Articles Posted in automobile accidents

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Senseless Tennessee car accident cases that involve alcohole have seem to become common place. The anger directed at these avoidable tragedies is often reflected in the jury awards According to this case, Duane Arlen Clark struck Keara Kroelinger after she was stopped at a light and pulled out when it turned green. Clark was said to have had high levels of Xanax and prescribed methadone in his system when he ran the light in his pickup truck hitting Kroelinger’s car.

The jury took ninety minutes to decide the verdict in this case. The judgment was against Clark who is now serving a prison sentence of fifteen years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The family of Kroelinger was awarded $13 million in punitive damages. Charles Kroelinger, the victim’s father, stated that he intends to use the money he received from the verdict to set up an education fund in Keara Kroelinger’s name because she was attending graduate school and pursing a master’s degree in psychology before the accident occurred.
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Car accidents can result in even more serious injuries when the vehicles may not have been properly tested by their manufacturers. the parents of fifteen Skylar Carpenter filed a Tennessee Auto Accident lawsuit against General Motors and her school district after Skylar was killed in a motor vehicle accident in February of 2011. According to the lawsuit, she was a passenger in a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban driven by school teacher Debra Holcombe, along with five other students, who were on their way to an FFA competition in San Antonio. Holcombe was traveling south when she lost control of the vehicle which veered off the road multiple times and skidded into the culvert before becoming airborne and flipping several times.

According to the lawsuit, Skylar Carpenter’s parents are claiming that General Motors was negligent in their design, manufacture, and assembly, marketing and testing of the 2007 Chevrolet Suburban calling it “unreasonably dangerous and defective.” The lawsuit also claims that General Motors knew the vehicle failed to provide adequate occupant protection in a rollover, failed to provide adequate restraint throughout the entire accident, and violated the principles of crash worthiness by not providing proper restraint and by not preventing ejection, and for failing to conduct adequate testing or proper engineering analysis. Also, the lawsuit claims that side airbag failed to perform as designed because it became stuck or ensnared on the curtain rod, it failed to provide ejection mitigation, failed to provide proper restraint, failed to prevent ejection and the seat belt buckle failed to provide proper restraint and unlatched which rendered other safety systems ineffective. The lawsuit states that Skylar was properly restrained but the restraint system failed to protect her as she was ejected from the vehicle.

The lawsuit against the school district claims that the accident would not have occurred had Debra Holcombe, employed by the school district, not been negligent. This lawsuit claims that unknown reasons caused Holcombe to lose control of the vehicle which resulted in Skylar’s death. Both lawsuits are seeking damages for disfigurement, physical and emotional pain, torment, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of care, maintenance, support, services, advice, counsel, loss of companionship and society, loss of consortium, medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses, interest and court costs.
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In Tennessee the legislature is pushing a new agenda of tort reform to make Tennessee a more “business friendly” state. However, is this agenda putting our citizens at risk? One was to see the results of tort reform is to consider cases against the government. Since they right the laws they have benefited from its own tort reform for years. A case just came out of the court of appeals that I think is a good example of what happens when companies or the government have no fear of legal repercussions.

According to this case, Lori Gregory’s son, James Ballentine, died on May 10, 2010, after a rollover automobile crash in Tennessee on Springfield Highway, minutes from the Robertson County line. While ambulances across that line sat ready and within two to three minutes, Metro dispatched Davidson County ambulances, which took ten to fifteen minutes to arrive. Gregory filed a lawsuit against Metro arguing that it should have called nearby Ridgetop or Greenbrier for help.

According to the Tennessee Court of Appeals however, “Metro had no duty to summon or call for aid outside of its jurisdiction even if that aid was much closer.” This case could set a precedent in Tennessee because it’s the first case to deal with emergency responders’ duty to seek outside aid if it is closer. Gregory could appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court; however, she stated she probably won’t, after having spent most of her life savings on the legal battle already.
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Last month there was a horrible bus crash in East Tennessee involving a school bus. The crashed and rolled with 39 students on board. This week the insurance company for the school system tendered a check for $700,000.00 into the court to be disbursed among the 39 students. This check is to cover all of the children’s damages including medical bills. According to reports, at least 18 children where admitted to the hospital. It is doubtful that the $700,000.00 will cover all of the medical bills.

