Poppe Law Blog 
- Associated Press Article Attributes Poor Care in Nursing Homes to Understaffing and Discusses 677 Million Dollar Verdict
- Kentucky Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Poppe Law Firm Client
- Louisville and Lexington Newspapers Reveal Why Patients Receive Poor Care in Nursing Homes
- Want Tort Reform Now? Here Is A Form That Will Give It To You!
- WHAS 11 News Interviews Hans Poppe About The Karen Sypher Extortion of Rick Pitino Trial.
- Apple & ATT Might Have Some Big Problems Out in California...
- Let's Put Senior Citizens in Jails and Put Criminals In Nursing Homes
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules Cops Can “Eyeball” Speeding Motorists
- KY Supreme Court Rules Widow Entitled to Benefits in Lexington Plane Crash
- Women Fight Over Gary Coleman's Estate--Watchu Talkin Bout?
- Hans To Argue Before Kentucky Supreme Court Wednesday.
- You Wont' Believe What This Trucker Was Doing When He Killed This Mother of Two....
- California Judge in Toyotoa Case Picks Heavy Weight Plaintiffs Lawyers To Steer Litigation.
- Study About Kentucky Court System is Bogus
- Trucking Company Involved in Second Worst Wreck In Kentucky History Has Poor Safety Record.
- Who Owns March Madness and the Sweet Sixteen? Hint, Kentucky and Illinois have something to say about it!
- The Tort Reform Myth Explained....
- Don't Want To Get Sick? Don't Go Here....(hint, it's the last place you'd guess)
- Drunk Drivers Get Locked Out....
- Ohio Doctors Get Immunity From Malpractice Suits
Law News
- Courier Journal Article on Poppe Law Firm $3.9 Million Bad Faith Verdict
- Louisville, Kentucky Jury Awards Poppe Law Firm Client $3.8 million in Insurance Bad Faith Trial
- Jury Award's Poppe Law Firm Client $5.1 Million
- Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform Invite Hans to Speak at Louisville Event
- Kentucky's Poppe Law Firm Files Accounting Malpractice Complaint Against Major Michigan Accounting Firm
Law We Know
Kentucky Accident Attorney
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville Agrees to Pay 243 Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse $25.7 Million Dollars.
- Proposed Kentucky legislation to make texting while driving a crime.
- Federal Judge Dismisses Comair Plane Crash Victims Consortium Claims
- Hans Poppe WHAS 11 News Interview on McDonalds Strip Search Trial.
- Jury Instructions in Ogborn v. McDonalds
Ketucky Legal Malpractice Attorney
- Kentucky Legal Malpractice Attorney Article on Lost Punitive Damages
- Tennessee Federal Court Order Suspending William Gallion's Lawer, Herbert S. Moncier from practice of law
- Kentucky Federal Court Finds Jurisdiction Over Minnesota Attorney in Legal Malpractice Lawsuit
- Minnesota Lawyer Must Defend Legal Malpractice Case in Kentucky
- I have a Problem With My Lawyer, What Do I do Now?
Kentucky Medical Malpractice Attorney
- Can't Wait For The Government To Pass Tort Reform in Your State? Here Is A Form You Can Sign That Voluntarily Opts Your Family Into Tort Reform. Is This What You Really Want? If So, Go Ahead And Sign It!!
- Healthcare Spending Greater in Northeast States
- D.C. Government pays $650,000 to guardian of mental patient who gouged eyes out, going blind.
- A New York single mother had both breasts removed after a mix-up in a medical lab.
- Hospital Residents Still Overworked
Accounting Malpractice Attorney
- Doeren Mayhew Accounting Malpractice Complaint
- How To Get Your File From Your Accountant.
- Kentucky Statute Governing Accountant's Duty to Give File to Client
- Kentucky Administrative Regulations Governing Accountants
- Kentucky Staute Requiring Accountant Keep Information Confidential
Unfair Insurance Practices Attorney
- Jury Verdict in Daniels v American Physicians Assurance Corp.
- Kentucky Bad Faith Verdict
- Cincinnati Insurance vs. Hofmeister
- Seven Medicare Companies to Stop Marketing Temporarily
- Kentucky's Unfair claims Settlement Practices Act
Kentucky Nursing Home Neglect Attorney
- Identifying Four Stages of a Bedsore
- Pressure Sores
- Information on the new Medicare Precription Drug Plan
- Kentucky Nursing Home Abuse
- National Coalition for Nursing Home Reform's Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home
Video
General
- Poppe Law Firm April 2009 Newsletter
- Poppe Law Firm November Newsletter
- Louisville Magazine "On the Rise" profile in the Louisville Top Lawyer's issue.
