http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/ Law Offices of David L. Marks Blog en-us 2012 Law Offices of David L. Marks, All Rights Reserved, Reproduced with Permission http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/ Sun, 20 May 2012 04:48:02 GMT http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/images/logoprint.gif http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/ three teens died when a stolen Toyota crashed into a tree in Montgomery County.  In January, a crash in Anne Arundel claimed another four lives when a teenage driver was on the wrong side of a divided highway on the way home from a birthday party.  Last year, two 15 year olds were killed when the driver struck a deer and then a tree in a Prince William crash.
A new study from the AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety now confirms what the anecdotal evidence already suggested - that teenage drivers with passengers are at a monumentally greater risk of being involved in a car crash.  According to that study, when a 16 or 17 year old driver has one teenage passenger, the risk of a crash increases by 50%.  When he was two, it doubles, and when there are three or more people in the car, he is at a four-time greater risk of being involved in a crash than if he were driving alone.
This evidence suggests that graduated license laws and restrictions on young passengers in the car, as implemented by the legislatures of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, may go a long way in preventing future tragedies.
]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/study%2Dconfirms%2Ddangers%2Dof%2Dpassengers%2Din%2Dteenaged%2Ddrivers%2Dcars%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-81163 Wed, 09 May 2012 08:00:00 GMT
Westbound lanes were shut down for about 30 minutes following the event.  The driver was charged with reckless driving, destruction of property, being a pedestrian on the interstate, and interfering wtih passing vehicles on a highway.

To read more about what you should do after a Virginia auto accident, follow the link to order our free book.
]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/what%2Dnot%2Dto%2Ddo%2Dafter%2Da%2Dvirginia%2Dauto%2Daccident%2Djump%2Don%2Dother%2Dcars%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-81165 Wed, 09 May 2012 08:00:00 GMT
The JAMA study focused on some 6,700 car accident deaths across the US over the past thirty years, comparing tax day to the weeks before and after.  On average, 13 people are killed in car accidents nationwide on tax day.

Authors of the study theorize that the heightened risk of death is due to a combination of distraction, sleep deprivation, greater alcohol consumption, and a lower tolerance for other drivers.
]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/fatal%2Dcar%2Daccidents%2Djump%2Don%2Dtax%2Dday%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-79194 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:00:00 GMT Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently released their list of 2011 Top Safety Picks for minivans.  To qualify for the "Top Safety Pick" designation, the vehicles must have the highest rating in each of the following categories: frontal, side, rollover, and rear crash protection.  They must also have electronic stability control (ESC).

Five 2012 minivans made the cut:

• Chrysler Town & Country
• Dodge Grand Caravan
• Volkswagen Routan
• Honda Odyssey
• Toyota Sienna

Rollover protection depends, in large part, on roof strength, which IIHS measure by pushing a metal plate against one corner of the van's roof at a constant speed.  To earn top marks, the roof must withstand a force equal to 4x the vehicle's weight before it caves five inches.

In 2009, more than 8,000 people were killed in rollover crashes.  As more vehicles are now equipped with electronic stability control, that number is falling.  In 2012, the feature is required on all passenger vehicles.  By government estimates, electronic stability control will only prevent two to three thousand of those auto accident deaths, so a strong roof is still vital to safety.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/is%2Dyour%2Dminivan%2Dsafe%2Din%2Da%2Drollover%2Dcrash%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-69071 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT Washington Post talked about the havoc that the seasonal time changes can wreck on our sleep habits and pointed out the dangers that "drowsy drivers" create.  We hear all the time about a drunk driver causing an auto accident or someone causing a crash because they are texting, but did you know that one in six traffic fatalities are caused by a driver who has fallen asleep?

It makes sense: drivers who fall asleep may depress the accelerator, they fail to slow their cars prior to impact, they run red lights and stop signs, they may slowly drift into oncoming traffic or off the roadway entirely... the list goes on and on.  And more than one-third of us admit to having fallen asleep or nearly fallen asleep within the last several months. 

You might not think that a single hour of lost sleep can have an impact on your driving abilities, but according to John Townsend of AAA, "studies show that traffic accidents noticeably increase for a week following the time change in both teh fall and the spring."  As drivers, Townsend says, we seriously misjudge the impact that our sleepiness has on our ability to control our cars.

Click the link if you're interested in learning more about Virginia law and drowsy driving car accidents.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/drowsy%2Ddrivers%2Dcause%2Ddeadly%2Daccidents%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-68931 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT Washington Post is reporting that car, truck and motorcycle accidents in the D.C. area cost $7.4 billion a year.  Nationally, traffic accidents cost more than $300 billion.

This statistic comes from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report that in 2009 there were 350 traffic fatalities and 42,556 injuries in car accidents in addition to the countless accidents that only involve property damage.  But researchers had to reach further than the hard costs included in medical bills and auto body repairs.  The dollar figure also includes value of a lost life, lost wages, time lost on the job and other factors that impact a person's quality of life.

The only silver lining on these statistics may be that car accidents in DC are, per crash, cheaper than the national average.  The per capita cost of a DC crash is $1,363.  The national average is $1,522.  The Post speculates that this lower cost is due, at least in part, to the fact that most crashes in DC occur at relatively low speeds due to the area's traffic conditions.

In calculating the cost of traffic accidents, the report pulled data from D.C., cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park, plus counties of Fairfax, Arlington, Charles, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince George's and Prince William.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/dc%2Darea%2Daccidents%2Dcost%2D74%2Dbillion%2Da%2Dyear%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-68076 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 GMT
The case went to trial and resulted in a jury verdict of $9.26 million.  Taveras had presented evidence of $924,000 in lost earnings and $636,000 in future medical needs.

Taveras had settled with the third card in the accident, prior to trial, for that car's policy limits of $250,000.  The verdict was later reduced to $2.25 million because of New York tort reform laws that arbitrarily cap damages at $2.5M, regardless of jury verdict and regardless of harm done to the Plaintiff.

Following the trial, Defendant Amir (now personally liable for the millions of dollars that his insurance wouldn't cover) assigned his rights to the Plaintiff to file suit against American Transit in his name.  This week, the Court granted Summary Judgment.

It is worth noting at this point that court's almost never grant Summary Judgment in bad faith actions.  This is because in order to win your bad faith case, you have to prove that the insurance company grossly disregarded their insured's interests by deliberately or recklessly failing to place his interests on equal footing with their own when considering a settlement offer.  This involves many questions of fact that and typically prevents a decision from being made at the Summary Judgment level.

This did not stop Justice Schack.  In digesting the evidence, he found that there were exactly three people at American Transit who have authority to settle cases for more than $50,000.  The Claims Supervisor, the Bodily Injury Manager, and the Vice President.  None of them had looked at this case.  The Claims Supervisor didn't evaluate the merits of the case, the Bodily Injury Manager wasn't aware of that the case existed, and the Vice President only learned about the case a month before trial - and never reviewed the file himself.

It seems that American Transit fits the very picture of the fat cat insurance company just daring the Plaintiff to take them to trial.

You can read Justice Schack's opinion here.

]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/failure%2Dto%2Dsettle%2Dfor%2Dpolicy%2Dlimits%2Dcosts%2Dinsurance%2Dcompany%2D225m%2Din%2Dbad%2Dfaith%2Daction%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-67070 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMT settled the case for $420,000.  The breakdown is $250,000 from the driver and $170,000 from the owner of the tavern that the driver had been drinking at.

This is a tragic case and many people would look at a $420,000 settlement and say that it grossly undervalues the worth of that young man's life.  But, under Virginia law, this settlement would be reduced by another $170,000!! That's because Virginia does not have a "Dram Shop Liability" law.  Dram shop laws work to hold bartenders and bars accountable for overserving people.  Typically, in order to be held accountable, the bartender has to know that the patron they're serving is intoxicated and has to have some knowledge that that person will get behind the wheel of a car.

But in Virginia, a state the still has a "one-bite" rule for dog bites and contributory negligence for all other personal injury cases, there is no dram shop law and no way for the family of a person injured or killed by a tavern more interested in making money than in safety to hold that tavern responsible.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/virginia%2Dlaw%2Dwouldve%2Dcost%2Dfamily%2D170k%2Din%2Dwrongful%2Ddeath%2Dcase%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-66995 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMT AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says that teenage drivers are twice as likely to be involved in a crash in their first month alone behind the wheel than they will be after two years. 

The study puts the blame for 57% of all teen crashes in the first month at the feet of three root problems:

1. Failing to slow down,
2. Failure to yield,
3. Lack of attention.

John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic says "there's not enough life experience and not enough time under their belt to negotiate everything that can crop up on the road."  This can be attributed to the fact that there is no longer a parent or guardian sitting in the passenger's seat, but that the seat is now filled with peers - who can bring along loud music, conversation and other distractions.

Car accidents remain the leading cause of death for American teens - with more than 2,300 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 killed nationwide in 2009.  Of those drivers, a whopping 70% were male. 

