Deaths related to car, truck and motorcycle accidents increased by 10.5% in 2021, the highest number of deaths on U.S. roadways in a single year since 2005. Unfortunately, the bad news does not end there. Pedestrian deaths increased by 13% with 7,342 pedestrians killed in a single year. Bicyclist deaths increased by 5% with 985 bicyclists losing their lives last year. Now for the better news, the federal government has taken two significant steps to try to reduce U.S. roadway deaths, and there are steps you can take too. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Bus Accidents
The Problem with Advice
We all give advice. Whether you are a lawyer, teacher, parent, doctor, plumber, etc.., at some point, someone is going to ask for your advice. But here is the thing about the advice you seek: you do not know how good it is until you do the exact opposite.[1]
Why do people not follow advice? Well, some folks do not really want advice. They want permission. They are only asking as a way of confirming what they wanted to do in the first place. The other main reason people do not follow advice is because it is not easy. Having the discipline to do what you know you should do can be hard i.e., exercising, saving for retirement, studying for exams, etc. So, we thought we would give you some important legal advice that is easy to follow and, trust us, you won’t know how good it is unless you don’t follow it. Continue reading
How To Win an Accident Case?
If you have Googled “How to Win an Accident Case” or “How Much Can I Sue for in an Accident Case” or “How to File an Accident Lawsuit” or anything similar to these types of searches, please proceed with extreme caution. If you were in an accident with very minor, fully resolved injuries (like your neck was a little sore for a couple of days and without any medical intervention it completely improved), you do not need a lawyer. But anything beyond that, you really should, at a minimum, consult an injury lawyer. Now let us tell you why. Continue reading
Incredible Advancement for Spinal Cord Injury Victims and Its Impact on Litigation
In 2017, Michel Roccati was involved in a motorcycle accident. His spinal cord was completely severed and he was rendered paraplegic. Recently, doctors implanted an electrode in his spine and he is now able to walk again, and not just a few steps with lots of assistance, but a mile with a simple rolling walker. This could be a game-changer for people who suffer paraplegic and quadriplegic injuries in car, motorcycle, truck and other types of accidents. In the meantime, how could this change the lawsuits and recoveries arising from those accidents? Continue reading
Immediate U-Turn Needed According to Recent Crash Stats
Traffic deaths continue to surge. For the first nine months of 2021, 31,720 people lost their lives in car accidents. For reference, Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium at MTSU has a capacity of 30,778. For that same time period in 2020, deaths from car accidents increased 12% – the biggest increase over a 9 month period since the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) began keeping records in 1975. In short, people are dying on our roads in record numbers. So what is being done to reverse this trend and what can you do to protect yourself? Continue reading
Breaking News: Speed Kills (and Injures)
On this day in 1904, Henry Ford set a land-speed record of 91.37 miles per hour in Michigan. A lot has changed since then. Ninety-one miles per hour is hardly a record. In Nashville, you can find folks doing that speed during rush hour on Interstate 65. But like so many of our decisions and actions, drivers that speed are not just placing themselves at risk but others on the road as well. Do you know how many accidents were caused by speeding last year? More importantly, how do you keep you and your loved ones safe on the roadway? Continue reading
Bad Accidents and Good Fortune
Last week, author Seth Godin wrote a blog post about good and bad accidents and, to be honest, we keep thinking about it. Perhaps Seth’s article has stuck with us because at the Law Offices of John Day, our award-winning lawyers see bad accidents and their lasting aftermath every single day. Quite frankly, it can get you down. Needless injuries and deaths caused by carelessness can be hard to stomach day in and day out. So what keeps us going? Good fortune. Or as Seth put it, good accidents. In follow-up to Thanksgiving, we thought we would share some with you. Continue reading
Deadly Car Accidents Increase Significantly in First Six Months of 2021
Two weeks ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the statistics for fatal traffic accidents for January through June of 2021, and the numbers are depressing. More than 20,000 people lost their lives in the first half of 2021, an increase of 18.4%. Of course, 2020 saw major changes in driving behaviors, but the jump can’t simply be chalked up to the decrease in driving in 2020. Why? Because the first half of 2021 is the largest number of fatalities from January to June since 2006. The NHTSA has also reached some conclusions as to what is causing so many car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents and what drivers can do to protect themselves and others on the road. Continue reading
National Use Your Common Sense Day
November 4, 2021 is National Use Your Common Sense Day. Yes, we are serious. Our only problem with this particular national observance is that it is limited to only a day. Quite frankly, and I think most of you will agree, it should be Use Your Common Sense Day every single day. At the Law Offices of John Day, we see the results of failing to use common sense so we have some suggestions on where people might want to concentrate their efforts. We encourage you to join us in our little rant and add your lack-of-common-sense pet peeve in the comments. So here we go, this is our list: Continue reading
Another Reason Not to Drive Distracted: Voided Insurance Coverage
An insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance company. At its most basic, you agree to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay certain claims. For instance, in an Accidental Death policy, the insurance company agrees to pay benefits to the designated beneficiary in the event the insured dies in an accidental manner such as a car accident. Again, that seems relatively straight-forward. And if that were the only sentence in the policy it would be very simple. But anyone who has ever purchased insurance knows, insurance contracts are long, complex and filled with exceptions or exclusions. And texting and driving may be an exclusion that could void the insurance coverage for which you have been paying, maybe for years or decades. Let us explain. Continue reading