While many types of negligence lead to personal injuries, one of the most frequent and most harmful causes is motor vehicle accidents. The extreme forces and violence of car, truck and motorcycle accidents are all too frequently severe enough to cause the death of injury victims. Recent data from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) shows an increase in traffic fatalities nationwide despite continued advances in vehicle safety. Year-to-year statistics reveal an eight percent increase in traffic fatalities between 2011 and 2012 after several ...

Crossing central Illinois, Interstate 55 connects the Chicago metro with St. Louis. Over the holiday season, the corridor sees an increase in truck and passenger vehicle traffic. A recent tragedy near Litchfield provides a reminder to take care over the next few weeks as more people hit the roads to be with family. The accident occurred on November 26 while an Illinois State Police trooper was completing a routine traffic stop. A passing semi tractor-trailer struck the trooper as he stood along the side of the road. The trooper died at the scene of the accident. The ...

Divorce is difficult at any age, of course. But in the golden years, it can bring unique challenges, whether in a split after decades together, or in a second or third marriage. Major issues can include property division, alimony and even living arrangements, causing concern and stress for the divorcing spouses themselves, and often for their kids and extended family. Recent research on the trend of elder divorce out of Bowling Green State University has been heavily covered by the media. Bowling Green sociologists Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin found that the divorce rate ...

Missourians remember all too well the devastation and pain brought to the Joplin community by the May 2011 tornado. Classified an EF5 with winds more than 200 mph, the terrible storm damaged city infrastructure that is still being repaired or replaced more than a year later. And tragically, a year after the actual event another fatality related to the tornado occurred at 25th Street and Moffet Avenue when the employee of a water utility company working on utility repairs was killed. The gasoline-powered saw he was using kicked back and struck him because the iron water-main ...

Independence is a big part of quality of life, especially as people get older. Nobody likes feeling as though they have to rely on others to accomplish basic daily tasks like running errands or going to the doctor. However, it is important to understand that it may actually be very dangerous for some older people to get behind the wheel of a car. As of 2009--the most recent year for which data is available--people over age 65 represented 13 percent of the population in the United States, but accounted for 16 percent of all car accident deaths. All told, 5,593 people ...

West Virginia's economy depends upon the coal mines located throughout the state. Every day on the job brings the risk of serious injury or death. However, these jobs provide for many families, and workers accept the risks as they perform their daily tasks. There have been several new sources of oil or natural gas that have been discovered across the country. In the past, it was thought that these deposits were not accessible, as they were buried under tough layers of rock. Traditional drilling methods were not able to reach these minerals. Many companies have started ...

Many people may think that pool safety during the winter months is not a big issue, but for those that live in places like Southern California pool safety is a year-round issue. Protective Measures for Residential Pools Children account for the vast majority of pool deaths. About 77 percent of all reported swimming pool deaths involve children younger than five years old, and 84 percent of those deaths were in residential pools. There are several protective measures that can be installed in residential pools that will help families stay safe near the water. Alarms ...

In February of 2012, five of the biggest banks in the U.S. - Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo - agreed to pay $25 billion to settle state and federal claims over questionable mortgage practices and foreclosure abuses. In order to encourage the banks to work with borrowers who were having trouble paying their debts, the federal government agreed to give the banks a credit against the restitution order for mortgage debt relief provided to homeowners. Letters Cause Headaches for Borrowers Recently, some lenders, including JP Morgan ...

An iconic image shown in the media coverage from Hurricane Sandy shows a collapsed construction crane dangling more than 70 stories in the air above Manhattan. Amazingly, that crane's catastrophic failure hasn't resulted in any casualties, nor did the recent collapse of a construction crane in the Hell's Kitchen area, but not all New York crane accidents have such a "happy ending." The numbers The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that crane accidents kill an average of 70 construction workers and laborers around the country annually, and ...

Cellphones have become an essential part of our everyday lives. With so much information available at the push of a button, they have made many tasks considerably easier. Many phones also have GPS devices, which is convenient for the motorist who may be in an unfamiliar area. Some cars even have in-dash features that allow them to access the internet while they are driving. Unfortunately, this can often serve as a distraction to many motorists. There have been many serious motor vehicle accidents caused by distracted drivers. In Illinois, there is a statewide rule in ...

Social media on the Internet started out for exactly that purpose: socializing. People express themselves and engage in dialog with others through sites like Facebook and Twitter. YouTube for video sharing; LinkedIn for professional networking; Google+; Myspace; Pinterest; the list goes on. But social networking has morphed into much more than sharing pictures from your trip. It is now used for many commercial and professional purposes by businesses, organizations, institutions, governmental entities, politicians, officials and more. For celebrities, from actors to musicians ...

The Social Security Administration recognizes arthritis and fibromyalgia (FM) as qualifying disabilities for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). The SSA, however, recently changed the way that fibromyalgia will be evaluated when patients apply for SSDI. In a July ruling, the SSA published a ruling providing guidance on the evaluation of evidence in FM claims. Following the change in procedures, it is even more important to speak with a Social Security Disability eligibility attorney. This article will summarize some of the main changes in FM claims review. Those ...

North Carolina residents suffering from workplace injury or occupational illness know how difficult the experience is. However, they may be surprised to learn the high cost of workplace injuries, as well as which industry is now considered one of the most dangerous. The manufacturing industry is traditionally thought of as inherently dangerous. Police and firefighters are also expected to experience potentially dangerous work situations. According to The Atlantic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzes the number of illnesses and injuries by industry. According ...

Carol Foster, the former head of North American Client Services for international equity fund manager Pantheon Ventures, has become the latest high-profile older, female business executive to file a lawsuit alleging both age and gender discrimination. Foster alleges that she lost prospective clients, past clients, promotional opportunities and financial incentives to younger, male colleagues during her tenure at Pantheon. The allegations Foster's case alleges that she suffered both blatant (a senior male executive referring to a gathering of female executives at a ...

A new clinical study by the UCLA School of Nursing has found a direct correlation between pressure ulcers--which are also called bedsores--and patient deaths or increases in the length of hospitalization. During the study, researchers tracked about 51,000 randomly selected Medicare beneficiaries who were hospitalized across the nation. The study discovered that about 4.5 percent of the Medicare patients developed a bedsore while they were hospitalized, most developing on the sacrum or tailbone. In addition, a high number of bedsores appeared on the hips, buttocks and ...

According to a recent study by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury and lived in areas with exposure to pesticides may be three times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. While prior research suggests that traumatic brain injuries are linked to the disease, the effect has not been seen across the board. However, pesticides have been suspected of being tied to Parkinson's because of the high rate of the disease among farm workers. A previous study from the University of California, Berkeley, found ...

Texas now has the fastest section of highway in the United States. The speed limit on a new toll road connecting Austin and San Antonio, State Highway 130, is now 85 miles per hour for those who want to avoid the traffic and congestion of Interstate 35. The new stretch will be the U.S. road most comparable to the German autobahn. While the autobahn has no general speed limit, it still has an advisory limit five miles below that of 130. Construction of the toll road complied with Texas Department of Transportation specifications after the higher state speed limit was ...

It is not unusual for one spouse to be in charge of a family's finances. Such arrangements make it easier for the spouse controlling the money to take advantage of the other spouse if the marriage ends in divorce, leading to an unfair property division. However, if a spouse hides assets during divorce and is later discovered, it can lead to serious consequences. People should be aware of the signs a spouse is hiding assets, where people typically hide assets and the penalties for hiding assets during divorce. What are the signs that a spouse is hiding assets? One ...

With the holiday season now in full swing, many Utah families are finding themselves traveling several miles as they attend countless celebrations and festivities. And while this time of year is generally a happy and joyous time for most families in Utah, it can quickly turn tragic if families happen across party-goers on the road that chose to get behind the wheel after drinking. National Impaired Driving Prevention Month Drunk driving accidents can have serious, or even deadly, consequences. Not only is it a punishable criminal act, but once a life is lost to a ...

When children are born, everyone hopes for the best as they grow up. But sometimes difficult circumstances develop in their immediate family that causes their grandparents concern for the kids' well-being. Or for a variety of reasons, a parent may cut off contact between a child and his or her grandparent. When those reasons are not valid, an appropriate, loving grandparent-grandchild relationship can suffer. In these types of situations, grandparents have certain legal rights, which vary --sometimes greatly -- from state to state, since family relationships are mostly ...

Gary Coleman, made famous by his role in "Diff'rent Strokes," was once the highest-paid actor on television and worth an estimated $7 million. Within just a decade of his success, a series of costly health problems and recurring legal trouble with his adoptive parents led him to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1999. In an interview, Coleman made an accurate assessment of his financial struggles, saying he could "spread the blame" for his bankruptcy "from me to accountants to my adoptive parents, to agents to lawyers and back to me again." ...

Fall weather is perfect for getting outside and participating in various sports activities, but OrthoAtlanta wants to remind everyone to make certain to sue proper protective gear. These Atlanta sports medicine professionals know that too many injuries could have been prevented with proper equipment. No one wants to end a season or a sports career with a visit to an orthopedic surgeon in Atlanta. Using protective gear from helmets to knee pads can help prevent injury and visits to Atlanta physical therapy experts. Most people would never think of stepping onto a football ...

Clark & Washington, a Tampa bankruptcy law firm, notes that even the greatest show on Earth may not always be successful, but the main man behind it knew how to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. P.T. Barnum made every situation, good and bad, work for him, and even after he declared bankruptcy; it still didn't stop the irrepressible Barnum. Barnum was a man of opportunity, in that he saw an opportunity in everything. He created the Barnum and Bailey circus, which eventually joined with Ringling Brothers to create one of the most successful traveling circuses to ...

Atlanta based orthopaedic group, OrthoAtlanta, states that custom orthotics can bring balance to your posture, improve flexibility and assist with joint motility. Atlanta orthopaedic doctors agree, keeping the body in balance is essential to healthy muscles and joints. Custom orthotics can help stabilize the body when standing or in motion. When a body is unbalanced, it can wear down knee joints, causing damage and eventual pain. Atlanta orthopaedic surgeons at OrthoAtlanta state that these injuries to knee joints may be prevented with custom orthotics. "If the ...

Naderi & Weinrieb is pleased to announce that is has expanded its team of criminal defense attorneys. Attorney Mr. Lee Zavatsky is the newest member of the firm, and will be handling a variety of felony and misdemeanor cases, including DUI. Mr. Lee Zavatsky is a criminal attorney specializing in DUI and complex cases involving DNA and scientific evidence, including narcotics and sex crimes cases. He earned his law degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. After earning ...