Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

Most of Tennessee and part of Kentucky is bracing for a massive winter storm expected to arrive within the next 24 to 48 hours. The storm is expected to dump up to a foot of snow in some locations and is also supposed to produce sleet and freezing rain. All three of these wintry forms of precipitation can make the roadways dangerous to navigate. However, simply staying home may not be an option for many Tennesseans, so some will simply have to brave the conditions to get where they need to go. The biggest danger in such situations is icy roads, but snow can also be a problem, especially when it falls in large amounts. There are several snow-related concerns of which Tennesseans should be aware before embarking in such conditions.

The most obvious safe-driving tip in snowy and icy conditions is to drive at a reduced rate of speed. Driving too fast in adverse conditions is a recipe for disaster, and in conditions such as those expected over the weekend, driving at the posted speed limit is often far too fast for the road conditions and can be considered negligent driving. Driving too fast also puts the driver at the risk of having to come to a sudden stop or slam on the brakes. Such maneuvers are unadvisable in wintry conditions, and can cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Another overlooked but important concern is making sure that all of the windows and mirrors are free from ice and snow before driving. Snow can obviously obstruct one’s vision, which may lead to an auto accident if the obstruction is not fixed quickly.

Continue reading " Tennessee Braces for Huge Winter Storm " »

As many of our blogs have discussed recently, texting while driving is becoming an increasing source of negligence-based accidents on America’s roadways. Recognizing that such activity has become a problem nationwide, the United States Department of Transportation issued a press release today stating that texting while driving is banned nationwide for drivers of commercial vehicles, which includes vehicles such as tractor-trailers, trolleys, and buses. While many states already had some form of this ban, this ban covers commercial vehicles nationwide, and is part of a concentrated effort by the U.S.D.O.T. to combat distracted driving according to the press release.

The press release notes that drivers who text while driving take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, meaning that at a speed of 55 miles per hour they travel more than the length of a football field without looking at the road. The press release also notes that more regulations are likely forthcoming in this area.

Continue reading " United States D.O.T. Bans Texting by Commercial Truck Drivers " »

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to assault by automobile, two counts of aggravated assault and driving while intoxicated stemming from an accident in which the man’s drunk driving was responsible for seriously injuring three women. At the time of the wreck, which occurred on April 18, 2009, the man’s blood-alcohol content was reportedly twice the legal limit. According to his plea deal he will be facing up to five years in prison, a far cry from the decades of prison time he would have been facing had he gone to trial. The injuries to the victims in his case were severe. One victim in particular had her skull detached from her spinal column and miraculously survived. She also suffered brain trauma and has undergone fifteen operations as a result of the accident. More on plea bargaining can be found here.

The unfortunate truth is that making one poor decision in an automobile can affect an untold number of lives. As the incident above will show, the decision to drink and drive endangers the lives of everyone else on the roadway. In situations like this, where the victims have suffered serious injuries that require multiple operations, the medical expenses alone can reach the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Continue reading " Man Pleads Guilty in Drunk Driving Accident that Seriously Injures Three Women " »

The effects of text messaging while driving extend beyond the realm of automobiles. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating a collision involving two commuter trains in a Los Angeles suburb that killed twenty-five people and injured well over a hundred more, but one of the safety violations that has been confirmed as a potential source of the collision is that the driver of one of the trains had sent dozens of text messages throughout the day, including one that was sent just twenty-two seconds before the crash. Federal investigators have said that all of the physical evidence indicates that the one of the trains failed to stop at a red light, leaving open the possibility that distracted driving may have been a potential source of the accident.
While Tennessee doesn’t have a plethora of public transit systems, many Tennessee cities have buses and trolleys that transport hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans per day. The sheer volume of people that make use of these systems, especially in the larger cities, makes it possible that a single act of negligent driving on behalf of those responsible for operating public transit vehicles could possibly injure or kill dozens or hundreds of individuals. The unfortunate truth, as the story above details, is that many of the individuals who are responsible for transporting the public do engage in distracted driving and participate in activities such as texting while driving.
It is important to remember that those who drive a vehicle owned by someone else for a living have a duty to use the road in a safe and reasonable manner just the same as any other driver. This duty may actually be heightened considering these drivers transport multiple passengers at a time and are supposed to be trained in operating their vehicle. Unfortunately, these drivers do not always drive safely. If the negligence of these drivers’ causes an accident, any victims would potentially be able to recover from the driver and the company, entity, or municipality that owns or operates the public transit service, meaning there will often be multiple defendants from which injured plaintiffs can recover.

