ATTORNEY JOHN NOJIMA FEATURED ON CBS NEWS IN SAN DIEGO

Commercial drivers that operate large trucks or drive passenger-vehicles like buses in the United States are at the most risk for crashes when these motorists engage in unsafe driving behaviors. To address this issue, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration worked with law enforcement agencies to focus on educating and correcting those acting unsafe while driving commercial vehicles.

The 2016 Operation Safe Driver Week took place on October 16-22. The Large Truck Crash Causation Study showed the need for this effort as the study found that 93 percent of passenger-vehicle crashes are caused by driver behavior along with 88 percent of large truck accidents.

Authorities watched for a variety of unsafe behaviors that commercial drivers typically engage in like:

• Speeding
• Failure to obey traffic control devices
• Distracted driving
• Failure to use a seat belt
• Improper lane change
• Following too closely

These were some of the main reasons officers pulled over commercial drivers during this year’s event, and more than 21,012 of these drivers were pulled over by officers.

Overall, truck accidents comprise a small number of the total wrecks in a year. However, preventing large vehicle crashes is important as the size of these machines make severe injuries or fatalities more likely. As driver behavior is the main factor in these crashes, these incidents are preventable. When someone suffers injuries due to a truck or large vehicle accident caused by recklessness, this person could seek compensation from both a driver and the company the commercial driver works for.

For more information about what to do after a large vehicle accident, contact us today.

Whiplash is a common injury when someone is involved in an automobile accident. But what many people don’t know is that there are such things as whiplash injury claims. But if you are going to be filing a claim for a whiplash injury, there are certain steps that you should take.

Take Pictures

If you can, take a lot of pictures of the accident. For example, take pictures of all of the cars involved. Also get some pictures of the accident scene and the road where the accident happened. This is going to show your lawyer and other people what exactly happened the day of the accident and will be better than your memory for proving what happened.

Take Details

Be sure that you are getting the details from the other driver, including their address, phone number, model and make of their car, and their first and last name. If the person who is involved doesn’t willingly give you this information, the police officer should have it. Either way, you should give the police a call and get the information so that you have it for your claim.

Get Witness Details

It’s really important that you have details from any witnesses to the accident. They will greatly contribute to your compensation claim. If at all possible, the witnesses should be neutral to the accident’s circumstances. Witness statements usually are not accepted from friends or family members who were also in the accident, since they have a vested interest in the outcome.

See a Doctor

Be sure that you go to a doctor soon after the accident. This is going to help with proving your claim that you have been injured in the accident. If possible, go to the doctor right after the accident. But you can also go the next day, since symptoms of whiplash often don’t happen until the next day. There should be a report of the accident and if you got the whiplash due to driving for work, make sure that your employer knows right away.

Find a Lawyer

The final thing that you should do is to find a good lawyer for your whiplash claims. The lawyer is going to represent you in court and can help you with winning your case. If possible, find a lawyer who specializes in whiplash cases and that knows the law regarding them. Give them all of the evidence that you have from the accident and answer their questions.

The more details that you have for your whiplash claim, the better chance you will have of winning your case. Be very thorough in getting information and taking care of your injuries and your case will be stronger.

Whether you hit your head in a car wreck, an accident at work, or another accident, if you continue to feel the effects of your injury several days or weeks after the incident, you may have suffered a concussion or other serious brain injury. Concussions and other head and brain injuries should be taken seriously, but some people fail to recognize the signs of a concussion.

If you or someone else lost consciousness, even for just a few seconds, the person may have suffered a concussion.

Confusion is another sign. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways. The person may have memory loss, particularly in relation to things that happened just before or just after the incident. The person may simply feel like they are in a fog, be unable to concentrate, or struggle to understand words, whether written or spoken.

Other indicators of a concussion include headaches, pressure in the head, or dizziness. The person may also experience sensitivity to noise or light. Sleep problems are also sometimes experienced by those with concussions. This may manifest itself on both sides of the spectrum. Sleeping more than usual as well as sleeping less than usual are both possible signs of a concussion. Difficulty falling asleep as well as feeling tired are symptoms some people experience.

Mood changes, particularly irritability or getting angry easier may also indicate that the person has experienced a concussion. Other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, vision problems, slurred speech, and coordination issues may also indicate that the person has suffered a concussion.
If you suspect that you or a family has a concussion, be sure to visit a doctor right away.

If the injury was caused by someone else’s actions, contact us. Even if you are not sure if you have a personal injury claim, we can provide you with a free consultation.

It’s no secret that motor vehicle accidents can cause serious back injuries to occur. What some people may not realize is it only takes one serious injury to cause lumbar radiculopathy and it’s a debilitating health problem that can stick around for a lifetime. Normally precipitated by an injured disc, it causes the afflicted to experience excruciating pain, numbness, tingling and overall weakness. There are non-invasive ways to treat the condition but they don’t always work. Consequently, undergoing back surgery or living with unending pain may end up being the only two solutions left on to the table.

