Personal Injury Cases – Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli

Car accident lawyers in New Haven know that backover accidents cause the deaths of about 100 children under the age of five every single year in the United States. This is a serious problem and one that Congress ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address. Back in 2008, Congress told the NHTSA to establish regulations that would require auto makers to include backover cameras in all new vehicles.

The NHTSA, however, has delayed the backover camera rule five times since 2008. Safety advocates have grown so concerned with the NHTSA’s lack of effort to move forward and require this life-saving technology that a lawsuit was actually filed against the agency in September of 2013. A panel was also convened by the United States Senate to review the NHTSA’s actions and determine if the agency has been doing enough.

Is the NHTSA Issuing Regulations at a Reasonable Pace?

The NHTSA first came into existence in 1966. In the decade after the administrative agency was created, more than 50 different important regulations passed, creating a safety framework that still largely remains in place today.

In recent years, however, the NHTSA has taken much less of a proactive role and instead has taken a reactive role. Instead of creating lots of regulations and imposing many requirements on automakers, Auto Blog reports that the NHTSA is now primarily focused on recalling cars after safety issues arises.  This has some lawmakers very concerned. Senator Richard Blumenthal, for example, has indicated that the NHTSA “had to do by recall what it should have been able to do by rule.”

The NHTSA has not only failed to take initiative and create new regulations of its own accord, but even failed to create rules when ordered by Congress like with the backover cameras. The latest news indicate that the next delay may be as long as 18 additional months, which is a huge amount of time to wait since this requirement has already been delayed for so long.

The NHTSA’s delay of this regulation, and the agency’s failure to be more proactive in establishing new requirements, likely has to do with fierce resistance by auto makers. Whenever regulations are proposed, automakers stress the high costs and generally fight vigorously in opposition.

Safety advocates, however, are applying pressure from the other direction, urging the NHTSA to do much more. Safety experts not only want the NHTSA to follow through on the mandate for backup cameras but also want the agency to do other things like introducing rules on electronic controls and upgrading tire safety standards as the current requirements are described as outdated.

Although these are legitimate concerns and safety advocates may have grounds for arguing that the NHTSA should do more, not everyone agrees. Some lawmakers point to the dramatic reduction on vehicle deaths that has occurred over the last four decades and use this to argue that there is no need for additional requirements.

However, the reduction in deaths was largely due to the NHTSA forcing car manufacturers to innovate on safety and incorporate new safety features. It stands to reason, therefore, that if the NHTSA became more proactive at requiring new safety devices, even more lives could be saved by the improved features in vehicles.

Auto accident lawyers in Hartford can help. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli by calling 1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Hartford provides city vehicles to certain employees, but has significantly decreased the number of take-home vehicles in recent weeks after several high-profile accidents. In March, there were 73 vehicles used by city employees, but the Courant reports this number has been reduced to 45 and may decline further.

The mayor cited financial issues for cutting back on the number of take-home city vehicles given to police officers and general government employees. But there is also another reason for scaling back the fleet: concerns about the city’s liability. Auto accident lawyers in Hartford know special rules apply to suing the government after an auto accident, but that there are circumstances under which the city could be liable for employee crashes.

Accidents in City Vehicles Raise Calls for Change

Drivers in take-home city vehicles are not permitted to allow others to drive their cars and are not supposed to use the vehicles for personal use. Many employees, however, have been violating these rules.

The mayor’s chief of staff, for example, was caught using a city vehicle without permission and was charged with interfering with police. The city’s deputy public works director was charged with drunk driving after she totaled a city-issued car and injured another driver in an accident. The Courant also reported on an accident involving the city’s corporation counselor and acting chief operating officer. This accident was the fault of another motorist, but the city-issued vehicle was damaged and the car was being driven by the city employee’s fiancé when the accident occurred at 2:17 a.m. While the driver was another city employee, his operation of the vehicle still violated policies stipulating that “commuter” cars are supposed to be driven only by the assigned employee and only during normal duty hours.

