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.

Kentucky to Receive $2.3 Million From Drug Maker in Settlement

Attorney General Jack Conway has announced the Kentucky will receive $2.3 million dollars in a negotiated settlement with drug manufacturer Cephalon.  The settlement arises out of a lawsuit filed by several states Attorneys General that allege the drug company marketed their products for off-label uses to doctors. The drugs involved are Actiq, a painkiller, the anti-epilepsy drug Gabitril and the narcolepsy drug Provigil. 
In October, Cephalon agreed to pay over $375 million to settle the civil case, $40 million in criminal fines and forfeited $10 million.
hp

You've Been SuperPoked and Served...Facebook Used To Serve Court Papers

Sometimes lawyers have to serve important documents on people that don't want to be served.  It could be a divorce suit, a doctor in a medical malpractice case, or any other number of unpleasant legal proceedings.  One lawyer in Australia has found a new way to get reluctant defendants served with papers....Facebook!  Here is the article.

New Federal Safety Rules Target Medically Unfit Semi Truck and Bus Drivers.

Because Louisville, Kentucky contains a several major interchanges (I-64 aka spaghetti junction, I-65 aka Martin Luther King Highway. I-264 aka watterson expressway, and I-265 aka Gene Snyder Expressway), we are home to lots of semi-truck wrecks.  What most people don't know is that semi-truck drivers traveling between states (and sometimes even when they stay in the same state) are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.  This federal agency writes the rules and regulations that govern commercial vehicles, including tractor-trailers, tour buses, and the like.
Unfortunately, we often find that many commercial truck drivers have medical conditions that should preclude them from having a commercial driver's license (CDL).  Often times these medical conditions make it unsafe for the driver to operate a commercial vehicle. 
These medical conditions often go un-recognized by the driver's employer and the state because their isn't any consistency in the reporting requirements between the state and federal government. 
That was the case until now.  Effective January 1, 2009, the states and the federal government will have a link commercial truck and bus driver's licenses with their medical examination certificates.  Here is a portion of the release from the FMCSA website: "FMCSA today issued a final rule that will require states to merge the commercial driver’s license (CDL) and the driver’s medical examination certificate into a single electronic record. When fully implemented, the new combined CDL will streamline record keeping obligations for the states and CDL holders, while providing instant electronic access to the CDL holder’s medical certificate by state and federal enforcement officials.  In addition, the rule requires states to take enforcement actions against CDL holders if they do not provide medical certification status information within the deadline."
While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it doesn't go far enough.  Their is still no requirement that drivers be screened for chronic obstructive sleep apnea, a common condition among truckers, that causes or contributes to a number of fatigue related crashes every year.  It also does not require the state medical examiner's to obtain copies of the driver's medical records and review them.  Both of these things would certainly contribute to making our roads safer by ensuring that driver's with certain medical conditions aren't allowd to operate large commercial vehicles, in Louisville or anywhere.

hans

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

Kentucky Kingdom Case Settles for....

Truth is, we don't know how much the case settled for.  This settlement, like most, is confidential.  This has been one of the most high profile cases in Louisville, and probably Kentucky, for a long time.  It was also handled by one of the most successful plaintiff attorneys in the state, Larry Franklin. 
Larry has won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and focuses the majority of his practice on handling medical negligence cases and, more specifically, birth trauma cases. 
I'm glad the family is finally able to put litigation behind them, there are never any winners when a child is injured, regardless of the settlement amount.
Here is the Courier Journal article
Hans

Progressive Insurance Caught Sneaking Into Church Support Groups to Spy on Claimants

As an attorney who handles automobile accident personal injury cases, I always tell my clients that, "regardless of how injured you are, the insurance company could be videotaping your every move."  But even I didn't think an insurance company would stoop to the level of having its investigators sneak into church support groups where abortions, addictions and other personal problems were discussed.  Not only that, they taped recorded them. 

Well, seeing is believing. Progressive Insurance Company's CEO has admitted that its investigators have done exactly this.  According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a pair of detectives hired by Progressive became members of the Southside Christian Fellowship Church in August 2005 in order to get damaging information on two church members involved in a 2004 traffic accident.

  Apparently, Progressive thought this information might be useful in complying with their duty to "investigate" claims. 

If a lawyer were to engage in such behavior a suspension would likely be the result.  I wonder if anything will happen to Progressive? 

