Mississippi Injury Lawyer Blog

IKEA Roller Blinds recalled due to risk of strangulation

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall of IKEA Roller Blinds to repair tension device which could be a strangulation risk to children. According to the article, the recall involves ISDANS, TUPPLUR and ENJE roller blinds. If you have those blinds, immediately contact your local IKEA store or visit the firm's Web site.

Mississippi company recalls Off-Road Utility vehicles

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bad Boy Enterprises LLC of Natchez, Mississippi, is recalling "Classic Buggies" due to some of the vehicles accelerating without warning. The manufacturer has received 32 reports of unexpected acceleration which can cause injury to riders and bystanders.

If you or a loved one has been injured by driving or riding in an off-road vehicle, contact our Mississippi Injury Law Firm to discuss your legal rights. The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi accident injury law firm which handles all types of cases involving serious injury or death including car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, drunk driving accidents, and injuries from defective products. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.

Senior U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice died today at the age of 89. Appointed to the federal bench in 1968 by Lyndon B. Johnson, William Wayne Justice was at the forefront of many civil rights decisions in Texas. In the 1970s desegregation case, he ordered Texas to desegregate the state's public schools. In 1980, he ordered sweeping changes to the state's prison system. His official biographer, Frank Kemerer, said he was "perhaps the single most influential agent for change in the 20th-century Texas history." An article in the Austin Statesman gives a good summary of Judge Justice's career.

I had the distinct privilege of trying a sexual discrimination case in his court in 1997. He took senior status soon thereafter and moved to Austin to be closer to family. He will be missed by many. I think the quote from the Austin Statesman summed it up best when they said:

Now, Justice's historic gavel has been silenced. But its mighty sound will reverberate through Texas forever.

Cruise control switches in Ford vehicles may cause fire

On Tuesday, Ford Motor Company expanded a recall by an additional 4.5 million vehicles making it the largest single recall in Ford's history. The recall of approximately 16 million vehicles is due to faulty cruise control deactivation switches that have caused fires. The switches were made by Texas Instruments. According to NHTSA, the switch can leak hydraulic fluid when can then cause a fire.

The recalled vehicles include:

1993-1997 F-Series SuperDuty diesel trucks
1999-2003 F-Series SuperDuty diesel trucks
1995-1997 Ranger trucks
2001-2003 Ranger trucks
2000-2003 Excursion diesel SUVs
1992-2003 Econoline commercial vans
1995-2002 Explorer SUVs
1995-2003 Windstar minivans

If you own a vehicle listed above, take it to your nearest Ford dealership for repairs.

The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi accident injury law firm which handles all types of cases involving serious injury or death including car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, drunk driving accidents, and injuries from defective products. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.

Tort Reform debate is a red herring in Mississippi and other states

Over the last couple months, the "Tort Reform" debate has heated up again. With Washington looking at health insurance reforms, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their many mouthpieces are talking about the need for more tort reform. Folks, it's a red herring. The high cost of health insurance is not due to out-of-control lawsuits brought by evil plaintiff attorneys. The facts prove it.

One of the great myths perpetuated during these tort reform debates is that doctors are practicing defensive medicine because they are afraid if they don't run the test, they will be sued. This myth was busted by a number of reports showing defensive medicine is motivated more by profits for doctors who are making money when they send patients for medical imaging. The New Yorker ran a great piece about the high costs of medical care in McAllen, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported on the increase of medical imaging in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and doctor discussed his first-hand experience with over-utilization as a patient.

Indicative of the myth is a great exchange between local two McAllen, Texas doctors in the New Yorker article:

"McAllen is legal hell," the cardiologist agreed. Doctors order unnecessary tests just to protect themselves, he said. Everyone thought the lawyers here were worse than elsewhere.

That explanation puzzled me. Several years ago, Texas passed a tough malpractice law that capped pain-and-suffering awards at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Didn't lawsuits go down? "Practically to zero," the cardiologist admitted.

"Come on," the general surgeon finally said. "We all know these arguments are bull---t. There is overutilization here, pure and simple." Doctors, he said, were racking up charges with extra tests, services, and procedures.

Another great myth perpetuated during the tort reform debate is that doctors are leaving the state due to out of control lawsuits. This was a big one used by Mississippi's governor. However, facts prove otherwise. A recent article reported there was no decrease in the number of doctors in Mississippi. It stated, "Information compiled by the American Medical Association ... shows that the number of physicians in Mississippi rose steadily in years leading up to tort-reform legislation in 2004, and even slowed its increased following 2004."

So let's put the "tort reform" punching bag away and get down to studying the true problems of our health care system and the need for reform.

h/t: ThePopTort.com has a number of articles on this issue at here, here, here, and here.

Information provided by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Attorney

East Texas federal judge issues order on Toyota concealment lawsuit

Marshall, Texas is currently ground zero for the Toyota litigation which arose from a former managing attorney's wrong termination lawsuit. As previously reported, Dimitrios Biller, the former managing partner in charge of Toyota's National Rollover Program, alleged Toyota and some of its attorneys concealed, withheld and destroyed evidence in cases against Toyota. U.S. District Judge T. John Ward issued a temporary restraining order on September 30th instructing Toyota to hold any documents pertaining to the crashworthiness of Toyota vehicles. A temporary injunction hearing, scheduled for today, was put off after the Defendant agreed to preserve any evidence.

