Truckers: “We violate the law”

A recent confidential industry survey of truck drivers revealed some startling facts. In the survey, 77 percent of the responding truck drivers admitted that they had deliberately broken trucking regulations in the past, and 55 percent said they were still breaking the rules. The drivers said that the most common violations were logging time as off-duty while actually on duty (78 percent), using more than one logbook (21 percent), and indicating that a team driver is operating the vehicle when they really are not (11 percent).

Frankly, we’re not sure how to respond. Trucking cases are always subject to questions about the driver’s hours and the legitimacy of their logbooks. This type of data only confirms all of our fears.

And, this is particularly disheartening to those of us in Austin and Central Texas. With the passage of NAFTA, truck traffic continues to make up a bigger and bigger percentage of traffic in Central Texas.

 At Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP, we continue to handle claims arising from trucking accidents, not only in Austin, but all over Texas.  For additional information on trucking accidents, please visit our website. 

And as always, we are migrating our blog to our firm website.  Please visit us and subscribe to our new feed. 

Consumer Federation of American— Insurance Companies Are Gouging Consumers

This week, the Consumer Federation of America has released a new study finding that the nation’s homeowner’s and automobile insurance companies are gouging consumers by (1) making excessive charges; and (2) shifting risks from their policies to consumers (by decreasing coverage) and to taxpayers (by getting the government to subsidize some losses).  For more information and links to the article and commentary, visit our main firm blog.

And as stated earlier, we are slowly trying to shift our blog to our main site, so please visit us there.  And while you’re there, please sign up for our feed to get regular updates on the civil justice system.

Austin Auto Accidents & Driver Inattention

It has long been known that driver inattention is a leading cause of wrecks.  These distractions can take any number of forms, including talking on cell phones and eating in the car.  Now, the Austin Police Department and University of Texas advertising students have partnered up to try and do something about it.  To read about the action and to see a Fox 7 news story about the partnership, click here.

Also, we are slowly transitioning our blog to our firm website.  You can find our new blog here.  We hope you visit and subscribe to the feed.

Insurance Companies: Service or Shenanigans

Last week, the Kansas City Star ran a series of articles discussing complaints in the insurance industry.  For a summary and discussion of the articles, please click here. 

A Sweatshop on Wheels

Trucking accidents are a concern for all drivers, but two new articles in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune really bring those dangers to light. Each article highlights the dangers caused by truckers’ long work hours, though they both have different views on the cause of the long work hours.

For more, click here.

The Medical Malpractice Crises: Was the sky really falling?

Dallas attorney John Browning, who represents doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases, wrote an insightful opinion piece in his local paper earlier this week.  His article, Is The Sky Really Falling?, addresses the alleged medical malpractice crises.

Mr. Browning’s piece includes this conclusion:

If President Bush had listened to Mrs. Thornton’s tragic tale, he would realize that the system is neither broken nor overburdened by frivolous lawsuits; that medical negligence occurs more often than we’d care to admit; and that only a relatively small percentage of cases go all the way to trial and result in a plaintiff’s verdict. I’d also like to think there are ways to address concerns over medical malpractice other than restricting an individual’s right to go to court; such as requiring doctors and hospitals to report errors to a national, federally-supervised database (there is already a National Practition-ers Data Bank that tracks settlements, judgments, and disciplinary actions).

Saying that the sky is falling doesn’t give a complete picture of the medical malpractice issue, and it doesn’t address the most important aspect of all – the safety of patients.

Wrong Side, Wrong Procedure, Wrong Patient

“If you are having surgery, make sure your doctor marks the proper surgical site clearly — and initials it.” That’s a recommendation from a recent Washington Post article titled HEADED FOR THE HOSPITAL? HERE’S HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF.

That sounds a little extreme doesn’t it? While the hospitals may screw something up, surely they’ll get the right area, won’t they? Maybe not. The Archives of Surgery, the official medical journal of surgical associations across the country, has a recent report that studies surgeries (1) where the procedure was performed on the wrong-side or site of the body; (2) where the wrong procedures are performed; or (3) where the doctors operate on the wrong patients. There are no formal methods to report these type of surgeries, but the article’s authors surveyed several separate databases and estimated that there are between 1,300 and 2,700 of these events in the US each year. That means that each day, on average, there are 3-7 operations around the country where a doctor operates on the wrong side, performs the wrong procedure, or operates on the wrong patient. Those numbers would be almost unbelievable if they didn’t come from physicians themselves.

So maybe the advice isn’t so radical, and next time you go in the hospital, remember to protect yourself.

For more information on personal injury and medical malpractice claims, check out our firm’s site. Also, thanks to Virginia attorney Ben Glass for pointing us to the study.

Personal Injury Lawyers: A Few Bad Apples

It’s no secret that trial lawyers, in general, and personal injury lawyers, in particular, have a bad name. We like to believe that this reputation is caused by a few bad apples that really do deserve the name “ambulance chasers.” An undercover story yesterday by WOAI television in San Antonio revealed a situation where one attorney allegedly attempted to circumvent the rules regarding client solicitation.

In Texas, attorneys are prevented from contacting accident victims immediately after a car wreck. This law is designed to limit the “ambulance chasing” that is going on. According to the story, to get around this law, the attorney and chiropractors engaged in a scheme where chiropractors would purchase accident reports and contact accident victims, who were offered free medical treatment. Once at the chiropractors’ offices, the chiropractic staff would have attorneys’ “representatives” in the office ready to sign up the clients. We have heard from others that similar schemes are going on here in Austin and other cities around the state.

To help prevent this loophole, many entities, including many trial lawyers and insurance companies, are requesting legislation that prevents anyone other than parties to wrecks, their insurance companies, and the media from purchasing accident reports until sixty days after the wreck. You can let your legislators know your thoughts on such a proposed law by clicking here.

For more information about personal injury claims, feel free to visit our website.

Litigation as a source of reform

Today’s Washington Post contains a story documenting how the emergency room death of a teenage daughter and the resulting litigation and uproar led to a series of reforms that revolutionized the medical education system. 

 That kind of information is not news to us.  For years, trial lawyers have used litigation and the threat of litigation to help American citizens.   For example, trial lawyers have been responsible for increasing the safety of consumer products and for improving the working conditions of employees throughout the country.  And lawyers have helped reduce environmental pollution.

 The Washington Post article and the other gains from litigation illustrate how we view our work.  At our firm, “holding wrongdoers accountable” is more than a slogan — it’s our mission.

 You can learn more about us through our website.

Holiday Toy Safety

In time for the holidays, the US Public Interest Research Group has just released their 2006 list of dangerous toys. There are the usual suspects of toys that may have choking hazards or dangerously loud noises, but two new threats show up this year. Increasingly popular are toys that contain small, high powered magnets. These magnets are so strong that  if two or more are ingested the attraction can pinch or even tear right through internal organs causing serious injury or death.  Heeding the risk, the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday recalled many of the popular Polly Pocket dolls because of the magnet danger.

The Public Interest Research Group also began testing toys for lead, and a surprising number of toy jewelry sets had alarmingly high rates of lead.

If you’re buying for your kids, grandkids or others, please take a few minutes to look over the list.