Truck Accidents

December 28, 2015

Still Driving Despite 17 DUIs and a Suspended License: How to Protect Yourself From Folks Like This

Earlier this month, a Shelbyville woman was arrested for her 17^th DUI. No, that is not a typo– seventeen DUIs. According to reports, the habitual drunk driver was arrested yet again after she crossed the center-line and crashed head-on into another vehicle injuring the other driver.

Of course, given her driving record, this woman should not have been driving and, in fact, her license was suspended. But she was nonetheless out on the roadways again and almost certainly she was not insured. Tragically, this is not an isolated occurrence. Fifty to seventy-five percent of drunk drivers will continue to drive on a suspended license. If the drunk driver does not have any insurance, where does it leave the innocent victim injured by this woman’s criminal conduct? Continue reading

December 2, 2015

Pedestrians in Wheelchairs at Much Greater Risk of Injury and Death

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

Being a pedestrian is dangerous. Each year in the United States roughly 5,000 people are killed in pedestrian accidents and another 76,000 are injured. But recent data shows the risk to pedestrians using wheelchairs is even more profound as those individuals are 36% more likely to die in an accident with a vehicle. The majority of these crashes occur while the wheelchair user is properly within the crosswalk, and about 18% of the crashes occur where no crosswalk was available. Why is this happening? Continue reading

November 5, 2015

National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week: 5 Tips For Staying Awake and Alive

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

More than 1/3 of Americans have reported following asleep at the wheel, and drowsy driving causes roughly 100,000 accidents each year, claims roughly 1,500 lives and results in 71,000 injuries. In fact, driving while sleepy can impair your performance as much as alcohol.

While drowsy driving can affect anyone, some folks are more at risk than others and include: Continue reading

October 6, 2015

Feel Free To Complain

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

Some people are natural born complainers. Like this one from Middle Class Problems on Twitter: “A pecan from my maple and pecan slice has tragically fallen into my fresh coffee. Worst day ever.” (If you have never checked out Middle Class Problems, you should.) But some of us are loathe to complain. We do not want to be perceived as demanding, obnoxious, whiny, needy, etc. Or, we don’t complain because we think it will not do any good. But from my perspective as a personal injury lawyer, there are times when it is critical to complain. Below are 5 times you should complain freely and without hesitation. Continue reading

September 28, 2015

So More People Are Dying in Tractor-Trailer Accidents. What’s the Big Deal?

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

This seems to be Congress’ position on the issue. Because in the past year, they have decided to weaken a number of important safety measures despite the fact that the death toll in truck-involved crashes has risen 17 percent from 2009 to 2013 (which is the most current data) and despite the estimated cost of tractor-trailer and bus accidents is roughly $99 billion dollars a year. Yes, that is billion with a B. And, that is just economic cost. It does not reflect the emotional suffering the victims and their families suffer as a result of these accidents. So, let’s take a look at just a few steps that Congress has taken in favor of the trucking industry and against the rest of the motoring public. Continue reading

August 3, 2015

The Blood Test You Need If You Have A Suspected Brain Injury

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

Each year, more than 1.4 million people will suffer a brain injury from a car accident, fall, assault or some other cause. The brain is incredibly complex and so is the treatment of brain injuries. Primarily, physicians have relied upon CAT scans and physical symptoms such as loss of consciousness, dizziness, nausea, slurred speech, confusion and the like to determine the severity of the brain injury.

But both of those methods have their limitations. For instance, CAT scans can only detect if there is cranial bleeding. They are unable to detect damaged brain cells that are not bleeding. As for the physical symptoms, they may not always be detected or reported. For instance, in a car accident, a person may lose consciousness for a short period of time and regain it before any emergency medical personnel reach the scene. Or with a young infant who has not yet learned to talk, it would be difficult to know if the child was slurring its speech or was dizzy, etc. Continue reading

June 4, 2015

100 Deadliest Days of Driving for Teens

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

Car crashes are the number one cause of death for teenagers. And according to AAA, the deadliest days of driving for teens are the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. With teens out of school, they are on the roads much more and often have other passengers in their vehicles with them. Below are some statistics for teen drivers in Tennessee and some tips on how to keep your teenager safe during this peak accident time.

First, let’s look at teen driving statistics for some Tennessee counties. Listed below are the counties with the highest young driver (ages 15-24) crash rate rank for 2014 and the number of crashes for each county: Continue reading

May 29, 2015

Whipped Cream: Bad for the Hips and Your Criminal Record

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

Last week, a Franklin woman drove her Lexus SUV into a ditch. After she managed to get her vehicle out of the ditch, she proceeded along Battle Avenue until she crashed into a brick mailbox. When police arrived on the scene, they found the driver disoriented. Upon searching her vehicle, they found 13 cans of nearly empty whipped cream. According to reports, the driver had been huffing the aerosol in the whipped cream cans in order to get high.

Of course, a natural reaction upon hearing this story is to titter and then crack all sorts of wise comments. But, we need to remember that impaired driving is impaired driving. It really does not matter whether you impairment stems from alcohol, prescription drugs, street drugs, whipped cream or something else. If you are impaired, you should not be driving. Fortunately, for this woman, she did not hurt anyone else or herself. So how common is this problem? Continue reading

May 18, 2015

Preventing Wrong-Way Accidents

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

Wrong-way accidents are just as the name implies: an accident caused by another driver going the wrong way on a street, highway or interstate. Wrong-way accidents are not terribly common but when they occur they typically involve a fatality because the impacts are usually head-on and severe. In fact, more than 350 people are killed each year in wrong-way accidents.

By and large, wrong-way accidents involve a driver who is impaired by alcohol. So then, it will probably not surprise you to know that you are more likely to be the victim in a wrong-way accident at night and on weekends. You are also more likely to be involved in a wrong-way accident if you are driving in the lane closest to the median. Why? Because the wrong-way driver will typically move to the far right lane thinking it is the slow lane. Since they have been drinking, they choose this lane so they do not get pulled over for speeding. Finally, older drivers are over-represented in wrong-way accidents. Aside from cracking down on drunk driving, what can be done to prevent wrong-way accidents? Continue reading

April 29, 2015

I Was Not Wearing My Seatbelt At The Time of the Wreck. Will That Hurt My Case?

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

It depends upon the type of claim you have. If you have been injured in a car wreck, you may have multiple claims. Of course, you have a claim against the other driver who caused the accident. But, you may also have a claim against your own insurance carrier if the other driver was not insured or not adequately insured to compensate you for all your damages. If the other driver had been drinking before the accident, you may have a liquor liability claim if the other driver was overserved at a restaurant or bar. If your vehicle failed to perform as designed in the accident, such as the airbags failed to deploy, you may have a product liability claim against the automaker. If the accident happened in a construction zone that was improperly marked, you may have a claim against the construction company. Other claims might also be possible.

In most of these cases, the fact that you were not wearing your seatbelt, or that you were cited for failing to wear your seatbelt, is NOT admissible based on a Tennessee statute, T.C.A. 55-9-604. In other words, the other side will not be able to bring it up in your case. Below is a handy-dandy list on whether the seatbelt issue could hurt you in your type of case: Continue reading