Once again Louisiana has made it to the top of a ranking- and not in a good way. Louisiana is ranked among states as having the worst roads in America, the second most deadly roads and among the top 10 deadliest roads related to DUI driving, according to a report coordinated by Reader’s Digest. Read the report. On the best roads list, Louisiana is dead last.

Is it any wonder that Louisiana ranks high in the number of auto accidents and has some of the nation’s highest insurance rates? Lack of political will and misuse of tax revenues have resulted in substandard roads, bridges and infrastructure throughout the state. Although auto accidents involving fatalities has decreased nationwide, unfortunately they have not significantly decreased here. Poor roads lead to more auto accidents, more injuries, higher insurance premiums and an overall drag on our state’s economy.

Here’s the scenario: you have one diseased kidney and one good one. Your doctor says the diseased kidney must be removed to save your life. Surgery is scheduled. When you regain consciousness they tell you “Sorry but we removed the wrong kidney. We took out your good one and left you with the diseased one. Good luck.” So due to medical malpractice you are left with a death sentence unless you get a donor. And, depending on what state you live in, your legal remedies are probably limited and capped. Despite these kinds of real life mistakes that happen across the country, we continue to see the health care industry lobbying Congress to enact more “tort reform” to end so-called frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits.

The facts of this scenario actually happened in Minnesota. And what consequences did the negligent physician face, you ask? He was barred from inpatient surgery, but could regain full surgical privileges if the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice later determines he is competent. The suspension was ordered in part because the same doctor had also previously taken a biopsy of another patient’s pancreas instead of his diseased kidney. One would think that a licensed urologist would know the difference between a pancreas and kidney, not to mention right from left. Luckily for this patient, he lived in Minnesota which is one of the few states which has refused to enact caps on medical malpractice lawsuits so he can pursue his rights in court for full compensation for what was done to him. If he had been a resident of the majority of other states, his recovery would be limited to the amount a bunch of politicians decided was “fair”.

So, how much is your kidney worth to you?

A former third-party CDL tester in Louisiana traded positive driving skills test documents for cash bribes for more than a year, and now faces up to five years in prison. On February 23, 2010, Harold G. Stewart pleaded guilty in Federal Court to one count of lying about his falsifying 250 CDL skills tests. A state compliance review revealed Stewart had tested an inordinate amount of CDL candidates with no failure ratings. “Rather than properly administer the commercial driver’s license skills test as required, Stewart accepted cash payments from various third-party applicants in lieu of administering the test,” court documents state. Stewart administered a total of 320 skills tests, according to the DOT Office of Inspector General. He was paid $200 per test.

Stewart, who reportedly worked at Stewart Auto Sales & Salvage in Zwolle, a business authorized by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety to perform CDL skills testing of CDL driver candidates, faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General, FMCSA, the Southern Service Center, FMCSA’s Louisiana Divisional Office, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety.

Everyone depends on some type of insurance. We also expect the coverage to be reasonably priced to fit into our already tight budgets. While the health insurance debate is taking center stage on the national level, where is the hue and cry for reform of the property-casualty insurance industry? Without property-casualty insurance we couldn’t drive, own homes, doctors and pharmacists couldn’t practice, local governments couldn’t function and many small businesses would not be able to remain open.

So why is it that one of the most important sectors of our national economy is one of the least regulated, unaccountable and most profitable industries? Because these insurers are exempt from federal anti-trust laws, and most state insurance departments have little or no control over insurance rates.

Perhaps the most telling fact is how influential these insurers are in Washington D.C. and every state capitol due to the army of well-paid lobbyists and political contributions. They use the threat of their capability of inflicting major damage to a state’s economy so they routinely get what they want legislatively. Rarely do their demands on lawmakers get challenged.

One example happened in West Virginia when all five medical malpractice insurance companies threatened to pull out of the state unless regulatory laws were repealed. The West Virginia legislature promptly caved to the political pressure and repealed the legislation which they had enacted to protect W.V. consumers. As Joanne Doroshow of the Center for Justice & Democracy recently lamented, “Doctors complain of price-gouging by their medical malpractice insurers but do not join with consumer groups to push for industry regulation.” Apparently the medical profession would rather blame the legal profession and support “tort reform” instead. They ignore the insurance industry’s own admission about the lack of savings from “tort reform”. The vice president of the American Insurance Association admitted: “The insurance industry never promised that tort reform would achieve specific premium savings.” Despite that we are constantly inundated with “tort reform” rhetoric from lawmakers and their industry backers instead of taking on the insurance companies directly.

