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Posted on January 31, 2012
Determining Fault in a Car Accident
How it’s done, and why you should always hire a car accident lawyer
The period of time following a car accident can be one of the most frightening, confusing, and stressful that we will ever face. Determining fault in a car accident right after it happens is the last thing that you want or need to thing about, and that is why it is important to have a car accident lawyer who can take care of that for you. However, after the initial craziness which always occurs in the immediate after-math of a car accident, it is important that you look after your own interests, ensuring that you are compensated justly for any injuries or other costs resulting from the accident. As car accident attorneys our job is to help you through this phase by gathering all of the facts of your case and determining whether your may be entitled to further compensation from a responsible party.
Determining Fault
Determining fault in a car accident case is a responsibility which falls on the shoulders of the insurance company. Despite what many may claim, fault is not determined by the police office who responded to the scene of the accident. However, the accident reports and other evidence gathered by said officers are used by the insurance company as influencing factors in determining who shall be help responsible, and to what extent for a car accident. For this reason it is important that, no matter the severity of your car accident, you are represented by a car accident lawyer who can ensure that all legal processes surrounding the reporting and liability determination in your case are done with-in the constraints of the law, and that your best interests can be defended should the insurance company or the responsible party fail to operate within those parameters.
Legal duties of the insurance companies involved in determining fault
As mentioned above, insurance companies do have a defined format when it comes to determining fault in a car accident, and as car accident lawyers it is our responsibility to ensure that they stay within that format. Claim adjusters must consider the extent of negligence displayed by each driver and then assign percentage values accordingly. This negligence analysis includes the adjusters looking at four primary indicators of negligence: each driver’s duties, breaches, causation, and damages. If any of these areas are left out in their analysis, or calculated incorrectly, your car accident lawyer will step-in to ensure that the analysis is re-done in accordance with the appropriate laws.
Because the decision of the insurers involved in a car accident case can determine so much regarding the compensation that you are ultimately able to recover, it is critical that you have a legal professional on your side who can step-in in case the insurer or the responsible party fails to operate within the rules.
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Posted on January 24, 2012
Winter Driving Accidents All Too Common
Simple tips for avoiding Colorado winter car accidents
Every winter in Colorado hundreds and hundreds of car accidents occur in-part because of the challenging driving conditions that the Colorado winter presents. The sad thing is that most, if not all of these winter driving accidents could be avoided if drivers would abide by a few simple winter driving best practices. A change in the conditions of the roads, whether it be from ice, snow, or rain, warrants a change in how drivers operate their vehicles on those roads. Below, we’ll look at why winter driving accidents and injures from those accidents are so common, as well as go over some of the simple things that drivers can do in order to avoid getting into a needless winter driving accident.
Winter driving accidents and black ice
Black ice is the scourge of the Colorado winter driver. Black ice is dangerous for two reason; the first is that it causes most any vehicle, even some with snow tires and chains, to lose their grip on the road. The second, and far more impactful reason why black ice is so dangerous, and causes so many winter driving accidents and injuries, is because black ice is almost impossible for a driver to see, especially against the black background of the road. While it may seem impossible to defend yourself against this challenging driving condition, there are steps you can take to significantly reduce the likelihood that you’ll be involved in an accident as a result of black ice, snow, or sleet covered roads.
Tips for avoiding winter-weather caused car accidents
First and foremost…
No matter whether your car is 4-wheel drive, all-wheel drive or has snow tires, if the roads are icy, it is going to take longer for you to stop, and if the faster you’re going, the more time you’ll need to be able to come to a stop. Slow down, and avoid a wreck.
next…
- Keep a greater distance between you in the car in front of you
This point ties in directly with the one above; in snowy and icy conditions your car will require more time to slow and come to a stop. Leaving plenty of space in-between you and the car ahead of you will ensure that you have plenty of time to react to changes in traffic. it will also eliminate the need for you to slam on the brakes, causing you to lose control of your vehicle.
and lastly…
- Use your low-beam headlights during snow fall
When it snows, using your high beam headlights not only makes your own ability to see the road ahead worse, it also has the same affect on oncoming traffic. Be sure to only use your low-beam lights while snow is falling, and you’ll see a huge difference in your ability to see what lies ahead.
In many winter driving accidents, the weather cannot be blamed entirely for the resulting injuries. If you have been injured in a Colorado car accident because someone else was not taking the proper winter driving precautions, call McCormick & Murphy today for a free consultation.
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Posted on January 19, 2012
Texting While Driving Accidents
What will it take for drivers to stop texting behind the wheel?
Of all of the things that a driver can do to take his attention off of his responsibilities as an operator of a lethal weapon, perhaps the most frightening is texting and driving, as is evident by the fact that the numbers texting while driving accidents are continually rising. There are many actions that a driver can engage in which cause him to remove either his visual, cognitive, or manual attention away from driving and toward something else. These include eating, drinking, talking to other passengers, adjusting the radio, and so forth. However, when a driver texts while driving, he is not sacrificing one or two of these faculties (which is bad enough), but is in-fact sacrificing all three. With literally hundreds of anti-texting while driving organizations in existence, and numbers of texting while driving accidents still on the rise, it begs the question, what will it take for driver to stop texting and driving?
Numbers don’t lie; but they do shock
A study which was recently published by the Virginia Tech transportation institute revealed that truck drivers are nearly 23 times more likely to have a crash or near crash when texting while driving than non-distracted truck drivers. According to the same study, the average text takes a driver’s attention away from driving for almost 4.6 full seconds. So, what does that mean? It means that a driver traveling at a speed of 55 miles-per-hour will cover the distance of an entire football field before he turns his attention back to the road. A similar study performed by researchers at Clemson University found that texting while driving and using IPods while driving causes drivers to drift from their lanes ten percent more often.
