Here is another decision that makes it reversible error to show photos of vehicles involved in a wreck, point out minor property damage, and then argue that the plaintiff could not have been injured. The New Jersey Appellate Division said this: “Given the narrow field of dispute, the photographs served…
Sorry for the delay in posting today. I caught a red-eye flight last night and spent 12 hours traveling. Public Citizen and four other entities have launched another court challenge to the hours-of-service rules that have been promulgated by the FMSCA. From Public Citizen’s press release: “More than 5,000 people…
Read here about the indictment the executive of the charter company that operated the bus that exploded Sept. 23 on Interstate 45 in Texas, killing 23 residents of a Bellaire nursing home who were fleeing Hurricane Rita. If he is found guilty, what will his punishment be? Will it be…
Here is some interesting information on the realtionship between where people live and their tendancy to be involved who tend to be in car wrecks. A sample: “People who live within one mile of a church are 10 percent less likely to have an accident resulting in a property damage…
My daughter is 14 and is very excited about getting her driver’s license. The idea terrifies me like it does most parents. Here are some statistics about car wrecks and teenagers that will not do you much good at the office but may help you talk about safe driving with…
Do you want to know how many people died in traffic wrecks in Tennessee? In North Dakota? On two-lane roads? On interstates? If so, see this report from NHTSA and the United States Department of Transportation. An excerpt: “In 2004, the Nation’s crash fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles…
The Court of Appeals of Washington has ordered a new trial in a criminal case in which the State admited into evidence computer-generated simulation evidence using Version 6.2 of a program called PC-CRASH to prove that defendant had been the driver of the vehicle involved in the wreck. The Court…
An appellate court in California reversed a jury verdict because of a trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury pursuant to the federal standard of care requiring “extreme care” as opposed to the reasonable care standard. The appellate court held that this was prejudicial error requiring a remand for a…
Tennessee has the 13th highest truck crash death rate in the nation, a rate of 2.63 deaths per 100,000 population. This means over 150 people die in Tennessee each year in truck-related crashes. The Tennessee death rate is 30% higher than the national average. For a listing of the death…
Can a passenger of one vehicle sue a passenger of a different vehicle alleging that the latter negligently told the vehicle driver that it was safe to back up when, in fact, it was not, and the resulting wreck injured the former? This is a classic duty question – it…