Personal Injury Law Update

New Research Shows Frequent Heavy Alcohol Consumption by College Students Sharply Increases Risk of Injury

One recent study estimated that more than 500,000 U.S. college students suffered alcohol-related injuries in 2001. Additional research reported on MedPage Today shows that male college students increase their risk of an injury by 19% for every day of drinking eight or more drinks. For females, the risk increased by 10% for every day of drinking five or more drinks. In other words, it's not just the quantity of alcohol alone or frequency of consumption alone. Rather, a drinking pattern of frequent extreme intoxication causes injury rate to escalate rapidly. At the highest levels, the research found, males who drank nine or more drinks per day on 11 or more occasions in the previous 28 days had a 43% chance of an alcohol-related injury over the previous six months.

Results of the research are available online in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The message for parents? If you suspect your college-aged son or daughter has a drinking problem - get them help fast. It could save their life.

Five Deadly Mistakes That Drivers Make

Forbes recently published an article discussing deadly mistakes that drivers make that cost lives. Here are the highlights:

The number one killer of drivers is driving while drunk. According to statistics cited by Forbes, roughly 32% of the 41,059 people killed in car crashes last year died as a result of a vehicle operator having a blood alcohol concentration of .08--the legal limit in many states--or higher.

Every bit as dangerous as drunken drivers are drivers who get behind the wheel when they're drowsy. A 2006 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study cited by Forbes says that moderate or severe drowsiness was cited as a factor in 22% to 24% of crashes. Studies also show that a driver who has been awake for 20 hours displays the same erratic and impaired behaviors as a driver with a blood alcohol level of .08.

Another deadly habit is multitasking while driving: talking on a phone, text messaging, eating, shaving, reading or applying makeup. A different study conducted by NHTSA found that driving while distracted was a contributing factor in 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes.

Not wearing your seatbelt can also kill you. According to NHTSA estimates cited by Forbes, 270 lives are saved for every 1% increase in seatbelt use and, in 2007, an additional 5,024 lives would have been saved if all unrestrained car occupants involved in fatal crashes had worn their seatbelts. Similarly dangerous is driving without properly restraining children under the age of 14. Of the 6,532 of the children involved in fatal crashes, 45% were unrestrained.

The bottom line: don't engage in these deadly driving habits. It could save your life and the life of your loved ones.

Oregon and Washington Receive Perfect Scores in New National Roadway Safety Scorecard

With Thanksgiving weekend just passed, let us give thanks to the wise public officials of Oregon and Washington who enacted the motor vehicle laws and regulations that enabled those two states to earn perfect scores in the 2008 ENA National Scorecard on State Roadway Laws: A Blueprint for Injury Prevention, a report released in late November by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA).

The 2008 report examines roadway safety laws and regulations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and rates each state based on the following 13 criteria (each state was awarded one (1) point for each ENA criterion that was present in their respective state laws, with 13 points the maximum attainable - only Oregon and Washington received perfect scores of 13):

1. Does the state have a primary enforcement seat belt law?
2. Does the state’s primary enforcement seat belt law apply to all seating positions?
3. Does the state have a booster seat law?
4. Does the booster seat law cover children up to age 8 years?
5. Does the state have a child passenger safety law covering all children up to age 16 years in all seating positions?
6. Does the state have a graduated driver licensing (GDL) law with a six-month holding period provision at the learner's stage?
7. Does the state have a GDL law with a provision requiring 30-50 hours of supervised driving at the learner's stage?
8. Does the state have a GDL law with a nighttime restriction provision at the intermediate stage?
9. Does the state have a GDL law limiting drivers in the intermediate stage from carrying more than one passenger under age 20 years?
10. Does the state have a universal motorcycle helmet law requiring all riders to wear a helmet?
11. Does the state’s universal motorcycle helmet law require that all riders’ helmets meet federal protection standards?
12. Does the state mandate installation of an ignition interlock device as a vehicle sanction to restrict or separate hard-core drinking drivers from their vehicles?
13. Does the state have enabling legislation that provides appropriate officials the authority to develop, maintain and evaluate a state trauma system and its components?

ENA notes that each of the laws addressed in the criterion above has been shown to save lives. Thus, the goal of publishing the scorecard is to motivate policy-makers, opinion-leaders and the general public to take a more active role in advocating for these effective vehicle safety laws, regulations, and programs.

State Police Beef Up Oregon DUI Patrols Over Labor Day Weekend

In early August, the Oregon State Police ("OSP") announced that it was joining more than 10,000 police agencies nationwide in support of an intensive crackdown on drunk driving starting August 15th through the end of Labor Day weekend, midnight September 1st, to be known by the tagline: Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.

During the crackdown, Oregon police officers will arrest anyone they find driving while impaired by alcohol – regardless of age, vehicle type or time of day. As Captain Gerry Gregg, director of the OSP Patrol Services Division, explained:

"The message from Oregon law enforcement agencies is simple and unwavering. If we find you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions. Even if you think you have beat the odds of being caught and walk away from an impaired driving crash alive, motorists should be aware that officers can follow up on these incidents and you may still face legal consequences."

The Oregon State Police announced last week that, as of Monday August 25, 2008, they had made 96 DUI arrests in support of the nationwide crackdown, and will continue increased drunk driving patrols over the Labor Day weekend through midnight September 1st. In particular, OSP joins the Washington State Patrol and California Highway Patrol to increase focus on Interstate 5 from border to border in each state. As Captain Gregg described the effort, "expect to see more OSP troopers, sheriff deputies and city police officers out there to help get more impaired drivers off our roadways before they ruin your trip."

On average, since 1970, seven traffic-related deaths have happened in Oregon each year during Labor Day holiday periods.

D'Amore & Associates wishes you a safe and responsible Labor Day weekend.

Woman Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Deaths in Oregon Drunk Driving Accident

An Oregon woman, Fivea Sharapoff, was recently sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison after being convicted of killing two Eugene, Oregon women in a car crash. Sharapoff had been driving under the influence of alcohol (three times the legal limit) in the wrong direction on Interstate 5 when she struck a vehicle that carried the women. Another female passenger in the car was injured.

The conviction for first degree manslaughter and second degree assault falls under Oregon's Measure 11, which means there will be no early release.

Deadly Highway Collision Cause Parents to Sue

Last week, Rob Blanck and Lorie Shaddix of Camas, WA filed a lawsuit against Golden Star Restaurant and Lounge in regards to their daughters’ deaths last year.  Jessica Blanck and Kristyne Shaddix both died when hit by Therese Nickelby, who was driving intoxicated after leaving the restaurant.

Nickelby’s blood alcohol level after the crash was at 0.118. She later plead guilty to vehicular homicide and is serving 4 ½ years in prison.

Blanck and Shaddix are now pursuing $4 million dollars for each daughter in damages from the restaurant, alleging that they had knowingly overserved Nickelby who was “visibly intoxicated” before leaving the restaurant.

You can view more about this story in The Oregonian.

If you have been injured by a drunk driver in a Washington car accident, contact D’Amore & Associates, P.C. Trial Lawyers today to discuss your rights.