Tesla Recalls 475,00 cars for Increased Risk of Accidents

After discovering two safety issues that may increase the risk of accidents, Tesla is recalling more than 475,000 cars. The two defects were caused by design or design manufacturing problems and the separate recalls were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the end of December.

Defective products kill or injure thousands of Americans every year. In 2020 alone, almost 11 million people were treated in emergency departments for injuries they suffered after using consumer products. If you or a loved one was injured as a result of a defective product, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal options.

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NSC: New Year’s Day Holiday Period Traffic Fatality Estimate for 2022

The National Safety Council estimates that 427 people will die in traffic accidents on U.S. roads this New Year’s Day holiday period and an additional 48,700 will suffer an injury severe enough to require medical attention; these estimates represent an 11.2 percent increase over last year’s estimates. With Omicron spreading at such a rapid pace, it’s a little hard to say how many people will avoid getting together with friends and family. Those who do choose to celebrate with others are most likely to drive – which is the most dangerous way to travel – especially with the alcohol involved with most New Year’s parties. More people traveling on the roads combined with more people consuming alcohol, leads to increased traffic accident deaths year after year.

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Snow Shoveling Causes More than 11,000 Injuries and 100 Fatalities Each Year

The Pacific Northwest has been hit with a snow storm and very cold temperatures. With more snow and continued freezing temperatures in the forecast, there will be snowy roads and driveways for at least a week. As people get outside to shovel their sidewalks and driveways, they should know to be very careful. Data published by pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov reveals that there are about 11,500 injuries each year from shoveling snow, including 100 fatalities.

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Two Dead in I-5 Icy Road Accidents This week

According to data from USDOT Federal Highway Administration, there are an average of 536,731 icy road accidents every year. Out of these accidents, about 1,836 people die and 136,309 more are injured. NOAA records accident fatalities for a range of weather-related accidents such as flood, wind and cold but not for icy roads. If they did, they would find that the average icy road fatality count is 3.6 times the total deaths from all other weather hazards combined (507 combined deaths over a 10-year average compared to 1,836 for ice alone). See chart at icyroadsafety.com.

If you or a loved one was injured in an icy road accident, seek the help of a car accident attorney as soon as possible. You deserve to be made whole for your injuries with a fair settlement and an attorney can help.

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Determining Fault in A Winter Driving Accident

No matter the season, car accidents can leave a wake of injuries and fatalities. Winter weather, however, is most likely to contribute to the risk of accidents because wet, icy, or snowy conditions make the roads more slippery. When an accident happens under winter weather road conditions, it can make the determination of fault a little bit more confusing. While wet and slippery roads do make it harder to drive, drivers are expected to adapt to road conditions to make up for the hazards so they can remain in control of their vehicle.

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Top 5 Tips for Driving in Heavy Traffic

With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, many will be traveling to visit their family members. If you live in the Whatcom County area, you may have family in Seattle or other high-traffic cities that you will need to pass through to get to your destination. Most people have dealt with many traffic jams in their lives. Even in Bellingham, a car accident can snarl the I-5 for hours. Heavy traffic is always frustrating and it can increase the risk of car accidents.

While heavy road congestion may not be as dangerous as drunk or distracted driving, it is a significant factor in traffic accidents when combined with unsafe driving behaviors. In 2014, a research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill estimated that one in every four fatal traffic accidents occurred during “rush hour” traffic. In addition, research from the NHTSA showed that the evening rush hour between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in many large urban cities was the most dangerous time of day as drivers rush home from work.

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First Half of 2021 Sees Largest Ever Traffic Fatality Increase in FARS History

In a perfect world, motor vehicle accidents and traffic fatality rates would drop every year. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case and this year we experienced a big jump.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Half (January-June) of 2021 in October. Sadly, it shows the largest six-month increase ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s (FARS) history. An estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the first half of 2021, up a whopping 18.4 percent over that period in 2020. That’s the highest number of projected accident fatalities in that six-month window since 2006.

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Slushy Roads Increase Risk of Slushy Road Car Accidents

Winter weather has shown up in the Pacific Northwest with our first snowfall this week. The snow quickly turned to slush, creating slushy road conditions all over the county. About 70 percent of the population of the United States lives in states that snowy / slushy / or icy conditions during the winter months, which means that the increased risk for slushy road car accidents when slush shows up affects the majority of Americans. Data from FHWA shows that over 1,800 people die each year in car crashes due to driving in snowy and icy conditions.

According to AAA, driving on snowy roads can increase the time it takes your vehicle to stop by 10 times, increasing the risk of rear-end accidents, T-Bone accidents and “slide-off” roadway accidents. If you were crashed into in a slushy road accident, contact a car accident attorney who can help you secure a fair settlement.

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Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that happens when a medical or other health care professional deviates from the standards of care in their profession through a negligent act or omission, thereby causing injury to a patient. Negligent omissions include failure to disclose test results or to provide proper aftercare. Negligent acts include diagnostic errors and prescription drug errors.

What is not medical malpractice?

There are many scenarios that can lead to an unhappy patient that do not necessarily fall under the category of medical malpractice because the medical professional did not act negligently. Some examples include:

• Adverse or bad surgical or treatment outcome
• Untreatable patient condition
• Worsening patient condition
• Rude or hurried treatment

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NSC Estimates 515 Motor Vehicle Fatalities for 2021 Thanksgiving Day Holiday Period

This year, many families are looking forward to a family thanksgiving meal after staying home last year. The majority will travel by car because of the short distance they need to go but we should all be aware that driving has the highest fatality rate of any major form of transportation when we look at fatalities per passenger mile. Whenever there are more cars on the road combined with holiday drinking, car accidents and motor vehicle fatalities increase.

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