Kansas City Injury Lawyer Blog

Based on 2009 preliminary data, motorcycle deaths in the State of Missouri have significantly decreased. This data, reported by the Governors Highway Safety Organization, is consistent with a national trend of reduced motorcycle fatalities across the United States. Although the data is incomplete because it only covered the first 8 months of 2009, the decline comes after 11 years of steady increases in motorcycle accident deaths. The data also supports that there has been a decrease in motorcycle accidents across the board.

While I do believe there are other factors responsible for the decrease in motorcycle accidents in 2009, the primary reason is that there were less motorcycles on the road last year. This is not surprising given the troubling economy. A substantial amount of motorcycle travel is recreational and many people are cutting back on recreation, especially with high gas prices and extra insurance premiums that go along with motorcycle ownership.

However, just because the recent data is favorable, it is not a time to let down on motorcycle safety efforts. Missouri should ramp up motorcycle safety campaigns that have been successful in increasing motorist awareness. One idea would be to utilize billboard advertising on the side of delivery trucks that remind motorists that motorcycles are often difficult to see. This type of campaign is cost-effective and would increase the repetition of the motorcycle awareness message.

After banning text messaging while driving, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration could turn its attention next to banning other distracting devices in truck cabs. This week, the FMCSA's Chief Safety Officer Rose McMurray, addressed a trucking industry conference, and spoke about her agency's intention to crack down on other forms of distractions in trucks. According to McMurray, the agency is looking specifically at dispatch systems and CB radios that contribute to a great deal of distraction to truck drivers.

Any attempt to ban these devices will have to consider the fact that many of these devices facilitate easy communication between the company and truck drivers and also smoothen the delivery process.

As a Kansas City truck accident attorney , we are noticing a higher incident of semi-truck accidents associated with distracted truck drivers. In fact, the trucking industry has moved more and more towards the installation of computers in trucking cabs. The drivers can log onto these computers to browse the Internet, check e-mail and keep communication going between themselves and the head office. Truckers receive new dispatch orders, and delivery route instructions.

Obviously, on-board computers are a huge distraction to truck drivers. Many truck drivers will be on-line at the same time they are traveling at highway speeds. Truck driver's themselves will tell you that it's not always possible to pull over, in order to log on to the computer. These distractions dramatically increase a truck driver's risk of an accident.

If the FMCSA is serious about minimizing distractions for truck drivers , it should first look at how it can minimize the use of these computers in trucks. However considering how effective and efficient these computers have proved to the industry, it's not likely that the trucking industry will agree to any restrictions on the use of computers anytime soon.

Continue reading "FMCSA Rule Could Restrict Distractions for Truck Drivers" »

Every year, more than 1.5 million people fall ill because of medication errors. The healthcare reforms approved earlier this year pushed medication mistakes into the spotlight, but the rates of these errors continue to remain high, with few improvements in sight.

Most medication errors occur in pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. At the Horn Law Firm, approximately 85% of the pharmacy error cases we take on involve mistakes made by one of the large retail pharmacy chains, like Walgreens, Wal-Mart and CVS.

Among these prescription errors, 53% involved the wrong drug, while 34% involved the wrong dosage of the drug, and 13% involved wrong administration of the drug.

Here are 7 of the most common prescription errors.

1. Wrong medications due to similar names – These can occur because the pharmacist misreads the doctor's handwritten prescription, or a technician pulls out the wrong drug from the shelf.


2. Wrong dosage – These errors occur frequently in hospitals when IV drugs are administered, but they can also occur when handwritten prescriptions or labels are misread. Misplaced decimal points are a common source of dosage error.


3. Misinterpreting drug interactions – These can occur when you are on more than two medications. These drugs can interact with each other, which is why it's so important that pharmacists and doctors take the time to explain side effects and drug interactions.


4. Combinations of medications with similar ingredients – When you're on more than one medication that contains the same ingredients or compounds, there is the danger of an accumulation of the compound that can lead to a possible overdose.


5. Combining brand-name drugs and generic versions – Generic drugs contain the exact same ingredient that is contained in brand-name drugs. However, patients may not be aware of this. Therefore, they may combine drugs with similar compounds – one, a brand-name version and the other, a generic version – in their homes, and not even know it. Taking both medications could cause an overdose.


6. Mixing over-the-counter drugs with prescription drugs – Patients tend to think anything they buy over the counter, is safe to use. However, these over-the-counter drugs can interact with any prescription medications that you're on, leading to serious injuries.


7. Mixing alcohol with prescription drugs – Not every patient may be aware of the kind of effect alcohol can have on the medications their taking. That's why it's so important that doctors and pharmacists take time to ask the patient about lifestyle and other habits, such as alcohol use, while prescribing medications.

Auto accidents involving elderly motorists are on the decline nationwide. That information comes via a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The report finds that these numbers are down, in spite of the fact that there are more elderly motorists on the roads now, than there were in the past.

It's not surprising that we continue to share our roads with more numbers of senior motorists. Not only do Americans live longer lives than in the past couple of decades, but senior citizens these days live active, busy and independent lives. This means that they are mobile, and drive themselves around regularly. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that the average number of miles driven by the typical senior motorist increased from just over 6,000 in the mid-1999 to over 9,000 miles a year by the 2000s.

However, the fact that there are more elderly motorists out there has not translated into higher accident rates. In fact, the numbers show that crash rates involving senior motorists have actually dropped by approximately 37%. In fact, the biggest drop in fatal accident rates has been seen in senior motorists above the age of 80 whose fatal accident rates have dropped by a whopping 47%.

The researchers are at a loss to explain exactly what has caused this decline. As a Missouri accident lawyer, I believe that there are a number of factors to thank for this. First of all, automobiles are much safer than they used to be in the past couple of decades. More cars now come equipped with side airbags, Electronic Stability Control Systems and other safety features that reduce the chances of serious accidents like rollovers. Besides, elderly citizens enjoy better health than in the past. You're much more likely to avoid accidents and injuries, if you're physically and mentally sound. There's also the fact that there have been major advancements made in emergency trauma care. This means that elderly motorists in Missouri are less likely to die from catastrophic injuries.

The Governor's Highway Safety Association has just released a new report on how many states are trying to prevent auto accidents related to distracted driving.

The report rates how all 50 states and the District of Columbia fare on a number of markers related to distracted driving prevention. As a Kansas City auto accident lawyer, I was very encouraged to note that preventing accidents and personal injuries from distracted driving has become a top priority in the state of Missouri. Missouri has included anti-distracted driving measures in its Highway Safety Plan. The state also collects information about distracted driving-linked accidents. Missouri has also been ahead of many states in its use of social media and social networking sites in order to spread the message against distracted driving. The state uses sites like Facebook, Twitter and eblog to educate motorists about the accident dangers of distracted driving.

However, Missouri could do a lot more in targeting novice drivers about the increased crash risks from cell phone use and other distractions while driving. The only effort that Missouri has made towards raising awareness about these dangers is printing educational materials targeted at teen motorists and their parents, warning them about their amplified risks of accidents and personal injuries. However, the state does not require distracted driving to be a component in teen driver education programs. It also does not include information on distracted driving in the driver's manual, and does not include questions on distracted driving in driver's licensing tests. These omissions must be corrected.

The state also seems to have ignored one very important facet of anti-distracted driving efforts prevention in the workplace. Employers can do a lot to make sure that employees refrain from cell phone use and texting while driving. Very often, motorists feel the pressure to keep their cell phones switched on, so they can be available to the office 24/7. These tendencies have increased during a tough economy, when employees are under pressure to be constantly available to their employer. Companies can remove much of this pressure from workers, by reducing the need for employees to be constantly in touch with the office, even when they're out of the office.

As a Kansas City truck accident lawyer, I'm very involved with issues of trucking safety and trucker fatigue. It has concerned me that across the country, thousands of truck drivers are finding their options for parking their vehicles and resting, disappearing fast.

Fiscal cutbacks in many states have led to the closing of truck stops and rest areas, and there were hardly that many to begin with. This means that many truckers, who arrive early at a delivery spot, find they have no place to park their vehicle. A fatigued trucker, who finds no place to pull over and rest for the night is left with two choices - driving in a tired state, or pulling over in an unsafe area.

These choices have serious implications, not just in terms of highway safety, but also in terms of the personal safety of the truckers. In 2007, trucker Jason Rivenburg was killed in an abandoned gas station in South Carolina, where he had parked his truck for the night. Jason had been early to make a delivery, and not finding a place to rest, pulled in at a gas station. He was attacked by a robber, who then proceeded to shoot him to death. Jason's wife, Hope, is spearheading efforts to get a law passed that would expand trucker rest area facilities across the country. The law is appropriately called, Jason's Law. Unfortunately, it seems to be stuck in congressional committees.

Rivenburg is calling on truckers and their families to mount strong efforts to get the legislation passed. Issues of truck stop areas affect truck drivers and their families the most. It is important that truckers call their local legislators to express their strong support for Jason's Law. There's little point harping about violating Hours of Service Rules if we're not willing to provide safe areas for truck drivers to rest before they drive again. Jason's law needs our complete support.

About 10:30 am I came upon what looked like a very serious accident in the northbound lanes of Metcalf Blvd. just below the I-435 overpass. Seconds before the Overland Park, Kansas Police arrived at the scene, I observed a brown SUV that had come to rest on its roof. From my line of sight I could tell that there was significant roof crush, especially on the driver's side of the SUV. I have said my prayers for the occupants of the SUV as it looked like the crash involved a tragic loss of life.

Although I frequently represent victims of violent car and truck accidents, I feel an extreme amount of anguish for what I witnessed today. When I see a car resting on its roof, I think back to the Derrick Thomas accident in which Derrick suffered a very serious spinal injury due to roof crush. Derrick was also driving a SUV. These is no doubt that these types of vehicles are very susceptible to rollovers because of there high center of gravity.

All of this brings to mind how careful we need to be on the highways and interstates that traverse Kansas City. We especially need to keep our speed down and our eyes on the road. May God Bless anyone connected to this accident. I am hoping that I do not hear about this accident on the news tonight.

As a Kansas City Car Accident Lawyer, a primary aspect of my work concerns motor vehicle accident investigations and the gathering of evidence at crash scenes. Early accident investigations are especially important in car accidents that happen at intersections where there are often disputes as to which driver was at fault. Accident investigations soon after a collision often lead to important evidence and the uncovering of independent witnesses.

Many states and municipalities across the U.S. are using "red light cameras" to nap drivers who violate traffic light controls. However, this relatively new technology can also be important when it comes to accident investigations and personal injury claims. For example, I am handling a case where an 80 year-old woman made a left-hand turn on a green light failing to yield to oncoming traffic. The result was a violent collision that caused significant injuries to my client. Initially, the insurance company for the elderly woman refused to take responsibility indicating that there was no evidence to support their insured's fault.

However, because this intersection was outfitted with a red light camera, we were able to preserve video evidence of the accident which demonstrated that the elderly woman failed to yield the right-of-way to the oncoming traffic. As a result, I am confident my client will receive a fair and full resolution to her case.

There is a distinct possibility that red light cameras will be banned by Missouri lawmakers as a means of traffic law enforcement. However, it is possible that cameras will continue to be used as a means of accident prevention, especially at particularly dangerous intersections in Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, and Springfield with high accident histories. From the perspective of a highway safety advocate, I am in favor of continuing to use the cameras - justifying them as an accident reduction measure. Although the cost may be significant, Missourians would benefit in terms of saving lives and protecting against serious injury.

Wearing a seatbelt is necessary no matter which road you're traveling on, but there are some highways in Missouri on which you should probably be buckled in extra tight. A new study chronicles the 100 Most Dangerous Highways in the nation, and four highways in the state of Missouri feature on the list.

The list was compiled by The Daily Beast, and relied on fatal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For purposes of the study, the researchers looked at the number of fatal accidents and number of fatalities on highways across the country, during the three heavy-traffic months of June, July and August. Data was compiled and tabulated for the summer months of 2004, right through to the summer of 2008.

The most number of deadliest highways in the country are located in the states of Texas and California, which should come as no surprise to a Missouri accident lawyer, since these are large and heavily populated states. Both states have at least six of their highways mentioned on the list. However, the fact that Missouri which has a much smaller population than California or Texas, has four highways on the list should cause Kansas City injury lawyers some concern.

The four Missouri highways that feature on the list are:

• I-64 with a total of 16 fatal accidents resulting in 17 fatalities
• I-70 with a total of 201 fatal accidents resulting in 206 fatalities
• I-44 with a total of 190 fatal accidents resulting in 233 fatalities
• I-55 with a total of 108 fatal accidents resulting in 124 fatalities

The next few weeks will see massive vehicular traffic not only on these highways, but across the state of Missouri. As more residents begin their vacations, there will be more numbers of motorists on the highways, almost all of them in a holiday mood. Unfortunately, highway safety or preventing accidents are the last thing on your mind when you're in your SUV and headed to a resort. It's important, however, to remember that summertime accounts for some of the highest accident and fatality numbers of the year. Whether you're traveling on any of these four highways or on any other stretch of road in Mississippi, follow these golden rules of being safe on highways.

1. Avoid driving under the influence.
2. Avoid driving at high speeds.
3. Always wear your seatbelt.
4. Switch off your cell phones and other electronic communication devices while driving.

It is likely not going to be one of the most popular laws in the state of Kansas, but it's not really necessary that good laws win a popularity contest. Beginning July 1, all drivers and front seat passengers in the state of Kansas will have to wear seatbelts. Governor Mark Parkinson has just signed the new primary seat belt law, and it will go into effect on the 1 of July. Kansas is now the 31st state in the US to have primary seat belt laws.

This was a law that was a long time coming. Thus far, Kansas only had secondary seat belt laws, which meant that police officers had to first pull a motorist over for another violation, before ticketing him for failure to wear a seat belt. As a Kansas accident lawyer, I know for a fact that we have lost thousands of lives over the past years, simply because of failure to enforce primary seat belt laws.

This failure to require seatbelts for all drivers and front seat passengers has not only cost us lives, but has also cost us precious highway safety funds from federal authorities. Thanks to the new seat belt law, Kansas will now be eligible for federal highway funds amounting to approximately $11 million. Of these funds, $10 million will go to the state's general funds, while $1 million will be used for highway safety efforts.

The simple fact is that seatbelt usage is often the only factor between you and catastrophic injury or instantaneous death in an accident. As a Kansas accident attorney, I have long called for primary belt laws in the state. Kansas has some of the lowest seatbelt usage rates in the country, hovering at about 77% compared to the national average of approximately 84%. Seat belt usage rates are even lower in rural areas where motorists and passengers are at a high risk of accidents because of badly designed, poorly maintained roads, and drunk driving. With this law, I expect compliance rates to increase.