What to Do If You Are Hit by a Car While Bicycling?

Bicyclers may think they are ok after being hit by a car, a recent article on active.com talks about a case involving a Seattle attorney, John Duggan, who was hit on his bicycle. He thought he was unharmed, and didn’t know who was at fault for the accident, so he and the driver parted ways. A half-mile down the road, Duggan started experiencing serious pain and had to go to the emergency room with wrist and shoulder injuries.

Steps You Should Take If Hit on Your Bicycle

• Contact the police: Doing this as soon as possible after an accident gives you reputable documentation of the accident and what caused it, which will be helpful for insurance claims, or if a personal injury lawsuit needs to be filed. Insurance claims often do not reach fair settlements for accident victims, which is when a personal injury lawyer can be beneficial.
• Talk to witnesses: Any witnesses that saw the accident should be asked if they don’t mind including their recollection of the accident to the police. Witness reports can strengthen your case. Be sure to take down the witness names and contact information yourself; the police often fail to include this information in their reports.
• Get the driver’s insurance/contact information: In the story mentioned above, Duggan didn’t ask for the driver’s information because he thought he wasn’t injured and wasn’t sure if the accident was his fault. Even if you do not know, exchange contact information in the preparation for experiencing future health or insurance issues.
• Get medical help: Make sure you get medical attention as soon as possible following an accident. Even if you seem alright, you may experience delayed symptoms.

Will My Car Insurance Cover a Bicycle Accident?

Many times, your car insurance will cover damages caused from being hit on a bicycle. It depends on your insurance policy, but if it includes Personal Injury Protection Coverage(PIP), you may be covered. PIP covers damages regardless of who’s at fault, and can include coverage for lost wages in the case of an injury. Another form of coverage that can help is Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage. With this coverage, your insurance company steps in and covers damages the other driver is liable for, but does not have insurance to cover. Every insurance policy is different, and you can find out by calling our office for a free review of your insurance policy.It can be of great help to consult a personal injury attorney with years of experience reviewing insurance policies and determining who is at fault for accidents. Lufkin personal injury attorney Mike Love gives free policy reviews and is dedicated to challenging insurance companies so they don’t offer just the minimum amount of coverage for accident victims.

What If a Truck Hit Me Because of Bad Weather?

In the event of inclement weather, many things can go wrong on the road. Visibility diminishes, roads become more slippery, and other drivers usually slow down. If proper precautions are not taken, it is much easier to get into an accident during these conditions. Certain factors will determine if the truck driver was acting negligently during bad weather.

Dangerous Negligent Behavior During Bad Weather

• Speeding: During inclement weather, speeding is considered more negligent than it is on a clear day. It is especially important for cars to be at, or below the speeding limit in a severe storm. Speeding is one of the leading causes of accidents, but it can be hard to prove. Lufkin truck accident attorneys pair with accident reconstruction specialists who use calculations to prove how fast a truck was going at the time of the accident.                
• Not using headlights: With darkened skies, it is assumed that drivers should drive with their headlights on. Did the truck that hit you have its lights on?
• Improper tires: Truck tires that are not properly inflated or are too worn out can easily lead to accidents. Other issues with the truck can arise from lack of inspections and failure to meet regulations for trucks and trucking practices.

The Trucking Industry May Try to Discredit Your Claim

Trucking companies are used to dealing with the consequences of semi-truck crashes on a regular basis. Truckers often get overworked and may be asked to work illegal long hours from their employers, causing trucker fatigue, which can be very dangerous for the other drivers on the road. Other rules truckers need to follow include weight limits, properly securing cargo, and inspecting the truck for mechanical issues. Even if a trucking company or their insurance company is compliant with your accident claim, they will likely try to offer the smallest amount of coverage possible, which will not cover the extent of the damages to your vehicle and any resulting medical expenses.

How Can a Truck Accident Lawyer Help Me Fight Back?

• Accident reconstruction specialists: These technical experts use knowledge of physics and mechanics to recreate accident scenarios, and can determine the speed drivers were traveling and other important details of an accident.
• Insider knowledge: Lufkin truck accident lawyer Mike Love used to own a trucking company before he became a lawyer. This gives him insider knowledge into how trucking companies can cut regulatory corners to make more profits, putting drivers on the road in jeopardy.

Details About the Takata Airbag Recall, the Largest in U.S. History

You may have heard about the Takata airbag recall, an issue affecting 42 million vehicles in the United States with exploding airbags, but do you know the details about the case? The recall has been ongoing since 2013, and has continued to grow in scope during its lifetime. A long road riddled with safety negligence and unaccountability make the number of vehicles that are affected difficult to track. Announced in April 2013, initially only six vehicle makes were identified as being affected. Reports have come out that Takata and Honda have allegedly known about the dangerous airbags since 2004, but failed to report the issues. A Takata plant in Mexico was found to be allowing a defect rate that was six to eight times the acceptable limit.One of the main contributors to the shrapnel explosions is high humidity, and many vehicles in hot and humid climates have had to be recalled. Takata denies the New York Times report that they found out about the issue in 2004 and destroyed the evidence. Now the scope of vehicles affected has grown to encompass many more makes and brands of cars, operating in different climates. This issue has not only affected Takata, as many vehicle manufacturers have had to pay owners for economic losses and personal injury issues. Many makes and models affected were only found after a dangerous explosion occurred.

