Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog

Two different Arizona car accidents, one in Phoenix and the other in Tucson, have recently claimed the lives of two children, Reuters is reporting.

In Phoenix a two-year-old girl was killed after a pickup truck being driven by her father rolled over her while backing out of the driveway. The incident occurred at the family's home on Tuesday morning, May 31.

The girl had been playing with her brother in the front yard of their house, which is located in the area of Thunderbird Road and 35th Ave. around 10:30 AM. The father had been watching the kids at the time.

The mother then came home, and the father then mistakenly thought mom was watching the kids. The father then backed his vehicle down the driveway to go run errands, and in doing so struck his daughter, according to azfamily.com.

The child was rushed to Phoenix Children's Hospital where she passed away from injuries sustained in the accident.

The Phoenix Police Department handled the crash investigation, and no criminal charges are expected to be filed, police saying that this was a tragic accident.

In a second Arizona pedestrian accident that resulted in the death of a toddler, a 25-year-old mother allegedly struck her four-year-old son with a vehicle on May 30th in Tucson. The child was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center where he died a short time later.

Police are stating they believe the mother was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She has since been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and child abuse.

While our condolences go out to both families, tragic cases such as these serve as an important reminder for drivers to use extreme caution around homes with children.

Backing out of residential driveways can be especially hazardous. Even when a driver is being cautious, sometimes smaller children can't be seen through a rear view mirror.

When my own mother was a toddler, she sustained a badly fractured leg when a milk truck driver backed over her. After the incident, the driver was so disturbed by the accident that he refused to return to the house and was put on new route.

The addition of rear view cameras and sensors on many vehicles will hopefully reduce the number of these accidents. According to autoweek.com, the Department of Transportation has proposed a new mandate to require all new cars sold in the USA weighing under 10,000 pounds to have rear view cameras by September, 2014.

The NHTSA states that on average there are 292 deaths and 18,000 injuries per year from back-over collisions.

Phoenix accident attorneys know how jarring a car collision can be and understand the confusion that arises in its aftermath as you decide what to do next. A new app for the iPad and iPhone released by AAA attempts to alleviate this confusion by guiding the user through a post-crash process that includes properly documenting the crash itself and requesting roadside assistance if necessary, ABC news is reporting.

According to the AAA press release, the app provides is one-touch calling to police and emergency services if they are needed. It then guides you through a step by step process of gathering the relevant crash information you need to submit an insurance claim and document the incident for any potential litigation that may arise. This process includes taking photos of the crash site and any damages, documenting the parties, vehicles, and witness involved in the crash, and storing the information in an easily accessible file on your phone.

The app can also hold all the details of your insurance policy and the contact information of your insurance provider. This allows you to collect all the crash data and send it to your insurance company directly from your phone.

Our experience as Arizona auto accident lawyers has taught us that while the moments after a car crash can be chaotic, it could be helpful to document the incident if at all possible. A well-documented car accident could make it easier for attorneys to later help you obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries and alleviate some of the stress of the post-crash process.

The new app is available to download for free on either your mobile phone or desktop through the iTunes store. For more information on the app you can visit www.aaa.com/mobile. This is the fourth free iPhone app offered by AAA, joining the AAA Discounts app, the AAA Roadside app, and the AAA TripTik mobile travel planner.

If you have been injured in an Arizona crash by a motorist who failed to follow rules of the road, contact Abels & Annes for a free consultation. Call 866-99-ABELS to speak to a lawyer now.

This blog was co-authored by Shane Nichols, a second-year law student at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

The Memorial Day holiday marked the beginning of accident season for children, according to CBS news. They report that, according to the medical director at Maricopa Medical Center, there is a 10 to 15% increase in child injury cases over the summer.

The director said that the hospital sometimes sees severe head injuries where children end up having operations with a neurosurgeons. Unfortunately, he said they also see child fatalities.

ATV accidents are one of the types of injury cases they handle. Hospital physicians treated 14 kids ages 14 and under for injuries sustained in ATV crashes in 2010 alone.

The article went on to interview an ATV accident victim. The child had borrowed a neighbor's ATV without permission. She went for a ride without a helmet, lost control and flipped over. She sustained two fractures in her jaw and also had more than 30 stitches to repair a laceration on the side of her head. Nine months later she still has scars, and she regrets not wearing a helmet.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety reminds us that one way to reduce injuries to children would be to buckle up your kids in the car. Statistically, every hour someone loses their life in the United States because they didn't wear a seat belt.

DPS states that Parents who don't use a seat belt are sending the wrong message to children. Research shows that when a motorist fails to buckle up, children riding in that vehicle will also be unbelted 70% of the time.

If your child has been hurt in an Arizona accident, contact an injury attorney at Abels & Annes for a free consultation. Call 602-819-5191 to speak to a lawyer now.

GMAC Insurance recently released the results of a nationwide survey which seemed to illustrate the need for drivers to brush up on the rules of the road, according to Yahoo news. The study shows that over twenty percent of U.S. motorists would not pass a drivers test if they had to take one now.

This percentage is actually better when compared to 2010, when 76.2% of drivers would fail a test, as compared to 77.9% in 2011. In 2010, 30 million drivers in the United States were unfit to be on the road. These survey results arguably show that many American drivers have unsafe habits, which could lead to a greater number of Arizona car crashes.

Here are some of the survey results:

75% of the drivers surveyed were unaware of safe following distances.

85% of those surveyed were unaware of the appropriate actions to make when coming to a yellow light.

Motorists in the Northeast had the lowest scores on the test, while those in the Midwest scored highest.

Older drivers surveyed did the best. The oldest group tested was ages 60-65, and they tested at 80.3%

Washington D.C. scored lowest of all major cities.

Wyoming receive the best results of all states, where drivers surveyed had a 95% pass rate.

The GMAC insurance survey is done annually. Over 5000 motorists from 50 states and the District of Columbia took the 20 question test.

As a Phoenix auto accident attorney, I can tell you that rules of the road violations often lead to innocent people being injured. Car crashes often occur due to motorists either not knowing the rules of the road or failing to obey rules of the road.

In my experience, some of the most common rule violations that lead to accidents are as follows:

1. Following too close. This violation usually results in a driver rear ending a car in front of them.

2. Failure to yield when coming out of a two-way stop sign.

3. Failure to yield while turning left.

4. Failing to observe yield to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists on the roadway. These types of accidents are often the most deadly, as even low-speed impacts can lead to catastrophic injuries

If you've been injured in a Phoenix area accident by a driver who failed to follow the rules of the road, contact Abels & Annes for free consultation. Call 866-99-ABELS to speak to a lawyer now.

A rules of the road violation has resulted in an Arizona motorcycle vs. car crash that caused the death of a motorcyclist and injuries to another, according to azcentral.com. The collision occurred on the west side of Phoenix on May 27th around 11 PM in the area of 79th Ave. and Thomas road. A 35-year-old female motorist driving a Chevy Impala was making a left turn out of the Desert Sky Mall and failed to yield to a motorcyclist headed eastbound on Thomas Road who had the right-of-way.

A second motorcycle rider, a 45-year-old male, who was also moving eastbound had to swerve to the left to avoid the accident. When he made this maneuver his motorcycle collided with a median. The biker died in the crash. The name of the victim has not been released, according to ABC news.

The Impala driver was not injured. Phoenix police officers responded to the scene of the accident and determined that drugs or alcohol did not play a role in the deadly crash.

In my experience as a Phoenix accident lawyer, too often motorists pay attention to other cars but fail to keep a proper sufficient lookout for motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Unfortunately, these types of accidents are very dangerous and even low-speed collisions can result in critical injuries.