For the second time in the past year, Toyota is issuing a major recall due to problems with accelerator pedals. The first recall affected four million vehicles and was due to an issue that caused the accelerator pedals to become stuck under the floor mats, causing sudden acceleration of the vehicle. The latest recall affects over two million Toyota-made vehicles and is also due to an issue with the accelerator becoming stuck, even in models that do not have floor mats. Toyota believes the problem is related to the potential build-up of sliding surfaces in the accelerator system that help the driver push down or release the accelerator pedal. This recall affects eight particular Toyota models. Both of the aforementioned recalls by Toyota have been among the largest in United States’ history.

Accidents caused by the negligence of the automobile manufacturer typically fall into the realm of product liability suits. These suits basically seek to impose liability on the manufacturer of the vehicle for negligently designing or manufacturing a product or part of a product which was responsible for causing injury to one or more victims.

Continue reading " Toyota Issues Second Major Recall in a Year " »

It just isn’t safe to walk the streets of Madison, Wisconsin anymore. Well, technically speaking, it just isn’t safe to cross the street, because drivers in that area are not particularly pedestrian-friendly as revealed by the results of an undercover operation recently conducted by the Madison Police Department. The operation involved an undercover officer posing as a pedestrian and crossing the street repeatedly over a four-hour period in a crosswalk. The location was chosen because it is a high-traffic area that also has a high number of pedestrians. The high number of pedestrians may not serve to deter drivers in the area, however, as some drivers reportedly almost ran over the officer despite the officer being in a crosswalk. Thirty-five drivers were cited in all for failure to yield.

Failure to yield is increasingly becoming a problem as drivers get busier and more distracted every day. This blog has discussed the causes and effects of distracted driving, which may be a major factor in why drivers are unaware of pedestrians. After all, it is hard to notice that a human being is in the road in front of you if you aren’t actually looking at the road. This phenomenon has increased in scope and potential effect since the advent of text messaging, which causes many drivers to completely divert their attention away from the road in front of them, even if only for a second, to immediately answer such pressing questions as “Wut r u doin 2day?.” Another potential reason for the failure to yield violations may simply be that the drivers are driving too fast to stop for the pedestrians, whether it be because they are in a hurry or because they do not care about the presence of pedestrians.

Continue reading " Undercover Operation Nets Thirty-Five Citations for Failure to Yield " »

As this personal injury blog has shown as of late, there are a myriad of different ways to drive negligently. Some methods of negligent driving, like driving under the influence and distracted driving, are fairly common while some are extremely rare. Falling into the “extremely rare” category would be driving while intoxicated after being shot in a drive-by shooting. This is exactly the scenario that played out in Syracuse, New York on Monday after a man was shot in a drive-by shooting while standing on a street corner. The man, apparently intoxicated at the time of the shooting, attempted to get in a car and drive himself to the hospital. Unfortunately, his condition caused him to drive on the wrong side of the road and he collided with another vehicle. He was charged with DWI. One of the potential criminal law issues involved in this case is discussed here.

