Mississippi Lawyer Blog

At Coxwell & Associates, we represent people who have suffered serious injuries from accidents. However, we are limited as to what we can do for our clients (and not just by tort reform). Our legal system allows attorneys to recover money for their client's damages which includes long term medical expenses. And while it is fulfilling to help them obtain financial resources so that they can maintain their medical treatment, we know that many of our clients will never fully recover.

Sunday's Clarion Ledger had an article concerning brain injury victims in Mississippi that I found both interesting and sad. According to the article, "brain-injury survivors in Mississippi.....lack..long-term care facilities, such as Arkansas' Timber Ridge, or the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.." It is simply amazing in this day and age that Mississippi does not have a long term facility to assist our citizens who have suffered a brain injury.

The brain is a fascinating organ and a healthy brain is vital to a long and fulfilling life. Do you know why you can't tickle yourself? Because your brain distinguished between unexpected external touch and your own touch. When we blink, do you know why the "world doesn't go dark"? It's because our brain keeps the world luminated for us (we blink 20,000 times a day). Learn more more interesting brain facts here.

Continue reading "Mississippi Brain Injury Accident Victims Need Long Term Recovery Facility" »

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" »

LAWSUITS: FANTASY V. REALITY

I'm sure everyone has heard of "frivolous lawsuits" and how they are to blame for rising insurance costs, driving doctors away, and the decline of Western Civilization as we know it today. The truth of the matter is certain politicians have created the fear that there are "runaway juries" which will destroy America unless there is so-called "tort reform"! Why do they want to do this? Easy. Big Insurance and Big Business lined the pockets of these politicians to push their agendas. Big Insurance and Big Businesses do not want to be held accountable for their actions. They want to be protected. Below we have listed some of the popular "Myths" in the justice systems along with the actual "Facts". You read and decide for yourselves

1. MYTH: Frivolous lawsuits are flooding our legal system.

FACT: Frivolous lawsuits do not exist as represented by tort reformers.
A May 2006 study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women''s Hospital shows that 97 percent of medical malpractice claims are meritorious . Eighty percent of those claims involved physical injury, which killed or permanently disabled the victim. Sadly, only 56 of these claimants received compensation for their losses.

FACT: The number of lawsuits has significantly decreased in recent years.
Between 2002 and 2003, the number of tort cases filed on the federal level decreased by 28 percent, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In 2005, the Justice Department reported that the number of federal cases has decreased by 79 percent since 1985.

Between 1992 and 2001, the number of civil trials filed in state courts decreased by 47 percent, according to the Department of Justice. The number of tort cases specifically, decreased by 31.8 percent during that same time.

FACT: Businesses, not consumers, are far more likely to file frivolous lawsuits.
Businesses and their attorneys are far more likely to file frivolous claims than the average American. In a recent study, 69 of the 100 most recent sanctions due to cases of frivolous lawsuits were against businesses and their attorneys. US businesses file four times as many lawsuits than private citizens.

2. MYTH: Plaintiffs are being awarded outrageous and unwarranted sums of money for their losses.

FACT: The amount of compensation awarded in personal injury cases is in decline.
The amount of compensation awarded to victims, who have been seriously injured through no fault of their own, has drastically decreased over the past few years, according to the Department of Justice. Between 1992 and 2001 the average personal injury award decreased by 56.3 percent.

FACT: The payout in medical malpractice cases has decreased over the last four years.
A 2005 Public Citizen study revealed that medical malpractice payments to victims fell nearly 14 percent between 2001 and 2004. In 2001, juries voted against injured victims in three of four medical malpractice trials, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

3. MYTH: Capping damages lowers medical malpractice insurance premiums for doctors.
FACT: Tort reform caps result in savings for insurance companies NOT doctors.
Capping damages does NOT translate into savings for doctors who continue to pay exorbitant medical malpractice insurance premiums. According to an independent research organization, "most insurers continued to increase [doctor''s] premiums at a rapid pace, regardless of caps" or reductions in plaintiff''s awards (Weiss Ratings 6/3/03).

In states with tort reform caps on damages, the average insurance premiums are nearly ten percent higher than the average in states without caps (The Medical Liability Monitor, 2004). Take it from the insurance industry, "Insurers never promised that tort reform would achieve specific savings [on insurance premiums]" - the American Insurance Association.

Medical malpractice insurance costs are cyclical. Litigation does not drive the cycle.
Therefore, doing away with fair compensation for victims will NOT help an
American citizen AND it will do nothing to help doctors who pay high insurance costs.

4. MYTH: The tort system places a $300 billion burden on the economy.

FACT: There is no such thing as a tort-tax.

