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★ Mississippi · head & brain

Head & brain settlements
in Mississippi.

By 9 min read

Claims against public bodies drive many Mississippi head injury cases. An elderly woman who hit her head on the pavement leaving a city van recovered the Tort Claims Act maximum after an expert tied her decline to a traumatic brain injury. A high school runner who fell after a wasp sting and was left with a brain and spinal cord injury lost to school immunity.

Facts that decide a head & brain claim in Mississippi

Claims against governmentGive notice at least 90 days before suing, within the 1 year limit; Tort Claims Act recovery is capped at $500,000.Miss. Code §§ 11-46-11, 11-46-15; see our notice table
Discretionary function immunityPublic bodies are immune for discretionary decisions, such as coaches deciding whether an athlete can compete.Strickland v. Rankin County School District (Miss. Ct. App. 2021)
Fault rulePure comparative fault: contributory negligence “shall not bar a recovery, but damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person injured.”Miss. Code § 11-7-15, as quoted in Howarth v. M & H Ventures (Miss. 2017)
★ band · US federal frame
$500,000 to multi-million
Severe traumatic brain injury
Catastrophic-case reported decisions

The US band is the starting point. Mississippi's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

united states · sister site
Your head & brain claim in Mississippi. See the number for your own case.

The range above is a starting point. FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own head & brain case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ MS · reported head & brain outcomes

What Mississippi courts have awarded.

Real Mississippi decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • City of Jackson v. Estate of Stewart
    Supreme Court of Mississippi · 2010
    $250,000 Tort Claims Act maximum, affirmed

    In August 1997, Otha Stewart, disabled by an earlier stroke, had just gotten off a City of Jackson transport van at her day care center when she fell, despite the driver’s attempt to break her fall, and hit her head on the pavement. The ER found nothing wrong, but her condition declined. The trial court first found the City liable; on remand, after an expert testified the fall caused a traumatic brain injury rather than a stroke, it awarded the $250,000 maximum then allowed. The Supreme Court affirmed.

  • Strickland v. Rankin County School District
    Mississippi Court of Appeals · 2021
    Summary judgment for school affirmed

    In September 2016, a red wasp stung sophomore Christopher Strickland on the head before a cross country race. He said a coach told him to “man up” and run; he became dizzy, fell and hit his head. He was later treated for a severe concussion, traumatic brain injury sequelae and a thoracic spinal cord injury with spastic paraplegia. The court held the coaches’ decision was protected by discretionary function immunity and affirmed.

★ MS · head & brain · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a head & brain settlement in Mississippi.

  1. 1

    Public body claims are capped and have strict notice rules; the cap in Stewart’s case was the maximum then allowed.

  2. 2

    An expert who links the fall to a brain injury can carry the case, as in Stewart.

  3. 3

    Schools are often immune for coaching decisions, as Strickland shows.

★ MS · statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49

★ MS · fault rule
Pure comparative negligence

Pure comparative negligence, recovery available at any fault percentage.

★ MS · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a head & brain settlement in Mississippi.

★ head & brain severity tiers · US frame

How the band stratifies.

The state-by-state tort law · jury verdict reporters · statutory caps stratifies head & brain into the tiers below. Mississippi courts apply the same tier structure, adjusted for state-specific factors.

Severity tierBandBasis
Concussion / mild TBI$25,000 to $100,000Reported decisions
Severe traumatic brain injury$500,000 to multi-millionCatastrophic-case reported decisions
★ head & brain · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Mississippi's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for head & brain claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationHead & brain page
Mississippi · you are herePure comparative negligence3 years from date of injury—
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · head & brain →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · head & brain →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · head & brain →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · head & brain →
VirginiaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryVA · head & brain →
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · head & brain →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · head & brain →
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · head & brain →
New YorkPure comparative negligence3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpracticeNY · head & brain →
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · head & brain →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · head & brain →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · head & brain →
★ MS · head & brain · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29. Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents.

★ all of MS
Mississippi overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Mississippi as a whole.

★ federal frame
Head & brain in United States

Head & brain band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Head & brain · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of head & brain bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for Mississippi's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Mississippi. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.