Articles Posted in Car Accident Injuries

Car crashes in Hollywood and other cities lead to many devastating injuries, including head injuries, fractures, and other challenges. According to a new study from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine suggests that more attention needs to be paid to chronic neck injuries and neck pain after traffic crashes.

According to researchers in the study, over 70% of car accident survivors sustain chronic neck pain about six weeks after their collision. This is significant in a number of ways. First of all, it suggests that many victims may not be aware of their neck injury for some time after being involved in a car or truck collision in Hollywood or their community. In fact, according to researchers, about 90% of the approximately 40 million Americans who are rushed to a hospital emergency room after a car accident are given preliminary treatment and released. They may leave without being aware of the chronic pain they may suffer later.

This can be a problem in terms of the insurance claims process. Most insurance companies want to resolve cases quickly, so that by the time six weeks have gone by, the patient has already reported their claim and has accepted insurance money. If at that point they develop pain or other symptoms, they may not be able to secure additional insurance money.

According to researchers, 70% of discharged patients who had been involved in a car crash reported musculoskeletal pain six weeks after their collision. These patients experienced the pain in one or more areas of the body, with one in three patients reporting musculoskeletal pain in at least four body regions.

In addition to not being diagnosed right away, researchers noted that there is a skewed perception of late-developing pain after a traffic accident. Patients, according to researchers, are often not believed if they report new pain weeks after a collision. There is a perception that if anything is wrong after a traffic crash in Hollywood or another community it will be found right away, and this is not the case. This skewed perception can mean that patients have a harder time securing compensation since they may have a hard time proving that their injuries were caused by the accident.

According to the researchers, few patients are getting compensation and legal help for their injuries. Of the patients studied, only 17% had contacted an attorney to seek legal redress for their injuries. Of these patients involved in litigation, 28% suffered from persistent neck pain, 13% reported widespread pain in at least seven areas of the body and 4% reported symptoms similar to fibromyalgia.

From the perspective of a personal injury attorney in Hollywood, this research is disturbing since it suggests that many patients who suffer serious injuries in a car accident are left without legal advice and without fair compensation for chronic pain that could prevent a return to work.

Continue reading →

At Flaxman Law Group, we hope you will never have to experience a car accident in Hollywood or any city. However, we also know that most drivers will at some point be in a collision. Even if you obey traffic laws scrupulously and are an excellent driver, you may still be affected by drunk drivers in Hollywood — or by reckless motorists. For these reasons, it is a good idea to review ways you can prevent serious injury if you are in an accident. While you may not be able to prevent all injury, you may be able to take steps that keep you from sustaining a serious spinal cord injury, fatal injury, or brain injury in Hollywood or your city.

Even if a collision is imminent, there are several things you can do to increase your chances of surviving:

1) Stay calm and keep movements smooth. Staying in control is difficult when you panic but smooth steering and braking is important in preventing further injury and increasing your chances of minimizing the crash.

2) Choose the best course of action. You may have only a fraction of a second to make a choice, but you do have a decision to make about which mixture of steering, braking and accelerating can help you possibly keep injuries to a minimum.

3) Brake correctly. If you have anti-lock brakes, steer as you normally would and hold the brakes firmly. You may feel the brake pedal move as your brake system pumps the brakes for you. If you don’t have anti-lock brakes, push the brakes firmly and release. Avoid slamming the brakes, as this can cause the brakes to lock and can cause the car to skid, which can cause a more serious crash. If you do feel the car go into a skid, ease up on the brakes and steer as smoothly as possible, since jerky steering can contribute to skids.

4) Reduce your chances of a side-impact collision. Side-impact crashes in Hollywood and other communities statistically lead to more serious injuries, since passengers and drivers have no crumple zones on the side and there are fewer levels of protection. Head-on collisions with immobile objects or other cars are also more likely to lead to serious injuries, so avoid these types of collisions if at all possible.

5) Do what you can to control the car. Losing control of the car can increase your chances of serious injury, since you will have no way to minimize the impact or to take evasive steps if you can’t control your vehicle. One of the most common losses of control in an accident involves skidding. To avoid this, keep your hands firmly on the steering wheel and avoid jerky movements or sudden braking. If you do find yourself sliding, stay calm and steer in the direction of the skid. Wait until you are no longer skidding before you try either the brake or gas pedals.

6) Minimize injury after the crash. If you are in an accident, turn off your engine. Under Florida law, if you are in a minor accident, you are expected to move your car off the road to prevent a secondary accident. If you are in a collision with a truck or car that may have been carrying dangerous goods or something flammable, do not smoke and move away from the vehicles if there is a leak.

Continue reading →

In a car accident in Homestead, any passenger can be at risk of brain injury, whiplash, fatalities, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other serious injuries. However, some passengers are more vulnerable than others. For example, many studies have shown that small children – especially those who are not in proper safety restraints – are more at risk. In fact, car collisions are the leading cause of child injuries in Homestead and other communities. Adults that are below average height may also be more at risk of injuries from air bags in an accident. Seniors and those who are obese may also face an increased risk of injuries in a car collision, according to studies.

A new research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine adds another group to that list: pregnant women. The study examined 878,546 pregnant women in North Carolina who gave birth between 2001 and 2008. Researchers of the study note that little work has been done about the specific impact of car accidents on fetuses. This is despite the fact that car accidents are the leading cause of serious injuries to pregnant women.

According to researchers, car accidents pose a significant risk for these women and their unborn children, with trauma being one of the leading causes of death to unborn children. The impact in a car accident, according to researchers, can cause damage to the organ systems that mother and unborn child share and can cause fatal trauma to the developing infant. This is especially a risk if the woman is not wearing a seatbelt and is involved in an accident that results in trauma directly to the abdominal area.
Researchers concluded that women who were involved in one car accident were at greater risk of rupture of the membranes, placental abruption, and preterm birth when compared with women who were not involved in an accident. Unsurprisingly, researchers also found that women who had more than one traffic accident during their pregnancy increased their risks of serious complications even more. Women who had more than one car accident during their pregnancy had an increased risk of stillbirth, placental abruption, preterm labor and delivery, and rupture of the membranes.

Women who were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident also had a three times elevated risk of stillbirth when compared with women who were wearing a seatbelt at the time of their collision.

Clearly, pregnant women will want to take additional precautions during pregnancy to avoid being in an accident. While it is not always possible to avoid a collision, it can be useful to be more cautious. For example, it is possible to reduce the risk of a traffic collision in Homestead and other communities by:

•Driving when well-rested
•Checking over-the-counter and prescription medication to ensure that they do not affect driving ability
•Avoiding distracted driving
•Using extra caution on the roads, especially during longer road trips and trips to unfamiliar areas
As the study suggests, seatbelt use is vital and can prevent serious injuries in an accident. Wearing a seatbelt correctly each time you drive or take a car can save your life.

Continue reading →

The National Science Foundation and The University of Pennsylvania have teamed up for a research study to help prevent child injuries and deaths caused by car accidents. Researchers are looking at video data captured from school bus accidents to determine what cases specific injuries to children in an accident. They are also using computer simulation models and accident information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to learn more about child spinal cord trauma. The goal of the project is to find ways to prevent injuries such as spinal cord injuries that children suffer in traffic accidents.

While this data may be useful in preventing future child injuries in Hollywood and across the country, each year children are seriously injured due to traffic accidents. According to safety experts, there are several things that parents can do to prevent injuries caused by traffic accidents in Hollywood:

1) Use child appropriate safety restraints and devices. Experts agree that these devices should be used every time a child is in the car and should be used for as long as the child meets height and weight requirements for the devices. Safety devices include car seats for babies and toddlers and a combination of booster seats and seat belts for older children.

2) Have children sit in the back seat. In a side-impact collision, the rear seat of the car is the safest place for your child. It provides the largest crumple zone in the event of a car accident. In addition, the side impact and passenger air bags common in newer models can be dangerous for children and the back seat of the vehicle protects children from these devices.

3) Reduce the risk of a car accident by handling any health issues. Many drivers have health issues that cause drowsiness, poor motor skills, and other issues that can affect their driving ability. It is important when being diagnosed with a new condition to speak with your doctor about how the condition or your medication can affect your driving ability so that you do not put yourself and your children at risk on the road.