The figure in the myth above comes from the insurance industry, which has a vested interest in propagating tort reform myths. In this so-called cost assessment, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin included insurance company costs, overhead, and the salaries of the insurance industry's CEOs. For example, the salary of AIG's chairman--a whopping $29 million a year--was figured into this supposed cost of the tort system. The TTP assessment didn't include relevant data, which makes their figure more a reflection of the cost of the insurance industry rather than the cost of the tort system.

The idea of a "tort tax" dates back to 1988, when one man coined the term and quantified this so-called tax in a book called Liability. Several researchers immediately examined this man''s methods of determining this tax. They found that he had made it up. "The $300 billion figure has no discernable connection to reality," observed The Economist. The Congressional Budget Office has repudiated the so-called tort tax.

5. MYTH: Medical malpractice claims run up the cost of healthcare.

FACT: Medical malpractice claims have a negligible effect on US health costs.
According to the Congressional Budget Office in January 2004, medical malpractice costs constituted only two percent of the total cost of healthcare in the United States. Other figures from Public Citizen show that malpractice costs represent only 0.62 percent of the nation's expenditures for health care.

In 2003, the top HMOs in the United States reported doubling their profits, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.

6. MTYH: Lawsuits are filed at the slightest provocation.

FACT: Many people who are seriously injured never file a claim.

Of the hundreds of thousands of people who are harmed by medical malpractice annually, only one in eight ever file a claim, according to a Harvard Study. Of the thousands of people injured by consumer products each year, only ten percent file a claim to seek compensation for their losses and suffering, according to a study by the Rand Institute for Civil Defense.

7. MYTH: Doctors are forced to practice "defensive medicine" for fear of medical malpractice lawsuits.

FACT: No evidence indicates that doctors practice "defensive medicine" as a response to lawsuit threats.

Defensive medicine, or extra medical tests given to avoid lawsuits, is a concept developed by a member of the Bush Administration. Every independent researcher who has tried to replicate this man's findings has been unable to do so, indicating that his findings were entirely fabricated (Public Citizen).

8. MYTH: Lawsuits threaten to drive doctors out of practice and bankrupt small businesses and factories.

FACT: Most lawsuits are not even filed against doctors or companies.
Most lawsuits involve complaints by one private citizen against another. Only 39 percent of tort lawsuits involve an individual filing a claim against a business (The Department of Justice). A lawsuit cannot destroy a business unless that business generates a profit based on fraudulent or unsafe practices (Public Citizen).

FACT: The number of lawsuits against doctors is decreasing while the number of practicing physicians is increasing. Evidence shows that the number of lawsuits filed against doctors has declined in recent years, while the number of practicing physicians has increased. According to the American Medical Association, the number of US doctors has increased by 40 percent since 1990. Additionally, since 1990, the number of ER doctors has doubled, the number of neurosurgeons has increased by 20 percent, and the number of OB/GYN doctors has increased by 25 percent.
There is not one shred of evidence to suggest that medical malpractice claims are forcing doctors to close their doors. While some doctors have suffered due to high insurance premiums, we know these costs have nothing to do with lawsuits and are purely the product of a rapacious insurance industry.

9. MYTH: Punitive damages are awarded to often and for too much money.

FACT: Punitive damages are rarely rewarded in civil suits.

Punitive damages are only awarded in 3.3 percent of all tort trials won by the victim, according to the Department of Justice). Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant in cases of blatant or malicious wrongdoing and prevent others from committing similar acts in the future. Given the statistics, it would seem that punitive damages are very conservatively awarded to the victims of egregious acts.

Continue reading "Mississippi Lawsuit Myths Debunked" »

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" »

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green tossed out a lawsuit filed by a former maid who alleged a character in the blockbuster book/movie The Help was based on her. The Help's author, Kathryn Stockett pictured above, denied the allegations. Her attorneys argued that the one year statute of limitations barred the lawsuit. Evidence showed that Ablene Cooper, the Plaintiff, obtained a copy of the book in January 2009, a month before it was published, but didn't read the book until 2010. The lawsuit was filed in February 2011. Judge Green agreed with Ms. Stockett's lawyers and dismissed the lawsuit.

Ms. Cooper's story is not uncommon. Many claims are thrown out of Court simply because they are not filed timely. Mississippi's laws require lawsuits to be brought within a certain time period. Some, like Ms. Cooper's, can be as short as one year. Other claims require Plaintiffs to follow strict pre-suit requirements such as sending the defendants a notice of claim. Failure to follow these pre-suit requirements could mean your case gets dismissed.