- How to Avoid Getting or Spreading MRSA
- Pamphlet on Kentucky's Open Records Law
Testimonials
- I would like to take this opportunity to write to your law firm and thank you for coming through for me when I lost hope in my previous attorney.
We will gladly be a reference for you, and we certainly will recommend you as the attorney to have in Louisville. You have a gift in the way you are able to communicate with your clients and within the legal system.
My father would have been so proud to know that his case was driven home with such passion and genius. Thank you for giving that jury every tool they needed to hold those people accountable for the torture they inflicted on my Dad.
- Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...
- You have now made it possible for me to rest assured that I have everything I need now and in the future to cover the expenses of my disability
Kentucky Accident Attorney
You Wont' Believe What This Trucker Was Doing When He Killed This Mother of Two....
Truck driver streaming porn and driving while sleep deprived runs his eighteen wheeler over a young mother of two.Trucking Company Involved in Second Worst Wreck In Kentucky History Has Poor Safety Record.
A fatal Kentucky accident put semi trucks on the front page news of Louisville’s Courier Journal newspaper. After a wreck between a semi and a passenger van left 11 dead, reporters began to dig deeper into truck accidents and found some unsettling facts.
The springboard of the reports resulted from a serious accident that occurred in the early morning hours of March 26th. A large Mennonite family and other close friends were traveling to a wedding when their van was hit head on by a tractor trailer that had broken through the cable barriers at the median across I-65. According to the article, this wreck was one of the deadliest in Kentucky since the May 14, 1988 crash in Carroll County between a bus full of my classmates from North Hardin and a drunk driver.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) created a six-person investigation team to uncover more details of this wreck. They have yet to determine an exact cause of the accident or a reason why the truck veered off course. Days later, the trucker was identified by the Courier-Journal as Kenneth Laymon who drove for Alabama based company, Hester, Inc.
According to federal reports cited in a later Courier Journal article, “Large trucks in Kentucky account for a disproportionate share of the state's fatal crashes…” The Kentucky State Police records show that in 2008, trucks made up 4.6 percent of the state's registered vehicles but unfortunately a disproportionate 8.9 percent of its tragic accidents. Even more disturbing is that accident statistics prove similar nationwide.
Things are being done to try to combat the problem. Recent legislation disallowed truckers to text while driving and a new federal regulation will require trucking companies that repeatedly violate driver time limits to install electronic recorders that track how long truckers spend behind the wheel according to an Andrew Wolfson article. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sees the regulation as a way of reducing the number of accidents caused by sleeping drivers. It is suspected, though not confirmed, that the lack of brake marks could indicate dozing off could have been the cause behind the Mennonite crash. The problem however is that according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, recorders will only be required for companies flagged during on-site reviews but only about 2 percent or less of the 750,000 U.S. trucking companies are reviewed on-site throughout the year.
Thanks to the American Association for Justice (AAJ) citizens can do a search state by state of trucking companies and their violations through the Violations Database.
hp
ps be sure to download or FREE E-Book "What The Insiders Don't Want You To Know About Semi-Truck Wrecks."
Drunk Drivers Get Locked Out....
Seeking to reduce the number of Kentucky car wrecks, Kentucky's legislature is considering a new law that would require ignition locks for people convicted of DUI.Toyota Accelerator Problem May Have Caused Car Wreck That Led To Criminal Conviction
A man convicted of vehicular homicide following a fatal car wreck may be granted a new trial due to the sudden emergence of the Toyota acceleration problem.DWT--Driving While Texting. Death on Kentucky Roads
Will Kentucky pass laws prohibiting texting while driving? Well, there is a bill pending in the Kentucky state legislature that could do exactly that in 2010.
Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, has prefiled a bill for consideration during the 2010 regular session that would make “texting” while at the wheel a no-no. It also would prohibit drivers under the age of 18 from using any cell phone. Violators would face $50 fines.
The Kentucky State Police’s annual report for traffic collision stated there were a total of 962 reported accidents caused by cell phones in 2008. The true number is actually much higher, but a lot of people will not admit to using their phone at the time of an accident.
A study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institution concluded that a driver who is texting is 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident. But even if the bill is passed, it could be difficult for police to enforce.
According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, some statistics show that nearly 6,000 people were killed and more than half a million were injured on America's roads last year in crashes linked to texting or talking while driving. As a result, more than 25 states have created some type of law restricting drivers from texting while operating their vehicles and many states have already proposed similar legislation, though it has not yet been passed.
