Letter to the editor

My name is Michael Darby, Jr. and I am a lawyer in Batesville with the majority of my practice involving my representation of individuals who have sustained work injuries, ranging from broken bones, ruptured discs, to even those who have been paralyzed.

I am writing now as we have a representative who has seemingly thrown caution to the wind, showing little concern to those injured individuals. A recent bill in the House passed 59 to 58, with Representative Nolan Mettetal BEING THE DECIDING VOTE, voting in favor of harming the working class of Mississippi.

This bill that Mr. Mettetal voted for makes the worst workers’ compensation system in America even worse. I am certain that we all have had family members injured on the job and we fully expect those injured family members to receive adequate medical care, along with appropriate compensation during their difficult times.

Contrary to what Mr. Mettetal may try to explain away at some later time, the bill he voted for diminishes the ability of the working class to receive adequate medical treatment and compensation when injured in their employment. To be clear, this bill, as he has voted for, does not help local employers as they are not affected by what the bill does or does not say.

This bill in the majority of cases only goes to help increase the profits of out-of-state insurance companies, and again, hurts the working class of Mississippi.

Whether you are a school teacher, nurse, secretary, factory worker, construction worker, truck driver or manual laborer, this bill reaches across political and racial boundaries as it affects all of us and our families.

I would add that I wrote Representative Mettetal on April 2, 2012, expressing my concerns with this bill, yet only received a response on April 11, 2012 by telephone after he had made the DECIDING VOTE.

Alternatively, our Senator, Steve Hale, has turned an attentive ear to the concerns of his constituents and has informed me that the bill Mr. Mettetal voted for in the House, Senator Hale will vote against.

I may be late in informing the public of this upcoming detriment; however, Mr. Mettetal has pulled the wool over my eyes as it is clear that his concerns are not with his constituents of his district, but that his concerns lie with the lobbyists and insurance companies.

I would urge each and every reader of this article to contact Mr. Mettetal and let him know of your displeasure in him, choosing insurance companies and their profits over the everyday average hard-working Mississippians.

Michael W. Darby, Jr.