Unfortunately, every year thousands of people are injured and sadly killed in highway traffic accidents. There is a type of highway accident that can have devastating consequences — it's been highlighted this week by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). It indicated in its report released this Tuesday, as a result of its latest crash test studies involving tractor-trailers and cars, that underride guards on semis can fail in relatively low speed crashes. Underride guards are designed to protect the rear of tractor-trailers so when a car hits a semi from behind it does not go …

This month has produced the most snowfall in Connecticut’s history for any January since records began in 1905. The end of all of this snow and the resulting ice seem nowhere in sight. And in addition to the dangerous roadways and the motor vehicle accidents that occur, accumulations of snow and ice cover a variety of steps, walkways and parking lots. Due to the amount of snow and the very cold temperatures, the incidents of slip and falls on ice and snow are unusually high. We have been contacted by numerous indiviuals that have been seriously injured as a result of falling on ice and snow …

This New Year's Eve weekend there were plenty of revelers looking to ring in 2011 with an alcohol-themed catalyst and many young people who think they can do so while feeling intoxicated and wide-awake at the same time. They may also have thought that they could party until dawn without feeling the fatigue brought on by alcohol consumption. In order to do this they engage in the potentally deadly practice of consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks. It has been reported that 90 percent of drinkers under 25 consume energy drinks. Additionally, 25 percent of them combine alcohol with energy …

You are driving down the road thinking about any one of a number of things that  occupy your mind throughout the day when unexpectedly a deer runs out in front of your car. You panic and turn while attemping to avoid killing the animal when you hit the vehicle in the other lane of traffic head on. The National Highway Loss Data Institute recently reported that fatal motor vehicle accidents caused by deer and other animals have more than doubled over the past decade and a half. These deadly crashes have risen from 101 in 1993 to 150 in 2000 to 223 in 2009. This problem is especially widespread…

I remember the call like it was yesterday, despite the fact that it happened decades ago. It was early New Year's morning. My client had been involved in an accident where he had been drinking. As I approached his cell in the State Police Barracks, I saw his ashen face, his body was shaking and he kept repeating in disbelief,  "she can't be dead, she can't be dead, she can't be dead." Many lives would be permamently changed because of this one avoidable event. This holiday season many of us will attend multiple parties where alcohol is free-flowingly served. The festive nature of this time of…

Last week was Teen Safe Driver Awareness Week, part of a national effort encouraging teenagers to be safer when operating motor vehicles. Car accidents are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year-olds. The State of Connecticut experienced a 62 percent reduction in fatal motor vehicle crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers in 2009 when the number dropped to an all time low of six fatalities. DMV Commissioner Robert Ward said there are growing indications that safety messages and tougher laws, sanctions for violations and driver training are spreading awareness and beginning to …