This study confirms the same logic that was at play in a NHTSA study on teen driving curfews, when teens are exposed to new driving conditions, either driving at night or driving without a parent in the car, the risk of accidents goes up.

Townsend suggests that parents play a hands-on role even after they are no longer required by law to be in the car.  Parents should continue to talk with their children about their driving habits and encourage good behavior.

You can read more about the study here.
]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/study%2Dteen%2Ddrivers%2Dmost%2Dat%2Ddanger%2Din%2Dfirst%2Dmonth%2Dbehind%2Dthe%2Dwheel%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-66861 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMT
Mortada allegedly caused an accident near the National Zoo when he struck and kliled a pedestrian in a crosswalk at about 11 a.m. on October 6.  He has not been charged and the accident remains under investigation.  It remains an open question as to whether Mortada will be given diplomatic immunity.

Diplomatic immunity is a facet of international law whereby diplomats are protected from either prosecution under the criminal laws of the host country or civil lawsuits.  It is possible for a diplomats home country to waive the immunity in individual cases, but this usually only happens after serious crimes that are unconnected to the person's diplomatic role. 

What does this mean for drivers in a city where there are scores of embassys and diplomats?  It means that if you are in an auto accident with a diplomat, you likely will not be able to recover damages directly from that person and his auto insurance company may decline to pay damages as well (or he may not carry auto insurance).  If that is the case, you will have to recover from your own uninsured motorist coverage.  Last weeks tradegy in D.C. serves as another reason why it is vitally important to have adequate uninsured motorist coverage.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/fatal%2Ddc%2Dcrash%2Duninsured%2Dmotorist%2Dcoverage%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-66845 Sat, 15 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study said that approximately 2,000 people who had died in auto accidents involving SUVs or pickup trucks would have survived if the car that hit them were a sedan.  NHTSA went on to say that SUVs were "twice as likely to cause a fatality" in the struck car than a sedan of comparable weight would have been.

The auto industry began making changes to the design of SUVs to try to cuvb this problem in 2003 and large strides have been made.  Ten years ago, people involved in crashes with SUVs died at a rate of 44 per million accidents.  Today, that number has dropped to about 16 per million accidents.  Strikingly, this number is one per million lower than the rate at which collisions with other cars or minivans cause deaths.

This is largely due to a design change in the SUV to lower the bumper level so that they strike more evenly with the bumper of a car.  This small change means that SUVs are now less likely to "ride up over" a smaller vehicle in a rear-end or a head-on collision.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/study%2Dsuvs%2Dnow%2Dsafer%2Dto%2Dcrash%2Dinto%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65894 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:00:00 GMT
Those caught texting in Maryland will be issued a $70 ticket for their first offense and recieve one point on their license.  If hte offense causes an accident, the fine increases to $110 and three points. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration, distracted driving accounts for a whopping 20% of all crashes and caused 995 fatal accidents in 2009.

Texting while driving remains a secondary violation under Virginia text messaging laws.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/maryland%2Dcracking%2Ddown%2Don%2Dtexting%2Dwhile%2Ddriving%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65796 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT
Fairfax County is hoping that this will give their officers an objective way to judge pre-accident speed.  Currently, officers rely on the driver's involved in the crash to accurately report their speed and so the estimates are terribly inaccurate.  This can become an issue at trial in personal injury case when one party insists that they were struck at 30 miles per hour and the damage from the accident clearly shows that it was not that fast. ]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/is%2Dyour%2Dcar%2Dconstantly%2Dtracking%2Dyour%2Dspeed%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65612 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT worst drivers in the country based on the number of D.C. car accidents.  Then the census bureau said that we spend more time commuting than any other region.  Now, the Washington Post is reporting on a study from Texas A&M that ranks Washington first (ahead of even Chicago and Los Angeles) in terms of total time spent in traffic.

According to the study, D.C. drivers spend a grand total of 74 hours (more than three whole days) a year stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.  That is more than twice the national average. 

And the bad news keeps coming.  The Metro Washington Council of Government has projected that unless there is a significant investment made in our highway system, we can expect that the congestion will grow.  The projections are that by 2030, more than 1.2 million new residents will enter our area.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/dc%2Dranked%2Dfirst%2Din%2Dtraffic%2Dgridlock%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65488 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT Washington Post article, this is upsetting many local parents, who are wondering whether they will have to purcahse new seats.  The two largest complaints from parents are that (1) the child gets fussier quicker in the rear-facing seat and (2) there simply isn't enough leg-room in the rear-facing seat.

