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Memorial Day Weekend 2013: Click It or Ticket Campaigns in Indiana and Illinois While Fans Gear Up for Indy 500

May 21st, 2013 by admin
This weekend the entire country will be celebrating Memorial Day 2013, and here in our part of the country there is the added fun of the annual Indianapolis 500.  The fever for the internationally known 500 mile car race is growing: today, it was just announced that former Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh will be driving the Indy 500 pace car.
However, lots of state agencies as well as national organizations are not so interested in whether or not Helio Castroneves will win the race this year as they are concerned that people may be seriously injured or killed in car crashes on state and local roads this Memorial Day Weekend.
From Itasca, Illinois, the National Safety Council issued a warning today about the cruel reality that some people are going to die this weekend, based upon past statistics.  The NSC data predicts there will be 407 traffic deaths and 43,500 serious personal injuries to motor vehicle accidents in the short time from of the holiday, beginning this Friday at six o’clock in the afternoon to the following Monday at midnight.
“NSC issues fatality estimates for major holiday periods to draw attention to the need for drivers to exercise safe driving practices, especially when a significant number of drivers are expected to be traveling on our roadways and highways,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO.
Their predictions also include 148 people who may be in a crash, but who will not die from their injuries because of wearing a seat belt.  Dovetailing with that concern that people on the roads this weekend are extra-careful to wear their seat belts, both the State of Indiana and the State of Illinois are sponsoring “Click It or Ticket” campaigns this holiday.
Illinois Memorial Day Click It or Ticket Campaign Began May 13, 2013

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), both the troopers with the Illinois State Police along with 500+ police officers from local police departments are working together to target people who are violating Illinois seat belt laws. Of particular interest to them:  late-night traffic and those vehicles on the road in the late afternoon – both times that statistics show people are most likely to be unbuckled.

The Illinois Click It or Ticket campaigns have been extremely successful in getting people to buckle up, according to IDOT, meaning less people have died in Illinois from traffic accidents since the campaign first started in July 2003.

“Even with 9 out of 10 motorists buckling up in Illinois, far too many people are still dying unbuckled, especially during certain times of the day,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider. “IDOT, the Illinois State Police and hundreds of great local police and sheriff’s departments are saying today that this needs to change.”

“IDOT is utilizing federal safety dollars to assist Illinois law enforcement to provide more seat belt enforcement. They’ll be out there during rush hour, during the morning commute and during those late night hours when the most unbuckled fatalities occur. If you’re caught unbuckled or driving drunk, you’ll be given a ticket or arrested. It is not about money; it’s not about tickets. It’s about saving lives,” Schneider added.

Indiana Memorial Day Click It or Ticket Campaign Began May 17, 2013

According to Indiana statistics, 274 people died in the State of Indiana last year because they failed to buckle up and another 3,450 crashes happened where either the driver or an occupant was not wearing a seat belt.  These crashes were severe enough that 1,197 people were actually ejected from the vehicle in which they were riding because they failed to buckle up.
Stay Safe This Memorial Day 2013 – And Remember, Other People May Not Be As Vigilant as You Are: Watch Out for the Other Guy
There will be car crashes and motor vehicle accidents in Indiana and Illinois this weekend, sadly, because even though you can prepare yourself for a safe weekend by following laws like buckling up your seat belt, there are others in the “holiday” frame of mind who may not be so responsible.  People will be drinking and partying this weekend.  Distracted drivers will be eating food, talking on their phones, or texting their friends regardless of warnings or legislation.
The best you can do is protect yourself and in the event of an accident, protect you and your loved ones with medical care and legal representation, if need be.  Be safe this weekend.
  • Refrain from all cell phone use – both hands-free and handheld – behind the wheel
  • Always remember to wear your seat belt and place children in age-appropriate safety seats
  • Allow plenty of travel time to avoid frustration and diminish the impulse to speed
  • Drive defensively and exercise caution, especially during inclement weather
  • Avoid driving while drowsy
  • Don’t drink and drive – even moderate consumption of alcohol impairs reaction time and driving judgment

Posted in Auto Accidents, Bus Crashes, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Motorcycle Accidents, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation | No Comments »

Indiana Passes Pill Mill Law: Targets Greedy Providers Handing Out Prescriptions for Dangerous Drugs

May 16th, 2013 by admin

This month, the State of Indiana joined other states – like Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky – in passing new laws to protect people from “pill mills” when Governor Mike Pence signed Senate Enrolled Act 246 into law.

-  Read the new Indiana Pill Mill Law online at the Indiana State Assembly website. -

Actions taken to stop greed in the health care industry and the harm that it causes should be applauded; let us hope that the new statute works to protect future potential victims of these infamous Pill Mills.  Particularly since these places have become more and more popular in our part of the country as other states have cracked down on their operations (like Florida, which has been known in past years as the country’s Pill Mill Capital.)

What is a Pill Mill?

A “pill mill” can be a variety of health care facilities:  sometimes a pill mill is located in a doctor’s office, sometimes it’s in a pain clinic or a therapy center.  These are places that often have the look and feel of providing legitimate medical care.

Whatever the location, the place becomes a profit center for its owners as it dispenses medications without respect for accepted medical practices or for state and federal law.  Public demand is high for certain kinds of medications, including pain pills like oxycodone.

- For details on how misuse of prescription drugs are causing so many deaths in this country today that it’s considered to be a national epidemic, read our prior post for details. -

What Does SEA 246 Do?

The new legislation essentially gives marching orders to various state organizations to do their part in cracking down on pill mill operations in the State of Indiana as well as working to help those who are victims of pill mills and suffering from issues related to prescription drug misuse or abuse.

1. It goes into effect on January 1, 2014
2. It gives the Indiana Attorney General’s Office the power to ask an Indiana Court for an injunction order to stop an owner of a “pill mill” which is violating controlled substance registration and control laws.
3. It puts a duty on the Indiana Medical Licensing Board to contribute to stopping pill mills by passing rules about: (1) standards and procedures for the attorney general to follow in accessing physicians’ records and inventory; and (2) standards and protocol for the prescribing of controlled substances.
4. Before it officially goes into effect, during the 2013 legislative interim, the Indiana Health Finance Commission is required to research and determine: (1) the issues concerning pharmacy programs designed to take back and dispose of old and expired prescription drugs; and (2) the use of methadone and opioids in treatment programs and clinic settings.
5. It puts a duty on the Indiana Division on Mental Health and Addiction to give the Health Finance Commission numbers and data on opioid treatment in the state and to immediately begin a study on the issues of treatment and recovery from prescription drug use addiction.

What Doesn’t It Do?

This statute does work to fight against pill mills in Indiana; however, it does not provide for damages and justice to the individual or their family who have been harmed by serious injury or wrongful death after becoming victim to a misused powerful prescription drug. For these people, the courtroom and state law personal injury claims exist.

Posted in Defective Products, Indiana Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Brain Injury Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against National Hockey League by Family of Derek Boogaard – Will This Help Save Others From Sport Injury Brain Death?

May 14th, 2013 by admin

Every hockey fan recognizes the name of enforcer Derek Boogaard — and many recall his tragic death at the young age of 28, when Boogaard was discovered dead of an accidental pain med overdose in May 2011. After his passing, Boogaard was discovered to have been a victim of chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated blows to the head.

Repeated blows to the head: that is something no one can doubt Derek Boogaard experienced during his time playing pro hockey with the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers.

What is CTE? According to the BU Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE involves:

“… a history of repetitive brain trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau.  These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement.  The brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.”

Notice that symptoms are not readily apparent at the time of the brain injury. The horror of CTE is that it is slow to reveal itself — and it a very cruel disease when it does manifest in its victim.

From the press release of the Boston University School of Medicine (December 2011) which released the CTE diagnosis at the family’s request:

“Unfortunately this finding does not contribute to our knowledge of the risks of normal hockey play for most participants, as very few hockey players engage in as many fights as Boogaard,” said BU CSTE Co-Director and SLI Co-Founder Chris Nowinski. “Athletes and parents should know that anyone who experiences repetitive brain trauma may be at risk to develop CTE, but we are hopeful that risk is small in hockey.” Nowinski added that two other young non-NHL professional hockey players studied did not show signs of CTE at postmortem examination.

The VA CSTE Brain Bank contains more brains diagnosed with CTE than have ever been reported in the world combined. There are 99 specimens. McKee has completed the analysis of the brains of over 70 former athletes, and more than 50 have shown evidence of CTE, including 14 of 15 former NFL players, as well as college and high school football players, other hockey players, professional wrestlers and boxers. Early evidence of CTE has been found in individuals as young as 17. More than 500 living athletes have committed to donate their brain to the BU CSTE after death, including over a dozen former hockey players.

