Boston Personal Injury Lawyer - Truck Accidents

The Power of Exhibits

Ken Margolin — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:15:00 GMT

I wonder if anyone has ever calculated the number of words per hour spoken during the average jury trial. The right words, used the right way, can evoke the most powerful of images, associations, and emotions. Words can also drone on and become little more than background noise to the listener. The lawyer trying a case involving catastrophic personal injury, has a challenge. He may need to educate the jury on a scientific topic, for example accident reconstruction. He may need to make sure they understand the scope of the plaintiff's economic loss.

Accomplishing the necessary jury education and persuasion in a complex personal injury trial, is not possible with words alone. On the other hand, too much use of exhibits could turn a trial into a circus, detracting from the seriousness of the matter at hand. The plaintiff's lawyer needs to balance words with exhibits, simple exhibits with more elaborate displays. Basic blowups of pages of medical records can be very useful, as can enlarged color photographs. In a medical malpractice case in which a timeline is important, the attorney can hire companies that will create a visually engaging horizontal chronology, based on medical records entries. In a construction accident case, an attorney may have a detailed model built, replicating the scene where his client was hurt. Tangible things can work better in some cases, than photographs.

Sometimes, nothing but the actual item in question, or an exact duplicate, will do. As I write this piece, a colleague of mine is trying a case on behalf of a restaurant worker severely burned when a heavy cauldron tipped over too far, emptying its load of scalding water on the man. At considerable expense and effort, my colleague purchased a duplicate of the cauldron in question and had it delivered, bolted to planks, to the 5th floor courtroom. I don't know yet if he'll win, but if he does, you can bet that the kettle will have played a major role. Computer animations of events can be useful, provided the judge is convinced that they are sufficiently accurate to be allowed into evidence, and the jury believes they are fair representations of events. The use of exhibits is vital and their variety is as limitless as an attorney's imagination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Cell Phone Driving Fatalities

Ken Margolin — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:10:00 GMT

If the sight of the driver to your right on the interstate, chatting away on his cell phone gets you angry, you've got a right to be. Various studies have shown that driving while talking on a cell phone can be as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. Estimates of the number of U.S. traffic fatalities caused by cell phone talking while driving are generally in the 2,000 - 3,000 range with one hundred times as many injuries. The best remedy for the menace of cell phone traffic accidents, would be common sense by most drivers and a realization that the common practice is anti-social and dangerous. Failing a sudden epidemic of common sense, legislation and tough enforcement need to be implemented. Enacting legislation will be tough given the lobbying power of the cell phone industry. The effort, though, coupled with public education, can save thousands of lives each year.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

A Victory Against Trucking Fatalities

Ken Margolin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:45:00 GMT

The federal Appeals Court of the D.C. Circuit, struck down new rules of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, that would have allowed big rig truckers to drive many more consecutive hours. The case was brought by Public Citizen, a public safety advocacy group, and other groups formed to protect the public against tired truckers. The Appeals Court held that the federal agency had not justified the change in rules, in light of data that showed the trucking industry to be amongst the most dangerous, and fatalities in accidents involving large trucks to be far more likely than those involving cars alone. Naturally, the rules change was pressed by the trucking industry, which consistently ignores the data regarding trucking fatalities, and places profits ahead of quality of life and safety on our roadways.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Truck Accidents Unbound

Ken Margolin — Mon, 14 May 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Last week, it was a large truck that overturned on Route 128, near Lexington, creating a massive traffic jam for hours. On almost any given day on an elevated ramp near Chelsea, a truck may catapult the guard rail and fall to the road below. Large trucks so frequently cause gridlock, crashes, injuries, and death, on Massachusetts roadways, that reports of the damage they cause, seem interchangeable. Speed, long driver hours, overweight loads, time pressures, and driver inattentiveness, are amongst the causes of the truck accident carnage.

The road monsters are so prevalent and the speeds at which they travel, so excessive, that they have negatively impacted the very quality of life in this state. There is plenty of blame to spread around for the problem. It began some years back with the federal government, when the Department of Transportation required Massachusetts, with the threat of withholding of federal funds, to allow double rigs on the interstates.

Our roadways were never designed to handle these behemoths, but handle them, the roadways now must. The powerful trucking industry lobby is a major culprit, fighting tirelessly, to prevent laws and law enforcement rigorous enough to significantly reduce truck injuries. The Massachusetts State Police, by training and dedication, one of the finest in the country, is not blameless. Every Massachusetts driver has undoubtedly received his fair share of speeding tickets, but will be hard-pressed to ever recall seeing a "Statie" pull over a large truck, no matter how recklessly driven. Until the public says, "enough," and requires elected officials to come down hard and often on dangerous truck drivers, the big rigs will continue to create havoc and injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Disastrous Distractions

Ken Margolin — Mon, 07 May 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Driving while chowing down a donut, alternating the snack with a cup of hot coffee, is a time-honored example of dangerous, distracted driving. Even though driving safety researchers preached that drinking a beverage while driving, could lead to car crashes due to distraction, human nature dictated that eating and drinking while driving, was never going to stop. The ante was raised with the invention of the cell phone. It is simply impossible to maintain complete road awareness while talking on a cell phone. Dialing the phone while driving, is practically begging for a serious car crash to happen.

