Mississippi Lawyer Blog

In September of last year I had the bright idea to start training for the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon in January. A full marathon consists of 26.2 miles, but a half marathon is only 13.1 miles. I saw a bumper sticker once that sums up the difference between the two perfectly: "13.1....because I'm only half crazy." So after 4 months of running around Jackson and the Trace, race day was upon me.

The race stretched throughout the Jackson area zigzagging through parts of State Street, Jefferson Street, Pearl Street, and Belhaven just to name a few. Now, as a Jackson resident, I was aware of our less than stellar streets. Most of the time it feels like you're driving on road that would put an old wooden roller coaster- one that throws you from side to side- to shame. Apparently race organizers had the same idea too. Race organizers started making precautions. Prior to race day, I had seen the news reports of the city filling up some areas of the race route with dirt to keep runners from tripping over potholes. They put up small barricades here and there too as extra precaution.

Well, try as they might, come race day, when 2, 572 individuals are running through the streets, those dirt filled holes and barricades weren't much use. For us clumsy folk, added potholes and bumps in the road didn't help our less than stellar race times. Certain sections of the road were closed off to traffic but at other times, cars were zooming past you. Over all, the race was a great experience and something I'd do again (remember: I'm only half crazy).

But it got me thinking. I was running along a course that had been fixed up and I still found trouble spots. What about the Jackson residents that ride their bikes or walk to work or school? They have to endure these roads and sidewalks day in and day out. It's not uncommon for a bike tire to hit a bump or a hole in the road and send you crashing to the ground. It's also not uncommon for a walker or a jogger to trip on uneven pavement in the sidewalk. As far as the zooming cars are concerned, as a cyclist in Mississippi, you are guaranteed at least three feet of space between you and the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle must reduce his speed- not zoom past you. Granted, when you are a bike it might feel like everyone is "zooming" past you. Unless you are Lance Armstrong.

Back to the road hazards. Jackson, just like other cities, has an obligation to maintain its roads and sidewalks for safe use. If the city, or governmental agency in charge of the road, fails to maintain a safe roadway, then there could possibly be an action for negligence. Of course, you would have to prove the city had notice of the road hazard and had reasonable time to fix it. By covering potholes in the street, Jackson has taken a step in fixing our roadway problems. But for a state that implemented the "Let's Go Walkin' Mississippi" program, more permanent measures should be taken. Jackson residents should not have to worry about potholes or uneven sidewalks during their commutes or exercise routines.

I have blogged before about the danger of cell phone usage while driving. Now, the National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") is urging all states to ban cell phone usage for drivers.

The NTSB recommendation comes after its investigation into an accident in Missouri caused when a 19 year old rammed into a tractor trailer and then was rear ended by two school buses filled with children. The 19 year old had sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes prior to the accident. The 19 year old driver as well as one of the high school kids was killed. 38 people were injured.

Continue reading "Cell Phones Cause Serious Automobile Accidents; Ban Upcoming?" »

Now that the Republicans have gained control of the Mississippi House or Representatives, they are seeking more tort reform. They are doing this even though the doctors' own insurance company say they no longer need any more! Yes, you read that correctly. The CEO of the doctors' insurance company, Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi ("MACM") was quoted in a Clarion Ledger article as follows: "It would be hard for me to argue more tort reform is needed," Mike Houpt said. "We're content with what we have." Yet the Republicans want to lower the caps on damages AND institute a "loser pays" system which would make the loser of a lawsuit pay the other side's cost. Whose agenda are the Republicans pushing?

The "loser pays" idea is simple. Over the course of a lawsuit, each side spends money on such things as depositions, expert witnesses, copying, etc. Costs can easily reach $10,000 in the most "simple" car wreck cases. "Loser pays" would require the "loser" of a lawsuit to pay the other winner's costs as well as their own. So who is this designed to hurt? To a huge company like State Farm, $10,000 is nothing. To the average Mississippian, $10,000 is more than most folks have in savings. There is not way the could afford to pay this which means they would not file a lawsuit for fear of having to pay this kind of money.

Now, keep in mind that the doctors are "content" with what they have. This is the same group who claimed they were being forced out of Mississippi just 10 years ago. Now things are going so well that the doctors are receiving refunds on their insurance premiums and their insurance company is making a huge profit. I wonder if the quality of health care in Mississippi is going up as well? Are the number of deaths and serious injuries due to medical negligence going down? Oh well, who really cares about that. As long as the doctors are making money and forcing us to wait an hour to see them on every visit then things are fine. But, I digress.

