New Hampshire Law Blog

London Style Surveillance

Coming to a highway near you soon: Surveillance cameras to monitor traffic and emergencies.  According to the "Union Leader" the state has plans to get these cameras up on the interstates soon and then to expand them to other commuter arteries later.

The state plans to use surveillance cameras to keep watch over New Hampshire's busiest roadways.  The idea is to start with the interstates, then add cameras to other commuter routes. The images will be monitored by state transportation and law enforcement officials, and available on-line — most of the time — to the rest of us.

Source:  The Union Leader.com

Motorcycle Accident Increase

The meeting that occurred in NH a month ago has gotten the attention of USA Today.  That meeting was called to talk about the reason behind the increase in motorcycle accidents in New Hampshire.  What did they come up with as a reason?  The lack of motorcycle training.

This emergency meeting of New Hampshire's motorcycle safely task force didn't touch the hot-button helmet issue - helmets are required only until age 18 here - but did agree that more riders need training. Only one of the 27 motorcyclists killed last year had taken motorcycle training. The 27 deaths were three times the number killed in 2003, and 29 motorcyclists have already been killed this year.

Source:  USAToday.com through Yahoo

Insurance Companies are Protected

Many severely injured people come to my office seeking to recover medical bills, lost wages and property damage losses they have suffered because of someone else's negligence. They are often surprised to learn that, over the years, corporations and the insurance industry have been making sure that the laws protect them from having to pay such compensation. 

Ski areas, horse ranches, the state, municipalities, homebuilders and even employers are among the many entities that are protected from having to pay compensation when someone is injured as a result of their negligence.  For example, if a person rents a horse at a ranch, the owner of the ranch ignores that patron's safety and that patron is injured, the ranch owner is protected from liability by law (click here to see that law).  And every day the insurance industry spends great sums of money to make sure that injured people will not be able to recover compensation.  Interestingly, insurance premiums continue to rise, regardless of the number of rights taken from injured victims.