Arizona Injury Case

In 2009 the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 10, 839 people died from alcohol related car crashes. To reduce the number of alcohol related deaths in the United States the NHTSA has created “No Refusal Weekends”.

Arizona is among the states that participate in “No Refusal Weekends” which allows local authorities to obtain search warrants for blood samples from suspected impaired drivers who refuse breathalyzer tests. Many counties have judges and magistrates on call for “No Refusal Weekends”. Having immediate access to warrants from judges and nurses on staff to take blood samples ensures that evidence will be available for a future court case. The NHTSA found that on average in the United States 22.4 percent of people pulled over refuse to take a breathalyzer test.

“No Refusal Weekends” are highly publicized and have had excellent success rates. “No Refusal Weekends” often occur over holidays such as New Years, Memorial Day, and The 4th of July.

Texas is among the states participating in the campaign created by the NHTSA. Texas began the campaign for safety in 2005 after about 5o percent of people pulled over refused a breathalyzer. Since the “No Refusal Weekends started, refusal rates are down to 10 percent.

No refusal weekends can make a difference and save lives.

As we hit the peak of the summer traveling season tire checks and maintenance are essential to the safety of your family. All motorists should check for proper inflation and wear and tear damage before driving in hot weather. The Department of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that over a 5 year period from 2005 to 2009 nearly 3,400 people died and an estimated 116,000 were injured in tired related crashes. “While it’s true improperly maintained tires can contribute to a crash at any time of year, it is particularly critical for motorists to check tires during hot weather, when families and luggage often overload vehicles for long vacation trips” according to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Older tires combined with Arizona summer heat have the potential to cause a deadly accident. Aging tires are more susceptible to heat stress especially if they are not properly inflated. An improperly inflated tire can over heat and potentially cause a blowout. Read your vehicle owners manual to find out the correct tire pressure and if necessary adjust the pressure to compensate for hotter weather. Properly inflated tires will also improve gas mileage and the tires will last longer.

To ensure safety all summer, a “summer tire” is available through most major tire companies. Summer tires are made from a special rubber that is much softer than snow or all season tires. Summer tires need to be replaced more often then all season tires and are slightly more expensive. However they provide a great degree of safety especially before going on a high speed and long distance family vacation.

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) is sponsoring its 5th annual elder abuse awareness day on June 15th. The campaign to end elder abuse first began in 2009, and urges individuals, families, community groups, organizations, and businesses to participate in elder abuse awareness.

Abuse against elders consists of physical, sexual, and financial/material abuse. The United States General Accounting Office found that there are 1.5 million vulnerable, disabled, and elderly individuals residing in nursing homes. Although nursing homes are supposed to provide care and protection they are often the subject of investigation by law enforcement agencies for abuse against their residents.

Victims of elder abuse do not often come forward for lack of retaliation, fear of prosecuting a family member, or the lack of capacity to describe the crime or perpetrator. State criminal statutes, adult protective laws, and federal organizations such as Medicare have defined and established penalties for abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults. There has been a recent increase in prosecution of those that abuse elders because of the aggressiveness of Medicare and attorneys specializing in this type of crime.

If you suspect elder abuse in an adult care facility or nursing home please contact 1-877-767-2385 for the Arizona abuse neglect, or exploitation hotline.

Teens are faced with many new responsibilities as they enter high school, including getting a driver’s license. It is important for teens to understand the risks of driving and know that it is never safe to drink and drive or get into a car with a driver that has been drinking. Safe driving tips for teens should be taught not only in driver’s education courses, but at home.

The Center for Disease and Control (CDC) found that in 2007, nearly 3 out of 10 teens reported that, within the previous month, they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. Also, 1 in 10 teens reported having driven after drinking alcohol within the same one-month period.

The CDC also found that in 2008, nearly 3 out of every 4 teen drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt. In 2008, 25% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had a BAC of 0.08 g/dl or higher.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Arizona has seen 219 DUI related fatalities in the past year. Arizona is ranked number 8 on the DUI related deaths with 1 being the lowest. MADD attributes this lowered number to the strict first time offender punishments.

