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 Posted on May 18, 2017 in Library

When you see a tractor-trailer, cement truck, log truck, or box truck headed down a Virginia road, the last thing you probably think about is something malfunctioning on the truck. However, one of the leading causes of truck crashes is failure of parts and systems. Some of the different types of equipment that can fail and lead to trucking accidents include:

• Tires or wheels
• Brakes
• Steering system
• Trailer attachment
• Engine or transmission

Although most collisions with trucks are caused by driver negligence and driver error, there are some truck crashes caused by the failure of these various important components. This is because many trucking companies prioritize money over safety-which is why they don't take trucks off the road for regular maintenance and inspection. Consequently, various truck parts and systems can fail with age and without the proper care and maintenance.

Truck Equipment Failure Due to Poorly Maintained Trucks

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 Posted on May 17, 2017 in Traffic Accidents

The average driver is aware of many factors that make it more difficult to drive safely. We know that drinking alcohol or taking drugs-even prescription drugs-can impair the ability to drive. We know that speeding and driving recklessly increase the chances of a crash. However, many people are unaware of the dangers of driving when they are sleepy. Studies show that a driver needs to have had enough sleep in order to be fully functional behind the wheel.

Why Are Sleep-Deprived Drivers So Dangerous?

When a person doesn't get adequate sleep, his judgment, reaction time, and attention span are compromised. According to a study by AAA, experts recommend that an adult should sleep for seven hours or more every night. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of sleep for healthy adults between the ages of 18-64.

When a driver doesn't get this amount of sleep, it can increase his or her crash rate. Past information from AAA has revealed that seven percent of all crashes involve driver drowsiness, and it is estimated that fatigue contributes to 13 percent of collisions that results in injuries and hospital admissions and 21 percent of all deadly crashes in this nation.

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 Posted on May 15, 2017 in Traffic Accidents

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be one of the leading causes of deaths in our nation-especially for young drivers. And now that millennials have been named the worst-behaved drivers in our nation by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it is important to review what drivers in their 20s are doing wrong behind the wheel in an effort to save lives and decrease the number of crash injuries.

Errors Made by Young Drivers

Let's face it-young drivers aren't as experienced as older drivers and thus underestimate dangerous situations or lack the wisdom to make the safest decisions behind the wheel. However, sometimes they deliberately make risky choices that put their lives and the lives of other motorists sharing the road with them in danger. The three top mistakes drivers aged 19-24 make include:

• Speeding. Many people drive well over the speed limit or too fast for road conditions, which can lead to crashes. In fact, speeding is one of the top factors that contribute to traffic collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is because speeding reduces a driver's ability to steer safely, react to a dangerous situations on the road, and to bring the car to a stop. Even if a driver is only exceeding the speed limit by 5 or 10 miles per hour on a residential street or in a school zone, he can cause an accident. But many young millennial drivers don't see any danger in this behavior, according to the AAA report.

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 Posted on May 14, 2017 in Birth Injuries

Your baby turns a week old tomorrow and you have yet to walk around with him in your arms. Ever since the delivery, you've been bedridden-with excruciating pain between your legs. It's all you can do to hobble to the bathroom without fainting, let alone carry your newborn.

Although you're thankful that your doctor was able to safely deliver your precious son, whatever he did with the forceps in order to do so has definitely caused you a lot of agony. You're grateful that if one of you had to suffer that it is you, but is all this pain normal for a forceps delivery?

Common Delivery Consequences of Forceps Assistance

Nearly 35,000 deliveries nationwide require the use of potentially harmful forceps in order to assist with extracting difficult babies from their mother's womb. According to data taken from research conducted by the Mayo Clinic, one out of every twenty births requires assistance when a baby becomes stuck in the birth canal. Unfortunately, this assistance can not only cause damage to the baby, but also the mother. These maternal risks include:

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 Posted on May 13, 2017 in Library

Large commercial trucks loaded with various types of cargo are constantly traversing our roads and highways. All cargo carried by tractor-trailers is supposed to be loaded properly and secured so that it cannot shift when a truck goes around a curve or swerves. If a truck doesn't have its cargo secured and equally distributed, the load can shift and cause a truck to tip over and crash.

Since commercial trucks are large in size, any time there is a truck accident, there are often devastating injuries to people in smaller passenger cars sharing the road with large trucks. In an effort to minimize truck crashes, those in the trucking industry should be prioritizing the proper loading and securement of cargo.

