Billings Personal Injury Law Blog

While you are excited that your teenager gets to start driving and can be more independent, you are also concerned about his or her ability to be responsible when driving the roads of Montana. Because driving requires focus and prompt decision making, distractions of any kind can create dangerous circumstances. Teaching your teenager about the dangers of distracted driving is imperative to his or her ability to learn about the importance of being vigilant and defensive. 

While distractions range from manipulating a GPS device to eating to talking with friends, texting and driving is perhaps the most prevalent and dangerous distraction. If your teenager owns a cellphone, the chances that he or she participates in this type of behavior could be even greater. As a parent, you can have a considerable impact on the decisions that your teen makes by being proactive in educating him or her and encouraging responsible behavior. 

The consequences of a motor vehicle collision can be unbearably challenging from a physical perspective, and they can also be very tough from a financial point of view. However, the emotional toll of motor vehicle collisions should not be ignored, either. Many people who are involved in auto accidents (and their loved ones) suffer from an emotional standpoint because of the crash, whether they experience depression, anxiety or even anger. In some instances, victims develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unlike the physical toll of a crash, which is usually evident right away, the emotional impact of an accident may take some time to become evident. People may develop depression in the days, weeks or months following an accident, and this can have a negative impact on their lives in many ways. For example, their relationships with family members may suffer and they may encounter problems in the workplace because of their emotional state. They may have trouble sleeping at night and they may not be able to drive because of mental trauma.

There are many factors that can contribute to a large truck collision, from weather conditions during the time of an accident to traffic conditions and fatigue. However, drug use is especially concerning, and many of the deadly large truck crashes can be blamed on a trucker driving while under the influence of an intoxicating substance. Not only are illegal street drugs a major concern, but prescription drugs (even when they are taken in accordance with a doctor’s recommendations) can also lead to a deadly collision.

Some truck drivers do not realize the extent to which they become intoxicated as a result of abusing certain drugs, while others simply do not care. Truck drivers who take to the road when they are under the influence of any drug, from cocaine and methamphetamine to prescription pain pills, should be held accountable for any accidents that are caused by their actions while they were inebriated.

When you or a loved one spend time in a Montana hospital or another type of medical facility, you probably assume that the medical provider has adequate staff in place and can therefore offer the level of care you expect and deserve. Regrettably, however, this is often not the case, and hospitals and other medical facilities across the nation frequently lack adequate staff. At the Edmiston & Colton Law Firm, we recognize that there is a clear link between understaffing and negligent care, and we have helped many people who suffered injury or illness due to understaffing or negligence pursue appropriate recourse.

According to Scientific American, the lack of nurses in many health care settings forces the nurses who are employed there to take on more duties than they can feasibly handle. As you can imagine, this can have a substantial impact on the quality of care patients receive when facilities do not have enough nurses to accommodate patient needs. So much so, in fact, that patients in health care environments where nurses see increases in their workloads are 7 percent more likely to pass away while receiving care there than they would be in environments with adequate nurses.