A whopping 8.15% of all truck crashes were due to driver fatigue according to data gathered by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES), which is maintained, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The National Transportation Safety Board recommendation that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration create a plan to set up devices in commercial trucks that will reduce the occurrence of fatigue-related accidents. The FMCSA is currently involved in the development of a “North American Fatigue Management Program for Commercial Motor Carriers.” This project is a collaborative effort “aimed at reducing fatigue-related accidents and decreasing the personal and economic cost to drivers, companies, and worker’s compensation programs and insurance carriers.”
Have you or someone you know been involved in a Florida truck accident due to truck driver fatigue?
A case against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., which has been closely monitored by product liability lawyers throughout the United States has resulted in a $3.2 million verdict to a woman who suffered debilitating jaw necrosis from Zometa, a bone strengthening drug prescribed to many cancer patients.
The Montana lawsuit was the first of about 550 cases to go to trial against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. All of the claims involve similar allegations that the drug maker failed to adequately warn that Zometa side effects can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a condition that causes the jawbone to decay and deteriorate.
Following a five-day trial and eight hours of deliberation, the Missoula County District Court jury handing down the verdict on Wednesday, according to a report in The Missoulian.
Peggy L. Stevens, 57, alleged that she developed Zometa jaw necrosis after receiving the drug intravenously for three years as part of a battle with lymphoma. The condition typically results in severe jaw pain, loosening of the teeth, exposed bone in the mouth and jaw infections.
Zometa (zoledronic acid) is an intravenous injection used to strengthen bones; it is part of a class of medications known as bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates are used to reduce bone complications associated with multiple myeloma and bone metastases from solid tumors.
