home at the hands of either a trusted family member, a friend, or a personal nurse.

Myth 1—There Is Nothing You Can Do About the Financial Abuse of the Elderly

False. Mississippi courts take the financial abuse of the elderly seriously. Just like any other fraud or theft, a perpetrator can be sued civilly to reclaim what was taken. In particularly serious cases, criminal charges may be brought by the local prosecutor’s office as well.

Myth 2—If Abuse is Occurring, Your Loved One Would Tell You

False. One thing you must realize is that financial abuse is a crime of trust. First, your loved one may know that the financial transfers or “gifts” are occurring that are enriching their caregivers, but may not know that anything improper is taking place. That is because the caregivers occupy a position of trust and it is usually safe to assume that they would not take advantage of that trust.

Second, because your loved one may be dependent on the caregiver for basic necessities such as food and cleanliness, they have a strong disincentive to anger the caregiver with allegations of misconduct such as theft. This puts your loved one in a precarious position regarding their safety and may result in them keeping their suspicions to themselves.

Myth 3—An Intelligent or Well-Educated Senior Will Not Fall for Scams

False. Like all scams, a person who tries to take money from an elderly person preys upon their emotions, hoping the emotions will override intelligence. Supposed “emergency” requests for money from grandchildren who are supposedly “in trouble” are common, as are others that pull at the elderly person’s heartstrings. Even highly intelligent people fall into these scams; in fact, they may be less likely to report it because of feelings of humiliation.

What Should You Do If You Believe Your Loved One is the Victim of Financial Abuse?

If you believe that a loved one is the victim of financial abuse, report it immediately to law enforcement. Next, you must contact an experienced personal injury attorney to begin the process of reclaiming lost funds.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if your elderly loved one has been the victim of fraud.

The experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney at Barrett Law has the experience to take on nursing home and nursing providers’ attorneys that are focused on denying your compensation for your loss.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Next Steps if You Were Injured by Your Doctor or Other Medical Provider

As a personal injury attorney, injured people often meet with me to ask whether they can bring a claim against a doctor, nurse, chiropractor, or other medical professional.  As a result of these frequent inquiries, I thought it would be useful to describe what makes a personal injury case in Mississippi. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a medical provider. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, but accidents do happen. There is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident? Negligence means that a doctor or medical professional failed to meet the standard of care of their profession. Within the medical context, negligence is usually referred to as “malpractice.”

What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean?

Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. This failure may be due to a physician or medical provider not staying current with their training, a failure to adequately supervise or train nurses and other support staff, or poor sanitation within the medical environment.

Common Types of Medical Negligence

There are many types of medical malpractice, ranging from the minor to the most severe, with consequence ranging from inconvenience to death. You should understand, however, that the malpractice does not have to be dramatic to have long-lasting, serious consequences. Many cases of infection due to unsanitary practices have had devastating, even deadly effects. Unfortunately, I receive frequent calls about MRSA and MSSA infections received from medical facilities and nursing homes, two very serious and all too common infections that can have be life-threatening. Believe it or not, one of the most common examples of medical malpractice is leaving a surgical tool or sponge inside the body cavity after an operation. Anytime you suffer an injury as a result of malpractice, you must call an experienced personal injury attorney immediately to protect your health and rights.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured?

If you were injured in the course of receiving medical care, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. Sadly, I sometimes speak with Mississippi clients whose loved ones have died as a result of medical malpractice. In either case, you may be offered a quick settlement after an accident in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.

Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an only a personal injury attorney can handle for you. If they are handled poorly by an attorney without numerous personal injury cases under his or her belt, they may be done ineffectively, costing you a tremendous amount of compensation.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury that you believe is due to medical malpractice.

 

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact our experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney today at (601) 790-1505.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Post-Accident Pinched Nerves

Clients often come to me with questions about injuries resulting from car accidents. The most common type of injury complaint that I see here in Mississippi is pinched nerves. There are a wide variety of factors that influence whether you will be compensated for a pinched nerve after an accident. One thing is critical to know—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation from a car accident injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What is a Pinched Nerve?

