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Consumer Concerns and Advice Recent UpdatesMay 12, 2008 May 05, 2008 April 30, 2008 April 22, 2008 April 14, 2008 Web ResourcesChalat Hatten & Koupal PC
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Many elements of the legal world just defy classification other than the bizarre or the universal.
Youthful Drivers Face Deadly Obstacles
The study also found that, across the U.S., fatal crash rates for teens are double in rural areas compared to cities and suburbs. Nationally, of the 43,437 fatal crashes involving teen drivers from 2000 through 2005, 29,998 were in metro areas. But the average rate of fatal teen crashes in rural areas nationally is 51.5 annually per 100,000 teens, compared to 25.4 in metro areas. The greatest disparities in rural over metro crash rates was seen in Florida, with Delaware and Utah also posting significant differences. Of particular concern to Colorado families, Denver is first in the nation for fatal alcohol- and drug-related car crashes involving teenagers. When drugs and alcohol aren't factors, however, the city ranks 60th for crashes that kill teens, the survey of the nation's 100 largest metro regions indicated. The study reports that in 42.5 percent of the Denver metro region's fatal teen crashes speed is a cause, 21.2 percent involve alcohol, and 10.6 percent are drug-related. Failure to wear a seatbelt was a factor in 38.1 percent of the fatalities. Sixty-five per cent of the teenage victims in Colorado fatal crashes are boys, the study found. Fifteen-year-olds in Colorado make up 4.7 percent of the victims; 18.1 percent are 16-year-olds; 23 percent are 17-year-olds; 27.5 percent are 18-year-olds, and 26.7 percent are 19-year-olds. For more information on the safety of teen drivers, see State Laws Saves Teens.
Avoid Getting Nailed The air-powered nail gun has become a mainstay at construction sites across the nation. As the tool's popularity surged during the building boom of the 2000s, nail gun injuries also took off despite decades of warnings from researchers and doctors that the guns are dangerous, especially those equipped with a mechanism that allowed automatic firing, in "contact trip" mode.
Justice for Sale For 40 years, no incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court justice ever lost an election - not, that is, until this month, when a business-backed circuit judge narrowly defeated the first African-American to serve on the state's highest court. But the victory of Michael Gableman over Louis Butler was stands out because the race came with such cost, partisanship, and confrontation-hardball trends that are expected to appear in judicial races nationwide. At an estimated $5 million, the cost of the Wisconsin race set records, and its campaign ads-largely sponsored by outside groups-were so negative and in some cases so misleading that they were criticized by a state watchdog group. One of Gableman's ads falsely implied that Butler had gotten out of jail a convicted rapist who then committed a second sexual assault. (In fact, the second assault occurred after the man served his full sentence.) Another ad by the pro-Butler teachers union accused Gableman of sentencing child sex offenders far below the maximum, but it used the example of an offender who received a higher sentence than the one the prosecutor recommended.
Wheels of Justice Move Very Slowly Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay $20 million to settle the last in a series of lawsuits that claimed it was responsible for poisoning water in the Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, as depicted in the movie "Erin Brockovich."
Who Says Talk Is Cheap? Talk isn't always cheap, as International Paper Co. learned recently when it agreed to pay $5.2 million to settle a personal injury suit related, at least in part, to one of its employees' use of a cell phone while driving. An International Paper employee was on her company-supplied cell phone as she drove west on an interstate near Dublin, Ga., when she rear-ended a vehicle. The collision pushed hit car into the ditch on the right side of the road, overturning it so that the driver's side hit and then slid along the roadway -- with the driver's arm trapped between the door and the asphalt. Medical complications eventually forced the driver, a widowed mother of four, to have her arm amputated almost up to the shoulder.
State Laws Saves Teens Nationwide, car crashes are the leading cause of death for youngsters aged ten through eighteen. A study released Monday showed that riding unbuckled with new teen drivers on high-speed roads created the worst case scenario. Other dangerous circumstances include teen drivers who had been drinking alcohol, male teen drivers and driving on weekends, according to the study by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
Beast or Best Friend? A Santa Rosa woman who was badly injured by a bulldog has settled her lawsuit against the dog owner for $1 million. Wendy Rydberg will receive $900,000 and her husband and two children will receive about $33,000 each.
Hunters Bag More Than Just Wildlife Just this week in Colorado, a hunter found the remains of a man killed in the crash of an all-terrain vehicle. Another Colorado hunting party discovered the remains of a northern Michigan man missing since 2003. A coroner says the hunters found the remains of Ray Wiggs, III of Alanson, Michigan. The 19-year-old and a friend traveled to Colorado in October of 2003 for a camping trip. Outdoorsmen are an integral part of law enforcement, regularly finding human remains in areas killers hoped would keep secrets. But what is remote in August may be well-trodden in November; what was leaf-covered will reveal what's behind. Someone leaving the city for the quiet of autumn woods may find more than serenity or a six-point buck. He may find a crime scene. |
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The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation. | |
A study released last week by Allstate Insurance Company identifies "hotspots" where fatal teen driving crash rates are highest. The study examines recent federal crash statistics, Allstate claims data on teen collisions, and U.S. Census bureau statistics to score metro areas across the nation on rates of fatal crashes involving teen drivers. The "Allstate America's Teen Driving Hotspots" study found that the 10 deadliest hotspots among the nation's 50 largest metro areas are concentrated in the southern United States and include three in Florida.