The Republican party is not looking out for Mississippi citizens. If they were, they would fight like hell to make sure that anyone who harms a child or an elderly person or who leaves a family without a mother or father (or both) would have to fully compensate that person or their family. Instead, they are looking out for big businesses and insurance companies. Always have, always will. If your child is harmed don't expect the Republicans to care because they will be supporting the people who harmed him/her.

Sound harsh? Well it's not. Tort reform does not protect us from so-called "frivolous lawsuits". Tort reform is designed to protect big business and insurance companies from legitimate lawsuits. "Frivolous lawsuits" scare no one. If any defendant can show me one "frivolous lawsuit" which has ever gone to trial, received a verdict, and then been affirmed on appeal I will have my partner eat his hat. Big business needs protection when their products or actions seriously injure, maim, or kill innocent people and the Republicans are paid handsomely to help them.

Continue reading "More Tort Reform for Mississippi personal injury and medical malpracitce lawsuits? Thank you sir may I have another?" »

I usually like to write entries that are light hearted and amusing (at least to me). But this is a very somber article because it deals with the loss of children. The Clarion Ledger had an article today discussing driving accidents involving teenagers and young persons in general. The Jackson, Mississippi area has been devastated recently with car and truck accidents involving young people. The families of those lost will feel this pain for as long as they are alive. As a parent of a soon-to-be driver I am already worried about my son driving. So what can we do to help our children become better drivers?

-First and foremost, no cell phones/texting while driving! Studies have shown that texting while driving is more dangerous than being under the influence of alcohol.

-Absolutely zero drinking and driving. Parents who allow their underage children to drink, and yes there are some that do, are not only encouraging poor decision making but are also endangering their children's lives and those who ride in a car with them or those of us on the highways.

-Reduce night driving. A recent study showed that driving more than 3 hours at night have the same effect as drinking. This is especially relevant during the holidays as we have so many college students coming home for Christmas break.

-Wear seatbelts at all times. And this goes for the passengers as well. How many times do we have to read about an accident where the occupants were ejected from the car because they weren't wearing their seatbelts? Buckle up!

Continue reading "Mississippi Teens' Car Accident Stats Grim" »

I am in the middle of litigating a very serious truck accident which cost a truck driver (our client's husband) his life. As I was preparing some discovery answers which included providing documents to the defense, I noticed how many times my partner, Merrida Coxwell, and I were in the pictures taken by our accident reconstruction expert. (That's me in the photo accompanying this blog). I never thought about it much but litigating truck accidents requires the attorney to be more hands on than most other civil cases.

For instance, when our expert went to the accident scene, Merrida was with him to get a better understanding of what happened. I went to view the trucks with the expert so I could gain more knowledge on downloading blackbox information and any other tidbits.

Of course, Merrida and I have always been "hands on" attorneys when it comes to trying cases. From investigating crime scenes to viewing autopsies, we prefer to be there in person rather than have someone interpret results for us. I would like to believe it is this kind of dedication that helps us serve our clients better.

Continue reading "Truck Accidents in Mississippi Require Hands On Attorneys" »

In the late 1990's Mississippians were getting Fen Phen prescriptions left and right. The drug was hugely popular. Folks would car pool to their doctors to get these "miraculous" weight loss drugs. So-called "weight loss" clinics opened up all over the state and fen phen was being dispensed like Pez to second graders.

The problem for the most part is that the doctors dispensing these pills never bothered to advise clients of the dangers associated with these drugs like heart valve leakage and primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) which causes death. Most of the doctors never monitored their patients while they were on the Fen Phen combination to make sure that the drugs were not adversely affecting their health. As a result, many Mississippians and citizens across the country, began experiencing serious heart and lung problems which were associated with Fen Phen. Doctors who failed to properly administer the drugs were sued along with the drug manufacturer. Long standing Products Liability law allowed lawsuits against the entity responsible for pushing the product out to the consumers.

This same pattern repeated itself with other drugs like Propulsid and Rezulin and doctors were sued along with the drug manufacturers. Well, the doctors did not like this to say the least. Tort "Reform" was making its way to Mississippi and the suits against the doctors provided tort "reform" advocates all they needed. There were media reports that lawsuits against doctors in Mississippi were driving doctors out of the state! Malpractice insurance premiums were skyrocketing and it was all because of lawsuits! Dogs and cats were living together, mass hysteria!

With the white jacked doctors out in front, lawmakers passed several pieces of legislation which greatly curbed lawsuits against doctors. This occurred in 2002 and 2004. Since that time, there have been numerous lawsuits against drug companies for creating dangerous drugs but none against the doctors who push the drugs.

