Personal Injury

Published on: August 29, 2024

MRI Scans can Predict Recovery in Spinal Cord Personal Injury Patients

Spinal cord personal injuries are some of the most devastating personal injuries that can occur in a car accident. New research finds that MRI scans which are typically used to guide surgeries in spinal cord injury patients, can also be used to make better assessments of a patient’s potential recovery.

A spinal cord injury occurs when there is a jolt or a blow to the spinal cord resulting in injury to the cord itself. The consequences are often catastrophic. Patients may be left with partial or complete paralysis, and may be unable to walk or use their limbs effectively. Rehabilitation may be a slow process. Often, MRI scans are used during treatment in order to guide surgical options as well as assess the amount of damage. However, researchers recently found that they could very accurately predict recovery for spinal cord injury patients using these same MRI scans. They found that information from MRI scans helped to predict the recovery potential for patients based on the tissue remaining around the affected area. The greater the amount of tissue left, the higher the chances of recovery.

According to the researchers, these are very important findings because they show that MRI scans can be used to guide and inform rehabilitation and therapy options after a spinal cord personal injury. They can help doctors provide better counseling to patients about their lives after spinal cord injury, and how they can expect their lives to change after the injury.

Published on: August 23, 2024

How a Lower BAC Limit Could Help Prevent Drunk Driving Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Nationwide, the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is .08. However, most motorists are not aware their auto accident risks begins to increase long before their BAC levels reach that figure.

While .08 is the maximum limit for blood alcohol concentration across the country, the fact is that many motorists, especially light or moderate drinkers, are likely to experience deterioration in their driving abilities that significantly increases their risks of being involved in an auto accident, even at .04 or even lower. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol can impact driving ability even after one drink. The average drink in the United States can result in a blood alcohol concentration of between .02 and .04 for a light to moderate drinker. This is sufficient to affect the person’s vision as well as his or her ability to multitask. Imagine a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 trying to drive as well as respond to phone calls at the same time. His or her ability to multitask is markedly reduced, significantly impacting his or her safety and the risks of being involved in a car accident.

When blood alcohol concentration level rises to .05, there is a significant deterioration in driving abilities. At this point, the person is not legally drunk, but his coordination skills are impaired, and he or she might find it difficult to steer effectively. Vision is further reduced during this stage of alcohol intoxication, and he may find it difficult to track moving objects which makes it very dangerous when he is on the road and needs to observe the behaviors of drivers around him. His or her ability to respond to emergency driving situations is also significantly lower at this point. All of these factors increase his or her chances of being involved in a car accident causing serious injuries or even a fatal car accident.

Published on: August 21, 2024

What Family Members Can Do to Prevent Senior Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Senior motorists experience a range of deficiencies in their physical and mental faculties that make it difficult for them to drive safely and increase their risks of being involved in auto accidents. Family members and caregivers have a major role to play in encouraging seniors to give up their car keys when they are no longer in a position to drive safely.

It is important to remember that seniors benefit both physically and mentally from the independence that comes from being mobile and able to drive. However, there may come a time when your loved one is simply unable to drive without being a risk to himself and others. At this point, you must step in and take away the car keys. Remember that failing driving faculties may have more to do other issues than with the person’s age. In other words, you must consider your loved one’s driving performances and abilities, and not just his age while deciding to curtail his driving privileges.

The best way to confirm whether your loved one’s abilities to drive safely are compromised, is to observe him when he is driving. Look for prime indicators of decline in driving skills. These can include failing to stop and check both ways for traffic, failure to stop at red or stop signs, or failure to stay in the lane while driving. A safe driver must be able to drive appropriately for the traffic and weather conditions, and must be able to take into consideration the driving of other motorists, motorcycles and other users of the road while driving.

Published on: August 15, 2024

Gear Up to Prevent Motorcycle Accident Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As the year’s peak motorcycling season descends on us, it is important for motorcyclists to evaluate all of their gear and make sure that everything is in prime condition to prevent personal injuries in an auto accident. Keeping the gear in good condition is an important safety measure.

