Ford's technology causes the steering wheel to vibrate when the car drifts out of lane. If the driver does nothing to correct the drift, the system will take over and bring the car back into its lane.
The problem with consistency, Stross believes, lies in the fact that road conditions must be right in order for it to work - he gives the examples of twilight, storms and curves as causing too much interference - and the ability of the onboard camera to properly define the lanes.
In Texas, as elsewhere, falling asleep behind the wheel and causing an auto accident can represent one common example of negligent driving. The others are speeding, reckless driving, drunk driving and texting while driving.
If you're tired, you should not be driving, which, we admit, is easier said than done. But perhaps Ford's lane-keeping technology will help to save a few more lives by preventing car accidents from drowsy driving.
Source: Trying to Nudge Drowsy Drivers
]]>We usually handle wrongful death claims related to car accident cases, not aviation cases, but if the two "rolling" airplanes had collided, it would undoubtedly have resulted in dozens of fatalities.
]]> As the Associated Press reports, the air traffic controller cleared a regional passenger jet on one runway, while simultaneously clearing a single-engine Cessna flown by a student pilot on an intersecting runway.The two planes actually passed within 300 feet of each other.
Reportedly, the captain of the regional passenger jet said, "Wow, that was close."
]]>When it comes to thoracic surgery, medical device maker Covidien has voluntarily recalled its Duet TRS product, which has so far been linked to 13 patient injuries and three patient deaths. As it stands, the fact that so many patients have been injured or killed suggests that the Duet TRS is a dangerous and defective medical device.
]]> What is the Duet TRS?The Duet TRS is a medical device used not only in thoracic surgery but in other types of surgeries. (The device has only been recalled for use in thoracic surgery.) It is a "loading unit" that helps to support staple lines, but in thoracic surgery, it has been shown to cause possible damage to surrounding areas in the thorax.
This damage may cause post-operative complications, resulting in serious injury or even death.
In connection with the recall, a Covidien representative said, "Patient safety is our first obligation," and Covidien's voluntary recall - rather than being forced to do so by the FDA - supports Covidien's statement.
However, more than 500,000 units of the medical device have been sold, according to Covidien, and if you were one of those seriously injured (or your loved one killed) from complications caused by the Duet TRS product during thoracic surgery, you deserve compensation for the harm caused by the defective medical device.
Source: Covidien Recalls Product Connected to Deaths After Thoracic Surgery Use
]]>In an analysis conducted by the insurance industry, it turns out that car accidents caused by members of the armed services - after returning home from their deployments - went up by 13 percent.
]]> There seem to be two extremes among service members who are having trouble driving: either they are very aggressive (behavior that could be characterized as "road rage") or they are very defensive and cautious.Both extremes could lead to auto accidents.
What makes driving particularly difficult for today's veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as Dao reports, is that much of the combat involved driving itself, confronting roadside bombs.
"I can't talk with somebody who is a returned service member without them telling me about driving issues," says a professor who is studying these very issues.
Source: Back From War, Fear and Danger Fill Driver's Seat
Because, as Sarah Wheaton writes for the New York Times, people facing brain injury are sometimes "profoundly changed," meaning that some injured people (and their partners) will never be able to recover what they've lost.
]]> What exactly do brain injured people lose? It depends, of course, on the severity of the trauma and what areas of the brain were injured. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, for example, had been shot in the head in the infamous gunman attack in Tucson, Arizona, yet she survived. Not only did Giffords survive, she seems to be on the road to at least a partial recovery.What often goes unsaid, however, is the intangible impact on people - the impact that goes beyond the obvious difficulties with speech and walking - like personality changes, which can do "irreparable" harm to marriages and other relationships.
As Wheaton reports, the wife of a husband who suffered brain injury says, "The word that describes it is just 'lonely.' My life is sitting in the living room quiet while my husband just sleeps."
]]>Four people sustained serious injuries, but no one lost their lives. Many more sustained non-life threatening injuries in the crash.
There was fog. It was difficult to see. Traffic moved at around 70 miles per hour through an area burning from marsh wildfires. It must have been a chain reaction. One accident caused another, and then another, as traffic moved at high-speed down Texas 73.
In Texas, drivers should exercise due caution when driving. This means slowing down in poor visibility conditions. In all, 18 motorists were issued traffic citations by police in this pileup.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "54 injured in estimated 40-vehicle wreck on Texas 73," by Jessica Lipscomb, 1/6/12
]]>As Masterson reports, McFarland's son said, "We didn't have very much anyway, but she would give anyone what she had, you know."
