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14-Year-Old Bicyclist Lured Out At 3 A.M. to Meet MySpace Girl Struck & Killed On Highway

Pierce Egerton — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:47:07 GMT

Winston-Salem police confirmed that 14-year-old Mark Zanzarella of Clemmons was killed Sunday morning while riding his bicycle on U.S. 311 near Union Cross Road. According to WXII, the accident occurred about 3 a.m., when a vehicle driven by 18-year-old Angelica Rincon hit the bicycle while traveling southbound on 311.

The young victim was riding a pink bicycle and was either crossing the roadway from east to west or proceeding in the left southbound lane. Police said they do not believe that speed or alcohol was a factor in the deadly crash.

WFMY is reporting that the teen’s mother, Earlene Jones, said he took his little sister’s bike to go meet a girl he met on MySpace. Mrs. Jones believed Mark was on the way from Clemmons to Kernersville.

According to Fox8, police would like to speak to the driver of a red pickup truck who stopped to help. They believe he may have witnessed the accident. Police are also asking anyone else with information about the accident to call them at 336.773.7700.

According to WFMY this is the 14th traffic death this year in Winston-Salem. There were only 6 fatalities during the same period last year.

Update 07/13/09: By all accounts, Mark was a special young man. As you can see from the comments below, his friends and family treasured him and are devastated at his loss. Mark's Dad, Cosmo Zanzarella told the Winston-Salem Journal that his son was outgoing but had a sensitive side, an assessment echoed by Mark's friends and neighbors. He will certainly be missed by them all.

I suppose at this point I should add something about bicycle safety tips and keeping a sharp lookout while driving at night. But there is a time to examine such matters and a time to grieve. Now is the time to celebrate a sparkling, but too-brief life.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Michael Jackson, Painkillers, and Injury Victims: A Cautionary Tale

Pierce Egerton — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:14:42 GMT

Reports are emerging that Michael Jackson’s death may have involved overuse of prescription painkillers such as Demerol. It was widely reported that Michael first became addicted to prescription drugs in the 1990s while recovering from a painful burn he experienced during the filming of a Pepsi ad.

TMZ.com is reporting that Jackson family members and others have been worried for quite some time that Michael was unable to perform as a result of drug use. TMZ also reports that police are trying to locate the physician who administered an injection containing Demerol to Jackson shortly before his death.

Sadly, I’m not surprised. Our firm has represented accident victims for many years. Often people who have suffered painful injuries are prescribed highly addictive medications. Most of the time physicians and medical staff carefully monitor their patients’ use of painkillers.

Sometimes, however, highly addictive drugs are prescribed and not closely monitored. When this happens injury victims with no history of illicit drug use can find themselves powerfully hooked on prescription drugs.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently released a survey showing a 23% decline in illicit drug use over the last five years. However, the report shows that abuse of prescription drugs is on the increase.

We encourage our seriously injured clients and their families to stay informed about medications they receive. We also recommend that they closely question their doctors and pharmacists about the potential side effects -- including risk of addiction -- of any medication they are prescribed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Uninsured Drivers: Who Are These People?

Pierce Egerton — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:00:53 GMT

One of the best things about being an injury lawyer is the sense of satisfaction that comes from helping a client and his or her family recover from the often crushing financial strain that accompanies a serious injury. The medical bills can be enormous and the injured person is often out of work for weeks or months. It is my job to help free families from this financial vise and I feel privileged that I have the opportunity to do such fulfilling work.

There is a sad flipside, however. Early in my career, I learned that perhaps the most unpleasant duty for an injury attorney is explaining to a seriously injured person that there is no money available to pay their medical bills or cover the income they lost as a result of the accident.

What Is An Uninsured Driver?

This situation arises most frequently in auto crash cases when the person who caused the accident was driving without a valid insurance policy. Like other states, North Carolina law requires drivers to carry liability insurance; despite these laws, as you read this, millions of people are driving our nation’s interstates and highways without valid insurance. Current estimates place the number of uninsured drivers on our roads at 15% -- that’s one in every seven motorists.

Who Are These People?

A growing number of these uninsured motorists are people hit hard by the economic downturn. These are folks who can’t make ends meet and let their insurance coverage lapse.

