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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Olympic Sprinter Involved in Jamaica Car Crash

Usain Bolt, a champion Jamaican Olympic sprinter, was involved in an auto accident in Kingston, Jamaica on Wednesday. Jamaica police say Bolt was speeding on a wet highway when he lost control of his BMW M3 and went off the road. Though the vehicle was heavily damaged, neither Bolt nor his female passenger was seriously injured. However, they were both taken to a Spanish Town hospital to be checked out by doctors.

Bolt won the 100 and 200 meter sprint and was part of the Jamaican 4x100 relay team, which won the gold at the Beijing Olympics.

A combination of weather conditions and speed causes thousands of accidents a year across the country. However, while we remain focused on things at home, other nations have accident statistics that can be just as startling as those here, and they are caused by the same things as they are in the US. Put a man behind the wheel of a vehicle, and he’ll inevitably crash it at some point in his life.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 1:29 PM

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Pittsburgh Woman Attacked by Two Pit Bulls

As the debate continues over whether pit bulls are simply bad seeds, or their owners are simply irresponsible comes another story of an attack. This time, a woman walking down a street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her beagle-terrier mix was set upon by two pit bulls. The woman has said the pit bulls went after her dog, named Lassie. The woman was also injured, suffering cuts and bruises to her arms as she clung to Lassie during the attack.

The woman said she had no time to react and that the pit bulls jumped her and Lassie so fast that she couldn’t get away. She claims the pit bulls would have ripped Lassie apart had she not been there. Neighbors came to the rescue and took the owner and Lassie to a vet, but the dog died of its injuries.

It is unclear how the two pit bulls got out, but their owner said he was already thinking of getting rid of them because his wife is pregnant. Turns out he worried about his child’s safety around the pit bulls.

Perhaps it is because pit bull attacks are so publicized that we find out more about them than attacks by Labradors or Dalmatians. However, while many pit bull owners or owners of “dangerous breeds” claim their pet would never hurt another person or animal, we all know that what these breeds are capable off if they attack someone or someone’s pet.

If you or a loved one has suffered a dog bite, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 4:05 PM

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Four Die when Car Crashes through Dutch Crowd

A car slammed into a crowd gathered to watch the Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix and her family at a holiday parade today. Four people were killed and 13 were injured. Eight of those injured are in serious condition. The crowd was lined up five and six deep as the royal family passed in a bus on their way to the Het Loo palace for the Queen’s Day holiday.

Dutch police say this doesn’t appear to be an accident, but was a deliberate act. The 38-year-old driver was injured. After crashing into a monument only a few yards from the queen and her family, he was quickly removed from the vehicle and put into an ambulance. He was reportedly slumped over his seat and bleeding when approached by authorities.

The crash was caught on camera and shows many people flying through the air before they hit the pavement. Other photos show several people on the ground and being worked on by bystanders, authorities, emergency crews, and military personnel.

Festivities that had been planned around the country were either cancelled or scaled back in response to the tragedy. Police believe this was the actions of a lone individual and not a terrorist event, but shows just how much a small country is affected when one person’s actions have a public viewing. Of course, in the US, this kind of thing often just seems par for the course and rarely gets front page treatment.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a vehicle, please contact an attorney with experience in car versus pedestrian accidents in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 1:32 PM

Monday, April 27, 2009

New Jersey Turnpike Crash Kills Five

An accident involving ten vehicles killed five people on the New Jersey Turnpike over the weekend. Several other people are reported to have been injured.

According to police, the accident involved nine cars and a tractor-trailer in the southbound lanes near the suburbs of Philadelphia. All five people killed were in one vehicle. It is believed the vehicle they were in was stopped in the right hand southbound lane when it was hit by the tractor-trailer. It was sent to the center lane and caused several other vehicles to crash. The five people, all in their 70s, were trapped in the car when it burst into flames.

Three other people in another car were seriously injured. One was taken by helicopter to a hospital in critical condition.

The New Jersey Turnpike, one of the nation’s busiest highways, was closed for hours.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation and the driver of the tractor-trailer was given a blood test. This is standard when there is a fatal accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 9:31 AM

Friday, April 24, 2009

Car Salesman’s Family Awarded Millions in Wrongful Death Suit

The family of a BMW salesman who was killed during a test drive was awarded $13.7 million by a Cook County, Illinois jury this week. The 2004 auto accident occurred as the result of the driver flooring the pedal of the BMW 530i to 95 mph, and losing control. The car, which was traveling twice as fast as the posted speed limit allowed, hit a vehicle turning into a church parking lot and then hit a light pole. The BMW burst into flames. The driver and his two friends who were sitting in the back survived. The 22-year-old salesman sitting in the front seat did not.