Hans Poppe

 

McDonalds Sanction in Strip Search Case

The Courier Journal reports that "Senior Judge Tom McDonald has sanctioned McDonalds for withholding evidence in a lawsuit by a former employee who was the victim of a strip-search hoax at its Mount Washington store in 2004.  Senior Judge Tom McDonald said Wednesday that the company either engaged in "plausible deniability" or deliberately "hid the ball from the court, opposing counsel and its own lawyers" when it failed to disclose at least four prior hoaxes at other McDonald's restaurants around the country.""

You'll recall that McDonalds has been sued over a bizarre prank back in 2004 where someone called the store pretending to be a police officer  and instructing the manage to take Louise Ogborn to the back of the store a strip search her.  The store manager then called her boyfriend to the store to watch Louise while the manager returned to work the front of the store.  The telephone caller then instructed the boyfriend to strip search her as well as force her to engage in sex acts-- all under the guise of being some kind of investigation. 

ABC interviewed the McDonald's manager who allowed this to happen as well as Louise. 

Louise has one of the best and most aggressive attorneys in Kentucky representing her, Ann B. Oldfather.  McDonalds is represented by one of the largest firms in Kentucky, Greenbaum, Doll & McDonald. William R. "Pat" Patterson is the lead attorney for McDonalds and is highly respected in the community. 

The trial is scheduled to begin Monday.

Jury Selection in McDonald Hoax Trial Began Today (what does it mean)

Jury selection began today in the Ogborn-McDonald's hoax trial.  Special Judge Tom McDonald has called up 180 potential jurors to be asked question about their views on issues that may be involved in the case. 

So, how does a lawyer "select" a jury.  Actually, jury selection is not an accurate term.  Lawyers do not get to "select" jurors.  What they actually do is ask questions in order to determine whether potential jurors have any special knowledge or strongly held beliefs that might make them biased or prejudiced towards one side.  This questioning is known as "voir dire."  If a juror does have some bias or prejudice, the judge (after hearing arguments from the lawyer) may decide to exclude the juror (this is known as a "for cause" strike).  Each side in a case also has "peremptory strikes."  Usually, each claimant or defendant has four of these strikes (sometimes its only three).  If the lawyer can't convince the judge to exclude a potential juror, the lawyer can use these four strikes to exclude any potential juror for any reason (as long as the strike isn't based on race). 

In this case, this means the lawyers can likely exclude a total of 8 jurors for any reason-- and the court can exclude an unlimited number of people that it believes might not be able to be fair in this particular type of case.  If the court excluded 50 people (which would be highly unlikely), this would still leave about 120 potential jurors--about about 106 more than are necessary for a trial.  So, how do we get to 12?  Random draw.  Once the judge makes his or her exclusions, and then the attorneys make theirs, the court draws 12-15 names at random.  This becomes the jury.  Some attorneys complain that what you ultimately end up with is 12 people who didn't talk and didn't answer any questions--so there was no reason to exclude them.

Believe it or not, both sides are trying to find 12 people who know nothing about the case and will listen to all of the evidence before making a decision.  The questioning of jurors (jury selection) helps the judge and lawyers decide which 12 people can do that.

Hans Poppe

WHAS 11 Interviews Hans about the McDonalds Strip Search Trial

The jury is deliberating the Bullitt County case of Louise Ogborn v. McDonalds right now.  I sat down last night with WHAS 11 News to discuss the case.  Here is the link (you may have to hit refresh to see it) if it doesn't work, click here:

You can read the jury instructions by going here...

Hans Poppe

 

Why Your Health Insurance Company May Get Most of Money from a Personal Injury Claim

Most people don't know what ERISA is.  Heck, most attorneys don't know what ERISA is.  And that's ok, as long as you don't hire an attorney that doesn't know what ERISA is. 

ERISA is the abbreviation for a federal law that does a lot of stuff--one of the most important things it does is allows health insurance companies to provide group insurance to people throught their employers. 

What most people don't know, and what a lot of lawyers fail to understand is that if you are injured through the fault of another person, your health insurance company can make a claim to the proceeds of any judgment or settlement you receive from the at-fault party.  That's right, even though you may have paid the your own insurance premium for years and years, if you ever call on your insurance company to pay any of your bills related to someone else's negligence, whether is was a slip and fall, an automobile wreck, or even medical negligence, your insurance company will come back and try to take some to the money you receive to comensate you.

This is what is known as "subrogation."  And insurance companies are really trying to be heavy handed in enforcing these provisions against injured victims.  Sometimes, it makes it all but impossible to settle cases becase the health insurer's claim is so large, we can't put any money into our client's pockets.  What's even worse is that some attorney's don't understand the law very well and they dont' even try to negotiate with the insurance company to take less.   THAT'S A BIG MISTAKE.  If you have a personal injury or medical negligence case, before you hire an attorney, make sure they understand ERISA subrogation and reimbursement.  If they don't, run.