A lot of them, however, are among the most dangerous drivers on the road -- people whose licenses were revoked after convictions for offenses such as DWI and Careless & Reckless driving. According to government estimates from 2004, uninsured drivers are ten times more likely to have DWI convictions and six times more likely to have convictions for driving an unsafe vehicle.

Wayne Parsons posted an eye-opening piece yesterday outlining how serious the threat from drunk driving really is. What we often don’t hear about drunk driving is that innocent people are often victimized twice at the hands of the drunk driver. The victims suffer not only the horrific physical injuries inflicted in the crash, but they also suffer a devastating financial blow when the drunk driver is also uninsured.

How Do I Protect Myself and My Family From Uninsured Drivers?

As my friend Rick Shapiro wrote Monday in his blog, you can make sure your auto insurance includes Uninsured and Underinsured coverage. These types of coverage step in to make a financial recovery available to you if you are injured due to the negligence of a driver who has little or no insurance coverage. Since this coverage protects you, your family and your passengers, it is important that your policy provides high limits for these coverages.

In North Carolina and many other states you can also purchase Medical Payments coverage (also referred to as medpay) with your auto policy. This type of insurance is not a substitute for uninsured coverage. However, for most folks, it will help take some of the sting out of your medical bills.

What Else Is Being Done About This Problem?

Taking a page from their efforts to curb drunken driving, highway patrol and local police throughout the nation are setting up insurance checkpoints. Drivers are required to produce proof of car insurance. For those who can’t produce proof of insurance, the fines can be steep. In many communities, frustrated police and judges are ordering vehicle seizures, license suspensions, misdemeanor charges and even jail time in some circumstances.

Call Your Agent

Before you head out onto the interstates and highways this Labor Day weekend, make sure your auto policy covers you against the risk of being hit by an uninsured driver. Give your insurance agent a call. Ask whether you have Uninsured and Underinsured coverage and what the limits of the coverage are.

Here are the other posts in this ongoing series about interstate safety:

Are Double-Bottomed Semis More or Less Dangerous to You? - Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C. (Michigan), August 26, 2009

Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash? - Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm (Iowa), August 25, 2009

Hawaii Freeway Chronicles #1: What Are The Danger Points On H-1, H-2 and H-3?, by Wayne Parsons of Wayne Parsons Law Offices. (Hawaii), August 27, 2009

The Interstate Highway Graveyard, “Speed Kills”, Lombardi, August 28, 2009

Why Speeders on the Highway Cause More Serious Accidents, Glass, August 28, 2009

Death and Injury On Interstate Highways Increase With Higher Speed Limits, Wayne Parsons, August 29, 2009 2:31 AM

Drunk Drivers Caused 40% of Traffic Fatalities In Hawaii In 2006, Wayne Parsons, August 31, 2009 12:16 AM

Interstate Highways Are No Place For Drunk Drivers Over The Labor Day Weekend Wayne Parsons | September 01, 2009 4:36 PM

Uninsured Motorist Car Insurance: It’s Your Most Important Car Insurance and Here Is Why | September 01, 2009 10:30 AM

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Foreclosed Homes, Abandoned Swimming Pools: A Growing Hazard to Neighborhoods

Lawrence Egerton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:24:11 GMT

With the number of foreclosed homes continuing to rise each day, more and more community pools are being left unattended. Those that are left undrained become stagnant, algae-filled breeding grounds for mosquitoes, as well as a drowning hazard. Even pools that have been drained pose a significant danger to the public, especially children.

When a pool supervised by adults and 8 lifeguards is not enough to stop child deaths, imagine the danger an unattended cloudy pool contains. Drowning deaths caused by these public hazards can be prevented, but who is responsible for keeping these pools safe?

_{http://www.flickr.com/photos/eole/}_/_{CC BY-NC-SA 2.0}

When the homeowner is forced from the home, and it sits unsold, who is responsible for the public health and safety? Even with the home vacant, the homeowners association should have some responsibility to the neighborhood as a whole. Especially when the pools that have fallen into disuse are community pools. The city and county also have some responsibility to protect public welfare.

address the issue. But, most importantly, make sure your kids understand the dangers and to steer clear of abandoned pools.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lawrence Egerton

Ocracoke Fireworks Explosion Victim Survived by Young Child

Pierce Egerton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:45:07 GMT

In an even more tragic turn to the Ocracoke fireworks explosion, that took the lives of four people last Saturday, it has been brought to my attention that the woman who died in the explosion was a single mother. Lisa Simmons of Goldsboro, NC, was the single mother of an 8-year-old son.

