Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

It’s football time in Tennessee: the Titans, Vols, Commodores, and Blue Raiders are all well into their seasons. Saturdays and Sunday game day rituals often begin with a bloody mary and sausage balls during tailgate set-up and progress to hotdogs, chili and beer before game time. Once inside the stadium, many fans continue to imbibe. After the game, fans routinely tailgate some more while traffic congestion clears. The result is a long day of drinking. And unfortunately, too many intoxicated or buzzed fans will pack up their tailgate and drive home. 

In Tennessee, first time drunk driver offenders will serve a minimum of 48 hours in jail and a maximum of 11 months, 29 days. With a BAC of .20 or higher, the minimum jail time is 7 consecutive days. In addition, the offender will lose his or her driver’s license for 1 year. The offender must participate in alcohol and drug program, pay fines, pay higher insurance rates, pay towing expenses, pay bail and for an attorney. The offender might also be ordered to install an Ignition Interlock at cost of roughly $1,000.00. Without question, even if you are not involved in an accident, DUI is a costly mistake. 

But, if a drunk driver causes a crash and injures someone, the real cost is paid by the victim in the form of medical bills, lost wages, permanent impairments, scarring and disfigurement, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and injuries that could change a the life of the victim and his or her family forever.  So enjoy the tailgating and the game, but remember a cab fare is down right cheap compared to the cost of drinking and driving.  You do not want to live the rest of your life knowing that you harmed another human being in a drunk driving accident.

Teenagers who are riding with friends of a similar age are at increased risk of being in fatal accidents.

A recent study by  the Texas A & M Transportation Institute finds that  15-to-17-year-old drivers are almost eight times as likely to get into a fatal accident when they are carrying two or more teen passengers.   The study is based on an analysis  of te n years of national traffic data notes that the 30 percent increase in deaths when other teens.

According to the study, from 2002 to 2011 the number of novice teenage drivers in fatal accidents dropped by 60 percent, but the percentage of fatalities that occurred when other teens were in the vehicle increased each year.

While on opposite ends of the music spectrum, Chely Wright and Rihanna were in tune on some good advice: shut up and drive. While the dangers of texting and driving are well known, drivers still do it. So, the automakers are now rolling out vehicles that allow a driver to use their voice, rather than their fingers, to send text messages. The system is similar to Siri on a i-Phone, but it is actually part of the vehicle’s electronic system. Ford and Toyota already have such systems in some vehicles. And while intuitively the idea seems like a good one for reducing distracted driving, studies show it is not an improvement at all. According to the AAA, hand-free voice messaging causes a “large” amount of mental distraction. In addition, Texas A & M Transportation Institute has found hands-free texting was just as distracting as a driver who actually uses his hands to text. Both methods slowed driver’s reaction times to almost two times that of a non-distracted driver. Without question, distracted driving is dangerous. And so, the best and safest advice remains to simply shut up and drive. Coming from someone who remembers the days of finding a pay phone if you wanted to talk to someone while out on the roads, pull over if your text message can’t wait until you reach your destination. You might just save your life or someone else’s.

You have no legal obligation to give a statement about the events giving rise to a Tennessee automobile, truck or motorcycle accident to the adjuster to the at-fault driver’s insurance company.  We typically recommend that our clients do not give such a statement, especially before they are prepared by one of our lawyers on how to give a proper statement.

We are not suggesting that we ever permit a client (or a witness) to change his or her testimony.  Nor to encourage a client (or witness) to do so.  But preparation for a recorded statement (and they are almost always recorded) greatly reduces the chance of an error that can harm the case.

On the other hand, you probably do have a contractual obligation to give a statement to your own insurance company.  Your insurance policy probably requires you to do so.  Once again, it is best that you seek the advice and help of a lawyer before giving the statement.  

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that deaths in traffic accidents are significant’y lower in 2013 than they were at this point in the year in 2012.

By this date last year, 458 people in Tennessee had died from traffic related accidents.  This year, 388 people have died, a drop of 70 people.

Motorcycle deaths are down 25%, from 60 to 45.  Bicyclist deaths are down almost 50%, from 7 to 4.

 No.  At the Law Offices of John Day, P.C. we do not charge a fee to meet with any potential client who wants to discuss a potential car accident, truck accident or other personal injury claim with us.  We will meet with you or a member of your family in our office, your home or even the hospital, depending on the circumstances.  

Why do we not charge for an initial meeting?  There are two reasons.  First, we understand that most people who meet with us about a potential injury claim are already facing a bunch of bills arising from the event that requires them to see a lawyer.  Our potential clients are facing medical bills, time lost from work, and other financial stresses, and the last thing they need to spend money on is an hour meeting with a lawyer.

Second, when you meet with us to see if we are the right lawyer for you we are meeting with you and making sure that you are a client that we believe we can help.  From time to time, people come to us with cases that we believe simply lack merit and we simply cannot help those people other than to tell them the problems we see with their case.  Other people come to us with legal problems that do not justify the cost of litigation.  So, we feel it is only fair that we do not impose any sort of a charge for an initial meeting with a personal injury client because both of us are trying to figure out whether there is a good "fit" between us.