The Tennessee Bar Association has graciously permitted me to write a column on tort law for many years. I must admit that I enjoy writing these articles, although I must also admit that each time the calendar reminder pops-up on my computer reminding me of yet another deadline for yet…
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that post-mortem testing has demonstrated an increase in the level of drug involvement among fatally injured drivers over a five-year period from 2005 to 2009. According to data compiled by NHTSA, 63 percent of the 21,798 drivers who were killed in…
Does a rental car company have the duty to check the driving record of potential customers before renting them a car? Does the fact that the records are available electronically have any impact on whether a duty exists? The California Court of Appeals recently considered these issues and re-affirmed an…
On Tuesday the 26th I posted about a NHTSA report on traffic safety. I saved for today a reference to what the organization believes is a major cause of the decrease in deaths and injuries in motor vehicle cases: safety regulations and programs imposed by state and federal…
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has issued a report analyzing motor vehicle crash data for 2008. The good news: the number of vehicle crashes, deaths and injuries continue to decline. From the report: The number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is the primary exposure measure used when analyzing…
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that motor vehicle accidents cost the United States economy almost $100 billion each year, or about $500 per licensed driver. Motorcycle accidents cost about $12 billion. Car and truck accidents total $70 billion. The CDC looked at data from 2005. …
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released updated 2009 fatality and injury data showing that highway deaths fell to 33,808 for the year, the lowest number since 1950. The record-breaking decline in traffic fatalities occurred even while estimated vehicle miles traveled in 2009 increased by 0.2 percent over 2008 levels. In…
ABC News reports that Dr. Frank Ryan, the surgeon who performed extensive plastic surgery early this year on Heidi Montag, was sending a Twitter message about his dog before his fatal car crash Monday in Los Angeles. The dog, who was in the car at the time of the crash, survived…
Judge Susano and his colleagues on the Eastern Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals issued an opinion yesterday in Usher v. Charles Blalock & Sons, Inc. The opinion addresses some important issues of Tennessee law, but is mentioned here because it utlizies photographs scanned into the body of the…
Can’t quite figure out if that automobile accident case happened in Davidson or Wilson County, Tennessee? This website has a detailed map of every Tennessee county that you can use to start your investigation into this issue.