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The Danger of Speeding—Tragic California Accident Kills Child

Jessica Smagacz — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:04:59 GMT

Tommy Watkins, 50 year old from Bakersfield, was driving home after camping at Lopez Lake with his family. According to investigators, Watkins attempted to pass another car but got stuck and his white Chevy Sedan hit a burgundy Suburban head-on.

According to KSBY 6 Action News, emergency crews went out on this call around 12:30 p.m. this past Monday. The car accident occurred about two miles east of Suey Creek Road on the Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo county line.

A 12 year-old boy tragically died at the scene of this accident. He was the grandson of Watkins.

There were six people in the suburban that Watkins hit and all of them were taken to the hospital. Sgt. Ben Ruth from the California Highway Patrol said, “It started to pass, there were broken lines that gave it permission to do so, but as you can see where the skid marks are, that passing lane ended way back.”

Chris Martinez is a witness to this accident. He saw Watkins’s Chevy pass traffic and had no idea it would turn into a tragic car crash. He said, “First thing that crossed through my mind: there’s no need to rush it to where you’re going. There’s always time. Apparently, sometimes you rush it and things like this happen.”

The six people in the Sedan suffered injuries along with the grandfather.

Our thoughts are with the child’s family and with those who were injured in this tragic car crash.

Remember to use caution at all times while driving. When you are in a rush, remember what can happen if you speed; instead, think about the fact that there is still time and driving safely outweighs the risks of a tragic accident such as this one.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jessica Smagacz

How Listening To Music Affects Driving

Ed Smith — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 20:31:28 GMT

Many lawyers almost by rote ask the parties in an accident if they had the radio on at the time of the crash, but often whatever the answer there is little effective followup other than the inference that perhaps the driver wasn't as attentive to the road because he was listening to music.

I've recently found a study that seems to suggest that listening to fast tempo music while driving consistently affects driving speed as well as speed estimates. The tempo of the background music also affects the frequency of traffic violations.

Music such as trance and house with beats of 120-140bpm were most associated with increased speed and virtual speed violations.

While the study itself was a virtual one, it hilites the need for further study in this underresearched area.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Brain Contusions vs. Brain Concussions

Ed Smith — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:41:34 GMT

Head trauma can cause brain damage in many ways. What is the difference between a brain contusion and brain concussion? When people experience head injury such as from an auto accident, there are popular misconceptions when comparing contusions to concussions.

Are these head injuries the same in severity or is there no verifiable difference between the two conditions?

Similarities

Both are due to head trauma.
Both are common.
Both are serious.

Differences

Contusions are localized, while concussions are widespread.
Contusions are macroscopic, while concussions are microscopic.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Medical Marijuana, ID Cards, and Sacramento County

Amber Wheat — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:19:17 GMT

Since 1996, medicinal use of marijuana for certain medical cases has been legal in California. In 2003, the state decided that ID cards should be issued on the county level to identify patients who are allowed to posses and use marijuana. Like a Drivers License, only a Users License.

Many people comment on articles like this and if they take the time to do that, they obviously feel very strongly about the subject. On one hand I understand that it is California law that allows this use, but on the other hand, it is still illegal under Federal law.

This issue confused me when California was voting on whether or not to give illegal aliens Drivers Licenses. I asked my grandfather, “If we know they are illegal, aren’t we supposed to deport them?” He then explained to me that the INS is a federal agency and the DMV is run by the state. Bureaucracy at it’s best. The state is not required to deport illegal aliens, nor or they required to talk to the federal government and tell them who they are. Fair enough.

But what if those illegal aliens got in a collision and injured somebody, are they required to carry insurance as well? Well what if a person legally using marijuana for medicinal purposes gets in a collision and injures somebody? Should they be required to carry extra insurance? The fact is, smoking marijuana impairs your senses. Are these people going to be given leniency because they were driver under the influence legally? I think not. Will they be punished more harshly because they were under the influence of drugs and not alcohol? Probably. Is that fair? Heck, no!

Where does the liability end? If the state takes control of medicinal marijuana and requires pharmacies to hand it out, does the pharmacy take on liabilty? Does the state? If the worst should happen, what happens to these patients? If we issue these ID cards, does it give these people free reign to grow, distribute, and smoke marijuana?

It is a very controversial issue and I would like your opinion on it. At this point I really feel that if Sacramento County issued this ID cards, they are giving permission for these patients to be more open with their treatment and the county could be held responsible. It is known that marijuana impairs judgement, it is foreseeable that a patient may drive after receiving a treatment, it is probable that the impaired patient will cause a collision. And it could be argued that it was done with the county’s permission.

What do you think? Am I way off base here? Has anyone else thought about possible repercussions?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amber Wheat

Colusa Bus Crash Highlights Dangers of Negligent Hiring

David Rosenthal — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:32:02 GMT

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the driver of a bus that crashed in Colusa on Sunday was hired by the bus owner the week before after posting to an online classified ad for the position. It turns out Quintin J. Watts was a truck driver who had no experience driving busses, had an extensive history of citations for moving violations, and had even been convicted of several criminal offenses. Investigators say alcohol and drugs may have contributed to Mr. Watts falling asleep at the wheel and rolling the bus, killing 10 passengers and injuring at least 35 more, some critically.

The hiring of this driver is astonishing when you consider that California, like many states, requires that "common carriers" exercise a higher degree of care for the safety of their passengers than the average person driving with a passenger. Under Civil Code §2100, persons or entities that transport people for financial compensation must "use the utmost diligence for their safe carriage." Most individuals are held to a lesser standard of reasonable care. The higher standard makes sense when you consider that common carriers, such as trains and busses, carry large numbers of people and safety considerations can sometimes give way to efforts to increase profits.

Daniel Cobb, the owner of the private bus that crashed Sunday was obviously desparate for a driver since he placed an online classified ad for the position on 10/2/08. He apparently was willing to forego a background check or to simply ignore Watts' checkered past because he was Cobb's stepson. It was a costly decision not only for the passengers and their families, but for Cobb himself, who died as a result of the collision. Cobb's poor choice of a driver had diproportionately tragic consequences for families in Sacramento's Lao and Hmong communities, whose parents and grandparents were his regular customers.

Many responsible common carriers have minimum training requirements and conduct stringent background checks. However, far too often we see the tragic consequences of employers who take short cuts in hiring the people who are entrusted with the safe transportation of our loved ones. Make sure that the common carrier you hire is not gambling on safety.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rosenthal

How to heal from a concussion.

Ed Smith — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:13:25 GMT

Many of us have seen professional athletes endure concussions. Suffering the effects of concussions have cut short the careers of superstars such as Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers and Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys.

In addition to competitive team sports, auto accidents and slip and falls are a leading cause of concussions and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

How does one help themselves to heal from a concussion?

The process of recovery from a concussion may take weeks, if not months. Experts recommend the following:

* Get plenty of sleep at night and rest during the day.
* Slow your activities levels down. Don't do too much, too fast.
* Avoid highly physical activities such as contact or recreational sports.
* Consult with your doctor about when it's safe to return to sports, drive a car or motorcycle, or operate equipment or machinery. It is important to keep in mind that your ability to react to stimuli, while recovering from a concussion, may be impaired.
* Don't drink alcohol.
* Make a habit of writing things down instead of depending on your memory.
* Consult with family and friends before making important decisions.

Recovering from a concussion can be frustrating because your ability to think clearly or remember things may be impaired, and as a result, you're more easily aggravated or agitated.

It is important that those close to you are aware of this and are watchful of these symptoms worsening so your doctor can be informed and additional treatment provided promptly

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Contributing Factors: The Good Samaritan v. The Jaywalker

Amber Wheat — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:26:19 GMT

A news story on MSNBC relates an incident involving a bus driver who pushed three people out of the path of an oncoming vehicle only to get hit by the truck himself. Jim Moffett risked his life and sustained great injury to save two little old ladies and another man.

What he did was a good thing, but The Colorado State Patrol says what he was doing before the collision was not okay. Mr. Moffett, the other man, and the little old ladies were jaywalking. Mr. Moffett was cited and will be fined.

When we hear stories like this, the public reacts with outrage. “How can they fine this man when he probably saved lives?” Well I know precisely how they can do it. His actions were a contributing factor to the collision. The driver of the pickup was cited for reckless driving, but it takes two to cause an accident. One person to not pay attention and another person to be there. If they hadn’t have been jaywalking there wouldn’t have been an accident at all. In the same vein, if the driver had been more attentive, there wouldn’t have been a collision, either. They are both jointly and severally liable.

It takes a very special kind of person to do what Mr. Moffett did and I have the utmost respect for him. I hope that he will be okay and I am sure that the citation will be paid for by admirers (if not dropped altogether).

I hope that others take this instance as a warning that jaywalking is never a good idea. Crosswalks are there for a reason. Helping little old ladies to cross the street is very nice, but making sure they get to the other side safely within a crosswalk is nice and smart.

Our firm regularly deals with pedestrians who have been injured by vehicles. The injuries are often severe because, while the driver has tons of steel protecting them, the people on the street don't even have a helmet to protect themselves. Be smart out there, we don't want you or anyone you love to need our services. If the worst should happen, you know where to find us.

Commenters on MSNBC responded with outrage, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with the officers?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amber Wheat

Swimming Pool Hazards: Is your Pool Accident Prone?

Edward Smith — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 02:52:57 GMT

Do you have access to a swimming pool? Are you a regular user of the pool? Or do you own one? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you ought to pay heed to the swimming pool hazards that disguise themselves in every part of the pool.

Most of the equipments related to the pool can become a potential source of danger-whether it is the all-important diving board, or the lack of designing with safety markers in the pool. Take care to eliminate swimming pool hazards and be at ease with the pool. Failing it, you or other pool users could meet with pool related accidents and could result in the threat of litigation if pool is the venue of an accident caused by negligence.

What Are The Hazards To Swim Against

First, deal with the pool proportions. Even if you have a perfectly designed pool, but forget to indicate water depth, you are in troubled waters indeed! Accidents are a possibility when a diver fails to judge the water depth, dives straight and fast from a height, and heads into the pool bottom, head first. When you plunge into water, you hit it at a velocity of 15 feet/sec. If the pool is deep, it serves as a brake to slow you down. Your velocity decreases at 12-15 feet. Hence, an absolute safe pool for diving is the one that is 18-20 feet deep, and not one that is shallow.

Similarly, pool curves or contours, with their gradual slope to the bottom, prevent accidents! They too, like the water depth, act as a brake to the diver's trajectory through the water. Conversely, inadequate pool curves and contours could result in severe accidents.

The absence of pool markings is another potential cause of swimming pool accidents. Pool markings provide a visual reference to the divers for estimating the water depth and profile of the floor and absence of such markings is a death trap for divers. Protruding ladders, water pipes, and other things inside the water are further invitations to serious injuries.

Also, check for the equipment with which a swimming pool is fitted, such as ladders and diving boards. Whether you have an in-ground pool or an aboveground one, always make sure that the ladders are in proper condition, secured tightly with no loose hinges. Please make sure that no ladder is with step that is cracked or broken.

The absence of a trained lifeguard around the pool premises to detect, if a person is going down while swimming is another major cause of pool accidents and fatalities. Not many people know that the drowning victim's first impulse is not to shout, but to use every ounce of energy to keep him/her afloat and breathe in oxygen. Only a trained eye can detect that a person thrashing about in the water may not be enjoying himself soundlessly, but is actually trying his best not to drown! Thus a trained lifeguard who can perform rescues, use life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) processes, and warn of possible dangers around the pool area, is the real asset around a pool.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Edward Smith

Are You Really in Good Hands with Allstate?

David Rosenthal — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:35:33 GMT

Allstate Insurance is easily the most prolific advertiser of auto and casualty insurance lines. It runs a series of television commercials starring Dennis Haysbert (of Major League fame) that cleverly portray real life situations, such as rear end auto collisions, and some not so real life situations, like wayward college football fans running their car into a statue of renowned coach Bobby Bowden, to illustrate the need for insurance. The pithy theme of each ad is driven home with the statement "that's Allstate's stand", and with the suggestion that you are not in good hands unless your insurance is through Allstate.

However, experienced consumer attorneys know that Allstate's advertising claims are in stark contrast to its every day claims handling practices. Trial lawyers are in a unique position to judge the overall approach of insurance companies because they deal with a broad cross-section of insurance companies in a wide variety of factual scenarios. During the handling of thousands of claims, the true corporate color of an insurance company shines through. And after reviewing a high volume of claims documents recently, the American Association for Justice unequivocally rated Allstate as the worst insurance company for consumers.

Allstate policy holders might feel that the wrap on Allstate is the result of sour grapes on the part of attorneys who are resentful that their outrageous claims were not paid by the company. However, Allstate's rating was not solely the result of a "boxing glove" corporate policy of lowballing legitimate claims made against its policy holders, although that was certainly part of it. Allstate has also made clear it was willing to get into the ring and duke it out with its own policy holders in the name of increasing profits. In addition, its low rating was based on paying high executive salaries as a reward for successful lowball tactics and charging higher premiums, in part to pay for its expensive advertising.

One recent Allstate commercial illustrates another goal of the Allstate advertising campaign. The ad shows a court room scene where the judge imposes a judgment on a young man (the defendant) in the amount of $100,000 after an auto collision. The defendant's attorney turns to the injured person's (plaintiff) attorney to explain that the defendant has only $50,000 in insurance. The plaintiff's attorney replies that the defendant has a college fund that can be used to pay the balance of the judgment, and concerned parents ask their attorney - "can they do that?" The defendants attorney replies that they can.

The ad is designed to mislead the viewer into believing that the defendant is an innocent victim (it was just an "accident"), and that both the court system and a greedy plaintiff's attorney are the victimizers. This promotes the belief that trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits are the cause of high insurance premiums.

In real life, such a scenario would likely be the result of an auto collision caused by a speeding driver who was distracted by his cell phone and ran a red light, sending the other driver to the hospital with serious, possibly permanent injuries. The other driver incurs medical expenses of $25,000, loses income from work of $10,000, and has ongoing pain and limitations. Although the value of the pain, suffering and inconvenience is well in excess of $15,000, the other driver is willing to settle out of court for the responsible driver's $50,000 policy limit to avoid going to trial, and probably out of a moral feeling that he does not want to collect against the responsible driver's personal assets.

Even though the other driver is without fault, the insurance company for the responsible driver puts on its boxing gloves and offers only $40,000, which is less than the policy limit of $50,000. The attorney for the injured person has no choice but to spend thousands of dollars to take the case to trial to seek the full value of the injured person's damages. A jury of reasonable people taken from the general population (rather than a judge as portrayed in the ad) determines that the total value of the injured person's loss is $100,000. Now, because of the insurance company's lowball at all cost mentality, there is a judgment against the responsible party for more than his insurance coverage.

Allstate Insurance has engaged in a successful marketing campaign. But this expensive advertising comes at a cost. The consumer warning caveat emptor is especially appropriate when you consider purchasing insurance from Allstate. Purchasers of insurance from Allstate may find that the "good hands" have boxing gloves on, and making a claim is like ringing the fight bell.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Rosenthal

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Statistics

Amber Wheat — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:09:25 GMT

Very, very interesting stuff. Their website has many different statistics, guides, and safety curriculums. Thanks to a post by Beth Janicek, my attention was brought to the 2007 reports on traffic accidents and fatalities.

Now, I used to be a math dork in highschool and I guess that’s something you don’t grow out of because I am having a blast with these numbers. Here are some interesting (at least to me) facts about California.

1. California had the most pedestrian fatalities last year. A total of 640. But our pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people living in the state was only 1.75, whereas the national average is 1.49, so really that means only 1 more person out of every 400,000 people die in California than compared to outside of California. So it isn’t necessarily more dangerous to be a pedestrian in California, there’s just more people in California. (The District of Columbia has the worst percentage with 3.23 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people.)

2. California had the second most motorcycle rider fatalities last year with 495 people losing their lives. Who had more? Believe it or not... Florida! I was surprised but when you look at the percent of fatalities that were not helmeted, it becomes very clear. In California only fourteen percent of those who died were not wearing a helmet at the time. In Florida forty-eight percent (48%), nearly half, were not wearing helmets. If they had been... would they still be alive today? On the table you can see a direct correlation between the number of fatalities and the percentage of riders not wearing helmets. John said it before and I’ll say it again, wear a helmet, save your life!

3. California had the second most fatal crashes involving large trucks (or big rigs). We had a total of 361 big rig involved fatalities last year, but that is not so bad considering we had 5,503 total vehicles involved in fatal crashed. Only 6.6 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes in California were with big rigs. Thirty-seven states had higher percentages! So chances are, if you are involved in a fatal crash in California (heaven forfend), it will not be with a big rig.

4. Sadly, California did report the greatest number of fatalities among children under the age of fourteen. We lost 195 children last year, most of them between the ages of eight and fourteen. Texas comes in second with 176 and Florida comes in third with 114. Still, based on our population, we aren’t doing that bad.

It is all terribly interesting and I encourage any math minded people out there to check out the statistics. But it is also sad to think about. Luckily there is good news. Overall, in the whole United States, fewer pedestrians died last year than in 2006, fewer fatal accidents involved big rigs, and there were fewer child fatalities. So overall, we’re getting better.

Driving on our highways will never be perfectly safe, but we can make decisions that will hopefully lower the number of fatalities. Remember to drive defensively, always leave a safe following distance, be patient, and if you motorcycle wear a HELMET! One thing to point out is that motorcycle fatalities increased this year, but I attribute that to the rise in gas prices and the fact that more and more people (not always with the best experience) are choosing to ride motorcycles.

Be careful out there!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amber Wheat