Hudson Personal Injury Law Blog

A new study by the National Safety Council shows that state and federal figures related to distracted-driving crashes may be underreported, leading to misleading ideas about the prevalence of this problem. For families considering a wrongful death claim against a distracted driver, the failure of law enforcement to report cell phone use and other activity that leads to an accident can have serious implications on the recovery of damages.

Experts believe that false reporting makes up the majority of the problem relating to low distracted driving figures. Police officers may report distracted driving accidents as due to driver inexperience or other factors, neglecting to investigate or mention the role cell phone use played in the crash. For example, New York reported only a handful of distracted driving deaths in 2010 and 2011 while Tennessee reported dozens. It is more likely that New York law enforcement simply failed to note the use of cell phones rather than that Tennessee had far more distracted driving crashes.

Wisconsin and much of America has had a long term affinity with the game of football. In Wisconsin, football is popular in its youth leagues, high schools, and colleges. It is a major source of revenue for the state's major colleges and universities, and the NFL presence in Wisconsin is legendary. In recent years, however, much more attention has been given to head injuries and chronic conditions that result from repeated impacts to the head and neck. It is a major source of concern athletes and to families with children or members who play at any level.

Incidents involving a brain injury in particular have been cited in several well-publicized incidents of suicide and violent behavior by NFL players. A case now pending in a federal court seeks to have more than 4,000 lawsuits by former NFL players heard by juries, removing these cases from the arbitration process contained in the NFL collective bargaining agreement with its Players Association. The NFL suits mirror concerns in the news in recent years and contend that the NFL has done too little to inform and protect players.

The owner of Brookfield's Thomas J. Rhoda & Associates accounting firm stands accused of injuring a female pedestrian with his Mercedes in a car accident and causing her serious bodily harm in the process. Witnesses at the scene of the July 15, 2012, accident claim that the woman was struck at a roundabout between Barker Road and North Avenue around 7:39 p.m. and that the car kept driving without ever stopping. The woman was discovered with injuries to her face, head and hips, and emergency medical professionals transported her to a local hospital.

The victim required medical treatment for skull fractures, a broken pelvis and cranial lacerations that had to be stapled closed. At the scene of the crime, police investigators discovered damaged parts from the Mercedes, and the accused man's attorney later contacted Brookfield police to let them know that he would remit himself into police custody the next morning along with the car. Although the owner of the accounting firm did show up as promised, he refused to answer police questions without his lawyer, and he later pled not guilty to the hit-and-run charges. He is currently free on $1,000 bond.

A car wreck in Brussels, Wisconsin, that occurred on March 9 left three people with injuries that required medical attention in a hospital. Early reports suggest that the car accident happened when the 19-year-old driver of a Ford Winstar failed to yield the right of way to a 65-year-old driver who was traveling east on County C.

A 19-year-old driver, who is Brussels, claimed that the victim of the wreck was in her blindspot. The driver even stopped at a yield sign before pulling onto County C, but she still somehow managed to not spot the other driver. It is reported that both vehicles involved in the accident were severely damaged.