Abels & Annes, P.C. Personal Injury Blog

Arizona slip and fall attorney Gary Annes has settled a case on behalf of a woman who slipped and fell on a sheet of ice in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The incident occurred after a man hosed down his back porch in an attempt to clean up dog poop. He did this in freezing conditions which caused a sheet of ice to form. He then allowed the plaintiff to go out on the back porch to throw away some garbage and failed to advise her of the dangerous condition. She slipped and fell on the ice, landing on her right hand and for head. Gary Annes settled the case for the homeowner’s $100,000 insurance policy limits. The case was resolved without having to file a lawsuit, saving our client the cost of litigation. Shortly after the accident, the defendant told our client he had been using his gated patio behind his townhouse as a small dog run. He admitted that the day before he had sprayed down the concrete slab patio to try to clean up dog excrement. Due to freezing temperatures the water turned to ice, and the ice was then hidden by a light snow. The homeowner also stated he intended to salt the area and forgot to do so. After falling, our client had extreme right wrist pain and head pain. She was transported immediately after the accident to an emergency room. At the ER, she was examined and x-rays were taken. In addition to her wrist and head pain, she was dizzy and nauseous. Emergency room doctors noted a large contusion on her forehead and a deformity on her right wrist with tenderness. X-rays showed she sustained a severely fractured wrist. She was also diagnosed with a closed head injury and post concussion syndrome. […]

It’s a new year and it’s time for some new resolutions. Our Phoenix pedestrian accident attorneys asked all residents to make their New Year’s resolutions to be safer travelers on our roadways. We would like to remind you that being a good driver, pedestrian and bicyclist involves keeping a close eye out for others traveling on the same roadway. Compassion and caution can help to make our roadways safer for everyone.Bicycle and pedestrian accidents in Phoenix happen all too often because of driver inattention. It’s very important for drivers to share the road safely with pedestrians and bicyclists as they’re extremely vulnerable travelers. There are a few simple safety tips that can help travelers to more safely navigate our Phoenix roadways and to avoid a potentially fatal accident. Safety Tips for Bicyclers, from the City of Phoenix: -Bicyclists who are under the age of 8 should never be allowed to ride alone. These young riders should always ride on a sidewalk, too. -Make sure that both of your feet can touch the ground (flat) when sitting on the bicycle’s seat. -Use a crosswalk when crossing a street. -Look left, right and left again before crossing the street. -Always ride your bike with the flow of traffic. -Be sure to obey all traffic signals and signs. -Never ride with more than one person to a bike. Bicycles that have one seat and one handlebar were meant for one person. -Be on the lookout for broken glass, sticks, rocks and other dangerous debris in the roadway while biking. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were approximately 120 pedestrians who died in the state of Arizona in 2009. With efforts from both motorists and from pedestrians, we can all do our part to keep the roadways safe for everyone. […]

It’s 2012 and it’s time for a fresh start. Our Phoenix car accident attorneys and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) are asking motorists to make one of their New Year’s resolutions to be a safer driver. Drivers are urged to be cautious when driving through the state’s areas with the frigid winter weather. Ice and snow can greatly increase your chances for a serious accident if you’re not careful!Driving in snow and icy can be difficult even for the most seasoned of drivers. It’s always a good idea to review safe driving tips before heading out on snowy and icy roadways. Drivers are urged to check the DOTs Interactive Road Map before venturing out. This map illustrates road delays, traffic patterns, weather conditions and more. You can also get this information by calling 511 or 1–888–411–ROAD. The better prepared you are, the less likely you are to get into a serious car accident in Arizona. Winter Driving Safety Tips: -Always keep your vehicle’s gas tank topped off. This means that you never want to let your fuel get too low. You want to be able to keep yourself warm for a substantial amount of time if you get stuck. -Remember that 4-wheel drive doesn’t mean that you can stop quicker. It only means that you can accelerate more quickly. -Never drive too close to the vehicle in front of you when the roads are snowy or icy. These conditions make the road slick and more difficult for you to stop your vehicle. -Abide by the speed limit. You always want to adjust your driving habits to the weather conditions, which could mean slowing down even more. -Leave with plenty of time. Allow yourself extra time to get where you need to go to avoid rushing. -Make sure to carry […]

We’ve recently been talking about the dangers that drivers face on our roadways through the holiday travel season. We’ve even touched on the dangers of driving while distracted. But add these factors together and you’ve got a recipe for a serious car accident in Phoenix. According to Hands-Free Info, there was no statewide law enacted in Arizona until 2011. Laws for 2012 don’t look promising either. The top leaders at the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety say they won’t be backing text messaging bans for drivers because these types of laws will be difficult to enforce.”How can you prove, from outside of a vehicle, if a person is text messaging or dialing a phone number?,” asks highway safety director Alberto Gutier. Our Phoenix car accident attorneys understand that Gutier also recently dismissed a proposal for a hand-held cell phone law. Only school bus drivers are prohibited from talking on a cell phone behind the wheel in Arizona. Phoenix has a separate law stating that no drivers are allowed to text message at the wheel. Arizona is one of the few states left that has yet to enact a statewide ban on these dangerous driving behaviors. With the road traffic increasing through the remainder of the year, drivers are asked to willingly give up the distractions at the wheel. Only safe and alert driving habits can help to keep our roads injury and fatality free during the holidays. Tips to Help Curb Distractions at the Wheel, from the Governors Highway Safety Association: -If you have to answer or make a call on your cell phone while you’re driving, pull over and stop in a safe spot before doing so. -If the phone call or text message can’t wait, ask a passenger to help you out. -Set up your voice mail to […]

Thousands of residents and visitors will be traveling through Phoenix for the Christmas and New Year holidays. With this significant increase in road traffic, motorists are faced with significant increases in their risks for a car accident in Phoenix and elsewhere. For this reason, the Arizona Highway Patrol Association offers drivers a few safe driving tips to help prevent a fatal car accident during the holidays. Every year, these holiday periods produce some of the highest fatality rates on roadways across the United States. With cautious and alert driving habits, we can help to reduce the risks altogether.Before we discuss how to avoid an accident, our Phoenix car accident lawyers would like to discuss the risks we’ll be faced with over the holiday travel season. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are some of the most deadliest times on our roadways. According to a recent release, the NSC has concluded its predictions regarding the number of fatalities and injured that we’ll see on our roadways during this holiday time. Christmas Holiday Fatality Estimates: -The Christmas holiday is considered the time from 6 p.m. on December 23rd through the late evening of Monday, December 26th. -287 fatalities are predicted to occur during this time. -Another 28,700 injuries in which professional medical assistance is required are predicted to occur. -Seat belts may save approximately 102 people. -If all motorists were to wear a seat belt during this holiday period, then another 73 people could be saved in car accidents. New Year’s Holiday Fatality Estimates: -The New Year’s holiday is considered the time from 6 p.m. on the evening of December 30th through the late evening of January 2nd. -297 fatalities are predicted to occur during this time. -Another 29,700 injuries in which professional medical assistance […]

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, only school bus drivers in the state are prohibited from using a hand-held cell phone while driving. All other drivers are allowed to make calls and send text messages while they drive. As we recently reported on our Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending that a law be passed that bans the use of portable electronic devices by all drivers. Currently there are 35 states that have made text messaging at the wheel illegal and only nine that prohibit talking on hand-held cell phones.Officials with the National Safety Council (NSC) point out that it’s not just hand-held phones and text messaging that serves as a danger on our roadways. Hands-free devices may be just as dangerous. Still, no state has made it illegal for drivers to use a hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle. Our Phoenix car accident attorneys understand that legislatures have been enacting laws to curb driver distractions since 2000, but no state has yet to completely ban all devices. Officials believe that such a law wouldn’t go over well with residents. Many have claimed that similar laws were in fact a violation of their personal freedoms, according to CNN. “It’s just one of those things that would be the equivalent of the 18th Amendment today. It’s a Prohibition that would not work,” said David Adkins, of the The Council of State Governments. Prohibition laws take time to gain the participation of the country. Think of our seat belt laws. The first of these laws were passed back in the ’80s. In recent years, a few remaining states enacted such laws to make it a nationwide law. Still, less than 85 percent of motorists wear a seat belt. There have been a number of […]

As we recently reported on our Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, we witnessed nearly 800 fatalities resulting from car accidents in Arizona throughout 2010. Our state saw nearly 110,000 car accidents during the year. While car accidents are a huge threat to residents of all ages, they serve as the number one cause of death for individuals aged 3- to 34-years-old. We always hear about these incidents being the number one cause of death for teenage drivers. But the truth of the matter is your risk of being involved in a serious or fatal traffic accident is alarmingly high regardless of age group. Our Phoenix car accidents attorneys understand that traffic crashes are the third highest ranked cause of loss of life in the country. This means that these accidents account for the third highest incident calculated by the number of years that a resident reasonably had expected left to live, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).Top Causes for Deaths, Calculating by Years of Life Lost: -Cancer -Heart Disease -Motor Vehicle Accidents -Stroke -Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease -Suicide -Perinatal Period -Diabetes -Accidental Poisoning -Homicide As we get closer to Christmas and New Year’s, drivers are asked to be cautious on our roadways as the volume of traffic is expected to increase significantly with holiday travelers. An increase in traffic flow significantly increases your risks for a fatal accident. Whether you’re in the warm and sunny Arizona weather or in a cold-weather climate, drivers are urged to consider the following safety driving tips from Tiiu Napp, a Phoenix Travel Photographer for the Examiner, to enjoy a safe and injury-free holiday. Holiday/Winter Safe Driving Tips: -Reduce speed and drive cautiously, even if you have a 4WD vehicle. Four-wheel drive means you can accelerate quicker, but not that you’re able to […]

