Alabama Injury Attorneys Blog

A Cobb County sports bar has agreed to pay $1 million to the widow of a man killed in a wrongful death accident.

Cuneyt Erturk, a night manger at a local Domino's Pizza, was driving home from work when he was hit and killed in a car accident by 28-years-old, William Paul Davis, IV.
Davis reportedly left The Sports Grill intoxicated when he struck Erturk in October of 2008.

Cuneyt Erturk's widow, Truvilla Erturk, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on his behalf claiming Davis was over-served and the bar should not have allowed him to drive home.
The parties reached a settlement agreement on July 15, 2010.

The Sport Grill was sanctioned in May by State Court Judge Toby Prodgers for destroying over four hours of videotape from the night of the accident. Prodgers claimed the videotape might have proved the plaintiff's case. The judge also found evidence where the Sports Grill destroyed bar tabs for the two customers who where with Davis on the night of the accident.

Judge Prodgers restricted the lawyers for The Sports Grill from introducing any evidence into court that would contradict the claim that the bartenders served alcohol to Davis after he was already drunk. Had the case not settled out of court, this ruling would have severely handicapped the defense attorneys during trial.

Davis is currently awaiting trial for vehicular homicide, driving without headlights and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Suit Reaches $1 Million Settlement" »

A Trafford, Alabama man was pronounced dead at the scene after his truck collided with a forklift. James Whitehead, 66-years-old of Trafford, was driving a 1995 Chevrolet C 1500 when his truck struck, Vaughn Williams, of Blountsville, Alabama. The 65-year-old Mr. Williams was driving a forklift on County Line Road about nine miles north of Trafford. The accident occurred around 3:00 p.m. yesterday.

Mr. William was not injured in the Alabama accident. Authorities have not released any details of the wreck.

Continue reading "Alabama Forklift Collision Kills One " »

Joseph Goolsby, 19, of Pinson, Alabama is being held the Jefferson County Jail on a $60,000 bond for vehicular manslaughter. Goolsby was speeding early Saturday morning around the 1300 block of Center Point Parkway when he rear-ended 34-year-old Edgar Perez and his 28-year-old, pregnant wife, Yasmine Aguilar.

Perez was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, while his 8-months-pregnant wife, Aguilar, was airlifted to UAB hospital where she underwent emergency surgery to deliver the unborn baby. The baby is listed in stable condition; however, Aguilar died at the hospital.

In the car with Perez and Aguilar were two other children, an 8-year-old and 11-year-old. Both children were taken by ambulance to UAB hospital, but their names and condition have not been released.

Goolsby and an unnamed passenger sustained minor injuries in the Birmingham car wreck. At the time of the accident, Goolsby's blood alcohol level tested above the legal limit. According to Jefferson county Chief Deputy, Randy Christian, Goolsby has been formally charged with "murder, extreme indifference/vehicle."

Continue reading "Fatal Center Point Accident Kills 2 People" »

Two McCord Communications employees were killed on Thursday after falling off a 40 ft radio tower. Barry Sloan, 37, of Albertville, Alabama was pronounced dead at the scene by County Coroner Pat Brown. The second accident victim was Jonce Hubble, 41, of Albertville, Alabama. Hubble was airlifted to UAB hospital after the accident and died in surgery around 9:00 p.m. Thursday night.

The McCord Employees were working on a radio tower off Alps Drive at McClellan when the accident occurred. According to police reports, an unnamed vehicle hit a guy-wire (a cable that adds stability of the structure) which caused the radio tower to fall. Early reports indicate that it was strictly an accident.

McCord Communications handles all communication for the Calhoun County Sherriff's Dept; however, this radio tower was not part of the sheriff's office.

Continue reading "Two Alabama Workers Killed in Radio Tower Collapse" »

It is near impossible to find Alabama Accident Statistics on the internet. Everything I run across is based on fatalities and it is often unclear as to the circumstances surrounding the accidents. That being said, I ran across a report from 2008 listing all types of statistics in Alabama and here are the shocking numbers I found:

• In 2008, 964 people were killed in Alabama in 887 fatal crashes.
• Every 255 seconds an accident is reported in Alabama.
• On average, one person is injured every 15 minutes.
• On average, one person is KILLED every 9 hours.

Most accidents (72.1%) in Alabama occur in urban areas; however, most fatalities (67.1%) occur in rural areas.

• 47% of all fatal accidents occurred at night.
• If you are involved in an accident, the probability of being killed is 10.48 times higher for those NOT wearing a seat belt.

A typical driver in Alabama has a 45.77% probability that that they will be involved in an injury or fatal crash while driving an automobile in their lifetime.

The majority of Alabama accidents occur on Friday; however, the majority of fatal accidents occur on Saturday. The most accident prone time of day is around 3:00 p.m. with the majority of accidents occurring between 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Saturday has the most alcohol related crashes, followed by Sunday and Monday. More alcohol related fatalities occur on Saturday followed by Sunday and Friday. The most likely hours for an alcohol related collision occur between the hours of 4:00 pm and 4am,

The majority of accidents occur in cars (54.6%) while pick-up trucks account for 35.2% of accidents. No surprise here, but the two age groups 15-19 years old and 20-24 years old cause 17% and 16% of the accidents, and males are more likely to cause an accident compared to a female.