Notice the statistics that accompanied the Boston University December 2011 release:

  • 50 of the 70 former athletes had signs of CTE
  • 14 of the 15 former hockey players had signs of CTE
  • there was evidence of CTE being present in athletes as young as 17 years old.

Perhaps there will be something more to honor the memory of Derek Boogaard than his stellar hockey career:  with this news of a wrongful death lawsuit being filed by his family, there may be more public awareness of the real dangers of playing sports where there is serious contact and “repeated blows” to the head (and brain).   Teenagers playing hockey, as well as football, or wrestling, are vulnerable to CTE.

We posted last week about a study which confirmed that teenagers playing sports will try and play through an injury and this creates an even greater duty for coaches, teachers, and other adults to carefully monitor all young athletes that are involved in any contact sport where their head may be injured or hit. Hopefully, the reality of Derek Boogaard and other fine athletes can serve as an important warning to all of us.

Consider this list of professional athletes who have been victim of this brain disease as a result of being excellent at their sport:

Professional Football
Lew Carpenter
Lou Creekmur
Dave Duerson
Shane Dronett
Cookie Gilchrist
John Grimsley
Chris Henry
Terry Long
John Mackey
Ollie Matson
Tom McHale
Joe Perry
Junior Seau
Justin Strzelczyk
Andre Waters
Mike Webster

Professional Wrestling
Chris Benoit
Andrew “Test” Martin

Professional Hockey
Reg Fleming
Rick Martin
Bob Probert
Derek Boogaard

Posted in Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Other Jurisdictions, School & Playground Injuries, Serious Personal Injury, Work Related, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death, brain injuries | No Comments »

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month: May 2013 National Campaign to Build Public Awareness of Motorcycle Accident Dangers

May 9th, 2013 by admin

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and this year, both the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration as well as state agencies across the country and private safety advocacy groups are working together to build public awareness regarding keeping motorcycle drivers and motorcycle riders safe from harm on the road.

As we’ve reported in prior posts, riding motorcycles is one of the true feelings of freedom that can be experienced today but it comes with a higher risk of injury and death. This year, the issue of motorcycle helmets and state law requirements for wearing helmets will likely heat up, since Indiana and Illinois have less stringent helmet laws than other states in the country.

Why? Not only is there a greater likelihood of fatality in motor vehicle accidents where a motorcycle is involved, the Centers for Disease Control statistics show that there is also a higher risk of permanent disability as over half (50%+) of motorcycle injuries involve either the head/neck or the leg/foot.

According to the National Institute of Health,

  • Fatalities involving motorists and motorcyclists increased 131 percent between 1998 and 2008.
  • The mileage death rate for motorcyclists in 2007 was 37 times greater than for passenger car occupants.

From the May 2013 press release from NHTSA, along with announcing the May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month Campaign, comes the following safety suggestions:

For motorcyclists:

  • Never ride impaired or distracted.
  • Obey traffic laws, wear DOT-compliant helmets and other protective gear.
  • Make yourself visible by wearing bright colors and using reflective tape.
  • Avoid riding in poor weather conditions.
  • Use turn signals for every turn or lane change, even if you think no one will see it.
  • Combine hand signals and turn signals to draw more attention to yourself.
  • Position yourself in the lane where you will be most visible to other drivers.

For drivers:

  • Never drive distracted. Doing so can result in tragic consequences for motorcyclists.
  • Allow a motorcyclist a full lane width. Although it may seem that there is enough room in the traffic lane for a motor vehicle and a motorcycle, the motorcycle needs the room to maneuver safely. Do not share the lane.
  • Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic. This allows motorcyclists to anticipate traffic flow and find a safe lane position.
  • Because of its smaller size, a motorcyclist can be hidden in a vehicle’s blind spot. Always check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane of traffic and at intersections.
  • Turn signals on motorcycles are not the same as those on motor vehicles – motorcycle signals are usually not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off. Allow enough time to determine the motorcyclist’s intention before you proceed.
  • Remember that road conditions that are minor annoyances to motorists can pose major hazards to motorcyclists. Motorcycle riders may change speed or adjust position within a lane suddenly in reaction to road and traffic conditions such as potholes, gravel, wet or slippery surfaces, pavement seams, railroad crossings, and grooved pavement.
  • Allow more following distance, three or four seconds, when following a motorcycle so the motorcycle rider has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.

