by diazlaw | Nov 30, 2020 | Blog, Personal Injury
The huge pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson, insists that its talc based baby powder, sold for decades, is completely safe as long as it was used appropriately, despite the fact that it withdrew the product last year and has now had to settle more than a thousand individual lawsuits against it. It has agreed to pay 100 million dollars to settle some of these lawsuits which alleged that the talc in the baby powder caused cancer. Two types of cancer have allegedly been caused by talc based health products The majority of the lawsuits filed against the company, the world’s largest manufacturer of health products, were by women who alleged that prolonged use of the baby powder led to them developing ovarian cancer. A smaller number of lawsuits filed also alleged that the talc in the baby powder contained traces of asbestos which causes a more aggressive and dangerous cancer known as mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson have refuted both allegations and insist that their product is not carcinogenic and does not contain asbestos, even though there is evidence that asbestos can be found in similar places to where the mineral talc is mined. Johnson & Johnson recalled 33,000 bottles of baby powder last year without admitting liability. At the time they said that they were acting out of an “abundance of caution.” The talc based baby powder is no longer available for sale in either Canada or the U.S. and has been replaced by a product that is based on cornstarch. Other manufacturers of talc based health products have also recently switched to using cornstarch rather than talc. The...
by diazlaw | Jun 30, 2020 | Blog, Personal Injury
You might think that traffic accidents have decreased in Mississippi because of the restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Generally, that’s probably true right across the U.S., but as states like Mississippi open up, it’s possible that the accident rate will go up again and it might even go higher. That’s because there are genuine fears about traveling using public transport because there is more risk of contracting Covid-19 from fellow passengers in the more confined spaces in these large vehicles. That means buses around Jackson and other Mississippi cities are likely to have less use. Long distance travel by bus (Greyhound), train and air is also likely to be down. That translates into more people attempting to use their own vehicles rather than risk using public transport. One of the least reported causes of traffic accidents on U.S. highways is fatigue. Drowsy driving is close to alcohol and drugs as a cause of accidents. It’s easy to see drowsy driving increasing across the U.S. as people opt for driving in their own vehicles rather than risk potentially risky air, bus or train travel. Fatigue the main cause of up to 10% of traffic accidents Drowsy driving is a danger whenever drivers attempt to drive too far in one hit without proper amounts of rest. It has always been a problem in the U.S. where distances can be huge. It has been estimated that around10% of all traffic accidents are caused by drowsy or fatigued drivers. That translates into around 7,500 fatalities a year in a normal year, caused by fatigue. In a disturbing study undertook by the...
by diazlaw | Apr 28, 2020 | Blog, Personal Injury
With well over six hundred thousand cases of COVID-19, 26,000 deaths and no sign of an end to the crisis, it is inevitable that people across the nation will be wondering just how we got into this mess and if any of those deaths could have been prevented. Of course, no-one can blame the virus. It is just taking advantage of a golden opportunity to spread. However, a quick look around the planet reveals glaring differences between the way the U.S. and many other countries have handled the spread of the virus. Although it’s not easy comparing different countries, there is evidence that those nations where action was taken earlier and where government officials listened to health experts, have managed to contain the disease better and with far fewer fatalities. Clear, early, fact based information available to the public may also have made considerable difference elsewhere. It’s inevitable that there are going to be many people here in the U.S. who will be wondering just how many of their loved ones have died needlessly. Already, there has been a number of wrongful death lawsuits filed against cruise ship companies. Cruise ships have been a particular casualty around the world, including those based on the U.S. east coast, with many of them having become floating incubators of disease. Lawsuits filed by family members of deceased cruise passengers have alleged that cruise companies may have deliberately covered up incidences of passengers with flu like symptoms onboard, resulting in far more illness and deaths because of the speed and ease of transmission in these crowded environments. Lawsuit against Fox News alleges misinformation...
by diazlaw | Dec 31, 2019 | Blog, Personal Injury
With Christmas just around the corner, parking lots are more frantic than ever. In more normal times around a fifth of all car accidents happen in and around parking lots, so when the Christmas rush is on, it’s likely to be more than that. Injuries don’t just happen because of careless driving. Parking lots are also sometimes crime prone. The question of who is liable if there is a car accident or mugging arises when someone is injured in a parking lot. Generally, the owners or managers of parking lots are not liable for damage to vehicles or injuries except in specific conditions. It can be hard to know whether a parking lot owner is in fact responsible for the safety and security of people and their vehicles who use their property. The best advice is always to talk to a personal injury attorney before deciding about making a claim for compensation. A parking lot owner or operator may be considered liable or partly liable for an injury that occurs in their parking lot if the design or maintenance of the parking lot is unsatisfactory. If there is a valet involved, then the care of the vehicle is most likely the vale’s responsible. As far as injuries due to crime are concerned, the owner / operator maybe considered liable if there has been a history of crime in the vicinity and there has been nothing done to alert users of the parking lot, or to provide safety features, such as surveillance cameras, security guards, etc. Careless driving the most common reason for parking lot accidents The most common accidents...
by diazlaw | Jul 30, 2019 | Blog, Personal Injury
Personal injury legislation is intended to compensate the victim of an accident for the consequences of that accident, but where does a state draw the line? Can a severely injured person who has been so traumatized by an accident claim millions of dollars in compensation? Is there a difference between an accident caused by someone who never intended to hurt anyone and someone else who was so full of malice that their actions inevitably led to the victim’s physical and mental distress? These questions have been addressed in varying ways by the different states. It can be a controversial topic. States try and create a balance which allows for fair compensation yet prevents an over lenient judge from awarding a huge payout. In Mississippi, there are caps on both the non-economic components of a personal injury lawsuit, i.e. the pain and suffering component and the punitive damages component if there is one. Mississippi is not the only state that imposes caps on these components of a claim, but there is opposition to caps of any sort from some and there is no certainty that Mississippi’s caps will remain forever. Why impose a cap on non-economic damages? A personal injury claim is made up of two main components: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those parts of the claim that can generally easily be demonstrated financially. They include medical costs, lost earnings and compensation for property damage. The main priority when claiming for these damages is to prove that they were justified, that they were needed because of an injury caused by someone else’s negligent actions and that the...
by diazlaw | Jun 25, 2019 | Blog, Personal Injury
Mississippi has the dubious distinction of having the highest car accident fatality rate in the country. In 2017, the fatality rate was 23.1 per 100,000. That might not sound very much until it is compared with other states. Nowhere else tops it. What’s worse is that despite a slight dip in the fatality rate back in 2014, the statistics seem to be showing an increasing trend. So what’s the reason for this alarming state of affairs? Like many things in life, there is no easy answer and several factors are at play. Some people cite the fact that Mississippi is a predominantly rural state and that means that there are a lot of roads that are relatively narrow and winding, perfect for accidents to occur. However, other states are also just as rural as Mississippi and don’t have anything like Mississippi’s severe accident rate. Car accidents don’t just occur “by accident.” The vast majority of traffic accidents are caused by negligence. One driver or another is responsible for causing the accident, because they were drunk, they were under the influence of drugs, they were too tired to drive, they were using a cell phone at the time, they were speeding or any one of several other reasons. The fact that they were doing these things on a rural road is not an excuse. They are all preventable reasons for a car accident. If Mississippi drivers are ignoring common sense and driving dangerously and/ or ignoring state traffic rules and regulations that might help to explain why there are so many serious accidents, but what are state law enforcement agencies...
