Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer
Humpty Dumpty Sues Owner Of Wall
OMAHA, Neb. -- Humpty Dumpty sued the owner of the wall where he had his "great fall" in an Omaha courtroom on Wednesday.
It was a personal injury case in which Dumpty was trying to recover the cost of "putting himself back together again."
The jury was a group of fourth-grade students. The goal of the trial was to educate the students about the legal system and courtroom procedure. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff, so now Dumpty can pay all the king's horses and all the king's men.
http://www.ketv.com/education/15971659/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news
OMAHA, Neb. -- Humpty Dumpty sued the owner of the wall where he had his "great fall" in an Omaha courtroom on Wednesday.
It was a personal injury case in which Dumpty was trying to recover the cost of "putting himself back together again."
The jury was a group of fourth-grade students. The goal of the trial was to educate the students about the legal system and courtroom procedure. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff, so now Dumpty can pay all the king's horses and all the king's men.
http://www.ketv.com/education/15971659/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news
Labels: fall, injury, lawsuit, trial
http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=D8VGLPDG3&show_article=1
By MITCH STACY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Capt. Clint Roberts makes his living cutting accident victims out of hideously mangled vehicles, but even he could hardly believe it when two people in a 2007 midsize car survived a head-on crash with a full- sized pickup last year.
The Ford Fusion's reinforced steel construction probably saved the lives of the 18-year-old driver and his 16-year-old passenger. But Roberts said it gave his Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crew fits as they tried to free them last November.
Because hydraulic cutters couldn't shear the roof posts, rescue workers had to turn to heavy-duty electric saws, replacing blade after blade as they dulled on the rugged material.
"It was just beating the snot out of the tools," adding minutes and delaying medical treatment, Roberts said.
There is no question that today's cars save lives by cocooning motorists in reinforced alloys, impact-absorbing crumple zones and as many as a dozen air bags.
But in interviews with The Associated Press, rescue officials and experts from around the United States said the new technology is also hindering extrication of injured people, increasingly forcing crews to work deeper into the critical "golden hour" between accident and treatment by emergency room doctors. On many 2005 and later cars, an extrication that once took 10 or 15 minutes can now take twice that or longer.
To catch up, counties and cities are spending tens of thousands of dollars—if they can afford it—to buy more powerful equipment that can cut through newer cars' reinforced steel and the lighter, tougher exotic metals used in roofs, posts and doors.
Then there are obstacles that endanger rescuers' safety. Pressurized gas canisters that inflate air bags can explode if pierced by cutting tools. Rescuers can be blown from cars when air bags suddenly inflate. Hidden battery cables in hybrid cars can deliver a powerful shock.
To protect themselves, workers now have to peel away the ceiling and interior plastic to see what's underneath before they can even start cutting.
Experts cannot say for certain whether the delays in getting these victims to the hospital have resulted in people dying. But that's the fear.
"We build more fire stations, we make faster fire trucks, we've got helicopters to get you to the hospital," said Roberts, an expert who teaches extrication to colleagues around Florida. "But what's slowing us down are these vehicles that are harder for us to get into."
The problem has rescue workers scrambling to update their tools and explore different ways to attack cars with their cutters, spreaders and saws. Some agencies with equipment more than a few years old are arriving at accident scenes and finding out that it will no longer do the job.
"Because their shearing materials had been so successful for so many years, some agencies hadn't developed a Plan B," said Tom Hollenstain, who works to educate rescuers about new auto technology at the State Farm Insurance vehicle research center.
Leading hydraulic-tool makers such as Hurst Jaws of Life—whose namesake George Hurst introduced the first hydraulic extrication tools for auto racing in the early 1970s—must keep putting more oomph into their equipment, making it heavier and more expensive. A single Hurst cutter and power unit runs about $25,000. Add hydraulic spreaders and other tools and the price rises quickly.
