Mississippi Injury Lawyers Blog

After BP's recent push to have payments to victims of the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill suspended (which we discussed here), the administrator for such payments is fighting back saying the judge in charge should throw out BP's complaint.

The administrator, Patrick Juneau, issued a statement saying that he should be given judicial immunity from being sued over decisions he makes as part of his job paying oil spill claims. The statement was in response to a move by BP last month go have U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier issue an emergency order stopping all payments made by Juneau because the oil giant said many payments were based on either inflated or utterly fictitious claims.

BP has argued in a filing before Judge Barbier that its expected settlement costs are poised to balloon if Juneau continues making payments using his current formula. Initially, BP estimated that the class-action settlement would top out at $7.8 billion with 100,000 individual claims. However, the figure was never capped and BP has since increased that estimate to $8.5 billion and is now saying it cannot accurately forecast what it might become if such payments are allowed to continue.

Continue reading "BP Claims Administrator Responds To Suit Attempting To Halt Payments" »

The CDC recently warned about the potentially deadly new superbug that poses special problems for hospitals and nursing homes in Mississippi. The bacteria, known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), cannot be killed by most antibiotics.

The worry among health providers is that CRE poses a special threat to patients across the country because, in addition to its antibiotic resistance, the bacteria is incredibly deadly, with an unusually high mortality rate. The final factor that makes CRE so troubling to doctors is that the bacteria has a habit of spreading its antibiotic resistance to other bacteria, like E. coli. This could make treating other common illnesses much more difficult.

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The first of more than 3,000 cases filed against Takeda Pharmaceuticals over it's once popular diabetes drug, Actos, is now underway. A witness recently testified that the pharmaceutical giant put sales ahead of consumer safety and allowed marketing concerns to trump patient health worries.

The witness, Howard Greenberg, was a clinical pharmacologist who had experience in the industry and based his testimony off emails sent between Takeda executives. The emails discussed the company's possible response to a warning by regulators across Europe and the U.S. that warning labels might be applied to Actos that described the possible risks associated with the development of bladder cancer.

Continue reading "First Of Thousands Of Cases About Risks of Actos Goes To Trial" »

Given recent reports about the safety problems at Mississippi poultry processing plants, a recent report issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the injuries suffered by workers in the nation's chicken plants comes at an important moment. The report, "Unsafe at These Speeds," discusses how workers, primarily at facilities in the southern U.S., are frequently forced to endure dreadful workplace conditions that result in injuries and illnesses. The report also discusses how new rules crafted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) could result in workers being placed in even greater harm.

The biggest problem identified in the report is the speed that workers must process each chicken that comes down the line. The pace of the average worker is unimaginably fast for most people and it puts employees at serious risk for a wide variety of injuries.

Continue reading "Recent Report Reveals Horrific Conditions At Southern Poultry Plants" »

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held late last month that Mississippi's $1 million limit on noneconomic damages in personal injury and product liability cases is constitutional.

The case, Learmonth v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., revolved around an incident where a Mississippi woman was seriously injured after being hit by a Sears delivery truck. The jury in that case sided with Learmonth, awarding her $4 million in damages. Unfortunately, the jury never broke down the award, failing to itemize how much of the total was for economic versus noneconomic damages. When the case made its way to a U.S. district court, the judge interpreted the award as having awarded $2.2 million for noneconomic damages. Given the state's cap on such awards, Learmonth had her $2.2 million reduced down to $1 million.

Continue reading "Fifth Circuit Upholds Mississippi Limit On Noneconomic Damages" »

A recent move to temporarily halt the recent Gulf Coast oil spill settlement by BP highlights the concern the company has that the court-appointed administrator of the settlement, Patrick Juneau, has been handing out money to businesses that don't actually deserve a piece of the pie.

Just last week BP filed a petition with a federal court in New Orleans arguing that hundreds of millions of dollars in fictitious losses had already been reported and that these fake claims for money could end up reaching into the billions of dollars.

