What happened in Fort Dodge on Webster County Road P59?

Let’s star this road show with a little number by Kelly Jo Phelps. Click, play and then start to read.

I’m sick and tired of reading stories like this next one. According to KCCI a 690year-old woman from Clarinda was heading south on P59, a truck being driven by a 17-year-old was heading north. The news report has the teen crossing the center line and striking the elderly woman's car head-on. I can’t say this is how the accident happened but let’s assume it is true as to how the accident occurred. (i.e., he crossed the center line)

First question that comes to mind is this: Was anyone while driving using a cell phone for anything, talking, texting or dialing a number? If not what other distractions were in the driver’s seat? A person doesn't just drive over the center line without some distraction. Either you're driving under control or you aren't. There is no DMZ in the driver's seat. Would it make a difference to you tort reformers if driver's are texting as to whether or not people should sue? Huh? Speak up after all, the next woman may be your mother or wife, daughter, aunt or sister. 

This is where trial lawyers come into play. What we do is fine tune the accident investigation and dig up the finer details that aren’t so apparent to the officer. That’s our job; it’s what we do that makes the case.

Did you know that research is showing texting and use of cell phones while driving increases the risk of an accident similar to driving while drunk? So no matter how old you are, no matter how much you dislike lawyers and suing remember only you can prevent the next cell phone distracted driving accident. Maybe this is why tort reformers won’t sign my form to exclude them from the civil justice system, while telling you to not go to a lawyer. Ya think?

"Let's take away their right to buy booze. Taking away the driver's license isn't enough."

Wrong-way driver charged with DUI
Norwich Bulletin
4, 2010, Ellen H. Noordzy, 22, was reportedly driving the wrong way on the southbound side of I-95, in the area of exit 93, when state police said she struck a southbound car head-on. The two occupants of the car Noordzy hit, Bruce A. Wall, 22, ...

Charges Upgraded against Wrong-Way Driver
MyFox Dallas
FORT WORTH, Texas - Tarrant County prosecutors have raised the charges on a wrong-way driver from intoxication manslaughter to murder. The district attorney's office said it felt as thought the case against 25-year-old Brittany Burton had special ...

Car driving wrong way hits patrol car on Interstate 90
Helena Independent Record
She was driving her 1995 Chevrolet Corsica eastbound in the westbound lane near the Pipestone exit, west of Whitehall, just after 7 pm, authorities said. After receiving several 911 calls from motorists about a wrong-way driver, a Jefferson County ...

Montana Minute: wrong-way driver; suspect caught; MHP ceremony
KRTV Great Falls News
Darrell Shepherd, a semi truck driver who claims someone was chasing him the wrong way down the interstate, pleaded not guilty in Missoula. Shepherd faces three counts of felony criminal endangerment. Several drivers had to swerve out of his way to ...

Wrong-way Driver Killed on Highway 15
WBAY
Authorities at the scene of a fatal crash in Outagamie County say the driver who died was going the wrong way on Highway 15. The crash happened at 12:30 Tuesday afternoon just west of the intersection of Highway 76. The sheriff's department says a ...

Wrong-way Driver Killed on Highway 15
WBAY
Authorities at the scene of a fatal crash in Outagamie County say the driver who died was going the wrong way on Highway 15. The crash happened at 12:30 Tuesday afternoon just west of the intersection of Highway 76. The sheriff's department says a ...

Patrol: Wrong-way driver forced off I-26, arrested
The State
Since 2010, two people have died in similar wrong-way incidents on the same stretch of Interstate 26, the patrol said. “It is not uncommon for troopers to get reports of wrong-way drivers on interstates. These situations typically end in a serious ...

Wrong-way driver wrecks, closing Beltway 8
Houston Chronicle
A wrong-way driver slammed into another vehicle in a traffic wreck on the west Sam Houston Parkway in southwest Houston early Tuesday morning. The two-vehicle crash occurred on the northbound lanes of Beltway 8 near Bissonnet about 4 am, according to ...

Wrong Way Driver Dies In Head-On Crash
FOX2now.com
A man is dead after authorities say he drove the wrong direction on Highway 40 and crashed into another vehicle. The accident happened around 9:45 pm Thursday near Boone's Crossings in Chesterfield. Police say James Gobble, 35, of Chesterfield was ...

Relatives of man killed in wrong-way driving case in Fort Worth sought
Fort Worth Star Telegram
By Domingo Ramirez Jr. and Alex Branch FORT WORTH - Authorities were searching Sunday for relatives of a man who was killed late Saturday in a traffic accident on the South Freeway caused by a wrong-way driver. The 47-year-old victim who died at the ...

Father grieves for daughter killed in wrong-way driving crash ...
Nicole, a recent graduate at UW-Whitewater, was on her way home from work early one morning in January 2007. She was on I-94 near Cottage Grove when the unthinkable happened.

Raw: Wrong-way driver hits minivan, pickup on 290 | khou.com ...
Three vehicles were involved in a crash caused by a wrong-way driver on Highway 290 Tuesday morning.

Patrol: Wrong-way driver forced off I-26, arrested - Crime & Courts ...
A highway patrolman forced a driver who was travelling the wrong way on Interstate-26 off the road early Wednesday morning, the South Carolina Highway ...

Police arrest wrong-way driver on West Side|WOAI: San Antonio News
San Antonio police said a wrong-way driver was arrested after leading officers on a short chase on the West Side Wednesday night.

Woman charged with assault, drunken driving in 2010 crash on I-95 ...
4, 2010, Ellen H. Noordzy, 22, was driving the wrong way on the southbound side of I-95, in the area of exit 93, when state police said she struck a southbound ...

Wrong way driver causes crash on Bypass 20 - wsbtradio.com
ST JOSEPH COUNTY – Police responded to a wrong way driver between Mishawaka and South Bend Thursday afternoon when a person drove onto an exit ...

• 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

The Workers Compensation Research Institute touts itself as the leading independent research organization researching and analyzing workers’ compensation issues. But it’s anything but independent or objective. First of all the “group” is not open to the public, it’s private and not anyone can join the group. Where are the lawyer members who represent injured workers? To gain access to the WCRI site you must apply for membership, a method employed by groups who do not wish members who might display objectivity that might question their methods or conclusions. These types of groups are the one’s buying influence in Washington, DC – the same ones that have our Congress in their back pockets.

Further titles suggest the Insurance Journal is just one more arm of the propaganda machine of the insurance industry. It’s the same arm that promotes fiction rather than fact for the sake of marketing and promoting the float.

See Fast Growth in Price for Non-Hospital Services in Indiana Work Comp.

The article written by Rick Ruggles of the World-Herald out of Omaha, explores the dangers, past and present, of farming in rural America. While the article points to engineering as making farming safer it fails to point out how lawyers have contributed to pressuring the re-engineering of farm equipment to make it safer.

Like it or not, lawsuits have done much to make farming a safer profession.

  The three examples that come to mind are unshielded PTO shafts, augers and tractors sold without rollover protection (ROPS). Those three pieces of farm machinery did more damage to limbs and took more lives than probably any other dangers in farming; one still does. Manufacturers packed the standard writing organizations with like-minded engineers who argued changes weren’t feasible. Farmers continued to die while lawyers poured their own funds into litigation suing manufacturers to force loftier engineering standards that ultimately resulted in safer farming equipment.

Of course farmers should hug us not hate us. 

So say you hate us all you want, but we ain’t going away and it has everything to do with life and limb compromised by unsafe products and services. And as personal injury lawyers we know better than to simply catalogue the progress without following the money; our money and what it’s done for farm safety. Turn us away from the courthouses and you shortchange yourself and increase the risks you face while farming. It's pretty simple and sometimes referred to as the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

• Suffocation from quick sand like corn or beans in a bin
• Unshielded PTO shafts
• Tractors on uneven ground and rolling over crushing the driver
• Unshielded Auger Power Shafts
• Being kicked by an animal
• Being overtaken by cold weather in an unprotected location
• Being crushed by machinery
• Losing a limb from working around pinch points and other moving parts
• Being overcome by anhydrous ammonia
• Falling from heights without a fall protection harness
• Being in an accident on the rural farm-to-market roads while driving heavy equipment
• Dying from exhaustion after putting in long hours during harvest

  ---

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

• NSC: Data Still Shows Dangers of Farming, Editorial Staff
• Danger on the farm, Rick Ruggles, World-Herald Staff Writer
• Farmed And Dangerous, Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform
• Accidents a reminder of farming dangers, Jennifer Ewoldt, The Quad-City Times
• Farm Safety, Kids Health
• The Dangers of Farming, Local Harvest
• The Dangers of Industrial Farming, Bryan Welch, Mother Earth News

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. 

Animals, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, 1965

We are back again with more wrong-way driving incidents on the interstate highway system across America. Let’s do the tally:

Places with and alleged reasons for Wrong-way drivers:

Honolulu, Hawaii with a young man balancing two jobs and probably tired (It is unknown at this time if speed, drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash, which occurred under clear skies in a well-lit area of the freeway.).

South Kingstown, Rhode Island, here is a quote: “Woods failed to perform the field sobriety tests to the satisfaction of the officers and was subsequently placed under arrest.”; moving on we head to

Doralville, Georgia where the wrong-way driver is reported by the news source to have been driving under the influence and after driving the wrong direction on Interstate 20 struck the car of a police officer, killing the detective. Another linked story with video. Mug shot of suspect.

Pewaukee, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, I-94 – “The Waukesha County Medical Examiner's Office is now reporting Ewing had a blood alcohol level of .35, nearly five times the legal limit.”

Franklin, Indiana – Johnson County, U.S. 31 south – “ … arrested on charges of operating while intoxicated, burglary and possession of stolen property, Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said.”

Chaska, Minnesota, Audobon Road – cause unreported although there is a hint in the following quote: “A Shakopee man was killed and three people were injured in a head-on collision Friday evening in Chaska.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Interesting story, FOX6 Investigation: What do all nine wrong way driving incidents have in common?

Nine wrong way driving cases on Milwaukee freeways in 2011

In 2009 nationwide, more than 1,700 people died in wrong way crashes. The problem has gotten so bad in Arizona that officials are now testing sensors that will detect if there is a wrong way driver, and notify others on the highway with electronic signs. Highway safety experts say all you can really do if you come in contact with a wrong way driver, is flash your high beams, and try to determine what lane the driver is in. Most often, they'll be in the fast lane, because they think they're in the slow lane.

Hartford, Connecticut – I-84 near exit 47. “A man from Windsor is facing DUI charges after a wrong-way crash Wednesday night on I-84 in Hartford” A second link to this incident.

“Martin Ballines Rios, 40, was driving south in the northbound lane of Audobon Road at Wildflower Lane just before 7:30 p.m. when he struck a pickup truck driving north.

Ballines Rios died at the scene.

The truck's driver and two passengers, all from Victoria, Minn., were treated at Ridgeview Hospital in Chaska and released, according to the Chaska Police Department.

Alcohol was detected on Ballines Rios, according to the State Patrol. “

Boone County, Indiana – I-465. “Investigators say open alcohol containers were found in the Pontiac.”

Here are links to all of these incidents. Remember we’ve been covering wrong-way driving cases for several years so if you want more information due to a relative or friend who died because of a wrong-way driver give us a call we’d love to talk to you. And check out the top reasons for wrong-way collisions, how to recognize when a wrong-way driver may be coming and how to avoid being struck by a wrong-way driver. It’s at the bottom of this page.

Investigators: Wrong-Way Driver Caused Fatal H-2 Crash
KITV Honolulu
According to traffic investigators, one driver is dead and two others injured after a wrong-way driver caused a three-car crash on the H-2 freeway Saturday morning. Investigators said the crash occurred around 2:20 am Saturday on the H-2 freeway ...

Police Log: Wrong Way Driver Charged With DUI
Patch.com
By Carl Critz Gwendoline Woods, 62, of 2 Colony Rd. in Charlestown was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC of .15 percent or greater on Wednesday, November 16 around 8:50 pm after a traffic stop on Route 1. ...

Wrong way driver causes fatal crash on H-2 Freeway
KHON2
A 40 year-old Wahiawa man was killed when he was hit head-on by a wrong way driver on the H-2 Freeway Saturday morning. It happened at 2:20 am on the north-bound direction near Ka Uka Blvd. Police say a 21 year-old man from Waianae, driving a 1992 ...

DORAVILLE: Wrong-way driver had multiple DUI arrests
WXIA-TV
DORAVILLE, GA -- 11Alive News has learned that man accused of killing a Doraville police detective while allegedly driving drunk and in the wrong direction on Interstate 20 has had several prior arrests, including two drunk driving charges. ...

Wrong-way driver was four times legal limit
Today's TMJ4
By The WTMJ News Team PEWAUKEE - The driver in a double fatal wrong-way crash in Waukesha County was reportedly far over the legal limit. Dawn Ewing crashed head-on into a car after driving about 8 miles the wrong way in the eastbound lanes on I-94 ...

Driver was DUI in wrong-way I-20 crash that killed Doraville cop, police say
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Mike Morris and David Ibata A 39-year-old Dunwoody man was charged Tuesday with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence in a wrong-way crash that killed a police detective on I-20 in DeKalb County, authorities said. ...

Wrong-way driver arrested in Franklin burglaries
Daily Journal
Police responding to a report of a home break-in south of Franklin found the suspect, who was driving the wrong way in the southbound lanes of US 31. In his car, they found a laptop computer and a breast pump that had been taken from the home. ...

