Wilmington Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Accidents

Auto Insurance Options- Protecting Yourself from the Unprotected

Aileen Wu Viorel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:23:55 GMT

In several states including North Carolina, the law requires you to have insurance in order to have a license, but the law does not specify how much coverage the insured must have. Not all states follow this law, in many other states; insurance is not required at all. This insurance law that differs from state to state can lead to drastic problems if an accident occurs involving drivers lacking insurance. Imagine that a car ran a red light striking you and your vehicle. The accident itself caused severe damage including upwards of 70,000 dollars in medical bills. This is not including the cost to repair your car. The individual at fault has only 20,000 dollars maximum allotted in their policy agreement. This is obviously not enough; where does the rest of the money come from? There are many options that individuals can take to protect them from being in this position. When choosing auto insurance, most companies offer underinsured, uninsured protection, or Med Pay. These policy options are very inexpensive and because they are so inexpensive, most insurance companies do not suggest it to their customers. When choosing insurance, ask if these options are a possibility. This allows you to file a claim showing that the faulty party neither has insurance or adequate insurance to cover the cost of the damages. This will allow your insurance company to use your policy to help pay the damages. Another tool at your disposal is the Med-pay policy. Electing to include this in your policy will allow you to have coverage for each of your passengers and yourself in the event the faulty party does not have coverage to pay the cost of medical. Too many times we have seen clients suffer from sever injury or even the loss of a loved one because the person at fault had either no insurance or very limited insurance. It is never good to put your fate in the hands of other people. Look into options that will protect you and the ones you love.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Aileen Wu Viorel

SUV’s overly rigid design uncovered in auto accident

Gary Shipman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:29:35 GMT

A woman driving her 1995 Pathfinder SUV was struck in the front left corner by another car traveling between 45 and 50 m.p.h. The impact pushed the left front tire through the firewall and crushed the vehicle’s foot well, floor pan, and toe board area.

The driver’s medical expenses totaled about $197,000 after suffering multiple fractures to both legs, requiring implantations of nails, screws, plates and rods. Perdue and her husband sued the manufacturer of the SUV for the overly rigid design permitted the force of impact to reach the drivers compartment. The plaintiffs alleged that the design should have permitted the front structure to yield upon impact. They also alleged that the manufacturer should have preformed testing to evaluate the potential risk from frontal- offset collisions.

The jury awarded about $2.2million, including $150,000 to Perdue’s husband for loss of consortium.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gary Shipman

Toyota and Lexus Recall Vehicles After Deadly Crash Due to Floor Mat Causing Accelerator to Stick

Jean Martin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:38:25 GMT

Last month a California Highway Patrol Officer and three members of his family were tragically killed in a fiery crash moments after they had called 911 to report that the accelerator on their loaner Lexus was stuck. Reports were that the car was traveling at speeds over 100 mph. Now Toyota Motor Corp. has issued a recall for nearly 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to address a problem with removable floor mats that could cause the accelerator to get stuck.

This is not the first time that Toyota has heard these comlaints. In 2007, a recall was issued for all-weather floormats used in some 2007 and 2008 Lexus ES350 sedans. The car in this latest deadly crash was a 2009 Lexus 350 that the dealership had loaned to the family while their car was being serviced. Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that it has received over 100 reports of incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

New Roof Crush Standards Are A Start But Do Not Go Far Enough To Protect Consumers

Jean Martin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:32:24 GMT

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, beat expectations recently by doubling the minimum roof crush resistance standard for most vehicles.
For the last three years, NHTSA toyed with a lower increase that would have had a negligible effect.

But beating low expectations doesn’t mean NHTSA has raised the bar enough for auto makers. Rollover accidents will still be deadly and preventable.

When the rules are fully in effect in 2017, vehicles weighing up to 6,000 pounds will have to withstand a force equal to 3 times their weight. Vehicles weighing 6,000 to 10,000 pounds will have to withstand a force of 1.5 times their weight, a measure known as a roof’s strength-to-weight ratio.

Of the 10,000 fatalities each year from rollover accidents, NHTSA attributes roof crush as the cause in 667. NHTSA expects the new rule to save 135 of those lives and prevent 1,065 nonfatal injuries each year.

Laudable as those goals may be—especially given a previous proposal to increase the minimum standard to just 2.5 times the vehicle’s weight for automobiles of 6,000 pounds and less—don’t be fooled into thinking this is the best the U.S. government could do to protect consumers. These rules will increase the cost of a vehicle by just $54. Yet compliance with the new standards would not even earn a vehicle the score of “acceptable” under roof-crush ratings published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

To be rated acceptable, a car must withstand a force of 3.25 times its unloaded weight. The threshold is ratio of 4 for a “good” rating.

NHTSA calls its new standard “tough.” Even the Institute called it “bold.”

Really? The standard puts most cars somewhere between “marginal” and “adequate” while requiring half that protection for drivers and passengers in many SUVs and light trucks. But the rule does beat expectations. The previous standard stood for 36 years, and NHTSA’s proposed upgrade in 2005 would only have increased roof resistance for lighter vehicles to 2.5 times their weight.

But research shows a strength-to-weight ratio of 2.5 would have minimal effect on auto fleets that mostly exceed that number anyway. The same research shows that a ratio higher than 3 is achievable and would dramatically improve safety.

A report by the Institute studied 12 small four-door passenger cars and crash data for those cars in 14 states. While NHTSA estimates its strength-to-weight ratio of 3 would save 135 lives, or just over 20 percent of the deaths attributed to roof crush nationwide, the Institute concluded that a ratio of 3.9 would save 32 percent of the lives lost in the 14 states it studied.

Not only does that result suggest that the NHTSA underestimates the impact of its new rule, it also demonstrates that the agency could have done much better by consumers--and so could auto manufacturers.

*Thank you to law clerk Cory Reiss, 3rd year student at Wake Forest University School of Law, who contributed this blog.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

On The Road For Memorial Day Weekend - Watch Your Medications

Jean Martin — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:11:54 GMT

Many Americans will be on the road traveling this Memorial Day weekend. Unfotrunately, as we all know, holiday weekends with holiday travel present more risk for traffic accidents. We have all heard the warnings to slow down, be patient, leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you, check your tire pressure, etc. But perhaps we should also warn people to check their medications.

First, as you head out for the holiday weekend, you want to make sure that you remember your medicines. If you are diabetic or have high blood pressure or another chronic disease, you do not want to miss your medications. So in those circumstances, your medicines should be the first thing you pack.

But if you have been taking Chantix in order to quit smoking, I would encourage you to leave that one at home, particularly if you are doing the driving this weekend. Over 170 serious events described as accidental injury, including more than 30 traffic accidents and 77 falls, have been reported with use of Chantix. The resulting injuries from the falls have included fractures of ribs, hands, arms, facial bones, spine and lower limbs. According to the manufacturer's own study, there is a doubling of the risk of accidental injury at at .5 mg does. In the 4th quarter of 2007, Chantix accounted for 988 serious injuries in the United States - more than any other individual drug.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not allow pilots flying commerical planes or air traffic controllers to use Chantix. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has warned medical examiners not to prescribe Chantix for commerical drivers. The reason? Chantix is being blammed for blackouts and seizures. I don't have to tell you that the consequences of experiencing a blackout or seizure while driving can be deadly.

You have valuable cargo in your car this weekend, keep them and yourself safe - leave the Chantix at home!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Lawsuits Against North Carolina State Employees

Jean Martin — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:14:03 GMT

The government and governmental agencies have protection from lawsuits under the theory of sovereign immunity, which precludes lawsuits against the government without its consent. Governments can waive sovereign immunity to allow for lawsuits.

In 1951, North Carolina adoped the State Tort Claims Act which allows injured persons and grieving families to file suit against state agencies and state employees for acts of negligence. Under the State Tort Claims Act, a state agency, state employees or agents of the state may be sued for injury to another for the negligence and carelessness caused of a state employee or agent acting within the course and scope of their employment.

An action under the State Tort Claims Act must be filed with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within three years of the date the cause of action accrued or within two years of the date of death in the case of a wrongful death. Under the State Tort Claims Act, the liability of the State is determined under the same principles applicable a private person under the laws of North Carolina. This simply means that the State has no greater protection or available defenses than would private citizen who was sued for negligence. As the injured party, although you have to bring your claim in a particular court of law, you have the same rights and claims against the State for the negligence causing the injury as you would if a private citizen would have been at fault.

Types of claims that may be brought under the State Tort Claims Act include:

* medical malpractice at a state hospital

* wrongful death in automobile accident caused by state employee driving a state vehicle

* gross negligence during a police chase

* premises liabilty at a state owned property or facility

Citizens need to be aware that they do have rights to bring lawsuits against the state for negligent acts of state employees or agents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Accident in Columbus County, NC Claims Three Lives Including Groom on His Wedding Day

Jean Martin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:31:42 GMT

A tragic accident in Columbus County, North Carolina claimed the lives of three members of a wedding party, including the groom just an hour before his expected wedding ceremony. Brandon Tedder, Brandon Lee Mintz and Daniel Sykes were all pronounced dead on the scene. Tedder was scheduled to get married less than an hour after the accident happened and Mintx and Sykes were members of the wedding party.

Most disturbing, police officers found empty beer bottles in the car that hit and killed these three young men. Officers are now investigating whether alcohol contributed to the accident.

What a tragedy to lose these three young lives, particularly as Tedder was just about to embark on a wonderful, new chapter in his life. Accidents like these are never good news to report and this one is even more heart-breaking given the timing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

What Would Cause Someone to Blackout While Driving? Maybe It's the Chantix.

Jean Martin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:14:00 GMT

My InjuryBoad Colleague Randy Appleton recently reported about an accident that occurred when a woman blacked out while driving. Too often accidents happen and the driver doesn't remember a thing. The police officer investigating the accident determines that the driver suffered a blackout and that led to the accident.

Not only is is tragic circumstances when the accident results in someone being injured, now the driver is left with the scary questions as to what caused the blackout. Doctors will look for a medical condition - seizure, epilepsy, heart problems, diabetes, etc - that caused the blackout. But now there may be another answer - Chantix.

Chantix is a medication that is used to help people quit smoking. While many people say that is has helped them in this regard, the side effects experienced were worse than the smoking habit. Chantix has been linked to seizures, suicides, heart problems, and diabetes. There have also been numerous reports of traffic accidents due to blackouts while the affected driver was taking Chantix. I think that it is telling that the Federal Aviation Administration will not allow pilots to be taking Chantix and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has banned operators of tractor trailer trucks from using this prescription drug.

If an accident happens due to a driver blackout, Chantix needs to be added to the list of consideration for potential causes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jean Martin

Be careful with insurance claims

Gary Shipman — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:43:18 GMT

Most people go their whole lives without getting involved in an automobile accident. For those of us who have experienced a little bit more of an unfavorable driving experience can appreciate the agony of going through an insurance claim. Even though insurance companies' slogans may sound as though they are willing to help in every way possible to resolve the claim the fact of the matter is insurance companies do not make money during a claim against them. As a matter of fact the goal of the insurance company is to keep the claim as cheap as possible. Some may think if a driver has insurance coverage by a big insurance company like Allstate, State Farm, Geico, or Farm Bureau then all property damages, medical costs, and lost wages will be covered under the at fault driver's insurance. The insurance company's goal is to resovle the claim as quick and for as little money as possible.

The worst and most common mistake made after an automobile accident is assuming you are not injured. Sometimes injuries such as soft tissue injuries or herniated or bulging disc can be overlooked immediately after an accident but cause immense amount of pain and sometimes disabilities in the future. When involved in an accident one should immediately seek medical attention, tell the medical provider about the accident, and follow the instructions of the medical provider. If the injured party does not have a primary care physician then now is a good time to establish one.

Another common mistake is to blindly follow the direction of the insurance adjuster. The insurance adjuster will try to get you to sign a HIPAA release form. Once this is signed the adjuster has the ability to get your medical records and bills. In some cases the adjuster will review your past medical records and use this information to minimize your claim. The adjuster will make this appealing by saying he needs this signed in order to pay your medical bills. If you are injured then you should definitely consider consulting an attorney.

You should consult an attorney before signing a Release of All Claims or cashing a settlement check because once this is executed one can not ask for more regarding the same injury. Also please remember to be realistic about any claim for damages.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gary Shipman

Teen Who Studied Motor Vehicle Deaths Dies in Accident

Gary Shipman — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:07:17 GMT

A North Carolina teenager who studied the death of teenagers in traffic accidents as part of her senior high school project died in a traffic accident near her home. Shannon Nicole Adkins of Clayton died when the pickup truck she was driving was struck head on by another pickup being driven by a 29 year old woman who was charged with driving while impaired. Ms. Adkins, who graduated last spring from Clayton High School, was the 27th Johnston County teenager to die since 2006.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gary Shipman