Perhaps most notable about the story is how extremely lucky the man was that day. It is not every day one can manage to get randomly shot, be involved in a head-on collision, and be charged with DWI. Most notable from a personal injury standpoint, however, is that the man committed three different forms of negligent (and potentially reckless) driving that could potentially subject him to liability for the collision. The most obvious forms would probably be a toss-up between DWI and driving on the wrong side of the street. DWI has been discussed at length in our personal injury blog, and such conduct is automatically considered negligent in Tennessee and has the potential to be considered reckless and warrant the imposition of punitive damages. Victims of DWI-related accidents in Tennessee may thus be able to recover a substantial amount from the party or parties at fault, far in excess of the actual medical expenses. Driving on the wrong side of the street is also negligent, as reasonable drivers are generally aware of the correct side of the street on which to drive and do not continue to drive down a street where dozens of other cars are coming at them head-on. However, such driving does occur and has a tendency to result in the offending party being held liable for the expenses and damages caused by that decision.

Continue reading " Man Gets Shot, Tries to Drive Himself to the Hospital " »

While advances in communications technology have been great for a lot of aspects of life like business, family, and even the military, such advances have not been equally beneficial to America’s roadways. Increasing reliance on mobile phones and other entertainment or communications devices is making the roads increasingly more dangerous. Many drivers now participate in a form of negligent driving known as “distracted driving,” which involves a driver being so distracted by something, in this case some sort of mobile device, that he or she does not keep a proper lookout and pay attention to the roadway. One would think this problem has been remedied somewhat by the various types of “hands-free” devices that have hit the market which purportedly enable the driver to carry out certain functions while never diverting their eyes from the roadway or taking their hands off the wheel. A California man recently proved that such devices may not have helped cure negligent driving at all.

There is something especially terrifying about being surprised by an unexpected noise, occurrence, or living creature. The reactions to such scary surprises are often spontaneous and uncontrollable and can lead the terrified victims of such surprises to act in an irrational manner. Such was the case with a twenty-eight year-old man in California whose terror recently caused him to drive through a guardrail and into a creek after being ambushed by the unexpected activation of his hands-free communications device. Luckily for the man, he is an armed security officer at a California casino and was able to use his gun to shoot out the windows of his SUV and escape the situation unharmed although his pride may have suffered fatal injury.

Continue reading " Technology Can Prove Dangerous to Drivers " »

Whoever it was that came up with the idiom “it’s no use crying over spilled milk” probably never witnessed anything like what happened Saturday morning near Rolling Meadows, Illinois. A driver in a Toyota SUV discovered that he was about to miss his exit, so he immediately changed lanes in an effort to get over in time to take the exit. Unfortunately, there was not only a Mazda in the lane to his right, but there was also a milk truck in the lane to the right of the Mazda car as well. Needless to say, things turned sour for everyone involved. The Toyota driver’s effort at fitting three cars into two lanes caused the Mazda to swerve to the right in an effort to avoid the Toyota. This maneuver caused the Mazda to collide with the milk truck, tipping the milk truck over and causing it to spill its contents. The drivers of the Mazda and milk truck were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, while the driver of the Toyota was cited for improper lane usage.

Continue reading " Improper Lane Usage " »

In a program similar to others that are used to target various types of unsafe drivers such as drunk drivers and drivers who are not wearing seatbelts, the Tennessee Highway Patrol plans to turn its attention to commercial vehicles that are driving in an unsafe manner. The program will reportedly crack down on commercial vehicles who speed, drive recklessly, follow too closely, and change lanes improperly. The program will be known as Operation Speeding Trucks and Negligent Drivers (STAND).

The same types of driving for which the Tennessee Highway Patrol will be on the lookout are the same types of driving that constitute negligent or reckless driving in Tennessee. Driving in such a manner in a commercial vehicle usually poses a greater danger than driving negligently or recklessly in a personal vehicle because commercial vehicles are generally larger, longer, taller, heavier, and harder to control than personal vehicles. It is for these reasons that many commercial vehicles have special licensure requirements.

Continue reading " Tennessee Highway Patrol Cracking Down on Unsafe Commercial Vehicles " »

A pair of British thrill-seekers, labeled by police as “stupid,” found the thrill they sought on Monday when they tried to drive a small car across a frozen canal. Unfathomably, the ice did not support the weight of the car and the vehicle plunged into the icy depths below. Luckily, the depths were not all that deep and the pair was able to escape injury. They reportedly crawled out of the water and fled the scene before authorities arrived.

Thrill-seeking behavior comes in all different forms on the roadways, be it driving extremely fast, drag-racing, or attempting to use your car as a quarter-ton ice skate. The problem with thrill-seeking driving tactics is that they endanger not only the driver but those around them. Luckily nobody was injured in the scenario described above, but thrill-seeking driving occurs much more frequently on roads than it does frozen ponds, putting others on the roadway at a serious risk of harm. Speeding and drag-racing are very common causes of serious injury and death on the roadways, and drivers who engage in such behavior can easily end up as defendants in a personal injury lawsuit. This type of behavior is negligent at the very least and is reckless in many cases. Reckless behavior on the roadways provides the victims of accidents caused by such behavior with a method of recovery in addition to actual damages by opening the door for the victims to sue for punitive damages. Punitive damage awards can reach into the millions of dollars if the jury feels like such an amount is necessary to punish the defendant for his or her conduct or deter others from participating in the same behavior.

While it goes without saying that one should not drive in such a manner that it endangers others, it is also important to note that certain types of dangerous driving expose drivers to additional liability and provide victims with an additional method of recovery. For more on punitive damages in auto accidents, read our previous blog on the subject.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242729/Motorists-drove-half-MILE-ice-covered-canal-facing-court.html

Joe Rollino, who was once known as the World’s Strongest Man, died recently after being hit by a car while crossing the street in his home state of New York. Rollino, who gained fame in his younger days for amazing feats of strength including being able to move more than a ton of weight, bending nails and coins with his hands and mouth, and lifting over three thousand pounds of weight at once, was crossing the street on his daily multiple-mile walk when he was struck by a vehicle. He sustained head, chest, and pelvis injuries and died at the hospital. He reportedly never ate meat, drank, or smoked his entire life and was an astounding one hundred and four years old at the time of his death. The driver who struck Rollino was reportedly not at fault for the accident.

The sad fact is that something that may have been a part of a person’s daily routine for decades can turn deadly if either a driver or a pedestrian is negligent when using the roadway. Drivers should always be on the lookout for pedestrians crossing the road, even in the absence of crosswalks.

Continue reading " Former World's Strongest Man Killed by Car " »

Tragedy struck Springfield, Ohio last Friday when a tractor-trailer swerved across the median of Interstate 70 and struck a bus that was transporting disabled adults who had been sent home early from a local vocational center due to inclement weather. The driver of the bus and three passengers were killed when the semi collided with the bus and caused the bus to crash. Six other passengers on the bus and the driver of the truck were injured. Investigators are still trying to determine if slick roadways caused by recent snow had caused the crash, if the driver was simply driving too fast, or if a combination of the two caused the accident.

With much of the United States, and most of Tennessee, experiencing harsh winter weather conditions over the past couple of weeks, it is no surprise that weather-related accidents are making headlines. This particular accident, with a tractor-trailer crashing into a bus loaded with passengers is the type of accident that can result in multiple deaths and serious injuries. Unfortunately, that is exactly what occurred here.

Continue reading " Semi Crashes into Bus, Killing Four " »

Respect for the dead may not be the only reason to clear the roadway for funeral processions anymore. A hearse driver from Pinole, California recently caused all sorts of havoc on the roadway when he decided to drive drunk while transporting a body on Friday afternoon. The hearse was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run and caught on fire after the vehicle got a flat tire and was driven on the rim. Law enforcement officials were called after the hearse caught fire and arrived to find it parked on the side of the road, engulfed in flames. Thankfully, the driver was able to escape the fiery hearse and safely remove the coffin before the vehicle became completely consumed by the flames.

There are several different examples of negligent driving in this scenario. The first and most obvious is driving under the influence. Simply put, it is never reasonable to drive while under the influence of an intoxicant and a driver who does so risks being responsible for serious injuries and substantial damages suffered by victims of any accident caused by the intoxicated driver. Driving on a flat tire can also be a source of liability in a personal injury suit. Driving in a reasonable manner means driving when your car is in a safe and drivable condition. Thus, driving on a flat tire or driving on the rim of the wheel constitutes negligent driving because it creates unsafe driving conditions for the vehicle. To see an example of this, one needs to look no further than the scenario detailed above where driving on the rim made the vehicle catch fire, endangering the lives of the driver and anyone else who got near the fiery car on the roadway.