What if an Accident Occurs in a City Vehicle?

With so many recent incidents in city-issued take-home cars, it is easy to understand why the mayor has taken action to significantly reduce the number of vehicles that city employees are permitted to take home.

When a crash happens in a city-issued car, it is possible that the victim of the accident could pursue a claim against the city for the crash damages. Car insurance generally follows the vehicle, not the individual driver of the car, so the city’s insurer could be on the hook for car accident damages simply because the city owns  and insures the cars.

City employees can also be viewed as agents of the government, which would mean that the negligence of an employee in causing a car accident could be seen as the equivalent of the government itself being negligent.  This argument would not always be a valid one for holding the government responsible for an accident, though, because if the employee was violating policy and using the vehicle for personal use, then he or she would not be acting on behalf of the government and agency rules may not apply.

The complications associated with city ownership of take-home vehicles coupled with special rules that exist providing limited governmental immunity mean that anyone injured in a crash with a vehicle owned by a government agency should consult with an attorney for advice on how to best make a claim for compensation.

Auto accident lawyers in Hartford can help. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Recently, the Hartford Courant reported on a tragic accident that resulted in the death of a young baby.  The two-car collision resulted in the death of a 5-month-old as well as critical injuries to an 11-month-old passenger.  The driver of the second car was a 17-year-old.  Police are reportedly investigating the cause of the accident to determine who was to blame.

Lawyers in Hartford, CT know it is important for police to investigate any auto accident that results in serious injury or death. The driver who is to blame for the crash may face both civil liability and criminal liability if the motorist’s actions were negligent or dangerous.

Police Investigating Fatal Accident

The accident reported by the Courant occurred at around 1:20 in the afternoon. A four-door SUV carrying the two infants and their mothers was traveling west on Spencer Street.  The other car with the 17-year-old motorist was traveling north on Hillstown. The SUV and other vehicle collided, causing the SUV to roll over and hit a telephone pole.

The impact of the rollover caused the passenger compartment on the SUV roof to be crushed. The two mothers who were in the SUV were able to exit the vehicle after the accident and were waiting outside of the car when police arrived.  Police indicate that the damage to the SUV was relatively minor, even with the caved in passenger roof, but, unfortunately both infants had to be extracted from the vehicle by rescue personnel. One of the mothers was also taken to the hospital to treat emotional distress resulting from the accident and injuries to the children.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was reportedly unhurt. The teen driver was identified by the police at the accident scene, but it is not yet clear if this driver was to blame for the crash or if the mothers in the SUV were somehow responsible for causing the accident.

Sgt. Hank Minor told the Hartford Courant that it could take days for police to complete the preliminary part of the investigation into what went wrong.  The investigation will include interviewing witnesses as well as obtaining surveillance video from area stores and applying for search warrants for the drivers’ cell phone and maintenance records.

Sgt. Minor said the current evidence regarding the cause of the crash does not give any indication that drugs, speeding or alcohol were involved. Further, there is no evidence to suggest that the teen driver had been texting at the time when the accident happened. Telephone records should help to shed more light on whether the crash was distracted-driving related.

When police complete their investigation, the driver who was found to be at fault could potentially be sued for pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical bills, lost income and/or wrongful death.

If you or your child was injured in an accident, lawyers in Hartford, CT can help. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Early this August, CBS News reported on a disturbing study that strikes fear through the hearts of parents everywhere. The study showed that youth sports can cause extremely serious injury and that severe sports injuries are very common among kids.

Our Hartford injury lawyers know that coaches, schools and professional clubs and organizations need to make sure that kids play safely when they participate in sports. It can be easy for coaches to get carried away with the game, but they need to remember that kids are just kids and that they need to be properly supervised and avoid high-risk situations that could result in serious injury.

