New Mexico semi truck accidents can cause devastating injuries. On such semi truck accident recently occurred in New Mexico on I-40 at the line between Guadalupe County and Torrance County near Clines Corners.

The semi truck accident occurred when a tandem semi truck operated by Fed-Ex hit a family moving from California to Texas. Most devastating, the semi crash resulted in the death of two people, a woman and her eight month old grandson.

The semi truck accident brings to light a common question that people ask a New Mexico truck accident lawyer, “Is there any more that can be recovered from a semi truck driver than a driver of a passenger vehicle.” The answer, many times, is “yes”.

First, New Mexico insurance law requires that any commercial vehicle, including semi trucks, must carry a higher minimum level of insurance. While a passenger vehicle must be insured for $25,000, a commercial vehicle, such as a FedEx semitruck, must have $1 million in insurance. In addition, there are a couple questions that come to mind regarding this particular accident. Considering it occurred at 11:30 PM, it raises the question of whether driver fatigue contributed to the semi accident. New Mexico semi truck regulations place strict guidelines on how many hours a semi truck can be driven and how many hours the operator must sleep. Often times these truck regulations are ignored and drivers operate under heavy medication or narcotics to stay awake at the wheel, albeit at an altered state.

Another fact that this tragic semi truck accident brings to light is that it is neccessary for the accident victims to take immediate action to preserve the case. Crucial pieces of information such as recording devices and logs must be preserved so that the evidence can be carefully analyzed. Failure to act quickly to preserve these items may result in their destruction.

In the event that any New Mexico semi-truck regulations were ignored, or the driver caused the accident beyond mere negligence, there could be exposure to substantial punitive damages for which it is likely FedEx has viable assets. Although no amount is enough to reverse such an accident, it is nonetheless important to make sure rights are protected.

A New Mexico drunk driver has been arrested in connection with the wrongful death accident of an Espanola man. According to reports, the drunk driver was traveling 60 mph down a residential street with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. Also in the car with the New Mexico drunk driver were two female passengers.

After the Espanola accident the drunk driver admitted to drinking vodka and more specifically, to buying it from a liquor store. If this is not enough, the drunk driver was only 18 years old, well under the required 21 years old to purchase alcohol in New Mexico.

In situations such as this, the estate of the deceased Espanola man may be able to pursue a claim not just against the drunk driver’s insurance, but also a dram shop case against the liquor store that sold alcohol to an underage customer. While authorities are still investigating the accident, they have not yet released the name of the liquor store.

New Mexico cases against liquor establishments, also called New Mexico dram shop cases, are intended to keep those who sell alcohol responsible. It is important for these New Mexico establishments not to place their goal of making money about keeping the community safe. When these liquor stores act responsibly, they run the risk of becoming liable for damages caused as a result of their own negligence.

New Mexico Drunk Driving is in the news again, but this time its not all bad. On the same hand, its not all good either. NPR recently reported on New Mexico’s affliction with drunk driving, and more specifically that it moved from leading the nation in drunk driving deaths in the 90’s, to its current ranking of 17th. The article noted that New Mexico’s fall from the 10 worst states for drunk driving deaths allowed for an extra $1.5 million dollars in federal money.

So far so good. New Mexico lowers its drunk driving rate, and gets a wad of cash in the process. However, the story on New Mexico drunk driving goes on to ask the burning question of “Why” the drop in drunk driving.

At first, the reduced drunk driving deaths in New Mexico is attributed to the ignition interlock system for which New Mexico was the first state to require the installation of after a DWI conviction. However, another Albuquerque DWI expert was interviewed as part of the study and recommends New Mexico not start patting itself on the back.

She claims that the decrease in New Mexico DWI rates is also, at least partially, attributed to a change in how the statistics are reported. It used to be that the DWI rate was based on DWI deaths per capita. This is how it was tabulated when New Mexico led the nation. The method later changed to calculated DWI deaths per miles per year traveled by each resident. Considering New Mexico is a spread out state, and many New Mexico drivers travel hundreds of miles a week, the statistics went down.

This would suggest that even though the national rating has changed, the problem is still as big as ever. Of course, as long as New Mexico moves lower and lower on the list, there is still reason to applaud. Although our New Mexico personal injury attorneys represent many drunk driving victims, this is one type of case that New Mexico has always seemed to have plenty of.

Albuquerque motorcycle accidents are too common. They often require just the slightest lapse in attention from a negligent driver and can result in some of the most serious injuries. A New Mexico motorcycle accident lawyer is aware that many times these cases involve more complex areas of damages and require special attention and care.

