Tennessee Auto Accident caused by fatigued driver on drugs

Tennessee car accidents are often connected to a driver's use of illegal or prescription drugs, and often driver fatigue from drug use makes them dangerous.

Tennessee Car Accidents Caused by Drunk Drivers Too Often

Tennessee Car Accidents Involve Drunk Drivers who may or may not be charged with a DUI for causing an auto accident in Tennessee. The legal consequences may not be enough to keep the drunk driver off the road unless you take the initiative to sue the drunk driver for your Tennessee auto accident.

Neck and Back Pain Most Common Complaints after Car accidents in Tennessee

When car accidents occur people often walk away feeling that they got lucky. It's only later that they realize they have a neck or back injury, sometimes an injury that won't get better without time, treatment, and even surgery.

Concussions from car wrecks can cause brain injury

People in car or motorcycle accidents may have concussions whose symptoms seem mild, but have long term consequences.

Tennessee Auto accidents from driving under the influence decrease

Auto accidents in Tennessee and nationwide that are caused by drunk driving, cause thousands of fatalities every year.

What to do if you are in an automobile accident

When you are involved in an auto accident, following a simple checklist will minimize your risk of making a costly mistake.

Teen Driving Safest when Parent Provide Clear Rules and Monitoring

Parents can have a major role in whether or not their teens are at risk for being in a car crash. Research has shown then when parents have rules about the use of a car, teens are less likely to be involved in risky driving behaviors.  The simplest rules? Here are a few:

1. Always wear a seat belt, no matter what seat you are in or how many people are in the car.
2. Don't use your cell phone while driving. This means you do not answer the cellphone, do not make a call on the cellphone, and do not text while you are driving.
3. Do not use alcohol and drive, do not get into a car where the driver has been drinking, and get out of the car if someone has been drinking. We will come and get you and be proud that you were so strong.

Authoritative parents were much more likely to have teen drivers who avoided risky driving then parents who were not authoritative. Another finding? Teens who shared a vehicle were less likely to engage in risky behavior than those that has their own car. As attorneys who represent teens, and the victims of teen drivers, we know that these simple rules can make a difference. For more information from this study and its recommendations, click here.

Uninsured Drivers have Their Own Stories

I was recently contacted by a consumer who had seen my profile on AVVO. It was not a case we would take -  no one was injured and the young woman who contacted me was the person who caused the wreck. She was concerned because 4 months after the wreck she was contacted by Allstate Insurance wanting her to pay for more than $3,000 in property damage to another vehicle.  Although she was at fault - there was no way she could pay for the damages - she was one of the thousands of uninsured drivers on Tennessee roads. She and her boyfriend were having a hard time paying their rent and utilities during the winter and spring of 2009, so car insurance was dropped. When this wreck happened her car was totaled and the only transportation they had for work for the next 6 weeks was a bicycle.  Unless you are terribly pressed financially, uninsured motorist coverage is critical protection for you and your family.

Insurance Companies Unscrupulously Deny and Delay Legitimate Claims

A study released by the American Association for Justice finds reports that insurance companies, despite being hugely profitable, had adopted policies of denying, delaying, and then defending claims that are entirely legitimate.  CNN's Anderson Cooper featured this problem in a report titled "Keeping them Honest-Insurance Battle". The bottom line, despite huge profits insurance companies have adopted policies to deny and delay payments on legitimate claims to increase profits even further. They will go so far as to defend claims, requiring consumers to go to trial on legitimate cases that could and should be settled. We have been telling our clients this for years. It's good for CNN and others to publish the truth about insurance companies. Knowledge is power. You may not be able to safely deal with an insurance adjuster if you are an accident victim, but you can understand what is going on and get some professional help to level the playing field.

Road Rage Kills 4 people on I-75

Interstate travel sometimes involves encountering drivers who are going faster, or slower than you are traveling. Sometimes someone passes you and slows down and you have to pass them again, and then they speed up. Lots of things can happen that might irritate you, but it should stop there.  Anger when you are behind the wheel is a very dangerous emotion and can spin things out of control. A man driving a Saturn SUV on I-75 reached that point last week. He had been having some "problems" with a driver in a Honda Accord, and rear-ended the Accord. That would have been bad enough, but a small truck traveling to the rear couldn't stop when the Saturn slowed after impact. It rear-ended the SUV, bursting it into flames. The driver and all 3 passengers were killed.  Rage.  Never a good thing, and incredibly dangerous when driving a car.  For more information about this story click here.

Nashville Not Safe for Pedestrians

Nashville is now officially the 2nd least walkable city in the U.S.A. which translates into our getting more than our fair share of the 4500 pedestrian deaths and 70,000 injuries that occur annually.  Innovations in traffic lighting - reminding drivers that they have an obligation to look out for pedestrians at cross walks - have significantly reduced deaths in other cities. Maybe it's time for us?  for more information, click here.

Animals in Road - Moving Hazards

A recent collision involving a car that swerved to avoid an animal in the road resulted in injuries to the driver. My firm has handled these kinds of cases in the past, including everything from cows in the road to pets to wild game.  It is very common to encounter animals on the roadway. The amount of time to respond is often minimal, and the animals are frequently moving into or across the path of the oncoming car. While the natural instinct is to swerve and avoid contact, this often leads to loss of control. Damage to your car may be preferable to losing control and killing the animal anyway.

Texting Leads to Death in Car Wreck

Texting may be illegal in Tennessee, but I doubt that the change in the law will deter those "crackberry" addicts who think a short text message won't affect their ability to drive safely. Unfortunately, taking your eyes from the road does affect your ability to drive safely and everyone on the road is at risk when a driver decides they can get away with this kind of risky behavior. In a Vancouver case, a driver was killed when he lost control. His "crackberry" survived.  For more information,  click here. 

SUV loses control killing cab driver

A Nashville cab driver was killed Tuesday May 19 when an SUV lost control. The wreck happened on Ellington Parkway which has a wide, grass median.  Apparently, not wide enough.  The SUV driver said she swerved to avoid debris in the road and then ran off the road, across the median, and into the cab of Mr. Hussein Ali with enough force to kill him. Do you think the SUV driver may have been going too fast? "Debris"?  I thought one of the reasons for driving an SUV was ground clearance and durability - so now an innocent man is dead for "debris"?  It doesn't make any sense. The fact is, this SUV driver exercised bad judgment, really bad judgment. Not everyone should be allowed to drive. This lady maybe one of those people who should not.

Using a Cell Phone While Driving in Tennessee

Several states have already enacted laws banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.  Currently, Tennessee is not one of them.  In Tennessee, you are allowed to use a cell phone while operating your vehicle, but there is a chance that the law could eventually change.

Research has shown that using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of a serious car accident.  The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis concluded from its study that using a cell hone while driving accounts for 6 percent of car crashes each year in the United States.  Even though 6 percent doesn’t seem like a high number, when you review the total number of crashes in the country, it means that 636,000 accidents, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths can be attributed to drivers using cell phones.

Another study was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that showed that the majority of auto accidents happen within three seconds of a distraction.  When it comes to cell phones, that means if a driver looks down for three seconds to dial a telephone number or reaches for a ringing cell phone, the odds of causing a car accident increases.

In Sullivan County, a ban on cell phones has been proposed.  However, two of the county commission’s three primary committees said that they will not endorse the resolution to ban hand-held cell phones while driving.

The National Safety Council is lobbying for a nationwide ban on drivers using cell phones and other messaging devices while driving.  The organization is planning to lobby all 50 states plus Washington D.C. to enact laws that ban both hand-held and hands-free cell phones, as well as texting while driving.  If successful, Tennessee could join the states that ban cell phones while driving.

The article, “Will Cell Phones be Banned in Tennessee,” has more information on cell phone bans.

If you have been injured in a car accident that was caused by a distractive driver, you may be entitled to compensation.  Contact the Tennessee car accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates at (800) 337-HURT (4878) or (615) 356-2000 for expert legal advice. 

A Speed-Related Accident Can Cause Serious Injuries

When a driver is speeding, the chances of causing a car accident increase dramatically.  According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), nearly one third of traffic deaths are speed-related, meaning at least one of the drivers was traveling faster than the posted speed limit or was driving too fast for the conditions.

The study found that impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving and speeding are among the leading causes of car accidents in the United States.  When a driver is speeding, he or she has less time to respond or avoid a hazard and has an increased chance of losing control of the car.  As a result, the driver has the potential to cause a serious car accident.

