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Rash of Accidents in Hartford

December 10, 2014 By

There have been several delays in areas east of Hartford due to a rash of accidents in Hartford.

According to a spokesman from Tolland Fire Department, an accident caused delays on the Interstate 84 west between Exits 68 and 67. The crash involved a car, a state Department of Transportation (DOT) plow truck and a tractor-trailer. The emergency management director, Fire Chief John Littell said that the driver of the DOT truck was treated at the scene and transported to Manchester hospital and the tractor-trailer driver was also injured and transported to Hartford Hospital.

Around about the same time, another crash blocked two lanes on Interstate 84 west near Exit 65 in Vernon.

State police said that a mix of snow and sleet, had begun falling at the same time as the evening rush hour, but they did not know whether the crashes were weather related. Both incidents were still under investigation.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of a truck accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: I-95 Accidents

Who is Responsible for Truck Accidents?

December 6, 2014 By

If you are ever in an accident with a semi or commercial truck, the first thing to do is to establish who is liable for the accident as it may not only be the driver, it could also be the company who owned the truck or who employed the driver.

Firstly it needs to be determined what relationship the driver had with the company, whether he or she was an independent contractor or an employee. This needs to be discovered to establish who should bear responsibility for the accident.

Usually truck companies can be held responsible for the acts of their drivers even in cases where the driver makes a mistake, such as falling asleep, if it can be proved the company was responsible for making the driver work long hours, or they knew he or she was not fit to drive.

Also the company is responsible for ensuring that the driver is qualified to drive. So should the driver have a poor record in terms of the previous accidents or if they have had traffic tickets for several offences in the past, hat is another reason for the company to take the responsibility.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of a truck accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

 

Filed Under: connecticut auto accidents

Award of Nearly $8 million for Man Hit by a Truck

November 18, 2014 By

An award of nearly $7.3 million has been awarded to the estate of a state Department of Transportation supervisor who was killed while working on Route 8 near Waterbury in 2012.

On March 22, 2012, 41 year old Daniel DiNardi, 41, of Rocky Hill, parked his vehicle on the shoulder of Route 8 North, just to the north of Exit 29 in the city of Waterbury and was picking up debris from the side of the road and putting it in his DOT truck, which had its emergency lights flashing.

At the same time, Gina Davies was driving a tractor-trailer when she suddenly veered from the northbound lane and onto the shoulder of the road, hitting DiNardi.  She said she was distracted by a phantom vehicle and was subsequently charged and convicted in August 2013 of misconduct with a motor vehicle and other offenses. She was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after two years, along with three years of probation.

The trial lasted about six days in October this year and although Davies denied being at fault, having deliberated for 55 minutes the jury returned a verdict of $7,290,000.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of a truck accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

 

 

 

Filed Under: I-95 Accidents

New Technology Might Help Rear End Collisions

November 11, 2014 By

Interstate 95 is one of the busiest roads in the United States which links the north to south from Maine to Florida. It is 1,918 miles long and started to be built back in 1956.

According to the Department of Transportation, 60 percent of I 95 is heavily congested and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows that the part of the I 95 in Florida is considered to be the deadliest road in American.

One of the major problems on the road is the number of crashes which involve trucks, especially rear end collisions. This type of collision does not just happen on the I 95, with two or three rear end collisions involving heavy trucks happening every hour somewhere in the United States. Unfortunately when a semi trailer is involved in this type of accident there is a much greater chance of an injury or fatality.  In 2012, in large truck crashes, 3,514 people died 67 percent of whom were in passenger vehicles.

However now, several companies are looking to develop special technology with a system which alerts drivers if they are slow moving or stationary vehicles or objects ahead and which automatically apply brakes if needed. It is yet to be seen if they are affective.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of a rear end collision, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: I-95 Accidents

Safety Issues in Fleet Management

November 4, 2014 By

Managing fleets of trucks and vehicles is a full time job but if procedures and policies are clearly laid down so that those operating the vehicles know exactly what is expected of them, then safety will improve and accidents should decrease.

As well as ensuring that the drivers are sufficiently well qualified to drive the particular vehicle, the vehicles themselves should be well maintained. Drivers should be told to carry out an inspection themselves each day before they leave in the vehicle, to check air in tires, sufficient oil and water and the lights all work.

They should also be educated in reporting maintenance issues and in how to get their vehicles fixed. Standards should be laid down to say how often a vehicle should undergo maintenance.

Organizations should invest in driver training to help correct any bad habits and companies should insist on drivers wearing seat belts, as according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, not wearing a seat belt leads to the deaths of more than half of fatally injured drivers.

Employees need to know the right way to report collisions, including who to contact and how to record the details, including taking photos of the scene.

By taking a proactive approach to fleet safety management, companies can help to protect the health and safety of their employees and deliver more profit to their businesses.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of a truck accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: I-95 Accidents

The Facts About Texting and Driving

October 27, 2014 By

There are several forms of distracted driving but perhaps the most dangerous and prevalent form in the United States is texting and driving. The reason in because there are three different kinds of distractions – visual, manual, and cognitive – and texting is one of the very few, possibly the only distraction, that involves all three kinds. Texting and driving is a danger not only to the driver who is texting but to everyone else on the road with that driver.

