Question: Can we conclude that darkness alone is the most substantial cause?

As the Iowa State Trooper describes: VEH #1 WAS NB ON HWY 69 JUST SOUTH OF LAMONI UNABLE TO SEE DUE TO DARKNESS THE DRIVER OF VEH #1 STRUCK A PEDESTRIAN WHO WAS WALKING ACROSS THE HIGHWAY TO GET MAIL OUT OF THE MAIL BOX.

Definition of Assumption – an assuming that something is true, a fact or statement (as a proposition, axiom, postulate, or notion) taken for granted. Merriam-Webster

Synonyms: given, hypothetical, if, postulate, premise (alsopremiss), presumption, presupposition, 

and supposition.

This accident was on February 22, 2012 at 6:40 pm (1840) Decatur County, Iowa. The description gives me reason to pause; do you agree or disagree with the quick conclusion of the Iowa State Trooper? Is the conclusion really valid without knowing more? 

Answer: No, not without knowing more about the driver's visual abilities. In the practice of law (an evidentiary based examination) we would not make such a conclusion so quickly.

I’ve written about this type of fatal accident in the past because drawing conclusions without knowing more doesn't do a service to those who loved the victim. I’ve listed below a few titles of posts having to do with personal injury, mailboxes and elderly drivers. This type of accident isn’t all that unusual. Drivers are on notice when driving in rural areas to keep a watchful eye out for farmers crossing the road to get the mail. At dusk or after darkenss falls that watchful eye may include not driving. It's a choice all elderly drivers must make. In the case of the rural pedestrian farmer getting the mail, the question is whether or not the danger is foreseeable and in this instance it certainly was. The entire accident is tragic, but foreseeable nevertheless. The driver’s age is a factor to be considered in weighing the evidence as is his lookout, previous accidents, warnings about driving prior to this collision as well as his health and vision. As always we wish them all a long and healthy life. 

RESOURCES

• Iowa personal injury from around the State of Iowa
• What you don't know about your mailbox can kill you.
• Once Again I'm Defending My Client Old Man Winter
• And on Lombardi Law Firm’s – The Verdict about mailbox accidents
• Age and when to give up your license is an important discussion with any aging parent. They fight it tooth and nail, but children of aging parents need to know when enough is enough. Here are some posts about driver’s age and car accidents.
• Driving age, young or old, can be a high risk driver
• www.lombardilaw.com/.../driving-age-young-or-old-can-be-a-high-r...
• High risk drivers can be younger or older. It's probably more difficult to get the older driver to stop driving than the younger driver who just isn't ready for the ...
• See also Given up your Drivers Licence? (sic) – This story is about going auto free and green friendly, but may provide some insight into how to adapt to life without a driver’s license.
• Getting Grandma to Give up the Keys – Senior driving oldage
• Seniors and Their Driver’s License - NYTimes

Minimal Crash Report:

Allison Smith – 17-year-old Iowa teen described above. 

The Iowa DOT also publishes a teen driving guide that provides parents with rules for safe teen driving. See Teen Driving Responsibilities.

• Rule 1: Put it down!
• Rule 2: Absolutely no alcohol!
• Rule 3: Always buckle up!
• Rule 4: have the car in the driveway by the designated time!
• Rule 5: no more than one passenger in the car at all times (or zero passengers if the state’s GDL law doesn’t permit any).
• Rule 6: Follow your state’s GDL laws!
• Rule 7: Follow the house rules or face the consequences!

Alexis Summers - We don’t have to far to find another teen, this one a 17 year old cheerleader from Knock High School in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania who died at 10:00 pm on Hannastown Road in Jefferson Township, Butler County.

"The evidence at the scene was a cellphone inside the vehicle with a partial text message prepared. It was obvious that the phone was active at the time of the crash," Lt. Eric Hermick said.

Additional Resources

Psychology Today, Death by Text, The Dangers of Teens Texting and Driving, Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPT in Teen Angst

“As she raced down the highway, her phone started to ring - she had a text. She rambled around in her purse and found her cell. It was Calli "Where R U?" Ugh, Elizabeth sighed she responded "L8, B Rt There". She started to put her phone down and heard a horn and screeching tires. She looked up but it was too late, she smashed into the car ahead of her. Pain shot through her entire body, everything went black and she struggled to gasp her final breath...”

