Personal Injury

Nursing Home Negligence Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: North Carolina Nursing Home Rating System Under Fire

November 22, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The ABC11 I-Team recently revealed a series of problems with the existing nursing home rating system in North Carolina.

The federal government ranks nursing homes on a system ranging from 1-star for the worst to 5-star for the best such facilities. The news station report revealed that almost half of the homes in North Carolina’s biggest counties are providing subpar service to their needy North Carolina residents.

This low ranking means that almost half the facilities in such populated parts of the state are unsanitary and could even place patients’ health at risk. The report discovered serious violations including failure to report abuse, failure to properly secure residents during transport and even one facility that had room temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees which resulted in one resident dying from hypothermia.

However, even the best facilities can still have serious problems. One woman told reporters that she’s angry after her mother’s death at the Kindred Transitional Care Rehabilitation, one of the top-rated nursing homes in Raleigh, NC. She claims that the staff at the home neglected her mother and never provided the care she needed.

An investigation showed that while the nursing home may have had a 4-star rating, the simplistic system failed to reveal serious past problems at the facility. Just two years ago the state fined the home more than $200,000 for putting residents in “immediate jeopardy to health and safety”. In 2009, another investigation by the state turned up a series of violations that the home then had to take action to correct.

Yet despite the importance of some of the information, the Medicare website where such rankings are found, www.medicare.gov, contained none of it. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid responded to this news by saying that recent changes to the site should help to improve the depth of information available for concerned patients and their families. Though that’s great news, it doesn’t help the families who already placed loved ones in homes while relying on faulty ratings.

Even now, many patients’ rights advocates complain that the Medicare website lags in providing accurate information for caregivers. Given high staff turnover at such facilities, nursing homes can deteriorate quickly and it can take time for resulting problems to appear on the rating website.

Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: New Research Reveals Dangers of Yaz/Yasmin Birth Control

November 20, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

It sounds like it’s been a week of bad news for the maker of the birth control drugs Yasmin and Yaz as Bayer AG announced in its most recent financial report that it had agreed to pay a combined $750 million thus far to settle thousands of claims regarding its birth control drugs causing blood clots.

Adding insult to injury, a new study has found increased risk of blood clots with the use of birth control pills such as Yaz and Yasmin. According to the most recent study published in the journal Contraception, women who take oral contraceptives containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone are more likely to suffer from potentially fatal blood-clotting complications compared to those who were taking another type birth control.

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research gathered data on 573,680 women between the ages of 10 and 55 between 2001 and 2007. The study looked at women who were new users of combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs), and compared the rate of blood clot related events among women who did or did not take contraceptives containing drospirenone. Overall, the study found that women who took birth control pills containing drospirenone were 77% more likely to experience blood clot related conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Deep vein thrombosis is when a blood clot becomes lodged in the veins of the leg; this can lead to a pulmonary embolism when part of the clot breaks away and travels to blood vessels in the lungs. The study also found that women who take birth control pills containing drospirenone had double the risk of suffering a blockage in their arteries.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest financial report from Bayer indicates the company has put aside an additional $262.5 million to settle Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits over blood clots. This follows a Bloomberg report over the summer that found that Bayer had reserved $610 million to settle cases, leading to an average of nearly $212,000 per case.

Car Wreck and Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Charlotte, NC Woman Seriously Injured After SUV Runs Her Off the Road

November 1, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent report in the Shelby Star revealed that a woman involved in a weekend car wreck on Polkville Road in Charlotte, NC is still in the trauma unit at Carolinas Medical Center recovering from her injuries.

According to North Carolina Highway Patrol, a woman in a car heading North on Highway 226 said she swerved to avoid a SUV that was in her lane. She ran off the right side of the road, overcorrected, and hit another car head-on.

The driver who swerved said that she and her daughter were bruised and shaken badly, but otherwise unharmed. The driver is eager to locate the SUV that ran her off the road and hopes that police are able to find the person responsible quickly.

The car that was hit head-on rolled five or six times following the impact. The woman’s husband, who was not in the car at the time, said his wife suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and a broken back. She had to be airlifted from the scene of the accident due to the severity of her injuries.

Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Charlotte; Mecklenburg County; NC :: North Carolina Motorcyclist Seriously Injured After Being Hit By Bus

October 30, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to Fox Charlotte, a CATS bus in Charlotte, NC and a motorcycle were involved in a crash on the 1500 block on N. Tryon Street at 10:25 one night earlier this week.

The bus was making a left turn from N. Tryon Street onto Dalton Avenue. The 1999 Yamaha Motorcycle was traveling south on N. Tryon Street when the bus turned in front of it. According to police, the motorcyclist was transported to the Carolinas Medical Center by MEDIC with life-threatening injuries.

The bus had 12 passengers on board at the time of the crash. One passenger was transported to the Carolinas Medical Center by MEDIC with minor injuries. The crash is being investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departments Major Crash Investigations Unit and no charges have yet been filed.

According to statistics published by the CDC, if a motorcycle rider is involved in an accident, the likelihood of injury or death is incredibly high: a whopping 98% of accidents involving another motor vehicle resulted in serious injury to motorcyclists. Of that stunningly large group, 45% escaped with only a minor injury meaning the majority weren’t so lucky and suffered serious, likely life-altering injuries.

The most common injuries inflicted on motorcyclists include concussions and brain damage. The dangers associated with such head traumas can be greatly reduced by wearing a helmet; in fact, numbers show that wearing a helmet can reduce a rider’s risk of death by 37%.

Other common injuries include the breakage of joints in elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and wrists. Soft tissue damage or “road rash” is also common because of how the body slides across the surface of the road following a crash. This kind of injury can be avoided by wearing the proper riding apparel such as a riding jacket and sturdy pants.

The best way to avoid injury is to not be involved in an accident in the first place. This is best achieved by being wary of other drivers, not taking unnecessary risks, and obeying the rules of the road at all times.

As North Carolina personal injury attorneys we have represented many personal injury claimants. Injuries sustained by motorcyclists can be very painful and require significant time and medical attention to recover from. Given the vulnerability of motorcyclists, all drivers should be extra vigilant in watching for and yielding to motorcycles when out on the state’s roadways.

Car Accident Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Children Injured in West Charlotte Car Crash

October 9, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recent report out of WBTV, eight people have been injured in a car crash that happened in west Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says that the accident occurred just before 6 p.m. earlier this week. The collision happened at the intersection of West Boulevard and Old Steele Creek Road.

Sadly, two children were among the eight people injured in the crash. Thankfully for the families of the kids both children were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. They were both taken to the hospital and are being treated. Another victim of the car crash was transported to the hospital with what police have said were potentially life-threatening injuries. Six of those people injured in the accident were taken to CMC Main, and the other two were taken to Presbyterian Main.

The accident involved a car and an SUV and police report both vehicles were heavily damaged. The accident happened at rush hour causing traffic delays for commuters in the area. Police have so far remained quiet about the cause of the accident or if any charges will be filed as a result.

Trucking Accident Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Truck Drivers with Sleep Apnea Rarely Admit To Problems

October 2, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A new study has found evidence that commercial drivers might lie about sleep apnea problems because they are fearful of losing their job.

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes a person’s breathing to be interrupted while they sleep. As a result, they frequently do not get a full, restful night’s sleep, which can lead to a variety of severe consequences. People with sleep apnea may experience headaches and drowsiness when they are awake and can even suffer from depression due to constant sleep deprivation.

For people whose jobs require them to be on the road frequently, sleep apnea can be a major problem, potentially impacting their ability to earn a living. A driver suffering from sleep apnea is at risk of causing an accident and injuring or killing innocent North Carolina drivers. Given this risk, commercial drivers, such as bus drivers, taxi drivers and truck drivers, can lose their job if it is believed that sleep apnea affects their performance.

The new study, done by researchers at University Hospital in Switzerland, looked at sleep apnea sufferers in two groups. They focused on 37 commercial drivers and 74 people who did not drive as part of their job. The study found that the commercial drivers rated their level of sleepiness during the day several points lower than the non-commercial drivers. In other words, the commercial drivers indicated they were not as tired as the non-drivers.

Even more worryingly, the study discovered that commercial drivers were less likely to receive treatment for their condition. Rather than seek regular care, the drivers were more likely to make spontaneous trips to sleep clinics. Researchers believe this could mean the commercial drivers did not have proper control over their symptoms and were suffering more than they claimed.

Researchers hypothesized that the commercial drivers were downplaying their symptoms out of fear of losing their jobs. Because they had more unexpected visits to sleep clinics than the non-commercial drivers, researchers concluded that the drivers were struggling more with their symptoms than other people suffering from sleep apnea.

NTSB Says Dangerous Flaw Found in Transport Tanker

September 20, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to recent reports, for at least the last 20 years, one of the most commonly used types of rail tankers has been allowed to transport hazardous materials across the country, this despite the fact that transportation officials knew of a dangerous design defect. The design flaw all but guarantees that the rail car will tear apart in the event of an accident, thus spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or harm surrounding residents.

One reason the issue has become more pressing is recent spike in accidents due to the greatly increased demand for ethanol, a highly flammable fuel typically transported by rail. One recent derailment triggered a massive chemical spill and explosion over the summer in Columbus, Ohio. One eyewitness said the resulting explosion was so intense that it looked like the sun had blown up.

The tanker, known as the DOT-111, has a soda-can shape and is one of the most commonly seen cars on rail freight routes. Though the car itself is not the cause of derailments, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) notes that the steel shell is too thin to resist puncture in accidents. Furthermore, the ends of the car are especially vulnerable to tears and the unloading valves and other fittings can break off during rollovers.

The flaws are sadly, nothing new and have been noted since as far back as a 1991 safety study. Tragically, the potential for things to go wrong has also not been newly discovered. A report found that ethanol tankers have been punctured in at least 40 serious accidents since 2000. The human toll is also very real given that accident reports indicate that since 1996 at least two people have been killed by explosions from railroad accidents and dozens more suffered injuries.

The example of how things can go terribly wrong became a reality in 2009 in Rockford, Illinois. A Canadian National freight train moved through town carrying more than 2 million gallons of ethanol. The crew was unaware that just ahead, rain had washed away a portion of the track. When the tankers rolled over the damaged track, the engineers could tell the train was going to derail.

The cars began falling from the tracks and flying into the air one by one. A driver parked at a nearby railroad crossing sat helpless as the waves of explosions washed over him and his family. One of several cars parked at the crossing belonged to Jose Tellez whose wife, Zoila, was killed. A witness reported seeing Zoila run from the family van in flames before dying. Jose suffered severe burns while his adult daughter, who was five months pregnant, lost the baby she was carrying at the time.

In addition to the fatality, 11 people were injured in the derailment, making it the nation’s single worst ethanol tanker accident. Nineteen of the 114 cars derailed. Thirteen released ethanol and caught fire. In the final accident report, the NTSB listed the “inadequate design” of the tanker cars as a factor contributing to the severity of the accident.

It is incidents like the one in Illinois that have some communities worried about the potential dangers associated with the continued presence of the flawed tankers on America’s railways. According to recent reports, the railroad industry has so far agreed to change all cars built after October 2011 to a safer design. The improvements will mean thicker shells and shields on the ends of the tanks designed to prevent punctures. While this is certainly goods news, the 30,000 to 45,000 existing tankers that will remain unchanged present real concerns to innocent Americans in the path of the railroads.

Truck Fire and Five Car Crash Leads to Injuries and Terrible Charlotte Morning Commute

September 18, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to WCNC, commuters in Charlotte, NC had a rough morning as a major truck fire on Interstate 77 and a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 85 caused major delays for the early commute.
The television station reported that a truck caught fire on I-77 north near Nations Ford Road which briefly blocked all lanes and caused major delays. Emergency crews quickly put the fire out and thankfully no one suffered injuries.
However, a multi-vehicle accident across town on I-85 near Gastonia reportedly left some of the drivers with injuries. Traffic was backed up for miles past the accident scene near the Cox Road interchange. Given how recent the accident was the North Carolina Highway Patrol has not yet specified what injuries occurred as a result of the wreck.

The Dangers of “Drugged” Driving in Charlotte, NC

September 11, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Though everyone knows about the danger and irresponsibility of getting behind the wheel after drinking, few people talk about the similar risks associated with drugged driving. It’s about time that changes given the increasing occurrence of medication-related wrecks on North Carolina roadways.

One recent example includes a Fayetteville, NC man who is now in jail on drug charges after a car crash involving a Bladen County Sheriff’s deputy. The Sheriff’s Office says a deputy stopped Darnell James Callwood, 27, last month after Callwood allegedly failed to stop for a stop sign just after midnight and ended up crashing into the deputy. During a search of the car, the officer found 38 packaged plastic bags of marijuana and several bags of cocaine.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the problem of impaired driving is not limited to alcohol. Driving under the influence of prescription drugs raises many of the same concerns given that powerful medication can act on the brain to impair a person’s motor skills, reaction time and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2007 National Roadside Survey, more than 16% of weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter medications while more than 11% tested positive for illicit drugs. Another NHTSA study found that in 2009, among fatally injured drivers, 18% tested positive for at least one, a number that marked a 13% increase from 2005. These results indicate that not enough has been done to educate the public about the true danger of driving under the influence of medication.

Driver Says He Needs to Stop Texting Then Drives Off a Cliff

August 30, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A young college student from Texas says he is lucky to be alive after surviving a terrible crash that occurred while he was texting. The student’s, Chance Bothe, truck plunged off of a bridge and into a ravine. Terrifyingly, the accident occurred right after Chance wrote the following message to a friend: “I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.”

The crash left Chance horribly injured. The 21-year-old student had a broken neck, a crushed face, a fractured skull, and traumatic brain injuries. He also had to have doctors bring him back to life three times. Chance spent the last six months in intense recovery in the hospital and is only just now able to speak about the accident.

Now, he believes it’s his mission to urge other drivers to stop texting, or else they may experience a similar fate. “I know I died like three times but God didn’t keep me away from coming back here. I have a higher purpose in being here. And I think it’s to tell everyone not to text message and drive.”

According to Distraction.gov, 3,092 people in 2010 were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver – meaning those who are either texting, eating, adjusting their radio, or talking on their cell phone. 416,000 people were injured in accidents from these same types of distractions. A startling 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes.