Accident Lawyers

Recently, our Chicago truck accident attorneys read a news report posted on CommercialAppeal.com detailing an out-of-court settlement that has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a devastating trucking accident that transpired last year. The accident in question transpired on April 8, 2011, when the accident victim was operating his large commercial vehicle along an interstate highway. An additional large commercial vehicle driver was traveling near the accident victim when he had a seizure – subsequently resulting in a fatal collision between the two semi trucks. Court documents later revealed that prior to the fatal accident; the driver of the large commercial vehicle that caused the crash had a seizure during vehicle operation three weeks before fatal collision. The truck driver was treated by an ambulance crew at the scene and the doctor who examined the driver cleared him to resume vehicle operation. However, in a later deposition, our Illinois truck accident attorneys learned that the doctor testified that he was not informed of the earlier seizure. Although the case was set to go to trial this summer, an out-of-court settlement was reached and the family of the deceased truck driver was ultimately awarded $9 million in damages. Our Chicago truck accident lawyers learned that under rules regulated by the United States Department of Transportation , truckers suspected of a seizure are not allowed to resume an over-the-road truck driving job for up to 10 years. The article reveals that the defendant’s trucking company was obligated to take the driver off the road and due to their negligence; the accident victim succumbed to premature fatality. Any Chicago truck accident lawyer will tell you that any time a truck driver or their trucking carrier deviates from the rules and regulations implemented by our state and federal government, the risks associated are almost always severe and life-altering. Large commercial vehicle drivers have a significant obligation to operate their vehicles with the utmost safety to avoid any type of collision that may result in property damage, personal injury, or even premature fatality. Additionally, trucking carriers have a substantial duty to ensure that their drivers safety operate their 80,000 pound vehicles on our nation’s roadways. If you have been injured in an Illinois trucking accident or have lost a loved one at the hands of a negligent semi truck driver, please contact our Chicago truck accident lawyers to see what legal rights and relief may be available to you.

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Truck Accident Victim Awarded $9M Settlement

Teenagers are some of the highest at-risk groups for distracted driving behaviors. Teenagers are some of the highest at-risk groups for distracted driving . It is due to that so many of them fail to speak up when they’re traveling as passengers in a car being driven by a motorist speaking on a cell phone while driving. Read entire article

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Teenagers Less Likely to Stop Distracted Driving Behaviors

April 19, 2012 - According to reports the coroner’s office said a motorcyclist killed Wednesday was not wearing a helmet. According to coroner’s officials, the motorcyclist killed on Wednesday in Lake Forest on a dirt bike has been identified as Bryan Marquez age 20. Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said that Marquez was riding south on Rue de Fortuna at Fasica Place at the time of the crash. Amormino said that Marquez is believed to have lost control of the dirt bike due to traveling at an unsafe speed. Marquez was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and is believed to have hit his head on the curb after he lost control of the motorcycle , Amormino said.

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Coroner Says Motorcyclist Killed in Lake Forest Not Wearing Helmet

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that more than 20,000 lives have been saved in accidents since 1987 because of airbag systems. The simple airbag has been one of the biggest auto safety technologies in history.  However, automakers are now not content with frontal airbags and side airbag systems. Read entire article

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Companies Ramp up Airbag Safety in Order to Prevent Injuries

Punitive damages are an issue that occasionally arises in my work as a St. Louis semi truck accident lawyer . Punitive damages are monetary payments ordered when a defendant has acted with deliberate malice, reckless disregard for safety or intentional fraud; these are in addition to financial damages ordered for the plaintiff’s personal and financial losses. Not surprisingly, punitive damages are not awarded in every case; they are reserved to penalize the most serious wrongdoing, with the goal of deterring future misconduct. But because punitive damages cost more money to an at-fault defendant, and have become a political issue, defendants frequently move to bar the jury from even considering whether to award them. This was the case in Fairchild v. SCDOT , in which the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld an appeals court’s finding of reversible error when the trial court didn’t allow the jury to consider punitives. The accident underlying the case was allegedly triggered by a dump truck owned by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. On March 1, 2001, the truck was attempting to make a U-turn from the southbound lanes of I-95 to the northbound lanes. Unfortunately, the truck was hauling a trailer transporting a backhoe, and its increased length caused the vehicle to protrude from the turnaround into the left lane of southbound 95. Several drivers immediately behind the dump truck changed to the right lane, but Marilee Fairchild slowed down instead, flashing her brakes as she approached the protruding trailer. She avoided the trailer and truck, but was hit from behind by William Leslie Palmer, driving a commercial truck with a motorcycle trailer (totaling eight and a half tons), with enough force to roll her minivan over into the median. In 2003, Fairchild sued SCDOT, Palmer, and Palmer’s construction company over the resulting physical injuries and property damage, seeking punitive as well as ordinary damages. After SCDOT was dismissed as a defendant, the case went to trial against Palmer defendants and the jury eventually returned a verdict of $720,000. On cross-appeals, the South Carolina Court of Appeals found reversible error in the trial court’s refusal to submit punitive damages and a physician negligence issue to the jury, but upheld the denial of Palmer’s request for an independent medical exam. Palmer again appealed. On the punitive damages issue, the appeals court had found that there was indeed evidence of Palmer’s recklessness, despite the trial court’s conclusion otherwise, because the jury had been given evidence that he might have been speeding and following too closely. The violation of either traffic law is negligence per se in South Carolina, the high court noted, and negligence is evidence of recklessness or willfulness that requires submission of punitive damages to the jury. Thus, it agreed that the trial court erred in declining to submit the issue, and upheld the appeals court’s order for a new trial. On the physician negligence issue, Fairchild requested jury instructions on determining “the negligence of a treating physician,” which were denied. The Court of Appeals reversed this, finding Palmer had submitted evidence arguing her doctor was over-medicating her. The high court again upheld, finding reversible error. Finally, it upheld denial of Palmer’s motion for an IME performed by the same physician serving as his expert witness. As a Missouri tractor-trailer accident attorney , I’m pleased to see such a pro-plaintiff result. Judging from the facts in this case, there were serious questions about whether Palmer was negligent in driving his large commercial truck. For example, the opinion notes testimony from Palmer that he maintained a speed of 65 to 70 mph to limit his following distance so other drivers wouldn’t cut in. Not maintaining enough following distance is a basic mistake of truck driving, and indeed, truck drivers frequently complain that other drivers aren’t aware that they need extra following distance. Under that and similar circumstances, I applaud the court for remanding the case for a new trial including punitive damages. The jury may not award them — indeed, it may not find for Fairchild at all — but as a southern Illinois big rig accident lawyer , I believe everyone should get a fair trial.

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South Carolina Supreme Court Rules Court Should Have Permitted Jury to Consider Punitives – Fairchild v. SCDOT

The US Department of Agriculture has announced that it plans to eliminate as many as 800 inspector positions. US food safety regulators do not seem to have learned any lessons from the pink slime fiasco that has had several schools across the country cutting down on low-quality ground beef products included in school lunches. Read entire article

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Inspection Cuts Could Increase Risk of Poultry-Related Food Poisoning

April 18, 2012 - to reports a motorcyclist was killed in Lake Forest in a mid day crash. According to Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Dan Dwyer said the motorcycle crash was reported at approximately 12:12 p.m. Wednesday. The motorcycle accident occurred on Rue de Fortuna in the vicinity of Cabriole in the Foothill Ranch area of Lake Forest. Lt. Dwyer said authorities believe the fatal crash was a solo-vehicle accident and that they do not believe any other vehicles were involved in the crash. According to sheriff’s officials the motorcyclist has only been identified as a man in his 20’s who was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Lt. Dwyer said the motorcycle appeared to be a dirt bike that was involved in the deadly motorcycle accident.

