Motorcycle Accidents

January 31, 2017

A Safer Super Bowl Sunday

This Sunday is Super Bowl LI or 51 for those of you, who like me, only do Roman Numerals to a point. This year’s match-up pits the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons in a showdown in Houston. Whether you are hosting a Super Bowl party or attending one, here are some tips for staying safe this Super Bowl Sunday: Continue reading

December 26, 2016

Advice From a Lawyer on the New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

As the New Year approaches, many start to think about improvements they want to make in their lives for 2017. At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., our work involves helping people who have been injured in accidents and, since most accidents are preventable, we thought we would give you some New Year’s resolutions that can help protect you and others. The best part of these resolutions is, for the most part, they are easy and painless to implement (unlike that weight resolution most of us make). Here are our recommendations:

Check your auto insurance and make sure you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. I can’t tell you how often someone calls our office with significant injuries from a car accident who cannot recover any money because the driver who caused the accident did not have insurance and the client did not have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. We have written a number of posts about uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and you can find them here, here, here and here. But, our number one piece of advice to protect yourself would be to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with as high of limits as you can afford. You will truly be surprised at how cheap it is and it can mean the difference between receiving compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and injuries and receiving nothing.
Wear your seatbelt. They save lives. Period.

December 19, 2016

Regulation Violations and Your Injury Lawsuit

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Government regulations get a bad rap. To be sure, if you look long enough, you can find some that will make you shake your head and wonder, but for the most part regulations do a good job of providing protection to the public. And, they can also be a big boost in accident claims and injury lawsuits.

As proof that regulations are needed to protect the public, one need only look at the tragic hot air balloon crash in Texas that killed the pilot and 15 passengers earlier this year. Many believe this accident occurred because the Federal Aviation Administration does very little to exercise oversight of hot air balloon operators. In fact, regulations on hot air balloon operators are almost non-existent despite the fact that they often carry more passengers than small commuter planes and helicopters. Unlike conventional pilots, hot air balloon operators do not have to get regular medical exams and, while the form operators must complete asks about narcotic drug charges, it specifically excludes alcohol- related driving offenses. In the deadly Texas crash, the operator was taking at least 10 different drugs for various medical problems. Some of the drugs including oxycodone would have disqualified him from flying conventional aircraft because of their effect on decision-making and reaction times. Moreover, the operator had been convicted of drunk-driving on at least four occasions. Of course, regulations do not prevent every accident, but it is probably safe to say that if the Federal Aviation Administration had implemented tighter regulations over hot air balloon pilots that this particular pilot would not have been in the sky with passengers on that fateful day.

Regulations not only provide protection to the public but they also can help your accident claim or injury lawsuit. If you are injured in an accident and you want to recover money for your injuries, you must prove that someone else was negligent, that negligence caused your injuries and the extent of your injuries and damages. Let’s focus on negligence. In simplest terms, you should think of negligence as either doing something you should not have done or not doing something you should have done. Lawyers will often refer to it as a violation of the standard of care. Part of proving the other party was negligent involves proving the standard of care, but when there is a safety regulation the standard of care has already been established by the regulation itself. So then, all you must do is prove the defendant violated the regulation. In other words, the regulation can eliminate one step of what is normally a two-step process. So regulations can play a critical role in injury litigation.

December 12, 2016

NHTSA’s New Guidelines Seek to Reduce Car Crashes Caused by Distracted Driving

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has introduced new guidelines to combat driver distraction and hopefully reduce car accidents. The guidelines seek to prompt manufacturers to develop products that will reduce the risk of car crashes caused by distracted driving by either using a simplified driver interface which limits the time a driver’s eyes are averted from the road or by pairing a mobile device to the vehicle’s infotainment system. Currently, the NHTSA’s proposals are voluntary but they are a step in the right direction especially since we continue to see car crashes like the ones below that show just how out of control distracted driving is becoming. Continue reading

September 13, 2016

What Hillary Clinton’s Pneumonia Teaches Us

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Now wait just a minute, I am not going to talk politics. I am going to talk about disclosure and hindsight. Whatever your opinion on Hillary Clinton, most people think it was a mistake for her not to have disclosed that she was suffering with pneumonia. Day in and day out, we counsel our clients on disclosure and here are some thoughts on the issue:

What you think is important is not what everyone else thinks is important. HRC said she did not disclose the pneumonia because she did not think it was a big deal. But, she is not the decider of what is a big deal in an election. That is the voters’ job. The same is true of litigation: the ultimate decider is the jury. So we tell our clients that everything needs to be viewed through the eyes of jurors.

