Detroit Submits Bid for Amazon's New Headquarters

A newly released ad campaign has taken social media by storm, all in the hopes that one of the biggest companies in the world will make Detroit its new home. A video entitled Detroit. Move Here. Move The World. hit social media on Thursday, October 19, 2017, as part of the official Detroit-Windsor bid to be selected as the location for Amazon’s next headquarters, which is being called HQ2.

Source: YouTube - Detroit Moves HQ

According to the Detroit Free Press, Amazon announced a request for proposals for HQ2 in September of 2017, and since then cities across America have gone into a frenzy hoping to win Amazon’s affection. WXYZ Detroit reported that upon hearing about the competition, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder asked Dan Gilbert to put together a proposal for Detroit. Gilbert is a Detroit businessman and downtown developer, who has been heavily involved in the rebuilding of the city. The deadline to submit proposals was October 19, and the winner will be announced in 2018. Amazon plans on investing $5 billion in their new location, and will employ over 50,000 workers. The full development of the headquarters would be spread out over 15-17 years, and could require as much as 8 million square feet of office space.

According to Crane's Detroit Business, in addition to Gilbert, a 60-person “Amazon committee” was assembled, consisting of business, education, political, and philanthropic leaders. Specific details of the bid regarding tax incentives, mass transportation for employees, and filling such a large talent pool are being held closely guarded by the committee. The video, which has been viewed over 100,000 times on Youtube alone, was put together by journalist and filmmaker Stephen McGee, with a voice over by Detroit-based poet, playwright, and performance artist Jessica Care More. The video features scenes of iconic Detroit locations, businesses, auto manufacturers, and nearby universities.

The Detroit News reported that Gilbert told the Associated Press that “we feel like we have a lot of advantages. One of them is we’re proposing international headquarters on the border of two North American countries. We’ve got a hedge against any kind of immigration issues that might be on either side because you have two countries. You also have a huge, deep talent base in Canada and special universities.” He also added “we have a lot of transportation advantages because Amazon is sort of a transportation company to some degree. All the stuff with autonomous vehicles and drones and aerospace, there is a lot of that in Detroit.” Detroit's history of vehicle manufacturing, as well as developments of autonomous technology, are central to the bid. The video states that Detroit is “where mobility is born.”

There is still a long and competitive process ahead, as Amazon says over 200 cities have submitted proposals. But should Detroit win the bid, it is hard to overstate how much of a boost to the local economy having a company as large as Amazon setting up shop would be. Detroit is in the middle of a revitalization, and what better way to catapult that by having one of the largest and most influential companies in world make Detroit their new home. For more information on Detroit’s bid, visit Detroitmovestheworld.com, or check out #MoveTheWorld on social media.

With a company as large as Amazon moving into Detroit, tens of thousands of people will be added to the daily commute, meaning more accidents are likely to happen. If you have been involved in an automobile accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM, for a free legal consultation with an expereinced automobile injury lawyer.

Michigan Judge Under Hit-and-Run Crash Investigation

A Michigan judge who usually sentences criminals for hit-and-run crimes could possibly be ending up in front of another judge for the very same reason. The Detroit Free Press reported that Roseville District Court Judge Catherine Steenland of the 39th District Court is being investigated for fleeing the scene of an accident.

On the night of September 25, 2017, Judge Steenland allegedly sideswiped another vehicle while she was making a turn. She then left the scene and returned to her home. The car collision allegedly took place on Gratiot between 13 Mile and Masonic. The driver of the other vehicle supposedly followed Judge Steenland to her home and watched her exit her vehicle. The two never spoke to each other. Anonymous sources tell CBS Detroit that police officers later reported to Judge Steenland’s home, and she refused to cooperate with them. The sources also say that Judge Steenland’s vehicle has since been impounded.

Roseville Police Chief James Berline said in a statement that “a complaint was made, and as Judge Steenland is a sitting judge responsible for the City of Roseville, the matter was turned over to the Michigan State Police for investigation. Any comment regarding this matter will have to come from MSP.”

This is not the first legal trouble Judge Steenland has faced. In June of 2008, she pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while visibly impaired in Ogemaw County. She was charged in the 82nd District Court in West Branch in northern Michigan. She was suspended without pay for 90 days.

In Michigan, the driver of a vehicle who knows or who has reason to believe that he has been involved in an accident shall immediately stop his or her vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall remain there...or immediately report the accident to the nearest or most convenient police agency or officer. In other words, if there’s a chance you were in an accident, you need to stay on the scene until you are able to talk to the police. There may be exceptions in cases where it would be dangerous for the driver to remain on scene. Fleeing the scene of an accident is generally considered a misdemeanor crime, that carries with it a 90 day prison sentence and/or a $100 fine.

Leaving the scene of an automobile accident isn’t OK for anyone to do. It may seem like an easy way out, but it can just create more problems down the line. What could be a minor car collision that could easily be handled by an exchange of insurance information could become a much bigger legal matter if you decide to flee. By staying at the scene of a car accident and cooperating with first responders and investigators, you may be able to avoid having to call an accident attorney or criminal lawyer because you made a bad decision in the moment.

Hit-and-run accidents can be a legal headache for the person who fled the scene, but can also lead to prolonged pain and suffering for the other victims of the car crash. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a hit-and-run accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM for a free legal consultation. 

Halloween Driving Safety Tips

So, it's finally Halloween. You carved and put out the pumpkins, you covered the trees in cobwebs, and you have the noise machine rigged to make ghost sounds in tune with the gauze ghosts you hung from the roof. You even have an enormous cauldron filled to the brim with a wide assortment of candy. You sit back and sigh wishing you could go trick-or-treating. After all, you've made your house into the exact kind you would've been excited to go to as a child. But then, you remember that you're going to a costume party this evening. You can still go all out with your attire, plus there will be alcohol in addition to the candy there. Why were you even upset? An adult Halloween is way better!

While adults typically don't go trick-or-treating, there are plenty of other ways to celebrate Halloween that don’t involve running from house to house looking for candy. And while Halloween can be a fun night for adults too, it’s important not to have too much fun and risk anyone’s safety. Since most adult Halloween parties involve alcohol, it's important that people don't engage in drinking and driving, which can lead to drunk driving car accidents. What's worse is that since so many children are on the streets on Halloween night, drunk driving accidents are very likely to cause serious injury or death to children.

Drunk driving is an unfortunately all too common occurrence on Halloween night, taking the lives of both those who were in the car, as well as innocent bystanders. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that between 2009 and 2013, 43% of all deaths that occurred on Halloween were due to a drunk driving related car collision. In 2013, 26% of all pedestrian fatalities were caused by a drunk driver. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 55 deaths on Halloween night in 2015, a significant rise from 17 deaths in 2011. Officials expect that number will steadily rise over the coming years.

The NHTSA also found that drunk driving car accidents are three times more likely to occur on Halloween than New Year’s Eve. David Bohl, the director of an alcohol abuse recovery center outside of Chicago, believes this is because the idea of adults celebrating Halloween has increased in popularity over the past few years. Speaking to The Chicago Tribune, Bohl said that more adults are choosing to celebrate the night with drinking. If people are celebrating on the weekend (regardless of what day the holiday actually falls on) this can lead to 6-8 hours of alcohol consumption.

In an effort to combat drunk driving, ride sharing app Uber has a Halloween guide for those who will be drinking. Ride sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft are a a great way to minimize drunk driving accidents. However, it’s important to remember that with ride sharing apps, surge pricing is usually in effect for nights like Halloween, so the fare may be higher than expected. Therefore, Halloween party-goers who plan to drink might want to consider public transportation, a cab service, or selecting a designated driver, as other safe alternatives to driving while intoxicated.

Even if drivers are not drunk, it is important to be especially cautious on Halloween night as the streets will be filled with excited trick-or-treaters looking for candy. According to the NHTSA, many pedestrian accidents are caused by common mistakes made by drivers that can be avoided. Safe Kids has the following tips for drivers.

Halloween Driving Safety Tips

  • Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.

  • Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.

  • Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.

  • Eliminate any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

  • Drive slowly, anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic, and turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.

  • Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. so be especially alert for kids during those hours.

Celebrating Halloween is not something that has to end once you’ve outgrown trick or treating, but it’s also not a reason to endanger your own life or the lives of others. As Halloween continues to be a popular night for drinking, drunk driving accidents are likely to continue. Even if you only plan on having a couple of drinks, stay safe and have a designated driver or use a service such as a ridesharing app. If you are not drunk, it is still necessary to take extra precautions, drive safely, and be aware of the increased amount of child pedestrians roaming the streets that evening. There is no way to assure car collisions won't happen on Halloween, but being aware of the dangers and having a plan for staying safe can help lower the risk to yourself and others.

Drunk driving is bad idea regardless of the time of year, and drunk driving accidents happen year round. If you have been involved in a drunk driving accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM for a free legal consultation. Let our attorneys handle your legal troubles while you recover.

Halloween Child Trick-or-Treat Road Safety

It’s almost Halloween, and while zombies and skeletons may be fictional, the dangers that exist on Halloween night are very real. Therefore, both kids and adults need to be thinking about pedestrian safety on Halloween night. According to Safe Kids, on average, twice as many child pedestrians are killed on Halloween compared to other days of the year. Dr. Rebecca Parker, chairwoman of the American College of Emergency Physicians' board of directors, told U.S. News and World Report that most of these child pedestrian car accidents occur between 4 PM and 10 PM, as kids anxious for candy start hitting the streets when the sun starts to set, making it harder for drivers to see. However, Dr. Leticia Manning, an injury researcher at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, added that these motor vehicle accidents are not always the driver’s fault. Children are often wearing masks that make it difficult for them to see, wearing costumes they could trip over, and are generally excited, making their movements more unpredictable.