Continue reading "The Help Lawsuit Thrown Out of Mississippi Court" »

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" »

A tragic police abuse death case which occurred In the college town of Fullerton, California caused a serious deja vu moment for me. In the Fullerton case, a young mentally ill man, Kelly Thomas, was sitting on a bus bench when he was approached by police. They were investigating a report of some cars being broken into in the area and they wanted to search his backpack. When Kelly asked what he had done wrong the police wouldn't tell him so he ran. He was after all suffering from schizophrenia.

The officers, six in all, gave chase and subdued him with tasers, baton strikes, and general roughing up which included kicks and punches. As he was being beaten, Kelly cried out for his father. Kelly was beaten so badly he was taken to the hospital and later died of these injuries. When his father viewed the body, he assumed that his son had been beaten up by a local street gang. His initial thought was to call the Fullerton police and report the crime. Little did he know that Fullerton police officers were responsible.

The City of Fullerton has become defensive. They claim that this was an isolated incident and that its officers are trained to deal with mentally ill persons. However, either the training these officers received was deficient or they need to be retrained.

Continue reading "California Police Brutality Death Case Causes Deja Vu Moment" »

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" »

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" »

The Clarion Ledger ran a story regarding the federal government suing Deutsche Bank because they lied about mortgages. It appears Deutsche was taking loan applications and failing to confirm the applicants' employment. In fact, it appears that the bank wasn't too concerned about whether the applicant was capable of making loan payments at all. The loan was insured by the government so if/when the applicant defaulted, the loan was paid in full. Deutsche apparently knew this and now the feds are seeking to get the money back. We represented 200 Mississippians against major banks several years ago who were doing the same thing. However, instead of helping, the President at the time (George W. Bush) passed an executive order that seriously impacted how defrauded homeowners could sue banks in State court! As a result, banks were allowed to prey on unsuspecting homeowners for years. You will recall that the collapse of the subprime housing industry led to the stockmarket crash a few years back. Oh well...here's the story

Bank accused of loan fraud
•Federal suit says Deutsche Bank lied about mortgages

The federal government sued Deutsche Bank Tuesday, saying the bank committed fraud and padded its pockets with undeserved income as it repeatedly lied so it could benefit from a government program that insured mortgages.

The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims that the government has had to pay when homeowners defaulted on their mortgages. The lawsuit also asked for punitive damages. The government said the bank made substantial profits between 2007 and 2009 from the resale of the risky mortgages, leaving the government to foot the bill for loans that defaulted. The mortgage insurance is issued by the Federal Housing Administration.

The lawsuit said the bank carried out the fraud through its subsidiary, MortgageIT, which employed more than 2,000 people at branches in all 50 states. Deutsche acquired MortgageIT in 2007.

At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the bank "repeatedly and brazenly" engaged in a pattern of reckless lending practices for mortgages "that were really ticking time bombs," sometimes failing even to verify that a mortgage applicant had a job.

"In fact, they often seemed to treat red flags as if they were green lights," he said.

Still, the prosecutor said the government found no evidence of the criminal intent necessary to take the case beyond a civil lawsuit. "Every lie is not a crime," he said.

In a statement, Deutsche spokeswoman Renee Calabro said the bank was reviewing it.

"We believe the claims against MortgageIT and Deutsche Bank are unreasonable and unfair, and we intend to defend against the action vigorously," she said.

Calabro said nearly 90 percent of the activity described in the lawsuit occurred before Deutsche Bank acquired MortgageIT, which had been an FHA lender operating with government oversight for almost a decade.

Since last fall, federal regulators and attorneys general of all 50 states have been investigating lenders accused of cutting corners and using flawed documents to foreclose on many homeowners. In some cases, employees of financial institutions engaged in so-called robo-signing - approving documents in foreclosures without actually reading them. Foreclosure-fraud class-action lawsuits are also piling up against major banks nationwide.

Bharara said it "would not be a fantastical stretch to think we are looking at other lending institutions as well."

The lawsuit against Deutsche Bank sought to recover more than $386 million that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has paid out in FHA insurance claims and related costs arising out of MortgageIT's approval of more than 3,100 mortgages, among 1,400 loans that have defaulted so far.

Continue reading "Feds Accuse Big Bank of Fraud-How many Mississippians were affected?" »

Ahhh yes. We are once again nearing that special time when kids of all ages get to experience Spring Break! But some "kids" enjoy Spring Break entirely too much. With thousands of college aged kids headed south with coolers full of six packs of bee..I mean cokes, the odds of getting arrested for DUI or being invovled in a car accident increase significantly.

