St. George, UT, November 9, 2009 — St. George attorneys, Bryce Dixon and Ron Truman, of Dixon, Truman, Fisher & Clifford. P.C., spent a week in a Salt Lake City federal courtroom trying to get justice for their clients, Jim and Colleen Spahr. Jim Spahr was injured when he walked into a hole left in the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn in Springdale, Utah. At about 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 4, 2006, Jim Spahr left his hotel room with a small cooler to get some ice before he checked out of the hotel. Jim walked with his small cooler from his hotel room directly toward the office.

There was no moon that morning, but there was a little light coming from the windows of the buildings. Although it was still dark outside, the hotel had already turned off the exterior parking lot lights. As Jim was walking towards the office, he took a step on what he thought was black top, but there was nothing there. Jim fell six feet and landed on his left knee on some pieces of concrete left at the bottom of a culvert inlet. The force tore Jim’s patellar tendon into two pieces. The patellar tendon is the large tendon that attaches your kneecap to your shinbone. Jim incurred medical expenses of approximately $31,000 in connection with this injury to his knee. Because the hotel owner and its insurance company refused to accept any responsibility for this incident, Jim and Colleen Spahr were forced to file a lawsuit against the Rodeway Inn.

When the Rodeway Inn was constructed, the owner built a culvert to allow the natural drainage to continue its flow across the hotel’s property. However, the hotel owner left a 6-foot deep hole on one side of the culvert open. The hole was partially in the parking lot and partially on the lawn. The hotel refused to accept any responsibility for Jim’s injuries and made many excuses why it should not be held accountable, including the excuse that the large hole in its parking lot was not a danger to its guests even in the dark.

The twelve person jury unanimously disagreed with the hotel, concluding that the hotel was 99% at fault and Jim was only 1% at fault. The jury awarded Jim and Colleen a total of $450,000, of which $40,000 was for Colleen’s lost of consortium.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning all federal workers from texting while driving on government business, driving government vehicles or using government equipment.

The Obama administration also said it will seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truckers and push states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted.

LaHood said the administration also would move to put restrictions on cell phone use by rail operators, truck drivers and interstate bus drivers.

While texting is not yet illegal in Las Vegas, it is in Utah. There currently is legislation being pushed to ban texting in Nevada.

Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said of cell phone driving legislation: “Knowing our Legislature, it will have a tough time. Nevadans are independent and like their liberties.”

“Driving while distracted should just feel wrong – just as driving without a seat belt or driving while intoxicated,” LaHood said at the end of a two-day conference on the problem. “We’re not going to break everyone of their bad habits – but we are going to raise awareness and sharpen the consequences.”

The administration also will push to disqualify school bus drivers who are convicted of texting while driving from keeping their commercial driver’s licenses.

The Transportation Department reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes connected to driver distraction, often involving mobile devices or cell phones. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was more prevalent among young drivers.

“It’s like driving with your eyes closed,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., a proponent of a texting ban.

The possibility of being injured by another in an accident is exponentially higher in a city like Las Vegas. With the combination of alcohol and driving, Las Vegas tops the charts for accidents. Clark County has over 8,000 DUI arrests every year, in conjunction with its share of automobile accidents and fatalities. In addition, Las Vegas has gridlock streets with stoplights posted every mile, as well as the heavy use of cell phones in automobiles. Consequently, this all equates to negligent driving and reckless car crashes. To avoid traffic due to these accidents, check out http://www.nvdpspub.gov/nhp/roadhazard.aspx before your commute.