International Paper Co. has agreed to a payment of $5.2 million as a settlement for a personal injury suit related to the use of a cell phone while driving by one of their employees.

The complaint, filed in 2006, says that Vanessa McGrogan, an employee of International Paper, was using her cell phone, supplied by the company, as she was driving west on Interstate 15 near Dublin, Georgia when she rear-ended the vehicle of Debra Ford. Ford’s vehicle was pushed into the ditch along the right side of the road, causing it to overturn which resulted in the driver’s side hitting and then sliding along the roadway. Ford’s arm was trapped between the door and the asphalt.

Due to medical complications, Ford’s arm was eventually required to be amputated almost up to the shoulder.

According to Katherine McArthur, Ford’s attorney, Georgia has a statute which says that drivers are not to do things that are distracting. She explained that the statute means that reasonable use of a cell phone is acceptable. However, she said that McGrogan’s cell phone use was not acceptable due to her cruise control being set at 77 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone.

McArthur said that the combination of those two factors allowed the issue of intentional negligence to be raised against McGrogan and International Paper in order to seek punitive damages.

McArthur said that there was a “huge impact” on the final settlement about from the use of a cell phone by McGrogan, even though there was never any determination of the timing of the cell phone use.

This is tragic. The year is not getting off to a good start on Virginia’s highways. In some cases, folks would certainly have survived had  they been wearing their seatbelts. (I can still remember the TV commercials, from the early 60’s “Buckle up for safety, buckle up for safety, always buckle up.”

Here are some recent press releases about Virginia car accidents from the Virginia State Police.

According to state police, five people in Virginia died within a three day span from personal injuries they received from accidents on the state’s roads.

According to Virginia State Police, on Saturday, February 2 a 28-year-old man from Bridgewater died in Rockingham County after his car struck a bridge and overturned in a creek. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

On the same day, a 30-year-old man from Pearisburg died in Giles County after he ran off the road at state Route 200, overcorrected, and then rolled the vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle, the police said.

On Friday, February 1, a 43-year-old man from Dillwyn died in Buckingham County after his pickup truck struck a bridge after hitting a patch of ice, according to state police. They said that even though he was wearing his seat belt, he was ejected from the vehicle. Not sure how that  happened if he really was wearing a seatbelt.)

Also on Friday, a 65-year-old man from Covington died in Botetourt County after his SUV ran off the road and over an embankment, state police said.

On Thursday, January 31, a 36-year-old man suffered fatal personal injuries in Campbell County after he pulled in front of another vehicle. Police said he died three hours afterwards at Lynchburg General Hospital.

In the year 2008 so far, 55 people have died on the highways of Virginia.

It looks like the members of Virginia’s General Assembly are falling over over themselves to repeal Virginia’s abusive driver fees. No more collecting huge fines from drivers and bicyclists.

I never saw what all the fuss was about. Its a choice to drive stupidly and endanger yourself and others. No one makes you drive fast. Sure, the fees were onerous but stupid driving costs so much to our society now.

Now, lets move on to the ban on cell phone texting. That’s another good idea, though how anyone would ever know that that’s what you were doing is beyond me.

Then, after that, lets ban use of cell phones while driving.

All good ideas.. I’m behind them.

In a press release, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is warning Virginia’s drivers to be more cautious and be on the lookout for deer as they travel the Commonwealth’s highways this season.

(I did have a guy call me recently, wanted to know if he could sue the state because he hit a deer! Nope!)

The department lists six things drivers should be thinking about (including not wasting money on “deer whistles”) as they speed along Virginia’s highways. There’s more information here.