It is a Sad Thing that Preventable Injuries due to Harmful Products are inflicted onto Minors all too Often
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls, drowning, burns, poisoning and motor vehicle accidents (which is at the top the list) are the leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths among children in the U.S. Every year, more than 12,000 children (aged between 0 and 19) die and at least 9.2 million more are injured due to these causes.
As dangerous as those mentioned above are the many different products that people stuff in their homes and, it cannot be denied, so many of what Americans purchase are often causes of severe injuries or even death. The thousands of injuries and deaths caused by these products can be verified through the records of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These products include home furniture and décor, tools, children’s outdoor activity equipment, sports equipment, inflatable amusements, nursery products and children’s toys.
Between 2007 and 2010, millions of children’s toys were recalled by the CPSC due to the dangers that these presented, such as sharp edges that could cause lacerations, small parts that were considered as choking hazards, toxic substances and chemical contents that exceeded federal limits. The CPSC is charged with enforcing toy safety standards laws, laws that set guidelines on toys, like: the required sizes of children’s toys; the inaccessibility of the toys’ batteries and magnets to small children; noise and toxicity limits; and, the display of labels containing the possible risks of choking hazards.
One major issue with toys is that their labels often do not include their content or material. Since there are no laws regarding this, many local and foreign manufacturers, therefore, do not put on toys’ labels information regarding any possible harmful elements. This leaves consumers without any clue about the actual safety of the products that they buy (everyone can only assume that all products made available in stores are totally safe).
As explained by the law firm Mazin & Associates, PC, “Instances of child injury can be very frightening for all parties involved. It is a parent’s deepest wish that his/her child has the opportunity to grow up happy and healthy. Sadly, preventable injuries are inflicted onto minors all too often.”
The family of a child, who has been injured in an accident or due to the use of a toy or any other product that is proven harmful, has the legal right to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. In so many cases accidents occur and defective products continue to be manufactured and sold due to the grave negligence of some individuals. It would be wise to seek the help of a seasoned personal injury lawyer who will see to it that all the documents required in the lawsuit and that the child’s and his/her family’s rights and interests are strongly defended.
Read MoreDrunk Driving and Its Destructive Effects
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the various causes of car accidents in the US, which number to more than five million and claim at least 40,000 lives every year – these include factors that fall outside the driver’s control, like defective car parts and road defects, and factors that drivers are totally responsible for, such as driver error (including distracted driving), reckless driving, speeding and drunk driving.
Sadly, but true is the claim of the Ritter & Associates on its website, which says that though safe driving techniques may reduce the risk of being involved in an accident-causing injury, a defective car part, a lack of road signs or the carelessness of another driver, will not. This injustice is something that needs to be addressed.
Thousands of car accidents can definitely be avoided, if only drivers will be more observant of traffic rules and be more considerate on the road. Many drivers, however, are unmindful of others’ presence on the road with them. One classic example of this is drunk driving, which actually registers the highest number of accidents; this is despite the constant and continuous reminder not to drink and drive. To discourage individuals from drinking and then driving right after, the US government has issued a federal law that lowers the blood alcohol content (BAC) in drivers to 0.08% (which is about 4 – 5 bottles of beer consumed within an hour). Surprisingly too, a research conducted has found out that the highest number of drunk driving cases involved people between 16 and 24 years old.
Regardless of your age or your body’s tolerance to alcohol, liquor will lessen your capacity to react fast to impending road activities and dangers. This decrease is what makes other motorists and pedestrians quite unsafe on the road with you. Your decision not to care for others’ safety, however, will lead to higher fines and severe punishments, like a longer jail term. This is besides the fact that a mere conviction in a DUI case can ruin your reputation, your professional life and your future, in general.
This is why it’s important for anyone accused of a DWI to find a lawyer who will help them fight the charges against them. When you are found guilty of a DUI charge, an expunction might be the best option. The penalties for a DWI conviction are harsh and can have far-reaching impact on the rest of a person’s life. Therefore, if you’re facing an alcohol-related charge, you will absolutely want someone who is qualified to represent you in court so that you can do everything in your power to avoid the thousands of dollars in fines and months in prison that such a conviction would cause.
Read MoreProbable Cause for a Celexa Lawsuit
Depression is a serious medical condition that can be as debilitating as any serious physical illness. It is a mental disorder with no apparent external cause, and it does not just go away. In the US, 20 million people suffer from some form of depression, and typical onset is between the ages of 15 and 30. Women are more likely to be affected by depression. It is no wonder that manufacturing antidepressant drugs is good business.
One type of antidepressant medication is the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI, and one of the most popular SSRIs is Celexa, currently manufactured by Forest Laboratories, Inc. Celexa is used to treat not only depression but a host of other conditions including panic disorder, anxiety, ADHD, body dysmorphic disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, although some of these applications are considered “off label” or without Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
And therein lies the problem.
Most drugs have their concomitant side effects, and some medications are sometimes considered to create more problems than they solve. While SSSRIs are considered efficacious in treating depression and other conditions, it should be prescribed with caution. According to the National Injury Law Center website, SSRIs in general have been associated with birth defects in children of mothers who were taking the medication during their pregnancy. SSRIs are also associated with inducing violence and mood swings in children and adolescents. Off-label prescriptions of Celexa for these populations when encouraged by the manufacturer is a recipe for a Celexa lawsuit for product liability; this also applies when no adequate warning about the potential side effects was provided to the patient even when used as approved by the FDA.
Prescribing drugs such as Celexa is always a toss-up between the benefits and side effects. If the problem is severe enough that it prevents the patient from leading a normal life, the tough decision is made by the physician to take the risks. However, both physicians and patients should be provided by the manufacturer with everything they need to make an informed decision. Failure to do this can lead to problems, such as a class action Celexa lawsuit.
Read MoreAn Attempt to Make US Roads Safer from Big Rigs
Handling a vehicle that weighs about 80,000 lbs. or 40 tons and which extends up to 70 feet is a huge challenge, especially if you have been driving for 11 hours straight and is behind schedule. Thus, being so big and if driven by a drowsy or intoxicated driver, trucks would pose great on the road, particularly to smaller vehicles. These road mammoths would easily crush any vehicle (and its driver) that will block their path.
Accidents involving motor vehicles are the leading cause of injury and death in the United States – this is factual information stated in the website of Schuler, Halvorson, Weisser, Zoeller & Overbeck, P.A.. The need to drastically bring down the number of fatalities and severe injuries has prompted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the US Department of Transportation, the division in charge of trucking and all other transportation-related industries, to issue a standard for training before recognizing a driver as worthy of earning a commercial driver’s license and mandate the maximum number of hours that a driver can render.
Despite the extra training and education on how to operate and handle a truck properly, FMCSA states that:
- Drivers can render duty for a maximum of 14 consecutive hours
- Maximum driving time is 11 hours, which is within the 14-consecutive-hour duty period (the extra 3 hours ought to be allotted for rest/sleep)
- Drivers should be off-duty for the next 10 hours following his/her 14 hours of service
Trucks are designed with a sleeper berth area where drivers can take their much needed rest between drives or anytime they feel fatigued or drowsy. Trucking firms should ensure their drivers’ strict compliance with all stipulations that promote road safety to ensure smooth and totally safe traffic flow. Everyone needs to understand that even a small driving mistake can result in a serious accident that can destroy properties and take lives. As Williams Kherkher explains on the Truck Accident Resource Center, “Trucking regulations exist to not only help the truck driver, but also other motorists who share the road with these big rigs.”
Read MoreOSHA Standards Ought to be enough in Reducing Construction Site Accidents
A personal injury, also known as tort or a civil wrongdoing, is a physical, emotional or mental harm that results from another person’s careless or reckless behavior. It may be accidental or intentional, but whatever the case, it always affects a victim pain and losses (financial losses, especially).
Under the law, a personal injury victim has the legal right to receive compensation from the party, whether an individual or a firm, responsible for the accident that caused the injury. The compensation ought to cover the wages lost, because of the victim’s inability to work, as well as the cost of medication and medical treatment.
A personal injury can be caused by many different reasons, which include a slip and fall accident, dog bite, animal attack, vehicular accident, product failure and work-related/construction accident. With more than 1,000 deaths and 400,000 suffering injuries or job-related sickness every year, the construction industry remains to one of the top major hazard to any individual.
To assure a safe and healthful working condition, especially for construction workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law in 1970. This Act paved the way for the founding of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1971, a US federal agency formed to regulate safety and health in the workplace.
According to the website of Greenfield accident lawyers, to significantly reduce the number of accidents in construction sites, OSHA has mandated safety standards which construction industries need to implement. Some of these safety standards include fall protection, proper illumination, confined-space standard, ground fault-circuit interrupters (GFCIs), personal protective equipment (PPE), stairways and ladders, 2A rating fire extinguishers (which ought to be provided every 3000 square feet), eye washes and body-flushing facilities (which should be located within 25 feet of battery-changing areas) and accident-prevention signs and tags (which should be visible at all times during work, and removed or covered when the hazard no longer exists). It’s also important to provide employees with proper training in where the safety measures are located, how to operate them, and how to recognize potentially dangerous situations.
Construction firms should provide safety programs for employees and, with their safety engineers, are responsible in the thorough inspection of work sites; failure to do so would make them legally liable for any untoward event, especially that which causes severe physical injuries. Physical injuries, on the other hand, cause devastating emotional trauma and heavy financial burdens, a fact stated on the website of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. ®.
Read MoreErb’s Palsy – A Correctible Birth Injury
One of the growing concerns in many US states is the increasing number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed against hospitals, doctors and other health care providers. Though every doctor owes patients that they take under their care timely and correct diagnosis plus prescription of correct and effective medication, medical malpractice still happens and it continues to increase every year.
Medical errors worsen the patient’s condition besides giving him/her a new illness or injury to worry about. There are thousands of medical mistakes reported yearly and so many more go unreported. One of the most painful mistakes a medical professional can commit is that which results to birth injuries, for this particularly inflicts severe pain to the couple or to all the members of the family, instantly turning a joyful occasion into a heartrending one. Some of the most common injuries during birth include brain and spinal damage, infections, cerebral palsy, subconjunctival hemorrhage or rupture of small blood vessels in the eyes, caput succedaneum or swelling of the head’s soft tissue, and brachial plexus or erb’s palsy.
The brachial plexus, in particular, is a group of nerves located near the neck which enables the fingers, hand and arm to feel and move. Stretching it during a difficult delivery, wherein the person assisting the delivery exerts force by pulling the baby from the birth canal and stretching the nerves at the same time, is the primary cause of erb’s palsy, which is paralysis of the arm.
In an article published in the website of the Driscoll Firm, P.C., erb’s palsy is nothing more but the result of a medical practitioner failure to act responsibly or exercise proper care during delivery. Though pulling the baby from the birth canal is sometimes necessary, especially if the baby is quite big, during a breech delivery (feet come out first), or during a prolonged labor, care must be observed and exercised to make sure that no injury is inflicted on the newly born.
Erb’s palsy can be corrected through a non-surgical treatment. A daily physical therapy or shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand exercises, as instructed by a physical therapist, will prevent the baby’s joints from becoming permanently stiff, a condition also known as joint contracture. But, despite its being correctable, it still renders the medical practitioner, whose carelessness caused the injury in the first place, to face the consequences of his/her careless act.
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