The summer months are the busiest motorcycling days of the year, and Georgia roads are likely to see an increase in the number of motorcycles over the next few weeks. While motorists in cars and trucks enjoy plenty of protection in the form of seatbelts and airbag systems as well as crash avoidance tech, motorcyclists are not as lucky. They must depend on sturdy and well -fitting helmets, and high quality motorcycle gear to reduce their risk of injuries in an accident. While motorcycles on their own have become safer over the past few years with new technology, motorcyclists are ultimately responsible for reducing the severity and number of personal injuries they suffer in an auto accident through the kind of clothing and gear that they wear.

Wearing a helmet is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of suffering head injuries in the event of an auto accident. The state of Georgia recognizes the importance of helmets in preventing head injuries in an accident, and requires all motorcyclists, including passengers, to wear helmets. Georgia helmet laws are not restricted to passengers or motorcyclists below a certain age. No matter what your age or experience levels, you must wear a helmet when you are out riding in Georgia. Those laws, on their own, significantly reduce the number of motorcycle accident – related head injuries that occur in Georgia every year.

Published on: July 24, 2024

Research Shows Improvement in Autonomic Dysfunction After Spinal Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Patients who have suffered a spinal injury may suffer from autonomic dysfunction or an extreme severity of autonomic reflexes that can trigger panic episodes and even heart attacks. In recent animal studies, researchers found ways that could circumvent such extreme reflexes.

A spinal injury after a car accident can lead to all kinds of life-altering consequences. The person may suffer from limited movement and mobility, loss of bowel and bladder control, restricted motor skills and a number of other consequences. One of those consequences is autonomic dysfunction which can be characterized by triggering of extreme autonomic reflexes when the person is faced with even mildly triggering situations. A person with a spinal injury may experience an extreme response to a harmless situation, like loss of bladder control, that triggers panic attacks, heart attacks and strokes. This lack of control over autonomic reflex responses could even have fatal consequences for the patient.

In a recent study, researchers found that the reason for such autonomic dysfunction could be traced to a particular type of nerve cell. According to the researchers, patients with a spinal cord injury may experience an abnormal rewiring of the nerve cells in the affected area. They found that specific nerve fibers called microglia cells were mainly responsible for this abnormal rewiring of the nerves which, in turn, causes loss of control over autonomic reflexes. Studies on animals found that depletion of these microglia cells helped to control the autonomic reflexes. The researchers found that when these cells were reduced in number, these extreme reflexes to mild situations were better controlled. The researchers say that these are significant findings because of the risk to patients with spinal injury who may suffer heart attacks or even strokes as a result of such panic reactions.

Published on: July 18, 2024

Fall Accidents Major Cause of Brain Injury in Seniors

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As many as one in eight seniors will suffer a traumatic brain injury, mainly as a result of a fall accident.

Researchers arrived at those findings recently through an analysis of Medicare data of more than 9,200 patients covering a period of 18 years. They found that during this time, 13% of seniors above the age of 65 suffered a brain injury that resulted in a concussion. Most of these personal injuries occurred during fall accidents.

The researchers are calling the findings of the study “shocking” and say that far too many seniors are living with traumatic brain injuries that expose them to the risk of several health complications. Brain injuries in seniors may cause other complications including dementia and Parkinson’s disease. They can also increase the risk of depression and anxiety in patients who are already at a high risk of such struggles.

Published on: June 20, 2024

Older Pedestrians More Likely to be Injured in Falls Than Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

While pedestrians overall are more likely to be injured in auto accidents, older pedestrians above the age of 50 are more likely to suffer serious personal injuries when they are involved in slip and fall accidents, compared to auto accidents.

There has been much focus recently on personal injuries involving pedestrians in car accidents. The increase in pedestrian accidents is being blamed for an overall spike in the number of people being personally injured in auto accidents across the country. Researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health analyzed data involving pedestrians who had suffered personal injuries in slip and fall accidents, and compared the data with the numbers involving pedestrians involved in auto accidents.