A car accident involves a tremendous amount of trauma to the body. Swelling, broken bones, and contusions are a common, immediate effect. However, when the swelling goes down, bruises disappear, and the bones heal, other injuries can appear for the first time.  That is because that trauma and prolonged swelling can result in nerves being compressed by a bone, a ligament, tendons, or soft tissue during the recovery process. While the initial injury may heal, the nerve pain persists. You may have heard of sciatica, which is the most common variety of pinched nerve. It is caused by the sciatic nerve, which runs down the back to the legs. A back injured in a car accident can turn into sciatica over time.

Recovering for Pinched Nerve Injuries after an Accident

Some injuries are clearly caused by the trauma of a car accident—broken limbs, bruises, cuts from broken glass. These are the easiest injuries to recover compensation for, as they have an obvious cause, the impact of your vehicle against some object. Pinched nerves, by comparison, are far less obvious in their origin. First, they often do not arise until weeks have passed, so they are not as closely linked to the accident in time. Second, sitting at a desk all day can also cause a pinched nerve, so their presence after an accident does not necessarily mean that they were caused by an accident. If you are seeking compensation for a pinched nerve, expect an opposing insurance company to claim that the condition was caused by your lifestyle and predated the accident.

The takeaway from all of this is that attaining a complete medical examination after an accident is critical. Even if you feel alright, it is important to get a benchmark against which subsequent injuries that arise can be measured. For example, if you have a medical exam and indicate that you do not have back or nerve pain at that time, it will be easier to prove that subsequent sciatica pain was caused by the accident and not some preexisting injury. This is vital if you hope to recover compensation for the pain you have experienced.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured?

Getting in a car accident can be traumatic and confusing.  Even if you are not seriously injured, you should seek out medical attention. Hopefully, no serious nerve pain develops. But if you do suffer from subsequent nerve pain, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on healing. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with worker’s compensation, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that 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 a workplace injury.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for the injury you experienced.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains Factors Affecting a Neck Injury Settlement

Clients often come to me with questions about neck injuries, which are the most common injury I see resulting from motor vehicle accidents. Unfortunately, people are often misled about how much they can expect from a neck injury settlement. There are a wide variety of factors that influence what sort of payment you can expect to receive. One thing is critical to know—you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation from a neck injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

What Factors Affect the Amount of a Neck Injury Claim?

Obviously, we all have tweaked our neck a bit from time to time after a night on a lumpy hotel bed. Compare that injury with a severed spinal cord and you will immediately see that there is a wide spectrum of “neck injuries.” The severity of the neck injury is the primary factor in determining the amount that you will be compensated for an accident—the more severe the injury, the greater the compensation. The severity of the injury also takes into account the amount of pain endured, the activities inhibited, whether a job was lost, and medical costs incurred. But even if an injury is severe, it does not mean that the injured party will be compensated.  How can that be?  Four factors come into play to affect recovery.

First, the person who injured you must have been negligent.  If you were at fault for your injury, or even partially at fault, your compensation will be reduced proportionally.  For example, if you were injured in a car accident, but were looking at your phone at the time, it is unlikely that you will recover full compensation for your injury, as you were partially at fault.

Second, you must be injured by someone with insurance to cover your claim. Even if the person who injured you was entirely at fault, if they no insurance, you will recover nothing. Even if they have insurance, your recovery will often be capped by their liability coverage caps.

Third, along the same lines as the above, if you are injured by a corporate entity, such as a driver for a national corporation, you are far more likely to recover money than from an individual of limited means.

Fourth, your attorney must be experienced enough to understand the value of your neck injury. Even if you have a good claim, an inexperienced attorney can make mistakes that cost you dearly. For example, inexperienced attorneys often take initial offers in neck injury cases, because they want a quick return on their work. However, you may have long-lasting or late-emerging side effects of your injury. You deserve compensation for those injuries, but they may go uncompensated for if your attorney urges you to take the initial offer from an experienced defense counsel or insurance company.

What Should You Do If You Suffered a Neck Injury?

If you have a neck injury, focus on yourself and on healing.  Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that 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 a neck injury.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focussed on denying your compensation for the neck injury you experienced.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

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