America's dominant rental car companies are suddenly a bit under siege, with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) stating that "incidents involving allegations of personal injury and death" from car accidents have led it to investigate industry practices concerning recalled fleet vehicles.
NHTSA Investigates Car Rental Companies on Recall Actions
Complaints Rising Against DePuy Hip Replacement Implants
Hip replacements generally last a decade, sometimes even two. What is presently happening with multiple hip replacement systems made by DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is unprecedented and spells potentially huge product liability trouble for the manufacturer and its parent company.
Driving Ability More Often Dependent on Factors Other Than Age
If you're considering that headline above, it may indeed come with one caveat: Sorry, kids. As usual, and as measured by virtually every conceivable criteria, drivers as a group are just about as dangerous as they can get right after they get their licenses. That includes claims per insured vehicle. For 16-year-old drivers, the number comes in at about 80 claims per 1,000 vehicles. For the most senior drivers - those aged 85 and above - the figure is 56 per 1,000. Who would you rather have in the adjacent lane on the freeway?
Vehicle Seat Strength Questioned in Product Liability Case
A federal vehicle safety standard that went into effect more than four decades ago and is still the baseline for manufacturers in the car industry is at the center of controversy in scores of alleged cases in which back-seat passengers - most often children - have been seriously injured.
Evidence Firmly Underscores Real Danger of Fatigued Drivers
Perhaps all the recent ado concerning the impairing effects of driving while drowsy is overstated. After all, the more celebrated killer on American roadways - the drunk driver - is responsible for a fatality in one of every three car accidents he or she is involved in.
Another Driving Risk to Watch For, Especially Now: Deer
As we have noted in past blog posts, there are a number of factors at work that make driving in many parts of Maryland difficult for motorists, including road congestion, deficient bridges and potholes, as well as aggressive and inattentive drivers. Here's another one that most drivers are not readily alert to: deer.
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Seat Belt Product Liability Lawsuit
A motor vehicle accident in California in 2002 killed a rear-seat passenger in a minivan who was wearing a lap-only seat belt, the only type of safety belt provided by Mazda at that time. The victim's family brought a product liability lawsuit against the auto maker, alleging that a lap-and-shoulder belt would have saved her life.
Deadly Car Crash on U.S. 113 Involves 10 People, Four Vehicles
The driver of a car termed the "at-fault vehicle" by Maryland State Police caused a chain collision Monday on U.S. 113 in Newark about 13 miles south of the Delaware state line that involved three other vehicles and 10 people. The driver of the car, which was passing other cars on a double yellow line, was killed in the accident, along with three passengers.
Stent Medical Malpractice Matter Takes New Course
The saga involving Dr. Mark G. Midei continues, and we update readers here to keep them abreast of matters in this medical malpractice story that features an increasing amount of litigation surrounding allegations that stents were implanted into many hundreds of heart patients at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson.
