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!
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.
You’re Not Always in Good Hands October 13, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Allstate Insurance, car accident, hiring a lawyer, injury settlement, insurance settlement, Personal Injury Attorney, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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Either take less money or wait years until Allstate is forced to settle. That is what has been reported about Allstate’s claims practices. (Remember the ad: when you have Allstate Insurance you are “Always in Good Hands”).
Yesterday, I was talking with a friend whose client was hesitant to hire a personal injury attorney. Simply asking the powerful question, “Why?”
I think the answer to “Why hire an attorney” is answered in that story. It discovered a few things about Allstate’s injury claims:
First, the company evaluates claims with a computer program designed to reduce payouts by as much as 20 percent of what the company once paid for the same injuries.
Second, Allstate pushes policyholders to accept quick settlements without the help of lawyers. Policyholders who try to fight for more money face Allstate attorneys coached to refuse to negotiate and to drag out litigation.
A former Allstate attorney described their tactics:
They put pressure on people by establishing that they are a bully in the market.
I recommend you read the article or other blogs about the article. Many other insurance companies are now using Allstate’s computer program or programs just like it. If you have any questions about their tactics feel free to post a comment or contact me.
Don’t forget to read my previous post entitled “Why Hire a Personal Injury Attorney.”
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Crivitz, Plymouth, and Germantown.
Personal Injury Paparazzi? October 7, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: injury settlement, insurance settlement, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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It sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it? Why have a professional photographer take pictures of a personal injury victim? Well, in every case that involves scars, permanent bruises or disability the at fault insurance company asks for pictures to evaluate the claim.
Why not have the injured victim just meet with the at fault adjuster? Many times the adjuster is in some far off office, hours from injured victim. Usually, insurance companies have “round table” discussions about these types of injuries. This means that a bunch of adjusters will get together one day and pass around photographs of scars, permanent bruises etc. and give their opinion of the “value” a jury would award for the injury. That is how at fault adjusters come around to offering a personal injury settlement.
So, back to the professional photographer. An injured party needs to have pictures that truly represent the injuries. Just as if they were standing there in the conference room with the adjusters “round tabling” the claim.
Don’t get me wrong, nowadays many digital cameras will do a great job and take quality pictures. But, in order to give the at fault adjuster as true a representation of the injuries I’d recommend a professional photographer.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Oostburg, Marinette, Wisconsin Dells and Wauwatosa.
Editorial on Drunk Driving October 6, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Drunk Drivers, Drunk Driving, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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Mike Nichols wrote an editorial last Saturday about drunk driving. It was kind of a follow up to his story on the collision Cimermancic caused.
I agree with the jist of Mike’s editorial: Drunk drivers in Wisconsin get way too many chances to get back in their cars, drunk, and endanger the rest of us.
Update on Cimermancic September 30, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Drunk Driver, Drunk Drivers, Drunk Driving, Wisconsin car accident lawyer, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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A while ago I posted about a young man who had a long history of Operating After Revocation and drunk driving. While driving drunk (BAC .168) he drove the wrong way on the highway and hit my client head on.
He was sentenced by Judge Mac Davis last week, September 26, 2008. The sentence included one year in jail with work release privileges and 5 years probation.
The Journal Sentinel sent a reporter to the sentencing hearing:
Driver gets one year in wrong-way crash
Waukesha — A Richfield man who was intoxicated on Jan. 8 when he drove the wrong way on Highway 41/45 and collided head-on with another vehicle, seriously injuring the driver of that car, has been sentenced to one year in jail with work release privileges.
John D. Cimermancic, 26, pleaded guilty in July to injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle and was sentenced Friday by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis.
According to the criminal complaint, the crash occurred about 11:40 p.m. Jan. 8 on Highway 41/45 at County Line Road in Menomonee Falls.
Two vehicles crashed head-on in the northbound lanes of the highway.
What the Journal Sentinel didn’t report was some outrageous comments by John Cimermancic’s attorney. This attorney said he didn’t believe that prison does much as a deterrent. I just don’t get this comment. Look at Mark Benson for example. He wasn’t supposed to be on the road. His license was revoked. That didn’t stop him from driving? If he was in prison would we be talking about how he killed a mother and her kids?
The same goes for this case. John Cimermancic should NOT have been on the road. He didn’t have a license and didn’t own a car. He borrowed his girlfriend’s car and got drunk and drove the wrong way on the highway. Prison is a deterrent in the sense that it takes a multiple drunk driver off of the road. That in itself deters drunk driving. It should be said that in September of 2007 John Cimermancic was charged with drunk driving.
Judge Davis was thoughtful and, at least it appeared to me, that he was concerned about the victim in this case. He said that impact on the victim is very substantial and that nothing we can do will make the victim whole. Judge Davis disagreed with Cimermancic’s attorney, saying there is more protection of the public if the defendant is in prison.
But Judge Davis points out, if Cimermancic is out working there is the potential for the victim to be compensated sooner rather than later.
Cimermancic is now a felon. He can’t vote. Can’t own a gun. Must maintain sobriety. Must attend AA or some other program. Must maintain full time employment. Loses his driver’s license for 2 years. And he must pay restitution starting immediately.
As a father I feel badly for the family of the John Cimermancic. He was pretty badly injured also. He is an Iraq war veteran. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to Judge Davis he has a better chance of successful rehabilitation because of his family support.
All in all this is a terrible situation. Was the Judge’s decision on sentencing correct? Let me think about it. Ask me when my kids turn 16. I’m sure I’ll have a different opinion then.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Kansasville, Marinette, Milton and Wauwatosa.
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