Nevertheless it seems some states have been sending mixed messages, almost literally, when it comes to texting while driving according to a USA Today article from mid September. In the piece, Associated Press writer Andrew Demillo explains the possible contradiction resulting from certain states, including those with cell phone laws, sending traffic updates to drivers via text message or Twitter updates. The states argue that these updates are not cause for concern because they stress to drivers to check their messages and updates prior to leaving for their destination. However there are times when these “tweets” turn into an exchange of conversation between motorists and state officials, as demonstrated in Demillo’s article one user posted, “any idea what's going on westbound on 520? It's worse than rush hour..," and within a few minutes, officials responded: "Yes! There is a disabled vehicle just east of Lk Wash Blvd blocking right lane." The danger arises when these types of exchanges are being conducted while moving.
Amidst the talk of texting bans, one large group of motorists was at first absent from the conversation, truckers. In a report by Montana’s News Station, High Plains Owner and Operator Doug Landru was quoted in response to distracted drivers saying, “People don't realize they're sitting in a 4,000 pound weapon.” On the same token, distracted truck drivers are often behind the wheel of roughly 80,000 pounds and in most cases doing so while operating cell phones, radios and even laptops. But to that, Landru commented that to him a cell phone and internet are vital and Oregon trucker Edwin Parrish agreed saying, “Being able to check my text messages or my email messages, I'm able to know when I'm supposed to be some place.”
Fox 4 out of Kansas City, MO reported that several trucking companies are concerned about a texting ban because they use on board computer systems for communication. Nevertheless, a study at Virginia Tech University found that truckers driving while using the computers were 10 times more likely to have an accident. Often, the devices are disabled for use while driving, but not all are turned off and there is no way to tell whether or not they are being used while operating the vehicle. According to LaHood, the Obama administration will ban texting by truck drivers and restrict the use of other in-cab technologies as part of its effort to eliminate distracted driving.
Texting while driving has become such an issue in Kentucky that a statewide media campaign has been launched including a public service announcement by a Louisville girl involved in a wreck due to texting.
hp
The Secret Reason Why There Are So Many Semi-Truck Wrecks…
It is a well known fact that the odds of you, your car, truck or SUV winning in an interstate battle with an 18-wheeler are slim to none. So far in September, Kentucky has seen the effects of semi-truck accidents when an I-64 accident killed a Mt. Sterling man, and a Daviess County woman was struck on Audubon Parkway on the same day. But most people may be unaware of why these accidents are happening in the first place. We all know that foul weather, icy roads, alcohol are often catalysts precipitating car and truck accidents, and for the most part, most drivers often increase their efforts to avoiding the road during these times.
So it may surprise you to learn in 2002 71% of truck accidents in Kentucky occurred in good weather and on dry roads, 75% occurred during the daytime and 88% on weekdays when driving is part of the daily routine. In fact, there were no contributing weather conditions at all in 78.6% of Kentucky truck accidents.
So if bad weather isn’t causing the wreck, what gives?
One of the top reasons for accidents is driver fatigue which can lead to dozing off or distraction related accidents in Kentucky and across the nation. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “truck drivers behind the wheel for more than 8 hours had a twofold increase in crash risk…truckers’ long work hours cause sleep deprivation, disruption of normal sleep/rest cycles and fatigue.” Despite this statistic, in 2004 a new federal work rule went into effect allowing truck drivers to drive for up to 11 hours per day. And this was an improvement over the previous rule! The new rule’s goal was to improve safety but the Institute's survey showed the opposite as truckers are using new provisions to squeeze even more driving hours into the week. Just see this blog post by a real trucker who seeks to unveil the truth behind the profession.
And the driving force in money! Truck drivers drive more hours to get deliveries dropped off faster which then leads to more deliveries and essentially more money and higher satisfaction. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver fatigue is responsible for an estimated 100,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1500 deaths each year.
Let’s put two and two together. Sleepy truck drivers plus sleepy car drivers equal accidents. Not to say that there aren’t a plentiful variety of other reasons causing truck accidents, but this is a factor each of us can control to some degree. I know that if there was one thing that could prevent me from being in an accident, I would make sure to keep it in mind. Perhaps being alert and awake can help us recognize and avoid other drowsy drivers. So get more sleep!
