Posts by Marcus P. Mears
Why Did Car Accident Fatalities Rise During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
It would be logical to think that people staying at home or close to home during the pandemic would lead to fewer traffic deaths. Sadly, the reverse has proven to be true. A recent Los Angeles Times article reported a frightening statistic. There were more than 38,600 deaths on US roads in the last year,…
Read MoreFMCSA Now Requires Annual Inspections of Rear Impact Guards
Truck accidents, in general, are scary; however, one of the most terrifying truck crashes involves an underride accident. An underride accident happens when a passenger vehicle slides underneath a tractor-trailer truck. These types of accidents are often fatal, regardless of the speed of the vehicles. To avoid these types of Oklahoma City truck accidents from…
Read MoreThe Dangers of Space Heaters
Winter is an exciting season for many people, with the cold weather ushering the holiday season and a new year. Some people enjoy the drop in temperatures and the chance to bundle up inside. However, with the transition into winter comes to the risks of fire and heating accidents, particularly space heater accidents. Just last…
Read MoreCunningham & Mears Wins $750,000 in Unanimous Verdict for Their Client
Cunningham & Mears is proud to announce that we recently won a $750,000 jury verdict on behalf of our client, a former U.S. Post Office worker. The insurance companies fought back for seven years against our client, but our team refused to back down from what was right. We are thrilled that our client finally…
Read MoreTruck Driving Is a Stressful Job
Truck driving is a financially rewarding profession for many residents of Oklahoma. The financial benefits are likely to increase as the demand for drivers increases while the number of people who have a commercial driver’s license is decreasing. The rewards are countered by many different types of stress. Truck workers often have to leave their…
Read MoreProving Your Car Accident Was Caused by Defective Car Part Design or Manufacturing
Many car crashes are preventable, but some are out of the control of the drivers involved. This is the case when a defective vehicle or part design or manufacturing process is at fault. The accidents caused for these reasons are no less serious than others and can lead to severe injuries and even death. These…
Read MoreFive Workers Unaccounted for after an Oklahoma Oil and Gas Field Explosion
Reuters news service reported in January 22, 2018, that five workers were missing after an explosion occurred in an eastern Oklahoma oil and gas drilling site. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. was drilling the well for Red Mountain Energy. Gas from the well was feeding the fire preventing a full search of the area. The fire was…
Read MoreMistakes That Workers Often Make in Workers’ Compensation Cases
Oklahoma workers who are involved in a workplace accident should immediately consult with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. Without strong representation, you could lose out on your claim for benefits, be denied the medical help you need, or lose out on additional benefits you should be entitled to receive. Employees who act without counsel often:…
Read MoreCPSC Warns Riders to Keep ATVs Off Paved Roads
Summer is in full swing, with dozens of outdoor activities waiting for us. For many of the adventurous in Oklahoma, that means ATV riding. Going out on an all-terrain vehicle can be lots of fun, but it’s important to avoid an accident and injuries. The U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released a public service…
Read MoreCauses and Consequences of Crushing Injuries
On any worksite with heavy equipment and heavy objects, there’s always the risk of a worker having an accident where a part of their body can be caught and severely crushed. These are called “crush” or “crushing” injuries and can result in catastrophic injuries, including amputation of a limb, or even death. If you suffer…
Read MoreInterrogatory Questions for Car Crash Victims Going to Trial
If you’ve been in a car crash and the insurance company won’t play ball with a fair, just settlement, you may need to go to trial to obtain the outcome you want. Discovery is a critical part of trial preparation. When Oklahoma car accidents occur, the lawyers for the car accident victims and those who…
Read MoreThe Electronic Logging Device Requirement for Commercial Trucks
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires that commercial drivers, as of December 2017, use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) to track important data. The ELDs are similar to the black boxes used in airplanes, and help investigators understand how an Oklahoma truck accident happened. The devices replace written records and logs, which often weren’t…
Read MoreWhy is Thursday Trucking’s “Deadliest Day” of the Week?
Driver safety technology is evolving, and automakers and trucking companies are paying attention. By installing features like anti-lock brakes, lane drift warnings, blind spot detection, and other safety applications, cars and 18-wheelers should be getting safer. Unfortunately, fatalities continue to occur at an alarming rate on our nation’s roads and highways. In Oklahoma and throughout…
Read MoreConstruction Site Accidents and the Fatal Four
Here in Oklahoma, we depend on construction workers. We depend on them to build our homes, our shopping centers, office buildings, and medical centers. It’s a physically demanding job and, as a result, the number of on-the-job accidents tends to be higher than other industries. Recent OSHA data reveals that 21.4% of all on-the-job fatalities…
Read MoreCourt Ruling Allows Oil Workers to Sue Well Operators
Injured oil-field workers can sue well operators for injuries suffered on a drilling rig, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision on March 13, 2018. In December 2013, an oil field worker was hurt on a rig near El Reno and filed suit. That lawsuit led to a State Supreme Court ruling that…
Read MoreOklahoma Oil Rig Explosion Claims the Lives of Five Workers
On Monday January 22, 2018, five workers died in an explosion on an oil drilling rig in Oklahoma, which is being considered the deadliest oil and gas accident since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 which claimed 11 lives. The oil rig that exploded is owned by Patterson-UTI, a Houston-bases drilling and hydraulic fracturing company…
Read MoreTruck Drivers Scamming Hours of Service Safety Rules
When truck drivers are exhausted, yet continue to drive an 80,000-lb. machine along highways, everyone is put at risk – even the truckers themselves. The mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to oversee the safety of our highways by governing commercial vehicles like trucks that transport good and busses that transport…
Read MoreStruck-By Injuries in the Construction Industry See a Staggering 35% Increase Since 2010
Struck-by injuries are one of the most common injuries for construction workers. Throughout the United States at roughly 252,000 constructions sites, nearly 6.5 million people work on an average day. The fatal injury rate for the construction industry is one of the highest of all industries, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)…
Read MoreSports Waivers In Oklahoma
More adults than ever are choosing to participate in organized sports activities, placing themselves at a heightened risk of injury. Factors that contribute to adult sports injuries include age, lack of agility and poor conditioning. The likelihood of receiving damages for injuries suffered during a sports activity, however, may be limited by various factors — including the…
Read MoreCombating Insurance Company Bad Faith
Insurance companies have dedicated staffs of insurance adjustors, attorneys and accountants who are charged with minimizing your damage payments. In the best circumstances, the conduct of these parties can be inconvenient and time-consuming. In the worst circumstances, an insurance company’s tactics to deny coverage can cross the line into bad faith. What is insurance bad…
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