In his work as a product liability attorney for Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., J.P. Sawyer saw far too many instances of children injured or killed in vehicle accidents because they were not properly secured. Even if child safety seats were present, many times even the best-intentioned parents do not properly install them, rendering them ineffective, with tragic results. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange presented Sawyer with a proclamation on Sept. 11, recognizing Sept. 12-18 as Child Passenger Safety Week.
According to a Los Angeles Times editorial published last week, "A solid and growing body of studies shows that texting, conversing on hand-held phones or even chatting hands-free ... make us dangerous drivers, as likely to get into an accident as if we were legally drunk."
The public outcry over Chrysler and General Motors Corp. declaring bankruptcy and leaving vehicle owners high and dry on liability claims has been loud and intense, but new reports surfacing from GM indicate it has been heard ... to a degree. Product liability had become the albatross around GM's neck as it sought to become a new company with a fresh start, unhindered by personal injury and death claims attached to the very cars it once produced.
On January 16, 2008, Henry Jinright was involved in a motor vehicle wreck. A car, driven by an employee of Werner Enterprises, failed to yield the right-of-way. Mr. Jinright lost the sight in his right eye.
They are all different ages and come from a variety of backgrounds, but they share two things in common: they or someone they love has been injured or killed because they were passengers in Chrysler vehicles -- cars with known design defects or faulty components. They have also lost their ability to hold Chrysler legally accountable for all of the injuries and deaths that could have been avoided.
Beasley Allen attorney J. Cole Portis has filed a lawsuit for an Alabama woman whose husband was killed in a vehicular rollover accident while driving his 1993 Geo Tracker. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division, and names as Defendants Suzuki Motor Corporation; American Suzuki Motor Corporation; General Motors; General Motors of Canada, Ltd.; Cami Automotive Inc.; Takata Inc.; Takata-Fischer Corporation; Takata Fabrication Corporation; and Key Safety Restraint Sysytems, Inc.
In 2006, the U.S. Consumer watchdog group Public Citizen published results of dynamic roof crush tests comparing the performance of a Volvo XC90s and a Ford Explorer in realistic rollovers. American roof crush standards have not changed since then and unfortunately those results are as valid today as they were in 2006.
We recently settled a case that arose out of a highway collision on behalf of a Mobile man whose case had been pending in Mobile County Circuit Court. The motor vehicle accident occurred on the evening of October 19, 2006 when a large Budweiser truck slammed into the rear of the Saturn automobile in which our client was riding as a back-seat passenger. The driver of the Saturn had to stop for a Ford Explorer that was disabled in the left lane of the approach to the Wallace Tunnel on I-10 in Mobile. The Budweiser truck was traveling at about 60 to 65 mph and was unable to stop before slamming into the Saturn. The posted speed limit on the highway was 55 mph. Also, there was a sign that required trucks to use the right lane of traffic.
Beasley Allen law firm has reached a settlement agreement on behalf of the family of Nicole Ford, a Lee High School student who was killed when her school bus crashed Nov. 20, 2007, in Huntsville, Ala., and plunged 30 feet from a highway overpass to the ground below. Ms. Ford was among 40 students traveling to the Huntsville Technology Center who were involved in the tragic crash. None of the students was wearing a seatbelt.
Montgomery, Ala. - Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., has been retained by the families of two of the seven victims killed in a fiery van crash on U.S. 82 Oct. 3. The incident involved an Alabama Department of Corrections vehicle that was struck by an 18-wheeler early that Friday morning. The ADOC van was carrying employees and job applicants from a state prison near Union Springs to another prison when the crash occurred about 5:50 a.m.