Hans Interviewed on 840 Whas On Commonwealth Dodge 100mph Accident Case
Francene of the Francene Show on 840 WHAS read my recent blog and wanted to know more about why Commonwealth Dodge may be liable for the deaths of two people involved in the 100 mph test drive that resulted in a car wreck this weekend. The interview aired live this morning.You can download the interview here:
Is Commonwealth Dodge Liable for Fatal Wreck on Fern Valley Rd
Tragedy happened today in Louisville, Kentucky when a Dodge Challenger on a test drive from Commonwealth Dodge was involved in a fatal crash with a Mercury Sable. The two occupants of the Sable were both killed and the driver of the Challenger was arrested. According to some news reports, the Challenger may have been driven at a high rate of speed. Wave 3 news reports witness Rick Lee said, "I heard the car racing down through here and of course, they race down through here all the time, and it kind of got mine and my son's attention. When we got up to try to see the aftermath of what was going down the road, we heard an impact."According to the Courier Journal, a Commonwealth employee was a passenger on the test drive.
This leads to the obvious question. Can Commonwealth be held liable for the two deaths. I see two potential ways the dealership can be held liable. First, liability insurance follows the vehicle. This means that the owner of the dealership must provide liability insurance for every vehicle on its lot. So, even though a Commonwealth employee wasn't driving, the dealer's auto insurance will still have to provide coverage.
The second cause of action against Commonwealth Dodge could be filed based on the conduct of its employee that was on the test drive IF it can be proven that the salesperson allowed the driver to speed or drive in a reckless manner. The dealership would be liable under the theory of respondeat superior, a legal term that means the employer is liable for the actions of its employees. Here, the dealer's Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy would provide coverage.
Here, it will be important to obtain as many witness interviews as possible as soon as possible. Unfortunately, memories fade and stories change the farther away in time interviews are conducted.
Hans
p.s. As a side note, this story was of particular interest to me because at age 18 I test drove, and wrecked, a Toyota MR2 while on a test drive. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
"Admit nothing. Deny as much as possible. Stall. Protect, protect, protect. Blame somebody who isn't here to protect himself."
"Admit nothing. Deny as much as possible. Stall. Protect, protect, protect. Blame somebody who isn't here to protect himself." Rick Bozich, Louisville Courier Journal, Max Gilpin, The Real Loser in JCPS Report, July 1, 2009Bozich's article was a scathing indictment of the "investigation" into the death of a 15 year old boy during football practice at a Jefferson County, Kentucky public high school. The death, and the tragic circumstances surrounding it, have made national news.
However, this post isn't about that. Instead, this post is about why no one should be surprised that a defendant would refuse to accept responsibility for its actions.
As a lawyer that represents people that have been injured as a result of someone else's negligence or misconduct, I see defendants utilize this above strategy everyday in litigation.
Blaming the victim has long been the strongest weapon in a defense attorney's arsenal. And it matters not what kind of case it is. Failure to diagnose breast cancer? The patient should have sought out a second opinion when her first doctor told her she was cancer free. Rear-end car wreck? Injured driver had a pre-existing condition that is unrelated to the accident. No matter what the kind of case, the defendant always seeks to shift responsibility to the injured party. Without fail.
And it works. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is read any of the comments to any online newspaper article and you will see post after post blaming the victim instead of the wrongdoer (most recently in the Louisville Zoo lawsuit they blame the victims and their lawyer, too).
I find this behavior inconsistent with the oft spoken mantra of tort reformers that we need more "personal responsibility." It seems that what people really want is for innocent injured people to take responsibility for someone else's snegligence. How else can you justify blaming injured patients when their doctor makes a mistake? You can't. At least you can't do so and remain intellectually honest.
The simple fact of the matter is that deny, delay, defend and blame is business as usual for defendants in litigation, especially corporate defendants and insurance companies.
Sorry, Bozich. Sadly, that's just the way it is. And not just for poor Max Gilpin's family, but for any person that gets injured and seeks justice.
Hans
New York Times Exposes Hired Gun Doctors
Recently, the New York Times wrote this great article exposing what lawyers that represent injured people have known for a long time. The so-called "Independent Medical Exam" doctors are really hired to keep injured people from getting the compensation the deserve for their injuries.Here in Kentucky, I see the same doctors, hired by the insurance companies, over and over and over again. There's a reason for that. The insurance company knows that these doctors will say the injured person a) was never really injured, or b) they injury wasn't very severe and they should have recovered in 4-6 weeks. This is especially true in car wreck cases. So much so, that we have started calling them what they really are, Defense medical exams. There is nothing "independent" about them.
hp
Jury Awards $24 Million in Truck Wreck Case
$24 million award in fatal truck crash
A Will County jury has awarded nearly $24 million to families of two people killed and another seriously injured when a truck crashed into a line of cars on Interstate Highway 55 near Plainfield in April 2004.Jurors on Friday issued the judgment—the highest verdict amount in a civil case in Will County in at least 50 years—against C.H. Robinson Worldwide, a Minnesota freight broker that had contracted with the truck driver, De An Henry of Utah.
