Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

Would Revising the Hours-of-Service Regulations Decrease the Number of Washington DC Truck Accidents?

November 10, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a settlement reached between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Truck Safety Coalition, the FMCSA will conduct another rulemaking regarding the hours-of-service that commercial truckers are allowed to drive. The current regulation lets truckers drive for 11-hours/per shift.

Truck safety advocates are concerned that truck drivers are spending too much time on the road without being required to take a break, which can lead to driver fatigue—a common cause of Washington DC truck accidents and truck collisions in the rest of the United States.

The FMCSA has nine months to begin a rulemaking process and submit notice of it to the Office of Management and Budget. It will have a year to issue a final rule. During this time, the current rules will continue to apply.

While the American Trucking Associations plans to take part in the rulemaking process, it also intends to prove that the current hours-of-service rules shouldn’t be revised. However, although the number of truck accidents a year has dropped since the new rules went into effect, truck safety advocates still believe that more can be done to prevent truck crash injuries and deaths.

Truck Accidents

Large trucks continue to be a cause of serious injury to victims. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, internal injuries, and death can result. One common cause of tragic truck crashes is driver negligence. One way to decrease the number of truck crash deaths is for the government to develop regulations that require truckers to drive their vehicles responsibly and safely.

FMCSA to reconsider hours rules, Etrucker.com
Obama administration considers changing rules for truckers, Pennlive.com, November 8, 2009
Related Web Resources:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

American Trucking Associations

Stay Alert and Awake: Drowsy Driving Prevention Week Reminds Motorists to Prevent Washington DC Car Accidents Caused by Sleepiness and Fatigue

November 3, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the 2009 Sleep in America poll by the National Sleep Foundation, about 1.9 Million Drivers are involved in drowsy driving car crashes or near miss accidents each year. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the power sleepiness can have in causing Washington DC car accidents.

Per the poll, 105 million US drivers have driven while sleepy in the last year. 54 million drivers drive while drowsy at least once a month.

National Sleep Foundation chairman Thomas Balkin says that while motorists are good at recognizing when they are tired, this doesn’t stop them from getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and driving. Balkin says that people mistakenly think that they can will themselves to stay awake but they often don’t even realize that they are falling asleep. Balkin notes that just one moment of “reduced awareness” can cause a motor vehicle crash.

Drowsy driving slows reflexes, reduces alertness, and impairs one’s ability to think clearly and rapidly respond to an emergency situation. A person who is sleepy or very tired while driving might inadvertently lane change, let go of the steering wheel, fail to notice traffic signs, not see other vehicles or pedestrians, drive off the road, or drive into oncoming traffic.

Drowsy driving can be grounds for a Washington DC injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit if another person is injured as a result.

In an attempt to decrease the number of drowsy driving accidents, the National Sleep Foundation has declared November 2 – 8 Drowsy Driving Prevention Week.

Ways to Avoid Drowsy Driving:

• Get a good night’s driving.
• Take periodic brakes (every 2 hours or every 100 miles).
• Don’t drink alcohol or take medications that cause drowsiness before driving.
• If necessary, stop and take a nap.

• Take caffeine if necessary.

.9 Million Drivers Have Fatigue-Related Car Crashes or Near Misses Each Year, Reuters, October 29, 2009
Drowsy Driving: Reduce Your Risk of Falling Asleep Behind the Wheel, Associated Content, June 27, 2006
Related Web Resources:

National Sleep Foundation

NHTSA

Halloween Can Be Scary for Washington DC Pedestrians

October 28, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Ghosts and goblins may not be the scariest part of Halloween for kids. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Halloween is the second deadliest day of the year for pedestrians. Meantime, Safe Kids USA reports that kids are twice as likely to die in a child pedestrian accident on Halloween night than any other night.

