The Lombardi Law Firm Blog

August 21, 2010 - Iowa State Crash Reports - Fatal Car Accidents

Lawyers who handle car accidents in Iowa along the Interstate Highway System, like I-80, I-35, I-235 and I-380 need experience. Steve Lombardi has been a personal injury lawyer for over 30 years and has represented over one thousand clients while recovering millions of dollars. Let him help you with your serious injury or death claim. He works with out-of-state clients from other states and other countries.

August 20, 2010 - Iowa Car-Truck-Accidents Resulting In Injury

Lawyers who handle car accidents in Iowa along the Interstate Highway System, like I-80, I-35, I-235 and I-380 need experience. Steve Lombardi has been a personal injury lawyer for over 30 years and has represented over one thousand clients while recovering millions of dollars. Let him help you with your serious injury or death claim. He works with out-of-state clients from other states and other countries.

What should I do if I strike a black cow in the roadway in rural America?

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Polk County Car Accidents

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Iowa Fatalities

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Iowa Car Accidents Causing Injury and Property Damage

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Are sink holes possible on I-35 and I-80 in Iowa?

For those driving through Kansas City, Missouri know that westbound I-70 to westbound I-435 there will be detours and delay, due to a sinkhole that developed. A full lane of travel has fallen off this five-lane section of road. See KMBC-TV for the full story and before leaving on a trip travelling through KC check the MoDOT site for updated road conditions.

Did texting while driving kill this Iowa teen?

Evidence at the crash site shows texting killed this Iowa teen. A 17-year-old from Iowa has died from a single-vehicle accident caused by her being distracted with texting at the wheel. She was running an errand when the accident occurred. She was from Mechanicsville, Iowa. Texting while driving is not much different than driving while under the influence of alcohol. The driver was a very pretty young lady. You can see her photograph at Teen was likely sending text message before fatal crash. The accident happened on Yankee Avenue. The car was heading southbound when she lost control, entered the west ditch, overcorrected and rolled. I’ve written extensively about this subject and wonder who the other person was who was being texted?

I-35's Grand Avenue On-ramp in West Des Moines is an accident waiting to happen

Interstate highway speeds can increase how fast you get to your destination but decrease the time for making critical driver decisions. Knowing the location of outmoded sections of highways can assist local residents in helping to avoid colliding with nonresident motorists. This motorcycle collision is one example.

Another I-35 Road Construction in Iowa is Coming

There are other projects more important to people from around the state of Iowa. The other road work is listed in the Des Moines Register and includes those listed below. WHO also carries coverage for Road Work. A printable state projects list and map can be obtained online with the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Big Brother on I-235, I-80 and I-35; Coincidence or a sense of humor?

Did George Orwell place the 84 cameras on the interstate in Des Moines? George Orwell wrote a book that was later turned into a movie. The title is Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the book, written in 1949 the thought police control society not so much for what they have done, but for what they are thinking. What we have is a police state trying to control the population by discovering and then reeducating (or eradicating) those who think in ways contrary to the wishes of the controlling and powerful few.

Interstate Travel Safety - What not to do after an Interstate Crash

I’ve written before about it being dangerous to walk away from an accident. Scott County, Iowa - It happened again; this time in Iowa on I-80 near Le Claire. In this case we have two people who attempted to walk to safety after the car they were in got stuck in the median; probably du to snow covering or standing water and mud.

Would hedges on the I-80 and I-35 Median Strip Help or Hurt?

Would hedges planted on the Interstate highways in Iowa reduce head-on collisions during the winter months? On January 25, 2010 at 2:10 pm we had a crash on I-80 in Iowa County. A van being driven by J. Jones was heading west and began sliding out of control. It slide right across the median strip and collided with a semi-truck being driven by Blair Hall of Brooklyn, Iowa. Poor Mr. Jones died in the ensuing collision. It got me wondering about how to stop cars from sliding clear across the median; and the first thing that comes to mind is planting a hedge. They are inexpensive, easy to maintain and would probably allow a car or van to slow or stop after striking it. A hedge would be better than a concrete barrier. The hedge wouldn’t cause an alternative major crash.

Driving on I-35 from Texas to Minnesota - Speed limits

Speed limits in the US are set by each state or territory. The speeds chosen depend on a designation selected according to the type of road or the area surrounding the highway. In Iowa for instance we have I-80 and I-35 joining together for a 15 or 20 miles stretch as these roads wrap around Des Moines in central Iowa. Along this conjoined interstate highway the speed drops from 70 to 55 mph. Trucks are allowed to drive at the same speeds as cars when on the freeway.

Loose Lug Nuts on the Interstate Can Mean Big Trouble

The report is about an accident in Dallas on I-35 where you have a semi-truck losing a wheel that strikes a minivan with a child passenger who is injured and taken to the hospital. Which leads me to wonder about how the wheel came off? The report is that a tire came loose and became a projectile but that’s nearly impossible. It’s important that we report things accurately in order for people to understand what went wrong and how to avoid a wheel coming off.

Interstate Highway Safety - Driving Distracted

Driving carefully may not be enough to save your life. After all you just might be a passenger and not responsible for driving any vehicle. On the other hand I like to remind my children that sometimes it's not what you do or don't do, but the other drivers who are the one's who are driving distracted. And they can be the ones who ultimate cause the collision and wreck your life. I guess being a personal injury attorney let's you see many types of collisions out there and there isn't a crash scenario that you can't conjure up in your mind at any point on the highways. I don't know maybe I've been doing this too long?

Interstate Travel and Dealing with Fatigue

Interstate travel presents many risks that are different than you’d expect to encounter with in-town driving. And fatigue is one of them. I regularly see people on Interstates 80 and 35 that drive along beside a semi-truck. They aren’t considerate and don’t think twice about the semi driver perhaps not even realizing they are beside his rig. Some are on cell phones increasing the risk of an accident. It’s frustrating for me to see so many people with so many distractions while driving and it seems they could care less about the risks posed.

Gear check for staying alive as a stranded highway motorist

Since the beginning of December we’ve had I-35 and I-80 closed on multiple occasions due to a storm. The first closing was for a really bad storm and the next day showed why it was closed. There were cars stranded all along the highway. I wasn’t exactly sure how those motorists safely walked their way off to safety but they must have because the cars were empty. Perhaps someone with a four-wheel drive vehicle gave them a ride. We’ll never know, but it got me wondering, how motorists stay alive when stranded.

I-35 is a Wintry Accident Land

Jeremy Thurman writes “Tis the Season to Drink and Drive” reminding us of the serious consequences of drinking and driving to holiday parties. The New Year is behind us but the real New Year is upon us requiring more than just lip service to the need to watch how much you drink before getting behind the wheel. What I found interesting about Jeremy’s post was his description of how I-35 is used as a connection to Oklahoma City, Norman, Moore and Edmond. Like the situation in Oklahoma here in central Iowa we have a similar situation with Des Moines, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Newton, Ames, Marshalltown, Mason City and all the other cities and towns that people use I-35 and I-80 as a way to commute.

Like Good Parenting, Good Trial Lawyers Go In With A Hunch

Parents with teenagers often times have to ask a lot of questions to get to the bottom of "what went on"? Most parents learn the ropes by experience and common sense. The same goes for trial lawyers, judges and juries. So how do lawyers know when the witness who was a driver in a crash was following too close? In this case someone was, or did someone else cut the rear driver off?

I-35 Texas Car Accident Involves a Cyclone and a Hawkeye Football Player

David Cato, 19 who plays defensive back for the Iowa Hawkeyes and Ter’ran Denton, (sic) 19 a defensive back from the Iowa State Cyclones were driving on I-35 south of Purcell at 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday when the car they were in rolled after coming in contact with a semi-truck. According to the news report the trooper has the 18-wheeler being nudged before rolling and striking the embankment on the west side of the Interstate Highway.

Police Chase on I-35 in Iowa

Could this death have been avoided? Should law abiding citizens be put at risk from high-speed police chases? Remember I'm not talking about the runner here; I'm talking about the soccer vans and sedans with no dog in this fight who unsuspectingly get pulled into the fray when the idiot comes across the median and starts traveling against the traffic. Those are the innocent people. The driver would have no reason to driver the wrong way on an Interstate if law enforcement weren't chasing him. Why not just follow him quietly, call ahead and set up a road block or put down nail strips?

Control the distractions and speed and the tree will not be a problem

But here is what I wonder, what was the driver distraction or was it just a factor of speed. Young drivers need to understand driving on the highways of Iowa is about control, speed and driving without distractions. That is what will keep you alive. Control those three things and chances are you can control your risk of an accident.

Distracted Driver Runs Right Into Police Cruiser

What caused 21 year old Travis Scott to veer straight into oncoming traffic? That is the question Council Bluffs police are asking after the accident in the late hours of October 9th 2009 between Mr. Scott and Pottawattamie County Deputy Jahn Kirlin left Mr. Scott, his two passengers and the deputy injured. The accident happened on 23rd St.; the driver Travis Scott and passenger Leah Wenninghoff were in serious condition, another passenger Anthony Biggert was listed in stable condition, and the Deputy was treated for hand and arm injuries. The case remains open for investigation.

This is one of those types of crashes we are seeing more and more of on the Interstate highways: I-80, I35, I235, I380 and all the other parts of Iowa's interstate highway system. As the accident causes accumulate distracted driving is the number one, two or three cause. It's got to be right behind drunken driving or speeding. Many that we see are by drivers distracted with cell phones, either because of talking or tweeting or texting. I wonder what this one was about. What was the distraction that caused this young man to run right into a police car?

Yesterday as I was driving by an elementary school where parents must have been attending a school activity the function ended and we all drove off together in a line. As we turned onto the main drag, University Avenue, I got in the left lane to pass them. I passed six cars in a row and every one of the drivers was a parent with a cell phone glued to their ear. With the cell phone being held to your left ear the driver's hand creates an added blind spot by the hand and arm. You can see how the driver is required to turn their entire body to see the left side if they want to see what's coming to the left. These are all distracted drivers who can cause an accident, and injure others or kill pedestrians.

And that's why personal injury lawyers aren't going anywhere. This is why people will continue to need more personal injury lawyers who care about their clients and understand the business of personal injury legal work. There will always be those who want us gone or who work through large advertising campaigns to convince people the problems are all the lawyers' fault.  And people can choose to believe that, at least until it's them that are struck by a distracted or drunk driver. And then they need Lombardi Law Firm and alll the other law firms that make up the InjuryBoard, because when you come right down to it, we aren't the problem we are a part of the solution. When you're in an accident, call us at the Lombardi Law Firm and we'll use our 30 plus years of experienced trial work to assist you with your fight against distracted drivers.  For more information about the types of distracted drivers read the other blogs at the Des Moines InjuryBoard site.

Welcome Mr. Scott you're now a member of the distracted drivers' club.

 

10 Reasons Why People Get Injured on I-35 in Iowa

I’m going to step out of line today and answer this question about why clients get injured while using I-35 (or I-80) while traveling through Iowa. I could probably answer this question equally well, well maybe, for Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma or Texas but I’ll leave that to Brooks Scheulke, Mike Bryant, Noble McIntyre or Jeremy Thurman to do since they know those states better. Iowa’s intestate is mostly flat, but some rolling hills. From the north to the south I-35 is pretty straight and all four lanes. In central Iowa it jogs around Des Moines and becomes a part of I-80. Once you get to the south end of that loop you’re almost out of West Des Moines and I-80 separates off and heads west to Omaha, Nebraska. From there it’s a straight shot through to Missouri.

I’ve been studying the cause of accidents along I-35 for the better part of thirty years and although I’m not capable of naming all the reasons there are several that stick with me as a personal injury lawyer.

1.      Alcohol related – driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

2.      Speed – driving too fast for the conditions, those conditions include weather and construction zones.

3.      Distracted driving – driving while using a cell phone, an iPod, controlling the kids, eating, pets, arguing or any of the myriad of distractions that form a part of the epidemic of driver distractions.

4.      Look out – driving without looking where you’re going and I mean paying close enough attention and focusing your attention to changing conditions.

