Mississippi Lawyer Blog

In Mississippi, 28% of all drivers do not have insurance. So out of every 7 cars you pass on the road, 2 cars do not have any insurance! This is the highest percentage of uninsured drivers in the United States.

It's important that you double check your insurance policy for "uninsured motorist coverage". This is the part of your auto policy that protects you from an uninsured driver.

Make sure that your uninsured motorist coverage is equal to your liability coverage. Many insurance agents will give you a lower uninsured motorist coverage amount, but since this is the part of the policy that protects you, you want the maximum coverage available.

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?" »

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" »

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?" »

Dangerous consumer products account for thousands upon thousands of serious injuries every year. There are many companies that simply do not care about the safety of their products. There are others who care, but if they can make millions of dollars they are willing to "look the other way." Think a minute about all the dangerous prescription drugs that have been place on the market: Vioxx, Rezulin, the diet drugs, Baycol, the tainted blood thinners, and many more. Then there are dangerous automobiles. When I say dangerous automobiles I am talking about past vehicles that the companies' engineers knew should not be put on the market for sale to consumers, but because the drive for money was so great, the companies sold the vehicles knowing the great risk to human safety and life. If you, a family member, or a good friend are seriously injured by one of these products, what do you expect? What do you want? Do you want a legal system that fully and fairly compensates you for your harms and losses? Do you want the right to seek compensation for your damages (the legal term for your losses) from a jury, or do you think a politician is better deciding what your life, happiness and injuries are worth. Who do you trust more to make this decision? A jury or a politician, or maybe a fat-cat executive in one of the corporations who sold the dangerous product? These are real life questions that are being decided every day by lobbyists and politicians who are accepting big contributions from the corporations. They would like to be the ones who decide in advance what you deserve before you even know yourself. I don't know about you, but that is simply wrong.

The reason I remind you of this topic is because every day I get a electronic e mail from the National Chamber of Commerce. The National Chamber quit promoting businesses years ago and became the lobbyist for huge multi-national corporations. All you hear from the Chamber is tort reform, tort reform, and more tort reform. The truth is the Chamber is not interested in reform, it is interested in protectionism. Think about this for a minute: Our country is stuck in two wars that are draining us. We have a health care crises that has divided the country. The insurance industry has promoted lies in ads to scare people about health care reform for the simple reason that the insurance industry wants to keep gouging the consumer. Many of the Western Countries like the U.S. have a public option health care system and the people like it. Read it again. The people like the system. In this country we must as a people stop believing the stories, false tales, and lies from the insurance industry and other big companies that want our money but want to money their jobs overseas and abandon the American worker.

Today I read about two consumer cases. It is those two cases that caused me to write this blog. Both were concerning defective products. The first involved an automobile that had a tendency to roll-over. The jury awarded 8.5 million for the woman who lost her leg and is paralyzed in the right arm. The second case concerned lead toys sold by a major manufacturer of children's toys. People have known that lead is extremely toxic for so many years, yet a company produced lead toys and marketed them to our children-the most precious thing we and have to ensure our continued future and success. I am going to make my opinion crystal clear. If my child child is injured by one of these dangerous products, I want a jury to decide the value of his injuries. I don't want a lobbyist for one of the big companies wining and dining our Congressmen and women and deciding what my child's injuries are worth. I can promise you they won't be thinking about the best interest of my child. I don't want an artificial limit set by a politician so it benefits the insurance industry and these big companies. Leave my rights alone. Leave the rights of my child alone, and by the way, I want these big companies and their paid politicians to leave your rights alone also.

In the middle 1990's I handled a roll-over case against one of the major car manufacturers. A young man lost his life. We did everything possible to resolve the case with the company but they essentially laughed at us and pulled out every trick to beat us in Court. The jury went in favor of the family, awarding over $144 million. But before you say, "that's too much," I will tell you the case settled for a confidential amount far below that figure, but sufficient under our legal system to be fair. The case would have settled for far less than the company paid but instead of talking with us the company hired a army of attorneys to defeat us. The jury saw the justice in our case. We need a jury system free from artificial limits set by the insurance industry and big business.

If you are injured by a defective product, in an auto accident, or any other type of accident call Merrida Coxwell. Merrida focuses his skills on serious accidents and criminal defense. More information on his background can be obtained through this website.

This last month I have read about several serious 18 wheeler or big truck accidents. There are not as many accidents between 18 wheelers and cars as there are between two automobiles, but the damage done to human life is certainly more in the 18 wheeler cases. The big rigs are subject a large number of Federal Regulations that govern both the operator and how the big truck is maintained. If you are an accident attorney you need to be familiar with these regulations.

When handling accident cases either between two cars or a car and a 18 wheeler it is important to collect evidence and investigate the facts as soon after the injury as possible. Sometimes we do not get hired until months after the accident. This can make our job harder. We often get hired when a client leaves another lawyer and comes to us because the clients feel nothing is being done by the other lawyer to help them. In our opinion if we have a serious injury case, we are going to file a civil action for the client. That is the only way the case is going to be brought to a conclusion on terms that are helpful to the client. In our experience insurance companies and big companies do not settle a case because the lawyer sends a demand letter. They settle the case when the lawyers gets the case filed and ready for trial.

It is important to know if you are seriously injured in any type of accident that there is very little probability that your case can or will be settled without filing a lawsuit and getting ready for trial. At Coxwell & Associates we take the position that taking the case toward a trial is the best way to benefit the client so we start that process as soon as the client has reached maximum medical recovery. We recognize that time in important, but we also know that preparing the case properly is the only way to get our clients the money they deserve. Getting our clients the money they deserve for an injury is our goal.

Coxwell & Associates is a law firm that concentrates on serious accident cases of every type. The firm as rule take only serious injury cases all across Mississippi, including HInds, Madison, Rankin, Copiah, Jefferson, Adams, Desoto County, and in other states. It costs nothing to discuss your case with one of the experienced accident attorneys.