The wrongful death suit’s verdict came after a weeklong trial. The driver’s attorney said that the salesman contributed to his own death by violating company policy and letting the driver outside of an established test-drive route, as well as encouraging the driver to speed. There is no word on an appeal. The driver was also cited for driving 40 mph over the speed limit. Though the defense team sees it this way, an attorney representing the salesman’s family who lost their only son, says this “went way past negligence.”

If you have lost a loved one due to the recklessness or negligence of another, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:29 PM

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Five Children Die in Texas Auto Accident

The body of a four-year-old girl was pulled from a bayou tributary on Tuesday, three days after the car she was in plunged into water in Texas. Four other children were also killed and their bodies recovered on Saturday and early Sunday.

Authorities say that eight people were in a car when it left the road near Bush Intercontinental Airport. An adult passenger in the vehicle says that the driver, and father of three of the dead children, reached for his cell phone and lost control. In addition to the two adults, a ten-year-old girl was able to escape.

The tributary was swollen from recent rainstorms and crews began searching a mile downstream from the automobile accident, but the vehicle was found not far from where it went into the water.

The driver failed a sobriety test and was taken into custody. He is facing four charges of intoxication manslaughter, and will likely be charged with a fifth count. Prosecutors are waiting on tests to find out if he had drugs in his system.

In addition to the four-year-old girl, the dead include a one-year-old girl, a three-year-old girl, and three boys, ages four, six, and seven.

If you have lost a child in an automobile accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:47 PM

Monday, April 20, 2009

Auto Accident Kills Two in Kentucky

A four vehicle accident near Louisville, Kentucky injured four and killed two people late last week. An adult and a 16-month-old girl were both killed, and three children between the ages of one and nine-years-old were taken to the hospital.

The auto accident occurred when a northbound vehicle hit an SUV that was in the center turn lane. The vehicle then hit a southbound car. Authorities say two other vehicles then somehow became involved in the accident. The driver of the northbound vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The toddler reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury and died.

Many people are killed and injured every year due to a vehicle turning in front of them. Whether the vehicle turned suddenly, or another vehicle was speeding or didn’t otherwise see the turning vehicle, the end result is the same: an auto accident that could have been avoided.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:45 PM

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Two Teens Killed by Amtrak Train

Two teens standing on the tracks were struck and killed Tuesday night by an Amtrak train near Woodland, Washington. The teens were standing on the northbound tracks as a freight train passed by on the southbound set of tracks. It is believed the teens couldn’t hear the approaching passenger train because of the sound of the freight train when the accident occurred.

A woman living near the tracks said she heard the train blowing a warning that was “blaring a lot longer and a lot more often.” She didn’t know it was a warning to get people off the track. The Amtrak was traveling between 75 and 79 mph when it hit the teens. Around 50 trains use the rail lines in that area every day.

The area where the two teens were hit is private property owned by the railroad and that pedestrians are forbidden from being on the tracks.

Trains hit and kill pedestrians more often than many think. Almost all of them are believed to have not been able to hear the train approaching for different reasons. However, if you believe the death of a loved one was the result of negligence on the part of the train operator or railroad company, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 8:53 AM

Monday, April 13, 2009

Florida Boat Accident Kills Five

A boat accident Sunday evening killed five and injured at least seven people on the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville, Florida. Authorities say the 22-foot boat was carrying between 12 and 14 people when it hit a tugboat that was tied to a dock under construction at a home along the waterway.

The victims are all in their 20s, but beyond asking who they are, the authorities would also like to know why there were 14 people on a 22-foot boat, were they wearing life vests, was alcohol involved, and how fast was the boat going when it hit the tugboat.

Florida has more registered recreation vessels than any other state, nearly 987,000 of them. They have over a million registered vessels total. In 2007, there were just under 668 accidents reported. This number has been virtually stagnant for the last few years. However, this may also be due to a change in the way boating accidents are reported in 2003. Instead of requiring a report if the damage exceeds $500, the damage must now exceed $2000. So, perhaps it isn’t that accidents are getting fewer; it’s that more accidents do not meet this threshold.

Boating accidents occur many times a year all over the country. While boats are obviously different in many ways from other vehicles, the same kinds of things cause accidents. Speed, alcohol, level of experience, and more contribute to all accidents investigated equally.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a boating accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:08 PM

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Rookie MLB Pitcher Killed in California Auto Accident

Just hours after pitching six scoreless innings in his first start of the season for the Los Angeles Angels, rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in an auto accident in Fullerton, California. The accident also killed two other men and sent a fourth to the hospital in critical condition.

The accident occurred just after midnight on April 9 at an intersection. Witnesses say a red minivan ran a red light and struck two vehicles. A grey Mitsubishi carrying Adenhart and three others then slammed into a power pole. Two of the four in the vehicle died at the scene, and one died later at the hospital. A passenger in the minivan was treated for minor injuries, but the driver left the scene on foot.

