Pascagoula Car Accident

From Biloxi to Pascagoula, there are 22 miles of scenic Magnolia state US 90 taking you through Ocean Springs, Fort Bayou Estates, and Gautier.

However, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children, teens and young adults. In the U.S., more than 32,000 people are killed every year in passenger vehicle crashes.

There were 675 Mississippians killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2013, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That makes it the second top state in the country where you are most likely to die in an auto accident behind Montana.

The 35 to 64 age group saw more than 80% of those deaths.

Surviving your Pascagoula Car Accident

The Pascagoula Car Accident attorneys at Reeves and Mestayer want to advise you if the accident is minor in nature, call the police as soon as you safely exit the road.  Police will file a written report which could benefit you in your personal injury claim.

Do not have a conversation with the other driver. Exchange license and insurance information as well as names and addresses with the other driver. Be sure to include the car tag and #VIN number on the dashboard.

If there were any witnesses, be sure to collect their information as well.

When there are serious injuries, you will be taken from the scene to the nearest hospital.

Preventing Pascagoula Car Accidents

Preventing a crash-related death is obviously the first step.

The best ways to do that? Graduated driver’s licensing laws, sobriety checkpoints, as well as ignition interlocks for those already convicted of DUI. These are all smart and effective strategies for reducing deaths, reports the CDC.

Other proven ways are:

• Stay Sober – Mississippi saw 2,560 deaths from car crashes involving a drunk driver in 2003-2012, reports the CDC. The death rates for males was nearly double the national average. Fortunately, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports the car accident fatalities have declined by more than one-third in the last three years.
• Seat Belts – The U.S. has lower seat belt usage than other high-income countries. Be sure to use your seat belt and strongly encourage all passengers to do so. Children are required to have age appropriate child safety and booster seats.
• Refrain from Distracted Driving – Texting and driving and looking at the screen for even 23 seconds allows a car at 60 mph to move almost 2,000 feet. What might be in the path of that vehicle? Every year approximately 9 people are killed and 1,000 injured in car accidents that involve distracted driving.
• Reduce Drug and Alcohol Use – There is one death every 50 minutes attributed to alcohol use in the U.S. The standard for intoxication is a blood alcohol concentration or BAC or 0.08% or greater.  Even if the BAC is less than that amount, an officer has the option to take away a license and arrest the driver if he deems it necessary.

A first DUI conviction can land the offender in jail up to 48 hours and a fine. A second offense is also a misdemeanor while a third offense is a felony. A third DUI conviction can result in jail time of one year up to a maximum of five years. If there were serious bodily injury or death, prison time will be served.

If the driver is under the age of 21, Mississippi’s Zero Tolerance for Minors law means their license will be suspended for 90 days.

• Speeding – According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding was a contributing factor in nearly 30 percent of all fatal crashes in 2013. More than one-third of all fatal crashes involving young drivers involved speeding in 2013.
• Pedestrian Safety – In the U.S. in 2016 there were 5,987 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes. This averages to one death every 1.5 hours. Pedestrians age 65 and older accounted for 20% of all pedestrian deaths. Twenty percent of those killed in traffic crashes were children under the age of 15.
• Emotional Driving – According to Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute emotional driving, whether agitated, angry, sad, crying or arguing with another, was a contributing factor that led to preventable accidents.
• School-Based Instructional Programs – Teaching teens not to ride with drivers who are drinking is an effective way to cut down on accidents.

Filing a Mississippi Car Accident Report

Mississippi drivers are expected to drive responsibly and sensibly. A failure to do so could be considered negligence and is the basis for a liability lawsuit if that driver is involved in an accident.

In Mississippi, if someone is hurt or the property damage exceeds $250, an accident report must be filed with the police within 10 days. The police should determine who is at fault in the accident.

If you decide that you are not at fault for the accident and wish to file a personal injury lawsuit, you will need to hire a law firm with a strong background in accident claims.

Liability in a Car Accident

Who is responsible for the crash? Police will file a report, but we find they are not always accurate. Your law firm will need to check with witnesses, the background of the other driver and his cell phone records.

Were both cars in good working condition? A tire blowout is not uncommon and that might have caused the collision. You have a three-year window within which to file a personal injury claim.

Mississippi is an at-fault state. That means if you suffer an injury, death or damage to your automobile in an accident, the person deemed to be at-fault for causing the crash is responsible to cover the resulting harm.

Mississippi’s insurance system requires $25,000 in liability coverage to pay the medical bills and other costs to someone injured in an accident, and $50,000 for multiple persons. Also $25,000 in property damage coverage is required.

Once that number is exhausted, you are personally responsible, so it is generally advised to carry a higher amount of insurance.

Experienced Pascagoula Car Accident Attorney

If you file a personal injury claim, expect the other side to argue that you share in some of the cause of the car accident. Your compensation will depend on your share of the fault.

This is the time you need representation by an experienced auto accident team of personal injury lawyers. Reeves and Mestayer will advocate aggressively on your behalf to make sure you receive all of the coverage you are entitled to following your car accident.