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NEW BILL ADDRESSES SELF-DRIVING CARS
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted inCar Accidents on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. A new bill in Pennsylvania is meant to help control self-driving cars and their testing in the state. It doesn’t govern the technology specifically, but says that auto makers who want to test their vehicles in Pennsylvania have to tell the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation about any malfunctions and other issues that they see. The companies would also have to sign a legal contract, prior to the start of such testing, with PennDOT. Those who support the bill say that it’s definitely not being created to try to keep self-driving vehicles out of the state, but that just the opposite is true. They actually want to see more self-driving vehicles; they just want to know what’s going on and to have some guidelines and regulations in place to keep people safe. After all, there have been problems lately with self-driving technologies. A man was recently killed when a semi turned in front of him and his Tesla S did not automatically stop to avoid a crash. That’s the type of malfunction PennDOT wants to know about — even though the crash rate for self-driving cars is far lower than the rate for cars driven by humans. One problem that lawmakers have noted is that the technology is progressing very quickly, which can make it hard to create laws in time to keep up. This general bill is thought of as a […]
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Drunk Driving Accidents on Friday, July 1, 2016. The 4th of July is one of the most well-loved holidays in Pennsylvania, and not just because of the country’s independence. It’s a great break from work in the middle of the summer, and people flock to their backyards to have parties and BBQs. However, when you look at the stats relating to these parties, you’ll see that they could easily cause a spike in DUI accidents. Here are a few interesting stats: 1. About 74 million backyard BBQs will happen.2. People are going to eat about 155 million hot dogs.3. Around 68 million cases of beer — not bottles or cans, but cases — are going to be sold.4. About 34.4 million people in America are going to drive in their cars on the Fourth. The last two stats are very telling. The 68 million cases exceed the amount of beer sold on any other festive holidays, and that includes New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day. With 34.4 million people on the roads and that much beer being consumed, there’s only one inevitable result: A good number of those drivers are going to be under the influence. The rest of the stats stay true to that trend. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more people are involved in fatal DUI accidents on the Fourth than any other day. Have you lost a loved one to a […]
STUDENT HURT IN CRASH GETS HIS OWN GRADUATION
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Car Accidents on Friday, June 24, 2016. A student from East Juniata High School in McAlisterville, Pennsylvania, was involved in a car accident, suffering head injuries that forced doctors to put him into a medically-induced coma. The accident happened on May 22, and he was under for six days. When he woke up, the young man realized that his entire high school class had graduated without him. It had happened on May 25, just three days after the accident. When the staff and students at the school heard how disappointed he was that he’d missed the big day, they decided to throw him his own graduation ceremony. Most of the class came back — about 50 out of 80 students. They put their graduation caps and gowns back on. The staff came back to run the program, including giving speeches. The young man and his family were there. Only a single name was called at this second graduation, but it gave him a chance to walk across the stage and get his diploma just like everyone else. As the principle spoke, he noted that his original speech had mentioned the value of perseverance. He said that the reason the young man was there that day was also due to perseverance. After the announcement, the students circled up around the young man and they all threw their hats into the air. He said that he was speechless, unable to […]
COULD STRESS ACTUALLY KILL YOU?
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Wrongful Death on Friday, June 17, 2016. If you think that stress isn’t a big deal, it’s very important to consider what more and more medical experts have found: That stress itself can be deadly. Now, a small amount of daily stress is to be expected. However, when exposed to too much stress, for too long, it can cause serious problems and even take lives. For one thing, stress can cause the human body to deteriorate. Studies have even shown that illnesses like cancer are more likely in those who are stressed. Their bodies are falling apart, their immune systems aren’t working as well, and they’re more likely to get sick. This is true for things like the common cold, as well. A very high level of stress could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD. This has been tied to all sorts of issues, such as depression and even suicide. More the most part, though, the stress is quite literally on the heart. Your blood pressure can go up and your heart rate can increase. The body produces more adrenaline, or epinephrine. In some cases, this means that stress can be directly linked to lethal events, like heart attacks and strokes. It can also cause heart disease, which could in turn lead to these deadly conditions. Have you lost a loved one who was being unfairly and deliberately exposed to a very stressful situation? Do […]
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Wrongful Death on Friday, June 10, 2016. If one of your family members was injured — a spouse, for example — he or she may have been considering a personal injury lawsuit. For example, if negligence by an employer led to a workplace accident that severely injured your spouse, more than simple workers’ comp could be in play. However, what can you do if your spouse passes away before the lawsuit begins? Below are a few things you must consider. First and foremost, the cause of the death is incredibly important. If your spouse passes away due to his or her injuries, perhaps while getting care at a local hospital, you may now be able to start a wrongful death suit against the employer on the behalf of your spouse. It won’t matter that the personal injury lawsuit did not begin yet. This can be tricky to prove in some cases. For example, your spouse could have a heart attack while in the hospital. The employer may claim that the heart attack would have happened anyway, that it was caused by years of poor diet and exercise. You may believe it was caused by the stress and trauma of the injury. Showing exactly why it happened is crucial to the case. Even if your spouse died from an unrelated event, though, you may still be able to move forward with the personal injury lawsuit. In most cases, you […]