So why $700,000.00? Why not at least pay all of the medical bills? The reason is the government has drafted laws that limit its liability no matter how significant the negligence or how much damages were incurred. Seems strange that an entity that has a budget that had a budget of $30.2 billion last year will limit the amount it will have to pay for medical bills. So how will this work for the families? Will the kids receive anything for their injuries? Maybe.

Currently under the law in Tennessee we have a provision called the made whole doctrine. This is very important in Tennessee Accident Cases. The reason is all health insurance contracts have a “subrogation” provision. This basically says that if your health insurance company pays your medical bills and someone else is responsible then you must pay the health insurance back from any money received. However, under Tennessee Law if you are not made whole by the injury settlement then you may not have to pay your health insurance back from the money you received. Accordingly, in this case if the children were fortunate to have health insurance pay their bills and there is not enough money to make them whole they may be able to keep some money from the injury settlement instead of it all going to the insurance company. This will likely be the biggest fight in the case. It always is when thee is not enough money to pay for the damages caused by someones negligence.
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A tragic automobile accident lawsuit recently resolved with Disney giving the family some closure. According to this case, nine-year old, Chase Brubaker was riding his bicycle when he was hit and killed by a Walt Disney World bus in April 2010 at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort. The patrol investigators determined that the bus driver was not at fault and no charges were filed. Investigators concluded that Chase was “solely responsible” for the accident. They also stated that his bicycle had a flat tire and an under inflated front tire that could have contributed to the crash.

Chase’s mother filed an auto-negligence lawsuit against Disney and the bus driver in October 2010. A Disney spokeswoman stated that the lawsuit was settled last month. Terms were not disclosed.
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Distracted driving as a result of cell phone use has become an epidemic problem in this country. 39 of our 50 states have laws limiting the use of cell phones while driving. Now, after some record civil judgments, the business world is attempting to curb the use of cell phones of their employees while driving. In fact, many companies have ban their employees from using cell phones while on the job or while driving because it can cause these accidents and end up costing them large amounts of money.

In one recent distracted driver lawsuit, a family was awarded $21 million following the death of a thirty-two year old woman who was killed in a cell phone related accident. In another case involving Coca-Cola, the company had to pay $21 million to a thirty-seven year old woman who suffered nerve damage to her back after she was hit by a car driven by a Coca-Cola sales person who was talking on her cell phone while driving. These companies and others could be held accountable in cell phone related accidents if their employee is driving a company car or if the employee is driving a private car but is doing so while on the job. They can also be held accountable if the employee is using a company cell phone or if the employee is using a private cell phone for work related issues.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration using a cell phone while driving makes the driver four times more likely to be involved in an accident. Some people may state that talking on a cell phone while driving is no more dangerous than listening to the radio or talking to someone in the car; however, recent research has proven the opposite. The data seems to indicate that f you are talking on a cell phone, your mind is somewhere else. Many companies, including UPS and Time Warner Cable, have banned their employees from using cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council is currently working on making people aware of the risks of personal cell phone use while driving.
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In Tennessee as well as all over the United States, people and teens texting while driving has been shown to be a big problem. Texting while driving can be very distracting and lead to horrible auto accidents, serious injuries, and even death in some cases. If you or someone you know was seriously injured in an auto accident that involved texting while driving, then you should speak to a Tennessee personal injury lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you receive the compensation you need for the injuries you have suffered.

According to a new federal study, “driving habits of U.S. teens have improved but texting while driving is still a big concern” states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information from the Center’s survey showed that one in three high school teens stated that they had e-mailed or texted while driving in the last thirty days. These percentages were higher for upper classmen with almost forty-three percent of juniors texting while driving and fifty-eight percent of seniors in the last thirty days.

In 2010, statistics show that auto accidents resulted in 3,115 deaths of teens ages thirteen to nineteen. The survey did reveal that more teens are wearing their seat belt and fewer teens are driving after drinking. In 2011 only eight percent of teens said they had driven a car after they had been drinking. This is compared to seventeen percent in 1997.
This risk survey shows that great progress has been made but that texting while driving as well as students being bullied in school is still a problem. One in five students reported being bullied in the last year. About sixteen percent of students stated that they were bullied by e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, or texting.
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Distracted driving as a result of cell phones has become an epidemic problem in this country. 39 of our 50 states have laws limiting the use of cell phones while driving. Now after some record civil judgments the business world is attempting to curb the use of cell phones of their employees while driving. In fact, many companies have ban their employees from using cell phones while on the job or while driving because it can cause these accidents and end up costing them large amounts of money.

In one recent lawsuits, a family was awarded $21 million following the death of a thirty-two year old woman who was killed in a cell phone related accident. In another case involving Coca-Cola, the company had to pay $21 million to a thirty-seven year old woman who suffered nerve damage to her back after she was hit by a car driven by a Coca-Cola sales person who was talking on their cell phone while driving. The company can be held accountable in cell phone related accidents if their employee is driving a company car or if the employee is driving a private car but is doing so while on the job. They can also be held accountable if the employee is using a company cell phone or if the employee is using a private cell phone for work related issues.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration using a cell phone while driving makes the driver four times more likely to be involved in an accident. Some people may state that talking on a cell phone while driving is no more dangerous than listening to the radio or talking to someone in the car but recent research has proven the opposite. A passenger in the car may help someone be more alert or tell them when to stop or go but if you are talking on a cell phone your mind is somewhere else. Many companies including UPS and Time Warner Cable have ban their employees from using cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council is currently working on making people aware of the risks of using a personal cell phone while driving.
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A recent tragic drunk driving case where a man on a bicycle was struck has been resolved. According to this lawsuit, Jose Rincon Jr and a friend were riding their bicycles at around 7:20pm on January 12, 2008 when Glenda Rumsey hit the teens with her car resulting in Rincon’s death. Jose Sr. and Adriana, Rincon’s parents, filed a lawsuit against Rumsey, the city, and the restaurant where Rumsey had been drinking before the accident. The restaurant settled with the family in February of 2010.

At the trial, the jurors were informed that a city engineer cancelled plans to add five feet of the asphalt to the road during a project. This would have created a large offset on either side of the lanes on the road where Rincon had been killed. As a result of these cancelled plans, Rumsey ended up in the bike lane when she tried to merge.

The jury found Rumsey, the city, and the restaurant was equally responsible and awarded the family $40 million. The city would pay $13 million. The decision was appealed by the city and the family has recently settled with the city.

The settlement will also include $2 million to the family and a basketball court or park named after Rincon Jr. Rumsey was convicted of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and three DUI charges in December of 2008. The judge sentenced her to fourteen years for manslaughter, thirteen for aggravated assault, and three six month sentences for the DUIs.
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In Tennessee and all across the United States, people can get injured by drivers when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When the company that hired those drivers do not insurance and authority to be operating that business then if a person gets injured, the company is likely to be just as responsible for the injury as the driver. According to this case, in 2008, transportation driver, Daniel Clarey, hired by transportation broker Heyl Logistics was driving under the influence of crystal methamphetamine and falling asleep when he plowed into truck driver, Kelly Linhart. Linhart was standing near the highway’s shoulder inspecting his vehicle’s brakes when he was hit. The transportation company that Clarey worked for had been hired by Heyl Logistics to haul a load of bottled water. Later, it was found out that the transportation company did not have insurance and had been hauling without operating authority.

A jury determined that Clarey and Heyl Logistics were to blame and awarded $5.2 million to Linhart’s adult children. The case seems to the first case to impose punitive damages against a transportation broker based a negligent hiring claim. It was stated that Heyl Logistics did not perform due diligence before hiring the transportation company.
The transportation company had their operating authority revoked for failing to perform drug testing on their drivers as well as for other violations.
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