Non-disclosure almost always does more harm than disclosure. Because some hubbub had already been made about her health, HRC probably thought it would be better keep her pneumonia diagnosis to herself and her camp, take some antibiotics, solider on and avoid providing any fodder to Trump, the media, etc. This is not an unreasonable position on its face. The problem comes when the information comes out anyway. With HRC, her stumble or collapse (depending upon your political affiliation) outed her illness. As a result, the focus is now two-fold: her health and her transparency. The same is true in injury litigation. Let’s say you have a prior back injury that you think is unrelated to the current back injury you received in a recent tractor-trailer accident and so you decide not to tell your lawyer or the other side about it when they ask you under oath. Let me be clear: this is a horrible plan. The other side is going to have full access to your medical and pharmacy records and the power of a subpoena. Defense lawyers get paid a lot of money by the hour to find things that hurt your case. A good defense lawyer will leave no stone unturned and when they find it you, just like HRC, will have two problems: the old injury is now known and your non-disclosure has now also created a credibility or transparency issue for the jury. Recall point 1; the jury gets to decide what is important and if you win.

July 10, 2016

100 Deadliest Days Could Be Even Deadlier This Year

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The good news: the economy continues to improve and gas remains cheap. The bad news: this could mean more traffic deaths especially during the 100 Deadliest Days. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, last year traffic fatalities rose 7.7% to 35,200 — the highest since 2008. Many experts attribute the increase in accidents and fatalities to an improved economy combined with low gas prices as these lead to more drivers out on the road for reasons other than the daily commute. And with more drivers on the roads for weekend plans, vacations and the like, there is simply an increased likelihood for accidents. Continue reading

May 26, 2016

Ten Memorial Day Weekend Safety Tips and One Heartfelt Thank You.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Memorial Day is a day to remember and be grateful for those brave men and women who have died while serving our country in the military. It is also the unofficial start of summer. Beach trips, parades, lake outings, pool parties and barbecues are on a lot of folks’ agenda. Here are ten safety tips to help keep your weekend fun and injury-free: Continue reading

April 25, 2016

A Driving Safety Tip You May Not Know

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The summer driving season is just around the corner. Time for vacations, trips to summer camp and the like. Gas prices are expected to remain low. In fact, the federal government is expecting gas to be at its lowest since the summer of 2004. So, the roadways will likely be busy and, unfortunately, dangerous. Here are a few tips for making sure you and your family stay safe including one you might not know.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security offers licensed Tennessee drivers the ability to add emergency contacts to their driver’s license online. So, if you are involved in an accident, emergency workers can quickly contact your spouse, parents, legal representative, etc. If you are unconscious, this could save valuable time in a medical emergency as your contact could provide medical history, information on any medications you are taking, etc. In addition, not only will your loved ones be alerted to the emergency quicker but they can begin helping quicker. For instance, maybe at the time of the accident you were on your way to pick up your daughter from school, if your spouse is quickly alerted to the accident, he could get someone to your daughter promptly. The process is simple. Just go to www.dl.safety.tn.gov. The 7^th star on the page is a link for Manage Emergency Contacts. Click it, fill out the requested information and hit submit. Now, your emergency contacts are linked to your driver’s license number.
Register your vehicle and your tires with the manufacturer so that you are kept updated on any recalls. Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oversaw a record number of recalls. If your vehicle and tires are not registered, the manufacturer cannot notify you directly. Vehicles and tires are only recalled if there is a safety defect or if they fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. So, recalls are serious business. At www.nhtsa.gov, you can search to see if there are any recalls affecting your vehicle, tires, child safety seats, etc. You can also sign up for safety alerts.

April 18, 2016

Fundamentals Win Games and Lawsuits

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Almost any coach will tell you that fundamentals win games. While lawsuits are definitely not a game, they are about winning. So just as a good baseball coach will instruct you to field a grounder with your glove on the ground and your bare hand above the glove, we want to tell you four fundamentals you can do to help win your lawsuit. Continue reading

March 30, 2016

Unbelizable Facts About Driving in Belize

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Over Spring Break, we were blessed to get to vacation in Belize. On our last day of vacation, we took a catamaran to Caye Caulker. While walking through the village, we noticed the island’s traffic laws posted on the wall. While Title 55 of the Tennessee Code dealing with motor and other vehicles has 53 Chapters, Caye Caulker on the other hand has a very limited set of regulations. Beyond requiring a license, registration and insurance, drivers are prohibited from driving on the airstrip runway, the beach, the football field and any unauthorized piers. The Tennessee Legislature might take a tip or two on brevity from the Caye Caulker Traffic Control Committee.

Some other interesting fact about driving in Belize: Continue reading