After graduating from Mississippi College School of Law in December, 2010, I took the Mississippi Bar in February, 2011. The results were posted in late April and every applicant was assigned a number for identification purposes rather than their actual name. I was happy that was the case, as my confidence was shot after testing for three days on every topic covered in law school, and then some.

    I had not started applying for jobs just yet, as the thought of taking a job and failing the Bar Exam gave me night terrors. On the day the scores were finally revealed, I vividly recall covering the right side of my screen with my right hand and first searching for my number on the left side of the screen. Once it was located, I methodically slid my right index finger to the right which revealed a “P”, and then the entire word “Pass”. I audibly screamed and celebrated that night with my other friends who had done the same.

    Weeks later, I would apply and accept a job at Markow Walker, P.A. For those unfamiliar with our Firm, we are a general defense firm, but many of our attorneys practice exclusively in the area of workers’ compensation, myself included.

    This week, we are taking a look at the “found dead presumption” upon special request. I always encourage readers to reach out to me if you have a specific topic that needs to be addressed. This specific client insisted that I “write about the presumption of death statute. I think it is total BS.” As I have always said, I’m not here to make the rules, just to understand them and help explain them to you.

    The statute defining “injury” reads in relevant part: “an untoward event or events shall not be presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, except in the case of an employee found dead in the course of employment.” Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-3(b).