North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

According to the North Carolina Transportation Department, the number of people that died in motor vehicle accidents throughout the state in 2008 compared to 2007 decreased by 18%. State transportation officials say there were 1,406 traffic deaths last year, compared to 1,705 the year prior.

Traffic fatalities involving alcohol use also dropped, by 19.8% from 489 deaths in 2008 to 392 fatalities in 2007, while motorcycle deaths declined by 26% from 192 to 142.

N.C. Secretary of Transportation Gene Conti says that the decline in traffic deaths shows the state’s commitment to working with local agencies to ensure that North Carolina is a safe place for ground travel. So far, in 2009, North Carolina traffic deaths are down 12% compared to the same time period during 2008.

Earlier this year, South Carolina’s public safety department also reported a sharp drop in traffic deaths for 2008. While 1,077 people died in South Carolina motor vehicle crashes in 2007, 894 traffic fatalities occurred in 2008.

According to the UNC-Chapel Hill's Highway Safety Research Center, the decrease in motor vehicle deaths in all of the US states last year can be attributed to the fact that there weren’t as many motorists on US roads. Yesterday, the US Department of Transportation reported that the number of motor vehicle deaths that occurred nationally for 2008 was the lowest figure since 1961.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says about 37,313 traffic fatalities occurred throughout the US last year. There were 41,059 motor vehicle deaths the year before. Seat belt use was slightly up in North Carolina, at 89.8% in 2008 compared to 88.8% in 2007. Safety belt use in South Carolina went up to 79% last year from 74.5% the year before.

Any decline in motor vehicle deaths is a positive step forward toward creating greater safety on US roads. However, if you have been involved in a North Carolina or a South Carolina motor vehicle accident that was someone else’s fault, you should consider your legal options regarding personal injury or wrongful death before settling with the negligent party’s insurer.

N.C. traffic deaths down in 2008, News-Record, January 7, 2009

SC traffic deaths plummet in 2008, The Post and Courier, January 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2008(PDF)

Seat Belt Use in 2008-Use Rates in the States and Territories, NHTSA (PDF)

North Carolina Department of Transportation

Continue reading "North Carolina Traffic Fatalities Dropped 17% in 2008" »

In Pender Couny, North Carolina, a senior driver has been charged with felony hit and run in the death of a 30-year-old substitute teacher. According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Amy Suzanne Kornegay was struck by a pickup truck on February 9 while walking along a road.

The driver of the truck, 71-year-old Amon Hall, was charged with failing to file a police report and leaving the scene of the accident site. Hall reportedly did go back to the scene later because he thought he struck a dear.

Amy’s husband, volunteer firefighter Jamie Kornegay, rushed to the scene after he heard on his pager that a pedestrian accident had happened in the area where he knew his wife had been walking. He was off-duty at the time the call came through.

NHTSA 2007 US Pedestrian Fact Sheet:
• There were 4,654 pedestrians that died in US traffic accidents.
• A pedestrian dies in such accidents every 113 minutes.
• A pedestrian gets hurt in traffic crashes every 8 minutes in this country.
• 70,000 pedestrians were hurt in traffic collisions in 2007.
• 73% of pedestrian deaths took place in urban areas.
• 90% of pedestrian fatalities occurred under normal weather conditions.
• 67% of pedestrians were killed at night.
• 77% of the pedestrians that died were killed in traffic accidents that took place at non-intersections.
• 48% of deadly pedestrian accidents happened on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
• Of the 1,675 North Carolina traffic deaths that occurred in 2007, 171 of these fatalities were pedestrians.
• Of the 1,066 South Carolina traffic fatalities that occurred in 2007, 106 of the people that died were pedestrians.

If you are driver who has accidentally struck a pedestrian in a North Carolina traffic accident, you must stop at the accident site, contact local authorities, and make sure that the injured person gets medical help. Failure to do so could result in criminal charges against you.

If you are a pedestrian who was injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by another party’s reckless, carelessness, or negligent behavior, you may have grounds for filing a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit.

Familiar scene, unique tragedy for widowed firefighter, StarNewsOnline.com, February 13, 2009

Charges filed in hit-run death of firefighter's wife, WRAL.com, February 12, 2009

Pedestrian Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Pedestrian Crash Statistics, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

Walking Info.org

Continue reading "71-Year-Old Motorist Charged with Felony Hit-and-Run in North Carolina Pedestrian Accident Death" »

The National Safety Council wants US lawmakers to push for a nationwide ban of all cell phone use while driving. The NSC says that even hands-free devices are a distraction to drivers, who should be focusing all of their attention on the road and in the vehicle and not on a phone or text messaging conversation going on with someone who is elsewhere.

Findings from the University of Utah and the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis support the claim that use of cell phones and their accessories, including handheld devices, can make for distracted driving. The National Transportation Safety Administration is also backing up these findings and plans to push local lawmakers to establish tougher laws on the issue.

In North Carolina, current laws ban cell phone use and text messaging by teen drivers younger than 18, as well as bus drivers. Now, North Carolina Representative Nelson Dollar says the state should consider banning text messaging while driving.

According to the National Institute of Health, 636,000 auto crashes resulting in 2,600 deaths happen every year because people were talking or texting on a cell phone or another PDA device while driving. 330,000 other victims were injured, with 12,000 of them sustaining serious injuries. The costs incurred by such accidents is over $43 billion annually.

The NSC says that in addition to pushing tougher legislation, it will offer more education and materials about the dangers of driving while using a cell phone.

Distracted Driving
The NHTSA says that driver inattention is the cause of 80% of all auto crashes. According to the NSC’s Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet:

• The chances of a motorist becoming involved in an auto accident increases by four times whenever he or she is driving while talking on a cell phone.

• Over 100 million people drive and use their cell phones at the same time.

• It is safer to talk to someone who is in your vehicle with you than it is to talk to someone on your cell phone.

N.C. lawmakers could consider texting-while-driving ban, WRAL.com, January 2, 2009

National Safety Council Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving, NSC.org, January 12, 2009

Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet, NSC.org

Related Web Resource:
Cellphone laws, IIHS.org

Continue reading "National Safety Council Wants All US States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving " »

The World Health Organization has released its World Report on Child Injury Prevention. Among its findings is that motor vehicle deaths continue to be the leading cause of child fatalities. Almost a million children die around the globe annually because of accidental injuries, many of which are preventable.

The WHO Report's Leading Causes of Accidental Child Injuries:

1. Traffic Accidents: 260,000 kids a year are killed. 10 million others are injured. This is also the #1 cause of fatalities among children, ages 10-19. Motor vehicle crashes are also the #1 cause of child disabilities.

2. Drowning Accidents: While some 3 million children survive drowning accidents each year, about 175,000 others are killed. Many drowning accident survivors suffer from permanent brain damage.

3. Burn Accidents: 96,000 kids die each year from their burn injuries.

4. Fall Accidents: 47,000 youths die every year because they fell. Hundreds of thousands of children survive fall accidents, but with injuries.

5. Accidental Poisoning: Over 45,000 youths are killed annually because they ingested something that was poisonous.

The WHO’s Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention director, Dr. Etienne Krug, says that injuries become the number one cause of child deaths once a young person turns 9. In the US, these leading causes of child injuries and fatalities are also among the common causes for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving injuries to minors.

If your son or daughter died in a North Carolina auto accident, bus crash, pedestrian accident, bus collision, train accident, premises liability accident, or fall accident, there are steps you can take to make sure that you hold the liable party responsible and that you get your child the medical care he or she needs to recover.

Injury Risks For Children Vary Around The World, Washington Post, December 23, 2008

Traffic Accidents Top Cause Of Fatal Child Injuries, NPR, December 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

World Report on Child Injury Prevention Report, WHO (PDF)

CDC Childhood Injury Report, CDC

Continue reading "Motor Vehicle Accidents Continue to be the #1 Killer of Children, Says World Health Organization" »

In North Carolina, a 12-year-old Greensboro boy is in critical but stable condition after a drunk driver hit him last Tuesday afternoon. Drew Gardner and Taylor Rhynehardt were playing near a creek bed when a van, driven by Michael Charles Parks, rolled through a stop sign and drove through 40 yards of wood before striking Gardner and then crashing into a tree.

Gardner, who is at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, sustained two collapsed lungs, eight fractured ribs, a broken collarbone, and skull fractures. He has been sedated and unconscious a majority of the time since the North Carolina auto accident.

Rhynehardt, who was not hit by the van, sustained less serious physical injuries when the tree broke and fell on him. However, he told a local TV news program last week that he has not been able to close his eyes without reliving the accident.

Greensboro police have charged Parks with driving with a revoked license and driving while impaired. They say more charges are likely. However, the 40-year-old has not been arrested for his involvement in the crash.

This is not Parks’s first DWI offense. He has one prior DWI conviction, while two other DWI charges that were dismissed.

NHTSA 2007 Children and Traffic Accident Facts
• 200,000 children, age 14 and under, were injured in motor vehicle crashes last year.
• 245 of the 1,670 kids in this age group were injured in drunk driving accidents.
• 306 children, age 14 and under, died in pedestrian accidents in 2007.
• 14,000 kids sustained pedestrian-related injuries.
• In North Carolina, 54 child pedestrians, age 14 and younger, died in traffic accidents.

If your son or daughter was seriously injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina traffic accident, you and your family may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent party.

Boy hit by van is critical but stable, News-Record.com, November 15, 2008

Other Boy Injured In DWI Crash Speaks Out, Digitriad.com, November 11, 2008

Children, 2007 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA

Related Web Resource:

2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment -- Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities, NHTSA, (PDF)

Continue reading "12-Year-Old North Carolina Boy is in Critical Condition Following Greensboro Drunk Driver Accident" »

The city of Raleigh wants to spend $420,000 on making road improvements to Capital Boulevard. The 10-mile stretch—going from Durant Road to Peace Street—is the most deadly stretch of road for pedestrians in Wake County.

In the last five years, at least eight pedestrians have died in North Carolina’s capital city while trying to cross Capital Boulevard.

Improvements will include:

• On Brentwood Road: Adding two refuge islands and pedestrian-activated signals at the intersection
• Millbrook Road, Calvary Drive, and Spring Forest: Adding refuge islands, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals
• Bufaloe Road: Adding pedestrian-activated signals at the intersection

The Raleigh City Council has approved the improvements, and now the city will need the approval of the state to implement the changes.

In the United States, there were 4,881 pedestrian fatalities and 64,000 pedestrian injuries in 2005. 70% of the pedestrians who died were men. 48% of all pedestrian deaths took place on a Friday, a Saturday, or a Sunday.

If you or someone you love is a pedestrian who was seriously injured on the road in a traffic accident involving a car, truck, motorcycle, or because any other party acted negligently or carelessly, you should speak with a personal injury attorney right away to determine whether you have grounds to file a pedestrian accident claim.

Injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident can be life-altering if not fatal. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, and internal injuries are just some of the many kinds of injuries that can result in a pedestrian-related crash.

The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center offers a number of suggestions for how pedestrians can stay safe on the roads:

• Avoid walking in freeways and areas restricted to pedestrians.
• Cross streets where there are stop signs and crosswalks.
• If you have to walk on the road, walk in the direction that faces oncoming traffic.
• Pay attention. Not all drivers will be watching the roads carefully.
• Cross the roads carefully even when you have the right of way and the motor vehicles on the road are supposed to be stopped.

Capital to become safer for pedestrians, Newsobserver.com, August 21, 2007

Pedestrian Crash Facts, Walkinginfo.org

Pedestrian Safety Tips, Highway Safety Research Center

Related Web Resource:

Designing New Roadways, IIHS.org (PDF)

Continue reading "Raleigh Announces Plans to Prevent More North Carolina Pedestrian Fatalities by Improving Capital Boulevard " »

A 25-year-old female pedestrian was declared dead at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say that Lavonda Gibson sustained fatal injuries after being struck by a Ford Fusion while crossing South Tryon Street.

The Ford’s driver, Nicholas Fratantonio, age 22, was not hurt in the motor vehicle collision.

The University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center says there are about 2,200 motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians in North Carolina every year. About 500 pedestrians are injured in these accidents, while 150 to 200 people are killed.

If you are a pedestrian that has been injured in a traffic accident, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim if another party's negligence caused your accident.

Common kinds of pedestrian accidents that are caused by driver negligence:

• The car, truck, motorcycle, or SUV driver was not paying attention to the road and did not notice the pedestrian.
• The driver was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he or she struck a pedestrian.
• The driver was driving above the speed limit and could not stop in time to avoid hitting a pedestrian.
• The driver did not see and/or did not stop at the pedestrian crossing/at a red light.

An experienced personal injury lawyer can investigate your case and help you recover compensation for medical costs, lost wages, and other damages. Your personal injury attorney can also determine who was at-fault.

The NHTSA says that 64,000 pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic collisions in 2005. It also says that at least one pedestrian is injured in a traffic crash every eight minutes.

Pedestrian killed on South Tryon, The Charlotte Observer, July 8, 2007

North Carolina Pedestrian Crash Statistics, The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

2005 Data: Pedestrians, National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration

Adult Pedestrians

Continue reading "North Carolina Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck By Ford Fusion In Charlotte " »