Appleton Area Law Blog

It is easier than many people might think to be charged with a drunk driving offense in Wisconsin. Alcohol is commonly served at social events and it is still acceptable to have a casual drink or two and then drive home. Depending on a person's size, gender, food consumption and more, a blood alcohol level of 0.08% is not difficult to reach. If you have been arrested for and charged with an operating while intoxicated offense, you will want to know about the state's law regarding the use of ignition interlock devices.

IIDs are intended to prevent a person from driving under the influence by requiring a breath test be passed before a vehicle's ignition can be started. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, you might be required to install an IID even after a first OWI offense if your BAC was over 0.14%. You may be required to use an IID for a second offense regardless of your BAC level. 

With divorce and remarriage far from usual these days, estate planning can bring up some issues that are not present for people in nuclear families with only one marriage for both spouses. Wisconsin residents who are planning to get married for the second time should make estate planning as much of a priority as wedding planning. This is especially important if one or both partners has children from their prior marriages.

As explained by Forbes, if one spouse in a second marriage leaves all assets to their new spouse after they die, the children of the spouse first to die may never inherent anything. This can happen despite the true wishes of their parent. An inheriting spouse is not obligated to pass on assets or heirlooms to their stepchildren unless a person's estate plan explicitly indicates this should happen.

Many in Appleton may wonder how, with the advances made in healthcare in recent years, can diagnostic errors still be an issue. Medical practitioners have numerous resources at their disposal designed to help them arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Yet despite the tools, diagnostic issues remain the most prevalent type of medical error (with Johns Hopkins Medicine reporting that 80,000-160,000 injuries or deaths occurring each year as the result of them). 

One problem that could potentially be contributing to diagnostic errors is the reliance on heuristics in healthcare. Heuristics are generally accepted practices or "rules of thumb" that practitioners in certain field follow. They typically arise out of best practices within an industry. This explanation not only makes heuristics seem harmless, but also beneficial in conducting one's business. Heuristics are indeed helpful in healthcare, as they set to establish the standards against which clinicians are judged. Yet it is when doctors rely too heavily on them that diagnostic errors often arise. 

Authorities cite speed entering a construction zone and inattentive driving as factors in a multi-vehicle crash near Columbus, Wisconsin, on Highway 151 last week. Helicopters and ambulances were necessary to transport five people injured in the collision, four men and a woman, to the hospital, and another man died at the scene. An investigation into the accident is ongoing, and cleanup required the closure of the northbound lanes where the crash occurred for five hours thereafter. 

Vehicles involved in the crash include three cars, a minivan, a pickup truck and a commercial truck. For reasons that are still unclear, the commercial truck struck the pickup and the minivan, either at the same time or in rapid succession. Both the commercial truck and the pickup struck two other cars, and the commercial truck pushed the pickup into a third car.