Choosing the right vehicle for a new driver can be difficult. Crash test experts recommend mid-size sedans for teenagers because they are easier to control and are large enough to support the impact of a motor vehicle accident. For those who prefer trucks, smaller ones are preferable as they are easier to drive. Large trucks and SUVs are not recommended for teens because they are more prone to roll-overs and they are harder to control.
]]> Critical features which should be present in a vehicle driven by the inexperienced include:Inexperienced Drivers & Safety Concerns
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, during teens first year on the road, they are 10 times more likely to be involved in a car accident. Inexperienced drivers are not as familiar with driving hazards such as bad weather or dangerous vehicles on the road.
The most common factors that put inexperienced drivers at risk for car crashes are:
These factors all influence an inexperienced driver's chances of being involved in car accident. Education about safe driving practices and access to a vehicle with the best safety features can reduce the probability injury or death due to a car accident.
]]>Truck crashes can cause catastrophic harm to truckers, including traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. NHTSA crashworthiness standards have enhanced motor vehicle safety for other motorists and passengers, and should be similarly applied to commercial drivers. New federal government standards for crashworthiness of heavy trucks would make road conditions safer for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Anyone injured in a truck accident, whether due to driver error, defective equipment or a trucking company's negligence, should act swiftly to ascertain their legal options. An experienced trucking accident attorney can provide insights about complex federal trucking regulations and review the circumstances in order to identify all potentially liable parties.
]]>Over half of those who responded to the survey believe that staff members of long-term care facilities would openly discriminate against those LGBT residents who did not hide their sexual orientation. Over half of respondents reported that they believe staff or other residents would neglect or even abuse an openly LGBT peer.
While LGBT individuals have similar healthcare needs as heterosexual individuals, there is a discrepancy in the quality of care they receive due to stereotypes, fear and other such barriers. According to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, the healthcare industry should focus on identifying and providing the specific needs of LGBT individuals and creating an approachable and welcoming clinical environment.
"Our hope is that this report provokes thought, raises critical questions, and compels future systematic research that can be used to dive deeper into the issues raised by these findings," said Paul Nathanson, Executive Director of the National Senior Citizens Law Center.
Progress on these issues is necessary to ensure that LGBT patients are given the adequate care that they deserve. If you or a loved one has suffered abuse or negligent care in a long-term facility, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your options.
]]>The majority of collisions between motorists and cyclists occur when a car pulls out of an intersection into the path of a bicycle. The vehicle either hits the side of the bike or stops suddenly so the bicycle hits the driver's side of the car. By using a horn or a bell, or even yelling, when you see a car at an intersection ahead, you will grab the motorists' attention. In addition, biking slowly across intersections can give you ample time to stop if necessary.
]]> Only slightly less common are "dooring" collisions, which occur when a motorist opens his or her car door in the path of a cyclist. You can avoid these collisions by riding to the left in your lane, thereby avoiding the "door zone" so your path does not breeze past opening car doors.Sometimes a driver makes a right turn into the path of a cyclist, whether they're attempting to pass on the left or just don't see the bicycle. This illustrates why cyclists should always avoid passing cars on the right.
While many cyclists fear a rear-end collision, a car hitting a bicycle from behind is rare. These crashes usually happen at night when visibility is poor, so avoid them by using lights or reflectors and signaling before changing lanes.
Several rules of thumb are important to keep in mind, in order to improve all cyclists' overall safety and decrease the risk of injury:
•· Use lights or reflectors when appropriate to make yourself visible.
•· Avoid streets with heavy, fast traffic, which makes it difficult for drivers to see and avoid you.
•· Turn off portable music players and phones to prevent distraction.
•· Bike assertively (but carefully) to command motorists' attention. Deferential cycling invites drivers to pass you too closely and quickly or disregard your right to the road.
These techniques can help cyclists prevent accidents, but even the most vigilant cyclist is vulnerable to other motorists' reckless driving. If you are injured in an accident, contact a personal injury attorney to discuss your case.
]]>Meanwhile, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is finalizing new regulations to limit consecutive driving hours and require electronic on-board monitoring of a truck driver's time behind the wheel. Restructuring of the so-called "Hours of Service" rules is long overdue, given evidence of the clear connection between driver fatigue and truck crashes.
