The Governor’s Highway Safety Program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Safety Council have joined forces this month of April for National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The purpose is to urge drivers to avoid distractions while driving. Drivers using handheld or hands-free cell phones or texting while driving are the leading distraction for crashes which is 28 percent of all accidents or 1.6 million crashes each year estimated by the National Safety Council.
The head of the Vermont Governor’s Highway Safety Program cited a new case of distracted driving in Vermont that involved a woman texting while driving with her dog sitting on her lap as an example of a continuing problem across the nation. The woman who has been summoned into court on allegations of driving with a suspended license, cell phone in one hand and her dog sitting on her lap is Sarah Gibson, 22, of St. Johnsbury. According to St. Johnsbury police, Sgt Eric Hazard spotted Gibson texting while driving her 2001 truck when they were supervising traffic Tuesday on Memorial Drive. She was issued a $ 156 traffic ticket – with two points against her license – on the texting allegation and also was ordered into criminal court May 21 to face the charge of driving with a suspended license.
Detective Sgt. Jennifer McGarvin said that Gibson asserted she was not texting, merely checking the time on her cell phone, which was being held above the steering wheel when spotted by the police. Is this any better? Her eyes were still not in the road. Gibson received a written warning for having the dog in her lap, and also for failing to carry her vehicle registration and proof of liability insurance in the truck.
Many states have passed laws that ban texting while driving and Vermont is among the 36 states. Vermont law prohibits drivers from having anything between them and the steering wheel.
Why do we still have cases like this? Are the laws not enough? Are citizens too busy ignoring rules and laws because of virtually no penalties? Does the threat of $100.00 fine make you think twice about texting while driving? That is the maximum penalty in Kentucky. I don’t believe the penalty represents the potential danger and consequences of a serious injury car accident.
April is Distracted Driving Month! There are numerous campaigns that aim to increase people’s awareness on the negative effects of distracted driving. Teens are the focus of any campaign, being the biggest culprit. Fox teen hit TV show Glee features a distracted driving crash cliffhanger from last season in their season premier. As far as my girls go it doesn’t get any bigger then Glee.
A recent survey from State Farm points out that many teens still do not get the message of not texting while driving. Harris Interactive have surveyed 652 teens ages 14-17 in February to examine their attitudes and behaviors around driving. The survey showed that just 43% of drivers ages 16 and 17 say that they never texted while driving. This result is similar to the percentage result as in the insurer’s first survey done in 2010.
In Glee’s cliffhanger from last season, Quinn Fabray rushed to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. She was texting while driving when her vehicle was blindsided by a truck. Viewers were left wondering about her fate as the screen went black. We will see if her contract is renewed.
Teens are still texting while driving. It is not until they or a friend is involved in a car accident that they see the real damage texting while driving can cause. Parents play an important role in the battle against teen texting and driving. As emphasized by the survey, 67% among teens who text will talk often with their parents about driving. This rises to 82% among teens who never text while driving. The bottom line is communication.
The fight against teen texting and driving is far from over. It is important to increase teen awareness on the effects of texting and driving as well as teaching them how to drive safely. Parents should continue to talk with their children and never miss to emphasize the importance of safety and to never hold their phone while in control of the wheel. Use shows, such as Glee, which shows this behavior and the dangers to start your conversation. This well could avoid a Knetucky car accident,
You don’t have to give the insurance company a recorded statement immediately after the accident. Just because they call you doesn’t mean you have to talk to them. Time is not of the essence! We talked in the past blogs about why they are trying to take your statement. I advise my car accident clients not to give a statement until you have had a chance to evaluate yourself. Figure out your pain level. Get off your pain medication if you can. I urge you to talk to an attorney before you give a statement so that he can prepare you for that statement. Preparation will level the playing field. Insurance adjusters take statements
everyday. Most people will only give a statement this one time. Giving a
statement can be very nerve wracking.
The main thing is to get prepared. Time is not of the essence. You can wait. You can wait 30 to 60 days or even longer if you want to before you give a statement.
You might want to take some notes so you don’t forget what you want to say. You should keep a journal everyday as to what is happening the doctors you are going to, the things that you can and can’t do during the course of the day because of the accident. If you think about it, a trial, if it happens, is going to be two to three years down the road. Think about last Christmas. If I asked you to go from when you got up to when you went to bed and tell me everything that happened, who got what present, are you going to be able to do that?
Preparation for a statement with a Kentucky Personal Injury attorney that consent notes in car accident cases will give you the best opportunity to get a favorable
outcome in your case.
For a personal injury case almost all attorney fees are a contingency fee, which
means the attorney is paid a percentage of what is collected at the end of the
case. This is so that the injured victim, who is usually off work, doesn’t have to pay a flat fee or an hourly fee right up front out of pocket. Most attorneys charge one third or 33 1/3 percent of the amount that is collected for the injured person at the end of the case.
