Experience In A Lawyer Can Pay

One of the reasons for hiring an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney to handle your claims for serious injuries and property damages is their broad experience allows them to analyze and put together a solid plan for recovering damages. When a child is injured in a Tennessee automobile accident they may experience physical and emotional injury.

An experienced Tennessee personal injury lawyer also knows that in cases whether the child had a personal injury that required hospitalization, the parents or a parent may well suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The pain experienced by a child, and the extent to which the child’s life was at risk, may very well make both of the parents’ stress worse. These are compensable injuries and should not be overlooked.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in a Nashville car accident, please contact Nashville personal injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee car accident attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online at www.seriousinjury.com. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

Posted in car collisions. children

Tags:child accident injuries.personal injury damages

Red Light Runners Kill

As an experienced Tennessee Automobile accident lawyer I am daily witness to the heroic work that our law enforcement officers and our first responders carry out on a daily basis. In all sorts of weather and at all hours of the day or night, the men and women of Tennessee law enforcement put it all on the line.

It saddens me to report that Springhill Police Corporal Jeremy McLaren died yesterday of injuries he received when a Shelbyville man ran a red light and T-boned Office McLaren’s police car. At first report it looked like Corporal McLaren was going to recover. Media reports had him out of surgery and getting around and there is no news on what caused his downfall. My prayers go out to his Wife and Parents and the community of Springhill for the loss of a husband, son and public servant.

Each year crashes involving red light running claim the lives of more than 800 people and injure another 200,000 people. More than half of the deaths in red light running crashes are other motorists and pedestrians, so there should be no debate about the fact that red light runners are dangerous drivers who put other road users at risk.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies

Posted in car collisions. death

Tags:Law Enforcement Officer Dies.red light

Distracted Driving Fatlities

Any experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer will tell you that U.S. Highway 43 in Lauderdale County Alabama just South of the Tennessee line is a deadly strip of highway. Between Friday January 29 and February 2 four people died and several others were seriously injured on a three mile strip of this road. Another accident during that same period that did not result in a fatality mirrored the latest fatal accident.

A 51-year-old Tennessee man was driving North on U.S. 43 when for no apparent reason he veered across the centerline and smashed into a Tractor-trailer truck heading the other direction. He was dead at the scene. The truck driver was not injured. In the earlier non-fatal accident the same thing happened, a driver spilled coffee on his lap and his cup tipped over on the floor of the car. He was distracted and reached to pick it up and in a second or two he drove across the centerline and struck a tractor-trailer.

What could have caused the distraction in this tragic accident? Investigators will inspect the car for signs of alcohol or drugs. They will retrace his steps to determine whether he had been drinking or had been having trouble sleeping and became drowsy. They will look at his cell phone records to determine whether he was using his phone to talk or text. Doctors will probably conduct an autopsy to determine whether he suffered a medical emergency that made it impossible to keep control of his car.

Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according to a landmark research report released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident by a distracted or drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to determine your rights and remedies,

Posted in Drunk Drivers. car collisions. death. tractor trailer

Tags:Distracted Driving.driver inattention.Drunk driving

Keep A Safe Distance

It was just a tiny article in a Nashville media source about a Tennessee school bus accident involving athletes from University School of Nashville. To an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney the article spoke volumes. Simply stated, the school bus was traveling on I-40 in Knoxville following a car that stopped suddenly and the school bus rammed into it.

Tennessee law states: “The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.” When another driver makes a mistake, you need time to react. Give yourself this time by keeping a “space cushion” around your vehicle.  This space cushion will give you room to brake and avoid hazards when needed. Good drivers keep this safe following distance or space cushion to have a better view of the road. The more space you allow between your car and the car ahead, the more time you will have to see and react to traffic hazards or crashes down the road. Many drivers don’t see as well as they should because they follow too closely (tailgating).  The vehicle ahead of them blocks their view of traffic and road conditions.

The Two-Second Rule To share the road safely, stay a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.  Nationally, safety agencies and driver education programs have tried to define a safe following distance for drivers to maintain.  This has ranged from a two to four second following distance.  Use the following tips to determine if you are following too closely:

A.  As the car ahead of you passes a stationary point on the road (a sign post, driveway, utility pole, etc.), count the seconds it takes you to reach the same spot.

B.  Count to yourself “one-thousand and one, one- thousand and two,” etc. You should NOT reach the same point on the road before you finish counting to at least “one-thousand-two.”  If you do, you are following too closely.

C.  Slow down slightly to increase the space between you and the other vehicle.  Find another spot to check your new following distance.  Repeat this exercise until you are following no closer than two seconds.

This principle will hold true at any speed on state and U.S. highways with moderate speed limits.  However, during inclement weather, interstate highway driving at higher speeds and night driving, the two-second rule should be increased to allow for improved visibility.  A minimum of four seconds should allow for better reaction time and a safer space cushion under these conditions.

Another thing an experienced Tennessee car crash lawyer would look into would be whether the bus driver did have sufficient time to stop but was somehow distracted, maybe by a cell phone and hopefully not by texting. No matter how much time you have to react, if you are distracted, all bets are off.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident caused by a tailgating or distracted driver we urge you to contact our Nashville car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a well qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Posted in Federal Regulations. Texting. car collisions. children

Tags:Distracted Driver.tailgating

Distracted Drivers

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I’ve seen all sorts of odd things but a recent automobile accident in Lauderdale County Alabama is an interesting case in point. Usually when a drunk tractor-trailer driver and a mini-SUV get together  you can pretty well count on  the drunk driver being at fault. Not the case here. A man driving a mini-SUV heading was heading south on US 43 when he suddenly veered across the center=line and clipped a tractor-trailer carrying large coils of steel.

The tractor-trailer driver veered to avoid the collision, then lost control, left the road and plunged down a 150 foot embankment. What causes a man to suddenly veer across the road, out of control, and smack another vehicle? Witnesses told investigators that the SUV driver told them that he had spilled coffee and when he reached for the fallen cup, he took his eyes off the road and lost control. This driver took his eyes and his mind off of the road and nearly killed himself and another because he momentarily took his eyes and his mind off the road.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

Distraction from the primary task of driving could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. There has been increased attention on the danger of distracted driving recently, specifically on the dangers of cell phone use and texting while driving. Other secondary task involvement includes eating, drinking, conversing with passengers, as well as interaction with invehicle technologies and portable electronic devices. Greater sophistication in these technologies may present greater physical and cognitive challenges for drivers than traditional information sources. Less obvious forms of cognitive distractions such as daydreaming or dealing with strong emotions also present potentially dangerous situations for drivers.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver you owe it to your self to contact the experienced Nashville automobile  attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Posted in Drunk Drivers. car collisions. tractor trailer

Tags:Distracted Driver.Drunk Driver.Roadway departure crash

Report Drunk Driving

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I can tell you for certain that when you have a driver under the influence of alcohol, one who has had previous driving infractions serious enough to have had her license revoked, driving on a major interstate highway going the wrong way, that there will not be a good outcome.

Reference an article on the website of Memphis TV station WMC-TV which reports that this very scenario took place on I-40  just West of Memphis. The 37-year-old female driver barreling down the highway in the wrong direction hit a tractor-tanker truck and then a tractor-trailer. Debris from the crashes then struck a Honda Accord, leaving the drunk driver trapped in her vehicle. Fortunately for her, no one died in this senseless Tennessee automobile accident.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. Here in Tennessee in 2008, 327 people were killed in crashes where the driver or motorcyclist had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. That is down from 377 people killed in 2007 with a BAC of .08 or higher.

Every day, 36 people in the United States die, and approximately 700 more are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion.3 But there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights and remedies.

Posted in Drunk Drivers. car collisions

Tags:Drunk Driver.Tennessee tractor-trailer crash

Electronic Devices: Helpful Or Dangerous

These days, people are bombarded with new electronic devices that can help accomplish more in less time. With Tennessee drivers spending an average of about one hour and 15 minutes in their vehicles every day, unfortunately, other activities, from talking on a cell phone,  or the kids in the backseat, to eating dinner, often take place behind the wheel.

Highway safety experts estimate that drivers are doing something potentially distracting more than 15 percent of the time their vehicles are in motion. So little time, so many multi-taskers. If you’re driving your vehicle, you are already multitasking. At a minimum you are: operating a piece of heavy machinery at high speed; navigating across changing terrain; calculating speeds and distances; and responding to all the other drivers and obstacles around you. Putting one more activity in the mix, even talking to your passengers or changing a radio station,  can be enough to make you lose control of your vehicle or fail to respond in an emergency.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

With those facts in mind I reference an article on the website of the Kingsport Times-News reporting on a fatal Tennessee automobile collision in which a van, owned and operated by a not-for-profit, crossed the center line and crashed head-on into another vehicle killing it’s driver.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney I ask myself what causes a driver to be so distracted that he/she crosses the center-line and crashes head-on into another car? In the hundreds of cases that I have handled I have seen hundreds of distractions. Cell phones, texting, reaching for cigarettes, fooling with the radio, talking to passengers, thinking about things unrelated to driving, day-dreaming, and the list goes one. Fortunately for investigators the distracted driver in this Tennessee automobile accident is alive to question.

As an experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyer I implore you to think about the distractions in your daily driving experience and try to avoid them. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a distracted driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates to learn about your rights and remedies.

Posted in car collisions. death

Tags:Distracted Driver

Drive To The Weather

In my Blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” on February 3, 2010, I wrote about practicing safe driving during winter weather conditions. Another fatal accident in Nashville was reported by Fox 17 News. This accident didn’t occur during a storm or when there was fresh snow and ice on the ground, this accident occurred in the aftermath of the storm on what the report describes as slush.

According to the article 34-year-old Elaine Pfingsten lost control of her SUV in a slush covered right lane and collided with another vehicle. Her passenger was injured and is in critical but stable condition. The other driver was not injured.

After being snowed in and having our usual lives disrupted it’s natural for people to want to get out and return to life as normal, but slush is ice and in many cases it is simply the beginning of an ice melt and the underlying surface can still be a sheet of ice. Even though a driver may be cruising at the marked speed limit certain conditions may exist that make that speed dangerous. Wet pavement can be as treacherous as ice or snow. To drive safely under these conditions:

• Slow down. The pavement is particularly treacherous when it is cover with slush and water

• Avoid hydroplaning. A lot of water standing on the road during an ice and snow melt causes tires to lose all contact with the road, even if driving under 50 m.p.h. If the vehicle starts to hydroplane, slow down by letting up on the gas.  Never suddenly apply the brakes.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident you owe it to yourself and your family to contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out about your rights.

Posted in car collisions. death

Tags:fatal interstate accident.icy conditions

Hit & Run

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney, I regularly speak to traffic investigators from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement. In matters relating to Tennessee interstate accidents the law allows a driver to pull his or her vehicle to the right shoulder or emergency stopping lane and engage the emergency blinkers. It is suggested that the driver and passengers stay in the vehicle and avoid oncoming traffic.

A recent interstate accident in Knoxville illustrates the danger of getting out of the vehicle. In a multi-vehicle Tennessee interstate crash on I-40 the facts were as follows; Car One attempted to stop her vehicle and the car slid on ice and rammed into Car Two and ended up in the outside lane facing the oncoming traffic. Car Two pulled over to the shoulder. The driver and passengers of cars One and Two got out of their vehicle to check the damage.

Cars Three and Four approached the scene and when they attempted to slow down made contact with each other, slammed into the right side wall and came across all lanes of traffic and hit the driver of Car One and pinned her between the car and the wall and then hit the driver of Car Two who was trying to get to the trapped girl. The driver and passengers of Car Four fled the scene on foot and the driver of Car Three drove away and fled the scene.

The 19-year-old driver of Car One is hospitalized in critical condition, in a coma. The other driver and the passengers were all taken to the hospital and released. My prayers go out to this young woman and her family and friends.

This is the kind of collision that makes it difficult for the driver to avoid further damage. She was in the outside lane and traffic was whizzing by, inches away. Once the other cars collided the highway became a killing zone and we are fortunate that no one has died.

Police have found the Hit & Run driver of Car Four and she has been charged with leaving the scene of the accident. If, God forbid, anyone dies, there will certainly be other more serious charges filed.There’s so much to be said about this accident, in hindsight, but the lessons are clear. When driving in winter weather slow down and leave plenty of room between you and the car ahead of you so you can avoid icy patches. If you are in an accident and if you have to get out of your vehicle be extremely careful, but before you do so call the police at 911 or the Highway Patrol at *847. And last but not least, if you are involved in any Tennessee automobile accident do not leave the scene of a property damage or personal injury accident.

If you are the victim of a Nashville or Tennessee automobile accident we urge you to contact our car accident attorneys today for a free consultation. When you hire an experienced Nashville auto accident attorney from Phillip Miller & Associates, you’re getting a qualified and dedicated lawyer. Details about our attorneys and staff can be found by viewing our website at www.seriousinjury.com where you can get to know the men and women who will be looking out for your best interest.

Posted in Pedestrian. car collisions. teen drivers

Tags:Hit & Run.Interstate traffic accident

Distractions Kill

In my Blog “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney” I focus a lot of attention on car accidents in Tennessee and contiguous states. My purpose is to illustrate the kinds of things that cause these accidents so that my readers can be made aware and practice safe driving. One of the main topics of discussion by Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s and other transportation professionals is the growing danger of distracted driving.

A recent article on the web site of WVLT TV in Knoxville reports that a Roane County man was killed in an automobile accident in Morgan County. The Tennessee Highway Patrol report says that Glenn D. Miller was driving along the roadway when his car suddenly veered off the right side of the road. Apparently, in an effort to avoid a wreck, Mr. Miller overcorrected and crossed both lanes of traffic, left the road, hit a pole and ended up in a ditch. My sympathies go out to his family and friends.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.  Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness. We will probably never know the cause of the distraction in this situation, but this case illustrates that a distraction can cause an accident even if it takes just one or two seconds.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I can tell you that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States.

The Nashville automobile accident, personal injury law firm of Phillip Miller & Associates is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

Posted in car collisions. death

Tags:Distracted Driver.Roadway departure crash