Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

Legislators have been presented with several recommendations, which are intended to make our roadways safer and, if adopted, would affect drivers of all ages. If you have been involved in a situation involving injuries because of allegedly unsafe driving, contact the personal injury lawyers at Ragland Law Firm, located in Hunterdon County, NJ.

The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) recently recommended prohibiting all use of cell phones, as well as other electronic devices, while driving. The NTSB is encouraging all states in the nation to adopt this ban, claiming that even the use of hands-free devices poses potentially dangerous distractions to drivers. (1) The NTSB wants the ban to apply to all non-emergency use of electronic devices. (2)

The American Automobile Association has stated that one-third of U.S. drivers use their cell phones regularly or fairly often while driving. The Department of Transportation claims that the simple fact of a phone conversation causes drivers to miss both audio and visual cues that could have helped them avoid an accident. (1)

New Jersey experienced an 18% increase in fatal car accidents during the first quarter of 2011. Officials attribute this rise, at least in part, to distracted driving.(1) High on the list of distractions for motorists is the use of cell phones and State officials are taking steps to change this behavior. If, after reading the following, you need a car accident lawyer in Hunterdon County or the surrounding areas to assist you in a similar situation regarding traffic violations, contact the Ragland Law Firm in Lebanon, N.J.

Since March of 2008, talking on a hand-held cell phone and/or texting has been a primary offense in New Jersey, meaning police may stop and ticket a driver solely for the reason of witnessing that driver using a hand-held device. Today such an offense carries a $100 fine and no points on the driver’s license.(2) But that may soon change. There are five bills before the Legislature which, if passed, would give New Jersey the distinction of having the toughest cell phone use laws on the books.(1)

Among the major consequences of the pending legislation would be a graduated increase in the amount of fines associated with distracted driving and the possible suspension of a driver’s license. According to reports, fines under the new law would start at $200 for the first offense and climb to $600 for the third and subsequent offenses. Drivers would also be subject to suspension of their driver’s license for 90 days for third and subsequent offenses.(1)

Traffic accidents are on the rise across the state – a fact that a quick glance at the local news confirms.

• Mount Arlington, NJ Police Officer Killed in Car Crash (October 18, 2011)

• Highland Park. NJ Man Is Struck by Two Vehicles (October 21, 2011)

As rising temperatures lure more people to the water, boaters are reminded to use caution and stay safe.

In under one month, three fatal boating accidents occurred in the waters surrounding New Jersey:

*A Lacey Township man was reported missing and presumed dead after being knocked from a speedboat, apparently by a wave created by another boat. His friend suffered a fractured arm in the incident. (1)

Saturday, May 14, the driver of a pickup truck makes a wide turn, loses control of his vehicle and crashes into a motorcycle, killing the 53-year-old woman driving it. The pickup continues traveling in the wrong direction until it crashes into a second motorcycle, also killing that driver, a 47-year-old woman. (1)

Saturday, May 7, a motorcyclist dies after crashing into the back of a car while traveling on the Atlantic City Expressway. (2)

Sunday, May 1, a 60-year-old Fair Lawn man dies as a result of injuries sustained after crashing his motorcycle into a fence at the Essex County Airport. (3)

The State Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court decision by ruling that New Jersey was an appropriate venue for hearing a personal injury lawsuit concerning a South African motor vehicle accident involving U.S. citizens. (1)

The accident, which occurred in September 2006 about 75 miles southwest of Johannesburg, involved three U.S. citizens: David Edmonds, an employee of General Dynamics-Ordinance and Tactical Systems, Inc., and resident of Florida; and two New Jersey residents, Amin Yousef and Crane Robinson, both civilian employees of the U.S. Army. According to reports, Edmonds was driving a rented van in which Yousef and Robinson were passengers, when he allegedly ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle. (2)

Robinson required surgery in South Africa as a result of the accident and was later treated for leg and neck injuries when he returned to the U.S. Yousef, who was thrown from the vehicle, suffered severe head trauma. He was treated in South Africa for a month before returning to the U.S., where he continued to receive treatment for brain injuries for years. He is now legally blind, suffers cognitive and speech damages and is confined to a wheelchair. (2)

As spring draws near, people eagerly await the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. Walking, jogging and biking have long been popular outdoor activities. Here in the Northeast that means more people sharing already-crowded roadways. Ignoring the rules of the road could have tragic outcomes.