Wrong-way driver killed, three hurt in Chaska
Pioneer Press
Martin Ballines Rios, 40, was driving south in the northbound lane of Audobon Road at Wildflower Lane just before 7:30 pm when he struck a pickup truck driving north. The truck's driver and two passengers, all from Victoria, Minn., were treated at ...

Wrong-way driver causes deadly crash on interstate
Fox 59
The driver of the Pontiac died at the scene. His identity has not been release. His passenger and three passengers in the SUV were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators say open alcohol containers were found in the ...

Wrong Way Driver Almost Hits Police Cruiser
KRIS Corpus Christi News
CORPUS CHRISTI - For the second night in a row a suspected drunk driver has been arrested for going the wrong way on city streets. A Corpus Christi police officer had to swerve to get out of the way of a Chevy Silverado heading the wrong way on ...

Tests Show Wrong-Way Driver In Fatal Was Drunk - Milwaukee ...
WAUKESHA, Wis. -- Toxicology shows a wrong-way driver in fatal crash was legally drunk. Friday, November 18, 2011.

Wrong-way driver was four times legal limit - 620 WTMJ ...
The driver in a double fatal wrong-way crash in Waukesha County was reportedly far over the legal limit.

Doraville Officer Killed In Wrong Way Crash « CBS Atlanta
By psati
Investigators say a Doraville police officer on his way to work, was killed early Monday, when a wrong way driver slammed into his car on I-20, in a pre dawn crash in DeKalb County.

DORAVILLE: Wrong-way driver had multiple DUI arrests | 11alive.com
DORAVILLE, GA -- 11Alive News has learned that man accused of killing a Doraville police detective while allegedly driving drunk and in the wrong direction on ...

Georgia Police Officer Killed by Wrong-Way Driver - Officer.com
Georgia Police Officer Killed by Wrong-Way Driver. Video. Created: November 14 , 2011. Recommend · Twitter · Share · Print ...

Wrong Way Driver Almost Hits Police Cruiser | Corpus Christi, TX ...
CORPUS CHRISTI - For the second night in a row a suspected drunk driver has been arrested for going the wrong way on city streets.

YouTube wrong way crash driver Shazida Begum banned
BBC News
A woman who admitted driving the wrong way down the slip road of a busy dual carriageway and crashing into two lorries has been fined and banned. The crashes happened in March on the A90 Aberdeen to Stonehaven road. Begum, 21, was fined £700 and banned ...

Driver was DUI in wrong-way I-20 crash that killed Doraville cop, police say
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Mike Morris and David Ibata A 39-year-old Dunwoody man was charged Tuesday with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence in a wrong-way crash that killed a police detective on I-20 in DeKalb County, authorities said. ...

FOX6 Investigation: What do all nine wrong way driving incidents have in common?
FOX6Now.com Milwaukee
There have been several wrong-way drivers on Milwaukee's freeways, who eventually end up involved in crashes. The latest involved Dawn Ewing, who drove the wrong way for at least seven miles, before hitting the vehicle driven by father of three, ...

Wrong-way driver arrested in Franklin burglaries
Daily Journal
Police responding to a report of a home break-in south of Franklin found the suspect, who wasdriving the wrong way in the southbound lanes of US 31. In his car, they found a laptop computer and a breast pump that had been taken from the home. ...

Wrong-way driver on Hwy. 61 causes accident
Winona Daily News
An intoxicated underage Winona woman drove the wrong way on US Hwy. 61 Friday night, causing one crash that injured a woman before a second driver followed her and turned her in, according to the Minnesota State Patrol and Winona County Sheriff's ...

Wrong-way driver fleeing police goes to HPD parking lot
Houston Chronicle
Clark said York entered the 610 Loop in the Bellaire area going the wrong way and drove to US 290. Oncoming motorists had to maneuver out of his path. At times the chase reached speeds up to about 80 mph. York exited the freeway at Tidwell, driving the ...

SAPD arrests wrong-way driver on suspicion of DWI
KENS 5 TV
by Stacia Willson / KENS 5 A wrong-way driver sent police officers on a short chase overnight, and as it turns out, the suspect may have been intoxicated. San Antonio police received reports about an erratic driver at about 1:45 am Monday. ...

New technologies could prevent wrong-way drivers
Today's TMJ4
Drivers take a wrong turn and end up driving the wrong-way on the highway. The most recent case ended with two people killed. Wrong-way sensors have worked in North Texas. "We had a 44% percent reduction in wrong-way crashes and a 100% reduction in ...

Fugitive wanted in wrong-way fatal crash that killed Queens bar owner George ...
New York Daily News
He was sought for being the wrong-way driver who slammed his girlfriend's car into a livery cab in Queens last month, killing the livery passenger, Maspeth bar owner George Gibbons. Authorities pinched a fugitive in Connecticut Tuesday who was wanted ...

Man driving wrong way on SPID suspected of drunken driving, Corpus Christi ...
Corpus Christi Caller Times
An off-duty police technician reported a blue 1997 Pontiac Firebird going the wrong way on the highway near the Laguna Shores Drive exit, according to a news release. Police stopped the driver, who appeared intoxicated. He failed a field sobriety test, ...

Police: Drunk wrong-way driver kills man | Local & Regional News ...
One person is dead and at least one person is injured after an accident Tuesday night on I-105 in Eugene.
KVAL 13 - Local & Regional News...

Doraville Officer Killed In Wrong Way Crash « CBS Atlanta
By psati
Investigators say a Doraville police officer on his way to work, was killed early Monday, when a wrong way driver slammed into his car on I-20, in a pre dawn crash in DeKalb County.
CBS Atlanta

SAPD arrests wrong-way driver on suspicion of DWI | kens5.com ...
A wrong-way driver sent police officers on a short chase overnight, and as it turns out, the suspect may have been intoxicated.

Wrong-way driver faces DUI charges - WFSB Channel 3
A man from Windsor is facing DUI charges after a wrong-way crash Wednesday night on I-84 in Hartford.

Wrong-way driver on Hwy. 61 causes accident
An intoxicated underage Winona woman drove the wrong way on U.S. Hwy. 61 Friday night, causing one crash that injured a woman before a second driver ...

Wrong-way driver in deadly crash had prior DUI arrest | 11alive.com
Wrong-way driver in deadly crash had prior DUI arrest. 5:28 PM, Nov 15, 2011 | comments. Gene Jones has been charged with DUI in the death of a Det. Shane ...

Wrong-way Drivers on the interstate highway

If you think wrong-way drivers on the Interstate Highway system is a once-in-a-while thing, think again. Look at these reports from Google. It seems like there is an epidemic of wrong-way collisions and crashes out there. We've had several wrong-way drivers and accidents in Iowa.

