Automobile Accidents | InjuryBoard Des Moines

Gee-Dubbya is at it again with his Treasury Secretary's latest proposal for "reforms to protect the financial system". Tort deform is lurking undercover in Paulson's Financial Deform. Just when they...

Finding those two witnesses shows excellent skills on your part. Well done. After 26 years of practicing law I can think of only two reasons why insurance company adjusters want to talk with the person asking their company for money; and neither reason is good for you.Issue: I was in a MVA over two weeks ago. I turned left at the same time a truck ran a red light. The police report said...

What do you do if after an accident you find out the police report is inaccurate and a witness who admitted liability now changes his story and now blames you?PROBLEM: I was broadsided completing a left at a traffic light. The light was red by the time traffic subsided. A truck ran a red light. He ran over to me claiming it was his fault and how his truck slid when he was stopping. He denied...

QUESTION: Am I at fault if I crash into someone else while driving in dense fog? After all it isn't my fault, it was the fog! ANSWER: If we ignore all other facts and entertain only the fog issue, then my opinion is that you are likely to be at fault. There is nothing unusual about the fog. Fog is fog. It's a weather condition that all drivers must contend with and everyone knows that fog is the...

I have to admit that this one was too good to pass on without comment. I've written previously about tort deformers and their mantra and how Madison Avenue has brilliantly fooled most of the nation into believing the sky is falling and we can only save the nation with more tort deform. But as my mother is fond of saying, "This one is a real doozy!" I have to admit that this one was too good to...

Clients make a crucial mistake when they listen to insurance companies' propaganda about how trial lawyers can't be trusted. If the insurance industry can get you to take the bait and delay getting a lawyer, they can then settle with you for the wrecked car, take possession of the wreck and destroy the evidence.A car accident was reported on by the Newton Daily News, out of North Monroe...

If you've had your car repaired at the local body shop, and you're involved in a post-repair accident you might consider having the car towed to a different body shop. There are indications that air bag repairs are being improperly performed. You, the owner, are told the airbag is being "repacked", when in fact that is a meaningless repair and the airbag will not deploy again.* A deployed airbag...

Question: If the driver of a car stops at a stop sign, looks both ways, then pulls out is a truck driver at fault if fog is thick and he's prohibited from seeing the car t-bones the car resulting in serious injury and death?Question: If the driver of a car stops at a stop sign, looks both ways, then pulls out is a truck driver at fault if fog is thick and he's prohibited from seeing the car...

Another reported death in December caused by dense fog. Scott Nelson, 42, was transported to Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Iowa State Patrol. According to state troopers, a semi-tractor trailer driven by Kendall Tews, 45, of Palmer, Iowa, was eastbound on U.S. 20 at around 2:45 p.m. when it struck the rear of a car, causing both vehicles to go into...

Two people were sent to the hospital after a collision on Old Lincoln Highway. The driver following says to the Iowa State Trooper that he didn't notice brake lights when the pick-up truck in front of him slowed to turn into a driveway. So you ask yourself, is that excuse good enough to avoid liability? Well ask yourself first if you were the person whose pick-up truck was hit from behind, would...

The frosty excuse goes cold in a court of law...It's early, cold, you'd rather stay under the warm covers but duty calls. You do all that needs to be done to get ready for work, head out the door and notice upon entering the car that it's damn cold. For whatever reason you didn't turn the car on to warm up, you're sitting there shivering and figure I'm going to start driving so the engine will...

Question: If when driving on wet pavement when rounding a curve the driver loses control, the car rolls and a back seat passenger is ejected, is the driver responsible for his death?Answer: The operative word is "driver". The driver is responsible for driving; meaning how fast to drive, when to steer, how to steer, when to slow down, when to stop among all others facets of driving. If the driver...

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported Doug Hart, an Iowa City police officer was struck and injured as he swept up debris in an intersection. This is an example of a driver clearly being distracted while driving her minivan. The women said the impact tossed Hart back several feet, slamming him into the pavement. Drea said he got up momentarily before falling back onto the curb. Hart was easily...

This is an example of why we all need to slow down, leave more room between us and the car in front and to avoid distractions. The Buena Vista County sheriff's report says it all. We have a car slowing down on US Highway 71 to check her mail; the van behind her slows and is struck from behind by a pickup truck. The van is then pushed into an oncoming semi-truck and three occupants of the van are...

It was reportedthat the poor Vunk girl who collided with a school bus ended up in the hospital. Police were speculating about what may have contributed to the collision. They speculated the sun may have been a factor. I just recently handled a similar collision between a Bremer County dump truck and a Waverly School District bus full of children. That driver alleged the sun was also a factor. A...