Crouse Law Offices. International ⁄ National ⁄ Local Accident Litigators

Mr. Crouse With KidsandCars.org Founder Janette Fennell

Earlier we posted an article describing the impressive talk KidsandCars.org founder Janette Fennell gave at a gathering in Florida.  You might recall that Janette is a powerful advocate for child safety in and around cars, and works diligently with congress and attorneys to see that everything that can be done is being done to prevent tragedies involving children being injured or killed by car “rollovers” and “frontovers,’ as well as leaving children in locked cars.  Please visit her website to learn all you can about how to avoid these senseless accidents.



Here is a picture of me with Janette and with Raleigh North Carolina lawyers Beth Leone Noble and Jennifer Seate.  Beth, Jennifer and I are determined to bring Janette’s message to the entirety of North Carolina—and maybe Janette herself—so look for future announcements on this important safety message.

By the way, we recently learned of Safe Kids North Carolina, the North Carolina Chapter of Safe Kids USA,  which addresses all areas of child safety.  We encourage you to visit all of these web sites and get the word out to your schools, civic organizations, neighbors, churches, and work places—anywhere the word might save a life.

Saving Our Children From Avoidable Car Accidents

I just returned from speaking at a lawyer’s conference in Florida. While there I was fortunate to hear Janette Fennell speak about the important issue of children’s safety. Janette is the founder of KidsAndCars.org, an organization dedicated to improving the safety of children in and around motor vehicles while on private property—in non traffic accidents.

We’ve all heard of these unthinkable horrors—when children are run over in their own driveways, usually by a member of their own family. Janette told us not only about back overs but also about front overs, both of which are caused by blind spots in the front and rear of the vehicles. These blind spots can reach as much as 60 feet.

Janette has done something about this. Her organization is not only the first organization to recognize the dangers of what is generally an unknown and ignored problem, but she collects data to present to legislatures and other organizations to bring attention to the tragic loss of the lives of our children caused not only by these types of events, but also in such things as children left in cars where they can die because of heat stroke.

Her efforts have produced legislation which will require back-up camera on all vehicles—a worthy requirement. This is not her first “win” for safety. Following a terrifying kidnapping in her own family, she succeeded in convincing the government and the automotive industry that trunk entrapment was a real problem. This resulted in federal legislation that now requires a “glow-in-the-dark” internal trunk release being required in all cars produced in the US after September 1, 2001.

At this same conference were two terrific North Carolina lawyers, Beth Nobel and Jennifer Seate, also from Raleigh. These attorneys have their hearts and minds in the right place, not only representing people who have been hurt, but also understanding and believing in the importance of safety so that people won’t be harmed.

Those of us at Crouse Law Offiecs, along with Leone, Nobel and Seate, want to be Janette’s “troops on the ground” in North Carolina to carry the KidsandCars message throughout our state. Log into our websites for news about our future efforts in this vital crusade and to see how you can help save our children visit Kidsandcars.org. It is our goal that no other child be harmed by these wholly preventable events.

$175K Awarded In Escaped Race Horse Injury

A Madison County, Illinois, jury has awarded $175,000 to a man injured when race horses escaped from their pasture in 2008, according to the Madison Record. 

According to the lawsuit, the owners did not take proper precautions to keep their horses contained.   The plaintiff claimed the horses came out of nowhere onto Illinois State Road 159 and he saw them strike a mini van that was in front of him.  When he swerved to avoid hitting another horse, he heard a “pop” from his right shoulder and although he refused an ambulance the night of the accident, he sought medical help the following day. 

His lost wages and medical bills have cost him over $59,000. 

The owners of the horse farm have over 40 years experience with horses and this was only the second incident in the farm’s history.  Although they speculated the horses jumped the fence, they never found out how the horses escaped.

Texas Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Toyota

KTRK in Houston reports the husband of a woman killed in a 2009 crash when the gas pedal of her Toyota Corolla malfunctioned is suing the automaker claiming Toyota knew there was a problem, but did not act quickly enough to fix it.

In December, the wife and mother of two was killed instantly when her car raced through a stop sign and crashed into a concrete wall. Her model car later appeared on Toyota’s recall list to fix the problems with the accelerators.

The lawsuit against Toyota, the gas pedal manufacturer, and the local Toyota dealership alleges gross negligence claiming the defective pedal existed at the time the car left the manufacturer.

Crouse Law Offices have the technical and legal abilities to handle negligence and product liability cases. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a car accident caused by a faulty product, please call Crouse Law at 919-861-0500 or contact us online.

Toyota Wrongful Death Lawsuit

U.S. Safety Officials Review Toyota Electronics

Toyota’s electronic throttle systems are cited in seven lawsuits as a possible cause of the sudden acceleration in Toyota’s vehicles, reports Bloomberg, causing the U.S. safety officials to examine this electronic system as well as that of other automakers.

Although Toyota has ruled out electronics as the culprit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated one of the dynamics in question is whether electromagnetic interference from power lines could affect the computerized systems in today’s vehicles.

As of February 1, Toyota has begun shipping steel plates to U.S. dealers to fix the problem of the gas pedals sticking. The president of Toyota’s U.S. sales stated they know what the problem is and they have the fix.

As of November, 2009, one safety consultant reported more than 2,000 incidents involving the Toyota gas pedal resulting in 16 deaths and 243 injuries.

Crouse Law Offices have the technical and legal abilities to handle negligence and
product liability cases. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a car accident caused by a faulty product, please call Crouse Law at 919-861-0500 or contact us online.

Toyota Gas Pedal Accidents