A recent article in the Clarion Ledger stated that Pill MIlls were a national epidemic. Prescription drug usage in Mississippi (and across the nation) is staggering. In July alone in Mississippi, there were 536,630 prescriptions for controlled substances filled for more than 31 million pills, according to the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy. Wow.

Continue reading "Did Tort "Reform" Contribute to the Pill Mill Epidemic in Mississippi?" »

If you have small children, boys especially, then you have no doubt seen one of the Mr. Bean movies. Rowan Atkinson, the Mr. Bean actor, was involved in a minor car accident recently when his McLaren F1 sports car spun out and hit a tree. (Dang, Mr. Bean is making some serious bucks to be able to afford a McLaurin. One F1 recently sold for $4 million!) Fortunately for Mr. Atkinson, and Bean fans everywhere, he only suffered minor injuries.

We get calls all the time from folks who have minor car accidents with no bodily injury. Their car, however, is totaled. The problem arises with their insurance company. I recently had a family friend tell me that one of their relatives was in a car accident which was clearly the other person's fault. The other driver's insurance company admitted this BUT said the accident was because of "bad weather" and would not pay anything!

Continue reading "What Mississippians can learn from "Mr. Bean's" Car Accident" »

I'm so happy to be living in a city like Ridgeland, Mississippi. We have beautiful homes and neighborhoods. Top notch recreational facilities for sports. Great folks, great shopping, great restaurants, and great infrastructure. We have a real strong sense of community. Heck, Ridgeland is even a target="_blank""bike friendly community". Which brings me to the point of this blog. You cyclists need to obey the &%#@ traffic laws too!

In Mississippi, cars have to give cyclists at least 3 feet when they pass them on the street. I totally understand this. Of course, cyclists really should have sense NOT to drive on busy highways during rush hour traffic but nonetheless I will give them their 3 feet or slow down until I can pass them safely. All I want them to do is stop at a freakin' STOP sign.

I cannot tell you how many times I will pull up to a 4 way stop sign and have a group (or is it covey? flock?) of cyclists blow through the stop sign like they're riding in the Tour de France. Well I hate to burst your bubble you wannabe Lance Armstrong but you're just a schmuck wearing spandex pants you don't need to be wearing breaking the law and endangering lives. You see in Mississippi, cyclists must obey all traffic laws just like us lazy overweight car drivers. You want 3 feet? You got it, now come to a complete stop! What, you're going to slow your heart rate if you do? You may slow your heart rate permanently if you don't!

Continue reading "Mississippi Cyclists Must Obey Traffic Laws" »

The Clarion Ledger had an interesting article this morning about immunity for Mississippi police officers who are involved in automobile accidents. The article mentions one of our previous cases, Harris v. City of Jackson which you can read about here.

It is truly a shame that police officers and other state, county, and city workers have immunity for car accidents for which you and I would be held responsible. The only way to overcome this immunity is to show the Government worker caused the accident by acting with "reckless disregard" to a person's rights. In the Harris case, the officer was speeding at 100 mph and ran a red light smashing into our client's son who was turning on a green arrow. This was held to be "reckless disregard".

Continue reading "Immunity for Mississippi Police officers nvolved in crashes upsets innocent victims" »

One of my favorite things to do is to ride roller coasters and other thrill rides. The only ride that really freaks me out is the One of my favorite things to do is to ride roller coasters and other thrill rides. The only ride that really freaks me out is the Splash Mountain ride at Disney World and I think that's because it lulls you into a false sense of security with the Br'er Rabbit story complete with the characters and music. Then they send you hurdling down 6,000 foot drop without so much as a harness over your legs! What kind of sick person comes up with that! Anyway, I digress.

I found an article today about the Coxwell & Associates website. >Splash Mountain ride at Disney World and I think that's because it lulls you into a false sense of security with the Br'er Rabbit story complete with the characters and music. Then they send you hurdling down 6,000 foot drop without so much as a harness over your legs! What kind of sick person comes up with that! Anyway, I digress.

I found an article today about the 10 Worst Amusement Park Accidents. That's some scary stuff. As you continue to enjoy your summer, please carefully consider whether you should allow your children to ride on dangerous thrill rides.

Chuck Mullins has been riding the roller coaster of legal practice since 1994. Check out more of Chuck at the Coxwell & Associates website.

As a baseball coach for my son's U8 Coach Pitch team, today's article in the Clarion Ledger concerning a lawsuit against the Louisville Slugger bat company caught my attention. Brandon Patch was pitching for his Helena, Montana American Legion baseball team in 2003. He was struck in the head by a ball and died. He was only 18 years old. The Clarion Ledger article lacked facts so I found the original newspaper article which provided much more detail.

