Posted on September 26,2018 in Car Accidents

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2 and 3 million Americans experience an auto accident injury that requires emergency medical attention each year. Overall, that same care is expected to cost victims some $18 billion throughout the course of their lives. Those accidents also cost victims about $33 billion in lifetime employment earnings.

While not all accidents can be prevented, there are ways that victims can mitigate their risks. This is especially true when it comes to reducing the risk of serious injury—and it all starts with choosing the right vehicle for you and/or your family.

Using Safety Ratings to Choose Your Vehicle

Safety ratings come from all kinds of sources, but not all are unbiased or reliable. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tests and rates cars, but the agency only sets mandatory standards. In contrast, the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a non-government agency. They are actually funded mostly by insurance companies, so they have a good reason to keep drivers safe behind the wheel.

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 Posted on September 20,2018 in Car Accidents

America is full of busy people. There are workers rushing to their jobs, and parents shuffling their children off to school and soccer practice. Then there are those who are running late to a doctor’s appointment, or in a hurry to get to the airport. Unfortunately, all that hustle and bustle means that some drivers are going faster than they should. That can increase their risk of causing an accident, and may also lead to more serious injuries for victims. If one has happened to you or someone you love, know your rights, including your right to pursue full and fair compensation.

Respect for Speed Limits is Deteriorating

While most people do recognize that speed limits are the law and not a suggestion, researchers suggest there is an erosion of respect for those laws. In fact, a 2002 study found that one-third of drivers admitted to regularly driving at least 10 miles an hour faster than other road users. These were all self-reported incidents, which suggests the numbers could be much higher.

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 Posted on September 19,2018 in Catastrophic Injuries

Spinal cord injury victims often experience depression and fatigue after their injury. Caused, perhaps, by a mixture of issues that range from decreased social interaction, lack of sunshine and mobility, decreased social interaction, pain, trauma, and more, these ailments can be further exacerbated if the patient also suffers from vitamin D deficiency. Thankfully, one study has found that high-dose vitamin D supplementation could ease the severity of both symptoms, even among those who are not deficient.

Vitamin D Supplementation for Spinal Injuries

Scientists have previously found that spinal cord injury victims are between four and five times more likely to develop a vitamin D deficiency than those without such injuries. As it turns out, depression and fatigue are some of the most commonly experienced symptoms among those who have deficient vitamin D stores.

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 Posted on September 06,2018 in Premises Liability

Injuries—they can happen anywhere. Sometimes, they are simply accidents with no real traceable cause. But, defective staircases and sidewalks, falling objects, wet or sticky floors, a lack of security, or improper restraint of an animal are, most often, a case of premises liability.

What you do in the days, weeks, and even months after such an incident can determine whether you receive fair compensation for your any injuries you may have sustained. The following steps will guide you, regardless of whether the incident occurred at another person’s home, a government establishment, public place, or business.

#1 –  File a Report

If you are personally injured while on a homeowner’s property, you should notify the owner of the property that the incident occurred. Similarly, if you were injured while at a store, government establishment, or place of business, you should speak with the manager or a member of security and request an incident report. Fill it out, to the best of your abilities, and always request a copy before leaving the premises. This is an important, but often forgotten, piece of evidence by many people injured in premises liability cases.

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 Posted on July 23,2018 in Uncategorized

Getting into a car accident is most of the most stressful things a person can experience. Finding out that the person who caused the accident did not have auto insurance can be even more devastating. Generally, when a person causes a car crash, their insurance is responsible for compensating the other individuals involved in the accident. Without this insurance, the process of recovering costs associated with the accident can be significantly more complicated.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Automobile insurance is required by California law, but some individuals choose to drive without insurance anyway. Because of this, car insurance companies offer uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is insurance which guarantees that the policyholder will be covered if they are involved in an accident caused by an uninsured motorist or are in a hit-and-run accident. California state law requires an uninsured motorist provision to be included in all auto liability policies. However, you may voluntarily decline this coverage via written request.

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 Posted on March 15,2018 in Car Accidents

By now, you have probably already heard about the dangers of texting while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, AT&T, AAA, nonprofits, and other organizations have spent millions of dollars on campaigns to stop texting and driving. However, there are many other ways that drivers become dangerously distracted on the road.

Children Can Be More Distracting Than Texting

If you have children, you probably spend a lot of time transporting them from after school activities, to friend’s houses, or back and forth from school. According to several studies, you may be driving while distracted. One study showed that children were twelve times more distracting to a driver than texting was. Research has also shown that parents with children in the car spend, on average, three minutes and twenty-two seconds with their eyes off of the road for every sixteen minutes they are diving.

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 Posted on March 06,2018 in Defective Products

If you have ever driven on the highway, you have probably noticed the grey metal guardrails which line the sides of the road. These guardrails are intended to protect vehicles from going off of the road or crossing into the oncoming traffic lane. However, not all of these guardrails are protecting motorists the way they were intended. At least three lawsuits in several different states have recently been filed alleging that X-LITE guardrail is defectively designed and does not effectively protect motorists.

 X-LITE End Terminal Fails to Operate as Designed

The beginning and end of guardrails are called end terminals. These sections of guardrail may look simple, but they are intricately designed to serve several purposes. The X-LITE End Terminal is rounded on the ends and gently slopes toward the ground. This eliminates the sharp ends of the guardrail which, if hit by a car, would do a significant amount of damage to the vehicle and passengers in it.

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 Posted on February 22,2018 in Car Accidents

By now you have probably heard one of the many public service announcements reminding drivers to keep their hands off of their cell phone while driving. Ever since cellular telephones exploded in popularity, there have been car accidents caused by people talking or texting on their phones. Texting while driving is a highly-reported issue, but you should know that there is another cause of dangerous distracted driving. Drowsiness, or simply being sleepy, is also a factor in many distracted driving accidents.

New Research Shows Sleepy Drivers Are Prevalent

A recent study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the rate at which motor vehicle accidents happen is much higher than previously estimated. While government statistics indicate that only about 1 to 2 percent of all car accidents involve a drowsy driver, AAA’s research shows that the actual rate of drowsiness-caused car accidents is about ten times that. Behind-the-wheel sleepiness was found to be a factor in almost 11 percent of all car accidents which resulted in injury, significant property damage, and/or airbag deployment.

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 Posted on February 09,2018 in Car Accidents

If you are like most people, you probably get slightly nervous driving behind an eighteen-wheel truck carrying cargo. Although it is rare, cargo and debris falling off the back of a truck is extremely dangerous. Motorists who run over cargo can spin out of control and crash, often causing other cars to be involved in the accident as well. Other times, cargo can fly out and hit the windshield or body of a vehicle, damaging it. Trucks can become unbalanced when cargo shifts inside the vehicle and topple over. In the most tragic cases, some motorists are severely injured or even die in accidents caused by shifting cargo.

Federal Law Mandates That Trucks Have Cargo Properly Secured

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the agency which regulates the U.S. trucking industry. In 2004, the agency updated it rules regarding the transportation and securing of cargo in order to reduce the number of accidents caused by cargo shifting or falling from commercial motor vehicles. Cargo must be firmly secured by structures of sufficient strength such as wedges and tiedowns. Additionally, inflatable bags or other materials should be used to fill space between pieces of cargo and the walls of the truck so that cargo cannot move around during transportation. Trucking companies who fail to take appropriate securing measures can be held liable for accidents caused by shifting cargo.

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 Posted on January 04,2018 in Car Accidents

Getting into a car accident can have devastating consequences for those in the vehicles affected. Astoundingly, almost 1.3 million people die each year in car accidents and an additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled. Whenever a person gets into a vehicle, they are taking a risk. Drivers can lessen the risk that they will get into an accident by never driving after consuming drugs or alcohol, avoiding distractions like cell phones, and keeping a lookout for careless drivers. There are many things that can trigger a car accident, but you may be surprised as to the main causes of such accidents.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving has become a more serious problem every year. Having the world at our fingertips on a cell phone has made it more tempting than ever to take your eyes off of the road. The National Safety Council reports that 1.6 million crashes each year are caused by distracted drivers. In fact, distracted driving is so dangerous that 1 out of 4 of all car accidents are caused by it.

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