Automobile Accidents

• Knee Injuries in Accident Victims

  Laura Mackie | March 15, 2007 12:49 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Dealing effectively with lawsuits where your client has suffered an injury to their knee requires a litigator to be familiar with the common medical problems specific to that area of the body. One such common diagnosis is chondromalacia patella, which means that there was a breakdown or softening of the cartilage in the knee. Instead of gliding smoothly across the bone, the kneecap rubs against...

• Buckle Up for Safety

  Laura Mackie | February 19, 2007 1:24 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  According to an article published in a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics, there are a total of nearly 1,500 spinal cord injuries sustained by children (ages 18 and younger) every year. Of those 1,500 injuries, approximately 70% are a result of a motor vehicle accident. Among those children in that 70%, 68% of the time the victims were NOT wearing a seatbelt.Additional...

• Tragic and avoidable....Death and D.U.I.

  Laura Mackie | January 16, 2007 7:58 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Once again, we are reminded by events in the news that drinking alcoholic beverages and driving an automobile are lethal combinations.48-year-old Janusz Porembrski died from massive head injuries sustained when the 1999 Mercury Mountain he was driving was struck by an out of control Lexus being driven by Brian Mays (age 21). The accident occurred on I-5 in Sacramento California in the early...

• Teenage Drivers: A parental nightmare

  Laura Mackie | November 21, 2006 2:26 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  One of the most frightening aspects of being the parent of a 16 year old is the knowledge that your teenager will soon be driving. Experience gleaned from dealing with the legal fallout associated with car wrecks is a burden to every litigator/parent. Researchers tell us that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of injury and death among adolescents 16 to 19 years of age. The first six...

• Thoracic outlet syndrome and accidents

  Laura Mackie | November 14, 2006 3:07 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Although many injuries characterized as neck strains may subside without noticeable residuals, it is possible for more severe neurological symptoms to manifest long after the initial injury occurred. Following an accident, symptoms of other trauma induced conditions may be triggered immediately or may take months (even years in some cases) to develop. One such condition is Thoracic outlet...

• Pedestrian Accidents: When the victim is a child

  Laura Mackie | November 13, 2006 1:52 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Whether you are the parent of a child who was injured as a pedestrian or the driver of the vehicle in the same accident, the long term effects of that single event can be devastating. Perhaps more than any other type of vehicle accident, Pedestrian Accidents involving children tug at our heartstrings. Children are especially vulnerable to being hit or run over by vehicles. In California,...

• Calcuating Forces in car crashes

  Ed Smith | November 06, 2006 6:44 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  What force is required to stop a car weighing 3000 lbs. and going 40 mph in one foot? What forces will be exerted on a driver...with and without a seatbelt? To answer these questions in a courtroom, attorney's bring in accident reconstructionists with long years of training in their field.However, an online site can aide an attorney in estimating the forces of a car crash by simply inputting...

• How Listening To Music Affects Driving

  Ed Smith | November 04, 2006 8:31 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  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...

• Fatal Accident Statistics

  Ed Smith | November 03, 2006 2:56 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Over the last several years in California the number of fatalities caused by motor vehicle accidents have been on the rise. This is also true in other states and counties across the nation. For example, fatal accidents in Sacramento County seem to be increasing annually which can be linked to certain intersections and streets which seem to be more dangerous then others.For a list of statistics...

• What is an Underinsured Motorist Claim?

  Ed Smith | November 02, 2006 8:04 PM | 0 CommentsSacramento, CA

  Many times over the years, people have asked me if there's anything that can be done if the party responsible for causing injuries in an auto accident simply doesn't have enough insurance to cover the value of the injuries suffered in their case.Often, there is hope if the client had the forsight to purchase underinsured motorist (UIM) insurance coverage. This coverage is purchased just like...