Personal Injury Blog | Vititoe Law Group | Westlake Village & Oxnard CA

FMCSA: Hours-Of-Service Rule Change For Commercial Drivers to be Tested

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has plans in place to test new hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers. The adjusted rules would allow drivers to divide their off duty time into two shorter periods without exceeding current on duty driving limits. Approximately 200 commercial truck drivers will be enrolled by the FMCSA into a pilot program that will basically reinstate a previous standard, allowing drivers to split their sleeper berth time. Truckers who routinely use a sleeper berth would be allowed to split their 10 hours of off-duty time into two separate sleeper berth periods of no less than three hours, under the test [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:00:36-07:00November 6th, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

Truck Accident Test Shows Need For Side Underride Guards

Underride accidents account for twenty-five percent of all fatal truck accidents. California leads the country in the number of all underride deaths with 426 recorded between 1993 and 2015. Death by underride is drastically undercounted, as some crash report forms do no contain a check box for underrides. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested safeguards called AngelWings that prevent passenger cars from sliding beneath the side of a tractor-trailer or large truck. Side underride crashes generally occur when a tractor-trailer jackknifes, causing vehicles behind to crash into the side. Very often airbags fail to deploy because of the height of the trailer. Roofs can [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2022-06-27T17:26:25-07:00November 3rd, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

Research Supports a New Approach to Understanding Concussions

Approximately 3.8 million cases of traumatic brain injury are reported in the United States each year, most of which are concussions. According to new research led by Portland University, an entirely new approach to understanding the complexities of concussion, and how to treat it, will become the criterion. The researchers favor systems science, a discipline that analyzes complex problems, as whole systems, and integrates research findings from different disciplines. “Complex systems are those in which the behavior of the whole is not entirely explained by the behavior of its parts,” said Erin Kenzie, systems science researcher at Portland State. “Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is very [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:07:16-07:00October 31st, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

Feds Move Forward with December ELD Mandate Enforcement

Despite protests in Washington DC and other cities, by independent truckers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is moving forward with its plan to begin enforcing the electric logging device (ELD) mandate. The implementation date of Dec. 18 comes amid speculation regarding potential delays. The ELD mandate, which went into effect in 2015, has been in a voluntary adoption phase since then. However a study released by C.J Driscoll and Associates showed that complete conformation is far from reality. The study, which encompassed 529 fleet operators, found that 60% of commercial fleets were still using paper logs to record driver’s hours of service. “We won’t [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:08:13-07:00October 27th, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

Despite Risks, California Seatbelt Use Low in Uber and Taxi’s

Seatbelts save lives. That phrase is not a tagline from a government-sponsored ad – it is a fact. The fact is that seatbelt use can reduce the chances of fatality or serious injury to the front seat passenger of a car by 50%. Too often, we learn of a rollover where an occupant was ejected from the vehicle and died unnecessarily. In California, seatbelt use became a strictly enforced, primary law in 1993. Since then, compliance rose steadily to its current level of 96%. That number is ten percentage points higher than the national average. With seatbelt use so prevalent by drivers and passengers in private [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2020-07-21T21:20:40-07:00October 23rd, 2017|Car Accidents|Comments Off

Common Misconceptions About Spinal Cord Injury

If you have not experienced a spinal cord injury (SCI) or worked closely with someone that has, chances are great that you are ignorant to some degree of what life with an SCI is really like. It is important that, through awareness education, families who are learning to cope with SCI do not use the wrong ideas. Some Myths and Misconceptions About Spinal Cord Injury Never moving again is always the prognosis Each persons injury and recovery results differ. There is always some loss of sensory and motor function, but at greatly varying levels. Even in a person classified as quadriplegic there may be limited use [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:09:37-07:00October 20th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off

How is a Traumatic Brain Injury Measured and Classified?

When a sudden trauma damages the brain and disrupts normal brain function, it is referred to as traumatic brain injury (TBI). The results can be substantial disability or mortality. TBI may have severe detrimental effects on physical, psychological, cognitive emotional, social abilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate and average of 1.7 million people suffer from a TBI each year. Of those, 275,000 are hospitalized and 52,000 die. Nearly 80%, or 1.365 million, are treated and released from an emergency department. […]

By Vititoe Law Group|2020-07-29T02:39:53-07:00October 18th, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

Is Child Car Seat Replacement Necessary Following a Car Crash?

Following any car crash, minor or severe, child car seat replacement will most likely be necessary. In some instances, after what the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) considers a minor accident, certain seats will meet the agency’s reuse criteria. However, mandatory replacement is required in most cases, after any accident, regardless of severity. The NHTSA’s criteria for a minor crash are broken down into five guidelines, ALL of which must be met before reuse. · The vehicle was able to be driven away · The vehicle door nearest the car seat was not damaged · None of the passengers sustained any injuries · The air [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:11:10-07:00October 11th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off

The Long Road to Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery

Unlike a broken arm or a case of the flu there is no end date to recovering from a traumatic brain injury. There can be recovery seen months and even years after the initial injury. The success of the recovery from TBI varies greatly, depending on the severity and area of the brain injury as well as the individual. Two individuals with the same brain injury may recover over different lengths of time and by varying degrees. For example, persons under the age of two and those over the age of 60 have the worst prognosis for recovery even if their injuries are identical to someone [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:11:51-07:00October 9th, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

Football Not Alone with Sports Related Head Injuries

Football has recently dominated the news regarding sports related head injuries as the focus turned to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive, degenerative brain disease discovered in a large number of former football players. The fact is that there are many other sports where athletes face a high risk of receiving a traumatic brain injury. When viewing statistics related to different sports and the frequency of brain injuries it is easy to be confused. Most studies show that cycling has the highest rate of head injuries based on emergency room admissions. Boxing is not even considered. Does this mean a parent should discourage bike riding and [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-24T19:12:40-07:00October 6th, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

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