New URL for Injured in Mississippi Blog

This site has been moved to the following address:

Injured in Mississippi Blog

Please check here for new content for those who have been Injured in Mississippi. Specific practice areas in

– Jackson Wrongful Death Attorneys
– Mississippi Premises Liability Attorneys (Injuries on someone else’s property)
– Mississippi Car Wreck Attorneys
– Mississippi 18-Wheeler Accident Attorneys
– Mississippi Social Security Disability (SSDI)
– Wills and Estate Planning
– Mississippi Products Liability (Injury due to a defective product)

What to Do After a Wreck in Mississippi

If you are injured in a car wreck it is important to take immediate steps to protect your rights. Much of the evidence that will be important in your case will go away soon after the wreck has occurred and it is important to act quickly to make sure the wreck is documented.

These ideas will help make sure you know what to do immediately after a wreck:

1. Get someone to document the accident scene including photographs of any skid marks. Also it will be a good idea to gather the information of any witnesses to the wreck. Often individuals do not collect this information and as a result they have no future access to a vital witness.

2. If you are hurting seek medical attention. Many people, especially men, will attempt to ride it out and avoid medical bills or because they don't have medical insurance. I have seen clients who had torn discs in their back and the adrenaline of the wreck and lack of health insurance led them to decline medical attention. When the torn disc emerged at treatment after the fact the question asked by the auto insurance company was, "If you were really hurt why didn't you immediately seek medical attention."

3. If you lost consciousness or cannot account for a period of time a concussion scan may be in order. Some symptoms of a brain injury will be noted by the individual or recorded in their early medical records. These could include:

Headache, dizziness, nausea, unsteadiness, confusion, disorientation, feeling “dinged” or stunned or “dazed”, seeing stars or flashing lights, poor short term memory, sensitivity to light, reduced sense of smell or taste, ringing in the ears, double vision, fatigue or sleep disturbance.

4. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your case, and your options.

Fresenius, Naturalyte and GranuFlo causing heart attacks and stroke in Jackson, Mississippi

News broke concerning individuals who have had heart attacks and strokes soon after finishing a dialysis treatment. If you or a loved one have had a heart attack or stroke after having a dialysis treatment you may have a claim and should seek an attorney near where you live. Jackson, Mississippi attorneys are ready to help answer your questions and direct you in next steps if you have been injured in this way.

Dialysis treatments conrain chemicals to regulate the body's pH. In this instance Fresenius put too much acidic or basic elements in their dialyis medication which has caused the cardiovascular system of dialysis patients to go into distress and has caused heart attack or strokes.


These injuries usually occur within 48 hours of the dialysis treatment and if they do occur it is very likely that they are directly related to the dialysis treatment. Mississippi attorneys are currently accepting dialysis heart attack and stroke cases. Don't delay, call today to preserve your rights.

Wrongful Death in Mississippi

The following is an old outline of the law of wrongful death in Mississippi, for new and updated information please see the new blog location at Injured in Mississippi.

I.       WRONGFUL DEATH

A.    2 Part Test

1.      Interest protected? – Interest of person not to be killed

2.      Basis of liability – any culpable conduct (negligence, intentional, SL)

B.     Common Law Treatment

1.      Felony Merger Doctrine – All crimes involving death were felony and punishable by death.  All property confiscated by crown, therefore nothing to pursue in tort action

2.      Lord Campbell’s Act – Allowed C/A for P’s who could show loss of money

a.       No recovery allowed if no dependents

3.      Loss to Survivors Statute - Trier of fact (Judge) determines future monetary contribution of deceased.

C.     Survival

1.      CL – Tort C/A abated w/ death of party prior to judgment

2.      Survival Statutes – All states have statutes that override abatement and allow C/A whether party is living or dead.

a.       Maj. – Party must be survived by statutory beneficiary or no C/A exists (Lord Campbell’s Act)

b.      Min. (MS) – Any time D’s wrongful act causes death, the wrongful death action appropriate.

·         MS § 91-7-233 – death before C/A is filed, suit can be brought because SOL has not run

o   Exceptions: libel, slander

o   Personal representative called executor can bring C/A (or administratix if person dies without a will)

·         MS § 91-7-237 – when party b had already filed and then died, suit can continue

3.      Cannot prevail in Wrongful Death C/A unless wrongful act of D actually caused the death.

D.    MS § 11-7-13 – Wrongful Death Statute

1.   If person does an act and if P would be able to bring suit against D had act injured P, then if act kills P, P can bring wrongful death action

·         Whether intentional, negligent, carried by SL, or breach of warranty 

2.   Who can bring a wrongful death action

      a.   Group 1 – spouse and children – all in this group split damages

·         If one child already dead, but has 2 kids, then they split his share

      b.   Group 2 – parents and siblings – if no one in group 1, then all in this group split damages.

