South Carolina Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Senate recently held hearings to consider the legal implications of the automated robot-driven cars being tested in three states -- Nevada, California and Florida.

Wonder why they’re spending time and money on unlikely scenarios right out of Back to the Future and The Jetsons? The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers predicts that 75 percent of cars on the road in 2040 will be self-driving. InsuranceQuotes.com put together this infographic pointing to other statistics that may surprise you about the car of the future. http://www.insurancequotes.com/self-driving-cars/

One of the models being tested is a modified Toyota Prius which includes these features to allow it to navigate public roads without a driver:

• A high-definition video camera mounted near the rearview mirror detects traffic lights and vehicles approaching from the sides.
• A LIDAR rotating sensor on the roof (like radar but using pulses of light rather than sound) scans a radius of 200 feet to create a dynamic 3D map of the environment, showing road edges, signs, guardrails and overpasses.
• Three radar sensors in the front bumper and one in the rear bumper measure distances to various obstacles and allow the system to reduce the car’s speed.
• A sensor mounted on the left rear wheel measures lateral movements and pinpoints the car’s position on the map.

The idea of roads filled with robocars sounds pretty far out, doesn’t it? But the fact is, automakers have been gradually adding active safety features for several years, including:

• Electronic stability control to help keep cars from skidding
• Active cruise control, which slows the vehicle to maintain a safe following distance
• Autonomous steering, which recognizes lane drift and guides the car back to the center of the lane
• Parallel parking assist systems
• Adaptive headlights.

Considering that more than 34,000 people were killed in car accidents last year, with human error the cause of more than 90 percent of them, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, it is clear that cars equipped with advanced technologies could save many lives. However, the cars of the future are creating thorny questions for policymakers today.

If a robotic car is involved in an accident, who’s at fault, man or machine?
Will a driver be responsible for infractions, such as running a red light, caused by a malfunction of the car’s sensors?

Are drowsy driving, texting and drinking behind the wheel likely to increase if drivers no longer need to be situationally aware?

And what about computer security and privacy concerns? According to a May 15 article in Columbia’s The State newspaper (http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/15/2773030/senate-considers-if-no-ones-behind.html), NHTSA has created a new division to focus on cybersecurity. NHTSA head, David Strickland, said the agency’s aim will be to “ensure that the driver cannot lose control and that the overall system cannot be corrupted to send faulty data.”

Last year’s Santa Clara Law Review annual symposium drew legal scholars from around the country to discuss regulations and questions of insurance coverage and civil and criminal liability. “Technology is way ahead of the law,” said law professor Dorothy Glancy, who focuses on public transportation and privacy issues. “It’s going to be with us whether we think about these issues or not,” she said. “To think about the legal issues in advance – that’s a really good thing.”

Yes, to plan for the future is a good thing, because the future really is now.

GoUpstate.com reported recently that independent testing of residual groundwater near the Cannons Campground community is being done in connection with an investigation concerning the alleged improper disposal of dangerous chemicals by a manufacturing plant in Spartanburg.

Columbia attorney Bert Louthian, along with Graham Newman of the Harpootlian law Firm, who are representing more than 100 residents of the area, are drilling groundwater monitoring wells as part of their continuing investigation into the extent of the contamination.

The groundwater contamination at issue resulted from the operations of a Hoechst Celanese polyester fiber plant previously located in Spartanburg.

Read the entire article here: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130419/ARTICLES/130419573/1001/sports02?p=1&tc=pg

More About: Environmental Pollution

As spring arrives and the weather clears, drivers across the state should be alert for pedestrians.

Every three days, someone dies in a pedestrian accident in South Carolina, according to the state Department of Public Safety. For bicyclists, the fatality rate is approximately one death per 17 days.

These statistics show the danger involved in simply walking, jogging or biking on South Carolina streets and highways.

Unfortunately, in most car-pedestrian encounters, it is the pedestrian who generally pays the higher price. The result of a pedestrian accident can include broken limbs, cuts and abrasions, spinal damage, traumatic brain injury and wrongful death.