Here is a horrible story about a man who got bitten by the ERISA monster.

Hans Poppe

 

 

Can Holiday Hosts Be Sued By a Guest?

Well, it’s that time of year again and people are throwing parties.  With those parties, many hosts are wondering if they can be sued by their guests if they get hurt. 

 

Let’s look at three different situations under Kentucky law.

 

So, you’ve decided to throw a party at your house.  You’ve thought of everything.  You have a great menu, great entertainment, and you invited all of your friends.  You are looking forward to a great time.  Before your guests start to arrive, you notice that the hand-rail on your banister leading upstairs has come loose—“no time to fix it, you tell yourself, let’s just hope that no one needs to go upstairs.”  You also notice that the light going downstairs to the basement isn’t working—without it, its pitch black.  No problem you tell yourself, no one has any reason to be going to the basement anyway.  Finally, you glance out at the sidewalk and notice that the recent cold weather has brought ice and snow and your walk has some obvious patches of ice. 

 

If someone falls and is injured as a result of one of these three conditions, can you be sued?

 

This area of law is known as premises liability and is a sub-category of general negligence law. Under negligence law, an injured person must prove (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the person injured, (2) the defendant breached that duty, and (3) there is a connection between the breach and injury. However, “[w]hile general negligence law requires the existence of a duty, premises liability law supplies the nature and scope of that duty when dealing with tort injuries on realty.” The nature and scope of this duty is determined based upon the status of injured person at the time of his injury.  A person can be an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.

 

Whether your party-goers are “invitees” or “licensees” is extremely important in determining your liability.  A property owner owes an invitee the duty of discovering a dangerous condition, whereas he owes a licensee only the duty to warn him of a dangerous condition he already is aware of.  As a general rule, an owner doesn’t owe any duty to trespassers. Depending on the circumstances, a person’s status can change from invitee, to licensee to trespasser. 

 

The terms are somewhat misleading.  You’re probably thinking “Well, I threw a party and “invited” guests, so my guests must be invitees.”  You’re probably also thinking “No one needs a “license” to come to my party, so obviously my guests aren’t licensees.” 

 

You would be wrong.

 

A licensee enters by the express invitation or implied invitation of the owner solely on the licensee's own business, pleasure or convenience. As for social guests, although they may be social “invitees,” they are licensees from the standpoint of the law. This means that you must warn your guests of a dangerous condition that you are aware of; but you don’t need to go inspect your entire house to find all the potential dangerous conditions. 

 

So, do you have to warn your guests about the handrail?  What about the light to the basement?  How about that ice?  Well, this is where things get tricky.  A home owner owes his guests (licensee) the duty of reasonable care, either to make the land as safe as it appears, or to disclose the fact that it is dangerous.  “There is no duty to warn a licensee of any danger or condition which is open and obvious or which should or could be observed by the [guest] in the exercise of ordinary care.”

 

So, here’s how I analyze the handrail, burned-out light and ice. 

 

If there is any chance your guests will be going upstairs, you have to tell them about the handrail.  Place a sign on it or rope it off.  Simple. 

 

The burned-out light leading to the basement, where no one is supposed to be going, is likely not something you need to inform your guests about for two reasons.  First, because no one is supposed to be going to the basement, if someone does, they likely become a trespasser--to whom you owe no duty.  Second, even if they remain a licensee, you have no duty to warn your guests about conditions that are open and obvious.  If a guest chooses to walk down a flight of stairs in the dark, and they fall, it’s their own fault. 

 

The ice issue is tricky.  Generally, ice and snow are considered to be “natural perils” and are open and obvious.  Generally, you don’t need to warn guests about natural perils or open and obvious dangers.  A couple of big exceptions are if you attempted to clean the snow and ice away and don’t do a good job.  Another situation where you may need to warn is if your guests have no reason to expect ice.  For example, if the cause is a result of you spraying off your walkway with water.  Better warn your guests about that.

Can Holiday Hosts Be Sued if Their Guests Leave Drunk and Cause a Wreck?

Many holiday hosts will be serving alcohol at their parties.  This leads to the question of whether they can be held responsible for an accident caused by their guest after leaving the party.  This is known as “social host liability.”  The laws regarding social host liability vary from state to state.  Several states have laws holding a host responsible if they “over serve” alcohol to one of their guests and the guest causes an accident that hurts or kills someone.

 

Kentucky is one of 18 states that does not impose social host liability.  In Kentucky,

 

The General Assembly finds and declares that the consumption of intoxicating beverages, rather than the serving, furnishing, or sale of such beverages, is the proximate cause of any injury, including death and property damage, inflicted by an intoxicated person upon himself or another person. 

 

KRS 413.241

 

The only way to completely ensure you won’t be sued is if you choose not to serve alcohol; however, assuming you are not the employer of your guest, and assuming you are only serving adults, Kentucky law does not hold a host responsible for the negligence of a guest.

 

Regardless of the law, if you choose to serve alcohol at your holiday party, be a responsible host by making sure your guests don’t drive if they have had to much alcohol.

Louisville Woman Charged With Murder in DUI Car Wreck.

Accourding to the Courier Journal,  Emily A. Hall, a 20 year old Louisville, Kentucky woman was charged with murder and drunken driving Thursday after causing a fatal car wreck on the Watterson Expressway
According to the Louisville Metro Police Department, "Hall was driving a car while under the influence when she swerved into the path of a tractor-trailer on the interstate near Taylorsville Road just before 2 a.m. Thursday."  "The two vehicles collided and the truck hit a pole holding an interstate sign, splitting the truck in half, police said." "Abram Reimer, 53, of Ontario, was in the sleeping compartment of the tractor-trailer and was killed when he was thrown from the truck"
What is most is disturbing is that, according to court records, this is the second time Hall has been charged with driving under the influence this year. I have looked at her other records and she has also had multiple speeding tickets in addition to the DUI charges.
Typically, punitive damages aren't available in most car wreck; however, here, punitive damages can be awarded for Hall's conduct because she was driving drunk.  Because this is not her first arrest, the prior DUI arrest will likely be admissible as well, what is less clear is whether her three speeding tickets come in as well.
Punitive damages are meant to punish the wrongdoer, as opposed to compensatory damages, such as mental and physical emotional distress and past and future lost wages, which are meant to reimburse the Estate for its loss.  Unfortunately, most automobile insurance polices do NOT cover punitve damages, so if a jury awards them, the family will have to try to recover them from Ms. Hall.  That may not be possible since she is only 20 and likely doesn't have any significant assests.  This may mean that the family is limited to recovery what ever insurance Ms. Hall has and nothing more.  In Kentucky, most people only carry the minimum legally required amount of $25,000.  That amount can hardly be called "compensation."

Hans Poppe

Passenger DUI decreased drunk driving by 41%

Think drunk driving laws are tough in Kentucky, well their nothing compared to the laws in Japan.  According to Reuters News, a new Japanese law makes it a crime to be a passenger in a car with a drunk driver. 

Reuters also reports "Passengers riding with a drunk behind the wheel can be fined up to $5,000 and face up to three years in prison for not stopping the crime from taking place. Also, anyone who lends their car to a drunk is criminally responsible."

Then comes the hard part. Japanese drunken drivers face up to five years in prison on a first offense. (Japan has lower penalties of up to three years and $2,650 for drivers deemed impaired rather than intoxicated.)

Japan is a hard-drinking culture. So what makes a Japanese driver impaired? A blood alcohol level of .03 - about one beer.

No surprise, drunken driving declined 41 percent in 2007 in Japan. Despite this huge dent in the numbers, the harsher laws took effect only in September.

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, 39 percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents in 2004 were alcohol related and 9 percent of all injury accidents were alcohol related. In total, approximately 248,000 people were injured and 16,694 people were killed in alcohol-related auto accidents. 

Kentucky's incidence of alcohol related fatalities is higher than the national average.  Below is a summary of Kentucky alcohol related automobile accident fatalities from 1982-2005 as published by the US Dept. of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Year	Fatalities
	Tot	Alc-Rel	%	0.08+	%
1982	822	482	59	401	49
1983	778	435	56	390	50
1984	754	389	52	333	44
1985	712	343	48	305	43
1986	805	398	49	347	43
1987	844	407	48	351	42
1988	838	411	49	355	42
1989	772	341	44	285	37
1990	849	371	44	320	38
1991	826	380	46	328	40
1992	815	333	41	292	36
1993	871	338	39	291	33
1994	778	309	40	246	32
1995	849	302	36	262	31
1996	842	317	38	275	33
1997	857	301	35	266	31
1998	858	306	36	261	30
1999	814	300	37	264	32
2000	820	280	34	237	29
2001	845	251	30	218	26
2002	915	302	33	263	29
2003	928	276	30	240	26
2004	964	308	32	269	28
2005	985	313	32	267	27

Maybe it's time we tried something different.

Hans Poppe