The post Connecting drowsy driving and negligence in a truck accident appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>Driving while fatigued, or drowsy driving, is quite common amongst drivers in general, and especially amongst truck drivers. Unfortunately, such actions have resulted in serious injuries on many occasions. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries stemming from a truck accident, it is important to understand how to build a solid case.
People do not always realize how serious drowsy driving truly is. When an individual is drowsy or fatigued, that person is not at full capacity cognitively. This can result in delayed reactions, which may lead to accidents. Also, should the drowsiness increase, the driver may fall asleep at the wheel. Such instances can be deadly, as was the case when a semi crashed into several vehicles, killing two passengers in the first vehicle it hit. The truck driver later admitted to drowsy driving.
In an accident case, proving negligence is key to creating a solid claim. Even if an accident has catastrophic results, if the accusing party is not able to show negligence, the courts may not find the responsible party fully accountable, if at all. Negligence occurs when a party does not operate with the same amount of care as expected of any party in the same situation. Particularly in the case of a truck accident, the accusing party must be able to show that the truck driver’s actions were not in line with those of a responsible driver. Along with regular driving rules, truck drivers must uphold certain standards, and if a party can show that the driver did not meet those standards, it may aid in the case.
When truck drivers drive while drowsy, they put everyone on the road in danger. For this reason, authorities caution truck drivers against driving while fatigued and require trucking companies to have procedures in place to guard against such driving. However, if a driver is drowsy and causes an accident and the injured party can prove it, it may be possible to seek compensation for the accident.
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]]>The post Is It Illegal To Drink Coffee While Driving In Nevada? appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>While the state of Nevada has “hands-free” laws on the books, many locales are choosing to expand law enforcement’s authority in a continuing effort to increase road safety. The hands-free language is limited to drivers and their use of cell phones and other electronic devices behind the wheel. They cannot be used without a hands-free adapter. Other areas are broadening certain definitions and adding new language to reduce or eliminate distracted driving accidents altogether.
The city of Reno, for example, enforces inattentive driving citations. Drivers can be ticketed for actions that could be considered careless or inattentive. These actions can be any activity inside the vehicle that is keeping an individual from safely operating the vehicle. Activities such as eating and personal grooming might earn a driver extra penalties. Can Las Vegas and the whole of Nevada be far behind?
This is done in an effort to keep Nevada’s roads safe by reducing accidents. Distracted driving can lead to serious vehicle collisions which result in catastrophic injuries. Drivers and other vehicle occupants can suffer brain damage, spinal cord damage, paralysis, multiple fractures or amputation. After an accident, it is important to discuss your situation with a skilled motor vehicle collision attorney. A lawyer can guide you through the process of a personal injury claim and answer your questions from start to finish.
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]]>The post Poor Security, Unqualified Staff Lead To Nightmare Vegas Trip appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>And while the casino pledged it had the best security measures to protect patrons, it turns out that you were among the people not protected. Something went wrong. Terribly wrong through no fault of your own. It is time to take legal action against the casino.
Tourists in Las Vegas do not expect to cope with an injury caused by the irresponsibility of a property owner. Such incidents may be caused by a slip and fall, sexual assault, physical assault, robbery and even pool drownings. Poor or nearly non-existent security measures as well as unqualified staff often are behind these incidents that injure patrons in premises liability cases.
Here are some of the problem sources:
Property management companies and buildings owners understand that it is their responsibility to provide safe and secure facilities for the public.
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]]>The post Do Advanced Driver-Assist Systems Make You Safer? appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>The question on the driving public’s mind: do ADAS really work? A recent study by AAA found that the high-tech safety systems deliver inconsistent results and that drivers who become reliant on ADAS could find themselves endangered.
Advanced driver-assist systems can include the following features:
AAA tested five vehicles equipped with ADAS: the 2019 BMW X7 with its“Active Driving Assistant Professional,” the 2019 Cadillac CT6 with “Super Cruise,” the 2019 Ford Edge with “Ford Co-Pilot360,” the 2020 Kia Telluride with “Highway Driving Assist” and the 2020 Subaru Outback with a driver-assist system dubbed “EyeSight.”
The vehicles were driven for approximately 800 miles each on open roads and closed-course tracks. AAA says the much-touted safety systems “are far from 100 percent reliable.”
A AAA spokesperson said “these systems are in the early stages of their development,” adding that it’s “unclear how these systems enhance the driving experience in their current form.”
