Beating the Treatment-Gap Defense in Soft-Tissue Auto Cases
A blank stretch in the treatment timeline is the defense's favorite exhibit. Here is how to document the gap, explain it, and keep it from…
Category
Auto Accidents
Liability, UM/UIM, MIST defense trends
FMCSA Rollbacks and Aurora AV Trucks Reshape Trucking Plaintiff Discovery in 2026
FMCSA Final Rule 2026-12449, effective July 22, 2026, eliminates CDL self-reporting and the in-cab ELD manual, cutting two layers of docume…
Rebutting the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense in Auto Cases
The sudden medical emergency defense can zero out a clean liability case, but it carries a heavy burden. How plaintiffs attack foreseeabili…
Excluding the Defense Biomechanical Expert in Auto Cases
The defense biomechanical engineer almost always reaches past his own competence. How to confine him to physics and keep medical causation…
Adding the Bar: Dram Shop and Social Host Claims in DUI Crashes
In a serious DUI crash, the at-fault driver's policy is often the smallest source of recovery. The establishment or host that over-served t…
Building the Distracted-Driving Evidence Record in Auto Cases
The distracted-driving case is won in the first two weeks. Here is how to preserve the carrier logs, subpoena the timing metadata, and stag…
Freight Broker Negligent-Hiring Liability Opens Nationwide After Montgomery
The Supreme Court's 9-0 ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ends FAAAA preemption for freight brokers in state negligent-hiring sui…
Rebutting the Seatbelt Nonuse Defense in Auto Cases
The seatbelt defense is admissible in more courtrooms than plaintiff lawyers assume. Here is how to keep restraint-nonuse evidence away fro…
Winning the Phantom-Vehicle UM Claim Without Contact
A driver forces your client off the road and never stops. The UM claim then turns on two separate rules the carrier is counting on you to c…
Three Spring Trucking Verdicts Reach $121M as NHTSA Recalls Expand PI Plaintiff Leverage
Three eight-figure commercial trucking verdicts totaling $121 million across California and Texas set new damages benchmarks for left-turn…
Rebuilding the Rideshare Coverage Stack After SB 371
SB 371 cut rideshare UM/UIM coverage by roughly 94 percent as of January 2026. Here is how plaintiff counsel rebuilds the coverage stack ar…
H.R. 8870 and California SB 371 Reshape Rideshare PI Liability in 2026
The Fong amendment to H.R. 8870, approved by the House T&I Committee on May 22, 2026, would federally preempt state vicarious-liability and…