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Personal Injury
- More news on the Whole Foods beef recall
- 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America
- Equal justice under law must be campaign issue
- I call insurance company rules!
- Three more salmonella cases confirmed in N.J.
- Retailer Sues UL for Certifying Defective Heaters
- Tomatoes linked to Pa. salmonella
- NURSING HOMES AND MANDATORY ARBITRATION
- Interactive Guide to Your Body
- Federal Court Jury Awards 6.2 Million Dollars in TASER-Related Death
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- ELMIRA ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE OUTBREAK OF LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE AT THE FLANNERY TOWERS
- Drunken man paralyzed after fall down stairs gets $17M
- Skiier Injured Exiting Chairlift Did Not Assume Risk
- Former pro football player gets $1.1M for fall in store
- Family of resident who died from sepsis awarded $2M
- Hotel guest injured when chair broke awarded $550,000
- Concierge gets $3.78M for fall at hotel
- Scalded tenant gets $2M from landlord
- Worker recovers for fall caused by 'junk brick'
- Pa. Church Volunteer Who Lost Leg in Accident Awarded $4 Million
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- PennDOT construction workers authorized to write police arrest reports
- Court Holds Police Officer Injured Outside His Cruiser Is A Protected Person
- Allstate Finally Gives Up McKinsey Documents in Florida
- Unhealthy neglect of CDL standards in Pennsylvania
- When does ATV riding become illegal?
- Insured Not Allowed UM/UIM Benefits for Accidents Caused By Co-employee
- New Pennsylvania Federal Court Section 1734 Sign Down Case Nullifies Alleged Sign down Of UIM Coverage
- New case law on signing releases in complex cases
- The importance of wearing your helmet while riding an ATV
- Federal Verdict Against GM in Rollover Lawsuit
Workers' Compensation
- Conveyor's designer pays $1.4M to man whose arm was snared
- I'm in the news....
- Anti-Union Sentiment in Religious Institutions
- Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Judge Book
- The Defense Base Act Protects American Workers Injured in Iraq and Afghanistan
General
- Whole Foods recalling possibly contaminated beef
- Study finds settling is better than going to trial
- New Consumer Safety Legislation
- Emergency Unemployment Compensation
- Top Pa. judge: Counties to get longer jury lists
- Toymakers Frustrated by Patchwork of Safety Rules
- Athens attorney Maureen T. Beirne nominated by governor for county judgeship
- Health "Insurance Jive": Do you speak insurance?
- U.S. Supreme Court deals with ERISA disability determinations
- It pays for defendants to settle quickly and easily
Legal News
Bradford County Court in the News
Athens lawyer attends conference
Workers compensation claim filed against Sayre Borough
Athens attorney Maureen T. Beirne nominated by governor for county judgeship
Press Release: Carrie Carroll Awarded Honor
CraftMaster offering buyouts to its salaried employees in Towanda, Pa
Bradford County launches victim notification system
Bradford County Court House In The News
CNN: What To Do After A Car Accident
Legal Library
Personal Injury
- Secrets Kept From Juries In Personal Injury Cases
- Health Plan Sues Accident Victim to Recover Entire Settlement Recovery
- Schizophrenia and Traumatic Brain Injury
- Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
- Eight Things You Should Know About Pursuing An Injury Claim
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- Supermarkets Especially Prone to Slip and Fall Injuries
- New Pennsylvania Superior Court Case on Dog Attack
- If You Have Been Bitten or Attacked by a Dog, Then You Need to Read This Article
- How to Make a Claim for Injuries Due to a Dog Bite-Part I
- Slip and Fall Cases in Pennsylvania and New York
Workers' Compensation
- Filing Your Mesothelioma Law Suit - Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you really have to see the company doctor? Exploding the Myth of the 90 Day Rule
- Flow of a Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Claim
- Employment Accidents -- An Overview
- Former Welder's $1 Million Verdict Will Stand
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Common Insurance Company Arguments
- School Bus Accidents Can Be Prevented by Safety Training and Parking Lot Design
- Traumatic Brain Injuries Associated With Motorcycle Accidents
- A Basic Understanding Of Car Accident Cases
- Crashworthiness: A Legal Doctrine
Newsletters
General
Unsafe Drivers of Truck Tractor Trailers and Commercial Buses in Pennsylvania and New York
Hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States carry commercial driver's licenses and some of those drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells, according to a new U.S. safety study.
The U.S. agency responsible for cracking down on unfit truckers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, acknowledges it hasn't completed any of eight recommendations that U.S. safety regulators have proposed since 2001. One would set minimum standards for officials who determine whether truckers are medically safe to drive. Another would prevent truckers from "doctor shopping" to find a physician who might overlook a risky health condition. It's unclear whether any of the eight recommendations will be done before President Bush leaves office.
Truckers violating federal medical rules have been caught in every state according to the 7.3 million commercial driver violations compiled by the Transportation Department in 2006, the latest data available. Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio were states where drivers were sanctioned most frequently for breaking medical rules, such as failing to carry a valid medical certificate. Those 12 states accounted for half of all such violations in the United States.
Consider these cases:
-A Virginia trucker with a prosthetic leg from a farm accident more than 10 years ago is permitted to drive tanker trucks until at least 2012, even though he doesn't have the proper federal paperwork required for amputees. Virginia revoked the medical license for the official who approved him to drive over charges the official was caught illegally distributing controlled substances.
-George Albright Jr., 61, smashed his 70,000-pound tractor-trailer into congested traffic on Interstate 70 in June 2006, killing four women in a Ford sedan about 30 miles east of Columbia, Mo. Albright's employer agreed earlier this year to pay $18 million in a settlement. A Missouri jury acquitted Albright this month on four counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, after his lawyers argued in court that a diabetic episode "put him in an altered state of consciousness." Albright wasn't injured.
-The driver of a 15-passenger "Tippy Toes" day-care bus traveling 63 mph on Interstate 240 in Memphis, Tenn., in April 2002 crashed into a bridge, killing the driver and four of the six children aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board said the driver, Wesley B. Hudson, 27, fell asleep, "quite likely due to an undiagnosed sleep disorder." Investigators said children sometimes had to wake up Hudson, whom the NTSB described as obese and a marijuana user.
-A 55-passenger bus rolled off Interstate 610 in New Orleans in May 1999, killing 22 passengers. The NTSB said the bus driver, Frank Bedell, 46, suffered life-threatening kidney and heart conditions but held a valid license and medical certificate. Moments before the crash, a passenger recounted seeing the driver slumped in his seat. Bedell died three months later of an apparent heart-related illness. Investigators said he was treated at least 20 times in the 21 months before the accident for various ailments.
The Transportation Department said 5,300 people died in crashes involving large commercial trucks or buses in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available, and about 126,000 more were injured. A federal safety study last summer found that cases where drivers fell asleep, suffered heart attacks or seizures or otherwise were physically impaired were a leading cause of serious crashes involving large trucks. But those cases included healthy drivers who fell asleep.
While it may be years before any of the board's proposals take effect, there is nothing preventing doctors from stepping up scrutiny of drivers' medical conditions right away.
Congress may take action soon. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., will conduct oversight hearings. One proposal would create a clearinghouse for drug test results for commercial truck drivers to make it easier for employers to conduct checks. Oberstar's committee asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate unfit truck drivers.
The chief safety officer for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Rose McMurray, acknowledged problems that could lead to unfit truck drivers on the roads. She blamed delays in reforms on a lack of federal money and difficulty coordinating with 50 states. McMurray said changes to strengthen the medical oversight program may not be done for months or even years.
Families of crash victims said stronger safety rules can't happen soon enough.
William Hieronymus II of Salina, Kan., said he remembers eating cereal each morning with his 10-month-old son. His son William and wife, Amanda, died in May 2005 when a truck crossed a median and struck their SUV.
The driver, Scott A. Wegrzyn, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide. Prosecutors said Wegrzyn knew he suffered from sleep apnea and went to a second doctor without disclosing the condition to obtain the medical certification he needed to drive.
Go to: Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov/ for the report.
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FAQs
Personal Injury
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