$65 Million Dollar Semi-Truck Wreck Verdict
BARTOW, FLORIDA – A Polk County jury awarded a 21-year-old woman $65 million in damages Wednesday in a personal injury lawsuit against a trucking company.
“Trucking companies should get the message that they need to follow safety regulations designed to protect the public,” said Tampa attorney Jim Freeman, of Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. “This accident was preventable if the driver only waited for a clear view before turning.”
On Aug. 21, 2007, Kendra Lymon was a normal 19-year-old woman whose life was shattered when an 18-wheeler, owned by Bynum Transport Inc., T-boned her little Dodge Neon at the intersection of State Road 17 and State Road 64.
Kendra had no pulse when emergency personnel arrived at the accident scene. The lack of oxygen to her brain caused parts of it to die, and she suffered brain damage. She was in a coma, and hospitalized at Tampa General Hospital for months.
Today, she can’t speak. She can’t eat without assistance. She can’t control her bladder. She has trouble walking and sometimes needs a wheelchair. She needs around-the-clock care and continued rehabilitation, including physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Kendra was a beautiful young woman who knew what she wanted and worked hard to get it. She was a good student in high school, who participated in drama club and helped care for her siblings while their mother worked. Kendra loved to read and could speak six languages.
After graduating a year early from Hardee High School, she enrolled in South Florida Community College. She wanted to be a psychologist and was the first person in her family to attend college. She was about to enter her second year there when the accident happened.
Now she requires care and supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and will need that for the rest of her life. Her medical bills alone are estimated to be more than $24 million over the span of her life, according to experts.
“She has suffered these terrible injuries needlessly,” Freeman said. “Kendra Lymon is one of the most deserving clients I’ve had in 30 years of practice.”
The defendants, Bynum Transport Inc. and driver Robert Bohn, tried to blame the accident on Kendra. Bohn claimed he had a green arrow, but eyewitness Ralph King said Kendra had a green light and wasn’t speeding. King said she tried to turn to the right, but by the time the truck entered her lane, there was no time to avoid it.
Bohn was fresh off a 24-hour shift as a full-time battalion chief for Polk County Fire Services when he headed to Bynum Transport Inc. for his part-time gig. Just after 8:30 a.m., he picked up a red 1997 Freightliner tractor and 2004 trailer, which together weighed 28,000 to 30,000 pounds. The plan was to haul a load of juice to Georgia that day to make some extra money.
But Bohn didn’t have 10 hours of off-duty time before driving the Bynum truck that day. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rules require such a break because driver fatigue is biggest cause of truck accidents.
And Bynum Transport, where Bohn had worked part-time since 1993, didn’t have any system to crosscheck what the driver told them. They didn’t monitor Bohn’s hours of rest. The Driver’s Log he filled out the morning of the accident shows zero hours of work for each day in the week before the accident, despite the fact he had just finished a shift at the fire department. Federal regulations consider that or any other work the same as driving.
As Bohn approached the intersection of state roads 17 and 64, there was a tractor-trailer in the opposite turn lane, blocking Bohn’s view. Bohn turned left anyway, and he plowed into Kendra’s car on the driver’s side, crushing it and sending it spinning off the highway.
The Lymons, represented by Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. attorneys Jim Freeman and Bennie Lazzara, sued Bynum Transportation Inc. and the truck driver, Robert Bohn, for negligence.
The trial, which lasted over a week in the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court in Polk County, concluded Tuesday. The jury came back Wednesday with a unanimous decision: Jurors found the defendants were 100 percent at fault in the accident and awarded $65 million to the Lymons.
“With this verdict, the family – including her mother, uncle, aunt and siblings who have been caring for Kendra – can now afford to get her the professional help she needs,” said Tampa attorney Bennie Lazzara. “Doctors say with proper medical care, Kendra will have a normal life expectancy.”
Hans
Stripper Sues Employer Because She Got Too Drunk From Customer's Buying Her Drinks
An update from the News of the Weird. A woman contends that her job as a stripper caused her to have a one-car wreck on her way home from work last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Birmingham, Alabama.
Patsy Hamaker's suit says part of her job as a dancer at The Furnace club in Birmingham involved encouraging customers to buy her alcoholic drinks.
The suit alleges that managers at the strip club allowed her to leave work drunk one night last fall. She wrecked her car, resulting in serious injury, according to the suit.
Dancers receive a percentage of drink sales and make pretty good money doing so, according to the suit. On Oct. 17, Hamaker's sales were successful enough that she left work "in a highly intoxicated state," according to her suit.
"Defendants ... allowed a dangerous condition to exist by allowing said plaintiff to leave its establishment in such an intoxicated state while under said defendants' supervision and control," the suit says.
