Las Vegas Accident Deaths: Las Vegas At The End Of The Most Deadly Road In America

March 2nd, 2010

According to a study of national traffic accident deaths from 1994 to 2008, Interstate 15 from San Bernardino County, California to Las Vegas is the most deadly road in America.  According to data from the federal Transportation Department, during the 15-year study period, 1,069 people were killed in 834 accidents involving at least one or more fatalities on that 181-mile stretch of road.  The fatality rate on that stretch of Interstate 15 was more than double the fatality rate of any road in any other county.

Here are the facts, driving is the most risky endeavor Americans do.  More people have been killed in auto accidents than any other activity.  In fact, according to the Las Vegas Sun, driving accidents have produced “more horrific body counts than any modern war or act of terrorism.  More than 100 people perish every day on America’s killer roads.”  In 2008, 37,261 people died as the result of auto accidents on the American roadways.

The accidents on the deadly Interstate 15 are caused by the typical factors that cause accidets, injuries and deaths on our local Las Vegas highways and roads.  “According to federal computer files, more than half of the people who died on that section of I-15 were not wearing seat belts.  About a third of the accidents involved speeding and nearly a quarter involved at least one driver who had been drinking.”

Here is what you can do to protect yourself while on the road in Las Vegas.  All Las Vegas drivers and passengers must wear seat belts.  There is no way to get around it.  Seat belts save lives.  In addition, seat belts protect you and your passengers from very serious, life-long injuries.  Don’t drink and drive.  Don’t drive if you are impaired by any drug or medication.  Just don’t do it.  Don’t speed.  Don’t drive if you are distracted.  In other words, don’t talk on your phone, don’t dial your phone and DO NOT text while you are driving.  Just wait.  If you have to talk or text, pull over and do it only after you have brought your vehicle to a stop in a safe area, a parking lot for example.  Follow these simple common sense precautions and you will go a long way to protecting yourself and your family and substantially reduce the chances that you will be seriously injured or killed in a Las Vegas auto accident.  Be safe and be smart.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Impaired-Distracted Drivers | No Comments »

Las Vegas Drive Most Dangerous

March 1st, 2010

Beware!  Las Vegas drivers.  Interstate I-15 between Las Vegas and San Bernardino County is revealed by a recent study to have the highest number of fatalities of any U.S. road.  As part of the “Killer Roads” national reporting project, Scripps Howard News Service counted the number of deaths on every road in America and ranked the worst roads in each county.  Using data from the federal Transportation Department, Scripps analyzed 562,712 fatal accidents from 1994 to 2008 that claimed 627,433 lives. According to the March 1, 2010 Las Vegas Sun, “ The study found that the single most deadly road is the 181-mile segment of Interstate 15 that passes through San Bernardino County, Calif., and connects Los Angeles to Las Vegas.  During the 15-year period of the study, 1,069 people perished in 834 accidents.  That’s more than double the death toll from any other road in any other county.”

On the Murphy & Murphy Law Offices web site at www.nvpilaw.comwe have provided a number of ways that you can reduce your risks of being injured in a Las Vegas traffic accident, whether on the streets or interstate highways.  The steps you can take to reduce your risk of being injured will substantially increase the chances of surviving a serious car crash.  As will be seen in my next post, the reasons for the high death rate on Interstate 15 between L.A. and Las Vegas can be avoided.  Common sense safety tips really do save lives.  Follow basic and fundamental safety rules and precautions and you will significantly increase your chances of surviving serious car crashes in Las Vegas.

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Las Vegas Insurance Bad Faith Increasing

February 20th, 2010

Is insurance bad faith increasing in Las Vegas?  Are insurance companies intentionally committing bad faith insurance practices in Las Vegas?  Good questions.  To answer them, one must look at the evidence.  Due to the economy or other business considerations insurance companies have drastically reduced the amounts of money they are willing to pay on injury claims. I have seen it in my practice.  I have heard it from other Las Vegas attorneys.  And, I have heard it from attorneys from around the United States.

It appears that many insurance companies have decided to reduce the amount of money they will offer to settle injury claims.  In many cases, despite clear liability, well documented injuries and treatment, and documented wage losses, the insurance companies refuse to offer adequate compensation.  In many instances, amounts below the medical expenses incurred by the injured person.

What does the fact that insurance companies are refusing to offer adequate compensation mean to you?  It depends upon your circumstances.  If you are the injured person, it means that you will have to file a lawsuit in order to receive adequate compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and perhaps pain and suffering.  That means you will have to hire a lawyer.  It further means that you should do your homework before you hire a lawyer.  You cannot rely on the “I’ll get you a settlement and keep you out of court” type of lawyer to protect your interests.  If you do, you will get a pennies on the dollar settlement.  The lawyer and the doctors will get all of the money and you will come away with virtually nothing for your time, effort, troubles, aggravation, injuries, treatment, stress, loss of income, and I can go on and on.  It means you will have to get involved in a lawsuit that could take anywhere from 6 months to more than two  years to get resolved.  The insurance companies know that all the while they will get to keep money that is rightfully yours in their bank accounts and draw interest on it so that by the time the case is over, they may come out virtually even.

If the insurance company is your company and you hit someone, the insurance companies may also be placing you at risk.  If an offer is made to settle the claim against you and your insurance company refuses to settle the claim, you could become personally responsible for any amount of a jury verdict that is in excess of your insurance policy.  For example, if you have a minimal policy in Nevada ($15,000/30,000) and your company refuses to settle a policy limit settlement offer, and the value of the claim is well above the minimal policy limits, you may become responsible for the payment of any amount awarded by a jury above your policy.  In such a situation, you insurance company may decide to pay the entire verdict amount.  If it does not, you then may have a bad faith case against your own insurance company for subjecting you to the adverse jury verdict.

Another situation that is creating a number of bad faith insurance practice claims is in the area of uninsured/under insured motorist coverage.   Your company should evaluate your claim for uninsured/under insured motorist coverage in a manner so that your interests are at least equal with the interests of the company.  However, many insurance companies are adjusting your claim in the same manner it adjusts third-party claims.  In other words, in the same manner it adjusts claims with parties it has no contract with and no obligation to treat fairly.  If your company refuses to fairly adjust your claim, it is acting in bad faith.

While the insurance companies may be holding onto their money in the short term, the question is whether they are making wise financial policy decisions in the long term.  In a bad faith insurance case, not only will an insurance company have to pay the actual damages it has caused or for its breach of contract, the insurance company may be subjected to punitive damages.  In some instances the amount of punitive damages could be significant.  If the insurance carriers are held responsible for the payment of numerous punitive damage verdicts in the future, their short sighted goal of holding onto as much money as possible at your expense may cost them in the long run.

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Las Vegas Drunk Drivers Can Strike at Any Time. Killing the Innocent and Destroying Lives.

February 20th, 2010

Las Vegas drunk drivers can strike at any time.  Las Vegas drunk drivers kill innocent victims and destroy many lives.  The following is a case on point.

On Tuesday, February 17, 2010 a husband and wife who were both 65 years old were returning home after having had lunch out together.  It was 11:40 a.m.  The couple was not too far from their home, only about two blocks away.  Little did they know that as they were stopped at a traffic light that their lives were about to come to a violent and tragic end.  Suddenly, without warning, their vehicle was hit from behind by a drunk driver traveling at a very high speed.  The couple’s vehicle was flipped multiple times and ended up in the desert.  The wife was thrown from their vehicle.  The husband was trapped inside.  Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The couple’s vehicle was hit by a car driven by a 19-year-old female driver, whose blood alcohol level was 0.267 more than three times the legal limit.  The female Las Vegas drunk driver, according to the investigating police officers, had a strong odor of an unknown intoxicant on her breath.  The drunk driver was slurring her speach.  Her eyes were bloodshot.  The drunk driver stated that she had been drinking.  She said she was drunk and that she should be taken to jail.

This was not the only crash the female Las Vegas drunk driver had at 11:30 a.m.  Just before the above crash, the drunk driver had rear-ended another vehicle at another traffic light.  The drunk driver sped away from that crash only to end up causing the fatal crash where she killed the two 65 year old victims.  The driver who the drunk hit first called the police and reported the drunk driver.  He reported that the drunk driver had rear-ended him, that she looked like she was falling asleep, and that she ran into a guardrail after fleeing the scene where she rear-ended him.  The driver who was rear-ended, pursued the drunk after he reported the crash to the police.  He arrived at the scene of the fatal crash shortly after it happened.

The drunk Las Vegas driver has ruined many lives and left a path of destruction in her wake.  The couple who were returning home after lunch are dead.  Their families are devastated.  There are children and grandchildren who are now grieving and without their loved family members.

The drunk driver has ruined her life also.  She will certainly go to prison for many years.  Tragically, the drunk driver reportedly was a model student.  She consistently earned A and B grades at college.  In addition to attending college, the drunk driver was in the Nevada Army National Guard.  The drunk driver’s parents said that they did not know how they would survive or get over the incident.

There are now two families trying to recover from this tragedy.  On the Murphy & Murphy Law Offices web site at nvpilaw.com, we provide a number of ways to reduce your chances of being injured in an auto accident.  Go to our web site and see.  One of the suggestions is to stay off the roads at times when the possibility of drunk drivers being on the road is increased.  Usually late at night or the very early morning hours.  This tragic accident proves that a drunk driver can strike at any time and at any place.  The only thing that can be done is for those who have been drinking or are otherwise impaired to stay where they are.  Just do not get behind the wheel of a car.  Call a friend.  Call a cab.  Take the bus.  Do anything but do not drive.