A trust has been opened in his name, and I encourage anyone who is able to make a contribution on his behalf. The account has been set up with Wachovia. Simply tell them you want to make a deposit to the Trust account of Avery Jackson Simmons or give them this account number: 1010233955827

The sole survivor of the accident, Marquez Holland, continues to receive treatment at UNC Hospital. And underwent surgery for his injuries on Tuesday. "A doctor at the burn center told the AP that Holland is expected to recover but will need extensive therapy."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

5-Year-Old Severely Mauled in Attack by Five Rottweilers -- Time for Vicious Breed Law?

Pierce Egerton — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:06:55 GMT

A 5-year-old Surry County boy was severely injured near Pilot Mountain when five Rottweilers attacked him Friday afternoon at his home. The boy’s grandfather, Claude Childress, said he suffered bite wounds to his face, neck, shoulders, chest and stomach.

Detectives who responded to the scene said between 20 and 30 Rottweilers live on the property. Fox 8 is reporting that the attack occurred when several of the animals were being fed by an adult.

The young boy was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center where he is in critical condition.

Mr. Childress, who lives next door, said that he never saw the dogs attack anyone before but said he wasn’t comfortable with the Rottweilers.

It seems inevitable that this tragic incident will reignite the debate over whether certain breeds such as Rottweilers and Pitt Bulls are inherently dangerous. In North Carolina we have a version of the so called “one free bite” rule. Under this law a dog is not determined to be a “vicious dog” until it has attacked a person.

Many victims’ advocates and others contend that certain dog breeds are more prone to attack humans and that these breeds should be treated as “vicious dogs” under the law regardless of prior behavior. Owners of vicious dogs are required to take more stringent steps to control their animal and are subject to strict liability when the animal causes injury.

I’d be interested to hear from bite victims, dog owners, injury lawyers and others about this issue. Is it time to enact “vicious breed” laws in North Carolina and other jurisdictions?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Highway Cowards - Running From Decency & Responsibility

Pierce Egerton — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:08:33 GMT

The past week or so several of my colleagues and I have written about the perils posed by uninsured drivers. Many of the postings pointed out that uninsured drivers are more likely to be persons who’ve had their licenses revoked for various offenses such as DWI, careless and reckless, etc. In other words, uninsured drivers are often among the most dangerous on the road.

Most of our articles pointed out that the best way to protect yourself from financial loss at the hands of an uninsured driver is through the purchase of uninsured motorist coverage.

There is another deadly peril on the roads, however, that uninsured motorist insurance covers: the hit and run driver. Every year thousands of people are injured or killed in accidents caused by drivers who flee the scene. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, almost 4% of all deadly collisions in 2001 involved a hit and run driver. San Francisco Chronicle, 27 July 2003.

Unless the identity of the hit and run driver is subsequently discovered, the injured victims have no way of determining whether that driver has insurance. In effect then, the unidentified hit and run driver is also an uninsured driver.

You can insure yourself against hit and run drivers the same way you protect yourself from uninsured drivers -- by adding uninsured motorist coverage to your auto policy. Check with your agent today!

Take a look at these postings which are part of the ongoing series on interstate and highway safety.

Are Double-Bottomed Semis More or Less Dangerous to You? - Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C.(Michigan), August 26, 2009

Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash? - Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm (Iowa), August 25, 2009

Hawaii Freeway Chronicles #1: What Are The Danger Points On H-1, H-2 and H-3?, by Wayne Parsons of Wayne Parsons Law Offices. (Hawaii), August 27, 2009

The Interstate Highway Graveyard, “Speed Kills”, Lombardi, August 28, 2009

Why Speeders on the Highway Cause More Serious Accidents, Glass, August 28, 2009

Death and Injury On Interstate Highways Increase With Higher Speed Limits, Wayne Parsons, August 29, 2009 2:31 AM

Drunk Drivers Caused 40% of Traffic Fatalities In Hawaii In 2006, Wayne Parsons, August 31, 2009 12:16 AM

Interstate Highways Are No Place For Drunk Drivers Over The Labor Day Weekend Wayne Parsons | September 01, 2009 4:36 PM

Uninsured Motorist Car Insurance: It’s Your Most Important Car Insurance and Here Is Why | Rick Shapiro, September 01, 2009 10:30 AM

Uninsured Drivers: Who Are These People?, Pierce Egerton | September 02, 2009 12:00 PM

Risky Drivers Don't Just Drive Drunk and Speed - They Often Don't have Insurance by Wayne Parsons | September 03, 2009 4:09 PM

Uninsured Drivers On The Highways: Cause of Higher Rates of Injuries & Deaths?