4) Improve your driving skills to prevent collisions. Many motorists overestimate their driving abilities and assume that they are stronger drivers than they actually are. Many motorists also do not develop their skills set and driving after their initial driver’s license has been secured. This can be a big problem, especially if mobility issues affect a person’s driving abilities later on in life. Getting refresher courses, especially if you have had near misses or feel that your driving is not up to snuff, can be an important way of preventing accidents and injuries.

5) Drive a safer car. Get your car maintained regularly and buy a car that has good safety features that can help protect your child and other passengers. Check safety ratings, products liability claims in Hollywood, and recall notices to ensure that your car model is not affected by safety issues that could put your child at risk.

Continue reading →

A new study from Safe Kids Worldwide has concluded that one out of four parents polled has driven without using a proper age-appropriate safety restraint for their child. Parents who are higher income earners, better educated, and younger are the most likely to make the safety mistake.

According to the poll, parents had several excuses for not buckling their child up:

•They were too rushed
•They were just traveling a short distance
•They were driving at night
•They were rewarding a child by not having them buckle up

According to safety experts, though, there is no good excuse for not putting a child’s safety first. Child injuries in Hollywood and other cities are very common in car collisions and a car crashes can occur at any time, so it is always important to buckle up. Safety restraints can help prevent many types of serious injuries in a crash and can save a child’s life.

According to safety experts, children should be kept in age-appropriate safety restraint systems until they are about 4 feet nine inches and weigh at least 90 or 100 pounds. Depending on the weight and age of a child, these systems can include car safety seats or a combination of booster seat and seatbelt.

Do you know how to properly use a child car seat? According to some statistics, up to 80% of car seats are not used correctly. If you are not sure how to use your car seat or child safety restraint, read the instruction manual or check online to see video demonstrations. In many cases, police associations and other safety groups hold demonstrations and can teach parents how to keep their child safe in the car.

Whether you live in Hollywood or any surrounding South Florida area, child injuries and car accidents are among the most devastating incidents that can happen. Each year, families in Hollywood and other communities are ripped apart when their children are injured in traffic accidents. In many cases, severe injuries can be lessened or avoided entirely with the correct use of age-appropriate safety restraints.

Keep in mind, too, that even if you use a car seat or other child safety restraint correctly, defective car seats or cars can mean that children are injured. If you feel that your child has been injured in a car accident because of a defective product, you may have a product liability claim in Hollywood or your area. Speak with a personal injury attorney in your community in order to find out what options you may have. Acting now can help you pursue compensation that can help you pay for your child’s medical care and other costs so that they can make a full recovery.

Continue reading →

For children, car accidents in Homestead and other communities remain one of the leading causes of fatalities and injury. However, children do not need to be riding in a car to be injured. There are other car-related injuries that can cause permanent or even fatal head injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other injuries:

1) Seat-belt and airbag-related injuries. When a child is riding in the car, it is vital to use age-appropriate safety restraints and it is important to place the child in the back seat of the car. A child riding in the front of the vehicle and using a seat belt intended for an adult can be seriously injured in a collision. During a car crash, the airbags may cause head injuries and a seat belt can cut a child’s neck or face.

2) Back-over accidents. Back-over accidents in Homestead and other cities can easily occur if a child is playing behind a car. A motorist may not spot the child and if the driver is in a van, SUV, or light truck, the child may not be visible in the vehicle’s blind spots. In many cases, these types of traffic accidents in Homestead and other communities are preventable. Motorists can check around their car for pedestrians before starting the engine. In addition, there are camera systems which allow drivers to see clearly behind their vehicle when backing up.

3) Pedestrian accidents. Children are more likely than adults to walk around their neighborhoods, and this can put them at risk for pedestrian accidents in Homestead or their communities. If your child walks to school, after-school activities, and friends’ houses, review the routes your child walks and have a discussion about best safety practices.

4) Hyperthermia. One of the most tragic car-related child injuries in Homestead and other communities involves children who are left behind in cars. In many cases, this occurs because a child minder forgets the child in the car or simply assumes that the child will be fine in the car for a “few minutes.” In reality, a car in the Florida sun can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly.

5) Bicycle accidents. Children tend to rely on bicycles to get around and to have some fun. When children share the road with cars, however, Homestead bicycle accidents are a serious risk. It is important to insist that your child always wear a bicycle helmet when riding a bicycle. It is also important to review safety rules often.

Continue reading →