Though this hit-and-run incident happened in the state of Delaware, the laws against hit-and-run, or leaving the scene of an accident, are similar across the nation. In Texas, hit-and-run can result in felony charges, depending on the circumstances of the case, not to mention significant liability for civil claims.
McFarland's son, for example, could bring a lawsuit against the hit-and-run drivers for wrongful death, allowing him to recover compensation for the loss of his mother. Wrongful death claims - and other motor vehicle accident claims involving personal injury - never make anyone 100 percent whole, but they can go a long way toward improving the claimants' lives.
Source: NBC 10, "Woman Hit, Killed by 3 Cars Was in Wheelchair Because of Prior Hit-and-Run," by Teresa Masterson, 1/4/12
]]>Smith writes about the factors that are contributing to a rise in medical malpractice committed by hospitalists.
]]> The hospitalist branch of medical practice recently emerged because hospitals have lots of patients and a limited amount of resources (like beds); medical knowledge itself has continued to grow almost exponentially, resulting in fewer generalists and more specialists; and (this is related to resources), hospitals must not spend more than necessary on patient care.That last point is a good one. Smith writes that hospitalists are "being squeezed between a rock and a very hard place," because of pressure to discharge patients and free up beds and resources. At the same time, if patients are discharged too early - pressure notwithstanding - harm is bound to come to sick or injured people, giving rise to medical malpractice claims.
"The point is to save money without compromising the quality of care," Smith writes.
And that is a theme that resonates throughout the health care industry, not just for hospitalists.
Source: First Things, Secondhand Smoke, "Do Hospitalists Lead to Discharge of Sicker Patients?" by Wesley J. Smith, 12/21/11
]]>Loser pays, as one example, is legislation that is supposed to help cut down on frivolous lawsuits by requiring the plaintiff (like someone injured in an automobile accident) to pay court costs and the other side's legal fees if the case is dismissed.
]]> From loser pays to caps on noneconomic damages (pain and suffering), the Foundation largely applauds Texas Gov. Rick Perry's tort reform efforts, as well as the Texas legislature's, which in 2011 resulted in both loser pays legislation and an anti-barratry law that is supposed to protect injured people against so-called ambulance chasers.As Marilyn Tennissen reports for the Southeast Texas Record, the Foundation's report states: "As anemic economic growth and high unemployment continued to plague much of the country throughout the past year, many governors and state legislatures were determined to make their states more competitive and attractive to employers. Thus enactment of a variety of tort reform measures figured prominently in these policymakers' pro-growth, job-creation agendas."
But there is only so much impact that tort reform can make on these "pro-growth" agendas. The majority of trial lawyers know better than to bring frivolous claims to court, for one thing, because doing so rarely results in a "win" that means anything to the injured client.
Source: Southeast Texas Record, "Good news, bad news for Texas in latest 'Hellhole' report," by Marilyn Tennissen, 12/15/11
]]>Talk about a case of medical malpractice.
]]> Without getting into the abortion part of the story, the prescription pill refill business itself is troubling; it points toward obvious "pharmacy errors," those that result in getting people addicted (and profiting from that addiction) to pills like OxyContin and Percocet.Gosnell wrote 2,300 prescriptions last January alone, and, as Matheson reports, his patients paid upwards of $150 for each prescription.
Gosnell, along with seven of his employees and staff members, were recently handed drug charges ranging from conspiracy to distribution.
The 70-year-old doctor also faces murder charges related to his abortion practices, in which seven babies were killed, along with one adult patient.
Source: Mercury News, "Philly abortion doc charged with running pill mill," by Kathy Matheson, 12/14/11
]]>In Texas, fatal car wrecks as a result of texting while driving have steadily increased over the last few years, rising to 46 in 2010 (there were just over 30 deaths in 2006).
But despite the trend indicating a rising death toll from texting while driving and other use of smartphones while driving, Gov. Perry has referred to efforts to ban texting while driving a "government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults."
]]> It's hard to see why Perry insists on opposing a texting while driving ban - which would likely help to reduce the number of fatal car accidents - other than his run for U.S. president and resulting need to pander to those likely to vote for him, many of whom abhor "micromanagement" by the government.As Carroll reports, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, in response to the NTSB call to ban texting while driving, said that such bans should be handled at "the local level"; indeed, some Texas cities have distracted driving laws, but these laws only go so far - in large part, probably, because the cities themselves have these laws but the laws do not reach out to touch motorists on the highways.
