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"When you have an accident, call an attorney" – Frank Swill
Category: personal injury
No Cell Phones While Driving
Many of American companies today are banning the use of cell phones while driving for their employees during work hours. They also are encouraging their employees to carry the practice into their personal driving while not on the job. This is in part because of the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) recommendation back in December 2011 that calls for the District of Columbia and all the states to ban cell phone use while driving.
Owens Corning is one of the companies that have enacted a ban on employees. Since the ban the employees have learned that the world does not shatter, because of a missed phone call and that the employees find different ways to work within the limits of the ban according to Doug Pontsler and Owens Corning vice president in charge of safety, environmental and health at the company.
Shell International back in the later part of the 1990s discovered and there was an increase of not just accidents, but also fatalities among the contractors and employees of its company. This was because of cell phone use while they were driving. In the later part of 2002, a global ban was placed on the use of cell phones while driving and then revamped to ban texting and even the hand-free devices in 2005. Mr. Watson the company’s global road safety manager says this ban is strictly enforced and could mean the employee being dismissed. It has been successful not solely because of the plan, but because training has been included, to help the employees understand how to work with it to still do their jobs. Wrecks are down by approximately 57% through these and other safety measures.
S&ME is another company that enacted a program prohibiting the use of company cell phones while driving personal or company vehicles. The president of the company, Randy Neuhaus, understands how hard it is to quit doing this action, and admitted that even he had trouble at first. Today though, he cannot think of letting it cause a distraction that could cause loss of life.
Federal investigators recommend that all states place bans on use of mobile phones while driving except when necessary in an emergency situation. This is spurred on in part because of fatal crashes like the one a teenager had while texting where the teen received or sent a total of 11 texts in the 11 minutes preceding the wreck. This recommendation even includes hands-free devices. This would go further than what the states have enacted in their new laws.
At present 35 of the 50 states along with the District of Columbia has placed a ban on texting during operating a vehicle. Only 9 of these states have banned the use of hand-held mobile phones. District of Columbia also has this ban in place. However, the bans are not enforced as strongly as they should be.
People in this country would have a hard time with a total ban on using cell phones while driving. These phones are such a part of our daily lives today. However, more and more companies and individuals are becoming aware of the distraction that cell phones are when operating a vehicle.
Texting and Driving – The New Drunk Driving
The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) issued a report stating that a driver looks away from the road for about 4.6 seconds on average to receive or send a single text message. To give a visual to this, think about driving blindfolded across an entire football field from goal post to goal post at expressway speeds. What is the comparison facts about texting and driving compared to the drunk driving? We turn to the Car and Driver magazine’s experts to learn more about these facts.
Why You Need an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
For anyone who has suffered injuries as the result of a personal injury accident, retaining the services of a personal injury law firm is often the first step in leveling the playing field when it comes to receiving compensation for those injuries. Unfortunately, a victim is often at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating a fair settlement from injuries sustained as the result of a personal injury accident because the defendant is frequently covered by liability insurance, meaning the victim has to negotiate with a team of experienced claims handlers and attorneys who are trained to limit the company’s exposure.
Finding out that the party responsible for your injuries was covered by liability insurance is good news in the long run; however, it means that all negotiating and/or litigating must be done with the insurance company in order to receive compensation for the injuries caused by the defendant. This can be extremely complicated, frustrating, and sometimes futile, without an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side.
Although an insurance company is legally obligated to cover damages caused by an insured’s negligence, they are certainly not obligated to pay them without contesting the insured’s negligence or contesting the amount of damages sought by the victim. A victim may be the victim in a personal injury accident once in his life, whereas the claims adjuster or attorney for the insurance company spends all day, every day, processing or litigating personal injury cases. If you have been the victim of a personal injury accident, you are in jeopardy of losing out on the compensation due to you if you do not have an equally competent and experienced personal injury lawyer working for you on your side.
The Ryder Law Firm Adds Sarah Bryan
The Ryder Law Firm proudly announces that Sarah Bryan has joined the firm as an associate. Ms. Bryan attended Vanderbilt University on a full academic scholarship, and graduated with high honors with a dual degree in Chemistry and Communication. She then graduated from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, again with honors. A native of Pulaski, Tennessee, Ms. Bryan has been admitted to practice in both Alabama and Tennessee.
During her time at Washington University, she served as a teaching assistant for the School’s Legal Profession course and represented clients before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She plans to use these experiences; along with those she gained working with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee after law school, to zealously represent the clients of the Ryder Law Firm, P.C.
The Firm will continue to represent individuals who have been seriously injured, including those who were involved in motor vehicle wrecks, received inadequate care in nursing homes, sustained injuries while on the job, and experienced difficulties dealing with insurance companies, in addition to various other related matters.
The Ryder Law Firm remains committed to educating the public, particularly teenage drivers, on the dangers associated with distracted driving and to protecting the rights of runners and cyclists.
To learn more about the Ryder Law Firm, call us at 256-534-3288
Wrecked While Texting
Here is a story of a student who had a wreck while texting that he needs to stop texting while driving. Harsh lesson. Full story The drives’ dad sadi, ” if he had a child just learning to drive, he would disable texting and Internet on their phone.” Great idea! Avoid car and truck injuries! For other information on texting, driving, and injury law.
What is Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Despite the fact that liability coverage is a legal requirement in almost all states, people continue to operate motor vehicles every day on public roads without insurance. If you are involved in a car wreck with someone who was operating without insurance, your medical bills, property damage and pain and suffering could go unpaid unless you were covered by uninsured motorist coverage. Even if you were not seriously injured in the auto accident, property damage and medical bills can add up quickly — particularly if they are out of pocket expenses.
When most people purchase car insurance, they focus on what the state minimum is, or on how much they think they should purchase to cover any injuries to other people in the event they are negligent in an auto accident. While this should certainly be a consideration, care should also be taken to include uninsured motorist coverage in the event the other person is negligent and operating without liability coverage.
As a general rule, if the other driver is negligent in a car wreck, he or she is responsible for paying your medical bills, property damage and possibly pain and suffering. If he or she is insured by liability coverage then the driver’s insurance company will cover the payment. If, however, the driver did not have any liability coverage, your only option may be to file a lawsuit against the driver if you were not covered by uninsured motorist coverage. Although you may easily win the lawsuit, collecting on the judgment may prove fruitless.
If, on the other hand, you were covered by uninsured motorist coverage, then your own insurance company will pay for your damages based on your policy coverage. The insurance company may, or may not, choose to pursue litigation against the negligent driver. In the meantime, however, your injuries are covered and you do not have to worry about the often lengthy and costly process of filing a lawsuit against the driver.
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