The Texas Lawyer reported that Dimitrios Biller may have dropped another bombshell when he delivered four boxes of documents to Judge Ward's courtroom. No doubt both sides are interested to see what is in those boxes.

So how did this matter end of in an east Texas courtroom? The plaintiffs previously had a lawsuit against Toyota and settled the lawsuit before the Biller's allegations of concealment. Once Biller's allegations were made public, this lawsuit was filed seeking sanctions against Toyota and others for the alleged concealment. A copy of the Texas complaint can be found here. Essentially, the plaintiffs are arguing that the Defendants should be sanctioned for discovery abuses by concealing relevant information. Given the national implications of this lawsuit, you can be assured similar lawsuits are being filed across the nation.

Information provided by: Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Attorney

Significant changes to deadlines under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Effective December 1, 2009, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will undergo significant changes for calculating deadlines. The Drug and Device Law Blog offers a good summary and links to the changes.

Information provided by: Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Injury Attorney

Two Tougaloo freshman killed in Jackson Mississippi wreck, two others injured

Two freshman, both cheerleaders at Tougaloo College in Jackson, were killed Friday when their vehicle collided head-on with an SUV on North State Street near College Drive. The driver of the SUV and another passenger were transported to University of Mississippi Medical Center.

According to reports, Jackson police were searching for a driver of a black SUV who witnesses claim may have caused the collision by forcing one of the cars into oncoming traffic. Our hearts go out to the families of the two young women killed in the accident. Hopefully, police will locate the driver of the black SUV.

Source: Clarion-Ledger

Information provided by: Kisselburgh Law Firm, a Mississippi Accident Injury Law Firm

Ultralight plane crash kills one in Olive Branch, Mississippi

On Friday afternoon, a 52-year-old man was killed in a crash of an ultralight plane crash in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Details are sketchy, but according to one report, a witness said the man was flying when he lost control and hit the ground.

Information provided by: Kisselburgh Law Firm, a Mississippi Accident Injury Law Firm

Federal government takes first step in banning texting while driving

In a follow-up to previous posts (here, here, here, and here.) about texting while driving, yesterday the President signed an executive order banning all federal employees from texting while driving. According to the New York Times, the federal government will use it rule-making authority to implement new rules prohibiting interstate drivers of tractor-trailers and commercial buses from texting or using on-board computers. However, you can be assured the American Truckers Association and trucking companies will attempt to water down those restrictions. The administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the trucking industry, has already said there first needs to be a definition of "text messaging." This sounds to me like back-pedaling already. Well, here is a start on a new law--"Drivers of vehicles subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act shall not read messages (whether by text messaging or e-mail) or send written messages (whether by text messaging or e-mail) from a cellular telephone or on-board computer while driving a tractor-trailer on any roadway." How about it? That wasn't so hard.

As for outlawing texting while driving among other drivers, the federal government is relying on individual states to enact legislation prohibiting such conduct. Hopefully, Mississippi will see a successful bill in the next legislative session covering more than new teenage drivers--the only ones currently prohibited from texting while driving in Mississippi.

Stay tuned.

Information provided by: Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Lawyer

Texting while driving in national spotlight

With the federal government holding hearings on the hazards of texting while driving, the issue is in the national spotlight. Today, the New York Times ran an article on the issue including a number of individuals who now realize the ultimate hazard of texting while driving--death.

Given the increases in technology and our ability to "stay connected", expectations have increased for all of us to stay in touch and multitask while we drive. Unfortunately, many times you cannot do both while operating a vehicle. When I started driving some 35 years ago, we only had to worry about the person putting on their makeup, shaving, or reading a book while we were driving. That was bad enough. Then in the 90s, cellphones invaded the inside of our cars and no longer could we just listen to the radio while we drove. Now, we had to multitask while driving. Then this decade, the advent of texting really took off in addition to using computers while we drive. The advent of our "mobile" society. While most agree that you can't safety text or work on a computer while driving, the numbers show that the majority of us (including me) have tried it. It does not work. Recent studies show that drivers who send text or read e-mails while driving take their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. What can happen during those five seconds?

Ask Jered Noe and Samatha Earnest. Samantha was driving on a two-lane highway in Oklahoma with her three children, Jason, 7: Dakota, 5; and Haily, 4, in the car. Jered Noe, driving his Coca-Cola delivery truck, was coming from the opposite direction. As Jered crested a hill, he looked over at his on-board computer and veered into Samatha's lane, slamming into her carload full of children. Jason died on impact. A seven year-old-boy lost his life because another driver thought he could look at his computer while he drove. This is just one of the tragic stories.

It is time for a change. Either the states can enact strict laws prohibiting this activity or the federal government is going to recommend enacting a federal law banning this activity. Either way, it is time for change.

For previous blog post about texting while driving, click here, here, and here.

The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi injury law firm which handles all types of cases involving serious injury or death. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.