Articles Posted in Personal Injury

Halloween is all about fun and being scared for one night. Make sure the fun does not end with a frightening crash. Statistics indicate that children are more than twice more likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Unsafe conditions are created with sunset occurring prior to 7:00 p.m. and children being out on the streets as pedestrians to gather candy. The popular hours to trick-or-treat are between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

AAA Idaho suggests these basic Halloween safety tips:

• Drive slower than posted speed limits. Children are excited and preoccupied with the activities of the night and forget about traffic and potential dangers. They may dart out into traffic. Young children lack the ability to judge the speed and distance needed for a car to stop.

By Patrick N. George

All manufacturers have a legal responsibility to design, create, and sell products that are free of defects and safe for consumers to use. However, this does not always happen. Manufacturers sometimes overlook safety regulations or rush the manufacturing or testing process. At times they do not have qualified safety design people examining and testing the product. As a consequence, products that can cause consumers injury manage to find their way into the public purview.

Every consumer, has legal rights under product liability laws whenever you purchase a product. These laws ensure that manufacturers, wholesalers, and vendors are responsible for their product and any injuries that result from the proper use of the product. Product liability cases may relate to illness, injury, or death caused by improper label warnings, defective auto parts, dangerous toys, contaminated food, defective trailers, and more.

Recent news reports of accidents are a reminder of the importance of seat belt use. A head-on crash happened on Tuesday evening, October 18, 2016 near Caldwell on U.S. Highway 20/26 between a 1997 Ford Taurus driven by Joseph Upchurch of Nampa and a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The Ford crossed the center line while traveling eastbound on the state highway near the intersection of Farmway Road, and struck the Chevrolet driven by Jorge Ruiz of Nyssa, Oregon. The Ford rolled and came to a stop off the side of the road. The driver, Upchurch, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported to a local medical center. The highway was blocked for almost 2 hours. The crash is still under investigation by the ISP.

Another accident which occurred on Saturday afternoon October 22, 2016 on Notus Road near Red Top Road was a single car crash with tragic results. A 65 year-old woman from Parma, Martha Booth, who was driving a 1998 Dodge pickup on Notus Road, went off the road onto the left shoulder, returned to the road and overcorrected, causing the pick-up to roll. A child who was a passenger in the pickup was ejected and died at the scene. Ms. Booth was transported to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center by air ambulance. Neither the driver nor the child was a wearing seat belt. The ISP investigated the crash scene for 3 ½ hours.

The Office of Highway Safety-ITD reports that seatbelts are estimated to be 50% effective in preventing serious and fatal injuries. 80% of Idahoans used their seat belts in 2014 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) statistics. A large number of the fatalities involving children indicate they were unbelted at the time of the crash.

By Rachel Miller

With winter weather comes some enjoyable things – snowmen, skiing/snowboarding, Christmas. However, winter weather also brings the not so fun – snow and ice on our roadways, sidewalks, and other common walkways. Business owners have a natural incentive to keep their sidewalks and entryways free of snow and ice – they want customers to have easy access to their establishments. However the possibility of litigation and liability should be another incentive for business owners to do their best to keep their property ice and snow free.

Idaho law places different duties on owners of property depending on the status of the person entering the property. Most individuals that enter a business property are termed “invitees” – the business invites them for the purpose connected with the business. This is true even for individuals that do not buy or do not intend to buy something. They are the invitees of the business. The duty that the business owner owes to its invitees is to inspect and make the premises safe. Therefore, a business owner must actively try to keep its property free of snow and ice so that an invitee does not fall. It is not enough if the business owner does not know of a dangerous condition (think black ice), a business owner has a duty to inspect the premises and remove the dangerous condition – i.e., inspect the premise for slippery conditions and do the best he can to remedy the situation. During a snowstorm, you are not likely able to keep the property completely free of snow and ice and the law is cognizant of this and also places a duty on the invitee to use ordinary care. However, as soon as it becomes possible, a business owner has a duty to treat and remedy snowy and icy conditions.

By Rachel Miller

Winter. Ugh. (Unless you are a winter sports fan, of course). However, even winter sports fans have to deal with the messiness that comes with Idaho winters – including snowy and icy driveways, sidewalks, and stairs, and the obligatory shoveling and de-icing of those surfaces. Of course it is good neighborly to clear your driveways and sidewalks of ice and snow, and certainly will keep you safer as you enter and exit your property. However, some times you are absent from home, may not have the time to get to it right away, or may have property that creates unique challenges to keep it entirely snow and ice free.

Many people want to know what their duties and liability would be if someone were to slip and fall on ice or snow at there residential property. (Note: The law is different for business owners, and not covered in this blog). In Idaho, everyone has a general duty of care for the safety of themselves and others. However, owners of property have more particular duties of care towards the persons entering their property. First, if the person is a trespasser, there is no duty to her other than to not willfully create conditions that will injure her (think an intentional trap). Next, most people enter a residential property for social purposes – what the law terms a “licensee.” A licensee is also a visitor who enters the property in pursuit of the visitor’s purpose. A property owner’s duty towards licensees is to disclose to the visitor only concealed dangerous conditions on the property of which the owner has knowledge. Additionally, a visitor must take the land as the possessor uses it, and is expected to be alert and to protect himself from the risks he encounters. Consequently, as snow and ice on Idaho driveways is likely not a concealed condition, and a visitor has the duty for her own care, a person is not likely to be held liable if someone slips and falls on snow and ice on residential property.

By Rachel Miller

Some people love their furry household friends, and treat them like family members. Others… not so much. Whether you are a dog person, cat person, or people person, no person likes being intimidated or injured by another person’s pet.

