Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

Study Reveals Danger of Singing and Driving

September 6, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

In the last few years, traffic safety officials both in North Carolina and at the federal level have been focused on distracted driving, working to educate drivers on the dangers of talking, texting and emailing on mobile devices when behind the wheel. In doing so, however, it seems that many people are no longer focused on some of the more traditional forms of distraction while driving, such as eating and drinking, changing the radio and putting on makeup.

Now, a new study, mentioned in an ABC News article, appears to indicate that it may be time to direct more attention toward some of these other forms of behind-the-wheel distraction. In the study, researchers found that drivers who listen or sing along to their favorite tunes are more likely to get into car accidents than drivers who do not play music in the car.

The study was conducted recently by researchers in Australia, and the results of the study have been published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. The researchers were specifically looking at how driving abilities were impacted by singing or listening to music in the car. The researchers attempted to compare how driving abilities were impacted when a person was singing and driving as opposed to when the driver was just listening or had no music on at all.

The researcher put drivers (a total of 21 individuals) through a simulation exercise. They were each tested on how well they were able to concentrate on driving while they were exposed to music. The researchers found that drivers who were listening to music on their car radio, or singing along to the radio, were much slower to respond or react to emergency situations than those drivers who had no music on in the car.

The reason, the researchers determined, is that singing while driving draws attention away from the road. Any activity that draws attention away from the road can be considered a distraction. Drivers, who sing in the car, were much more likely to vary their speeds while driving. These drivers were also found to drive at a much lower speed, compared to drivers who were not listening to any music. The researchers concluded that the most attentive drivers were those who were not listening to any music at all.

Child in Charlotte, NC Dies After Not Wearing Seatbelt

September 4, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Police in Salisbury have announced that a young boy, who was killed in a car crash, was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision. The 12-year-old tragically died on impact during a crash last month.

Police say the driver of the boy’s car was driving east on Airport Road when she tried to turn left into a parking lot at 1010 Airport Road. The driver turned in front of an oncoming Jeep Cherokee, and the Jeep struck the Honda, pushing it into a phone pole. No one in the Jeep was injured.

At this time no charges have been filed against either of the drivers as police continue an investigation into the circumstances. This wreck demonstrates what we already know: every hour someone dies in America simply because they chose not to buckle up. Despite the fact that safety belts are the most effective means of reducing fatalities and serious injuries, sadly, many adults and children simple don’t feel the need to use them.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those between the ages of five and 34. An astounding 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. The Centers for Disease Control says that adults who do not use safety belts may think that their behavior only affects them, but they are wrong. Studies consistently show that there is a correlation between adult belt use and child belt use. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), when a driver is buckled, 94 percent of the time children in that vehicle are buckled; but, when a driver is unbuckled, only 30 percent of child passengers are buckled. What parent wants to pass along such a dangerous habit?

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.

What You Should Know About Children and Head Injuries

August 28, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Head injuries are not something to take lightly. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1.7 million people in the country sustain a traumatic brain injury every year, and these injuries contribute to a third of all injury-related deaths in the United States.

Children, especially those between the ages of 0 and 4 and the ages of 15 and 19, are the most likely to sustain these injuries, which is why education about the dangers of head injuries is so important. Because of the long-term effects that head injuries can have, parents should learn all they can about this common childhood injury.

In children, head injuries often occur while they are playing. Falls on the sports field, tumbles while riding a bike and trips while climbing outdoors are all common causes. For this reason, children should wear protective helmets whenever possible. Parents need to make sure that helmets are being used when their children participate in rough sports events or when riding wheeled toys, such as bikes, scooters and roller skates. Head injuries also frequently occur as a result of car accidents, especially when children are not properly restrained. Proper use of child safety seats can help protect children against serious brain injury in a car accident.

Though head injuries affect all children, a recent Reuters article mentioned the findings of a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine which shows the treatment for such injuries may not be uniform across the different races. Researchers looked at brain injuries and treatment of children and discovered differences based on the race of the injured child.

According to the research, white children get CT scans more often following minor head injuries than the children of the other races. The study found that 42% of white children brought in for minor head trauma got CT scans while only 28% of black and Hispanic children brought in for minor head trauma received such scans.

Some may think this means that hospitals are giving better treatment to white children, but the results indicate that unnecessary CT scans can actually be dangerous to the children receiving them. In this case, more treatment is not better treatment and can actually lead to medical mistakes and dangerous radiation risks.

Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Distracted Driving Leads to Jail Time in Charlotte

August 23, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent article on WBTV.com, discussed the tragic case of Leah Walton, a Charlotte woman who was recently sentenced to several years behind bars for a deadly distracted driving accident which took place two years ago.