Says one mother whose daughter was killed by a driver who had been texting while driving: "It's like a seat-belt law. People were against that in the beginning, but in the long run, it saved lives."
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Texas not likely to follow feds' call to ban cellphone use while driving," by Susan Carroll, 12/14/11
]]>In Texas, however, the number of pedestrians who are hit and killed in car accidents has been declining; the number, however, is still in the hundreds at more than 300 in 2009 and 2010.
The possible factors involved, as Hamilton reports, are speed and alcohol.
]]> One law enforcement officer said, "Pedestrians ... have had a couple have had a couple of drinks and decided to walk home, not paying attention where they're at and start crossing in the middle of the street. In a 40 mile per hour speed limit at two in the morning, that car isn't expecting a pedestrian to be right out in the middle of the road."The police officer's comments seem to pin all the blame on late-night pedestrians who have been drinking. That would seem to be reasonable, if, indeed, all pedestrians killed by cars were killed because they crossed the street while drunk in the middle of the night, which doesn't seem likely.
The other factor, besides alcohol, is speed, where cars are either traveling at excessive speeds and the driver fails to slow down or see the pedestrian, or the car is traveling within posted speed limits but the speed limit itself is 60 or 70 miles per hour.
Source: Connect Amarillo, "Accident related fatalities up nationwide," by Matt Hamilton, 12/10/11
]]>And some people think that poor air quality has a lot to do with oil and gas production in Texas - from hydro fracking on the Barnett shale and Eagle Ford shale plays to the trucks that carry natural gas (which, incidentally, cause the truck accidents that involve a significant proportion of all injuries that happen to oil and gas workers).
]]> It is said that plenty of natural gas escapes during the hydro fracking process, in addition to gas that escapes from pipelines, and trucks and drilling equipment emit nitrogen oxides; all of this raises the ozone levels and takes its toll on air quality in Texas.As Galbraith reports, the affected Texas cities include the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area (a significant portion of which is located directly over shale natural gas deposits), San Antonio, and Austin.
Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston do not meet EPA standards for ozone levels, and San Antonio is on its way there as well, "teetering on the edge" of violating EPA standards for ozone.
From truck accidents to air and water pollution, the oil and gas industry may be an important economic booster and employer in Texas and many other areas, but it also directly or indirectly causes plenty of injury-causing accidents.
Source: The New York Times, "2011 Proving to be a Bad Year for Air Quality in Texas," by Kate Galbraith, 12/10/11
]]>But for the health care provider's medical negligence, goes the argument, the baby would not have been born and forced to suffer with such-and-such illness or medical condition.
]]> As biotechnology continues to advance - like genetic testing of the fetus in the womb for dread diseases - wrongful birth lawsuits appear to be gaining some traction, at least in some areas.As Rose Bouboushian reports for the Courthouse News Service, health care provider LabCorp performed genetic testing - twice - on Seema Khadim's and Sultan Zeb's unborn child. Both Khadim and Zeb were carriers of a genetic trait that causes Cooley's anemia.
According to court documents, the couple sought "religious and other guidance" on the issue of abortion and ultimately decided to "terminate the pregnancy at the earliest possible stage" if their baby was found to have Cooley's anemia.
LabCorp told them that their baby did not have Cooley's anemia - which necessitates regular blood transfusions and shortens life span - but when Zeb delivered her child, they found that LabCorp was mistaken.
Source: Courthouse News Service, "LabCorp Still on the Hook for Wrongful Birth Claim," by Rose Bouboushian, 11/18/11
]]>But transporting crude oil to and from oil fields to refineries comes with its risks, too, in the form of old-fashioned truck accidents on the highways.
]]> In the Houston Chronicle comes a recent report about the driver of a tanker who fell asleep behind the wheel and ran off the road, causing the tanker to explode, spilling more than 6,000 gallons of crude. This explosion apparently caused several other residual accidents in the aftermath.We're fortunate to have such a courageous volunteer firefighter in Kimberly Huckabee, who responded to the scene of the tanker accident. Unfortunately - and it's not clear how - but Huckabee lost her left arm while responding.
It's a reminder: While jobs on oil rigs and in oil fields continue to be quite dangerous, the job of transporting crude oil and natural gas to refineries continues to be just as dangerous.
Source: Houston Chronicle, "Firefighter loses arm in tanker accident," 11/26/11
]]>