THE INJURY LAWYER DIRECTORY BLOG

Late last night, a commercial truck traveling westbound on Arizona’s Interstate 10 suddenly veered into the eastbound lanes of traffic, triggering the truck to rollover. A Lexus then collided with the semi, causing both vehicles to burst into flames.

Four of the Lexus’s passengers were able to escape from the car, but one occupant – an elderly woman – was not able to escape and died at the scene of the truck accident. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says that the cause of the accident is still under investigation. Although impairment is not suspected as a contributing factor, fatigue has not been ruled out.

To add to this tragedy, a second accident occurred less than two hours after the first, caused by the backup of the first accident. This crash involved a passenger vehicle and a truck. Two people were killed in the wreck, and several others, including children, have been rushed to area hospitals.

All it takes is one bad judgment call on the part of a commercial truck driver for a devastating chain of events like this to occur. When truck drivers fail to take their required rest breaks in an effort to make a quick delivery, people’s lives are put at risk.

If you have been injured, or if your loved one has been killed in a truck accident in Arizona, please contact the experienced truck accident lawyers at The Law Office of Samuel K. Cullan, MD, JD today for a free consultation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – the federal agency responsible for keeping America’s highways safe for motorists – recently under-counted the total number of fatal bus accidents in the nation. Safety advocates believe this has not only given citizens a false sense of security about bus safety, but also prevented the implementation of stricter regulations.

According to USA Today, the NHTSA did not follow its own regular methods of counting bus accident deaths between 1995 and 2009 – which is the most recent year that statistics are available for. After a review of government records and various news reports, USA Today concluded that at least 84 bus accident deaths were not counted by the agency.

A spokeswoman for the NHTSA says the agency receives its accident data directly from the states, and is currently working with them to improve the quality and accuracy of the data they send. Bus safety has been a recent headline many times over, and the enforcement of higher safety standards relies in part on accurate data about bus accidents nationwide.

If you or one of your loved ones has been injured in a bus accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact an injury attorney in your area today using the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.

Two residents of the Alamosa area died following a single-vehicle rollover car accident on Thursday morning, and a third was flown to St. Anthony’s hospital in Denver in critical condition. According to the State Patrol, the fatal accident happened early in the morning on Alamosa County Highway 106 South.

A 2001 Volkswagen was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at the Colorado 370 intersection. The VW went airborne as it crossed the intersection; the driver then lost control and the sedan rolled 2.5 times. After being transported to the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center, he was pronounced dead, along with one of his passengers. The second passenger was quickly flown to St. Anthony’s with serious injuries.

Officers suspect that alcohol and speeding were contributing factors in the crash, meaning this was far from a true “accident”: it could have been entirely avoided if the driver had chosen not to get behind the wheel, and not to risk his friends’ lives.

If you have been seriously injured, or if one of your loved ones has been killed by a drunk driver, make sure you are receiving the compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses. Please contact the experienced car accident attorneys at Burg Simpson today for a free case evaluation.

On Friday, an Amtrak train heading to California from Chicago collided with a tractor-trailer in Nevada, leaving six people dead and many more seriously injured. The truck driver was leading a three-truck convey for a company called Battle Mountain. When asked about the truck accident, the two other drivers said they saw the train coming and wondered why the lead driver didn’t seem to be stopping.

When the driver finally slammed on the brakes, he left a 320-foot skid mark on the highway. The train crossing has signs as far back as 900 feet. Gates and flashing lights activate 25 seconds before trains reach the crossing. Investigations into the trucking company revealed 17 violations for faulty equipment, as well as two crashes since 2009. In one instance, a Battle Mountain truck was operating with bald tires; in another, the springs were missing or defective.

Investigators do not expect to recover any information from the tractor-trailer’s data recorder (its “black box”) due to the severity of the damage. A section of the tractor remained embedded in the side of a train car.

The size and weight of a commercial truck makes it a danger everywhere it goes on the road, requiring extreme care and precise control on the part of its driver. Devastating accidents like these are all the more unsettling because they could have been prevented.

If you or one of your loved ones has been injured in a truck accident with a reckless driver in Nevada, please contact the experienced truck accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm today for a free initial consultation.

A man from Land O’ Lakes, Florida was arrested on Saturday night after he fled the scene of a motor vehicle accident that he caused. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the accident victim was waiting at a red light on the eastbound State Road 54 when the suspect rear-ended his truck. Although the man exited his vehicle and gave the victim his name and address, he immediately returned to his pick-up truck and drove off.

Witnesses say the man drove across several eastbound lanes of traffic to reach the left turn lane, then made a U-turn and fled westbound on State Road 54 while speeding. Two of the witnesses followed the damaged truck to the owner’s residence. When highway patrol arrived on the scene, they were able to positively identify the man based on the information he had given to the victim.

According to officials, the suspect was found at his home leaning against his damaged truck. He smelled of alcohol and had “glassy, bloodshot eyes,” even though he told the police he had not been drinking since he arrived home. The man was subsequently arrested and charged with a DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.

Even though the accident did not result in any serious injuries, the man’s reckless and intoxicated driving put several other motorists at risk as he fled the scene. All too often, accidents like these do not have happy endings, and people end up seriously hurt just because another person made the decision to drive while intoxicated.

If you have been injured in a car accident in Florida because of another person’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact the experienced car accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm South Florida today to schedule a free initial consultation.

A flash explosion occurred at Arizona’s Intel plant just outside of Phoenix on Tuesday, injuring seven workers, including one who was hospitalized for severe burn injury. The multi-storey plant evacuated several hundred employees following the blast, and will remain closed until authorities have thoroughly investigated the cause.

According to a spokesman for Intel, the site of the premises liability accident – a solvent waste treatment room – was under construction when the explosion occurred. The building’s extinguishing system quickly subdued the flames with water and foam. Four employees were hospitalized with serious injuries, while three others were treated on-site. The extent of the property damage is not immediately clear.

Ten other buildings on Intel’s campus will remain open during the investigation, but Intel’s spokesman says he is not certain when the employees who work in the affected buildings will be able to return.

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their premises. When employees are endangered by faulty machinery and other hazards, company negligence may be to blame.

If you have been injured because of unsafe premises in Arizona, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact the experienced premises liability attorneys at the Mayro Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation.

A 42-year-old Oklahoma laborer accepted a temporary position digging shallow trenches on a stadium project for a subcontractor. However, when he arrived at work, he was instead assigned to lay pipe in a six-foot trench that was five feet wide at the top and four feet wide at the bottom. The uneven trench collapsed on the worker, covering him in dirt up to his neck.

The man suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, a kidney laceration, and other serious injuries requiring various neck and shoulder surgeries. After being in intensive care for a week and hospitalized for an additional two weeks, his medical expenses totaled over $200,000. He is now permanently disabled because of the construction accident.

The laborer sued one of the subcontractors on the project, claiming that they failed to provide adequate safety instructions, failed to reinforce the uneven trench walls, and failed to perform a proper rescue. He also claimed that the company intentionally put him in a dangerous situation, knowing that the ground was wet from heavy rain and that the dirt removed from the trench had been piled too close to its edge.

Construction is a dangerous job. Workers have a right to expect that that the circumstances they have been placed in are carefully monitored to avoid collapsed equipment, defective machinery, falls, and other accidents that can cause serious injury.

If you have been injured in a construction accident in Oklahoma, please contact the experienced construction accident attorneys at Stipe & Belote today to schedule a free case evaluation.

Last week, a Sky Express bus that was traveling to New York through Virginia crashed on Interstate 95. Four female passengers were killed in the bus accident, with dozens of other passengers seriously injured. Officials have stated that driver fatigue played a role in the accident, but it turns out that the Department of Transportation was aware of several safety violations involving the Sky Express fleet months before the accident occurred.

In April, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) gave the Sky Express company an unsatisfactory safety rating after finding several shortcomings in vehicle safety and maintenance, including violations in:

• Driver qualification requirements
• Drug and alcohol compliance measures
• Hours of operation
• Vehicle maintenance

The Department of Transportation moved to prevent the discount tour bus company from making interstate trips in April, but Sky Express appealed the findings and the matter remained unresolved. Even though the DOT has now successfully banned the carrier from interstate travel, many parties are upset that no further measures were taken earlier to prevent an obviously unsafe tour bus company from endangering passengers.

If you or one of your loved ones has been injured in a bus accident in Virginia, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a personal injury lawyer in your area today using the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.

This past Wednesday, a family in Mauckport, Indiana rushed their young daughter from their mobile home to the emergency room of a local hospital after she complained of persistent stomach aches.

The family moved into their mobile home three years ago, hoping it would be a good place to raise their family. They bought the home at a FEMA auction, where they were assured that it was tested and formaldehyde-free.

However, soon after they moved into the home, the husband, wife, and their daughter all experienced health problems, including allergies, stomach aches, kidney disease, and bronchitis. When air from the daughter’s room was tested, they found over double the normal amount of formaldehyde in the air.

Formaldehyde is a common chemical component in many construction products. It is most often used in the wood-products industry as part of a wood-binding resin. Products like particle-board, hardwood plywood paneling, and decorative cabinet coverings all make use of formaldehyde.

In high amounts, formaldehyde is linked to many health problems, including:

• Eye, nose, and throat irritation
• Coughing and wheezing
• Allergic reactions
• Cancer

While the emergency room doctors couldn’t find anything specific wrong with the little girl, they noted that her symptoms seemed to ease when she wasn’t in the mobile home. Doctors urged the family not to go back to their home, as the risk of toxic exposure was too great. The family is currently living in a nearby motel, awaiting the results of tests from the Indiana State Department of Health that will determine whether they can ever return to their home or not.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of toxic exposure, you have the right to fight for compensation. Please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area today through the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.