Birmingham Injury Blog

The Indiana Injury Law Blog has posted an article that discusses a new regulation that would require truckers to drive for less than eleven consecutive hours, the current time limit.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working to produce an official plan to reduce the number of hours truckers can drive, but likely won't have results for around nine months. Previously, truckers were limited to ten hours of driving time per day, so it would seem likely the FMCSA would revert back to that.

At first it may not seem that a single hour can make a significant difference, but trucker fatigue accounts for a large number of traffic accidents.

Every year, thousands of truck accidents can be traced to tired, drowsy truckers, fatigued from too many hours spent on the job...Dealing with trucker fatigue is an important part of reducing accident fatality rates, and setting lower maximum working hours for truckers is an important part of those efforts.

An eleven hour day would certainly make sense from an economic standpoint, but the pressure truckers are under to make timed deliveries combined with fatigue can often lead to serious accidents.

Profits for the trucking industry must not be allowed to take precedence over the safety of motorists and truck drivers.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Wreck

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The Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article on the latest slip and fall statistics. Nearly a third of Americans ages 65 and older will sustain an injury due to a fall; deaths as a result of falls have been rising since the year 2000.

Falls account for 87% of the annual 250,000 hip fractures in people over 65. Hip fractures can then lead to other serious health complications such as blood clots, "skin breakdown" and pressure sores, ulcers and infection. More time for recovery is needed, which raises the risk of the above complications.

Family members can help their elderly relatives by trying to lessen the risk of the possible side effects. For example, try to keep seniors among familiar settings where they are less of a risk of suffering a fall. Also, to make sure they are in the best possible health, make sure they attend their doctor's appointments, which might require making driving arrangements for less mobile seniors. Make sure they are taking all their necessary medications and receiving proper nutrition. These measures will help ensure your family member stays as healthy as possible and lessens the risk of any negative outcomes.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Slip and Fall

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The Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an entry about the risks of surgical fires and how to prevent them. There are roughly 550-650 surgical fires a year, with about 1-2 being fatal and 30 resulting in serious injuries.

The risk of being the victim of a surgical fire (or "flash fire") is rather low, but the article suggests that it is entirely too high considering the fires are completely preventable.

According to ECRI forensic investigators, most flash fires occur when high oxygen levels cause material like surgical sheets in the operating room, to ignite. High oxygen levels can often be found under these sheets or drapes. Other common causes of flash fires are alcohol-based cleaners. The cleaner must be fully dried before laying out the electronic surgical equipment. Otherwise, the vapors can ignite, causing a sudden flash fire.

The article brings up the recent case of Janice McCall, a 65 year old woman who sustained fatal injuries from a surgical fire in a hospital in Illinois. She was badly burned before operating room staff could put out the fire; no one else was injured. Ms. McCall was rushed to another hospital in Tennessee with severe burns and died six days later.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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The Indiana Injury Law Blog has posted an article about "internal factors" that cause doctors to make fatal medical errors. A Mayo Clinic study has shown that the amount of medical mistakes made by residents increases with the doctor's stress and fatigue. The study followed 430 medical residents who were questioned every three months from 2003 to 2008 about their stress levels, burnout, sleepiness, fatigue, depression and the number of medical errors they made.

• Out of 370 residents who answered questions about medical errors, 39 percent admitted that they had made at least one major medical error. • There was also a connection between these medical errors and tiredness. The researchers found that for every single point increase in fatigue, the resident's chances of making a medical error increased by 14 percent. • Also, for every single point increase in the sleepiness score, the chances of making an error increased by 10 percent. • Besides sleepiness and fatigue, medical errors were also more frequently seen in doctors suffering from depression, or experiencing burnout symptoms.

Clearly, a doctor's quality of life is directly related to how he/she will care for patients. Every year approximately 100,000 people die from "preventable medical errors" in the U.S.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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The Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article that discusses how elderly nursing home residents are often put at risk by other residents who are mentally ill or convicted felons. Robert Kreisman, the author of this article, is specifically gearing this article to residents of Illinois, but it certainly contains valuable information for everyone.