5.      Anger management issues – this one I’ve seen more and more of on the Interstate 35 and 80. Road rage is a popular term that doesn’t quite describe what this one is about. I say that because it makes pissed off drivers sound like they have an uncontrollable disease; when in fact it’s all controllable. Even women suffer from it although I suspect men allow anger management issues to creep into the driver’s seat more often.

6.      Deer – OMG! It’s a deer. Yup this is Iowa and when the crop starts coming out of the field so goes their habitat and they must keep moving. Deer are more active at dawn and dusk so watch closer during those times. Especially you who are on motorcycles.

7.      Being in a hurry – especially around the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport, Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Cedar Falls we have people using the interstate system for inner city travel. There’s nothing wrong with it but it does add cars, trucks, motorcycles, delivery vehicles, lawn car trucks and all those other errand types of traffic that seem to add clutter with people in a hurry. Being in a hurry is no excuse for not being courteous, thoughtful, mindful and realizing that you’re now on the Interstate highway system. So slow down and use other roads if you can.

8.      Inexperienced or youthful drivers – You know everyone sees these kids and younger adults driving. We rent parking spaces to high school students and their cars are always so easily spotted. There are a million dangly things hooked onto the rear view mirror, that block the view out the windshield. The driver’s head is down many times because they are texting. Many times there are a bunch of them in the car and that youthful exuberance seems to get everyone talking at once and heads bobbing to the conversation. Since many know they aren’t following their parent’s rules they are always looking around furtively hoping you’re not their PARENT! Anyway you know it’s true and you’ve seen them violating most of these rules of the road.

9.      Not thinking – drivers forget when they get to a construction zone that they need to adjust their attitudes for the changing conditions. The drop in speed limit isn’t just a suggestion. Those road crew workers aren’t crash test dummies; they are real people that actually die if you strike them. Road workers can’t always be watching you so get as far over and away from their area as you can. When you see a road crew, the sign should give that away, adjust your attitude to slow down, pay more attention, look for the crew members and get out of the hurry-up mode.

10.   Fatigued semi-truck drivers – truck drivers are being used by transport companies to fill-out phony logs and we all know it. They will deny it and say I don’t know what I’m talking about. When the truckers are in an accident, and this doesn’t apply to them all, many have phony log books that cover for the company they work for. If you want to keep your job as a truck driver you have to make the delivery on time or else it’s see-ya-time.

Here in Iowa we don’t have a tourism industry like they do in Florida but people still travel through Iowa on I-35 to visit Prairie Meadows to gamble, the Iowa Barnstormers, and the Iowa Cubs, on their way to Ames to see ISU play or on their way to Iowa City to see the Hawkeye football teams. They travel to attend schools at the major colleges like the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Northern Iowa, Drake University, Des Moines University Medical School, Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport or Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids. People travel to all the major hospital systems like Iowa Health, Mercy Medical Center, McFarland Clinic or the University Hospitals and Clinics.  And of course 1 million people travel into central Iowa every year to visit the Iowa State Fair. To visit family, friends or to just attend the Des Moines Metro Opera there are as many reasons to travel as there are people.

Be careful when you travel and pay attention. The life you save may be your own. And if you’re in an accident while in Iowa, even if you’ve traveled from one of our sister states call the Lombardi Law Firm for assistance. We are happy to work with your attorney from your home state.

And for fun today, here’s the Husband Calling Contest, which I’ve never seen or heard!

 Series on I-35 (I-80) Travel from Texas to Minnesota

Steve Lombardi, 4200 Corporate Drive, Suite 112, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

Tel: 515-222-1110 Fax: 515-222-0718 Email: sdlombardi@aol.com

Noble McIntyre, 1300 S. Meridian Ave. Suite 501, Oklahoma city, OK. 73108 | ph: 405-917-5200

Jeremy Thurman, 1300 S. Meridian Ave. Suite 501, Oklahoma city, OK. 73108 | ph: 405-917-5200

Schuelke, C Brooks, 1717 W 6th St # 375, Austin, TX  (512) 476-4944

Mike Bryant, 1505 Division Street | Waite Park, Minnesota 56387 | T: 320.259.5414 | F: 320.259.5438