Sports Can Create High Risks for Kids

The new study was conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide and demonstrated just how common sporting injuries are for children. According to the study:

• Approximately 1.35 million emergency room visits each year occur as a result of severe sports injuries.
• The most common reason for emergency room visits related to sports were strains and sprains. These injuries were followed by bruises, fractures and scrapes.
• Severe sports injuries account for approximately 20 percent of all injury-related visits to the emergency room that are made by children and adolescents.
• A child gets hurt while playing sports an average of once every 25 seconds in the United States.
• A total of 163,000 of the emergency room visits occur each year because of concussions. This means that 12 percent of the total sports-related visits to the emergency room resulted from head injuries. It also means that a child gets a concussion about once every three minutes.

These injuries can have serious lifelong consequences. Concussions, especially, can have a dramatic and lasting impact on a child’s life.  Traumatic brain injury has been linked to health issues such as dementia and new studies have also suggested that a blow to the head could increase the risk of ischemic stroke.

With about half of the concussions affecting children between the ages of 12 and 15, this is a major cause for concern. Safe Kids indicates that younger children within this age group may take longer than older adults to recover from concussions and that people within this age group are also more likely to develop serious and even potentially deadly brain swelling.

Kids in their formative years, in other words, could be at risk of a fatal injury or could cause themselves harm that affects their entire future.

How Do Sports Injuries Happen?

Sports injuries can occur in any sport, the study revealed. However, football had the highest concussion rate and the highest rate of overall sports injuries.  Wrestling and cheering were also sports that had a high number of injuries, and ice hockey had the highest percentage of concussions among the injuries that players sustained. In fact, as many as 31 percent of injuries that occurred while playing ice hockey were concussions.

These injuries happen for a lot of different reasons, including simple bad luck. Sometimes, however, kids are put into dangerous situations by adults who should know better. If coaches and school teams don’t provide adequate safety equipment or proper supervision to their players, the school or coach could become liable for the harm kids suffer during game play.

If you or your child was injured in an accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Walking is a great way to get around. Some people walk for pleasure while others commute on foot. Unfortunately, walking can also be dangerous if city roads are not designed for pedestrians or if drivers don’t take steps to share the road safely.

Accidents end up happening far too often when pedestrians are involved, and the CDC reports that in 2010 there was a pedestrian killed in a crash an average of once every two hours throughout the year. With another 70,000 pedestrians injured over the course of the same year, there was also a pedestrian injured once every eight minutes.

Our New Haven pedestrian accident lawyers know that the number of pedestrian crashes has increased over the past several years, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reporting that the number of pedestrian fatalities rose eight percent between 2009 and 2011. Something needs to be done to help keep pedestrians safe and the Department of Transportation is taking steps to accomplish this important goal.

Department of Transportation Working to Encourage Pedestrian Safety

The NHTSA announced in the beginning of August that a new set of tools was being launched by the Department of Transportation to help combat the rising number of pedestrian fatalities over the last several years.

The new programs were announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who commented that everyone is a pedestrian at some point no matter where they live or how they commute. Because everyone walks at least sometimes, he said: “We all have a reason to support pedestrian safety, and now, everyone has new tools to help make a difference.”

The new tools that the DOT has made available include resources targeted towards parents; towards local leaders and city planners; and towards all others involved in taking steps to improve safety for pedestrians.

One of the tools available is a new website that has been launched called Everyone is a Pedestrian. The website offers safe walking tips, curriculum and resources for teaching about pedestrian safety, research and statistics on pedestrian accident risks, and programs and activities that can be used by safety educators.

The DOT is also making grants available to cities that have high numbers of pedestrian accidents. More than $2 million has been made available in order to provide funding for education and enforcement initiatives in states where the rate of pedestrian deaths exceeds the national average. States will have the opportunity to apply for these grants until August 30.

The money made available for grants represents a very small percentage of the money that has been dedicated in recent years to improving road safety for pedestrians. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has committed more than $3.8 billion since 2009 to complete more than 11,000 projects to improve safety for pedestrians and bicycle riders.

Hopefully, these efforts by federal transportation and highway agencies will help to make a real difference in bringing the pedestrian death rate down and in saving the lives of those who enjoy taking a walk.

If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

According to the Hartford Courant, a 19-year-old Connecticut woman was recently arraigned on two counts of manslaughter for an accident that occurred in South Windsor. The 19-year-old is allegedly responsible for causing the death of two passengers in her vehicle: a 15-year-old sophomore and an 18-year-old senior.

Our Hartford accident lawyers know that car accidents are the leading causes of death for teen drivers. Unfortunately, it appears that this car accident exemplified virtually all of the dangerous behaviors that put teens at such high risk of dying in auto accidents.

Deadly South Windsor Crash May Have Been Caused by Dangerous Driving Behavior

In June of this year, our Hartford accident lawyers discussed the accident that led to the new filing of manslaughter charges, indicating that it occurred at a dangerous South Windsor spot.  At the time immediately following the crash, the father of one of the victim’s had spoken out and said that he himself had been an accident at the same location decades earlier.  While a bump in the road was suspected of being the cause of the crash, the accident was still being investigated.

Now, however, the Hartford Courant has reported much more information on the crash and the information seems to suggest that there were a great many dangerous choices made that led to the accident.

According to the Courant, the driver was speeding along Abbe Road in order to try to get the “roller-coaster feeling” as the car went over a hill. The 19-year-old woman on trial for the accident said that the other passengers in the car were urging her to go fast and that she saw the speedometer was over 80 miles per hour prior to the accident. Police estimate that the vehicle was going as fast as 84 to 90 miles per hour although the speed limit was just 30 miles-per-hour on that road.

The driver also reportedly had the radio blasting at the time of the accident and witnesses indicate that they had seen her smoking marijuana prior to getting in the car and driving.

When nearby local residents came to offer aid at the accident scene, the woman who is on trial for the crash reportedly told them that she thought she killed her friends. When they asked her why she had sped up, her answer was, “They [her friend’s] told me to. They kept telling me to go faster.”

Teen Behavior May be High Risk

This accident perfectly illustrates three key risk factors for teen drivers: speeding, driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and having too many passengers in the car.

For young people, having multiple passengers in the vehicle can significantly increase the chances of an accident happening. This is why so many states have instituted graduated licensing laws, limiting the number of passengers who can be in the car at one time. With multiple passengers, kids may be more likely to do incredibly dangerous things like the behavior that allegedly led to this crash. Limiting the number of passengers in the car at one time can reduce the chances of this occurring and help to avoid tragedy.

If you were injured in a car accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Driving while fatigued can be just as dangerous as driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which is why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes limits on the number of hours that professional truckers can drive without a break. Even with these limits, however, our New Haven accident lawyers know that an FMCSA study shows around 6,000 truck accidents each year can be attributed to tired drivers.  

To try to reduce the number of accidents and make the roads safer for everyone, the FMCSA instituted changes to the hours-of-service rules in 2011. After a two-year delay and a court battle, these new hours of service rules went into effect on the first of July and the court ruled in early August that the new FMCSA regulations would stand.

The New Hours of Service Rules

The FMCSA made several key changes to the hours-of-service rules that affect long and short haul truck drivers.

One of the changes involved reducing the average weekly hours that a trucker can work. While previously a driver could operate his vehicle for 82 hours in a work week, the new rules reduce the limit to just 70 hours. After the 70-hour limit has been reached, drivers must take a 32-hour continual rest break that includes two full overnights of rest before they can drive again.

Another change that was made mandated that drivers take a 30 minute break within the first eight hours of driving. This is essentially a meal and rest break that ensures drivers can stay focused and avoid fatigue during a day of driving.

The FMCSA first passed the new regulations in 2011 but mandated they would not go into effect until July 1, 2013 in order to give truckers time to make changes. The hope is that now that these rules are in effect, they will make the roads safer for everyone.

