Your Medical Care After a Car or Truck Accident

One of the mistakes claimants sometimes make is trying to arrange their medical care in such a way as to maximize the potential settlement value of their case.  For instance, some accident victims will try to schedule more frequent doctor visits, figuring that more medical visits will lead to higher medical bills which, in turn, will lead to a higher potential settlement.  That’s a big mistake.

If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident, your first priority and focus should always be getting the appropriate medical treatment to help you get better and not on trying to increase a potential settlement.

Here are some key do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when speaking with your health care providers after an accident:

DO be 100 percent honest with your health care provider.  It is imperative that you give your doctor a completely accurate history of previous injuries or accidents you may have had.  You can be sure that the insurance company will uncover any prior accidents and injuries, and in doing so, will cast doubt on your doctor’s current diagnosis.

DON’T exaggerate the details of your accident.  If you tell your doctor that your car was totaled when it actually only had minor damage, you’re asking for trouble.  Your doctor may be called to testify at trial about your injuries and will end up getting embarrassed by the insurance lawyer if you’ve misled him or her.

DON’T exaggerate your symptoms.  You should tell your doctor exactly what symptoms you are experiencing.  Exaggerating your symptoms won’t make your case stronger, and in fact, can sink your case if evidence (such as video surveillance) comes to light that contradicts what you told your doctor you can or can’t do on a daily basis.

DO follow the treatment plan your doctor recommends.  This means following through on physical therapy, making it to all of your appointments, and taking prescribed medications.  If you fail to do so and your recovery takes longer than expected, the insurance company lawyer will blame you and make the argument at trial that you must not have been hurting that badly.

ER Mistakes

Problems of understaffed and overcrowded emergency rooms frequently appear in the media.  Doctors, nurses, aids, technicians and other staff struggle to manage a tangled and confusing health care system while treating an endless number of sick or injured people.  As a result, it’s not surprising that mistakes regularly occur in many ERs throughout the country.

Common ER mistakes include:

• Improper or incorrect amounts of medication administered (including anesthesia).
• Incorrectly collected or interpreted lab work.
• Surgical errors.
• Infection caused by unclean work environment or failure to follow procedures.
• Failure to prescribe the right medication or prescribing the wrong amount.
• Incorrect diagnosis.
• Negligence by hospital staff or EMT/paramedic personnel.

If a doctor, nurse, or other staff member fails to appropriately triage a patient, heart attacks, appendicitis ruptures, strokes, or aneurysms can occur – often with catastrophic implications to the patient and the patient’s loved ones.

If these errors occur, doctors and hospitals can be held liable, and the injured party may be able to recover money to compensate them for past and future earnings, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.  If you feel that your or a loved one has been further injured because of a visit to the ER, please contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

FAQ: Can I Still Receive Compensation for My Injuries?

Q: I was recently hurt in a car accident that was caused by the other driver.  Unfortunately, my auto insurance lapsed before the accident.  Can I still receive compensation for my injuries?

A: While it is unlawful in West Virginia to drive without it, not having insurance does not impact your ability to recover damages (money) from the person who caused the crash.  If the accident was the fault of the other driver, you can still file a claim with his or her insurance company.  You may be able to obtain compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, and other damages associated with the collision.  Rest assured, though, that it is not going to be easy to work with the insurance company.

A Deadly Mix of Distractions on the Road- Texting While Driving

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, distracted driving can be broken down into three main types of distraction — visual (in which you take your eyes off the road), manual (in which you take your hands off the wheel), and cognitive (in which you take your mind off what you are doing).

 While any type of distraction while you are driving can be dangerous, what makes driving while texting especially problematic is that it involves all three main types of distractions.

 Statistics show that around 20 percent of all crashes involve some type of distraction, and in 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed in collisions involving a distracted driver.

And even though many states have banned or are considering bans on texting while driving, it is up to drivers themselves to use common sense. When you’re behind the wheel, put the phone down entirely, or if you absolutely have to send a text, pull over to a safe area on the side of the road or into a parking lot.

 Currently in West Virginia, drivers younger than 18 that hold either a learner’s permit or an intermediate license are banned from cell phone use of any kind while operating a motor vehicle.  There is a bill being considered for the next legislative session that will ban texting while driving in the State of West Virginia for anyone driving a motor vehicle.

If you or a family member has been victim in an accident caused by a distracted driver, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney

Slip and Fall Accidents

Almost every one has slipped and fallen at some point in our lives. We often end up with just a few bumps or bruises. Other times, though, a slip and fall accident can lead to serious injuries which may be caused by someone else’s negligence.

One very common misconception is that an owner is automatically responsible for fall injuries that happen on their property, regardless of the cause.  This is simply not true.  In West Virginia, to hold another person legally responsible for injuries you suffer from a fall, you generally must show (1) that the condition which caused your fall was unreasonably dangerous or risky, (2) that owner knew or should have known about the condition and failed to fix it, clean it up, or warn about it, and, (3) that it wasn’t an obvious condition that you should avoided.

If you’ve suffered injuries from a slip and fall on someone else’s property and think they may be responsible, contact our office to set up a consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Lead Poisoning in Children: A Scary Source

Most often when we hear the words lead poisioning and children we instantly think of lead-based paints in older homes as being the main sourse.Even though lead-based paint was banned in 1978, it is still a problem in 25 percent of U.S. homes with kids under the age of 6.

 However, lead from a difference source is now believed to be responsible for about 30 percent of all childhood lead poisoning cases:  Kids, toys and jewelry.

A recent study showed that over 3 million toys, mostly manufactured in China, were recalled during a 14-month period due to having excessive amounts of lead.