I cannot tell you how many college Spring Breakers we have represented here in Mississippi who were stopped by the cops for minor traffic violations only to be found in possession of weed or other drugs. That really cut their fun short when they had to call Mom and Dad from jail to get bail money.

Tragedy often accompanies these bad decisions as well. In 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that drunk driving claimed the lives of more than 10,000 motorists. Nationally, 32% of traffic fatalities for the year were alcohol related. Florida, a popular spring break destination, was over the national average, reporting 904 fatalities, or 35%, where at least one driver tested with a .01 BAC level. Alarmingly, 21% of fatalities occurred in Florida when the driver tested at a level of .15 or higher which is almost double the legal limit. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System used by the NHTSA reported March as the second most dangerous month when it comes to crashes involving alcohol.

Continue reading "Spring Break Time Means DUI's and Car Accidents" »

As lawyers we tend to forget that many people simply don't know what to do when they are involved in a car accident. Obviously, if you or someone else is hurt you need to call for medical personnel immediately. But what else can you do? Here is a helpful (hopefully) list:

1. Keep an Emergency Kit in Your Glove Compartment. Drivers should carry a cell phone, as well as pen and paper for taking notes, a disposable camera to take photos of the vehicles at the scene, and a card with information about medical allergies or conditions that may require special attention if there are serious injuries. Also, keep a list of contact numbers for law enforcement agencies handy. Drivers can keep this free fill-in-the-blanks accident information form in their glove compartment. The DocuDent™ Auto Accident Kit ($19.95), supported by AAA and insurance companies, offers a comprehensive kit that includes a flashlight, reusable camera and accident documentation instructions. A set of cones, warning triangles or emergency flares should be kept in the trunk.

2. Keep Safety First. Drivers involved in minor accidents with no serious injuries should move cars to the side of the road and out of the way of oncoming traffic. Leaving cars parked in the middle of the road or busy intersection can result in additional accidents and injuries. If a car cannot be moved, drivers and passengers should remain in the cars with seatbelts fastened for everyone's safety until help arrives. Make sure to turn on hazard lights and set out cones, flares or warning triangles if possible.

3. Exchange Information. After the accident, exchange the following information: name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, driver license number and license plate number for the driver and the owner of each vehicle. If the driver's name is different from the name of the insured, establish what the relationship is and take down the name and address for each individual. Also make a written description of each car, including year, make, model and color -- and the exact location of the collision and how it happened. Finally, be polite but don't tell the other drivers or the police that the accident was your fault, even if you think it was.

4. Photograph and Document the Accident. Use your camera to document the damage to all the vehicles. Keep in mind that you want your photos to show the overall context of the accident so that you can make your case to a claims adjuster. If there were witnesses, try to get their contact information; they may be able to help you if the other drivers dispute your version of what happened.

5. File An Accident Report. Although law enforcement officers in many locations may not respond to accidents unless there are injuries, drivers should file a state vehicle accident report, which is available at police stations and often on the Department of Motor Vehicles Web site as a downloadable file. A police report often helps insurance companies speed up the claims process.

6. Know What Your Insurance Covers. The whole insurance process will be easier following your accident if you know the details of your coverage. For example, don't wait until after an accident to find out that your policy doesn't automatically cover costs for towing or a replacement rental car. Generally, for only a dollar or two extra each month, you can add coverage for rental car reimbursement, which provides a rental car for little or no money while your car is in the repair shop or if it is stolen. Check your policy for specifics.

The final question in dealing with an accident is usually who will pay for the damages? If the accident was minor, you and the other drivers may decide to handle the damages yourselves without the involvement of an insurance company. But this isn't always the best idea, for several reasons.

While the other driver may agree to pay for the damage to your car on the day of the accident, he may see the repair bills and decide it's too high. At this point, time has passed and your insurance company will have more difficulty piecing together the evidence if you file a claim.

Also, keep in mind that you have no way of knowing whether another driver will change his mind and report the accident to his insurance company. He may even claim injuries that weren't apparent at the scene of the accident. This means that your insurance company may end up paying him a hefty settlement, or worse yet, you could be dragged into a lawsuit. So make sure that your company has your version of what happened and check your policy -- if the damages paid out by your insurance company are below a certain amount, the accident may not be considered chargeable. And you will avoid the penalty of a premium hike.

Auto accidents take a tremendous toll on everyone involved, both financially and emotionally. If you're one of the lucky ones who have thus far avoided a serious accident, hopefully the tips on prevention will help keep it that way. The chances are high, though, that at some point you will be involved in a minor accident. Just keep your head and make safety your primary concern. You'll have plenty of time to deal with the consequences later.

Continue reading "What do you do if you are in a car accident in Mississippi?" »