There are some important and sobering facts about texting and driving that people should know in order to develop better and safer driving habits.

  • According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2013, drivers who engage in visual-manual tasks like reaching for the radio or typing on a cell phone keypad are three times more likely to cause a car crash than those who don’t.
  • In a separate study conducted over a 30-day period, nearly 70 percent of drivers in the United States between the ages of 18 and 64 admitted that they had talked on their cell phone while driving during that period and 31 percent admitted to reading or sending either a text or email message while driving.
  • At any given moment during daylight hours in the US, there are approximately 650,000 drivers on the road either using a cell phone or some other electronic device while driving.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of an auto accident with a distracted driver, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: I-95 Accidents, I-95 Safety

Driving Safety Tips for Teens

October 13, 2014 By

Statistics show that teenage drivers are responsible for more car crashes in the United States than any other age group. Much of this can be attributed to the inherent inexperience that comes with being a teen driver but there are things that teens can do to help develop better driving habits and keep themselves, their passengers, and other drivers on the road safe while driving.

  • Do Not Text While Driving – The argument can be made that cell phones should simply be turned while driving but many parents like to be able to reach their teenage kids to check up on them while they are driving. Texting, however, is a completely different story. Texting has become one of the leading causes of death on America’s roads and unfortunately the majority of those responsible are teenagers.
  • Obey the Posted Speed Limit – Nearly 40 percent of fatalities on the road involving teenagers are caused by speeding. Teens often feel an element of “peer” pressure to keep up with other traffic that may be driving faster. By driving at a safe rate of speed, teenage drivers help ensure that they will make it to their destinations safely and that they won’t be bringing home any speeding tickets.
  • Drive Defensively – Staying at least one car length behind the car ahead of you, maintaining a keen awareness of traffic on all sides by using rearview mirrors, and obeying posted speed limits significantly reduces the chances of an accident.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of an auto accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Seat Belts Reduce Deaths and Serious Injuries from Car Crashes

October 2, 2014 By

Since the 1970s, safety standards for passenger vehicles in the United States have improved substantially. Improvements to injury prevention systems in vehicles and the technology used therein have also increased over the last forty years. But of all the technological and design advancements implemented into America’s automobiles, none has been able to replace the seat belt as the most effective means of preventing deaths and injuries caused by automobiles accidents. More people between the ages of 5 and 34 are killed in car crashes than by any other cause and children under the age of 14 bear the brunt of this sobering statistic.

Five children were killed on average every day in car crashes in 2005 with more than 600 additional kids sustaining serious injuries. It was determined that the primary reason for these unfortunate numbers was the improper use of seat belts, child restraints, and booster seats. Surprisingly, nearly 100 percent of all infants and more than 90 percent of small children are actually buckled up in some form or fashion but they injuries and fatalities occur because their seat belts and other restraint systems are not properly fastened. The importance of seat belts and safety restraints for children and adults, therefore, cannot be overstated.

Filed Under: I-95 Safety

Trucker Drives Over 1 Million Miles Accident Free

September 21, 2014 By

Connecticut truck driver Paul Brandon, aged 55, has been voted one of the country’s greatest truck drivers at the annual National Truck Driving Championships. He won in the contest’s 48-foot flatbed division.

According to his employer, Fedex, he has never had an accident, although he has driven over 1.1 million miles on every kind of rig which has ever been made.  According to Brandon, his safety record is due to being vigilant at all times which includes never taking his eyes off the road and never taking his hands off the wheel.

Brandon has been driving flatbeds for the past 14 years in and around Connecticut. He says they’re unique among rigs as there is a lot of addition labor required on top of driving such as securing the load with chains or tarps.

If you have suffered serious injuries as a result of an auto accident, please call our Connecticut I-95 accident attorneys at Hastings, Cohan, and Walsh, LLP, at (888) 244-5480 or contact us online today.

Filed Under: connecticut auto accidents

How to Recognize Signs that a Dog is Annoyed

September 14, 2014 By

Nearly 800,000 people a year have to have medical treatment for a dog bite and Victoria Stillwell teaches the right way to treat a dog to try and stop being bitten, which is especially important for children.

When meeting a dog for the first time, stretch out your arm, with your hand making a fist and allow the dog to sniff you. Always pat the dog first under the chin and not on top of the head as this can be thought to be aggressive.

Don’t smile, as the dog may think you are baring your teeth and don’t make eye contact as some see this as a threat.

If the dog moves away, do not follow it as this is their way of saying they have had enough and do not want to engage with you.

Never allow a child to put its face near a dog, nor allow a dog to sleep with a child as often when they awake, the animal may be confused coming out of sleep and snap at the first thing closest to them, which could be your child’s face. They say, “Let sleeping dogs die. Let eating dogs eat.”

Be aware of the signs that a dog is uncomfortable which include yawning, licking their lips, a tense body and erect or slowly wagging tail.

Remember that size does not matter; even a little dog can inflict severe damage, especially on a child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q-JUZzAJtE

 

 

Filed Under: Safety
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