In Idaho, all persons have the duty to use ordinary care for the safety of themselves and others. Consequently, pet owners have a duty to see that their animals, whom they have responsibility, do not injure others. Under Idaho law an “at-risk dog” is any dog that without justified provocation bites a person without causing serious injury. A “dangerous dog” is any dog that without justified provocation inflicts serious injury on a person or that has previously been found to be at-risk and thereafter bites or injures a person. “Justified provocation” means any act that a reasonable person with common knowledge of dog behavior would know is likely to instigate a bite or attack by an ordinary dog. Consequently, a dog is justly provoked when it dog is defending another from an attack, it attacks a person committing a crime on the property of the owner, the person was tormenting or abusing the dog, the dog was protecting offspring, the dog was a service animal or other hunting or herding dog that was performing its trained function, the person was intervening between two or more animals engaged in aggressive behavior or fighting.

How often have you traveled behind a truck, trailer or pick-up and witnessed an unsecured load dumping debris, large items, household items or even large pieces of furniture onto the roadway?  The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that at 55 mph, an object weighing 20 pounds strikes with an impact of half a ton when it falls from a vehicle.

As indicated by the pictorial above, the AAA Foundation’s national study found that between 2011 and 2014, unsecured loads and road debris caused 200,000 crashes, 39,000 injuries and more than 500 deaths.  Motorists need to be aware of the consequences and dangers of hauling unsecured items.  No matter how fast your speed or how long (or short) your trip may be, all items in a load must be properly strapped down and securely anchored.  Even at slow to moderate speeds, heavy items can become loose during an abrupt stop or from other unanticipated road conditions.

Additionally, big rig truck tires often shed debris from badly worn or underinflated tires which is left on the highway.  On congested roadways, motorists have little time to react creating a recipe for disaster.  ITD crews consider it a top priority to clean up and alleviate debris thrown from big rigs to avoid crashes.

Two vehicles were involved in a crash Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 10:18 a.m. on I-184 near the Curtis Road exit in Boise.  The accident caused injuries to two people.  The eastbound lanes of traffic on the I-184 connector were blocked for about an hour.  The ISP reports that a Sport Utility Vehicle hit a guardrail, rolled over and landed on its side facing the opposite direction of traffic.  Another vehicle that was traveling immediately behind the SUV was not able to stop to avoid a crash and hit the SUV.

Both drivers suffered minor injuries; one was taken to the hospital by ambulance.  Police are investigating the accident.  It is unknown at this time what caused the driver of the SUV to crash into the guardrail.   ITD’s data indicates that the most common contributing factor in multiple vehicle crashes is inattention/distraction (21%) and second most common factor is following too closely (20%).

ITD’s 2015 Traffic Crash Clock indicates that a crash occurs every 21.9 minutes and a person is injured in a crash every 39.8 minutes.  Crashes occurring between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. number from 900 to over 1500.   Idaho’s population increase is associated with added motorists traveling on the roadways each day.  Traffic accidents and congestion are now commonplace during peak hours especially in urban areas.  Over 3000 injury-related crashes occurred last year in the cities of Boise and Meridian.

The nationwide non-profit public safety program “Operation Lifesaver” was implemented to raise awareness and promote education to keep citizens safe at train crossings.  The program began in Idaho in 1972.  Each year the Idaho State Police (ISP) conducts its “Cops on Trains” to spend the day patrolling railroad crossings and stop motorists who try to drive past lowered crossing gates and/or around barriers.

Travis Campbell, the Operation Lifesaver coordinator for Idaho, says “Cars are not built to be taking impacts for trains.  The weight ratio between your car and a soda can is about the weight ratio between the train and your car.”  The odds of surviving a crash with a train are 4,000 to 1.  When a law enforcement officer is dispatched to respond to a vehicle versus train crash, they anticipate fatalities.  Operation Lifesaver spreads awareness through the three Es:  Education, Engineering, and Enforcement.

Vehicle versus train crashes are totally preventable.  In Idaho it is unlawful to pull out in front of a train that is 1500 feet of a crossing or is dangerously close to the crossing.  It is also unlawful to drive any vehicle around or under any crossing gate or barrier. See I.C. § 49-648.  When you see the flashing lights at a rail crossing, HIT THE BRAKES and STOP.  Do not try to cross the tracks with a train approaching.  That train you see approaching is closer and moves faster than you think.  Never take a chance to try to beat the train; it is better to arrive late than not at all.  Additional information about Operation Lifesaver and Rail Safety is available at www.oli.org

Recent news reports from the Twin Falls area highlight concerns regarding school zone safety for young students.  Parents living within the Rock Creek Elementary school district express the need for improvements on Grandview Drive North since a portion of the road does not have sidewalks.  Although bus routes have been changed to accommodate the students living in the Hometowne Place subdivision, many students prefer to walk or ride their bicycles to school.

Children walking or riding their bicycles to school can be unpredictable since they do not recognize the potential dangers involved in sharing the road with motorists.  The speed limit in school zones is 20 mph.   Drivers who do not obey the posted speed limit will be fined a minimum of $75 pursuant to I.C. §49-658.  In most jurisdictions, additional court costs and fees apply which increases the total penalty and costs from $116.50 to $151.50.

Nearly 1/3 of the pedestrians killed each year is between the ages of 4 and 14 and involved a pedestrian v vehicle crash.  It is important for parents to talk to their children and encourage safety by following simple rules, such as:  a) cross the street at intersections, never from behind parked cars or in the middle of the block; b) know what traffic signals mean; and, c) cross the street only when the “Walk” signal is lit up.  A number of school zones have yellow flashing lights when children are present.  However, children should be aware that not all drivers slow down for the flashing lights.