Unfortunately, a recent New Mexico motorcycle accident serves as a reminder to just how serious these accidents can be. Police responded to a motorcycle accident on Sunday night involving an SUV that rear-ended an unsuspecting motorcycle rider. The motorcyclist was stopped at Coors and Quail for a traffic light when he was rear-ended by a woman in an SUV. Making matters worse, the injured motorcyclist was pinned under the vehicle and required the assistance of various onlookers to be removed.

Recent reports also suggest that the woman failed a subsequent sobriety test and was arrested. This appears to be a New Mexico injury case in which no amount of money is going to be sufficient to compensate the accident victim. Separate from her criminal charges, the driver of the SUV will likely also be responsible for punitive damages in the event that sufficient insurance coverage exists.

In August of 2003 an employee of BNSF railroad was driving near grants New Mexico when his vehicle veered into oncoming traffic killing the driver of another vehicle. Not surprisingly, the drunk driver did not have car insurance nor any substantial assets.

The New Mexico car accident attorneys that pursued the case attempted to argue that the railroad company should be responsible for their employee's conduct. The two methods of connecting an employer to an employee's negligent conduct our vicarious liability or negligent retention/hiring.

With respect to vicarious liability, the court found that because the employee was not on the clock, and instead was on his own time, his employer was not responsible for his actions. Regarding the negligent hiring, the plaintiffs argued that because the employee had a substantial drinking problem and previous DWIs, the employer should have known that such an accident was likely to occur. Again, the court concluded that because it was not the negligent hiring or retention that was the cause of the accident, the employer could not be held responsible.

As evidenced by this New Mexico car accident case, connecting an employer to its employee's negligent conduct can oftentimes be a difficult task. Sadly, in this New Mexico drunk driving accident case, there are no winners or happy endings.

For the second time in one week, Clovis is again in the New Mexico personal injury lawyer blog as a result of a two-car accident on New Mexico 209. the accident occurred on Wednesday when a northbound vehicle crossed into the southbound lane resulting in a head-on collision.

Sadly, three individuals were killed in the collision while another was airlifted to Texas. It is possible that this single collision could result in three separate New Mexico wrongful death claims. Such scenarios are not uncommon for New Mexico wrongful death lawyers to encounter, and often times result in drastically insufficient coverage to come anywhere near what would otherwise be recoverable. Such a New Mexico wrongful death accident highlights the importance of searching for any and all available coverage.

Although in New Mexico wrongful death cases, there can never be "enough" insurance coverage, but we have seen numerous wrongful death settlements and verdicts be used to provide an education for the families involved, or resolve some of the financial worries that may develop as a result of such situations.

In an effort to help prevent traumatic brain injury, Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico has devoted some of its top resources to studying them. Using CT scans and complicated models, researchers have concluded that typically a traumatic brain injury occurs within 1 ms of a head hitting a car windshield.

The increased attention at dramatic brain injury is receiving from research institutions is attributed in part to the growing number of US soldiers returning home with such injuries resulting from shock waves sent by explosive devices.

Contrary to popular belief, the research concluded that a substantial impact is not necessary to trigger a traumatic brain injury. Rather the model used for the research at the labs in Albuquerque was based on a head-on car accident impact at a speed of 34 mph.

Although the scientists conceded that the research needs to be modified and improved, they are hopeful that their data will assist in designing safer, more protective windshields and vehicles.

New Mexico Impairment Ratings

Serious injuries can occur via accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, government liability, product liability, or most any other form. Getting the highest possible recovery from a New Mexico injury case is the goal of many attorneys. Sometimes the combination of the injury and the policy limits can make it an easier task. However, there are certain situations in which the insurance companies are reluctant to pay full value despite a serious injury. When it becomes necessary to convince an insurance company or potentially a jury of the serious nature of an injury, an injury impairment rating may be useful. An impairment rating quantifies a decrease in body function or ability following an injury. Impairment ratings are determined by a visit with a medical examiner who usually interviews the patient and performs a series of tests. The impairment rating is typically read as a percentage which reflects the extent of the injury. For example, a 50% whole body impairment rating would reflect that the injury victim is suffering a loss of approximately half of his or her previous abilities. One benefit of an impairment rating is that it often provides a clear description of what an injury victim will have to live with for the rest of his or her life. Determining whether to get an impairment rating is important to an injury case and should be discussed carefully with an injury attorney.

Semi truck accidents in often result in wrongful death cases. Wrongful death and truck accident lawyers will tell you that these cases often require immediate action to preserve important pieces of evidence. These cases typically involve commercial carrier insurance policies and have limits far in excess of many basic insurance policies. It is important to select an attorney familiar with Federal Trucking Laws, and State Trucking Laws.

Failure for trucking companies to comply with multiple laws and regulations may open the possibility of punitive damages that extent beyond the available insurance limits. Wrongful death cases the result from semi truck accidents require both immediate action and thorough exploration to maximize recovery.