As anyone who lives in Buffalo knows, there comes a time over the course of the winter when it just doesn’t seem like it could snow anymore. But it does. Of course, snow on the roads is only one danger that exists for drivers in Buffalo winters. Freezing rain, hail, fog and ice are all possible during the Buffalo winters and can all make the roads an unsafe place to be.

To help you stay safe and minimize the risk of becoming involved in a winter car crash, the Buffalo News has recently published some winter safe driving tips. Our Buffalo auto accident attorneys urge everyone to heed the advice published in the News in order to stay safe as winter weather approaches.

Winter Safe Driving Tips

The Buffalo News has provided details on how best to react during certain winter driving situations as well as some general safe driving tips. According to their article:

• When you experience a loss of traction due to ice, you need to maintain eye contact with a safe spot where you want your vehicle to end up. You then need to remove your foot from both the gas and the brakes and turn the car towards the area where you want your vehicle to travel. Slamming on the brakes is the worst thing you can do in these situations, the News warns.
• If you are driving in ice, you should make use of both your windshield wipers and your car’s defroster. You should be sure to keep a reasonable distance between yourself and other cars in case you can’t stop easily and you should be sure to use your signals to let other drivers know well in advance if you are going to be slowing down, turning or stopping. By using your signals, you give other drivers a chance to put on the brakes well before you do so they do not skid into you. If a skid happens on the ice, you should turn the car’s wheels into the skid. Slamming the brakes is also a bad thing to do in these situations.
• Use tire chains if they are recommended or required. Tire chains help to give you more control and make winter driving safer.
• Never use cruise control if you are driving under icy conditions. Using cruise control takes the control of the vehicle away from you, making it more difficult to maintain an appropriate following distance or to respond quickly in the event that you start to skid out of control.

Following these safe driving tips should hopefully help you to make it through the winter weather season without becoming involved in a dangerous auto accident. The Buffalo News also recommends that you practice winter driving techniques such as driving under icy conditions, responding when you lose traction and coping with a skidding vehicle. If you practice these conditions in an empty parking lot where there are no cars that you can hit, you will be more prepared if you encounter a dangerous situation in traffic that you need to respond to.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

The bike path in Clarence where joggers, bikers and walkers go to enjoy autumn’s outdoor splendor has recently become the subject of grave safety concerns.

As our Buffalo accident attorneys understand it, earlier this month a 53-year-old motorcyclist drifted off the road next to the path, plowing into a handful of pedestrians and cyclists, killing two of them and critically injuring another.

According to The Buffalo News, the stretch of road where this tragedy occurred is along an area where the path is directly joined to the road, with no separation of grass or even a dividing line. There are other sections of the path where dense woods create a clear divide.

The driver of that motorcycle has been arrested and charged with DUI and criminally negligent homicide.

But that doesn’t change the fact that such an accident is not only possible again – it’s likely, particularly if town officials don’t take some action to implement additional safety precautions for those who use the path where it runs alongside Tonawanda Creek Road.

Town officials have indicated that there is no cause for serious alarm, as this incident isn’t indicative of any pattern of serious accidents along this stretch. However, when you actually see the site of the accident, it’s clear to understand why cyclists, joggers and pedestrians are alarmed.

Officials though have said that creating some sort of buffer might be difficult, as the land that is closest is mostly marshy and parts of the path have already become eroded as a result. Others have questioned whether such measures would be enough to stop a drunk driver.

The town’s Planning Department officials said it would make the issue a top priority of discussion. That’s a start.

And further on the subject of rising bicycle accidents in New York, it appears similar problems have been reported in New York City, where officials had previously held that pedestrians and cyclists were increasingly safer. Now, however, the Mayor’s Management Report indicates that traffic fatalities in the city were actually up a shocking 23 percent between July 2011 and June 2012. It was the first increase since 2007.

Among bicyclists and pedestrians, deaths spiked to 176, from 158 the year before.

Authorities are blaming speed, DUI and ignoring traffic signals as the top causes of fatal accidents.

Bicyclists often wear helmets and are alert, but the responsibility primarily falls on motorists. Here are some ways drivers can avoid hitting those on two wheels:

• Watch for bicyclists when turning left. This scenario accounts for almost half of all vehicle-versus-bicycle crashes.
• Don’t pass a bicyclist and then turn right. Wait for him or her to pass through the intersection before you make your turn.
• When you are parallel parking, make sure to check your mirrors before you open your driver’s side door. This will help you avoid “dooring” a cyclist.
• Look both ways for bicyclists when leaving a parking lot.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

Police have released a sketch of an unidentified pedestrian accident victim in Buffalo, who was killed last week on Broadway. He was killed Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as he attempted to cross at Broadway and Woltz.

The Buffalo News reported it was the second time in less than 24 hours a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and the latest in a long string of Buffalo pedestrian accidents. Our Buffalo personal injury lawyers know nearly one-third of traffic accident fatalities in New York are pedestrians. The New York State Department of Transportation reports 311 pedestrians were among the 1,119 traffic fatalities reported in 2010. More than 16,000 pedestrians were injured.

These tragedies are frequently caused by drivers who are not paying attention, who fail to yield the right-of-way or who otherwise act negligently in causing a pedestrian accident. Speeding is another likely cause — an increase of 5 mph more than doubles a walker’s risk of dying in the event of an accident.

The New York State Department of Transportation’s participation in the nationwide Safe Routes to School initiative is one program working to reduce the risk of serious or fatal pedestrian accidents involving younger children. In New York, and in other parts of the country, the number of children who walk and bike to school has declined dramatically over the years. The program aims to teach safety while encouraging children to walk or bike to school as a healthy, environmentally friendly travel alternative.

Whether a school bus accident, a bicycle accident or a pedestrian accident, the back-to-school season also increases the risk of tragic accidents involving young people. Motorists must use extra caution when traveling near schools or through residential neighborhoods, particularly in the early morning and afternoon hours.

But the truth of the matter is autumn is a dangerous time for pedestrian accidents. The end of Daylight Savings Time means an early dark that increases the risks, as do deteriorating weather condition. Combine that with Halloween and back-to-school, and the risks are bound to increase.

And, unfortunately, alcohol is too often involved in serious or fatal pedestrian accidents in Buffalo and elsewhere in New York.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports drunk driving accidents account for one-third of all traffic fatalities.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044

Throughout the Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester region, there are nearly 20 shopping malls with sprawling and potentially hazardous parking lots. With the holidays around the corner, the malls will be crowded with shoppers who may have to negotiate icy sidewalks, puddles and even oil slicks to avoid slipping and falling. Many parking lots and walkways have poor lighting at night, which can make it difficult to see broken pavement or a step.

The experienced attorneys at the law offices of Buffalo personal injury lawyer James Morris have seen all types of fall down accidents. Unfortunately, you can slip, trip or fall in department stores through no fault of your own. You can sustain shopping mall injuries in any number locations—entry ways with recently mopped floors, restrooms with broken floor tiles, crowded dressing rooms, cluttered aisles, malfunctioning escalators and dark parking garages.

If you are injured while shopping, you should not hesitate to pursue a premises liability claim. In these types of claims, the property owner may be liable for the injuries. Older folks are particularly vulnerable. When the elderly slip and fall, they can end up breaking a hip or fracturing a wrist much more easily than a younger person.

Wherever slip and fall accidents take place—whether it’s an older person who slipped and fell in a mall, a child who slipped and fell crossing an icy road with no salt on it or an executive who tripped on torn carpeting in a poorly maintained office building—the victim may be severely injured.

If you do slip and fall on someone else’s property this holiday season, including public land, remember: the property owner’s premises liability insurance is there to provide compensation for slip and fall injuries.

The insurance companies may try to low-ball a settlement or deny your claim. You don’t have to fight them on your own or let them control the outcome. If you or a loved one suffered a slip and fall accident or any premises liability injury, contact the Law Offices of James Morris for a free consultation. You deserve a reliable, aggressive upstate and western New York personal injury lawyer. Call us at 1-800-477-9044 or complete our online contact form. We can help you seek justice.

James Morris Law
1015 Liberty Building, 424 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202

Upstate New Yorkers may be a tough breed, but we are all going to be in shock for a long time about a recent reckless driving bicycle accident fatality. On July 30, 2012, a beloved local teacher went out for an early morning Sunday bicycle ride when, police say, a motorcyclist who was allegedly driving drunk hit her. The impact threw her into the road. She was then run over by a car said to have been driven by the motorcyclist’s girlfriend.

According to police reports, the motorcyclist had been driving recklessly—doing wheelies, speeding up, then braking—just before he crashed into the cyclist. The motorbike collision victim was rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The motorcyclist was arrested for DWI before being taken to the hospital with serious injuries. There were no reports of whether the driver of the car that crashed into the cyclist was injured.

The seasoned Buffalo personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of James Morris have handled hundreds of car wreck injury and death cases in Western New York, but this one hits close to home, especially for anyone who is a parent. The cyclist who was killed by the car had two small children and a loving husband, whose lives are now changed forever.

This is a cautionary tale about many aspects of road safety. The accident happened before 8 am, when there was no heavy traffic. It’s likely that the last thing on the car crash victim’s mind was the chance of anyone driving drunk at that hour. There is also the issue of distracted driving involving the motorcyclist and the driver of the car. It is a sad lesson that it doesn’t just take texting while driving or using a cellphone or GPS unit to distract drivers. The biker was simply driving recklessly and the driver of the car was not paying attention to the roadway.

The takeaway from this tragic event: Because we all share the road, accidents only take a split second to destroy lives. This is a wake-up call to everyone to be cautious on the roads, whether you are operating a vehicle or a bicycle. Drunk drivers, distracted drivers, speeding drivers—they could be just around the corner, no matter what hour it is.

If you or a loved one suffered a bike crash injury or you lost a relative in a car accident fatality or motorcycle accident death, seek powerful legal representation. Contact the Law Offices of James Morris for a free consultation with an aggressive upstate and western New York personal injury lawyer. Call us at 1-800-477-9044 or complete our online contact form.

James Morris Law
1015 Liberty Building, 424 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202

It is important to work effectively with your lawyer so you can have a satisfying working relationship with one another. This is an excellent article about the subject, which we wanted to both share and elaborate upon.

It is a good idea to bring a copy of your own insurance documents (declaration page), when you first meet with your attorney. Your attorney’s office can also obtain this information if necessary, but as the article above mentions, the client can sometimes access this information quicker.

You should also bring with you other information your attorney may need to begin working on your file. For instance, for a personal injury matter, this may include the names and contact information for all your treating physicians, or copies of police accident reports. There are often key deadlines early on in a potential lawsuit, so the more information your attorney has on hand from the outset of your case, the better.

Keep all documentation, including letters and bills from doctors and insurance companies. Discuss with your attorney early on what types of documents they may want you to forward to their office, and be sure to do so in a timely fashion. This will help to ensure the attorney will always have up to date information in your file when they need it. Sometimes it is as simple as mailing (or e-mailing) it to the office when you receive it, or leaving it with the assistant or paralegal in charge of your file.

Keep a list of questions you would like to discuss with your attorney, as well as notes about what happened since the last time you spoke, which will help you make the most of your next appointment.

For a personal injury or medical malpractice case, it can be useful to keep a calendar documenting symptoms and keeping track of all your medical appointments.

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It makes sense that there are a lot of motorcyclists in Upstate and Western New York because it’s an ideal area for bikers, with miles of scenic, meandering roads that are great for both long and short road trips.  Because the universal helmet law applies in New York State, and all bikers are required to wear helmets, motorcycle accident injury rates are lower than they are in than states where helmets are not mandatory for all.  Thanks to a new study by the Center For Disease Control, we also now know that NY State has more money in its budget because of its helmet law. Trading biker head injuries for cash—now that’s a good deal.

The CDC research focused on motorcycle accidents and the effects of helmets purely in terms of state budget. From 2008 to 2010 they surveyed biker accidents across the country in order to establish how much each state saves when motorcycle drivers and their passengers are wearing helmets, and the results are impressive.

According to the study, over $3 billion was saved in 2010 alone, with total costs saved due to helmet use ranging from $2.6 million in New Mexico to $394 million in California. Economic costs saved from helmet use per registered motorcycle ranged from $48 in New Mexico to $1,627 in North Carolina, with a median of $286. In Western and Upstate New York, the savings was approximately $650 per registered motorcycle, over twice the national average of savings.

The experienced attorneys at the law offices of Buffalo, New York personal injury lawyer James Morris hope everyone will make note of the core message in the CDC study, which is that lives are saved thanks to helmet use. That the state saves millions of dollars each year because of NY State helmet laws is gravy.  There is caution in this good news, however, which is that bikers wearing helmets are not guaranteed complete motorcycle safety and must always drive defensively in order to avoid reckless and negligent car and truck drivers.

Nationally, says the CDC, helmets lowered deaths by 37 percent for motorcycle drivers and 41 percent for passengers, and that meant 1,544 fewer motorcyclist fatalities in 2010. Over 40 percent of motorcyclists killed in accidents between 2008 and 2010 were not wearing a helmet, says the CDC report. In states where helmets are not required, 79 percent of the motorcyclists killed were not wearing one, compared to 12 percent in states where helmets are the law.

They say money talks, so let’s hope these statistics are positive and powerful enough to inspire more states to introduce universal helmet law legislation. Hopefully, the CDC study will also motivate bikers who still choose to jump on their motorcycles without protective headgear think twice next time.

If you or a loved one suffered a motorcycle crash injury or you lost a relative in a biker accident fatality, you need strong legal representation. Contact the Law Offices of James Morris for a free consultation with a tough upstate and western New York personal injury lawyer. Call us at 1-800-477-9044 or complete our online contact form.  Don’t wait—call today, so we can help you fight for your rights.

James Morris Law
1015 Liberty Building, 424 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202

Carmakers are racing to install the most sophisticated dashboard applications and connectivity into their 2013 models, and regulators are not happy. They believe in-dash systems will spark a whole new surge of distracted driver car accidents across the nation, which could far outweigh texting while driving accident injuries and fatalities due to the wide range of tempting new driver distractions they’ll present.

The New York Times recently reported that car manufacturers are doing all they can to entice car buyers who want to stay as connected as possible while on the road. Many 2013 car models will have Internet-based systems installed and the ability to connect smartphones to dashboard technology. This will allow drivers to do everything from booking theater seats and plane tickets to making hotel reservations and scanning dining reviews.

Upstate and western New York personal injury attorney James Morris doesn’t agree with car companies who insist that in-dash options are safer than hand-held devices, as they will add mental distractions on top of taking drivers’ hands off the wheel. Not only will drivers have more screens on which to type in search phrases, their minds will be all-too aware of the simple reality that they can get so much done, so to speak, while driving at high speeds. And that’s a subliminal distraction that can result in distracted driver fatalities.

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration said in its February 2012 report on Driver Distractions Guidelines for in-vehicle electronic devices that it considers even the most basic navigation devices as interfering “inherently with a driver’s ability to safely control the vehicle.” The report says up to 17% of the police-reported accidents in the United States in 2010 were driver distraction crashes, which is nearly or 900,000.

By allowing drivers on the road with so many more electronic and communications options, entirely new types of distracted driver car crash injuries will be added to a list that already includes texting car accidents and cellphone car wrecks, such as Facebooking rear-enders, Tweeting roll-overs and GPS user head-ons.

The NHTSA’s report includes several strong recommendations. One is that automakers shut down any dashboard functions that require drivers to take their eyes off the road for over two seconds. The 177-page report also suggests making illegal any keyboarding involving more than six button presses per task, along with the use of over 30 characters of text on a an dashboard screen.

Despite the lengthy study and stern opinions, NHTSA Driver Distractions Guidelines is not fueling any new legislation about distracted driving laws. The report says evidence of some distractions is “not sufficient at this time to permit accurate estimation of the benefits and costs of a mandatory rule” regarding such a wide range of electronically connected car systems. In addition, technology hardware, software and services are changing rapidly that any new regulations would likely become obsolete before being enforceable. It’s a frustrating equation but citizens and regulators alike must fight for tough distracted driver laws, in order to protect everyone on the road from people who drive recklessly due to in-dash electronic devices.

If you or a loved one suffered a distracted driver injury, find out how an experienced upstate and western New York personal injury lawyer can help you fight for your rights. Call the Law Offices of James Morris for a free consultation at 1-800-477-9044 or complete our online contact form.

James Morris Law
1015 Liberty Building, 424 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202

A driver takes a risk every time he or she enters a vehicle. What if I get into a car crash? What if I’m rear ended? What if I’m not sure what to do after a car accident? All of these fears are rational and realistic. The National Highway Traffic Administration estimates that at least one car crash occurs globally every 60 seconds, approximating to more than 5.25 million car accidents every year. One of the most frequent types of car accident, a rear end crash, accounts for roughly 30% of all car accidents in a given year according to sciencedaily.com.

To combat these continually rising numbers, several car companies are implementing collision avoidance systems. These systems rely on a series of sensors located in both the front and rear end of the vehicle to alert the driver when he or she approaches external objects like nearby cars, parking ramp walls, or light poles. More intuitively, certain systems notify drivers that they must reduce their speed around upcoming turns and by how much to do so.

A real-world example of a collision avoidance system in action applies to a driver attempting to switch lanes. With the system intact, if a driver tries to prod his way into the left lane without noticing the large semi in his blind spot, the avoidance system belts out a word of caution alerting the driver of the nearby vehicle, thus preventing a potentially serious or fatal car crash. In certain brands, the car will actually swerve itself in the opposite direction to prevent the unsafe lane change.

Though many companies now include this technology in their vehicles, Swedish car manufacturer Volvo is at the forefront. Not only does Volvo’s system alert a driver if he or she is nearing a vehicle, but it also enables the car to slam on the brakes if the driver does not do so. Take a look at the video below to see Volvo’s collision avoidance system in action.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents estimates that roughly 60% of accidents at work go unreported every year. Many avoid reporting workplace accidents for fear of executive confrontation or simple lack of will. Despite the perceived burden of reporting a workplace accident, employees actually benefit from recording such incidents. For instance, if an employee seeks time-off for an accident at work, referencing a log of when the accident occurred is helpful in determining how much time off is needed to fully recover.

What most people fail to realize is that, under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation of 1995, employers are required to report all accidents in the workplace regardless of the incident’s severity. For this reason, it is imperative that employees do their part in recognizing when workplace accidents occur and properly recording them for employer review.  This requirement extends beyond the realm of erroneous human behavior to include spread of diseases and illnesses as well. Employees and employers should take every measure possible to prevent workplace accidents. The list below provides four preventive measures to take in every workplace:

1. Safety Training for New and Current Employees: As part of orientation, all employers should enforce a rigorous safety training session to assure that employees know what to do if a workplace accident occurs.
2. Ongoing Safety Education: an initial safety orientation is a good start, but continuing safety education in the workplace at regular intervals can save employers thousands of dollars in the long run if a workplace accident were to occur. Monthly safety meetings, bulletin board reminders and occasional informational video sessions are all good ways of continuing an employee’s safety education.
3. Provide Necessary Safety Equipment: easily the most obvious point on the list, but also the most important. Without necessary safety and first-aid equipment readily available, an accident in the workplace can go from bad to worse in minutes. Essential safety protection includes eye goggles, adhesive bandages and ear plugs.
4. Proper Training for Specialized Machinery: if your organization uses any sort of occupational-specific machinery, necessary training in machinery function should be given to all employees who will use it. This sort of training should not occur on the job, but rather before the employee begins work.