“NSC issues fatality estimates for major holiday periods to draw attention to the need for drivers to exercise safe driving practices, especially when a significant number of drivers are expected to be traveling on our roadways and highways,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO.

• Refrain from all cell phone use – both hands-free and handheld – behind the wheel
• Always remember to wear your seat belt and place children in age-appropriate safety seats
• Allow plenty of travel time to avoid frustration and diminish the impulse to speed
• Drive defensively and exercise caution, especially during inclement weather
• Avoid driving while drowsy
• Don’t drink and drive – even moderate consumption of alcohol impairs reaction time and driving judgment

This month, the State of Indiana joined other states – like Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky– in passing new laws to protect people from “pill mills” when Governor Mike Pence signed Senate Enrolled Act 246 into law.

- Read the new Indiana Pill Mill Law online at the Indiana State Assembly website. -

Actions taken to stop greed in the health care industry and the harm that it causes should be applauded; let us hope that the new statute works to protect future potential victims of these infamous Pill Mills.  Particularly since these places have become more and more popular in our part of the country as other states have cracked down on their operations (like Florida, which has been known in past years as the country’s Pill Mill Capital.)

What is a Pill Mill?

A “pill mill” can be a variety of health care facilities:  sometimes a pill mill is located in a doctor’s office, sometimes it’s in a pain clinic or a therapy center.  These are places that often have the look and feel of providing legitimate medical care.

Whatever the location, the place becomes a profit center for its owners as it dispenses medications without respect for accepted medical practices or for state and federal law.  Public demand is high for certain kinds of medications, including pain pills like oxycodone.

- For details on how misuse of prescription drugs are causing so many deaths in this country today that it’s considered to be a national epidemic, read our prior post for details. -

What Does SEA 246 Do?

The new legislation essentially gives marching orders to various state organizations to do their part in cracking down on pill mill operations in the State of Indiana as well as working to help those who are victims of pill mills and suffering from issues related to prescription drug misuse or abuse.

1. It goes into effect on January 1, 2014
2. It gives the Indiana Attorney General’s Office the power to ask an Indiana Court for an injunction order to stop an owner of a “pill mill” which is violating controlled substance registration and control laws.
3. It puts a duty on the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to contribute to stopping pill mills by passing rules about: (1) standards and procedures for the attorney general to follow in accessing physicians’ records and inventory; and (2) standards and protocol for the prescribing of controlled substances.
4. Before it officially goes into effect, during the 2013 legislative interim, the Indiana Health Finance Commission is required to research and determine: (1) the issues concerning pharmacy programs designed to take back and dispose of old and expired prescription drugs; and (2) the use of methadone and opioids in treatment programs and clinic settings.
5. It puts a duty on the Indiana Division on Mental Health and Addiction to give the Health Finance Commission numbers and data on opioid treatment in the state and to immediately begin a study on the issues of treatment and recovery from prescription drug use addiction.

What Doesn’t It Do?

This statute does work to fight against pill mills in Indiana; however, it does not provide for damages and justice to the individual or their family who have been harmed by serious injury or wrongful death after becoming victim to a misused powerful prescription drug. For these people, the courtroom and state law personal injury claims exist.

Every hockey fan recognizes the name of enforcer Derek Boogaard — and many recall his tragic death at the young age of 28, when Boogaard was discovered dead of an accidental pain med overdose in May 2011. After his passing, Boogaard was discovered to have been a victim of chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated blows to the head.

Repeated blows to the head: that is something no one can doubt Derek Boogaard experienced during his time playing pro hockey with the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers.

What is CTE? According to the BU Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE involves:

“… a history of repetitive brain trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau.  These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement.  The brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.”

Notice that symptoms are not readily apparent at the time of the brain injury. The horror of CTE is that it is slow to reveal itself — and it a very cruel disease when it does manifest in its victim.

From the press release of the Boston University School of Medicine (December 2011) which released the CTE diagnosis at the family’s request:

“Unfortunately this finding does not contribute to our knowledge of the risks of normal hockey play for most participants, as very few hockey players engage in as many fights as Boogaard,” said BU CSTE Co-Director and SLI Co-Founder Chris Nowinski. “Athletes and parents should know that anyone who experiences repetitive brain trauma may be at risk to develop CTE, but we are hopeful that risk is small in hockey.” Nowinski added that two other young non-NHL professional hockey players studied did not show signs of CTE at postmortem examination.

The VA CSTE Brain Bank contains more brains diagnosed with CTE than have ever been reported in the world combined. There are 99 specimens. McKee has completed the analysis of the brains of over 70 former athletes, and more than 50 have shown evidence of CTE, including 14 of 15 former NFL players, as well as college and high school football players, other hockey players, professional wrestlers and boxers. Early evidence of CTE has been found in individuals as young as 17. More than 500 living athletes have committed to donate their brain to the BU CSTE after death, including over a dozen former hockey players.

Notice the statistics that accompanied the Boston University December 2011 release:

• 50 of the 70 former athletes had signs of CTE
• 14 of the 15 former hockey players had signs of CTE
• there was evidence of CTE being present in athletes as young as 17 years old.

Perhaps there will be something more to honor the memory of Derek Boogaard than his stellar hockey career:  with this news of a wrongful death lawsuit being filed by his family, there may be more public awareness of the real dangers of playing sports where there is serious contact and “repeated blows” to the head (and brain).   Teenagers playing hockey, as well as football, or wrestling, are vulnerable to CTE.

We posted last week about a study which confirmed that teenagers playing sports will try and play through an injury and this creates an even greater duty for coaches, teachers, and other adults to carefully monitor all young athletes that are involved in any contact sport where their head may be injured or hit. Hopefully, the reality of Derek Boogaard and other fine athletes can serve as an important warning to all of us.

Consider this list of professional athletes who have been victim of this brain disease as a result of being excellent at their sport:

Professional Football
Lew Carpenter
Lou Creekmur
Dave Duerson
Shane Dronett
Cookie Gilchrist
John Grimsley
Chris Henry
Terry Long
John Mackey
Ollie Matson
Tom McHale
Joe Perry
Junior Seau
Justin Strzelczyk
Andre Waters
Mike Webster

Professional Wrestling
Chris Benoit
Andrew “Test” Martin

Professional Hockey
Reg Fleming
Rick Martin
Bob Probert
Derek Boogaard

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and this year, both the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration as well as state agencies across the country and private safety advocacy groups are working together to build public awareness regarding keeping motorcycle drivers and motorcycle riders safe from harm on the road.

As we’ve reported in prior posts, riding motorcycles is one of the true feelings of freedom that can be experienced today but it comes with a higher risk of injury and death. This year, the issue of motorcycle helmets and state law requirements for wearing helmets will likely heat up, since Indiana and Illinois have less stringent helmet laws than other states in the country.

Why? Not only is there a greater likelihood of fatality in motor vehicle accidents where a motorcycle is involved, the Centers for Disease Control statistics show that there is also a higher risk of permanent disability as over half (50%+) of motorcycle injuries involve either the head/neck or the leg/foot.

According to the National Institute of Health,

From the May 2013 press release from NHTSA, along with announcing the May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month Campaign, comes the following safety suggestions:

For motorcyclists:

• Never ride impaired or distracted.
• Obey traffic laws, wear DOT-compliant helmets and other protective gear.
• Make yourself visible by wearing bright colors and using reflective tape.
• Avoid riding in poor weather conditions.
• Use turn signals for every turn or lane change, even if you think no one will see it.
• Combine hand signals and turn signals to draw more attention to yourself.
• Position yourself in the lane where you will be most visible to other drivers.

For drivers:

• Never drive distracted. Doing so can result in tragic consequences for motorcyclists.
• Allow a motorcyclist a full lane width. Although it may seem that there is enough room in the traffic lane for a motor vehicle and a motorcycle, the motorcycle needs the room to maneuver safely. Do not share the lane.
• Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic. This allows motorcyclists to anticipate traffic flow and find a safe lane position.
• Because of its smaller size, a motorcyclist can be hidden in a vehicle’s blind spot. Always check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane of traffic and at intersections.
• Turn signals on motorcycles are not the same as those on motor vehicles – motorcycle signals are usually not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off. Allow enough time to determine the motorcyclist’s intention before you proceed.
• Remember that road conditions that are minor annoyances to motorists can pose major hazards to motorcyclists. Motorcycle riders may change speed or adjust position within a lane suddenly in reaction to road and traffic conditions such as potholes, gravel, wet or slippery surfaces, pavement seams, railroad crossings, and grooved pavement.
• Allow more following distance, three or four seconds, when following a motorcycle so the motorcycle rider has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.

A new study was released this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Washington, D.C., entitled “I Can’t Miss the Big Game: High School (HS) Football Players’ Knowledge and Attitudes about Concussions.“ (Abstract available online here.)

It’s an important piece of research because it reveals the dedication of high school football players to their team, their school, and their sport — and it shows the need for coaches, staff, and others supervising high school sports to understand that there is a great need to protect these young players from traumatic brain injuries sustained while playing or practicing high school football.

Bottom line, the news here is that kids will keep playing football despite a real danger of serious head injury – and therefore, the duty on others to protect these players from themselves is greater than may have been previously understood.

From the news release accompanying the report this week:

“These attitudes could leave young athletes vulnerable to injury from sports-related concussions,” said study co-author Brit Anderson, MD, pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

“Despite their knowledge, many athletes in our sample reported that they would not tell their coach about symptoms and would continue to play,” Dr. Anderson said. “A small percentage even responded that athletes have a responsibility to play in important games with a concussion.”

Schoolteachers, team coaches, school staff: all those connected with high school football, both private and public, have a duty to protect those students during practice and while playing games on the football field.  This report underscores the legal duty that these adults have to protect these children from injury — with this new research, something that many parents know about teenagers comes clear:  the teenager may be in need of protection – not just from externalities but from themselves, too.

Consumer Reports has issued its research findings into the ground turkey sold in grocery stores all across the country, under any number of labels, and revealed that most of the ground turkey it found was contaminated with stuff that can make people ill.

Ground Turkey Sold in Stores Likely Filled With Bacteria and Disease-Causing Organisms

It’s causing a big national news alert today, where the Consumer Reports findings are being shared with the public as a warning against considering ground turkey safe to eat.  Not only did the 257 samples tested by Consumer Reports have OVER 50% CONTAINING FECAL BACTERIA (and yes, that is what you think it is) but OVER 90% HAD DISEASE-CAUSING ORGANISMS in it.

From their news release:

You can read the details of this Ground Turkey Report online at the Consumer Reports web site or get the details in the June issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Image:  CDC photo of E Coli bacteria – found on 60% of the Ground Turkey tested by Consumer Reports

What is going on here? According to Consumer Reports’ scientists, this is just the tip of the iceberg in a food industry problem regarding feeding antibiotics to poultry and farm animals destined for human consumption:

“Our findings strongly suggest that there is a direct relationship between the routine use of antibiotics in animal production and increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria on ground turkey. It’s very concerning that antibiotics fed to turkeys are creating resistance to antibiotics used in human medicine,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Group at Consumer Reports. “Humans don’t consume antibiotics every day to prevent disease and neither should healthy animals.  Prudent use of antibiotics should be required to stem the public health crisis generated from the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics.”

If you or a loved one may have suffered food poisoning from ground turkey, then get medical attention of course and remember to save invoices, wrappings, and other documents that may serve as evidence in any claims you may assert in the future for personal injury damages due to contaminated and dangerous ground turkey.

May 2013 is National Drowning Prevention Month and across the country many different campaigns are underway to make people more aware of the risks of drowning, particularly for children and kids out of school for the summer.

How serious is the risk of drowning in the United States today? From the National Drowning Prevention Alliance comes these facts:

• Drowning is the second-leading cause of death to children ages 1-4 in the United States.
• Drowning is the number one cause of death to children ages 1-4 in most southern states.
• In many cases, drowning is a silent event, without splashing or a call for help.
• In most areas of the country, the majority of child drownings occur in backyard pools & spas.

Image: Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control offer the following strategies for avoiding this type of tragic injury in natural water (lakes, etc.):

1. Learn to swim.
2. Watch swimmers in or around the water.
3. Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
4. Use Buddy Systems and Lifeguards.
5. Heed warning flags.
6. Know the terrain.
7. Avoid rip currents.
8. Use life jackets.
9. Avoid alcohol.
10. Learn boating safety.
11. Know the weather.

Drowning deaths are fast and often silent.  All too often, young people and small children are victims.

Adults who are caretaking youngsters near bodies of water need to be vigilant, and aware of legal duties that may exist for them to protect against drowning dangers in their roles of teacher, coach, camp counselor, etc. Swimming and water sports are fun but safety must always come first.

Distracted driving remains a real concern for everyone dealing with car crashes and motor vehicle accidents in this country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, distracted driving is the cause of 9 deaths every day in the United States and the reason that another 1060 people suffer serious injuries daily in car crashes.

The CDC (referencing federal data) breaks down “distracted driving” into 3 different kinds of distraction:

• Visual: taking your eyes off the road;
• Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and
• Cognitive: taking your mind off what you are doing.

Drivers can be distracted in many different ways.  Eating fast food while driving on a road trip counts as distracted driving.  Talking on a cell phone can distract a driver and cause a crash, as well as texting.

However, other things offered in late-model cars also help distract drivers from the road: things like navigation systems and in-car WiFi devices are also contributing to distracted driving accidents.  Each year more “intelligent vehicle technologies” are being developed: each new addition to a dashboard that invites the attention of a driver can also increase the danger of a crash because of the driver not paying enough attention to driving the vehicle.

NHTSA Voluntary Guidelines Announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

Today, the federal government announced new guidelines for U.S. car makers to follow in designing dashboard gizmos that drivers checking as they drive: things like phones and map navigation aides.  Ray LaHood, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation made the announcement:

“Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic that has devastating consequences on our nation’s roadways,” said Secretary LaHood. “These guidelines recognize that today’s drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need. Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives.”

“The new study strongly suggests that visual-manual tasks can degrade a driver’s focus and increase the risk of getting into a crash up to three times,” said David L. Strickland, NHTSA Administrator. “The new guidelines and our ongoing work with our state partners across the country will help us put an end to the dangerous practice of distracted driving by limiting the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and their attention away from the task of driving.”

An expose by the Associated Press brought shocking news not only to those victims and their families suffering in the aftermath of the West Fertilizer company explosion in Texas last week: it’s been a revelation to many who assume that the federal government watchdog agency OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration),  is making sure that workplaces are safe for American Workers.

Consider this:  according to the AP investigation, the last time that OSHA inspected that Texas fertilizer plant that blew up in such a huge and destructive explosion was in 1985.

That’s right:  over 20 years ago.

And it didn’t get more than a hand-slap at that point.

Now, while Mike Elk of the Washington Post points out that workplace safety, or the lack thereof, hasn’t received the media coverage it deserves since the days of Walter Cronkite and the 1968 Farmington Mine Explosion, it’s important that the American Public be aware that there are real dangers in many American work sites.

And just because your employer is legally required to obey the OSHA rules and regulations may mean little in the face of profit pressures and the grim reality that no federal inspections are realistically going to be happening, if the AP Expose of the West Fertilizer Plant means anything.  It’s not like workplace danger is a big news topic, so workers can depend upon news media watchdogs to help keep employers on the up and up.

Advocates are using the West Fertilizer Company explosion as a vehicle to bring attention to this real and very serious problem in our country today. Will Congress listen?  Will things change?  No one can know the answers to those questions right now.

Today, the reality is that workers in Indiana and Illinois, particularly those working in dangerous lines of work like construction, mining, or on the docks, need to be aware of the dangers inherent in these jobs and take precautions to keep themselves and their co-workers safe.  State inspections may help even if federal inspectors never appear.

And if there is a serious injury or wrongful death, the law does provide the legal avenue of a personal injury lawsuit for victims to seek justice.  Right now, those verdicts may be the only real weapon against dangerous working conditions – given the recent AP investigative expose.

This is National Work Zone Awareness Week, where efforts are made around the country to bring attention to the very real dangers that exist for workers who do their jobs by working on American roadways in work zones.

“As highway construction shifts into high gear, we’re asking all Americans to take roadway safety seriously and protect themselves and their passengers by paying attention and slowing down when driving through work zones,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “In April and year round, the men and women working to improve our nation’s highways and bridges deserve to do their work safely.”

Here’s a short video explaining the seriousness of this work danger from the Illinois Department of Transportation:

This week, the federal government announced 2013 National Work Zone Awareness week with a news release from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that included the following information:

• In 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, 587 people died in highway work-zone fatalities – an increase of 11 fatalities compared to 2010.
• 4 out of 5 victims in work zone crashes are actually drivers and their passengers, not the worker on the work zone.
• Today, in a typical 5 day work week, an average of 7 motorists and 1 worker are killed.
• Generally, crashes occur when drivers speed through a work zone or do not pay attention to the changing road conditions and run into other vehicles, highway equipment, or safety barriers or drive off the road completely.

It’s important to respect the dangers inherent in traveling through any work zone, but particularly those on our local roads especially in bad weather conditions.  Personal injuries and wrongful deaths in work zone crashes involving both workers as well as drivers and passengers moving through the work zone are tragedies that campaigns like this one are trying to prevent.   Be careful out there.

Today, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Office of the Inspector General’s Human Services Department entered Chicago’s Sacred Heart Hospital on West Franklin Boulevard and started making arrests.

Four Chicago Doctors, Hospital Owner, and Hospital Executive Arrested This Morning by FBI

Not of visitors, not of patients – no, in today’s federal operation the men arrested in Chicago were four doctors, one hospital administrator, and the owner of the hospital itself. The youngest man arrested is 57 years old, the oldest is age 75.

According to the press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, these six people have been charged with serious violations of federal law, for things like performing unnecessary procedures on patients so they could file for more money in claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Here are those arrested today, as identified in the Justice Department report:

EDWARD J. NOVAK, 58, of Park Ridge, Sacred Heart’s owner and chief executive officer since the late 1990s;
ROY M. PAYAWAL, 64, of Burr Ridge, executive vice president and chief financial officer since the early 2000s; and
DR. VENKATESWARA R. “V.R.” KUCHIPUDI, 66, of Oak Brook,
DR. PERCY CONRAD MAY, JR., 75, of Chicago,
DR. SUBIR MAITRA, 73, of Chicago, and
DR. SHANIN MOSHIRI, 57, of Chicago.

Sacret Heart Hospital: Long History With Chicago

You may recognize Sacred Heart Hospital as a small facility (119 beds) that has been serving Chicago since the 1920s. According to U.S. News and World Report.Sacred Heart is one of approximately 220 hospitals serving the Chicago area as a “… general medical and surgical hospital … accredited by the American Osteopathic Association.”

Image: CDC Image Library - Surgery

What Did These Doctors (and Hospital Administrators) Allegedly Do?

Chicago Has Been Victimized by Unacceptable, Shocking Actions by Health Care Providers

Physicians and hospitals are places of care, where loved ones are entrusted to professionals to mend their injuries and to heal their wounds, cure their diseases.  The actions outlined in today’s federal complaint shows actions that betray that trust — that slash at the credibility of the name of this facility itself: Sacred Heart.  Shame on those guilty of these bad acts.

However, there are others to consider here, as well.  People have been hurt here by greed — assuming that these allegations are proven true, then patients have received unnecessary treatment and elder nursing home residents have experienced unneeded trauma of being moved from their homes to the hospital in unwarranted scares.  These claims of injury will not be addressed in the Justice Department operation; once again, these victims of crime must look to the civil justice system of personal injury law for redress.

One More Example of The Distinction Between Criminal Justice Goals and Civil Justice Ability to Help the Victim

It is important to remember the need for that arm of justice in times like these, despite the criticisms of the personal injury lawsuit.  It is needed for justice to be done because the criminal justice system exists to do what the FBI did today: make criminal arrests based upon allegations of crimes to stop criminals from taking further action.  Its focus is on punishing wrongdoers; it is the civil system that focuses on helping the victim.  Consider the statements made today:

“These charges and the affidavit’s other allegations outline a kickback conspiracy to bribe doctors to refer patients to Sacred Heart where they would be treated in in an environment in which the quality of care and appropriate medical analysis were less important than maximizing the numbers of patients funneled into the hospital,” said Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

“The payment of kickbacks or bribes in exchange for the referral of Medicare or Medicaid patients, regardless of the form in which they are paid, is a crime,” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Region of HHS-OIG. “The Office of Inspector General will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate alleged illegal patient referral schemes and hold accountable those who seek to exploit vulnerable patients and the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

“Today’s arrests demonstrate our commitment to enforcing the laws intended to prevent abuses of the Medicare and Medicaid programs and to preserve the ability of those programs to provide appropriate medical services to the elderly and the needy,” said Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of investigation.

The number keeps getting bigger, depending upon which news report you read, but the latest reports are that Kia Motor Company, a part of the Hyundai Motor Company, is recalling around 2,000,000 vehicles sold here in the United States by the Korean car manufacturer because of concerns for dangers in a variety of areas. (The Detroit News’ tally is 2.2 million.)

According to recall information made public via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), thirteen models are covered in this huge recall, which is really covered in three separate recalls issued by the car company.   The problems all stem from issues in the electrical system and/or the airbags provided in the vehicles, and all these models are involved because the same parts are used in building all these different product options.

As of today:

• Hyundai Motor Company has recalled over 1.06 million vehicles for electrical problems.
• Kia Motor Company issued a separate recall for 623,000 vehicles.

Is Your Car Being Recalled?

According to the news releases issued by Hyundai or Kia, the following cars are subject to recall:

Hyundai models

• 2007-09 Accent
• 2007-10 Elantra
• 2011-2013 Elantra (air bag malfunctions)
• 2010-11 Genesis Coupe
• 2007-11 Santa Fe SUV
• 2011 Sonata sedan
• 2008-09 Tucson
• 2008-09 Veracruz SUV.

Kia Models

• 2007-10 Rondo
• 2007 Sedona
• 2011 Optima
• 2007-11 Sorento SUV
• 2010-11 Soul
• 2007-10 Sportage.

The Dangers That Caused the Recalls: Electrical System and Air Bag Malfunctions

“… condition could potentially result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, intermittent ability to remove the vehicle’s shifter from the park position, illumination of the “ESC” [Electronic Stability Control] indicator lamp in the instrument cluster, intermittent interference with operation of the cruise control feature, or intermittent operation of the stop lamps….”

In February, we posted about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration‘s new plan to investigate how dangerous motorcoach and bus travel is in the United States today.

At that time, FMCSA officially announced its investigation into bus crashes and people being hurt or worse after choosing to travel by bus and being injured in a bus crash.  The details about the investigation’s origins and the bus crash injuries that drew the attention of the federal government can be read here.

This week,  the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood, along with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro hosted a big conflab in Washington D.C. with representatives of motorcoach companies from around the country. The reason?  To discuss the safety of buses today and to push for more public awareness of safety issues in traveling by bus.

Along with the bus company people were other invitees of FMCSA:  travel agency representatives, tourist industry folk, and government officials at both the state and local level.  Law enforcement representatives were there too.

50 Federal Bus Safety Inspectors Roaming the U.S. Checking Motorcoaches and Buses for Dangers

One thing on the agenda:  the announcement that FMCSA has 50 safety investigators, specially trained in the aspects of bus travel and the dangers of motorcoaches, roaming the United States.  These Federal Bus Inspectors are looking into high risk motorcoach bus companies – and have been for awhile now.

“Safety is our highest priority and we are committed to keeping those who do not follow our safety rules off the road,” said Secretary LaHood. “Today’s announcement builds on the recent steps we have taken to create one standard of safety for all passenger travel.”

The federal crackdown on motorcoaches is already bringing results:  within the past 60 days, 15 bus companies (passenger carriers) have had their vehicles pulled off the roads by the FMCSA.

Fifteen companies in eight weeks is a telling tale of how danger bus travel really is in the United States right now.  Of these fifteen passenger carriers, 7 were labelled “imminent hazards” by the federal inspectors and 8 were labelled “unsatisfactory.”  There’s more:  during those same 8 weeks, working with state government safety officials, the FMCSA has found an additional 1500 violations of safety laws by bus drivers and bus maintenance.

“Through our stepped-up oversight of motorcoach companies and expanding outreach to consumers, the department will continue to raise the bar on motorcoach safety,” said Administrator Ferro. “Our work with the law enforcement community and our diverse stakeholders is to make passenger safety everyone’s number one priority and to prevent needless tragedies.”

Public Awareness of Safe Bus Travel:  the “Look Before You Book” Campaign

In tandem with its safety inspectors combing the country for bus dangers, FMCSA has implemented a media campaign to make people who are deciding whether to take a bus for a trip, or who are choosing between bus companies, to have needed facts on how to choose a safe bus carrier.

The “Look Before You Book” campaign includes an app that gives each bus company’s record of safety as tallied by FMCSA. It can be downloaded online here and it can be seen in the above image.

Additionally, the FMCSA offers a bus company safety checklist in different languages online. Before taking a bus trip, passengers are encouraged to check out the bus company they are considering using.

This month, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime will promote awareness of the rights and needs of crime victims across the country with “National Crime Victims’ Rights Week” from April 21 – 27, 2013.

Crime Victims Studies Reveal Certain Groups Targeted More Often Than Others

From federal analysis of crimes committed in the United States over many decades, the following facts have been revealed from statistical studies:

• Overall, crime is disproportionately committed by males (see “Homicide”).
• Some crimes (e.g., stalking, intimate partner violence, sexual assault), are predominantly committed by males against females (see “Stalking,” “Intimate Partner Violence”).
• Although crime tends to disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities (both as victims and offenders), most crimes are committed by whites against whites.
• Certain populations are disproportionately affected by crime, not necessarily because of the sheer numbers of victims but as a result of crime’s greater impact on these groups (see “Elder Victimization,” “Crime against Persons with Disabilities,” “Children, Youth, and Teen Victimization”).
• Young people (16-24) are the population group most victimized by crime. They also commit the most crimes (see “Children, Youth, and Teen Victimization”).

(To read the entire NCJRS Statistical Overviews Report, go here.)

Criminal Justice System Not Able to Fully Provide Justice to Crime Victims

The essence of the criminal justice system – from arrest to conviction and sentencing – is to find the wrongdoer who violated state or federal crime laws and punish this person for doing so.  Victims of crime do not take part in this process directly:  they do not set at the prosecutor’s table, they don’t argue to the judge or jury, they don’t negotiate plea bargains.

Groups exist to help crime victims get help for damages they have suffered as the result of a crime. In Indiana, for example, agencies offer help in filing compensation claims, getting emergency financial assistance, and support through victims’ groups and psychological counseling.

All of this is good and necessary.  However, the civil system offers many crime victims another avenue to seek justice: through personal injury lawsuits.  For many crime victims, it will be through the civil laws and personal injury lawsuits that justice fully and finally prevails.

Crime Victims Can Find Justice in Injury Lawsuits Filed Against the Perpetrator of the Crime — and Other Parties, Too

These injury lawsuits may be filed against the perpetrator: the same person (or persons) who is facing criminal action for committing a crime.  However, laws also exist on the books that provide remedies in the form of legal duties placed on other potential parties to the injury case.

For example, most states have passed bullying prevention laws to place duties on schools to protect students. In these instances, a victim of assault by a bully may have a personal injury claim against the school district as well as against the bully who physically hurt him (or her).

During National Crime Victims Rights Week, let’s remember to educate crime victims that their rights extend not only to seeing the person who did them wrong face punishment in the criminal system, these victims may have rights under personal injury law that offer justice, as well.

This morning, a young man named Austin Livesay, according to news reports, wasdriving his Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) along Interstate 70 when he drove off the road onto the shoulder, and as he moved the SUV back onto the highway somehow things went awry and the SUV tipped and rolled over several times. Luckily, Mr. Livesay escaped without serious harm.

Interstate 70 Rollover Reminds of Dangers of Rollover Crashes

However, this rollover today offers a great opportunity to shine some light on the real and continuing problem of rollover accidents in this country. And, unfortunately, many Americans are not as lucky as the Zionsville man who escaped his SUV rollover on Interstate 70 today with his life and non-life threatening injuries.

Risk of death in a rollover crash is 35%.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the risk of death in an accident that involves a rollover is a lot higher than other types of crashes. According to federal studies, rollover accidents are responsible for around 35% of deaths in passenger car accidents. Sadly, a high majority of these rollover victims died in a crash where they weren’t wearing a seat belt (69%).

Causes of Rollover Crashes — Type of Car, Road Conditions, Weather, and More

There are some kinds of vehicles that are notorious for rollovers:  for example, several years ago PBS’s Frontline reported that the Ford Explorer Sport Utility Vehicle was “…16 times as likely as the typical family car to kill occupants of another vehicle in a crash” and at that time, the Ford Explorer was the most popular SUV being sold.

Over the years, the risks of Pick Up Trucks, SUVs, and Minivans overall have become known as vehicles whose higher centers of gravity make them at a higher risk of rolling over while being driven on the road.

However, other things can contribute to rollovers too.  Rollovers can happen because of all sorts of things.

• Things like snow, ice, fog, and rain are weather hazards that can contribute to rollover accidents.
• How fast the vehicle is being driven can be a factor in a rollover crash.  According to the Department of Transportation reports, over 40% of fatal rollover crashes happened when the driver was speeding, and 75% of rollovers where someone dies happened where the speed limit was 55 MPH or higher.
• Driving while under the influence of alcohol has been shown to be involved in almost half of rollover crashes in the United States.
• Rural roads are more dangerous for vehicles that are at risk of rollovers.
• NHTSA reports that almost all rollover deaths (90%+) in single vehicle rollover crashes happened not in complicated traffic situations but instead when the driver is handling routine driver tasks like driving along a curve in the road.

If you have a vehicle that is designed with a higher center of gravity — be it a minivan, a pickup truck, an Sport Utility Vehicle — then it’s important for you to remain wary and alert to the special dangers of driving these rollover prone vehicles.  Wear your safety belt, don’t speed, and drive carefully in bad weather conditions.

Rollover Causes Outside the Driver’s Control

However, also be aware that driving these rollover- risky vehicles means that other factors outside of your control can put you at greater risk of rollover (and death).  Hazards on the road, other drivers’ bad actions (like forcing you into soft soil on the shoulder of a rural road, for example), improper maintenance of rental vehicle (low tire pressure, etc.), can mean that the actions or negligence of other parties may result in a rollover crash.

Improper design of the vehicle or the tire itself can also cause rollover crashes.

In these instances, victims of rollovers and their families will have legal claims against those who have contributed to the accident and its tragic results.  Serious personal injury and wrongful death damages will be available under state law for these rollover victims.

Be careful out there.

Right now, two pieces of legislation up in Indianapolis are gaining steam as they move through the legislative process, on the way to becoming new law for the State of Indiana.

In the State Senate, SB 2356 (introduced by Senators Oberweis and Sandoval) and in the House, HB 2573 (sponsored by Representatives Davidsmeyer and Wheeler) both work to do the same thing: up the speed that trucks, buses, and the rest of us can drive along rural highways with some exceptions. Those interstates in some counties would not get the new speed limit: Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, Lake County, McHenry County, and Will County will remain under the present Indiana speed limits even if the new law is passed.

What would the new law do?

Under the proposed legislation, the speed limit will be 70 MPH on rural interstates (outside the exempted counties). There’s more. The proposal would drop the limit for excessive speeding violations to 26 MPH (right now it’s 30 MPH) over the legal limit.

Right now, HB 2573 is before the House Rules Committee and its counterpart, SB 2356, remains before the Senate Transportation Committee.  You can track the bills online at Trakbill.com.

SB2356 – Synopsis

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides the maximum speed limit outside an urban district for any vehicle is (1) 70 miles per hour on any interstate highway; (2) 70 miles per hour for all or part of highways that are designated by the Department of Transportation, have at least 4 lanes of traffic, and have a separation between the roadways moving in opposite directions; and (3) 65 miles per hour for all other highways, roads, and streets. Provides that the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will may adopt ordinances establishing speed limits lower than these speeds. Permits the Department of Transportation and Toll Highway Authority to alter speed limits up to the new maximum speed limit (rather than up to 65 miles per hour).

HB 2573 – Overview

This bill “[a]mends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that outside the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will, the maximum speed limit outside an urban district for any vehicle is (1) 70 miles per hour on any interstate highway; (2) 65 miles per hour for all or part of highways that are designated by the Department of Transportation, have at least 4 lanes of traffic, and have a separation between the roadways moving in opposite directions; and (3) 55 miles per hour for all other highways, roads, and streets. Permits the Department of Transportation and Toll Highway Authority to alter speed limits up to the new maximum speed limit (rather than up to 65 miles per hour).”

April 2013 is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. It’s an important campaign as many people remain unaware of how dangerous it is to talk on the phone while driving – even if you are using a hands-free cell phone.

Employers need to be aware of their opportunity to contribute by instituting company wide bans of cell phone usage while driving. The National Security Council offers a manual to assist companies like bus lines and trucking companies adopt these kinds of programs here.

This is particularly important since there is no federal distracted driving cell phone ban and while some states have passed these laws, others have not: for employees that regularly cross state lines having a company policy can make a big difference.

As part of the month long campaign, the National Security Council has issued the following video to promote awareness of the dangers of distracted driving:

In June 2012, Congress passed the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and now the federal government is implementing this new law regarding federal spending on surface transportation.  MAP-21 impacts every state in the union with Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin together comprisingRegion 5.

The mission statement of Region 5 of MAP-21 is:

Our mission is to enhance citizens’ mobility, accessibility, and economic well-being through the development and management of public transport services that are comprehensive, affordable, efficient, reliable, safe, and environmentally sound.  We build sustainable partnerships through community planning support, technical assistance, grant provision, and project monitoring. In accordance with federal regulations and policies, we seek to achieve maximum productivity, exemplary professionalism, and exceptionally-responsive customer service.  As the Region V office of the Federal Transit Administration, we serve as a bridge between our national headquarters, local and regional service providers, and other transit stakeholders.

FMSCA Implementing MAP-21 as Senate Continues Highway Transportating Funding Law

This month, attempts by the House of Representatives to curtail MAP-21 were thwarted by the U.S. Senate when the budget cut made by the House was put back into the federal funding by the Senate in a vote that will continue MAP-21 as a 2 year plan bringing $109 billion to transportation funding.

One of the big impacts of MAP-21 is on the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) regulations that have been enacted regarding big rig, semi, tractor-trailer trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles (for details, see our earlier CSA posts).

In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 14, 2013, the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Anne Ferro, explained the following ways that MAP-21 was  being implemented by FMCSA, including:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability, or CSA is FMCSA’s compliance model to improve CMV safety and ultimately reduce large truck and bus crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our nation’s highways. CSA enables the Agency to identify high risk motor carriers and achieve improved levels of compliance with Federal commercial motor vehicle safety and hazardous materials regulations. Additionally, through increased operational efficiencies, CSA is enabling FMCSA and its State safety enforcement partners to identify and address compliance and safety deficiencies of a larger segment of the motor carrier industry than we did previously with less interruption to motor carriers’ business operations. Developed with an unprecedented level of stakeholder input, analysis, and planning, the Agency recently implemented enhancements to our Safety Measurement System (SMS) that reflect input collected from the comments of more than 19,000 carriers and 2,900 law enforcement personnel.

MAP-21 includes a number of statutory revisions and additional authorities needed to bring CSA to fruition. For example, MAP-21 provides the Agency with flexibility to allow an investigator’s credentials to be displayed in writing rather than in person. This will allow FMCSA and its investigators – with clear statutory authority to conduct enforcement interventions – to formally demand that a motor carrier provide records without having to travel to the motor carrier’s business location. This is vital to expanding FMCSA’s and our State partners’ enforcement repertoire to include off-site reviews and investigations and will increase the number of reviews that we conduct.

Trucking Industry Sees MAP-21 As New Tax on Trucking Industry in a Bad Economic Time

Trucking industry experts are estimating that MAP-21 will burden the trucking industry with billions of dollars in additional taxation. How?  Hidden things like the new law’s requirement that trucking companies wanting to hire other carriers will be required to start a new company in order to be legally shielded from carrier liability resulting from arranged transportation.

State and Local Governments Concerned that MAP-21 Brings Financial Burden On Local and State Budgets

By requiring new roads in state and local transportation systems, as well as requiring roadways conform with federal standards, MAP-21 brings a big worry to many local and state jurisdictions on how they are to pay for these new things.  Oregon’s Department of Transportation, for example, was quoted as “scrambling” to meet the new MAP-21 requirements.

The Congressional Budget battles are far from over.  Financial concerns over implementing MAP-21 have been raised for over two years now and in today’s troubling economic times these money issues will undoubtedly be raised in the future.  However, as of this month, MAP-21 is still alive and well and moving forward to impact commercial trucking in this country and the duties imposed upon trucking companies to keep their operations safe for all of us.

INDIANA DOCTORS FACE LOSS OF MEDICAL LICENSES FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTIONS: WAGONER CLINIC DOCTORS FACE SUSPENSION OVER PAIN MEDS

The NWI Times investigates how the trucking industry impacts the local area, and in the latest series of NWI Times reports, written by Marc Chase and published on May 12, 2012, entitled “Industrial colossus: Region heavy truck companies generate millions in revenue,” the investigation delves into how important the trucking industry is to the local economy.

According to the NWI Times report, the northwest region of the State of Indiana receivesapproximately $3.2 billion in sales revenue from trucking (including freight hauling and logistics and its relationship between big semi / big rigs; railways; air and water freight) as well as the benefit of tens of thousands of jobs being built to generate that revenue each year.

Which is something to think about as we all drive the Northwest Indiana roads with these huge tractor-trailer, semi trucks. These heavy monsters are carrying loads of all sorts of cargo, including lots of product from local steel mills as well as weighty materials for construction and building.

As you drive along a local interstate and think about how powerful these big rigs are driving alongside sedans, SUVs, and minivans, you’re right. Those big trucks are often carrying very heavy cargo, not boxes of Styrofoam pellets or cartons of stuffed animals.

Which means that we must all be very aware of the dangers of collisions between big rig semi trucks and any other vehicle. People often die in these sorts of accidents, unfortunately: the inequality of the weights between the vehicles alone can count for some fatalities.

For more information, see our earlier posts dealing with trucking accidents including:

• American Trucking Association Continues Fight Against New Hours of Service (HOS) Rule With March 2012 Filing in Federal Court. Big Surprise.
• Distracted Driving Guidelines Proposed to Car Manufacturers by Department of Transportation: Safety That Some Drivers May Not Like
• New NHTSA Study Shows Increase in Deaths Caused by Big Rig, Semi, Tractor-Trailer Truck Crashes on Our Highways

CSA 2010 is not news anymore.   The Compliance, Safety, Accountability program – or “CSA” – was a federally mandated overhaul of safety regulations for motor carriers driving on American roadways that was implemented across the country awhile back, in stages (region by region).

Instituted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), its goal is to increase the safety of both large commercial trucks (e.g., big rigs, semis, tractor-trailers) as well as commercial buses (think Greyhound or Trailways) so there will be less crashes and accidents and therefore, less serious injury and wrongful death involving commercial motor vehicles.

As we discussed back in January 2010, CSA 2010 expanded the current Safestat safety rating system where trucking companies are regulated in four categories (Driver, Vehicle, Safety Management, and Accident) to the new CSA system of seven (Unsafe Driving; Fatigued Driving; Driver Fitness; Controlled Substance and Alcohol; Vehicle Maintenance; Improper Loading/Cargo Securement; and Crash Indicator). (For more details, please read our prior post, “CSA 2010 – Saving Lives or Killing Businesses? Depends Upon Who You Ask.“)

CSA 2010 was a joint project undertaken by FMCSA and the various state regulatory agencies (e.g., Indiana and Illinois transportation agencies) that debuted in December 2010. As FMCSA describes it, CSA 2010 is a “…new nationwide system for making the roads safer for motor carriers and the public alike.”

Which suggests that the drivers of those large commercial trucks and commercial buses should have been instructed on the details of this “new nationwide system for making the roads safer” and that more than any other person on the roads, these drivers should know the details of CSA 2010. Right? Wrong.

New Study Reveals that American Truck Drivers Do Not Understand CSA 2010 Regulations

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has just released a report that investigated how CSA 2010 has changed the lives of commercial drivers. Lots of truck drivers were questioned by ATRI: the data in the report has been provided by 4,555 American truck drivers.  That’s a pretty big bunch.

Here’s what ATRI is reporting:  even today, after all the CSA 2010 hoopla on whether or not it should be passed, and after that, all the hurdles of getting CSA 2010 implemented, state by state, truck drivers still DO NOT KNOW what CSA is all about. And around 2/3 of these drivers are scared that they will get fired if they admit it to their employers.

From the ATRI news release, this quote from Ed Crowell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Motor Trucking Association:

“ATRI’s study clearly points out that motor carriers, state trucking associations and FMCSA collectively need to do more to educate drivers about CSA and what it does and doesn’t mean for their jobs.”

Exactly. One has to wonder how effective this hard-won change in safety standards can be, if the men and women operating these big machines do not know what’s what regarding these safety standards.  One also has to wonder who’s responsible for these drivers not being informed – whose duty is it to educate their employees (hint, hint) about these new standards?

Be careful out there!

The federal government is trying to protect Americans from being seriously injured or killed due to using tobacco products, and this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. One-third (30%) of all cancer deaths in this country are caused by tobacco products according to the Center for Disease Control – and the feds are, well, fed up with it. (For more on the federal government’s fight against the dangers of cigarettes, snuff, cigars, and the like, see our earlier post, “Federal Government Hammering Down on Tobacco Products – And You’re Invited to Help.”)

Big Tobacco Companies Sue the FDA Over New Warning Labels

These tobacco companies are fighting hard to stay in the marketplace, as usual.Recently, several of the Big Tobacco Companies (including R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, and Liggett) sued the Food & Drug Administration in federal court in an effort to stop the requirement that the new warning labels (which are very, very graphic) not be allowed.

The tobacco companies are suing the FDA for (1) violating their First Amendment rights (they assert the regulation is “compelled speech” and therefore unconstitutional) and for (2) assorted administrative agency law grounds.

Key here: they want the federal judge to halt the federal regulation requiring these new labels be on products by September 2012 until the lawsuit is concluded and its legal claims are resolved. Meaning, the tobacco company plaintiffs are seeking to delay the requirement that they put these scary warning labels on their products – even if they ultimately lose the lawsuit. Buying time, if nothing else.

An initial hearing has been set by the district court judge, Honorable Richard Leon, for September 21, 2011. It will be no surprise, least of all to Judge Leon, when his ruling is appealed.

For those interested in following the case, it can be found via PACER as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co et al v. FDA, Cause No. 11-01482 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The news in our area is filled with tragedy this week:  there is continuing national coverage (as well as YouTube videos) of the outdoor stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair last Saturday evening and there is local coverage of the tragic Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America plant explosion this morning in Hersher, Illinois.

At Work and At Play, Dangerous Conditions Result in Serious Injuries This Week

Latest reports have 5 workers hurt, with 2 workers seriously injured, in the blast that happened today while these folk were on the job in the NE Illinois gas works. All have been hospitalized and their current conditions are unknown.

News reports have five people dead as the result of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse with many of the crowd injured as a result of the 3-story stage falling to the ground, by some reports because of a sudden gust of wind. A doctor on the scene at the time of the tragedy gave his own personal account of the event, describing the stage as falling down “in slow motion” and that what he saw that day was “unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, USA Today is reporting that no state agency appears to have had responsibility for insuring that the Indiana State Fair facilities were safe for the people attending — it seems that not only did no agency take responsiblity for that duty,according to USA Today’s coverage, it may well be that no state agency had been given the legal duty to do so.

Legal Responsibility for Personal Injury Under State and Federal Law

Both federal law as well as state law protects workers on the job and people who attend popular events, like a concert during a state fair.  Workers’ compensation laws have been enacted in Indiana and Illinois to insure that workers hurt on the job are protected, and federal laws are also on the books to insure workplace safety.  The gas plant in Illinois will have state workers’ compensation claims filed by the injured victims to face was well as federal agency investigations into why that explosion occurred.   If tragedy hits and one of the blast victims dies, then wrongful death claims under Illinois law can be pursued.

However, traditionally workers have been better protected on the books that concertgoers, especially to a state event.  Governments are usually protected by something called “governmental immunity” under state and federal law, which means that state agencies cannot be sued for personal injury claims unless the state legislature allows it.  Additionally, there are defenses in the law for “Acts of God,” where mysterious winds or other natural events that cannot be predicted nor controlled will bar holding any party legally responsible.

In the Indiana State Fair matter, things are sticky right now.  Were the high winds an Act of God?  Will sovereign immunity claims bar any wrongful death claims by the decedents’ loved ones or estates?  Will the manufacturers, the concert promoters, the contractors who assembled the stage itself be liable for damages?  It’s not clear today, but questions are being asked – not just by personal injury lawyers but by reporters at Time Magazine and Rolling Stone.

Today, the American Trucking Association issued a press release that gives the safety tips that the “America’s Road Team Captains” have devised, offering safety tips on driving the highways this Holiday Weekend, given their years of experience and their ranking as the country’s elite drivers of large commercial vehicles.

As a law firm representing plaintiffs who have suffered serious injury or wrongful death in all manner of roadside tragedies (car accidents, motorcycle accidents, big rig crashes, SUV wrecks, minivan accidents, etc.), all efforts to educate the public on safety measures and to warn American citizens on the dangers that can be particular to a holiday weekend like the Fourth of July holiday we are all about to enjoy is to be applauded.

America’s Road Team is made up of the top truckers in the country.  These drivers know what it means to drive American highways – and here’s what they have to suggest:

1. Prepare your vehicle for long distance travel – Check your wipers and fluids. Have your radiator and cooling system serviced. Simple maintenance before you leave your home can prevent many of the problems that strand motorists on the side of the road.
2. Properly inflate your tires – Properly inflated tires can save up to 4 percent in fuel mileage, while over inflation can lead to tire failure. Keep your vehicle running smoothly and efficiently by routinely checking your tire pressure.
3. Drive the speed limit – Lower speeds not only save money at the pump, they make you safer on the road. By maintaining a constant moderate speed, drivers can save up to 30 percent on fuel and are better able to react to road conditions and other drivers – so slow down!
4. Large Trucks Have Blindspots – Be aware that tractor-trailers have large areas around their trucks where cars are not visible. If you can’t see the truck driver in his or her mirrors, then the truck driver can’t see you.
5. Keep extra water in your vehicle – Just as you keep a winter driving kit in your vehicle, it is important to be prepared when driving during the summer months. Keep plenty of extra water, sunscreen and non-perishable snacks in car in case you are stranded.
6. Wait until parked to use cell phones – Driver distraction is a major cause of traffic accidents. Even just two seconds of distraction time doubles the chances of an accident.
7. Do not cut in front of large trucks – Remember that trucks are heavier and take longer to make a complete stop, so avoid cutting quickly in front of them.
8. Honor the Right of Way – On entrance ramps, remember highway traffic has the right of way; maintain proper speed, use smooth merging techniques, and don’t slow down in front of a truck.
9. Road side emergency – Understand that big trucks cannot always stop to assist you, but most will use their radios to contact the police or highway patrol if they see you are in trouble.
10. Save fuel – To save fuel, take direct routes, minimize side trips, and keep a steady speed. Further, a well-tuned engine, properly inflated tires and reduced speed will result in noticeable fuel savings.

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

For the convenience of its clientele, Kenneth J. Allen & Associates offers five offices to serve those located in either the states of Illinois or Indiana.

The dangers of commercial drivers falling asleep at the wheel – something that is a regular topic on this blog – is getting national attention in the continued coverage of a discount-fare Sky Express bus that ran off I-95 near Richmond, Virginia, en route from Greensboro, North Carolina, to New York, killing four passengers and leaving driver Kin Yiu Cheung of Queens in jail in Hanover, Virginia’s Pamunkey Regional Jail.

May 31, 2011: Four Die in Sky Express Tour Bus Crash as Driver Falls Asleep at the Wheel

Mr. Cheung, a native of Hong Kong, has been charged with four (4) counts of involuntary manslaughter, all felonies, and one count of reckless driving (a misdemeanor). Four women on the bus died in the accident: Karen Blyden-Decastro (NY); Denny Estefany Martinez (NJ); Sie Giok Giang (PA); and Josefa Torres (NY).

What happened on that North Carolina road on May 31, 2011, isn’t in dispute: Kin Yiu Cheung was driving the big bus with its 59 passengers and fell asleep, causing the bus to crash into an embankment and tip over, coming to a stop on its side. Dozens of passengers were injured; four were killed.

It’s been reported that before the wreck, the bus driver was talking on his cellphone loudly enough for some passengers to hear him complain that he was tired and hadn’t had a chance to rest between bus trips.

Yesterday, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Joseph Ellis ruled “with regret” that Mr. Cheung would not be released on bail because of a problem in his proper residence address. Media reports have revealed two different addresses were given by the bus driver for his home: his commercial driver’s license has a Flushing, New York, address but his employer, Sky Express, Inc., has Elmhurst for his home.

March 12, 2011: Fourteen Die in World Wide Tours crash after Bus Driver Allegedly Falls Asleep at the Wheel

If this story sounds familiar, it should. Less than 90 days ago, on March 12, 2011, another tourist bus crashed in Connecticut after the bus driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel;in this instance, it was a World Wide Tours bus that crashed on a highway in New York City as passengers were returning to Chinatown from a trip to the Mohegan Sun casino. Fourteen (14) passengers died in the World Wide Bus crash.

The March tour bus crash was more gruesome than the May wreck: not only were more people killed, but the event was horrific – one victim was decapitated, another had his two arms severed, and everyone was terrorized in a mass of jagged metal as the bus was torn apart in the darkness, glass flying, after the bus driver lost control of the vehicle and it flipped onto its side and slid for thousands of feet before colliding with an exit sign post, which literally cut the roof off the bus as it slid to a stop.

Chinatown Buses Offer Cheap Travel – New York City’s Mayor Voiced Safety Concerns Before May 31st Wreck

Both these tragedies involve tour buses that offered cheap rates to passengers out of New York City’s Chinatown. After the March crash, New York City’s mayor went to the media voicing his concern over the safety of these bus trips. They ran older buses, and maybe they didn’t follow all the federal and state safety regulations. The New York Daily News reports that the competing Chinatown bus companies have been cited many times in the past two years for bus driver fatique.

Alert and Well-Trained Bus Drivers Are Key to Passenger Safety – Disrespecting HOS is Inexcusable

Hours of service regulations are mandatory for all commercial drivers because a sleepy driver of a bus or big rig can kill people. Sure, the HOS limits mean less profits for the bus line or trucking company – but they are there for a serious reason. HOS save lives.

Let’s hope that something is done about this cheap tour bus situation – and fast. The firm’s sincerest condolences to all those who were injured and died in these needed tragedies.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

For the convenience of its clientele, Kenneth J. Allen & Associates offers five offices to serve those located in either the states of Illinois or Indiana.

Last week (June 5 – 11) was National Tire Safety Week for the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and it’s no coincidence that this tire-awareness campaign is scheduled for the beginning of summer. Summer heat can cause tires to blow and accidents to happen.

According to the NHTSA, tires were responsible for 116,000 injuries and over 3,300 deaths on American roads during a four year time period (2005-2009). Experts believe that most of these injuries and fatalities could have been prevented if only the drivers had stopped to check their tires. Heat can cause tires to become extremely dangerous, especially when they don’t have the proper air pressure.

The NHTSA offers a free brochure for everyone to read or download that outlines how to make sure that your tires are okay for the hot summer roads.

Weak tires are especially dangerous when they are being driven on a big rig commercial truck.

Commercial trucks, with their weight and size, are always safety issues on American roads, and their tires are no exception. Blown tires on big rigs cause wrecks: not only can the truck driver lose control, but the flying tire and its debris on the roadway can cause hazards resulting in other vehicles crashing.

This week, the Tire Industry Association and Michelin Americas Truck Tires participated in National Tire Safety Week by offering fleet operators, tire shop managers, and truck maintenance pros a truck tire training video that goes into the details of making sure that the big trucks’ big tires are safe with an explanation of safety procedure for semi truck tires. The video is free, 18 minutes long, and entitled “Tire Shop Hazard Assessment.”

You can watch it here:

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

For the convenience of its clientele, Kenneth J. Allen & Associates offers five offices to serve those located in either the states of Illinois or Indiana.

Cargo theft does not get that much attention in the media, and many folk don’t know that it is a big problem – but it is. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stealing commercial shipments (computers and pharmaceuticals are popular targets) has become increasingly popular over the past five years.

The FBI has found that it’s become so lucrative to steal semi-truck cargo (as well as cargo on a train, or stored in a warehouse) that there are criminal enterprises organized to handle cargo theft around the country - and over the years, they’ve become more violent.

By 2011, joint task forces dedicated to cargo theft had been established between the FBI, state, and local law enforcement in five (5) national transportation hubs, includingChicago (the other four are Miami, El Paso, New York, and Memphis).

Until recent years, no one bothered to keep track of cargo theft. It was not a part of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and even now, we don’t really know how bad the problem is because the companies who have had their cargo stolen often keep quiet about it, because they don’t want the bad press and the higher insurance rates. So the estimate given by the FBI of $30 billion in cargo stolen each year in the United States may be a lowball.

Truckers and Cargo Theft

When a truck driver is the target of cargo theft, his rig may get stolen while he’s stopped for a meal or to catch a few hours sleep. However, truckers have been hurt in armed hijackings of their big rigs. In fact, during the 2011 FreightWatch supply chain survey, over 80% of those surveyed believe that cargo theft will be a continuing problem for the next five years, even more so than terrorism, and 74% reported that cargo theft was impacting their operations: some in a major way, others more moderately.

FreightWatch found that industry leaders opine that (1) shipments becoming more valuable; (2) the economy tanking; and (3) cargo theft being a “low risk, high reward” type of crime are the main reasons that truckers are seeing an increasing danger of cargo theft.

Bloomberg Businessweek Calls It The 21st Century Version of Highway Robbery

Last week, Daniel Grushkin covered this story in an article published by Bloomberg Businessweek entitled, “Cargo Theft: The New Highway Robbery,” and described how in June 2009 a trucker took an afternoon break at a Tennessee truck stop, on his way from Louisville, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee with a full load of $10 million worth of pharmaceuticals. While he was in the shower, the big rig was stolen.

The Businessweek story is worth the read, as it described how that one theft was enough to endanger the country’s drug supply. One single big rig.

Americans need to know that cargo theft is a major problem, because of the impact of the thefts – like this one news story provides. However, Americans also need to know that anytime they see a cargo truck on the road – big, moving fast – that there is a possibility that the semi-truck is being driven by thieves. Who may or may not know how to drive that truck very well, and who clearly do not care about abiding with federal and state trucking regulations.

We all need to be aware that cargo thefts are happening, and if you see something suspicious regarding a loaded tractor-trailer truck, trust your gut and call the cops, have law enforcement check it out.

If you’re at the IHOP and you think there is something hinky about the way some guys are checking out an 18-wheeler, then you might well be a witness to cargo theft.

Be careful out there.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

For the convenience of its clientele, Kenneth J. Allen & Associates offers five offices to serve those located in either the states of Illinois or Indiana.

Indianapolis saw another instance of a child almost drowning in a swimming pool when a young boy celebrating his 13th birthday was found floating near the bottom of a neighborhood pool and who now remains in critical condition (as of Tuesday, May 31st) at Riley Hospital. Our prayers go out to this boy and his family and we hope that he recovers fully from this tragic accident over the Memorial Day Weekend.

So far this year, there have been 55 fatalities and 63 close-calls across the country involving swimming pools.   It’s in hopes of keeping these numbers low as we enter the summer season that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has re-upped its “Pool Safely: Simple Steps Save Lives” campaign for another year.

The CPSC is promoting a national educational effort try and protect kids from swimming pool drowning accidents, as well as injuries due to entrapment incidents in both swimming pools and spas.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has also released its latest statistics on swimming pool accidents involving children, which include the following:

• An annual average of 383 pool and spa-related drownings for children younger than 15 occurred from 2006 to 2008; about 76 percent of the reported fatalities involved children younger than five.
• An estimated average of 5,100 pool or spa emergency department-treated submersions for children younger than 15 occurred each year from 2008 to 2010; children younger than five represented 79 percent of these-injuries.
• Children between the ages of one and three (12 to 47 months) represented 66 percent of these fatalities and 64 percent of the injuries.
• About 72 percent of the fatalities from 2006 through 2008, and 55 percent of the estimated injuries from 2008 through 2010 that involved children younger than 15 occurred in a residential pool or spa; children under five made up the majority of incidents at residential locations, with 84 percent of fatalities and 61 percent of injuries, respectively.
• Tragically, based on reported statistics, 96% of victims involved in a submersion incident will die. Fatalities usually occur the day of the drowning event (72%). For the victims who survive the event, most will succumb to their injuries within a week (24%). Only 4% of near drowning victims will survive beyond a week, and many will have severe injuries and require intensive medical care.
• There were no reported entrapment fatalities for 2010. CPSC received three reports of entrapment injury incidents during 2010.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

For the convenience of its clientele, Kenneth J. Allen & Associates offers five offices to serve those located in either the states of Illinois or Indiana.

On May 23, 2011, the American Trucking Association gave its opinion on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s proposal that all big rigs and semis (motor carriers) have electronic gizmos installed that will automatically record the truck driver’s hours of service (HOS). You can read the ATA documentation and its commentary to FMCSA here.

Back in February 2011, we posted about the FMCSA’s release of its proposed regulationthat would legally require these electronic gizmos that will record the number of hours that a truck is in service (and therefore, the number of hours the truck driver is on the job, driving the semi or big rig). In that post, we discussed what Hours of Service were, and how these electronic devices (“Electronic OnBoard Recorders“) are expected to work.

You can read the FMCSA press release that was issued back in February here.

American Trucking Association Approves the Proposed Regulation – But Not Without Reservations

The ATA is going along with the new gizmos, but it’s going on the record about things the trucking industry isn’t happy about, which include:

• their position that the FMCSA proposal fails to meet Congressional requirements;
• the device needs more security in proper driver identification and authentication;
• the device needs better standards to make sure they aren’t altered (tampering);
• there should also be documents that can be deemed to meet compliance.

Will we see big rigs, semis, and tractor trailers with automatic devices that keep track of how long that truck driver has been operating his or her rig?  Yes.  Is the fight over on when that is going to happen?  No.

Those little pills designed to treat the small segment of the male population that suffers from erectile dysfunction are actually used by many more men – it’s an industry with over $5 billion in annual sales in the United States alone.

However, warning: any man using Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra (the most popular erectile dysfunction treatments) or any other PDE-5 inhibitor — could be risking losing his hearing, according to a new research study that links these pills to a risk of hearing loss in men.

Permanent deafness, total or partial, all from taking one little blue pill.

The study confirms 47 cases of hearing loss and Viagra was found to be responsible for over 50% of them. Of all the cases, the men lost their hearing within 24 hours of taking the pill. It has been published by the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc. in their journal, The Laryngoscope.

Of course, this really isn’t big news: the FDA warning on the label tells users that permanent hearing loss is a risk, and that comes after the 2005 warning was placed onthese types of pills that there was also a risk of vision loss (“non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy”).

Some are dismissing the numbers as low risk. However, the problem may be more widespread than previously believed, since this research study had over 250 other cases of hearing loss that they didn’t include in their findings, for various reasons. Over in Great Britain, it’s serious enough of a concern that their experts are asking that the UK products get a hearing loss warning asap.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave a public attaboy to Indiana’s governor Mitch Daniels in a media statement where Indiana was recognized as the 32nd state to enact laws that make texting while driving illegal.  (It’s a victory of sorts for the feds, as Secretary LaHood is actively pushing states to pass laws like this as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s campaign against distracted driving.  For more information, check out the Transportation Department’s distracted driving website,Distraction.gov.)

July 2011: Indiana Texting While Driving Ban Goes Into Effect

In Indiana, starting July 1, 2011, you can be ticketed if you are caught texting behind the wheel – and this is going to make liability more serious in a personal injury civil matter if you’re in a car wreck while you’re doing it.

Indiana’s new law makes texting while driving illegal with a maximum fine of $500.  It also makes it against the law for Indiana drivers under 18 to use cell phones at all.  Period.

What about in Illinois?

This is old news in Illinois, which was the 17th state to enact a texting while driving ban. Governor Pat Quinn signed that into law back in August 2009.  In Illinois, if you text, surf the web, email, etc. while driving, it is a $1000 fine under Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2.

NBC Dateline features Attorney Kenneth J. Allen in its program "The Great Escape" which aired Friday, May 13th about sinus doctor Mark Weinberger and his flight from justice. As Pulitzer Prize winning writer and Vanity Fair contributor Buzz Bissinger describes it "when Ken Allen gets onto a case he is a dog with a bone. He is not going to let go."

Everyone recognizes those Emergency Alerts on television – suddenly, your program is interrupted by a series of beeps that are followed by an announcement that you’re not to worry: it’s just a test of the emergency announcement system.  This is a Test.  This is only a Test.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Debuts Emergency Alert System for Your Phone.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has just announced that it will be providing Americans with a text message emergency alert system.  It’s named the “Personal Localized Alerting Network” or PLAN. (You can get all the details in the FEMA May 2011 Press Release.)

Under PLAN, cellphone customers who opt for this service and have an enabled mobile device will be able to get text messages targeting their location (geographic region) and alerting them with details regarding any imminent threats in their area.  Think tornado.  Think flood.

FEMA is using cell towers in the various locations to target the cellphones in that location.  There will be 3 kinds of alerts sent through the chosen cell towers:

1. alerts from the President;
2. alerts involving threats to life and safety; and
3. Amber Alerts.

Right now, the agency is mandating that the technology be available nationwide by April 2012.  AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have already announced that they will start offering PLAN to their customers shortly.  (It’s a free app.)  New York City will run the beta– Mayor Bloomberg has already announced that PLAN will be available to New Yorkers before Christmas 2011.

Legal Impact Still Unknown in Injury Cases

Yes, this is a good idea.  However, will it have any impact on duty under the law?  If your cellphone got a text message that a tornado was in the vicinity, then will insurance defense attorneys argue in the future that you’re the proximate cause of failing to get out of harm’s way in time?

Yesterday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) debuted a new page on its federal agency web site that gives the American public ready access, at no cost, to FMCSA orders and decisions in its trucking industry civil penalty and safety rating cases.

Along with the decisions themselves, FMCSA provides background information and FAQs (frequently asked questions) to help its readers researching what FMCSA has been doing here, and the procedures and bases for its legal decisions.

It’s all about making the federal agency’s oversight of the American trucking company and the American truck driver more transparent – so everyone can better understand the hows and whys of FMCSA’s compliance and enforcement process.

Today, anyone who wants to do so can search the FMCSA website and read the full text documents of instances covering 2009 to date, where motor carrier companies had contested the initial penalties assessed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or where the company has challenged an assessed FMCSA violation.

For example, you can download the March 2011 Arbitration Order involving Robillard Trucking Inc. from the new database here.

The new resource is located on the web as part of the FMCSA website, where there is already lots of information to review, such as the section entitled “A&I Online – Motor Carrier Analysis.” There’s lots to be found there, and it’s worth your while to surf the new addition for a bit.

For example, you can check the overall state safety rating of all 50 states, or zero in on your particular state, say Illinois or Indiana. Have a particular truck or carrier you’re concerned about?  You can check them out too.

Beginning today and for the next two days, the National Transportation Safety Board is hosting a national forum where all sorts of trucking professionals — safety experts, trucking industry regulators from state and federal agencies, representatives from trucking companies — are all coming together to discuss the level of safety for American roadways where big rigs and commercial buses, along with other big, heavy commercial vehicles, share the lanes with the rest of us. Of particular note:  why recommendations that have been out there for ten or twenty years have never been implemented.

You can watch the forum online as it happens here via live webcast at the NTSB site.

This is a big deal.  This week, at the NTSB Conference Center in Washington, D.C., professionals from all aspects of the trucking industry will convene to discuss a number of issues.  On the agenda are key topics such as:

• CARRIER OVERSIGHT - To examine the determination of carrier fitness, including the new entrant screening process and other Federal, state, and industry oversight initiatives
• TRUCK OPERATIONS – To discuss electronic on-board recorders, hours of service, safety culture, and vehicle size and weight
• DRIVER SAFETY – To discuss driver crash risk factors, barriers to making safe choices, and approaches for increasing driver safety
• DRIVER HEALTH – To examine the state of driver health and wellness programs, and the progress toward comprehensive medical oversight for interstate commercial drivers
• ENHANCED VEHICLE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY: CRASH AVOIDANCE – To discuss electronic stability control, collision avoidance systems, and emerging crash prevention technologies.

At this public forum, expect the fur to fly.  As expected, safety advocates will be pointing fingers at trucking companies who they will argue have been slow to implement needed safety regulations.

One critical fight will be whether or not Congress should give individual states (Indiana, Illinois) the authority to raise weight limits within their state lines for trucks on interstate highways to nearly 100,000 pounds as well as the authority to extend acceptable truck lengths within their jurisdictions.   Safety advocates are adamant that either change means more danger on the roads and therefore, more fatal crashes.  The bigger and the heavier a vehicle is, the harder it is to stop and maneuver.

Of course, proponents of Congress making this change involve various members of the trucking industry.  They are arguing that these changes will save money and help the economy.  It will cost them less to move cargo if they can have heavier loads on bigger trucks.

The cat is out of the Food & Drug Administration’s bag:  the media is reporting that only around 50% of drugs approved as safe for Americans to take were ever submitted to comparative effectiveness testing at the time of their approval by the FDA, and approximately 75% of these new drugs had this information available where alternative treatment options existed.

This information was revealed in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), appearing in  its May 4, 2011 issue: Nikolas H. Goldberg, Sebastian Schneeweiss, Mary K. Kowal, Joshua J. Gagne. Availability of Comparative Efficacy Data at the Time of Drug Approval in the United States. JAMA, 2011; 305 (17): 1786-1789 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.539.

What does this mean?

As the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International points out this week in an article from Natural News entitled, “FDA approved Big Pharma drugs without effective data,” the FDA approved a huge (HUGE) amount of drugs for all of us to trust and take when they didn’t have the proper data to support that decision, specificially “comparative effectiveness data.”

Comparative effective data, the article explains, compares the new drug against other treatments to determine which is best. Which is safer? Which works best? In other words, is the Big Pharma drug the best one for the particular problem that the person is experiencing?

If that hints that profit would be impacted by this, you’re right.

Yesterday, Honda voluntarily recalled a massive amount of its products — cars that have been sold and on the road for years — as 833,000 more Hondas and Acuras were recalled for faulty airbags.

It’s Honda’s 3rd airbag recall, bringing the total to 1.6 million recalled Honda airbags.

According to Honda’s May 2, 2011 press release (read it here), a wide variety of Honda vehicles apparently have airbags that can inflate without warning if they’ve got enough pressure.

No crash. Big surprise. Boom.

Of particular concern is the fact that these aren’t new cars. These are Hondas and Acuras that have been on Illinois and Indiana roadways for several years now. Once again, an example of the reality that just because you’ve had a product for awhile without a problem, it doesn’t mean that the product is safe.

Defective products that are assumed to be trustworthy kill and serious injure people in this country every day. Be careful to get these cars fixed.

If you or a loved one drive any of the following vehicles, then

(1) contact Honda at (800) 999-1009 and select option 4 or
(2) contact Acura at (800) 382-2238 and select option 4 or
(3) call your nearest dealership for instructions on what to do.

Cars involved in the May 2011 Honda Airbag Recall are:

Honda Accord
2001 model year
2002 model year

Honda Civic
2001 model year
2002 model year

Honda Odyssey
2002 model year

Honda CR-V
2002 model year
2003 model year

Honda Acura 3.2 TL
2002 model year
2003 model year

Honda Acura 3.2 CL
2003 model year

You’re driving home from work, or maybe it’s the end of a long weekend and you’re part of a parade of cars filled with families returning home. Or maybe you’re at work. In a mine, in a mill, on a train, or in a factory.  You could even be at school, or at the stadium for a game.

Suddenly, without warning: there’s an accident. A serious, scary accident where someone is seriously hurt. They’re in need – and if someone doesn’t help them, they may die.

This scenario becomes reality every day, in every state, in this country. Tragedies happen. Shockingly, however, not every state protects its citizens in the same way when they step up to render aid in an emergency. In fact, without Good Samaritan Laws in place, these do-gooders were sometimes later sued (yes, sued) for trying to help in a crisis.

For example, this winter in Fort Wayne, Indiana, there was a horrific car crash and an off-duty state trooper stopped to help the woman trapped inside her car.  It was only when a stranger, an ordinary citizen and good guy, stopped to help the trooper that they were able to set the woman free.

Illinois Good Samaritan Law

In 2011, the Illinois Good Samaritan Act was amended to clarify that the Illinois General Assembly’s purpose in passing the law was to ” …establish numerous protections for the generous and compassionate acts of its citizens who volunteer their time and talents to help others. These protections …shall be liberally construed to encourage persons to volunteer their time and talents.”

The overall Good Samaritan Law for Illinois is found in 210 ILCS 50, where it provides:

Sec. 3.150. Immunity from civil liability.

(a) Any person, agency or governmental body certified, licensed or authorized pursuant to this Act or rules thereunder, who in good faith provides emergency or non?emergency medical services during a Department approved training course, in the normal course of conducting their duties, or in an emergency, shall not be civilly liable as a result of their acts or omissions in providing such services unless such acts or omissions, including the bypassing of nearby hospitals or medical facilities in accordance with the protocols developed pursuant to this Act, constitute willful and wanton misconduct.
(b) No person, including any private or governmental organization or institution that administers, sponsors, authorizes, supports, finances, educates or supervises the functions of emergency medical services personnel certified, licensed or authorized pursuant to this Act, including persons participating in a Department approved training program, shall be liable for any civil damages for any act or omission in connection with administration, sponsorship, authorization, support, finance, education or supervision of such emergency medical services personnel, where the act or omission occurs in connection with activities within the scope of this Act, unless the act or omission was the result of willful and wanton misconduct.
(c) Exemption from civil liability for emergency care is as provided in the Good Samaritan Act.
(d) No local agency, entity of State or local government, or other public or private organization, nor any officer, director, trustee, employee, consultant or agent of any such entity, which sponsors, authorizes, supports, finances, or supervises the training of persons in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillators, or first aid in a course which complies with generally recognized standards shall be liable for damages in any civil action based on the training of such persons unless an act or omission during the course of instruction constitutes willful and wanton misconduct.
(e) No person who is certified to teach the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillators, or first aid and who teaches a course of instruction which complies with generally recognized standards for the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillators, or first aid shall be liable for damages in any civil action based on the acts or omissions of a person who received such instruction, unless an act or omission during the course of such instruction constitutes willful and wanton misconduct.
(f) No member or alternate of the State Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board or a local System review board who in good faith exercises his responsibilities under this Act shall be liable for damages in any civil action based on such activities unless an act or omission during the course of such activities constitutes willful and wanton misconduct.
(g) No EMS Medical Director who in good faith exercises his responsibilities under this Act shall be liable for damages in any civil action based on such activities unless an act or omission during the course of such activities constitutes willful and wanton misconduct.
(h) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create a cause of action or any civil liabilities.

Indiana Good Samaritan Law

Indiana’s Good Samaritan Law is not the same as that of Illinois.  Indiana focuses upon protecting emergency medical professionals, whether they are licensed in Indiana or elsewhere, as they do their work at the scene of an emergency.

Indiana’s Good Samaritan Law is found at IC 16-31-6-1, where it provides:

IC 16-31-6
Chapter 6. Immunity From Liability

IC 16-31-6-1
Emergency medical technician services
Sec. 1. (a) A certified emergency medical technician or a certified emergency medical technician-basic advanced who provides emergency medical services to an emergency patient is not liable for an act or omission in providing those services unless the act or omission constitutes negligence or willful misconduct. If the emergency medical technician or emergency medical technician-basic advanced is not liable for an act or omission, no other person incurs liability by reason of an agency relationship with the emergency medical technician or emergency medical technician-basic advanced.
(b) This section does not affect the liability of a driver of an ambulance for negligent operation of the ambulance.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.205-2003, SEC.33.

IC 16-31-6-2
Use of defibrillators
Sec. 2. (a) Except for an act of negligence or willful misconduct, a certified first responder who uses an automatic or semiautomatic defibrillator on an emergency patient according to the training procedures established by the commission under IC 16-31-2-9 is immune from civil liability for acts or omissions when rendering those services.
(b) If the first responder is immune from civil liability for the first responder’s act or omission, a person who has only an agency relationship with the first responder is also immune from civil liability for the act or omission.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.14.

IC 16-31-6-3
Advanced life support
Sec. 3. An act or omission of a paramedic or an emergency medical technician-intermediate done or omitted in good faith while providing advanced life support to a patient or trauma victim does not impose liability upon the paramedic or emergency medical technician-intermediate, the authorizing physician, the hospital, or the officers, members of the staff, nurses, or other employees of the hospital or the local governmental unit if the advanced life support is provided:
(1) in connection with an emergency;
(2) in good faith; and
(3) under the written or oral direction of a licensed physician;
unless the act or omission was a result of negligence or willful misconduct.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.205-2003,

SEC.34.

IC 16-31-6-4
Life support provided in connection with disaster emergency
Sec. 4. (a) This section does not apply to an act or omission that was a result of gross negligence or willful or intentional misconduct.
(b) An act or omission of a paramedic, an emergency medical technician-intermediate, an emergency medical technician-basic advanced, an emergency medical technician, or a person with equivalent certification from another state that is performed or made while providing advanced life support or basic life support to a patient or trauma victim does not impose liability upon the paramedic, the emergency medical technician-intermediate, the emergency medical technician-basic advanced, an emergency medical technician, the person with equivalent certification from another state, a hospital, a provider organization, a governmental entity, or an employee or other staff of a hospital, provider organization, or governmental entity if the advanced life support or basic life support is provided in good faith:
(1) in connection with a disaster emergency declared by the governor under IC 10-14-3-12 in response to an act that the governor in good faith believes to be an act of terrorism (as defined in IC 35-41-1-26.5); and
(2) in accordance with the rules adopted by the Indiana emergency medical services commission or the disaster emergency declaration of the governor.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) (which is part of the American Trucking Associations Federation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia) has released some important research findings regarding the commercial trucking industry in this country, including recommendations on how carriers can increase the safety of trucks driving on our roadways.

These can be found on the ATRI website and involve:

• Research Linking Crash Likelihood to Driver History
• Research Into Safety Compliance Alternatives

Ken Allen Law, of course, has requested and received the complete text of the 2011 report entitled “Predicting Truck Crash Involvement: A 2011 Update,” and we will be happy to forward a copy to anyone who requests it (free of charge, of course).

From the report:

In its finding of the likelihood of a crash involving a commercial truck, researchers took information from the new CSA, where a system is used (the “Safety Measurement System (SMS)”) of assigning numbers, or “normative scores” both to (1) carrier performance and (2) driver performance in 7 different areas related to safety (which they’ve called the “Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs)”).

Decisions were made in advance of CSA scoring on what would be okay — the “threshold.”  Then, after the scoring was done, if the numbers were over the top — or higher than the threshold — then the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) would take various actions. FMCSA might send a simple warning letter if the variance wasn’t that big. FMCSA might institute a full scale review, if the difference between the scoring and the threshold was huge.

What are the scores the government is looking at under CSA — what are the BASIC(s) that FMCSA is monitoring?  The categories are:

1. unsafe driving
2. fatigued driving
3. driver fitness
4. controlled substances/alcohol concerns
5. vehicle maintenance issues
6. cargo-related issues
7. crash indicators.

According to the study, “[c]lear conclusions cannot be drawn in instances where weights and crash likelihoods appear out of sync, primarily due to low sample sizes preventing several of the relationships from reaching statistical significance in this study. … [t]he paramount message is that the relationships between driver behaviors and crashes can and should be measured in order to identify the industry’s strongest truck crash predictors.

Once identified, these behaviors must be targeted for interventions, both to improve CSA scores and to reduce the frequency of preventable crashes. Ultimately, by addressing the behaviors in each safety category, not only will scores for a carrier’s respective BASIC decrease (improve), but all improvements will also indirectly feed into lower (better) Crash Indicator BASIC scores.”

Bottom Line

In other words, truck drivers need to be protected, studied, and researched because truck driver behaviors have been shown to be a very strong contributing factor in big rig semi truck crashes.

The types of crashes where big, heavy, huge machines collide with smaller, more fragile vehicles – and where all too often, serious injury or death result.

Perhaps you are not surprised.

On this Wednesday morning, those of us following the Indiana trucking industry are saddened by the news that on Monday evening and again on Tuesday evening, local men died in crushing incidents involving big rig semi trucks.

This morning, families and friends are grieving their loss.  Truckers and their families are also mourning the week’s events.

On Monday, Indiana Man Killed by 3000 lb. log falling off trailer truck

Just this past Monday evening, a trailer truck carrying a cargo of logs reached its destination, and everyone was set to unload the cargo.  Then a 3000 pound, 8 foot long log rolled off the load, killing an Indiana man  as he was trapped underneath all that weight. Benjamin Will of Haubstadt, only 26 years old, died at the scene.

On Tuesday, Indiana Man Pinned by Big Rig Getting Ready to Unload

Last night, a big rig carrying its cargo reached its Indianapolis destination and the truck driver prepared to unload his delivery.  Little did he know, but a Lawrence man – in the wrong place at the wrong time – had been pinned by the semi and killed by the crushing weight of the big rig itself. Randy Wimmer, 55, was taken to a nearby hospital where he tragically died later that night.

Trucking Is Dangerous 24/7 – On the Road and Everywhere Else

Lesson learned:  trucking is a dangerous job.  Driving those long hauls is dangerous.  There are bad road conditions.  Sleep deprivation.  Crazy drivers.  Nasty weather.

However, just because a big rig truck has made it to its destination doesn’t mean that anyone can breathe a sigh of relief.  It’s not just the roadway that is high risk.

These big rigs carry heavy cargo.  They’re built to do this.  However, all that weight in and of itself is a danger.  As we’ve been reminded this week, that heavy load can shift and kill.  The fully loaded truck can be an instrument of death as it parks to unload.

Trucking is a necessary component to American trade.  Truckers and the trucking industry must be respected for their contributions to our daily lives.

However, trucking is also one of the most hazardous work environments in our culture today – and we must remain vigilant that maximum safety conditions are honored and maintained.

Our condolences to all who are suffering from these tragedies this week.

Early this morning, Mark Reeves of Portage, Indiana, was driving his pickup truck on westbound I-80/94 in Lake Station, near Central Avenue, when he failed to stop in time and crashed into the big rig in front of him.  Tragically, Mr. Reeves died in the accident.

That semi truck on the roadway in front of Mr. Reeves might as well have been a wall:  it was carrying a load of almost 47,000 pounds of steel. That pickup truck, a 1999 Chevy S-10,  didn’t have a chance against that big rig steel-load: we can all understand the differential here.

No High Speeds, No Drunk Driving

This wasn’t a case of someone driving in a high speed car chase.  No one’s thinking that Mark Reeves was driving drunk at 6:05 a.m. today.   The Chevy truck was apparently moving into a construction zone, going through an S-shaped curve, when it rear-ended the Freightliner flat bed semi-truck in the right lane.

Witnesses saw the rear-end collision, saw the pickup lose control, and then go into the air and roll. Unfortunately, Mr. Reeves wasn’t wearing his seat belt. He was declared dead at the scene.

The IIHS Study Needs to Be Implemented ASAP

There’s another tragedy here.  As we reported last month, there is an easy fix to these types of accidents, where a passenger vehicle rear-ends a big, heavy big rig.

Underride guards on the backs of these big monster trucks would offer protection in rear-end collisions according to theInsurance Institute of Highway Safety.

In these accidents, the car slams into the tractor trailer truck, or semi, and without proper protection (the guard) the top of the car (passenger vehicle) gets slammed up against the truck’s rear.  The guard is designed specifically to thwart rear-end fatalities with lighter-weight cars and trucks.

Whether or not an underride guard would have made a difference this morning is something that we will never know.  We do know, however, that instituting this safety protection should be a priority for all trucking companies.  We also predict that underride guards will never be commonplace on semis in this country without government regulation forcing the issue.  Result:  more tragedies like the one Indiana experienced today, until the legislation is a done deal.

It sounds like something from a Three Stooges movie, maybe a Saturday Night Live skit:  you’re driving along and the steering wheel falls off in your hand.  Or the air bag deploys as you’re cruising along the freeway.  Except that it’s not a comedy on screen.  It’s really happening, right now, in America today.

Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks: the Airbag Can Blow Up (Inflate) As You Are Driving

Ford F-150s are very popular pickup trucks and have been for years.  Earlier this year, Ford Motor Company issued a voluntary recall of its 2005 and 2006 models of the F-150 trucks, recalling around 144,000 vehicles, because the airbags in these models had problems:  short circuits could result from faulty wiring, resulting in the airbags to pop without warning or need — and of course, a surprise of an inflating airbag could cause wrecks and serious injuries and wrongful deaths.

However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has checked into the F-150 Airbag issue and isn’t happy with what Ford has done.  Seems the federal regulators suspect that as many as 1,300,000 Ford F-150 pickups have flawed airbags in them.  Lots more than 144,000.

In January 2011 the NHTSA wrote Ford, suggesting that the company go ahead and expand its recall to 1.3 million vehicles. Ford hasn’t done it.  Ford stubbornly argues that this isn’t a “defect” and that the NHTSA is being a Nervous Nelly.  In response, theNHTSA is pointing to its two-year long investigation (begun in 2009), where it’s found 269 of these Ford F-150 surprise airbag deployments, along with one accident and 98 injuries that have included bone fractures, burns and tooth damage.  NHTSA expects these numbers to rise unless Ford does something.

The Chevy Cruze Has a Steering Wheel That Can Fall Off While You’re Driving

Meanwhile, over at General Motors, another popular vehicle has proven itself to be dangerous and in need of recall by the manufacturer.  The Chevy Cruze has a similar scary problem, from the driver’s perspective:  the steering wheel can come off in your hand, while you’re driving. Only one such actual horrific event has happened so far, according to the car maker, and they’ve issued a voluntary recall to fix things.

Americans Cannot Blindly Assume Their Vehicles Are Safe to Drive

Bottom line:  you cannot trust your vehicle to be safe to drive. Even if you’ve been driving it for several years, like these Ford truck drivers.  Check www.recalls.gov.  Check with your dealership. And if you’ve been injured or had a loved one suffer a wrongful death due to a defective product, then call a lawyer.  There are laws on the books not only to seek justice for you, but that work toward getting unsafe products out of the American marketplace.

Because, rest assured, part of the reason that Ford doesn’t want that “defect” label is because of concerns about a future lawsuit where it will be held financially accountable

Fresh Express has recalled thousands of salad bags filled with fresh spinach because the leaves may carry salmonella bacteria which is very dangerous for humans.  If you have purchased a Fresh Express bag from your grocer that fits the following recall information, then return the product to the store — and if you’ve eaten any of that spinach or served it to your family and loved ones, then get medical attention as soon as possible.  Salmonella poisoning can be very, very serious.

The dangerous Fresh Express Salad Bags can be identified with:

• product codes starting with H081 and H082
• UPC Code of 7127913204 and
• use-by dates of April 6 and 7.

If you have questions, then feel free to call Fresh Express’s consumer line at (800) 242-5472.

The Dangers of America’s Food Supply — FDA Has Instituted New Public Warning Food Recall Web Page This Month

Americans cannot assume that the food that they buy at the store or eat in restaurants is safe.  The massive egg recalls within the past few months are just one example of how food supplies in this country are all too often putting dangerous products into the marketplace.  In fact, in a landmark piece of legislation the federal government has begun to recognize this reality with the first major change in federal food safety laws inalmost 70 years.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a broad piece of legislation that is supposed to turn the FDA from being involved in policing dangerous foods after they have already put Americans in danger, and instead making the FDA into a proactive agency that works to stop bad food from getting to American tables in the first place.

You can learn more about the law here.

This month, the FDA complied with part of the FSMA by updating its website with a new, user-friendly page dedicated to information regarding food recalls.  The new site even provides for automatic food safety alerts to be sent to your computer. This is not the same as the federal government’s food safety website, FoodSafety.Gov.

One website works to educate on how to buy and prepare food items safely.  The other informs us when things like toxic spinach have made it to our store shelves and restaurant menus.

Food is a product in our marketplace, sold along side drugs and toys and appliances.

Defective products in whatever form can serious injure and sometimes kill innocent victims.  Tainted food is especially dangerous for infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.  Be careful, see a doctor if you need to do so, and remember: sometimes justice is only found in a courtroom.  Food can be the basis of aproducts liability lawsuit just the same as a tire, car seat, toy, or gas tank.

Over the weekend, an elderly man perished  in a fire reported to have been caused by electrical appliance in his home. Mr. Wilson Jones, 91 years old, went to bed on Saturday night in his home in Gary, Indiana, and a fire from an electrical appliance(what kind has not been reported yet) released enough smoke that Mr. Jones died ofsmoke inhalation.

In another fire, a Chicago firefighter was injured in a home fire along with a resident this morning, the resident reported to be in serious condition at Loretto Hospital, when a fire broke out in a building that houses a storefront on the ground floor with apartments up above.  The fire raged for most of this morning, and its cause has yet to be released to the public.

On the job fires are a common problem in our local area:  mill workers, longshoremen, factory workers, those working on the railroads and in construction, are all vulnerable to fire injuries as part of their daily work.  These men and women bravely do their jobs, day in and day out, all too aware of that risk of chemical fires, electrical fires, explosions, and the like.

Fire injuries on the job are real tragedies.  However, even more horrific are fire injuries and deaths that arise in someone’s home.

We are supposed to be safe in our homes, particularly in the dead of night when we are sleeping.  However, defective products and things like faulty electrical wiring are all too often the cause of serious injury and death in our country.  The National Fire Prevention Association provides details on the most common causes of fires in the home (click on the link for a NFPA Fact Sheet):

• Home Decorations
• Children Playing With Fire (lighters, matches)
• Cooking Equipment Causing a Fire
• Home Heaters (Standalones and In the Wall)
• Smoking Materials (Cigarettes, etc.)
• Candles
• Electrical Wiring Distribution or Lighting Equipment

When a loved one is seriously injured or killed in their home because of a fire, the horror that the family and friends feel can be overwhelming.  There is something especially horrible when a human being dies in a fire.   It is almost unbearable to deal with this reality when the origin of the fire is revealed to be the result of a flaw in wiring or a defect in a product.

There are few instances when a personal injury lawsuit can have more longreaching results than when a brave family member fights in the courtroom for justice in a products liability or personal injury lawsuit designed to stop fire injuries and wrongful deaths.  No one should ever have to deal with this situation, and our condolences go out to all who have experienced a horrific loss and tragedy as a result of fire.

Triad products have been recalled by the manufacturer in a series of recalls over the past few months, and now there are literally millions of dangerous Triad Group productsout there in the marketplace or already in homes, hospitals, doctors’ offices, day cares, nursing homes, etc., where people are vulnerable to being victims of these dangerous products.

As we posted earlier this week, this is a very serious situation where the products cause injuries such as rash, to purportedly sterile products infected with bacteria (among other conditions) where people have already have suffered serious injury or death.

Wrongful death lawsuits are already on file in Texas and Tennessee, and we should expect to see lots more all too soon, sadly.  The FDA is taking steps to close down the company, either with their cooperation or without it.

Since there is not an easily located online list of all the Triad products that have been recalled in the past 90 days, we are providing it here:

December 2010 – Lube Jelly Recall

Triad

Cardinal

Novation

McKesson

Imco

Select

Schein

January 2011 – Alcohol Wipes

Best Choice

Care One

Cooper Atkins

CVS

Discount Drug Mart

Equaline

Equate

Exchange Select

Exact

Good Neighbor

Good Sense

Healthcare

Healthy Generations

Kroger

Leader Life Brand

Longs

Major

MEIJER

Medicine Shoppe

Personelle

Publix

Premier Value

Quality Choice

Rite Aid

Reli-On

Remedy RX

Rexall

Safeway

Shoppers Drug

Sunmark

Up&Up

Top Care

Triad

Triad Sterile

Uniprix

Valu Plus

Western Family

Walgreens

March 2011 Recall - Povidone Iodine Prep Pads (on the market since March 2008)

[From the Triad Recall Press Release: "This recall has been initiated due to concerns expressed by the Food and Drug Administration regarding the potential contamination of these products with an objectionable organism, Elizabethkingia meningoseptica. H&P’s internal investigation also concluded a raw material component as the potential source of this contamination. This investigation was conducted as a result of the earlier ipa pad recall. Both the pvp and ipa pads use this common component. This recall extends to all Lots of Povidone Iodine Prep Pads remaining within their labeled expiration dating (three years), including all Lot numbers beginning with the digits 8, 9, 0 or 1."]

Item #AC-3201 Amerinet

Item #04-3201 Cardinal Health

Item# 06-3201 Versapro/Medical Specialties

Item# 08-3201 Novation /VHA

Item #10-3201 Triad

Item# 11-PP32 Triad+

Item #PL-3533 Total Resources

Item#PL-3534 North Safety

Anytime you or a loved one seek medical care, you assume that you will not only be treated by competent health care professionals, but you will also receive care with products that are safe, sterile, and trustworthy. It’s naive to think that this is always the case, however.

One more example of the dangers of health care in our country today (see our earlier post this week on The Nose Doctor for an example of provider negligence) is the growing tragedy resulting from the Triad Group sterile product line.

Triad medical products found not to be sterile but infected with bacteria

This week, after asking the company to do the right thing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking steps to close down H&P Industries, a company that makes a variety medical products under the name Triad Group. Seems that the Triad products have all too often been involved in instances of patients being severely injured by infection or even dying from infection.

The FDA wants the company shut down. Why? Millions – that’s right, millions – of the purportedly sterile Triad products have been subjected to recall because they’ve haven’t been sterile. The Triad products have been contaminated with bacteria.

For example, earlier this year there was:

(1) a recall of Triad alcohol prep pads because millions and millions of these pads – as well as Triad swabs and swabsticks – were carrying bacteria (Bacillus cereus).  These products were being used by hospitals and consumers alike.

(2) a recall of the company’s iodine prep pads along with its sterile lubricating jelly.  Both were also found to not be sterile - as they were marketed to be – and in fact, contaminated with bacteria.

People are dying from these tainted medical products.  Triad product liability lawsuits have already been filed in Texas and Tennessee.

Right now, the FDA and H&P Industries Inc. are purportedly negotiating for the company to voluntarily close.  If the company balks, expect a cease and desist order to be issued.

Please check your medicine cabinet for these Triad products (check any sterile products you own against this long list of product names and lots numbers) – and do not use them if you find them.

Tires on lots of Ford vehicles on the roads right now are not safe.  Again.

If this rings a bell, it should: faulty tires on Ford vehicles also started making news in much the same way back in 2000 when the Firestone tires placed on Ford vehicles started causing serious injuries and wrongful deaths in lots of motor vehicle accidents all across the country.  It’s something that Firestone itself calls “…the most deadly auto safety crisis in American history.”

CTA Recalls Over 390,000 Defective and Dangerous Tires Already On 2008 and 2009 Ford Trucks

Continental Tire the Americas (CTA) has voluntarily recalled 390,000 tires that it manufactured and sold to Ford Motor Company, which Ford placed on its 2008 and 2009 light trucks, the Ford F-250 and the Ford F-350.

Here are the product specifications for these dangerous tires – if they are on your vehicle, then don’t trust them to be safe.  Call the tire manufacturer if you have questions toll free at 1-888-799-2168 if you need to do so, or check out the FAQs on its Tire Recall webpage.

According to CTA, the dangerous tires are:

• Tire Name:  Continental ContiTrac TR
  Size:  LT275/70R18 125/122S Load range: E  Outline White Letters
  DOT Serial Numbers:   P515 46U0 1807 through P515 46U0 2308

• Tire Name:  Continental ContiTrac TR –
  Size: LT275/70R18 125/122S Load Range :E Black sidewall
  DOT Serial Numbers:  P515 46XB  2607 through P515 46XB  2408

• Tire Name:  Continental ContiTrac –
  Size:  LT275/70R18 125/122S Load Range: E   Black sidewall
  DOT Serial Numbers:  P515 46YB  4307 through P515 46YB  3708

This isn’t the first time that a massive amount of CTA tires on Ford vehicles have been recalled.  Back in 2002, over 100,000 Continental Tires were recalled after they hit the road on Ford SUVs.

Indiana medical malpractice lawyers as well as most of the state, the country, and possibly most of the world, are all too aware of the very bad acts performed by Indiana surgeon Dr. Mark Weinberger — he’s had hundreds of medical malpractice (professional negligence) claims filed against him.  People have died as a result of his negligence according to any number of wrongful death suits that have been filed by loved ones throughout Indiana.

However, maybe the bigger noteriety of Indiana villian Dr. Mark Weinberger is how he didn’t stick around to face the music but instead ran away.  Ran away from his family, his friends, his practice, his home.

A January 2011 article in Vanity Fair entitled, “The Runaway Doctor,” written by Buzz Bissinger, chronicles Weinberger’s disappearance in 2004 and his ultimate capture in the Italian Alps many years later.  His capture was a highlight of TV’s America’s Most Wanted.

“The Nose Doctor” of Merrillville, Indiana Goes to Trial  – Ken Allen Represents the Plaintiffs: Victorious Verdict After Six Days

This week, the wrongful death medical misdiagnosis trial for the loved ones of Weinberger patient Phyllis Barnes began.  Represented by noted trial lawyer Kenneth J. Allen, the plaintiffs alleged that The Nose Doctor’s faulty diagnosis failed to catch her cancer in time and because of Dr. Weinberger’s failure to diagnose Phyllis Barnes’ cancer, she died.

Seems that Mrs. Barnes saw one of Weinberger’s billboards and made an appointment with him for help with some sinus and throat problems.  No mention was made, or investigation had, regarding the cancer that killed her.  Dr. Weinberger did, however, perform surgeries (yes, more than one) on Mrs. Barnes — all these operations being unnecessary to her and vital to his pocketbook.

Mrs. Barnes’ wrongful death suit sought punitive damages under Indiana medical malpractice law.  After a six day trial, the jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages against Dr. Mark Weinberger.

The Need for Strong Law in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

The details of evildoer Dr. Mark Weinberger aren’t necessary here.  They’re there in theVanity Fair article as well as numerous other resources on the web.  However, the example of this one bad man exemplifies the power that health care professionals have over their clientele.   They are in positions of power and trust — we all rely upon them to be acting in our best interests, with knowledge and skill and integrity.

When physicians fail to live up to these standards, then justice must be available to those they have harmed.  For many personal injury attorneys, the impact of tort reform across the country ties the hands of justice in many medical malpractice situations. Perhaps Dr. Mark Weinberger is an anomoly.  The personal injury bar might disagree with that assessment: Dr. Weinberger may be notorious, and his running away worthy of a TV Movie of the Week — but he’s far from the only marketing-happy doctor who has sacrificed patient care for profits.

“You Got What You Deserve”

As Ken Allen said during his closing arguments in the Nose Doctor Wrongful Death trial this week, this verdict should send a message not only to Dr. Weinberger but to anyone that might be following in his footsteps.   This verdict — $3,000,000 in compensatory damages and $13,000,000 in punitives — should send a message that is a strong, loud warning against this evildoing.

Kenneth J. Allen’s words to The Nose Doctor after the jurors returned with their decision:  “You got what you deserve, is what I say to Mark Weinberger.”

To hear Kenneth Allen’s remarks shortly after the jury verdict came in, check out the NBCChicago online video here.

www.wgntv.com

March 24, 2011 (HAMMOND, Ind.) (WLS) -- A jury Thursday night awarded a family $13 million in one of hundreds of actions against Indiana Dr. Mark Weinberger.

The Illinois House of Representatives is considering legislation that would make illegal in the State of Illinois for drivers to take photographs or videos from cell phones at the scene of accidents. State Rep. Tom Holbrook of Belleville is sponsoring this bill, arguing that drivers shouldn’t rubberneck — it’s dangerous for drivers to take their eyes off the road.

Specifically, the bill (HB1984, read full text and follow it here) inserts “digital photograph” and “video” into legislation that is being proposed that would fight against distracted driving involving texting, instant messaging (IMs), or emailing.  There’s another proposed statute that’s just been amended within the same bill to ban the use of cell phones within 500 feet of an Illinois accident scene.

Evidence at Trial Begins at the Accident Scene

There’s a reason why those scenes in CSI and Law and Order have all the cops and detectives and crime scene investigators wrapping the incident areas with yellow tape and banning everyone from going near the site.  Evidence must be protected — and most of the physical evidence is there at that scene of the crime.

Similarly, in accidents, the physical evidence is there at the scene.  On the roadway, the truth about what happened to cause the injuries or wrongful death reveals itself.  Photographs and videos taken as close in time as possible to the event itself is critical to discovering what really happened.

Insurance companies know this — that’s why they are notorious for having investigators on the scenes of accidents so fast that on occasion they beat law enforcement to the site.  Trucking companies instruct their truck drivers to let the company know immediately if they’re in an accident — so they can start their defense to any claim through the gathering of evidence as soon as possible.

What Happens to Critical On the Scene Evidence if This Bill Becomes Law?  Plaintiffs Are Hurt.

Rubbernecking can cause wrecks, that’s true.  However, the proposed legislation goes farther than that.  If it is passed, then critical evidence of all kinds of motor vehicle accidents will be outlawed.  This will serve only to hurt injury victims and their loved ones as they later try to prove their claims and obtain justice.  It’s harmful.

Trucking companies and independent truckers alike must have a steady supply of fuel in order to operate, it’s a given. So when fuel prices rise, they have to deal with them.  However, today the reality is that fuel costs are doing more than rising a bit: diesel prices are skyrocketing and there’s no end in sight.

According to the Des Moines Register, one gallon of diesel fuel costs $1.00 more this year than it did in 2010. This has the trucking industry predicting that overall, it will be paying $35,000,000 more in fuel costs this year, just to keep trucks on the road.

Added to this rising cost is the variety of prices in different states across the country.  Since truckers by definition are transporting cargo from one place to another, they will necessarily encounter a number of spots in the country where prices may be higher than others.

For example, truckers reported today that Virginia had pretty cheap diesel rates as compared to surrounding states in the region, like Connecticut.  They’re using things like this cheap fuel cost locator app to keep track of the best deals on the road (you might like this, too).

One result of these rising operating costs for truckers is that consumer prices will rise.  Another is that independent truckers may not be able to stay in business with these fuel costs and we will see less independent big rigs on the road.

However, another given is that trucking companies – already feeling the pinch of this bad economy – have just been given another reason to push the edge of the envelope on safety concerns as they try and keep profits as high as possible.   The pressure to scoot pass regulations or to get right to their edge will be high, and that pressure is just going to rise as this economic teapot continues to boil.

Be careful out there.  And now more than ever, respect that tractor trailer on the roadway with you.  Give that trucker lots of room to move.

Consumer Reports has built its longstanding, well-respected reputation as a public watchdog against bad products by offering its readers expert reviews of all sorts of things:  appliances, cars, toys, sunscreen.  If there is something sold in the American marketplace today, odds are high that Consumer Reports can provide guidance on how well that product works as well as how safe it is to use.

However, today Consumer Reports has gone further than providing expert reviews.  Today, on both the Consumer Reports website as well as the federal government’s site for the Department of Transportation, you will see videos and other information regarding the danger of texting or talking while driving a moving vehicle.

They’ve been moved to act because the dangers of Distracted Driving, particularly among American teenagers, is causing a significant number of young people to be seriously injured or killed in accidents that could have been avoided if a handheld device had not been along for the ride.

As reported by the DOT, a new report by the experts at Consumer Reports has revealed the following:

• 63 percent of respondents under 30 years old reported using a handheld phone while driving in the past 30 days, and 30 percent of them texted while driving during the same period.   That compares with 41 percent and 9 percent, respectively, of respondents who were 30 or older.
• Among the under-30 respondents, only 36 percent were very concerned about the problem of distracted driving, and only 30 percent felt it was very dangerous to use a handheld phone.
• 64 percent of respondents overall said they had seen other drivers texting using a handheld device in the past 30 days.  94 percent had observed drivers talking on a mobile phone and 58 percent had seen a dangerous driving situation related to a distracted driver in the past month.
• 78 percent of respondents overall said they had reduced or stopped behaviors related to distracted driving.  Of that group, 66 percent said they did so because of reading or hearing about the dangers.

Copies of the Consumer Reports/DOT report “Distracted Driving Shatters Lives” will be distributed to schools and volunteer groups by the National School Safety Coalition.

In tandem with the Consumer Reports efforts, DOT has released its latest video in the Department of Transportation’s “Faces of Distracted Driving” series today onDistraction.gov, featuring Miss South Dakota Loren Vaillancourt, who has been speaking to teens about the dangers of distracted driving since her brother was killed by a distracted driver in May 2009.  Watch it here on YouTube.

The Food & Drug Administration just issued a huge recall of medications designed to help those with suffering from cough, cold, or allergies.  The FDA has yanked over 500 different prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) products as being unapproved by the agency and therefore not legally available to the American consumer.

According to the FDA, these “… unapproved prescription cough, cold, and allergy drug products have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, and quality. People may be at greater risk when using these products than when using FDA-approved prescription drugs or drugs that are appropriately marketed over-the-counter (OTC). “

What’s the problem here?  Apparently, the FDA has three main concerns that encompass all these medications:

1. Some of these drugs are inappropriately labeled for use in infants and children.
2. Some products may be manufactured incorrectly, which could result in consumers receiving an inappropriately large or an ineffective dose.
3. Some of these products may have potentially risky combinations of ingredients.

The manufacturers have 90 days to stop making these products.  They have six months to discontinue distribution.

What Cold, Cough, or Allergy Medications Are Being Recalled?  Have You or Your Loved Ones Been Harmed?

If you believe that you or your loved ones (spouse, parents, kids) have been harmed by a medication you bought at the store or got from the doctor (or pharmacist) for a cough, cold, or allergy, then the first thing to do is seek medical treatment, of course.  It’s also important to keep the container, to stop using the medication (after discussing discontinued use with your health care provider), and to write down your recollection as best you can of what has transpired.  Symptoms before the medication, symptoms after, etc.  If you have questions about pursuing a claim for damages sustained, you can contact the FDA or your local legal counsel.

List of Cold, Cough, and Allergy Drugs Recalled by FDA on March 2, 2011

Unsure if your medication is subject to the recall?  The list is much too long to provide in this post; however you can review the long list of recalled products here, at the FDA site.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) just released its latest crash test studies involving big rigs and cars, and its report “… demonstrates that underride guards on tractor-trailers can fail in relatively low-speed crashes — with deadly consequences.”  (Watch the great video that the IIHS has provided to go along with its research results here.)

What are these underride guards? They protect the vehicle that rear-ends a big rig.  In these accidents, the car slams into the tractor trailer truck, or semi, and without proper protection (the guard) the top of the car (passenger vehicle) gets slammed up against the truck’s rear, crushing the roof and killing or seriously injuring those who were riding in the front seat of the car.  From the release:

“Cars’ front-end structures are designed to manage a tremendous amount of crash energy in a way that minimizes injuries for their occupants,” says Adrian Lund, Institute president. “Hitting the back of a large truck is a game changer. You might be riding in a vehicle that earns top marks in frontal crash tests, but if the truck’s underride guard fails — or isn’t there at all — your chances of walking away from even a relatively low-speed crash aren’t good.”

Result: The IIHS is petitioning the federal government to create new laws that will mandate stronger underride guards to be placed on commercial trucks, ones that will remain in place during a crash.  (Read the petition here.)

Seat belts exist only to keep people safe, but the reality is that there are many occasions where safety belts seriously injure and even cause the deaths of those who obediently use them.

This is why the Williamson lawsuit was filed.  It originates in a 2002 car crash where Thanh Williamson, 32, died while wearing a lap seat belt in a Mazda 1993 MPV minivan.  Mazda argued that Williamson was setting in the center position of the rear passenger seat and at the time, the car maker was only required to provide a lap band for this spot per National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulation.  Mazda’s defense isn’t that the seat belt wasn’t the cause of Mrs. Williamson’s death; instead, Mazda claimed it should not be liable because the nine (9) year old minivan was okay under federal regulations when it left the plant.

Last November, we considered the Mazda Seat Belt case because of its national importance.  The U.S. Supreme Court had a big decision to make: whether or not to allow car manufacturers to avoid legal liability for these seat beat injuries and deaths because at the time the cars (or trucks or minivans) are made, they meet the minimum safety standards set by federal law.

Now, the United States Supreme Court has ruled. Unanimously. And, it’s a big deal for many reasons — but for those who care about people being safe in their cars, here’s why this week’s opinion is so important to us all:  the High Court has told the American automobile industry that federal regulations were created only to set the minimum standard, not to provide the car makers with some kind of shield, or immunity, from legal responsiblity if their product harmed or killed their customers.

Of course, car makers are dismissing the major impact of this new Supreme Court decision to the public (like those explanations given to the Detroit News).  However, read the entire Supreme Court opinion (with all the Justices in agreement, a rare showing of solidarity these days) in Cause No. 08-1314, styled Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc. and you will find language like this:

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 (1989 version) requires, among other things, that auto manufacturers install seat belts on the rear seats of passenger vehicles. They must install lap-and-shoulder belts on seats next to a vehicle’s doors or frames. But they have a choice about what to install on rear inner seats (say, middle seats or those next to a minivan’s aisle). There they can install either (1) simple lap belts or (2) lap-and-shoulder belts. 54 Fed. Reg. 46257–46258 (1989); 49 CFR §571.208 (1993), promulgated pursuant to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act), 80 Stat. 718, 15 U. S. C. §1381.

The question presented here is whether this federal regulation pre-empts a state tort suit that, if successful,would deny manufacturers a choice of belts for rear inner seats by imposing tort liability upon those who choose to install a simple lap belt. We conclude that providing manufacturers with this seat belt choice is not a significant objective of the federal regulation. Consequently, the regulation does not pre-empt the state tort suit.

[From Justice Sontemayor's Concurrence, the following:]

In other words, the mere fact that an agency regulation allows manufacturers a choice between options is insufficient to justify implied pre-emption; courts should only find pre-emption where evidence exists that an agency has a regulatory objective— e.g., obtaining a mix of passive restraint mechanisms, as in Geier—whose achievement depends on manufacturers having a choice between options. A link between a regulatory objective and the need for manufacturer choice to achieve that objective is the lynchpin of implied pre-emption when there is a saving clause.

More people die in Illinois from coal-related deaths than any other state in this country with the exception of New York and Pennsylvania, according to the 2010 Toll for Coal Report of the Clean Air Task Force (read the full report here).  Coal is a big industry in our area.

Midwest Generation, for example, operates six coal plants in Illinois: two in Chicago; others in Joliet, Pekin, Romeoville, and Waukegan.  It’s undisputed that these coal plants are among the biggest contributors to the region’s poor air quality.

Midwest Generation contributes things that create smog in the air and soot on surfaces:  e.g., nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, along with releasing mercury in local waterways where the fish live and we swim.  Midwest Generation knows this; the federal and state governments know this; the information has been made available to the public and Midwest Generation is supposed to be cleaning things up.

However, in papers Midwest Generation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, who knows when this clean up of Illinois air, water, and earth is going to take place.  Midwest Generation reports to the SEC that it will be taking “…the maximum time available…” to place pollution controls in its coal-fired power plants because … well, it can.  The company isn’t reporting that its going to miss a deadline, just that it’s not going to hurry up to meet it.

Till then, those six coal plants are gonna keep churning out their toxins and people are going to get sick from them.   How bad is this situation, really?

Well, consider the November 2010 Enviromental Protection Agency report on Midwest Generation’s Waukegan coal plant (read the full report here).  According to the EPA press release regarding the report (emphasis added):

… has caused up to $690 million in health and related damages in the last 8 years, according to a report released today by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC). The report uses data from the National Research Council finding that particulate matter (soot), from the Waukegan coal plant creates about $86 million in health and related damages annually. Overall, this coal plant has created between $520 million and $690 million in public health damages since 2002.

“The Waukegan coal plant is polluting our air, harming our health and draining our wallets,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “It’s time for Midwest Generation to be socially responsible and invest in modern pollution control equipment to clean up this old plant up, or shut it down.  Enough is enough.”

The Waukegan coal plant is located on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Northeastern Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago and 50 miles south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  More than 67,000 people live within three miles of the plant. The plant still operates using equipment built between 1958 and 1963, and Midwest Generation, the plant’s owner, has not installed modern pollution controls such as scrubbers….

According to Greenpeace, “… [c]hildren living in the Little Village and Pilsen communities surrounding these plants suffer from a 44% asthma rate. According to a Clean Air Task Force study, pollution from Fisk and Crawford kills 40 people every year….” As a result, Greenpeace is calling for closures of Midwest Generation coal plants.

Is politics at play here? Sure.  Are profits a concern?  Of course.  These coal plants have until 2018 to get things right.  Time for these victims to file a lawsuit for the harm they’ve experienced, the tragic deaths of loved ones and family providers they’ve suffered?  No need to wait there — those courageous plaintiffs may be able to do what the federal government and the non-profits like Greenpeace have not: find justice.

In our continued monitoring of the federal government’s introduction of its new safety measuring standards of Complaince, Safety, Accountablity (CSA 2010) upon the trucking industry, the latest news is the revelation of how truck drivers are being tracked under the new system as opposed to SafeStats, the old school version.  SafeStats measured trucking safety under three categories (the three Safety Evaluation Areas, or “SEAs”) whereas the new CSA 2010 analyzes seven different issues, or the its Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (“BASIC”).

A study performed by TransCore’s CarrierWatch of approximately 166,000 for-hire interstate trucking companies has just been released (read the entire report, or white paper, here), using the data provided in December 2010 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Among its findings:

• truckers can get CSA Alerts although their CSA scores are good;
• more truckers are getting CSA Alerts than those that got ’deficient’ ratings under the old SafeStat measuring system;
• there is no national cohesion in the CSA results, the BASIC scores as well as the number of CSA Alerts different, state by state; and
• Fatigued Driving, representing HOS violations,was the most common failure, with13% of freight carriers receiving an alert in that category.

Bringing the study’s results home, how did Illinois and Indiana fare?  Not too well.

According to the new report, both Illinois and Indiana were among the eight  Midwestern states receiving the most CSA Alerts for Unsafe Driving.  Moreover, Indiana was one of only five states across the country to get at least 50% more CSA Alerts than SafeStat deficiencies.  In other words, Indiana safety alerts jumped up over half again from the old school tracking system.  That’s a big jump.

Be careful out there – especially when you are sharing the roadway with a commercial truck, 18-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer, or semi.

Toyota’s problems with sudden acceleration, and all those lawsuits that popped up in due course, seemed to evaporate in a puff of smoke this week, when a report issued by NASA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) allegedly vindicated the car manufacturer by claiming that almost every single incident was the result of driver error, and not a problem with the car. (Read the report in its entirety here.)

But before you think that Toyota officials should be doing the Happy Dance, consider this:

The NASA-NHSTA experts are claiming that all these injuries were the result of mechanical problems (things like the floor map getting stuck), and not electrical system malfunctions.   However, go ask the Toyota drivers and see what they tell you:  as Steve Berman, the co-lead counsel on the plaintiffs’ steering committee for the economic class actions in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) against Toyota, was quoted in the National Law Journal, things don’t jive:  the actual events are in “stark contrast” to what these experts are reporting.

This is just one report, from a government agency.  It is not to be considered more than that, and there are fact issues which not only suggest, but downright refute, its findings.

What’s next?  Not a lay-down.  Nope.

Despite what the defense team would like the American public to believe, these doomday expert reports aren’t that surprising in any personal injury case where high amounts of money are at issue.  Savvy plaintiffs’ attorneys come to expect them.

What happens now is independent third-party experts must come in and listen to the facts as well as evaluate the cars, to give their opinion of what has happened here, and if Toyota was releasing dangerous products into the American marketplace.

Independent?  Yes.

Because there’s a big argument to be made that the federal government’s report might not be the most independent and unbiased expert report here.  Political motivations?  It’s an argument that can, and will, be made regarding this latest development.

Here’s some good news that we’re not hearing enough about:  in 2010, there was not a single fatality in the U.S. airline industry.  No one died – no passenger fatalities – none.  That’s a great accomplishment, in and of itself, but it gets better:  U.S. airlines also had zero passenger fatalities in 2007 and 2008.

Unfortunately, there cannot be a four year clean sweep, because in 2009 there was the tragic loss of 50 lives.  These fatalities were all from a single accident, on February 12, 2009, when a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop crashed into a Buffalo, New York, neighborhood, killing everyone on board and one man on the ground.

Bottom line, one fatal plane crash in four years is an excellent and commendable safety record for the American airline industry – and they should be applauded much more than they are for this amazing accomplishment.  Kudos.

And, in that applause, due respect must be given to the increased governmental safety regulations that were implemented and which have resulted in this wonderful achievement.  It must be acknowledged that one of the primary reasons that we’ve only seen one fatal plane crash of the U.S. Airlines in all this time is because of regulations that have been passed and enforced by the federal government.  Agencies like theFederal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board must share in these accolades.

Which brings us to the current attempts by regulators to increase the safety of the trucking industry and all the criticism of this endeavor.

CSA 2010 is the federal government’s program to make commercial trucking safer. The big trucking companies are very unhappy about these new regulations, complaining that it will destroy their profitability, force truck drivers to seek other careers, yadda yadda yadda — you get the idea.

For example, in December 2010 new hours of service (HOS) regulations were unveiled — read them here at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website — not to undermine the trucking industry, but to make sure that truckers are getting enough rest and sleep and time away from the wheel.  Sleepy, tired truck drivers are dangerous to themselves and to those with whom they share the road.  By regulating how much drive time they can have before taking a break is important.  It can save lives.

The trucking industry is crying out in protest of these new HOS regulations – as well as all of CSA 2010 – because it decreases profitability, increases costs, etc.  They need to have those trucks moving as much as possible to make their money.  Cut back on trucker road time, you hit their essence – it’s understandable that these companies are not going quietly into that good night.

Still, we have hopes that the federal regulatory agencies will eventually corral the complaints, via the courtroom if need be, and things will settle down in the trucking industry so sometime in the future — hopefully the near future — we can see trucking industry statistics similar to those that the U.S. airline industry enjoys today.  It’s doable, and it’s needed.

The weather reports are predicting an unprecedented winter storm will hit our area beginning today, and it’s tragic but true that some folk aren’t going to survive this onslaught.  It’s the duty of us all to try and keep that loss as small as possible.  Here are some tips for keeping safe during this massive onslaught of freezing temperatures, snow, and ice:

1.  don’t drive if you don’t have to do so, drive during the day and on main roads if you must, and all motorists should use extreme caution.   A toll-free phone number has been set up, so you can call and learn what the Illinois road conditions are like in advance: call 1 (800) 452-4368.

2.  along the roadways, look for National Guard troops positioned at certain rest areas (for example, along I-70) if you need help; both the National Guard and local law enforcement will be driving the roadways, looking for stranded motorists 24/7 during this storm.   They will have basic things like snacks, water, and first aid for those in need.

3.  watch out for your neighbors, particularly the elderly.  Seniors can be very vulnerable, very quickly in winter storms if they haven’t prepared in advance with filled prescriptions, adequate food, etc.

4.  prepare in advance for power outages – have water and food stored for emergency use, as well as blankets, flashlights, and charged phones.  Have kerosene and kerosene heaters at the ready (always refilling them outside).

5.  close off rooms that don’t need to be heated, it saves on fuel.

For more tips, check out FEMA.GOV.

The National Guard for both Illinois and Indiana have both been called into action.  This is a serious situation for our area.  For the latest information on the weather and storm conditions and other information on staying safe, see ready.illinois.gov.

Drug distributors are forecasting industry growth in this recessionary climate, theIndyStar reports today.   Indiana, take note: here’s a market with good economic predictions.  Something our part of the country could really use right now, right?

Read the story, and you’ll find the drug marketing gurus are almost gleeful in their descriptions of rising “prescription volume” and the dependable strength of both ” generic dispensing” and “mail-order volume.”  2011 is going to be a good year for these guys.

Which makes this week’s news release by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention even more important – and disturbing.  According to the CDC (read the report here), drugs are the cause of more deaths in the United States today than guns or alcohol.  And by drugs, the CDC isn’t referencing solely illegal drugs like cocaine or crystal meth.  No.  Drugs like prescription drugs and over the counter medicines are responsible for a shocking number of human fatalities in this country.

The danger of drug induced deaths aren’t new to Indiana’s state government.  In March 2008, the Indiana Center for Policy released its own report on the dangers of drug-related deaths (read the report here).  This hits home, folks.

People in our community are at risk for serious injury or death from drugs that are purchased over the counter at WalMart or CVS or any other store as well as those that are prescription drugs given by a trusted health care professional.  Of particular concern: pain medications like Oxycodone.

Meanwhile, the drug companies are looking to make bigger and bigger profits now and in the future.  Remember, Big Pharma is a for-profit industry: its goal is monetary growth.  These are not entities built to serve charitable purposes and many of us tend to forget this – to our detriment.

Remember: drugs aren’t safe.  Drugs can kill you or a loved one.  Be careful and be sure to get help if you believe that you or a loved one may be having a detrimental reaction to any drug or medication.  Get medical care.  And if a tragedy happens, consider the laws on the books of Indiana and the federal government that exist to protect against defective products and wrongful death.

On Wednesday, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation that will increase the state taxes assessed against nursing homes (“the bed tax”) with the goal of bringing in more than $145,000,000 targeted for safety reforms in nursing homes across the state.   The gist of this, of course, is to make the nursing homes pay for the safety reforms themselves, instead of dipping into Illinois’ (empty) pockets.

Under current health care provisions, this will allow the State of Illinois to get another bunch of money, almost a dollar for dollar doubling of this new safety reform fund, through Medicaid federal funds. That’s a lot of cash.

And the horrors of nursing home abuse and neglect are very real.

Families face terrible situations where they file lawsuits either on their own behalf, or on behalf of their loved one who has been victimized, only after bad, bad things have happened.  While law firms like Kenneth J. Allen & Associates are always ready to fight for justice in these situations, it’s clearly a better scenario to stop the elder abuse and neglect long before it ever happens.

But will these new nursing home safety reforms actually stop nursing home abuse and neglect?

Many say no, including the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). This new legislation will really throw lotsa cash into the pockets of nursing home facilities that are focused on their bottom-line, and are profit-driven as opposed to care-driven, critics suggest.  Plus, where are these bed tax increases going to get shifted – who’s gonna end up paying them ultimately?

If you suspect any resident of a nursing home of being the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, trust your gut.  Contact state authorities like the Illinois Department on Agingor the Indiana Division on Aging who will then pursue criminal investigations — and remember, private malpractice lawsuits based upon personal injury or wrongful death claims against these facilities can be powerful ways to help not only the individual victim, but to force overall changes that help others in the future.

In the past, it appeared that things were finally changing for the better, with a steady decrease in the number of tragic, horrific deaths happening due to a collision between a person – walking or in a car, truck, or minivan – and huge, heavy, moving locomotive.  Things have changed.

In 2010, there was a twenty percent (20%) increase in the number of Illinois fatalities due to train accidents. This is a huge, significant jump.  What’s going on?

Railroad accidents usually result in death. The responsibility of the train tracks themselves, as well as the warning systems, is not with the government but with the owner of the railroad. The state governments are each responsible for their roadways leading up to the crossing. Needless to say, money plays a big factor in how safe railroad crossings are in America today. Railroad companies are watching their bottom line, and we all know the dire straits of 2011?s Illinois budget (see our previous post on cutting public services).

Operation Lifesaver is getting involved.

Operation Lifesaver is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the eradication of railroad accidents and train fatalities.  From its website:

Operation Lifesaver’s mission is to end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on rail property through a nationwide network of volunteers who work to educate people about rail safety. Our national office in Alexandria, VA, supports state programs, developing videos, educational brochures, instructional information and other materials for audiences of all ages. Our state coordinators are located in all 50 states.

Already, the Illinois office of Operation Lifesaver has begun a media blitz aimed to educate everyone in Illinois about the dangers of any crash with a train – especially when you’re in a hurry, and thinking you are going to be able to scoot over the tracks and beat the train.  We applaud them for their efforts, and hope this post in some small way assists them in getting the word out about this growing danger to us all. 
Here’s a video from their latest awareness campaign.

Today’s recall of Avastin by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is becoming a national scandal: many are calling this action an example of a government death panel in action.

Avastin, a drug designed for breast cancer treatment, has been deemed by the federal government as a “[d]rug not shown to be safe and effective in breast cancer patients.”Accordingly, the Roche-Genetech product is being recalled by the federal government. You can read the complete FDA announcement here.

Is Avastin Recall Really the Beginning of Government Death Panels? Some Say Yes.

This morning, Senator David Vitter (D-La) publically denounced today’s recall as“government rationing” to the Wall Street Journal. You can read his position on the recallas well as see the letter that Senator Vitter sent to the FDA on his Senate website page.

Moreover, national news media from across the country are using today’s action as an example of government death panels becoming a reality, from San Francisco toChicago to Washington.

Maybe this wouldn’t be such a big deal if there weren’t so many breast cancer patients out there that insist that Avastin helps them.  In fact, the online petition of one breast cancer survivor has been very persuasive: Senator Vitter has acknowledged its influence on his actions and the petition (with over 9000 signatures thus far) has been a repetitive news resource.

If you are a victim of breast cancer, then take heed.  Avastin may no longer be available to you in this country.  What can you do?  Call your elected representatives and voice your opinion.  Support the Louisiana Senator’s efforts.

Do it now.

Earlier this month, on November 3, 2010, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the wrongful death case of Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc.(hear the oral argument online here). This case is very important to us all because it may well mean that citizens can sue car manufacturers for personal injury and wrongful death even if the cars involved in the accidents technically met federal safety law requirements.

The Williamson lawsuit originates in a 2002 car crash where Thanh Williamson, 32, died while wearing a lap seat belt in a Mazda 1993 MPV minivan. Mazda’s defense is that Williamson was seating in the center position of the rear passenger seat and at the time, the car maker was only required to provide a lap band for this spot per National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulation.

And, that’s true. The 2000 federal regulations did not require that spot to have a shoulder strap seat belt. However, if one had been provided, Williamson probably would be alive today. And, if the crash had occurred in a minivan manufactured in 2007 or later, that seat would have had more than a lap belt: NHTSA changed its regulations to require this safety feature five years after Ms. Williamson died.

Will the High Court find that federal law preempts state law and rule for Mazda? Will the Supreme Court Justices rule instead that American citizens shouldn’t have to face federal law shields by car manufacturers in wrongful death personal injury lawsuits?

Time will tell. Expect a decision sometime in Spring 2011.

By Times Staff | Posted: Wednesday, December 1, 2010 9:00 pm | (16) Comments

Copyright 2010 nwi.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

If you search for the term “ring avulsion” you’ll find lots of gory images of lost fingers and mangled hands, all due to the dangers of wearing a ring while on the job, working on the car or around the house, etc. There are also lots of medio-technical papers which aren’t inviting to the average reader since they’re filled with lots of medical jargon (and sometimes require a paid subscription).

New Article Explains Danger of Wearing a Ring

However, it was only this week that an excellent overview of the dangers of wearing rings while doing certain tasks was published online. If you want to know more about ring avulsion, check out CED Investigative Technologies’ latest article, “Ring Avulsion: the Danger of Wearing a Ring!Engineering Experts in Railroad Claims and Litigation Meet the Expert: Grant Bevill, Ph.D.”

This article is worth your time to read, whether you are a worker or a boss, and whether or not you work in the railroad industry, work construction, do mill work or mining, or any other type of thing that brings your hands into contact with heavy tools, electrical appliances, and the like.

Leave the Wedding Band at Home or in Your Pocket

Simply put, that wedding band or class ring may have sentimental value but you need to weigh that against permanent injury to your hand – including losing that ring finger.

And, if your wife or husband is disturbed about you leaving that ring off your finger (since the wedding band does mark you as mated in our society), then pull up those images that pop up when the phrase “ring avulsion” is searched. Only, don’t do this right before dinne

It’s nice when something positive comes out of Washington, and it appears that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor) is backhandedly doing just that.

This week, in a national news release, OSHA announced its concern that massive amounts of consumer shopping might endanger retail workers in the work place, and the agency is “encouraging” 14 major national retail companies to plan now, implementing precautionary measures to insure the safety of their retail workers during the holiday season. (Black Friday taking on a particular spotlight here.)

In fact, OSHA sent a letter with a fact sheet on “Crowd Management Safety Tips for Retailers” to the heads of these big store chains. Crowd control? Wow, that sounds like a good retail gift-buying frenzy of sorts. Just what our economy needs, right?

“Crowd-related injuries during special retail sales and promotional events have increased during recent years,” reports Assistant Secretary for OSHA Dr. David Michaels in the news release. “Many of these incidents can be prevented by adopting a crowd management plan, and this fact sheet provides retail employers with guidelines for avoiding injuries during the holiday shopping season.”

So, what does OSHA suggest as preparation? Its fact sheet suggests such things as: (1) trained security personnel or police officers on-site; (2) setting up barricades or rope lines for pedestrians and crowd control well in advance of customers arriving at the store; (3) having in place emergency procedures that address potential dangers; and (4) monitoring the number of customers in the store, and stopping folk from entering when maximum occupancy is reached.

Want to see what the CEOs received from OSHA? Read it here.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! Only 50 shopping days till Christmas!