Some professional drivers, however, are not happy with the new limitations the FMCSA has passed. The American Trucking Association expressed its concern with how the FMCSA made the new rules, calling the process agenda driven and raising questions about the research that had been done. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), on the other hand, has long been an opponent of changes limiting hours of service because of a belief that truck drivers need flexibility to do their jobs.

Because of their concerns, professional trucking groups challenged the FMCSA regulation in court with the hope that the regulation would be struck down. In early August, however, Truck News reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit retained almost all of the rules and only struck down the 30-minute meal break requirement for short haul drivers.

This means that the regulations are now in effect and will likely stand as the law of the land. OOIDA has indicated that they’ve given up the fight, suggesting they will now get on with training drivers. Hopefully, now that these rules are in place, the number of truck accidents caused by fatigued drivers will be on the decline.

If you were injured in a truck accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

The intersection of Haverford and Ridge Road in Hamden, Conn., is a dangerous intersection that has been the site of countless auto accidents.  In light of yet another recent crash that occurred in early July, residents who live in the area are once again asking the town to do something about the dangerous conditions.

Our Hartford injury lawyers know that a town or city can sometimes be held legally responsible if there are dangerous roads as a result of negligent design or maintenance. By ignoring the high number of accidents and pleas from local residents, the town is putting itself at potential risk for liability when future crashes occur.

Dangerous Intersection The Site of Many Accidents But the Town Won’t Help

According to WTNH, Hamden residents near the intersection of Haverford Street and Ridge Road have been trying for years to get the town to respond to concerns about the dangerous location.

One resident who has lived on Haverford Street for 42 years says he has seen one bad accident after another. Another resident who was talking about the intersection’s dangers six years ago expressed his frustration even back then, commenting that he and his neighbors had requested a traffic light and that he was “getting pretty fed up with this.”

Despite their pleas to the town, unfortunately, nothing has been done to make any changes or to make the intersection safer. The town of Hamden has not even managed to add a four-way stop to the area, which other residents indicated would be a potential solution.

It is the responsibility of the town to make sure that the roads are safe for motorists and if the town fails, it can be held legally liable under certain circumstances. Taking legal action against the government can be more challenging than pursuing a claim against an individual. However, if it can be proven that the town was negligent in not responding to requests to fix the intersection and if it can be shown that city leaders were aware of the risks and failed to take action, then the town could become responsible for compensating crash victims.

Since the town has received ample notice of the potential dangers at the intersection, accident victims may have a case to obtain damages.  Aside from the pleas of the residents, the town has also been able to observe the many accidents that have occurred in the area.  In early July, for example, a van with seven passengers collided with a pickup truck and flipped.  In 2007, an ambulance with a patient onboard also crashed on its side in the exact same location.

The mayor of Hamden has indicated that he has seen pictures of the crash and the police chief has reported that they are trying to find a solution and have hired a consultant to review the area and make the intersection safer. Yet, this problem has been going on for years with no progress. Hopefully, this time the consultant will be able to come up with a solution and the town will take action to protect motorists and to protect itself from legal liability for future collisions.

If you were injured in a car accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Recently, our Bridgeport accident lawyers wrote about the tragic Metro-North train accident that caused injuries and prompted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to launch an investigation. The NTSB has completed its initial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash and the findings show that there may have been advanced warning that the railroad tracks were having problems.

According to the Courant, the investigation is still underway and the exact cause of the derailment has not yet been determined. However, the preliminary information that is coming in does suggest that there may not have been adequate safety measures taken to keep the train safe and avoid injury.

NTSB Report Sheds Light on Bridgeport Train Accident

The Courant reports that the NTSB issued its preliminary report on Wednesday about the Bridgeport train accident. According to the report, an inspection took place two days before the train derailed on the Metro-North’s New Haven line.  The inspection was done on a routine schedule, and a spokesperson for Metro-North indicates that the New Haven line is inspected twice each week by professionals assigned to the area.

These inspectors become very familiar with the tracks, according to the spokesperson, since they look at the same area each time. When the inspection occurred two days prior to the accident, the inspector noted that there was an “insulated rail joint with inadequate supporting ballast and indications of vertical track movement of the track system under load.” In other words, a potential problem with the track was noted on the inspection report.

