Archive for September, 2011

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28
Sep

Sheila P. Hiestand Named President Of The Kentucky Justice Association

September 28, 2011

A member of the Hughes & Coleman family was awarded a great honor recently, when she was elected as president of the Kentucky Justice association. Sheila P. Hiestand was elected to the position by the groups more than 1,400 members. The association works to keep Kentucky families healthy and safe by improving the quality of legal representation in the state and offering top-notch legal education.

Sheila graduated from Centre College in 1990 with a double major in English and Spanish, and then continued her education by receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky, College of Law three years later.

Some of Hiestand’s other accomplishments include being chair of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Section, and becoming a member of the Board of Governors. She was selected for inclusion in the 2009 and 2010 Kentucky Super Lawyers®, and was selected for inclusion in the newest version of Who’s Who in American Law. Also, Sheila was named as the top attorney in Kentucky this year.

Some of her most important work in the community is with the Alzheimer’s Association of Lexington and United Way, where she helps plan and organize the annual Memory Walk.

Sheila is a vital part of what makes Hughes & Coleman successful. The entire firm would like to take this moment to thank her for all her hard work as a Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyer and congratulate her latest accomplishment!

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21
Sep

115 Children Die of Flu Last Year

September 21, 2011
Many people refrain from getting flu shots because the numerous strains which can infect humans make it no guarantee that the shot will keep you from becoming sick. New findings reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 115 children died from flu last year are prompting doctors and experts to push the public to receive their vaccinations this year; especially children and the elderly.
The new findings released in the most recent copy of the organizations Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report stated that despite recommendations, only 23 percent of the 74 children six months or older with a vaccination history had received shots in the last year. It was also noted that only half of the 94 children who died in hospitals and emergency rooms of the disease had been given antiviral medications prior to the time of death.
Dr. Lyn Finelli, chief of the CDC’s Surveillance and Outbreak Response Team, states, “We know the flu vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective. That’s why it’s essential that these two medical tools be fully utilized. Vaccinate first; then use influenza antiviral drugs as a second line of defense against the flu.”
The elderly are also at a high risk of the virus, as pointed out by the founding Kentucky Medical Malpractice Attorney with Hughes & Coleman, J. Marshall Hughes, when he recently stated, “Thіѕ іѕ a gοοd time tο remember thаt thе elderly, especially residents οf nursing homes, аrе particularly vulnerable tο thе virus.”

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14
Sep

Talking On Cell Phones May Soon Be Illegal For Truck Drivers

September 14, 2011

Although texting while driving is already illegal in the state of Tennessee, very soon, talking on cell phones may be illegal as well for truckers behind the wheel of commercial vehicles. News Channel 5 says the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made recommendations earlier this week to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and others to ban the use of cell phones by truckers while behind the wheel.

The recommendations come in the wake of the discovery that a trucker was on his cell phone moments before a deadly 2010 crash in Munfordville, Kentucky, that killed the trucker and ten others, who were part of a Mennonite family in a passenger van traveling to a wedding in Iowa.

The NTSB chairmen said on Tuesday, because tractor-trailers can be so lethal on the highways when traveling at high speeds, they are also calling for tougher median barriers to be created. This decision was also made, in part, based on findings from the Munfordville crash. Experts found that the semi-truck plowed through cable barriers meant to stop vehicles, because of its size and weight.

Statistics show that it is because of the sheer size and weight of these trucks traveling at high speeds that make them so dangerous and deadly to the truck drivers and those in vehicles around them. Founding attorney, Lee Coleman, with the Tennessee Truck Accident Lawyers of Hughes & Coleman recently discussed the rules of dealing with a truck crash in an interview.

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9
Sep

Man dies in two-vehicle Tennessee auto accident

February 17, 2011

A man has died from a two-car Tennessee auto accident.

The Tennessee auto accident occurred on Interstate 40 when a car traveling east struck the cable barrier.

The impact caused the car to rotate and become struck in the driver’s side door by a Yukon in the Tennessee auto accident. .

Read more.

Do you think these cable barriers contribute to more deadly Tennessee auto accidents? Do you think there’s a greater risk for a wrecked vehicle to be put back into traffic after striking one of those cable barriers?

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8
Sep

Railroad Crossing Dangers

September 8, 2011

A tragic train wreck in Edmonson County over the Labor Day weekend once again shows the extreme danger of railroad crossing. A Dodge pick-up truck was struck while crossing a CSX railroad crossing on the Ray Houchin Road in Edmonson County. The railroad crossing had no lights, bells, or other warning device to alert motorists of oncoming trains. The crossing was marked only by what is commonly referred to as “cross-bucks.” If a motorist does not see the oncoming train then they receive no other type of warning of the oncoming train.

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon occurrence. In 2010, there were 56 railroad crossing collisions in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, making it the 10th most dangerous state in the nation.

As long as the railroad industry continues to rely on passive signs such as cross-bucks, rather than active signs such as flashing lights or automatic crossing arms to block oncoming traffic, these tragedies will continue to occur at alarming rates.

One reason that passive signs such as cross-bucks are dangerous is that every crossing is different, and often oncoming motorists do not have an adequate view of approaching trains. A motorist may believe they are being careful as they approach the tracks and simply not be able to see the oncoming train. In many cases, however, motorists simply approach the crossing, unaware that a train is coming because there is no active warning to alert them of the approaching train.

Passive warnings such as cross-bucks are still the most common type of warning signs in rural areas. We encourage the national authorities to require that all railroad crossings be retrofitted to include some type of active warning. Had there been an active warning system in place there is a high likelihood that the Edmonson County tragedy would have been avoided.

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