A fire crew in Bonita Springs, Fla., discovered the problem last year when it rolled up on a 2007 Lexus that had overturned. Hydraulic cutters only a few years old wouldn't shear the strengthened steel roof posts, so the crew had to move quickly to cut other parts of the car. A job that should have taken a few minutes required 20 minutes of cutting and sawing to remove the driver.
Assistant Chief Ken Craft said the incident led the department to buy new heavy rescue tools costing $54,000—a sizable expense for a city of around 40,000.
"If the automakers roll out something new next year, we could be right back where we were at," Craft said. "That's the problem we're confronted with."
Mike Ader, a volunteer firefighter in Rockville, Md., recalled the layered-steel roof post from a 2008 Toyota Camry that wouldn't budge under the blades of a hydraulic cutter after a broadside crash Jan. 2. The patient, whose injuries were serious but not life-threatening, finally had to be maneuvered around the post.
Ader used two types of saws and numerous blades to remove the post after the patient was removed. The department quickly decided to buy a new, more powerful cutter.
The flip side, of course, is that more people are surviving horrific crashes that would have killed them just a few years ago.
The Fusion's passenger, for example, was hurt but conscious and joking with Roberts as the crew worked to get him out. The driver of the other vehicle—a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup—was dead at the scene.
With about three people hurt in car crashes every minute in the United States, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Rae Tyson said he is comfortable with the trade-off. Rescue workers, he said, will have to work harder to keep up with technology, just like everybody else.
"The fatality rate for passenger vehicles is the lowest in history," Tyson said. "That, to me, is a pretty good news story."
One problem for rescue workers is how to get the latest technical information about newer cars and how to deal with them.
Later this year, the nonprofit group COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance, with cooperation from automakers, is introducing a single Web site that will offer schematics and safety specs for most cars on the road. Rescue workers could flip open a laptop computer on the way to a crash scene to find out about the construction of the car, placement of air bag canisters and other details.
Automakers say they are doing more to make safety information available to rescuers and tool makers before new models come out. For instance, Ford is already offering a look at the skeleton of the 2009 F-150 pickup, built with the strongest steel construction the company has ever used.
"We want to facilitate the discussion as much as possible, because we understand the critical nature of their work," Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood said.
By MITCH STACY
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Capt. Clint Roberts makes his living cutting accident victims out of hideously mangled vehicles, but even he could hardly believe it when two people in a 2007 midsize car survived a head-on crash with a full- sized pickup last year.
The Ford Fusion's reinforced steel construction probably saved the lives of the 18-year-old driver and his 16-year-old passenger. But Roberts said it gave his Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crew fits as they tried to free them last November.
Because hydraulic cutters couldn't shear the roof posts, rescue workers had to turn to heavy-duty electric saws, replacing blade after blade as they dulled on the rugged material.
"It was just beating the snot out of the tools," adding minutes and delaying medical treatment, Roberts said.
There is no question that today's cars save lives by cocooning motorists in reinforced alloys, impact-absorbing crumple zones and as many as a dozen air bags.
But in interviews with The Associated Press, rescue officials and experts from around the United States said the new technology is also hindering extrication of injured people, increasingly forcing crews to work deeper into the critical "golden hour" between accident and treatment by emergency room doctors. On many 2005 and later cars, an extrication that once took 10 or 15 minutes can now take twice that or longer.
To catch up, counties and cities are spending tens of thousands of dollars—if they can afford it—to buy more powerful equipment that can cut through newer cars' reinforced steel and the lighter, tougher exotic metals used in roofs, posts and doors.
Then there are obstacles that endanger rescuers' safety. Pressurized gas canisters that inflate air bags can explode if pierced by cutting tools. Rescuers can be blown from cars when air bags suddenly inflate. Hidden battery cables in hybrid cars can deliver a powerful shock.
To protect themselves, workers now have to peel away the ceiling and interior plastic to see what's underneath before they can even start cutting.
Experts cannot say for certain whether the delays in getting these victims to the hospital have resulted in people dying. But that's the fear.