The organization said that the most common ADAS errors were in lane-change alerts and “erratic” lane positioning. It should be noted that when AAA ran the vehicles through their paces in closed-course driving, “the systems performed mostly as expected,” but that the ADAS struggled “when approaching a simulated disabled vehicle.” In those situations, the test vehicles crashed 66 percent of the time at an average speed of 25 mph.
That’s a failure rate no one should find acceptable.
The organization also states that ADAS that include a combination of acceleration, braking and steering “often disengage with little notice – almost instantly handing control back to the driver.” AAA warns that those drivers who aren’t paying attention – and those drivers “too dependent” on ADAS – can find themselves in dangerous situations.
AAA urges automakers to focus on making the safety systems more reliable and it cautions drivers of ADAS-equipped vehicles to stay alert at all times.
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]]>The post Avoid These Common Driving Distractions appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>Road traffic has seen an increase recently, and as a result, so has distracted driving accidents. There are things that drivers may do without even realizing it is distracting them, so here are some reminders as to what to avoid while driving.
Reaching for food from a bag, tilting your head back to drink, or cleaning some ketchup off your shirt can pull your attention from the road just long enough to cause an accident. If you need to eat on the road, take a few minutes to relax in the fast-food parking lot and enjoy your meal.
Touching up your hair or tie, or fixing makeup may seem like a quick correction on the road, but it is hardly worth it. At 60 miles per hour, a few seconds of not looking at the road is the same as driving hundreds of yards with your eyes closed. Driving blind for the length of several football fields blindfolded is incredibly dangerous, so why do it to yourself?
The cellphone has become so prevalent in our lives that many people do not even think about the cost of using them on the road. When a cell phone offers conveniences of hands-free calling, GPS navigation, and quick access to information across the planet, it becomes easy to forget that using a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk.
Cell phones, eating, and how you look to others can all wait. Do not prioritize minor needs over the lives of yourself and others. It only takes a moment to cause an accident with lifelong consequences, so make sure you keep your attention on the road.
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]]>The post Who Is Liable For My Rideshare Injuries? appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>Rideshares have led to an increase in fatal accidents, making it more important than ever to understand who is liable in an accident involving multiple parties. The first step to determining liability is recognizing the potentially responsible parties.
There are more parties involved in a rideshare accident than just the drivers. Passengers in a rideshare vehicle may have become unruly, which led to a rideshare accident. A driver of a rideshare service only becomes one with the employer’s permission, which may tie the employer to the accident as well.
If a rideshare driver is liable for the accident you were a victim of, liability will typically fall onto either the driver or their employer. If the employer knew about or failed to identify any prior issues the driver may have, like a medical problem that could lead to risks while driving, they may be liable for hiring a potentially dangerous driver.
If you file a claim for your injuries against the wrong party, you may not receive the compensation you need to recover when you need it. A personal injury attorney can help determine who is liable and help you pursue justice swiftly and efficiently.
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]]>The post Truck drivers make the same dangerous mistakes as other people appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>Despite all of the laws and protections created to reduce commercial trucking crashes, commercial truck drivers can and do still cause serious and even fatal collisions. All too often, these crashes would have been preventable if the driver hadn’t succumbed to the same kind of bad driving behaviors that people in passenger vehicles often display.
Driving for 10 or 12 hours a day is not easy work. Not only can it be physically and mentally exhausting, but it is also socially isolating. Commercial drivers often find themselves feeling lonely because they lack connection with their loved ones. They may also get bored, as driving can be a monotonous task when conditions on the road are good.
A bored commercial driver might pick up their phone and either try to call a loved one, send a text message or even check in on social media. Despite the dangers involved in these behaviors and federal rules that prohibit texting or manual phone use by commercial drivers at the wheel, it does still happen and can contribute to significant collisions.
Like people working in many professions, commercial truck drivers often don’t have the luxury of calling in sick every time they come down with a cold or have a particularly bad allergy flare-up.
They also probably have to go to work even if they were up all night with a colicky baby or due to chronic insomnia. Both exhaustion and illness can limit someone’s ability to safely drive and drastically increase the likelihood of a crash.
Despite undoubtedly knowing how dangerous their vehicle could be in a crash, commercial drivers still make choices that can put other people at risk. Some drivers might get a sudden call from their employer during their day off and decide that they’re probably sober enough to pick up a load.