According to the National Security Council, October ranks second for motor vehicle deaths per month. More so, pedestrian death or injuries of those ages 5 to 9 occur most commonly when the child darts or runs into the road. Dr. Sarah Denny, an emergency room physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, confirms this. She says that the majority of child pedestrian accidents do not occur in the crosswalk. Since the dangers of Halloween night shouldn't be downplayed, Safe Kids has some suggestions as to how to stay safe while having fun during trick-or-treating.

Halloween Road Safety Tips For Kids

  • Cross the streets at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.

  • Look left, right, and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.

  • Put your electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street.

  • Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.

  • Children under the age of 12, should not be alone at night without adult supervision.

  • Decorate your costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors.

  • Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct your vision.

  • Carry glow sticks or flashlights to help you see and be seen by drivers.

  • When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls.

Trick-or-treating should be a fun night for both kids and adults, but it is important to be aware of the dangers that exist. Halloween scares such as poisonous candy or razor blades in apples are less common occurrences than pedestrian accidents. Parents educating their kids, as well as kids being proactive about smart costume choices and safe pedestrian habits, may help kids stay safe while enjoying trick-or-treating. While these tip can't guarantee that a pedestrian car accident won't happen, parents and kids should make sure they are doing everything in their power to help lower their risk of being involved in a car crash.

Pedestrian car accidents can occur on any night, any time of year. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a pedestrian accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM for a free legal consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. 

Helping Spinal Cord Injury Patients Walk

Many people are aware of the various injuries resulting from a car accident such as whiplash, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and even post-traumatic stress disorder. But many are not aware of the lengths that some patients have to go through in order to heal from another commonplace auto accident disability known as spinal cord injury (SCI). A patient with a SCI faces high mortality rates within the first year of their injury if it is not properly treated. Accident victims diagnosed with SCI may face thousands if not millions of dollars in medical fees in order to recover their health.

With auto accidents accounting for approximately 38% of reported SCIs, followed by falls, acts of violence like shootings, and physical activities such as sports,  A SCI can potentially, if not permanently, affect an injured person's way of living. Approximately 5.4 million Americans are dealing with paralysis in the form of tetraplegia, paralysis of all four limbs, or paraplegia, paralysis of the legs and lower half of the body.  That number is estimated to grow around 17,000 every year due to newly reported cases of SCI according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC). As a result, the National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics at Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), and at the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, have created an algorithm along with robotic assistance, that may help spinal cord injury patients walk naturally.

The authors of the study have discovered that patients dealing with SCIs are having difficulty making their muscles move again because of muscle mass loss and their nervous systems “forgetting” their natural muscle movements. Armed with this knowledge, the researchers put their teams to work in creating an algorithm for a  robotic physical therapy harness that would be attached to the ceiling while patients walked on a treadmill. Through the invention of the harness and gravity, patients will adjust their gait more naturally due to their own weight. After testing a small sample of 30 patients, the researchers saw encouraging results in their patients' gait and motor functions after only an hour of training with the new and improved harness. The inventors of the harness state that they took into consideration the patient's leg movement, the length of stride, and muscle activity in order to help their patients walk better than they would if they were using the traditional rehabilitation treadmill method.

“The smart walk assist is an innovative body-weight support system because it manages to resist the force of gravity and push the patient back and forth, to the left and to the right, or in more of these directions at once, which recreates a natural gait and movement that the patient's need in their day to day lives.” the authors wrote in Medical News. Prof. Jocelyne Bloch from the Department of Neurosurgery at Lausanne University Hospital added, “This is a smart, discreet, and efficient assistance that will aid rehabilitation of many persons with neurological disorders."

This medical discovery can help future SCI victims gain their independence by helping them heal quickly and possibly decrease the mortality rate of patients who die within the first year of being diagnosed with SCI. Hopefully, rehabilitation clinics will not have to wait long to utilize the harness and will be able to help their patients get back on their feet with little to no complications in the not so distan future.

Spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries are serious reasons why victims of car crash accidents should immediately seek medical attention after their car accident. Diagnoses and treatments are usually critical within the first few hours to days after symptoms manifest. If you or a loved one is suffering from a TBI or SCI after being involved in an auto accident, call The Michigan Law Firm, PLLC at 844.4MI.FIRM. We offer free consultations and have experience working with clients diagnosed with SCIs and TBIs.