Electronic Surveillance of Hours On-The-Job Passes the House

Congressional Republicans proved again that trucking safety is not important to them.  Only after the trucking industry supported legislation calling for electronic surveillance of trucking hour requirements did the Republican-controlled House of Representatives support the bill.


http://www.ohio.com/business/trucking-rule-spurned-by-republicans-as-job-killing-to-likely-become-law-1.322624

With bad economy comes more uninsured drivers—and possibly twice the heartache for those they injure.

As this article shows, the stagnant economy has led more people to drive without car insurance.  Ohio is amongst the riskiest states in America, with at least 16% of drivers on the road lacking insurance.  This leads to article #2 in our series about what the best trial lawyers want you to know:     

The importance of uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage

Most people do not learn about “uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage” (lawyers often call it “UIM coverage”) until it’s too late.  We’ve seen this sad story unfold many times.

If you or a loved one are injured by someone driving without liability insurance (the insurance coverage that pays damages to a person injured in a wreck), you will likely have no practical legal remedy against the wrongdoer.  Sadly, we’ve seen cases where potential clients have been paralyzed by a car wreck that was not their fault, but received nothing, because the wrongdoer was driving without liability insurance.

However, if you purchase UIM coverage on your own automobile insurance policy, you can obtain compensation under your policy for harm caused by a driver who has no insurance.  With UIM coverage, your own insurance carrier stands in the shoes of the uninsured wrongdoer, and must pay damages for any harm the wrongdoer caused you or your family.

Also, even people driving with state limits of liability insurance can be “underinsured, ” because Ohio only requires drivers to carry liability insurance of $12,500 per person injured.  Imagine if such a minimally insured driver crashed into your loved one, causing serious injury requiring hundreds of thousands in medical bills, or causing death.  $12,500 in insurance coverage would do little to remedy the harm they caused.  In such cases, “underinsured motorist coverage” can apply.  If you have purchased higher limits of such UIM coverage under your own policy, your own insurance carrier stands in the shoes of the underinsured wrongdoer, and must pay damages for any harm the wrongdoer caused you or your family.

UIM coverage can be purchased in coverage limits of several hundred thousand dollars or more, to compensate your family for the most serious harms.  And the coverage is surprisingly inexpensive, considering the value it could provide you in a time of disaster.

Ask any of the best trial lawyers anywhere:  what is the most important insurance coverage you can purchase?  They will tell you it is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. 

Our firm represents seriously injured victims of motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes.  We pursue cases and protect your rights against the wrongdoer, or your UIM insurance carrier.  Call Hill Hardman, LLC., if you have any questions, or if we can serve you.

Things the Best Trial Lawyers Want You to Know

We’re often asked by clients and friends to reveal the “secrets” of avoiding a lawsuit—or winning, if you must have one.  There aren’t many true secrets in the law or the court system.  But along those lines, we’ve decided to publish a series of posts discussing (in no particular order) the important things that the best trial lawyers want potential clients to know.  Here’s the first. 

Your Facebook Page Might Become Evidence in Your Case

So many people today publish information about themselves on Facebook (along with Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites).  Many of them assume their posts are private, or at least restricted to their accepted friends or followers.  But more and more courts now require parties in lawsuits to permit their opponents to discover the contents of their social networking sites. 

That means, if you sue someone for damages, your opponent (or their insurance company) may be permitted to access your Facebook page--and not just the parts you make public, but also your log-in information, your posts to friends, your photo albums, and your messages.

Companies being sued in injury cases now aggressively seek this type of information in court.   In one recent case, a woman sued a drug company, claiming their product seriously damaged her jaw.  Her profile picture (which was publicly accessible) showed her “smiling amongst a group of people,” which the defendant drug company claimed was evidence about whether she was truly injured.  Seeking to wriggle through that wormhole, the drug company demanded discovery of everything on the woman’s Facebook page.  The case is Davids v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., No. CV06-0431, (E.D.N.Y. February 24, 2012).

While that company ultimately failed to get discovery of everything they wanted, numerous courts have ruled that the contents of a person’s social networking site, such as Facebook, are discoverable by an opponent in litigation, even if the site is kept private on the internet.  In fact, the majority of reported decisions require a litigant to produce at least some information from their social network sites.  

There are several lessons to learn here, other than the most obvious (namely, whether or not you might become involved in litigation, be careful about what you publish about yourself online):

·        Check your security settings to restrict the general public from accessing your site, if at all possible. 

·        Make sure you tell your attorney if you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, blog, or something similar. 

·        Assume that your opponent and their insurance company are monitoring your site and will use any information they can find to try to hurt your case; consider curtailing your activity while your case is pending.

·        If you are involved in litigation, do not delete or otherwise destroy posts or photos on social networking sites without first getting your lawyer’s advice—you don’t want to be accused or sanctioned for destroying evidence.

·        As always, use common sense about what you discuss with people, online or elsewhere.

Avoidable Medication Errors Kill Patients

According to a report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, medication errors injure or kill 1.5 million people each year.  The extra medical costs caused by these errors is estimated conservatively at $3.5 billion per year.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11623

Of course, the extra medical costs are just the tip of the iceberg.  Injured patients suffer pain, disability, and sometimes death.  Their families lose a parent, a sibling, a child.  If the injured patient is a breadwinner for the family, the family experiences additional and unnecessary economic stress.

If you have suffered a severe injury or a family member has died as a result of a medication error caused by a physician, nurse or other healthcare provider, contact us at 866-699-9758 or visit us at   http://www.hillhardman.com/Medical-Malpractice/Medication-Errors.shtml.  

We can help and we'll take your injury personally.

Federal Government May Require More Sophisticated "Black Boxes" in Cars

The U.S. National Research Council has recommended that all automobiles be fitted with event data recorders or "black boxes" similar to the ones used by the airline industry.  Although many automobiles and commercial vehicles are currently fitted with event data recorders related to air bag deployment and certain engine data, the recommendations could prompt the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to require more sophisticated devices in automobiles and other vehicles. Such devices could aid investigators in determining the cause of accidents.  For more information on this issue, see the link below.

http://news.yahoo.com/black-box-data-recorders-coming-cars-170827597.html

If you've been seriously injured in an automobile or trucking accident, call the lawyers at Hill Hardman, LLC at (330) 253-4000 to see whether event data recorder information may help prove your case. 

http://www.hillhardman.com/Motor-vehicle-accidents/Commercial-Trucking-Accidents.shtml

Ohio Legislature Considers Raising Speed Limit on Ohio Interstates to 70 MPH

The Ohio House of Representatives is considering legislation that would increase the speed limit on Ohio interstate highways to 70 miles per hour for all vehicles.  The bill would also prohibit drivers from using the left lane other than to pass another vehicle. The bill was sponsored by Representative Ron Maag, a Republican from southwestern Ohio.   According to Representative Maag, these changes have already been implemented on the Ohio Turnpike and similar changes in neighboring states have not led to more accidents. 

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/5153000

If you've been injured in a motor vehicle accident, call Hill Hardman, LLC at (330) 253-400 or visit our website at the link below.

http://www.hillhardman.com/Motor-vehicle-accidents/

Ohio Senate Stalls Anti-Texting Bill

Texting while driving is dangerous.  In fact, some researchers have concluded it's as dangerous as drinking and driving.  Nevertheless, the Ohio Senate has stalled legislation that would make texting while driving in Ohio illegal.  For additional information regarding the status of that legislation and similar local laws throughout Ohio, see the attached link.

http://handsfreeinfo.com/ohio-cell-phone-laws-legislation

If you've been injured in an accident caused by a distracted driver, call Hill hardman, LLC or visit our website at the link provided.

http://www.hillhardman.com/Motor-vehicle-accidents/Texting-While-Driving-Accidents.shtml