Despite knowing that drunk driving is dangerous, commercial drivers might feel like they have the skill or experience to get behind the wheel after drinking. They may also feel overly confident about exceeding the posted speed limit, which might mean they can’t stop in time. When truck drivers make bad decisions and hurt others, their victims can potentially hold them accountable.
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]]>The post STUDY: Luxury Car Drivers Are Less Likely To Stop For Pedestrians appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>Pedestrian fatalities are a significant public health issue, and the number of deaths – 6,283 – in 2018 was the highest since 1990 and an increase of 35% from the number reported over a decade ago.
The study, which was funded through a grant from the National Institutes of Health, focused on the gender and race of pedestrians and the cost of vehicles. It was conducted by a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, assistant professor of public health. The results come from data gathered at two Las Vegas midblock crosswalks. One white and one black female and one black and one white male similarly crossed the intersection. Key findings include:
The study also found that drivers stopped more frequently for women and white pedestrians than men and people of color. Fewer than three out of 10 drivers stopped at all, but the study’s author says it’s not clear whether it’s because drivers aren’t aware of the laws, or simply didn’t want to yield.
The results appear to reflect the disturbing rise in pedestrian fatalities, 80% of which occur in urban areas. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration backs up racial and gender discrepancies over victims. The agency says pedestrian death rates are highest for Native Americans, followed by African Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians. Male pedestrians are twice as likely to be killed than women.
The study’s findings are consistent with earlier research on driving habits, and others suggesting that wealth may lead to unethical behavior – meaning people with more money have increased feelings of entitlement and narcissism. Researchers say that translates to owners of more expensive cars feeling a sense of superiority on the road.
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]]>The post Dog Attacks, Owner Awareness, And Animal Behaviour Classifications appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>If a dog does not have a known history or behavior classification, a plaintiff who suffered a bite may need to prove negligence or carelessness to win a personal injury legal action against its owner.
The law requires owners to leash their pets when taking them out in public. Dogs classified as dangerous or vicious, however, may require permanent restraint by keeping them housed within their owner’s property. Animal control agencies typically consider a dog dangerous when it has had two separate attempts of biting or causing harm.
As reported by 8NewsNow Las Vegas, a dog counts as vicious after causing severe injury or death to a human or another animal. Its owner may not only incur civil liability; he or she may also face criminal charges over the dog’s actions. An owner may also need to file and win an appeal to prevent mandatory euthanasia for a dog classified as vicious.
Dogs sometimes escape a leash or property confinement. When walking pets, some owners also allow their dogs to run unleashed a short distance. If someone startles an unleashed dog, it may bite. Anyone who a dog bites should seek medical attention because animal saliva contains bacteria that could cause infection. A serious animal attack could also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Because owners have a duty to leash a dog in public, bite victims may hold an individual liable for injuries even if the dog has never attacked before. To prove an owner’s failure to restrain a dog, however, the plaintiff may need to show that the owner let the animal off its leash or left a door open. When an unprovoked attack causes harm, legal action may recover compensation for medical treatment, corrective surgery and lost wages.
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]]>The post What Happens After A Crash Caused By Someone In A Rental Car? appeared first on Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer.
]]>For local residents, that means there will be many rental cars driving around in Las Vegas on any given day. The presence of so many rented vehicles means that if you get into a crash in the Las Vegas area, then the potential exists for the other vehicle to not belong to the person who caused the crash.
Understanding your rights and the different insurance options available after a collision caused by a driver in a rental vehicle will give you a better idea of what to do to recoup your losses.
If you have ever rented a vehicle yourself, you know that there are optional policy protections you can purchase to keep yourself safe from liability and financial losses in the event of a crash.
Collision damage waiver coverage will protect you from claims about damage that you could have caused to the vehicle you rented. Supplemental liability coverage protects you from expenses and liabilities stemming from damages to another person’s vehicle or injuries to a vehicle’s occupants that result from a crash you caused.
Generally, such insurance is optional, which means the driver may not have full protection in the event of a rental car collision.
Depending on the states where the driver is from and the kind of insurance policies they have, they may not have liability insurance that extends to a rental vehicle. Even if they do have insurance that will apply to a rental vehicle, their coverage may not be nearly high enough to offset all of the expenses you incur because of the crash.
Reviewing the terms of the policy that the other driver holds can give you a better idea of how to proceed in your attempt to seek compensation after a crash with someone in a rental vehicle.
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