Car Crash Injuries: The Faces, Behind the Statistics

Tallulah, LA - As a child, you probably have fond memories of coming home after school and waiting with eager anticipation for Dad to come home from work. A little catch after dinner, or working on the tree fort, or tying a few new fishing lures for the glorious weekend of fishing that lay ahead.

Now imagine coming home from school to find your daddy already at home, because he is in a wheelchair now--the victim of a car accident. He can't play catch, or tie those fishing lures, because he can't move his arms. He can't take you fishing, because he has no feeling, and therefore no strength in his hands to hold the rod.

He can hug you only with his eyes, and with his voice. And with his tears. But he can't wipe those away. You have to...

Man Paralyzed from Auto Accident

Luis Pena Jr., and his family have lived that horror. Prior to October 18, 2007 Pena was an active husband and father who toiled as a border patrol agent in Arizona. Before that he worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Warminster, PA fire department, and as an officer with the Amtrak Police Department. He was summoned to New York, to help with the horrific aftermath of 9/11.

He will always have that past. But his future is uncertain after the Ford F-250 XL he was driving went off the road and rolled over while Pena was on duty, responding to a narcotics call on an Indian reservation. He can't recall the hours leading up to the accident, or what caused it. All he, and anyone know is that he was found by a partner on the side of the road.

Today, Luis Pena Jr. is a quadriplegic. His life has forever changed, and so have the lives of his wife Jennifer, and their two children.

Vehicle Rollover Caused Injuries

According to the People Safe in Rollovers Foundation, vehicle rollovers account for 10,000 fatalities in the US every year, and are the #1 cause of quadriplegic injuries. And while vehicles are purported to be getting safer, rollover injuries appear to be climbing as vehicle manufacturers, in the race to provide their vehicles with better creature comforts and more airbags than the other guy, somehow drop the ball when it comes to what happens when a vehicle is upended. The statistics reveal that manufacturers fail in this department time, and time again.

But it's the faces behind the statistics, which are most compelling. Like Pena. And David Garcia, who is himself a quadriplegic, and who has nearly identical scars to that of Pena, when the 'A' pillar of his Ford Escort collapsed onto his head after the car rolled.

Other Victims of Vehicle Rollover Accidents

Before the accident David Garcia was a young man with a bright future, pursing his doctorate degree in Spanish American literature and Latino studies while working as a teaching assistant. It's Dr. David Garcia now, since he beat the odds and completed his PHD, somehow writing his dissertation with a voice-activated text converter. And his future is just as bright, but limited according to how long he has left to live. He doesn't know. Nobody knows.

All he knows is that he was driving westbound along Interstate 20 on May 25th 1996 when he came onto the smoke generated by a vehicle fire off to the side of the road. Suddenly aware of another vehicle, the driver of which began swerving into his lane upon becoming confused by the smoke, Garcia had no choice up to apply the brake hard and attempt to avoid the vehicle coming into his space. In the ensuing seconds the Escort skidded sideways onto the grassy area of the highway, rolled twice and came to rest on its wheels.

Garcia had done everything right, including being buckled in with both lap and shoulder harness. However, the car he was driving let him down. The roof buckled at the driver's side 'A' pillar, crushing down onto Garcia's head. His discharge diagnosis was C-4 quadriparesis secondary to C-5 on C-6 subluxation.

The foregoing is a medical term. The reality is that Garcia has no feeling below his neck. He cannot wash himself, feed himself, or brush his own teeth.

That Garcia persevered, and attained his PHD is a testament to his tenacity. But his challenge is also demonstrative at the failing of vehicle manufacturers to build safe vehicles that are capable of withstanding all types of accidents. And it matters not if you have airbags front, side and rear in an effort to protect occupants from front, side and rear-impact collisions--or seat belts which properly restrain driver and passengers in the vehicle. All that is wasted, if a vehicle flips over onto its roof, and the 'A' pillar gives way.

More Than Just Auto Accident Statistics

Statistics are statistics. But they also have names, like Luis and David. Claudette, and Patrick and Michelle. Their lives changed forever due to a manufacturers' inability to improve the strength, and safety of the vehicle roof.

Someone needs to be held accountable for that.

Wrongful Death Averted: A Bizarre Story

In Canada this week, a 60-year-old electrician from the City of Oshawa, located just northeast of Toronto is facing numerous charges after allegedly trying to electrocute his wife of more than 25 years in the shower.

The woman was taking a shower one recent Sunday morning when she complained to her husband about experiencing electric shocks whenever she worked the taps. Her husband explained it away as static electricity. However, the woman later discovered a piece of the drywall missing, in the wall between the master bedroom and the ensuite bathroom. She also discovered wires leading to the plumbing.

Upon confronting her husband, the man turned violent and attacked his wife, choking her until she was almost unconscious, according to police reports. The man later fled and led police on a wild chase at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour along area highways, before he was finally arrested.

Meanwhile another man, also 60, may not have had any direct link to the most recent construction crane accident in New York City that claimed two lives, but the arrest June 6th of the City's chief crane inspector only adds to the suspicion that something was terribly wrong that day in New York, and that the deaths of two construction workers were wrongful deaths, and could have been prevented.

There are several unanswered questions surrounding the latest construction crane accident that happened May 30 in New York. Was the rotating plate that failed, sending the crane cab and it's operator plunging 23 stories to the ground below, improperly repaired when a serious crack was discovered and the plate was taken out of service? Were those responsible for inspecting the weld pressured, in some fashion, to pass it?

Should the compromised plate have been put back into service at all?

Many questions. The fact remains, however, that the current building boom in New York is putting tremendous pressure on the industries and organizations supporting that industry. It has been reported that the City's corps of inspectors are inadequate in number to handle the current demand, and are being run off their feet. Construction cranes are a hot commodity, and there aren't enough to go around. When a crane breaks, or is cited for various reasons and taken out of service, the pressure to get that crane back up and running is palpable.

New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers -Are You A Victim of Malpractice?

Patients in New York must have skilled New York medical malpractice attorneys who are able to defend and protect them based on the rights they are due under state and federal laws. When a patient places themselves in the hands of health care professionals and that trust is violated, experienced New York medical malpractice lawyers are available and dedicated to represent your rights and insure that you receive just compensation.

There is always an element of risk involved with medical treatment, especially when patients undergo surgical procedures. There are many occasions where the physician or surgeon themselves are at fault. In instances like this, patients could really use New York medical malpractice lawyers who can protect their rights.

If you have suffered from malpractice, malicious actions or an accident result in illness, injury or psychological harm to
you or your loved ones you can seek compensation If you or a loved one has suffered in any way from some medical error or over sight, New York medical malpractice lawyers with a proven winning record of itigating malpractice cases representing their clients can help people seeking a remedy for medical malpractice.

Legal cases related to prescription and drug related mistakes are a primary skill of New York medical malpractice lawyers. Whether you or a loved one have been harmed through a transcription error, unapproved off-label use of an inappropriate medication or neglect leading to improper dosage levels or schedule, experienced malpractice lawyers can secure compensation for patients and their families.

The field of Pediatric medicine has a particularly high incidence of medication errors. With kids, the danger posed by incorrect dose or mistaken label drugs is quite grave. Human errors exist but they should not at the expense of your child's health.

Injuries occuring during births are often tragic events at a hospital. About 2% of children are injured during childbirth, largely due to the error or negligence of the attending OB/GYN practitioner or nurse. These injuries sometimes are major, and can even threaten to create permanent cognitive or physical damage.

Family members of youngsters who were injured during childbirth because of medical negligence have legal options. New York medical malpractice lawyers can achieve this. They know how to litigate pediatric and OB/GYN malpractice suits. They have won the largest settlements allowed under New York State Law.

In addition, New York malpractice lawyers have expertise in cases of surgical mistakes and wrongful diagnosis.

What we have outlined here are the most abundant medical malpractice complaints causing harm to patients both in New York and nationally.

If you, or someone in your family, has been the victim of hospital negligence or a medical error, you need a good New York medical malpractice lawyer.A New York medical malpractice lawyer can help you get all the compensation you are legally entitled to. Choose an expert legal professional to represent your interests and protect your rights as a patient and consumer when devastating events happen.

It can be a tragic situation when the Hippocratic injunction doctors mkae "first, do no harm" is broken. New York medical malpractice lawyers plan on winning cases.

Injured in a Car Accident – CAN I SUE?

This question is not as simple as it may sound. Under most circumstances, if you suffer an injury and another person shares some or all of the blame, then a lawsuit against that individual seems clearly your right. It does not necessarily work that way in motor vehicle accidents in New York State.

New York State has made a tradeoff. Regardless of whether or not and individual is responsible for a motor vehicle accident that occurred, that individual will be entitled to payments for his/her medical costs and lost wages, and some other expenses as well. For passengers in vehicles, these expenses will be paid by the insurance company of the vehicle in which you find yourself. Since “fault” is not an issue, these payments are known as “NO FAULT” coverage.

However, in return for this guaranteed payment for medical expenses and lost wages, the traveling public had its right to sue curtailed ! A person may only sue if the injury he/she sustained is a “SERIOUS INJURY”.

What is a “SERIOUS INJURY”? That is an injury that is defined by the statute. It can be specific: any fracture (broken bone) meets the requirement–or as lawyers say, it meets the “threshold” permitting a person to sue. More troubling, the acceptable injury may be much more vague (see below). What is clear is that injuries that are passing in nature, and do not involve significant permanent damage, will probably not meet the “threshold”.

Here’s the problem. If a person sues regardless of the seriousness of his/her injury, and the party being sued asks the court to throw out the case because the injury is not serious enough, the court has the right to “dismiss” the case if the judge decides the “threshold” is not met.. And this can happen a year or two after the case has begun, at which point a significant amount of time, effort and expense has been invested in that case, which then is all lost !

Bringing a lawsuit always requires an attorney well versed in the field of law involved. This is certainly true in a case involving such a potentially confusing area as MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS.

“Serious injury” means a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

Posted by New York City Injury Lawyer Steve Orlow

This entry was posted on June 19, 2009 at 2:12 am and is filed under Car Accidents with tags “No-Fault” coverage, New York Personal Injury Law, Personal Injury. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

New York City Bus Accident Injures 59

New York City Fire Department officials are saying that 59 people suffered injuries in a three-vehicle pileup on New York City's Brooklyn Queen's Expressway. According to a news report in the New York Post, a casino bus, another bus and a tractor-trailer collided. Six people were taken to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening. Other injured victims were treated at the scene of the auto accident in New York. Officials are still looking into the cause of this multi-vehicle crash.

Bus accidents in New York have the potential to cause major injuries and deaths. It is fortunate that this bus accident did not result in such devastation. Bus companies – private or public – owe their passengers the "utmost duty of care." What this means is that they owe their passengers the duty to take them to their destination safely. If the bus accident is the bus driver's fault or if it was caused because of the driver's negligence, the bus company can be held liable for injuries caused to passengers. That is also true for other motorists or pedestrians injured by buses.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a New York bus accident, truck accident, or car accident, you would be well-advised to consult experienced New York auto accident attorneys who will vigorously fight for your rights and make sure you receive fair compensation for your damages. Remember that it is best not to talk to insurance companies, attorneys for bus companies or sign any settlements until you have retained a knowledgeable New York personal injury attorney who can counsel you on the best course of action. Please call Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro today to find out more information about how to pursue your legal rights.