A pedestrian fatality occurred April 4 in Florence County, where a 50-year-old woman was struck and killed by a 2003 Oldsmobile while walking home from taking care of her grandmother.

“The fatal hit and run happened on Tanyard Street in Timmonsville around 9:15 Thursday night, according to LCpl. Sonny Collins with the South Carolina Highway Patrol,” reported Carolina Live.com.

The 19-year-old driver of the Oldsmobile initially fled the scene but returned to talk to police. He was arrested and charged with Felony Driving Under the Influence and Leaving the Scene of a Collision Involving Death.

7 Facts About Pedestrian Accidents

1. There were 4,280 people killed in pedestrian accidents in 2010, a 4 percent increase from 2009.
2. An additional 51,000 people were injured in pedestrian accidents nationally.
3. About 75 percent of pedestrian deaths were in urban areas.
4. Almost 70 percent of pedestrian deaths were at night.
5. The majority of pedestrian deaths were male (70 percent).
6. People aged 75 and over had the highest number of fatalities.
7. Children aged 10-14 had the highest number of injuries.

Source: Carolina Live.com http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?list=195106&id=881163

The number of South Carolinians who died in auto accidents involving a drunk driver dropped in 2011.

Drunk driving deaths in South Carolina fell from 353 in 2010 to 315 in 2011. Ours was one of only four states where fatalities involving drunk driving accidents decreased by 30 or more. The others were Texas (-57), New York (-45) and Tennessee (-31).

But even one alcohol-related death is one too many. And innocent people will continue to die as long as impaired motorists continue to climb behind the wheel.

A case in point: a 30-year-old North Charleston man was arrested and charged with felony DUI after a car wreck on I-26 that killed a female passenger. The accident occurred March 9 when the driver ran off the interstate and crashed, according to news reports. Two young children who were also in the car were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Nationwide, 32,367 people lost their lives on America’s roadways in motor vehicle crashes in 2011. About one-third (31 percent) of those deaths – or close to 9,900 – were alcohol-related. This was a decline of 2.5 percent from the preceding year.

Three states had increases of 30 or more deaths: Colorado (+41), Florida (+38) and New Jersey (+33).

An alcohol-impaired-driving fatality is defined as a person killed in a crash involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

Sources:

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811699.pdf
• WBTW-TV 13 News http://www.wbtw.com/story/21635299/sc-mom-dies-son-hurt-in-crash-with-drunk-driver-police-say

South Carolina consumers should look out for a new email scam that is trying to take advantage of last year’s Department of Revenue security hacking scandal.

The scammers are targeting people who signed up for the free credit report monitoring service provided by DOR in the wake of the 2012 security breach. The e-mails purport to be an “Identity Theft Alert” or “Credit Report Update.”

But the real goal is to coax recipients to open the e-mail and click on an embedded link. Once this is done, confidential information might be compromised – leading to consumer injury and loss.

Following is from a news release by the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs:

[The SCDCA] is urging consumers to beware of phishing e-mails that appear to be coming from the credit bureaus.

This latest phishing trend has fraudsters trying to capitalize on consumer fears following the Department of Revenue (DOR) security breach.

It is well known that many consumers have signed up for the free credit report monitoring service offered by DOR through Experian. In an attempt to separate consumers from their personal information, scammers are now sending fake e-mails, posing as Equifax. The e-mails attempt to grab the consumer’s attention by using words like “Identity Theft Alert,” or “Your score has dropped,” in the subject line. Once opened, the consumer is urged to check their declining credit score through an embedded link.

SCDCA wants to take this opportunity to remind consumers that scammers will also pose as government agencies. The most recent example of this involves correspondence supposedly from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). These scam attempts can come via letter, e-mail and fax and typically say that funds are being held by Bank of America and can only be released if a mandatory service charge is paid.

Following are some steps to avoid cyber-theft:

• Verify all e-mail messages. When a business contacts you, especially by e-mail, verify the validity of the message by following up with the business directly. Use contact information you know is correct.

