Posted on December 23, 2015 in Drunk Driving Accidents

If you're in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia, you might come across a new pamphlet on alcoholism. The title of it, "Alcoholism & Denial Destroyed My Life." It is written by a woman who is well known in the area for drunk driving.

In 2008, she and a friend drove separate vehicles after leaving a downtown bar. Both vehicles crashed into a road construction crew working the nightshift on Electric Road. One of the workers was killed.

Both of the drivers pleaded guilty to DUI, but they were also charged with aggravated manslaughter. Both were convicted of that charge and their sentence was 2.5 years and 6.5 years, suspended. In 2014, the woman was arrested again for DUI, with a blood alcohol concentration of.25 — which is more than three times the legal limit. She was convicted and sentenced to five years, which was the maximum sentence. She was also sentenced to the 6.5 years from the previous case.

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 Posted on December 17, 2015 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

When you lose someone you love in an accident, the grief you experience is not going to go away quickly. For many people, the grief is overwhelming, especially when your loved one was lost because of another person's negligence, recklessness or intentional act.

Filing a wrongful death lawsuit can bring myriad emotions to the surface. You may simply want to grieve without worrying about court appearances or even having to see the person responsible for your loved one's death.

At Locklin & Coleman, PLLC, we understand how difficult this time is and we will help you with all aspects of this necessary action. We know you want to see the party responsible for your loved one's death held accountable.

Wrongful death lawsuits may be brought because of a loved one's death in a number of ways. For example, car accidents, premises liability accidents, and workplace accidents may all result in someone's wrongful death.

There are time limits for bringing such lawsuits. In Virginia, the Wrongful Death Act is very specific about how this type of case must be put together and filed. In addition, over time, evidence can fade, which means it can be more difficult to prove what happened. An experienced attorney can help you prepare a wrongful death case before the statute of limitation expires.

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 Posted on December 11, 2015 in Truck Accidents

Distracted driving has become an even greater risk for motorists and pedestrians thanks to cellphone technology. Now people can text, check email and even play games on their cellphones — all while driving.

While any type of distracted driving can cause a fatal accident, when the driver is operating a semi-truck, the resulting accident can result in catastrophe. Here are some of the statistics associated with distracted driving and truckers.

— Texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident.

— Texting commercial motor vehicle drivers were six times more likely to be involved in an accident.

— A truck driver is 6.7 times more likely to be involved in an accident while reaching for an electronic device.

— A truck driver is 7.0 times more likely to be involved in an accident while looking at a map.

— A driver takes his or her eyes off the road for between 3.8 and 4.6 seconds when he or she texts or dials a phone number. While that may not seem like a long time, a truck can travel the length of a football fields during those few seconds.

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 Posted on December 04, 2015 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

When a loved one is lost in a fatal motor vehicle accident, the family is left to try to move on with their lives. It's one of the most difficult times the family and friends will experience. While seeking compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit won't bring back a loved one, it can help bring a sense of closure and justice.

At Locklin & Coleman, PLLC, we understand how your family can be affected emotionally and financially. We also know that a wrongful death lawsuit can be very painful for your family. Our law firm works with leading experts, investigators, accident reconstruction specialists and many other resources to determine what caused the truck accident. These experts will reveal the truck driver's or trucking company's negligence that contributed to your loved one's death.

Trucking accidents can occur for a number of reasons, including driver fatigue, improper maintenance, defective truck parts or imbalanced loads. Our experts will also identify all parties to name as defendants in the wrongful death suit. In many cases, the driver is not the only one responsible for the accident.

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 Posted on November 25, 2015 in Drunk Driving Accidents

New Year's Eve is thought of as a party holiday, with drinking, dancing and people driving home from the bar. Thanksgiving is thought of as a family holiday, where everyone gathers at grandma's house and carves a turkey.

Perceptions and stereotypes aside, though, and the states tell a different story. Thanksgiving has actually ended up causing more fatal DUI crashes recently than New Year's Eve, making it the deadlier of the two holidays.

The days around Thanksgiving are also ones that see a significant amount of action when it comes to drinking and driving. Specifically, the night before Thanksgiving-and into the early morning on the holiday itself-is one of the biggest bar nights in the country every year. This can naturally lead to more DUI arrests, as well.

Some experts have noted that there are more arrests when people have long weekends. This could contribute to the danger of Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday. Even if people don't go out the night before, many of them will get Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off of work, something that rarely happens.