When a serious injury occurs in a person’s lumbar region, signs and symptoms of radiculopathy may not show up immediately. As a result, motor vehicle accident victims that settle insurance claims quickly often have to fight for adequate compensation. That said, people involved in car accidents that led to serious back injuries should insist on a full medical work up of the spine. Full work ups often include contrast myelography and electrodiagnosis. They will often reveal if disc injury and related nerve damage are present.

Once diagnosed, motor vehicle accident victims with lumbar radiculopathy are frequently given steroid injections and made to wear support devices that restrict their movements. They may also be ordered to spend months in physical therapy and take expensive pain medications. If those conservative treatments aren’t effective, the person’s attending physician may recommend one or more surgeries. Depending on the situation, the list of surgeries could include, but not be limited to the following:

• Extreme Lateral or Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusions
• Pedicle Screws or Cage Implantation
• Lumbar Microdisectomy or Laminotomy

Of course recovering from lumbar radiculopathy related surgeries will take time and money too. There’s also the chance that the surgeries may not fully restore the accident victim’s spinal column, leading to a life of disability. For example, he or she may no longer be able to walk or drive unassisted.

Keeping all of that in mind, people involved in motor vehicle accidents that end with a lumbar radiculopathy diagnosis should consult with a personal injury attorney. A personal injury attorney may be able to present the worst case scenarios to the court and get seriously injured people the compensation they need to fully recover or live with their newfound debility. To learn more about how the process works, please contact us.

Many parents already know that baby strollers have the potential to cause serious injury. However, most assume that the injuries are due to pinched fingers, strangulation or falls. Sadly, there are other ways strollers may harm children and a late, July 2015 recall verified it. It was for a series of strollers with defective bumper bars. You may ask, “What do bumper bars have to do with serious injuries, especially if we’re not talking about falls?” We’ll explain:

The product at the heart of the international problem is unfortunately covered with a section of faulty foam. As such, children are able to pick apart the foam. The loose foam then becomes hazardous because the kids are likely to put it in places where it doesn’t belong. The list of inappropriate places includes, but doesn’t end with their mouths, noses and ears. Understandably, sticking chunks of foam in some of those places could increase a child’s risk of aspiration or choking.

Most child health professionals in the U.S. readily admit that every month, roughly six children under the age of 7 die from aspiration or choking. In the majority of those situations, pieces of food are likely to blame but chunks of foam could cause the same problems. Children that manage to dislodge the offending object may survive the ordeal but it isn’t always without serious injury.

There are a number of things that can go wrong after a choking incident. For example, a section of foam may have found its way into the child’s lungs. If that’s the case, the foam is likely to spur the development of a respiratory infection. The infection could turn deadly, especially if the foam isn’t identified and surgically removed. Other complications include, but are not limited to sore throats, clogged bronchial tubes, PTSD and hoarseness.

That said, parents whose children were injured by faulty bumper bars or other stroller defects should consider contacting us for a case evaluation.

No one plans for their summer vacation or holiday event to end with a catastrophic injury or death but that’s precisely what happens to countless Americans every year. Just think about how many people are killed or injured during traffic accidents on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day combined. That’s not counting other things that may go wrong while traveling within the United States or abroad.

Besides traffic accidents, the list of other situations that may give rise to catastrophic injuries and death includes, but doesn’t end with:

• Sports Participation or Observation Accidents (e.g. Stadium Collapse)
• Watercraft Related Accidents (e.g. Boat Crashes)
• Aviation Disasters (e.g. Plane Crashes or Explosions)
• Accidental Drowning (e.g. Pool, Lake or Cruise Ship)
• Hijackings and Assaults on Foreign or Domestic Soil
• Special Event Disasters (e.g. Crushed by Crowds or Burnt by Fireworks)
• Wild Animal Encounters (e.g. Zoo Animal Mauling)
• Amusement Ride Failure (e.g. Rollercoaster Fall)
• Infectious Diseases or Medical Disasters (e.g. Measles at Disney)

Consequently, what starts out as a happy, inexpensive day at the beach or other vacation destination could end tragically. Furthermore, the catastrophic injury or death could cause long-range problems for many of the people connected to the heart-breaking situation. For example, let’s assume that a family signs up for a cruise.

While on board, they become stricken with a ship borne illness that causes dehydration, dizziness, loss of muscle control and delirium. The symptoms cause one of the children to become so dehydrated and confused that a fall from the upper balcony occurs. Upon impact with the deck below, the child experiences catastrophic injuries and later dies. As a result, the family experiences mental anguish and must pay for their child’s funeral.

In such instances, an attorney may be able to hold the cruise line accountable for the disaster and help the family pursue restitution. To learn more about what to do in the event that a catastrophic injury or wrongful death occurs during a summer vacation, please contact us today.