Continue reading "Alabama Crash Statistics" »

On Tuesday, Bessemer City Council postponed a decision to ban texting while driving within the city limits. If Bessemer does pass the ban they will be the fourth municipality in the metro area to ban texting while driving. The other municipalities include Birmingham, Vestavia Hills and Adamsville.

According to council members, the vote was postponed in order to first send it to the city's public safety committee before voting on it.

After 85 days of straight oil flow and up to 184 million gallons wasted, BP announced yesterday that they had temporarily capped the oil flow in the Gulf of Mexico. Now the next 48 hours become crucial to discover whether the capped well would actually hold the leak.

Ken Wells, vice president of BP, announced that the pressure pushing up against the containment cap is very good sign.

Low pressure would indicate several leaks have developed, conversely high pressure indicates the leak is concentrated in one spot. BP has reported they will watch the cap for the next 36 hours to know for certain the containment cap stopped the leak. Now the waiting period begins for engineers to monitor pressure

However, according to scientists and government official, the only permanent is a relief well.

Continue reading "BP Temporarily Stops The Oil Leak" »

Ken Riley, a partner with Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP, was appointed to serve as a Member of the Public Affairs Committee for the American Association for Justice for the term beginning August 1, 2010 and ending July 31, 2013.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) also known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) supports plaintiff trial lawyers across the nation. AAJ provides a collective voice on Capital Hill and across courthouses nationwide. AAJ members are made up of a diverse group of attorneys, law students, law professors and paralegals all serving one cause- to ensure equal justice for all Americans.

The Mission of the American Association for Justice is to promote a fair and effective justice system--and to support the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America's courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests.

Mr. Riley joined Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP in 1996. He has dedicated his practice to serving those victimized as a result of traumatic automobile/truck accidents, unscrupulous employers denying/failing to pay overtime claims, and insurance fraud. Mr. Riley is recognized nationally as a Super Lawyer, and considered a "Rising Star" among Alabama's up and coming attorneys.

It's official. Birmingham City Council has just banned texting while driving. According to the chairman of the council's public safety committee, Jonathan Austin, "Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving while under the influence." Austin compared the rules of the ban on texting to that of the seat belt law.

The city wide ordinance sets a $100 fine for drivers caught texting.

Mayor William Bell praised the council for the ban on texting law. Bell said "It's not intended to punish anybody, but intended to educate the public and make them aware. Driving is the most important activity you can do when you're behind the wheel with the motor running."

Amber Wilborn, 18, of Grove Oak, was killed Sunday night in an automobile accident on County Road 9, just south of Geraldine. Wilborn was driving a 2007 Mazda 3 when her car was struck head on by a 1999 Dodge Durango, driven by 30-year-old Frances Miles of Crossville, Alabama.

The car wreck happened around 5:30 p.m. Wilborn, who died in the wreck, was carrying a 14-year-old passenger in her vehicle. The 14-year-old boy, whose name is not released at this time, was airlifted to Huntsville Hospital with critical injuries. Miles was listed with non-life threatening injuries and transported to nearby Marshall Medical Center.

Continue reading "One Alabama Teen Killed, 2 Other Injured in Auto Accident " »

James Williamson of Ashland Alabama was killed Wednesday night in a single-vehicle wreck. The accident occurred on County Road 5 around 6:20 p.m. about 3 miles from Ashland. According to authorities, Mr. Williamson was driving a 2004 F-350 pickup truck and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. No additional information regarding the fatal Alabama accident is available at this time.

A New York Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Novartis Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives were not exempt from overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The three-judge panel overturned a prior ruling that pharmaceutical sales representatives fell under the exception to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of outside sales representatives.

The court ruled in favor of the 2,500 plaintiffs, both current and former Novartis representatives that were employed with the company between March 23, 2000 and April 2, 2007. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees working an excess of 40 hours a week are subject to overtime pay of 1.5 times their hourly wage. The plaintiff's claimed they routinely work over 40 hours a week. Most pharmaceutical reps work nine-hour days and are encouraged often required to host outside, after-hours social events to better interact with the physician and cater to their social styles.

The court relied on the U.S. Labor Department regulations that define the term "outside sales representative" claiming pharmaceutical sales representatives are not actually selling a product. Essentially they are "promoters" of a product and do not directly sell to the physicians they "call" on. The court also agreed that "their jobs lack the discretion and independent judgment required to classify them as administrative employees under the statute."

In a similar case, the court upheld a ruling that pharmaceutical reps employed with the drug company, Schering Plough, are not outside salesman therefore they are subject to FLSA overtime requirements.

This case marks the first federal appellate ruling on administrative employees exemption and outside sales exemption in the pharmaceutical sales industry. The decision to reverse the court order in favor of the plaintiffs is extremely important for FLSA violations going forward.

Continue reading "Novartis Hit Hard with Overtime Violations- Possible $100 Million Payout" »

A Fourth of July celebration turned deadly in Hoover, Alabama on Sunday night after a third floor balcony collapsed killing one and seriously wounding four.

According to Hoover Emergency Medical Services (EMS), seven people were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday on their third floor balcony at the Waterford Landing Apartments on Chase Lake Fairway. Firefighters and EMS quickly responded to the scene after receiving the 911 call at 11:39 p.m.

A total of five people were taken to UAB hospital. Continue reading "Balcony Collapses In Hoover Over The Holiday Weekend, 1 Dead" »