The Lombardi Law Firm Blog

Dangerous Ditches on Rural Iowa Farm to Market Roadways

On October 7^th 2009 the Plymouth County sheriff’s office said that its deputies found the body of 29 year old Michael Ahlers while investigating a report of a car in the river. It is being reported that the car was partially submerged in the Little Sioux River. The investigation remains open however authorities are stating that they do not believe foul play was involved.

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I've previously written about rural ditches and how dangerous they are when cars, trucks and motorcycles leave the county roads. Here are a few stories I've previously written.

• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | August 2007

Steve Lombardi | August 31, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 Comments Category: Motorcycle Accidents ... bound on P53 when he lost control of the bike around a curve and rolled into a ditch ...

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | September 2007

Steve Lombardi | September 28, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 Comments Category: Head & Brain Injuries ... The Gazette reported a motorcycle rolled over "several times" after going into the ditch ...

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• All Topics | InjuryBoard Des Moines

Steve Lombardi | September 23, 2009 2:17 PM | 0 Comments Des Moines, IA. This one is coming out ... at 2:50pm occurred when a Toyota Tundra left the curved roadway, crashed into the ditch ...

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines | Iowa Personal Injury Attorney

Steve Lombardi | October 04, 2009 3:08 PM Category: Defective & Dangerous Products ... Sheldon, IA was driving a Honda ATV on September 18, 2009. Driving in the east ditch off ...

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | July 2007

Steve Lombardi | July 27, 2007 12:08 AM | 0 Comments Category: Head & Brain Injuries ... four or five times on Interstate 80 before it flew over the median and landed in a ditch

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | April 2009

Steve Lombardi | April 22, 2009 11:11 PM | 0 Comments Category: Automobile Accidents ... Appanoose County when he lost control of his vehicle striking a tree in the West ditch.

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | June 2007

Steve Lombardi | June 27, 2007 10:22 AM | 0 Comments Category: Wrongful Death ... says two bicyclists were struck by a pickup truck, sending one into the east ditch and ...

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | September 2009

Steve Lombardi | September 30, 2009 10:15 PM | 0 Comments Category: Motorcycle Accidents ... at 2:50pm occurred when a Toyota Tundra left the curved roadway, crashed into the ditch ...

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• Automobile Accidents | InjuryBoard Des Moines

Steve Lombardi | September 29, 2009 9:28 AM | 1 Comment Des Moines, IA. It’s a new week and ... at 2:50pm occurred when a Toyota Tundra left the curved roadway, crashed into the ditch ...

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• InjuryBoard Des Moines Archives | June 2009

Steve Lombardi | June 17, 2009 3:48 PM | 17 Comments Category: Automobile Accidents. This is one of those accidents I hate writing about but without this posting the relatives and ...

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Train Accident Caused by Tall Corn Blocking the View?

Wednesday, September 30^th, about noon, Edward R. Stevens, age 76, was driving down a country road south of Ohio 103, in Bloomville, when Stevens was hit by a westbound Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway train, according to Bucyrus Telegraph Forum news source. It was reported that at this crossing on Schwemley Road, there is no warning signal or gates. One of Steven’s neighbors, Donald Rayoum, said, “When you are driving north and the corn is grown up like it is now, you cannot see if a train is coming.” Steven was driving a 1991 Ford pick-up and was not wearing a seatbelt. Investigation is still underway.

Of course in Iowa we know the corn is there, but then again so does the train's engineer. How about that horn to signal the train's approach to the intersection?

Updated News on the Des Moines Hit-n-Run Car Accident

Wednesday afternoon on Park Ave. around 5:30, a motorcyclist was killed in a hit and run by a SUV, according to channel 13 news source. After filling up the Ford Explorer SUV at the Casey’s General Store at 4331 Park Ave with $27 worth of gas, Santos Vidal Rodriguez, the 26 year old driver, with 23 year old brother, Orlando David Rodriguez, drove away from the gas station without paying, and hit the motorcyclist east on Park Ave. The motorcyclist was Bruce James Mundy, age 49, a father of two who lived in Adel, and a 30-year military veteran, according to the Des Moines Register. Mundy was wearing a helmet while riding his vehicle but died at the local hospital he was brought to, said the Des Moines Register.

The two Rodriquez’s ran from the scene of the accident but were later caught. Surveillance tapes from Casey’s, which captured the accident, are aiding police in the investigation. They are faced with second-degree robbery charges and many traffic-related charges from the crash, though have not been charged yet, according to the Des Moines Register.

This accident has brought to the forefront the 1999 shootout near Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Forest Avenue, between police and Santos Vidal Rodriguez, the driver in this current case. The shootout began after Rodriguez’s car was pulled over for suspect in a robbery earlier in the day. Police Officer Jeffrey Gowen and Sgt. Garey Bryan II who were involved in the shootout were wounded and the then 16 year old Rodriguez “lost a leg and had brain damage”, reports the Des Moines Register. Rodriguez was never tried for this offense because “Polk County prosecutors believed his injuries made him incompetent to stand trial” and would never fully recover.

After this incident on Wednesday, Santos Rodriguez was interviewed by police and said he was fully coherent.

Watch a clip from the Des Moines Register of the accident, and interview of police officer, Sgt. Lori Lavorato:

http://gannett.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/gannett-desmoines-150-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=articleplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=playlist&maven_referralObject=1274639317

Another train-car collision causes another death

On Monday, September 22, about 5:45pm, Catherine Lea Stinson, age 45, was hit by an Amtrak train at 145th Street and U.S. 34, according to John Mangalonzo reporter from The Hawkeye online news source. Witnesses said she drove around crossing gates which were down. The train was westbound and hit the passenger side dragging the vehicle half of a mile. Danville emergency crew tried to remove the New London woman from her 2008 Dodge Ram, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Recent train collisions have brought this kind of accident to the fore front. Hawkeye news said:

“Authorities noted that nearly half of all collisions at railroad crossings occur when automatic warning devices, such as flashing lights or flashing lights with gates, are present and functioning properly.

According to recent statistics, a railroad accident occurs every two hours in the United States, in which a pedestrian or vehicle is struck by a train. In 2007, there were 13,067 railroad related accidents, according to the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis.”

The message of safety here is to not ignore the warnings. They aren't there just to be inconvenient for you. There are there to be obeyed. And if you’re using a cell phone put it down while you stop, look and listen.  A distracted driver is more likely to be a dead one.

Another Hit and Run in Des Moines: Kills a Teen this time

Late Saturday night, September 26^th, Devin Fry, age 13, and Rabiatu Timothy, 17, and Marcus Ira-Jenkins, 15, were hit by a dark SUV, now known to be a black Jeep Grand Chereokee, according to the Des Moines Register. Fry and Timothy were brought to the hospital after the police arrived at the scene around 11:45pm. Fry died after surgery on his lungs on Sunday morning. Timothy was in critical condition, but is now said to be doing better. The third teen, Ira-Jenkins, was brushed by the car, but not hurt. The kids were crossing the 1600 block of East University, not in the crosswalk, going north to go to a friend’s house or the Liberian Cultural Center. Ira-Jenkins said he saw the car swerving and with no head-lights on as it came towards them.