Brandon's family filed suit against Hillerich & Bradsby, the makers of the Louisville Slugger line of bats. A jury ruled against Hillerich & Bradsby and ordered them to pay damages in the amount of $850,000 for Brandon's death. The jury found that the company was responsible for not placing a warning label on the bat. The company appealed the decision but yesterday an appeals court upheld the judgment.

My son and his friends are at the age where a coach pitches the ball to them. The league is aptly named "Coach Pitch". It should be renamed "Coach Pitch, Then Duck"! I cannot tell you the number of times that these 7 year old kids have crushed a baseball that has come within inches of a coach's head. The baseball bats these kids are using are nothing short of rocket launchers. The barrels of the bats are as big as high school or college bats but they make them shorter and lighter for the kids. As a result,the Dads need to be light on their feet.

The technology got so advanced that colleges and other youth baseball governing bodies were forced to pass new legislation to limit the materials in the bats, Bats now have a BPF, bat performance factor, which establishes a method of measuring how a ball jumps off of a bat compared to how a ball rebounds off of a wall at a controlled speed. BPF is simply the increase in the liveliness of a ball hitting a bat compared to throwing a ball against a solid wall (i.e., 20% faster rebound = a BPF of 1.20).

Continue reading "Louisville Slugger Lliable in Wrongful Death " »

On June 14, 2011 I attended oral argument at the Mississippi Supreme Court involving the constitutionality of Mississippi's cap on non-economic damages. The case was Learmonth v. Sears Roebuck Co. Non-economic damages are pain and suffering, worry, anxiety, etc. The cap is limited at $1 million. There is no cap on economic damages like medical bills, loss of wages, etc. Now, $1 million is a lot of money and it's hard to argue otherwise. However, some people who are injured do not have "economic damages" to recover so their only claim would be "non-economic damages".

For instance, let's consider a 30 year old lady who has given up her job and wants to stay home and raise her family. Suppose she suffers a horrific eye injury in a car accident which leaves her blind. She will not need future medical care and treatment and she has no lost future earnings. Her life expectancy is 77 years so she will have to live 47 years with no vision. Under our current law, her non-economic damages are capped at $1 million. What about a child who gets the same injury? What about a person who is retired?

Continue reading "Mississippi's Caps on Damages is good for who? Big Business and Insurance Companies" »

Coxwell & Associates and the Lanier Law Firm is announcing a wrongful death lawsuit filed today against University of Mississippi head football coach Houston Nutt, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the University of Mississippi and other defendants based on their respective roles in the 2010 death of student-athlete Bennie (Buster) Abram.

Mr. Abram, an Ole Miss junior and walk-on defensive back on the football team, collapsed and died on the first day of spring practice last year. According to the autopsy report, the 20-year-old's death on Feb. 19, 2010, was caused by complications from sickle cell trait with exertion and a contributing factor of cardiomegaly, an inflammation of the heart.

The lawsuit says coaches, trainers and athletic department officials at Ole Miss violated NCAA guidelines covering the intensity of spring practices, particularly for players with the sickle cell trait like Mr. Abram. The lawsuit also cites the NCAA for failing to implement adequate guidelines for off-season practices and for not sanctioning coaches who violate existing guidelines.

Also named as defendants are the university's board of trustees, Ole Miss athletic department medical director Dr. Jeffrey Dennis, strength and conditioning coach Don Decker, the UMAA Foundation (the Ole Miss athletic booster club), and Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Miss. The case is Bennie F. Abram Jr., et al. v. Houston Nutt, et al., No. 11-421-CIV, in the Circuit Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County in Jackson, Miss.

Sickle cell trait appears in nearly 10 percent of the African-American population, and less commonly in all races. Believed to be the leading killer of Division I football players, the condition has been linked to at least nine deaths among college athletes since 2000.

Mr. Abram, a native of Southaven, Miss., fell unconscious and was treated on the practice field by athletic trainers before being taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital. According to doctors' reports, he went into cardiac arrest at the hospital and died six hours later.

"Buster's death is a tragedy that should have been prevented," says The Lanier Law Firm's Gene Egdorf, who represents the Abram family along with Merrida "Buddy" Coxwell and Charles R. "Chuck" Mullins of Coxwell & Associates, PLLC, in Jackson, Miss. "Every sickle cell expert in the world will tell you that the only way this trait can cause a student-athlete's death is when they are put through overly strenuous workouts like the one Bennie went through before he died. The negligence of the NCAA, coaches, trainers and staff combined with senseless off-season workout programs is a recipe for disaster. We will fight to change this cycle just like we did when we got the NCAA to change its rules to mandate sickle cell testing."

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against University of Ole Miss" »

When you fly over Jackson, Ridgeland, The City of Madison, Flowood, or any of the surrounding cities you get a good idea how many homeowners have a swimming pool. Frankly, it amazes me the number of backyard pools. Spring is upon us and soon children will be out of school and either headed toward their backyard pools or to local public or private pools. Hopefully everyone knows some of the basic swimming safety rules, but if not take a minute to look over this list.

First and foremost all children need to be taught to swim as early as possible. The first swimming lesson that kids are given is what to do if they accidentally fall into a pool or other body of water. Generally that means "get to the side and grab on." My son started swimming late. He was about 4 years old. We waited longer than we should have but since he has some learning problems, we felt teaching him earlier was not practicable. Our decision to send our son to classes came because we decided to put in pool. I went with my son to the lessons and it was interesting to watch a child learn to swim. Honestly, it was a little painful, but then things that are good for kids in the long run can sometime be painful.

Once your child learns to swim he/she needs to be taught other basic safety rules like: Do not push other people in the pool. Stay away from the edge or don't try to reach for objects in the pool. Stay away from the water valve at the bottom of the pool. Kids that have reached the right maturity can understand these issues but young kids will not. With the younger kids the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you never leave small children alone, even for just a minute while you run and get something in the house. Children can drown in just a matter of minutes. It is suggested that you stay within touch distance for any child under 5 years of age.

If you put in a backyard pool then your insurance company is going to require you to put a fence around the pool. In legal language a pool is called an attractive nuisance. A pool is one of those things that draws children like the sound of the ice cream truck. The fence should be at least 4 feet tall and go around all four sides with a secure lock above the reach of the children. It is also smart or a safe approach to have a pool alarm. When we put in our pool we of course had a 6 foot high fence. We had a pool alarm and several shepherd's hooks at each end of the pool along with floating rings for tossing to swimmers. We were still concerned about our child so we installed locks on all of the doors going out of our home. The locks were high enough so our child could not reach them and we had a note by each one that read: Is the Door Locked?
This kept us on our toes and made sure the backdoors to the pool were always secure.

I mentioned this earlier but the suctions on pools can be very dangerous. I just read a case where a 6 year old child drown when he swam down to the drain and the force of the drain held him down. The sitter had run in the house to get a towel and left the kid in the care of another person who, guess what? Could not swim! It broke my heart to read about the dad running out of the house and diving into the pool to rescue his child, but it was too late. There is currently a safety device you can put on pools that will cut off the suction in something gets in the drain. This is a good idea.

There are other safety rules a person can observe. I think these are the major ones talked about most of the time. In my mind carefully watching any child who uses your pool is the best safety device that can exist. If your child goes to another location to swim, make sure these safety rules are observed. Remember as parents it is our job to watch out for the safety of our kids-they just don't think that much about safety when they are trying to have fun.

Continue reading " SWIMMIMG POOL SAFETY RULES" »

Cell phones are perfect for emergencies and for staying in touch whenever and wherever we need to be in touch. But there is growing evidence that phones and driving don't mix. With roads more crowded than ever and drivers seemingly more aggressive by the day, any distraction can lead to an accident, and cell phones definitely are a distraction.

A recent car accident caused by a driver distracted by a cell phone resulted in a $5.2 million settlement for the plaintiff. Debra was driving on an interstate highway when she was rear-ended by a sedan driven by an employee of International Paper Company. As a result of the collision, Debra had to have one of her arms amputated. Testimony showed that the driver who caused the crash was speeding and using her phone. In addition, the driver ignored her company's cell-phone policy, which requires the use of hands-free headsets while driving.

And while I am on this topic, did you know that texting was 23 times more dangerous than driving alcohol and driving? Many states across the U.S. have passed laws making it a misdemeanor crime to text and drive. The Mississippi House of Representatives offered a bill this year making it a crime to text while driving and the penalties were harsh. The bill did not get signed into law but I bet you can expect to see the law again next year. Texting and driving is very dangerous. Think about this next time you want to text and you have your children or another person in the car. No one wants to be responsible for causing harm to another person.

A few common-sense safety rules can help us avoid accidents and save lives:

• If traffic is heavy, turn off your phone.
• Pull off the road before phoning.
• Use a hands-free type of phone.
• Save stressful, intense calls for home or office.
• If you must phone while driving, do so only when you can easily respond to traffic conditions.

Continue reading "Using Cell Phones in Mississippi can lead to Serious Automobile Injuries" »