The reason that the night of October 31 brings with it a greater risk of Washington DC pedestrian accidents is that there are more kids out on the streets and sidewalks than on other nights because they are trick or treating. Also, Consumer Reports is reminding readers that this year, Halloween is on a Saturday. This means there is no school or work the next day. The NTSB says that more pedestrian accidents happen on Saturdays than on any other day of the year. Because November 1, 2009 is when we’ll turn our clocks back an hour, this year, people have one more hour to stay out on Halloween.

Just because Halloween is a time for tricks and treats doesn’t mean that drivers and pedestrians should become less vigilant when out on the streets. Little kids in costume can be hard to see—especially if they are wearing dark clothing or masks—and in the excitement to get from one house to the next a young child may run into the middle of the road unexpectedly. Parents should make sure that young kids do not walk around by themselves unattended or, at the very least, familiarize them with the rules of safe walking.

For drivers, driving drunk on any night is never a good idea. It’s an especially bad idea on Halloween night when motorists must watch out for child pedestrians. Driving slower than the speed limit can also help. Now is also a good time (as any) to stop text messaging or talking on the cell phone while driving.

If your child was injured in a Washington DC pedestrian accident because a motorist was careless or reckless, you may have grounds for an injuries to minors lawsuit.

Real horror of Halloween: Pedestrian deaths, USA Today, October 26, 2009
Halloween safety tips for pedestrians and drivers, Consumer Reports, October 28, 2009

Safe Kids USA

Educating Child Pedestrians, WalkingInfo.org

Medical Malpractice Survivors and Families Travel to Washington DC to Stand for Personal Injury Victims’ Rights

October 26, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Last week, families from outside Washington DC traveled to the US to ask Congress to preserve medical malpractice victims’ legal rights. Their visit comes as the White House and Congress work on a final health care reform bill that has some lawmakers pushing to limit the legal rights of patients who were injured because of medical negligence.

According to USAction executive director Jeff Blum, about 98,000 Americans die every year because of medical mistakes. Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division director David Arkush notes that even many medical errors are preventable, the number of people affected by medical mistakes has reached epidemic heights. He says that Congress should cure the epidemic, not limit victims’ rights.

Washington DC Medical Malpractice

Doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists, plastic surgeons, optometrists, dermatologists, gynecologists, obstetricians, and other medical professionals must provide patients with a certain level of care. When failure to provide that care results in a medical mistake that causes injury or death, the medical provider can be held liable for medical malpractice.

Grounds for filing a Washington DC Medical Malpractice Claim:
• Failure to obtain informed consent
• Surgical errors
• Wrong diagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Birthing errors
• Negligence, carelessness, or recklessness
• Medication mistakes
• Wrong site surgery
• Leaving surgical tools in patients
• Operating on the wrong body part or organ
• Removing the wrong body part or organ
• Anesthesia errors
• Performing the wrong procedure on the patient

Medical mistakes can be extremely painful and costly for the patient. A medical malpractice victim may even have to undergo more procedures and suffer from medical complications because of a medical error. Medical malpractice can even lead to Washington DC wrongful death.

Injured Medical Malpractice Survivors Travel to Washington, D.C., to Protect Patients’ Rights, Common Dreams, October 21, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo
Health Care Reform, The White House
Medical Practice, Public Citizen

Federal Highway Administration to Study Motorcycle Accident Causes

October 20, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Federal Highway Administration says it will conduct a study so it can understand what causes motorcycle crashes and how to prevent them from happening. Our Washington DC motorcycle crash lawyers wish to point out that this is an important endeavor, considering that almost 5,300 motorcycle riders died last year while 96,000 others were injured.

The federal government hasn’t conducted a study like this since its Hurt Report in 1981—that was almost 30 years ago. Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma Transportation Center will be the study’s lead researcher.

Information from hundreds of motorcycle accidents will be examined in an attempt to pinpoint common factors, such as rider experience, road configurations, and environmental conditions. Hopefully figuring out the latest common causes of motorcycle crashes will allow for countermeasures to be identified, developed, and implemented.

