Robert Munley notes the increase in youth sports concussions

A new study published this month in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that there was a continuous increase in concussions among high school athletes between 2005 and 2012. The rate of concussions nearly doubled from .23 concussions per 1,000 athletes in 2006 to .52 per 1,000 in 2012.

A concussion is an injury to the brain that produces a transient loss of brain function with symptoms of dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, headache and vision changes.

The study was authored by Joseph Rosenthal, a clinical assistant of physical medicine and rehabilitation at The Ohio State University and a group of his colleagues utilizing data from the High School Reporting Information Online sports injury surveillance system. The system contains data from a representative sample of 100 U.S. high schools that have at least one certified trainer on staff.

The report studied boys’ football, […]

Medical errors third-leading cause of death in America

A “Medical Errors” report just released by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer calls medical errors a “quiet and largely unseen tragedy.” New research estimates up to 440,000 Americans are dying each year as the result of medical errors and other preventable hospital errors. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and based on these figures, medical/hospital errors is the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease and cancer.

Senator Boxer stated, “these deaths are all the more heartbreaking for families because they are preventable.”

The Partnership for Patients, a new public-private partnership funded through the Affordable Care Act, released a list of the 9 most common medical errors:
1. Adverse drug events
2. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
3. Central line-associated blood stream infections
4. Injuries from falls and immobility
5. Obstetrical adverse effects
6. Bedsores
7. […]

Motorcycle accident deaths increase 3rd year in a row

Motorcycle rider fatalities increased for the third consecutive year in 2012, up more than 7% over 2011, while motorcyclist injuries rose 15% to 93,000. A shocking 42% of the reported fatalities involved unhelmeted motorcyclists. These figures were released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in its Quick Facts 2012 report, which was released last month.

A study released by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that a better economy and higher gas prices mean more motorcycle riders on the road and fewer states with helmet laws means more fatalities. The Governors study mentioned several reasons for the high motorcyclist fatality rate, which accounted for about 14% of all traffic fatalities, including lack of helmet laws, alcohol use and speeding.

The NHTSA reported that motorcyclist fatalities accounted for 15% of the total fatalities for the year. There were 10 times as many unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities in states without universal helmet laws in 2012, […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer warns spring is a dangerous time for dog bites

Spring is finally here, and after a long, cold winter in Northeast Pa, that means going outside to enjoy the warmer weather. The warm-up will also bring more dog owners outside to walk their pets, which may be why the incidence of dog bites always seem to increase in the spring.

According to the American Humane Society (AHS), an estimated 4.7 million dog bites occur in the U.S. each year. Nearly 800,000 of those bites require medical attention. The AHS also reported that at least 25 different breeds of dogs have been involved in 238 dog-bite-related fatalities in the U.S.

The American Pet Products Association found that pet ownership is at an all-time high. There are currently 83.3 million dogs in the U.S., which are kept by 56.7 million households. The number of dog bites, as well as their severity, has risen dramatically since the 1980’s. […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, Marion Munley, warns of the FDA investigation of testosterone products due to health risks

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it is investigating the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death in men taking FDA-approved testosterone or “low-T” products, including AndroGel. This comes in light of two recent studies that showed higher rates of cardiovascular problems in men taking these drugs.

According to several lawsuits filed in February in Ilinois federal court, Abbot Laboratories, Inc., and AbbVie Inc. downplayed the stroke and heart attack risks associated with testosterone replacement treatment AndroGel.

The two drugmakers have engaged in an extensive advertising campaign about low testosterone, telling consumers that the natural effects of aging in men, such as listlessness and weight gain, were actually symptoms of the condition that could be treated with their products, according to the lawsuits, brought separately by five plaintiffs.

The suits came four days after the FDA announced it was investigating possible increased risks of stroke, […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer warns of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning

There was news this past weekend of many cases of carbon monoxide poisoning and one life tragically lost. A restaurant manager died and dozens of others were treated and released after inhaling carbon monoxide at a Long Island, NY mall. Investigators at the scene found a leak in the flue pipe of the water heater in a restaurant. This terrible tragedy highlights the inadequacy of the codes for carbon monoxide detectors in commercial spaces.

This same weekend, several guests at a resort in Maine were also taken to a local hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning due to a high level of carbon monoxide near a furnace in the building. Last week, three adults died and a fourth person was hospitalized after a carbon monoxide poisoning inside a home in New Hampshire. In January of this year, a Saint Clair man died of carbon monoxide poisoning after the flue pipe of a coal furnace he was using clogged, […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer discusses the problem of nursing home abuse

Millions of Americans place their loved ones in nursing homes every year with the belief that they will be well cared for. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is a very real problem in the United States. From malnutrition to overmedication and mental and physical abuse, there are a variety of ways that residents can be mistreated in a nursing home. An estimated 3.3 million Americans lived in nursing homes in 2013, which translates to 1 in 7 people ages 65 and up and 1 in 5 of those 85 and older. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), Bureau of Justice Statistics, 36% of nursing homes have been in violation of elder abuse laws.

CNN has reported that 90% of nursing home facilities are understaffed, and one in 3 across the country have been cited for nursing home abuse and other related infractions. Demographics show that the incidents of nursing home abuse will likely rise. […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer talks about the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

A study published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that anti-smoking measures over the past fifty years have saved approximately 8 million American lives. According to the Journal report, more than 42% of U.S. adults smoked in the years preceding the 1964 Surgeon General’s report warning of the hazards of smoking, and that rate has dropped to about 18% today. Their report states that tobacco controls have contributed substantially to increases in U.S. life expectancy.

Although this is positive news, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., causing more than 440,000 deaths each year and leaving 8.6 million people to live with a serious illness caused by smoking.

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, Bob Munley, said that smoking is still a problem with 43 million people still smoking in the U.S. […]

$1.25M Settlement Reached for Young Boy’s Death

$1.25M settlement after seven year old boy killed in bus accident

A $1.25 million settlement approved Monday by Lackawanna County Judge Trish Corbett ended a lawsuit stemming from the death of a 7-year-old boy who was run over by a bus at a Wyoming County camp.

The money came from two insurance companies:

• Travelers Property Casualty, which represented First Reform Episcopal Church of New York City. The church had rented Camp Lackawanna from the Lackawanna Presbytery so New York City youngsters could spend a week enjoying the outdoors in a religious setting.
• Pacific Employers, which represented the driver of the bus and Suburban Transit Co. of New Brunswick, NJ, and Coach USA Inc., Houston, which rented the vehicle to the church.

The suit says two buses rented by the church arrived at Camp Lackawanna several hours late. The first, […]

Calvary Charter Bus Crash Under Investigation

Bus crash could have been due to driver being distracted by GPS

Authorities are continuing to investigate a tragic February 2 charter bus crash that injured more than 30 Pennsylvania high school students and chaperones.

The accident happened when a Calvary Coach bus slammed into a bridge overpass in Boston. The 35 occupants were returning home to the Philadelphia area after a visit to Harvard University.

Investigators – including a collision reconstruction team – are conducting a thorough examination of the vehicle that could take up to six weeks to complete.

The top of the bus struck the bottom of a low bridge. The collision sheared off a portion of the roof, causing injury to passengers. At least four were hospitalized for serious personal injuries.

Following is from the Boston Globe:

State Police said Sunday that the crash injured 35 passengers, […]

Hospital Patients Given Wrong Medicine On Discharge

Three out of four patients go home from the hospital with the wrong prescriptions or a lack of understanding about their medications.

That’s the disturbing conclusion of a new study from Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The chief researcher, Dr. Leora Horwitz, who also practices at the hospital, said health care providers “do a relatively poor job of educating patients about their medications.”

Medical malpractice mistakes involving medication errors cause injuries to more than 1.3 million persons a year.

This is from the New Haven Register:

A recent study [Dr. Horowitz] led looked at 377 patients at Yale-New Haven Hospital, ages 64 and older, who had been admitted with heart failure, acute coronary syndrome or pneumonia, then discharged to home.

Of that group, 307 patients – 81 percent – either experienced a provider error in their discharge medications or had no understanding of at least one intended medication change…. […]

Iraqi Vet From Carbondale Wins $3.7 Million for PTSD

A Pennsylvania federal judge has awarded $3.7 million to an Iraqi war veteran who said Veterans Affairs doctors failed to properly treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

U.S. District Judge James Munley issued an order January 16 in favor of Stanley Laskowski III and his wife Marisol.

Laskowski was treated at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township.

Since October 2001, approximately 1.6 million U.S. troops have been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Evidence suggests that many returning service members suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and traumatic brain injury.

This is from the Times Leader:

Laskowski, of Carbondale, filed suit against the VA in 2010, alleging physicians there were grossly negligent in the care they provided him for PTSD he developed during a tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. […]

Top 10 Tips for Safe Air Travel

Last year was the safest year for air travel in more than 60 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

In 2012, there were 23 fatal airliner accidents – including both passenger and cargo flights – resulting in 475 fatalities and 36 ground fatalities worldwide. Those figures are well below the 10-year average of 34 accidents and 773 fatalities.

When only passenger flights are considered, the news is even brighter. There were 11 accidents involving passenger aircraft – the lowest total since 1945 and under the average of 16 accidents per year.

People who are injured in a Pennsylvania airplane crash – or the families of people who are killed – might have a right to sue for financial compensation.

Following is from the ASN news release:

2012 marked the longest period without a fatal airliner accident in modern aviation history. […]

Five Tips for Avoiding State Flu Outbreak

Pennsylvania has been hard hit by influenza, with one hospital setting up a special tent to treat the wave of patients.

The city of Boston has even declared a state of flu emergency.

Flu season started more than a month early this year and is now widespread in Pennsylvania and 46 other states.

In some cases, flu symptoms of high fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, and body aches have been combined with a stomach virus and whooping cough.

More than 200,000 people are hospitalized for influenza each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Between 3,000 and 49,000 people die annually as a result of influenza.

The best way to avoid getting the flu in Pennsylvania is to get vaccinated.

The CDC says a vaccine is available in most places, although some parts of the country have seen spot shortages. […]

How Can a Dog’s Bite Harm You?

Of the millions of dogs that are owned by people and families in the United States, a majority are extremely friendly and loving, even to strangers, and never cause anyone harm. However, unfortunately, there are many dogs that are aggressive and attack people, often causing unsuspecting people extreme harm, both physically and psychologically.

While some dog bites may only be minor, resulting in superficial cuts, others can cause debilitating physical harm. Some of the most common effects of dog bites include:

• Lacerations (cuts)
• Broken bones
• Infections
• Disfigurement
• Scarring
• Paralysis
• Nerve damage
• Emotional / psychological harm

Often times, it is the psychological damage that a dog bite victim sustains that is the most damaging. Not only do many victims of such attacks suffer from issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder that cause lasting fear and trauma, […]

Injury Victims of Train Accidents May Often Claim Compensation

A recent train derailment in South Jersey sent some 70 people to the hospital and caused the evacuation of more than 200 nearby homes. The reason? The train cars were filled with a dangerous chemical called vinyl chloride, a chemical that wafted through the air for at least several days.

The Nov. 30 train derailment near Paulsboro, N.J.,  sent four rail cars into the Mantua Creek when the train came off its tracks on a bridge. It took officials two weeks to get the cars out of the creek, which feeds the Delaware River that provides drinking water to some 15 million people.

While no one was killed in the Paulsboro train accident, the long-term effects of vinyl chloride are such that we may not know the full damage for years. The gas reportedly causes cancer and liver damage, according to the EPA.

Mike Schade with the Center for Health, […]

Safety Precautions to Take Before Using Power Tools

Without power tools, we would be unable to complete many of the construction projects that occur throughout the country on a daily basis.  It is important though, that all people are extremely cautious when using these tools because they have the ability to cause serious injuries.  Taking the time to implement some safety precautions can help to minimize the potential damages and may keep the handler and anyone nearby safe.

Power tool safety may seem like common sense, but without spending a few minutes reviewing your familiarity with each tool and ensuring that you have properly set up the area you will be working in, you may be putting yourself in danger.  Safety precautions that you should consider taking before using a power tool include:

• Read the instruction manuals and warning.  Power tools come with safety information that is relevant to the handling of the equipment.  […]

Injury Rate From Bounce Houses Soaring

Pennsylvania parents thinking of renting a portable bounce house or moonwalk for their child’s next party might want to think again.

Every 46 minutes a child is injured in an inflatable bouncer, according to a recent study in the journal Pediatrics.

Thirty children are taken to emergency rooms each day for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Their average age is seven years old.

Most are hurt when they collide with another bouncer or fall inside or outside of the inflatable device.

Following is from a CBS News report:

• Falls accounted for 43 percent of injuries, followed by stunts and collisions. Forty-four percent of the injuries occurred at a recreational setting and 38 percent occurring at home.
• More than 27 percents of injuries were fractures, with another 27 percent reported as strains or sprains; […]

PA Cheerleaders Warned of Injury Risk

By now most young athletes and their parents in Pennsylvania are aware of the risk of sports injuries, particularly concussions in football.

Less appreciated are the risks that cheerleaders face – but the American Academy of Pediatrics hopes to change that.

The AAP has issued a policy statement urging coaches, parents and school officials to take steps to make sure cheerleaders get the same coaching, care and protection as quarterbacks and point guards.

In recent years, cheerleading has gone from exhorting crowds at football games to a year-round activity that combines acrobatics, dance and gymnastics.

Participation has skyrocketed. From 1990 to 2003, the number of U.S. cheerleaders age 6 and older increased from 3 million to 3.6 million, according to the AAP.

Unfortunately, the injury rate has also soared. Since 2007, there have been 26,000 cheerleading injuries in the U.S. […]

7 Ways to Fast-Track Your Sandy Insurance Claim

Claim your insurance protection for damage done by Hurricane Sandy

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, thousands of Pennsylvanians are filing insurance claims under homeowners, auto, health and even life insurance policies.

Many will face long waits and daunting paperwork.

Some insurance slowdowns are inevitable following a disaster of Sandy’s proportions. Damage estimates range from $7 billion to $50 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But by taking a few simple steps Pennsylvania residents can improve the odds of their claims getting fast-tracked for approval:

• Do your homework. Take pictures or video of the damage. Before-and-after photographs, purchase records and contractor estimates for repairs are especially valuable.
• Hurry up and file your claim. “Experts say that many homeowners hesitate because they aren’t really sure if they have enough damage to merit a claim—or at least a claim that is more than the value of the policy’s deductible,” the Wall Street Journal reported. […]