There are 6 new units that were unveiled at a recent news conference to help catch drunk drivers through the holidays. These new units were given to the Maricopa County, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Tuscon and the Phoenix Sheriff’s Offices, Scottsdale and the Department of Public Service office to help to combat drunk drivers during this year’s multi-agency Holiday DUI Task Force efforts, according to Cronkite News. These mobile units act as processing centers where officers can conduct Breathalyzers and blood-alcohol tests, in addition to checking for search warrants. These units help to reduce the time that arresting officers spend processing those who are suspected of driving under the influence and frees up more time to help prevent drunk driving car accidents in Phoenix and elsewhere. The units cost more than $1 million and were purchased with federal money.”These trucks mean we can get out and get the next person off the road faster,” said Travis Mathews, officer for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Our Phoenix drunk driving car accident attorneys understand the need for increased patrolling efforts during holiday season. Each year, we see a large number of roadway fatalities during the month of December. Many of these accidents are alcohol-related. During this time of year, residents and visitors get to spend some time away from work and school and get to gather with friends and family members. What’s unfortunate isn’t the fact that more people drink during these joyous gatherings, but the fact that more people get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. In 2010, there were nearly 19,500 DUI arrests in Arizona. Nearly 4,000 of these arrests were during the holiday season. In 2010, there were nearly 200 people killed in the state because of alcohol-related car accidents. Arizona isn’t the only one […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced this week that it will be pushing for a nationwide cell phone ban. The board would like for government officials to make it illegal for all drivers in the country to talk on a cell phone while driving, according to the Phoenix NewTimes. The board is claiming that talking on a phone, texting, e-mailing or surfing the web is far too dangerous and contributes to too many car accidents in Phoenix and elsewhere. The recommendation comes with some exceptions though. Drivers would be allowed to use devices that help aid driver safety, including GPS devices, and to use devices in the event of an emergency.Some states already ban texting at the wheel, while others have yet to enact a law to regulate this activity. Cell phone regulations for drivers vary throughout the country as well. The NTSB understands that a complete ban on cell phone usage for drivers isn’t going to win any popularity contest, but it could be the key to making our roadways safer. Our Phoenix car accident attorneys understand that only school bus drivers are prohibited from talking on cell phones behind the wheel in our state. But drivers who text message or are distracted by phones has increasingly become a serious safety issue. The National Safety Council is backing the NTSB’s proposal to ban cell phone usage for all drivers in the U.S. The recent proposal comes after a meeting that was used to discuss the 2010 distraction-related traffic accident that happened in Gray Summit, Missouri. In this accident, a trucker’s vehicle killed two people and injured nearly 40 more. Cell phone records indicated that the driver blamed for causing the accident was using his cell phone behind the wheel just seconds before the accident happened. The NTSB is […]

According to the new statistics released from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of fatalities and injuries from car accidents in Phoenix and elsewhere in 2010 reached a low not seen since 1949. The number of fatalities didn’t decline everywhere though. The number of fatalities among large truck occupants, motorcycle riders and pedestrians in fact increased significantly.”While we have more work to do to continue to protect American motorists, these numbers show we’re making historic progress when it comes to improving safety on our nation’s roadways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. Our Phoenix car accident attorneys understand that our state still experienced more than 760 traffic-related fatalities in 2010. While this is a decrease in the total number when compared to 2009, this number is expected to increase as the economy continues to recover. As Arizona pushes efforts to combat drunk driving, distracted driving and speed-related traffic accidents, motorists are asked to exercise safe driving habits to help to reduce these numbers. As technology advances, distraction-related car accidents are becoming more and more common on our roadways. The NHTSA recognizes this increasing trend as well. The Administration is now using a new measure to count these accidents. It’s called “distraction-affected crashes” and was first used in the 2010 statistics, released this week. In 2010, there were more than 3,000 traffic fatalities resulting from car accident that involved a distracted driver. While we commonly hear about cell phones and texting being the cause for driver distractions, we still see an alarming high number of distractions caused by eating, drinking, smoking, applying makeup, messing with the radio and talking to other passengers. Back in 2006, the FARS unveiled a new measure to keep track of alcohol-related accidents. In an attempt to focus on these types of accidents, the NHTSA […]