Oklahoma Personal Injury Legal Blog
What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident in Oklahoma
Property owners in Oklahoma have an obligation to keep their premises safe and in good repair for visitors, employees, and any other individuals that plan to enter that premises. Unfortunately, many property owners or managers do not fulfill this obligation. Whether due to stinginess, laziness, or any other reason, not performing their duty to provide a safe environment constitutes negligence. The most common result of Oklahoma property negligence is a slip and fall accident.
Evidence of an improperly maintained property can be found in a variety of places, but an improperly maintained floor is often the cause of a slip and fall accident in Oklahoma. Common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
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Big Rig Crashes in Oklahoma Fuel Ongoing Debate over Truck Size and Weight Limits
Recent Oklahoma truck accidents have renewed the debate regarding tractor-trailer size and weight limits for Oklahomans. One of these was a big rig accident in Tulsa that involved the truck colliding with a bridge. The day after this accident, there was another tractor-trailer crash in Oklahoma City that was caused by a van that swerved into a tractor-trailer, which subsequently struck a bridge. The tractor-trailer was hauling volatile cargo which fortunately did not ignite. The driver of the van suffered the only injury and westbound traffic on the I-40 had to be shut down. These accidents, as well as a devastating one in Miami, Oklahoma, from 2009 in which a big rig plowed into a line of stopped cars at 70 mph, killing 10 people, demonstrate the safety issues involved with large and heavy trucks.
According to Tulsa World, the U.S. Congress is expected to decide between two opposing bills that would implement new laws concerning big rig size and weight limits. These bills are the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act, or SHIPA, and the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, or SETA.
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Keystone Alberta to Texas Pipeline Project under Scrutiny after Oil Accidents
Ever since the British Petroleum (BP) Gulf oil spill and the rising of gas prices, the oil industry has been under public and government scrutiny, according to Reuters. This does not bode well for the still-unapproved TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project that would transport oil from Canada to Texas, crossing through Oklahoma and five other U.S. states along the way. Multiple oil accidents, in Alberta and along the Keystone pipeline system, have raised questions on the pipeline’s safety, its environmental impact, and whether or not it is ultimately in the nation’s best interests.
The most recent TransCanada oil accident occurred in southern North Dakota along the first phase of its Keystone pipeline system. A valve broke at a pumping station releasing approximately 500 barrels of Canada heavy crude into the facility, and also caused a geyser of oil that reached above the treetops. This occurred only 10 months after the pipeline began carrying bitumen from the oil sands mines in Alberta to refineries in Illinois. The local landowner notified emergency personnel about the geyser of crude oil but TransCanada had apparently already shut down the line. This marks the 11th reported accident at stations along the Keystone pipeline since May 21, 2010.
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The Basics of Medical Malpractice for Oklahomans
Oklahoma doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals and facilities have a duty to provide the utmost standard in care for their patients. This is unfortunately not always the case. Approximately 225,000 people die nationwide as the result of medical malpractice. But what is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is generally defined as professional negligence or wrongdoing by act or omission by a healthcare provider that causes injury or death to the patient. The various types of Oklahoma medical malpractice include, but are not limited to: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, anesthetic error, medication error, incorrect treatment, continuing ineffective treatment, failure to attend to a patient, substandard treatment, and lack of informed consent. If a doctor is employed by a hospital, the hospital will likely be held liable for that doctor’s malpractice.
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Proper Oklahoma Motorcycle Safety for Summer
Motorcycling is a fun and social activity enjoyed by many during the warmer months of the year. A sense of freedom usually accompanies riding a motorcycle, but danger also tends to tag along for the ride. Most Oklahoma motorcycle accidents occur, not because of the rider, but because of other motorists who do not know how to share the road with motorcycles. Because motorcyclists are much less protected than drivers of other motor vehicles, they need to practice riding safely and defensively to protect themselves in the event of a motorcycle crash in Oklahoma. The following safety guidelines can help motorcyclists stay safe on the road:
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Tulsa Nursing Home Cited for Over 40 Violations
During this past year, a Tulsa nursing home has been cited by state inspectors for more than 40 violations during 12 inspections. According to NewsOK, the state ordered the termination of Medicare and Medicaid payments to the nursing home; however the facility and its parent company are fighting the termination in court. Because of this, the nursing home has continued to receive payments. The termination of payments is the harshest penalty available and has only been done 11 times since 2006.
The nursing home in Tulsa is home to approximately 70 elderly and disabled residents. Oklahoma inspectors began investigating the home early last year after complaints were filed against the facility. These complaints included a resident who had concerns about getting his necessary medication and a nurse aide who believed that there were under-staffing issues. Over the course of the year and after multiple inspections, Oklahoma cited the nursing home for multiple deficiencies, including:
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Oklahoma City Man Killed in Weekend Car Accident
A 30-year-old man was killed in a two-car accident on Harrah Road near SE 59th street in Oklahoma City on Saturday night, according to NewsOK. The man was driving north on Harrah Road when he and another car, which was southbound, collided head-on. The man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Two adults and two children in the other car were injured; the adults are in critical condition. Oklahoma City police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
According to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO), there have been between 267 and 1,070 traffic accident fatalities in the state yearly, from 1937-2009. The lowest number of 267 occurred in 1943, the highest of 1,070 occurred in 1982. In 2009, 737 people were killed in Oklahoma traffic accidents. Although 737 is a decrease from the1982 statistic, it is still a great number of lives lost and families torn apart. These accidents took children away from their parents, husbands from their wives, and sisters from their brothers, while causing many financial and emotional hardships.
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Dental Hygiene and Driving can be a Dangerous Combination in Oklahoma
A writer for NewsOK was greeted by an astonishing sight on a recent morning rush-hour drive to the office: A man brushing his teeth while driving. Most driving distractions nowadays involve electronic devices, but apparently Oklahoma has the occasional dental hygiene multi-tasker as well.
The NewsOK writer was forced to slow down when a black SUV moved speedily passed and then directly, and narrowly, in front of him. The driver of the SUV, driving about 60 mph in rush-hour traffic, moved into the lane, leaving only a few feet ahead of the writer’s car. It was then that something caught the writer’s eye through the SUV’s tinted rear window. He noticed that the lighted mirror of the sun visor was on, and so, now quite curious, he lawfully cautiously changed his lane and began passing the SUV. As he did so, he noticed that the driver of the SUV was using the mirror to brush his teeth, and he continued brushing as the writer signaled and moved in front of the SUV, which had at least slowed down.
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Ford Motor Company Recalls Over 1 Million Lincoln and Ford Vehicles
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford Motor Company is recalling certain model and model year Fords and Lincolns due to a driver side air bag defect that could increase the risk of an auto accident. The recall has been ongoing since March 2011, but an expanded population recall campaign will begin in early May 2011.
Ford is recalling 1,325,000 potentially affected model year 2004-2006 F-150 Ford pick-up trucks and model year 2006 Lincoln Mark LT vehicles due to the possibility of a driver side air bag malfunction. Faulty wiring may create a short circuit which could turn on the airbag warning lamp, and/or can cause the air bag to deploy unpredictably. This poses a danger the owners of these cars in Oklahoma. Whether or not the car is in motion, if the driver’s seat is occupied at the time, the air bag could potentially cause injury to the face, neck, and/or spinal cord. If the car is in motion at the time of an inadvertent airbag deployment, it not only risks injury to the driver, but can also potentially cause an Oklahoma traffic accident.
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Main Causes of Oklahoma Truck Accidents
Sharing Oklahoma roads with trucks can be very intimidating for other motorists because of the large size and immense weight of trucks. These characteristics, especially of large trucks, increase the risk of serious injury or death in the case of an Oklahoma truck crash. Although truck accidents can be caused by faulty manufacturing, poor design, or defective products, the most common cause of truck crashes, involving other vehicles or not, is driver error or negligence.
The most common types of driver error or negligence involve fatigued, distracted, or reckless driving. Although strict federal regulations are in place to prevent truck drivers from working too long without rest, many do not abide by them. The schedule of an Oklahoma truck driver, especially a long-haul truck driver, can be very demanding. The pressure of making a delivery on schedule can lead a driver to work extended hours. This may keep a delivery on schedule but it potentially endangers the driver as well as other vehicles on the road. An exhausted truck driver can fall asleep at the wheel and lose control of the truck; even if the driver does not fall asleep, they will have much slower reaction times, which also increases the risk of an accident. A truck driver that does not follow federally mandated work hour limits they, and possibly their employer, can be held liable for any accidents and injuries that result from their carelessness.
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