About wrong-way drivers

Wrong way drivers present an obvious danger to all motorists on our highways. 

The most recent available crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates wrong way drivers are involved in 1.5 percent of all fatal crashes.

Drivers who travel the wrong way on one way highways generally fall into one of eight different categories: 

• Intoxicated driver
• Older drivers who easily get confused
• Purposeful acts including attempts to commit suicide and criminals attempting to elude the police
• Inattentive drivers who mistake an off-ramp for an on-ramp
• Mental defect or disease
• Prescription drug intoxication
• Inexperience
• GPS providing incorrect, inaccurate or confusing information

Safety tips and information related to wrong way driver situations: 

• Watch far ahead for signs of a possible wrong way driver, looking for signs similar to pending problems or developing emergency situations such as other traffic braking or swerving to avoid something, or the obvious - headlights coming in the opposite direction.
• Caution against driving long periods in the left lane on freeways, especially on curves and over a hill or any rise in the road where you aren’t able to clearly see ahead.
• Be aware that wrong way drivers usually drive in the passing lane believing they are actually on a two-lane highway.
• The most common types of wrong way crashes are head-on or sideswipe crashes.

What should you do if you see a wrong-way driver?

• Get to the shoulder and stop.
• If you can’t get to the shoulder, slow down and attempt to safely stop your vehicle by pulling to the right.
• Sound your horn.
• Put on your lights and flash the high beams.
• Call 9-1-1.
• Before getting in the car wear your seat belts.
• Drive in the right hand lane of travel on the Interstate.
• When passing or coming to the crest of a hill look ahead for a wrong-way driver making sure the lane is clear.
• Assume when in the left hand lane of a divided highway that you may come upon a wrong-way driver.
• When driving on a divided highway stay vigilant and pay attention to what is ahead of you. Avoid allowing distractions to take your attention off the road ahead.

How can drivers avoid wrong-way driving?

• Don’t drive drunk.
• When coming to a divided highway come to a complete stop, look at and read the signs, making sure you know which way to go.
• Don’t allow vehicles to the rear to rush you.
• Stay off the telephone when driving.
• Don’t allow distractions to interfere with being vigilant about your driving.
• If you’re a young driver, don’t drive when the other passengers are a distraction.
• If you’re an elderly driver, get evaluated once a year to see if your senses and skill level allow you to safely drive. Don’t be so stubborn about giving up your driver’s license that you ignore the signs of perception difficulties. Invest in and use a GPS.
• Pay particular attention when driving north for southbound wrong-way drivers. For whatever reason there were more of these direction wrong-way drivers than any other.
• Pay particular attention when driving after midnight and 2:30 a.m.

What else needs to happen to reduce wrong-way collisions?

• States could identify the locations of repeated wrong-way entry points. Those points could be redesigned including tire puncture equipment such as we see in use at most parking ramps.
• The Court’s must get very tough on drunk drivers and those who cause collisions from being on cell phones (talking or texting); more than they already have been.
• The DOT should begin an education campaign for drivers to recognize and avoid wrong-way drivers.
• The DOT should begin an education campaign to instruct drivers what to do when a wrong-way driver approaches.
• States should further study wrong-way avoidance road and sign designs.
• State DOT’s should consider a different middle line design with hash marks bent in the direction of travel and against the opposing direction.
• Juries in civil actions need to send a clear message to offenders with large punitive damage awards.
• The DOT needs to evaluate older drivers annually for visual and mental awareness; taking away driving privileges where there is risk.
• Lawyers need to plead punitive damages in wrong-way collisions.
• Victims need to be educated on what to do when they are involved in a wrong-way collision.
• Witnesses of wrong-way collisions need to get involved with identifying themselves to police officers investigating a wrong-way collision. Those witnesses may have very valuable information to helping identify the entry points, causes and preventive measures.
• DOT accident forms need to be amended to allow the collection of information to identify characteristics associated with causing wrong-way entry points, times when wrong-way collisions are most likely to occur and driver characteristics of those likely to drive the wrong-way. Children and friends of older drivers need to get involved with identifying those likely wrong-way drivers.
• States should consider a radio system that would allow public service interruptions, like what is done on television when a weather emergency is eminent. It wouldn’t be perfect (not all radios are on) but something is perhaps better than nothing.

If you’re in an accident on I-35, I-80 or I-235 or any of the other interstate highways in Iowa give me a call. If on I-35 we can help you; so feel free to contact us and as always because we’d rather you call sooner than later.

• Steve Lombardi, 1300 37^th Street, Suite 6, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266
• Tel: 515-222-1110 Fax: 515-222-0718 Email: sdlombardi@aol.com

Social networking spat ends in arson charges for woman, Des Moines Register

We thought proving ownership of the cow would be as easy as someone being honest and coming forward to admit ownership. But that's not how it's working in rural Iowa. Honesty about ownership is one concept you are not likely to find.

These are tough cases to prove as to who owned the cow. Ownership is extremely important and that means the lawyers need to be involved as quickly as possible.

Did law enforcement help? The Sheriff's are elected officials who look only so far probably not wanting to anger any of the locals. Not proving ownership in some ways gets them re elected. Law enforcement's paperwork on past instances where cows got out is in most instances, Sorry Charlie it's not available. The Sheriff's offices are little or no help. 

Local knowledge washes away with the filing of a lawsuit. If there is no lawsuit every farmer will know who’s cows regularly get out onto the highway and who has lousy fences. File suit and it’s like you are on another planet. Everyone has amnesia. The locals go mute because they are for the most part deaf, dumb and half blind.

Yet everyone knows how many cows they own, where they are and I'm sure someone took a tax-write-off for a dead cow. Still no one is missing a cow.

What about tax write-offs for death and depreciation schedules? You'd be surprised how many floods rural Iowa has and how many farmers keep their tax returns in locations in the house that flood. File one of these suits and you'll soon see the flooding in Iowa’s farm basements is Biblical. Noah must be living in the basements of Iowa's farms.

Anytime you read of such a case and either know the family involved or the family comes to you for advice DO NOT SIT ON THE CASE. If you don't know what to do get someone involved that does and do it quickly. If you really don't understand the case law or proof problems refer the case and move on with your practice. Like I said the proof problems are extremely difficult and the paper trails are for the most part in the hands of farmers who don't give them up very easily.

I’ll bet if I was rustling cattle everyone would know whose cow it is that I stole. Moooooo...

The local Sheriff, a farmer and their tax preparer. Iowa's best and brightest. Do as I say not as I do.

It’s all going to come down to whether Wheeler, the former film chief, approved the expenditures and if he did, should those benefiting have believing the approval to be reasonable and legal under the law. What’s gone on with Iowa’s film credit tax program has been an eye opener for the state as well as a black eye. What should have been a good thing for the state has turned into a mess.