As some of my other posts have stated, there are many Las Vegas drivers who seem to think that the laws and rules of the road do not apply to them.  They break the laws and rules of the road because they are in a hurry or think that they are more important than everybody else.  Here is some news, YOU ARE NOT.  The laws and rules apply to everyone.  Do not place the lives, health and safety of innocent people at risk just because of your over inflated view of your self importance.  If you and everyone else follows the laws and rules of the road, everyone will be safer.  You and everyone else will get to where we are going on time.  And, you will find if you do that, you will have less stress in your life.  You will actually feel better.  How can you beat that?

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Las Vegas Accident Victims: Health Insurance Payments Are Just a Loan

February 14th, 2010

Victims of Las Vegas auto accidents are learning that their health care medical payments are just a loan.  When you are injured in a Las Vegas auto accident, you get treatment through your health insurance coverage.  After all that is what it is for.  And, that is why you are paying for it each and every month.  If you have the need for health care and treatment, the insurance is there to pay for it.

What most people do not know is that the payments from your health insurance is just a loan.  If a third-party is responsible for the car crash, when you receive any compensation, your health insurance carrier has a lien and wants to be repaid from your compensation.  In many instances, the health insurance wants all or most of the compensation that you receive.  In addition, if you had to hire an attorney to receive compensation from the third-party’s insurance company, there will be attorney’s fees and costs that must also be paid.  In the end, you may receive very little from the insurance payment.  That is one of the reasons that I wrote The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Nevada Car Crash Cases.  In that book, I tell you how to handle your own claim, step-by-step.  I even provide you with the forms that you will need.  I realize that there are many cases where an accident attorney or injury lawyer is not necessary.  So I provide you with the information that you need to have so that you can handle your own Las Vegas auto accident claim.  After all, why should all of the money from the insurance policy go to repay your health insurance and a Las Vegas injury lawyer?  Shouldn’t you get some?  Well, in this way, with the use of my book, you can.

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Injury Lawyers Protect the Community

February 11th, 2010

It became apparent to me during a recent deposition that I was working to protect and improve our community.  The Defendant’s lawyer, on the other hand, was furiously working to lower the level of safety in our community.  How could that be true?  The goal of the Defense attorney was to allow the negligent behaviour of his client to slide.  To get a pass.  You know, not to be held accountable for his negligence, while my poor client will bear a lifetime of pain and discomfort due to the Defendant’s negligence.  By asking that a jury hold the negligent person accountable, and enforcing the legal standards of our community, I, by obtaining a jury verdict in favor of my client, will uphold the law and hopefully, in the end, maintain the proper levels of safety in our community.

I then asked myself, if a Plaintiff’s verdict helps uphold the laws and safety of the community, how does a defense verdict help advance the interests of the community as a whole?  A defense verdict does not make better drivers.  It does not make our streets safer.  It would leave an injured person with no recourse, just pain and sadness.  Unfortunately, due to a long and well paid for ad campaign, the insurance companies and corporate America have convinced a great number of people that lawsuits are the problem.  That lawyers are the problem.  While some lawyers and some lawsuits are problems, the root problem remains unsafe and negligent drivers.  The only way to improve the roadways and protect the community is for juries to enforce the rules of the road and hold negligent drivers personally responsible.

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More Truth About Lawyer Advertising

February 11th, 2010

This is a follow-up to my last post on this topic.  There I said that the lawyer advertising in other cities is the same as Las Vegas.  Well wouldn’t you know it?  I looked out my window and what did I see? A gigantic billboard for a lawyer that said “One call that’s all.”  As you probably know, we have a Las Vegas attorney who uses the same ad agency and the same ad campaign.

Here is what I say.  If you claim can be handled with just one call, you do not need a lawyer for your claim.  In addition, if you think you are going to talk to the lawyer on the billboard and that he is going to work on your case, you are mistaken.

At Murphy & Murphy Law Offices, we do not take every case.  In fact, we turn down more cases each year than we take.  We have to so that we can give the cases we take the concentrated effort and work that is required.  If you think you have a claim that can be handled with just a few telephone calls, you would be best served by getting a copy of my book, The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Nevada Car Crash Cases, so you can handle your claim yourself.

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Texting While Driving Continues Despite Laws

February 11th, 2010

According to the most recent government statistics and reports, texting while driving continues in states that have laws banning texting while driving.  According to the research, the rate of accidents due to distracted drivers who are texting has not gone down as a result of the passage of laws banning texting while driving.  This should come as no surprise because it is only common sense that texting and driving do not mix.  It is a recipe for disaster. 