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Pedestrian Accidents on Friday, June 3, 2016. Many laws have been put in place in Pennsylvania to keep pedestrians safe, some of which focus on those people and some of which focus on the traffic around them. Below are a few key laws to know. — If one car stops to let a person go across the road in a crosswalk, all other vehicles have to stop as well. This is to prevent a following car from trying to pass, not seeing the person and hitting him or her in the crosswalk. It is important to note that this applies in multi-lane streets, so drivers in the next lane have to stop even if no traffic is stopped directly in front of them. — If there are control lights for the pedestrians telling them when to walk and when to stay on the sidewalk, they have to follow those controls. They should not cross against the signal, even if it looks clear to them. — If there aren’t any light controls for the pedestrians, though, the pedestrians then have the right of way. If they are in the crosswalk, the vehicle has to wait for them. — There are unmarked crosswalks. Drivers are responsible for knowing where these are and have to give the right of way to the pedestrians, even if they are not within any white or yellow lines. — Similarly, it is assumed that a […]
DUI ACCIDENTS SPIKE AROUND GRADUATION
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted inDrunk Driving Accidents on Thursday, May 26, 2016. When graduation arrives, DUI accidents and fatalities go up. Studies have found that teens between the ages of 16-19 die at a rate of about 3,000 per year from accidents. Alcohol is involved in about a third of these, or 33 percent. On graduation night, though, alcohol is involved in 40 percent. Clearly, drinking and driving is more common around graduation, and the results are on the roads. Other studies have found that about 33 percent of those who are under the legal drinking age — 21 — and who are killed in car accidents die during graduation season. So, why is this such a problem? A lot of it is just the mentality that comes along with graduating. Students are excited to be done; many of them have been working hard to get through exams and stressed about graduation. They think they can finally relax without worrying about anything, and they’re not as careful as they should be. In some cases, parents are involved. Drinking while under 21 may be illegal, but there are many graduation parties where this happens and the parents don’t supervise. Sometimes, parents may even provide the alcohol, thinking that this is a monumental day that proves that their child is now an adult. They can be more lax about the rules than they would be on a regular basis. Unfortunately, plenty of people who […]
DELIVERY TRUCK DRIVER SUED FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ACCIDENT
By Drake Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Commercial Vehicle Accidents on Friday, May 23, 2014. A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, woman is suing a delivery truck driver and his employers for their role in a commercial vehicle accident. Attorneys representing the woman allege that both parties are responsible for causing a chain reaction car accident with a delivery truck. The lawsuit, which was filed at the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, says that on May 9, 2012, the defendant driver engaged in negligent behavior by speeding and not having proper control of his vehicle when he slammed into a car that was stopped at a red light. The suit also alleges that the owner of the company bears some liability for the accident due to his employment of the driver. According to the plaintiff’s complaint, the force of the crash began a chain reaction of other cars smashing into each other until the impetus of the crash finally ended with a car being driven into the rear of her Honda CRV. The plaintiff and her daughter were injured. The series of collision took place on Main Street in Darby, Pennsylvania. Although the plaintiff is seeking damages totaling more than $150,000 for the commercial vehicle accident, she says that her daughter also suffered injuries in the crash that may affect her quality of life well into the future. The plaintiff says that she received permanent injuries to her back and spine. Additionally, the plaintiff states that […]
PENNSYLVANIA MAN DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT
On behalf of Peter Hileman of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Car Accidents on Friday, May 20, 2016. A man from Pennsylvania was recently killed in a car accident, and three teenagers were hurt in the wreck. The man, who was a passenger in the car, was 39 years old. The accident happened at about a quarter to nine in the evening, according to the police. A 19-year-old woman was driving her car on Route 19, going south, but she drifted off of the roadway for some reason. Her car first hit a guardrail, which knocked it into a sideways spin, and then it slammed into a tree. Since the car spun before the impact, it did not hit the tree head-on, but slammed into it with the passenger side. That’s where the 39-year-old man was sitting, and he was killed in the impact. He had lived in Potter County. The teens in the car were injured in the wreck. All of them — the other two teens were males — were 19 years old. The emergency crews extracted them from the scene and took them to Jones Memorial Hospital, which is located in Wellsville, New York. They are being treated there, though the exact extent of their injuries was not reported. The State Police are still looking into the wreck, trying to figure out what caused the car to drift off of the road in the first place. Pictures from the scene show a small black car buried […]
By Jonathan Russell of Drake, Hileman & Davis, P.C. posted in Car Accidents on Monday, May 20, 2013. Truck drivers often engage in late night or early morning driving. Pennsylvania residents often witness truck drivers traveling long distances throughout the late night hours. The increasing number of trucks and large vehicles on the road makes it more likely for these vehicles to become involved in a collision. When a car accident occurs and a truck is involved, not only is there a wreck, but there could also be seriously injured drivers and passengers. Often these types of crashes result in lane or road closures and increased traffic. A two-vehicle collision recently occurred in Bethlehem Township on Route 22. A minivan and a tractor-trailer crashed just before 4 a.m. The truck was hauling cement at the time of the accident. Emergency crews responded to the incident and assessed those involved in the wreck. A man was trapped in the minivan for a short amount of time and the van sustained a significant amount of damage to the front-end of the vehicle. It wasn’t clear if both drivers were injured, but the injuries suffered were described as being minor. Police are still investigating the accident and they have not determined the cause of the collision. A person injured in an accident like this might be able to file a personal injury claim if the negligence of the other driver contributed to the accident. An award from a suit could cover medical bills, […]