"We build more fire stations, we make faster fire trucks, we've got helicopters to get you to the hospital," said Roberts, an expert who teaches extrication to colleagues around Florida. "But what's slowing us down are these vehicles that are harder for us to get into."
The problem has rescue workers scrambling to update their tools and explore different ways to attack cars with their cutters, spreaders and saws. Some agencies with equipment more than a few years old are arriving at accident scenes and finding out that it will no longer do the job.
"Because their shearing materials had been so successful for so many years, some agencies hadn't developed a Plan B," said Tom Hollenstain, who works to educate rescuers about new auto technology at the State Farm Insurance vehicle research center.
Leading hydraulic-tool makers such as Hurst Jaws of Life—whose namesake George Hurst introduced the first hydraulic extrication tools for auto racing in the early 1970s—must keep putting more oomph into their equipment, making it heavier and more expensive. A single Hurst cutter and power unit runs about $25,000. Add hydraulic spreaders and other tools and the price rises quickly.
A fire crew in Bonita Springs, Fla., discovered the problem last year when it rolled up on a 2007 Lexus that had overturned. Hydraulic cutters only a few years old wouldn't shear the strengthened steel roof posts, so the crew had to move quickly to cut other parts of the car. A job that should have taken a few minutes required 20 minutes of cutting and sawing to remove the driver.
Assistant Chief Ken Craft said the incident led the department to buy new heavy rescue tools costing $54,000—a sizable expense for a city of around 40,000.
"If the automakers roll out something new next year, we could be right back where we were at," Craft said. "That's the problem we're confronted with."
Mike Ader, a volunteer firefighter in Rockville, Md., recalled the layered-steel roof post from a 2008 Toyota Camry that wouldn't budge under the blades of a hydraulic cutter after a broadside crash Jan. 2. The patient, whose injuries were serious but not life-threatening, finally had to be maneuvered around the post.
Ader used two types of saws and numerous blades to remove the post after the patient was removed. The department quickly decided to buy a new, more powerful cutter.
The flip side, of course, is that more people are surviving horrific crashes that would have killed them just a few years ago.
The Fusion's passenger, for example, was hurt but conscious and joking with Roberts as the crew worked to get him out. The driver of the other vehicle—a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup—was dead at the scene.
With about three people hurt in car crashes every minute in the United States, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Rae Tyson said he is comfortable with the trade-off. Rescue workers, he said, will have to work harder to keep up with technology, just like everybody else.
"The fatality rate for passenger vehicles is the lowest in history," Tyson said. "That, to me, is a pretty good news story."
One problem for rescue workers is how to get the latest technical information about newer cars and how to deal with them.
Later this year, the nonprofit group COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance, with cooperation from automakers, is introducing a single Web site that will offer schematics and safety specs for most cars on the road. Rescue workers could flip open a laptop computer on the way to a crash scene to find out about the construction of the car, placement of air bag canisters and other details.
Automakers say they are doing more to make safety information available to rescuers and tool makers before new models come out. For instance, Ford is already offering a look at the skeleton of the 2009 F-150 pickup, built with the strongest steel construction the company has ever used.
"We want to facilitate the discussion as much as possible, because we understand the critical nature of their work," Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood said.
Labels: avoiding car accidents, car wreck, injury, rescue
Interesting information from: http://www.truckinjuries.com/trucking_accidents_facts.html
Trucking Accident Facts
Every 16 minutes, a person is killed or sustains injuries in accidents involving 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers or semi-trucks
In 2001, 429,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes (both fatal and minor) in the United States:
* 4,793 were involved in fatal crashes
* 5,082 people died
* 131,000 were injured
In 2001, there were 6,536 total crashes involving tractor-trailer trucks in Pennsylvania;154 were fatal.
In 2003, there were 58,512 total vehicle accidents involved in fatal crashes in the U.S.