There was a tip given to police that led them to 36 year old Angela Arellano.   The police found the black grand Cherokee which was the alleged vehicle in the accident on Sunday at Arellano’s address. Monday morning Arellano, who police were looking for as a material witness, turned herself in to police bringing her own lawyer. Arellano is now charged with “vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle” and it is also reported by the Des Moines Register that, “Police Sgt. Lori Lavorato said Arellano was intoxicated at the time of the accident.” Arellano is in the Polk County jail and has an $80,000 bond.

NOTE: There is no known proof of her being intoxicated. A this point that allegation is only an allegation.

The third hit and run accident that has led to a fatality in Des Moines within a month has now killed a young teenage boy who was said to be a good student and hoped to one day play on the high school football team.  This has caused people to wonder the cause of multiple hit and runs in a short span of time. Officer Don Ouimet commented on the topic after the hit and run involving McKinney and Mark Grgurich. Ouimet said:

“Usually it’s that they don’t have a driver’s license, or no insurance or they have a warrant for their arrest, or there’s some illicit activity going on. Maybe they really didn’t know it happened or that it was so minor it wasn’t worth reporting.”

“Hit-and-run people are everyday folks who make a poor choice,” Ouimet said. “But rarely do they leave from sheer panic. There is almost always another reason.”

Videos:

What are interrogatories and how do I answer them?

It’s a new week and the InjuryBoard group is again writing about commonly asked client questions. We have seven topics to cover, each lawyer is choosing one per week, and by the end of seven weeks we will each have covered all seven topics. I will also post them on the Lombardi Law Firm web blog, The Verdict. That way if you have questions or comments you’ll be able to contact me directly. Enough talk let’s get to the subject today, which is answering written questions in your lawsuit.

Interrogatories are written questions sent to you through your lawyer by the other attorney. They are questions that when you read it your brain goes, “Huh? What?” The questions are written in lawyer-speak. In law school we lawyer(s) are taught the importance of gobbledygook and over time we strive to perfect it. Hardly ever are interrogatories written in plain English and if you were a lawyer you’d know why, but you’re not so you won’t and I can’t tell you why because if I did you wouldn’t understand me. That was a mouthful.

Okay, if you promise to tell no one I’ll take a stab at explaining why. This is an entirely sexist example but for many of you it will work. If you were a woman and you had to write a question for your boyfriend or husband to understand and it was about buying you the latest fashion jeans at the mall, how simple could you write it? Or, if you are a man and had to write a simple description of how to catch a fish or mow the lawn, how wordy would the explanation get? Now you understand. In the end you’d just break it down to simple questions that you yourself would ask and then you’d do it yourself. And that’s why it’s easier for most lawyers (he or she) to just ask you a few simpler more straightforward questions and then write the answer for you. See I did it there with the “he or she”; I slipped it in to see if you were awake. After doing this for 30 years I’ve begun to talk at our house just like a lawyer. “Barbara, what did you mean by that?” And raising teenagers was even more fun, with questions in my repertoire like “That’s an interesting answer. Now can you answer my question?” Teenagers absolutely hate that question, because they were hoping the smoke screen was working.

In law nothing is simple because in reality the English language is extremely imprecise.

So let’s try to make this easy. Interrogatories are questions. That’s easy. The word interrogatory sounds like interrogation so think of it in those terms with the exception you aren’t tied down to a chair, there is no hot-bright light beating down on you and no one is putting cigarettes out on your forehead.

HOW NOT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IN A LAWSUIT

Let me warm you up with one example of how not to answer the questions. I’m fond of telling Shannon that if you know what you don’t want it helps you narrow down the possibilities and that helps you know more about what you do want. So let’s look first at what you don’t want for an answer.

Huh? Let me hear that again only this time with Jimmy Kimmel explaining.

Thank you for explaining that Jimmy Kimmel, now it’s much clearer. The good news is in answering your lawsuit questions, you won’t be on TV. And it’s not likely Jimmy Kimmel cares about the issues in your case; so relax.

YOU HAVE TO SWEAR TO YOUR ANSWERS – REALLY, I SWEAR !

These interrogatory questions require answers you will swear to so make sure you think before answering. Of course some don’t require much thinking. Like the ones that ask for your name, age and dependents. Then there are others that have moderate levels of thinking, like tell us about your work and educational history. And then there are those that take a lot of thinking, like how did you get injured and why do you think the guy you sued is at fault? Of course your lawyer should help with answering the tougher questions. If they don’t help you, then fire them and get a new lawyer; one that actually works.

GROUPING QUESTIONS INTO BUCKETS

These questions have answers that go into four big answer buckets.

Bucket One: How did the accident happen? (This is the liability bucket.)

Bucket Two: How bad were you injured? (This is the damages bucket.)

Bucket Three: Tell us about yourself? (This is the, who are you bucket.)

Bucket Four: Have you ever done anything bad. (This is the help me make you look bad to the jury bucket.)

So how do you answer these questions?

1. Truthfully.

2. Accurately.

3. Completely, as is possible with available information.

4. And precisely.

Now truthfully means you tell it like it is, without drama and without being deceptive or cute. Accurately means you provide the amount of detail available to you. Completely means if all you have to do is read a tax return to get the information, and you have the tax return then you dig it out of the closet and provide the necessary information or you provide the tax return and say, “See the tax return attached.” Precisely means you need to read the question asked and answer that question; not the one you’d like them to ask but the one they did ask.

We can’t talk about answering questions without visiting Bushisms.

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." --at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." -Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

"Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip)

"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." --at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001 (Listen to audio clip)

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

That last one is really about truthful deposition answers so keep it in mind for a later blog post.

THE ENEMY TO ANSWERING INTERROGOTORY ANSWERS

Your enemy is procrastination. Don’t delay in answering the lawyer questions. Sit right down on the day you receive them and begin to jot answers down on the paper. Don’t let the words confuse you. Read it and ask yourself, “What is the main point of this question?” Get as much done in one sitting as you can and then call your lawyer’s secretary to set up an appointment to go over your answers. The lawyer will help you finish adding to the answer to make it complete. Before you do the sit-down-with-your-lawyer you should review and add information several times over that first week. I realize the questions are hideously complex or confusing, but do your best. Don’t worry so much about all the verbiage; focus more on the import of the question. Most lawyers can’t ask a question straight up because there are so many times when they did and the other side didn’t give them information they claimed was outside the scope of the request. So instead of asking, “What medical bills did you get from your injuries in this accident?”, they will ask much more involved question with nine subparts and in a way that only a Judge could understand. Hey I do it too, we have to or else those dastardly defense lawyers will play the word game.

A BETTER DEFENSE LAWYER

If you want my opinion I think Marina Orlova, Hot-For-Words would have made a good defense lawyer. Her Russian accent would have been more enjoyable to listen to than most defense lawyers I come into contact with. I’ve never read the Nerd Word of the Day, anatidaephobia in interrogatories, and my guess is neither has your lawyer. But you could really shock them by writing into your answer that you give to your lawyer. If you wrote one big word into your answers it would make the lawyer’s job more enjoyable.

HELPFUL AND NOT-SO-HELFUL PHOBIAS FOR WRITING INTERROGATORY ANSWERS

Most people when reading interrogatories for the first time experience atelophobia. (Fear of imperfection.)

Many people when reading the interrogatory asking for the amount of damages suffered develop arithmophobia. (Fear of numbers.)

The first time you meet the adjuster you’ll likely suffer from autodysomophobia or blennophobia. (It’s the fear of one that has a vile odor or slime.)

It’s alright to have hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia when answering interrogatories. The shorter the words you use, the better. You don’t have to use long words; you don’t even have to appear smart. In fact the dumber you are the better; remember who it is you’ll be dealing with. Just be straight and honest, accurate and complete. Do not succumb to logophobia or kakorrhaphiophobia, because your lawyer will help you with the words you don’t understand this will assist you to avoid failure.

Having a healthy dose of mythophobia (fear of myth or stories or false statements) is helpful.

Next time I’ll talk about your frame of mind before the deposition, but until then read the works of Devon, Rick, Wayne, Mike, Pierce and I about all those common questions you have.

Amy Winehouse - Procrastination

Join these lawyers for more on commonly asked questions that clients ask.

Wayne Parsons, Devon Glass, Mike Bryant, Rick Shapiro and Pierce Egerton

 I was in an automobile accident. What should I do? Ten Tips For Hawaii Drivers, Wayne Parsons on September 14, 2009 - 3:59 AM EST.

What would a caveman bring to meet with the lawyer?, Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 11:00 AM

Solving Legal Problems, Being a Client, Back to the Basics, Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 8:48 AM

Car Accident Injury Client: What Makes the Case Good or Bad? (The Collision & Medical Care) , Rick Shapiro September 16, 2009 9:38 AM

Being a Client: More Tips To Help Improve Your Case If You've Been In An Car Accident , Devon Glass , September 17, 2009 8:39 AM

Presumed Guilty: How to Avoid Having Insult Added to Injury When You’ve Been Hurt in a Car Crash, Pierce Egerton , September 18, 2009 4:28 PM

What To Do After An Accident When The Adjuster Is There First, Mike Bryant | September 19, 2009 6:26 PM

What Questions Is The Lawyer Going To Ask Me At The Initial Interview For My Injury Or Death Case?, Wayne Parsons | 20 September 2009 12:01

What makes a case good or bad?, Steve Lombardi, 21 September 2009 12:57 PM

What To Do After An Accident When The Adjuster Has A Tape Recorder, Mike Bryant , September 23, 2009 10:01 PM

Do I have a good or a bad case?, Devon Glass, September 24, 2009

What are interrogatories and how do I answer them?, Steve Lombardi, September 29, 2009 

Interrogatories: A Written Deposition , Devon Glass, September 30, 2009

Stop, Look and Listen: There's a train coming down the tracks!

On August 25th 2009 66 year old William Mudd of Hamilton Illinois was hit and killed by a freight train near the Keokuk Yacht club. The Keokuk Police Department says that the accident happened at around 4 o’clock but is unsure of the circumstances surrounding the accident. The train, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe, was carrying a black box and officials will be able to determine how fast the train was going at the time of the accident. The investigation remains open and ongoing.

Iowa Freight Train, Stop - Look & Listen

On August 25th 2009 66 year old William Mudd of Hamilton Illinois was hit and killed by a freight train near the Keokuk Yacht club. The Keokuk Police Department says that the accident happened at around 4 o’clock but are unsure of the circumstances surrounding the accident. The train, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe, was carrying a black box and officials will be able to determine how fast the train was going at the time of the accident. The investigation remains open and ongoing.

Why are there so many injuries?

On September 3rd 2009 15 year old Rachel Stewart was headed north on I-380 when she lost control of the van she was driving went onto the median and flipped. Rachel Stewart and one of the other passengers, Rachel Peterson, were both hospitalized while a third passenger 16 year old Alyssa Benedict from Tiffin died as a result of the injuries suffered in the crash. Benedict and Peterson were not wearing their seatbelt, but the real question is why a 15 year old is driving without a parent present and on the Interstate Highways in Iowa.  Answer that question and you’ll have the answer to the right question.

Why are there so many injuries?

What makes a case good or bad?

There really isn’t any magic formula and I never describe a case as a good case or a bad one. Instead I talk about expectations. You can have good or bad expectations. It all depends on what those expectations are and whether they are reasonable in light of the evidence and the law of the case.

There are two general categories of all evidence. First there is liability and then there are damages. Those two categories make up the entire gamut of evidence and how to think about it. Let’s call them baskets and with each question or bit of testimony you can place each in one of those baskets.

In the liability basket goes all evidence about who is responsible for either violating the standard of care or who is liable and under what theories. If we assume the case is a car-truck collision we can place all questions about how the accident happened, when, where and how in the liability basket. Was the law violated having to do with posted speed limits, lanes of travel, being on the correct side of the road, watching where you’re going, paying attention to the road and traffic conditions and driving using due care. Those are all liability questions.

Then there is the law that will be applied to your case. Is the law favorable to a claim like the one you are involved? That question you will need to ask the lawyer who may be able to answer that question or maybe not. Car accidents tend to be straight forward and the law clearly defined. But in Whistleblower cases the law may be cloudy and not well defined by the case law that interprets the statutes.

When we ask questions about how badly you were hurt, how hard was the impact, medical care or treatment, medical bills, lost wages, reduced earning capacity along with pain and suffering these are all damage type issues and as such you can place them in the damages basket.

So when clients ask if they have a good case, I have to explain it in terms of both liability and damages. You may have a perfect liability case, but when it comes to damages the case is simply not worth what you want. If your case is 100% someone else’s fault but there damages are $1,000.00 it makes little sense to spend $2,000 on expert fees and litigation costs, because the client will get nothing. In that instance we have a good liability case but a poor damage case and one in which the client’s expectations will never be met. If your expectation is one of getting $100,000.00 for a case that has a value of $25,000.00 as the client you might think the lawyer is bad, but in reality the lawyer may have done a hell-of-a-job just getting an offer of $25,000.00. I get asked quite often for a second opinion about the offer and without seeing all the evidence and talking with the lawyer it’s nearly impossible to give such an opinion.

Looking at liability issues you can have a lot of provable damages but if you’re 50% at fault for the collision you will only get 50% of the damages awarded. That means after litigation costs and contingent fees of normally 1/3rd you may not be a happy camper. But that’s reality. Is that a bad case or a poor result? Probably not; it’s likely the best result the evidence would allow.

Many attorneys call me asking for a second opinion on whether they are missing something about the case and whether the amount of money offered is adequate. Most attorneys hate to go to the client with a final offer that will not meet the client’s expectations. As my firm’s motto we pride ourselves on telling clients what they need to hear not necessarily what they may want to hear. I’m not going to tell a client I can always meet their expectations. Many times we can exceed those expectations but not every time and in those instances I just tell them why.

I wrote an article several weeks back explaining to a woman that she would never be my client. People think we shoe every horse that comes into the barn. Well, we don’t. We turn away many potential cases and clients for various reasons but one reason in particular is the client will not present well to a jury and their expectations are unrealistic, making my job impossible. I have no interest in spending 100’s of hours working a case and hundreds or thousands of dollars in litigation costs only to have the client bad-mouth me to other potential clients. I’d rather not be involved. In those instances the case and client aren’t a good fit and from my standpoint it’s a bad case for our firm.