Management's negligence by allowing her to drive home drunk "was a proximate cause" of Hamaker's injuries, the suit says.
Hamaker seeks compensation for her injuries and additional money to punish the club. The case has been assigned to Judge Caryl Privett.
Hamaker's lawyer, Alan Smith, declined comment on where his client lives or whether she still works for the club.
"We won't talk about our client," Smith said. "We're not willing to talk about the case at this point."
As they say on one of my favorite Saturday Night Live Weekend Update segments...REALLY?!!!
Hans
Drunk Driver Kills Friend in 1993 and then Female UK Co-Ed in 2008
A Kentucky man was recently convicted following a hit and run truck wreck that took the life of University of Kentucky Co-ed Connie Blount; however, this was not Shannon Houser's first run in with the law, nor is it the first time he has had a car accident that has killed someone.In 1993, Houser was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter following a car wreck on Russell Cave Road in Lexington, Kentucky that killed his friend . Houser received probation after his victim's parents wrote Judge Mary Noble asking for leniency.
In 2008 Shannon Houser struck Connie Blount, 18, with his pickup in the early morning of April 13. Blount, who investigators have said crossed Broadway against the light, had knelt down in the street, according to testimony. Houser then left the scene of the wreck.
Last Thursday, a Fayette County, Kentucky jury found Houser guilty of attempting to tamper with evidence, and not guilty of marijuana possession. Later Thursday, the jury unanimously recommended that Houser be sentenced to five years for the tampering charge and one year for leaving the scene of an accident. Judge James Ishmael set the sentencing hearing for March 6, 2008. The jury recommended a six year sentence.
It's unlcear whether Blount's family filed a civil suit against Houser, but if they did Houser could he held liable for compensatory damages (pain and suffering and the loss of Connie's power to labor and earn money) as well as punitive damages for Houser's gross negligence. As an interesting aside, in a civil case, it may not even be admissible that Hanover left the scene since it wouldn't be relevant to the question of whether Hanover was negligent in causing the wreck (according to testimony, Connie was kneeling down in the middle of the street when the wreck occured).
Based on Houser's criminal record, I doubt he would be the type of responsible person that purchased enough insurance to compensate for such an enourmous loss. This is a good example of why it's important to purchase Uninsured and Underinsured coverage of your own. This type of insurance protects you if someone else causes an accident and doesn't have enough insurance. Talk your agent about this after reading my Free Special Report; Secrets to Buying Car Insurance
hans
What Event Precedes The Day Most Car Wreck Occur...
According to research from the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, the first snowy day of the year is substantially more dangerous for drivers than other snow days in terms of fatalities. Fatal accidents were 14% more likely on the first snowy day of the season compared with subsequent ones, according to research compiled from 1975 to 2000. Fatal accidents were 7% less likely on snowy days on the whole, when compared with good-weather days. The chances of having a fender-bender, on the other hand, increased.Tomorrow we'll reveal the most dangerous driving day of the year.
Hans
Most Dangerous Month of The Year to Drive...
As we told you yesterday, there are certain times of day you are more likely to be involved in a fatal car accident thatn others, but is there one month that is more dangerous than the others? According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, August had the most total deaths on the road in 2008, a 1.1% decline from 2007, according to NHTSA data. A total of 3,612 people died that month. NHTSA reports that when counted as fatalities per 100 million vehicles, August has a fatality rate of 1.42--an increase of 0.06 since 2007 and 0.10 points higher than September and June.Tommorow we'll reveal what event precedes the day that most fatal car wrecks occur.
Hans
The Most Dangerous Time of Day to Drive is ...
If you don't want to be killed in an automobile accident, there are certain times of day that you should avoid being on the road. According to the International Institute for Highway Safety, an average 6.6 people are killed between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and another 6.6 between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Those rates are the overall highest of any time during the day. In 2007, 14,055 people were killed in the 5 p.m. hour. But the hours between midnight and 4 a.m. have the highest number of fatalities when calculated as a percentage of the amount of people on the road, according to AAA. During that time, statistically speaking, 5.87 per 100 million people on the road will be killed.Tommorow we'll reveal the most dangerous month of the year to drive.
Hans
ps Download our Free Report- What The Insider's Don't Want You To Know About Semi-Truck Wrecks.
What is The Most Dangerous Day of the Year to Drive...
July 4, Independence Day, historically has been the most dangerous day of the year to drive, according to the IIHS. In 2007, 926 people were killed in auto accidents on July 4.
Tomorrow we reveal "The Ten Worst Winter Driving Mistakes."
Hans
Progressive Launches "My Rate" in Kentucky...is it a Trick?