There are some attorneys that may charge a little bit less. There are other attorneys that will charge 40 percent for a more complicated case. Medical malpractice cases are usually charged 40 percent because the cost in reference to that case, to get it ready for trial is much, much greater. There are other triggers, such as going to trial and appeals, where some attorneys will raise the fee. It might start out at 25 percent but if you have to go to trial, file a suit it then goes to a third. If you have to go to trial it goes to 40 percent. It is important to take a good
look at your contract and see what is in it before you sign the contract with the attorney. Every attorney’s contract is a little bit different. If you want
to see an example of one you can go to my website, www.mikeschaferlaw.com and search contingency fee contract in the search box and it will pop up the contract that I use.
Americans spend so much time behind the wheel of a car that we forget how complex driving is. It has become routine. We forget that one false move may cause a fatal car accident. This is especially true for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Studies are showing that any level of ADHD may increase the risk of unsafe driving and car accidents. These problems stem from:
under developed visual perception skills;
impaired ability to self-regulate behavior;
moods;
responses;
lack of organization;
immature judgment; and
the inability to concentrate as well.
With these issues, ADHD teen drivers can be at higher risk for car accidents.
Even though a teenager with ADHD may have the knowledge of driving rules, employing these rules may be challenging, especially if one gets easily overwhelmed by new stimuli, increased responsibility, and distractions from gadgets. Statistics shows that young drivers with ADHD are four times more likely than others to be involved in accidents, three times as likely to have injuries, four times more likely to be at fault, and six to eight times more likely to have their licenses suspended. Medication is a widely recognized treatment shown to help ADHD driving behavior. There are several medications commonly prescribed for ADHD patients that can make huge difference on their ability to concentrate, control impulsive behavior and problem-solve. Diet can also be an affective means of controlling ADHA.
Both parents and teens need to be the same that learning to drive is a privilege that must be earned. If you are like most parents, the thought of your child with ADHD obtaining a driver’s license is a cause of major concern. To help your childs chances of success try:
restricting your child’s driving,;
setting some rules; and
emphasizing approaching driving with caution.
Evaluate your child’s overall behavior and determine if your child is really ready to drive. For all teens, especially those with ADHD, the development of persistently safe driving is essential for their safety, the safety of your passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers. Being aware and taking these precautionary measures may prevent a serious injury in a Kentucky car accident.
You have to reimburse Medicare for medical bills they paid for treatment for injuries from an accident. Medicare has, what we call, a super lien. Not only are you on the hook for the reimbursement but also the insurance company if they don’t pay it back would be liable. And the attorney could also be personally liable. You’re definitely are required to pay Medicare back anything they pay for medical care of injuries suffered in a car accident caused by someone else.
It’s much the same way with most health insurance policies. They have provisions requiring subrogation. You have to pay back if there is someone else that is responsible for the injury.
Sometimes the amount can be negotiated down. Most of the time that the amount is a lot less than what your medical bills would be. Medicare pays a very minimal amount of the total bill so if there was a $1,000.00 bill they might have only paid $122.00 toward that. You only have to pay what Medicare actually paid. Medicare will also give a 25 percent discount off of that for the attorney helping them collect. The attorney usually passes this on to the client.
Medicare is a huge problem. They are very slow in responding. They have a lien on the case that has to be repaid. Until the attorney gets the conditional amount from Medicare he has no idea what type of settlement or what the bottom line of the settlement will be and how much they will get. A case in Arizona basically put a halt for two or three months on everything. There were no letters going to attorneys stating what the lien amount was. Consequently, car accident cases and other personal injury cases could not be settled. This placed a huge financial hardship on those accident victims.
There are lawyer and medical referral services in every state. They are created to assist accident victims in their treatment, claims and recovery. Many have questioned their credibility asking whether they offer reliable service or are just a for money-making business? What is the truth?
In Florida, complaints about lawyer and medical referral services prompted the Florida Bar and lawmakers to consider new regulations. Critics have said, that accident victims are lead to believe that after being involved in a car accident that they will receive $10,000. The truth is this is for medical bills only and they could be left with thousands of dollars in medical bills on top of it.
One example is Jazmil Rodriguez who was rear-ended in Orange City last year. She phoned a medical and lawyer referral service to help her. She later realized that she was deceived. She was told by a paralegal that she must be treated before she could meet an attorney. She was then treated for 10 days straight. After that her treatment consisted of three to four times a week for two months at a specific pain clinic. After her treatment, she was told that her therapy used up her $10,000 of personal injury protection benefits and she still has to pay nearly $5,000.