Sometimes I take small cases because the client’s life will be improved with just a little bit of money from the settlement. I had one lady contact me to thank me for handling it three years after we settled her case for $3,500.00. That seemed like a small case to us, but to her it meant the difference between having to pay medical expenses immediately or not having a Christmas for her kids. She thanked me for taking the time to help her put food in the refrigerator. To many law firms this single mother’s case isn’t a case they will take because the fees aren’t high enough. Is it a good or a bad case? It is a good case to that single woman, her family and to my firm (that is interested in helping people – we focus on people not fees) but to other law firms that refused to take her case, it was a “bad case”.

Good and bad are relative terms. So answering the question, “Do I have a good case?” is difficult to answer. Instead ask do we have strong liability case? And, about damages ask if the damage case is one that will be expensive to prove and likely to settle for an amount that justifies the litigation costs.  

If a client sets themselves up with thinking my case has to be worth X number of dollars that’s usually a bad sign right from the get-go. We don’t value cases based on a wish list. I wish I had a million dollars is not the way we value cases. We value cases based on the liability and damage aspects of the case and so should you. And a yes and no answer to that simple question aren’t likely to be accurate.

I’ve asked several of our members of the InjuryBoard attorneys to get together to write a series of posts answering common client questions and providing useful answers that clients or potential clients can review from time to time. They have responded, in my opinion wonderfully.  I encourage you to read these posts and to consider InjuryBoard attorneys as people who you would hire to assist with your case, claim or lawsuit. They are a good bunch of people with varied legal experience and we work as a network that I compare to the largest law firms in the country. We share information, cooperate with one another, refer clients and are developing the largest body of written legal resources available on the Internet. We are for all practical purposes your best investment for injury prevention, safety information and for handling your legal work. And I invite you to contact us when the need arises.

Now here are the attorneys and the linked titles to what we have so far written in this series. For the previous series about interstate highway accidents see the last post by Mike Bryant of St. Cloud, Minnesota and you’ll be able to access all of the previously written articles.

Steve Lombardi

Those attorneys writing in this series about client questions include:

Besides Mike Bryant the writers include Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C., Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm, Wayne Parsons of Wayne Parsons Law Offices, Rick Shapiro from Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C., and Pierce Egerton from Egerton & Associates.

Series about Common Questions Clients Ask

I was in an automobile accident. What should I do? Ten Tips For Hawaii Drivers, Wayne Parsons on September 14, 2009 - 3:59 AM EST.

What would a caveman bring to meet with the lawyer?

Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 11:00 AM

Solving Legal Problems, Being a Client, Back to the Basics

Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 8:48 AM

Car Accident Injury Client: What Makes the Case Good or Bad? (The Collision & Medical Care) , Rick Shapiro  September 16, 2009 9:38 AM

Being a Client: More Tips To Help Improve Your Case If You've Been In An Car Accident , Devon Glass , September 17, 2009 8:39 AM

Presumed Guilty: How to Avoid Having Insult Added to Injury When You’ve Been Hurt in a Car Crash, Pierce Egerton , September 18, 2009 4:28 PM

What To Do After An Accident When The Adjuster Is There First, Mike Bryant | September 19, 2009 6:26 PM

What Questions Is The Lawyer Going To Ask Me At The Initial Interview For My Injury Or Death Case? , Wayne Parsons | 20 September 2009 12:01 

And this one, What makes a case good or bad?, Steve Lombardi, 21 September 2009 12:57 PM

Car Crash from Turing a Curve and Loosing Control/ Curves can be Deadly/ Lost Control from Curve in the Road

A September 14, 2009 crash in Allamakee County, Iowa at 2:50pm occurred when a Toyota Tundra left the curved roadway, crashed into the ditch and rolled. While on Suttle Creek Road, Northwest of Monona, the driver of the Toyota Tundra, 21 year old Chad Feller from Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, lost control of the car while on a curve.  The car ran into a ditch and rolled over, killing one of the passengers, David Kirschbaum, age 27, also from Prairie Du Chien, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The driver and the other passengers, Ariel Fitzgibbon age 22, from Boscobel, WI, and Samantha Olson age 18, her residence is unknown, were all injured.  State Patrol said all riders were not wearing seatbelts, though it’s unknown whether Ms. Olson was wearing one. All were transported to their local hospitals.

UPDATE:

09.09.17

Further reports from the Iowa State Patrol that the driver, Chad Feller did receive blood tests and was allegedly driving under the influence.  All occupants were not wearing seat belts except for Samantha Olson and Ariel Fitzgibbon.  Both Olson and Fitzgibbon are incapacitated. Feller has four possible injuries.  David Kirschbaum was thrown from the vehicle out of the side window and killed.

Under Iowa law, passengers even though from another State, these being from Wisconsin, have a claim for personal injury types of damages.  The tough part of settling this type of case is usually there isn't enough insurance coverage for all the passenger injuries. In other words there are too many people for the amount of insurance coverage the driver carries. In that instance it's necessary to file claims with the passenger's own auto insurance carrier. What's important for each person filing a claim is to not discuss their case with anyone including the insurance adjusters who will attempt to establish a defense that precludes a claim, even by the passengers.

Alcohol and driving just don't mix

Early this morning at 5:30 in Mahaska County, a truck rolled over into a cornfield after missing a curve. The County Sheriff’s Office said alcohol may have been involved in the cause of the accident, according to Channel 13 online news source. The two people in the truck were air-lifted to Des Moines hospitals.  There were three others injured by the accident and were brought to the Mahaska County hospital. The conditions of all involved are currently unknown.

What causes accidents is an interesting subject.  In this case the cause is noted to be partially due to alcohol consumption. But what causes the increased consumption of alcohol? Is it the economy, youthful exuberance or some festive event? It probably doesn’t matter. With the economy being in a recession alcohol is a way of drowning out the misery. Wall Street gets a trillion dollar bailout that includes billions of dollars in bonuses and what did Main Street get? The shaft. We got higher taxes, more debt and a front row seat watching our trade deficit increase. We lack jobs and it has to do with the influx of foreign goods and not selling American goods. So when I’m sitting at a stop light why do I see so many foreign cars? Don’t people understand the relationship between America’s economic health and whose goods you purchase?

We are like sheep being lead to slaughter. Too dumb to turn around and head in another direction.

Tort reform is sort of like that. A professional makes a mistake, causes an injury or the death of the patient and tort reform says the patient pays. We must be incapable of reason at this point in American history. I can see no intelligent way of understanding this issue.

And by the way, the driver is probably still liable to this passenger, but will depend on the passenger’s complicity in the drinking activity. Complicity under Iowa law can bar a passenger’s claim even though the driver is negligent. For the passenger, see an attorney. We are here to answer any questions you may have.

Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash?

Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C. and I from The Lombardi Law Firm are experimenting with a joint project about highway safety. Here in Iowa we have I-80, I-35, I-235, I-90, I-370, I-380 and I-5 as the bulk of our interstate highway system running throughout the state. For the better part of thirty-years I’ve watching and listening as each client described one accidental crash after another. As a trial lawyer you can’t help but learn, so long as you care about the issues and people involved. Without looking at a map I’m not sure what highway system the lawyers in Michigan have to content with, I’ll let the young Mr. Devon Glass describe those to you. Today’s subject for me is about semi-trucks and how they are dangerous or cause collisions. As Devon instructed yesterday read the posts at the InjuryBoard along with the law firm websites: Church Wyble, PC and The Verdict on the Lombardi Law Firm. We’ve not tried this before so like us you can tell us what works and what doesn’t work.

