Mounting evidence connecting serious automobile accidents to the use of cell phones and similar gadgets has prompted a federal safety agency to campaign for a nationwide ban on using portable electronic devices while driving.

If the National Transportation Safety Board gets its way, motorists across the country will be barred from using any kind of portable electronic device (PED) while driving, except in emergencies. The NTSB, an independent federal agency that investigates transportation accidents, first proposed the nationwide ban in December in the wake of a fatal vehicle collision that occurred on a Missouri interstate highway in 2010.

In its recommendations, contained at the end of the report on its investigation into the causes of the Missouri traffic accident, the NTSB said that all 50 states and the District of Columbia should “ban the non-emergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed to support the driving task) for all drivers.”

The NTSB did not explain exactly what it meant by devices “designed to support the driving task,” but in public debate about the recommendation it has commonly been assumed that the phrase refers to GPS units and the like. Thus, auto manufacturers would still be allowed to offer vehicles with built-in GPS systems. The recommendation would also obviously exempt new safety technologies such as backup cameras, lane-departure warnings and forward collision warning systems.

The proposed ban, however, would apply to hands-free use of portable devices for talking, texting, playing media or retrieving data. Safety experts have long warned that engaging with electronic devices creates an unsafe distraction from driving, even when they don’t require a driver to take a hand off the wheel or eyes off the road.

The NTSB says it has investigated multiple accidents since 2002 in which distractions from electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops played a part. These accidents included all modes of transportation which the NTSB monitors – not only truck, bus and car crashes but also incidents involving boats, planes and trains. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that more than 3,000 people died in distraction-related motor vehicle accidents in 2010.

The NTSB, NHTSA and other safety groups worry that as mobile devices proliferate and become more and more a part of everyday life, the number of fatalities and vehicle personal injury cases resulting from distracted driving will skyrocket. NHTSA is developing voluntary safety guidelines for manufacturers of built-in car electronics that will encourage them to design devices that can be used while diverting minimal attention away from driving.

Last month, an NTSB official testified before a New York State Senate committee on the need for standardized laws against using PEDs while driving. Across the United States today, there are great variations among state and local laws relating to the use of cell phones and other devices while operating a motor vehicle. Organizations such as the American Automobile Association have issued statements supporting the NTSB recommendation.

The NTSB’s recommendation regarding use of electronic devices is part of its general campaign against distracted driving. The NTSB will hold an “attentive driving forum” on March 27 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Mesa auto accident attorneys at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience can help with your Phoenix auto accident and personal injury case. Contact us for a free consultation.

Disclaimer: The materials available at this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use and access to this website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney.

The force of a serious car accident can put a great deal stress on the body. Without the proper restraint, drivers and passengers could suffer very serious injuries in the event of a crash. Since cars have made seat belts and air bags standard, auto accident-related injuries and fatalities have declined significantly. However, air bags and seat belts are only designed to protect adult-sized drivers and passengers. In order to have suitable protection, children must have proper car seats, booster seats and other restraints according to their size.

To maximize your child’s safety, make sure to choose the right car seat for your child’s age, weight and height. Here are some quick guidelines to keep in mind:

• Newborn-1 year: For infants, choose a rear-facing car seat.
• 1-3 years: Continue using a rear-facing car seat until your child reaches the maximum height and/or weight allowed by the manufacturer, and then switch to a forward-facing car seat with a harness.
• 4-7 years: Use a forward-facing car seat with a harness until your child outgrows it. Then, switch to a booster seat.
• 8-12 years: Use a booster seat until your child can fit a seat belt properly. With a proper-fitting seat belt, the lap belt will fit snugly against the upper thighs and the shoulder belt will fit snugly against the shoulder and chest.

In addition to using children under the age of 13 should always ride in the backseat. Riding facing forward in the front seat significantly raise you child’s risk of going through the windshield in a high-speed crash.

In Arizona, children under the age of five are required to ride in a car seat with a restraint. Drivers who violate this law face up to a $50 fine. However, this can be waived if the driver subsequently purchases proper restraint. Arizona is one of only three U.S. states without a booster seat requirement. However, the Arizona legislature is currently considering a bill that would require children between the ages of five and eight who are shorter than 4′9″ to use a booster seat. If passed, this could help lower the number of children injured in auto accidents every year.

The auto accident attorneys of Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience are here to help with all your personal injury legal needs. Please contact us for a free legal consultation.

When involved in an accident, the drivers involved are obligated legally to stop, offer assistance to the other driver and exchange pertinent information. But what do you do when another driver damages your car, then simply drives away? Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common scenario for many Arizona accident victims. According to Arizona Department of Transportation statistics, there were more than 11,000 reported hit-and-run accidents in Arizona in 2010, and those accidents left more than 3,000 people injured and 44 dead.

There are a variety of reasons why a driver flee the scene of an accident. In many cases, the driver may not have enough insurance, or any insurance at all, to cover the costs of the accident. Often, hit-and-run drivers do not have valid licenses and would face huge fines, jail time and other legal consequences if caught. Regardless of why the driver failed to stop at the accident, hit-and-runs can leave accident victims in touch situations with property damage, medical bills and other expenses to cover.

However, hit-and-run victims aren’t left without recourse. If you’ve been involved in a hit-and-run accident, here’s what you can do in order to recoup accident-related expenses:

• Call the police. As soon as possible after the other driver has fled the scene, contact the police and file a report that states that you were involved in a hit-and-run accident. You will need this report in order to file a claim with your insurance company. When filing the report, please provide the police with any details you can remember about the accident, including location, time of day, physical description of driver, make, model and color of car and any plate information.

• File an insurance claim. If you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you should be able to file a claim with your auto insurance company. When filing a claim, be sure to mention that the official police report declared the accident a hit and run.

• Contact an attorney. Reaching a settlement can be difficult in any auto accident and a hit-and-run accident is certainly no exception. An auto accident lawyer who encounters hit-and-run cases like yours on a regular basis can answer all of your questions and help guide you through the legal process to an equitable settlement.

If you or a loved one find yourself the victim of a hit-and-run accident, the attorneys at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience Law can provide you with the legal representation and assistance you need. Contact us today for a free initial legal consultation.

Medical mistakes, including misdiagnoses, surgical errors or incorrect medications, can cost patients their health, not to mention their lives. According to the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 Americans die every year due to preventable medical errors. Medical malpractice lawsuits, a form of personal injury lawsuits, are designed to protect victims of errors made by doctors, hospitals, clinics, pharmacists and other medical figures. However, a recent Arizona court ruling may make it more challenging for medical malpractice and wrongful death plaintiffs to prove wrongdoing on the part of the state’s medical community.

The medical malpractice lawsuit in question was on the behalf of Judy Benkendorf, an Arizona woman who developed blood clots in her lung following a 2003 surgical procedure to remove her cancerous left kidney. She was prescribed medication by doctors to help reduce blood clots, but she died two years later as a result of a massive brain hemorrhage.

Allen Benkendorf, Judy’s husband, filed a medical malpractice suit against the clinic who treated her, claiming that her death was the result of their negligent monitoring and adjusting of her blood clot medication. However, he was unsuccessful in blocking the testimony of Dr. Kurt Schroeder, the defense’s medical expert who testified that Judy’s death could have been attributed to a number of other factors, including her age, hypertension and possibility of stroke. The jury ruled in the clinic’s favor. Allen filed an appeal on the grounds that defendants must present alternate causes of injury that are probable, not just possible. His claim was struck down by the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Judge Michael Brown, writing on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel, said plaintiffs in medical malpractice lawsuits must prove that their injury was, beyond a shadow of doubt, caused by an act or omission on the behalf of the defendant. Defendants in medical malpractice suits, however, only have to prove that something else could have caused the injury.

However, Brown said that this ruling does not give medical malpractice defendants license to assert that anything else could have caused the injury without providing evidence that validates that claim. Also, plaintiffs still have the opportunity to cross-examine the defense’s witnesses and present evidence that negates their testimonies.

The long-term implications of this ruling, including how much of an advantage this gives doctors and hospitals, are yet to be determined. However, it does emphasize the value of having an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side in medical malpractice cases.

The personal injury attorneys of Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience offer more than 50 years of experience fighting for the rights of injured patients. If you’re considering bringing a medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit, please contact us for a free initial consultation.

If a slip and fall accident occurs on your property, or on a property for which you’re responsible, knowing what to do will help you deal with any legal repercussions that may arise.

To be done immediately:

1. Get proper medical attention for the affected person. Make sure that the person who has fallen is assessed and given appropriate treatment. If the injury appears serious, do not move the victim. Perform any necessary first aid and call for emergency medical help.

2. Gather data. Collect contact information from both the injured party and any witnesses to the incident. Take photos of the scene. Write down details of the accident, citing specific materials, equipment and tools involved. Keep any evidence in a safe place. Damaged or broken materials should also be kept. These are usually the most decisive pieces of evidence for personal injury lawyers and accident attorneys.

3. Report the Accident. Get in touch with your property insurer as soon as possible and let them know what happened. Follow any instructions your insurer may give you.

To be done within 24 hours of the accident:

4. Get back in touch with the injured party. Express your concern for his or her well-being. Inquire as to whether the victim has received appropriate treatment and arranged for followup treatment. Do not accept or assign blame for the incident. If you find out that a claim has been or will be filed, notify your insurer.

