Car Accidents

One Man Dies In Deadly Washington D.C. Car Crash, While A Maryland Driver Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder

February 16, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Kadri Atalay, a 42-year-old man from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was charged with committing second-degree murder, after driving his Mercedes SUV on the wrong side of Wisconsin Avenue, NW, in Washington D.C. and hitting a Chrysler Sebring that was being driven by a 29-year-old DC man. The 29-year-old man was later declared dead at the Medstar trauma unit of the Washington Hospital Center.

Atalay is also being treated at the Washington Hospital Center for injuries that are non-life threatening. Preliminary reports say that speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol may have caused the collision. The speed limit on Wisconsin Avenue is 25 miles/hour.

Damages From Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Accidents

If you have a loved one who has been killed in a car accident due to someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In Washington D.C., you have one year from the time of the accident to file a wrongful death claim. Unlike many states, the District of Columbia does not have a wrongful death cap for the amount of reward damages that may be brought.

Fatalities In Car Collisions

Every year, thousands of people in the United States are killed in car accidents. In 2003 alone, over 38,000 fatalities involving car accidents occurred on U.S. roads, killing 42,643 people. Fatal car crashes are a major cause of death for people 5-27 years of age. When these fatalities occur because someone else on the road was acting negligently or carelessly, the surviving family members of the person who has been killed have a right to be financially compensated for their suffering and loss. Over 5,000 pedestrians are also killed every year because of fatal car crashes.

Main Causes of Fatalities Occurring During Car Crashes:

· Speeding
· Driving under the influence
· Tiredness
· Recklessness
· Aggressive driving
· Not paying attention to roads or driving conditions
· Not wearing a safety belt or helmet
· Not stopping at red lights
· Faulty design of the vehicle
· Vehicle malfunction

Tractor-Trailer Accident In D.C. Named Among The 10 Worst U.S. Traffic Incidents In 2006 By Metro Networks

January 9, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Metro Networks, the largest traffic gathering and reporting operation in America, recently released its list “The Top Ten Worst Traffic Incidents of 2006.” An accident involving two tractor-trailers colliding on I-95 North in Massaponax, VA put the Washington D.C. area in the number 10 spot. The trucks ended up catching fire and damaging the roads so that they had to be repaved. There were major delays on the highway because of the collision.

Other traffic incidents on the list:

1) New York City, New York: A Tomahawk test missile fell onto I-95SB in the Bronx after a tractor trailer overturned last July.

2) San Francisco, California: A meatpacking truck traveling on 101N in San Mateo spilled cow body parts across the freeway.

3) Houston, Texas: A truck fell off the ramp that goes from 610N loop to the US59. The truck dumped frozen chickens onto the freeway.

4) Boston, Massachusetts: A 12-ton concrete ceiling panel from a “Big Dug” tunnel connecting the Massachusetts Turnpike to the Ted Williams Tunnel dropped onto a passing car.

5) Dallas, Texas: A big rig carrying oil refinery equipment smacked into an overhead bridge on northbound Loop 12 at the Highway 183 interchange next to Texas Stadium.
6) Detroit, Michigan: Two semis crashed into each other in Monroe on Northbound I-75. The semis caught on fire, and the flames spread across the freeway involving approximately six cars and four more semis.
7) Chicago, Illinois: Construction on Chicago Skyway, I-80/94, and the Dan Ryan Expressway created traffic delays for commuters.
8) Atlanta, Georgia: A collision involving a tractor-trailer and two cars during the morning commute resulted in the death of two people.

9) Los Angeles, California: A big rig truck flipped over, caught fire, and burnt to the ground.

Injuries that result because of vehicle-related truck accidents can be severe and life altering. You may have suffered whiplash or burns to your head or neck, have nerve damage or spinal chord paralysis, limb amputation, have broken or dislocated a bone or limb, or even lost the use of a limb. A personal injury to you can ocur on the road even if your vehicle was not directly involved in a collision. If you have been in an automobile accident due to the carelessness or negligence of another driver, you should obtain the advice of a lawyer with experience handling automobile accident cases.

On “Deadliest Drunk Driving States” List, Washington D.C. Ranks #1

December 15, 2006 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With all the holiday parties that take place at the end of the year, drunk driving incidents tend to occur more frequently—which can be especially dangerous if you live in one of the 15 U.S. states where at least 41% of all traffic fatalities can be attributed to drunk driving.

The End Needless Deaths on Our Roadways (END) group, an advocacy organization led by doctors, has just released its list of 15 U.S. states where the most traffic-related deaths occurred due to drinking. Washington D.C. topped this list, where drunk driving was a cause of 54.17% of vehicle-related deaths.

Who Else Made the List:
· Connecticut
· Hawaii
· Illinois
· Montana
· Rhode Island
· South Carolina
· South Dakota
· Texas
· Washington, D.C.
· Wisconsin
· Alaska
· Arizona
· Delaware
· North Dakota
· Washington

END says that in 2005, close to 17,000 motorists were killed in drunk driving accidents in the US with more than 4,000 of those fatalities taking place in these 15 states. Rankings were determined by data taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s reporting system.

The CDC offers the following suggestions to prevent injuries due to impaired driving:

· Sobriety checkpoints. Fatal crashes thought to involve alcohol dropped a median of 22% (with random breath testing) and 23% (with selective breath testing) following implementation of sobriety checkpoints.

· 0.08% BAC laws. Fatal alcohol-related crashes showed a median decrease of 7% following the implementation of 0.08% BAC laws in 16 states.

· Minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws. Raising the MLDA, such as from 18 to 21, decreases crash-related outcomes a median of 16% for the targeted age groups.

· “Zero tolerance” laws for young drivers. One study found that fatal crash outcomes decreased 24% after implementation of “zero tolerance” laws (Elder et al. 2002, Howat et al. 2004, Shults et al. 2001, Shults et al. 2002).

END is recommending that medical workers and physicians work harder to identify whether patients have drinking problems. The group also suggested that states increase fines and prison times for DUI offenders, while also penalizing motorists who refuse to be tested for sobriety.

Utah, which has the strictest drinking laws in the U.S., has the lowest alcohol-related deaths rate at 13.12%.