Before I get to today’s subject there is something bugging me that I’m going to have to post about later this week. A client came into the office describing how after her accident in Des Moines several lawyers (at least 6) telephoned her parent’s home attempting to solicit her case. Telephone solicitation in Iowa is unethical so this is burning a hole in my brain knowing the identity of one of the law firms. Big firm, with what I thought was a solid reputation. I’ll get back to this later. Let’s get back to double-bottomed trucks.

Like the research method used to collect the wrong-way collisions series I’ve been doing the same for highway truck accidents with semi-trucks. Some readers say we are chasing ambulances, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. What the InjuryBoard is about is supposed to be safety from what we’ve learned in this business and for young lawyer like Devon Glass, what they are learning. The older more seasoned lawyers are passing on the touch of knowledge to the next generation. With mediations and settlements being in vogue, we don’t try a lot of cases anymore so this is one way to collectively amass and pass on what we’ve learned over the last 30 to 40 years of being a personal injury lawyer. Yes, I’m not ashamed of being a personal injury lawyer, so those who refer to us collectively in a negative way can forget embarrassing us. If we are embarrassed about anything it’s the ignorance of those who on the one hand criticize us and then run to use our services when they get a boo-boo. Of course the reason why they criticize the personal injury lawyers is because they were turned away by us and are angry about not being able to take advantage of the system to make thousands of dollars for a boo-boo; the very thing they criticize us for doing. There’s a lot of mis-information out there about what we do as personal injury lawyers and presently fear mongers are making a good living off of selling hate, so these bozo’s keep at it out of spite.

When driving on the interstate first use your head and apply common sense. Take a look at the semi-truck: In North America they will have three axles, 18 wheels, perhaps a double bottom, 102 inches wide, 13.5 feet high and can have a gross weight of 80,000 pounds. The double bottomed trailers are 2-axle tractors towing two 1-axle 28.5 feet semi-trailers. Certain states also allow longer combination vehicles known as LCV’s. LCV’s include the following:

LCV types include:

Triples: Three 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t).

Turnpike Doubles: Two 48-foot (14.6 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 147,000 pounds (66.7 t)

Rocky Mountain Doubles: One 40 (12.2 m) to 53 (16.2 m) foot trailer (though usually no more than 48 feet) and one 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailer (known as a "pup"); maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t)

In Canada, a Turnpike Double is two 53-foot trailers and a Rocky Mountain Double is a 50-foot trailer with 24-foot "pup"

Some states go further allowing longer and heavier trucks that include “larger tandem trailer setups such as triple units, the "Turnpike Double" (twin 48-53 ft units) or the "Rocky Mountain Double." (A full 48-53 ft unit and a shorter 28 ft unit) In general, these types of setups are restricted to tolled turnpikes such as I-80 through Ohio and Indiana, and select Western states. Tandem setups are not restricted to certain roads any more than a single setup. The exception is the units listed above. They are also not restricted because of weather or "difficulty" of operation.”

As you can plainly see these trucks traveling at 60 to 70 miles per hour are going to pack a punch if you crash with one while driving a Volkswagen or small Ford. A small Fiesta by Ford is 140 inches long, 61.7 inches wide and stands all of 53.5 inches. A Ford Focus is just more of the same.

Who do you think will live if a 129,000 pound fully loaded semi-truck comes sliding sideways towards the five people crammed into a beat-up Ford Focus? My guess is the Ford product as good as it is won’t win this contest. The men and women of Detroit can build it like a tank and the truck is still going to win this contest. Even with heavy metal playing on its Sirius radio, the Ford Focus weighs in at only 2,588 pounds.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a section on their website for vehicle safety research. Follow the links to the section on defects analysis and crashworthiness division. And this section takes me full circle back to semi trucks where we break it down into parts. Trucks are tough to drive because they are long, tall and heavy. Add that there are several moving parts to the vehicle and it gets trickier.  One of those pieces is the driver, a man or woman who’s probably bored, been driving too long, isn’t getting enough exercise, has had too much coffee and isn’t being paid nearly enough for the hours they are working. Irritate? Probably they are irritated and can be aggressive with their driving habits. A fact so familiar to America that it’s probably why the NHTSA has under construction a section titled “Heavy Truck Aggressivity”.

So let’s take a step back and compare just weight of each. An F-350 that I drive weighs 12,600 lbs. weighs almost five times that of the Focus, The Ford Focus weighs 2,588 pounds and the semi-truck in excess of 80,000 pounds or almost 31 times heavier. Its simple logic that should tell you which vehicle will come out on top in a crash.

Today’s post is already too long so I’ll quit and take up more the day after tomorrow. But don’t forget to read Devon’s post from yesterday, This May Save Your Child's Life When Driving on the Interstate, and return tomorrow for his next post. Who knows I may even persuade Parson’s from Hawaii, Jon Lewis and Stu McAtee from Birmingham, Schuelke from Austin, Rick Shapiro from Virginia Beach, Fusner from Tennessee, the Egerton’s from North Carolina and Bryant from the Twin Cities to join us. Truckie D probably has something to add as well. It goes without saying if you’re not mentioned you’re still invited to join us for this series and to lend us advice from whatever interstate highways you have webbing across your state. Our goal at the InjuryBoard is sharing our broad base of knowledge from across the country by lawyers with day-to-day experience while trying to teach the working men and women of this country how to protect themselves and their rights.

You can check out any cars safety rating using the NHTSA site.

Check out Safercar.gov a web portal with vehicle safety information.

Helmets, bike riding, semi-trucks, wheel chocks and other Iowa personal injury news

I posted a month or so ago about a woman I saw riding a Harley-Davidson and how it seemed to be too much bike for a woman her size, age and physical strength to be driving. An incident occurred this past weekend that once again reminds us riders need to stay within their physical abilities.

When You're Over 50 How Much Bike is Too Much?

A woman from Toledo, Iowa, age 53 was riding a bike at Ledges State Park when the bike apparently went out of control causing her to strike a tree. Apparently the head injuries she suffered caused her death.

It’s important to ride within your physical limits and as we age we get less physically fit and our reflexes slow. We need to do the same.

In other news a semi-truck driver allegedly fell asleep causing his semi-truck to go out-of-control and overturn. The driver was 69-years-of-age and on I-35 heading north when it happened at around 9:30 a.m. Iowa Interstate 35 northbound was closed or slowed for nearly five hours while they unloaded, then righted and towed the truck away. The driver was uninjured.

A man in McGregor, Iowa died as the truck trailer he and some others were working on rolled over him. The utility trailer was hooked to a pickup truck. It’s not clear if the trailer wheels were chocked, if the parking brake was on or why he was in a position where he could be crushed. His name is Brent Blietz, 24-years-old. There is no mention of whether he has a wife and children. Our condolences go out to the extended family. This is an extension of the previous post about OSHA or IOSH fining the trucking company $9,000 for not using the brakes and wheel chocks that allowed the truck to roll and pinning Mr. Brian Cellar, killing him. Safety knows nothing about age. Chock the wheels and set the parking brake; I dare say both accidents may have been preventable.