Continue reading " Hearse Involved in Hit-and-Run, Catches on Fire " »

Although some people seemingly refuse to believe it, ice simply isn’t drivable. For proof of this, check out some of these videos that show the results of the unfortunate decision to drive on ice. Vehicles can be seen careening from lampposts to walls to other vehicles, all the while unable to come to a stop due to the icy conditions. Hitting an icy patch or finding yourself on an icy road can be a terrifying experience, because drivers lose all control of their vehicles, unable to steer or stop.

Such icy conditions are plaguing Tennessee today as a result of an arctic front that swept across the state, bringing a few inches of snow to some parts of the state along with temperatures that dipped into the low teens. These weather conditions created icy roads across the state this morning, with hundreds of schools and businesses closing down due to the inclement weather.

The decision to try to drive in icy conditions can be a costly one from a personal injury law standpoint. Many people try to brave the conditions because they have a four-wheel drive vehicle, but those vehicles will be just as hapless as the ones shown in the video were all four wheels to end up skidding across the ice. Once a driver has lost control of their vehicle, they can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Parked cars, pedestrians, and roadside homes become potential targets and victims for the out-of-control vehicles. Deciding to drive when the conditions indicate that one should not do so is negligent in Tennessee, because it is not a reasonable driving decision. Thus, anyone who has their persons or property injured by vehicles who wreck as a result of driving on ice may be able to recover for the driver’s negligence in a personal injury suit. Sometimes it is simply a better idea to stay home rather than try to drive in on non-drivable roads.

A ninety-two year-old man brought his own brand of drive-thru dining to a local restaurant in Port Orange, Florida on Wednesday. Investigators think that the man accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake while trying to park in front of the restaurant, sending his vehicle plowing through the restaurant wall and into a seating area that, luckily, had just been vacated by the customers who were sitting there. Not to be deterred from his primary mission, the ninety-two year-old driver (who apparently did not realize he had driven through the restaurant or perhaps just did not care) stepped out of the vehicle, went into the restaurant, and placed his breakfast order. The driver did inquire as to if anyone was hurt, and the fact that there was only one minor injury from the crash seemed to clear his conscience enough that he could enjoy his breakfast. He was cited for careless driving.

Accidents such as this one occasionally pop up in the local or national headlines, and, unfortunately, they sometimes result in one or more victims suffering serious injury or death. These accidents are frequently the result of negligent or careless driving, meaning the victims can often recover for their losses in a personal injury suit. For example, it is negligent for a person to drive when they know that they are not in a condition to do so. This can be caused by many different factors such as a disability, taking certain medications, being intoxicated, or physical or mental deterioration from old age. Tennessee law places a duty on every potential driver to recognize whether or not they are fit to drive before getting behind the wheel. Driving when one is not fit to do so can lead to situations such as the one detailed above, leaving the party at fault responsible for a substantial amount of damages.

Continue reading " Driver Plows into Restaurant and then Orders Breakfast " »

A fifty-five year-old bus driver from New York faced dozens of charges of child endangerment and driving while intoxicated after she took students on a terrifying bus ride while reportedly driving a school bus while intoxicated. Students apparently begged the driver to stop because she was in no condition to operate the school bus. The driver felt that the students were overreacting and continued to drive, reportedly speeding, running over a mailbox, and rolling backwards down a hill. Some students finally opened the emergency door at the back of the bus so they could get out, putting a stop to the incident. Luckily, neither the bus driver nor any of the passengers suffered any injuries. The bus driver’s attorney said that her actions were caused by a bad reaction between alcohol and some prescription medication she was taking. The criminal ramifications of her conduct are further discussed here.