Causes of Cargo-Related Truck Accidents

Unfortunately, there are cargo-related truck accidents that occur regularly due to the following factors:

• Overloaded cargo. When trucks are loaded down with too much cargo, they can go over their weight limit, which can also cause top-heaviness. Too much weight can make it difficult for a truck to come to a complete stop in time and increase a truck's risk of crashing or jackknifing.

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 Posted on May 13, 2017 in Library

When you've been taken advantage of, lied to by, neglected by, or otherwise injured by a medical professional, not only are you physically harmed but your faith and trust are affected. Depending on the situation, you may also be psychologically and emotionally devastated by the incident. Your entire future could be affected as the result of one person's negligence, and that is unacceptable.

Filing a medical malpractice claim can get you the damages you deserve for your suffering. Now, although a monetary settlement may not be able to reverse the mistake or make up for the physical and emotional pain it has put you through, it can help give you peace of mind for the future.

Types of Medical Malpractice Damages

Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, you and your lawyer need to decide the types of damages for which you want to seek compensation. In any case, the three different types of damages that can be awarded are economic, non-economic, and punitive.

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 Posted on May 11, 2017 in Traffic Accidents

Driving a car can get a person from point A to point B, but, sadly, some people never reach their destinations. This is because deadly car crashes occur far too often. In fact, reports from two different national organizations show that the number of fatal crashes on America's roads increased significantly from 2015 to 2016.

According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatal crash rates for the first half of 2016 jumped 10.4 percent as 17,775 people died on U.S. roads in the first half of the year compared to 16,100 fatalities in the first half of 2015. NHTSA notes that the number of miles vehicles traveled increased during this time, which contributes to the rise in traffic deaths.

A report by the National Safety Council (NSC) confirms that there was an increase in motor-vehicle mileage as well as low gas prices, which played a factor in the increase in traffic deaths. According to the NSC's calculations, over 40,000 motor vehicle fatalities occurred in 2016-a six percent increase in traffic deaths from the prior year and the most reported in a decade. Even though the two organizations use different methods to calculate fatal crash statistics, the overall message is that traffic deaths unfortunately increased in 2016.

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 Posted on May 09, 2017 in Brain Injuries

Memory problems are almost always a result of a brain injury. When someone suffers from a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI), their memory is often impaired. Not only is having memory issues frustrating, but it can be life-changing.

The Importance of One's Memory

By definition, memory is the ability to recall, keep, and use information. When the brain cannot take in new information or cannot recall old information, one's memory is impaired. This can dramatically impact someone's life as well as affect that person's family.

There are two types of memory that can be impacted following a brain injury:

• Short-term memory. Most brain injuries lead to short-term memory problems. Short-term memory is the ability for the brain to remember and store information for a short period of time.
• Long-term memory. For most people who suffer head trauma, long-term memory seems to be fine. Long-term memory is the ability to recall information and events that occurred a day, weeks, months, or years prior to their head injury.

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 Posted on May 07, 2017 in Library

From the moment a patient is diagnosed with a health condition at a hospital, the attending physician and team generally start planning the patient's discharge. They make their best predictions for discharging a patient once they know the patient's course of treatment. In most cases, their predictions are correct as they balance a patient's medical condition with an average recovery time based on the patient's age and health. However, sometimes a patient may take longer to recover than a physician estimated. Unfortunately, some patients are discharged from the hospital too soon and suffer as a result.

Medical professionals should know when it is safe to discharge a patient. If a doctor's timeframe for discharging a patient ends up being too early, a patient can be put at risk for suffering serious health issues that could have been avoided altogether or appropriately managed at the hospital. When this occurs and a doctor releases a patient too early, it is known as premature discharge from a hospital.

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 Posted on May 04, 2017 in Burn Injuries

Approximately 500,000 people are seriously injured from burns every year, according to the American Burn Association. Of that half million, 40,000 will have an extended hospital stay, and 4,000 will die. While it can occur at any age, the groups most likely to sustain catastrophic personal injuries from a burn were children under the age of five and adults over 65.

The most common causes of burn injuries in Virginia include:

• Building and household fires
• Defective products
• Chemical burns
• Car/Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Defective vehicle accidents
• Industrial accidents
• Radiation burns
• Water heater fires

Burns may begin with the skin, but can quickly advance to the sweat glands and internal organs, requiring long-term medical care. Within moments of a severe burn, a victim's heart is affected and the heat from the burn amplifies pain receptors in the body.

Recovery for burn victims can include, but is not limited to:

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