Mississippi Injury Lawyers Blog

According to a recent report by LegalNewsline.com, the Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a Washington County trial court's reduction of a $1.5 million verdict in a nursing home medical negligence case.

The victim's name was Henry C. Gibson. He spent a little over a year as a resident of Arnold Avenue Nursing Home in Greeneville, Mississippi. After he was sent to the hospital in December 2002, he was moved to another nursing home, where he later died. After his death, Gibson's estate sued the nursing home for Gibson's wrongful death. The suit sought both compensatory and punitive damages. Specifically, Gibson's estate claimed that Magnolia Healthcare, Inc., which owned Arnold Avenue Nursing Home, and Foundation Health Services, Inc., entered into an agreement with one another. The plaintiffs claim that both companies were negligent and their negligence contributed to the Gibson's death.

After a trial, the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $1.5 million in compensatory damages. The court reduced the judgment to $500,000 for noneconomic damages and $75,000 for permanent disfigurement. The jury was not allowed to consider whether the plaintiff should be awarded punitive damages.

The plaintiffs appealed and argued that the trial court erred when it refused to allow the jury to consider punitive damages. The plaintiffs also argued that the statutory cap on noneconomic damages is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the plaintiffs did not present any evidence at trial that the defendants acted with willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, which is the necessary showing before punitive damages can be awarded. The Supreme Court also said that the constitutional question regarding the statutory cap on noneconomic damages was not presented at the trial court level so it could not be brought up at the appellate level.

Mississippi's statutory cap on noneconomic damages as part of its medical malpractice reform is working to reduce verdicts to within the statutory limits. The Gibson estate's claim that the cap is unconstitutional is probably not the last constitutional challenge to the cap. Mississippi personal injury attorneys will likely be arguing the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the cap in the near future. If you have questions about a medical negligence or nursing home matter, please call the Mississippi personal injury attorneys at Kobs & Philley toll free at (601) 856-7800.

Source: "Miss. SC affirms reduction of $1.5M verdict in nursing home suit," by Jessica M. Karmasek, published at LegalNewsline.com.

See Our Related Blog Posts:
Kobs & Philley Named in Newsweek Magazine's "Leaders in Medical Malpractice" Law!
The Ever-Increasing Costs of Medical Malpractice

Continue reading "Mississippi Trial Court Reduces Nursing Home Negligence Verdict, Supreme Court Affirms" »

Kobs & Philley, PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized by Newsweek magazine as a prominent leader in the representation of medical malpractice victims in the United States. With years of legal experience in Mississippi, Kobs & Philley, PLLC represents victims who have been injured by the negligent acts of doctors / physicians and/or those employees, agents and staff of hospitals and clinics in Mississippi.

Each firm contacted for Newsweek's "Leaders in Medical Malpractice" is in good standing with well-known law associations and/or has been recognized for excellence by respective local media outlets, have up to date verdicts and settlements of important cases.

"Our group of attorneys and staff work hard to achieve the best possible results for our clients, and I am proud of the firm's work. I am also honored and grateful to Newsweek for recognizing this firm and its accomplishments," said Benjamin N. Philley, co-founding partner of Kobs & Philley, PLLC. "It has been a privilege to represent families across Mississippi who have regrettably suffered debilitation injuries, and in some cases, the wrongful death of a loved one, whether that be from a car crash, 18-wheeler wreck or med mal" said Jared A. Kobs, co-founding partner of Kobs & Philley, PLLC.

Kobs & Philley, PLLC is led by its two partners Jared A. Kobs and Benjamin N. Philley. The firm has successfully represented numerous plaintiffs across Mississippi in lawsuits against medical providers in this state. Although Newsweek recognized the firm as a prominent leader in Medical Malpractice, Kobs & Philley, PLLC also leads the way in a variety of personal injury claims such as automobile accidents, motorcycle wrecks, 18 wheeler accidents, slip and fall accidents, products liability, wrongful death and birth trauma. The firm has achieved numerous settlements and/or verdicts of its clients who were harmed by someone else's negligence. For more information about our firm and the cases we handle, please visit Kobs & Philley, PLLC's website at www.kobsphilley.com or call (601) 856-7800.