From 1997 – 2008, the US Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting says that the number of motorcycle deaths went up by 150% from 2,116 to 5,290 motorcycle fatalities.

Washington DC Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle riders are vulnerable to sustaining serious injuries whenever they are involved in a traffic accident. Motorcyclists only have their helmet and protective clothing to protect them. Statistically, their chances of dying in a motorcycle crash is more than 20 times greater than the fatality risk of someone riding in a car. In most motorcycle-car accidents, it is usually the driver of the motor vehicle who caused the traffic collision.

While efforts have been made to teach motorcycles and car drivers, truckers, and bus drivers how to share the road safely with each other, this is not always the case. It doesn’t help that there are the occasional defective road conditions and motorcycle part defects that can cause a motorcyclist to crash without another motorist’s help.

Federal Government To Study Motorcycle Crash Causation, Chicago Now, October 9, 2009
Related Web Resources:
The Hurt Report Summary

Motorcycle Safety Foundation

58.9% Of Traffic Deaths in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia Between 2004-2008 were Single-Vehicle Accidents

October 14, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Single-vehicle crashes make up nearly 62% of Washington DC traffic deaths. According to 2004-2008 statistics, 58.9% of the 7,945 traffic fatalities on highways in the District, Virginia, and Maryland were single-vehicle collisions.

AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson John B. Townsend II attributes single-vehicle accidents to driver error, poor road conditions, speeding, drunk driving, negligent driving, and night driving. Townsend says that based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s traffic death data over the last five years, single-vehicle accidents also accounted for nearly 64% of traffic deaths in Virginia and 53% of Maryland motor vehicle fatalities.

Yesterday morning, US soccer team member Charlie Davies sustained serious injuries in a single-car crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Davies sustained leg fractures, facial fractures, an elbow fracture, and a lacerated bladder. He underwent surgery yesterday afternoon and his career may be over.

Washington DC Pedestrian Fatally Struck by at Least Two Vehicles

October 11, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Shortly after 1am on Saturday, a pedestrian was fatally struck on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Police say that the victim, a man in his 30’s who appears to be Hispanic, was hit by at least two motor vehicles. His death is the fourth pedestrian fatality in the Washington portion of the parkway in the last 14 months and the third one close to the exit ramp going into the District.

According to the D.C. Department of Transportation, The Washington DC pedestrian death rate is even higher than the pedestrian fatality counts of Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. About 600 Washington DC pedestrian accidents occur each year. Another study reports stated that over 80 pedestrian deaths take place in the Washington region every year.

On Tuesday, a woman died in a DC pedestrian accident when a Metrobus struck her. 47-year-old Stephanie Richardson got off a bus and was hit by another bus traveling in the same direction. She was transported to Washington Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead.

Some 14 people have died this year in Metro-related accidents. Just last month, a 30-year-old jogger sustained critical injuries when a Metro bus struck her. There are reports that the bus driver ran a red light and the pedestrian victim, Amanda Mahnke, was crossing the street because she had the walk signal.

Washington DC Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians injured in DC truck accidents, bus crashes, motorcycle collisions, and other traffic accidents may be entitled to Washington DC personal injury recovery. Serious pedestrian injuries can include traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and internal injuries.

Pedestrian Fatally Struck on Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Washington Post, October 11, 2009
D.C. woman, 47, dies after being hit by Metrobus, Washington Examiner, October 7, 2009
Sources: Bus Ran Light, Hit Jogger, My Fox, September 25, 2009
Related Web Resources:

D.C. Department of Transportation

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

President Obama Bans Federal Employees from Texting While Driving

October 7, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

President Barack Obama has signed an executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving a vehicle when on official business even if the vehicle being driven is not owned by the government. The order, issued last week, is an attempt to lead the charge encouraging people to stop texting while driving.

