D.C. Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Gabriel Assaad : Assaad Law, PLLC: D.C. Injury Law Journal

Toyota's accelerator problems were back in the Washington DC news yesterday, but this time the fallen auto maker was not deemed at fault. The woman who complained about a runaway acceleration problem with her Prius was found to have panicked and stepped on the gas instead of the brake. Human, not mechanical, error was at fault in the ensuing accident, investigators ruled. It was one bright note in a gathering storm of personal injury accident lawsuits and defective product claims against Toyota.

Toyota may be in the spotlight now, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says personal injury auto accidents caused by runaway acceleration have also been a problem for other auto makers, particularly Ford and Chrysler. NHTSA investigators have linked sudden acceleration to 110 traffic fatalities in the past 10 years. According to NHTSA investigators, 51 of those fatalities were caused by Toyota vehicles. The other 59 deaths were caused by  vehicles made by other auto makers, with Ford vehicles cited in 20 traffic fatalities and Chrysler in 12.

Washington DC area residents who have been involved in a car accident that resulted in personal injury or death should contact a Assaad Law, a Washington DC personal injury attorney to review their case and legal rights.

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So many times while I drive in DC, I see so many "close calls."  Too many times, drivers who do not pay attention, are talking on their cell phones, or not following the rules of the road, have a "close call" with a bicycle. 

Many times, automobile drivers fail to realize that bicycles have rights on the road and are considered vehicles.  Although it is frustrating to be behind a bicycle going below the speed limit, its still the duty of the driver to drive with care and with safety in mind.

According to the NHTSA, there were 44,000 bicyclists injured in traffic accidents in 2007, and 698 of the injury victims ended up dead. Believe it or not, the greater percentage of these accidents all happened due to the same reasons. Most bicycle accidents occur due to:

• Drivers Turning into the Path of the Bicyclist
• Hidden Driveways, Hidden Streets
• Stop Signs, Red Lights
• Inattention by Other Driver
• Failure to Look Both Ways at a Red Light or a Stop Sign: 

Drivers in the DC metro area should be aware of bicyclists and be careful while driving in the city, especially during rush hour.  Bicyclist have the right to be on the road and for vehicle drivers to follow the rules of the road.   In addition, drivers should be more careful knowing that bicyclists are susceptible to greater injuries.

The law provides protection for bicyclists and recourse for damages a bicyclist sustains as a result of the negligence of a driver.  Assaad Law, PLLC is dedicated to protecting the right of a bicyclist that was injured as a result of the negligence of another.

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The crash happened just before 5 p.m. on an above-ground track on the Red Line in the District of Columbia near the border with Takoma Park, Maryland.  Both trains were on the same track, and one of them was stationary when the crash happened..  At this time, there are 6 persons killed and over 70 injured.  This is the deadliest crash in the history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

As many try to determine the cause of the crash and why this horrific event happened, I just wanted to send out my prayers and thoughts to all of the victims of the collision and to their families as well.  No matter what the cause was, many hundreds, if not thousands, of people will be effected by this terrible event.

God Bless all the victims and their families.

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A doctor in Maryland uses scare tactics to convince citizens that medical malpractice reform is necessary.  In an editorial in the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Hass wrote:

At a time when the nation's economy is slumping and the governor is proposing to mandate that Maryland hospitals and physicians provide more free care to lower-income families, it's ironic that the state House Judiciary Committee, led by trial lawyer Joseph F. Vallario Jr., is proposing legislation to roll back the reforms in the state's medical malpractice insurance policies enacted in 2004 ("Attack of the trial lawyers," editorial, Feb. 17).

Such a rollback would ultimately result in higher malpractice insurance rates for doctors and hospitals, higher health care costs for consumers, higher health insurance premiums for businesses and, of course, higher incomes for well-heeled trial lawyers.

Perhaps the "attack" of these lawyers on physicians and hospitals will only abate when enough doctors have left Maryland and enough hospitals have closed that they no longer have anyone left to sue.

There is numerous articles that have discredited the fallacy that medical malpractice lawsuits cause higher medical malpractice premiums, health care costs to consumers, and an exodus of doctors from sates.  In fact, look at California, they have had medical malpractice caps for over 20 years and there is no change compared to other states that have not passed tort reform.

In DC, there are no caps.  The last time I checked, there are no shortage of doctors or exodus.  In fact, the DC Metro area is overly saturated with physicians to the point where physicians' salaries are less here than many other parts of the country for a lack of demand.  With respect to higher premiums, if you look at the data, medical malpractice cases account for less than 1% of the health care costs in the country. 

The author's use of attack is indicative of the lack of facts to support the position taken by thus doctor.  This doctor should look at the insurance companies as for the cause of higher premiums an look at the insurance companies books before he blindly blames the "attacking" lawyer.

I suggest to this doctor or anyone who has the same viewpoint to pray that no one in their family is on  the receiving end of being malpracticed upon.

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