Do you want to sue over your undies?

Every now and then you see a lawsuit that just makes you want to scratch your head. The news out of Pensacola Florida makes you want to do exactly that.

The plaintiff in this case sued Hanes for what he said was a defective pair of underwear. This underwear caused “sand belt” like abrasions to his penis. I’m not making this up folks.

Here is an excerpt from the final judgement.

I’m happy to report that Mr. Freed did not win his case. And I’m just as happy to report that he represented himself without the assistance of a lawyer.

The entire final judgement can be found Here.

Thanks to Above the Law for letting us know about this.

Tennessee Drivers are 50% More Likely to Die on Rural Roads

Do you like to drive on Tennessee’s beautiful country roads? Then you better make sure you are paying attention. Fifty percent more people die on rural roads  than on urban roads such as we have here Memphis and other cities.

It’s a fact that in Tennessee, more numbers of people are killed every year in accidents on rural roads than on urban roads. According to the NHTSA, 607 fatal accidents were recorded on rural roads last year, while in urban roads, that number was just 428.  That is a staggering difference in fatality rates. Especially when you take into account the fact that there are far fewer drivers on rural roads than there are on urban roads.

Tennessee seems to share this distinctive urban rural-divide with our neighbor Georgia, but that state has a much narrower gap between rural and urban accidents deaths – 700 on rural roads, and 687 on urban roads last year.

There are several reasons that contribute to this alarming divide.

• One major factor is the low rates of seat belt usage in these areas.  While drivers in Memphis and surrounding areas have a seat belt usage rate of 85 percent, the rate in rural areas is just between 60 and 65 percent.
• Drivers on rural roads also tend to be overconfident, because they have been driving on these roads all their lives. This could lead to a sense of complacency, which could be fatal in a motorist.
• Rural roads also tend to be poorly designed, with sharp curves that may take motorists by surprise.
• Authorities also blame the high fatality rate on speeding.  These back roads are not designed for traveling at high speeds.

What can be done to lower this high number of rural car fatalities? The Governor‘s Office of Highway Safety and Tennessee Department of Transportation say that they will soon implement education campaigns to increase awareness about seat belt use. And there are also plans to paint yellow stripes to warn motorists about sharp curves ahead.

These plans sound good, but will they really work? I grew up in rural Mississippi and can tell you from experience that I knew way too many people who where seriously hurt in car wrecks. What was the main reason – alcohol.

I wish that I had the stats to see if most of these fatalities occurred on Friday and Saturday nights, and the average age of the victims. The weekend entertainment in a small town usually consists of jumping in a car or truck with your buddies and drinking a few cold ones. No good decisions or outcomes occur from this.

The answer to solve this problem? It’s not as easy as a few public service announcements saying you need to wear a seat belt. The only way this will be solved is when poeple decide to act responsibly. And as long as there are people who are looking just to have a good time, that’s probably not going to happen.

Homepage video

Click Here to See More Videos

Top 4 reasons Truck Accident Claims are Tricky!

As a Memphis truck accident lawyer, I often see that truck accident victims have little idea how long and complicated the process of filing a claim can be. These claims can quickly become very complex, even when the accident seems like a simple and clear-cut case of negligence.

1. In an automobile accident, you are typically dealing with the other motorist or insurance company. Things tend to become very complicated- not to mention crowded – in case of a tractor trailer accident. That’s because these trucks are owned/operated by trucking companies, whose owners will immediately step in to minimize their liability after an accident.

2. It’s also important to understand that while it may be the first time you’ve been involved in an accident with a large truck, the trucking company has very likely had one or more of their drivers involved in such accidents. Companies also have access to extensive legal resources, and you can be sure their lawyers will begin to work to protect the company from liability as quickly as possible.

3. Filing a claim in a tractor trailer accident involves identifying the causes of the accident and determining where responsibility for these lie. This is where things begin to get extremely complicated. A tractor trailer accident could be caused by the negligence of the truck driver, malfunctioning of the truck, a dangerous road and other factors. There may be often more than a single factor involved in the crash, and therefore, there may be more than one party liable for damages. For instance, a malfunctioning truck could be the result of poor truck maintenance, placing the trucking company at liability. If an external maintenance company is responsible for maintenance and repairs, then that company could also be named in a claim.

4. A truck accident claim will involve an in-depth investigation including looking at the trucking history of the truck driver, his record of alcohol or substance abuse, truck maintenance records, the driver’s accident history, the company’s record of drug and alcohol testing, the driver’s log books to determine if he was driving beyond stipulated work hours, and several other factors.

A Memphis truck accident lawyer will be able to conduct the kind of extensive investigations that are necessary to identify the causes of the accident.

Memphis Bicycle Accident Lawyers Concerned about Increasing Severity of Bicycle Injuries

Memphis, Tennessee has long been regarded as one of the worst cities for bicyclists, with no bike lanes within city limits, and authorities that seem ignorant of the dangers that bicyclists and Memphis bicycle accident lawyers are aware of. A new study indicates that Memphis authorities must begin taking this lack of infrastructure for bicyclists, more seriously.

The researchers studied 329 bicycle accident injuries between 1996 and 2006. During this 10-year period, they found that bicycle injuries had actually increased in severity. Also, the hospitalization duration required to treat these injuries had also increased.

The study also found that certain serious injuries increased in frequency.  The rate of chest injuries increased by 15 percent, while abdominal injuries increased three-fold.

The study also throws up other facts that are deeply disturbing to Memphis bicycle accident lawyers, who know that cyclists not wearing helmets are at a higher risk for serious brain injuries in an accident. The researchers found that helmet use had not increased significantly over the study period, and, as a result, one thirds of the subjects in the study had suffered a serious head injury.

More Bicyclists, But Where’s the Infrastructure?

In Tennessee, as around the country, there has been an increase in the number of people bicycling, not just for leisure or fitness, but as part of their daily commute. The economic crisis has led to more people preferring to bicycle or walk to work, rather than shell out money for gasoline. It’s also the most enjoyable way for you to decrease the degree of your carbon footprint, besides being one of the best ways to stay fit. Bicycling has also always been popular in Tennessee, where we enjoy a mild climate, and streets that are considerably less congested than other similar-sized American cities.

However, the study does show that we need to be looking more closely at how we can enhance existing infrastructure to make roads safer for bicyclists. It makes little sense to encourage people to cut down their dependence on oil, stay fit and ease traffic congestion by bicycling, if we are not prepared to invest in  the greater numbers of bike lanes, smoother paved roads and safer streets that bicyclists need to get around safely.  Reducing their carbon footprint may not seem that important to people, if they have to worry that they will suffer serious injuries when they set out on their bike.

Chinese Drywall in Memphis and Mississippi

We’re hearing more and more each day here in our office from people who have been affected by Chinese drywall in their homes. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Chinese drywall, it was brought in during the housing boom of the mid 2000’s when drywall was in short supply. Unfortunately the product has been found to cause toxic mold in homes that were built with it.

There were over 500 million pounds of it imported between 2004 and 2008. Most of it has been used in the southeast, including the greater Memphis area and throughout Mississippi and Tennessee.

One huge problem that homeowners are now having is that if they report the drywall problem to their homeowners insurance company they will likely be dropped from coverage. Because most mortgage companies require that a house be insured, being dropped from coverage means that their homes could also be foreclosed on. It’s a viscous circle that leads to honest, hard-working citizens losing everything they have.

What do you need to do if you have chinese drywall? First don’t make any fast decision on calling your home insurer. You definitely don’t want to lose your insurance coverage. You do need to talk to a lawyer to see if you qualify to be included in any class action lawsuits involving Chinese drywall.

But even if you do get involved in a lawsuit there’s no guarantee that you’re going to see anything just yet. Because this involves a Chinese foreign corporation they must agree to be sued here in the U.S. And there is a big chance that this will never happen.

That doesn’t mean all hope is lost though. You can still pursue actions against your home builder and the supplier that the Chinese drywall came from.

If you have questions or want to learn more about this topic call our office at 901-754-1340 and we would be happy to help.

Memphis woman dies in car crash while being transported in an ambulance?

Ambulances and paramedics are supposed to be there to help you when you are in trouble. They are not supposed to cause your death, but that’s exactly what happened this past Friday when 78 year old Isabella Moore was killed in a car crash after the ambulance she was in ran a red light.

Who is at fault here? It seems it would be both the 25 year-old driver of the ambulance, James Gatewood, and the ambulance company, American Mobile Healthcare, LLC.  Mr. Gatewood was driving the ambulance even though he did not have a valid driver’s license. It would have been the duty of the ambulance company to make sure that all it’s drivers were properly licensed and adhere to proper safety codes. It apparent in this case that both of these duties were violated.

Our condolences go out to Mrs. Moore’s family for her untimely passing. No one should have to pay with their life because someone neglected their duty to properly operate a vehicle, and a company neglected it’s duty in letting someone who wasn’t licensed properly drive the vehicle at all.