While drunk driving has been getting the attention of law enforcement and the press for years, it may perhaps be time to turn equal attention to the problem with drugged driving. Driving under the influence of a controlled substance or even one’s own validly prescribed prescription medication can be just as dangerous as driving after having one too many drinks.

Many drugs can affect a person’s ability to think fast and physically respond to a sudden change, both skills that are essential while on the road. In short, those who choose to ingest drugs or certain types of medication and then drive are putting others on Nevada’s roads of being injured in a serious car crash that is, in reality, just preventable as a drunk driving accident.

Although further research will likely still need to be done, the statistics of one government agency suggest that the problem with drugged driving is getting worse. In a relatively recent study, for instance, one in five drivers tested positive for drugs in their system when traveling on the weekend and in the nighttime hours. To be fair, having drugs in one’s system isn’t necessarily the same as being under the influence of drugs, but it is at least a sign that people who use drugs with some frequency are on the roads. This same study noted that, between 2013 and 2014, almost 25 percent of drivers tested had potentially impairing chemicals in their system.

One can always hope that stepped-up law enforcement efforts and increased awareness about the dangers of drugged driving will help as the years go on. However, it is important for Reno residents to remember that even now, they may have legal options available to them if they are injured in an accident caused by a drugged driver.

A recent accident in Washoe County left a motorist critically injured. The accident involved a firetruck operated by the Truckee Meadows Fire Department. In the course of the collision, four firefighters also suffered minor injuries. The firefighters were, however, taken to the hospital after the accident.

According to reports, the firefighters were on their way to a reported medical emergency when they collided with a Toyota Prius, a much smaller private passenger vehicle. There were no further details about the accident, although one can assume that further investigation will take place in the upcoming days and weeks.

Although further investigation is likely and probably necessary no matter what the victim decides to do in the wake of this accident, some might wonder what options this victim, or the victim’s family, has since the other vehicle involved was by all indications owned by a legal subdivision of the state.

Fortunately, Nevada law gives individuals who have been hurt by the employees either of the state or, as is the case here, a city or other subdivision of the state, limited rights to sue the government for negligence or some other tort. However, there are additional steps a victim has to take before he or she will be able to pursue a legal claim successfully. In some situations, not taking these steps by a given deadline can mean the person forfeits his or her claim.

Truck accidents and other commercial vehicle accidents involving government agencies can be particularly tricky if the victim winds up suing the state or other government entity. The involvement of a government vehicle is one of many good reasons why a victim of this type of accident should consider seeking out professional guidance.

Many people in the Reno area probably know that a spinal cord injury is a serious affair that can cause paralysis and other debilitating conditions that can last for the rest of the victim’s life. What some might not realize, however, is that the onset of the most serious symptoms of a spinal cord injury is not always immediate. As such, there may be some misunderstanding that if a person seems fine right after an accident, then there is no cause to be concerned about spinal cord injuries.

The reality is that paralysis and other symptoms can and often set in gradually after an accident. This is because it sometimes takes time for conditions like bleeding and swelling to develop enough to actually interfere with nerve signals from the spine, and thus, create the tell-tale numbness or paralysis of a spinal cord injury.

This gradual onset can be hazardous, since the damage to the spine can be aggravated when a person does not take immediate steps to treat a serious injury. Generally speaking, it is a good idea to assume that anyone who has had a serious blow or fall has an injury to the spine until there is an opportunity to verify as much one way or the other.

From a legal standpoint, it is important to remember that a gradual onset of symptoms after something like a car accident or workplace accident does not mean that the victim of the accident wasn’t really hurt as seriously as one might suppose. People suffering from spinal cord injuries, even if the injuries do not manifest themselves immediately, will want to determine if the injury was the result of someone else’s negligence. If so, the spinal cord injury victim may want to learn more about pursuing compensation for the damages they suffered.

Some people in Nevada and across the nation may say that they are willing to text and drive in order to be available to their bosses at work. However, a recent report from TrueMotion suggests that the biggest temptation for owners of cellphones and other technology is not related to their careers.

This same study , which also concluded that texting and driving and other distracted behaviors are more common in the summer, concluded that most of the time, people who choose to communicate and drive are communicated with a family member or a close friend.

Around 45 percent of those asked said that they communicate with their spouses or significant others. Over 20 percent of those asked said that they had sent or received texts from their children while they were driving, and about one-third of those asked had demonstrated a willingness to text and drive with their friends.

While these numbers might come as a surprise to someone who had in their minds the image of a distracted driver who is either really young or who is a busy professional, the reasons why people are willing to text and drive shed some additional light on this topic.

Overwhelming, people who were willing to engage in distracted driving did so because they thought that if they did not do so, then they would miss out on an emergency situation. In other words, over 60 percent of those surveyed had the attitude that every text or phone call was potentially urgent and thus demanded a response. By contrast, only about one in four motorists said that they engaged in distracted driving out of a fear of missing out.

Whatever the reason, distracted driving is unacceptable behavior and also a good way to cause car accidents in the Reno area. A person who is the victim of a car accident involving a distracted driver may have legal options available to him or her, including the option to file a lawsuit in order to seek compensation for his or her injuries.

Summer in the mountains around Reno are beautiful, and their beauty draws people from around Nevada and the rest of the country to them.

While this generally is a good thing for Reno economy, if the results of a recent study are correct, drivers in this area need to be particularly aware of the possibility that distracted drivers are on the road in increased numbers, putting the travelers around them on the road at great risk for serious car accidents.

After reviewing the collected data, those conducting the study concluded that, during June, July, and August, instances of distracted driving, which includes things like texting or even talking on a cell phone, increase by 10 percent relative to the rest of the year.

During the summer, 40 percent of drivers on the road are operating their vehicles distracted for at least 15 minutes out of every hour that they drive. This is a scary thought since it only takes a second or two of distracted driving to cause a serious car crash.

Experts who reviewed these results speculate that one reason distracted driving spikes in the summer is that drivers who normally would be in high school or college attending classes have a lot more time to drive around on the roads. Oftentimes, these less experienced drivers do not fully appreciate the dangers of texting and driving.

What might be interesting in particular to a resort town like Reno is that these experts also think the tourism season causes an increase in distracted driving. For a number of reasons, people are more prone to turn to their devices when they are on unfamiliar routes or heading to an unfamiliar destination.

https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/UCM613532.htm

contact

A young man who was riding a motorcycle died as the result of a possible failure to yield at a Reno intersection. Authorities are, however, still investigating the precise cause of the crash and have even asked the public for information.

The accident happened in the evening hours on a recent weeknight on two city streets. The motorcyclist and the driver of a private passenger vehicle hit each other. The motorcyclist was initially taken to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries a short time after the accident. His name may be released after authorities notify the next of kin.

Police pointed out that the driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and voluntarily spoke with the police.

While it is important to remember that this accident remains under investigation, it still serves as a good reminder that drivers of full-size passenger vehicles need to make sure that they are keeping a sharp eye out for motorcyclists and doing what they can to prevent motorcycle accidents.

Through no fault of their own, motorcyclists are simply harder to see, which means other drivers need to check twice for motorcyclists before turning, going through an intersection or even just changing lanes. If they do not do so, then they run the risk of either hitting a motorcyclist or forcing the motorcyclist off of his or her bike.

In either case, the chance of the motorcyclist suffering serious injuries, including paralysis or brain damage, are fairly high. Under such circumstances, the motorcyclist may have the legal option to pursue compensation.

A previous post on this blog talked about the common causes of wrong way accidents on the freeway and other multi-lane highways. While one might think that a wrong way accident is a never event, in that it should never happen, they are more common than one might think.

Inexperience, physical or mental impairments and, especially, drunk or drugged driving are common reasons these accidents occur. No matter the cause, though, one can generally assume that the driver who drove the wrong way will be financially responsible for the accident.

Unfortunately, when wrong way accidents happen, the end result is often catastrophic. Assuming the victim survives, a serious injury like head trauma or a spinal cord injury is likely. While the victim might think that the fact the other driver is pretty clearly at fault would make getting adequate compensation easy, such is not necessarily the case.

These sorts of cases are particularly complex since brain and spine injuries raise a number of medical issues that might not be present in other personal injury cases.

Moreover, because they are so serious, they will entail having to figure out a victim’s lost wages and rehabilitation expenses years out from the time of the accident. This is a difficult process, and not doing it correctly or just taking the insurance company’s word for it may leave a person shortchanged.

Our law office understands the complexity of these types of cases and the importance of getting the calculation of one’s losses correct. While we pride ourselves on using our skills and expertise to get a fair settlement, we are also fully prepared to take a case to trial if doing so is in our client’s best interests.