This recommendation is just that - a recommendation - and does not have the power of law.  We have a write-up on Virginia car seat laws here.  If you have a new child or a new safety seat and want to make sure that it's properly installed, you can take it to a local police station.  Here is a list of police stations in Fairfax performing safety seat checks.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/new%2Dcar%2Dseat%2Dstandards%2Dleave%2Dparents%2Dupset%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65396 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT
The bad news is that the project will not be done until at least 2014.  But any news about reduction in the number of commuters in the area with the longest commutes and the worst drivers in the country has to be good news.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/tysons%2Dcorner%2Drail%2Dproject%2Dto%2Daleivate%2Dtraffic%2Dby%2D2014%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65392 Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT Highway Loss Data Institute.  Escalades have dominated the list of vehicles for several years now and the model ranked absolute worst is the Escalde EXT, which features a pickup bed.

Pickups, in general, are a favorite target of car thieves, and the Ford F-250 is no exception.  It comes in second to the Escalade for most theft claims. 

It may come as a surprise to Escalade owners that their vehicle ranks up at the top of the list - since an ignition immoblizer (designed to prevent hot-wiring cars) is a standard feature on the car.  But, while immobilizers are a good deterrent, they are no match for professional car thieves.

You might be wondering what happens if you are involved in an accident with a driver who is driving a stolen car, or whether your insurance will be "on the hook" if someone steals your car and causes an accident.  In Virginia, a driver who is driving the car without the permissino of the car's owner often loses the benefit of the insurance coverage.  If the driver does not have his own auto insurance, the car becomes and uninsured vehicle and the uninsured motorist coverage of the person who is hit would be liable for paying their medical bills.  Because you never know who's behind the wheel of the other cars on the road or whether their cars are insured, you always want to make sure that you have adequate Virginia uninsured motorist coverage.

]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/most%2Dfrequently%2Dstolen%2Dcars%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65296 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT U.S. Census Bureau, drivers in Virginia and Maryland are more likely to commute to another county than drivers anywhere else in the country are.  With more than 51% of Virginians and 47% of Maryland residents driving at least one county over to get to work, it's no wonder that drivers in this area get into car accidents more frequently than they do anywhere else.  It hasn't been very long since D.C.'s drivers were again ranked as the worst drivers in the country.

Maryland drivers spend an average of 32 minutes in a car each way commuting to and from work.  This is seven minutes (each way) more than the nationwide average of 25 minutes.

Of course we know that more cars on the roads and more time in those cars lead to mroe accidents.  The other contributing factor is that when we are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the beltway, we are more likely to pull out or cell phones and Blackberries and check our email or text message a friend. ]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/high%2Ddc%2Dcar%2Daccident%2Dnumbers%2Ddue%2Dto%2Dlonger%2Dcommutes%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65195 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT
Maybe the strangest experience that our firm had with Allstate was a case where the defendant actually offered up $3,000 of his own money to settle a case because even he didn't think that Allstate was offering the appropriate amount.

Read more about the Allstate auto insurance claims process in our article.]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/negotiating%2Da%2Dsettlement%2Dwith%2Dallstate%2Dafter%2Da%2Dvirginia%2Dcar%2Daccident%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-65123 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT
If you've been involved in an auto accident in the northern Virginia area and you're looking for a couple ways to determine whether GEICO is making you a fair settlement offer, here are some resources for you:

• You might be wondering whether you need an attorney to settle your case.  The truth is that the vast majority of accidents in Fairfax are small crashes - fender benders where no one is hurt.  In those cases, you typically do not have to hire an attorney in order to get your property damage case resolved.
• If you were hurt in an accident without a lot of property damage, you might be dealing with an insurance adjuster who tells you that "no one gets hurt in this type of accident."  This is a sure sign that you'll need to get a personal injury attorney involved in order to get an appropriate settlement offer.
• Remember when speaking to the insurance adjuster, that they are not on your side.  Insurance adjusters are trained professionals and skilled negotiators who sometimes will not be telling you the entire truth.  We've put together a list of deceptive tactics and lines that insurance companies have told our clients in the past in efforts to quickly resolve a personal injury case.

If you want more information on how to settle a case with GEICO, you should order our free book.  Written by Fairfax personal injury attorney David Marks, the book Virginia Car Accident Claims offers an insider's view of the auto accident claims process.

]]> http://www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com/blog/tips%2Dfor%2Dsettling%2Da%2Dvirginia%2Dcar%2Dcrash%2Dcase%2Dwith%2Dgeico%2Ecfm www.fairfax-car-accident-attorney.com-64904 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:00:00 GMT