All of us- doctors tired of high medical malpractice premiums, business owners sick of paying exorbitant property-casualty insurance premiums, homeowners who face annually increasing rates despite never having made a claim- should target the real culprit in this ever-growing problem: the insurance industry. We should urge our national lawmakers to revoke their anti-trust exemption and face competition like every other industry. We should pressure our state legislators to enact common sense regulations and actually enforce them. No one expects the insurance industry not to make a profit. What we should not expect is for that profit to be on the backs of the consumers who only want and deserve affordable insurance.

An 18-wheeler truck driver for P.A.M. Transport, Inc. was charged in a rear-end crash that injured the wife and daughter of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Police charged the truck driver from Franklin, Ohio with reckless driving. The truck driver was not injured. P.A.M. is conducting its own investigation.

Reid’s wife was a passenger in her daughter’s van and suffered a broken neck, back and nose requiring surgical intervention. The crash occurred on a heavily traveled section of Interstate 95 in Fairfax County, VA, just South of Washington, D.C. According to a statement by the Virginia State Police, as Sen. Reid’s daughter was driving a 2005 Honda Odyssey, she began breaking for traffic, and the 18-wheeler struck the rear of her van and forced her into the rear of the car in front pushing the vehicle into the next lane, where it struck another vehicle.

P.A.M. is short for the company founder’s initials, but has also been reported to stand for “Pretty Awesome Mileage.” It has a fleet of about 1769 tractors and 4,500 trailers.

The FMCSA is currently holding public sessions regarding the hours of duty and drive time of an 18-wheeler driver on our highways. The result of these 80,000 pound big rig collisions, in the greater percentage of time, the people in the car are going to be seriously injured or killed.

Here the 18-wheeler took out 3 vehicles. The number of 18-wheelers on our highways seems to be increasing. Every time you are on the highway you find yourself next to an 18-wheeler. Safety of the motoring public require limitations on the duty and drive time hours of these big rig drivers to prevent fatigue, falling asleep at the wheel, and traveling to close between the car in front to stop and prevent a rear-end catastrophe.

We wish the Senator’s wife a speedy recovery.

Every 40 seconds- nearly 800,000 times a year- someone in this country experiences a stroke. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and cancer. Strokes kill more than 143,000 Americans yearly. And perhaps more significantly, strokes are the leading cause of disability because they can result in paralysis, memory loss, speech problems, spasticity and pain. This issue is of great importance to me as a personal injury attorney because I have represented many stroke victims over the years whose strokes resulted from defective drugs and medical devices.

The good news is that scientists are discovering more effective ways to prevent and treat strokes. Harvard’s School of Public Health researchers have identified five lifestyle factors that can cut the risk of ischemic strokes (clots blocking the flow of blood to the brain) by 80% and all strokes (including hemorrhagic or blood vessel rupture) by 50%. The big 5 are :

1)   don’t smoke

2)   maintain a normal weight

3)   eat a prudent diet

4)   exercise regularly

5)   moderate alcohol consumption

Some additional measures to consider are taking statin mediations to lower LDL cholesterol, eating more fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids three or more times per week and drinking green or black tea daily.

It is extremely important for everyone, especially high-risk elderly and patients who have already experienced one stroke, to know the five stroke warning signs. If you experience one or more of the following signs you should call 911 immediately:

1)   Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, particularly if it is on one side of the body only

2)   Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

3)   Sudden visual disturbance in one or both eyes

4)   Sudden confusion or difficulty speaking

5)   Sudden dizziness, loss of balance, loss of coordination or difficulty walking.

Researchers have also found significant benefits and no increased risk for brain injury in people who were treated with tPA, a blood-thinning, clot-dissolving intravenous drug, up to four and a half hours after the onset of stroke symptoms. The lesson learned: get to the ER as quickly as possible upon onset of any of the stroke symptoms.

Attorney Richard J. Arsenault, founding partner in Neblett, Beard & Arsenault was interviewed and featured in the Wall Street Journal about his role in the developing Toyota litigation.  The article, Lawyers Vie for Lead Roles in Toyota Lawsuits, was penned by veteran journalist Dionne Searcey.

Arsenault, whose firm has filed multiple class-action lawsuits against Toyota, is organizing a national Toyota Litigation Symposium next week in San Diego, CA.  The symposium, which is scheduled for the 24th, is on the eve of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s Toyota litigation hearing.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $6 million. The lawsuit had been filed by Nationwide’s customers who accused the insurer of fraud and violating consumer protection laws. 230,000 current and former clients who were charged more than the maximum-allowed premiums will share the settlement. The lawsuit alleged Nationwide had been systematically overcharging its customers who chose to pay monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. The overcharges had been occurring for over 15 years.