Back to bikes, apparently tensions are on the rise with plans to add a bike lane to Ingersoll and Urbandale avenues in Des Moines. Just discussing the issue hasn’t generated enough support for city leaders, so if you want it say so. I have to wonder, what’s the big deal with sharing the roads? After all we aren’t New Delhi, India.

State of Iowa budget crisis is again in the news; did it ever leave the news? To determine how to save money the State of Iowa spent more money on 20 efficiency studies since 1990. The most recent study group was or will be paid $300,000 telling the state how to save money and run more efficiently. Had Governor Culver asked me I would have told him for only $150,000. It’s a little known trick my mother taught me that not many people know. It’s really pretty simple, you just stop spending money. Chet please send a check to my office $150,000 and include Barbara’s name on the check. The Republican version is a little different than the Democrats; they simply blame the Democrats for spending too much while they also spend too much.

A West Des Moines residence caught fire in a sauna room at the Westown Parkway Residences causing some $2,000 in damage. What was going on with that electrical system?

And for those of you that missed it, even hotter than the sauna action, Iowa crushed Iowa State 35 to 3 on a beautiful Saturday of football. It gave us time to reflect back on that bum who moved on to Auburn. At least on prediction was right.

How many Iowa teens need to die before we increase the driving permit age?

How many Iowa teens need to die before we increase the driving permit age?

This past week I posted TEEN LOGIC: Why is a 15-year-old taxiing passengers on I-380 in Iowa?

That news article was an accident on I-380 involving three teens, the driver was 15-year-old. She was a permit driver on the Interstate taxing other teens from a volleyball game to get something to eat. Under the law none should have been out on the Interstate. This isn’t the first story we’ve seen lately about accidents in Iowa involving teen permit drivers and death.

Teen Driving at Time of Fatal Crash will Lose Driver's Permit

Investigation continues into crash that killed Marathon teen

If Teen Driving and Texting is Fun Why Is She Crying?

Girls roll van on I-380, parents all ask the wrong question

Is texting while driving really dangerous or are people exaggerating?

What is the problem with teen permit drivers?

Teens in Iowa can drive starting at age 14. They can drive to and from school or extracurricular activities. They violate the law by exceeding the law's limits. They put us at risk by using cell phones when they drive. When they text or talk on a cell phone they are as dangerous as drunken drivers.

The original reason for the law had to do with the fall harvest and farmers, wives included, needing to be in the fields rather than running kids back and forth to town for wrestling, basketball, baseball and football. Young farm teens were more experienced with driving and probably more level headed than today's urban youth with their cell phones. Farm kids drove tractors and other implements long before they were 14 so they had more experience with driving. Today's urban teens drive video cars and trucks, aren't getting exercise like farm chores that developed physical strength and a culture of safety. Times change and so should the law to accommodate safety issues. 

We need to increase the permit age to 16, P-E-R-I-O-D! We need to increase the permit age to 16, P-E-R-I-O-D! If you're in an accident and you were on your cell phone there needs to be an increased penalty besides a civil suit for damages. You need to lose your license for six months.

On a daily basis in West Des Moines I see no fewer than 10 distracted drivers with cell phones either talking or texting. Both are similar to drunken drivers. Now if on a daily basis we encountered 10 drunken drivers without further ado we’d make changes. So why do we allow texting teens to get away with it? Is the 14-year-old permit in urban areas the disease of lazy and uncommitted parents?

Now I know what the arguments will be but sorry I don’t buy any of them.

If Teen Driving and Texting is Fun Why Is She Crying?

If you think your next text message can't wait so you text while driving then watch this video. It needs no commentary from me.

Here is the teen logic: People make such a big deal about teen’s texting while driving. But really what's the big dah? Think about how stupid you sound complaining. Really! Texting (some dumb and foolish message) to your BFF (who is sitting in front a TV) gets the word out that I’m open for dating or that so-and-so just broke up! It saves time and keeps me connected!

Or does it?

Fire truck Hits Rescue Helicopter Lands First, Hit by Fire Truck Second, but Who Called 9-1-1?

Tort Reform Hits a Snag

Responding to an accident a MedForce helicopter was struck by a Mediapolis Fire Department truck grounding it and its crew.

Two spokesmen for the Mediapolis Fire Department explained why the incident occurred. Here is the interview that’s been uploaded to YouTube.

Newton, Iowa Crash Leaves Woman Dead as Other Driver Flees from Scene

The report isn’t pleasant to read. The police pieced together the collision sequence but without the at-fault driver who they say fled the scene. One car crossed the center line and sideswiped a 2007 Dodge minivan being operated by Karen Finch. The Finch vehicle then lost control, struck a 2005 Honda Civic head-on. That vehicle was reported to be operated by Erica Trafford. A passenger, Barbara Purtilo of Newton, in the Finch vehicle died in the crash.

It took hours for the police to locate a likely suspect in Cambridge, Iowa. He is 47-years of age. Why did he flee? Did he flee? Who was driving? All good questions that he’ll have to answer in due time.

What can you do to avoid driving distracted and possibly causing an accident?

If you teach your teenage driver anything teach them not to driver distracted. Yesterday I’m sitting at a stop light and beside me in the turn lane are a young driver and two passengers. The front seated passenger is watching the light for the driver while he sits there sending a text message. I wondered why cell companies or car makers don’t come up with a way to block texting when in a car. Really is there any reason why anyone needs to send a text message while driving or riding in a car? If the parents of this driver could only see him they’d be consequences to pay.

Driving while distracted is at epidemic proportions. Here are a few examples from Iowa. Mind you, every one results in at least one fatality. That’s where the title comes from.

Warren County – August 8, 2009 – Megan Marie Davis (16) from Norwalk driving northbound on 180^th Avenue lost control “for an unknown reason” went off the roadway, into a ditch, struck the embankment and vaulted into the creek landing on the roof top of her 1988 Chevrolet S10. Davis was ready to start her junior year this fall at Norwalk High School.

Hardin County – August 9, 2009 -  Armando Castello (28) driving a 1988 Honda Civic westbound on D15 crossed over the center line, striking a 1991 Ford F-250 pickup truck driven by Abbye Fryslie (18) from Iowa Falls.  Ms. Fryslie was taken by air ambulance to the hospital in Ellsworth. Mr. Castello according to the report died and was pronounced dead at the scene. (I can’t be sure if this is the same Abbye Fryslie that plays volleyball for the Cougars High School Girls Volleyball team.

Adaire County – August 6, 2009 – Mark Miller (47) driving a 2003 Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the off-ramp of westbound I-80 at mile marker 93 lost control and slid into the ditch. He was not wearing a helmet and died from the injuries he sustained in the crash. His passenger, Connie Jae Emgarten, (40) was transported by ground ambulance and her condition was not reported.

Hancock County – July 29, 2009 – This one involves a Freighliner Semi-truck and a 2003 Toyota Celica, so you know it’s not going to end well; results in the driver of the Toyota dying. The Freightliner is driven by Allen James Enabnit (46) who is reported to have run a stop sign at R26 and B55. His semi-truck then collides with Hefty’s Toyota ending in the death of Amy Lynn Hefty (27).

Sac County – July 31, 2009 – In this crash or wreck or accident, however you’d like to describe it, a 1995 Mercury Sable is westbound on highway 175 and for an unexplained reason runs smack into the back of a 1982 John Deere 4440 AG Tractor. Both vehicles were then forced off of the road; the speed must have been fast, killing the driver of the Mercury. The tractor had its slow moving vehicle symbol and amber lights working, so why didn’t the driver of the car see the tractor? The reasons are unexplained but it cost the driver, Brian Campbell (27) his life, and his passenger, Sarah Anne Ahart (17) was injured and she was taken by ambulance to the Lohring Hospital. Its not known how the tractor driver, Dakota Michael Miller (17) is doing.

Polk County – July 31, 2009 – This single vehicle crash occurs on I-80 in Polk County when the motorcycle driven by Robert Clayvon leaves the roadway, drives into the median, rolls and kills him. The Iowa State Trooper noted “THE VEHICLE WAS A NEWLY PURCHASED USED MOTORCYCLE WITH A PAPER PLATE ON THE VEHICLE. THE MOTORCYCLE HAD BEEN RODE ONLY 7 MILES AFTER PURCHASE TO THE CRASH SITE. THE DRIVER WAS NOT WEARING A HELMET AND HAD SOME MEDICAL ISSUES.” I’m not sure what all that means, but this driver may not have been distracted but then again driving a new bike he may have been distracted checking something out. Speed isn’t determined so we don’t know what if any it may have contributed to the loss of control.

Crawford County – August 2, 2009 – In this crash you have the at-fault vehicle attempting a left turn and failing to see and to yield to on-coming traffic. The driver who appears to be at-fault is a 75-year-old man Gerald Fredrickson of Turin. He’s driving on U.S. Highway 59 when he attempts a left turn at Iowa Highway 141, just 6 miles south of Denison. The report indicates he’s driving a Chevrolet Impala. The other car is driven by Noah Mayer and has several passengers, a Ricky Beck and one Schuyler Kiesel, both of who appeared to have been injured. It was the passenger in the at-fault car that was reported to have been killed. (Judith Fredrickson (71)) Ricky Beck, although reported to not have suffered incapacitating injuries was nevertheless life flighted to UNMC in Omaha, Nebraska.  Was it age, eyesight or a distraction that caused a failure to yield the right of way?

Greene County – August 4, 2009 – The lesson to learn from this crash would be that trains are big, heavy and unforgiving. James Parris is just 43-years-old and driving a 1999 Buick LeSabre across the railroad tracks at B Avenue when he is struck by a Northwestern Railroad engine heading east at B Avenue. The report indicates the car driver failed to obey the cross buck sign and crossed the tracks, but it’s not clear if there were drop down bars and warning lights in place and working. Nevertheless the rules of the road for crossing railroad tracks is stop, look and listen. Did the train’s engineer sound his horn before attempting to cross? No indication of that either. The car flipped over, burst into flames and the driver perished. A report from the Daily Times Herald of Carroll, Iowa states: “Greene County Sheriff Tom Heater said Parris stopped at the crossing as the train approached then drove onto the tracks.” What made him drive ahead after coming to a complete stop?

Webster County – August 8, 2009 – In this crash, similar to Warren, Adaire and Polk County crashes, the driver of a motorcycle leaves the roadway, a curve in this instance, crashes and dies as a result. Casey Friesth (20) rounding the curve on D14 near National Avenue continues east off of the roadway enters the south ditch and overturns, where he and the bike are vaulted over the embankment of the connection with National Avenue and he’s killed.

Allamakee County – August 6, 2009 – A Missouri driver, John Ramer (43) driving west on X52, the Great River Road north of Harpers Ferry simply failed to negotiate a curve, crossed the center line, went through a fence, down a steep embankment, his vehicle rolled several times, it struck a junked car and came to rest on it’s top. The report is that even though he used his seatbelt, he died.

Mahaska County – August 11, 2009 – A is driving westbound on Highway 92 crosses the center line striking an oncoming vehicle that losses control, strikes a third vehicle and finally comes to rest. The first is driven by a 72-year-old man James Bowen, the second is a Semi-truck being driven by Tom Rangel (43) and the third, Virginia Weber (81). The report is that Bowen dies in the collision.

I’ve been practicing personal injury litigation for almost 30 years and unlike the tort reformers I’m not asking why there are so many lawsuits because to do so ignores prevention. We need to prevent accidental injury and then the number of lawsuits will take care of itself. In many of these instances the at-fault driver will be sued, either by their passengers or the other car’s drivers and passengers for the damages they’ve caused. And they should, because none of those other people asked for this or did anything to cause the collisions. In many, not all but many of the collisions we see distracted driving habits or we can safely assume the drivers were distracted and it created situations where a crash was inevitable.

How can they be avoided?

Well how about if we teach our children and adopt a habit of not talking on the cell phone or texting or doing anything else that takes our attention away from driving. That’s certainly a good place to start.

Iowa I-80 semi-truck rear-end crash victims, distracted drivers

On August 26^th 2009 a crash between a semi and a car occurred in the southbound lanes of I-35 between the University and Westown Parkway ramps. The police said that a passenger vehicle was stalled on the travel portion of I-35 when it was rear ended by the semi. The passenger vehicle driver was injured and taken to the hospital. The real question is why did the wreck happen? Was the semi driver paying attention? Did the passenger vehicle have his/her emergency blinkers on? Cars break down on the interstate all the time will you be watching for them?

Or will you be on a cell phone talking or texting?

In the past two days I've encounted no fewer than 10 drivers weaving, pulling out when they should yield, stopping when they should drive ahead, slowing for no apparent reason and in each case they were on cell phones either talking or texting.

What are the legal options for a hit-n-run driver?

On August 26th 2009 a high speed chase ended in a crash leaving the female passenger inside with minor injuries. The Iowa State Patrol saw a van speeding along University Ave. near 13th street at about 2:30 a.m. The Trooper, John Salesbury, tried to pull the van over but the driver refused and a high speed chase proceeded. The chase lasted for about 3 minutes and ended on Chautauqua Parkway when the van crashed into a utility box. The driver of the van fled the scene as the Deputies were assisting the female passenger inside as the van was on fire. The as of yet unidentified man now has several warrants out for his arrest to go with the medical bill he will be receiving for the injuries suffered by the woman in the crash.

One has to wonder what makes a person run when confronted with a situation like this news item. Experience tells us people who run have done something wrong, engaged in criminal activity, stole the car, have warrants out for their arrest or else have immigration problems that make them avoid arrest. The best way to handle this problem is not to keep running but to schedule time with a lawyer who handles criminal matters. Todd Miler writes for this blog on occasion and handles criminal matters and would be one such person to discuss your options. Running is an endless lifestyle where you’re always looking over your shoulder.

Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash?

Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C. and I from The Lombardi Law Firm are experimenting with a joint project about highway safety. Here in Iowa we have I-80, I-35, I-235, I-90, I-370, I-380 and I-5 as the bulk of our interstate highway system running throughout the state. For the better part of thirty-years I’ve watching and listening as each client described one accidental crash after another. As a trial lawyer you can’t help but learn, so long as you care about the issues and people involved. Without looking at a map I’m not sure what highway system the lawyers in Michigan have to content with, I’ll let the young Mr. Devon Glass describe those to you. Today’s subject for me is about semi-trucks and how they are dangerous or cause collisions. As Devon instructed yesterday read the posts at the InjuryBoard along with the law firm websites: Church Wyble, PC and The Verdict on the Lombardi Law Firm. We’ve not tried this before so like us you can tell us what works and what doesn’t work.

Before I get to today’s subject there is something bugging me that I’m going to have to post about later this week. A client came into the office describing how after her accident in Des Moines several lawyers (at least 6) telephoned her parent’s home attempting to solicit her case. Telephone solicitation in Iowa is unethical so this is burning a hole in my brain knowing the identity of one of the law firms. Big firm, with what I thought was a solid reputation. I’ll get back to this later. Let’s get back to double-bottomed trucks.

Like the research method used to collect the wrong-way collisions series I’ve been doing the same for highway truck accidents with semi-trucks. Some readers say we are chasing ambulances, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. What the InjuryBoard is about is supposed to be safety from what we’ve learned in this business and for young lawyer like Devon Glass, what they are learning. The older more seasoned lawyers are passing on the touch of knowledge to the next generation. With mediations and settlements being in vogue, we don’t try a lot of cases anymore so this is one way to collectively amass and pass on what we’ve learned over the last 30 to 40 years of being a personal injury lawyer. Yes, I’m not ashamed of being a personal injury lawyer, so those who refer to us collectively in a negative way can forget embarrassing us. If we are embarrassed about anything it’s the ignorance of those who on the one hand criticize us and then run to use our services when they get a boo-boo. Of course the reason why they criticize the personal injury lawyers is because they were turned away by us and are angry about not being able to take advantage of the system to make thousands of dollars for a boo-boo; the very thing they criticize us for doing. There’s a lot of mis-information out there about what we do as personal injury lawyers and presently fear mongers are making a good living off of selling hate, so these bozo’s keep at it out of spite.

When driving on the interstate first use your head and apply common sense. Take a look at the semi-truck: In North America they will have three axles, 18 wheels, perhaps a double bottom, 102 inches wide, 13.5 feet high and can have a gross weight of 80,000 pounds. The double bottomed trailers are 2-axle tractors towing two 1-axle 28.5 feet semi-trailers. Certain states also allow longer combination vehicles known as LCV’s. LCV’s include the following:

LCV types include:

Triples: Three 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t).

Turnpike Doubles: Two 48-foot (14.6 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 147,000 pounds (66.7 t)

Rocky Mountain Doubles: One 40 (12.2 m) to 53 (16.2 m) foot trailer (though usually no more than 48 feet) and one 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailer (known as a "pup"); maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t)

In Canada, a Turnpike Double is two 53-foot trailers and a Rocky Mountain Double is a 50-foot trailer with 24-foot "pup"

Some states go further allowing longer and heavier trucks that include “larger tandem trailer setups such as triple units, the "Turnpike Double" (twin 48-53 ft units) or the "Rocky Mountain Double." (A full 48-53 ft unit and a shorter 28 ft unit) In general, these types of setups are restricted to tolled turnpikes such as I-80 through Ohio and Indiana, and select Western states. Tandem setups are not restricted to certain roads any more than a single setup. The exception is the units listed above. They are also not restricted because of weather or "difficulty" of operation.”

As you can plainly see these trucks traveling at 60 to 70 miles per hour are going to pack a punch if you crash with one while driving a Volkswagen or small Ford. A small Fiesta by Ford is 140 inches long, 61.7 inches wide and stands all of 53.5 inches. A Ford Focus is just more of the same.

Who do you think will live if a 129,000 pound fully loaded semi-truck comes sliding sideways towards the five people crammed into a beat-up Ford Focus? My guess is the Ford product as good as it is won’t win this contest. The men and women of Detroit can build it like a tank and the truck is still going to win this contest. Even with heavy metal playing on its Sirius radio, the Ford Focus weighs in at only 2,588 pounds.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a section on their website for vehicle safety research. Follow the links to the section on defects analysis and crashworthiness division. And this section takes me full circle back to semi trucks where we break it down into parts. Trucks are tough to drive because they are long, tall and heavy. Add that there are several moving parts to the vehicle and it gets trickier.  One of those pieces is the driver, a man or woman who’s probably bored, been driving too long, isn’t getting enough exercise, has had too much coffee and isn’t being paid nearly enough for the hours they are working. Irritate? Probably they are irritated and can be aggressive with their driving habits. A fact so familiar to America that it’s probably why the NHTSA has under construction a section titled “Heavy Truck Aggressivity”.

So let’s take a step back and compare just weight of each. An F-350 that I drive weighs 12,600 lbs. weighs almost five times that of the Focus, The Ford Focus weighs 2,588 pounds and the semi-truck in excess of 80,000 pounds or almost 31 times heavier. Its simple logic that should tell you which vehicle will come out on top in a crash.

Today’s post is already too long so I’ll quit and take up more the day after tomorrow. But don’t forget to read Devon’s post from yesterday, This May Save Your Child's Life When Driving on the Interstate, and return tomorrow for his next post. Who knows I may even persuade Parson’s from Hawaii, Jon Lewis and Stu McAtee from Birmingham, Schuelke from Austin, Rick Shapiro from Virginia Beach, Fusner from Tennessee, the Egerton’s from North Carolina and Bryant from the Twin Cities to join us. Truckie D probably has something to add as well. It goes without saying if you’re not mentioned you’re still invited to join us for this series and to lend us advice from whatever interstate highways you have webbing across your state. Our goal at the InjuryBoard is sharing our broad base of knowledge from across the country by lawyers with day-to-day experience while trying to teach the working men and women of this country how to protect themselves and their rights.

You can check out any cars safety rating using the NHTSA site.

Check out Safercar.gov a web portal with vehicle safety information.

What distraction can cause a driver to miss stopping for a stop sign?

Is PCP bad for you?

On July 14th 2009 John Wakefield was a passenger in a car travelling Northbound on I-29 when he asked the driver Jermaine Finley to stop alongside of the road. After exiting the vehicle it’s alleged that Mr. Wakefield than laid down in the highway where he was subsequently ran over by a semi driven by Kenneth Olson. Witnesses have stated that the semi driven Mr. Olsen was unable to slow or swerve in time to avoid running over Mr. Wakefield. Jermaine Finley has since been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, stopping in the travel portion of the road, no driver’s license and making a false report to a police officer. It has been alleged that Mr. Wakefield was under the influence of PCP and Marijuana. The investigation is ongoing and authorities have asked for help in gathering information. If you do have information you’re being asked to contact the Monona County Sheriff’s office at 1-800-859-1414, the Iowa State Patrol at 712-732-1341 or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 712-252-0507.

Van Crashes into Train in Adams County, Iowa

On July 20^th 2009 a man driving a van crashed into a moving train in Adams County. While the crash happened two miles east of Nodaway near the RAGBRAI route it was not apparently a RAGBRAI support vehicle. Sheriff’s stated that one person was in the van at the time of the crash and that he apparently wasn’t seriously injured. While the cause of the crash is currently under investigation and the driver didn’t (or wouldn’t) say why he hit the train you have to wonder if there was some distraction in the van. For instance we’ve seen many driver distractions that include texting, talking on the phone, pets, children or being under the influence? Whatever the reason we are happy he’s alive and not seriously injured.