Cell phone technology is still in its infancy, and the devices have more road perils in store. The latest, a serious menace, is text messaging. Roadway accidents have already occurred while drivers have been looking down at their cell phones, typing a text message on the tiny keyboards. Virginia Beach Injury Board partner, Rick Shapiro, tells of a study that found that cell phone use while driving can be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. There is no easy solution to the dangers posed by distracted drivers. New legislation will not create the manpower necessary for enforcement. It is more difficult for law enforcement officials, to spot a driver talking on a cell phone, or tapping out a text message, than it is to spot a car driving 90 miles per hour. I fear that it may take a spectacular and well-publicized crash caused by cell phone use while driving, involving death or paralysis, before people remember that driving, without more, requires 100% of the driver's attention.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Truck Accident Victims Unite for Change

Ken Margolin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:50:00 GMT

Sometimes the only solace after a loved one has been killed due to corporate negligence and greed, is to join with other grieving families to lobby for change. That is just what the families of children killed by truck driver negligence did, in forming Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH). Together, they call themselves the Truck Safety Coalition, and are dedicated to reducing deaths and injuries due to truck-related crashes, educating the public, changing policy, and helping families of victims of truck crashes. Daphne Izer, of Lisbon, Maine, founded P.A.T.T. in 1993, after her son and three friends were killed when a WalMart truck driver fell asleep at his big rig, while his truck crushed the car in which the victims were driving. The Texas Injury Law Blog reports that up to 15% of truck-related fatalities are caused by tired truck drivers. Until Congress forbids the trucking industry from putting profits over people, the carnage will continue.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Is Law Enforcement the Way to Reduce Truck Accidents?

Ken Margolin — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:00:00 GMT

I've posted a few blogs on this site, recounting the fearsome toll on the highways due to large truck accidents and truck driver negligence. The list of well-known causes of fatal truck accidents includes speed, excessive driver hours, drug use, oftentimes to help the driver stay awake, faulty equipment, and inadequate safety training. An excellent blog by Attorney Jeff Lowe, of Missouri, suggests that a key component of any effort to reduce truck-accident deaths and serious injuries, must be increased law enforcement. Attorney Lowe cites increased law enforcement on the highways as an important factor in the reduction of serious highway accidents in Illinois, Missouri, and 14 other states. Keeping the heat on big rig drivers and companies engaging in unsafe practices, takes constant effort. The trucking lobby is powerful, and has a vested interest in keeping the roads clear - including from troublesome law enforcement stops - for their big rig loads.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Winter Driving Accidents

Ken Margolin — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:15:00 GMT

While the northeast of the country experiences nasty winter weather, from 2 feet of snow to frozen precipitation, it's a good time to remember the added responsibility on anyone who drives in the winter. Most serious highway accidents in winter conditions are the direct result of driver negligence.

The most frequent cause of fatal car crashes in winter is the same as other times of year - speed; in winter weather, going too fast for conditions. Other less obvious causes of winter car crashes have to do with proper maintenance of the car. It is not acceptable to take a rear-wheel drive car into the teeth of a snowstorm, without snow tires. Forgetting to fill the windshield washer tank or driving with a faulty defroster so that the driver can't see clearly through the windshield is obviously negligent. There may be no choice but to drive, even in severe winter weather, but knowing how to do it safely is the driver's obligation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin

Large Truck Crashes

Ken Margolin — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") reported to Congress, the results of a 3-year study into the causes of large truck crashes. Large trucks were defined for the study, as any truck weighing 5 tons or more. The study was the most comprehensive yet conducted, involving a thorough review of nearly 1,000 crashes in 17 states. The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the causes of accidents involving large trucks so that measures could be undertaken to lessen the toll. Results of the study were surprising to many readers.

Far and away, the major causes of truck crash fatalities and truck crash injuries, was driver conduct. Tampa Bay Injury Board member, Bob Carroll, has a chilling example of the tragedy that can result from a truck-car crash. While important, factors such as equipment failure, weather, and roadway conditions, caused significantly fewer large truck accidents than did actions and failures of the driver. Many large truck accidents involved multiple driver-related causes. Legal drug use, both prescription and non-prescription, along with fatigue, was a major source of large truck crashes. Other major driver-related causes included excessive speed, work-related pressure, aggressive driving and following too closely. Of the large truck accidents studied, more than half involved fatalities or incapacitating injuries. Until and unless Congress and the trucking industry acts aggressively to drastically lessen the toll of large truck crashes, automobile drivers best keep a wary eye on these monsters of the roads.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ken Margolin