5. If the victim is an employee, make him or her aware that a claim will be processed. It’s important to take care of workers’ compensation claims promptly and properly.

If you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit, contact the experts at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC. With years of experience, as well as a thorough knowledge of the complex field of personal injury law, you’ll feel safe and secure knowing you have an experienced Arizona personal injury law firm help fight your legal battles. We can be reached at 480-833-8800 or 800-501-2782.

It’s universally accepted that wearing a seat belt dramatically reduces the risk of serious injury in the event of a car accident. However, the level of protection a seat belt provides might be different depending if you are a man or a woman. According to a recent study by the American Journal of Public Health, women who wear seat belts are 47 percent more likely to be injured in an auto accident than men who wear seat belts.

The report suggests that the reason for such disproportionate statistics for men and women has partly to do with the “one-size-fits-all” design of auto safety systems between 1998 and 2008, the years included in the study. Because women tend to be shorter and lighter, they receive different levels of protection from seat belts, air bags and other safety systems than men. The study also determined that other factors, such as differences in driving posture, can affect the likelihood of injuries in the event of a car crash for women.

However, as the study only includes auto accident statistics between 1998 and 2008, it doesn’t factor in recent advancements in safety system design. For instance, many vehicles built after 2007 feature dual-depth and duel-stage driver and passenger air bags, which deploy at difference speeds and levels of force depending on seat belt usage, seat position and the severity of the impact. A study that includes statistics from the last few years may not show as large of a disparity in injury likelihood.

That said, women driving and riding in older vehicles without advanced air bags should be aware of the greater risk of injury.

Whether man, woman or child, if you’re suffering from injuries you received in an auto accident, you might be entitled to compensation under the law. The auto accident attorneys at Skousen, Gulbrandsen and Patience, a Mesa personal injury law firm, can help assess your case and how to go about getting you the most equitable settlement possible. For a free initial legal consultation, contact us today.

According to statistics, the average driver in the U.S. is involved in three auto accidents during their lifetime. Depending on the severity of the accident, this could mean thousands of dollars in auto repair and medical bills and/or, worse, debilitating injuries that leave you in pain and unable to work. Though accidents are commonplace on our nation’s roadways, most are completely preventable. The following are a few of the most common accident causes in the U.S. and what you can do to avoid them.

Speeding

Did you know that almost a third of all accidents in the U.S. are caused by speeding drivers? Speeding is prevalent among U.S. drivers; 90 percent of drivers will receive a speeding ticket at some point in their lives. Fact is, the faster you drive, the slower your reaction time is likely to be. Avoid speed-related accidents by observing the posted speed limit.

Distracted Driving

Talking on the phone, texting, eating - all these activities take drivers’ focus away from the road, which can sometimes result in accidents. While behind the wheel, don’t risk it by attempting to multi-task; keep distractions to a minimum by pulling over or simply waiting until you arrive at your destination to engage in other activities.

Reckless Driving

Drivers who don’t give their driving the proper care by missing/ignoring traffic signals, not using turn signals or tailgating are significantly more likely to find themselves in accidents than careful drivers. Prevent accidents by paying attention to traffic signs and signals and obeying traffic laws.

Inclement Weather

Rain, snow, ice, sleet, fog and other forms of severe weather can impact driving conditions, slicking roads and significantly reducing visibility. If you find yourself driving in less than desirable weather, slow down, increase the amount of distance between you and other cars on the road or simply pull off until conditions improve in order to avoid collisions.

Drunk Driving

Driving while under the influence of alcohol isn’t just illegal; it’s also dangerous. Alcohol can significantly  impair your judgment and reaction times, which can lead to very serious accidents. Don’t drink and drive. Instead, call a cab or plan ahead by using a designated driver.

If you’ve been in a serious accident, you will need a skilled auto accident lawyer. The personal injury lawyers at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience bring more than 50 years collectively of experience to the table and can help your case come to a suitable conclusion. Please contact us today for a free legal consultation.

Inexperienced and prone to risk-taking, teen drivers are among the most dangerous drivers on the road. Adding to the risk is the rampant use of cell phones while driving, a distraction that can lead to car accidents, injuries and fatalities. According to a recent AAA survey, 64 percent of teens answer phone calls while driving, 52 percent make calls while driving and 44 percent text while driving. To help minimize the dangers of unfocused new drivers, a new proposed Arizona law is seeking to prohibit teen drivers from texting or talking on cell phones while operating a motor vehicle.

Arizona SB 1056 would add to Arizona’s current Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) laws, additional restrictions placed on new drivers. Under SB 1056, teen drivers would not be allowed to use any mobile device while driving except in emergency situations during the permit phase and first six months of obtaining a license. More than 30 U.S. states currently have laws in place that restrict cell phone use while driving.

Arizona adopted its current GDL laws in 2008. Since these laws have gone into effect, teen driver-involved fatalities have declined a whopping 61 percent. Despite a decline in deaths in recent years, auto accidents are still the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S.

You can keep up with the progress of this law at the Arizona State Legislature website.

Bicycles are a fun and cost-effective way to get around, and Arizona’s year-round balmy weather allows for plenty of opportunities for riding. However, bicycle accidents do happen, sometimes to leading to very serious injuries or even fatalities. Car crashes, dangerous road conditions, bicycle defects – all can lead to more than a few scrapes and bruises. In 2010 in Arizona alone, there were nearly 2,000 auto accidents involving bicyclists. Of those accidents, 82 percent of bicyclists involved were injured, and 19 people were killed.

Just because they’re small doesn’t mean accidents involving bicycles can’t result in big damages. Here are a few examples of major expenses that can be incurred in bike accidents:

• Medical – Bike accidents can cause a wide variety of serious injuries, from broken bones and disfigurements to head and spinal cord injuries.
• Property Damages – A busted bike could cost you hundreds or even thousands, and that price tag could be even bigger if your bike is your only mode of transportation.
• Lost Wages – If a serious injury prevents you from working, whether temporarily or permanently, you may be entitled to any lost wages.
• Pain and Suffering – Especially if the bike accident causes injuries, it can lead to a great deal of emotional stress. You could be recompensed for any depression, post-traumatic stress or aches and pains resulting from the accident.

Depending on the nature of the accident, you may be entitled to one or more of the above expenses. A bicycle accident attorney can work with you to determine which expenses could be accident-related, which could be included in your settlement.

Although it’s not possible to prevent every bike accident, bicyclists can take the following safety measures to help minimize the risk of injuries:

• Always wear a helmet. A properly fitting helmet can help prevent life-threatening head and spinal cord injuries. In Arizona, all riders under the age of 18 are required by law to wear a helmet at all times.
• Ride with traffic. Biking on the right side of the street with the flow of traffic is much safer than riding against traffic.
• Obey traffic signals and laws. Just as you would in a car, stop at stop signs and traffic lights and abide by lane markings.
• Exercise caution when crossing roads and intersections. The majority of bike accidents occur when bicyclists crossing roads or intersections. Look both ways when crossing streets and ride defensively in cases of unexpected road hazards and motorists errors.
• Don’t use sidewalks. In Arizona, the only bicycles legally permitted on sidewalks are police and postal bicycles.
• Wear light- and/or bright-colored clothing. It’s important to maximize your visibility on the road by wearing easy-to-see clothing, especially when riding at night.
• For night riding, use headlights and rear defectors. Arizona laws require bicyclists riding at night to have headlights visible from at least 500 feet and rear deflectors visible from at least 50 feet. Also recommended is a red tail light visible from at least 500 feet.

Use the proper safety equipment, obey traffic laws and ride cautiously, and you’ll be able to avoid most accidents and, in turn, injuries.

If you’ve been injured in a bike accident, you’ll need an experienced bicycle lawyer to champion your legal rights and get you the restitution to which you are entitled. The personal injury attorneys at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience have been practicing law in Arizona for more than 50 years and can offer the legal help you need. Call us today at (480) 833-8800 for more information.

Head injuries, including injuries to the skull, scalp and brain, are among the most serious injuries. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, injuries related to head trauma constitute a third of all fatal injuries. On average, 1.7 million people experience head injuries from auto accidents, slips or falls, sports injuries or other causes every year in the U.S. Of those 1.7 million people, 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized and many others visit the emergency room. Even if a head injury isn’t fatal, it can lead to life-threatening consequences, including brain damage and paralysis.

Head injuries can take many forms, including concussions, contusions and skull fractures, and can be indicated by a variety of symptoms, including:

• Severe headache
• Numbness
• Dizziness or loss of vision
• Drowsiness
• Weakness in your arms and legs
• Loss of consciousness
• Confusion
• Vomiting or nausea
• Difficulties remembering recent events or personal information
• Large pupils
• Slurred speech
• Blurred vision
• Loss of appetite
• Bleeding from the ears or nose
• Convulsions

These symptoms may appear immediately or within hours or days following the injury and can worsen significantly if not given the proper medical attention. Following an injury, it’s important to seek help at the first warning signs, if for no other reason to rule out a more grave condition.

Serious head injuries can lead to big medical bills, lost wages and emotional stress. If you’ve experienced a head injury, you’ll need the help of a skilled personal injury attorney to help you recover expenses and get compensated for your suffering. The personal injury lawyers at Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience have over 50 years of experience successfully fighting for injured clients. To find out more about how they can fight for you, call (480) 833-8800 to schedule a personal injury consultation.

Disclaimer: The materials available at this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use and access to this website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney.