Archive for the ‘Car Accident Articles’ Category

Seriously Injured in A Tennessee Car Accident and Partially at Fault: Now What?

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Many people who are seriously injured in Tennessee motor vehicle accidents do not immediately pursue a claim for compensation for their injuries because they believe they are at fault for causing the car accident. Sometimes an injured driver’s belief that one is at fault in an auto accident may be based on the conclusions in a police report or the driver’s own subjective impressions regarding fault in an auto accident. Sadly, this assumption that a driver is at fault is often wrong. The issue of who is at fault in an auto accident is often a complex factual based inquiry. Even if a driver is partially at fault in causing a traffic accident, it does not mean that the injured driver is not entitled to compensation for one’s injuries. At Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, we have been assisting accident victims and their families in seeking recovery for their injuries for over 20 years.

Prior to 1992, Tennessee accident law prohibited recovery by an auto accident victim if the victim contributed to his own injuries. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court abandons this all or nothing scheme of contributory negligence as “outmoded and unjust.” The court adopted the current comparative fault system commonly referred to as the “49 percent rule.” The negligence of a plaintiff does not bar a plaintiff’s recovery as long as the judge or jury does not find the plaintiff’s degree of fault to be equal to or greater than the defendant’s degree of fault. This shift in Tennessee law was designed to make sure that those who were injured by the negligence of others were not completely prevented from seeking compensation for the staggering cost of catastrophic injuries because of a relatively small proportion of fault.

The comparative fault system allows a person injured in a serious auto accident to recover damages but the amount of the recovery is reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s degree of fault. The judge or jury will assign a percentage of fault to each party, determine the total amount of the damages from the injuries, and then adjust the recovery according to the injured driver’s degree of fault. For example, suppose a person is in an auto accident and the judge or jury finds that the total damages are one million dollars. If the judge or jury also determines that the plaintiff was 30% at fault for the accident, then the damages awarded to the plaintiff will be reduced to $700,000.

Tragically, many people who do not understand this principle delay in seeking legal advise after a serious motor vehicle accident despite suffering serious injuries. Sometimes these injured motorists assume that they are at fault and are therefore not entitled to compensation for their injuries. By the time some people seek legal advice, the statute of limitations or the period to bring a claim against a governmental entity has passed and the right to seek compensation may be barred.

At NST Law, we will carefully examine the circumstances of your auto accident to make our own determination about who is at fault independent of any investigation done at the scene by law enforcement. We will determine if you are entitled to legal compensation for your injuries and advise you regarding your rights. It is imperative if you are involved in a serious auto accident that you seek immediate legal advice before evidence disappears or your rights become barred by waiting too long to pursue your claim. At NST Law, we have been handling serious car accident cases throughout the State of Tennessee for over 20 years. NST Law attorneys have been nationally recognized by Super Lawyers, which rates the top 5% of lawyers in the country. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz is the largest plaintiff’s law firm in Tennessee that helps injured people recover compensation due to someone else’s negligence.

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Tennessee Car Accidents Caused by Dangerous Roadways

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

There are many causes of serious auto accidents, but many would be surprised to know that defective roadways contribute to over half of all motor vehicle accidents fatalities. Dangerous roadways contribute to more auto accident fatalities than even drunk driving. Auto accidents based on defective roadways require a law firm with experience handling such cases, as the defendant will usually be a public entity with enormous resources and special rules that protect the government against such claims. If you or someone you love is involved in a serious auto accident resulting in catastrophic injuries including quadriplegia, brain damage, paralysis or even fatalities, you need a law firm with the experience to navigate the special rules and procedures that must be navigated to obtain compensation from a governmental entity for defectively designed, constructed or maintained roadways. At Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, we have over 20 years of experience handling complex Tennessee motor vehicle accident cases.

Many people are surprised to discover that defective streets, roads and highways contribute to more accident fatalities then drunk drivers. Defective road conditions contribute to over 5.3 billion accidents each year resulting in 22,000 fatalities almost double the number of accident fatalities in which a drunk driver was involved. These accidents can be the result of a number of defects related to the roadway including the following:

• Inadequate Design

• Faulty Construction

• Poor Maintenance

• Failure to Make Adaptive Changes

These defects can contribute to a Tennessee car accident by inducing a driver to leave one’s lane and crash or leave the roadway entirely and fall down a slope. A government entity has an obligation to design, construct, and maintain roads and highways so that they do not pose an unreasonable foreseeable risk of causing injury to motorists. Many times accident rates will be much higher on certain sections of roadway, which may be sufficient to put a public entity on notice that the road is unsafe and that corrective action is necessary. At NST Law, we carefully analyze accident records and other government reports to establish the basis for finding a roadway is unsafe and that a government entity should have knowledge of the dangers posed by the roadway.

While another driver may also be at fault in a Tennessee auto accident, a government entity has an obligation to build roadways that are reasonably safe and forgiving of predictable driver error. If the roadway’s faulty design, construction, or maintenance contributes to a motor vehicle accident, successfully pursuing litigation against the government entity may be the only way to obtain full compensation for one’s damages including medical and rehabilitative expenses, lost wages, lost future earnings, pain and suffering, and loss of quality and enjoyment of life.

