Phoenix Personal Injury Law Blog

A jury in an out-of-state personal injury case handed a verdict of $7.5 million dollars to a motorcyclist whose penis was crushed and permanently shortened in a motorcycle accident with a shuttle van. The plaintiff is a former Navy officer who was 23 years old at the time of the crash. The shuttle van belonged to an automotive shop. The driver of the van, who had never been trained as a professional driver, had an expired driver's license.

The injured man was riding to work more than four years ago when the van turned left in front of him. The van's driver had failed to check oncoming traffic before he turned. When the motorcyclist struck the van, his pubic rambus bone was fractured against the motorcycle frame, and his penis was crushed. He also suffered nerve and artery damage.

Traffic lights are installed to control traffic but also to help keep roads safe and protect both motorists and pedestrians from accidents. Still, the lights alone are not always enough to prevent car accidents. At many problem intersections in Phoenix there are also cameras located near the red lights to help identify who is running red lights and putting themselves and others at risk for car accidents.

Phoenix police report that red light accidents can be some of the worst because those who run red lights actually accelerate when they are going through a light in an attempt to get through the light as quickly as possible. When they do hit another car or pedestrian the impact is that much worse. A suspected red light accident happened just this Wednesday in Phoenix.

It's already been about a year since the gunfire attack at an Arizona supermarket, where Representative Gabrielle Giffords sustained a serious injury that has drawn the attention and worry of the entire nation. She sustained a brain injury in the attack that took others' lives.

While she is fortunate to have lived through the terrible Tucson incident, there's no doubt that she and others who sustain brain injuries often return home to live quite different lives. Brain injuries are more than simply physical damage. They alter a person's character and interests. The New York Times reports on the impact that a brain injury can have on families.

The responsibility that we take on as drivers is too easily forgotten. People's lives beyond our own are put at risk when traffic laws are ignored. While all sorts of drivers and passengers face the potential of injury or death in the wake of an accident, there are definitely some drivers who face a higher risk when hit by a car: motorcyclists.

Arizona roads are not strangers to deadly motorcycle accidents. And a recent fatal accident in Glendale adds to the list of riders' lives taken by a car driver who supposedly was not paying close enough attention to the road and its rules. The Arizona Republic reports that the deadly crash occurred on Tuesday; the victim died as a result of his injuries on Wednesday.

It's the New Year, and that means different things to different folks. For many, it means tackling their 2012 resolutions. But all drivers may be affected by a more serious change that 2012 has ushered into Arizona.

The state is known for its relatively harsh drunk driving laws. Even first-time DUI offenders face quite strict sentencing. Part of that sentencing has been that first-time offenders' driving freedoms are limited. Up until the first of this new year, the offenders were required to use ignition interlock devices in their vehicles for a year after their conviction. That rule is no more, and some traffic safety advocates question whether this change will lead to more drunk driving accidents in Arizona.

A few months ago, a young man was simply an Arizona State University student with a bright future ahead of him. The 21-year-old was involved in a multi-vehicle car accident in Tucson in October, and since then, his family and friends have lived with the possible reality that the young man wouldn't pull through his injuries.

He sustained a serious brain injury as a result of the accident and was taken to a Phoenix hospital to get the specialized treatment that he needed. He was in a coma, but his health suddenly picked up in late October, and his family was able to enjoy this holiday with their son. He recovered just in time, according to reports.

If one watches medical dramas on television they might assume that autopsies are commonplace in hospitals, especially when the cause of death isn't obvious. This was true several decades ago when hospitals went as far as to require a minimum number of autopsies be performed in order for the hospital to retain their accreditation, but without the requirement autopsies are increasingly rare, and are often only ordered when "foul play" is suspected.

In one recent case there was a woman who died suddenly after collapsing at home. The cause of death was undetermined, but due to her special connections as a cancer researcher an autopsy was performed free of charge as a favor to her husband. She had received a recent cancer diagnosis herself, but medical professionals missed the fact that the cancer had spread into many other areas as well. The hospital error contributed to a blood clot which was finally determined as the cause of death.

When it comes to driving safety the biggest concern on how to prevent a car accident is not to drive under the influence, but there is one "influence" that drivers need more of, and more attention needs to be paid when it comes to dishing out consequences. When drivers don't have enough sleep, their risk of a car accident rises to levels similar to those who drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. The problem is that sleep impairment is much more difficult to determine than other types of impairment even though it can often be just as deadly.

One recent Arizona accident between a semi-truck and a pickup truck involved fatigue as the cause. And in 2010, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that two in five drivers admit to falling asleep while driving. Some even argue that it can be worse than drunk driving because sleeping drivers are less likely to be able to react to potential crash situations by steering away or applying the brakes.