In California, a man has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter after his car left the freeway at a high rate of speed, ran a red-light and struck another vehicle killing two people. After the accident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that Autopilot was in use in the Tesla at the time of the crash. The NHTSA has categorized these types of crashes as “automation complacency”. This raises the questions of: why are drivers being complacent and who is to blame? Continue reading
Articles Posted in Product Liability
Bad Accidents and Good Fortune
Last week, author Seth Godin wrote a blog post about good and bad accidents and, to be honest, we keep thinking about it. Perhaps Seth’s article has stuck with us because at the Law Offices of John Day, our award-winning lawyers see bad accidents and their lasting aftermath every single day. Quite frankly, it can get you down. Needless injuries and deaths caused by carelessness can be hard to stomach day in and day out. So what keeps us going? Good fortune. Or as Seth put it, good accidents. In follow-up to Thanksgiving, we thought we would share some with you. Continue reading
National Use Your Common Sense Day
November 4, 2021 is National Use Your Common Sense Day. Yes, we are serious. Our only problem with this particular national observance is that it is limited to only a day. Quite frankly, and I think most of you will agree, it should be Use Your Common Sense Day every single day. At the Law Offices of John Day, we see the results of failing to use common sense so we have some suggestions on where people might want to concentrate their efforts. We encourage you to join us in our little rant and add your lack-of-common-sense pet peeve in the comments. So here we go, this is our list: Continue reading
If Your Vehicle Has Certain Technology, You Now Have a Duty to Report Some Types of Crashes to the NHTSA
If you are operating your car, truck or SUV using technology that both helps you stay in your lane and adaptive cruise control or other Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), then a recent order by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires the vehicle’s operator and others to report certain crashes to the NHTSA. The purpose of this General Standing Order from the NHTSA is to more closely track advanced driver safety systems and the safety issues surrounding them. Read on to learn more about when the duty to report is implicated.
The Champlain Towers South Collapse – What If It Had Happened in Tennessee?
The rising death toll and enormous property loss arising from the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium building near Miami, Florida will give rise to litigation. Families of those who die in the tragedy will file suit, hoping to find answers and obtain compensation for the loss of loved ones. Injured people will also take legal action, seeking money to pay medical bills, replace lost income, and lost property. The insurance companies who sold homeowner’s insurance to the condo owners will also file suit, seeking reimbursement of the losses they will pay to their insureds. Continue reading
Radical Listening
A recent New York Times article discussed how the health care industry was attempting to teach medical professionals the art of “radical listening”. What is radical listening? And why is it so important especially for professionals like doctors and lawyers. Continue reading
How Will the Pandemic Affect Jury Awards?
Let’s face it, the pandemic is leaving an indelible mark on almost everything, so there is no reason to believe jury awards in injury and death cases will be any different. Jury and trial consulting firms have been conducting surveys since the inception of the pandemic and they have some theories on how the pandemic will affect the amount of jury awards, how it will impact medical malpractice cases and whether it will generally be better for the defendant or the injury victim.
How Do You Prove Pain & Suffering?
You may have heard this phrase on advertisements by lawyers or on a TV show, but what does it mean and, more importantly, if you have an injury case, how do you prove it? Pain and suffering is exactly what it sounds like: it is the pain and problems you have encountered following an accident. While it is related to your medical treatment it is a distinctly different item of damages and is entitled to separate compensation, but there is not a mathematical formula for calculating it. So, if you have sustained a serious injury after an accident that was not your fault, you need an experienced injury lawyer to help you prove your pain and suffering to an insurance company, a jury or a judge so that you can maximize your compensation. Read on to understand the basics of this part of your injury case. Continue reading
Security
While doing some cleaning out last weekend, we came across this old Peanuts book titled: Security is a Thumb and a Blanket. 2020 has certainly caused many of us to long for more security whether it be in our economic situation, our health, our relationships, etc. If only a thumb and a blanket could keep us from danger or threat. As we flipped through the book, we saw the above photo. It is a great reminder of the importance of choosing the right team. If you think you or a loved one might need an injury attorney, read on to learn more about how to pick the right one for you – even if it is not us. Continue reading
June 11th – National Make Life Beautiful Day
Well, we could all certainly use some more beauty in our lives these days. We often think of beauty as a physical attribute but it is so much more. Kindness is beautiful, justice is beautiful, truth is beautiful, courage is beautiful and so many more things. In honor of National Make Life Beautiful Day, we wanted to announce another give-away from our office. On June 27th, we are going to be giving away 1,000 washable cloth masks from the parking lot of our Murfreesboro office. Just drive through and get a free mask. More details are below. In addition, below are some easy suggestions on how you could make life beautiful tomorrow, and we would love for you to comment with some suggestions of your own. Continue reading