One of the leading causes of semitruck accidents is driver fatigue. Simply put, truckers adhere to rigorous schedules. The result is that they are often weary or sleepy when behind the wheel.

What happens, though, when a drowsy driver causes a collision? Is the truck driver liable? And what about the driver’s employer? Where, exactly, does the legal responsibility lie?

How vicarious liability works in a semitruck accident

In any personal injury case — where the negligently-acting or at-fault party was carrying out his or her job duties at the time of the collision — the legal doctrine of vicarious liabilitycomes into play. This ancient doctrine, stemming from the legal concept “respondeat superior” has been around since Roman times.

“Respondeat superior” — literally, let the master respond — refers to the fact that the employer in control of another individual should be liable for damages caused by that individual. If, for example, the employee causes a crash due to negligence during the course and scope of his or her employment, the employer will also be liable, vicariously, for resulting damages.

It’s because of vicarious liability, therefore, that the employer of a semitruck driver that hurts you should also appear as a defendant in any personal injury lawsuit that results from a car accident. On the other hand, vicarious liability might not come into play if a semitruck driver hurts you while he or she is taking an unauthorized break on the other side of town to do something completely unrelated to his or her employment.

Did an on-duty employee hurt you in an accident?

New Mexico residents who suffer injury due to the fault of a negligent employee may want to investigate the liability of the employer before moving forward with a personal injury claim. When a plaintiff adds an additional defendant — such as a company or business — to his or her lawsuit, it could serve to increase the chances of a successful financial recovery.

As football practice starts up again at high schools and colleges here in New Mexico and across the country, players face the threat of a potentially fatal condition called exertional heatstroke (EHS). According to one study, it’s the third most common cause of sudden death in teen athletes.

This condition, which is a severe heat-related illness more serious than heatstroke, can harm and even kill young, healthy athletes. A person suffering from EHS has a dangerously high core body temperature of 104 degrees or higher.

Even a short period of time with this temperature can cause permanent damage to organs including the brain, kidneys and liver. If it strikes the central nervous system, it can lead to irreversible neurological damage, coma and death.

That’s why it’s essential that coaches, trainers, parents and team members be able to spot a player who may be suffering EHS, remove him from the heat and get emergency treatment. The symptoms, aside from the high temperature, include dizziness, fainting, vomiting, disorientation and even aggression.

People have become more aware of the dangers of concussions and dehydration for football players in recent years. There’s been greater focus on the importance of getting players off the field and checked out by a medical professional if they are suspected of suffering either one of these conditions.

However, EHS has not received this kind of attention. Many players, parents and team officials simply feel that playing in the late summer heat is a necessary part of preparing for the upcoming season.

If your child has suffered EHS or has lost his life due to complications of the condition, it’s essential to find out what those around him did to prevent the condition or treat it, if anything. An experienced New Mexico attorney can provide guidance on what your legal options are so that you can seek justice for your child and help prevent others from being harmed.

All parents are nervous the first time their child is put under sedation for a dental procedure. However, they don’t (and shouldn’t) expect it to be fatal. In some cases, however, children have died under general anesthesia or deep sedation while having dental work done.

Some of these tragedies occur because dentists and those controlling the anesthesia don’t adjust for differences between children and adults. Children have smaller airways that are more likely to become obstructed.

Another issue is that most traditional dental offices don’t have the equipment and resources to assist a child in distress, so crucial time is lost in getting help. That’s if the dentist and others involved in the procedure even realize what’s happening. Improper monitoring of a child’s vital signs and lack of proper training by those administering the anesthesia are two sources of anesthesia-related tragedies.

Sometimes kids seeming get through a procedure safely and start coming out of the anesthesia, so their parents take them home. However, his or her airway can still close up. That’s why proper recovery time at the dentist is essential. So is having another adult with you on the drive home to keep an eye on the child’s breathing. It takes children longer to fully come out of anesthesia than adults.

If your child’s dentist recommends deep sedation or general anesthesia for a procedure, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find out about other options, like local anesthesia. If your child is very young, ask what the risks are of postponing the procedure. The head of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says, “We advise members to use extreme caution when they’re looking at sedating a child less than 3. For those under the age of 2, I would recommend anesthesia be done in a hospital setting.”

Find out about the dental office’s and the dentist’s safety record and the experience and training of those involved. Find out specifically what your child will be given. Ask how your child will be monitored and by whom during and after the procedure. Ask if the procedure can be done in an outpatient clinic or hospital where a pediatric anesthesiologist and the staff can handle a potential crisis situation. If you’re not comfortable with the answers, take the time to get a second opinion.

If your child is injured or worse during a dental procedure, determine what your legal options are.

Many drivers feel safer in a large vehicle than in a smaller one. However, not all large cars are created equal.

In recent crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), only three large cars received the organization’s coveted “Top Safety Pick Plus” classification. The three vehicles that did this were the Toyota Avalon, Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan and Lincoln Continental.

Surprising to some was the fact that the Tesla Model S failed to make the cut. Tesla, which is still new in the luxury car field, has touted its Model S as the safest car ever made. The automaker’s website describes it as “designed from the ground up to be the safest, most exhilarating sedan on the road.”

According to an IIHS executive, however, the car failed to perform well in the small overlap test. This test simulates a crash where the front driver’s side of the vehicle strikes an inanimate object like a telephone pole. In the test, the Tesla crash test dummy hit its head on the vehicle’s steering wheel. The seat belts were also found to be not strong enough.

Two other cars that were tested, the Chevrolet Impala and the Ford Taurus, also failed to earn the Top Safety Pick Plus label. Like the Tesla, they displayed problems in the small overlap test.

Despite these issues, the IIHS executive noted, “Large cars, by virtue of being large, are safer than smaller ones.” However, it’s important to do your homework before buying any car to determine what its safety record is.

If you are injured in a crash or a loved one is killed and you believe that the vehicle did not perform as it should have to protect those inside, it’s worthwhile to discuss your concerns with an experienced Albuquerque personal injury attorney. Regardless of whose fault the crash was, you may be able to seek compensation from the automaker.

A sad fact of life is that Americans are getting heavier. They’re also getting older. Therefore, in order to better simulate the impact of a car crash on real people, one company that makes crash test dummies has created two new dummies that weigh what is considered obese. That means adding an extra hundred pounds to a standard crash test dummy. Another is meant to replicate a 70-year-old obese woman.

The Michigan International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) was involved in developing these new dummies. The director of ICAM says, “The typical patient today is overweight or obese — they’re the rule rather than the exception. You can’t talk about injuries without talking about the person.” He adds, “The population is getting older, and as it gets older it gets fatter as well.”

How does obesity impact the injuries that a person can sustain in a crash? For one thing, if they are involved in a frontal crash, they can slide underneath their seat belt, which can lead to more serious lower-extremity injuries than those suffered by people who aren’t obese.

Older people also suffer different injuries than younger people in car crashes. For example, they’re more likely to suffer chest injuries (by as much as 15 times those suffered by younger drivers and passengers.) That’s because the shape of the chest changes as people age.

As people stay healthier into their senior and elderly years and are able to continue driving, it’s essential that auto manufacturers and companies that work to ensure auto safety adjusts to the changing demographics of Americans. However, there are no guarantees that you can avoid injuries in a car crash. If you or a loved one has been injured by a reckless or negligent driver, it’s essential to determine that in order to seek compensation.