Bike safety event highlights serious issue

Lackawanna County to hold a helmet giveaway at PNC park to promote bike safety

As warmer weather comes our way, lots of people are pulling their bicycles and motorcycles out of the garage and taking to the roads.  Soon, the streets and parks will be full of children and adults on their bikes.

Saturday, April 25, Lackawanna County commissioners will hold their third annual bicycle safety fair and helmet giveaway at PNC Park in Moosic, PA. The event will include free food, safety presentations by the Scranton Police Department, a bike rodeo and three-hundred free bike helmets for kids in attendance.  There will also be a drawing for a free bicycle. This event is a great opportunity for families to enjoy the spring weather and for kids to learn how to stay safe. Bike-riding can be a fun way for children to stay active during the spring and summer months, […]

The dangerous mistake people make at railroad crossings

Train and railroad crossing accidents are a matter of rising concern. A Metro North crash in New York on February 3rd left six dead, and at least twelve people injured. It was the deadliest crash in the rail’s history.  An SUV became stuck on the train tracks, and the resulting crash killed the driver and five train passengers.

Just a few weeks later on February 24, a commuter train in southern California derailed when it collided with a pickup truck and trailer. The truck caught fire, three train cars toppled over, a fourth derailed but remained upright.

Then, on March 30, a local man was accidentally killed by a train in Clinton County, PA. Police say he was wearing ear buds at the time and likely didn’t hear the train coming.

“Over 2,000 grade-crossing accidents every year, and there are about 250 fatalities, […]

Concussion Lawsuit Against NHL Gains Momentum

We’ve already heard a lot about the lawsuit against the NFL filed by thousands of former players and their families who have suffered due to football-related head injuries. A growing body of evidence links traumatic brain injuries (such as those sustained by athletes) to serious long-term effects, drug use, depression, and suicide.

It should come as no surprise that a similar class-action lawsuit against the National Hockey League is gaining momentum. In recent weeks, the number of former players involved in the suit has nearly doubled. Earlier this week, Steve Montador, an NHL retiree with a history of concussions was found dead at the age of 35. It was a concussion that ended Montador’s career in 2012, and he admitted to struggling with depression the following year.

There are several blogs and papers online that explain what many people do not realize about head injuries. […]

After the Super Bowl: Stats say we love football, as long as our kids aren’t playing

Super Bowl Sunday, more than any other day of the year, reminds us just how much a part of our culture football is. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, or just there for the food and friends, millions of Americans tuned in to see the big game last night. Super Bowl XLIX was the highest rated game in Super Bowl history, and the highest-rated television event of the year.

So, then, what are we to do with the increasing number of studies linking football to concussions and lasting brain damage? A recent Bloomberg poll reported nearly half of American parents don’t want their sons playing football. A study by Robert Morris University indicates that most parents don’t want their children to play football before high school.    Another recent study published in the New York Times found that retired players who began playing before the age of 12  had a higher risk for mental problems later in life. […]

Game changer: player’s tragic death highlights concussion problem

As you may have heard by now, on Sunday, November 30,  22-year-old Ohio State University football player Kosta Karageorge was found dead in a dumpster in Columbus, OH, as the result of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Preceding his death, he sent his mother some troubling text messages, apologizing, and saying that his concussions had “messed up” his head.

Throughout his athletic career in football and wrestling, Karageorge suffered multiple concussions, the most recent of which occurred just weeks before his death. As we have observed earlier this year, it turns out that concussions are not uncommon for athletes at the professional, college, and high school levels. In fact, it has been described as an “epidemic.” It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of student athletes suffer from concussions each year, and many more likely go unreported and untreated. […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer stresses importance of safety when hunting

We’re in the midst of hunting season across the country, and we can’t stress enough the importance of safety. As millions of hunters are heading into the woods this month, they must keep safety top of mind.

Reports of hunting accidents have already begun, and in the past few weeks alone, there have been many. In two separate hunting accidents in Iowa this past weekend, a 14-year old accidentally shot himself in the leg while setting traps and another hunter fell around 25 feet from a tree stand, sustaining serious injuries. In Oregon, a trooper with the Oregon State Police accidentally shot and killed his 20-year-old daughter while hunting. In Wisconsin, a bow hunter was accidentally shot in the head with a gun by another hunter. In Montana, a 56-year old man was accidentally shot and critically injured by a 13-year-old who was hunting with him, and in Kansas, […]

More than 200 former NFL players and families opt out of concussion settlement

Former NFL players concerned that concussion settlement won’t be enough

ESPN reports that court documents filed on Monday show more than 200 former football players or their families have opted out of the proposed settlement for the class action suit of NFL concussion claims. The concussion lawsuit was initially filed by more than 5,000 ex-players against the league.

The claims administrator sent settlement notices to 25,040 players and 8,924 relatives of deceased players, according to court records. According to the claims administrator, 196 former football players, 22 relatives of NFL retirees, and two others opted out of the settlement by last month’s deadline. The Associated Press reported that 14 other players tried to opt out, but didn’t file the paperwork quickly enough. According to CBS Sports, a number of former players are concerned that the settlement numbers won’t meet their individual needs. […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer warns of the dangers of hayride and other Halloween attractions

Earlier this month, a Jeep pulling a wagon full of passengers on a Halloween-themed haunted hayride on a farm in Maine crashed, causing the hayride to overturn, killing one teen and seriously injuring several others. According to ABC News, the Jeep missed a turn and headed into the woods, causing the hayride to crash, overturn and throw passengers.

Many accidents occur throughout the season at different types of Halloween-themed attractions, and some of these accidents are deadly. In another accident this month, a teenager playing a zombie at a corn maze attraction in Idaho was killed after falling under the event’s Zombie Slayer Paintball Bus. The teen died from injuries sustained after being run over by the rear passenger wheel of the bus. According to the Huffington Post, nobody inside of the bus, which was rocking as it moved forward on uneven terrain, […]

Not much has changed after concussion lawsuits

We saw another example this weekend of how football coaches allow players to stay in the game with head injuries. Michigan coach Brady Hoke failed to remove sophomore quarterback Shane Morris after he received a crushing blow from a defensive end. Morris appeared dazed, stumbling after the hit. The coaches let him stay in the game for the next play and then removed him, only to return him to the game later for another play.

As this played out on national TV, it raised questions to the necessity of a concussion protocol at the college level, that would bar teams from allowing players with head injuries, and concussion-like symptoms, to continue playing without further evaluation.

CBS Sports reported that in his postgame news conference Coach Hoke said, “I don’t know if he had a concussion or not, I don’t know that. Shane’s a pretty competitive, […]

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys encourages increased awareness of suicide prevention

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention to raise awareness that suicide can be prevented. The tragic death of Robin Williams has drawn the nation’s attention to the topic of suicide. The outpouring of grief for Williams has including extensive conversations on the topics of mental health and suicide prevention. It was reported that Williams was battling severe depression when he took his own life.

Suicide Rate is Increasing

Suicide is an increasing public health concern. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reported that in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, 39,518 suicides were reported, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death in America. It is estimated that one person will die as the result of suicide every 13 minutes in the U.S. The vast majority suffers from some sort of clinical depression or another mental illness, […]

Personal injury lawyer warns about aviation dangers

Just this past weekend, two people were killed in a small plane crash in New Hampshire, five in a small plane crash in Colorado, one in Florida, two in Texas, and one off the coast of Virginia among others.

An investigation by USA Today that was reported in the publication this summer talked about the lack of safety and hidden defects linked to small aircraft crashes. USA Today reported that nearly 45,000 people have been killed in crashes of small airplanes and helicopters since 1964. While federal investigators are often quick to blame pilots, USA Today found many instances in which defective parts and dangerous designs were the cause of crashes, deaths, and injuries. The USA Today investigation found that many defects have persisted as manufacturers covered up problems, failed to fix defects and lied to regulators. Apparently, some defective parts remained in use for decades, […]

Personal injury lawyer recommends steps to take if you are the victim of medical malpractice

The medical malpractice attorneys at Munley Law represented an estate and a widow in a medical malpractice case against a hospital in the death of her husband. The suit claimed that the hospital’s nurse did not follow hospital policies nor the surgeon’s orders when she administered a medication when it was not indicated, causing the death of the patient. Last week, a jury awarded the patient’s estate $1.5 million in the medical malpractice case.

According to an article in Pro Publica, a study in a current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety reports that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death. That would make medical errors the third leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease and cancer.

What Is Medical Malpractice? […]

How to Protect Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A scare at a Dunmore, PA hotel this past weekend brought attention to the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. According to WNEP News, 200 people were evacuated from the Dunmore Best Western after police said a furnace in the hotel malfunctioned. The Scranton Times reported that between 20 and 30 were taken to area hospitals to be evaluated for possible CO inhalation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported that every year, nearly 500 people die in the U.S. from accidental CO poisoning. CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death if inhaled.

Where is Carbon Monoxide Found

CO is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by fuel-burning space heaters, furnaces, charcoal grills, cooking ranges, water heaters, fireplaces, portable generators, wood-burning stoves, and car and truck engines. Normally, the levels of CO produced by these sources aren’t dangerous. […]

Community Health Systems hacked, affecting many in NEPA

Hackers broke into Community Health Systems, stole data on 4.5 million patients

Community Health Systems, the owner of Moses Taylor and Regional Hospitals in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre General, Tyler Memorial near Tunkhannock and First Hospital in Kingston, announced Monday that it was the target of a cyber attack.

Community Health Systems operates 206 hospitals across the country, including those mentioned locally. The company said that hackers broke into its computers and stole data on 4.5 million patients. According to reports on Fox News, they believe the attack originated in China.

CNN reported that the hackers gained access to names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates and phone numbers, which is considered a breach under HIPPA. Anyone who received treatment from a physician’s office tied to a network-owned hospital in the last five years, or was merely referred by an outside doctor may be affected. […]

Kids and pets left in hot cars can have tragic ending

Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle on a hot summer day can lead to heatstroke and can kill in minutes. The Department of Earth & Climate Sciences at San Francisco State University reported that there have already been 21 child deaths this year due to heatstroke from being left in a hot vehicle.

Tragedy can strike when parents or caregivers forget or knowingly leave children or pets in hot vehicles. It can also occur when unattended children play in parked vehicles. A car can heat 20 degrees in just ten minutes. Even with temps in the 60s, the interior of a car can eventually heat up above 110 degrees. A child will die of heatstroke when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The issue of child heatstroke deaths reached national attention in June when a father in Atlanta said he forgot his son in the car seat while he was at work all day. […]

Summer boaters are encouraged to be safe and responsible

Recreational boating activity soars in the summer months, and so do boating accidents. In 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard counted 4,062 accidents that resulted in 560 deaths, 2,620 injuries, and approximately $39 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents.

In a 2013 Recreational Boating Statistics report released by the Coast Guard, it was found that where the cause of death was known in boating accidents, 77% was a result of drowning. Of those drowning victims, 84% were not wearing a life jacket. The report also found that eight out of every ten boaters who drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length. 46% were open motorboats, 18% personal watercraft, and 17% cabin motorboats. Canoes, kayaks and pontoon boats also accounted for many accidents.

Alcohol use was the leading known contributing factor in recreational boating accidents where the primary cause was known. […]

PA personal injury lawyer warns of ATV danger

Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, was injured last week when she hit a curb while riding an all-terrain vehicle in her home state of Arizona, flying off of a drop-off of over 5 feet, according to police reports. She severed her spinal cord in the accident that left her hospitalized. A letter from her family said that the broken vertebrae came within millimeters of rupturing her aorta.

This is just a reinforcement of the dangers posed by ATVs, especially for children. According to the website ATVSafety.gov, there are more than 100,000 ATV-related emergency room visits and 700 deaths each year. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission 2012 Annual Report of ATV-Related Deaths and Injuries, which was released in April of this year, there were an estimated 12,400 ATV-related fatalities between 1982 and 2012. Of those fatalities, 2,944 were children younger than 16 years of age. […]

Growing pressure on NFL to address brain injuries

Football is a dangerous game when it comes to head injuries, both in the NFL and also on youth football fields. A 2010 study by Purdue University found that linemen, tight ends, running backs and linebackers suffer the must frequent head injuries. It’s no wonder why many of the highest profile NFL victims of traumatic brain injury, such as Junior Seau and Tony Dorsett, were linemen, linebackers or running backs.

More than 5,000 ex-players have filed a lawsuit against the NFL in federal court. In the lawsuit, the former players have alleged that NFL officials hid the dangers of repeated hits to the head while mythologizing the violence of their sport. The NFL reached an agreement for a $765 million settlement with the players, but the deal was rejected by Judge Anita Brody because she fears the sum is too low to adequately cover current and future retired player who may need long-term care. […]

High gas prices lead to more motorcycle accidents

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently wrote a piece that examined the connection between rising gas prices and an uptick in motorcycle-related deaths. As the cost of gas goes up, many people decide to ditch their cars for this more fuel-efficient (and often more fun!) option. While this may seem a proper solution for your budget, it can also put you at higher risk of being involved in a fatal accident.

Unlike cars—which come equipped with seat belts, airbags, collision avoidance systems, sensors, antilock brakes, and more—motorcycles leave you out in the open, exposed, without enhanced features. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are 26 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in motor vehicle crashes. The NHTSA also reports that states without helmet laws showed ten times more fatalities. Pennsylvania is one of those states, […]

President highlights risk of head injuries in youth sports

Today President Obama hosted a conference highlighting the risks of head injuries to young athletes in an effort to promote awareness of the problem. The Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit included researchers, professional athletes, parents, coaches, league officials, and sportscasters.

USA Today reported President Obama told those at the conference that there are no “solid numbers” on the extent of the concussion problem in football and other contact sports. “We need to have better research, better data, better safety equipment, and better protocols.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. A concussion, which is common in many sports, is a type of TBI caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that can change the way the brain normally works. […]