This is not Nationwide’s first involvement with stiffing its customers. In June 2009, Nationwide agreed to settle another class action lawsuit which alleged the company did not pay homeowner policyholders enough to cover repair costs on eligible claims for a period of 13 years.

During the years of these overcharges and underpayments, Nationwide, a Fortune 500 company, was experiencing exponential growth and huge profits. At the end of fiscal year 2007, Nationwide posted a profit of almost $2 billion.

We desperately need insurance reform in this country- in health insurance, liability insurance, malpractice insurance, in fact, in all types of insurance. For too long insurers have consistently raised premiums while devising ways to cherry-pick customers, underpay claims and apparently to systematically overcharge their unknowing customers. Common sense regulation and real enforcement are long overdue.

John Randall Whaley, partner in Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, has been invited to speak at Bellwether Trials: Evolving Trends in Class Action and Complex Litigation Strategic Use of Bellwethers by Plaintiffs and Defendants on March 25th.

This CLE seminar, sponsored by Stafford, will examine recent trends in the use of bellwether trials and provide the plaintiff and defense counsel perspective on litigation strategies for using bellwethers. Bellwether trials are used in a variety of contexts in complex litigation. They can be used in class action cases before the certification hearing to help the court determine whether common issues predominate.

They are more commonly used in mass tort litigation and multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings where a large number of plaintiffs are proceeding on the same legal theory or claim and there is no feasible way to handle the large caseload.

Bellwether trials are valuable for settlement purposes and can help both parties assess the strengths and weaknesses of their cases. Selecting cases for bellwether trials and formulating litigation strategies require thoughtful consideration by both plaintiffs and defendants.

The panel of litigators will discusses current trends in the use of bellwether trials in class action and complex litigation and offers litigation strategies from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives.

For more information or to register for the event, click here.

Following a weekend emergency request by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety administration (FMCSA), the United States District Court for the Central District of California on Saturday ordered the owner of Tierra Santa Inc., the illegal bus company involved in a March 5 fatal crash near Phoenix, Arizona, to immediately cease all interstate and international passenger service. The bus company, allegedly operated illegally from Mexico, traveling through Texas and Arizona to Los Angeles, slammed into the back of a pickup truck and rolled killing 6 passengers and injuring 16.

The owner of the bus company, Cayetano Martinez of Los Angeles, had previously been shut down by FMCSA, only to attempt to “reincarnate himself as a new carrier” and unsuccessfully attempted to gain U.S. Department of Transportation operating authority under a new name. “Martinez has shown a persistency and determination to continue operating under new entities and business,” the complaint states. The consent decree also prohibits Martinez, or any affiliated company, “from contracting with or arranging for additional transportation of passengers unless the contracted motor carrier possesses valid operating authority registration from FMCSA.”

The safety of the motoring public and the bus passengers demand enforcement, shutting down, and removal of unauthorized motor carriers from the interstate roads before such a tragedy.

Here is the official press release from the FMCSA:

Illegal Interstate Bus Company Is Ordered to Cease All Operations Immediately FMCSA Obtains Emergency Action to Shut Down Carrier

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following an emergency request by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the United States District Court for the Central District of California on Saturday ordered the owner of Tierra Santa Inc, the illegal bus company involved in a March 5 fatal crash near Phoenix, Arizona, to immediately cease all interstate and international passenger service.

The carrier ceased operation on the evening of Friday, March 5 at the demand of FMCSA. Saturday’s order makes that shutdown enforceable by the Court.

FMCSA’s complaint states that the owner of the bus company, Cayetano Martinez of Los Angeles, had previously been shut down by FMCSA, only to attempt to “reincarnate himself as a new carrier” and unsuccessfully attempted to gain U.S. Department of Transportation operating authority under a new name.

“Martinez has shown a persistency and determination to continue operating under new entities and business,” the complaint states.

The consent decree also prohibits Martinez, or any affiliated company, “from contracting with or arranging for additional transportation of passengers unless the contracted motor carrier possesses valid operating authority registration from FMCSA.”

The consent decree does not absolve Martinez from possible future civil penalties by FMCSA for violations of federal motor carrier safety regulations.

“It is absolutely essential that unsafe carriers like this one be taken off the road,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Safety is our number one priority at the Department of Transportation and we will not rest until this accident has been fully investigated.”

“FMCSA investigators are working tirelessly so that we can prevent such a senseless loss of life from happening again,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We thank the United States Attorney’s Office for their outstanding partnership in bringing this emergency action forward so quickly.”