"The use of paper logbooks by truck drivers is like running a business with paper notebooks and no computers," said one law enforcement officer and trucking safety advocate at a recent Truck Safety Coalition news conference. Paper log books have long been known as "comic books" by America's truck drivers. Driver support of safer highways is evidenced by the Teamsters' recent endorsement of the tougher measures.
One important factor involving federal HOS regulations: if a driver exceeds those limits and subsequently gets into a truck accident, failure to abide by the rules can lead to legal liability for property damage, medical expenses or a tragic wrongful death.
]]>As reported by WNYC, former chairman James Hall said, "They [industry and government] have treated the people who ride these buses as second-class citizens and given them second class safety." Hall was referring to a lack of "commitment" in efforts to prevent bus accidents - particularly those bus accidents involving budget operators.
]]> Hall compared what has happened after crashes in two separate industries: long-distance bus operators and commuter airlines. In 2009, a "short-hop" commuter plane crashed in Buffalo and led to the deaths of 50 people. Regulations were tightened around short-hop commuter airlines after the crash. Long-distance bus operators, on the other hand, have never been the focus of tighter regulation. Hall goes on to say that attention needs to be paid to less-affluent citizens riding buses.But Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, said, "There are a lot of regulations already in place. It's a matter of enforcement."
Hall, of course, disagreed, and said that the American Bus Association has never taken an aggressive approach to addressing safety issues.
Congress is examining a number of possible measures to address bus safety:
Despite the severity of the bus crashes (one of which killed 15 people), Pantuso worries about over-regulation. As WNYC reports, Pantuso argues that buses provide one of the safest modes of travel in the nation, which should "count for something."
Source: Debate Over Budget Bus Regulation Continues in Wake of Tragic Crashes
]]>The first bus accident happened over the March 12 weekend and killed 15 people. The second bus accident happened just after the first, and this one killed two people. Scores of passengers were injured. In both accidents, it appears as though bus driver negligence (or bus company negligence) was the likely culprit, as both accidents appear to have involved only the buses and no other vehicles.
]]> In the first accident, the driver was a convicted felon with prior traffic violations. He originally told investigators that his bus was hit by a semi-truck, but passengers said that wasn't true. The bus flipped over on its side and rammed a pole. According to NBC News, the bus was "sheared in half."In the second accident on March 14, the bus appears to have gone off the road, where it overturned. The driver went through the windshield and died, along with one passenger who was "partially ejected" from a window. As reported by NBC News, the company that operates the bus involved in the second accident has been cited repeatedly for unsafe driving and similar infractions.
An online reader's comment says: "As a bus driver I know the part fatigue plays in most bus accidents." And another comment says: "Sounds like they are pushing these drivers too hard, as in both of the last accidents they have ran off the road in some aspect."
Sources:
]]>And the kicker: "Hey, why not make cellphones that explode if they sense that they are traveling at more than two miles per hour," says a commenter named Jimmy D'lox.
]]>A New York woman recently pleaded guilty to an accident she caused this past July. Sybil Monk was traveling on Route 5 in Montgomery County when she had a head-on collision with two motorcyclists. The accident killed one and injured three others. Monk was charged with DWI after it was discovered that she was under the influence of prescribed narcotics at the time of the crash.
]]> While the driver's impairment was one of the causes of the accident, the crash occurred on a road that winds through many towns. Those who live in the area use the highway as a quick way to get around. Traffic patterns on roads similar to this have led to extensive studies on how to reduce the number of serious car crash accidents.One new initiative has been started by auto manufacturer Audi called "Audi Urban Intelligent Assist." The program is working with four major universities in an effort to provide better information to drivers in large cities.
Researchers will determine where most crashes happen. Once they understand where the major trouble spots are located, they will begin to learn why these areas are so problematic. Pedestrian and vehicle traffic levels will be calculated, and consideration will be given to major events happening in the region.
Driver behavior will also be an aspect of the study, to understand preferences and stressors. Learning why a driver avoids certain areas can help plan safer routes, allowing the driver to bypass troubling locations. This information will be compiled and relayed to the driver in an appropriate format, depending on what works best for each individual.
Audi has committed at least three years to the project.
Sources:
NY woman, 34, pleads guilty in biker's road death
Audi Announces Three-Year Initiative to Make Urban Driving Safer
]]>Federal law states there's a civil right to being cared for at home. As National Public Radio reports, "unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities" is discrimination, according to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Olmstead case.
But in Fridley's case, there's more on the line than just her right to home-based care. If forced into a nursing home, her ten-year-old daughter won't be able to live with her.
Fridley almost went to a nursing home right after the accident -- the staff at the hospital warned her that she'd be a tremendous burden on her mother -- but her mother took her home and cared for both Fridley and Fridley's daughter.
Then Fridley found the Center for Disability Rights and this organization helped her find her own apartment with home care provided 20 hours every day. Here, Fridley can live independently and says she's "never been happier."
But since the law requires states to pay for nursing homes but not home-based care, and Congress has yet to make it a requirement, Fridley faces the ever-present risk that she'll be forced into a nursing home if funding dries up.
And for those like Fridley who have suffered such severe injuries, worrying about losing her ability to be with her daughter at home should be the least of her concerns.
]]>The risks and potential consequences of drunk driving cannot be overstated.
]]> Bowen was arrested and charged with DWI and reckless driving. In New York, drunk-driving-related car wrecks that involve fatalities also usually merit felony manslaughter charges, but at this time, it's unclear whether Bowen will be charged with manslaughter.The Wall Street Journal also reports that a 17-year-old pedestrian was hit by a pickup truck driven by a drunk driver.
In regard to these two accidents -- which we contend aren't really accidents but more along the lines of intentional criminal behavior -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "Make no mistake about it, we are determined to stop drunk driving now -- before the holiday season gets into full swing."
In related incidents with facts that were reversed, an off-duty NYC police officer was arrested on Thanksgiving for driving while intoxicated. He was found passed out at the steering wheel. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Officer Anthony Rodriguez was the fifth officer charged with a crime that week.
Sources: Off-duty NYC police officer killed in LI car crash
Off-duty NYPD cop arrested on DWI charges
]]>The Hayley Ng and Diego Martinez law -- informally Hayley and Diego's law -- was signed by New York Governor David Paterson in August and becomes effective today, October 12, 2010. The new law allows for stiffer penalties, including imprisonment, for drivers who unintentionally harm pedestrians or cyclists when driving without "due care."
]]> Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, D-Manhattan, and Senator Daniel Squadron, D-Manhattan and Brooklyn, who sponsored the bill in their respective legislative branches, urged drivers to remember that a second of inattention can lead to deadly consequences.Such was the case when youngsters Hayley and Diego, who were walking in Chinatown with other preschool students, were suddenly hit by a delivery van left running by the driver who had stepped out of the vehicle to enter a store. The driver mistakenly thought that he had left the van in park, but it was in reverse, causing it to back into a curb and crash into the children.
The van driver was not prosecuted after the January 2009 incident since New York traffic laws at that time did not adequately penalize careless drivers. The new law now protects pedestrians and cyclists injured when drivers do not use "due care."
For first-time offenders causing "physical injury" to a pedestrian or cyclist, either of the following penalties or both are imposed by the new legislation:
First-time offenders causing a higher degree of harm classified as "serious physical injury" to a pedestrian or cyclist will have their licenses or registrations suspended, along with any of the following penalties, alone or in combination:
Anyone convicted a second time within five years shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor, subject to a fine of up to $1000, and possibly incur other legal penalties.
It is tragic that it took the deaths of Hayley and Diego to strengthen the law. If you or a family member has been hurt by a reckless, careless or negligent driver while walking or biking, contact a personal injury lawyer immediately to discuss your options.
]]>Advised of the benefits of early detection, many women young and old faithfully make their mammogram appointments every year. However, the United States Preventative Services Task Force has found that the downside of routine annual mammograms for younger women may offset the benefits of early detection, referring specifically to overdiagnosis of D.C.I.S.
While some regard a biopsy as a foolproof means of identifying cancer, the Times reports that there are no mandatory diagnostic standards or requirements that pathologists performing the work have any specialized expertise. The Times further reports that the federal government is subsidizing a nationwide study of variations in breast pathology, based on concerns that 17 percent of D.C.I.S. cases identified by a commonly used needle biopsy may be misdiagnosed.
Dr. Michael Lagios, a California pathologist, reviewed 597 breast cases in 2007 and 2008, and found discrepancies in 141 of them. He says that based on his experience, microscopic core needle biopsies of low-grade D.C.I.S. and benign lesions may be misread 20 percent of the time.