This problem was not considered serious enough to require immediate attention, according to a Metro-North spokesperson. The inspector indicated on his report that there was not a need for immediate maintenance, as there are some maintenance issues that require the trains to be stopped and others that simply need to be watched but not addressed right away.

Unfortunately, the area where this problem was noted was the same area where the train derailed. While the NTSB was cautious to indicate in its report that the cause of the train derailment has not yet been determined, it is not good news that there was a noted problem on the track at the same area where the train accident occurred.  It would be a very big coincidence if a noted break in the track just happened to be in the same spot where the train derailed but the break did not cause or contribute to the accident.

If, in fact, the NTSB finds that the train accident was caused by this broken area in the track, then the evidence of the earlier inspection report could be a strong indicator that Metro-North was negligent in not repairing the tracks.

Lawsuits have already been filed by victims who were hurt in the crash, claiming that the company is to blame and should thus be required to compensate victims. While Metro-North estimated the damage from the train accident at $18 million, the losses to the injured victims may not be immediately known as sometimes serious injuries are not apparent right after a crash occurs.

If you were injured in a train accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Our New Haven medical malpractice lawyers know that many doctors are concerned about being accused of medical malpractice for their acts or for their omissions. In recent decades, fear over medical malpractice lawsuits has led to doctors making decisions that are not always in the best interests of the patients.  For example, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cesarean sections performed because doctors want to reduce their chances of being sued for labor and delivery injuries. There has also been an increase in the number of medical tests performed across many different fields and specialties as doctors are afraid of misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose patients and getting sued because of it.

Unfortunately, when a doctor’s care decisions are driven by fear and by a focus on avoiding medical malpractice lawsuits, patient care can suffer. The doctor’s bad choices can actually cause harm and can result in the physicians facing the very thing they were trying to avoid: a medical malpractice claim.   One example of a situation where a fear of medical malpractice may put patients in danger, for example, is when kids are given unnecessary CT scans.

Study Shows Childhood CT Scans Increases Cancer Risk

According to a recent article on  Time Health and Family, the use of computed tomography (CT scans) almost tripled between 1996 and 2010. The number of scans during this time period went from 52 scans for every 1,000 patients to 149 scans for every 1,000 patients.  There were a few reasons for this increase in CT scans, including both advancements in medical technology and the increasing fear about medical malpractice claims.

The author of one study, a professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco, indicated that the threshold has been lowered for CT scans and that the scans are now used for almost any reason. This has resulted in the scans being used more than necessary and more than is clinically indicated.

The consequences of this over-testing are not minor, especially when the tests are performed on children.  Researchers recently conducted a massive study involving looking at the records of more than 10.9 million people born between 1985 and 2005. The study compared the cancer rates of kids exposed to CT scans in early childhood with the rates of kids who did not receive such scans. The participants were tracked for between 10 to 17 years.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the study revealed that kids exposed to CT scans were more likely to develop cancer than those who had not had such testing done.   Kids who had scans done before age five had a 35 percent increased risk of developing cancer during the study period, while the overall increase in patients who had scans versus those who did not was 24 percent.

The findings of this study are disturbing because many of the kids who got CT scans likely didn’t really need them. For example, many kids are given a CT scan as a result of any head trauma in order to rule out internal bleeding or other serious problems that would cause immediate surgery. However, only around two percent of kids who get these scans actually need treatment.

Doctors need to be aware of the dangers of CT scans to kids and should be sure they are really making an informed choice about whether they are ordering a CT scan to protect the child or to protect themselves from a malpractice claim.

Further, doctors need to ensure that parents understand the risks and give informed consent before performing any testing on a patient. A failure to obtain informed consent can lead to a medical malpractice claim.   The more informed parents are, the better position they will be in to decide if a medical test or procedure is right for their kids.

If you were injured by medical malpractice, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.