Covington Personal Injury Law Blog

Kentucky readers understand the important role that trucks have in the American economy. The transportation of goods and products across the country and beyond is essential, but the people behind the wheel of these large vehicles must practice safety. Truck driver fatigue is a serious problem that may be getting worse.

There is evidence that truck drivers often work more than their allowed number of hours, which means there are more tired truck drivers on the road at any given time. Tired truckers tend to be more reckless and cause more accidents. Fatigue is one of the leading factors in collisions between large trucks and passenger vehicles.

Traffic deaths in Kentucky and around the country have risen alarmingly in recent years despite improved road layouts and more sophisticated automobile safety systems, and many safety advocates say that the prolific use of cellphones by motorists and an ensuing surge in distracted driving is chiefly responsible. Distracted drivers rarely take evasive action before crashing, which makes this behavior especially dangerous when heavy commercial vehicles are involved that can be difficult to control even with an alert driver behind the wheel.

Regulations alone do not appear to be solving the problem, and companies that operate fleets of tractor-trailers are now turning to technology firms to help them combat distracted and drowsy driving. The fleet services provider Omnitracs has answered this call by adding a module to their Driving Center that relies on hours of service data to predict potentially dangerous situations. Fleet operators are alerted when their commercial vehicle drivers may be fatigued by hours of stop-and-go traffic or when they begin long shifts after just a few hours of rest.

As today's vehicles are being equipped with more and more safety features, drivers can avoid accidents and be protected from serious injuries should a crash occur. However, the risk of accidents taking place will remain until perhaps all vehicles become fully automated. In addition, different vehicles offer different levels of protection. Drivers in Kentucky should know about a recent list that has been compiled of the most dangerous vehicles.

Using data from the Highway Loss Data Institute, the list ranks the 10 vehicles (limited to 2014 to 2016 model years) that generated the most personal injury claims. The HLDI reports that the small four-door Mitsubishi Lancer has a rate of 215 claims per year, which is well above the industry average of 100. This was followed by various models from Nissan, Toyota and Kia. Most vehicles were small four-door cars with exceptions like the Dodge Charger and Toyota Corolla iM, a station wagon. The usual rule is the lighter the car, the less protection it affords.

When female patients are evaluated for heart disease, they face a 50 percent possibility of being misdiagnosed; when they are admitted to the emergency room with stroke symptoms, they are 30 percent more likely to be misdiagnosed than male patients. In the case of diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, women often have to get five medical opinions over more than four years before they can get an accurate diagnosis.

Clinical researchers from the Health Sciences Center at Texas Tech University have traced the issue of misdiagnosis among female patients to curriculum deficiencies in medical school. A 2016 longitudinal survey conducted in medical schools across the United States revealed that less than 45 percent of students felt that gender differences in medical care were adequately addressed in their courses of study.