Posted in Motorcycle Accidents, Serious Personal Injury, Spinal Injuries, Transportation, Wrongful Death, brain injuries | No Comments »

High School Football Players Will Play Even After Head Injury and Concussion, New Study Finds: Need to Protect Kids From Football Injuries and Themselves

May 7th, 2013 by admin

A new study was released this week at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Washington, D.C., entitled “I Can’t Miss the Big Game: High School (HS) Football Players’ Knowledge and Attitudes about Concussions.“ (Abstract available online here.)

It’s an important piece of research because it reveals the dedication of high school football players to their team, their school, and their sport — and it shows the need for coaches, staff, and others supervising high school sports to understand that there is a great need to protect these young players from traumatic brain injuries sustained while playing or practicing high school football.

Bottom line, the news here is that kids will keep playing football despite a real danger of serious head injury – and therefore, the duty on others to protect these players from themselves is greater than may have been previously understood.

From the news release accompanying the report this week:

“These attitudes could leave young athletes vulnerable to injury from sports-related concussions,” said study co-author Brit Anderson, MD, pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

“Despite their knowledge, many athletes in our sample reported that they would not tell their coach about symptoms and would continue to play,” Dr. Anderson said. “A small percentage even responded that athletes have a responsibility to play in important games with a concussion.”

Schoolteachers, team coaches, school staff: all those connected with high school football, both private and public, have a duty to protect those students during practice and while playing games on the football field.  This report underscores the legal duty that these adults have to protect these children from injury — with this new research, something that many parents know about teenagers comes clear:  the teenager may be in need of protection – not just from externalities but from themselves, too.

Posted in School & Playground Injuries, Serious Personal Injury, Sports & Boating Accidents, Wrongful Death, brain injuries | No Comments »

Is Turkey Dangerous to Eat? Stores Selling Ground Turkey and 90% Contaminated With Disease-Causing Organisms Per New Consumer Reports Expose

May 1st, 2013 by admin

Consumer Reports has issued its research findings into the ground turkey sold in grocery stores all across the country, under any number of labels, and revealed that most of the ground turkey it found was contaminated with stuff that can make people ill.

Ground Turkey Sold in Stores Likely Filled With Bacteria and Disease-Causing Organisms

It’s causing a big national news alert today, where the Consumer Reports findings are being shared with the public as a warning against considering ground turkey safe to eat.  Not only did the 257 samples tested by Consumer Reports have OVER 50% CONTAINING FECAL BACTERIA (and yes, that is what you think it is) but OVER 90% HAD DISEASE-CAUSING ORGANISMS in it.

From their news release:

  • Overall, 90 percent of the samples had one or more of the five bacteria for which they were tested.
  • Bacteria on ground turkey products labeled “no antibiotics,” “organic,” or “raised without antibiotics” were resistant to fewer antibiotics overall than bacteria found on conventional products.
  • Bacteria related to fecal contamination were found on the majority of samples. Sixty-nine percent of ground-turkey samples harbored enterococcus, and 60 percent E. coli.
  • Three samples were contaminated with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
  • Salmonella, which is one of the top causes of foodborne illness, was found in 12 of the samples tested (5 percent) and two-thirds of them were multidrug resistant; government studies typically find higher rates of salmonella, at around 12 percent. Processing plants are permitted by the government to have product contamination rates as high as 49.9 percent.
  • Consumer Reports also found much more resistance to classes of antibiotics approved for use in healthy turkeys to promote growth and prevent disease than for those not approved for such uses.

You can read the details of this Ground Turkey Report online at the Consumer Reports web site or get the details in the June issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Image:  CDC photo of E Coli bacteria – found on 60% of the Ground Turkey tested by Consumer Reports

What is going on here? According to Consumer Reports’ scientists, this is just the tip of the iceberg in a food industry problem regarding feeding antibiotics to poultry and farm animals destined for human consumption:

“Our findings strongly suggest that there is a direct relationship between the routine use of antibiotics in animal production and increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria on ground turkey. It’s very concerning that antibiotics fed to turkeys are creating resistance to antibiotics used in human medicine,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of the Food Safety and Sustainability Group at Consumer Reports. “Humans don’t consume antibiotics every day to prevent disease and neither should healthy animals.  Prudent use of antibiotics should be required to stem the public health crisis generated from the reduced effectiveness of antibiotics.”

If you or a loved one may have suffered food poisoning from ground turkey, then get medical attention of course and remember to save invoices, wrappings, and other documents that may serve as evidence in any claims you may assert in the future for personal injury damages due to contaminated and dangerous ground turkey.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

May 2013 is National Drowning Prevention Month: Be Aware of the Summer Risks for Drowning at Lakes, Pools, Rivers, for Kids and Adults

April 30th, 2013 by admin

May 2013 is National Drowning Prevention Month and across the country many different campaigns are underway to make people more aware of the risks of drowning, particularly for children and kids out of school for the summer.

How serious is the risk of drowning in the United States today? From the National Drowning Prevention Alliance comes these facts:

  • Drowning is the second-leading cause of death to children ages 1-4 in the United States.
  • Drowning is the number one cause of death to children ages 1-4 in most southern states.
  • In many cases, drowning is a silent event, without splashing or a call for help.
  • In most areas of the country, the majority of child drownings occur in backyard pools & spas.

Image: Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control offer the following strategies for avoiding this type of tragic injury in natural water (lakes, etc.):

  1. Learn to swim.
  2. Watch swimmers in or around the water.
  3. Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
  4. Use Buddy Systems and Lifeguards.
  5. Heed warning flags.
  6. Know the terrain.
  7. Avoid rip currents.
  8. Use life jackets.
  9. Avoid alcohol.
  10. Learn boating safety.
  11. Know the weather.

Drowning deaths are fast and often silent.  All too often, young people and small children are victims.

Adults who are caretaking youngsters near bodies of water need to be vigilant, and aware of legal duties that may exist for them to protect against drowning dangers in their roles of teacher, coach, camp counselor, etc. Swimming and water sports are fun but safety must always come first.

Posted in Longshoremen & Maritime, School & Playground Injuries, Serious Personal Injury, Spinal Injuries, Sports & Boating Accidents, Wrongful Death, brain injuries | No Comments »

Car Makers Encouraged to Change Design of Car Dashboards Voluntarily by Federal Government as Way to Curtail Distracted Driving Dangers: The New NHTSA Guidelines

April 24th, 2013 by admin

Distracted driving remains a real concern for everyone dealing with car crashes and motor vehicle accidents in this country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, distracted driving is the cause of 9 deaths every day in the United States and the reason that another 1060 people suffer serious injuries daily in car crashes.

The CDC (referencing federal data) breaks down “distracted driving” into 3 different kinds of distraction:

  • Visual: taking your eyes off the road;
  • Manual: taking your hands off the wheel; and
  • Cognitive: taking your mind off what you are doing.

Drivers can be distracted in many different ways.  Eating fast food while driving on a road trip counts as distracted driving.  Talking on a cell phone can distract a driver and cause a crash, as well as texting.

However, other things offered in late-model cars also help distract drivers from the road: things like navigation systems and in-car WiFi devices are also contributing to distracted driving accidents.  Each year more “intelligent vehicle technologies” are being developed: each new addition to a dashboard that invites the attention of a driver can also increase the danger of a crash because of the driver not paying enough attention to driving the vehicle.

NHTSA Voluntary Guidelines Announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

Today, the federal government announced new guidelines for U.S. car makers to follow in designing dashboard gizmos that drivers checking as they drive: things like phones and map navigation aides.  Ray LaHood, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation made the announcement:

“Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic that has devastating consequences on our nation’s roadways,” said Secretary LaHood. “These guidelines recognize that today’s drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need. Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives.”
Voluntary Guidelines: Car Makers Are Not Required to Make These Changes

Issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the voluntary federal guidelines define recommended criteria for electronic devices that need the driver to use his or her eyes or hands for operation by time:
  • limit visual time needed to use the gizmo to 2 seconds;
  • limit manual time needed to use the device to 12 seconds;
  • prevent the ability to operate several things unless the vehicle’s transmission is in Park for things like:
  1. Manual text entry for the purposes of text messaging and internet browsing;
  2. Video-based entertainment and communications like video phoning or video conferencing;
  3. Display of certain types of text, including text messages, web pages, social media content.
Guidelines Based on New Research Study

NHTSA has issued guidelines development out of a new federal study on distracted driving.  You can download the study for future review at the NHTSA site:  ”The Impact of Hand-Held and Hands-Free Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety Critical Event Risk.”
Research for the study revealed that text messaging increased the risk of a crash 2 times over and things done to make a phone call (grabbing the phone itself, looking at the screen to find the number and then dial the person on the phone) increased the risk of a crash by 3 times.

“The new study strongly suggests that visual-manual tasks can degrade a driver’s focus and increase the risk of getting into a crash up to three times,” said David L. Strickland, NHTSA Administrator. “The new guidelines and our ongoing work with our state partners across the country will help us put an end to the dangerous practice of distracted driving by limiting the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and their attention away from the task of driving.”

Posted in Auto Accidents, Product Liability, Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

OSHA Inspectors Had Not Checked West Fertilizer Company for 20+ Years Before Big Texas Workplace Explosion: Proves Workers Cannot Assume Your Workplace is Safe Just Because OSHA Oversees It

April 23rd, 2013 by admin

An expose by the Associated Press brought shocking news not only to those victims and their families suffering in the aftermath of the West Fertilizer company explosion in Texas last week: it’s been a revelation to many who assume that the federal government watchdog agency OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration),  is making sure that workplaces are safe for American Workers.

Consider this:  according to the AP investigation, the last time that OSHA inspected that Texas fertilizer plant that blew up in such a huge and destructive explosion was in 1985.

That’s right:  over 20 years ago.

And it didn’t get more than a hand-slap at that point.

Now, while Mike Elk of the Washington Post points out that workplace safety, or the lack thereof, hasn’t received the media coverage it deserves since the days of Walter Cronkite and the 1968 Farmington Mine Explosion, it’s important that the American Public be aware that there are real dangers in many American work sites.

And just because your employer is legally required to obey the OSHA rules and regulations may mean little in the face of profit pressures and the grim reality that no federal inspections are realistically going to be happening, if the AP Expose of the West Fertilizer Plant means anything.  It’s not like workplace danger is a big news topic, so workers can depend upon news media watchdogs to help keep employers on the up and up.

Advocates are using the West Fertilizer Company explosion as a vehicle to bring attention to this real and very serious problem in our country today. Will Congress listen?  Will things change?  No one can know the answers to those questions right now.

Today, the reality is that workers in Indiana and Illinois, particularly those working in dangerous lines of work like construction, mining, or on the docks, need to be aware of the dangers inherent in these jobs and take precautions to keep themselves and their co-workers safe.  State inspections may help even if federal inspectors never appear.

And if there is a serious injury or wrongful death, the law does provide the legal avenue of a personal injury lawsuit for victims to seek justice.  Right now, those verdicts may be the only real weapon against dangerous working conditions – given the recent AP investigative expose.

Posted in Explosions & Fires, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Job Site Injury, Other Jurisdictions, Serious Personal Injury, Work Related, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

This is National Work Zone Awareness Week: Be Aware of The Dangers for Those Working on Our Roads

April 18th, 2013 by admin

This is National Work Zone Awareness Week, where efforts are made around the country to bring attention to the very real dangers that exist for workers who do their jobs by working on American roadways in work zones.

“As highway construction shifts into high gear, we’re asking all Americans to take roadway safety seriously and protect themselves and their passengers by paying attention and slowing down when driving through work zones,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “In April and year round, the men and women working to improve our nation’s highways and bridges deserve to do their work safely.”

Here’s a short video explaining the seriousness of this work danger from the Illinois Department of Transportation:

This week, the federal government announced 2013 National Work Zone Awareness week with a news release from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that included the following information:

  • In 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, 587 people died in highway work-zone fatalities – an increase of 11 fatalities compared to 2010.
  • 4 out of 5 victims in work zone crashes are actually drivers and their passengers, not the worker on the work zone.
  • Today, in a typical 5 day work week, an average of 7 motorists and 1 worker are killed.
  • Generally, crashes occur when drivers speed through a work zone or do not pay attention to the changing road conditions and run into other vehicles, highway equipment, or safety barriers or drive off the road completely.

It’s important to respect the dangers inherent in traveling through any work zone, but particularly those on our local roads especially in bad weather conditions.  Personal injuries and wrongful deaths in work zone crashes involving both workers as well as drivers and passengers moving through the work zone are tragedies that campaigns like this one are trying to prevent.   Be careful out there.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Construction Injuries, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Job Site Injury, Other Jurisdictions, Pedestrian Accidents, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Workers’ Compensation, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

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