Resisting Arrest in Mississippi
MS Code § 97-9-73 It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct or resist by force, or violence, or threats, or in any other manner, his lawful arrest or the lawful arrest of another person by any state, local or federal law enforcement officer, and any person or persons so doing shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon...[ read more ]
Prejudgment Interest in Mississippi
Miss. Code Ann. § 75-17-7 gives judges in Mississippi discretion to assess pre-judgment interest. The judge has discretion to establish the rate and when the date interest begins to accrue. However, the starting date cannot be earlier than the date of filing. The Supreme Court has held that no award of pre-judgment interest is allowed if the amount owed is unliquidated...[ read more ]
Governmental Immunity in Mississippi
Any claim for damages for the acts or omissions of a governmental entity or its employees must be brought pursuant to the Mississippi Tort Claim Act (“MTCA”). Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-7; City of Jackson v. Sutton, 797 So. 2d 977 (Miss. 2001). Governmental entities are the state and its political subdivisions, including counties and municipalities. The term “employees,” as...[ read more ]
Caps on Damages in Mississippi
Damages in Mississippi have a cap of $500,000 on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60. The Mississippi Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of this statute. The effective date of the cap remains uncertain. Much of the 2002 tort reform act is applicable to actions filed on or after January 1, 2003,...[ read more ]
Contribution in Mississippi civil action
Before the elimination of joint and several liability, joint tortfeasors or wrongdoers were afforded a right of contribution, with the amount of each tortfeasor’s liability in contribution determined by the tortfeasors’ relative degrees of fault. A right of contribution still exists for those whose liability is joint and several because they took part in a common plan to commit a...[ read more ]
Comparative Negligence in Mississippi
Mississippi is a pure comparative negligence state. A claimant’s contributory negligence does not bar recovery, but damages are reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the claimant. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15
Joint and Several Liability in Mississippi
In a joint and several liability Mississippi civil action action based on fault, including a medical malpractice action, each tortfeasor or wrongdoer is liable only for damages allocated to them in direct proportion to their percentage of fault. Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7 (Westlaw 2007). Fault must be assigned to absent tortfeasors who contributed to the injury (such as persons...[ read more ]
Written Notice of Medical Malpractice Claim
An action against a healthcare provider for professional negligence may not be instituted unless the plaintiff gives the defendant at least sixty (60) days written notice prior to filing suit. MISS. CODE ANN. § 15-1-36(15) (2012). The Mississippi Supreme Court requires strict compliance with this provision. Arceo v. Tolliver, 949 So. 2d 691, 695 (Miss. 2006). Dismissals for lack of...[ read more ]
Vicarious Liability in Mississippi
Hospitals are not typically liable for the negligent acts of independent contractor physicians in Mississippi. A hospital that holds itself out as providing a service, and where the patient engages the hospital's service without regard to the physician's identity, aligns the hospital for vicarious liability. A hospital held vicariously liable is entitled to indemnity from the negligent physician.
Armed Robbery in Mississippi
§ 97-3-79. Robbery; use of deadly weapon Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person in fear of immediate injury to his person by the exhibition of a deadly weapon shall be...[ read more ]
