Last week the Wisconsin Department of Transportation released statistics of traffic fatalities that show an increase in deaths compared to this time last year. February saw 34 deaths in 25 accidents compared to 22 deaths in 2011. This February also had one more death than Wisconsin’s five-year average.

As of the end of February, 78 people have lost their lives in 65 traffic accidents, 17 more than at this time last year and seven more than the five-year average.

Officials at the Department of Transportation stress that many of these fatalities could have been avoided if the driver and passengers had buckled up. Wearing seatbelts is the best protection against being ejected from the vehicle or being violently thrown about.

Two people died this weekend in unrelated snowmobile accidents that occurred on Dodge County’s Beaver Dam Lake and in Langland County.

Six snowmobilers plunged into open water suddenly while riding on Beaver Dam Lake Saturday night. Emergency crews were able to rescue all the riders, and four were taken to the hospital. A 45 year-0ld man did not survive. Officials at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Conservation say the lake is very unstable and strongly urge people to stay off of it.

In another accident that occurred Saturday morning, a 58 year-old woman struck a tree while riding on a snowmobile. Sheriff’s deputies declared her dead at the scene. They do not believe alcohol was a factor.

A new bill passed in Florida will make it harder for victims of car accidents whose vehicle has a defect receive payments for their damages and injuries. The bill says that jurors at a trial should be able to hear evidence of what led up to the crash and decide if the automotive defect was the only factor that caused injuries.

A court ruling in 2001, which found that events leading up to an accident were not relevant if any type of injuries or damages occurred because of a defect, set a precedent for automobile liability cases that was in favor of victims of accidents. The automobile manufacturers, Ford, complained that the number of product liability cases filed against them increased exponentially following this ruling. The new bill that has been passed will directly defy this court ruling.

Many are arguing that the bill is not fair because a defect in a vehicle is dangerous, regardless of the driver’s actions.

If you or someone you love has suffered injuries due to an automotive defect, please contact the Kenosha auto defect lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ® at 800-242-2874.

On February 2, 2011, a man caused a collision while allegedly driving drunk. The accident took place on an area of road in Kenosha that had not been plowed.

The man’s car collided with a Chevy Blazer after speeding through unplowed snow on the road. No one was seriously injured, however the two people occupying the Blazer reported minor wrist and back pain. The Chevy Blazer also had some damage after being hit head-on by the man’s Lincoln Town Car.

Although results were not released to confirm the man was drunk, it was reported that the man had open and empty bottles of alcohol in his car at the time of the accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured by an auto accident caused by a drunk driver, please contact the Kenosha drunk driving accident attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, at 800-242-2874.

A school bus driver caused a two-vehicle accident in Sheboygan County on January 11.

While running the afternoon route, the driver brought the bus to a stop at an intersection and then drove into the path of another vehicle.

Two students sustained minor injuries from the crash. Neither driver was injured.

The bus driver was ticketed by police for failing to yield.

If you or your child has been injured in a bus accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the Kenosha auto accident attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, are prepared to represent your case. Contact our offices today by calling 800-242-2874.

A truck driver was injured in a two-vehicle rollover accident in Kenosha that occurred on I-94 Tuesday, December 28.

The driver of the semi was attempting to change lanes when the truck hit a passenger car, causing the semi to roll over and off of the road.

The semi driver sustained non life threatening injuries and was taken to St. Catherine’s Hospital for treatment. Police are investigating the accident.

If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in a rollover crash caused by someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate to contact the Kenosha rollover accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, today at 800-242-2874 to discuss your legal options.

Appleton police report that alcohol was behind a three-vehicle crash that occurred last weekend in Appleton.

The accident took place around 2:50 AM on Sunday morning on College Avenue, just east of Lyndale street.

Two people were injured. One sustained minor injuries, while the other suffered non-life threatening injuries that nonetheless required hospital care.

A number of witnesses saw the crash and one happened to be a doctor, and was able to render aid. Police say this was a lucky coincidence.

If you have been involved in a drunk driving accident, contact the Kenosha drunk driving accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, by calling 800-242-2874.

According to the Racine County Sheriff’s Department, a 16-year-old Kenosha girl was fatally wounded last week in a speeding related single-vehicle crash.

Police responded around 1:16 AM Sunday to reports of a car crashed into a tree near the 3500 block of Taylor Avenue, at Elm Tree Court.

The 16-year-old girl was killed in the crash and the 18-year-old male driver critically injured. Both were extricated by the South Shore rescue unit.

Emergency responders pronounced the girl dead at the scene. The male was taken to Froedtert Hostpial in Wauwatosa where he remains.

The Sheriff’s Department believes speeding was responsible for the accident and have not yet determined if alcohol was involved.

The Wisconsin State Patrol reported this week that a driver who lost a load of furniture from the back of his truck Wednesday caused two crashes and many hours of traffic delays.
They are still searching for the vehicle and the driver responsible for the lost furniture.

Reports from several motorists as well as the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department around 6:45 PM Wednesday alerted the State Patrol to the problem. There were shards of wood and broken glass spread across the westbound lanes of Highway 29 near the Business Highway 51 exit.

A passenger van and a tractor-trailer both struck mattresses in the road at the same time, resulting in a collision between the two vehicles. A mattress became stuck in the tractor-trailer’s drive shaft and it had to be towed from the scene.

A minivan behind the two vehicles had to brake sharply to avoid striking them, which then led to a truck behind the minivan crashing into it.
Nobody was injured in the two crashes.

If you have been injured in a Kenosha car accident, or know someone who has, please contact the Kenosha reckless driving accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®, by calling 800-242-2874.

The family of a toddler permanently injured in a car crash won $20 million in a personal injury lawsuit this week.

The accident occurred on October 2, 2008. The girl, who was 2 years old at the time, was riding with her mother when their van was struck by a truck that had run a red light. While the crash itself was minor, the collision knocked loose a number of pipes from the back of the New London well-drilling company’s truck, one of which struck the girl in the head. She suffered severe injuries including blindness and traumatic epilepsy.

As a result, she will need 24/7 care for the rest of her life. Total healthcare costs for the last two years alone exceeded $850,000.

The lawsuit alleged that the pipes came loose due to a defect in the manufacturing of the truck’s pipe rack, which should have held the pipes in place.

The settlement is the largest that has ever been recorded in Outagamie County. $1 million will be paid by the driver of the truck and his company while the rest will come from the manufacturer of the pipe rack.