Rick Shapiro | September 07, 2009 1:15 PM

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Wal-Mart Sues Disabled Women to Recoup Medical Benefits

Dan Deuterman — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:47:36 GMT

When Debbie Shank began working as a stock clerk at Wal-Mart, she joined the company's health and benefits plan and paid her premiums as insurance against injury or illness.

In 2000, Shank's car was rammed by a semi, and she suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused her to be permanently disabled. Her insurance kicked in and paid promptly for her medical bills -- for which Shank's family was grateful. This once vibrant wife and mother now lives in a nursing home and suffers from short-term memory loss, violent mood swings and other effects of her TBI.

Shank's injuries and disability are tragedy enough for her family. But now they're also faced with a $400,000-plus lawsuit by Wal-Mart.

Why is Wal-Mart suing a disabled former employee?

It seems that there was a clause in Shank's health plan that requires her to repay her employer in the event that she received a judgment to cover her medical care.

After her accident, Shank and her family successfully sued the trucking company and won about $477,000. That money was put in a trust for her ongoing medical care, and only about $217,000 remains. Wal-Mart has laid claim to that money, and the company is also demanding hundreds of thousands more from the disabled woman.

The retail giant won a lawsuit against Shank and her family, and the money from the trust is now frozen pending appeals. Shank's family has hopes that the Supreme Court will review the case.

A Wal-Mark spokesman expressed the company's sadness about Shank's condition but said the company had to pursue repayment out of fairness to all participants in the health plan.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of this case through the appeals process and if Wal-Mart will change its position to protect its public image now that this travesty has gotten considerable publicity.

Shank's situation should also be a cautionary tale for workers. Many people may have health plans with similar provisions and payback clauses. But I'd bet that most are unaware of the financial consequences they could face if they ever need to collect those benefits.

Clearly, Shank's judgment and the Wal-Mart benefits payout combined weren't sufficient to pay for her old medical bills and ongoing nursing home care. Now, faced with the prospect of having to pay back more than $400,000 she doesn't have, what will happen to this woman?

Shank's husband, who remains committed to his wife, recently divorced her so she could qualify for additional government benefits. Yet another sad twist in a horrible tragedy.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Dan Deuterman

British Woman Sentenced to Jail in Texting-While-Driving Fatality

Pierce Egerton — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:54:03 GMT

While awareness of the texting-while-driving epidemic is growing, the United Kingdom is one of the few countries that are aggressively prosecuting people whose texting causes tragic accidents on the roadway. The New York Times reports that Phillipa Curtis, 22, was sentenced to 21 months in a high-security prison for an act of carelessness that cost another young woman, 24 year old Victoria McBryde, her life.

Ms. McBryde’s car had broken down on the A40 motorway. She put her blinkers on, and her car was a neon yellow Fiat. The night was clear. Under normal circumstances, there was no way that Ms. Curtis could have missed her.

“The crash might once have been written off as a tragic accident. Ms. Curtis’s alcohol level was zero. But her phone, which had flown onto the road and was handed to the police by a witness, told a story that — under new British sentencing guidelines — would send its owner to jail.

In the hour before the crash, she had exchanged nearly two dozen messages with at least five friends, most concerning her encounter with a celebrity singer she had served at the restaurant where she worked.”

Prosecutors were able to prove that Ms. Curtis received a text just seconds before the tragic accident. The state is now appealing the verdict to give her an even harsher sentence.

It’s tragic that two young lives have to be ruined in such a way. Maybe American lawmakers will wake up and receive the message that texting while driving is every bit as dangerous and irresponsible as driving under the influence.

We’ve written before about the dangers of texting and driving, and the alarming results of a Car and Driver study that showed texting can impair someone’s reaction time even more than alcohol. Here’s the video of that test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbiHwGBsRr0&feature=player_embedded

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

3 Seconds to Greater Highway Safety

Pierce Egerton — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:06:59 GMT

For the past few weeks my colleagues and I have been addressing questions clients often ask. Most of our articles relate to questions have about lawsuits and the claims process. One other question I get a lot, though, has to do with vehicle safety. I get the question from clients, friends, and people I meet. The question is: “What can I do to avoid auto accidents?”

It’s a deceptively tough question. Thick books have been written on the topic. Moreover, in my practice I typically encounter people who were involved in accidents rather than those who manage to successfully avoid accidents altogether. When asked about how to avoid accidents, therefore, I usually respond by discussing some of the most common factors contributing to vehicular accidents and injuries.

Without question, following too closely is one of the most frequent causes of accidents. Some studies suggest that following too closely is a contributing factor in forty percent of all traffic accidents. In my office we speak to people every day who were hurt in accidents caused by drivers following too closely.

The authors of a 2006 study defined following too closely as “situations in which one vehicle is following another vehicle so closely that even if the following driver is attentive to the actions of the vehicle ahead he/she could not avoid a collision in the circumstance when the driver in front brakes suddenly." Dingus, T.A., Klauer, S.A., Neale, V.L., Petersen, A., Lee, S.E., and Sudweeks, J., (2006). 100-car naturalistic driving study. Phase 2: Results of the 100-car field experiment.- Interim rept. August 2001 to March 2005. Report No. DOT/HS/810-593. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Many safe driving authorities recommend maintaining a minimum 3-second following distance between your vehicle and the vehicle on the road ahead of you. This rule of thumb is for passenger cars and light trucks and SUVs traveling in ideal conditions. When conditions are not ideal a greater distance is necessary.

It’s easy to determine if you are maintaining a 3-second following distance. When the rear end of the vehicle in front of you passes a sign or other stationary object, count how long it takes for the front of your vehicle to reach the same object.

Unfortunately, as a driver you have less control over the distance between your vehicle and vehicle following you. There are, however, some measures you can take when the vehicle behind you is uncomfortably close.

You should increase the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. This will give you -- and by extension the driver behind you -- more time to respond to traffic situations that occur ahead of you.

You should also find a way to let the vehicle behind you pass. If there is more than one lane in your direction, change lanes. If you’re on a two lane road, slow down in a passing zone so that the vehicle behind you can easily pass. It may not seem fair to “reward” a tailgater. Remember, however, that the goal is to avoid being in an accident. Letting an aggressive driver get by is a small price to pay to avoid being injured or killed in a traffic accident!

This is a continuation of our series on commonly asked questions that clients ask when involved in a personal injury claim. Join Devon Glass, Wayne Parsons, Mike Bryant, Pierce Egerton, Rick Shapiro, Steve Lombardi and me for a continued discussion about questions clients often ask. The titles so far are:

What would a caveman bring to meet with the lawyer?, Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 11:00 AM

Solving Legal Problems, Being a Client, Back to the Basics, Steve Lombardi , September 15, 2009 8:48 AM

Car Accident Injury Client: What Makes the Case Good or Bad? (The Collision & Medical Care) , Rick Shapiro September 16, 2009 9:38 AM

Being a Client: More Tips To Help Improve Your Case If You've Been In An Car Accident , Devon Glass , September 17, 2009 8:39 AM

Presumed Guilty: How to Avoid Having Insult Added to Injury When You’ve Been Hurt in a Car Crash, Pierce Egerton , September 18, 2009 4:28 PM

What To Do After An Accident When The Adjuster Is There First, Mike Bryant, September 19, 2009 6:26 PM

What Questions Is The Lawyer Going To Ask Me At The Initial Interview For My Injury Or Death Case?, Wayne Parsons , 20 September 2009 12:01

What makes a case good or bad?, Steve Lombardi, 21 September 2009 12:57 PM

What To Do After An Accident When The Adjuster Has A Tape Recorder, Mike Bryant , September 23, 2009 10:01 PM

Do I have a good or a bad case?, Devon Glass, September 24, 2009

What are interrogatories and how do I answer them?, Steve Lombardi, September 29, 2009

Interrogatories: A Written Deposition , Devon Glass, September 30, 2009