Of all the distractions drivers face, why is texting the worst?
The reason why texting while driving accidents are so much more common than, say, eating while driving accidents, is because texting causes the driver to remove his cognitive and manual attention from the task at hand, but also, frighteningly, his visual attention. If the average driver is distracted by a text for 4.6 seconds, there is little difference between paying attention to that text and taking one or more hands off the wheel, thinking about something other than driving, and closing his eyes.
So, where do we go from here?
With all of the statistics about texting while driving accidents being not only widely available, but also heavily promoted, there is simply no excuse for engaging in the act. My sincere hope is that drivers will come to the conclusion that texting while driving is simply not worth the risk, and never engage in it. The sad reality is that for many, the worst may have to happen before the risks are fully realized.
Tags:Texting while driving accidents
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Posted on December 28, 2011
Over the holiday months the road becomes a far more dangerous place
According to national statistics recorded in 2009, the number of deaths and injuries from car accidents increase substantially over the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holiday season. In fact, 468 deaths were recorded on New Years Day in 2009, 411 on Thanksgiving, and 262 on Christmas. While these numbers may now sound too astounding right off the bat, when compared to the 100 average daily car accident deaths that are observed during the rest of the year, they become much more startling. Not to mention, those numbers don’t even take into account the number of injuries from car accidents during those holidays. So we know that driving during these hoildays is far more dangerous than during an other random day of the year, but the question of why these days are so much more dangerous for being on the road remains. Here, we’ll go over 3 reasons that contribute to dangerous, and often fatal, holiday driving conditions.
Drunk Driving
Because the holidays are a time filled with parties, family reunions, and over-all festivity, people tend to indulge in alcohol in greater quantities than on an average day during the year. This in-and-of-itself means that more impaired drivers will take to the roads during these holidays, causing more injuries from car car accidents. When you add the increased overall number of people consuming alcohol to the fact that more people travel over the holidays, you have a recipe which results in hundreds of car accident fatalities and injuries each year.
Crowded Roads
Over the holidays people are traveling to be with friends and family and the roads tend to be far more crowded than normal. Crowded roads produce more car accidents than less crowded roads as there are more opportunities for accidents to occur as well as far more obstacles for drivers to avoid. The best way to avoid injuries from car accidents over the holidays is to avoid the crowded roads all-together, if at all possible.
Winter Weather
In Colorado specifically, severe winter weather means dangerous driving conditions, and because the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holidays occur at the peak of the Colorado winter weather conditions, they are naturally going to be times of more dangerous driving. Icy and snowy roads drastically increase the likelihoods of car accidents, and these conditions exist in droves during the winter holiday season.
If you have suffered injuries from car accidents this holiday season, it is critical that you have an experienced Colorado personal injury lawyer on your side who will fight to get you the compensation you need to get healthy.
Denver Office:
McCormick & Murphy, P.C.
100 Fillmore Street 5th Floor Denver, CO 80206
(720) 545-9090
Colorado Springs Office:
McCormick & Murphy P.C.
318 South 8th st.
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
(719) 389-0400
Tags:Colorado personal injury lawyer, Injuries From Car Accidents
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Posted on December 6, 2011
5 reasons why McCormick & Murphy, P.C. is the the accident attorney Denver trusts
When someone in the Denver-metro area suffers a personal injury as a result of the intentionally harmful or negligent actions of someone else, whether it be in the form of physical or mental damages, they need the accident attorney Denver trusts. McCormick & Murphy, P.C. have earned their reputation as not only effective trial lawyers, but also as an accident attorney Denver trusts, by providing sound yet aggressive legal council during the trying period that follows any personal injury. Below are 5 attributes which have made the team of accident attorneys at McCormick & Murphy, P.C. one of the most trusted and sought after in Colorado.
History of success
Over the past 15 years McCormick & Murphy, P.C. have achieved exceptional results for their Denver clients. Don’t take my word for it; have a look at some of the client testimonials which speak to not only the settlements they have received but also the level of care and respect that they were provided throughout their personal injury compensation battle.
Timely care
The brutal truth is that a personal injury can occur at any time of the day or night. McCormick & Murphy, P.C. is the accident attorney Denver trusts to always be available in their time of need, and for good reason.
Competence and Professionalism
You wouldn’t want your doctor to crack jokes during a procedure or your plumber to forget his tool box. McCormick & Murphy, P.C. are constant professionals, meaning that they understand the significance of what they do, and always do it with the utmost dignity and sincerity.
Tenacious representation
McCormick & Murphy, P.C. are accident attorneys who have battled big insurance companies and other well financed corporations. Their tenacious approach to your personal injury case mean they will fight tooth-and-nail to get you fair compensation, no matter the resources of the defendant.
Exert knowledge
McCormick & Murphy, P.C. have specific and extensive knowledge across a multitude of personal injury case areas. This expertise has helped them achieve tremendous settlements for their clients for years, and is the reason why they are the accident attorney Denver trusts to achieve the settlements they deserve.
It is so important to be able to trust your accident attorney, as the period following a personal injury is not only a delicate one, but also a critical one. McCormick & Murphy, P.C. is the accident attorney Denver trusts to get them to maximum recovery for any and all personal injuries caused by the neglect of another.
Tags:Accident Attorney Denver