The Picayune Item has recently reported two very similar accidents, causing many to consider the importance of seat belts. It only takes seconds to click a seatbelt, but the decision to do so can mean the difference between life and death.

The media outlet reported the first accident on March 23, 2012. This collision occurred the previous Tuesday on March 20, 2012. A 51-year-old man, James McNay, Jr., was killed and his passenger, April Parker, was severely injured when McNay's car flipped while the two were traveling along Dummy Line Road. Parker was taken to Gulfport Memorial Hospital. McNay was driving a Ford Ranger. The coroner's report noted that the truck ran off the right side of the road. Then, after trying to right the vehicle, McNay overcorrected and the truck went off the left side of the road and then flipped over. McNay was not wearing a seat belt and he was partially ejected from the car.

Just two weeks later on April 3, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Sheffield ran his car off the road. Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Roy Jacobsen responded to the scene. Sheffield was driving down U.S. Highway 11. It was raining and the road was slick at the time of the crash. Investigators are still unable to determine what made Sheffield's car, a 1998 Mercury Mystique, run off the road. When the vehicle ran off the road, the car spun in a counterclockwise position and then it hit a tree. Sheffield, like McNay, was partially ejected from the vehicle. Also like McNay, Sheffield was not wearing a seatbelt.

While it is not certain, it is likely that both of these deaths could have been prevented if the drivers were wearing seatbelts. At one point in time, seatbelts were optional. Now, however, it is required by law that every person inside of a motor vehicle while it is moving wear a seatbelt because it has been proven that seatbelts save lives. In addition to saving lives, wearing a seatbelt means that if the car accident was the fault of another driver, there is less ammunition to claim contributory negligence and thereby diminish potential recovery.

Continue reading "Two Eerily Similar Mississippi Accidents" »

Raccoons 1
Allstate Policy Holder 0

Although this should come as no surprise to anyone who has had the great misfortune to be forced to file a claim with them (at least 100,000 Coast resident from Katrina agree with me on this regardless of political partisan), that despite its commercial to the contrary, Allstate a/k/a Allsnake is refusing to cover a claim in Mississippi for damages due to a raccoon infestation. I guess Allstate itself is the cut rate company, just with 5 times the premiums.

A family of raccoons nested up in my client's (from Madison County) attic and did exactly what a raccoon does-destroyed the place and defecated everywhere. P.S., this is JUST LIKE THE COMMERCIAL! My client called her Brandon, MS agent as she thinks she has coverage since this exact issue is featured in Allstate Mayhem commercial. (See Video Link Below). But, instead of getting the "good hands" of its neighbor, she gets the full force of a punch to the stomach and a denial of her claim.

Allstate sent her a denial letter refusing to pay for (1) removal and replacement of "contaminated" insulation and (2) cleanup of the mess caused by raccoons in her attic because Allstate says there is the following exclusion language:

All they were willing to pay for was the elimination of the animals and repairing the fan where the raccoon(s) entered. The insurance company denied the rest of the work based on the fact that the policy does not cover toxic fumes, which is totally bogus.

Are you serious????? When she first contacted me, I thought I remembered a "Mayhem" commercial involving raccoons!!!
And here's the damn commercial!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzUR_mq6OY

Pollution exclusion, for Raccoon waste and damage. REALLY, ALLSNAKE, REALLY? Needless to say, a lawsuit was immediately filed for insurance bad faith denial, breach of contract, deceptive and misleading advertising, etc.!

Continue reading "Allstate Doesn't Really Protect You from Mayhem, At Least not Raccoons!" »

Patients for Fair Compensation recently released a study detailing the costs of medical malpractice nationwide. According to the study, healthcare providers spent $31 billion in premiums in 2011. The exorbitant amount of money was spent by providers defending medical malpractice claims. Only 20% of those $31 billion in premiums was paid out to the patients who actually suffered harm from medical negligence. The balance went to attorneys' fees and administrative costs.