The Louisville Courier Journal recently revealed Progressive Insurance Company's latest insurance plan in Kentucky. According to the article, Progressive is launching "My Rate" in Kentucky in order to allow drivers to hook up a device to their car to monitor their driving habits. The device will monitor how many miles are driven, when the car is driven, acceleration and stopping distance. Supposedly, "good drivers" will receive rate decreases.My concern is that Progressive will use this "Big Brother" device to RAISE premiums. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.
hans
Article Reveals How to Reduce Teenage Wrecks by 16.5% in Just One Hour...
Teenagers have the highest rate of car wrecks of any age group. Unfortunately, Kentucky is no exception. In fact, I was listening to the radio yesterday and the lead story was that nine teenagers had died this year in car wrecks in Bell County. Just think about that number, 9 teenagers from one small county in Kentucky in just one year. According to the 2006 census, the population of Bell County, Kentucky is only 29,000 people, of which there are only 6500 under the age of 18. The total population of Bell County High School is about 900, that means that 1% of the student body died in car wrecks in 2008. Tragic.So, is there anything we can do to reduce the number of teenagers injured or killed in Kentucky in car wrecks and crashes? Well, according to a recent study published in the journal Journal of Sleep Medicine, there just might be. In the study, 10,000 Kentucky students from grades 6 through 12 where tracked on their sleep habits and daytime functioning, including auto mishaps. The surveys were completed twice -- first in 1998, when school started at 7:30 a.m., and then again in 1999, when the start time had been moved to 8:30 a.m.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal story on the recent study "Letting teens sleep a little more by starting the school day a bit later may lower their odds for car-crash injury or death, a new study finds. The researchers found a 16.5 percent drop in auto accident rates for teen drivers when local high schools moved the start of classes from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m."
The study indicated that sleep deprivation causes 100,000 wrecks per year and that half of those are drivers 16-25. The study further found that "The average teenager probably needs at least eight hours and probably closer to nine hours of sleep, Danner said. And as little as an hour less sleep can have a cumulative effect. That means that by the end of the week, teens are as impaired as if they had stayed up for 24 hours straight, Danner explained"
hans
p.s. One of the reasons that the death rate of teens in car wrecks is so high is because they usually travel in groups. While the recent fatality in Bell County, Kentucky (Brooke Lambert a cheerleader at Middlesboro High School) was a single death, four teens died earlier in December in a collision with a coal truck on U.S. 25 East as a result of slick roads and four other teens died in a fiery crash on Kentucky 92 in January. Police said their car hit a tree.
Radcliff Man Dies in Fatal Louisville Wreck With Drunk Driver...why his estate might not have a case
According to the News Enterprise, a Radcliff, Kentucky man died Friday in a fatal car crash on the Gene Snyder in Louisville.. Even though the other driver was intoxicated, the deceased's estate may not have a good case against the drunk driver. That's because the Radcliff man was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car.Kentucky has a seat-belt defense that prevents someone from recovering for their injuries if a wearing a seat-belt would have prevented them
In order to succeed, his estate will have to prove that even if he had worn a seat belt, he still would have suffered severe injuries or death. In situations such as this, we usually hire a biomechanical engineer and an emergency room physician to evaluate the forces and injuries to determine whether a seat belt would have prevented the injuries or not. Tough case.
hans
Kentucky Truck Driver Turns Himself In After Fatal DUI Wreck...
On December 4th, I posted about a settlement arising out of a semi-truck wreck that paralyzed a young boy. The driver of the truck was under the influence of drugs. When I posted the entry, I didn't realize that just the day before, a kentucky truck driver had been charged in a fatal truck wreck that took the life of an Indiana man. The Kentucky truck driver tested positive for Cocaine.According to an Evansville television station, a truck driver involved in a fatal collision in July turned himself in December 3rd on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death. Delbert Majors, 53, of Corydon, Ky., was being booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail at 9:30 a.m. Bond was set at $20,000 as part of a warrant issued for his arrest. Initial toxicology tests conducted after the wreck revealed Majors had cocaine in his system, Evansville Police Department spokesman Steve Green said. Evansville resident Raymond Ferrari, 56, was killed in the July 29 accident on Evansville's West Side. Ferrari, driving a Pontiac Sunfire, was northbound on Rosenberger Avenue and trying to turn left onto the westbound Lloyd Expressway. A Robinson Engineering oil-rigging truck, driven by Majors, was traveling east on the Lloyd through the intersection. Green said authorities determined Majors ran the red light. "Investigators say toxicology reports now show Majors had cocaine in his blood at the time of the accident July 29th. He crashed his oil truck into Ferrari's car."