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 Posted on November 19, 2015 in Truck Accidents

It would be wonderful if drivers in Virginia could know in advance which truck drivers were most likely to fall asleep behind the wheel. After all, there are roughly 6,000 fatal accidents each year that can be linked back to drowsy driving, and commercial drivers play a big part in this.

While it's impossible to spot all drowsy drivers, knowing some of the key factors that make it likely for someone to fall asleep at the wheel can help. These include:

- Drivers who work on abnormal shifts, meaning they may be up at odd hours or not sleep as well. This is also a problem for drivers who are not used to these shifts and may be covering them for the first time.

- Drivers who are using any type of drug or medication that could make them more tired than usual.

- Drivers who simply don't sleep enough at night - perhaps wanting to stay up late to hang out with friends or watch a football game on TV, for example.

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 Posted on November 13, 2015 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Pedestrians are always at higher risk of serious injuries or death when involved in a car accident simply because there isn't any protection around them. While vehicles are supposed to yield to pedestrians, this doesn't always happen.

In Gainesville, Virginia, a man was struck by a 2009 Cadillac CTS when he tried to cross Linton Hall Road close to Limestone Drive. The driver of the Cadillac was headed northbound on Linton Hall when the vehicle hit the man.

The victim died at the scene of the accident. According to police, the driver didn't appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The driver, who is from Manassas, Virginia, stayed at the scene of the accident and didn't suffer any injuries. No charges have been filed against the 39-year-old driver.

In any car vs pedestrian accident, the police investigation will prove very important. The police will determine whether the pedestrian or the driver was at-fault. In civil cases, an accident reconstructionist may be called in to recreate the scene. While criminal charges are not required for a civil case to be filed, it can help strengthen a wrongful death or personal injury case.

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 Posted on November 06, 2015 in Drunk Driving Accidents

A man from Manassas, Virginia, is facing charges of driving under the influence after he allegedly refused to stop for a Fauquier County sheriff's deputy.

The crash occurred on Halloween in Warrenton, Virginia, which is about a 30-minute drive from Manassas. The deputy tried to stop the 22-year-old's vehicle after it reportedly sped by him at over 80 mph on U.S. 29. When the driver fled, he tried to take an exit, but lost control of his 2001 Ford Focus.

The driver of the Ford smashed into the deputy's cruiser, resulting in serious injuries to a passenger in the man's car and to the deputy. Those two people were taken by helicopter to INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Their injuries were described as non-life-threatening, but serious.

Another five people were taken by ambulance. Several agencies responded to the accident, including the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Company. One of the volunteers suffered exposure to blood from one victim's open wound.

The Virginia State Police are still investigating the accident. Currently, the driver who fled is only charged with DUI. It is not known if additional charges will be filed.

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 Posted on October 30, 2015 in Truck Accidents

There are many instances when someone's negligence can lead to a civil lawsuit. For example, someone could be a negligent driver involved in a car accident, a negligent pet owner whose dog attacked a neighborhood child or a negligent doctor who didn't prescribe the right medication.

In Virginia, the term negligence means that someone did not exercise the right degree of care that is expected in a specific situation. So, how does someone prove negligence in court?

You must define what a "reasonable person" would or wouldn't do in the situation that you were injured in or suffered a loss from. In Virginia, though, if you as an injured party contributed to your injuries in some way, then you don't have a case. This very harsh rule is still on the law books in the state. The other person who was negligent must be found to be 100 percent responsible for the accident or you can't collect monetary damages.

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 Posted on October 23, 2015 in Car Accidents

When you're given car accident statistics in Virginia, they're often broken down to an even spacing, perhaps by saying that there are "X" amount of accidents every five minutes, or that there is one accident every "X" seconds. While this can illustrate how common accidents are, it also leads to misconceptions, making people think that accidents happen evenly spaced out throughout the day.

The reality is quite different. Accidents often come in clusters, and the statistics show that rush hour produces the vast majority of them, where rush hour is defined as six to nine in the evening. Even if you expand that a bit, most accidents happen between three and nine. This is also the time when there are the most fatal accidents. In 2010, for instance, there were 5,178 fatal crashes in this time frame, all across the United States.

It's not really that surprising, as this is when traffic is heaviest. The more traffic, the greater the odds that someone will crash, and the greater the odds that multiple vehicles will be drawn into an accident that, at another time with lighter traffic, may have only involved one or two cars.

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