The chairman of the Patients for Fair Compensation, Richard L. Jackson, had some harsh criticism for United States health care industry. He said, "You can't find a more ineffective system for compensating injured patients than what we have in the United States . . . We take in far too much money and get so few dollars to medically injured persons. The system is just not working for patients." There are also the increased costs for "defensive" procedures, which are those tests and exams that doctors perform as preventative measures to ensure that medical malpractice claims will not be brought, or if brought, will be dismissed. Jackson's organization estimates that more than $650 million is spent on these defensive practices. Stated differently, the reason for this is because of how hard and often the defense attorneys and doctors fight a med mal case rather than pay the injured person reasonable compensation on the front end!

Data for the study was gathered by Bioscience Valuation of Germany, which made its methodology and a fact sheet available for public evaluation. "Total malpractice costs were taken from Towers Perrin's 2009 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends. Trends in paid claim volume and total indemnity payments were estimated based on Physician Insurers Association of America's Claim Trend Analysis 2011 Edition."

The skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice can have serious consequences on the ability of future patients to collect when they have been injured by medical negligence. The more healthcare professionals have to pay in malpractice premiums, the more the costs are passed on to the patient, escalating the costs of healthcare for everyone. That, at least, is the argument made by those who seek to reform medical malpractice nationwide.

Continue reading "The Ever-Increasing Costs of Medical Malpractice" »

Liles B. Williams is the Chair of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission. It is his responsibility to manage the agency that handles all reports of work-related injuries in the state of Mississippi. He sees his role as two-fold: control costs so that employers are not overburdened and ensure fairness to those injured on the job. Williams said, "[Y]ou have to balance [the] scale, and provide the highest quality of service. For example, we don't want workers to go to doctors without a lot of experience in that particular area."

In recent years, Mississippi has intensified its focus on workplace safety. The statistics reveal that that emphasis has benefited Mississippi workers. The number of workers' compensation claims has decreased dramatically since 1994. During that time, over 20,000 claims were reported per year. Now, it is just over 11,000 workers' compensation claims reported to the commission. Another factor in the decrease in claims is the shift from manufacturing and construction jobs to service-oriented and information-based employment, decreasing the possibility of injury to employees.

Williams notes that nearly 90% of the claims are settled between the employer and the worker without a hearing. If either party does not like the settlement offer, they can file a petition to controvert the settlement. Once that petition is filed, the case is assigned to one of the eight administrative law judges employed by the Commission. Williams says that the case usually settles while waiting for a full hearing, but if the parties do go to a hearing, the administrative law judge rules on the claim. Either party can appeal the ruling to the full commission, which includes Williams and two others. The full commission renders a decision, which can then be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Continue reading "Mississippi Workers' Compensation Chief Sheds Light on the Process" »

According to a report written by the Washington Post, the House of Representatives has passed the Protecting Access to Healthcare Act (PATH) which will have serious consequences for doctors and for medical malpractice attorneys if it becomes law. The measure limits noneconomic damages for medical malpractice claims to $250,000 and it also disbands the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel that was supposed to brief Congress about the changes to Medicare in 2014.

The bill, sponsored by Republicans in the House passed nearly on party lines, with all but a handful of Democrats opposing the measure. The measure has to pass the Senate before it can go to the President for his signature. However, the Democrats still remain in control of the Senate, so the bill is likely to die in the Senate and never reach the President.

What this means, however, is that Congress is taking issue with some of the medical malpractice provisions in the new health care law. All practitioners should pay be paying attention to whether the health care law survives the Supreme Court. The medical malpractice provisions in that bill are certainly of concern to Congress and should be to the rest of those lawyers practicing in that area.

Of course, coupled with the bill was the usual rhetoric between the parties about which position on health care and the health care bill is the best solution for America's health care crisis. The Republicans labeled the advisory board a bunch of "unelected bureaucrats" prompting Representative Tom Rice of Georgia to say, "When bureaucrats choose, patients lose." Representative John Fleming of Louisiana said that the panel may be a dream come true for socialists "but it's a nightmare for the American people." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaking for the opposition said that this is just another attempt by the Republicans to "unravel Medicare."

Continue reading "House Republicans Take Aim at Med Mal Provisions in Health Care Law" »