According to the report, Ferrari's estate has filed a civil lawsuit against Robinson Engineering.
What will be interesting is to see whether Majors has any history of abusing drugs or alcohol and whether Robinson Engineering have any policies and procedures to test drivers periodically to ensure they are not abusing substances.
To learn more about semi-truck wrecks, download our free E-Book: What The Insiders Don't Want You To Know About Semi-Truck Wrecks.
You can also watch our video titled: The Six Things You Must Know If You've Been In a Car or Semi-Truck Wreck.
hans
Paralyzed Girl Settles Case Against Beer Vendor for $25 Million
Nine years ago, a two-year old girl was tragically injured in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver. Antonia Verni was paralyzed and rendered a quadriplegic as a result of a drunk driving accident. The man behind the wheel, Daniel Lanzaro, who slammed his pick up truck in to the Verni family’s vehicle, had a blood alcohol level of 0.226, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. Lanzano admitted to having 16 beers at a football game. The Verni family sued Aramark, which manages the beer sales at the stadium.A jury returned a verdict in favor of the family and against Aramark for $105 million. The court of appeals reversed and remanded the case for a new trial. A judge recently unsealed the settlement and disclosed it was $25 million.
This case highlights the importance of finding and holding all negligent parties responsible. Some attorneys may have taken this case and seen it simply as a case against a drunk driver, who probably only had a limited amount of insurance. This type of thinking would be short-sighted. Lawyers have to be willing and able to look past the obvious and determine who was really at fault. Here, it was the beer vendor's employees that served Lanzaro when he was visibly intoxicated. The employees violated numerous policies and procedures. Hopefully, this settlement will provide the lifetime of car that little Antonia needs.
hans
Jury Awards $23.5 Million in Semi Truck Wreck Lawsuit
According to the Kansas City Star, a jury in Wichita rendered a $23.5 million verdict against a truck driver and her employer, Swift Transportation for their role in causing a horrible truck wreck in 2006.According to the lawsuit, truck driver Robyn Getchel missed her turn while trying to pull into a rest stop and was trying to back-up on the highway when she was rear-ended by another semi. The driver of the second rig, Dennis Bottorff, was killed instantly and his passenger, Terry Frederick, sufered severe spinal cord injuries leaving him completely disabled.
Likely driving the liability in this case were the facts that: (1) the at-fault driver was inexperienced (only driving for about 6 months), (2) had failed her commercial license exam several times, (3) had a history of drug use and (4) tested positive for methamphetamine in a post-acident drug test.
Everyday, big-rig semi-truck accidents occur all over Kentucky because companies, more concerned with profits than people, put inexperienced drivers behind the wheel. The companies place unrealistic schedules on the drivers which often leads to the drivers abusing amphetamines to stay awake to drive longer distances and fudging log book entries so they can avoid the federally mandated rest periods. Companies and drivers that operate in this careless manner have to be held accountable, regardless of whether it's in Wichita, Kansas or Louisville, Kentucky.
Please download our free report on Semi Truck accidents here and watch our video on "The 6 Things You Must Know if You Have Been Injured in a Car or Semi-Truck Wreck".
hans
Think You're Safe In Your Hummer? Think Again...
If you are ever involved in a car wreck or semi-truck accident you probably think you want to be in the biggest, heaviest automobile or suv; however, you may be surprised to know that one of the vehicles everyone thinks is safe, isn't. As a lawyer that represents people who were hurt or killed in car or truck wrecks, there aren't many things on which I can agree with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but even I pay attention when they do their annual surveys on the safest vehicles.
According to the report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the safest mid-size SUV was the 2009 Nissan Murano. What might surprise most is that the Hummer H3 had one of the poorest showings. The General Motors' H3 was the only vehicle in the group that did not receive the top rating for frontal crash protection and, even more disturbing, it received the lowest rating, "poor", in the rear crash test. Of important note, the H3 and the Chrysler Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro are all three built on the same platform.
So, just because its big doesn't mean its safe. Do your research by reading the full 5-page report here and drive safely.
Here are the Institutes "safest" vehicles:
Top Safety Pick 2008 award winners
Large cars
Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control
Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control
Midsize cars
Honda Accord 4-door models
Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control
Midsize convertibles
Small car
Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control
Minivans
Midsize SUVs
Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007
Saturn VUE built after December 2007
Small SUVs
Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control
Large pickup
Hans Poppe
Firm Free Report
Secrets to Buying Car Insurance in Kentucky
What The Insiders Don't Want You To Know About Semi-Truck Accidents.
Nursing Homes: What you absolutley, positively must know before choosing one.
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