Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

US Government Bans Truckers and Bus Drivers from Texting While Driving

January 26, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The US government has officially banned truck drivers and bus drivers from texting while driving their commercial vehicles. The order is part of federal lawmakers’ efforts to get rid of “the threat of distracted driving,” says Ray LaHood, the US Transportation Secretary.

Already, 19 US state and Washington DC have a ban that makes it illegal for all motorists to text while driving. Research shows that texting while behind the wheel of any vehicle is incredibly dangerous behavior. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says that text messaging increases the chances that a truck driver will be involved in a truck accident or a near-truck collision by 23 times. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has said that a driver who is texting must take his/her eyes of the road for about 4.6 out of every six seconds. The consequences for those involved in a Washington DC truck crash or a bus collision can be catastrophic.

Transportation Secretary LaHood says commercial drivers caught texting while driving may be subject to a maximum $2,750 fine. However, whether this ban can be fully enforced is unclear. Police officers will likely have a hard time looking inside a bus or the cab of an 18-wheeler truck or a tractor-trailer to see if a driver is holding a phone or a PDA and texting while driving.

According to recent statistics provided by the National Safety Council, 28% of traffic crashes happen when motorists are texting or talking on their cell phones while driving. The NSC says cell phone use was a factor in 1.4 million car crashes, while texting is linked to 200,000 motor vehicle crashes.

Washington DC Truck Accidents

Proving liability in a truck crash is very difficult. That said, it is important that a negligent driver or truck company compensate you for your personal injuries or the wrongful death of someone you love. This is where an experienced Washington DC truck accident law firm can help you.

U.S. bans truckers, bus drivers from texting while driving, Washington Post, January 26, 2010
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Federal Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers, US Department of Transportation, January 26, 2010
New data from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute provides insight into cell phone use and driving distraction, Virginia Tech, July 29, 2009
Related Web Resources:
National Safety Council

Defects Involved in Recalls of 1.5 M Graco Strollers and 635,000 Dorel Asia Cribs Can Be Grounds for Washington DC Products Liability Lawsuits

January 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a number of product recalls. Among them were two significantly large recalls involving the risk of serious injuries to infants and toddlers.

On Wednesday, along with Graco Children’s Products Inc., the CPSC recalled approximately 1.5 million Graco Strollers following two fngertip laceration accidents and five incidents involving fingertip amputations to children. The kids’ fingers were injured in the stroller canopy’s hinge mechanism.

Kid’s fingertips are highly sensitive and can damage easily during amputation, tearing, or crushing. Young children are especially at risk of sustaining fingertip injuries because they are always touching and/or placing their hands in objects. Ensuring that a fingertip injury receives immediate medical attention decreases the chances of permanent disability or deformity.

US Department on Transportation and National Safety Council Step Up Fight Against Distracted Driving with FocusDriven Advocacy Group

January 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The US Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council have created FocusDriven. This is the first national advocacy group focused on supporting distracted driving victims and raising awareness about the dangers this very bad driving habit presents to motorists and pedestrians. The group was developed as a result last year’s Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC. On its Web site, FocusDriven states that its vision is to save lives and prevent injuries by eliminating the use of cell phones while driving.

For awhile, motorists and lawmakers thought that using a cell phone wasn’t too dangerous as long a driver kept both hands on the wheel and used an earpiece or Bluetooth device. While there are accident statistics that indicate a higher crash risk when a driver uses a handheld cellular phone, rather than a hands-free device, the mounting data which proves that talking on any type of cellular device while operating a motor vehicle is just plain dangerous can no longer be ignored. Like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), FocusDriven wants everyone to fully comprehend that there is no doubt whatsoever that talking on a phone while driving can injure and kill people.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the NSC chose to announce creation of the advocacy group on Tuesday, exactly one year after the NSC called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. The US government also recently launched a federal Web site called Distraction.gov, which focuses on raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. LaHood says the Obama Administration is committed to “putting an end” to distracted driving.

Washington DC Car Accidents

In a busy city like Washington DC, it is not uncommon for motorists and pedestrians to multi-task while trying to manage busy careers, social calendars, and personal lives. Many people are wedded to their cell phones and PDAs, so it is not uncommon to make calls and send messages while commuting to and from work. Unfortunately, multi-tasking while operating a motor vehicle is a bad idea and can be considered negligent driving if someone is killed or hurt in a Washington DC motor vehicle collision as a result.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the National Safety Council Announce FocusDriven, January 12, 2010, (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

FocusDriven

Distraction.gov

National Safety Council

$30 Million Washington DC Bus Crash Lawsuit Filed Against Metro by Injured Congressional Staffer

January 11, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Amanda Mahnke, Representative Rick Larsen’s communications director who was seriously injured when an empty bus struck her on September 3, is suing Metro for Washington DC personal injury. She is seeking $30 million in damages.

According to Mahnke’s DC bus accident lawsuit, she sustained permanent injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, a broken clavicle, a fractured skull, fractured ribs, a collapsed long, an epidural hematoma, a pelvis fracture, and other personal injuries when she was struck by the Metro bus while she crossing an intersection on Florida Avenue, NW. She is accusing Metro of negligence for allowing bus driver Carla A. Proctor to keep driving its buses even though she had been sued in the past for causing other collisions.

Proctor was involved in a multi-vehicle crash involving another bus and seven autos in March 2003 when she got out of the bus to examine a faulty door. According to lawsuits against Metro and Proctor, because she allegedly failed to set the brake the bus rolled down a hill. After Proctor struck a parked vehicle in December 2004, an elderly bus passenger filed a Washington DC bus crash lawsuit against Metro.

Washington DC Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Cause Emotional Processing Problems for Victim, Says New Study

January 5, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to studies conducted by Professor Roger Wood, a head injury specialist, and Claire Williams from Swansea University, many traumatic brain injury patients experience personality changes as well as suffer from emotional processing issues. A loss of emotional attachment, which family members have described as lack of love or warmth, as well as a decreased ability to experience empathy, are some of the problems that can arise. These emotional processing issues not only cause relationship difficulties between TBI patients and their families, but they can make recovery more challenging.

In one of the studies conducted by Wood and Williams, they discovered TBI patients had a hard time recognizing the emotions that people on video and in pictures were exhibiting. This impairment did not appear to be related to general cognitive deficits, the seriousness of the TBI, or the time that had lapsed since the head injury occurred.

Williams and Wood say that alexithymia, a personality trait that makes it hard for people to describe their own feelings, appears to be more common in TBI patients.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can occur as a result of car accidents, truck crashes, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle collisions, medical malpractice, birthing malpractice, serious fall accidents, drowning accidents, choking accidents, or other kinds of Washington DC injury accidents.

Living with a TBI can seriously impair a person’s ability to live a normal life. In many serious traumatic brain injury cases, the annual medical costs for taking care of a TBI patient can be astronomical. The lives and well-being of family members and close friends are also seriously affected.

Traumatic Brain Injury leads to problems with emotional processing, Psychology Today, January 3, 2010
Related Web Resources:

The Balanced Emotional Empathy Test (BEES) and Optional Software

Traumatic Brain Injury, Mayo Clinic

Driver of Vehicle Charlie Davies was Riding in During George Washington Parkway Car Crash Drank Alcohol, Say Police

December 31, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to police, the driver of the vehicle that US national soccer player Charlie Davies was riding when he was critically injured during a Washington DC car accident last October told them she consumed alcohol before the fatal collision.

Davis, 23, sustained serious bladder injuries and two fractures during the single-vehicle collision on October 13. 22-year-old Maryland resident Ashley Roberta, who was also a passenger, died from her injuries.

The driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries. She also reportedly told police that she was adjusting her GPS unit when Roberta called out to her to “Watch out.” The vehicle then struck a guard rail close to Boundary Channel. The impact of the crash cut the vehicle in half.

Two People Standing on Sidewalks Killed in Separate Washington DC Pedestrian Accidents

December 23, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A young woman has died from injuries she sustained last night in a Washington DC pedestrian accident at a bus stop on Pennsylvania Avenue. An auto that drove onto the curb that she was standing on struck her.

Her death is the second Washington DC pedestrian fatality to occur on a sidewalk in less than 24 hours. Earlier yesterday, a man he was struck by a pickup truck on 12th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NE. The truck driver drove onto the sidewalk after hitting a car. Metro Police are investigating whether speed, weather, or other factors contributed to this tragic Washington DC traffic crash.

Although Transportation for America ranked Washington DC as number 32 behind 31 other US areas that are more dangerous for pedestrians—9 of the 34 traffic fatalities last year were Washington DC pedestrian deaths—pedestrian accidents continue to occur in this city filled with commuters, tourists, students, and families.

