FMCSA 30 Minute Break Rule Explained
March 11, 2025
What is the FMCSA 30 minute break rule? All commercial truck and bus drivers need to take a break from driving for at least 30 minutes after their first 8 hours of driving, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations regarding hours of service rules. There are limited exceptions to the FMCSA 30 minute break rule, […]
Hard Braking Event Explained
March 10, 2025
Previously, I had the opportunity to speak at the American Association for Justice truck accident litigation seminar in Dallas, Texas. I talked about giving effective opening statements and closing arguments at trial in 18-wheeler truck wreck cases. During the seminar, a question was asked by one of the attendees, “what is a hard braking event?” […]
CDL English Proficiency Requirement Under FMCSA Explained
June 27, 2024
Truck accidents and the CDL English proficiency requirement under the FMCSA As a truck accident lawyer, I have handled cases involving people who have been seriously injured in truck wrecks at the hands of commercial drivers who do not speak English. Drivers who do not speak English fluently are in violation of the Federal Motor Carrier […]
State Farm tries to use IME report to dismiss car crash case
November 23, 2017
Thankfully, court rules jury must resolve fact disputes between State Farm’s hired-gun independent medical examination doctor and car accident victim’s treating doctors
New Military guidelines help show seriousness of “mild” TBI
November 16, 2017
Language in the 2011 revised criteria for awarding the Purple Heart Medal will help TBI car accident victims and personal injury attorneys to show real impact of brain injury
How auto accident attorneys can use distracted driving evidence
September 22, 2017
Michigan Auto Law attorney Steve Gursten speaks to Michigan Association for Justice on best practices for lawyers to discover and use evidence of distracted driving in auto accident cases
Gursten speaks on mild TBI trial tactics for lawyers at webinar
September 11, 2017
Michigan Auto Law attorney Steve Gursten gives litigation tips for lawyers to prove TBI at trial in an American Association for Justice-sponsored nationwide webinar on traumatic brain injury
Steven Gursten’s seminar talk: boosting auto injury case values
April 27, 2017
Steve will explore TBI, Chronic Pain, Fatigue and Disability in auto accident cases at Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association’s annual conference
What to do when insurance companies insist on their case manager
March 20, 2017
Auto accident victims have right under No-Fault to hire their own case manager, and insurers’ duty to pay for ‘services’ doesn’t let them demand who provides it
Do you need biomechanical engineering expert testimony?
March 9, 2017
If a defendant has hired a biomechanical engineering expert to rebut your client’s injuries, there’s a more direct, efficient — and cheaper — way to counter him
It’s time to allow Michigan attorneys to record IME exams, insurance defense doctors
April 13, 2016
What can be done to stop abuse – and outright perjury – by “independent” medical examiners? Allow recordings of all IME exams and require IME doctors to actually treat patients What do these “hired gun” doctors, and the insurance companies and defense attorneys who hire them, have to hide? That’s the real question we need […]
Videotaping insurance defense doctors: A legal Catch-22 for attorneys, accident victims
April 12, 2016
Michigan law requires ‘good cause’ to videotape an IME, yet attorneys effectively need the videotape of an IME to show ‘good cause’ with most judges Last week, I spoke at NABIS, the North American Brain Injury Society, on protecting TBI survivors from defense attacks. At the top of my list of suggestions is that attorneys […]