Personal Injury Cases – Recht Law Offices

Recently, PBS released a three-part documentary called Life and Death in Assisted Living. The documentary painted a grim picture of what life can be like for patients inside of assisted-living facilities when substandard care is provided by the facility.

Our West Virginia nursing home abuse lawyers know that nursing homes and assisted-living facilities all have an obligation to provide reasonable care and assistance to the elderly people who are living in their facility. Unfortunately, this documentary shows that all-too-often, this does not occur and the lives of seniors are put at risk.

Assisted Living Facilities Taking Dangerous Risks With People’s Lives

The PBS documentary focused on assisted-living facilities run by Emeritus, a large national corporation with facilities in 47 different states throughout the United States. PBS chose Emeritus because it is large enough and profitable enough to ensure that it has policies in place to provide quality care to patients. However, there are many other companies that also own assisted-living facilities that may operate in similar ways to Emeritus, so the deficiencies shown in the documentary may not be restricted only to facilities run by Emeritus.

The deficiencies that were shown were not minor problems with assisted-living facilities, but instead were major issues that resulted in fatalities. The biggest problem, according to the PBS documentary, is that many assisted living facilities are trying to keep residents from moving out and moving on when they need to.

For profit-assisted-living facilities can earn substantial amounts of money each month from every resident who lives on-site and pays for rent or care. When a resident leaves and a bed or unit is empty, that money doesn’t come in. As such, employees are encouraged to keep residents living in the facility for as long as possible and to prevent them from going “out the back door,” as it is called.

Unfortunately, assisted-living facilities are inherently meant as a stopping place for seniors who cannot continue to live on their own but who do not require intensive medical care in the more-institutional setting of a nursing home. A senior normally moves into assisted living and then moves on to a nursing home when he or she needs more medical help than the assisted-living facility can provide.

Instead of allowing this to happen, however, facilities were trying to keep patients. The facilities were, unfortunately, not equipped to care for the patients and tragedy resulted. For example, a woman with dementia left the assisted-living facility and froze to death. Another woman had severe bedsores which employees hid from visiting nurses. She died, and her family was awarded millions in a wrongful death lawsuit. Yet another patient, a former pro-football player, lost his life after eating industrial strength dish washing soap that hadn’t been locked away.

These tragedies were the inevitable outcome of an assisted-living facility putting a premium on profits and not paying attention to proper patient care. When this occurs and a facility provides substandard care to patients, those who are harmed as a result (or their surviving loved ones) can and should take legal action to recover compensation for their losses.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by nursing home abuse in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE for a free case consultation.

According to 12 WBOY.com , a gas well exploded in West Virginia at approximately 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday in early July.  The accident occurred at an Antero well site in New Milton.  Early reports indicate that as many as eight people, including five workers, sustained injuries in the explosion, including burn injuries.

Our West Virginia injury attorneys know that burn injuries can be among the most painful and difficult injuries to treat and that burn injuries often leave victims with permanent scarring. The full extent of the injuries sustained by those involved in the explosion has not yet been determined and an investigation is still underway to identify the specific cause of the gas well explosion. Gas Well Explosion Causes Serious Injury After the gas well exploded, both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection launched an investigation. Preliminary results of the investigation have revealed that two tanks were ruptured due to the explosion. The explosion may have initially occurred when a pump that the employees were working on ignited vapors in the area.  The explosion may have consumed all of the vapor or there may have been a fire that kept burning even after the initial explosion.  Other tanks located on the site also sustained damage and material spilled from the tanks that ruptured. The well on the pad where the explosion occurred was a horizontal well that had been drilled recently but not yet fractured. The Department of Energy Protection is conducting an investigation into whether any environmental effects occurred due to the spill from the tanks while OSHA is looking into whether any workplace safety violations occurred that would lead to citations. The DEP reports that at least five people were taken to the emergency room following the incident, with some other reports indicating that there were as many as eight injured.  Several of those who were taken to the hospitals were workers for several different contracting companies.  There have been no conclusive reports on the condition of the men taken to the hospital although some accounts indicate that they suffered burn injuries due to the incident. Antero Resources is also conducting its own investigation into how the incident occurred, securing the services of a third party to identify the problems that may have led to the explosion. Because the company owns the drilling platform, it could potentially be held responsible for the injuries that occurred and could be required to compensate victims. Because there were multiple contractors involved, liability for the accident may become complicated and workers will need to consult with an attorney to understand their legal rights. If the workers are considered employees, they could pursue a workers’ compensation claim against their individual employers. However, if any non-employer was responsible for their injuries as a result of negligence or wrongdoing, then the injured individuals could also pursue a personal injury claim. If you’ve been in an accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE for a free case consultation.