Cell Phone and Texting Laws - State Laws that Ban Cell Phone Usage while Driving, Governors Highway Safety Association

Resources

• Talking to death: texts, phones kill 16,000: study, Reuters
• Dnt Txt N Drv, Oprah
• TRL, researches texting issues and driver distractibility.
• Dangers of Texting Whilst Driving,
• Human Factors
• The effect of text messaging on driver behavior: a simulator study,
• Eliminating Driver Distractions, and
• Car Simulator Case Studies.
• How do we discourage not thinking and driving?
• Teen Driving Guide: Rules to Live by

I read that headline and wondered why anyone would ban the use of any traffic cameras. The Iowa legislature is considering such a move. To do so would be pandering to the voters, nothing more.

Look at the guy in Charlotte. Being familiar with the route didn’t save this pedestrian worker as he headed to his job at Wells Fargo along a route he’d done morning after morning. I’m sure the truck driver feels badly about his part, how could he feel anything else, but that won’t change the facts. The truck driver is reportedly charged, but one witness is quoted as saying there was fog that morning and he didn’t believe the truck driver ever saw the pedestrian. Chances are the prosecution will have no choice but to plea bargain. Who knows what the truth is except the pedestrian is dead.

A construction company worker who was near the scene said he didn't believe the dump truck driver saw the pedestrian. Tuesday morning was foggy across much of the area. The pedestrian was 47-years-old, a director with corporation’s commercial mortgage servicing team handling asset management with commercial real estate. Photo available. 

Charlotte’s High Accident Location List can be accessed by following this link.

That report is nicely done, with bar graphs and stats for number of collisions, circumstances and other identifying data. There is a spread sheet with each location and the crash rates. Link to NC list. So I wonder if Iowa has such a list. Drop below this list from Charlotte.

2010 Crash Summary

Collisions by Motorist Contributing Circumstances

Contributing Circumstances  Total Collisions Percent of Total Collisions

• Inattention 3,480  22.12%
• Failure to reduce speed  2,704  17.19%
• Failed to yield right of way  2,056  13.07%
• None Indicated  871  5.54%
• Followed too closely  654  4.16%
• Improper turn  573  3.64%
• Disregarded traffic signals  548  3.48%
• Improper lane change  534  3.39%
• Unknown   420  2.66%
• Exceeded safe speed for conditions  371  2.36%
• Other 294  1.87%
• Alcohol use  216  1.37%
• Improper backing  190  1.21%
• Operated vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner  196 1.25%
• Swerved or avoided due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, non-motorist  178 1.13%
• Overcorrected/oversteered 176  1.12%
• Crossed centerline/going wrong way  174  1.11%
• Driver distracted  171  1.09%
• Other improper passing  131  0.83%
• Disregarded stop sign  143  0.91%
• Visibility obstructed  106  0.67%
• Operated defective equipment  101  0.64%
• Exceeded authorized speed limit  94  0.60%
• Use of improper lane  32  0.20%
• Disregarded other traffic signs  45  0.29%
• Disregarded road markings  45  0.29%
• Improper or no signal  33  0.21%
• Improper parking  26  0.17%
• Disregarded yield sign  25  0.16%
• Right turn on red  14  0.09%
• Drug use  8  0.05%
• Passed on curve  5  0.03%
• Passed stopped school bus  3  0.02%
• TOTAL 15,799  100%

The University of Kentucky has developed procedures for identifying high-crash locations and prioritizing safety improvements. Link Iowa has a list but names it a bit different: Iowa DOT’s Safety Improvement Candidate List, June 2002, a bit dated I’d say. Iowa State University has studied the issue. See Systematic Identification of High Crash Locations (TR-442). There is a public website. Wikipedia refers to this in “Traffic collision”.

NHTA Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report

About the research

Abstract: The objective of this project was to develop tools and procedures to identify potentially hazardous roadway locations and designs, and to demonstrate the utility of these tools by developing candidate lists of high crash locations in Iowa. An initial task built an integrated database to facilitate the tools and procedures. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) Geographic Information Management System (GIMS) and Geographic Information System Accident Analysis and Location System (GIS-ALAS) databases were integrated with available digital imagery.

In Iowa the statistics are broken down by county from 1994 to 2009.  Looking at 2009 there were 372 car accidents with fatalities, down from 412 in 2008. The counties with the highest numbers were Benton with 10, Scott with 13, Woodbury with 11,  Pottawattamie with 12, Polk 13, Linn with 15, Johnson with 11 and Jefferson with 9. Link

Question:

1. A duty.

2. A breach of the duty.

3. Damages.

4. Your damages need to be proximately caused by the negligence of the "tortfeasor" the wrongdoer.

In your case you are simply missing 3 and 4. You have no damages and therefore no damages were proximately caused by the wrongdoer. Your personal injury is what the law refers to as de minimis. Lay people would use this definition and lawyers this one. Frankly it was what the McDonald's marketing machine was all about but they were completely wrong and fooled most people into believing the sky was falling.

