Michigan Car Accident Attorneys Blog

According to USA Today, motorcycle accidents are responsible for the deaths of 12 people every day in the United States. The leading cause of death in these accidents is not surprisingly head injuries. Although nearly every other type of traffic fatality has gone down, motorcycle fatalities have been on the rise for the last 11 years (with the exception of last year which experts attribute to the economy).

Although almost all states have helmet laws, only 20 states require them for all riders (Michigan included). Many states only require helmets for riders under 18. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging these states to enact more stringent helmet laws, requiring all riders to wear them.

Many enthusiasts disagree with NTSB and think that awareness and rider education are the solution rather than mandatory helmet laws. Whatever your view, it is clear that unfortunately many fatal motorcycle accidents occur each year and in a disproportionate amount. Although motorcycles only account for 3% of all traffic accidents, they represent 13% of all traffic accident fatalities.

Our client, James Hawthorne was rear ended by a semi-truck owned and operated by a Kentucky based Trucking company. Mr. Hawthorne hired our firm to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver when he was unable to return to work due to a serious neck injury (due to whiplash).

SMDA filed a lawsuit against the trucking company in the Wayne County Circuit Court. Despite being served with the complaint by the local sheriff, the trucking comapny failed to appear in the case and was defaulted. Despite receiving notice of the default, the Trucking company again failed to appear in the case and a default judgment ($942,000) was entered by the Court.

When the trucking company failed to pay the judgment (and later filed bankruptcy) SMDA filed a lawsuit against the trucking companies Insurer based on the language contained in the MCS90 endorsement. Plaintiff was able to obtain a ruling from the court that the Insurer was not entitled to conduct any discovery as Hawthorne's right to recover pursuant to the MCS90 endorsement was due to the Wayne County Default Judgment which could not be collaterally attacked.

The Court then granted SMDA's motion for judgment finding that Plaintiff had established every element required by the MCS90 endorsement and entered a judgment for Plaintiff.

SMDA is available to handle any trucking accident cases or assist in any trucking accident claims that may involve the MCS90 endorsement.

We previously discussed the dangers of distracted driving. Recently, AAA released another study that suggests that falling asleep while at the wheel is also a more common danger than you might think.

In the study AAA found that 2 out of 5 drivers admitted to having fallen asleep or nodded off while driving. A staggering 26.6% of those questioned in the survey admitted to having been “so sleepy that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open” within the last 30 days. Even scarier, 41% explained that they had “fallen asleep or nodded off” while driving at some point.

The study also looked at accidents that occurred as a result of drowsiness or sleeping. It was estimated that 16.5% of fatal crashes involved a driver that was driving while drowsy. This study suggested a higher percentage than studies done before and suggests to me that this is something where more research is necessary.
This study was done to show just how prevalent this problem is. A study correlating sleeping and car accidents had not been done in 15 years. Instead, studies looking at speeding, drinking and driving and not using a seat belt have been more popular. Statistics like this suggest that perhaps we really need to be looking into the implications of sleeping while driving as a more common problem than previously thought.

Remember, in Michigan even if there is a single car accident, the driver (or anyone else injured) is entitled to make a claim for PIP benefits including Wage Loss, Replacement Services, Attendant Care and medical bills.