Posted on May 11, 2022 in Bicycle Accidents

As the weather gets warmer in Connecticut, more people ride their bicycles for exercise or to travel between home and work. This makes May the perfect time of year for Bicycle Safety Month.

If you ride a bicycle, you know that preventing getting into an accident on busy roadways is a top concern. Here are some ways to stay safe while cycling.

Wear a helmet

Wearing a helmet is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself should you get into an accident. However, many people simply do not wear one, either due to perceived comfort issues or for some other reason. Wearing a well-fitted helmet can make the difference between life and death for a cyclist.

Know the rules

If you are riding on public roads with vehicle traffic, you must follow the rules of the road. This includes:

• Stopping for stop signs
• Riding with the flow of traffic
• Making turn signals with your arms and hands

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 Posted on April 14, 2022 in Car Accidents

You are about to rent a vehicle and the agent asks you if you want to purchase rental car insurance. Should you pay more? Is it worth it? These are common questions to ask before you decide to add an extra charge to your rental car bill.

Do you really need it? The short answer is yes.

Here are 5 reasons why you should purchase rental car insurance:

1. Your personal auto insurance may not cover rental vehicles.

Before you rent a vehicle, review the terms of your own auto insurance to be certain that you have coverage for a rental car. While your policy may provide liability coverage for rental vehicles, you should check to see if it extends collision or comprehensive coverage  to the rental vehicle. If it doesn’t, you need rental insurance to cover the cost of repairing any damage to the rental vehicle.

2. You don’t own a car and don’t have auto insurance.

If you don’t own a car and rent a vehicle without purchasing rental insurance, you are in violation of Connecticut law if you operate the rental vehicle.  Also, if you have an accident with personal injuries and property damage, you may be personally liable for the damages.

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 Posted on April 13, 2022 in Car Accidents

Your vehicle’s GPS is an excellent resource that provides directions, real-time traffic updates and may connect you to emergency services. However, as your car ages, the system might not work correctly or can completely lose connection.

A malfunctioning GPS may lead to several unpleasant or unsafe situations.

What causes GPS connection issues?

There are many reasons why your car’s GPS stops working, such as:

• Signal providers shutting down obsolete towers, preventing older GPSs from receiving updates
• Extreme weather such as thunderstorms, blizzards and intense heat
• Poor or no satellite signal
• New or rural roads that are not in the GPS

What happens when the GPS stops working?

While you may not use your navigation system for everyday driving, you depend on it to be accurate when you do. Systems that do not work correctly can lead to some of the following situations:

• Being stuck in traffic behind slow-moving vehicles

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 Posted on April 08, 2022 in Dog Bites

Dog attacks happen. Although dogs often make wonderful family pets, we must keep in mind that they are animals. Even the sweetest pup can bite when threatened and, unfortunately, not all the dogs in our neighborhoods are sweet pups. In a recent example, a dog found its way onto a school playground during recess. It started chasing and attacking the children, severely injuring one and scratching two others. The severely injured child required medical care at the local hospital, the others were treated on the scene.

Whether an incident happens when playing outside like the example above or while visiting family or loved ones, navigating the situation is complicated. The parents will need to address the health of their child, both physical and mental as a dog bite attack can lead to more than just serious cuts — they can also cause psychological trauma. They also need to figure out who should pay the bills. Hospital bills are expensive, and cost should not keep parents from getting their child a counselor if needed to discuss their fears after the attack.

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 Posted on April 06, 2022 in Personal Injury

Concussions are an injury that most people know of, without actually knowing much about them. Unfortunately for potential victims, many people don’t understand how dangerous concussions can be.

Concussions can be caused by many things and can have long-lasting effects on a person’s life. What are the most important things to now about concussions?

The causes of head injuries

Mayo Clinic discusses the issue of concussions, a common and potentially dangerous injury. Some of the most common causes of concussions include car accidents and falls. Head injuries after a car accident are more common than realized. Concussions can occur after hitting your head during an accident, even if the injury only seemed minor.

Falls may occur from a height, such as workers who use ladders or harnesses to reach high places. They can also occur due to slip and fall incidents, in which a victim slips or trips on flooring and hits their head during the fall.

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 Posted on March 21, 2022 in Car Accidents

Any car accident has the potential to cause great damage, but wrong-way crashes can be particularly destructive. According to the American Automobile Association, wrong-way collisions occur when a driver moves against the flow of traffic.

This kind of accident happens more often than people may realize. Wrong-way collisions caused the deaths of 2,008 people between 2015 and 2018. On average, these crashes cause 500 deaths each year. Because drivers move against traffic, they usually cause a head-on collision when they encounter another vehicle. This raises the chance that the crash will be fatal.

Why do wrong-way collisions occur?

Several different factors can result in a driver moving the wrong way. Someone with a higher blood alcohol concentration has a greater chance of driving against traffic. Additionally, people can make this mistake when they drive under the influence of drugs.

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 Posted on March 09, 2022 in Car Accidents

There are times when driving at or just under the speed limit is actually as dangerous as speeding. This is because the road or the environment may be so hazardous that drivers should slow their vehicles to avoid accidents. A driver who does not slow down may be driving too fast for conditions, which may cause injury or death.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes a few instances where conditions require drivers to reduce their speeds below the posted speed limit to remain safe on the road.

During bad weather

A heavy rainstorm reduces visibility, so you may not see dangerous situations approach until it is too late to react. Connecticut winters also see snowfalls and icy conditions which can make roads slippery during these months. Even driving at the posted speed limit on an icy road may be too fast for you to slow down to avoid a collision.

On roads in a state of repair

A road under repair will likely have a number of road workers laboring near traffic, so it is important to maintain a slow speed to avoid hitting a worker. Also, road work may necessitate closing off a lane or two. Since this can constrict traffic into a single lane, drivers will have to slow down or risk rear-ending another automobile.

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 Posted on February 24, 2022 in Car Accidents

According to the Connecticut Crash Data Repository’s reports for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, annual injuries due to auto accidents are steadily rising. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that while people nationwide are driving at increasingly higher speeds, fewer are wearing seatbelts.

Connecticut lawmakers hope to reverse these trends by reducing auto-related injuries and fatalities with stricter seat belt laws.

What are the new seat belt laws?

As of October 2021, Connecticut no longer gives adults riding in a car’s second or third row the option to buckle up. Instead, public Act No.21-175 includes a provision mandating passengers of all ages must wear safety restraints, or drivers risk fines. Although traffic officers may not stop drivers specifically for seat belt violations, stops for other offenses, including speeding, could lead to $50 tickets for drivers over age 18 and $75 tickets for drivers under age 18. These fines are on top of any other violation penalties.

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 Posted on February 14, 2022 in Car Accidents

You may know how to handle things if you find yourself involved in a Connecticut car crash as a driver. Yet, what happens when you are using a ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft and then suffer injuries in a wreck? Obtaining compensation after a ride-hailing car crash is not always easy. Also, contrary to popular belief, Uber or Lyft and other ride-hailing services do not always have an obligation to cover your medical or other expenses.

What is considered a ride-hailing service?

Ride-hailing is when someone hires a driver to take them to a destination. The most common ride-hailing platforms are Uber and Lyft. The drivers are operating their own vehicles to take paying passengers to a specific destination.

According to the New Haven Register, ride-hailing services operate differently than a traditional taxi or limousine service. As a result, the process involved in pursuing an injury claim for an injury sustained in a ride-hailing crash may be different than it would be following a traditional car crash.

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 Posted on January 31, 2022 in Car Accidents

The trauma of a car accident can cause damage to blood vessels or organs that results in internal bleeding. According to WebMD, symptoms of traumatic internal bleeding are usually as obvious as they are serious.

Some symptoms of internal bleeding are systematic, meaning that they affect the whole body, or can occur anywhere the injury occurs. Other symptoms are specific to internal bleeding in certain areas.

Symptoms that are systemic or can occur anywhere in the body

Where there is internal bleeding, there may also be ecchymosis. Bleeding into the soft tissues or skin can cause a purplish discoloration that looks like a bruise and can cover a large area. Ecchymosis can occur anywhere in the body.

Wherever internal bleeding occurs in the body, it can result in a loss of blood. This can cause dizziness, fainting or light-headedness. Left untreated, loss of blood from internal bleeding can cause the body to go into hypovolemic shock.

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