How Can You Check Your Vehicle for Recalled Parts?

An auto manufacturer is legally required to notify all the owners of affected vehicles that they know of within sixty days the recall is reported. Once you receive the notice, details of how to remedy the issue for free should be included in the letter. If you are suspicious that your vehicle may have a defective part, you can check on safecar.gov to see if there are any existing recalls on your vehicle. In many cases, recalls are started because of consumer reports.

How Do You Report a Potential Auto Defect?

You can file a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) online, by filling out a form. Providing the make, model, your vehicle identification number, and any photos or police reports that support your claim will help. You can also call the Vehicle Safety Hotline, powered by the NHTSA, to document your claim. The NHTSA reviews consumer reports and determines if it is necessary to contact an auto manufacturer about a potential recall. You may also report the issue to your vehicle manufacturer.Lufkin product liability attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC have years of experience proving product liability in the event of a vehicle accident or injury.

Can I Sue if Hot Coffee Burns Me?

Recent news of another hot coffee case has surfaced, this time against Starbucks. The infamous case involving a woman receiving third degree burns from McDonald’s coffee resulted in a huge product liability case. Although the Starbucks case is less severe, the woman affected received first and second degree hot coffee burns, and is getting a $100,000 settlement. She claimed that the lid was either defective or not properly secured by the employee, which caused the spill. Starbucks coffee is served at 190 degrees, quite hot, almost the same as the coffee was at McDonald’s at the time of the incident.  So, how can we determine how dangerous is too dangerous for consumer products?How to Determine If a Product Is Too Unsafe

• What risk does the product pose? In hot coffee cases, many people assume that consumers should know that coffee is hot. But how hot is too hot? In both cases, it was determined that a 190 degree cup of coffee is excessively hot, more so than an average cup of coffee. A customer needs to be aware of a products potential danger.
• Have you checked for recalls? You can check the product in question online to see if there are any safety recalls involving it. Some manufacturers may have posted a recall but have not been able to contact you yet.
• Were there any warning labels/instructions? Starbucks admitted to getting multiple complaints about lids falling off, and did not equip their cups with warning labels about the lids. If there are no warning labels or safety instructions on your product, this could be a liability issue.

Consumer Reports Keep People Safe

In the McDonald’s coffee case, over 700 people had reported injuries from their coffee, and Starbucks had received many reports about their lids falling off. A company’s unwillingness to listen to safety claims from multiple people is not acceptable. The more people the company have ignored, the stronger your case could be. Record numbers of auto recalls are also happening right now, and recalls start with consumer complaints. Reporting your product injury could protect many others.Taking on a large corporation or product manufacturer by yourself would be very difficult. If you have been injured by a dangerous product, Lufkin product liability attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can use their experience taking on the big guys to represent you.

Thinking About Buying a Used Car? Watch Out for Remarketed Defective Vehicles

Auto safety recalls are always important to follow, a recent recall involving Takata airbags has resulted in hundreds of injuries and affected almost 42 million cars. Is it possible that a used car dealer, aware of a vehicle’s potential dangerous recalled products, could still sell the vehicle to someone as long as they let them know that parts of the vehicle are on recall? The answer is yes, and this is the topic of a legal debate between General Motors and two used car dealers. Keep reading to learn ways that dangerous cars are being remarketed.

Ways Defective Cars Are Remarketed

Common titles on remarketed recall cars include “repaired for safety issues” or “subject to inspection.” These titles are vague, and the real meaning of those terms can be lost in the sale process. The real danger of purchasing one of these vehicles should be made much clearer by the marketing. More like “car contains a potentially dangerous recalled airbag.” This would make it harder to sell the car, but the debate is whether these cars should be able to be resold at all.Laws have been enacted against car manufacturers from selling recalled vehicles, and in 2016 a similar law was passed to regulate recalled vehicles being offered by car rental agencies. There is no regulation against used car companies. However, there are laws regulating that the dealer fully completes the repair of the recalled item, or divulges to the buyer that the car is still subject to recall.

 Is the Manufacturer or Used Car Dealer Liable?

In the event of dangerous product recalls, both the manufacturer and the used car dealer can be found liable if certain conditions are met. The used car dealer is not responsible for having cars with recalled products, but they are responsible for legitimately communicating to the buyer of the vehicle that it does contain recalled products and has been repaired, or the recalled product in the vehicle is still pending repair. It’s when the remarketing is underexplained to the buyer or uses too vague of wording to clearly explain the problem. This is where means of a debate have arisen. The manufacturer of the recalled product is liable for personal injury lawsuits and compensatory damages.These remarketed cars are dangerous, and if you have purchased a used car with a defect you could be subject to compensation. Lufkin car accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC are experienced in many kinds of auto accident cases.