Lead poisoning in children can result in learning disabilities, behavior difficulties, speech delays, hearing loss, ADHD, and aggression.  To make matters worse, children with lead poisoning often don’t show any early apparent symptoms.

As parents, what can you do to help protect your kids?                                  

• Discard all brightly painted toys that come from Pacific Rim countries, particularly China, especially if the paint is peeling or chipped or if the toy fits in the child’s mouth.
• Keep a close eye on toy recalls announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and sign up for e-mail alerts from the CPSC about future recalls.
• Discard ceramic or pottery toys not made in the U.S.
• Take all metal jewelry from your children.  If there is something you that absolutely need to keep, have it tested for lead.
• Purchase only crayons that are soy-based.

If you are worried about possible lead poisoning in your children, you can have them screened with a blood lead level test that is quick and inexpensive.  It is recommended that all children under the age of 6 be tested annually.  The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has a Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program [CLPPP].  For more information on the CLPPP, you can call (304)558-5388 or (800) 642-8522 (toll free in WV).

School Bus Safety

With the start of school just around the corner it is time to review school bus safety with your children. Not only is it vital your child abides by the school bus rules while riding on the bus, the rules they should follow outside of a bus could save their life.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) , school buses are the safest way for kids to get to school (nearly 8 times safer than passenger vehicles), but there are still dangers for children, especially when getting on or off the bus.

The NHTSA has the following tips to help parents teach their kids how to be safe around buses:

● When getting on the bus, stay away from the danger zone and wait for the driver’s signal. Board the bus one at a time.

●When getting off the bus, look before stepping off the bus to be sure no cars are passing on the shoulder (side of the road). Move away from the bus.

●Before crossing the street, take five “giant steps” out from the front of the bus, or until the driver’s face can be seen (A). Wait for the driver to signal that it’s safe to cross.

●Look left-right-left when coming to the edge of the bus to make sure traffic is stopped. Keep watching traffic when crossing.

Reducing the Risk of SIDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While public education and awareness efforts during the past 20 years have helped reduce the rate of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by 50%, there is still much that can be done to prevent SIDS.

SIDS, which is defined as the sudden death of an infant less than one year of age that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation, is the leading cause of death among infants aged 1-12 months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the third leading cause overall of infant mortality in the U.S.

As part of its “Back to Sleep” campaign, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has developed the following list of tips and information aimed at helping parents and caregivers reduce the risk of SIDS:

• Always place babies on their backs to sleep – Research shows that babies who sleep on their backs are less likely to die of SIDS than babies who sleep on their stomachs or sides.  Placing your baby on his or her back to sleep is the number one way to reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Use the back sleep position every time – Babies who usually sleep on their backs but who are then placed on their stomachs, like for a nap, are at a very high risk for SIDS.  So it is important for babies to sleep on their backs every time – for naps and at night.
• Place your baby on a firm sleep surface, such as a safety-approved crib mattress covered with a fitted sheet.
• Keep soft objects, toys, and loose bedding out of your baby’s sleep area – Don’t use pillows, blankets, quilts, sheepskins, or pillow-like bumpers in your baby’s sleep area.  Keep all items away from the baby’s face.
• Avoid letting your baby overheat during sleep – Dress your baby in light sleep clothing and keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for an adult.

Our firm encourages everyone to follow these guidelines to provide the safest possible sleeping environment for infants.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

We’ve all heard the phrase “laughter is the best medicine.”  Now, researchers at Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health and Medicine are proving that there’s a whole lot of truth to that adage.

Though the notion that laughter can have health benefits is not a new one – Norman Cousins first suggested it during the 1970s – recent studies are indicating more and more positive effects of laughter.  According to the latest research, repetitious joyous laughter actually causes the body to respond as much as it would to moderate physical exercise.

Laughter has now been shown to enhance a person’s mood, decrease the amount of stress hormones, enhance the body’s immune activity, lower bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raise the level of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol).  Researchers point out that laughter may even be able to play a role in the treatment of elderly patients suffering from a lack of appetite.

So, next time you find yourself scuffling a little bit or feeling down, try some laughter…your body will thank you for it.

Amusement Park Safety

With summer in full swing, millions of Americans have or will wait in those long lines for their turn at an adrenalin rish.

The dangers of the rides is also awaiting them. Each year, on average, 10,000 people suffer injuries at parks and five people die, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  Because rules on reporting amusement park accidents and injuries vary so much from state to state, and since many injuries go unreported, the true number of accident injuries is hard to determine.

The Injuries reported range from less serious like bumps, bruses and small cuts to broken bones, paralysis,brain injuries, and loss of limb.In one of the more tragic recent cases, a 13-year-old girl on a tower-drop ride at a Six Flags park in Kentucky had both of her feet severed when a cable broke during the ride and struck the girl in the legs at a high rate of speed.

Overall, some of the main reasons for injuries at parks include:

• Rider error, such as standing up during a ride or removing restraints.
• Mechanical failure.
• Ride operator negligence, which may result from inattentiveness or failing to properly secure riders.
• Falls at entrances or exits to rides.

In 1988 the West Virginia legislature created the Amusement Rides and Amusement Attractions Safety Act (W.Va. Code § 21-10-1 to 19).  The Act, among other things, requires that all rides and attractions be inspected annually and that all serious injuries or fatalities be reported to the State and made publically available.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury at an amusement park or carnival, it is important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney to determine if you may be owed damages.

Some websites, such as www.rideaccidents.com, have been created to help inform the general public about accidents that occur at parks, carnivals and fairs.  Of particular concern is the amount of accidents and injuries sustained from so-called inflatable rides like moon bounces or slide.