The WV Gazette reported a car wreck that one state highway official described as the worst accident he had seen in the state of West Virginia over the course of his 40+ year career in law enforcement.  The accident involved 38-vehicles and resulted in nine victims suffering serious injuries and being transported to local area hospitals.

Our Weirton accident lawyers know that multi-vehicle car accidents are common in bad weather situations when cars are traveling in close proximity. The circumstances leading to this accident show how important it is for drivers to slow their speeds to adjust to weather conditions and to maintain a safe driving speed at all times.

38-Vehicle Accident Likely Caused by Bad Weather

According to the West Virginia Gazette, the 38-vehicle crash occurred on the Interstate 64 Bridge between Nitro and St. Albans. Witnesses to the accident indicate that heavy rains had resulted in a lot of standing water on the bridge and one driver said that he had seen the water before the crash occurred.

Unfortunately, it is believed that drivers were traveling too quickly on the bridge in light of the rain and the wet conditions. When there is bad weather like this, not only does it increase the chances of an accident happening involving a single vehicle or two cars, but it also significantly increases the chance of a multi-vehicle collision.

When these multi-vehicle crashes occur, typically the problem starts with either one or two cars losing control on the road and being involved in an accident. Other drivers who are in close proximity and who are going too fast for the road conditions are then unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the first impaired cars. The bad weather can make visibility difficult so people do not see the crash right away and the slick roads can result in drivers having a hard time stopping.

A chain reaction then occurs, wherein more vehicles come upon the crash, cannot stop in time and become involved in the accident themselves. In this 38-vehicle crash, this happened on a large scale as many vehicles crossing the bridge were unable to get our of the way of the ever-increasing number of impaired cars. That it occurred on a bridge also exacerbated the problems because there was really no place for cars to go upon approaching the wreckage.

Fortunately, despite the number of vehicles involved in this accident, there were no fatalities. However, 22 people suffered injuries and nine of the injured victims had sustained harm serious enough that they needed to be taken to the hospital. The injured victims may have a legal cause of action against those responsible for the crash, but sorting out who is to blame will be very difficult with so many cars involved in the wreck. Experienced legal help will be critical to recovering appropriate compensation.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE for a free case consultation.

According to a new NHTSA study, when a driver is engaged in visual-manual activities, such as using a cell phone or inserting a CD into the CD player, the chance of being involved in an accident increases threefold. Visual-manual activities put the driver of a vehicle at greatest risk, and include anything that takes the driver’s hand off the wheel or eyes off the road.

Our West Virginia car accident attorneys know that text messaging and using a handheld cell phone is illegal in West Virginia. These laws are important in protecting drivers since even a few seconds of distraction can lead to disastrous consequences. Now, however, there are some new guidelines that are intended to improve safety by addressing in-car distractions that aren’t illegal but that still increase the car accident risk.

US DOT Guidelines to Reduce Distracted Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of distracted driving accidents. These guidelines are directed toward car manufacturers and aim to limit distractions by making changes in the automobile’s electronic devices, such as the navigation system, entertainment and communications systems.

The guidelines are meant to reduce the amount of time a driver takes his eyes off the road to two seconds or less. The new guidelines address the design of various in-car systems as well as recommending that certain operations are disabled while driving.