Nursing homes often assure people that the psychiatric patients and patients with criminal backgrounds are kept separated from the elderly and "infirm", but...

this does not always prevent the nursing home residents from coming to harm. There have been reports of elderly residents being attacked, injured, or raped by some of the mentally ill residents or those who are convicted felons.

Kreisman also says that the methods used to "identify residents with a criminal history tend to be faulty." Background checks are often performed after the resident has been admitted. These checks seldom identify all kinds of crime and often make the felon look less dangerous than they actually are.

A perfect example of this dilemma is Maplewood Care, where in one instance a 78 year-old was allegedly punched in the face by another resident after that same resident allegedly struck and bruised a 75 year-old patient. Obviously there had not been appropriate monitoring and assessment after the first incident to prevent the recurrence of this nursing home abuse. Among Maplewood Care's roughly 200 residents there are 15 convicted felons, and over 40% of the population has a diagnosis of mental illness.

These new reports are extremely disturbing for those of us who are making decisions about placement of our loved ones in Illinois nursing homes. Nursing homes can be a necessary step for elderly residents who are no longer able to provide for themselves. But placing elderly people with medical needs in an environment where they are more at risk for being harmed is not the answer.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Home

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The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about "jarring" statistics linking cell phone use to automobile accidents. Using data supplied by a Washington Post article, the blog post says that 342,000 accidents are caused annually by people being distracted by cell phones while driving. This also results in 2,600 fatalities and...

$43 billion each year in property damage, lost wages, medical bills and fatalities.

The Washington Post cited these statistics:

Cellphone users are up to four times more likely to be in a traffic accident, and the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated in 2003 that their use was a factor in 6 percent of accidents. That translated to 636,000 crashes resulting in 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths.

Truck drivers are at far greater risk when they reach for their phones, according to a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. They are at almost six times greater risk when dialing and 23 times greater when texting.

In 2003 there were roughly 240,000 accidents and 940 fatalities from cell phone use while driving. This is clearly a problem on the rise.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Wreck

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The Utah Personal Injury Law Firm Blog has posted an article about the dangers of the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. The pills are basically identical and have been marketed without enough warnings about their dangerous, and potentially deadly, side effects.

Both drugs contain drospirenone, which can be dangerous when taken daily.

Drospirenone can cause severe heart problems by increasing blood potassium levels. Patients have also suffered from strokes, cardiac arrhythmias, and gallbladder disease. Some women have even died from health problems resulting from Yaz and Yasmin.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, the maker of the drug, for failing to give adequate warnings and for "misleading the public." The lawsuits are trying to hold Bayer responsible for not doing enough research and testing prior to making it available to the public. The lawsuits also include

failing to recall the drug once it became apparent that it was dangerous, and for vehemently marketing the drug without properly warning of potential side effects.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Drug Cases

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The Alabama Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about the settlement in a wrongful death case brought against a trucking company. A Chilton county man was killed in a car accident in January 2008 because of a logging truck's negligence.

James Sanderson was stopped behind two vehicles in a left hand turning lane, a logging truck was directly in front of him. He was then rear-ended by another log truck that was speeding. The collision forced Sanderson's van forward into the first log truck. A log came through the windshield and caused a "traumatic head injury" to Sanderson.

The case was brought to trial and the plaintiff was able to prove that Gary Fruge's, driver of the second truck, speeding and faulty brakes were the causes of the fatal accident.

Apparently proving that the trucking company had failed to properly maintain their vehicle, the jury fined both Fruge and the company for whom he was driving. The lawyer for the Sanderson family produced experts who testified that Fruge was traveling well in excess of the posted 50mph speed limit.
The Sandersons' attorney argued that Fruge had about one thousand feet in which to bring his truck to a full stop. From the evidence, experts testified that the truck must have been travelling around 65-75mph for Fruge to have applied the brakes and still strike the victim’s van with sufficient force to cause the resulting damage and fatal injuries. Experts showed that if Fruge been going 45mph, he would have been able to stop within 360 feet after first application of the truck's brakes.