Barbara and I just returned from Beaufort, South Carolina where The Big Chill was filmed. (See Internet Movie Database)Having a blockbuster or classic film shot in a community can add to the culture and mystic. But doing it the way we did has to send a message to stay away.

California man charged with theft in film scandal, Des Moines Register, Lee Rood reporting, October 26, 2011. 

As a personal injury lawyer it’s my business to worry about girls with ponytails.

I took a break from blogging, but I think I’m back. Then again who knows, but here is why I took a break from blogging.

I’ve been blogging for four or five years. Frankly I can’t recall because how long I’ve been writing is meaningless as to whether what I write is worth reading. I write how I feel and think about law and what I do for a living as a personal injury lawyer. Blogging on the LexBlog site is more therapeutic than anything else. So what happened that made me stop writing?

First and foremost you have to know I’m a personal injury attorney. Most people dislike us and what we do; they think we are greedy. I probably am because I hate being poor and my mother raised me to be a capitalist. But I won’t make any apology for what I do or how I do it because what I do is too important to stop. 

Frivolous? What’s frivolous? Who defines a frivolous claim? You, me or they?

Yeah well get a clue because there are no frivolous claims in our court system; at least not here in Iowa. And don’t mention to me the McDonald’s verdict because frankly very few people know what that case was about. If you want to see frivolous, then take a look at what’s plead as a defense. There are liars and cheats but not frivolous lawsuits; and there are liars and cheats on both sides of some lawsuits. It’s my opinion there are more liars on the insurance side than the injured side, but that’s just my opinion. If you understood anything about the business of practicing law you’d understand that contingent fee cases can’t be frivolous because lawyers have bills to pay and valueless claims are worthless producing no fee.

Zippo, nadda, nothing, zilch.

This entire frivolous crap shoot took away my clients’ right to seek redress in the Courts. The entire frivolous political rhetoric got me pissed off and the more I heard from conservatives about it the more pissed off I became.

Tort reform has nothing to do with frivolous claims. It has to do with profits. Taking money from the injured and leaving it in the hands of insurance execs who then write themselves huge million dollar bonuses for having successfully cheated the injured. After the tort reform bandwagon got cranked up the harder it became for us to do for people what they needed done. I’m in the business to help people and the harder it got to help people the more pissed off it made me.

Folks, I’m a Republican and there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. They are all gaming us to keep the discretionary spending control passing back and forth to simply take advantage of us, the taxpayers. They leave Congress wealthy because of trading stock options selected by knowing where the money will go long before they vote. Get a clue; it’s not about tort reform it’s about the golden rule. And injured people don’t own gold so they don’t make the rules to benefit the injured. I grew tired of this issue and how it affects those who need my help. I grew tired of marketing people telling me to be a good guy when what I’d really like to do is throttle those in power who distort the tort system for their own profit taking.

I’ve been writing blogs about car, motorcycle and truck accidents nonstop for a long-long time. I write nearly 1,000 blogs per year on average and every blog post is about someone who is either killed, seriously injured or can’t put food on the table. I’ve listened to the marketing guys tell us personal injury lawyers we need to appear like good guys; building image so when people need us they think of us as good guys. Horseshit. That’s like telling your oncologist to stop talking to his patients about cancer and instead to learn how to tell a good joke. We deal in blood, guts, death, brain damage, severed limbs, lies, liars, greed, tears, how to put food on the table, how to bury someone that hasn’t a burial insurance policy, how to get the life insurance out of the girlfriend’s hands and into the infant children’s stomachs or any of the other million problems people create by making poor decisions and then coming to me and asking me to walk on water. Negligence, fault and frankly just being an asshole is what I deal with on a daily basis. I don’t deal in nice things; I earn a living by spending my money to rebuild lives that are down in life’s muck. When life sucks people come knocking on my door.

“If you want to meet a nice lawyer, then go meet a plastic surgeon who holds a JD degree. Trial lawyers aren’t always nice pleasant people.”

This worry about my clients never takes a vacation in my life. I go to bed thinking about widows and orphans along with injured workers and wake up in the middle of the night with a solution or not. I battle liars and cheats who can think of a million ways to cheat the injured. This has been going on more years than I care to count, but let’s do it. Let’s count the days of my life wallowing in the muck of life. I’m 57 on November 8^th. That means I’ve been alive for 20,805 days. I started this journey to the center of the universal fringe in June 1981; but it actually started at the legal clinic for the poor in Jasper County in 1980. That’s 31 years x 365 days/year which equals 11,315 days and nights. This means 54% of my life has been spent worrying about other people’s problems. You want nice, like I said, go visit a plastic surgeon that makes a million a year smiling at people and has the ability to make them something they aren’t.  

As plaintiff attorneys the issues we wrestle with are difficult.  Drunks kill our clients or leave them to fend for themselves in life. My job is to put on the legal party by interviewing witnesses, collecting the medical records, bills, wage loss, estate values, car damage and all other economic losses. I put the party on; the defense simply has to show up and put arsenic in the punch bowl. I work with imperfect people who do not understand the effort it takes to make the seemingly impossible become reality. I put the party on while the defense shows up with a rifle trying to pick off just one issue. If they are successful my client’s life continues to be crap and my money goes down the drain. It’s not easy.

“It’s what we do as personal injury lawyers. We don’t have to be nice, what we have to do is be effective at problem solving.”

Judges don’t care what my problems are. As they are fond of saying this is not about fairness, it’s about law, sometimes referred to as justice. Yeah right. That’s not why I went to law school. I went to law school to help people not to move words. Money improves lives and puts food on the table not words or wearing a black robe.

So what was the straw that broke the camel’s back and forced me to walk away from blogging for awhile? It all started with reading and writing about car accidents. Then one morning around 7:30 a.m. on a country road in southeastern Iowa I hit the wall. I’m driving down Highway 16 heading towards Quincy, Illinois when I see a Suburban in front of me. It drifts off the road, spits up dust and rock, then comes back onto the hard surface and overcorrects across the center line. This goes on for miles and along the way I drive beeping the horn with a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel just trying to get the driver to pull over so I can talk with her. From behind the Suburban I can see a young high school aged girl with a ponytail that swishes back and forth as she turns her head from side to side. As the Suburban drives past semi-trucks, a tractor pulling a disc, cars and pickup trucks I’m anticipating a head-on collision. For miles I’m practicing a 9-1-1 call and mentally establishing a protocol for triaging the passengers. Who will I go to first? How many will be alive? I can still hear voices crying, moaning, pleading and asking me to help me; I anticipate having to make judgments while holding a cell phone and ordering the ambulance. I can see faces of young pretty girls who I end up making decisions that can either keep them alive or not. On the drive as we progress east on Highway 16 I’m looking in my truck’s cab for what can be used to stop bleeding. I think of my shirt and shuck off the embarrassment of how out of shape I am. I wonder how many will be in the other car or trucks that are not so lucky to get by. It bothered me then and it still bothers me today. Frankly I was sick and tired of personal injury. The incident made it all too viseral for me. I just couldn't write anymore.

Video Dash Cam from Iowa State Patrol

And so after this was resolved and everyone is safe, I was left still with sleep interrupted nights and an inability to write a blog about personal injury accidents. No longer do I want to analyze truck accidents. I start to wonder how the girls in the Suburban are doing. I wonder about their golf season and graduation. Prom and whether they are safe. Maybe it’s my nature and maybe it’s PTSD; I have no idea. I even think about the coach and how lucky she was that I was there that day. Instead of spending the rest of her life in prison she’ll get a short stint in the county jail and her life to rebuild and to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. Instead of misery from sitting alone in a prison cell with her thoughts of having killed young promising girls; she gets to move on with her life. Will she ever thank me? Do I deserve to be thanked? Why am I still pondering these things?

I have no idea why God made me the way I am, but rational thought and reason have no meaning at 2:00 a.m. when you’re staring at the ceiling trying to fall back asleep. So today I’m back to blogging and talking about personal injury law, accidental injury and I’m back to meeting with widows and orphans. To get back I had to ask myself do I really want to do this damn personal injury work; and if so why. The answer is pretty straightforward; it’s no different than the reason why I started in this business of being a lawyer. It’s that damn ponytail. That ponytail on that young lady is what makes her perfect for me and what I like to do. I was given the opportunity to be there and to stop the driver, to maybe save her life and the lives of those she sat with wondering if they would make it out alive. That's what PI work is really about. It's why I like PI work. Frankly it’s my nature and my job to worry about that ponytail. It’s what I’ve done for 31 years and it’s why I’m back to blogging and working the personal injury circuit in the Iowa Courts. It’s what we do as personal injury lawyers. We don’t have to be nice, what we have to do is be effective at problem solving.

I hope the girl with the ponytail is doing well and that all the Suburban girls are safe on prom night. Like I said, it’s my business to worry. Onward I march.  

To read more about this issue see these links:

Iowa golf coach arrested for driving team to meet while drunk, By Jonathan Wall

May 11, 2011 - Fairfield girls golf coach arrested while driving team to meet; charged with OWI, child endangerment

SCOTT JACKSONCourier sports writer

MAY 18, 2011 - Iowa High School Golf Coach Arrested For Driving Team To Meet While Drunk

Posted: 2:13 PM May 11, 2011 - Coach Arrested For DUI Driving Golf Team To Meet

Teacher charged with DUI and child endangerment

Follow this link to the Modern Family website.

When Good Kids Go Bad

See also this link. 

While some school districts are hot on the trail of the wrong suspect others are ignoring, allegedly due to federal regulations, drunk bus drivers. 

See Another school bus drunk driver case on Tuesday's post. It's what you call "bus"sted.

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. 

A snowy or icy condition in Iowa during the month of January in the first minutes of a storm isn’t in and of itself going to get anyone excited about your case. On the other hand if the shop owner has allowed snow and ice to accumulate for a week without walking outside and shoveling it, that might get someone interested in your case.

But have the building owner drain melting snow and ice across the walk to the entranceway door and you are now talking about an artificial condition that increases the risk of injury to customers. That’s a winner, but the 20” into the snow storm case isn’t. You get my drift. (Ooo bad pun.) 

So when a potential client phones a lawyer saying they tripped on something, then fell and injured themselves, but has no photographs of the condition and frankly have no clue about why they tripped – that case is going nowhere fast. That’s not a case we can take and it’s certainly not a case you can win. It won’t end up on my docket. 

Before you call the lawyer ask yourself this question: What did I trip or slip on and is it an artificial condition that increased the risk of injury?

And one more thing, don’t believe for a second that your case won’t be characterized by the insurance adjuster and the business owner as frivolous. Because it will be. There seems to be a huge disconnect between our clients thinking somehow the laws they voted for won’t be used against them because their case is - drum roll please - not frivolous. To the insurance industry your claim no matter what the facts is frivolous. Trust me you’re no different than the guy you characterized as having a frivolous lawsuit. So don’t assume for a second that you will be treated differently than other people – in this there is a huge disconnect.

So this week's call had this as a part of the discussion. I asked what made the woman fall and he said, "What difference should it make what made her fall?"

 Are you kidding me? Do unto others my friends, as you would have them do unto you. 

This is our challenge - how do you argue the Golden Rule, without arguing it? Or how do we change the Supreme Courts mind about being able to argue the Golden Rule?

You are all part of the McDonald’s Coffee Case Syndrome. Get used to it. Now can I Supersize that lawsuit sir? 

A Man Need Not Apply

A few years ago I wrote a post about the social security benefits case involving a child born by in-vitro fertilization following the father’s untimely death. Apparently the father died of cancer, but before dying they froze his sperm and after his death the mother of the child was inseminated, gave birth and thereafter filed with the Social Security Administration for dependent death benefits. The legal question involved whether the child was ever dependent on the father. The answer at this point in the litigation from the U.S. Court of Appeals is no.

Does In Vitro Fertilization Make Social Security Benefits The Simplest Investment, Lombardi, December 7, 2009

We Need Social Security Act Reform not Tort Reform - The new law in Iowa makes the Beeler decision moot.

The legal challenge has to do with an Iowa law making children born out of wedlock illegitimate. In May Governor Branstad signed into law a bill named the Posthumous Conception Bill intending to establish legal legitimacy and inheritance rights for children born out of wedlock. But how does Governor Branstad square away his signing the law and not seeing the irony of Brien vs Varner and the entire defense of family debate?

The Spin Doctor – The Globe Gazette link – The National Law Review Link

And as a taxpayer who knows that SS benefits are essentially bankrupt, why should people who use science to conceive expect the rest of us to pay SS benefits for the next 18 years? This must be the most lucrative participation trophy yet conceived by man and woman. This is supposed to be a retirement subsistence plan. Nothing more and nothing less – the Congress corrupted the Act many years ago as a way to avoid having to deal with financial issues of the disabled. The SSA can’t be everything to everyone. It just can’t. But that’s what this is about – I showed up therefore I expect a trophy. The fact I showed up must mean I’m a winner. It’s more make-believe. This has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with teaching and being irresponsible.

Social Security Benefits vs In Vitro Square Off Before the 8^th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8^th Circuit opinion of August 29, 2011 by Circuit Judge Colloton.

Beeler vs Astrue, Social Security Commissioner, No. 10-1092 – U.S. Court of Appeals link and on the Lombardi Law Firm site link.

