Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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New research focuses on the use of infrared light therapy to help reduce the impact of a spinal injury soon after it occurs.

Spinal cord personal injuries are some of the most devastating injuries, and often occur in auto accidents, motorcycle accidents and pedestrian and bicycle accidents.  There is no complete cure for a spinal injury.   However, millions of dollars are being invested in research into circumventing or limiting the impact of spinal cord personal injuries.  Some of this research focuses on interventions that can limit damage during the early hours after the personal injury.

Recently, researchers using a grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health announced that they are in the process of testing an infrared tool that can help reduce the activity of  mitochondria cells after an injury.  According to the researchers, a lot of the long term impact of a spinal injury can be limited if interventions are made immediately or within a few hours after the injury.  As soon as a spinal injury occurs, the mitochondria cells go into overdrive, creating large amounts of free radicals, and increasing cell damage in the area.  According to the researchers, it is therefore important to limit the activity of the mitochondria soon after the spinal injury.

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Most American guardrails simply are not tested for the extra weight of electric cars.  This may pose a safety risk when there is a car accident involving a electric vehicles crashing into a guardrail.

According to CBS News, these safety concerns are valid because the strength of guardrails on American roads are typically tested against vehicles that  weigh approximately 5000 pounds.  However,  the average electric vehicle weighs approximately 30% more.  This deficiency in testing standards is possibly posing a risk of serious personal injury to drivers and passengers in electric cars.

Recently, a fatal car accident involved a Tesla that crashed through a guardrail.   The resulting car accident left the motorist dead and the car completely mangled. According to safety experts, these guardrails are not doing a good enough job of restraining electric vehicles compared to gasoline – powered vehicles.   The guardrails are tested against gasoline -powered vehicles, and unfortunately, electric – powered vehicles that are involved in collisions against guardrails simply crash through or even crash under the guardrail.  Tests involving concrete medians that were slammed into by electric power vehicles found that even in those cases where the car did not crash through the median and end up in the opposing lane,  large chunks of concrete did go flying through the air and into the path of oncoming cars.

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Children are some of the most vulnerable victims of car accidents. Georgia transportation safety agencies recently commemorated National Child Passenger Safety Week which this year fell between September 15 and 21.

The  Georgia Governors Office of Highway Safety and the Department of Public Health were out in full force during National Child Passenger Safety Week.  Certified child safety car seat technicians went around the state, checking car seats and educating parents about the need to make sure that their children are restrained in appropriate car seats whenever they are travelling in a car. Proper restraints are the best way to prevent children from suffering severe personal injuries in car accidents.

Georgia’s laws for car seat use are extremely clear. Under the law, children below the age of 8 must be safely restrained in a booster seat or a car seat depending on their height and weight.  Many parents, however, fail to ensure their children are restrained appropriately for their age, height and weight with disastrous  consequences.  While most parents are aware of the need to make sure their children are restrained correctly, they may have their car seats installed incorrectly or they may be restraining their children in car safety seats or booster seats that are not appropriate for their child.  Georgia parents can check the safety of their child car seat at www.gahighway.org, and get information about how to get their car seat checked by a certified technician.

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Veterans groups and spinal cord injury organizations are marking the month of September as Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month to bring more attention and awareness to the challenges faced by the thousands of Americans who live with these debilitating personal injuries.

Spinal cord personal injuries occur when there is any kind of damage to the spinal cord as a result of a trauma to the spine such as through a car accident or fall. These personal injuries can cause a number of effects that are often not just physical, but also emotional and psychological  in nature. The impact  of a spinal cord injury can depend on the location of the injury as well as its severity.  Depending on the location of the injury, the person may no longer be able to enjoy movement of his hands and legs. In a complete spinal cord injury, the patient may lose sensation below the location of the spinal injury, while in an incomplete spinal injury, the patient may feel some degree of sensation and enjoy some movement in the area below the site of the spinal injury.  The degree of sensation and movement can differ depending on other factors.

A spinal cord injury can result in loss of movement, and loss of sensation or the ability to differentiate between hot and cold. Other effects include respiratory difficulties, frequent coughing and difficulty breathing, pain and stinging sensation in the affected areas as well spasms. The patient may experience significant loss of bladder and bowel control.

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Uninsured or under-insured patients, who have suffered spinal cord injuries due to auto accident or other traumatic events, may be much more likely to be taken off life support.

A  recent study measured the impact of insurance coverage on the survival and recovery of persons after a spinal cord injury. The study focused on more than 8,400 American adults who had suffered a spinal cord injury, and found that uninsured or under-insured patients were much more likely to be taken off life support much earlier than those with insurance.

Spinal cord injuries are often caused in auto accidents, trucking accidents and  motorcycle accidents. These are not just devastating personal injuries with long-term consequences, but are also extremely expensive personal injuries to treat.  The costs involved in treating spinal cord injuries can range between $95,000 to well above $1,000,000,  depending on the complexity or level of the injury.  Spinal cord injuries very often can result in paralysis, which in turn, can lead to a number of other effects on a person’s health.

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Senior citizens who drink alcohol have a much higher risk of experiencing brain bleeds after suffering a slip and fall. Increasing awareness among Senior Citizens is the key to preventing these slip and falls which often cause serious personal injuries.

According to a new study, even seniors who drink moderately may be at a much higher risk of suffering a brain bleed if they have been involved in a slip and fall accident. Slip and fall accidents are some of the most devastating adverse events that seniors can experience.  These  accidents can result in the kind of personal injuries that not just permanently injure or disable the senior, but also reduce his life span significantly. Slip and fall  accidents, for instance, can result in hip fractures which some studies have linked to an increased risk of fatality in the year following the personal injury.

According to the researchers, their studies find a strong correlation between regular drinking and intracranial hemorrhage after a slip and fall accident. The risk of suffering a brain bleed after a fall doubled in the case of seniors who drank weekly.  In the case of seniors who drank daily, the risks of suffering a brain bleed increased by 2.5 times.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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