Millions of parents across America entrust the safety of their children to school bus drivers every school day. Thankfully, most bus rides to and from school are uneventful and result in no injury to anyone. However, when a school bus driver drives in a negligent manner, he or she is usually putting dozens of lives at risk. Driving a school bus while under the influence would automatically be considered negligent driving in Tennessee, and may also be found by a jury to be reckless behavior to such a degree that it warrants the imposition of punitive damages. Bus drivers should understand the magnitude of the responsibility they have in transporting dozens of small children to and from school.

Continue reading " Drunk Bus Driver Terrifies Passengers " »

Wet roads and freezing temperatures combined last Tuesday to make for treacherous driving conditions in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. The park service said such conditions lead to numerous accidents involving about forty vehicles but no serious injuries were reported. One such accident involved a van that slid over an embankment and plummeted to a stop some twenty-five feet below the road. Luckily, all six passengers were able to get themselves out of the vehicle and none of them sustained life-threatening injuries although two of them were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Tennessee has a national park of its own, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, that can often play host to treacherous driving conditions such as those described above. Many roads that run through the Park have steep drops to one or both sides and dangerous curves. Also, much of the Park is located in areas of high elevation, meaning it is considerably colder and more subject to wintry weather conditions than roadways in other parts of the state. These two factors combined mean that the roadways that run through the National Park can be substantially more dangerous than an average roadway. As such, drivers who attempt to navigate these roads must use extra caution, especially in adverse weather conditions.

Continue reading " Van Slides Over Embankment in National Park, Falls Twenty-Five Feet " »

When it comes to personal injury law, the victims who can recover for damages or injuries resulting from an accident are not always limited to persons involved in the actual accident. A wreck that happened in Knoxville last Saturday afternoon provides a great example. As a Knoxville Fire Department fire engine was rushing to assist a choking victim, a white truck made a left hand turn and struck the fire engine. Although there were no reported injuries as a result of the crash, another fire truck had to be called to assist the choking victim.

The article does not posit or speculate who was at fault for the accident. The white truck may have failed to notice that the fire truck was coming and pulled out, hitting the fire truck. Likewise, the fire truck could somehow have been driven in a negligent manner, causing it to strike the white truck. It is always important to be aware of the possible presence of emergency vehicles. This includes taking precautions like not listening to the radio or an iPod so loud that you cannot hear the warning sirens of such vehicles.

Continue reading " Victims Are Not Always Involved in the Accident " »

Driving Under the Influence is an extremely common source of both criminal and personal injury liability. So common, in fact, that routine DUI cases do not make headlines and go relatively unnoticed. However, when a driver possibly sets the state record for drunkest driver apprehended, it becomes newsworthy indeed. That is unfortunately what may have been accomplished by a South Dakota woman last month when police found her passed out in a stolen delivery van and arrested her. The woman then registered a blood-alcohol content of .708, nearly ten times the legal limit. State chemists believe it is the highest BAC ever recorded in the state, surpassing the previous high of .56.

Scientific studies have shown that a blood alcohol content of .40 % is the blood alcohol content that would actually be considered lethal for at least half of the human population. Thus, it is actually surprising that the lady was alive when she was discovered in the van, but not at all surprising that she had passed out and was unable to drive. Had she later woke up and attempted to drive while still intoxicated, she very likely could have killed herself or someone else.

Around this time of year, DUI is increasingly common and results in scores of serious injuries and deaths across the country. Police generally set up checkpoints to catch drivers who may be driving under the influence, but they cannot catch everyone and those who are left unchecked are sometimes responsible for serious injuries and death. Responsible drivers who are attempting to travel from one place to another for the holidays can find themselves the unfortunate victims of the decision to drive drunk and may lose their lives or suffer devastating injuries. Victims of DUI-related wrecks will be able to sue the driver responsible for the wreck under negligence, wrongful death, or other forms of recovery depending on the circumstances surrounding the injury. Drivers need to remember to drive responsibly in order to avoid causing such accidents and being held responsible.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_fe_st/us_record_intoxication