Abels & Annes, P.C. Personal Injury Blog

A Mesa car accident on Saturday morning has hurt two children, according to the Arizona Republic. A total of 7 people and one police officer were involved. The accident occurred when a truck hit an SUV that was occupied by two adults and two children at McKellips Road and Country Club Drive around 10 a.m. An 11 year old girl suffered a loss of consciousness and was taken by ambulance to Maricopa Medical Center. The exact cause of the crash was not reported. The truck driver and 2 adults in the SUV were reportedly not injured. After the accident, Mesa police were called to the scene. An officer responding to the call was rear-ended by another vehicle. There were no injuries reported in that second collision. Click here to read the story as reported by ABC News. In my experience as a Phoenix car accident lawyer, sometimes people involved in motor vehicle collisions that are initially reported not injured end up in pain a short time later and seek medical treatment. I have found this most common with back and neck injuries. In an accident like this one, where the impact was significant enough for someone to get knocked out, there is a good possibility that the adults involved were feeling pain the next day.

Arizona bicycle accident attorneys at Abels & Annes have entered into an agreement to represent a nine-year-old bicycle rider who was injured in a parking lot when he was struck by a car. The accident happened back on July 19, 2010 Chicago, Illinois in the parking lot small food store at the intersection of Austin and Division. The child was traveling eastbound when the at fault driver swiftly pulled into the parking lot from the street and did not see the bicyclist. The vehicle struck the bike, knocking the boy to the ground. The nine-year-old had bilateral leg pain and back pain right after the accident. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital. At the ER, x-rays did not show any broken bones and he was examined by physicians. The bicycle rider’s pain did not go away over the next few days. The child’s mother took him for follow-up treatment with a medical doctor. He has had ongoing medical treatment since July. As the weather starts to slowly cool off in the Phoenix area, there will be more and more bicycle riders on the road. Earlier this year Tucson, Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix Arizona were all listed in the 20 most bicycle friendly cities in the United States. Motorists have to keep a proper lookout for, and be careful around Arizona bicycle riders. Sometimes even low impact bicycle vs. car accidents can cause serious injuries. If you have been hurt in a Phoenix bike accident, contact the Arizona injury lawyers at Abels & Annes for free consultation. Call (866) 99-ABELS to speak directly to a lawyer now.

CBS 5 reports that Arizona is one of 21 states that do not meet federal guidelines for booster seat safety, which can increase the risk of serious or fatal injury as the result of a Phoenix car accident. Some 15 years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board called for child restraint laws that protected all children up to eight years old. Current Arizona law only covers children up to the age of 4. “While we heartily applaud the eight states that enacted or upgraded child restraint laws in the past year,” said Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “21 states and two territories still lack robust booster seat laws. This means that millions of children remain at risk of injury or fatality every day on our highways.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared Sept. 19 to Sept. 25 to be Child Passenger Safety Week, culminating in National Seat Check Saturday on Sept. 25. Our Phoenix injury lawyers encourage parents to make it a point to have their child safety seats inspected; even when you think you are in compliance, issues like the purchase of a new vehicle can change the effectiveness of a child safety seat. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently rated 72 car seats based on how well they fit 4- to 8-year-olds and how well they fit various automobiles. Twenty-one seats rated “Best Bets” while eight seats were not recommended. “Unlike the top performers, consumers can’t assume boosters in the in-between group will work in every family vehicle,” said the Institute’s Anne McCartt. “Some may be fine, but parents still need to try them out to see if the lap and shoulder belts fit their kids correctly.” Another danger in Arizona is leaving a child in a hot car. So far this year, 43 children have […]

A woman from Chandler has been found guilty in federal court of leaving the scene of an Arizona pedestrian accident that caused a death on an Indian reservation, according to the Arizona Republic. The 64-year-old woman now faces sentencing in November 2010. The accident happened back on March 21, 2007 early in the morning on the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Reservation, which is located east of Phoenix, Arizona. Evidence showed the defendant hit and killed a 34-year-old Native American pedestrian as she attempted to cross the street. The at fault driver did not stop at the scene of the accident as required by law. A conviction in federal court for leaving the scene of a fatal accident carries a possible sentence of up to nearly 9 years and a possible $250,000 fine. It was not reported if a civil lawsuit was ever filed or if an Arizona pedestrian accident attorney is involved in the case. Phoenix hit-and-run car accidents seem to be more and more common. Many speculate that this is due to the fact that, because of the poor economy, many drivers are on the road without auto insurance. This in turn can lead to drivers fleeing the scene of Arizona accidents. In my experience as a Phoenix car accident lawyer, I have found that most hit-and-run drivers are uninsured.

A Phoenix personal injury lawyer at Abels & Annes has settled an automobile vs. pedestrian accident lawsuit for $162,000. The accident took place in Chicago, Illinois back on January 24, 2008 on the North Side near Wrigley Field. The plaintiff was crossing a street in a crosswalk with a green light when a driver ran a red light and struck him. After the accident, the at fault driver tried to claim that she had a green light. However, there was an independent witness at the scene of the accident that saw the collision and agreed with our client’s version of events. The accident was investigated by the Chicago Police Department. After the accident, our client was taken by ambulance to an emergency room. At the ER, he had multiple complaints which included right wrist pain, shoulder pain,and he had a large cut on his forehead. The laceration was close with nine stitches and x-rays showed he had a right fractured wrist. He was discharged from the emergency room with instructions to follow-up with an orthopedic surgeon. Our client followed up with a surgeon a few days after the accident. Due to his complaints, the doctor ordered an MRI of his left shoulder. The scan revealed a rotator cuff tear. The physician recommended surgery to repair the shoulder. Surgery was performed weeks later Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago. The lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleged the driver failed to stop for red light, was driving too fast for conditions on the road, and failed to stop for pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. The defendant had auto insurance with State Farm and the case settled shortly before the scheduled trial date. If you have been hurt in a Phoenix pedestrian accident, call the Arizona accident attorneys at Abels […]

More than one-fourth of all Arizona car accidents were caused by drunk drivers last year, according to new traffic statistics being released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Overall, nationwide traffic fatalities were at their lowest level in 60 years in 2009 — a total of 33.808 people died in traffic accidents, down 9.7 percent from 2008 when 37,423 people died on the nation’s roads. Our Phoenix car accident lawyers will be examining the data as the government releases it in the coming weeks.Arizona drunk driving accidents claimed 219 lives last year, or 27 percent of the 807 traffic fatalities reported in 2009. That’s down from the 262 fatal drunk driving accidents that were among the state’s 938 traffic fatalities in 2008. The 807 deaths ranks Arizona 15th deadliest behind Alabama (848), California (3,081), Florida (2,558), Georgia (1,284), Illinois (911), Louisiana (821), Michigan (871), Missouri (878), New York (1,156), North Carolina (1,314), Ohio (1,021), Pennsylvania (1,256), South Carolina (894) and Texas (3,071). “Today’s numbers reflect the tangible benefits of record seat belt use and strong anti-drunk driving enforcement campaigns,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “But we are still losing more than 30,000 lives a year on our highways, and about a third of these involve drunk driving. We will continue to work with our state partners to strictly enforce both seat belt use and anti-drunk driving laws across this nation, every day and every night.” The federal government reports that car accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. residents ages 3 to 34. The number of people injured also declined for the 10th straight year. An estimated 2.217 million motorists were injured in accidents in 2008, compared to 2.346 million who were injured in 2008. Large truck occupants and motorcyclists reported the greatest percentage decline in serious […]

A Phoenix, Arizona motorcycle vs. truck accident has caused life-threatening injuries to a motorcycle rider, ABC news is reporting. The crash took place on Thursday at approximately 6:40 AM at Buckeye Road and 59th Ave. according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the Phoenix Fire Department. The motorcyclist, who was an adult male, was rushed to Valley Hospital by ambulance with serious injuries. 59th Ave. had to be shut down between Buckeye and lower Buckeye roads for a period of time due to the accident. The name of the Arizona motorcycle rider has not been released and the cause the accident has not been reported. It is also not been said if a Phoenix motorcycle accident lawyer is involved in the case yet. In the year 2008 alone, there were 3,531 motorcycle accidents in the state of Arizona (that according to the Arizona Department of Transportation). In those accidents, 3,004 people were injured at 140 people were killed. Those numbers are up slightly from the year 2007 where there were 3,464 Arizona motorcycle accidents that resulted in 135 deaths. Statistics from the year 2009 have not yet been released.