* 4,669 were large trucks involved in fatal truck accidents
Large trucks are more likely to be involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash than are passenger vehicles.
In 2003, Texas witnessed 5040 fatal traffic accidents, of which 438 were fatal truck accidents. This number has risen from 5039 total traffic accidents and 401 fatal truck accidents for the previous year 2002.
Similarly, in Pennsylvania, there were 2233 fatal traffic accidents in 2003, of which 213 were fatal truck accidents, as opposed to corresponding numbers of 2198 and 174 for the year 2002.
Florida had 4432 fatal traffic accidents in 2003, with 343 of them involving trucks, which was higher than 4431 total traffic accidents for 2002 but lower than the 351 fatal truck accidents in the same period.
The highest number of fatal traffic accidents happened in California, with the number being a staggering 5725 fatal auto accidents in 2003. But at 332, the number of fatal truck accidents was not the highest among all states in the US.
Trucking revenues totaled $610 billion last year and revenues are forecasted to nearly double by 2015.
The majority of fatal truck accidents occur in rural areas (68 percent) during the daytime (66 percent) and on weekdays (78 percent).
In 2002, the majority of large truck crashes occurred in good weather (71 percent), on dry roads (71 percent), during the daytime (75 percent), and on weekdays (88 percent).
About 27 percent of all large truck drivers involved in fatal truck accidents throughout the United States had at least one prior speeding conviction compared to 19 percent of the passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes.
From 1992 to 2002, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has increased by up to 10% due to driver fatigue, unsafe vehicle operation, large, unstable loads or defective equipment.
Defects contribute to the number of large truck accidents each year. Some of these defects include:
* Tires or wheels: 80 crashes
* Brake-related: 76 crashes
* Engine/Transmission: 52 crashes
* Steering Wheel: 13 crashes
About 700 heavy truck drivers and passengers in truck cabs die each year. In addition, almost 3,700 persons in cars and other passenger vehicles die annually in collisions with heavy trucks.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that in crashes involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98% of the fatalities occur to the people in passenger vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has warned groups using 15-seat passenger vans about the dangers of fully loading the vans and then putting an inexperienced driver behind the wheel. The NHTSA also stated that 15-passenger vans are large trucks and should only be driven by people with experience driving large trucks.
The FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) classifies a truck as large if its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) exceeds 10,000 pounds.
The majority of fatal crashes involving tractor-trailer trucks include trucks that are pulling one trailer. A recent survey showed that 64% of fatal truck crashes had one trailer. Thirty-two percent of those involved single-unit trucks (no trailer) and fewer than 4% of the those involved multi-trailer vehicles (more than one trailer).
Trucking Accident Facts
Every 16 minutes, a person is killed or sustains injuries in accidents involving 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers or semi-trucks
In 2001, 429,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes (both fatal and minor) in the United States:
* 4,793 were involved in fatal crashes
* 5,082 people died
* 131,000 were injured
In 2001, there were 6,536 total crashes involving tractor-trailer trucks in Pennsylvania;154 were fatal.
In 2003, there were 58,512 total vehicle accidents involved in fatal crashes in the U.S.
* 4,669 were large trucks involved in fatal truck accidents
Large trucks are more likely to be involved in a fatal multi-vehicle crash than are passenger vehicles.
In 2003, Texas witnessed 5040 fatal traffic accidents, of which 438 were fatal truck accidents. This number has risen from 5039 total traffic accidents and 401 fatal truck accidents for the previous year 2002.
Similarly, in Pennsylvania, there were 2233 fatal traffic accidents in 2003, of which 213 were fatal truck accidents, as opposed to corresponding numbers of 2198 and 174 for the year 2002.
Florida had 4432 fatal traffic accidents in 2003, with 343 of them involving trucks, which was higher than 4431 total traffic accidents for 2002 but lower than the 351 fatal truck accidents in the same period.
The highest number of fatal traffic accidents happened in California, with the number being a staggering 5725 fatal auto accidents in 2003. But at 332, the number of fatal truck accidents was not the highest among all states in the US.
Trucking revenues totaled $610 billion last year and revenues are forecasted to nearly double by 2015.
The majority of fatal truck accidents occur in rural areas (68 percent) during the daytime (66 percent) and on weekdays (78 percent).
In 2002, the majority of large truck crashes occurred in good weather (71 percent), on dry roads (71 percent), during the daytime (75 percent), and on weekdays (88 percent).
About 27 percent of all large truck drivers involved in fatal truck accidents throughout the United States had at least one prior speeding conviction compared to 19 percent of the passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes.
From 1992 to 2002, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has increased by up to 10% due to driver fatigue, unsafe vehicle operation, large, unstable loads or defective equipment.
Defects contribute to the number of large truck accidents each year. Some of these defects include:
* Tires or wheels: 80 crashes
* Brake-related: 76 crashes
* Engine/Transmission: 52 crashes
* Steering Wheel: 13 crashes
About 700 heavy truck drivers and passengers in truck cabs die each year. In addition, almost 3,700 persons in cars and other passenger vehicles die annually in collisions with heavy trucks.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that in crashes involving large trucks and other vehicles, 98% of the fatalities occur to the people in passenger vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has warned groups using 15-seat passenger vans about the dangers of fully loading the vans and then putting an inexperienced driver behind the wheel. The NHTSA also stated that 15-passenger vans are large trucks and should only be driven by people with experience driving large trucks.
The FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) classifies a truck as large if its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) exceeds 10,000 pounds.
The majority of fatal crashes involving tractor-trailer trucks include trucks that are pulling one trailer. A recent survey showed that 64% of fatal truck crashes had one trailer. Thirty-two percent of those involved single-unit trucks (no trailer) and fewer than 4% of the those involved multi-trailer vehicles (more than one trailer).
Labels: injury, trauma, truck accident
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Women more likely than men to be hurt in car wrecks?
This was an interesting article that ran in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other newspapers.
Car crash injuries vary with age, gender
By VIRGINIA ANDERSON
Cox News Service
Sunday, January 07, 2007
ATLANTA — Age and gender play a major role in the severity of injuries in car crashes, a fact that might steer future safety features in automobiles, according to a study by Purdue University researchers.
The findings, published in the Journal of Safety Research, suggest that vehicles designed to adapt to specific drivers could lessen the severity of injuries, said co-author Fred Mannering, a professor of civil engineering at the West Lafayette, Ind., university.
For example, with existing sensor technology, cars could detect the height and weight of a driver and the car's safety system could adjust, Mannering said.
Safety-belt tension could be varied, and the way air bags deploy could be personalized.
"What it really means is that it's an opportunity for auto manufacturers to design cars more safely," Mannering said.
Most automakers already are installing sophisticated air-bag systems — called dual-stage air bags — that adjust to the severity of the crash and the size of the driver, said Joe Nolan, head of the Vehicle Research Center of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, where crash testing is done.
"The [study] author's recommendation is, indeed, happening," Nolan said.
More stringent federal regulations, cheaper technology and buyer demand have moved car makers to quickly improve air-bag systems, Nolan said.
The study, a review of 32,085 Indiana vehicle crashes in 1999, also showed that age and gender play a role in the types of crashes people have.
The findings confirmed again that younger male drivers with passengers in the car were much more likely to suffer serious or fatal injuries when they are in a crash than older men or women of all age groups — a fact that parents, lawmakers and auto manufacturers should keep in mind, Mannering said.
Some findings were more surprising to the researchers.
For instance, driving a newer vehicle — less than five years old — actually increased the likelihood of fatality for older men by 216 percent.
A newer vehicle also increased the likelihood of fatality for young men, but by a lower percentage — 71 percent. The age of a vehicle did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of a fatality for middle-aged men.
Among women, safety belt usage in different age groups was a factor in the likelihood of injury, Mannering said.
Not using safety belts increased the likelihood of injury by 119 percent for young women, 164 percent for middle-aged women and 187 percent for older women.
The study did not examine the reasons for the differences. Mannering said he and co-author Samantha Islam could only speculate why the striking differences occurred.
Variations in reaction times among drivers could play a role, as well as the fit of safety belts, based on driver size, Mannering said.
The likelihood of injury from air-bag deployment may vary from age group to age group and between genders, he said.
Decreased bone density among older women may contribute to air-bag injuries, he speculated.
Even though the reasons may be unclear, Mannering said further study may reveal answers that may result in vehicle design changes.
"It's clear that that's the next direction," he said.
While that almost certainly would increase the cost of autos, Mannering said he believes those expenditures would be offset by saving money on lower insurance rates and medical bills for injuries sustained in crashes.
Virginia Anderson writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Journal-Constitution writer Clint Williams contributed to this article.
Women more likely than men to be hurt in car wrecks?
This was an interesting article that ran in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other newspapers.
Car crash injuries vary with age, gender
By VIRGINIA ANDERSON
Cox News Service
Sunday, January 07, 2007
ATLANTA — Age and gender play a major role in the severity of injuries in car crashes, a fact that might steer future safety features in automobiles, according to a study by Purdue University researchers.
The findings, published in the Journal of Safety Research, suggest that vehicles designed to adapt to specific drivers could lessen the severity of injuries, said co-author Fred Mannering, a professor of civil engineering at the West Lafayette, Ind., university.
For example, with existing sensor technology, cars could detect the height and weight of a driver and the car's safety system could adjust, Mannering said.
Safety-belt tension could be varied, and the way air bags deploy could be personalized.
"What it really means is that it's an opportunity for auto manufacturers to design cars more safely," Mannering said.
Most automakers already are installing sophisticated air-bag systems — called dual-stage air bags — that adjust to the severity of the crash and the size of the driver, said Joe Nolan, head of the Vehicle Research Center of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, where crash testing is done.
"The [study] author's recommendation is, indeed, happening," Nolan said.
More stringent federal regulations, cheaper technology and buyer demand have moved car makers to quickly improve air-bag systems, Nolan said.
The study, a review of 32,085 Indiana vehicle crashes in 1999, also showed that age and gender play a role in the types of crashes people have.
The findings confirmed again that younger male drivers with passengers in the car were much more likely to suffer serious or fatal injuries when they are in a crash than older men or women of all age groups — a fact that parents, lawmakers and auto manufacturers should keep in mind, Mannering said.
Some findings were more surprising to the researchers.
For instance, driving a newer vehicle — less than five years old — actually increased the likelihood of fatality for older men by 216 percent.
A newer vehicle also increased the likelihood of fatality for young men, but by a lower percentage — 71 percent. The age of a vehicle did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of a fatality for middle-aged men.
Among women, safety belt usage in different age groups was a factor in the likelihood of injury, Mannering said.
Not using safety belts increased the likelihood of injury by 119 percent for young women, 164 percent for middle-aged women and 187 percent for older women.
The study did not examine the reasons for the differences. Mannering said he and co-author Samantha Islam could only speculate why the striking differences occurred.
Variations in reaction times among drivers could play a role, as well as the fit of safety belts, based on driver size, Mannering said.
The likelihood of injury from air-bag deployment may vary from age group to age group and between genders, he said.
Decreased bone density among older women may contribute to air-bag injuries, he speculated.
Even though the reasons may be unclear, Mannering said further study may reveal answers that may result in vehicle design changes.
"It's clear that that's the next direction," he said.
While that almost certainly would increase the cost of autos, Mannering said he believes those expenditures would be offset by saving money on lower insurance rates and medical bills for injuries sustained in crashes.
Virginia Anderson writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Journal-Constitution writer Clint Williams contributed to this article.
Labels: auto accident, car wreck, injury, trauma
Archives
February 2007 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
