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Author: Anthony Proffitt

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catastrophic injuries

Protect yourself after a catastrophic injury by filing a claim

Catastrophic injuries are injuries that change your life forever. They’re so serious that you may never fully recover. They include injuries to the spine, trauma to the brain and other serious wounds.

If you’re in a crash and suffer catastrophic injuries, it’s likely that you’ll know right away. The stories of people who couldn’t see, couldn’t feel their legs or who were left without hearing all come to mind as injuries that are devastating and instant in crashes.

What can you do to reduce the severity of a catastrophic injury?

Sometimes, there’s not much you can do, but the most important thing you can do for yourself is to call 911 and get to a hospital. Even if you think you’re fine, you need to go to the hospital for a medical exam. That exam is the basis for everything that is to come, including suggestions for treatment, the potential for life-saving or life-changing drugs to be administered during a short window for success and as documentation that you can submit when you make a claim against the driver who struck you.

People who suffer from catastrophic injuries often end up needing a lifetime of medical care, exams and other treatments. Some need multiple surgeries in hopes of reducing pain or increasing mobility. No matter what happened to you, it’s important that you have the chance to be compensated. You can file a claim shortly after the crash, but make sure you wait to settle or go to trial until you know how serious your injuries are and how they’ll affect you in the future.

Categories
dangerous and defective products

You should always report a defective product

Defective protects can become a huge hazard in your home. For example, a device like a pressure cooker with loose latches or no way to release pressure in an emergency could explode and cause harm. A coffee pot that doesn’t regulate itself correctly could spray hot water or coffee on those around it.

In any situation where a defective product is present, it’s necessary to take steps to eliminate the risk to consumers. Most commonly, this comes in the form of a recall. Recalls may be voluntary or not, but the end result is the same: The products are no longer sold if they are dangerous.

What should you do if you believe you have a defective product?

The first thing to do is to make sure you did everything correctly when you set up the product. For example, if you were supposed to remove safety tape or papers and failed to do so, the product might not work correctly.

Next, read the manual to guarantee that you’re using the product as it was designed to be used. If you don’t, you could hurt yourself despite warnings in the materials or tips on how to avoid injury.

If you find that you’ve done everything correctly, but you’re still struggling with the device getting too hot, sparking or causing other problems, you should report it. You can report the defective device to the store where you purchased it, directly to the manufacturer, to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in some cases and to your attorney for further help with your defective product case.

Categories
nursing home abuse and neglect

How do you prevent nursing home abuse?

Placing a loved one into a nursing home is hard. It might be the last resort after trying in-home health care options or attempting to care for them yourself. The reality is that many people need to go into nursing homes, especially as they approach the end of their lives.

If you’re worried about placing a loved one in a nursing home, you’re not alone. There are so many terrible stories about abuse and neglect that it’s hard to imagine putting someone in one of these facilities. Fortunately, for every horror story, there are many stories of people who have great experiences. You just have to be aware of the risks and do what you can to mitigate them.

How can you prevent nursing home abuse?

One of the best ways to prevent abuse is by being present. Often, it’s elders who are left alone or without visitors who end up facing abuse. If you make yourself known and get to know the staff, you’re less likely to have problems.

If a problem does occur, you’ll have connections to help you resolve it. Additionally, you’ll be more familiar with the relationship between your loved one and the staff members.

Another thing to do is to speak up when you see problems. If your loved one mentions waiting too long to get to the bathroom because the nurses were too busy, it’s worth bringing this to the attention of the nursing home director. Hiring more staff members or giving some current members more hours could help eliminate the problem and help your loved one get better care.

Categories
motor vehicle accidents

Tennessee sheriff’s deputy involved in strange car accident

We rely on law enforcement officers and emergency service personnel to help us at some of the worst moments in our lives. It is rare that police or firefighters cause an accident, but we expect their employers to make us whole if they do.

A Tennessee county is reviewing how it handles car accidents involving their employees after a sheriff’s deputy allegedly ran a red light and crashed his sport utility vehicle into a car. The man was not disciplined and soon received another vehicle from the sheriff’s office.

That vehicle was involved in another accident, which severely injured the deputy and ran out of control into a fire hydrant and a nearby car. A review turned up some strange issues around these incidents, such as an altered crash report and a settled lawsuit with the victim of the first crash that was not accompanied by an internal probe.