The Columbia University study found that while the risk to pedestrians involved in auto accidents remains high, the overall public burden is greater when older pedestrians are injured in slip and falls in comparison. The study found that 32 percent of pedestrian personal injuries in auto accidents were defined as “emergency” or “critical”. In comparison, 19% of persons who suffered slip and falls had personal injuries that were defined as “emergency” or “critical.” However, pedestrians above the age of 50 in fall accidents were 3.9 times more likely to suffer “emergent” or “critical” injuries, compared to ones who had been involved in auto accidents. In fact, the Columbia University study described as alarming the number of older pedestrians who suffered serious personal injuries after fall accidents and needed emergency care.

Published on: June 17, 2024

Mild Cognitive Declines May Push Seniors to Give Up Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Older people who suffer mild mental declines are likely to make the decision to give up driving in order to eliminate their risks of being involved in auto accidents.

Concerns about senior drivers have increased over the past decade with the increase in the number of motorists above the age of 65 driving on our streets. With life expectancies at all time highs, it is natural that we see many senior drivers on our roads. Driving is key to senior physical and mental health. However, seniors may suffer from several age- related declines and impairments that reduce their ability to drive safely and increase their risks of being involved in a car accident. Vision may begin to fail and hearing may become less sharp as the years go by. Even more disturbing are the mental or cognitive declines that seniors may face as they get older.

A new study finds that most seniors who begin to suffer mental declines like forgetfulness make the decision to give up driving on their own. As part of the study, the researchers tracked 213 seniors above the age of 72. None of the seniors suffered from symptoms of mental decline at the beginning of the study, but as the years progressed, some of them began to suffer from deficiencies including impairment in memory, judgment and reasoning.

Published on: June 7, 2024

Many Patients on Life Support After Brain Injury Could Possibly Recover

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new study finds that many patients who are on life support after suffering a brain injury could actually make a recovery.

In cases of a severe brain injury after an auto accident, truck accident or any other kind of accident where there has been severe trauma to the head, doctors may make the decision to place the person on life support. The decision to end life support is an excruciatingly painful decision for family members to make. In many cases, the decision is taken within 72 hours after the person has suffered the brain injury. However, the results of a new study seems to indicate that waiting longer to remove life support may be beneficial.

For the study, the researchers examined data involving 3,100 patients who had suffered traumatic brain injury and had to be immediately transferred to a hospital. Out of these, 90 patients were removed from life support within a few days and died soon after. For purposes of comparison, the researchers then focused on a group of 90 patients who were very similar to the first group on most counts, but continued to remain on life support.

Published on: May 9, 2024

Is Sleep Deprivation Responsible for Spike in Car Accident Rates?

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The results of a new study show that more Americans are working and driving on very little sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of drowsy driving -related car accidents which kills thousands of Americans every year. These auto accidents also often result in catastrophic personal injuries.

According to the Gallup poll, Americans are getting even less sleep than they used to. More Americans report getting less sleep than they need or would like compared to a decade earlier. In 2013, for example, a similar poll found that 56% of Americans believed they had gotten the amount of sleep they needed, while that number dropped to just 42% in this new poll. In 2013, 43% of Americans believed that they did not get enough sleep, and that number ballooned to more than half of all Americans in the new poll.

Sleep experts recommend at least 8 hours of sleep for the average adult, but more than a quarter of Americans are barely getting that. What’s more alarming is that more than 50% of Americans say that they survive on just 6 to 7 hours of sleep every day, while 20% get less than 5 hours of sleep, which is truly worrying. Getting 5 hours of sleep or surviving on that low amount of sleep was not even heard of back in the 1940s. Women below 50 seem to be more sleep-deprived, with only 36% admitting to getting enough sleep. In contrast, 48% of men believed that they are getting enough sleep.