This is really an issue of personal responsibility and priorities.  It is also a reflection of our current society.  Lets face it, there is no outrage.  If I bring up the subject, most people mildly agree with my outrage or just shrug it off.  Apparently, the risk of serious accidents and injury pale in comparison to the necessity to attend to a person’s pressing text messages that must be dealt with immediately.

Despite the prevailing negative view of lawyers and law suits, this appears to be an area where lawyers, law suits and jurys are the only real remedy.  If jurys start holding the negligent texter fully responsible for the damages caused in each and every instance, the jury verdicts will start to have an effect on the community.  Only when a person knows that his or her activity will subject them to a severe financial penalty will they then reconsider their dangerous behavior.

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Injury Lawyer Advertising. Can You Handle the Truth?

February 10th, 2010

What is the truth about injury lawyer advertising?  I am out of state in another large city for depositions.  While in the hotel room, I looked at the attorney ads in the yellow pages.  As expected, there were pages and pages and pages of lawyer ads.  Guess what?  They were all just like the pages and pages and pages of injury lawyer ads in Las Vegas.  We are aggressive.  No fee is we do not get you a settlement.  We will get you the money you deserve.  And, of course, there are lists of past results obtained.

All I can say is what a bunch of wasted paper and ink.  None of the ads really told you anything about the attorneys.  The ads did not give any useful information about the services that would be provided or how a person’s claim or case would be handled.

If you are looking to hire a Las Vegas personal injury attorney, and you are a thinking person, you must be really frustrated.  What a waste of time to look in the yellow pages.  Are the web sites any better?  Not really.  Just another form of advertising with little or no useful information.

What can you do?  My website gives practical information and is not just an ad for my firm.  Our information pages tell you how to avoid getting hurt and steps you can take to help keep you and your family safe.  Our pages regarding specific types of injuries and cases give you practical information about the issues involved and what you will encounter and what you can expect.  We have a page of frequently asked questions where I try and provide you with answers to common questions.

Not enough information?  Contact my office.  I will send you a copy  of my free book The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Nevada Car Crash Cases.  That book gives you detailed information about injury claims.  It tells you how to handle your own claim if you want to.  Here’s a secret, not everybody and every claim needs or requires an attorney!  My book tells you what to do.  Step by step.  It even provides you with forms that you can use and that you will need.  It also tells you how to go about finding the right lawyer for your case if you cannot or do not want to handle it yourself.

In the end what should you do if you are frustrated with the lack of information in the lawyer ads?  Call and talk to a number of lawyers.  Interview them to see who will treat you the best and with whom you are most comfortable in placing your trust.  Remeber, you will never receive better treatment than when they are looking to get your business.  If you did not feel you were treated right, move on.  Find a lawyer who takes the time to talk to you and treats you the way that you expect to be treated.

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Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney’s Integrity Matters

February 9th, 2010

Last week it was reported that a Clark County attorney was arrested on charges of theft and burglary.  The arrest was the result of the injury attorney misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of his client’s money.  That means the lawyer is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of client funds.  Apparently the injury attorney took the client’s money out of his trust account.  More than likely the injury attorney received a settlement from an insurance company on behalf of the client.  Instead of paying the client and being satisfied with his fee on obtaining the settlement, the lawyer took it all.

In a recent post, I wrote about attorneys who had been paying employees at UMC for private health information in order to obtain case referrals.  There is an ongoing investigation by the FBI into the illegal activity.  The guilty injury attorneys will probably be subjected to the potential loss of their licenses to practice law.  Consider this.  If a Las Vegas injury attorney will break the law and rules governing the conduct of lawyers, what makes you think that they will not put their interests over yours?  As in this recent arrest, even to the extent of stealing the client’s settlement.

Don’t hire just any lawyer.  Be careful.  Make sure that your attorney is on your side and is not just out to line his pockets with your money.  If you do not know how to evaluate an attorney or find the right attorney for your case, contact my office.  I will send you a copy of my free book The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Nevada Car Crash Cases or I will send my free report, The Ten Silver Bullet Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Las Vegas Attorney.  Knowledge is power (and it is free).  Take the steps necessary to protect yourself and your family.  In many cases Las Vegas injury attorneys may have access to large amounts of your money.  You will trust them to negotiate the proper settlement of your case.  If the case cannot be settled, you must trust that they know how to and will properly prepare your case for trial.  If the case is settled, you trust that they will pay all of the medical bills and liens, they will pay you your share of the money, and that the case will be resolved in your favor.  You were injured once. Take the steps to make sure that you are properly taken care of after the injury and that you are not taken advantage of either by the insurance company or the lawyer.

Posted in The Truth About Lawyer Advertising | No Comments »

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