De minimis is a Latin expression meaning about minimal things, normally in the locutions de minimis non curat praetor ("The praetor does not concern himself with trifles") or de minimis non curat lex ("The law does not concern itself with trifles").[1][2]

In risk assessment it refers to a level of risk that is too small to be concerned with. Some refer to this as a "virtually safe" level.[3]

An abbreviated form of the Latin Maxim de minimis non curat lex, "the law cares not for small things." A legal doctrine by which a court refuses to consider trifling matters.

In a lawsuit, a court applies the de minimis doctrine to avoid the resolution of trivial matters that are not worthy of judicial scrutiny. Its application sometimes results in the dismissal of an action, particularly when the only redress sought is for a nominal sum, such as one dollar. Appellate courts also use the de minimis doctrine when appropriate.

But the personal injury aside you did also mention a wage loss being caused by your having a tough time keeping a job. It didn’t take me 30 years of practice to know it’s going to be extremely difficult to prove you’re not being able to find any truck driving job is somehow proximately caused by this one little accident. There must be more than you’re telling me; either that or you aren’t trying hard enough to find work.

Make sense? Now get back to work.

The assassin smiles at you just before it cuts your throat for financial gain.

Loss prevention departments have only two reasons to speak with you and none are in your favor. 1. Find a way to deny their claim. Or 2. Find a way to pay her less than the law allows. It doesn't get any simpler than that now does it. 

You are right to accept some responsibility, but see a lawyer because you are plainly outgunned by the loss prevention professionals. 

Hancock County, Iowa

The eastbound vehicle is a Ford Explorer being driven by a 56 year old man from Britt, Iowa. From the report it appears as though the opposing driver died in the crash.

So who is responsible? From a legal standpoint the driver of the semi (and the permissive owner of the semi) is legally responsible for securing the load, including the trailer.

• Iowa State Patrol Crash Report of Christians – Priebe Personal Injury Accident
• KGLO Midday Report on Priebe Fatality Car Accident
• KGLA Obituaries - Link
• Britt man killed in early morning accident, WCF Courier

• Dangerous Trailers.org
• Towing and Trailer Safety – an eight part series from The Chronicle of the Horse be several writers.
• YouTube Report - Dangerous Trailers.org Presents Loose Trailer Kills US Postal Worker
• How To Hook Up A U-Haul Trailer - Braked
• Towing, Towing Safety, Types of Trailers, Towbar Wiring, Towing Capacity, Towing Laws in the U.S. on Wikipedia
• Tow Hitches
• Dangerous Trailers.org Loose U Haul Trailer Causes Loss of Life – Pedestrian Killed by Loose Trailer – U-Haul Trailer breaks free from pickup truck and kills tree worker on side of the road.
• Dangerous Trailers.org Presents Virginia Tagged trailer I-95 No Safety Chains
• One safety chain dragging on the ground – Improper use of safety chains.
• Hitch failure, but driving with only one wheel on the trailer.
• Overloading trailers is also dangerous and unacceptable.

15 Ways to Cause a Trailer to Unhitch While Towing

1. Improper Installation of the Trailer Hitch or the Towing Mechanisms
2. Using a trailer that is beyond the hitch’s rating
3. Not using the chains
4. Using the chains improperly
5. Using the wrong sized ball and socket
6. Overloading the trailer
7. Using a broken hitch
8. Not latching the ball
9. Not securing the security pin
10. Towing a poorly maintained trailer causing excessive pressure on the hitch itself
11. Improperly inflated tires
12. Loading the trailer beyond the axles weight rating and breaking the axle
13. Failing to double check hitch before driving off
14. Not having brakes on the trailer while pulling a heavy load
15. Driving while distracted and not keeping an eye on the load you’re towing

If you think these cases are easy to prove it’s because you’ve never tried to prove one in a court of law. And if you think that insurance adjuster who makes it seem like he’s there to pay you and just has a few questions to ask for his file, good luck with that one. Later this week (December 15, 2011) I’ll post an article titled, The Loss Prevention Department Assassin. You may find it of interest. I’ll update the link after it posts. 

• In the first case out of Salt Lake City a worker identified as Kelton Lee (55) a construction worker who was lifting a heavy piece of pipe when his legs gave out and the pipe struck him in the head. Although he regained consciousness he later died of the head injuries. Read more here from the Vernal Express.
• Next we go to South Dakota where an article discusses the number of deaths in that state. It’s interesting that all workers killed in South Dakota last year were men; men must be taking more jobs with higher risk of injury. Here is a quote from that article. “All but one of those killed in South Dakota last year were men. The Labor Statistics bureau groups farming with forestry, fishing and hunting, and that sector had the highest number of worker deaths, 14. The construction industry followed with seven.
• Every year since 2003, driving associated with work has been as dangerous as or more dangerous than fatal accidents involving equipment or objects and falls. Among fatalities last year, 16 were caused by transportation accidents, including nine highway deaths and seven nonhighway accidents.
• Ten deaths occurred in accidents involving objects and equipment and five were caused by falls.
• South Dakota closely tracks a national trend regarding transportation fatalities. Nationwide, 21 percent of the 4,547 people killed on the job last year died in highway accidents. The nine highway deaths in South Dakota represents 25 percent of the total work-related deaths.
• Nationwide last year, 11 percent of those killed at work were murdered. South Dakota had no such cases.”
• You can read that article from the Argus Leader here. 

Many workers, many accidents, all different locations but several things in common to all – risk, not paying enough attention to safety, material handling, moving machinery, trucks-cars all moving with drivers paying little attention to their surroundings and highway construction crews who are sitting ducks with cell phoned drivers paying more attention to the call than the road. 

Question:

What the heck was the driver looking at anyway? Certainly a young woman walking across a parking lot carrying a bag of trash isn't likely to be moving very fast. The driver should have seen her; but that aside she needs a lawyer.

Her claims/cases are complicated by the intertwining of the two cases and she should hire a lawyer who understands both areas. The hip fracture also complicates the damages along with future medical treatment and arthritis. We do and if we can help give us a call. We've done this kind of work for over 30 years and can get her a decent recovery. If we don't hear from you good luck. 

• Who’s Behind the Wheel of Your Child’s Bus? From Erin Jordan, Reporter for KCRG
• About 40 percent of local school bus drivers have at least one traffic ticket.
• Secretary Of State ‘shocked’ By Pedestrian Death, AP

A second roll-over car accident takes place in Chamberlain, S.D. reportedly killing a northwest Iowa man, Leon Contreras of Estherville, Iowa. The driver is described as 37-year-old Ramon Castillo; neither man is described as wearing a seatbelt, although no details are given about what happened to cause the accident. 

As you can see each of these rollover case is different; seldom are two the same. In the first you have one young driver who could be considered the at-fault driver and with no passengers she would have the only claim. She would file with her own insurance company under the medical pay section of her policy. Beyond getting paid medical bills there is nothing to be paid for personal injury unless she can show there is something wrong with the road, the car she's driving or there is another vehicle with a bad driver.

In the second accident, the passenger’s estate (he is reported to have died), would file a claim with the driver’s auto insurance company and if he has low limits of coverage he may also file with the passenger underinsured motorist coverage policy. Of course if the driver is uninsured and the passenger had automobile insurance then his estate’s administrator will file under the uninsured motorist coverage.

In the third accident the oil service field worker was in the course of his employment at the time of his rollover accident so he would have several avenues to consider for personal injury coverage. First is the workers’ compensation insurance and that’s an easy one. The second depends on whether he was forced off the road by another car or not. If so then there is a third-party case against the at-fault driver and owner of the at-fault car. The next claim as you can see had to do with his claim of receiving shoddy treatment that fell below the standard of care in Wyoming.

So there you have it three different rollover accidents with three different results and places to file insurance claims. And you wonder why they call this “the practice of law”? Note, the operative word is practice. 

Question: How is negligence determined in personal injury cases?  

Does negligence have to be established in order to collect damages in any personal injury case?

Statutes and Black Letter Law: The statutory law states that everyone must stop at a stop sign. If you run the stop sign you are negligent.

Common Law: If you behave in such a way as to increase the risk of injury to another knowing injury is likely then you can be found to have been negligent.

Contract: General contractors agree by way of a written agreement (the contract) to supervise the construction site and to make sure every subcontractor is abiding by OSHA's rules and regulations. If the GC knows a sub is not following OSHA rules/regs or fails to monitor whether the subs are adhering to OSHA rules they can be found to be negligent.

Criminal Law: Criminal law says if I walk up and punch you in the nose I'm guilty of assault and battery. If I walk up to one guy but hit another due to my being too drunk to make a straight punch, then I'm probably negligent. That's a standard that can be applied to civil law to find you acted negligently.

Professional Standards: Professionals are held to a standard created and recognized by other professionals and the associations that govern their conduct.

These are not all the ways standards are found in the civil law, but it will give you some idea of how standards are determined to exist and therefore formulate the basis for determining negligent conduct. 

Question:

What's the defect?

In your situation I do believe you've identifed the defective condition - non-skid strips that were painted over. The existing strip seems to be an admission the steps get slick and are an injury hazard. That's why they were applied to the tread surface. The negligent act, the defect, is the owner applying paint that covers the nonslipping quality of the strip. That is certainly an artificial condition that increased the risk of injury. Seems like an easy case to me, and short of seeing a lawyer there are some things you can do to get coverage. 

Most businesses have some sort of medical pay coverage under the casualty insurance policy and will pay for medical (limited coverage dollar amount) without regard to fault. So I'd suggest you do two things. One, contact the hotel and ask if they have medical pay insurance coverage, and if they do turn in a claim for the expense you're incurring. Second, contact a lawyer to see if you have an enforceable claim.

By the way, you did the right thing in noting the 'defect' and in photographing it. Well done.

For a list of locations see below.

Traffic Camera Proves A Reliable Witness In Crashes, AP provided by KCCI-Channel 8

• Iowa Department of Transportation – Des Moines Area Traffic Speedmap and Cameras Link
• Iowa Traffic Webcams from Leonards Worlds
• Traffic Cameras by State – USA Russia Style link.
• Iowa Webcams link.
• Des Moines area links.
• Iowa Red Light Cameras Map link. 

These are tough cases. I'd like to read that brief.

Title: ESTATE OF DENVER DANIEL PARVIN, DECD

Docket Number: 06571 ESPR034614

Venue: Linn County

Petition filed: 3/17/2010

Facebook: Rest in Peace Denver Parvin

Grade School Bus Accident - In Janesville, Iowa an 11-year-old boy, Justin Bradfield got off the bus, dropped something and then ran in front of the bus, was struck and killed. The driver is not being charged, at least not yet, the article indicates the matter continues to be under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. Questions about the driver’s focus and understanding of which way the boy would normally head home will be of interest. A photograph of young Justin can be seen by following this link. That article discusses the Kensett school bus death from May 10, 2011 involving Aaron Gunderson, 32 of Northwood. The article indicates vehicular homicide charges by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and then leaving the scene of an accident can be criminal sanctions for this type of accident. Drivers always have to keep a watchful eye on disembarking students.  Update: No charges are expected against the bus driver or the school. 

Slow down and leave more room to stop - Next we move onto West Des Moines, my stomping grounds and Interstate 35 where we have a multivehicle crash. In this crash for whatever reason, not explained, a southbound vehicle is described as having crossed the median and crashing into a northbound car. This article is kind of sketchy so let me check the ISP reports to see if there is at least a preliminary report. Update: The driver of what appears to be the at-fault vehicle was Danny Knowles of Des Moines. He was 58-years-old. I’m still waiting for the other drivers to be identified. Update: Police spokesman is Lt. Jim Barrett.

Trucking, give them room - One of many accidents on I-80 this one near Coralville-Iowa City around 7:30 pm killed a driver. This is a truck driver who hit the barrier, the Jersey barrier, then rolled onto the left side and caught fire. The carrier is Dart Transportation out of Cary, Illinois. This will in all likelihood result in a workers’ compensation claim. The widow, if any, should contact the Capron & Avgerinos firm that does good work out of Chicago, Illinois. They are a firm that handles workers’ compensation injury work. If it’s Iowa benefits they need or want we can help you. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. I’ll check further reports and add to this post.

Can you say carbon monoxide poisoning - A metro Ice Arena mysterious illness is probably carbon monoxide poisoning from either the Zamboni or else a fresh air intake vent. Although Urbandale police did not find elevated levels they might check out venting where the patrons were seated. I’ve seen this up north at UNI where deliver trucks would park with engines running outside the facility, a lab, and the fumes were then being sucked into the building making the lab workers sick. I’ve covered carbon monoxide poisoning previously. Follow this link to the Lombardi Law Firm search for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Unexperience and Teen Driving - Onto Winneshiek County we head, where a one-vehicle crash killed a Minnesota teen and injured several others. Riding as a passenger in a Ford F-150 pickup truck Joshua Evers, just 18 out of Rochester, Minn. died as a result of personal injury caused by the collision. ” The injured include the driver, Brenden Christensen, 18, of Winnebago, Minn.; Bobby Wild, 19, of Lansing, Ia.; Shenyse Tharp, 18, of Holy Cross, Ia.; Trey Dylsin-Hillyer, 18, of Frost, Minn.; Keisha Kerr, 19, of Postville, Ia.; and Kristin Easley, 19, of Preston, Minn.”

According to the article from the Register Christensen was the driver and failed to negotiate the curve at 245^th Avenue to the north of 200^th Street. The accident happened at around 9:15 a.m.

Medical condition while driving - From northeastern Iowa we go again to central Iowa and specifically to Ames, Iowa and back again on I-35. In this car or bus accident the rock-band bus for Georgia rock band Widespread Panic died of a medical condition just prior to a series of collisions. I’ll update this post with names when I locate the accident report. I keep trying to persuade my wife that we should buy a rock band bus, make fake rock concert tickets and t-shirts, then get on the road giving them away. All across the country we will take pictures of people with promoting gullibility and having a great time. Update: Interesting enough this chain reaction is described as common when people driver and fail to leave enough room between the front of their car or truck the rear of the one to the front. Add speed and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Watch the road - On U.S. Highway 59 Marcella Schwery, 68 from Panama is thought to have crossed the center line hitting a car being driven by Christina Cotant, 26 of Avoca. It looks like three people were killed including Robert Schwery, 71 of Panama. Check out the article here. If the cause of this head-on collision is accurate then Schwery would be the at-fault driver, although if there was a medical emergency she may not have been excused from her fault. Interesting huh?

Playing by the rules - More charges came out of Polk County over the filmmakers’ use of tax credits. See the article here. These have to do with two California filmmakers. Can you say black eye?

The Economy makes people do stupid things - From Iowa Orchard we have the Great Pumpkin caper and 220 pumpkins going missing. Seems like a sign of these bad economic times. 

High speed chase in Urbandale following a Medicap Pharmacy burglary call. This reminds me of the case involving the burglar who stole the erectile dysfunction drugs. The APB was for a hardened criminal. Which brings us right on to our next criminal case, one for assault.

A better way to get men to ask you out than joining eHarmony, Match.com or any of the other dating sites. This method beats having a Facebook page although the FB page might enhance the publicity you get. Woman Accused Of Hitting Boyfriend Who Refused Sex

A Johnson County judge declared a mistrial in a first-degree murder trial involving a 19-year-old man allegedly shooting a landlord. Whether the prosecutorial misconduct reaches the level where it triggers double jeopardy will be later determined. The mistrial declaration followed the showing a video tape that included references to excluded evidence. Oops!

Big brother has a very fat finger. Traffic cameras capture one license plate but the fat fingered operator entered another and sent a ticket to the wrong person. Poor Sarah Sharpnack has a car with the license plate 972YOB and the video shows a white pickup truck with license plate 972YDB. Hmmmm…. Garbage in garbage out. 

The Des Moines City Council approved a $500,000 claim involving excessive force.

A 61-year-old man apparently fell off his deck and died of blunt force trauma. It would be interesting to know if the blunt force was to the head. There is no indication as to how high the deck was from the ground.

Twin 11-month old infants died from what is characterized as a bathtub incident. No details in the KCCI article. This is not an Iowa case; it was simply reported in Iowa from Wisconsin. 

We were discussing texting while driving and I’ve now been informed that texting is dead, finished, gone by the wayside, done, fini, finished, passé’. Yes sir they no longer are texting. Now they Facebook while driving. Using Facebook’s news feed the drivers are looking at pictures, reading text and posting to their FB pages while they attempt to drive.

Texting is so yesterday.

Distracted driving and dumb drivers are a lethal combination. Here are today’s articles on wrong-way drivers. 

Please follow these directions to know how to post that you're on the way to the morgue: 

http://youtu.be/dES9_n7ou8w

Wrong-way driver near Bemidji causes numerous crashes
Bemidji Pioneer
The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office received at least 15 911 calls reporting the wrong-way driver about four miles north of Bemidji and then progressing from Highway 89 to US Highway 2, going east in the westbound lanes. The driver ran numerous ...

Wrongway Driver Expected to Be Charged In Crash Injuring Chesterfield Pair
Patch.com
Patch Staff The 53-year-old driver of a Chevy Tahoe was expected to be charged in the Wildhorse Creek Road crash Friday that critically injured Chesterfield residents Janet Esrock, a Whitfield School teacher, and 16-year-old son Jonathan Esrock, ...

Wrong-way driver hits four vehicles; Ada woman critically injured
Crookston Daily Times
By Staff reports A four-vehicle accident involving a Solway man driving the wrong way near Bemidji left an Ada woman in critical condition Wednesday night, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Andrea Konoske Waagen, 27, and her passenger Delsie E. ...

Wrong way driver charged in fatal Billings crash
KPAX-TV
BILLINGS- A Laurel woman has been charged for driving the wrong way on Interstate-90, causing a collision that killed a Billings man. Kristy Ann Fox, 34, has been charged with two felonies, vehicular homicide while under the influence and criminal ...

Wrong way driver causes crash on I-275 in St. Petersburg
WTSP 10 News
St. Petersburg, Florida - Traffic was backed up along I-275 in south St. Petersburg after a driver drove the wrong way, driving north in the southbound lanes and causing several cars to collide. It happened on the Interstate at 54th Avenue South, ...

Speeding Wrong-Way Driver Crash Sends 4 To Hospital
WTAE Pittsburgh
PENN HILLS, Pa. -- Four people were hurt when two vehicles collided at the intersection of Coal Hollow and Frankstown Roads late Tuesday evening, according to Penn Hills Police. According to police, one vehicle was speeding, as well as driving in the ...

Wrong-way vehicle crash kills Azle woman, 21
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Police have not determined where the pickup driver started going north in the southbound lanes before the crash occurred near the Texas Motor Speedway near Texas 114. "We've determined that Fort Worth police got a call about a wrong-way driver," ...

Driver allegedly involved in drug deal smashes into County Jail
Los Angeles Times
Undercover narcotics officers saw the transaction about 4:30 pm and began following the man, who started to drive the wrong way through downtown, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The officers stopped their pursuit, police said, but the driver ...

Teen convicted in wrong-way crash that killed 2
Richmond Times Dispatch
With a learner's permit but no driver's license, 17-year-old Jose F. Martinez hopped into his father's GMC Yukon after drinking five to seven shots of tequila and took to the road at about 2:30 am to meet his girlfriend. Intoxicated, disoriented and ...

Wrong-Way Driver Causes Serious Accident Near Bemidji « CBS ...
By Alison Lorge
A wrong-way driver caused a crash on Highway 2 that sent several people to the hospital Thursday night.

Wrong-way driver Leonel Hernandez-Ocampo arrested after two ...
A husband and wife killed in a head-on crash Saturday night were on their way home after a day of attending two birthday parties, including that of the man's ...

Wrong way driver charged in fatal I-90 accident | KXLH.com | Helena ...
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Before talking to the insurance adjuster or defense attorney or the case mismanager remember this from I Claudius, don't touch the figs.

The premise held by most clients is that this system of law is fair. They'll say they want only to be treated fairly. When representing themselves they make the assumption that when defense lawyers talk to you they will be fair. Well I'm here to tell you, you had better not trust in being treated fairly. I mean exactly that and it has nothing to do with whether or not the defense lawyer or the insurance company is dishonest. They don’t have to be “honest” and they aren’t trying to be “fair”. Fact is they are hoping you aren’t smart enough to ask the right questions so they don’t have to not answer you. You think I’m kidding? Hell no. I’m not and I can prove I’m right. Here let me prove it to you.

Defense work has nothing to do with treating people fairly. If it did you could come up with the name of at least one defense lawyer who has said in the past, "I don't think you're asking for enough, can I pay you more?" Or, "Did you know you're entitled under the law to be paid more for your damages?” Go ahead find me one insurance company representative that has said that in the entire history of insurance. Go ahead, think real hard; I can wait, go ahead and think harder.

Umnnn dee dum, dee-dum... Have you remembered one? No? I didn't think so. I've not heard anything like that in 30 years.

Updated: This is too funny. I had a link to an insurance company's YouTube ad and they actually took it down so I could not tag them with how deceptive it is. Can you believe it? Yeah that's what they do. They advertise when they need more money, lie to you the premium payer and then when we lawyers point it out they take down what they said to erase the lie. That's reality folks, that's the insurance industry. 

In other words the defense lawyer's job is to treat you in a way to take advantage of your ignorance of the law as well as your mistakes. Frankly because this isn't about fairness their job is to treat you unfairly. Ethically they can, do and must treat you unfairly as most people think about the idea of fairness.