A Mecklenburg County jury issued the guilty verdict to the 23-year old earlier this week, not taking much time to deliberate over the young woman’s fate. She was found guilty of a laundry list of charges, including involuntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, reckless driving, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.

For the assault conviction she will serve between 2 years, 7 months and 4 years and for involuntary manslaughter she was sentenced to six years of supervised probation. If she fails to satisfy the terms of her probation, she will be sent to prison for 20-24 months. Beyond jail time, she was ordered to pay substantial restitution to the innocent victims; $18,000 to the woman who survived the terrible crash but is now wheelchair bound, and $12,000 to the family of the woman who was killed. Both were nurses taking a break from work and walking along a sidewalk.

Walton’s mother took to the stand to plea for mercy on her daughter. She explained that her family had suffered terribly as a result of the accident. She said that her daughter “will suffer with the knowledge of the events for the remainder of her life.”

Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Megabus Bound for Charlotte Involved in Mega-Accident

August 21, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A double-decker bus caught fire last week along I-85 in northeast Georgia, forcing Megabus passengers to flee to safety and closing the northbound lanes of the interstate for hours. The commercial bus was traveling from Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina when the fire broke out at about 11:40 a.m. near Lavonia, Georgia. Officials with Megabus said that some 80 passengers were on board at the time and all, including the driver, were able to evacuate safely.

It’s the latest incident for Megabus, which offers low-priced, one-way fares between major cities across the U.S. Just a week before, on August 2, a Megabus struck a bridge pillar in the median of I-55 near Litchfield, Illinois killing one passenger and injuring nearly four-dozen others. Police have said that a blown tire likely caused the double-decker bus to weave out of control and crash into the pillar. The same week a 76-year-old woman in Chicago died from injuries she suffered when a Megabus hit her as the driver attempted to make a turn on a tight downtown street. Finally, back in February, a Megabus driver was acquitted of homicide charges for the deaths of four passengers when his double-decker bus crashed into a low overpass in upstate New York back in 2010.

Megabus drivers have been cited for speeding 35 times in the past two years, including 14 occasions where the driver was traveling more than 15 mph over the speed limit. During those same two years, a driver was cited for failure to inspect or use emergency equipment, six buses were cited for no or defective emergency doors and more than 50 citations were issued for failure to properly log a driver’s time on duty.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Megabus officials said they are working with state and federal investigators to determine whether all safety protocols were followed in the accident. The bus that caught on fire was manufactured by Van Hool in 2012 and had passed a full preventative maintenance check less than 2,500 miles ago, according to Megabus. It is unknown whether the driver performed an inspection before leaving Atlanta the morning of the accident. Such an inspection is required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of all commercial interstate drivers.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina :: The Danger of Robots in the Operating Room

August 16, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Who doesn’t love a new gadget? Whether it’s the latest iPhone or a new videogame console, we all love our technology. Sometimes, though, this rush can be to our determent. A good example of the danger of rushing involves the da Vinci Surgical Robot.

According to the manufacturer, Intuitive Surgical, the device makes a surgeon’s job much easier, allowing smaller incisions and increased recovery time. The manufacturer says the da Vinci Robot can be used to treat obesity, endometriosis, throat cancer, prostate removal, kidney cancer, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder removal. The robot has four arms: three for surgical instruments and a fourth with an attached camera. It claims to give doctors an increased range of motion and to provide a less invasive way of achieving many traditional surgeries. Sounds wonderful. Sadly, as is often the case, there’s more to the story.

While the benefits touted by the manufacturer may be true to an extent, there have also been reports of serious injuries related to the use of the robot. Part of the problem appears to be a rush to train surgeons who are being put in control of the powerful machines before they are ready. Patients who have been injured by the robots have begun filing lawsuits and recently requested that a panel of federal district court judges consolidate the litigation before a single federal court.

A few years ago the Wall Street Journal ran an article on the Robot that mentioned previously little known problems associated with the device. The article recounted how one patient was so badly injured by the da Vinci that she required four additional surgeries to repair the damage caused from the machine. In other cases, two patients suffered severely lacerated bladders.

Plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against the manufacturer claim that complications from the procedures include tears and burns to the uterus, intestines, and blood vessels, as well as vaginal cuff dehiscence – a separation of the vaginal incision, after which abdominal or pelvic contents leak out through the opening. A 2009 study noted that vaginal cuff dehiscence with small bowel evisceration after hysterectomy may occur more frequently with the advent of similar robotic laparoscopic hysterectomies.

The robot itself does not appear to be to blame; it’s actually the doctors and their lack of training that’s the problem. Intuitive Surgical only offers two days of free training for two surgeons at each purchasing hospital. Any more training and the hospitals have to go out of pocket to pay. Such a short time does not come close to meeting the training needed to properly operate such a complicated device. The Reviews in Urology journal said that a surgeon should perform up to 200 cases to be proficient with robotic surgery, far more than can be done in a only two days of training.

Car Wreck Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: North Carolina Drivers at Risk for Drowsy Driving Accidents

August 14, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent poll conducted by the AAA Foundation demonstrated results similar to those from the National Sleep Foundation Polls, which showed that a large percentage of Americans report driving under the influence of sleep. The most recent poll showed that one-third of those surveyed admitted to driving drowsy in the past 30 days. A 2005 NSF poll of approximately 1,000 people found that 60% of drivers, or about 168 million people, admitted that they had driven while sleepy in the preceding year; and 37% confessed that they had actually fallen asleep behind the wheel.

Though many people know that sleepy driving isn’t a good thing, they don’t understand just how dangerous it can be. Educating people to the dangers of drowsy driving is a key step in preventing unnecessary injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 crashes that are reported to the police each year are the direct result of fatigue and sleepiness. There’s no reason for such an enormous number of accidents to take place when simple steps can be taken to eliminate the risk.

The root of the problem is that many American are chronically sleep deprived. According to a study published in The Lancet, a quarter of all adults admit to not being happy with the amount of sleep they get each night. The results show that approximately 10% of adults meet the criteria for full-fledged insomnia.

The dangers of insomnia are great, especially for those on North Carolina roadways. Study after study has shown that those suffering from insomnia have symptoms similar to those suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Such sleep leads to an increased risk of accidents. Those who are surviving on much less sleep than they need are more likely to nod off at the wheel, especially when they’re driving alone or for long distances, increasing the risks of serious accidents and the possibility of causing harm to others.

Charlotte North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers :: North Carolina Insurance Companies Use Software to Underpay Claims?

August 9, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent report by the Consumer Federation of America says that some insurance companies are using claims software that allows them to manipulate payments, thereby paying consumers less than they deserve after an accident.

The report found that popular injury evaluation software used by many insurance companies comes with provisions that allow the insurers to lowball consumers. These software programs include the CSC Colossus package which allows insurers to manipulate claims payments. The software can be used to reclassify injuries as less serious when compared to the diagnosis of a doctor.

Over the past 15 years, many insurance companies in the United States have implemented such software to streamline claims processing procedures. However, as this Consumer Federation indicates, the new software may be used for more than just improving efficiency. The report says that the claims processing software has allowed many insurance companies to increase profits by providing unfairly low offers to consumers. Insurers were able to adjust Colossus to produce virtually any claims’ payment reduction they wanted, whether or not it was warranted. One executive said that Colossus could be “tuned” to achieve a particular level of savings, such as 15 percent, for all claims.

Auto accident victims in North Carolina should be especially concerned because so many insurers use the CSC Colossus system. The report estimates that more than 50% of the 20 largest auto and property insurers in the United States currently use the Colossus system. Even those that do not use Colossus use similar products that are sold by competitors.

Charlotte North Carolina Car Wreck Lawyers :: Terrible Charlotte Interstate Wreck Causes Severe Injuries

August 7, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

In a tragic story that highlights the dangers that lurk on North Carolina’s roadways, seven people were injured, including two who had to be freed from a crushed car, in a four-vehicle crash earlier this month on southbound Interstate 85 in north Charlotte.

The crash closed the southbound lanes of I-85 for nearly 90 minutes during morning rush hour after the wreck. The wreck happened at almost the exact location as another terrible crash only five days earlier.

A spokesperson for Medic says that seven people were taken to hospitals, including two who suffered life-threatening injuries. Charlotte fire Capt. Mark Basnight said a crew of 35 firefighters spent nearly 45 minutes working to free two injured people from a car that was involved in the wreck. Another car, a smaller Ford, was almost totally flattened against a semi that was part of the multi-car accident.

Apparently a truck that was hauling PVC pipe slammed on his brakes which then lead to the chain reaction collision. An SUV hit the truck which was then hit by the smaller Ford which in turn was smashed by a semi from behind. Finally, a pick-up truck hit the semi from behind.

The week before the chain reaction collision a 47-year-old woman was killed when she was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer. The wreck happened at the same exit off of I-75. According to the state’s highway patrol, traffic slowed suddenly but the driver of the semi failed to notice the rapid slow down, plowing into the back of the SUV and killing the driver.