Tampa Bay Injury Law Blog » personal injury lawyer

Traffic Deaths at Historic Low

James Dodson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:20:48 +0000

Mary Peters, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation announced that traffic fatalities in the United States dropped to a historical low in 2007. Specifically, the fatality rate dropped to 1.37 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The actual number of traffic fatalities dropped to 41,059, the lowest number since 1994.

While this is good news, the number of motorcycle deaths increased in 2007 accounting for nearly 1 out of every 8 motor vehicle deaths. Statistically, motorcycle deaths increased from 4,837 in 2006 to 5,154 in 2007, an increase of 6.6% according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report released this month titled, 2007 Traffic Safety Assessment.

A recent NY Times article discussed several theories for the increase in motorcycle deaths including:

1. an increase in motorcycle registrations,

2. a decline in states requiring helmets, and

3. the increase in fuel costs prompting more people to start riding or return to riding motorcycles.

In the Tampa Bay area, although I do not have traffic statistics, our firm has definitely noticed an increase in motorcycle-related traffic fatality cases, which would appear to correlate with the statistical data reported above.

Although many of the reasons given for the increase in motorcycle deaths may be valid, my own observations indicate that another reason is the negligence of automobile drivers who seem to have difficulty sharing the road with motorcyclists. Not always the case, but many of the motorcycle injury cases our office has accepted lately were caused by an inattentive car operator rather than any actions of the motorcycle rider himself.

Which Insurance Company Do Lawyers Think Is the Worst?

James Dodson — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:59:14 +0000

The legal advocate group known as the American Association for Justice (AAJ) has named Allstate Insurance Company the worst of the American insurance companies. Allstate’s coronation was announced in a recent report published by the AAJ titled “The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America.” Members of the AAJ, a group primarily made up of lawyers, and whose mission is to promote a fair and effective justice system, specifically for individuals injured by the negligence of others, have a history of fighting big insurance and carefully monitor the companies’ practices. Allstate’s practices are what landed them at number one in the report.

Among the company practices cited in the report was Allstate’s lowball offer/hardball litigation strategy; the company’s policy of delaying claims as long as possible; and rewards for adjusters who deceptively kept their claims payouts low. The AAJ refers to Allstate’s policies as the “boxing gloves” approach rather than the “goods hands” approach. The report also mentions the highest number of consumer complaints, this according the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The report is well-documented and thoroughly annotated. Before forming an opinion, I encourage all to download the report, check the sources and form your own opinions. The report is available at http://www.justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsuranceCompanies.pdf.

About the Law Firm

The Law Offices of James W. Dodson, an Attorney in the Tampa Bay area, specialize in car accident lawsuits in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. For more information, please view their video on YouTube or contact them for a free legal evaluation.