Fairness dictates honestly and with openness and candor. But ethics require the lawyer to maintain confidences provided by the client. I as your lawyer have to be candid and open with my client and if you're my client I act ethically. But the insurance company's lawyer isn't your lawyer and you the injured person aren't his client. So candor isn't going to be happening between the two of you. That's not the hand of a friend reaching out to shake your hand; the handshake being a sign of friendship, but this one is not one from a friend. Never confuse friendliness with friendship. The two are not one and the same.

The defense attorney or the insurance company representatives are like the slithering snake that delivers the poison being slipped into the wine goblet from which the injured drink.  Now you understand the legal concept of "fairness".

A gay couple applied for a marriage license and were denied the license;l then sued the Clerk of Court asking the Court to order the Clerk to issue the license. The gay couple argued when it came to marriage license issuance, the Equal Protection Clause required gay and straight couples to be treated equally. The Iowa Supreme Court heard the case, agreed and held the Clerk of Courts in Iowa's 99 counties were required to issue gay couples a marriage license. So far no big deal, right? Iowans against the ruling banned together with homophobes from across the country and as bigots will do they organized a campaign to not retain the three Iowa Supreme Court Justices whose names would be on the next ballot in November 2010. Under Iowa law members of the judiciary must stand for a "retention vote" every so often. That is a mechanism allowing the public to remove judges if they don't like their rulings. In November 2010 three Justices were narrowly voted out of office all over the gay-marriage-license decision. One of those Justices is Michael Streit, a very clever writer whose opinions I have enjoyed reading over the years. One day I'll write a blog using his very cleverly worded decisions, but not today. Today we are going to focus on his comments last week.

Justice Streit this week spoke at the University of Iowa College of Law and stated: "As far as what goes in the future, I think that judges, if they face real opposition, cannot sit back quietly and wait for voters to do what is right. I think they're going to have to campaign, and that means they're going to have to raise money. They're going to have to tell people, I will be fair and impartial, but please, I need $100,000."

What I believe Justice Streit is incorrect about is the amount the judges and justices will need to fight hate groups. You won’t need $100,000 you’ll need $250,000. Aside from the amount I have to agree with him.

You will recall Michael Streit is one of the Iowa Supreme Court Justices not retained in this past election. I’ve advocated that Iowa’s judiciary blog to protect their brand, the Iowa Constitution. So far no one is taking that idea seriously, but they will in time.

Streit in his comments invoked the Green Day song "American Idiot" to describe the forces that successfully campaigned for his removal.

Here is to you Michael, you’re right on the money with this idea. Don’t ever wonder why Iowa experiences brain drain. The young people of this state look at the old bigots and say, ‘Why stay?’ Onward we march.

Here are the lyrics to American Idiot by Green Day.

"American Idiot"

Don't want to be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind fuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along to the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Don't want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Send "American Idiot" Ringtone to your Cell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yi-LvnM_5M

Don’t make Iowa a place for American Idiot!

Post on Governor Branstad’s Facebook Page: Don’t make Iowa a place for American Idiots!

Join us to tell Governor Branstad you don’t want Iowa to be a place for American Idiots.

http://www.governor.iowa.gov/ and http://www.facebook.com/TerryBranstad

Office of the Governor
State Capitol | 1007 East Grand Ave. | Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Phone: 515.281.5211 | Contact Us

Perhaps we should have a contest to see how many ways we Iowans can come up with, to dehumanize our cities and towns.

• How about sidewalk cameras for those that don’t shovel their sidewalks?
• Or we could pay people a bounty to snitch on their neighbors. That would be a real communist community builder.
• And let’s not forget spitting. If we pass a spitting ordinance we could make a bundle with camers where people do a lot of spitting.
• Ugly tattoos or tattoos with little or no taste. If we commission tattoo police we could increase revenues for the road construction companies and others that pay so much in campaign contributions to politicians who then need to pay them back with spending from the public till.
• Fashion police! Oh that would be great and we could air it on YouTube or one of Iowa’s TV stations and have wagers as to who is dressed the worse; sort of like dancing with the stars. The Iowa State Fair would take on a whole new meaning.
• And how about selling corporate naming rights for the prisons? We'll need more prisons so perhaps Kinnick Stadium could used as a prisoner exercise yard.

Hey all you young minds, send in your suggestions and I’ll print them. If we are going to act like a communist country we might as well do it right.