Midwest Personal Injury News Roundup, Painting your nails while driving is hazardous

Here is a Midwest news roundup of personal injuries suffered due mainly to circumstances beyond the control of the person suffering the injury. It being tort reform month on the InjuryBoard a person has to ask if the American Tort Reform Association is correct in professing the lawsuits are all to blame. Are they? Or is it something else?

TORT REFORM DIATRIBE: Tiger Joyce, the President of the American Tort Reform Association accuses lawyers of a huge conspiracy to stimulate the economy by litigation. Meanwhile he completely ignores the real problems that everyday working people have and fails to suggest any solutions to the problems created by faulty products or other criminal financial torts. The ATFA ignores the criminal conduct on Wall Street or the intellecutal property legal fighting from the IT community. Why? Why does the ATRA pick only on injured people?

DRIVER POLISHING HER NAILS REAR-ENDS BICYCLIST: An Illinois cyclist was killed when struck from behind and pushed out into traffic by a female driver who was painting her fingernails. Charges may be coming. If so I wonder what color would look good at the trial? Shall I wear my pink pumps? They do look good with that black dress.

DRIVER ERROR: The Union Leader reports on an accident in Weare. An unidentified driver of a car swerved into the lane of a motorcyclist causing an accident and the death of the motorcycle driver.

JOHNNY CARSON SIDEKICK BRAKES NECK BUT NO X-RAY: In L.A. Ed McMahon settled his medical malpractice case against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Neelakantan Anand, an orthopedic surgeon for failure to diagnose what appears to be a broken neck. In the suit he alleged that when he visited the hospital after falling at the Day' Bel Air home at 8:40 p.m. on March 12, 2007, doctors failed to diagnose his neck fracture after the fall and discharged him without taking an X-ray. He’s now settled that suit and is pursuing a premise liability claim against the owner of the home. Robert Day is founder and chairman of TCW Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based investment management firm, and heads the W.M. Keck Foundation.

NUMBEROUS U.S. COMBAT SOLDIERS ARE BEING KILLED BY FAULTY SHOWER ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: U.S. soldiers are reportedly being electrocuted when showering, due to improper grounding. Multiple instances of soldiers being killed by shower electrocutions are reported. Ryan Maseth, a 24-year-old Green Beret, died in his shower January 2.

RUSH HOUR TAXI DRIVER: WGN reports on a pedestrian being struck and killed by a taxi driver who failed to stop. The man was identified as Robert Deighton, of the 5000 block of Foothills Road in Lake Oswego, Ore., according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office, though public records showed that he recently lived in the 1400 block of West Berwyn Avenue in Chicago.

PANDEMIC EXAGERATION? CBS News reports that as of May 2, 2009 19 people have died in Mexico from the “pandemic” that is sweeping the country. Fear mongering seems to sell and in this economy the fear stimulus package is in full swing. With a population 103,263,388 in 2005, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. I’m wondering if fear should set in when the 20^th dies or if we should wait and see if the death rate will climb19 divided by 103,263,388 = what %? There might be a slight overreaction being reported.

IMPROPER PASSING OF SLOW MOVING VEHICLE: In Carroll County, Iowa a driver of a motorcycle was killed as he attempted to pass a car, lost control and eventually struck a fixed guardrail. The Telegraph Herald reports, “The Carroll County Sheriff's Department has identified a Hanover man as the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash Saturday evening.  Slobodan Dejanovic, 46, was killed when he lost control of his eastbound motorcycle and struck a guardrail on the U.S. 52/Route 64 Mississippi River Bridge around 6:20 p.m. Saturday.”