On March 2, 2011, Alison Miller, 33, was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital via airlift after being struck by a car on Route 57 in Hackettstown. It was reported that Ms. Miller was riding her bike in an eastern direction on the westbound shoulder of the roadway when she was hit by a car driven by Karl Weber, 73, as he attempted to make a right-hand turn. No summonses were immediately issued at the scene and, fortunately, Ms. Miller was released from the hospital soon after being treated. (1)

Not all bicycle accidents have such fortunate endings and cyclists have more to worry about than just automobiles. Last month New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a law that would require the collection of data on bicycle crashes within the city and on fatalities and injuries related to those crashes. This legislation was supported by Westfield, N.J. resident Nancy Gruskin, widow of Stuart Gruskin. Mr. Gruskin died in May 2009, three days after being struck by a bicycle deliveryman traveling the wrong way on a one-way Manhattan street. While this law focuses on greater safety for pedestrians in New York, Mrs. Gruskin points out that many residents of New Jersey commute to the city each day and, consequently, are affected by this new law. (2)

A lawsuit seeking to recover damages in the “wrongful death” of a young Newton woman has been filed by the woman’s father against the estate of Brian Kern, driver of the car involved in the fatal collision. (1)

Richard Bubendorf, acting as administrator of his daughter’s estate, filed the lawsuit in State Superior Court in Morristown claiming that Kern was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident and that his reckless driving resulted in the fatal crash. The 25-year-old Kern, an officer on the Andover police force for three years, was off-duty at the time of the accident. (2)

Bubendorf’s 19-year-old daughter, Kristen, was a passenger in Officer Kern’s pickup truck last April 19 when Kern lost control of the vehicle, hit a guardrail and flipped on the westbound lane of Route 80 in Mount Olive. Both Kern and Bubendorf were ejected from the vehicle and died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash; two other passengers suffered injuries but survived the accident. (2)

In a rare move last week, Morris County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Brennan increased an award granted by a civil jury to a 61-year-old Sparta man who lost his right leg as a result of a 2005 snowmobile accident. (1)

The jury in the product liability case against Yamaha Motor Co., manufacturer of the snowmobile, found in favor of Dennis Mohr and awarded him $1,107,000 for pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost income. Of that amount, $100,000 was specifically awarded for pain and suffering. Mohr’s lawyer argued that amount was inconsistent with the severity of Mohr’s injury and filed a motion for an additur. Judge Brennan agreed, adding $900,000 to the settlement, bringing the total to slightly more than $2 million. (2)

Mohr’s injury occurred in February 2005. When the 1995 Yamaha VX600V-R snowmobile Mohr borrowed from his friend wasn’t running smoothly, Mohr and two friends tried to fix the snowmobile. During the process the metal track on which the snowmobile rides broke and the embedded studs tore into Mohr’s leg, severing it about two-thirds of the way. Doctors’ attempts to save the leg failed and it was amputated right above the knee just days after the accident.

A Mount Laurel woman is seeking more than $50,000 in damages for injuries suffered in a bus crash in which four other passengers, including an 18-year-old New Jersey woman, died. (1) (2)

Twenty-six-year-old Candice Burks sustained serious neck, head and back injuries in the crash which occurred in early September in the Salina suburb of Syracuse, NY. Burks, along with 27 other passengers, was riding the double-decker bus traveling from Philadelphia to Toronto, Canada, when it crashed into a railroad bridge abutment at 2:30 a.m. (1)

According to reports, the bus usually makes a rest stop at the Syracuse depot but, on the night of the accident, the bus wound up on the parkway instead of the road to the depot. Both the depot and the parkway entrance ramp are located at the same exit off Interstate 81. Choosing the wrong direction at the fork intersection would put a vehicle on the parkway a short distance from the bridge. That stretch of road offers no place for a vehicle to pull off or room to turn around. (3)