• Do not click on any links in the message or cut and paste links into your browser. Phishing e-mails may contain software that can harm your computer or track your activity online.

• Check the legitimacy of the domain or sender’s address. Be suspicious if there are many letters and numbers in the web address or e-mail address (e.g., admin@m78mail.com). This does not resemble gmail.com or yahoo.com, etc.

• Note the grammar. “You might be having Identity Theft issue,” is broken English. Reputable companies will never e-mail consumers with such verbiage.

• Pay attention to the website link given in the e-mail. Please visit HERE does not show the actual link you will be visiting.

• Use antivirus software and a firewall. Make sure to update them regularly.

Source: SC Department of Consumer Affairs http://www.consumer.sc.gov/consumer/PressRelease/Documents/2013/13003.pdf

Blood infections in newborn babies in South Carolina were reduced by up to 58 percent in hospitals where intensive care workers used safety checklists, a new study shows.

The checklists covered the steps to be taken when blood catheters were inserted in an infant’s vein or artery. If the procedure is not done properly, the infant risks getting a bloodstream infection that can result in serious accidental injury or death.

Simply by using the checklists – and communicating more effectively with each other – workers in neonatal ICUs were able to prevent an estimated 131 newborn infections and 41 deaths.

South Carolina was one of nine states – and 100 hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) – that participated in the study, which was conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Following is from the AHRQ news release:

CLABSIs are healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that cause serious illness and death in infants as well as adults. A central line is a tube (catheter) that goes into a patient’s vein or artery and ends in the central bloodstream. In newborns, especially premature infants, central lines can remain in place for weeks or months to provide nutrients and medications as babies become able to function on their own.

Health care teams in the project states, caring for a total of 8,400 newborns, used AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) to improve safety culture and consistently implement catheter insertion and maintenance guidelines. CUSP is customizable and helps hospitals understand and apply the science of safety and take actions to improve teamwork and communications.

When the project began, participating NICUs had an overall infection rate of 2.043 per 1,000 central line days. At the end of the project, that rate was reduced to 0.855 per 1,000 central line days, a relative reduction of 58 percent.

“The CUSP framework brings together safety culture, teamwork and best practices—a combination that is clearly working to keep these vulnerable babies safer,” says AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “These remarkable results show us that, with the right tools and dedicated clinicians, hospital units can rapidly make care safer.”

The nine-state project in NICUs is part of a larger AHRQ-funded effort to implement CUSP to prevent CLABSIs nationwide.

The 11-month study was based on safety guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to South Carolina, participating states were Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

You can view the final report here. Get more information on AHRQ’s efforts to improve neonatal care here and here.

Source: AHRQ http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2013/nclabsipr.htm

Charges of race and sex discrimination on the job declined in South Carolina in 2012 – but charges of religious discrimination went up.

That’s according to new figures from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

There were a total of 1,232 South Carolina job discrimination charges filed by the EEOC last year, which accounts for 1.2 percent of the national total.

The leading claim was religious discrimination – 482 cases, or 39 percent of the total. That’s down more than 100 from 2011.

There were 383 claims of sexual discrimination or sexual harassment in South Carolina (31 percent), a drop from 405 in 2011.

But religious discrimination cases rose in 2012: a total of 42 cases (3 percent). That’s up from the 37 files opened in 2011.

The improved workplace bias numbers were not unique to South Carolina. Discrimination claims of all types – race, sex, national origin, and religion – were down nationwide.

The EEOC recovered $356 million for victims of workplace discrimination across the country in 2012.

Following is from the EEOC news release:

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that it received 99,412 private sector workplace discrimination charges during fiscal year 2012, down slightly from the previous year. The year-end data also show that retaliation (37,836), race (33,512) and sex discrimination (30,356), which includes allegations of sexual harassment and pregnancy were, respectively, the most frequently filed charges. . . .

. . . Also this fiscal year, the agency obtained the largest amount of monetary recovery from private sector and state and local government employers through its administrative process - $365.4 million.

In fiscal year 2010, the EEOC filed 122 lawsuits including 86 individual suits, 26 multiple-victim suits (with fewer than 20 victims) and 10 systemic suits. The EEOC’s legal staff resolved 254 lawsuits for a total monetary recovery of $44.2 million.
. . . .

Overall, the agency secured both monetary and non-monetary benefits for more than 23,446 people.

Sexual harassment is prohibited under the federal Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex as well as other protected categories like race, national origin and religion. It applies to all businesses with 15 employees or more and to all levels of government and labor organizations.

View the EEOC’s year-end statistical report – which includes a breakdown of discrimination claims by state and by type of claim – here.

Source: EEOC http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-28-13.cfm

Federal safety officials are warning employers to take steps this winter to protect workers from serious – and sometimes fatal – exposure to carbon monoxide.

The move follows a recent workplace injury incident in a New England warehouse where a worker was found unconscious and having a seizure from carbon monoxide poisoning. Several other workers at the site also became sick. The facility had no exhaust ventilation, and all of the windows and doors had been closed to conserve heat.

Job sites in South Carolina that use gas equipment or heaters can pose a danger to the men and women who work there. The risk increases during winter – when doors and vents are closed to keep out the cold.

Following is from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration:

Every year, workers die from carbon monoxide poisoning, usually while using fuel-burning equipment and tools in buildings or semi-enclosed spaces without adequate ventilation. This can be especially true during the winter months when employees use this type of equipment in indoor spaces that have been sealed tightly to block out cold temperatures and wind.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure can include everything from headaches, dizziness and drowsiness to nausea, vomiting or tightness across the chest. Severe carbon monoxide poisoning can cause neurological damage, coma and death.

Sources of carbon monoxide can include anything that uses combustion to operate, such as gas generators, power tools, compressors, pumps, welding equipment, space heaters and furnaces.

Following are some safety measures that can reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in the workplace:

• Effective ventilation systems
• Avoiding gas and oil-burning equipment in enclosed spaces
• Installing carbon monoxide detectors in hazardous areas
• Training workers and supervisors on carbon monoxide risks.

Thousands of workers are injured and killed in workplace accidents each year. Many of these accidents could have been prevented by jobsite safety measures.

Source: Occupational Safety & Health Administration http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=23571

A winter storm that dropped freezing rain and a glaze of ice on South Carolina is being blamed for dozens of car crashes and at least one death.

Seventy automobile accidents were reported in Greenville County as a result of the January 25 storm.

And a driver in Easley was killed when his car skidded on deadly highway ice.

Bad weather is the cause of 11 percent of all auto accident fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This is from The State:

Authorities blamed at least one death on Friday’s icy conditions. A man died in a wreck in Pickens County after his car hit a patch of ice on U.S. 123 in Easley.

Schools and government offices in the Upstate shut down early as sleet and freezing rain moved across the area. The Highway Patrol reported at least 70 wrecks in Greenville County in two hours as the first batch came through.

Sheriffs in York, Lancaster and Chesterfield counties reported a number of wrecks as the second round of freezing rain came through after sundown Friday.

Trees and power lines had a light glaze of ice, but only scattered power outages were reported.

You can reduce your chances of being injured or killed in a car wreck by observing these AAA winter driving tips:

• Avoid driving when tired.
• Make sure your tires are in good shape and properly inflated.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
• Avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
• Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface.
• Slow down and steer where you want to go.
• Use your seat belt.

Source:

• The State http://www.thestate.com/2013/01/25/2604713/freezing-rain-expected-in-northern.html

• Statistic Brain http://www.statisticbrain.com/car-crash-fatality-statistics-2/
• American Automobile Association http://exchange.aaa.com/safety/roadway-safety/winter-driving-tips/

A woman standing on a downtown Columbia sidewalk was hospitalized after being injured in a pedestrian accident caused by a driver attempting to beat a red light.

The driver struck another vehicle coming through the intersection. Both vehicles then collided with the woman, who was waiting on a corner.

A pedestrian is injured by a car every eight minutes in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Every 108 minutes a pedestrian is killed.
Pedestrian accidents account for approximately 10 percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide.

Here is a report from WIS-TV:

Columbia Police said a man trying to beat a red light at Hampton Street and Assembly Street caused the collision that left the unnamed pedestrian with a leg injury.

Gary Jones, 54, was cited for disregarding a traffic control device after the incident.

Police say Jones was traveling eastbound on Hampton Street when he ran a red light and hit a vehicle traveling northbound on Assembly. The two vehicles then hit a woman who was standing on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of the intersection.

EMS transported the pedestrian to an area hospital. A spokesperson for the police department said she appeared to have an injury to her leg or ankle.

A total of 818 people died in South Carolina auto accidents in 2011, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Thousands were injured.

Source: WIS-TV http://www.wistv.com/story/20660077/police-pedestrian-hospitalized-after-driver-tries-to-beat-red-light

Carrols Corporation – the world’s largest Burger King franchisee, with almost 600 restaurants in South Carolina and nationwide – has agreed to pay $2.5 million for sexual harassment and retaliation against employees.

The settlement ends a discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The lawsuit alleged workplace sexual discrimination against 89 female employees, many of them teenagers, at Burger Kings around the country.

This is from the EEOC announcement of the settlement:

The EEOC’s suit charged that Carrols subjected a class of women - including many teenagers - to egregious sexual harassment at Burger King locations throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. EEOC alleged that the harassment, which ranged from obscene comments, jokes, and propositions to unwanted touching, exposure of genitalia, strip searches, stalking, and even rape, was perpetrated by managers in the majority of cases.

According to the EEOC, Carrols also retaliated against some of the women by cutting their hours, manufacturing discipline against them, and even firing them, while it forced more women to quit because the harassment made their working conditions intolerable.
Federal law prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation against employees who complain about it.

Under the terms of the settlement, Carrols agreed to:

• Pay $2.5 million in compensatory damages and lost wages to the 89 victims
• Implement procedures to increase employee awareness of anti-harassment policies and improve the company’s response to complaints
• Improve training for managers in preventing and responding to harassment
• Use mechanisms for tracking complaints
• Take steps to prevent future harassment and retaliation.

Carrols is headquartered in Syracuse, New York. The company owns, operates, and franchises 576 Burger King restaurants in 13 states, employing more than 17,000 people.

Workers who are subjected to sexual harassment in South Carolina may have a right to sue for compensation, including lost wages and other relief.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-9-13.cfm

A rear-end crash near Woodruff has resulted in a felony DUI charge and six people injured.

The wreck happened January 11 when a driver ran into the back of another car on Highway 221, causing it to flip over and then drifted into oncoming traffic and hit another car head-on.

Three passengers in the flipped car – along with all three drivers – were taken to the hospital.

There were 357 drunk driving deaths in South Carolina in 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This represents almost 8 deaths per 100,000 population.

Thirty-eight people under the age of 21 were killed in South Carolina alcohol-related crashes in 2010.

Here is a news report of the Woodruff wreck:

One man has been charged with felony DUI after a wreck sent several people to the hospital Friday morning.

Investigators say it happened around 10:45 AM on Highway 221 just outside of Woodruff.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Michael Dean Staggs, 40, hit a small car from behind, causing it to overturn. Stagg’s car crossed into oncoming traffic and hit another vehicle head-on.

Three people in the small car were ejected. Authorities say they were not wearing their seatbelts at the time. Those three people, along with the drivers of all three cars involved were taken to the hospital for their injuries.

Staggs has been charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in great bodily injury.

The highway was blocked for several hours after the crash.

In 2008, South Carolina ranked sixth in the nation in motor vehicle deaths, and first in the percentage of automobile deaths that were accident-related.

The consequences of a South Carolina car crash caused by a drunk driver can be devastating, including staggering medical bills, permanent injuries, disability and even death.

Source: WSPA-TV 7 http://www2.wspa.com/news/2013/jan/11/2/wreck-blocks-highway-221-spartanburg-co-friday-ar-5346548/