The 22-year-old minivan driver was arrested a short time later now faces charges of manslaughter, felony driving under the influence, and hit-and-fun.

Auto accidents kill and maim hundreds of thousands of people a year. Drunken driving accidents certainly add numbers to these grim statistics. Yet it’s the standouts, like Nick Adenhart, that make the news when tragedy hits. This does not mean your auto accident is any less meaningful and if you are injured or lose a loved one, you may be able to seek compensation.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident due to the negligence of another party, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 2:18 PM

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Truck Driver Arrested for Causing Accident while Texting

Seven months ago, a semi truck hit a school bus in Florida. The accident caused the school bus to burst into flames, injured 11 and killed one 13-year-old student. The truck had rear ended the school bus, trapping the student in the flames. Passersby could do nothing to get her out in time to save her.

Now, seven months later, the 30-year-old driver of the truck has turned himself into the Florida Highway Patrol. He admits that just before the crash he had been texting on his cell phone. He has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving with serious bodily injury in Marion County. There are no charges regarding the text messaging while driving.

Many states have made it illegal to send or receive text messages on the cell phone while driving in response to accidents that were caused by such an activity. Other states have banned speaking on the cell phone at all, unless you have a hands free device.

Though many states, including Florida, do not have a law regarding texting while driving, the evidence shows that it is a dangerous activity, which should be obvious to anyone. Anyone who has their license has been told in driving classes that it only takes a second for something to go wrong on the road. Taking your eyes off the road for longer than this can get others, or you, killed. Unfortunately, the 13-year-old girl killed in this accident will never find out what driving classes are like.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 9:51 AM

Monday, April 6, 2009

Tour Bus Crash in California Kills One

A resort employee shuttle bus crashed in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains 20 miles outside of Reno, killing one and injuring 27 others. One was listed in critical condition and six were listed in serious condition.

California State Patrol said the bus veered to the right then hit the guardrail. The bus then rolled more than once. The driver sustained serious injuries, and some of the 30 people aboard the bus were ejected. Most of those injured suffered bruises, broken bones, or head injuries.

The bus is operated by the Resort at Squaw Creek. It was transporting employees on a run it makes daily between Reno and the resort. According to a resort spokesperson, the driver has a good record and the bus has no mechanical problems.

Because most buses do not have seatbelts, when accidents like this occur, occupants are thrown around like rag dolls. Ejections are common and deadly in many cases. Though there has been some discussion at the national level about installing seatbelts on school buses, not much has been said about other kinds of buses.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:25 PM

Friday, April 3, 2009

2005 Wrongful Death Suit Comes to Close

A Wausau, Wisconsin wrongful death suit involving a young student who was run over by a school bus is drawing to a close. In December 2005, a mother watched as her 13-year-old son tried to flag down his school bus he was trying to catch. He waved his hands and yelled, but the bus driver apparently did not see him, and the boy was run over as the bus rounded the corner. He died later that day of his injuries.

The boy’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against the bus company, which was scheduled to go to trial this past March. However, the court ordered the two parties to try to settle out of court. The family has settled for $1.2 million.

The boy’s mother says that the money was never the issue, but they wanted the bus company to accept responsibility, and that they want people to know that her son did not slip and fall beneath the bus. She believes her son would still be alive had the bus driver checked his mirrors, or if the bus stop was further from the corner than it was.

A spokesperson for the bus company says that one of their regulations stipulates their buses stop no less than 100 feet from a corner, but that was not the case when the boy was killed. Because of this, one thing that has been looked into is whether the bus driver was looking around for traffic at the intersection rather than noticing the boy as he ran toward the bus.

If your child has been hit by a school bus, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 3:11 PM

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Student Struck by Train in Arkansas

A 21-year-old University of Arkansas student who was struck by a freight train early last Thursday morning is still clinging to life in critical condition. It is believed he was following the train tracks back to his fraternity house after leaving a bar. Authorities and the train’s engineer believe the man may have passed out or fallen asleep on the tracks.

The train saw the man on the tracks, tried to alert him by blowing the whistle, but ultimately ran over him. It takes trains almost a mile for them to come to a complete stop. The man was found beneath the train’s third engine by authorities just after 2:00am. They had to back the train up to get to the victim.
The man, a junior kinesiology student, lost his left hand at the wrist and is suffering severe head and body trauma.

Though accidents like this do not happen very often, there has been a rash of them across the country lately. Authorities have once again had to tell the public that it is against the law to walk on or even near train tracks. You should also be able to listen for oncoming trains, and not wear headphones with music playing too loud. You should also not attempt to circumvent gates that have come down across roads, or try to beat the train by crossing the tracks.

If you or a loved one has been injured when hit by a train, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

posted by Evan Langsted at 1:47 PM

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