NHTSA issued the guidelines after studying how people use passenger cars, so the new guidelines will apply only to light vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less.  The design guidelines were based on the principles that:

• The driver’s eyes should be focused on the road ahead.
• The driver should be able to perform secondary tasks in the car without having to take both hands off of the steering wheel.
• The driver should control interactions or tasks, not the system or device.
• All displays should be easy for drivers to see.

NHTSA also uses a two-test system to determine the impact of performing a task while driving. NHTSA considers the time that it takes to complete the task as well as the level of interference the task creates with the driver’s ability to pay attention to the road.

After evaluating these criteria, NHTSA either recommends design changes to cut the task time down and make the task easier or recommends that certain in-vehicle devices are designed so the driver is not able to do the task while driving. For example, the guidelines recommend that manual text messaging, video-based entertainment and displays of text messages and social media content are disabled while the car is operational and while the driver is driving.

The new NHTSA guidelines are voluntary so NHTSA will not be monitoring car manufacturers to ensure that they comply with the new recommendations. However, if carmakers do comply, then the simple changes made to in-car controls to follow the guidelines could save lives by reducing the number of distracted driving accidents significantly.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE.

On May 2, 2013, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported that a car crossed the median on Interstate 77 and hit a Fed Ex semi head on. As a result of the accident, a passenger in the car was airlifted to a hospital in Charleston and the drivers of the Honda Civic and the Fed Ex semi truck were transported to a local hospital.

Unfortunately, the Fed Ex semi truck involved in the accident caught fire, which could have been dangerous because of the hazardous chemicals it was carrying. As a 59 News update later reported, the hazardous chemicals in the truck were lithium and disodium trioxalate. The chemicals were fortunately only dangerous if they came into contact with water, which did not occur in this particular case.

Our West Virginia injury attorneys know that this fiery crash could have led to serious problems involving a chemical spill. While it is lucky that the crash didn’t have this outcome, people were still hurt and the accident should have been prevented. As the Daily Telegram suggests, something as simple as traffic barriers could potentially have prevented this accident from happening.

Traffic Barriers Prevent Accidents

Channel 59 posed the question regarding whether a barrier on the median would have stopped the Honda from crossing into oncoming traffic. A spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Transportation told 59 News that barriers are put up on stretches of highways that see the most accidents, particularly crossover accidents. That particular section of Interstate 77 had not been deemed dangerous enough for a barrier.

The spokesperson also also explained that there are two types of barriers. A cable barrier is best at keeping a car from crossing over and a concrete barrier would make the car bounce off after contact. In this case, either type of barrier may have minimized both the risks of a crash.

Traffic Accidents Due to Road Design

There are many things that can cause accidents, and the way a road is designed is often a factor in a crash. When roadways are not properly built or maintained, driver safety can be affected not just by missing guardrails or barriers but also by many other issues as well. Some contributing factors, for example, include:

• Poor placement of traffic signals
• Limited visibility
• Lack of proper drainage that leads to puddles or ice
• Pinch points
• Inadequate lighting
• Visibility of road markings
• Problems with road surfaces, such as potholes
• Missing, poorly placed or damaged barriers
• Lack of guardrails along embankments or dangerous curves
• Insufficient barriers along medians

Barriers that are placed on medians reduce the number of crossover accidents by capturing or redirecting cars that would otherwise run into oncoming traffic. Cable barriers, made of steel wire ropes, are very effective at preventing cars from crossing the median. They are also cost effective and are predominantly used on divided highways. Concrete barriers also minimize damage to the vehicle by redirecting the car.

Unfortunately, sometimes a road is lacking barriers when it would clearly make sense for barriers to be present. While it is more difficult to bring litigation against a state government, knowing all of the factors and contributing causes of a collision makes for the best starting point.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE.