A study by Allstate Insurance found less danger of a Phoenix car accident or a serious or fatal traffic accident elsewhere in Arizona last year. Our Phoenix injury attorneys have reported the impact the economic downturn has had on the number of car accidents across the nation, but particularly in states where winter residents and tourism play an important role, including Florida and Arizona. Washington, D.C. was the worst city in the nation — the average motorist reported an accident every 5.1 years. The best city was Fort Collins, Colo. There, a driver went about 14.5 years between accidents. The wort large cities included Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Arizona Cities ranked from best to worst: -Chandler ranked 16th, compared to 43rd last year. A driver goes an average of 11.4 years between accidents. -Tucson ranked 20th. Last year it was 26th. A driver goes an average of 11.3 years between accidents. -Mesa ranked 23rd, compared to 49th last year. An average of 11.2 years between crashes. -Gilbert ranked 25th compared to 51st last year. 11.2 years between accidents. -Scottsdale ranked 34th compared to last year’s ranking of 56th. 10.9 years between accidents. -Tempe was 47th compared to 86th last year. 10.4 years between accidents. -Glendale was 50th compared to 71st last year. 10.3 years between accidents. -Phoenix was 74th compared to 95th last year. 9.8 years between accidents. -Peoria was 91st, down slightly from 88th last year. 9.6 years between crashes. “For the sixth year, Allstate is releasing the Allstate America’s Best Driver’s Report to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on safe driving,” said Mike Roche, senior vice president, Allstate’s Claim Organization. “Human error is the biggest cause of accidents. It is vital for us to educate drivers across the country on the importance of being tolerant and attentive […]

Police are looking for help finding a driver involved in a Phoenix, Arizona pedestrian accident that took place back on June 29, 2010, Fox News reported. The Phoenix Police Department has released surveillance tape that shows the at fault driver entering a convenience store near the accident location. The woman reportedly told workers in the store that she had been involved in an accident, but she then left and did not wait for police to arrive. She was reportedly driving a white Ford minivan, was around 35 to 40 years old, 5’3″, 170 to 190 lbs., and is either native American or Hispanic. The 30-year-old pedestrian accident victim is still hospitalized and recovering from injuries. The victim was struck by the hit-and-run driver while he was walking across 29th Ave. at Glendale. He was in intensive care at the hospital for weeks and it is being reported that rescue workers initially didn’t think he would survive. Phoenix police are releasing the surveillance tape with the hope that someone will recognize the hit-and-run driver and call police. If she is caught, police plan on charging her with felony offenses. If you have any information regarding this accident, please immediately contact the Phoenix Police Department at (602) 262-7626. As far as a civil claim is concerned, it is not been reported if the victim has a Phoenix pedestrian accident lawyer working on his behalf. In a case like this, an Arizona injury lawyer will look to file a hit-and-run, uninsured motorist claim against the pedestrian’s own auto insurance policy. If the driver is eventually caught, the lawyer will investigate as to whether her vehicle was insured. Click here to read more about Phoenix hit-and-run accidents and Arizona uninsured motorist claims. Click here to read the story as reported by azfamily.com and the […]

Phoenix bicycle accident attorneys Abels & Annes have reached a settlement in an incident that occurred in Chicago, Illinois in February of 2010. Our client was riding his bicycle southbound on Clark Street when the defendant, who was driving a 2005 Ford going northbound, turned left and struck the bike rider. The at fault driver was trying to turn left/westbound on Cornelia Street and failed to yield to oncoming traffic. The Chicago Police responded to the crash. After their investigation they issued a citation to the defendant for failing to yield on a left turn. The bicyclist injured his right knee and left shoulder in the crash. After the accident he was seen in the ER at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Diagnostic testing was negative for fractures. Days after the accident our client’s pain remained. He sought follow-up treatment with a medical doctor. The physician then referred him to physical therapy. Weeks later the bicycle rider’s shoulder pain remained so an MRI was ordered. The test showed he had sustained a mild AC joint separation in the accident. He continued with physical therapy and his condition eventually improved. The claim resolved for a little over $31,000 and we did not need to file a lawsuit to settle the case. Nationwide insured the at fault driver.