There are many types of hazards and defects that can make a roadway unsafe and contribute to auto accidents and resulting injuries including:

• Failure to design or maintain the road to promote good tire traction

• Freeway ramps that are too short to permit proper merging with traffic

• Insufficient barriers on the shoulder such as guard rails

• Sharp inadequately marked curves in the road

• Obstructions or design that prevent adequate visibility

• Failure to provide median dividers

These are just a few examples of defective road conditions that can result in serious motor vehicle accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries or fatalities. A government entity has virtually limitless resources to defend a liability claim resulting from an auto accident caused by a defective roadway. If you or someone you love is involved in a serious auto accident including an accident where defective road conditions were a contributing cause, call NST Law with over 20 years of experience. At Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, our Tennessee car accident lawyers have been handling serious personal injury and accident cases throughout the State of Tennessee for over 20 years. NST Law attorneys have been nationally recognized by Super Lawyers, which rates the top 5% of lawyers in the country.

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Toyota Litigation: The Black Box Smoking Gun

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Many people do not realize that automobiles including eight million Toyotas facing recall for product defects have black boxes called Event Data Recorders (EDRs) that may explain the cause of many Tennessee acceleration auto accidents.  Recent reports suggest that Toyota has taken affirmative steps to prevent the disclosure of this black box data.  The auto accident lawyers of Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, PLC (NST Law) recognize the importance of aggressively seeking EDR data to obtain fair compensation for serious injuries or death suffered by you or your loves ones caused by Toyota acceleration auto accidents or other serious auto accidents.

The majority of auto manufacturers routinely provide access to this black box data which can provide information including vehicle speed, accelerator angle, gear shift position, seatbelt use, driver’s seat angle, brake position and antilock brake system information.  However, recent AP reports indicate Toyota Corporation has frequently declined to provide this data to crash victims.  Toyota uses a propriety software program that reportedly was loaded on only a single laptop.  Toyota has a history of settling lawsuits when plaintiff’s attorneys pressure Toyota to provide discovery of the EDR data or providing a redacted version with key information blacked out.

The AP reports also suggest that Toyota may have misrepresented what information is even recorded by an EDR in a Toyota vehicle.  When the AP initially inquired about what information was recorded by the EDR, Toyota officials failed to include any mention of brake position or the antilock brake system.  When AP again contacted Toyota, the company admitted that brake position and antilock brake system information is recorded by the EDR.

Following an Indiana crash, Toyota representatives told the family of the victim that there was “no sensor that would have preserved information regarding the accelerator and brake position at the time of impact.”  The victim in the Indiana crash prior to her death had explained to relatives that she was pushing on the brake pedal with both feet but could not get the vehicle to stop.  A Toyota technician from California conveniently traveled to Indiana to download the EDR data before it was provided to the police.

It appears that Toyota may have to have covered up EDR information on brake position in other auto accident cases.  In a fatal Texas auto accident, the police were told that the EDR information on braking and acceleration were listed as “off.”  The attorney in the case believes that Toyota may have disabled the ability of the EDR to collect braking and acceleration information to avoid discovery by plaintiffs’ attorneys in court cases involving serious auto accidents including fatality accidents.  This would provide an explanation for the “off” message in the Texas case.  Toyota lawyers also have argued in litigation that the EDR is an experimental device and not reliable enough to be used for accident reconstruction in auto accident cases.  However, EDR devices have been used regularly in Toyota vehicles since 2001.  The experienced auto accident lawyers at NST Law will aggressively pursue admission of EDR data in Tennessee acceleration auto accident cases.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report earlier this month indicating that 52 people have been killed in auto accidents related to sudden unintended acceleration.  However, Toyota has engaged in discovery practices for years designed to prevent disclosure of EDT data that would establish the cause of the accidents.  If you are injured in Tennessee in a Toyota acceleration auto accident, it is imperative that the EDR data is preserved.  An experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer will know how to take appropriate steps to obtain the EDR data and avoid destruction of this critical evidence.

At NST Law, we often employ experts and have experience in preserving and obtaining EDT data in Tennessee auto accidents as well as persuasively presenting this evidence to a jury.  Super Lawyers has recognized NST Law as one of the top 5% of law firms nationally.  If someone you love has been killed or seriously injured in a Toyota acceleration auto accident or any type of Tennessee auto accident, you should contact NST Law today.

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Texting Increases Risk of Collision 23 Times

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

A new study of drivers who text message while driving shows that the risk greatly exceeds previous estimates and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute outfitted the cabs of long-haul trucks with video cameras for 18 months. They measured the amount of time drivers took their eyes from the road to send or receive text messages and found that when the drivers were text messaging, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting.

Compared with other sources of driver distraction, “texting is in its own universe of risk,” said Rich Hanowski, who oversaw the study.

This new study only confirms what common-sense dictates: texting and driving is extremely dangerous. Sadly, these blatant distractions frequently lead to major car accidents and serious personal injuries in our local communities such as Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, and Chattanooga, TN.

If you have been involved in an auto accident in Tennessee, an experienced-local car accident attorney can help you.  Our Tennessee car accident lawyers offer free consultations on personal injury cases. If you or someone you know has been injured in a collision, you should contact our law firm to speak to a lawyer immediately so that you will know your legal rights and can seek compensation from the negligent party.  Call our office at (877) 683-7001 for more information and a free consultation.

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