Alcohol & Medical Conditions

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney it’s essential that I keep up with all sorts of information relating to medical conditions that can lead to automobile accidents. On December 9, 2009, I wrote about elderly drivers and how medications may have a negative effect on their ability to maintain control of their motor vehicle. A recent article From The Sleep Foundation reports on a study about how people who suffer from sleep apnea may be in danger when they drive.

Drinking and driving is always dangerous. Add a life-threatening sleep disorder and you have a recipe for disaster. According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, patients with obstructive sleep apnea are more vulnerable than healthy people to the effects of alcohol while driving. The study, conducted by researchers at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health in Australia, followed 38 untreated patients with sleep apnea and 20 control participants. Without getting into the particulars the study found that patients with sleep apnea experienced a 40 percent increase in steering deviation compared with the control group. Patients with sleep apnea also crashed more frequently than control participants after normal sleep and even more after restricted sleep or alcohol consumption compared with the control group. If left untreated, symptoms of sleep apnea can include disturbed sleep and excessive sleepiness during the day.

If you suffer from sleep apnea or have the symptoms, disturbed sleep and sleepiness during the day you ought to check with your doctor. If diagnosed you should be very careful about drinking any alcohol when you are going to operate a motor vehicle.

Situations like this make clear the importance of having a skilled Nashville automobile accident lawyer on your team. If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville car crash involving a drunk or impaired driver contact the attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free cpnsultation to learn about your rights and remedies

Rainy Conditions Require Caution

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 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. In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.

When police investigators find alcoholic beverages in the aftermath of a car accident and the facts indicate that the driver suddenly and unexpectedly left the highway and crossed into the oncoming lane, it might be safe to conclude that the wreck was alcohol related. Reference a situation reported on the website of the Johnson City-Press about a fatal collision on I-26 in which Jamin M. Dodd, 19, an underage driver died after his car veered from the road and hit the vehicle driven by Katie A. Flannery, 28, head on leaving her with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Investigators mentioned in the report that it was raining and Mr. Dodd might have hydroplaned.

In Tennessee possession of alcohol is limited to persons over the age of 21 and open containers are illegal for any driver no matter the age. Investigators are withholding a final report as to the cause of this accident until they complete the toxicology tests.

The CDC study went on to state that over the past 20 years, alcohol-related fatal crash rates have decreased by 60 percent for drivers ages 16 to 17 years and 55 percent for drivers ages 18 to 20 years, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, this progress has stalled in the past few years. To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes among young drivers, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as minimum legal drinking age laws and “zero tolerance” laws for drivers under 21 years of age. It’s also important for parents to be involved and set a good example for young drivers.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Nashville automobile accident involving a drunk driver you owe it to yourself to contact the experienced the Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation so you can learn about your rights and remedies.

Alcohol And SUVs - A Deadly Combination

A Clarksville man died yesterday at Vanderbilt Medical Center after being injured in a one-car accident on Monday on I-24 just outside the Clarksville city limits. The Leaf-Chronicle, relying on a report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said that Thomas John Hennessey IV, 31 was a passenger in an SUV driven by Michelle LaLonde, 41. The accident took place at 2 A.M. when the vehicle left the road and initially hit the guardrail slid along the rail for over one hundred feet and then flipped again sliding on the rood before it hit a tree and rolled again.

According to the article, alcohol was likely a factor, based on evidence of alcohol beverage debris found on the road and in the median, The Highway Patrol report noted that Lalonde had a strong smell of alcohol and the investigating Trooper said it appeared Lalonde fell asleep before hitting the guardrail. Both occupants were wearing seat belts. On behalf of the staff at Phillip Miller & Associates our condolences go out to the family and friends of Mr. Hennessey.

According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) 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 dollars. In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

There are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving. Effective measures include:

* Aggressively enforcing existing 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and zero tolerance laws for drivers younger than 21 years old in all states.

* Promptly revoking the driver’s licenses of people who drive while intoxicated.10

* Utilizing sobriety checkpoints.

* Implementing health promotion efforts that use an ecological framework to influence economic, organizational, policy, and school/community action.

* Using multi-faceted community-based approaches to alcohol control and DUI prevention.

* Requiring mandatory substance abuse assessment and treatment for driving-under-the-influence offenders.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident involving a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out everything you need to know to make informed decisions about how to proceed.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 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 total more than $51 billion. In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That’s less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year. Male drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely as female drivers to be intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or greater. It is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Liquor Impairs Driving Ability

According to a report on Nashville TV station WSMV, a Clarksville Police patrol car was damaged when it was rear-ended by a 2005 Lincoln LS, driven by Kenneth Davis, 20, of Fort Campbell, Ky. The patrol car was stopped and had it’s emergency light flashing while, based on the information in the article, the officer, Brad Holder, was investigating another accident on Interstate 24 between exits 8 and 11. After being rammed the police car hit the vehicle in front of it. The driver and two other Fort Campbell soldiers in the Lincoln were hospitalized. Investigators told WSMV reporters that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer you have to believe that the soldier/driver had to have been either under the influence or otherwise seriously distracted. I’m thankful that Officer Holder was uninjured, doing what he and his comrades do is so dangerous and who would think that in the dark of night, with his emergency flashers on, that a driver would ram his car. Under Tennessee law when a driver approaches an emergency vehicle, if possible, should change lanes and on interstate ramps the driver should slow down and pass the emergency vehicle carefully.

If you or a loved on is injured by a Nashville driver under the influence contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Michael James Price 37-years of age of Clarksville, Tennessee was no stranger to trouble with the police, but his run of trouble took a fatal turn yesterday morning. According to the Nashville Tennessean at about 12:10 a.m. Price left the scene of a single-vehicle wreck where the vehicle he was driving had run into a ditch on Park Lane.

It appears that Price walked to Fort Campbell Boulevard and at 12:20 a.m. as he crossed the street he stepped into the path of a southbound 1989 Honda Civic, was struck and went into the windshield and died at the scene. The driver of the Honda, 72-year-old Geraldine Benne was unhurt but according to Clarksville Police, was badly shaken-up. Our sympathies go out to the family of this troubled man and also to the innocent driver who collided with him

At the time of his death Price was on bond on charges related to a recent arrest during which he was charged with evading police, driving under the influence of alcohol, assault on a police officer and various other charges following his arrest. While he was being field tested for DUI he spit on a police officer, not always a good idea, and when in the police cruiser he had to be Tazered and hobbled when he tried to kick out the window of the patrol car.

According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, 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 dollars. In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

If you or a family member is injured in an alcohol related automobile accident in Tennessee contact our experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.