According to the Detroit Free Press, West Virginia ranks 45th out of 50 states when it comes to being bike friendly. Obviously, with these statistics, the state has a long way to go in improving conditions for bicycle riders. This includes not just adding more bike paths and more bike friendly areas, but also making sure that drivers are educated about how to keep bike riders safe on the roads.

While bike safety should always be a priority, the month of May is dedicated to helping to make bike riders safer. Our West Virginia accident attorneys know that the number of bicycle accidents increases in the summer months as the weather gets warmer and as kids are out of school and doing outdoor activities. As the warm weather starts to arrive, Bicycle Safety Month comes at a perfect time to remind you to make safe biking decisions and to keep your kids safe while riding.

Bicycle Safety Month Tips

While everyone is at risk from a bicycle accident, kids are especially likely to be involved in a crash over the summer months. Kids Safe.org offers a number of different tips for helping to ensure that the risk of injury is minimized for kids riding bikes. Some of the tips include:

• Ensuring kids have a helmet on. Since 1996, West Virginia state law has required children younger than 15 years old to wear helmets while bicycling on public roads, public bicycle pathways or other public rights-of-way. Helmet use is important as a study of bike accidents from 2008 to 2010 revealed that 91.6 percent of kids in a bicycle crash had no helmet on at the time. Those without helmets had twice the risk of concussion and were more likely to be admitted to an emergency room. Further, all bike accident deaths that occurred over this time involved kids without helmets.
• Restricting where kids can ride. A child should only bicycle on sidewalks and paths until the age of 10 and should not be allowed to cycle with traffic until he is a competent cyclist and has good traffic skills and judgment.
• Using caution for night riding. If cycling after dark or low visibility conditions, the bike should have reflectors and a light and the cyclist’s clothes should have reflective materials.
• Properly maintaining the bicycle. Bikes should be checked at least once a year to ensure they are in good working order. The tires should be checked before each ride. The bike should also be appropriately sized, with one inch of clearance between the rider and top bar while the rider is standing flat-footed over the bicycle.
• Using traffic hand signals. When making a left turn, the left arm should be extended straight out to the side.  When making a right turn, the left arm should be bent in an upward motion. The left arm should be extended downward to stop.

By following these tips, hopefully kids and adults can both be safer when it comes to biking this summer season. Bike Safety Month focuses on education and awareness and everyone in West Virginia should pay attention to safety tips as part of efforts to help improve West Virginia’s rating as a bike friendly state.

If you or a family member has been injured in a bicycle accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE.

Recently, CNN.com shared several tragic stories about car accidents involving teenage drivers. In one such story, for example, CNN indicated that an Ohio SUV went off the road and into a pond. The SUV — which had room for five passengers — had eight teenagers in it. Six of them died.

Tragically, as our West Virginia accident lawyers know, car accidents are the top cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 20.  The Governors Highway Safety Association preliminary data for 2012 also indicates that the number of car accident deaths among young people is increasing, with 19 percent more 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed than the year before. The high number of deaths and the serious dangers faced by teen drivers cannot be ignored, and parents should make a point to sit down with their kids and talk about safe driving.

Teens are at Risk

It is important for parents and kids to be aware of some of the troubling facts about teen drivers. For example, as CNN reported:

• There were 2,700 people between the ages of 16 and 19 killed in car accidents in 2010.
• More than seven teenagers died every day in America in 2010 in car accidents.
• There were 282,000 teen drivers ages 16 to 19 who suffered injury in car crashes in the U.S. in 2010.
• Only 54 percent of high-school students indicated in a 2011 survey that they always wear seat belts. Every other age group had a higher percentage.
• Teens with passengers in their car are more likely to be involved in crashes.

Teens are also more likely than their parents realize to text when they drive, with Car Connection reporting that 26 percent responding to a University of Michigan Transportation Survey admitting they sent or received texts as they drove at least once every time.  Other studies have shown that teenage drivers are more likely to speed and less likely than adults to stop when they are feeling too tired to drive safely.

