Update On Efficacy of Drunk Driving Laws October 29, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Drunk Driving.Tags: Drunk Drivers, drunk driving poll, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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Mike and Sean commented on my earlier drunk driving post. They asked whether stiff drunk driving laws reduce accidents and injuries. Good question. I did my usual google search and found a study that dates way back to 1987. It was a Purdue University study that found that drunk driving accidents decreased by 20% after stiffer laws were enacted. But, the number of hit and run accidents increased by 8%.
I’ll keep looking for a recent statistic. If you find one please comment!
Thanks for the comments!
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Marinette, Milwaukee, Milton and Wauwatosa.
One Week From Today October 28, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.add a comment
The Journal Sentinel reported about a law that dates back to 1945. All voters are:
entitled to be absent from work while the polls are open for a period not to exceed three successive hours
Voters don’t get paid for the time off work. Also:
the law prohibits employers from penalizing workers in any way for requesting time off to vote
If you want to take advantage of the law I’d suggest you make arrangements with your employer sooner rather than later.
Operating While Under the Influence Poll October 27, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Drunk Driving.Tags: Drunk Driver, Drunk Driving, drunk driving poll, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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WordPress just made polls available on their blogging service. So, let’s put it to good use.
UPDATE: H/T Sean Sweeney. The graphic from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states “Number of OWI arrests before it becomes a felony.” I think Sean is right. It should say “Number of OWI convictions.” Good catch Sean!
Thanks for your input!
Thanks for Attending the Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference October 25, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.Tags: attorney, CLE
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On behalf of the other speakers, committee members and program chairs, Thanks! This was a very successful conference. We covered everything from intellectual property, practice management and marketing to personal injury and, of course, cutting edge technology and blogging.
I’d like to thank Rob Teuber and Chris Moander for helping put together a great presentation on Blogging, Podcasts and the Internet. I hope that our audience got some useful information from yesterday’s presentation.
Happy Pit Bull Awareness Day October 24, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Dog Attack Information.Tags: dog bite attorney, Pit Bull Ban, Pit Bull Dog Bites, Wisconsin Dog Bite Law
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Yes, the day has finally arrived! Tomorrow is Pit Bull Awareness day.
Celebrate responsibly.
Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference October 23, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: attorney, CLE, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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It’s time for the WSSFC in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Check out the website for more information.
Some of the headliners are Kevin O’Keefe, Laurel Bellows, and Connie Kilmark.
It’s a three day conference and covers a ton of different topics. Check it out. If you are going then I’ll see you there (I’m speaking Friday afternoon). If you forgot to register and want to come on by please do. Otherwise, put it on your calendar for next year!
Another Drunk Driving Statistic October 23, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Drunk Driving.Tags: Drunk Driver, Drunk Driving, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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According to the Journal Sentinel series on Drunk Driving that I recently posted about Wisconsin:
Wisconsin has the largest percentage of binge drinkers and the largest percentage of drunken driving accidents, yet several states take a harder line on alcohol issues than Wisconsin. Click the topics below to see how Wisconsin compares to the rest of the U.S.
You need to see this diagram. It looks like Wisconsin makes up almost 1/4 of the nation’s drunk driving accidents. Wow. I don’t know really what to say to that. It’s embarrassing. In this case it is NOT good to be #1.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Crivitz, Plymouth, and Germantown.
Series on Drunk Driving October 22, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Drunk Driving.Tags: Drunk Drivers, Drunk Driving, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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If you haven’t read the Journal Sentinel these past few days you are missing out on a good five part series on drinking in Wisconsin.
Tuesday’s article talked about Wisconsin’s lax drunk driving laws. You can get a sense of my opinion on this topic by checking out my tag cloud over on the bottom right of my blog.
Listen to this. I hope you are as shocked as
In 1999, the maximum penalty for a fifth offense translated to 40 months in prison. After that, it changed to a three-year prison term with the possibility of three more years for those who break the law again. But in Milwaukee County, no five-time drunken driver received the maximum, the Journal Sentinel found.
So, if a 5 time drunk driver doesn’t get the maximum then who will? The reports talks about how sentencing varied widely between judges. In short some judges are more liberal and some are more conservative when it comes to sentencing.
I don’t want to cut and past the entire article here. I hope you’ll read it and keep pressure on our legislators to make a change in the right direction.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Marinette, Milwaukee, Milton and Wauwatosa.
Bikes: That What I’m reading About Today October 21, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Motorcycle Collisions.Tags: Bicycle Accident, Bicycle Safety, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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On any given day I bet no one would guess what I’m reading. Some days it is medical records about a cervical fracture. On other days it is a study about drunk drivers. Well, today I was reading a publication from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin entitled, “Bike Sense, The Wisconsin Bicycle Operator’s Manual.”
I’m looking for some information specific to a recent bicycle vs. car collision. Much of the information you probably remember from driver’s ed. For example, bicycles should drive with traffic. It’s safer.
What I was looking for and found was this passage:
You may pass on the right if it is safe to do so. It is safe only if you can maintain at least three feet clearance from both stopped and moving vehicles. When passing, be sure to check for drivers positioning themselves to make a right turn. Motorists may not signal their turns and often do not expect you to be to their right. This is a common cause of crashes.
A recent client was told that he was partially at fault simply because he passed a stopped car on the right. Now, the police report gives the opinion that my client was partially at fault even though there isn’t a basis for it in the law.
If you get a chance, read the bicycle manual. It’s always good to get a refresher on bike safety. Especially, nowadays when more people are avoiding high gas prices and getting back on their bicycles.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Kansasville, Marinette, Milton and Wauwatosa.
Creativity October 17, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: attorney, Marquette University Law School, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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A fellow Marquette alumnus emailed me with some kind words and a link to his blog. I think you should check it out. It’s called The Profit Power of Creativity.
In my “trial lawyer world “creativity is a huge asset (now that I think of it where is creativity NOT an asset). When you can think outside the box (while staying within the confines of the law) this job is more fun and more profitable.
Take a look at Mark’s blog and take his advice. We need more crab apples in the world.
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