Before he cost the taxpayers more than $35,000 with these two crashes, the deputy was also involved in two other accidents while serving the sheriff’s office and was never disciplined. The local police department requires internal reviews as well as drug and alcohol testing for officers involved in collisions, but the sheriff’s office does not.

Victims of car accidents have the right to seek compensation as well as official explanations or admissions or responsibility in some cases. An experienced motor vehicle accident attorney can assist victims and their families with making their case and determining if settlement or court actions are the best way forward to the appropriate damages for injured people.

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Uncategorized

Spinal cord injuries during birth

Damage to a baby’s spinal cord during delivery can have devastating and life-long consequences. While these cases are rare – 5 percent of spinal cord cases in the United States each year— around 60 to 75 percent of infant spinal cord injuries will occur in the neck area. The higher the injury occurs along the baby’s spine, the more severe the damage will be.

How do spinal injuries occur?

Unfortunately, there is little you can do as a parent to prevent spinal cord injuries from occurring during the birthing process. Spinal cord injuries can occur for a variety of reasons.

Generally, they are the result of blunt force trauma that occurs from vacuum extraction or forceps used to pull the baby through the birth canal. However, they can also occur from a breech delivery, rotation, hypertension and overstretching of the fetal head, as well as impact and injury from the surgeon’s own hands.

What are the symptoms?

Many of the consequences of infant spinal cord injuries can be permanent. Depending on the severity of the damage and the location of the injury, infants can experience the following symptoms:

  • Spasms
  • Abnormal reflexes
  • Loss of touch and other sensations
  • Weakness
  • Stinging pain
  • Nerve damage
  • Paralysis

Infants with spinal cord injuries can also experience bowel and bladder problems, which can be difficult to detect in babies. In rare cases, spinal cord injuries sustained during birth can even be fatal.

An estimated 11,300 newborns die each year in the United States during their birth or later that day. Around 23 percent of these infants die because of birth complications, including spinal cord injuries. If your delivery doctor caused or failed to prevent your baby’s spinal cord injury, you may have a claim for a personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuit.

Categories
nursing home abuse and neglect

Nursing home in trouble after hiding resident from inspectors

There is little more important than the safety and comfort of our relatives. It can be difficult to make the decision to move an elderly relative into an assisted living facility or nursing home. But once that decision is made, we must hope that the facility’s medical professionals and staff members have the same concern for our seniors’ lives as we do.

Tennessee has dozens of nursing homes run by several large and independent agencies. Most patients and residents in these facilities are safe and happy, but several have suffered due to staff abuse or neglect of their most fundamental needs.

One Arlington nursing home has been enjoined from accepting new patients while state health inspectors investigate the allegation that a resident was hidden in a closet during a scheduled inspection. The facility outside Memphis has been cited for several other violations as well, including the death of a patient from a preventable ulcer after staff did not elevate her legs as prescribed.

The hidden resident was actually not a “resident” at all, as she was living in the home without records. Staff members tried to claim she was only a day patient, then gave a fake name for her to investigators after the elderly woman was found sitting inside a storage closet. She claimed to have been living there “off the books” for nine months.

Victims f nursing home abuse and neglect have the right to ask for compensation for their injuries. An attorney can help review the details of a case of abuse or neglect and prepare a case to restore justice to the victim and his or her family.

Categories
catastrophic injuries

Risk of player injury brings football coaches forward on safety

Sports are a big part of growing up, especially in the southern United States. Football is one of the most widespread pastimes between the Mason-Dixon Line and the Gulf of Mexico, with every type of school offering students a chance to get caught up in some gridiron action.

Recent injuries have highlighted the need to review sports safety guidelines below the professional leagues. A student at a Tennessee university is in critical condition after a head injury during a league game. An earlier injury at a high school matchup in Georgia ended the life of an Atlanta-area athlete.

One high school football coach said that although the chances of a catastrophic injury in sports are very low, “the coaches’ greatest fears is your player getting injured in any way.” Many coaches in Tennessee and elsewhere are getting more involved in player safety, from better practices to more training focused on health.

Several schools drill their student-athletes differently now than in the 20th century. More information about the dynamics of sports injuries and the dangers of repetitive stress has changed many approaches, including less aggressive trainings and extra training about how to give and take a hit on the field.

The families of children affected by catastrophic injury while playing sports or in other situations may have a case for financial damages if someone else is responsible for the dangerous situation. An attorney can help guide a family through a difficult period of early recovery and make the best case possible for reimbursement of medical expenses and compensation for pain and emotional distress.

Categories
dangerous and defective products

Lawsuit alleges a company knew it was dumping harmful chemicals

We rely on companies to make good products safely for consumers and neighbors alike. Tennessee has seen some dangerous product lawsuits over the years, but one of the state’s largest liabilities may be industrial interference in its precious water resources.

A Lawrence County woman is suing a major office and industrial supply company, claiming its leadership knew that it was dumping cancer-causing waste chemicals into the Tennessee River in Decatur, just to the east of her home. The woman was diagnosed with kidney cancer and believes it was caused by the company’s irresponsible waste disposal.

The two chemicals in question are used to create nonstick surfaces, a process involving many hazardous tools. The lawsuit states they were dumped into the river’s water and bed sludge for more than 35 years. Even if the practice was stopped, environmental watchdogs still claim millions of pounds of contaminants still enter the Tennessee River every year.

The local municipal water authorities later responded by installing carbon filters to trap the chemicals before they entered drinking water. Progress was noted on water bills to be shared with clients. The plaintiff also named these authorities as defendants, to which they responded they were victims of the company and its practice as much as she was.

Victims of unsafe products, poor commercial practices and other violations of law or trust may consider a lawsuit to claim suitable financial damages and get a harmful practice stopped before it hurts more people. An attorney can help create, file and pursue such a case for one or more people looking for justice.

Categories
motor vehicle accidents

Tennessee man killed in van collision

Anyone familiar with the roads of Tennessee knows that most of them include gorgeous vistas, and some can pose serious dangers to drivers and passengers. Drivers across the Volunteer State must stay vigilant to avoid collisions.

A 78-year-old motorist from Loudon was killed in a car accident in Maryville recently. The accident happened on U.S. Route 411 at Calderwood Highway when the victim turned his convertible to make a left turn. A van owned by the University of Tennessee pulled in front of the car and pushing it into a pickup truck stopped at the traffic light.

The 21-year-old driver of the van stopped to assist at the scene of the three-vehicle accident, which killed one driver and injured another. None of the van’s eight occupants were injured. Police do not currently believe drugs or alcohol were involved, although blood tests of the involved drivers are pending.

All drivers were wearing seat belts, which reduce the chances of injury and death in a car accident. The deceased driver had to be extricated from his car by emergency personnel. This is the latest of several serious accidents in Tennessee’s Blount County. Earlier this year, a motorcyclist lost his life and several others were hurt in various crashes.

Victims of serious car accidents and the survivors of those who died in traffic fatalities may consider filing claims for financial damages to help get past the tragic and unexpected crash. An attorney may be a defendant’s best ally in the search for reimbursement of medical expenses as well as possible compensation for pain and emotional distress.

Categories
Uncategorized

Staying safe on the road through winter weather

Tennessee doesn’t often experience the giant storms of Northern states, but when it does snow, it becomes a safety issue for all drivers. Fortunately, there are ways to stay safe on the road when there is ice and snow.

Below are a few safety tips for if you are caught on the road with snow this winter season.

Pack an emergency kit

In the event you are unable to continue driving in a snowstorm, it could be helpful to keep an emergency kit handy. Tennessee drivers may not need everything a motorist in a state like Minnesota might want to have handy, but there is some overlap.

A few items to consider adding to your own emergency kit are:

  • First Aid needs such as bandages, hand sanitizer, aspirin or other medical items
  • Road flares
  • Jumper cables
  • A flashlight and extra batteries
  • Duct tape
  • Cat litter (for traction on slick roads)
  • Ice scraper
  • Drinking water and non-perishable snacks
  • Blankets and warm clothing

Give yourself time

If you are planning to drive through snow, build delays into your trip. Leave early and drive slow to ensure you reach your destination safely.

Slowing down also means creating space between drivers. Increase the distance between yourself and other vehicles, as it takes more time to stop. Brake early and slowly to stay safe.

Watch for plows

Snow plows are crucial to keeping the roads safe during a storm, so give them room to do their job. Don’t tailgate behind a plow or stop too close behind them, and remember that their field of vision is not the same as yours.

If it seems dicey, stay at home

Drivers can call 511 to assess the current driving conditions, and if the weather seems too risky for driving, it may be best to stay at home. Know what the roads are like and your own driving capabilities before deciding to drive.

There is no surefire way to guarantee drivers won’t get into an accident, but by sticking to known tips for winter weather driving, we can all help increase the safety of everyone on the road.