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Motorcyclist Killed in Mid Day Crash in Lake Forest

TruckingInfo.com recently released a news report detailing a new rule that has been proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that would require individuals who perform medical exams on large commercial vehicle drivers to be trained, tested, as well as, certified to a national standard – determined by the FMCSA. Our Chicago truck accident attorneys learned that the new rule would also create a national online registry of medical examiners who have met the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s certification requirement. According to a statement released by the Department of Transportation’s Secretary, it was revealed that this new rule will ultimately ensure that healthcare professionals conducting exams keep in mind “all of the demands required to operate large trucks and passenger buses safely.” Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Administrator released a statement that addressed that “truck and bus drivers deserve to have well-trained examiners.” Also, by holding medical examiners accountable to increased standards of medical practice, the bar is ultimately raised for safety and saves lives through increased commercial driver and vehicle safety. Our Chicago truck accident lawyers learned that the rule is schedule for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Federal Register. It has been reported that the process will unfold in stages. As part of the first stage, on May 21 the National Registry of medical examiners will become available on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website. Additionally, training and testing requirements those individuals conducting medical examinations will be revealed. The availability of the website will be provided to medical examiners, large commercial vehicle drivers, trucking employers, law enforcement officials, as well as, the public. However, in two years (by May 21, 2014) the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that medical examiners used by large commercial vehicle drivers will have to be certified, as well as registered. Additionally, large commercial vehicle drivers will be required to use a certified medical examiner from the registry. A Chicago truck accident lawyer at our firm learned that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration revealed that any medical examiner who does not meet the required standards will be promptly removed from the registry. Every Illinois truck accident attorney at Levin & Perconti is pleased to learn that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has taken on an initiative to help decrease the rate of large commercial vehicle accidents by requiring more advanced standards to truck drivers, as well as, medical examiners when conducting highly important exams that directly affect the safety of the traveling public.

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New FMCSA Rule to Create Medical Examiner Registry

According to a study, taxes can actually kill you, if it affects your ability to safely drive. Can tax stress increase your risk of a car accident? Tax day is upon us and according to a recent study done by the University of Toronto , deaths from traffic accidents around April 15 rose 6% on average on each of the last 30 years of tax filing days compared with a day during the week prior and a week later. The study also found that even though taxpayers can file their taxes electronically, it did not negate the accident tendencies. Professor Donald Redelmeier, the lead researcher, suggested that factors like stress, lack of sleep, alcohol, low tolerance for other drivers can contribute to fatal drivers. April 15th: Too much stress for some Professor Redelmeier stated that “Our research suggests that stressful deadlines can contribute to driver error that can contribute to fatal crashes…People have, for a long time, speculated that psychological stress may contribute to real world crashes, but this is the first study to pint that down.” So, drive carefully on tax day and look out for other drivers making errors on the road caused by the stress from filing their taxes. If you become the victim of a stressed out driver, our Sacramento auto accident attorneys can help you. Source: Business Week, “Fatal Crashes Mount on IRS Filing Day”

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Tax Stress Can Cause Fatal Car Accidents

A major truck accident in South Scotland has demonstrated once again that, no matter where in the world they operate, vehicles with trailers can pose an incredible risk to life and property. Occurring this past Saturday in the Scottish village of Torthorwald near Dumfries, the accident involved a tractor with trailer losing control and driving into a garage forecourt, according to the BBC. Seven cars were written off as completely totaled, and six others were damaged in the accident. That is correct; in less than a minute the truck had totaled or damaged eleven other cars after losing control. According to the accident report and witnesses, the tractor and trailer came up over the pavement, drove through a brick wall along the road, and then ran over a series of cars. The vehicle ultimately stopped atop the roof of several of the vehicles. The accident took place at Torr Garage, where business partner Robert Murray estimated that the accident had caused damages exceeding £30,000. “I was standing only yards from where the tractor crashed and I shouted to the other lads to help the tractor driver and I called the emergency services,” said Murray to reporters. Murray said that villagers had been petitioning authorities for a bypass, so that dangerous tractor trailer traffic would not be as persistent a problem in the village. This accident seems likely to underscore the discussion on that point. Graham Murray, Robert’s father and also a partner in the business, said, “It’s a miracle no-one was walking past or coming in to look at the cars. Normally there are a few people about but we had just opened.” According to spokespersons for the local authorities, the accident is still being investigated as to its cause - there is no word on whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Wrecking vehicles had to be called in, and the roads were closed for some time to accommodate the cleanup.

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Trucking Accident in Scotland Destroys Row of Cars