BP insisted that the judge presiding over the settlement, Carl Barbier, deliver a ruling quickly to help prevent additional losses due to false claims. The filing comes only two weeks after BP issued a statement to its shareholders saying that it was no longer able to accurately estimate the cost of the recently agreed upon settlement that the company believed would initially come to around $7.8 billion. The company recently revised the estimate to $8.5 billion, but now says that the price tag would end up being "significantly higher" than initially estimated.

BP gave several examples of inappropriate payments by the court-appointed administrator that it says reflect an overall problem with the process that it says is too lax and uses an inappropriate formula for calculating damages. In one case, a rice mill located 40 miles from the Gulf Coast was given $21 million even though records showed the company made more money in the year of the oil spill then any time in the previous three years. In another case, a construction company was given $9.7 million despite being located 200 miles away from the coast and not doing business in the area.

Continue reading "BP Moves To Stop Oil Spill Settlement Payouts" »

In the wake of a recent public relations nightmare, it's perhaps not surprising that some very disgruntled passengers have now filed suit against Carnival Cruise Lines. The first suit, by a passenger who said she was sickened by the truly horrifying conditions on board the ship, including being forced to wade through hallways covered in human feces, was filed in federal court in Miami. The suit claimed that Carnival failed to provide a seaworthy ship and that as a result of the company's failures, the woman suffered physical and emotional harm.

The second case was filed by a woman who claims she suffered dehydration and bruising from the overly aggressive food lines set up on the damaged vessel. The woman in this case says she needed IV fluids and was admitted to the emergency room after returning home last week.

Despite these two pending lawsuits, some are saying that furious passengers should carefully consider the matter before racing off to court. In fact, one legal expert said that unless a passenger suffered serious injuries or financial loss due to the cruise misadventure, most would be better off taking the money offered by Carnival.

Continue reading "Disgusted Carnival Passengers Should Think Twice Before Filing Suit" »

Recently released data by the supervisor of all BP Gulf Coast oil spill claims has said that both individuals and companies have received more than $2 billion through the company's class action settlement thus far.

The claims administrator, Patrick Juneau, said industries and individuals damaged as a result of the Gulf oil spill should take comfort in knowing that claims are getting paid and that the office is busy handling and paying out many more. Juneau says his team has paid more than $1.43 billion just for those claims that were filed after the BP settlement was announced last year. Another $404 million was paid for claims that Juneau inherited after replacing the original Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which had been created to process civil damage claims. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility was set up very soon after the 2010 oil spill and, during its run, paid out more than $6 billion for the 221,300 claims it processed before the new court-supervised process was created in the summer of 2012.

Continue reading "BP Oil Spill Claims Administrator Says More Than $2 Billion Has Been Paid Already" »

A recent accident in Mississippi left several students and others injured after a tractor-trailer slammed into the back of a line of stopped cars, including a school bus full of children.

The accident involved three vehicles and took place in the northbound lanes of Highway 49 south of Florence, MS. The students on the bus were from Rankin County Schools and had just been let out for the day and were on their way home when the accident took place. Police say that School Bus 395 was rear-ended by a pickup truck that had been rear-ended by an 18-wheeler.

Though there were 17 students on board, thankfully everyone was seated at the time of the collision which minimized the damage of the crash. Ultimately, two adults and two children were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Continue reading "Inattentive Truck Driver Causes Three-Car Crash Including A Rankin County School Bus " »

A surgery patient in Germany has filed suit against the doctor and hospital responsible for a horribly botched surgery that left the man with 16 objects in his body. The man was in the hospital to have surgery for prostate cancer when everything went wrong.

The man's attorney, Annette Corinth, says that doctor had to go in later to remove a needle, compresses and surgical strips from her patient after his wounds had failed to properly heal from a surgery that took place in 2009.

The innocent patient was a 77-year-old who died last year. The man's family is now suing the doctor and hospital for $106,000 for damages related to his pain and suffering as well as medical expenses. So far the organization that runs the hospital has said they reject the claim and have admitted to no wrongdoing. The hospital has also said that the lawsuit asks for an unusually large amount of money, a statement that might shock many people who hear about the medical malpractice suit.

Continue reading "Suit Claims 16 Instruments Left Inside Patient Following Surgery" »

Authorities in North Mississippi say they are continuing to investigate an accident that took place late Thursday night that involved a train and a tractor-trailer. The accident is the second train accident in Union County, MS just this week and the fourth such train accident in North Mississippi in under a month.

The fairly dramatic increase in the number of collisions has added to the worries among safety officials in the state. Across the country every 115 minutes, a person or vehicle is hit by a train and almost half of all collisions at railroad crossings occur when automatic warning devices like flashing lights or flashing lights with gates are present and are functioning properly. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are about 5,800 vehicle train crashes each year in the United States, most of which occur at railroad crossings. These accidents cause 600 deaths and injure about 2,300 people.

Continue reading "Increase in Train Crashes in North Mississippi Have Authorities Worried" »

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, the judge in charge of overseeing the BP Gulf Coast oil spill litigation, has denied a request to extend the deadline for those in the commercial fishing industry to join a multi-billion dollar settlement.

The settlement with BP was meant to cover seafood-related claims from those at work in the commercial fishing industry. As of now, that portion of the larger settlement is estimated to come to $2.3 billion.

At the end of last week Judge Barbier chose to reject a motion by a plaintiffs' lawyer from Texas who represents thousands of claimants in the class-action settlement which was only finally approved last month. A day before the deadline passed, the attorney filed a motion asking that the deadline for seafood-related losses to be filed be continued for another several months. The attorney said that there wasn't enough time for everyone to file his or her claims given how complex the settlement was.

Continue reading "Judge Barbier Refuses to Extend Deadline for Seafood-Related Claims in BP Oil Spill Settlement" »

A tragic Mississippi motorcycle accident that took place back in July of 2011 has left one man dead and his wife injured and searching for justice. The accident victim, Jeri Smith, said that she's very frustrated by the legal system since the fatal accident happened more than a year ago.

Even now, Smith can barely walk after the serious injuries inflicted on her in the accident. The man she says is responsible, Adam Etlicher, has spent only one night in jail despite blood tests which found hydrocodone and cocaine in his system. Further upsetting is that he was barely injured in the wreck and so far has only paid a $151 fine.

It took prosecutors more than a year to bring the case forward, finally handing it over to a grand jury. Despite this movement, no justice has yet been done. The results of the grand jury have not yet been released and Smith is anxious that the case finally moves forward.

Many have complained about how slow the case is progressing, especially given how long ago the deadly accident took place. The district attorney said that while he would not comment on the specifics of the case, the way impaired driving cases typically work is that two things must be proven. First, you have to prove that the driver was actually impaired at the time of the accident. The second thing the prosecution must prove is that there was an act of negligence that took place. The grand jury must be convinced of both elements before charges can be pressed against the intoxicated driver.

Continue reading "Tragic Mississippi DUI Case Leaves Victim Seeking Justice" »

Last week the City Council in Jackson made the move to require all cyclists in the city to start wearing helmets when they ride. If riders choose to ignore the new requirement then they will face a $75 fine.

The move by the City Council makes Jackson the fifth local government in the state to enact such a mandatory helmet law. The decision was several weeks in the making and had been strongly advocated by some who wanted the measure to pass to increase security for bicyclists in Jackson. In the end, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the measure. The new law will apply to cyclists on all public roads and sidewalks unless they are riding around in a cul-de-sac or a dead end residential street.

Continue reading "Jackson City Council Mandates Bicycle Helmets" »

Though the BP Gulf Coast oil spill has been in the news recently given the multi-billion dollar settlement that was recently finalized, a new oil spill recently made the headlines that's even closer to home.

According to very recent reports, two oil barges that were being pushed by a tugboat slammed into a railroad bridge in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The accident happened early Sunday morning and caused one of the oil barges to leak crude oil into the Mississippi River.

So far, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard have said they are using a boom to try to contain the oil that is leaking into the river. Officials say that the amount of oil that has leaked from the damages boats has not yet been determined.

Continue reading "Barge Collision Spills Oil Into Mississippi River Around Vicksburg" »