Arkansas Injury Lawyer Blog

Bus companies that the federal government has ordered to stop operating due to serious safety violations frequently change their name and continue to operate.

A Government Accountability Office report which found that unsafe bus companies did not even bother to change their business addresses or phone numbers when they submitted new paperwork to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

On August 8, 2008, a bus carrying a group of people crashed in Sherman, Texas, killing 17 people and injuring 15 others. Investigators concluded that the company that operated the bus was the reincarnation of a motor coach company that had been deemed unsafe and ordered out of service by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration two months before the accident.

Arkansas State and federal laws concerning bus operators need to be fully complied with by bus companies. These companies take church and community groups within and out of Arkansas on various trips. It is important that these groups and their members trust the bus companies to transport them safely. If you or a family member has been injured in a bus accident please contact an experienced Arkansas accident lawyer so your rights are fully protected. It is important to contact an Arkansas attorney as soon as possible so a full and complete investigation occurs.

An accident on Lake Hamilton two years ago led to a new Arkansas law that sets the minimum age of 16 for a solo operator of a personal watercraft in Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission provides a good summary of the changes:

To operate any motorboat powered by an engine of 10 horsepower or more (including a personal watercraft):

A person under 12 years of age:
o Must satisfy the boating education requirement, and
o If operating a motorboat, must be under the direct visible and audible supervision of a parent, guardian or person over 17 years old.
o If operating a PWC, must have a person at least 21 on board and in a position to take immediate control of the PWC. That person must hold a boating education card if he or she was born after 1985.
A person 12 - 15 years of age:
o Must satisfy the boating education requirement, and
o If operating a PWC, must have a person at least 18 on board the PWC. That person must hold a boating education card if he or she was born after 1985.
A person 16 years of age or older must satisfy the boating education requirement if born after 1985..

Furthermore, it is illegal for the owner or person in control of a motorboat to allow someone who does not meet the age or boating education requirements to operate the vessel.

These Arkansas boating laws are meant to reduce personal injuries associated with boat and personal watercraft accidents in Arkansas. The law also makes the insurance company of the parents or other responsible parties potentially liable for the operation of the boat or personal watercraft. If you have been injured in an Arkansas boat accident or Arkansas personal watercraft accident, please contact the Pfeifer Law Firm to make sure your rights are protected.

The person flying a Cessna 150 which crashed near Mayflower, Arkansas had held a student pilot's license, but it had expired on June 30th and was not re-issued, according to the FAA.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Witnesses told an Arkansas television station that the airplane seemed to lose power shortly after takeoff. An FAA spokesman indicated that they would have the final determination as to whether the pilot was able to legally operate the aircraft. He was the only one on board at the time on the accident.

If you or a family has been involved in an airplane crash in Arkansas, please contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible so your legal rights can be fully protected.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has fined Chesapeake Energy Corp. after well drilling fluids were spilled.

The ADEQ issued the order fining the natural gas driller $8,400 for the Sept. 8 incident. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality says there was evidence a layer of drilling mud had been deposited in the tributary and that agency representatives were not allowed to inspect the site when they arrived at the site.

This incident exemplifies the new problems that are associated with the scale of drilling taking place in the Fayetteville Shale areas in Arkansas. Problems ranging from pollution causing personal injury or property damage to drilling site injuries to industrial and truck accidents have increased due to the drilling activity. If you have suffered property damage or a personal injury, please contact an Arkansas lawyer to discuss what can be done to compensate you for your damages.

Sixty Arkansas hospitals have applied to receive funding for trauma care that will come from a tobacco tax. As our previous post regarding the Arkansas Trauma system points out, the system is designed to save the lives of Arkansas accident victims. The following is a list of hospitals that have applied to date:

LEVEL 1

Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock
Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, Memphis, Tenn.
Regional Medical Center, Memphis, Tenn.
St. John's Hospital, Springfield, Mo.
UAMS Medical Center, Little Rock

LEVEL 2

Baptist Health Medical Center, Little Rock
Conway Regional Medical Center, Conway
Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Pine Bluff
St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center, Hot Springs
St. Vincent Infirmary, Little Rock
Saline Memorial Hospital, Benton
Sparks Regional Medical Center, Fort Smith

LEVEL 3

Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, Paragould
Ashley County Medical Center, Crossett
Baptist Health Medical Center, Arkadelphia
Baptist Health Medical Center, Heber Springs
Baptist Health Medical Center, North Little Rock
Baptist Health Medical Center, Stuttgart
Baxter Regional Medical Center, Mountain Home
Christus St. Michael Health System, Texarkana, Texas
Johnson Regional Medical Center, Clarksville
Mercy Medical Center, Rogers
North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, Harrison
North Metro Medical Center, Jacksonville
St. Bernards Medical Center, Jonesboro
St. Edward Mercy Medical Center, Fort Smith
St. John's Hospital, Berryville
St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, Russellville
White County Medical Center, Searcy
White River Medical Center, Batesville

LEVEL 4

Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock
Bradley County Medical Center, Warren
Chicot Memorial Hospital, Lake Village
Community Medical Center of Izard County, Calico Rock
Crittenden Regional Hospital, West Memphis
DeQueen Medical Center, DeQueen
Desha County Hospital, McGehee
Dewitt Hospital, Dewitt
Drew Memorial Hospital, Monticello
Five Rivers Medical Center, Pocahontas
Forrest City Medical Center, Forrest City
Fulton County Hospital, Salem
Helena Regional Medical Center, Helena-West Helena
Hot Spring County Medical Center, Malvern
Howard Memorial Hospital, Nashville
John Ed Chambers Memorial Hospital, Danville
Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Walnut Ridge
Little River Memorial Hospital, Ashdown
Mena Regional Health System, Mena
Mercy Hospital Turner Memorial, Ozark
Mercy Hospital, Waldron
NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, Jonesboro
North Logan Mercy Hospital, Paris
Ouachita County Medical Center, Camden
Ozark Health Medical Center, Clinton
Physician's Specialty Hospital, Fayetteville
Piggot Community Hospital, Piggott
Pike County Memorial Hospital, Murfreesboro
River Valley Medical Center, Dardanelle
St. Anthony's Medical Center, Morrilton
St. Vincent - North, Sherwood
Stone County Medical Center, Mountain View

The new Arkansas Trauma system should save lives of Arkansas personal injury victims and decrease the delay in treatment of catastrophic injuries from car accidents, motorcycle accidents, workplace accidents, train accidents, and other types of personal injuries. If you or a loved one has been the unfortunate victim of an accident in Arkansas, please contact an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights so you can receive compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages.