Teens Have Unrealistic Views About Distracted Driving, Study Finds

Posted by Pat Miller on

Distracted driving is a problem that affects even the most experienced drivers, so it’s not surprising that newly-minted teenage drivers – who often have trouble controlling their impulses – are susceptible to driving while distracted.

According to AAA, the most common distractions among teenage drivers are using electronic devices (for both talking and texting), adjusting controls in the car, and eating or drinking.

Teens Don’t Believe Distracted Driving Is a Problem

Despite the research that shows that teenage drivers engage in distracted driving, they believe they are immune to getting into accidents related to their distractions.

“People often believe they drive safely and responsibly, especially our newest drivers,” said Angela Patterson of Bridgestone Americas in a statement. “However, we need to reinforce that it only takes one time – one sip of coffee, one change of the radio station, one glimpse at the cell phone – to cause or be involved in a crash that could have dire consequences.”

In order to collect teenage drivers’ views about distracted driving, Bridgestone surveyed over 2,000 drivers aged 15 to 21. The study, which was recently released in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation, found that:

  • Although 83 percent of respondents agree that texting while driving is “very dangerous,” 27 percent of females and 11 percent of males admit to sending texts while driving. In addition, 38 percent of the female drivers and 17 percent of the male drivers read texts while driving.
  • 18 percent of the teens surveyed say that they engage in distracted driving because everyone else does it.
  • One-quarter of the teens do not think talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.
  • Many teenagers don’t think that taking one hand off the steering wheel to eat, drink or change the radio station counts as a distraction.

In addition, researchers found that many teens believe they are good drivers because they haven’t been pulled over and haven’t gotten into accidents yet. Also, two-thirds of the young drivers say that they believe they are “very safe” drivers.

But statistics don’t support this assertion. Although teens tend to believe that they’re invincible, research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, shows that motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens aged 13 to 19. In 2009 alone, almost 3,500 teens were killed in car accidents.

How Traumatic Brain Injuries Affect Children

Posted by Pat Miller on

Traumatic brain injury – often called TBI – is brain damage that can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head, as well as by an object penetrating the skull. Oftentimes, TBIs are not life threatening and those who suffer from mild injuries experience temporary brain-cell dysfunction – which results in symptoms such as headaches, sleep-pattern changes, mood alterations and loss of consciousness that lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes.

In other cases, TBIs can be quite severe, causing serious damage or even death to the victims.
The Causes and Effects of Severe TBIs

Traumatic brain injuries commonly occur while playing sports or from falls, car accidents and violent acts. When patients sustain severe TBI, they can suffer from:

Slurred speech
Loss of bowel or bladder control
Seizures
Loss of coordination
Nausea

Children and Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries

Although children are known for their ability to bounce back from injuries, research recently published in Pediatrics indicates that recovering from TBI is not easy even for kids. Children who suffer from these injuries often feel the effects for years.

In one study, researchers looked at 40 children from ages two to seven, who suffered from TBIs. The researchers examined these patients 12 months, 30 months and 10 years after their injuries and found that those with severe TBIs had the worst cognitive functioning – although, with interventions and therapies, these children were able to develop in an age-appropriate way.

In another study, researchers looked at 53 children who suffered from TBI before they were three years old. When the patients were examined again between the ages of four and six, the researchers found that those with more severe brain injuries scored about seven to ten points lower on IQ tests.

Although researchers cannot say for sure what factors affect recovery from severe TBI, the studies indicate that a child’s environment may play a role.

“Children from cohesive family environments and children whose parents had lower levels of stress showed better recovery,” researcher Louise Crowe said in a statement. “Why this is so is unclear, but it may be due to a parent spending more time with their children, and children also growing up in a less stressful environment.”
Does Your Child Have TBI?

Young children may not be able to tell you if they are having symptoms of traumatic brain injury, so if you observe the following symptoms after your child has an accident, consult a physician:

Persistent crying
Loss of interest in favorite activities
Change in sleep patterns or eating habits
Irritability

If your child has suffered a direct blow to the head, it’s best to consult a physician even if you don’t observe any of the TBI warning signs.

Evidence Plays an Important Role in Wisconsin Car-Accident Cases

Posted by Pat Miller on

Car accidents can be devastating. Gathering the evidence needed to make sure the responsible party covers all of the injuries is crucial, and a step that unrepresented victims often underestimate.

Unfortunately, even when it appears obvious who was at fault for an automobile accident, receiving compensation can be difficult. The other driver may change his or her story or the insurance company may refuse to pay. When this happens, lawsuits for negligence or wrongful death may be required in cases, large and small, to collect appropriate compensation.
Proving Negligence in Wisconsin Auto-Accident Cases

When preparing for a negligence case, the injured party generally needs to prove:

The other driver owed a duty of care to the injured party
That duty was not met
The failure to meet that duty resulted in the accident
The accident caused the injury

The first element can be easy to establish since every driver owes all other drivers a duty to drive with reasonable caution. The next element can be more difficult, since the person attempting to win the suit will need to prove that the other driver either violated a Wisconsin traffic law or otherwise failed to operate his or her vehicle safely. Proving this step often goes hand in hand with the third element. For this portion, the victim must prove that the other driver’s failure to operate the vehicle cautiously led to the car accident.

If, for example, the other driver was speeding at the time of the accident, the victim could argue that the other driver’s violation of the Wisconsin speed-limit law was a failure to operate the vehicle with care and led to the accident in question.

Finally, the victim will need to prove that the injury and vehicle damage were the direct result of the accident. Various types of evidence can be used to make this connection, including police reports, medical records and reports from medical experts.
Types of Evidence

A successful lawsuit often hinges on certain crucial evidence. Success requires a combination of gathering the right evidence in the first place and then using it properly in the suit to prove liability for the medical, wage loss, rehabilitative and other expenses of the victim.

A police report provides a fairly trustworthy source of information. It generally includes the police officer’s observations and opinions regarding who was at fault. It is a first step toward developing evidence to prove negligence on the part of the other driver.

The report may also contain physical facts collected during a post-accident investigation. This can include information about skid marks; gouges in the pavement or dirt; damage to guardrails, curbs and other structures; and impact points between the vehicles involved.

Wisconsin state traffic laws give additional weight to an argument that the other driver was responsible for the accident. If, for example, the crash occurred when merging into traffic and the other driver did not obey a yield sign, that driver is likely in violation of Wisconsin’s rules of the road. As a result, the other driver is more likely to be held liable for resulting injuries.

Another valuable piece of evidence relates to the type of accident. If it was a rear-end collision, the driver who strikes the rear of the other vehicle is almost always at fault. This type of crash is fairly easy to prove simply by examining the damage to the vehicles. Left-turn collisions also often result in fault for the driver making the turn since vehicles making these turns are normally required to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.

Unfortunately, police officers and first responders may not gather enough evidence to build a strong case. Victims can be proactive to help make certain the at-fault drivers are held liable for their actions. Take pictures of the vehicles involved, roadway markings or other relevant things like branches blocking visibility, missing road signs and serious injuries.

When documenting the accident by taking photographs, include some close-range photos to help document specific vehicle damage and injuries.

If injuries were sustained, medical records may prove that the injuries were received from the accident and not pre-existing. It is also a good idea to begin keeping journal entries for any pain and other symptoms experienced after the crash. This may eventually help to prove a long-term injury that will require additional therapy.

The amount of evidence needed to build a strong auto-accident case can seem overwhelming. Contacting an experienced car accident attorney can help not only to ease your mind, but also to better protect your legal rights and remedies because you likely need professional assistance to investigate and gather evidence about the crash, and to build a strong and winnable injury case.

Wisconsin pedestrian accident: car strikes college students in Milwaukee

Posted by Pat Miller on

In mid-November 2012, an automobile hit two 20-year-old engineering students on the urban campus of Marquette University in Milwaukee while they walked on a sidewalk early on a Monday morning. The women were hospitalized with serious, but nonfatal, injuries. Reportedly, the driver proceeded to strike another car, a hydrant and a pole in an apparent hit-and-run, before being stopped by law enforcement.

State statistics

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which defines a pedestrian as anyone walking or using a mobility device like a wheelchair, about 60 pedestrians die annually in the state when hit by motor vehicles. Another 1,600 are injured the same way each year. WisDOT reports further that seniors over 75 and kids from 5 to 9 are “particularly vulnerable.”

National observations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirm that WisDOT’s findings are consistent with national observations. The CDC says that across the country pedestrians are “1.5 times more likely” than motor-vehicle passengers are to die in car accidents, not surprising considering the relative vulnerability of bodies hit directly by moving vehicles with no barriers. On average, a U.S. pedestrian dies in an automobile crash about every eight minutes.

The CDC also shares these facts about pedestrian-car collisions:

  • Alcohol is involved in almost half of these crashes, either having been consumed by drivers or pedestrians.
  • Higher car speeds increase the chances of pedestrian accidents.
  • More pedestrian fatalities happen in the city, away from intersections and after dark.

Safety tips

Pedestrians can increase the odds of avoiding such mishaps by using crosswalks, wearing reflective clothes and using flashlights after dark, behaving defensively at intersections, using sidewalks where available and walking against traffic if they must be in the street, according to the CDC.

Also, the American College of Surgeons specifically calls upon parents and caregivers of young kids to be vigilant in supervision of young kids around traffic, and upon everyone to avoid using mobile devices like cellular phones and iPods.

Bodily harm

Common injuries surgeons see after pedestrian-car accidents include broken legs, fractured pelvises and broken ribs, with older patients tending to have multiple fractures. Younger patients tended to have more minor injuries, including “skin scrapes.”

If you or a loved one suffers a pedestrian accident, talk to an experienced Wisconsin personal injury about your rights and potential legal remedies such as a personal injury lawsuit for negligence or for wrongful death.

What you need to know about dental malpractice

Posted by Pat Miller on

Country singer Leann Rimes is making the news for something other than her vocal talents or her burgeoning acting career lately: the dental malpractice claim she has brought against her long-time dentist. The starlet alleges that her dental provider, over the course of three long years of treatment, has damaged her mouth to the point of needing multiple root canals, bone grafting, painkillers, a temporary dental bridge, physical therapy and follow-up care for her TMJ syndrome (a dental condition that causes clicking or popping of the jaw and pain along the jaw). She also alleges that she is unable to perform her job (singing) because of the pain and disfigurement of her jaw

Little-known problem

While medical malpractice cases are widely known and often involve multiple victims (as in the case of the recent cases involving defective birth control medications, transvaginal mesh products and hip implants), dental malpractice cases are much less common.

It is not only that there are smaller sums of money available in dental malpractice cases – according to estimates by the American Dental Association, the average successful claim results in an award of about $10,000 – it is also that many people aren’t even aware they have to right to file complaints about their dental providers. Some states maintain a registry of complaints against health care providers, but similar information is much more difficult to find about dentists, hygienists, orthodontists and oral surgeons.

Why is dental malpractice in the “shadows?”

Oftentimes patients who have suffered adverse effects because of the action or inaction of a dental care provider don’t know that their symptoms are unusual; some people assume that all dental procedures will come with a degree of pain regardless of the invasiveness, and will not seek follow-up care for that reason. Others may just visit another dentist for any aftercare, not even telling the original provider that there was a problem in the first place.

There are also those who feel that they have contributed to their own pain and difficulty because they put off treatment due to – ironically enough – a fear of going to the dentist.

Regardless…

Regardless of the reasons why dental malpractice happened, or the contributing factors that combined to make an individual patient’s experience a hellish one, it is time to move dental malpractice out of the shadows and into the light. If you or a loved one is dealing with the effects of a dental care provider’s mistake, negligence or recklessness, you have rights. File a complaint with your state’s dental licensing board, speak up to the dentist/provider in question and considering speaking with an experienced malpractice attorney in your area to learn more about legal options you may have to hold responsible parties accountable for the harm you have suffered.