It is unfortunately true that many people have encountered drunk drivers on the road or worse, during an accident. Some people are actually drunk drivers themselves. Did you know that on average, a drunk driver gets behind the wheel 87 times before their first arrest (MADD 2011)? What many people do not realize however is that death due to an impaired driver is no rare occurrence. In fact, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, has found that it is such a frequent occurrence that every 50 minutes, somebody in the United States dies because of either his or her drunk driving, or someone else’s. As Arizona drunk driving victim attorneys, we have seen too many nightmare stories that involve a loved one being hurt or killed due to such driving.

It is no longer an option to ignore or underestimate such a horribly powerful force in the world today. And because it is April, Alcohol Awareness Month, we should start now in taking even the smallest step towards positive action in the prevention of drunk driving.

A lot of people find themselves in a situation wherein they simply do not know how to react to a certain situation. Seeing a drunk driver is such a situation for some. There are people who shake their heads in frustration and do not do anything about it. There are some who are simply tolerant because they do not know what else to be.

But now, there is no longer any time to waste on hesitation. If you truly care about the health and well-being of your peers and your loved ones, you should do the following. When you see a car possibly being driven by a drunk driver, do not attempt to be a hero by driving up next to it and telling the driver to stop. This could lead to a collision. Report the plate number, details of the car, and the location and direction it is traveling to 911. Finally, leave the rest to the professionals.

If you know anyone who is a victim to a DUI accident, your free consultation is waiting at (602) 267-1280.

Dog bites injure a lot of people in the US alone; almost 2% of the total U.S. population annually suffers a dog bite-related injury. This equates to 4.7 million people who are bitten every year by dogs (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). About one of every 6, or 800,000 bites every year is serious enough that the person bitten needs a medical attention.

For many people, the family dog is just as much a part of the family as a child; so when the pet suffers an injury due to a dog attack, it can be very devastating. Recently in northwestern Phoenix, a Schnauzer-Chihuahua mix dog was left on the owner’s yard for a moment and after a few minutes found it being attacked by two pit-bulls. Their colors were white and brown.

During the attack of the dogs to their pet, the owner and his son intervened with the dogfight and ended up with a small injury–the son was bitten on the leg. Luckily the boy did not need medical attention for the minor bite. The dog was then traced by police officers. They also found that one of the pit bulls was involved in a dog bite incident 10 days prior to this incident.

Arizona is not a “one bite free” state. No matter if a dog has attacked someone 6 times or if the attack is the first time, dog owners have very strict liability when it comes to dog bite injuries. After the first year after a dog bite injury, dog owners have more defenses to protect themselves, so it is important for victims of dog bite injuries to contact an attorney as soon as possible to avoid missing the deadlines.

If you or a loved one have suffered an injury due to a dog bite injury, give us a call for your free consultation at (602) 267-1280, or (480) 753-4534.

Last fall, we became the Southwestern regional sponors of the American Lawyer Academy’s Viral Video Scholarship Contest. The program is dedicated to the thousands of people who lose their lives or suffer serious injuries due to the negligence of a distracted or unsafe driver. Entries were accepted up until March 31st and now the finalists’ entries are open for public voting!

Students were instructed to create a video promoting safe driving habits and submit it for the chance to receive up to a $10,000 scholarship. We received many entries from local students and from our surrounding states and now voting is open to the public! The creativity in these entries is amazing. There are quite a few humorous ones, for example one entry features combinations of things you would never mix together, like chocolate and pickles! Another entry is a very touching scene of an older and younger brother, and another shows the things teens could be missing out on if they were injured or killed in an accident. Other videos take a more literal approach to the assignment and really provoke the viewer to think twice before opening up that text message behind the wheel.

You can cast your vote to help determine our top 3 finalists until April 22nd, when the top 3 entries will be selected and opened again for voting for the grand prizes. We hope you enjoy watching these videos, and wish the best of luck to all entrants!

Motorcycle riding can be exhilarating, whether you have a cruiser, sport bike, or even a scooter or moped to roam the streets; but the risk of being involved in a serious car accident is unfortunately very high since there’s not much to protect riders in a collision. The National Safety Council (NSC) recorded that there are more than 12 million motor vehicle related accidents every year, involving over 20 million vehicles. These accidents result in the disabling injuries of approximately two million people out of all the five million people involved in nonfatal accidents. It is also stated that one million of the two million people who suffered from disabling injuries were involved in a work-related auto accident.

A vehicular accident took place at Mountain Shadows Education Center involving a moped, driven by a teacher with the Apache Junction Unified School District. There were actually 2 impacts in the accident; The first instance of the accident gave the teacher minor injuries, but the second instance killed him. Along with the second instance, a bystander that helped the teacher from the first incident was also sent to the hospital with an unknown condition.

Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds are very common and can be very efficient vehicles, but unfortunately riders have a higher risk of severe accidents due to the nature of the vehicle. Some riders choose to wear safety accessories like a helmet to lessen the injuries if ever an accident happens.

If you’ve been involved in a moped or motorcycle accident, we are here to answer your questions and give you a free consultation today at (480) 753-4534.

Car accidents can happen at any point in time and unfortunately, they are not always preventable. Some accidents are much more serious in nature than others. Depending on the severity of the accident, there is a chance that a vehicle could endure a rollover after hitting or crashing at a very high speed. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are approximately 11 million traffic collisions a year and 3% of those collisions result in rollovers (2002). It is also been recorded that SUVs have the highest percentage of rollovers when it comes to private vehicles.

Rollovers are very dangerous and very often they result in serious injuries or death, which is unfortunately what happened at 35thavenue and Dobbins in Phoenix last Tuesday.

The Phoenix Fire Department indicated that there were five passengers inside the SUV when it rolled over. Three of them were 18 years old and the other two passengers’ ages are still unknown.

When the rollover took place, two of the five passengers suffered serious injuries after being ejected from the vehicle. Another passenger was also ejected from the SUV after the rollover. As of this moment, the cause of the rollover is still unknown.

Rollovers are frequently caused by a vehicle taking a turn at too fast a speed. Wearing a seatbelt is your best defense in the case of a roll over as they can help keep you secure in the car, which is the safest place to be in an accident in most cases. Without a seatbelt, passengers can be thrown about the cabin and sustain additional injuries.

If you or anyone who has suffered a rollover crash, please call us today for free advice and a consultation regarding your case at (480) 753-4534.

Tempe police respond to hundreds of car accidents every day. They have found some both good and bad changes in regards to car crashes as opposed to the previous year (AZ Central 3/3/2011).

According to their report, fatal accidents reached 9 last year, 2 more than there were in 2009. The involvement of alcohol impairment in fatal crashes also increased to a startling 44 percent from 28 percent during the same period.

On a positive note, over all crashes were down by 3.9 percent in 2010.

Other interesting facts revealed by the report: the most common traffic violation which resulted in a fatal crash was speeding; motor vehicle vs. bicycle was the most common type of fatal collision, with 3 bicyclists killed in 2010; and the age group most involved in fatal crashes was 21 to 25 years of age.

While data are not yet available, we can expect that traffic fatalities for 2010 will be lower than back in 2009 on a statewide scale. This is based on the trend that has been happening in the recent years. Arizona had 807 traffic fatalities recorded in 2009 reflecting a 14 percent decrease compared to 2008, which was also a decline from 2007’s traffic fatalities (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

Aggressive campaigns against major causes of car crashes such us DUI and speeding in the past few years plays a big role in this positive change, as well as better safety equipment in cars.

For victims of car crashes and other accidents in the Arizona area, we are available for a free consultation at (602) 267-1280.