How 49 CFR 393.75 Tire Tread Depth Rules Frame a Brookhaven Truck Death Investigation Key Takeaways: A fatal 18-wheeler collision near Brookhaven has renewed focus on how federal equipment standards and Mississippi law shape truck-crash liability. Federal tire tread-depth rules, state weight limits, and commercial licensing requirements often become central lines of inquiry after a…
The Clock That Starts Ticking the Moment a Semi Hits Your Car Key Takeaways: Federal rule 49 CFR § 382.303 requires motor carriers to test truck drivers for alcohol after qualifying crashes within two hours, or document why testing wasn’t completed within eight hours. That window is critical because alcohol metabolizes quickly, and missed tests…
Why Your Full Medical Bills Still Matter After a Memphis Crash Key Takeaways: Tennessee’s collateral source rule prevents at-fault drivers from reducing damages because your health insurer or auto policy paid your medical bills. Rooted in an 1896 Tennessee Supreme Court decision and reaffirmed in Dedmon v. Steelman (2017), the rule allows injured plaintiffs to…
Suing the City After a Memphis Crash: What the Law Lets You Recover Key Takeaways: Tennessee’s Governmental Tort Liability Act caps recovery against a city, county, or transit agency at $300,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $700,000 for all people hurt in one occurrence, and $100,000 for property damage. The Act grants…
Understanding the Punishment Side of a Tupelo Crash Claim Key Takeaways: Mississippi Code § 11-1-65 caps punitive damages on a sliding scale tied to defendant net worth, from $20 million for defendants worth over $1 billion down to 2% of net worth for those worth $50 million or less, calculated under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles….
Mississippi Seat Belt Defense 63-2-3 and Highway Cab Fire Claims Key Takeaways: Mississippi law treats 18-wheelers, including their trailers, as covered motor vehicles, which shapes how burn injury victims pursue compensation after a highway cab fire. The state follows pure comparative negligence, meaning a partially at-fault victim may still recover a reduced share of damages….
How One Tennessee Statute Can Open the Door to the Vehicle Owner’s Insurance Key Takeaways: Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-311 gives Memphis crash victims an evidentiary shortcut: proof of vehicle ownership serves as prima facie evidence that the driver had the owner’s permission and was acting within the scope of employment. Paired with § 55-10-312,…
How Mississippi Protects a Child’s Share of a Wrongful Death Recovery Key Takeaways: Mississippi generally requires chancery court approval before a child’s wrongful death settlement can be finalized. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-20-431(1)(b) may trigger court review whenever the sum owed a minor is not a liquidated sum certain, which describes most tort recoveries, with…
One Death, One Lawsuit: How Mississippi Consolidates Wrongful Death Claims Key Takeaways: Mississippi’s one-suit rule under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13 requires only one wrongful death lawsuit per death, brought for the benefit of all parties concerned. A widow, parent, and sibling in Jackson cannot each maintain separate cases against the same defendant. The action…