Talking to Your Teen

While car accidents are a leading cause of teen death, the good news is that many of them are preventable. Teens just have to be smart behind the wheel and make good choices and they will have a significantly reduced chance of hurting themselves or others.

It is up to parents to make sure that children understand the importance of safe driving. You can go over some of the statistics on car accident deaths with them to drive home the point, but you should also make some clear rules and have an open discussion about them.

For example, you can discuss the rules for riding with friends or passengers in the car; driving at night; drinking and driving; texting or using cell phones; and speeding.  Parents should also model their own good behavior, as the University of Michigan Transportation study indicated that children often mimic the driving habits of their parents.

By taking the time to talk to your teenager and by setting a good example, you can hopefully help to ensure your teen is a smart and careful driver. If you aren’t confident of this, then there are devices that you can use, including in-car cameras, to monitor what your child is doing as he or she drives. While your kids may not be thrilled about the idea, taking firm action could help to save their lives or the lives of innocent victims sharing the road.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE.

It is a given that is harder to see in the dark than it is during the daytime. Of course, most people know that night driving is more dangerous as a result of reduced visibility. You may not know, however, how great the increase in accident risk is or what to do to stay safe.

Our West Virginia injury attorneys know that you can see less at night, and that your depth perception and peripheral vision are both compromised by darkness as well. The National Safety Council (NSC) has also released information that is specific about some of the risks that night drivers face. NSC data indicates that drivers depend upon visual cues for around 90 percent of their decision-making when driving. With less visibility and more problems seeing what is going on around you, NSC indicates that the chances of becoming involved in an accident at night are three times greater than during the day.

How to Avoid a Night Driving Accident

Although it is more dangerous to drive at night, there are certain things that you can do to minimize your risk and stay safe. For example, NSC recommends:

• Regular cleaning of all lights and windows. This includes the inside and outside of the windows, as well as cleaning the head lights, tail lights and signal lights. When the lights and windows are clean, you’ll have a clearer view even at night.
• Proper alignment of headlights. Misaligned or out-of-place lights can blind other drivers and make it more challenging for you to see.
• Avoiding nicotine or smoking. The nicotine and carbon monoxide from cigarettes impairs night vision.
• Use of headlights whenever there is a potential need. It is always best to put them on even if they don’t make that much of a difference in your ability to see since the lights can help to ensure other drivers see you.
• Maintenance of a safe following distance. Driving slower and leaving more space in between you and other cars is advisable since darkness makes it harder to assess distances or to make an accurate guess as to how fast other cars are going.
• Driving within the area illuminated by the headlights on your vehicle. If you drive too fast, you can essentially drive out of the lights and find yourself with a blind spot.
• Using your low beams when there is other traffic around so you don’t blind other drivers, and looking at the edge of the road to guide your steering if you are blinded by the high beams of an approaching car.

By following these safety tips, you can hopefully reduce your risk of getting hurt in a night auto accident. Unfortunately, NSC warns that fatigued and drunk driving are both more likely to occur at night than during the day. If you encounter a drunk or sleeping driver, that person could cause an accident to occur no matter how careful you are. The drowsy or drunk driver would be obligated to pay for the costs of any accident he or she caused.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office. Call us today at 1-800-HURTLINE.

At the end of February, WCHS TV.com reported on an accident on the Interstate 64 curve coming into Charleston. According to WCHS TV, traffic was tied up for hours when a logging truck flipped over and lost its load while going around the curve. 

Our West Virginia accident attorneys know that this recent accident on the curved road is not the first to occur in the same location. Motorists have complained in the past that the area is dangerous, and a spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Transportation told WCHS TV that a lot of accidents occur on that stretch of road.

Dangerous Roads Raise Questions About Solutions

According to WCHS TV, the spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Transportation indicates that many of the accidents that occur at the dangerous curve happen as a direct result of speeding drivers. Excessive speed around a curve can significantly boost the chances of a driver losing control, especially when the driver is operating a top-heavy vehicle such as a truck or an SUV.

