November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. About 2 million people in the United States are affected by epilepsy. While the general public may often consider epilepsy a genetic condition, in some cases it can be acquired through trauma. About 5 percent of epileptic seizures are caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI), whether it’s…
Many of us use our personal car while on the job. If an accident happens, and we become injured, the workers’ compensation benefits package provided through our employer kicks in. Under state law, the doctors who treat us must bill the workers compensation carrier directly for their services. The law forbids any medical provider…
If you asked most people what was the most dangerous thing someone could do behind the wheel, they’d most likely say driving drunk. While drunk driving has been responsible for widespread emotional and physical carnage, it’s not even close to the most dangerous thing you can do while driving. Studies have shown that texting…
Whether it’s from a legal perspective or simply the physical aspects of the accident, there are many differences between normal vehicle accidents, and collisions involving commercial trucks. A More Violent Collision According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 3,921 people killed and 104,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks in…
If you are pursuing legal action with a personal injury claim and negligence is the main basis for the suit, the burden is on you and your attorney to prove it. There are four major elements of a negligence claim: causation, breach of duty, duty of care, and damages. Duty of Care Duty of…
Distracted and other unsafe driving practices are dangerous enough when done by people in ordinary vehicles. When people do it behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler or other large commercial vehicles, the stakes are even higher. That’s why this week, law enforcement across the U.S., Canada and Mexico are targeting truck and bus…
If you haven’t been involved in a personal injury lawsuit, it may come as a surprise that even if someone else is at fault for your injuries, you may not be awarded the full value of your compensation. That’s because some states (including Washington and Oregon) are comparative negligence states. What is Comparative Negligence?…
Walmart won’t be winning many PR brownie points for a recent statement regarding the accident involving actor/comedian Tracy Morgan and one of their truck drivers, but it does bring up an interesting debate. Adding insult to injury, the company stated that Morgan should be held partially to blame for his injuries, since he wasn’t…
A trucking company in Nevada was found liable by a jury for an amount exceeding $4.5 million when one of its drivers crashed into an Amtrak train that resulted in the death of six people and injuries to many others at the scene of a rural crossing 70 miles east of Reno. A judge…
Many of us take the dangers of using cell phones while driving for granted. The good news is that public service campaigns and tragic news related to these accidents are being aired enough that it’s beginning to sink in how serious the issue is. Sometimes simple visuals can be a very effective way to…