Lawmakers, ordinary citizens, safety advocates, and police attended a two-day Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC that the US Department of Transportation organized. Already, the District of Columbia has a ban on texting or talking on a hand-held device while driving. Unfortunately, there are District of Columbia motorists who still engage in this dangerous habit that can lead to catastrophic Washington DC car accidents. Not only is texting while driving against the law but, like drunk driving, this popular form of distracted driving can kill people and lead to DC injury claims and wrongful death lawsuits.

The Obama administration has given each of the federal agencies 90 days to figure out how to enforce his order. He also wants the agencies to ban subcontractors and contractors from texting while driving. Federal employees working in national security or law enforcement are exempt from the ban.

For purposes of his order, President Obama defines “driving” as operating a motor vehicle. Drivers that are stopped at a traffic stop or traffic light or for any other reason that requires them to engage with the flow of traffic even if they are in “pause” mode with the engine running are still “driving.” However, Mr. Obama says it is acceptable for a federal worker to text message if he or she has pulled over to the side of the road.

Distracted Driving Facts from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety:

• Driver distraction is the cause of 1 million North American traffic accidents each year.
• Although, per the 2009 Index, 95% of drivers think that texting while driving is unacceptable behavior, 18% of them still do it.
• More than 50% of the time a motorist is driving, he or she is engaged in at least one other task.
Obama enacts texting ban on federal employees, The Washington Times, October 2, 2009
The Facts about Distracted Driving – Know the Dangers/Avoid the Risks, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Related Web Resources:

The White House

US Department of Transportation

Distracted Driving Summit Focusing on Dangers of Texting Opens Today in Washington DC

September 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

At the opening of the Distracted Driving Summit, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that texting while driving has become an “an endemic” and a “menace to society.” Over 300 people are taking part in the conference, including law enforcement officials, lawmakers, and safety experts.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,780 people died (16% of all deadly traffic collisions) and 515,000 people sustained injuries in distracted driving accidents last year. Many of these auto crashes are a result of people using cell phones and PDAs.

Distracted driving is reportedly a big problem among young drivers, especially those under age 21. Distracted driving was a factor in 16% of deadly crashes involving drivers in this age group.

Metrobus Driver Who Struck Jogger in Washington DC Pedestrian Accident is Fired

September 25, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Metro says that it fired the bus driver who struck a female jogger during a Washington DC pedestrian accident on September 3. Carla A. Proctor hit Amanda Mahnke while operating an empty bus on Florida Avenue NW. The 30-year-old jogger is Representative Rick Larsen’s communications director. She fractured her skull and sustained several other fractures during the DC Metro bus accident.

Metro cited “failing to follow standard operating procedures” as the reason for Proctor’s dismissal. The September 3 accident, which occurred close to Dupont Circle, is not the first time that the bus driver was involved in a bus crash.

In March 2003, seven motor vehicles and another bus were damaged after Proctor exited the bus to check on a faulty door. The bus accident lawsuits that were filed against Proctor and Metro accused her of neglecting to set the brake properly. This allegedly caused the empty bus to roll down a hill and into an auto, triggering a chain reaction with the other motor vehicles. A Prince George’s County jury awarded three plaintiffs $27,713 in damages. A settlement was reached in another DC bus accident claim over the multi-vehicle crash.

In December 2004, Proctor drove her Metro bus into a parked auto while turning onto Wisconsin Avenue from O Street. A 72-year-old bus passenger sued Metro for Washington DC personal injury. The case was settled in mediation under confidential terms.

In July 2003, Proctor, who was not working at the time, was involved in a motor vehicle crash that resulted in her vehicle driving through the front window of a Wendy’s in Oxon Hill. Two of the restaurant patrons sued her for Maryland personal injury. The case was settled out of court.

Proctor received five traffic tickets in January for operating an uninsured vehicle, not maintaining insurance, not having current tags, and not displaying a registration card upon demand. Charges are also pending against her for a traffic stop in Prince George’s County in 2008.

Metro fires bus driver for hitting jogger, Washington Examiner, September 25, 2009
Metrobus Crash Not The First For Driver, The Washington Post, September 16, 2009
Related Web Resource:
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority