What do you do if you were the passenger who was hurt in a car wreck?

In light of one of my recent posts where I wrote about a passenger who was killed in an accident I thought I would discuss the matter of what to do if you were hurt in a car wreck and you were the passenger

For this post I’m going to use two different examples.

Here’s Scenario #1:

You and your co-worker are carpooling. He was late to pick you up and now he’s driving like a mad man to make it to work on time. As you get near an intersection the light in front of you turns yellow, but your co-worker isn’t about to slow down. Instead he guns the accellorator and tries to zip through the light, which is now red. Unfortunately he didn’t care to notice the oncoming Suburban that hammers your side of the car. 

You are transported by ambulance to the closest hospital where you are treated for lumbar fractures, lacerated pancreas and TBI (traumatic brain injury). You’re doctor’s bill quickly climb and before you’re released, two weeks later, you owe $300,000 in medical bills and don’t have any insurance.

What do you do?

In this situation your co-worker would be the “at-fault” driver. He was negligent in running the red light and causing your injuries. If not for him and his negligence you would not be in the situation you are right now.

And don’t worry about the fact that you are suing “him”. None of us want to cause our family and friends to be pushed into debt because of a lawsuit we bring against them, right? But don’t worry,your lawyer will not be going after their personal funds. Your lawyer will be attacking the co-worker’s insurance. We don’t want to take anyone’s home away from them!

Now forScenario #2.

Let’s assume the same facts as above except this time your co-worker was driving properly, but the driver who hit you ran the red light.

In this case you’re still the passenger who was hurt in a car wreck but this time you would bring a lawsuit against the driver of the Suburban that hit you.

Why?

You would sue the other driver because now he is the one who was at fault. The other driver was the person who was negligent and who caused the wreck, not your co-worker.

In Either Scenario:

The first thing you should do is find the best memphis personal injury lawyer you can find. They would help you with the process of bringing a lawsuit against your co-worker to recover damages that would allow you to pay off your medical bills, receive money for your lost wages due to missed work, and make sure you recieve enough funds to help you fully recover from any physical problems.

Call my office at 901-754-1340 if you have any questions that you would like to ask me.

Another deadly accident on Walnut Grove in Memphis

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Shantwan Jackson. Shantwan was student at Houston High School in Germantown, TN and by all accounts of those who knew him, he was a fantastic kid.

He was the passenger in an accident that occurred this morning on east Walnut Grove road, near Houston Levee, in the Cordova area of Memphis.  According to police reports Mr. Jackson was a passenger in a 2000 Camaro that was driven by 17-year-old Tyler Anderson.

Apparently Mr. Anderson was passing other vehicles when he lost control of the Camaro, causing it to skid into opposing traffic and be struck by a Land Rover driven by 38-year-old Kimberly Smith.

Mr. Anderson is still in critical condition at The Med and Ms. Smith was transported to Baptist Hospital.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was involved in this horrible car wreck this morning in Memphis.

And as a father of two children I deeply pray for the family of Mr. Jackson. I can not imagine the pain and loss they are going through at this very moment. The love parents have for their children is hard to explain, and impossible to put a value on. I’m sure the Jackson’s will never “get over” this loss, but I do hope that the future brings them peace.

The Commercial Appeal has more details of the accident HERE.

Motorcycle Safety Study Reveals High Risk of Brain Injuries for Non- Helmeted Motorcyclists

As a Memphis motorcycle accident lawyer, I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is to neglect wearing helmets while riding. AGAIN – I can’t stress enough how dangerous such behavior is!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as part of its efforts to minimize motorcycle crashes, has released the results of a study into the risk of brain injury in motorcyclists who neglect to wear a helmet.

The study focused on 104,472 motorcyclists from 18 states, who were involved in motorcycle accidents between 2003 and 2005. Of these motorcyclists, 57% were wearing helmets at the time of the accident, while 43% were not wearing helmets. There was one tragic factor in both the groups, and it won’t surprise Memphis motorcycle accident lawyers in the least.

In both groups, 40 percent of motorcyclists either died in the accident, or sustained injuries serious enough to require hospital care. Also not surprisingly, the kind and severity of injuries were much higher in the non-helmeted group.

I noticed several strong points in the study that should encourage motorcyclists to think twice before they venture out on their wheels without a helmet.

• Among helmeted motorcyclists, 15 percent suffered a traumatic brain injury. Among non-helmeted motorcyclists, however, 21 percent suffered a traumatic brain injury.

• 9 percent of non-helmeted motorcyclists sustained minor to moderate brain injuries, compared to 7 percent for helmeted motorcyclists.

• More than 7 percent of non-helmeted motorcyclists suffered TBI, while among helmeted motorcyclists, that percentage was much lower at 4.7.

Earlier studies by the NHTSA had shown that the increase in motorcycle accident fatally rates had been especially high in older riders, aged above 40. These riders now comprise 50 percent of all motorcycle accident fatalities. Ten years ago, motorcyclists above 40 formed just 33 percent of motorcyclist fatalities.

There is nothing to beat the thrill of riding on a two wheeler. These vehicles reduce traffic congestion, and are much more fuel efficient. However, it’s extremely foolish to assume that you will have a safe ride home when you neglect to wear proper head gear.

In Tennessee, we have lagged behind in conducting motorcycle awareness campaigns, and increasing helmet use. As a Memphis motorcycle accident attorney, I believe therein lies the secret to reducing crash fatality rates.

Mississippi Dog Bite Law

For some reason or another I’ve noticed lately that I seem to be having a lot of search engine traffic coming from people who are trying to find information about pit bulls or dog bites. I’m not exactly sure why we’ve had such a rush of people looking for information, but because of it I’m going to post more information about dog bite cases here in Memphis and the midsouth area.

Because I represent dog bite victims from all over the states of Tennessee and Mississippi I include information for both states on this site.

In the past I have taken an in depth look at Tennessee dog bite law and those posts can be found HERE. This post looks for into the specifics of Mississippi dog bite law.

Dog bite laws in Mississippi lean more to the side of the dog owner than they do to the injured person who was actually bitten by the dog.

That the person bitten by the dog must prove that the negligence of the owner caused the injury.

To prove this negligence, the person who was bitten by the dog must show some proof that the dog “exhibited some dangerous propensity prior to the attack and that the owner knew, or reasonably should have known, of the dog’s dangerous propensity”.

In non lawyer talk – the victim must offer some kind of proof that the dog’s owner should have reasonably foreseen that the animal was likely to attack and bite someone.

This doesn’t mean that you have to show that the dog was likely to bite you. It just means that you must give some kind of proof that shows the dog was vicious and was likely to bite someone in general.

The two most important cases on Mississippi dog bite law are Poy v. Grayson and Mongeon v. A& V Enterprises, Inc. You can click on either case to read the court’s decisions.

If you’ve been bitten by a dog here in Memphis, or anywhere in Mississippi or Tennessee, and have questions give me a call!