Drivers must watch out for pedestrians, who have no protection from the impact of getting struck by a tractor-trailer, a bus, a SUV, a car, a motorcycle, a 15-passenger van, a delivery truck, an 18-wheeler truck, or another kind of motor vehicle. The Insurance for Highway Safety reports that children younger than age 13, elderly adult pedestrians, and male pedestrians are the groups with the higher pedestrian death rate. However, regardless of age or demographic, striking a pedestrian with an auto can cause catastrophic injuries or death.

In addition to pedestrian carelessness and driver negligence, Transportation for America says poorly designed roads are also a common cause of pedestrian injuries or deaths. This is important to note, because there could be more than one party that can be held liable for a Washington DC pedestrian injury or death.

Pedestrian Hit, Killed in Northeast DC, MyFOXDC, December 22, 2009
Car hits, kills woman at D.C. bus stop; truck kills pedestrian, Washington Post, December 23, 2009
Pedestrians, IIHS
Dangerous By Design, Transportation for America
Related Web Resources:

District Department of Transportation

NHTSA

With 77.7 Million People Expected to Hit the Road for the Holidays, Our Washington DC Car Accident Attorneys Would Like to Remind Motorists to Drive Safely

December 19, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to AAA, about 87.7 million people in the US are expected to travel at least 50 miles away from home this holiday season—77.7 million travelers by motor vehicle. In Washington DC, approximately 2.5 million people are expected to leave town and most of them plan on doing so by car. That’s 4 out of 10 Washingtonians, says AAA.

With many roads and freeways undoubtedly more crowded than usual, our Washington DC car crash lawyers would like to remind motorists to drive safely so that you aren’t involved in an auto collision. Common bad driving behaviors that cause Washington DC motor vehicle accidents and can be cause for personal injury claims or wrongful death lawsuits include:

• Drunk driving

50 Million Roll-Up Blinds and Roman Shades Recalled Because of Strangulation Hazard to Children

December 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council are recalling 50 million roll-up blinds and Roman shades because they are a potential strangulation hazard to young kids. A child can get seriously hurt if his/her neck gets tangled in the cord used to work the blinds and shades.

Since 2001, there have been three deaths involving the roll-up blinds and 16 near-strangulations and five deaths involving the Roman shades in the past three years. These shades can be fixed with a free repair kit. In the meantime, parents, guardians, and adults should take precautionary measures to childproof the blinds and shades by making sure that the cords are not easily accessible to kids—especially infants and toddlers. This includes making sure that there isn’t furniture close to the windows that children can climb on top of to reach the cords. If a cord reaches all the way to the ground, then it is important to make sure the cord is properly secured and taut. Another option is to stop using these blinds and shades.

Strangulation Injuries

According to Safe Kids USA, nearly 900 kids younger than age 15 die every year from airway obstruction. Most of the fatalities are children younger than age 4. About 17,200 strangulation injuries involving child victims occur annually. Most strangulation incidents take place in the home.

Products Liability

Window shades and blinds manufacturers have long been aware of the strangulation hazard these products have posed for young children. Yet they continue to sell their defectively designed products to consumers. How many child injuries and deaths must occur before manufacturers will stop producing these faulty furniture items?

Furniture makers can be held liable for Washington DC products liability or wrongful death involving injuries to minors.

Window Covering Safety Council Recalls to Repair All Roman and Roll-Up Blinds Due to Risk of Strangulation, CPSC, December 15, 2009
Blind recall: How to check if your Roman shades are safe, The Christian Science Monitor, December 15, 2009
Airway Obstruction, Safe Kids
Related Web Resources:

Window Covering Safety Council

Parent’s Guide to Child Safety

$17 Million Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against District and FEMS Medical Director Over Botched Response to Fatal Heart Attack

December 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of Edward Givens is suing the District and Fire and Emergency Medical Services medical director Dr. James Augustine for Washington DC wrongful death. Givens, 39, died of a heart attack in December 2008 just hours after a DC paramedic informed him he was suffering from acid reflux.

The wrongful death complaint holds the defendants responsible for Givens’ death because the paramedic allegedly committed paramedic malpractice. Mishandling documents, incorrectly interpreting medical information, and telling Givens to take Pepto Bismol are some of the actions cited in the Washington DC civil lawsuit.

Six hours after the paramedic’s wrong diagnosis, Givens was dead. The wrongful death complaint says that tests previously taken by the paramedic who treated Givens indicate that the medical worker did not display knowledge meeting the US standard of care for how a paramedic should deal with cardiac conditions and complaints. Givens’ family claims Augustine should have known that the paramedic’s skills were not up to par.