According to the NCSA study, when a driver was drunk, the odds of causing a car crash increased significantly.  Researchers found that 41 percent of drivers who were drunk, were also speeding as compared to 14 percent of drivers who were not intoxicated.

Almost half of the accidents involving speeding occurred when the driver was negotiating a curve and most of the fatal single-car accidents took place on rural roads.  Researchers also found that drivers are more prone to speed at night, between 3:00 PM and 3:00 AM, than during daytime hours.

A collision caused by a speeding driver can cause serious injuries, including brain injury, spinal cord injury, broken bones and other serious conditions, such as paralysis.  If you were in a car accident caused by a driver who was speeding, you may be entitled to compensation for the injuries you sustained in the crash.  You should talk with a Tennessee car accident attorney at Phillip Miller & Associates at (800) 337-HURT (4878) or (615) 356-2000.

The article, “Speeding Often Leads to Serious Car Crashes,” has more information regarding the NCSA study.

Compensation for Whiplash from a Tennessee Car Accident

If you think you have sustained a whiplash injury from a car accident in Tennessee, you may be entitled to compensation.  Even though whiplash is not a life threatening injury, it can still cause inconvenience as you are forced to take time off of work during your recovery and may incur high medical expenses.  If the other driver was to blame for your injuries, you should talk with a car accident attorney immediately to find out your legal rights.

Whiplash is a common injury that occurs during a rear-end collision.  It is the result of an overextension of the neck.  When a car rear ends your vehicle, your body may be pushed forward, but your head may remain momentarily behind.  This action can cause your head to rock up and back, tearing ligaments and muscles.  Whiplash is painful and the symptoms can last for years.

If you have been injured in a car crash, you need to be aware of the signs of whiplash.  Some of the most common whiplash symptoms include fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, headache, arm pain or weakness, vision problems, shoulder pain or stiffness, ringing in the ears, jaw pain and back pain.   A recent Swedish study found that whiplash victims are five times as likely to have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and or dysfunction following a car accident.  TMJ disorder is a medical problem that affects the jaw joint.

You can pursue compensation for your whiplash injury and may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and other expenses associated with your injury.  Contact the Tennessee car accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates at (800) 337-HURT (4878) or (615) 356-2000 to review your case. 

The article, Whiplash Caused by a Car Accident in Tennessee, has more information on this topic. 

Wrongful Death Suit Filer Over Motorcycle Wreck

Wrongful death suit filed over wreck

CLINTON - A $5 million wrongful death complaint alleges an employee at a Clinton Highway tobacco outlet caused a motorcyclist's traffic death by turning in front of the oncoming cyclist.

Knox County resident Bobby Frank Poynter filed the Anderson County Circuit Court complaint against Bob M. Green of Knoxville and Smokes & Boats LLC.

Killed in the March 11, 2008, collision was Poynter's son, Robert Blake Poynter, the complaint states.

Green had consumed beer with lunch at Big Ed's Pizza in Oak Ridge that day and was returning to Smokes & Boats when he turned his Chevrolet Tahoe in front of Poynter's Suzuki motorcycle, according to the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Green failed to keep his vehicle under control, didn't signal when turning and was negligent in driving after drinking alcohol.

Smokes & Boats is liable because one of its agents was negligent in operating his vehicle, the lawsuit alleges.

Back Surgery

We have had hundreds of clients who have had back surgery, some as the result of work injuries, some from collision cases. The Most of them experienced pain and thought that surgery would take away their pain and allow them to return to normal. The words used to describe the conditions and procedures involved - laminectomy, fusion, stabilization, spondylosis, stenosis, are not "user friendly" but ultimately back surgery is about protecting the spinal cord and nerves. Pain relief is not the most important goal for a back surgeon and the amount of pain after surgery can be disappointing. The best advice - lose weight, stretch, and exercise. This sounds good but for so many people it is impossible. Don't we all need to follow this advice whether we have back problems or not? Many times, our clients fail at these reasonable but impossible to achieve goals. The result? Back pain that limits their activities and lives in ways that are hard to appreciate unless you have heard their stories. Surgery is not always the answer for back pain, and the Mayo Clinic has some good information for anyone who is thinking about this surgery (click here). For other information about back surgery and specific procedures, click here.

Parents tend to move children out of car seats too soon!