Nanotechnology Designed to Eliminate False Positives
According to a press release posted on MarketWatch.com, Manhattan Scientifics announced earlier this year that it had acquired exclusive rights to commercialize early cancer detection technology developed by Senior Scientific. The technology utilizes magnetic, nano-sized cancer-targeting antibodies that bind only to cancer cells and is 1,000 times more sensitive and capable of detecting breast cancers three years earlier than with mammograms, which require 100 million malignant cells before a tumor can be detected.
Manhattan Scientific CEO Manny Tsoupanarias said that the system is designed to eliminate false positives and that so far, tests have produced objective, and not subjective, results. He is optimistic about the use of the technology to alter the diagnostic approach to a variety of cancers, such as ovarian, pancreatic, skin, cervical, brain, prostate, colon and bladder cancers.
Patients who have been misdiagnosed with cancer (or there was a failure to diagnose cancer) should contact a personal injury attorney. While no settlement or jury award can take away the fear or undo any unnecessary treatment or surgery, these patients may be entitled to compensation from their pathologists, doctors or hospitals for negligence.
]]>Since even a minor fender-bender can result in over $1,000 in damage, nearly all car accidents could result in surcharges before the recent change. Moreover, New York drivers arguably bear the burdens of the state's no-fault insurance system, at least indirectly. The American Insurance Association (AIA) claimed in a recent news release that no-fault claim costs in the state have increased by 58 percent since 2004, and no-fault fraud and abuse in New York is costing insurers and drivers more than $200 million per year. Soaring costs have both insurers and drivers calling on the legislature for reform.
]]> New York No-FaultIn New York, though not a pure no-fault state, an individual's own insurance policy provides protection and coverage regardless of fault. Insurance companies in New York are responsible for payment for economic damages such as medical bills and a percentage of lost wages. Nonetheless, if the insured meets a certain threshold, he or she may also be able to sue for noneconomic, or general, damages. Only those who have suffered certain serious injuries or death are permitted to sue negligent drivers for general damages.
Potential Reform
Ellen Melchionni, president of the New York Insurance Association (NYIA), reportedly stated that New York City civil courts receive over 200,000 no-fault filings a year. She cited 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 budget requests to show an increase of 100 percent in filings during that time period.
According to the National Underwriter, industry representatives are calling for increased penalties for accident fraud and greater use of claims arbitration. The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York would like:
Drivers and passengers who have been injured in a car or truck crash should contact a personal injury attorney to protect their right to recovery under New York's no-fault law and to enforce their rights in court, if necessary.
]]>The Checklist Manifesto distinguishes "errors of ignorance" (mistakes made by people who do not actually have the knowledge required to make a particular decision) from so-called "errors of ineptitude" (those resulting from misguided decision-making in the heat of the moment). Checklists are a way to combat both types of errors leading to medical malpractice.
]]> Though Gawande trumpets checklists as a way to "get things right," he does stress that creating a checklist without further effort will not solve problems. He argues that health care providers must not only implement a checklist system, but understand why the system is necessary. Mistakes in health care are inevitable, but by staying cognizant of the errors commonly committed in the medical field, and by being willing to change, mistakes can be prevented and injuries reduced.Checklists are particularly useful to prevent errors of ineptitude, giving everyone from the world's brightest surgeon to a first-year nursing assistant a straightforward list of tasks that must be dealt with in complex and stressful situations. Creating the checklist in itself is part of the education - you must examine the entire process with a fine-toothed comb, breaking it down into its component parts in order to make the checklist as helpful as possible.
These checklists are at their most useful in a patient-centered environment where teams work collaboratively. These are environments where nurses feel safe to speak up if the surgeon did not follow proper checklist protocol. Checklists are only a tool (with only the potential to be very effective) to combat medical negligence and preventable malpractice, but a checklist's effectiveness is directly related to the willingness of team members to allow feedback, accept flaws and not let egos get in the way. In the right hands, the checklist can help hospitals in the fight to keep their patients' best interests at hand.
The changes suggested by Gawande and Pronovost will bring great benefit to health care but will take time and effort to implement. And no system is one-hundred percent perfect. If you or a loved one has been injured by the malpractice or negligence of a medical provider, consult a personal injury attorney to learn more about your rights and options.
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