Attorney Marc Matthews Interviewed by ABC Action News regarding lawsuit against Lucky Dog Day Care

A family is heartbroken after their 4-year-old French Bulldog, Porscia, died of a heat stroke at Lucky Dog Daycare and Resort of South Tampa.

The grieving pet owner is filing lawsuit against Lucky Dog Day Care. Along with her attorney, Marc Matthews, they hope to raise awareness about the laws surrounding pets.

Learn more by watching the interview below.

The effects of spinal cord injuries

spinal_cord_injuriesSpinal cord injuries are significant, devastating, and unfortunately often caused by car crashes, motorcycle crashes, truck crashes, a violent attack, or a sporting injury. Spinal cord injuries can have severe and long lasting effects not only on our clients, but on our clients’ families. By filing a case with the help of defense attorneys for domestic violence, the right amount of compensation will be received to the victim’s family which would be helpful for them to restart their life peacefully.

Injuries to the spinal cord can be especially impactful because the nerves found within and around the spinal cord are central to normal bodily function. The recovery is often long and life is altered permanently. Damage to the spinal cord can happen when a traumatic event causes the nerves within the spinal canal to stop communicating with the brain. This lack of communication adversely effects how sensory, motor and reflex messages are received, often leading to paralysis in the victim of the spinal injury.

Spinal injuries are put into two categories based on the severity of the injury. With complete spinal injuries, patients have no control of their motor or sensory functions. With incomplete spinal injuries, patients have partial motor and/or sensory function below the damaged area.

Whether complete or incomplete, these injuries can be devastating and come with a number of complications. Unfortunately, these are some of the effects a spinal injury may have on your body:

  1. Loss of movement: Since the spinal nerves are not communicating properly with the brain, all or a portion of the ability to engage in activities like walking, may be lost. Depending on the location and the severity of the injury some motor function can be recovered with time and physical therapy.
  2. Loss of muscle control: Many spinal injury patients experience either an involuntary tightening in their muscles (spasms) or lack of muscle tone.
  3. Loss of sensation: Damage to the spinal cord can cause the loss of sensation in the skin. This can be particularly dangerous because it can prevent the skin from detecting when it has been injured. The skin is also unable to detect sensations of heat, cold or pressure.
  4. Lack of control of bladder and bowels: The bowel and bladder continue to function normally, but the brain may stop receiving indications that they need to be relieved.
  5. Difficulty breathing: Depending on the severity of the spinal injury, the brain may not be able to send the signals necessary for proper breathing. Pneumonia can occur in patients with injuries to the cervical and thoracic part of the spine (neck and mid-back).
  6. Sexual function changes: Spinal injuries can affect sexual function, including a man’s ability to achieve erection and lubrication in women.
  7. Depression: A spinal cord injury signifies a dramatic lifestyle change for most patients. Many of the activities that they took for granted will become harder, if not impossible. Patients may also experience chronic pain. People can click here for healing and pain relief. This can be difficult to cope with for many people. Getting help with depression, whether through medicine or therapy is critical.

If you or a family member have suffered a spinal cord injury, you are likely trying to put the pieces back together. Let us help. The spinal cord injury attorneys at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A. can ensure you get the justice you deserve.  Our attorneys have experience litigating and taking spinal cord injury cases to trial.  Contact us today at 844-511-4800.

5 Tips for Avoiding a Semi Truck’s Blind Spots

trucking_accidentsIf you have been driving for any length of time, whether it’s road tripping to see America’s beauty or driving the daily commute, you know that sharing the road with large commercial vehicles is not uncommon. Safe driving should be the primary concern. The best quality fuel system available or a powerful drivetrain system should be secondary. Unfortunately, traveling around a semi-truck presents a set of challenges that are vastly different from sharing the road with other vehicles. According to renegadewls.com,  with the combination of the size of the truck itself and its freight, semis can weigh around 18,000 pounds on average. This makes focusing on how you interact with these vehicles critical. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, nearly 4,000 people die from accidents involving large trucks each year. With lighting specialists from truckelectrics.com one can make sure to have their vehicles sorted.

One of the principle dangers in driving around trucks is navigating their blind spots. Semi-trucks have large blind spots, or zones in which they are unable to see other vehicles. The zones represent profound danger for motorists because if a truck driver can’t see you, he doesn’t know to look out for you. You’re not likely to win in a collision with an 18,000-pound vehicle. Below are tips for avoiding blind spots and safely driving around large commercial vehicles. If you need to buy parts for commercial trucks, fetch for fiberglass semi truck fenders, who can get for lesser prices.

  1. Keep truck mirrors in plain sight: When encountering a truck, make sure that you can see the mirrors and, even more so, see the face of the truck driver. If you can’t see either, it’s likely that the truck driver can’t see you. If they decide to switch lanes they may not be aware that you are in their path.
  2. Avoid blind spots altogether, especially on the right side: The best way to avoid blind spots is to know where they are. A semi’s blind spots are directly in front and in back of the truck, on the truck’s left side near the door and the entire length of the truck’s right side. The truck’s right side is particularly perilous because the truck’s length and the driver’s position in the truck makes it difficult to spot items on that side. If you are on the right side of the truck, it’s best to give the trucker 2-3 lane’s distance to ensure that they can see you.
  3. Stay a safe distance behind the truck: It’s important to maintain a distance of 20 to 25 car lengths behind a truck. The size of a semi-truck makes it impossible to see around it. If the truck slows down, swerves to avoid debris or stops suddenly, it will be difficult to avoid an accident.
  4. When passing a large truck, do it fast: You’re going to have to pass a large truck at some point. When this happens, it’s important to do it as quickly as possible. When you move into the next lane, you are placing your vehicle in the truck’s blind spot. To be safe, move beyond the truck quickly or get over as far you possible can when passing.
  5. Blow your horn: At times, a truck may enter your lane before you have a chance to move beyond it. If this happens, honk your horn quickly and forcibly. This may be the only way that a truck driver knows that they are entering the path of a car.

If you are involved in an accident with a semi-truck, you are likely going through a difficult time. Let the trucking accident lawyers at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A. help you put the pieces back together. Contact us today at 844-511-4800.

4 Causes of catastrophic trucking accidents

trucking_accidentsAccidents involving large, commercial delivery trucks (semis, 18-wheelers) often prove devastating for all those involved. The average semi with freight on board can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. This is about 20 times the size of a standard car, truck or SUV. With that weight disparity, fender-benders can cause serious injuries, side swipes can be life-altering and serious collisions can be deadly. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know what the trucker in the big rig next to you is going through or if his vehicle is in adequate condition. Daily driving is not easy, and when you add large commercial vehicles to the mix, an extra set of caution and awareness is required.

There are a number of reasons why catastrophic trucking accidents happen. The personal injury attorneys at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A. are providing this list of the top causes for these accidents. This list is meant to bring awareness to drivers on our roadways and encourage precautionary driving when encountering large commercial delivery vehicles.

Unrealistic and dangerous expectations placed on truck drivers

This is likely the largest reason for catastrophic trucking accidents and wrongful death in Sarasota because it feeds into some of the other factors in these accidents. Trucking companies often put strict, unrealistic deadlines on their drivers to make deliveries. Some companies pay drivers per load delivered. This creates an environment in which drivers are encouraged to drive faster and longer to make the maximum amount of money. These drivers are less rested and are driving recklessly. This is a recipe for disaster.

The health of many truckers

As mentioned in the previous section, many truckers have unrealistic and dangerous expectations placed on them. They often continue driving when they are mandated to take a rest. This compromises their health, leads to fatigue and places a vehicle, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, in the hands of a physically impaired individual. A recent study found that a driver who has been awake for 18 hours has the impairment level of someone with a blood alcohol concentration of .05.

To combat high levels of fatigue, many drivers turn to stimulants to give them a boost. However, these drugs affect mood and decision-making ability.

Also, a study commissioned by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicated that as many as 27 percent of all commercial truck drivers have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can severely impact driving performance by dramatically increasing fatigue.

Distracted Driving

For truckers, the drive is long, often as many as 14 hours per shift from some drivers. The monotony leads many to engage in activities that can distract them. Cell phone use, watching videos, eating are all activities that can take drivers away from focused driving and lead to accidents.

Equipment Failure as a cause of trucking accidents

Proper maintenance of large vehicles is critical. However, there are a number of items that can malfunction and if they do, it can lead to a major accident. Also, issues with worn tires or faulty brakes can prove deadly.

If you or a loved one is the victim of a catastrophic trucking accident, you world has likely been turned upside down. Let us help. The Tampa personal injury attorneys at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A. are well experienced in these cases and can build a strategy to get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today at 844-511-4800.

 

 

Five Reasons Why the Trucking Industry Needs Tighter Regulations in Place

trucking_accidentSleep-deprived truck drivers have been a topic of debate, particularly since the traumatic accident that severely injured actor and comedian Tracy Morgan and killed his friend in 2014. There is evidence to show that the truck driver that caused the accident had been awake for more than 28 hours and had been on duty for about 13 and a half hours at the time of the crash. This type of negligent behavior is not isolated to this incident, but unfortunately can be common throughout the trucking industry as companies want to maximize revenue. Attempts have been made to change the laws governing the hours that truck driver may work, but more legislative action is necessary or these types of crashes will continue to take innocent victim’s lives.

Below are five striking statistics with respect to truck-related accidents:

  1. The death toll in truck-involved crashes rose 17 percent from 2009 to 2013.
  2. Fatalities in truck-involved crashes have risen four years in a row, reaching 3,964 in 2013.
  3. During 2013 alone, 691 truck drivers or passengers of large trucks were killed.
  4. Injuries involving large trucks in 2013 impacted as many as 95,000 people.
  5. Large-truck drivers in 2013 had the highest percentage (15{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}) of previously recorded crashes compared to drivers of other ve­hicle types (motorcycles, 12.9{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}; passenger cars, 12.8{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}; and light trucks, 12.4{7dff60334df83244b79b5471a8769907d27e202ac622cbe5ff51878e61595e62}).

These statistics are based on the latest information available as published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Existing Federal Trucking Regulations

Federal regulations do exist to limit the drive time between periods of rest for truck drivers. The latest regulations limit truckers to 60 hours of on duty time per week and 11 hours of drive time per day. Further, there is a mandatory resting period of 34 hours each week, in order for drivers to get at least two consecutive nights of sleep a week. There has been pushback by the trucking industry, who is opposed to these regulations, which can affect their bottom line.

For a full list of the regulations, visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration site.

If you have questions about the current rules and regulations impacting truck drivers, or if you have been involved in a trucking-related accident, contact Marc Matthews at McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito, P.A.