We frequently handle cases involving pregnant women hurt during automobile collisions, and understand the dilemma that many soon to be mothers face regarding seat belt safety.  Interesting research is ongoing by Ford Motor Company to develop pregnancy-friendly safety devices which will reduce the risk of injury to unborn fetuses.  Until this technology hits automobile showroom floors however, many experts continue to recommend that pregnant women to wear the lap part of a seat belt low over their pelvis, not over the soft belly, and to sit as far from the steering wheel as possible.

Click for the complete USA Today story:  http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-11-27-protecting-pregnant-drivers-ford-research_N.htm

A 16 year old high school football player in California remains in critical condition after suffering a severe head injury.  Ironically, this athlete was wearing an advanced technology helmet designed to protect the head and brain.  In addition, he was playing on FieldTurf, which has half the number of head and neck injuries as natural grass, and he had been properly taught and coached in safe playing techniques.  Even so, he suffered a head fracture after a legal hit in a football game on Thanksgiving Day.  He now is fighting for his life.  Football remains the most dangerous high school sport, with an average of 25.5 injuries per 100 players a season, and 12 percent of all injuries involving head trauma.  I am not sure there is much of a lesson here – sometimes you do everything right and injury still occurs.  I guess my message to parents is to use your common sense with regard to sports and preventing brain injury.  Ultimately, each of us as parents have to guide our kids in finding the right balance between risk and enjoying all life has to offer.  It isn’t an easy task.   Regardless, our thoughts and prayers remain with this boy and his family.  For the full article, please click on the following link:  http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_13887010?nclick_check=1

When long-term care residents needing supervision wander from their facility, death often results.  Yesterday, two men were killed after wandering from the Britthaven rest home where they lived.  A train struck them on a railroad track in Kannapolis within a mile of the home.

http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/112809-kann-train-kills-two

Britthaven, Inc., is a North Carolina based family owned  nursing home chain with homes in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia.  One of its homes in Kentucky has been identified as one of the worst nursing homes in the United States.  To read more, click on this link:  http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/local/local_story_327191030.html

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, linked to reports of four infant suffocations, due to the tendency of the cribs’ plastic hardware to break or deform. Parts also can go missing and the drop-side can be installed incorrectly, resulting in broken parts.

When this happens, space is created between the mattress and the drop-side of the crib, potentially causing infants and toddlers to become trapped and suffocate. Additionally, the drop-side may become detached and result in falls.

Learn more about the crib recall in this MSNBC article, or call our law firm today.

Nationally, falls continue to be a life-ending problem in nursing homes, and state investigators do not adequately investigate them.  See this representative story relating to a Minnesota nursing home resident.

The new health care plan being promoted by Democrats provides much needed long term care health insurance.  See article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125857767877054273.html

10 million Americans have osteoporosis.  34 million more have osteopenia, 80% of whom are women.  Osteopenia can be, but isn’t always, a precursor to osteoporosis.  Should you be tested and treated?  Click to read more.

A sad tragedy highlights what I have known for years.  Concussions can be dangerous, and deadly, even when it seems innocuous at the time.  This boy, a junior in high school, suffered two concussions in two weeks and then died two days after his third concussion.  The brain is a remarkable organ, but it is also one of the most sensitive.  Think of it as a computer.  It is a wondrous device, but drop that computer on the floor and all of a sudden the connections go haywire.  The brain is no different, and until medical personnel and coaches fully realize this problem, serious injuries and deaths will occur.  Parents, if your child has suffered a concussion, remember that it is a brain injury.  Don’t let anyone tell you that the child should just “brush it off and play with the pain.”  It doesn’t work that way.  Traumatic Brain Injuries of any type are serious, and should be treated accordingly.  For the full article, please click on the following link:  http://www.parentdish.com/2009/11/17/concussions-not-just-minor-injury/

The N.C. State Highway Patrol and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program will kick off Operation Slow Down/No Need 2 Speed Wednesday, Nov. 18. The event will be held at 10 a.m. at the N.C. Highway Patrol Training Center, 3318 Garner Road, in Raleigh. Local law enforcement agencies are joining troopers to encourage drivers to slow down and follow the speed limit. The campaign starts today and runs through Nov. 29.

Click  Operation Slow Down to read the full article.