State Farm Warns of Dangers Following Hurricane Irene Sacramento Bee
30.08.11
/PRNewswire/ -- The period following a natural disaster can be disorienting and dangerous. In an attempt to return to a state of normalcy, disaster victims will take unnecessary risks. The following tips from State Farm® will relieve some of the uncertainty and help you stay safe in the aftermath of a major event.
Carbon Monoxide
Never use a portable gas-powered generator indoors. Exhaust from generators contain carbon monoxide and can result in CO poisoning. If you are using a portable generator, make sure that it is outside and away from windows, doors and vents.
Candle Fire
Use caution when using candles as a light source indoors. Never leave candles burning unattended and keep open flames away from curtains or flammable material.
Electricity
Be on the lookout for downed power lines. Don't turn on or use outlets or electric components that have been under water until they have been properly tested and repaired by a qualified electrician.
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bCommercial Auto/b: Owner of Semi-Trailer is not Vicariously Liable b.../b
What definition of “motor vehicle” applies when determining whether the Minnesota motor vehicle vicarious liability law applies? The Minnesota Court of Appeals addressed the issue in late 2009.
By 2005, only eleven states imposed vicarious liability on the owner of motor vehicle (California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York and Rhode Island) as did the District of Columbia. Under a vicarious liability law, the vehicle owner becomes legally liable for injuries and damages caused by a permissive driver of the motor vehicle. “[V]icarious liability is the ‘imposition of liability on one person for the actionable conduct of another, based solely on a relationship between the two persons.’” ., 643 N.W.2d 639, 642 -645 (Minn. Ct. App. 2002). (As noted in previous posts to this blog, the motor vehicle vicarious liability statute is pre-empted by the federal Graves Amendment in the context of rented motor vehicles).
The vicarious liability statute only applies to statutorily defined “motor vehicles.” Prior to 2005, when the vicarious liability statute was codified at Minn. Stat. § 170.54 (and was then referred to as the Safety Responsibility Act), the statute did not contain any definition of “motor vehicle” or refer to any other statute which defined the term. In , 493 N.W.2d 602, 605 (Minn.App.1992), the Minnesota Court of Appeals concluded that the definition of motor vehicle found in section 65B.43 of the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act (No-Fault Act), as opposed to the definition found in chapter 169, applied to the vicarious liability statute. By its terms, the No-Fault Act’s section 65B.43 definitions only applied to sections 65B.41 through 65B.71 while the definitions in chapter 169 only applied to statutes within that chapter. Thus, neither definition of “motor vehicle” clearly applied to Minn. Stat. § 170.54. The
“Motor vehicle” means every vehicle, other than a motorcycle or other vehicle with fewer than four wheels, which (a) is required to be registered pursuant to chapter 168, and (b) is designed to be self-propelled by an engine or motor for use primarily upon public roads, highways or streets in the transportation of persons or property, and includes a trailer with one or more wheels, when the trailer is connected to or being towed by a motor vehicle.
