Posted on November 18, 2014 in Uncategorized

For the past several years, there has been a mass media campaign throughout the country about the dangers of texting and driving. Many safety advocates say the number of people who text and drive are at epidemic proportion, despite all the education and warnings to the public. Over 1 million of the auto accidents that occur every year were caused by someone using their cell phone.

There is now another alarming trend developing on the nation’s roads, and that is people who take selfies while their driving. A selfie is a photograph a person takes of themselves, typically with a smartphone, and posts to one of their social media accounts. Popular social media sites for selfies include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The person will often add a comment with their photo using a hashtag. A hashtag is a word or a phrase that follows the pound (#) symbol.

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 Posted on November 14, 2014 in Uncategorized

According to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the day before the Thanksgiving is the most traveled day during the extended holiday weekend. An increased number of drivers on the road has the potential of more car accidents and fatalities. For Texans planning holiday travel for Thanksgiving, it is best to keep these safety tips in mind:

• plan your route carefully;
• prepare for your trip to anticipate any delays; and
• allow plenty of driving time to reach your destination.

Drivers can benefit from a website sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), DriveTexas.org, which serves as a valuable trip-planning resource. The website provides information including:

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 Posted on November 11, 2014 in Uncategorized

One of the most common forms of premise liability lawsuits are slip and fall cases. These types of lawsuits can emerge from almost any setting. As the National Safety Council reports, nearly 10 million emergency room visits per year involve slip and fall cases.

Though the name might sound somewhat harmless, a slip and fall can result in broken bones, damaged ligaments, concussions, and many other injuries that may have long-lasting consequences. These often require expensive medical bills, time off of work, and physical rehabilitation before life for the victim returns to normal. Given the frequency and severity of these cases, many people are concerned about what exactly constitutes a slip and fall case.

What Should I Do If I Have Fallen?

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 Posted on November 06, 2014 in Uncategorized

Firefighters face dangers on the job every day – the intense heat from fires, as well as the risk of burns from the flames, becoming trapped from collapsing, burning buildings. There is also the risk from carbon monoxide exposure, as well as other deadly chemicals they may inhale or come in contact with. But now, a recent national recall announcement from a fire engine manufacturer exposes the dangers that one model of fire engine presents to not only the firefighters riding the truck, but to everyone else on the road.

Navistar Inc. has issued a recall notice for all of their International 4800 models which were manufactured between June 1999 and May 2002, which are also equipped with Fabco TC-200 transfer cases. According to the recall notice, there is a chance that the driveshaft of the truck can separate and cause the axle to lock up.

The recall comes as a result of an investigation of a deadly crash in which six people were killed, this past June. According to a report issued by the Montana State Police, the fire chief of the Three Forks Fire Department in Montana was driving a 2002 International fire engine on the highway when the drivetrain of the truck failed. The drivetrain of a vehicle powers its wheels. This failure caused a wheel on the truck to lock and the chief lost control of the truck, which crossed over the lane and slammed into an oncoming pickup truck, causing an explosion and fire.

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 Posted on November 04, 2014 in Uncategorized

Data analyzed from several different studies reveals that one in 20 U.S. patients receives an initial misdiagnosis. That adds up to at least 12 million people who go to the doctor’s office or some other medical facility for medical treatment each year that are misdiagnosed. Additionally, half of those medical errors are potentially deadly ones, such as a misdiagnosis and delay of treatment for an illness like cancer.

The analysis was conducted by a team of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine. The team pointed out in their analysis that the majority of studies focus on reducing and eliminating medical errors and incorrect diagnosis in hospital settings, but that the majority of patient diagnosis are first made in an outpatient setting.

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 Posted on October 23, 2014 in Uncategorized

A new study by motor club AAA confirms that driver education classes for teens decreases the number of car crashes they have and sharply decreases the number of speeding tickets they receive. The study comes at a time when fewer teens are participating in driver education classes. Although there has always been an assumption that these classes help make teens better drivers, until now, there has never been a study that confirmed that idea. According to National Center for Health Statistics, the number one killer of teenager is car accidents, killing more than 4,700 teens each year.

The most dangerous time of a teenager’s life is the first year they have their driver’s license. The crash rate of 16 year old drivers is almost double what the crash rate is for 18 and 19 year old drivers. In fact, the risk of a teen driver being in a car crash is three times the risk of an older driver. AAA utilized statistics from Oregon and Manitoba, Canada. The research team gathered their data from licensing tests, surveys, driving simulators and other records. For the Oregon portion of the study, researchers analyzed the records of 93,942 teenage drivers. According to the study, teens who completed driver’s education typically scored higher on their driving exams and also had “modest increases in knowledge over peers who took no formal training.”

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 Posted on October 21, 2014 in Uncategorized

A frequent sight at carnivals, fairs and children’s birthday parties are colorful bounce houses. The huge inflatable objects are popular with children, but just how dangerous are these items and what liabilities do the people who provide them at these events have when children are hurt?

According to national statics, the number of children injured from bounce houses every year is 11,000. The average age of the patient is 7 years old and the most common injuries are sprains or broken bones. Approximately 20 percent of the injuries involve the head or neck. However, the numbers of injuries that are occurring are increasing, as is the seriousness of the injuries. As one child health advocate put it, “If this were a disease, it would be considered an epidemic.”

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 Posted on October 14, 2014 in Uncategorized

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced a recall of over 2 million bean bag chairs after reports that two children have died in separate incidents.

According to the recall announcement, the zippers on the chairs are able to be easily opened by children, allowing them to crawl inside the chair. Once inside, a child can become trapped, choke or suffocate on the small foam beads that are in the bean bag chair.

Both of the children who died had reportedly opened the zippers of the bags and crawled inside. Each of the children suffocated inside the chair from lack of air and inhaling the beads. One victim from McKinney, Texas was a 13-year-old boy and the other victim was a 3-year-old girl from Lexington, Kentucky. Both of the victims’ bodies were discovered inside the zippered chairs.

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 Posted on October 10, 2014 in Uncategorized

A report recently released by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) lists a main roadway less than an hour away from New Braunfels as the second most congested road in Texas. Drivers who travel I-35 between State Highway 71 and U.S. 290 in Travis County that runs through central Austin are most likely not surprised by this information provided by the Austin Business Journal.

TxDOT calculated that I-35 commuters have faced more than 950,795 total hours of delay per mile in 2014. Truck delays reached 116,251 hours per mile, making this section of roadway the worst in the state for commercial traffic. The high volume of traffic delays can lead to increased accidents on the road and has proven to result in high costs. The tallied congested cost totals $196.1 million annually.

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 Posted on October 07, 2014 in Uncategorized

Getting injured at work is an unfortunate and common reality for many Americans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 3 million accidents resulting in serious injury were reported throughout the country in 2012.

For any employee, getting injured can be a nightmare. Not only must workers endure the physical pain from the accident and subsequent treatment, but facing time off of work can also be a daunting task.

To the benefit of an injured employee, work-related accidents are often covered by workers’ compensation laws and insurance. These provide the means to cover life expenses, as well as medical bills.

The first step any employee should take after a work-related injury is to report the accident to a supervisor. This is an important part of establishing that the injury was directly related to the work environment.

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