Dangers of Texting and driving and Calcium – Aronberg & Aronberg

In this blog post we are going to warn you about a new possible legal ramification of texting your friend! Then we’re going to explore a little-known, but deadly, danger associated with taking calcium supplements. Remember, knowledge is power!

This month, the law may take a whole new turn in combating distracted driving. The case is in New Jersey, and it’s one of the most peculiar one’s we’ve come across in terms of distracted driving—which, of course, leads to a myriad of accidents. In September of 2009, a couple was riding their motorcycle when they were hit head-on by a Chevy truck. The couple on the motorcycle noticed that the driver, before the impact, was steering with his elbows and appeared to be text messaging on his cell phone. The driver of the car, an 18-year-old, pled guilty to using a hand-held device while operating a vehicle (among other charges).

Now, in a follow-up lawsuit, the couple hit by the Chevy is suing the driver—and the driver’s girlfriend. What’s so shocking is that the girlfriend they’re suing wasn’t even in the car at the time of the crash. The lawsuit claims, though, that she was “electronically present” because she was the one he was texting when he crashed. Because he was driving, and she was texting him, she may have known that he was driving and therefore her continued engagement in the text-conversation makes her liable, according to the lawsuit. The lawyers for the girlfriend, of course, are arguing that the motorcycle couple is taking a “leap of logic” that goes way too far in implicating that the girlfriend did any wrong. Whatever the outcome, it will surely shape the scope of distracted-driving laws and set a precedent for future cases of this kind, which are sure to arise as text messaging becomes more of a way of life.

Next, we move to Europe, for an interesting study on a seemingly beneficial supplement. A group of scientists at the University of Zurich recently completed an 11-year study which involved collecting data on 24,000 men and women between the ages of 35 and 64. The study revealed that people taking a calcium supplement are 86% more likely to have a heart attack than those who are not taking a calcium supplement. For those folks that only take a calcium supplement, the risk more than doubles. While the report could not identify a specific cause-and-effect relationship between the calcium supplements and the heart attacks, the scientists who wrote the report did issue a warning that calcium supplements should be taken with caution.

The authors of the study noted that the study brought to light that taking the calcium in one or two daily does is unnatural and therefore the metabolism responds in a different way than it would to a natural intake of calcium.

If anyone you know has experienced a heart attack from the calcium supplement—or has suffered at all from any other medicine, please contact one of our attorneys for advice.

If you have any questions about distracted driving—or any other legal matter, please reach out to us. Call the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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