Tragically, a motorcyclist was killed yesterday evening as he was exiting an Iowa construction zone. According to witnesses, the motorcyclist collided with a minivan while trying to move out of the way of another car attempting to pass him when the roadway opened back into two lanes.

Car Accidents in Construction Zones

Unfortunately, accidents in and around construction zones such as this are all too common. According to the NHTSA, there were over 67,000 work zone crashes nationwide in 2013 alone, resulting in hundreds of fatalities.

Some of the Causes of Construction Zone Car Accidents in Iowa can include:

• Poorly Designed or Placed Signs/Broken or Absent Signs
• Improperly Placed, Broken or Missing Barricades
• Construction Debris on the Road
• Unmarked Road Grade Changes
• Decreased Visibility
• Road Rage
• Aggressive Drivers
• Distracted Drivers
• Reckless Driving
• Construction Zone Worker Negligence

If you or a family member is injured in a motor vehicle accident in or near a construction site in Iowa, you should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to determine fault in the accident. It may be the fault of another driver or it could also be that the construction company or a subcontractor is responsible.
In the case of motorcycle accidents specifically, motorcyclists are rarely at fault in an accident as they typically operate with a heightened sense of awareness and safety. Working with experts, the Law Offices of John T Hemminger can help to reconstruct the accident to prove precisely how it was caused and who is responsible so that a just resolution can be obtained.

If you or a loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in or around an Iowa construction zone, contact the personal injury, wrongful death Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help. We have over 30 years of experience helping Iowans who are injured get the compensation they need.

Two Ankeny pitbulls, declared vicious in a 2014, attacked and killed a small dog yesterday and menacingly approached the 81-year-old owner when she intervened in an attempt to save her dog.

A similar incident played out in Jasper County in August when a woman walking her dogs was set upon by another group of neighborhood pitbulls. In the scuffle that followed, the woman, the other dogs’ owner and a boy were all injured trying to get the dogs under control.

In an effort to prevent incidences such as these, which clearly can present a safety hazard to residents, the city council of Des Moines is intent on holding owners more accountable for misbehaving pets.

According to city standards, pit bulls, American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire terriers are defined as high-risk breeds and their owners will face more discipline if their dogs are involve in biting incidents. Owners of high risk breeds, previously referred to as vicious, may also be subject to additional restraint requirements and be required to obtain insurance.

Although many owners of these specific breeds complain that their dogs are being unfairly targeted, the council maintains that while pitbulls in general are not bad dogs, “when they do bite, they maul” and, in the scheme of things, “a bad poodle is not the same thing as a bad pitbull”.

Statistics appear to support their views, According to available data, of the 34 U.S. dog related fatalities in 2015 alone, pitbulls contributed to 82% of the deaths, with rottweilers as a distinct second. The same combination, was responsible for 76% of 232 fatal attacks over an 11 year period running 2005 – 2015. Unfortunately, many of the victims were children.

If you or a family member is involved in an animal attack it can be a very frightening experience and may result in serious injury, disfigurement and scarring, or even death. A person bitten by an animal may have a legal right to recover damages from the animal’s owner or responsible party. You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage and sometimes punitive damages. If you or a loved one has been injured, contact the Iowa personal injury Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help.

Sources: WHOTV, 2 Pit Bulls Attack and Kill Chihuahua in Ankeny, Owner Could Face Fine, by Ben Oldach, October 27, 2016.; dogsbite.org, “2015 Dog Bite Fatalities”, accessed October 27, 2016.

“We are in the midst of a public health crisis and it isn’t Zika,” says the president and CEO of the National Safety Council, when speaking to the rising number of highway traffic fatalities across the nation. After decades of progress in reducing fatalities, “we’re suddenly losing ground”, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Last year, over thirty five thousand people died on our nation’s roadways, an increase of 7.2 percent when compared to 2014. The rising trend continues this year, with the NHTSA estimating 17,775 traffic fatalities in the first six month of 2016, a staggering 10.4 percent increase when compared to the 16,100 killed on roads and highways in the same period last year.

While some of the car accidents resulting in fatalities are due to the fact that more people are driving these days due to a stronger economy and low gasoline prices, the vast majority of fatalities could be prevented by wearing seat belts, slowing down and putting away the phone says the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Roughly “ninety percent of crashes are attributed to a driver’s decision to drink and drive, speed or engage in distracting activities”.

Mirroring what is going on in the nation, Iowa’s roadway fatalities have seen a 17.83 percent increase over last year, with 304 deaths recorded so far in 2016. State officials credit a mix of high speeds and impaired or distracted driving for contributing to the higher number of fatalities. In about half of the deaths, the victim was not wearing a seat belt.

Sources: Iowa Public Radio, “Tech, Human Errors Drive Growing Death Toll In Auto Crashes”, by David Schaper, October 20, 2016; Iowa Department of Transportation, “Driver and Crash Statistics”, accessed October 21, 2016.

From 2011 to 2014, more than a hundred nursing home residents were hospitalized or died as a result of errors in administering Coumadin, a blood thinner used to prevent strokes and heart attacks.

Coumadin, or its generic version Warfarin, has been called the most dangerous drug in America. Too little, and patients run the risk of developing life threatening clots; too much can lead to uncontrollable bleeding. In the hands of the wrong provider, it can be deadly.

According to an American Journal of Medicine study, nursing home residents suffer nearly 34,000 fatal, life-threatening, or serious events related to the drug each year and some states link Coumadin to most medication errors at nursing homes.

Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services identified Coumadin and other anticoagulants as a drug category most frequently implicated in adverse drug events. HHS is calling on government agencies to work on solutions hoping to raise awareness of the dangers the drug can present to nursing home patients if not properly administered and monitored.

Des Moines Iowa Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

If you or a family member has been injured in a nursing home or care facility because of a medication error, abuse or neglect, contact the Iowa nursing home abuse and neglect Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help.