Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
As a lawyer who represents injured people, I am a member of various organizations that share knowledge and legal education. Lawyers that do what I do are members of what is generally known as the Plaintiff’s Bar. The person who brings a lawsuit is a “plaintiff.”
There are other organizations for insurance defense lawyers and they have their various seminars and educational events as well.
The truth of the matter is and the way I see it is that every wreck is preventable and what I do and what lawyers of the Plaintiff’s Bar do is directed towards making our individual communities safe. Ford would not have changed the gas tank on the Pinto without Plaintiff lawyers. We would not have rollover bars on tractors or airbags in cars. Lawyers that advertise “in a wreck need a check” miss the point. Most of these guys have never even tried a personal injury jury trial. They paint injury as a way to get money and that is just not the way to look at it.
Under our Constitutional form of government, “the people” enforce our civil laws or decide when someone has committed a crime when they sit on a jury. Jury verdicts drive safety. When careless drivers get away with less than full justice, it makes driving on the road less safe for me and you and your mother and your child.
Nine people a day die because of distracted driving. We have almost 1,200 people killed or injured every day through distracted driving. Twelve states have completely banned the use of hand held phones while driving. We are beginning to see criminal prosecutions of those who text and kill and it happens every day. 11% of drivers under 20 involved in a fatal crash were on the phone or texting. There are survivor groups for families who have lost a loved one due to a distracted-driving fatality.
Obviously, the law is difficult for the officers on the road to enforce. They have to see the driver in the act of using their hand held device. But when you drive at night how many times do you see people look in their lap at a glowing light? You know what they are doing and you know they are not looking at the road. I don’t know how to solve the problem other than through jury verdicts but I sure can ask everyone to be aware of what is going on around them when they are driving.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-764-1124