The Social Security Act authorizes the payment of benefits to the dependent children of deceased workers.  This case requires us to determine whether a child conceived through artificial insemination more than a year after her father’s death qualifies for benefits under the Act.  The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) interprets the Act to provide that a natural child of the decedent is not entitled to benefits unless she has inheritance rights under state law or can satisfy certain additional statutory requirements.  We conclude that the Commissioner’s interpretation is, at a minimum, reasonable and entitled to deference, and that the relevant state law does not entitle the applicant in this case to benefits.

We therefore reverse the district court’s contrary judgment.

Frankly Poor Mr. Galvis; I feel sorry for him. I’m not surprised he got nothing, because I’ve been talking about it now for quite some time. I don’t blame the lawyers at Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli Bern because they are in business to first pay the bills and second to make some kind of a profit. But how do lawyers make a profit with a $10,000 case when we have so many liens and subrogation interests to protect? As lawyers dealing with health insurance subrogation, child support liens, auto insurance medical pay subrogation interests, Medicare, Medicaid, Title XIX and employee benefit plans under ERISA we are left asking who we represent. 

But don’t blame the lawyers in this instance – no siree, because you voted for the people that passed all these laws that treat the injured person as if they were an afterthought. There aren’t enough lawyers in the legislature so point your finger in some other direction. We lawyers have a light bill to pay. It’s what you call staying in business in today’s legal environment. 

It's sort of like this, we all slaughter each other while those Senators in Washington slaughter us. So all hail to Caesar because he's alive, well and living the good life in the Capital City.

Join me in the ring and sing along with AC/DC and sing loud to those whom you voted for and for the lot those have cast upon you. Sing loud and long, sing Hail Caesar!

He be the count of Monte Cristo 

Could be a quake any day 
Maybe somebody from Siam 
Begin the era of a new rage 
Keeps lickin' all the honey 
Chewin' up the fat he rakes 
Instead of sending to the lions 
They cover him with praise 

All hail Caesar, Hail, Hail! 
All hail Caesar, Hail, Hail! 

Down at the epicenter 
Things started heatin' up 
Rockin' on the richter scale 
[Rockin' up the richter scale] 
Swinging in the chariot 
Around and around we go 
The senators rehearse the tale 
Starring in the coliseum 
Tied upon the rack 
Up comes the thumb of Caesar 
To stab you in the back 

All hail Caesar, Hail, Hail! 
All hail Caesar, Hail, Hail! 

Down at the epicenter 
Things started heatin' up 
Rockin' on the richter scale 
Swingin' in the chariot 
Around and around we go 
the Senators rehearse the tale 

Watch out Caesar, watch out Caesar 

[I said hail, I said hail! 
I said Hail, I said Hail! 

Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail 
Hail ] 

[All hail Caesar, hail, hail! 
All hail Caesar, hail, hail! 
All hail Caesar, hail, hail! 
All hail Caesar, hail, hail! 

You need eyes in the back of your head boy, 
or you're dead.]

“No thought was given to the human cost of unregulated MMA.”

That statement comes from “The Underground”, the MMA Warehouse in an article Sherdog wrote as Part II of Zach Kirk’s fight and his being paralyzed for life.

Here is the real disgrace.

In days, Kirk went bankrupt. The rest of Kirk’s medical care costs -- hundreds of thousands of dollars -- was paid for by the citizens of Iowa. 

This is what you get when farmers turn legislators and think they know law and can assess legal risk. Like lawyers trying to plant a straight row of crops, farmers’ legislating makes for a lousy result. Deciding what corn to plant isn't the same as analyzing the legal principles and making sensible public policy. No lawyer in his right mind would have voted to deregulate MMA fighting. Boxing I understand, MMA I do not get. It's nothing more than what Romans did with lions fighting slaves. What's attracting young men to the sport is the lack of regimented training and the promise of big money. Regulations and fighter protections are not just necessary for the fighters but also for the taxpayers who end up footing the bill when fighters through fighting become seriously, permanently and totally disabled. 

Like I said, I'm not planting corn any time soon. But put me on the Boxing Commission and I'll protect the Iowa tax dollars. 

Spectators sometimes became part of the Coliseum show -

Although the typical Coliseum of Rome combatants were trained gladiators, convicted criminals and prisoners of war, occasionally glory-seeking individuals volunteered to fight. Often they overrated their skills and suffered the consequences.

The only possible winner was the promoter. In a situation analogous to the national economic crisis occurring at the same time, the profits associated with amateur MMA were privatized -- kept by the promoter -- while the financial costs of those risks were borne by the taxpayers. 

Tort reformers aren’t reforming torts for the good; they are reforming tort law to line their own pockets while shifting the liability of all financial risk to the taxpayers. MMA fighting, unlike classic boxing is brutal. There are few protections and the fans control the bout not the referee. The allowance of MMA fighting is barbaric to say the least. Just ask Zack Kirk, who, according to this article, is now paralyzed and dependent upon the taxpayers for what he can get to eke out a subsistence living.

I see the Iowa Labor Commissioner issued two cease and desist orders regarding two MMA events. Good for the Labor Commissioner. At last someone with common sense. As for farmer legislators I’ll make you a promise, you stay out of the halls of government and I’ll not plant field corn.

2/25/2011

Contact:

Kerry Koonce

For Immediate Release: February 25, 2011
Contact: Kerry Koonce
Telephone: (515) 281-9646

Printer Friendly PDF Version

Iowa Labor Commissioner Orders Cease and Desist Action Against Two Mixed Martial Arts Events
Organizations Failed to Comply with Iowa Law

DES MOINES – The Iowa Labor/Athletic Commissioner is issuing a cease and desist order against the Xtreme Fighting Championship 7 events scheduled for Friday night in Iowa City at the Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon and Saturday night at Steamboat Rock Schoolhouse in Steamboat Rock, Iowa.

Iowa’s Mixed Martial Arts laws changed July 1st requiring promoters to submit fighter blood work, show proof of medical insurance, submit fighter contracts and ensure that all fighters, professional or amateur, are 18 years of age or older. The event promoter, Travis Fulton, has failed to license and bond his events with the State of Iowa.

“The laws surrounding mixed martial arts fights are there to protect everyone involved,” stated Iowa Labor Commissioner David Neil. “The licenses, bonds and medical certifications ensure that fighters are in condition before the match and the required health insurance prevents Iowans from picking up the bill for medical expenses when fighters frequently end up in the emergency room following a match.”

Iowa issued nearly 140 fight licenses in 2010 and most promoters work cooperatively with the department and follow the laws to ensure that all safety and health measures are intact. The few promoters who consistently try to skirt Iowa’s laws present an unprofessional image that affects everyone involved in the sport.

Promoters who hold fights in violation of Iowa’s Mixed Martial Arts laws are subject to a $10,000 administrative fine and a criminal conviction of a serious misdemeanor.

http://www.iowaworkforce.org/news/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=868

For more on this subject read:

• Fistic Medicine: The Zach Kirk Saga Part 1
• Fistic Medicine: The Zach Kirk Saga Part 2
• Ultimate fighting in Iowa spotlight
• Iowa Fighter Paralyzed After MMA – Fight, Donations Currently Being Accepted.
• Iowa Fighter Zach Kirk Suffers Broken Neck, Paralyzed During Fight
• Paralyzed Iowa Fighter Works To Walk Again – KCCI Video Clip
• MMA Fighter Fights For Recovery – Submissions 101

Again in very short order, the McDonald’s Verdict was brought into the coversation by two of my clients. Each of these people has a serious injury case, a personal injury case, where they believe their case is somehow much different than the issues in the McDonald’s case. There is no difference, but people are very good at convincing themselves a jury will somehow see their case in a different light. They won’t. At least not until people begin to understand the reason why McDonald’s got sued, why the verdict was correct and why reducing the verdict was clearly wrong. The McDonald's case was not frivolous; if it was then so is yours.

THE DELUSION: “I’m the Mother Theresa of personal injury; while Mrs. Liebeck is the Devil incarnate.”

Ronald didn’t get sued just because the coffee was hot; RM got sued because of the extremely high temperature of the food being served. Yeah, really there is a difference you morons. The coffee wasn't just hot, it was so hot that it could literally melt a person’s skin. When handled, and the top was either removed or came off, the contents weren’t just inconvenient; they were highly dangerous to any human being with a brain. Hot is hot, but when the contents are so hot that it can cause your skin to literally melt, then, (your morons) the contents aren’t even edible. Do you know what the word edible means and that food served is supposed to be edible? Get it, edible means you can eat it and isn't food you pay for supposed to be edible? Just like drinking acid, coffee at the temperature it was being served at on that day, can't be drank. It's inedibable! What do I have to do pour you a cup of acid to make you understand this concept? Are you really this inanely moronic? Why in Heaven’s name would a restaurant sell food that isn’t edible? Does that make sense to anyone who’s ever eaten out? How is serving a liquid drink that isn’t edible any different than serving a cup of acid?

Don't do what an idiot would do!

Give me a break! I'm so sick and tired of morons discussing this case that jumping off a bridge seems a whole lot more interesting.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Anyone wanting to engage in less litigation seems to like mischaracterizing this case. It seems anyone selling products or services that kill people or that cause disease to a huge number of people who use the product or service, are trying to make this case seem outlandish to anyone that will listen. But the case makes complete sense and most people can’t start to understand why. You don't understand until it’s you on the receiving end of the hysteria that followed the verdict; and some you can't even then, comprehend the problem.

As my mother Dolly would say, "Are they stupid?"

Apparentlythey are Mom. I, as  a lawyer, have no interest in trying to fool people, including juries, by saying in my opening statement the McDonld’s verdict was wrong. It was right; and in this country, two wrongs still don’t make a right. So forget fantasy land and once upon a time, because your case is cut from the same cloth as was the McDonald’s suit. All of you have a McCase; my only question for you is, can I Supersize your brain?

Once Upon A Time

For Stefania, my very own fairy tale happy ever after.

Once upon a time I believed all kinds of things.

I believed in horses with horns

and even in horses with wings!

I thought at the bottom of the garden

fairies would cavort and play.

I thought that under every bridge there lived a troll

and, when on my own, I stayed well away.

It never occurred to me then that

a fairy collecting teeth was a curious beast.

The Sandman, Father Christmas, dragons and elves,

these now seem just as implausible at least.

I no longer believe in transmogrifying frogs

or that princes can only exist in threes.

The very idea of Rumplestiltskin just makes me laugh.

I now know better than to believe in any of these.

But there is one thing that I believed in then

that even, no especially, today I still believe is true.

There are some who would say "It is just a fairytale"

but I believe in happy ever after with you.

The idiots movie list

One day after the verdict, a local reporter tested the coffee at the McDonald's that had served Mrs. Liebeck and found it to be a comparatively cool 158 ...

Abnormal Use: The Stella Liebeck McDonald's Hot Coffee Case FAQ

Jan 25, 2011 ... The defective product caused the burns to Ms. Liebeck's body. .... McDonald's declined. Following the jury verdict and the trial court's ...

Abnormal Use: The Stella Liebeck McDonald's Hot Coffee Case FAQ

Jan 25, 2011 ... The defective product caused the burns to Ms. Liebeck's body. .... McDonald's declined. Following the jury verdict and the trial court's ...

The Untold Story - :: Injury Resolutions ::

The verdict generates the misguided belief that there is a "litigation crisis" in ... Mrs. Liebeck was a drive-through customer at an Albuquerque McDonalds. ...

The Untold Story - :: Injury Resolutions ::

The verdict generates the misguided belief that there is a "litigation crisis" in ... Mrs. Liebeck was a drive-through customer at an Albuquerque McDonalds. ...

Phoenix Personal Injury Attorney | McDonald's Hot Coffee Case ...

Dec 22, 2010 ... Mrs. Liebeck wrote to McDonald's asking the company to turn down the ... Post- verdict investigation found that the temperature of coffee at ...

The Truth About The McDonald's Coffee Case

When the verdict was reported in 1994, talk show hosts like Paul Harvey jumped on ... Ms. Liebeck asked McDonald's to pay her $20000 in medical expenses. ...

The Modern Civil Justice System (from "Class in America")

After she got out of the hospital, Mrs. Liebeck told McDonald's about her ... McDonald's demanded a retrial, claiming that the verdict was improper. ...

Ask yourself this question: Was the financial crisis a gold rush for some?
If it was then why wouldn’t government officials choose to engineer economic fatigue into the American economy while buying options to short the market?

I’ve been wondering about a few things lately:

• How do elected officials get so rich on the salaries they receive?
• Is the debate before a bill is voted on engineered to cause delay while officials purchase stock options in companies that will benefit from public spending?
• And lastly, how stupid do they think we really are?

Ask yourself: Is there a way people make money from a market downturn? If people can make money by shorting the market, then who does it and are any of them elected officials? Shouldn't we know if elected officials are shorting the market? And if they are, how can you do it to make millions right along with our elected officials? One way is to force elected officials to publicly disclose the purchase of all stock options.

Make Politicians Publicly Disclose their Stock Options within 24 hours of Purchase

Wall Street’s Shadow Market by CBS – A swap is nothing more than insurance, but they call it something other than insurance to avoid being regulated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y9A0C45KZI&feature=related

So ask yourself, why don’t we know which companies’ that government officials are betting on with options? Is this one of those ideas that we shouldn’t worry our pretty heads with because it’s too complicated for the rest of us to understand?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYVvvTfoYMg

You can make money on the upside and the downside of the stock market. You simply need time along with opportunity. Both of which those controlling public spending know in advance which allows them to trade on this inside information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ewDNcF9PIk&feature=related

New Options Market – Intrinsic Value