What to Do After a Parking Lot Accident

We are now in what I think of as “the crazy season”. People are shopping for Christmas gifts, parking lots are fuller than usual, and drivers are stressed out and making impulsive driving decisions. There is potential that you could be involved in a car accident that takes place in a parking lot. Here are some tips about what to do (and what not to do) after the unfortunate happens. Oops! You weren’t paying attention and you backed your car out of the parking space and into someone else’s vehicle. What are you supposed to do now? State Farm has … Continue reading

Car Seat Safety Following A Car Accident

My family was in a car accident this past week. We were inside our car, which was parked in a Walmart parking lot. I had just finished buckling our infant daughter into her car seat when a car struck us on the driver’s side front door. After getting everyone out of the car, calling 911, and calming our unsettled nerves, I began to consider the lasting impact of the car accident. Would all three of us be sore the next morning? Should I take my daughter to the doctor to be examined? The biggest question on my mind was the … Continue reading

Car Accident With Baby

We got in our first car accident with our baby today. It was very minor, thankfully, but it left me feeling very shaken. Our little dear has been down with a cold for a few days, and we decided a little fresh air would be good for all of us. Since we were running low on groceries, we bundled up and headed to the store. After shopping and loading our bags into the car, I got into the back and began buckling our daughter into her car seat. My husband waited in the front for us to finish, keys in … Continue reading

Parking Lot Kids

I live in a neighborhood with cul-de-sacs, wide shared driveways and parking lots. As a matter of fact, in the condo/townhouse complex where I live, we have plenty of green space, playgrounds, bike paths and sidewalks—but the young children are often playing unsupervised in the parking lot… I know that this reality isn’t isolated to my neighborhood. For some reason, either parents think that parking lots are a safe place for kids to play, or kids just gravitate to them as open spaces and parents are not intervening. When my own children were little bike-riders, parking lots and shared driveways, … Continue reading

Teen Driving Disaster

My 67-year-old grandmother taught me how to drive. True story. The woman had the patience of a saint. My parents didn’t step foot in a car that I was navigating until I was fully licensed. They didn’t teach any of my brothers how to drive either. We were all sent to Driver’s Ed, and logged our permit hours with our teacher or other family members in various public parking lots and on empty rural roads. Needless to say, my mom won’t be teaching my daughter how to drive when that dreadful day comes. Rather, the job will likely fall to … Continue reading

“Alighting” is Not the Same as “Exiting” in Michigan

A woman in Michigan falls while putting items into her car, and becomes injured. Michigan has no-fault auto insurance, so the woman was paid for her injuries. Her insurer appealed that case. The Michigan Supreme Court has decided that she shouldn’t have been paid for her injuries after all, due to the way the judges understand the definitions of specific words in the policy. It started with a fall. Mona Lisa Frazier was in the parking lot of her condominium, and on her way to work. Before leaving, she put some items into her truck. She slipped while closing the … Continue reading

Insurance Claim Involving Snowplow Finally Resolved

The Summer weather is finally here, something that most of us have been wishing for since the very beginning of the Winter weather season. One couple in Illinois, however, were still thinking about a snowplow. An insurance claim filed last winter has gone unresolved from then, until now. Imagine having to wait around four months after filing an insurance claim before any action was taken towards repairing the damage to your car. That is exactly what happened for Stephanie Spiewak, and her husband, from Mount Prospect, Illinois. They have been trying to get their 1996 Cutlas Supreme fixed since February … Continue reading

The Case of the Wrecked Ferrari

An insurance company in Michigan has sued the United States Justice Department over a wrecked Ferrari. An FBI agent totaled the car while moving it from one location to another. The Justice Department is now refusing to pay the insurer the $750,000 it is asking for. There are a lot of people who would list a Ferrari as their dream car. It was a 1995 Ferrari F50. There were only 50 of these vehicles in the entire United States. Therefore, it was a very special Ferrari that was involved in an accident. In 2003, the rare Ferrari was stolen from … Continue reading

The Santa Threat

It happened in a blink of an eye. I just couldn’t help myself. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve become one of those parents… a full-fledged adult who uses Santa Claus as a behavior modifier. I’ve tried to console myself by thinking of the millions of other parents who fall into the same trap this time of year. Still, I feel bad that in a moment of weakness I pulled out the Santa card and used it on my 4-year-old. The day started out so innocently. I had a list of errands to complete, including mailing out our … Continue reading

No Bones about It

I have an ongoing beef with residents of this apartment complex who don’t treat it like a home. The people who don’t pick up after their dogs are a big part of my irritation; people who are irresponsible with garbage are another. I’ve lost count of how many time Moose has found some kind of vaguely edible treat on the ground — bread, fast food wrappers, bones, and more. I hope the litter is accidental, but when I think of how often Moose has crunched down on a chicken bone in the parking lot, I fear that it’s not. I’ll … Continue reading