A special Florida Bar committee is investigating lawyer referral services. The bar considers proposals that would restrict lawyers from participating in for-profit referral services and would require lawyers to disclose their relationship with the referral service to both the bar and the clients. Such recommendations will be presented to the State Board of Governors in May.
As a Kentucky personal injury attorney, I believe that a lawyer must provide a complete, fair and impartial advice to his clients. If they are relying on referrals for such a service are we able to give impartial advice to an accident victim? I believe accident victims should be informed of all relationships. The way the injured accident victims can make an informal decision that is best for them and only them.
Distracted driving, texting while driving: We have all heard the terms. Is it really that dangerous? Should we be worried? Teens do this every day, shouldn’t they be good at it? The road can be dangerous anytime one encounters a distracted driver.
Here’s a video I came across that really shows how dangerous texting while driving is “Not everyone should text and walk. No one should text and drive.”Ouch! Bad things happen if a driver isn’t looking at the road. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens. The majority of these crashes are caused by inexperience or distractions. More than 5,000 teens (ages 16-20) are killed in passenger vehicle crashes each year. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could prevent these needless deaths?
With the immense popularity of mobile devices, teens and adults are generally hooked to texting and talking over mobile phones even while doing other activities. The use of a cell phone while driving slows down the reaction time of the driver and it can be the same as that of a 70-year old. The American Automobile Association reports that nearly 50 percent of teens admit to texting while driving. This act can be a disastrous.
The challenge still continues on making people, specifically teens, really understand the dangers caused by using a cell phone behind the wheel. There are many movements that help educate people on safe driving. Each of us can play an important role to minimize motor vehicle crashes. Parents should set as an example of having a good driving behavior. Keep in mind that safety matters and it is wrong to text and drive. Forward this video to all the teens you know. Maybe it will make a difference and prevent a fatal car accident.
No-Fault insurance, it’s a confusing term. The Kentucky legislator put this law in place to make sure that your medical bills get paid. It means that no matter whose fault the accident is your medical bills are going to be paid. Whether you caused the accident or you didn’t cause the accident, you are entitled to what are called No-Fault benefits. Under most situations the minimum amount of $10,000.00 is available to a car accident victim. Those benefits are paid by your own personal car insurance company. This is to make sure that you don’t have to get permission from the at fault insurance company to go to the doctor. You don’t have to go to their doctor. You can choose your own. When the case is settled your insurance company has the right to subrogate or collect what they have paid less on intercompany deductible. Your insurance company will collect most of what they paid back from the at fault insurance company.
Most insurance policies the basic amount in Kentucky of PIP is $10,000.00 and that doesn’t go very far. That’s a problem. You really need to ask your insurance agent if you can raise your personal injury protection. There is something called added reparations benefit. You can raise your PIP limits up to $90,000.00 in added reparations benefits which go toward the medical bills. I strongly recommend – especially if you don’t have health insurance – to call your insurance agent and get added reparations benefits and it won’t cost near as much as you think it will.
Cell phones, blue tooths and even T.V. sets are in almost every car on the road, these are all forms of distracted driving. Cell phone manufacturers and auto manufacturers have developed devices that may help alleviate the problem of driving distraction. The issue is safety on the road. Distracted driving is a dangerous behavior that has caused and will cause more serious car accidents. Most people ignore the distraction while driving despite the known risk. It is too late when they have a car accident.
A driver talking to a passenger is distracted. When a driver is driving while using a cell phone, his vision and reaction time are compromised by the brain’s mental images of who he is talking to. He is cognitively distracted.
A University study, cited by David Teater, Senior Director of Transportation Strategic Initiatives for the National Safety Council states that by using magnetic resonance imagery (MRI), as much as 37 percent of the brain’s resources can be diverted from driving while conversing on a phone.
A single source can turn off a driver’s mental images and can let him turn his head and mind to the sound. One solution could be the use of a magnetic resonance device installed in cars that would measure brain activity. A driver would be warned once a distraction occurs. If the warning is ignored, the conversation would be terminated. In other words the call would disconnected.
Another suggestion is to require hands-free users to install devices that indicate their cellphone is engaged to other drivers on the road. These devices include several small, flashing, yellow warning lights that are visible from all sides. Law enforcement can act if the phone user is driving in a distracted manner. In this way, the people around can be warned to be cautious in the presence of these distracted drivers. This would also make it easier for police to enforce those no texting laws.
The release of new devices and gadgets will keep coming. As a personal injury attorney, I am not sure any of these are the real answer. A total ban may be the only solution. Is this idea to close to Hal from 2001:A space odyssey? Are we that personally unresponsible as a society that we need this technology to restrict our use of cell phones and other gadgets while behind the wheel?
