Violent Death of Biloxi Waffle House Employee Raises Questions about Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Cases of Injuries Caused by Workplace Violence
The terrible and senseless killing of a Waffle House employee in Biloxi, Mississippi at the hands of an enraged customer raises questions in the minds of some Biloxi workers and families about what rights and options Mississippi workers have when they are violently attacked on the job by a customer or other person. According to news reports, 52-year-old Johnny Mount was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of a Waffle House waitress in the summer of 2023. The terrible and unfortunate killing occurred way back in November, 2015, when Mount visited the Waffle House restaurant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. According to reports, Mount became enraged with Waffle House waitress Julie Brightwell after she made a comment about him not smoking a cigarette in the Waffle House store. Mount was a former Biloxi firefighter who suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident in 2002. Accordingly, he raised the defense that he had “no idea what was going on” on the night that he shot Julie Brightwell. Mount’s family also claims that he “became a completely different person” following the accident that caused his brain injuries. The horrible and senseless killing of the Waffle House waitress demonstrates that a life can be taken in an instant, even by a violent on-the-job killing.
Incidents of Workplace Violence and Your Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Biloxi
In light of the killing of Julie Brightwell while she was simply doing her job, Biloxi families may wonder what rights and options they may have if a loved one is killed at work in an act of violence by a customer or other person. Under Mississippi workers’ compensation laws, the truth of the matter is that certain dependent family members of those workers who are killed due to workplace violence may be entitled to money compensation for the loss of their loved one. These are called workers’ compensation death benefits and they are granted to grieving families who have lost not just a loved one, but an important source of income for their family, if they were a main income earner. Workers’ compensation cases involving workplace violence typically require that the violent incident was, in fact, “work-related,” that the worker-victim did not instigate the violence, and other important criteria. In order to determine whether you may be entitled to workers’ compensation death benefits, it is best to speak to an experienced Biloxi workers’ compensation lawyer about your case.
No family should have to grieve the loss of a loved one to a violent workplace incident alone. The experienced Biloxi workers’ compensation lawyers at the law firm Lunsford Baskin & Priebe, PLLC are here to help grieving families get workers’ compensation death benefits due to them under Mississippi workers’ compensation laws. Contact Lunsford Baskin & Priebe, PLLC today and speak to an experienced Biloxi workers’ compensation death benefits lawyer about your rights and options to compensation today.
Source:
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