How can a spinal cord injury change a person’s life?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Feb 24, 2017
There are a few areas in the body that are key to a person’s health and well-being. While every part of the body is important, certain components are important to overall body function. One of those areas is the spinal cord. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves, protected by the vertebrae, that give the body movement and sensation.

As some Reno residents may already know, the spinal cord is an important and delicate area of the body. When the spinal cord is injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident or by other severe trauma, the spinal cord can become irreparably damaged. When a person suffers a spinal cord injury, or SCI, blood flow can become cut off to the nerves and it can set off an onslaught of immediate and long-term health problems.

As of 2005, the most common cause of spinal cord injury was motor vehicle accidents. This is because accidents of this nature are often characterized by a jolting collision that can cause separation in the bones of the spinal column, which leads to injury to the spinal cord. This can result in serious conditions like paralysis, nerve damage and other life-altering conditions.

If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident that resulted in SCI, you may want more information about spinal cord injury so you know how this injury will affect the victim’s life in the short and long term. If the SCI was caused by the negligence of another person, he or she can be held liable for damages.

Source: nichd.nih.gov, ” What causes spinal cord injury and how does it affect your body? ,” Accessed February 20, 2017

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Drunk driving suspected after man killed in motorcycle accident
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Feb 15, 2017
A man was killed in a motorcycle accident on Las Vegas Boulevard earlier this month. An accident like this can be a sudden and heart-wrenching loss for all involved. In this instance, the driver of the vehicle that struck the motorcyclist is under investigation for their role in the crash.

The fatal motorcycle accident occurred in broad daylight, at approximately 12:30 in the afternoon. The victim was riding his motorcycle on Las Vegas Boulevard when he collided with a black four-door sedan. Both the motorcycle and the car went off the road. Emergency crews did everything to save the man’s life, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at about 1 p.m. Las Vegas police have arrested the driver of the sedan for suspicion of DUI.

If the driver is found to have been intoxicated at the time of the crash, and if there is evidence the intoxication played a role in causing the accident, the state may file vehicular homicide charges against the driver. The family of the motorcyclist who lost his life is likely looking for answers to the crash that took their loved one from them. Answers can be sought in a number of different ways; a full investigation may well turn up additional clues.

When a fatal accident occurs, an investigation may help point families in the right direction as to what to do next. If it appears the driver was negligent and that this negligence was a substantial cause of the accident, there are ways to collect financially from responsible parties or their insurance companies. Even if the driver wasn’t insured, it may be possible to collect from the deceased victim’s own uninsured motorist coverage. These options are available in certain situations in which negligent behavior, like intoxicated driving, has led to an innocent person’s injury or death.

Source: ktnv.com, ” Update: Coroner identifies motorcyclist killed Saturday ,” Bryce Riley, February 4, 2017

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Drunk driving’s consequences for Nevada
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Feb 08, 2017
Driving while intoxicated is a crime in the state of Nevada. This has not, of course, brought an end to drunk driving or its often tragic consequences. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data on the effects of drunk driving in each state. The statistics for Nevada are shocking.

Drunk driving accidents are entirely preventable. Those who drive drunk have chosen to get behind the wheel when they should know they are in no condition to drive. Between the 2003 and 2012 over 1,000 Nevadans were killed in accidents involving a drunk driver. Rates of death were highest for persons between the ages of 21-34, but the fatalities affected people of all ages.

The good news is that incidents of drunk driving have decreased in recent years. However, the CDC reports that in 2010 alone, there were millions of incidents of drunk driving. Nationally, one out of three traffic fatalities involved a drunk driver. For those who suffer injuries or a loved one’s death due to the actions of a drunk driver, there are legal options. Recovering for the losses you or a loved one has suffered at the hands of a drunk driver seems only right.

Criminal laws alone have never been enough to prevent people from doing something. Our penal systems are evidence of this fact. However, the civil justice system provides means for victims and their families to seek and secure compensation for their misfortune. Injuries that are the result of a drunk driver can, and should, be compensated for.

Source: cdc.gov, ” Sobering Facts: Drunk Driving in Nevada ,” Accessed February 6, 2017

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Recovering compensation after a semi truck accident
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Feb 02, 2017
Some motorists in the Reno area may not fully appreciate the danger that large semi trucks pose to those driving near them. These vehicles can cause catastrophic injury to occupants of smaller vehicles. The slightest of wrong moves by a commercial truck can lead to you or a loved one ending up in a hospital bed.