The jury agreed and ruled Gary Fruge and the Gorum Trucking company responsible for Sanderson's death. His surviving widow and three children were awarded a $3.5 million settlement in July of this year.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Wreck

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http://www.alabamaproductinjurylawyer.com/2009/08/fda_probes_orlistat_alli_and_x.htmlThe Alabama Product Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an entry about a new drug warning from the FDA. The FDA has issued an "early communication" warning for weight loss drugs containing Orlistat. So far, the agency says it has received 32 reports of "serious liver injury," including 6 instances of complete liver failure in patients who had taken the drug. Orlistat is in the over the counter weight loss drug Alli and the prescription drug Xenical.

GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Alli, the OTC version of this drug, insists "there is no evidence that Alli causes liver damage". The company went on to indicate the people who are overweight or obese are predisposed to liver problems.

The FDA released a statement saying that there is no "definite association" between Orlistat and liver injury, but the data is being reviewed.

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Posted In: Drug Cases

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The Alabama Product Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about a study done by the FDA confirming that people under age 25 who take an antidepressant are more likely to have suicidal tendencies and thoughts than older people on the same medication.

A warning about the increased tendencies has been present on antidepressant medications since 2005. Psychiatrists have complained that the "black box" warning scared people away from taking the type of medication and have even suggested that the FDA remove the warning...

based on the significant decline in people seeking treatment for depression. However, this recent study by the FDA, which looked at 372 clinical trials from eight different drug makers involving over 100,000 individuals, confirmed the increase risk of suicide in those under 25 taking these type of medications

This article suggests that the warnings really are necessary.

Before the black box warnings were imposed by the FDA in 2005, primary care physicians were prescribing this type of medication to children and young adults going through what can only be described as "teenage angst". There typically was no diagnosis of depression, much less any formal testing to address whether the young adult or child was indeed depressed. Several weeks later, these young, vibrant souls, with many promising years ahead, were found dead as a result of self inflicted injury.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Drug Cases

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The Alabama Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about gun safety. Alabama currently ranks as the state with the second most gun related deaths. Louisiana is in first place with 20 injuries per 100,000 people. Alabama has 17 gun related injuries per 100,000 people. Roughly 57% of households in Alabama have firearms.

In general, children under 15 are twelve times more likely to be killed accidentally by a firearm than an adult. American children are also 16 times more likely to be murdered with a firearm than in 25 other industrialized countries.

Some people may say they can’t prevent gun-related homicides involving kids, but there is an area that needs real attention. Deaths from family-owned firearms. Fact: American kids under 15 years old are 11 times more likely to commit suicide using a gun, and nine times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in those other industrialized countries.

The article goes on to remind people to unload their guns and lock them up when not in use.

Gun owners are the first line of defense against the senseless tragedies we read about in the news every day.

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Interesting News

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The Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about filing injury claims against amusement parks.

Injuries are quite common at amusement parks due to high speeds an sharp movements that make rides like roller coasters so fun. However, "most amusement operators vigorously defend injury claims" and try to make it look like the injury was because of the park guest's negligence.

For example:

I once defended an injury suit against a park made by a rider who alleged that he had broken his tailbone when he skidded across the stop pool on a water ride and collided with the pool wall. Over the prior few years, four other people had the same problem. Common sense would tell us that the landing pool was simply too small. Unfortunately, it was also the most expensive proposed fix. So the park tried a few stop-gap measures, but folks kept getting hurt. I don't know if they ever just extended the pool. I do know that all of the riders who filed suits faced defenses like the ones outlined above.

When considering making a ride injury claim, expect to be taken to trial and meet with a liability expert as soon as possible.

Familiarize yourself with any state regulations and reporting requirements. Subpoena the inspection file from the regulatory authorities. Fight during discovery to make sure you know of any prior problems with the ride at issue. Get copies of any instructions or signage. Act quickly to pin down witnesses

Posted by John Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Product Liability

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