·         If no one in group 1 or 2, then goes to estate

      c.   Half sibling entitled to same share as full sibling (different from intestate succession)

d.   All possible parties must be joined in suit

e.   Adopted child killed – new family takes place of natural family

·         Stepchildren cannot bring suit

·         Illegitimate children can inherit from natural mother and her children

o   Different for father – must establish relation w/ suit to determine heirship

f.    Unborn Children – suit can be brought provided it is viable

·         Standard is now quickness w/ movement to push back to conception

E.     Statute of Limitations – begins when death occurs

1.   Depends on underlying cause of action

·         Intentional act (assault) – 1 yr.

·         Act caused by malpractice – 2 yrs.

·         Caused by defective product – 3 yrs.

F.      Damages -

1.   Awarded to estate – to pay off expenses

·          Medical

·         Funeral

·         Damages to personal property

·         Punitive damages???

2.   Awarded to beneficiaries

·         Pain & Suffering

·         Loss of society & companionship

·         Net cash value of decedent’s work life expectancy (reduce to present value)

o   Call expert economist to determine how much decedent would spend on others

o   Calculation = amt. earning at time of death + increases would have received through retirement – reduction to PV

·         Hedonic Damages (minority) – loss of enjoyment of life (not accepted by MS)

G.    Defenses

1.   Wrongful death is a derivative C/A – any defense that could be raised in original C/A can be brought in wrongful death action

      H. The money recovered is an asset of the estate

             1.    creditors are the first people entitles to money of estate

             2.    what’s left is distributed to B’s heir at law

             3.    intestate succession – if there is no will, this determines heirs.

       I.   Only person actions survive (injury to person or property)

       J.   MISSISSIPPI SPECIFICS

 1.  Williams v. American Tobacco company – no wrongful death action because D’s   conduct did not cause P’s death; should’ve brought survival act

 2.  In MS, wrongful death acts can be brought by many, but survival claims can only be brought by representatives of the state

NFL CONCUSSIONS

From: theconcussionblog.com

The NFL will have to battle a much bigger “force” rather than many small forces when it comes to the law suits filed by the former players.  The some 80 different cases will be brought together into one master complaint.

A federal judicial panel has consolidated the cases before U.S. District Judge Anita Brody. The lawsuits aim to hold the NFL responsible for medical monitoring and treatment of the veteran players.

The plaintiffs include Mary Ann Easterling, the widow of former Atlanta Falcons safety Roy Easterling. The complaint comes less than two months after the 62-year-old Easterling shot himself at their Richmond, Va., home.

According to The Los Angeles Times, a teleconference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday to address the filing. Mary Ann Easterling and former NFL fullback Kevin Turner are scheduled to speak.

People can look at this from two different perspectives here: 1. the players will have more “resources” and represent a larger group, or 2. the NFL only has to win one case versus 80.  Either way it makes a ton of sense for those filing the complaint, after all there is safety in numbers, right?

Made Whole

In the law when there is a cause of action our goal is to put the parties back into the place that they occupied before the incident. The phrase we use to describe putting the parties back into the place that the occupied before is 'making them whole'.

Unfortunately it is incredibly hard to make someone truly feel 'made whole'. The main remedy that is offered in personal injury cases is money damages which can never quite put things back as they were.

18-wheeler accidents

Auto accidents are very dangerous because you have two machines that each weigh around a ton traveling with speed. In 18-wheeler accidents one of the machines weighs as much as 17 tons, (34,000 pounds!) and can be traveling just as fast as a car that is much smaller than the truck. Also, 18 wheelers often have blind spots and can't see the cars that are immediately around them. This really is a recipe for disaster.

Truckers are often fatigued, breaking the speed limit or carrying too heavy a load. (or all three!) Often it is the trucking company that encourages the driver to push the limits for temporary gain. There is simply too much at stake when you consider the damage that a huge 18-wheeler can do. If you feel you have been injured by the negligence of another driver, you may need to speak with an attorney to protect your rights. The law may provide a remedy in your situation.