Category: Tuscaloosa

Aug 29, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Alabama car crashes are expected to soar this Labor Day weekend, as traffic forecasters are predicting a surge in travelers this year, due to a brighter economy and cheaper gas prices. Our Tuscaloosa injury lawyers understand that a new report from the American Automobile Association predicts a 4.2 percent spike in overall Labor Day holiday travel. Meanwhile, the National Safety Council is anticipating a nearly 6 percent increase in the number of Labor Day weekend fatalities on the roadway, from about 375 last year to nearly 400 this year. About 56 percent of those, the NSC estimates, will be alcohol related (as compared to roughly 33 percent on any normal weekend). Of those, the majority of drivers are expected to be males, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 34.

Jul 10, 2013 - Truck Accidents by Cross & Smith

A federal law that would increase weight and size limits for large commercial trucks is being opposed not only by road safety advocates but also by trucking professionals. Our Tuscaloosa truck accident lawyers understand that members with the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, or OOIDA, are urging lawmakers to reject HR612, which would allow bigger, heavier trucks on the highway. The trucking association said there is no reason to extend the limits beyond the current threshold. When Congress passed its two-year highway bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (or MAP-21), members rejected a clause that would have boosted size limits for tractor-trailers. It did however call for comprehensive research to be conducted concerning the effect of truck weight and size on freeway infrastructure, safety and the overall economy.

Jul 7, 2013 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

It’s been just over two years since Alabama passed a law forbidding young athletes from continuing to play if a concussion is suspected. Our Tuscaloosa brain injury lawyers know that the measure failed to receive a lot of publicity when it passed. In some areas, officials say it’s going to take time to spread the word. There is no enforcement component of the law, but athletic facilities that fail to adhere may face a refusal of coverage by insurance companies. That certainly helps.

Jun 27, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Laws related to cell phone use and education campaigns related to distracted driving usually stress the dangers of handheld phone devices. In fact, drivers may be required to use hands-free tools or urged to make use of Bluetooth and text-to-speech as a means of reducing the risk of a distracted driving crash. Unfortunately, recent studies indicate that hands-free devices may not actually be any safer than using a phone that you are holding onto. Our Tuscaloosa accident lawyers know that your brain is still focused on something other than the road whenever you are texting or talking, regardless of whether you have a hands-free device or not. The recent studies confirm not only that you face cognitive distractions from the use of a hands-free phone but also that texting via voice may be even more dangerous than sending a text the old fashioned way.

Jun 18, 2013 - Truck Accidents by Cross & Smith

The number of Tuscaloosa truck accidents will hopefully be reduced with the implementation of new hours-of-service regulations, effective July 1, 2013 and handed down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Unfortunately, many trucking companies, including the American Trucking Association, have opposed the regulations, saying it will cost them millions of dollars more than what the FMCSA has estimated. Just to implement the program, companies say, will cost them $320 million. The FMCSA, meanwhile, anticipates the industry will see a benefit of between $135 million and $300 million annually, due to a reduction in crashes, which result in loss of productivity, hefty insurance payouts and other expenses. The agency says the cost of implementation should only be about $200 per long-haul driver, with another $270 lost annually per driver in terms of productivity loss from fewer hours of drive time.

Jun 6, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Dangerous vehicles and vehicle parts can be a contributing factor to serious Tuscaloosa car accidents resulting in injury and even death. Most of the time, when companies become aware of design flaws that could make their products unsafe, they issue a recall. Currently, we have one manufacturer who has issued a massive recall and another that is refusing to do so. It’s worth noting that a company can be held liable for accidents and injuries caused as a result of their defect, regardless of whether a recall is issued. Still, the issuance of one, particularly when there is a recommendation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, shows good faith that the manufacturer is doing all it can to protect the safety of consumers.

May 20, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

A measure has been proposed to lower the legal blood-alcohol content for motor vehicle operators. The proposed limit seems to be gaining support in Congress. Our Tuscaloosa car accident attorneys understand that the National Transportation Safety Board is urging the federal government and all 50 states to back a measure that would reduce the legal BAC threshold from the current standard of 0.08 percent down to 0.05 percent. The proposal was prompted by the fact that over the last 10 years, the number of DUI fatalities nationwide has hovered around 10,000 people annually. Impairment from alcohol plays a role in about one out of every three fatal crashes in the U.S.

May 15, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

Alabama needs to get better about buckling up. Our Tuscaloosa car accident lawyers know that you can’t always prevent a crash from occurring, but your first line of defense is to make sure you and your passengers are strapped in. A report released recently by the Alabama Department of Transportation indicates that nearly 60 percent of people who died in traffic crashes in Alabama last year weren’t wearing a seat belt. Of course, it’s worth noting that some of those incidents involved vehicles that did not have seat belts, such as school buses. However, of the approximately 425 traffic fatality victims who were inside vehicles equipped with seat belts, 251 of those weren’t wearing them.

Apr 29, 2013 - Truck Accidents by Cross & Smith

A recent series of crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the underride guards standard with most U.S. big rigs pose a substantial risk of a passenger vehicle sliding under the truck in certain types of crashes. Our Alabama truck accident lawyers know that finding out more about this problem is key because once a passenger vehicle slides under a large trailer, the risk of serious injury and fatality spikes significantly. National standards require most semitrailers to be equipped with underride guards, which are steel bars that hang from the back of the trailer. The primary aim of the equipment is to prevent a passenger vehicle from sliding underneath the trailer in the event of a crash.

Apr 22, 2013 - Tuscaloosa by Cross & Smith

A new study shows that more children are being rushed to emergency rooms across the country for swimming pool injuries than they were two decades ago. Our Tuscaloosa swimming pool injury lawyers were troubled to learn that there were more than 1.5 million injuries from swimming in the U.S. involving people of all ages from 1990 and 2008. That number has increased yearly from roughly 80,000 back in 1990 to 93,000 in 2008. That’s an overall increase of 16.25 percent. When the researchers broke it down to examine only those injuries to children, the results were even more dramatic. For children 7 years of age or older, the rate of swimming pool injuries increased by 30 percent. It went from 9 injuries for every 10,000 to 11 injuries for every 10,000. Children under the age of 17 accounted for almost 60 percent of all swimming-related injuries.