Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Wrong-Way Crashes in Texas Are on the Rise |  | An exclusive NBC 5 investigation reveals just how often wrong-way drivers kill and injure people on Texas highways. NBC 5 Investigates used Texas Department of Transportation records to pinpoint areas where wrong-way crashes happen more often. Those high frequency crash zones raise questions about whether more can be done to prevent them. TxDOT data shows the number of wrong-way crashes in Texas jumped by 13 percent last year. In the last four years, 269 people have died in wrong-way crashes and another 2,800 more were injured on Texas roads. In North Texas alone there have been 50 deaths and more than 700 injuries attributed to wrong-way crashes since 2011.
Scott Friedman, NBC 5 - DFW 02/02/2015    | | Read Article: NBC 5 - DFW |
| Parents File Suit Over Son's Drunken Driving Death | | A lawsuit was filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Ohio on Friday by the parents of a teen who was killed in a drunken driving accident in 2013. The teen was killed in an accident in which he was driving intoxicated after a party. According to the lawsuit, a local liquor store had sold alcohol to the underage teen and his friends which they took to a party. The lawsuit names as defendants the liquor store, the parents who hosted the party and the two friends who purchased alcohol with the boy. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $25,000.
Jennifer Feehan, Toledo Blade 01/31/2015 | | Read Article: Toledo Blade |
| Texas Justices Revive $21M Oil Royalties Suit Over Well Site | | The Texas Supreme Court on Friday found that claims by landowners are not time-barred in a $21 million oil-and-gas royalty suit alleging Samson Lone Star LP filed fraudulent public records, ruling that the family did its due diligence and reversing an appellate court.
Paul DeBenedetto, Law360.com 02/02/2015 | | Read Article: Law360.com |
| Fatal Houston Fender-Bender Shows Shortcomings of Recalls | | By the time Carlos Solis IV laid eyes on the silver Honda Accord in a Texas used-car lot last April, the sedan had changed hands twice, been in at least two crashes and still had a defective air bag that had been recalled three years earlier. Last week the automaker confirmed the air bag in Solisâ??s car ruptured during a fender-bender on Jan. 18, making him the fourth confirmed case in the U.S. of someone being killed by shards of metal sprayed from a malfunctioning device. His highlights what critics say is the ineffectiveness of a system in the U.S. where, on average, a third of repairs still arenâ??t complete within 18 months of a manufacturer issuing a recall. As cars changed hands and automakers lose track, motorists often donâ??t know they are driving a car with a deadly defect.
Jeff Plungis, Jeffrey Green & Harry Weber, Bloomberg 02/02/2015 | | Read Article: Bloomberg |
| Cars With Faulty Airbags Are Recalled Second Time, but Fix May Take a Year | | Toyota, Chrysler and Honda are recalling about 2.1 million vehicles with airbags that might suddenly deploy even when the vehicle is not in a crash after earlier recalls did not sufficiently address the problem. Federal regulators said replacement parts might not be fully available until the end of the year. About one million of the Honda and Toyota models are also covered by recalls for defective inflaters made by the airbag manufacturer Takata that can deploy with too much force and send pieces of metal into the interior of the vehicle. The problem in this recall is an electronic component made by the American supplier TRW Automotive. The fix under the previous recalls involved installing an electronic filter to try and protect the component.
CHRISTOPHER JENSEN and DANIELLE IVORY, The New York Times 02/02/2015 | | Read Article: The New York Times |
| GM Ignition Claims Surge to 4,180 | | GM's ignition switch compensation program got a surge of claims in its final days, adding more than 1,100 claims in the last week to 4,180 submissions, including 455 death claims. The program's deputy administrator, Camille Biros, said in a Detroit News interview the compensation program related to the company's delayed recall of cars with faulty ignition switches has received 4,180 total claims, up from 3,068 a week earlier. The final tally of claims may rise because any claims postmarked by Saturday will be considered by the program adminstered by compensation lawyer Ken Feinberg and his law firm.
David Shepardson, Detroit News 02/02/2015 | | Read Article: Detroit News |
| Cellphones in Operating Room Pose Patient Safety Risks | | The increasing digitalization of health care data is quickly making the smartphone one of the more important medical devices found in hospitals and clinics today. Patient safety advocates are warning there is a growing problem with distractions from cellphones during surgery and other high-risk medical procedures, leading to medical errors, inefficiencies and patient harm. Studies have alson shown that phones routinely carry bacteria and viruses that pose infection risk, particularly in the operating room. But itâ??s the potential to take a doctorâ??s focus away from the task at hand that might have the most direct adverse effect on patients.
Markian Hawryluk, Bend Bulletin 02/02/2015 | | Read Article: Bend Bulletin |
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