Because of a belief that excessive speed is the cause of crashes, the West Virginia DOT likely will not put more signs up nor make more changes to the area. The DOT spokesperson told WCHS TV that there are already numerous signs on both the eastbound and westbound roads. The signs have a tilted truck symbol and have large arrows going in both directors to let drivers know they are entering into the curve.

When asked if the DOT would consider additional signage, including an Amber Alert-type warning sign, the DOT representative indicated a belief that no amount of signs would make a difference in cutting the number of accidents. He asserted that ultimately drivers need to take responsibility for slowing down, especially when they have been warned about the curve.

Responsibility of Government Agencies to Make the Roads Safe

When an accident happens and there is a potential problem with the road that may have contributed to the car wreck, it is important to find out why the crash occurred and what can be done to stop any future accidents. The DOT spokesperson said there is often an active investigation after an accident to evaluate whether there are ways to make the roads safer.

Certain roads may also be designated as targeted enforcement areas, which means law enforcement steps up efforts to enforce driver safety laws in those areas.

Government agencies such as the DOT have an obligation to take the steps of investigating accidents and correcting any major problems in street design to reduce obvious risks faced by motorists on the road. While the government agencies responsible for road design and maintenance do have some limited protections against liability, the protections are not absolute. Thus, those in charge of road maintenance must ensure they do their jobs to keep people safe and avoid being negligent in a way that could make them responsible for auto accidents caused by bad road design.

If you know a driving behavior is dangerous, would you do it anyway? It seems like the answer to this question should be an obvious no. After all, everyone knows that auto accidents can be deadly, so why engage in behavior that ups your chances of becoming involved in a crash? Unfortunately, a recent study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicates that there are many drivers who are aware that certain behaviors are dangerous but who are doing these things anyway.

Our West Virginia car accident lawyers believe that the results of this new AAA study are very important. They show how much room for improvement there is as far as drivers making smart choices. We urge everyone to take a look at the survey results and to make the commitment not to do things they know are dangerous when they drive.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Survey

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey is called the 2012 Traffic Safety Culture index. The survey asked drivers whether they viewed a specific driving behavior as bad; whether they thought that society as a whole disapproved of the behavior, and whether they engaged in the behavior. Here is what AAA found:

• Most drivers said drinking and driving is met with strong disapproval and is extremely dangerous. Yet, 2.1 percent said that in the past month they may have driven while over the limit. In total, 14 percent of drivers said that at least once in their lifetime they may have driven while impaired.
• 48.6 percent — almost half — of drivers said that using cell phones should be banned outright when driving, even if hands free devices were used. Yet, more than two-thirds of the drivers surveyed said they had chatted on a cell in the past month as they drove.
• Almost every driver said that it was extremely risky to send emails or to send or read a text message as they operated their vehicles. However, one in four said they’d done one of these actions in the past month.
• Speeding 15 mph or more over the limit on a highway was a behavior that 49.6 percent of drivers admitted to doing in the past month. However, only one in four drivers said they thought speeding was acceptable.
• 38.4 percent of drivers had run a red light in the past month, although the majority of the drivers described this behavior as dangerous.
• 45.9 percent of drivers had fallen asleep while driving one or more time in their lives, although, again, most drivers described drowsy driving as really dangerous behavior.

Unfortunately, the results of the AAA survey revealed that most drivers know these risky behaviors are dangerous and increase the risk of an auto accident. Yet, despite having this knowledge, drivers do not seem to act on it. Instead, drivers choose to do things that they know are dangerous and that are, in some cases, against the law.

These study results were disappointing and show that many drivers should take responsibility for making safer choices for themselves. Unfortunately, drivers who do things they know are dangerous don’t just risk their own lives. Innocent victims can be affected as well when a car accident occurs.

If you’ve been in an auto accident in West Virginia, contact the personal injury attorneys at Recht Law Office at 1-800-HURTLINE.