At Bradley Drendel & Jeannie, we know how serious truck accident injuries can be. For this reason, it is imperative that those who have been injured by a negligent truck driver understand their legal rights. If the injured party can prove that a trucker’s negligence caused the accident, they can recover monetary damages for their losses. Medical bills, loss of wages and other contributing costs are among the categories of damages that can be claimed.

Many accidents, of course, are the fault of more than one party. Even if you are partially responsible for an accident, however, Nevada’s comparative negligence law will still allow you to recover if you were not more at fault than the other driver. Since injuries can result in thousands of dollars in past, present and future expenses, proving the truck driver is at fault is critical.

Negligence must be proven in order to recover compensation after a semi truck accident injury. Fault in a semi truck accident case can be based on the negligence of the truck driver, the trucking company, or those responsible for maintenance and repair of the truck. A full investigation can turn up evidence to support the injured party’s claim.

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Death and discharge rates after accident injury on Nevada roads
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Jan 27, 2017
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Reno hit-and-run suspect apprehended and charged
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Jan 19, 2017
If there is one type of car accident that is completely inexcusable it is a car accident in which a person involved leaves the scene of an accident prematurely. This type of behavior is what’s known as a hit and run. It is against the law to leave the scene of an accident before exercising due care. There are consequences for this type of behavior and one Reno man has been arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of a fatal hit and run accident earlier this month.

Reno police were called to the intersection of Pueblo Street and Holcomb Avenue late one night in early January. Reports were that there was a man down in the road. When authorities arrived, the man was unresponsive and declared dead on the scene. The vehicle that struck the man and the person who was driving were nowhere to be found.

When the suspect was apprehended, the vehicle suspected of being used in the car accident was parked in the driveway. A full investigation can turn up proof that this was, in fact, the car that was used in the hit-and-run accident. Criminal charges are pending for the alleged perpetrator. While personal injury law and criminal law courts are separate, determinations in criminal court could act as a great argument for the injured individual’s family as criminal court has a higher threshold of proof than does personal injury court. If the man is found guilty for his role in the pedestrian’s death, it could make a personal injury suit against the driver much easier to allege and win.

Personal injury suits, in a scenario such as this, would seek damages for wrongful death. Wrongful death claims can seek damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and other financial and emotional strain that the victim or the family has endured or will endure. It’s possible that, had the driver not left the scene and cooperated with authorities, his negligence in relation to the accident could have been much smaller. However, when a driver leaves the scene of an accident, it changes everything.

Source: mynews4.com, ” Suspect arrested in deadly midtown hit-and-run crash ,” January 11, 2017

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What may one want to know if injured in a Reno truck accident?
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Jan 12, 2017
There are a few topics in life that can have no resounding impact one day and can mean everything the next. One of those topics that can feel this way to many victims is personal injury law. When everything is great and everyone is healthy, a family doesn’t need to worry about how a truck accident injury could affect a loved one in the short and long-term. The reality is that everything can change on a dime when you or a loved one is in the wrong place at the wrong time, suffering a truck accident injury.

The reality is that truck accident liability law is somewhat complicated. There can be multiple parties found negligent for truck accident injury, due to their negligent behaviors leading up to the crash. Many think that just the truck driver could be to blame. While this could very well be true, it may not be the whole truth. Investigating deeper into the truck accident can bring otherwise unknown truths to light.

Many may be curious to know that truck accident law is governed by both Nevada state law and federal law. This is because commercial trucks regularly cross state lines, and thus, interstate commerce occurs. So the laws dictating truck accident injury follow both state accident law and federal trucking regulations. The terms negligence and vicarious liability are often tossed around in cases of truck accident injuries.

Feeling overwhelmed? That isn’t an unusual feeling for a family who has suffered a truck accident injury. When one member of the family is injured, it can affect everyone. The repercussions of this serious injury may not yet be known. Be aware that there could be hurdles and challenges not yet known.

Source: injury.findlaw.com, “Truck Accident Law: What you need to know,” Accessed January 9, 2017

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Drunk drivers can be held accountable for personal injury
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Jan 06, 2017
With the holidays officially in the rear-view mirror for most, many are looking forward to the New Year and the positive changes ahead. But for some Reno families, they are barely making it through the day because their loved one was hit by a drunk driver. This can leave the victim and their family’s life irreparably changed. There is another way besides criminal charges to get reparation after personal injury suffered due to a drunk driver.

Criminal charges are often filed against a person who was the intoxicated driver after a drunk driving accident. However, this does not give the injured and their family any financial aid as the criminal system is mostly separate from civil suits. Now, criminal judgements can be helpful in civil suits because there is a higher threshold of proof and, thus, many personal injury complaints may have already been validated by a previous criminal suit. Serious injuries are a real possibility for those involved in a car accident with a drunk driver.

Medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering are more than enough reasons to seek financial relief. Liability can be found in terms of negligence when a person decides to get behind the wheel while intoxicated and caused injuries. Drunk driving accidents are more common around the holidays with all the festivities and family outings giving more opportunity for such a misfortune to occur. Regardless, there is no excuse for getting behind the wheel of a car and causing a drunk driving accident.

At Bradley, Drendel and Jeannie we take car accident injuries as seriously as you and your family do. That’s why we have represented hundreds of clients to help them secure the compensation they deserve. Drunk driving accidents can be particularly devastating. Impaired drivers can cause trauma that isn’t often seen in regular car accident injuries.

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Long-term care costs associated with spinal cord injury
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Dec 30, 2016
Spinal cord injury is a complicated injury that is often elusive and difficult for medical professionals to cure or treat. That being said, spinal cord injury often requires special medical attention and long-term rehabilitation. Thousands are injured every year in a way that is classified as SCI or spinal cord injury. U.S. Veterans suffering a spinal cord injury for 2 years or longer were the focus of a study that aimed at determining cost associated with such injury.

Focusing in on annual costs, the study determined that, on average, annual costs associated with spinal cord injury totaled just over $20,000 per person. This included costs of out-patient and hospital care. 11,000 Americans are hospitalized every year in connection with spinal cord injury. Each person on average will therefore incur costs annually around $20,000 on average after the two year mark.

Since their has been much focused on study of immediate spinal cord injury and not long-term spinal cord injury, these findings are significant. It puts a ballpark number on how much medical costs will be once the immediate injury has been dealt with and long-term conditions begin to set it. Spinal cord injury often requires much rehabilitation and even potentially future hospitalizations. Since medical costs can vary greatly, understanding what the long-term costs of an injury can be is eye-opening.

Families of spinal cord injury can take this study as a baseline for answering questions associated with long-term cost associated with such as injury. Top-notch medical care is always appropriate for someone injured unnecessarily in a Reno car accident, or similar incident. Since the spine is so delicate, it can suffer irreparable harm. Giving the injured the best chance at a full recovery is most important.

Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, ” Health Care Costs for Patients with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury in the Veterans Health Administration ,” Accessed December 26, 2016

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DUI arrest follows cross-over fatality crash near Reno
On Behalf of Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney • Dec 23, 2016
Many highways have barriers between the opposing lanes of traffic to prevent cross-over crashes. This is because cross-over crashes, or car accidents where a vehicle crosses into the opposing lane of traffic, can cause serious injuries or even fatalities. This was the case recently when a driver in Nevada, now charged with DUI, crossed over with his vehicle into the opposing lane of traffic. The resulting crash caused injuries and a fatality to victims in another vehicle.

The car accident occurred when the apparently negligent driver, then traveling north on US-50A left his lane and crossed over into the opposing lane of traffic. His vehicle then struck the front left side of a Honda driven by the man who lost his life in the crash. Another driver immediately following the Honda, was able avoid both vehicles and any serious injuries that would have resulted in a direct collision. The driver arrested for DUI was injured, but not seriously, and is now facing charges related to the car accident.

Accidents like this are so hard to wrap your mind around because, arguably, the crash may not have happened had intoxication not played a factor. Laws regarding intoxicated driving are strict, because drunk driving is entirely preventable. Those who have or are planning on enjoying spirits should do so responsibly and not put innocent lives in danger. With the holiday season upon us, it is even more important to remember the consequences that could follow when driving intoxicated.

The man who crossed over into the oncoming lane was previously reported as a reckless driver by another motorist before the crash. This certainly does not help his defense with charges including drug possession and DUI stacked on top of a reckless driving accusation. With another person’s death potentially his fault, this is very concerning. Under Nevada law, drunk drivers can face criminal charges, as well as civil liability for any injuries and damages that they case to other people.

Source: foxreno.com, ” 1 arrested for DUI in fatal crash on US50-A in Fernley ,” Dec. 14, 2016

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