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5 personal injury crash statistics YOU need to know before Memorial Day

               Avoid a personal injury crash!

Do you have travel plans for Memorial Day weekend? Let’s also plan to avoid a personal injury crash!

According to AAA news, Memorial Day weekend kicks off the “100 Deadliest Days” for newbie teen drivers — with a 15% increase in deadly car crashes in this age group between this holiday and Labor Day weekend.

In fact, the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Statistical Analysis Center tracks the 6 leading major car crash circumstances in Missouri.  Out of these 6 circumstances, 5 will most certainly be a large risk factor for all ages with the coming holiday weekend.  Knowledge is power, right? So let’s start with the aforementioned new teen drivers.

Yes! Inexperienced teen or young drivers rank in the top 6 circumstances for deadly car crashes.

Memorial Day weekend also coincides with high school graduation celebrations and end of school parties. Pools open. Summer fun begins for the young and the restless!

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol statistics, drivers under 21 caused 8,647 personal injury crashes in 2014. So, actually, driver inexperience ranked 2nd in the top 3 causes for personal injury crashes in Missouri for 2014. (Wait until the end of this article to find out number 1 — what a surprise to this researcher!)

While we’ve certainly addressed this topic on the blog before, the “100 Deadliest Days” epidemic helps nudge us to review driving safety tips with our teens. In fact, the AAA suggests that you talk to your teen frequently about safe driving and have them sign this agreement.  Talk specifically about the three major personal injury crash factors that most affect them:

  • Distracted driving. Driving with young, carefree friends in the car, singing, chatting, and having a great time don’t mix with safe and alert driving. When you’ve lived long enough, you understand the deadliness of a distracted moment on the road. Then add the temptation of a smart phone to this mix.  What’s a parent to do?  Try parental control apps on their cell phones, for starters. You will have to carefully discuss and decide for whom your teen may drive — when, and where.
  • Failure to buckle up. This one’s squarely in your laps, parents and guardians. If you don’t enforce this early and often and set the example — don’t be surprised if your teen won’t buckle up. Sadly, the AAA reports that a whopping 60% of teens killed in a car accident were not wearing their seat belt!
  • The Invincible Inner Speed demon.  Some people are just born with this gene, it seems! Combined with teen hormones and incomplete brain development, speeding is a significant risk factor for teen car crashes. It’s a gender-neutral gene, too. However, young males are still considered a higher risk factor for car insurance companies then females. Unfortunately, many adults fail to tame their Inner Speed Demon in their youth. Again, your example as a parent or relative of a teen matters more than you may realize.

Speed is a very significant contributing risk factor in personal injury crash accidents — across all age groups. Those who speed don’t “drive to survive”.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that speeding killed 10,111 people in 2016 nationwide. Missouri statistics for 2014 show that speed is the 3rd major circumstance, causing 6,911 personal injury car crashes in our state.

A holiday weekend means places to go and people to see. You may either have a long list of errands to run. Or you and your fellow drivers are just in a hurry to get to where you are going.

The “hurry up and get there” factor is a major reason most folks are tempted to speed. 

Many drivers don’t slow down and consider that speeding is considered a form of aggressive driving. NHTSA defines aggressive driving as, “The operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.”  Even though Missouri — unlike many states — doesn’t have aggressive driving laws on the books, you can still be charged with “careless and imprudent” driving.

Depending on the circumstances, “careless and imprudent driving” may land you in jail for 6 months. If you cause a car accident due to these charges, the jail time potential escalates to a year. You won’t be going anywhere in a hurry for a good while.  Once again, you also face the potential of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor on your record.

Motorcycle-related personal injury crashes weighed in at 1,734 in Missouri in 2014.

According to a researched article on our blog, these statistics have risen slightly in recent years. For the summer season,  expect more bikers out enjoying the roads!  Motorcyclists caused only 1,734 personal injury crashes in 2014 in Missouri as compared to speeding or inexperienced drivers.

Why do motorcycle accidents still rank in the top 6 category? Probably because alcohol causes more than 50% of motorcycle-related accidents. Those are undeniably preventable motorcycle crashes!

Most surprisingly, only 2,424 personal injury crashes in Missouri during 2014 were alcohol related — significantly less than the top three crash circumstances.

Still, don’t let this statistic make you less proactive in warning your young drivers. Memorial Day weekend is party time! Temptation for young drivers to drink and drive multiply.

Even more significant, other drivers on the road will be driving under the influence. Count on it. Be alert for signs of a drunk driver and pull over to call the police if you spot an impaired driver. What to look for? Here are a few possible signs.

  • Weaving quickly or dangerously in and out of traffic.
  • Driving left of the center line
  • Erratic speed and steering
  • Braking often for no apparent reason

Quite surprisingly, according to the statistics for 2014 collected by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, drivers aged 55 and older caused 10,903 personal injury car crashes.

This age group leads the pack by over 2,000 personal injury crashes — shocking!  It’s hard to imagine why the most experienced group of drivers on the road is also the most dangerous, at least in Missouri.

Logically, this could mean an abundance of older senior drivers per capita in Missouri. Or it could infer a large portion of folks over 55 are driving while taking their needed medications — driving impaired by pain medications!

Whatever the case, this statistic is cause for an entirely different article and some serious research.  Meanwhile, maybe you should volunteer to drive your elderly relative to the family gathering this Memorial Day weekend.

If you or a loved one have been injured in car accident, you need an experienced, aggressive personal injury crash attorney. You also need someone with a thorough knowledge of state and local laws. For prompt, personal attention, call Nathan A. Steimel at 636-244-3737!

This website is designed for general information only. The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

 

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Sports-related injuries on ice are slippery…

Kids and sports-related injuries go hand-in-hand. This time of year the ice-rinks are bustling with skaters large and small. Maybe ice-skating lessons or ice-hockey practice is on your family’s weekly schedule.

Surprisingly, according to this National Safety Council report, out of about 20,000 ice skating injuries in 2014, 30% of those injuries occurred in adults aged 25-64.

I can relate. At age 40, I broke my first bone ever — my left “funny-bone” (not kidding) — taking a normal turn around the ice rink with my daughter.  Wasn’t even trying to be fancy! Suddenly my feet flew out from underneath me.  I hit my head. Feeling sick and dizzy, I half-crawled and limped off the ice.

The ice-rink manager was by my side in a quick minute.  He had to call for a family member to drive me home.  After a trip to an urgent care, my weekly, then monthly visits to an orthopaedic specialist began.

The x-ray technician informed me that neither he nor his wife ever go ice-skating.  He’s seen too many very bad breaks due to falls on the ice. I got off easy.

I received a call from the ice rink for a week — every single day. Next, the rink called me every single week for a month. Just making sure I was okay.

In hind-sight, I realized they were worried about a premises liability claim or a personal injury claim. No worries for them! EVERYONE who ice skates falls sooner or later. My major concern was making it through work every single day and fitting in all my doctor’s visits. Thankfully, my therapy exercises at home paid off — my elbow healed beautifully.

Does a sports-related injury on a public ice rink entitle you to a personal injury claim?

The short answer is not necessarily. It’s complicated.  Only a personal injury attorney can truly help you sort out the facts and help you decide if you have a valid personal injury case.

If you could prove negligent care of equipment or poor ice maintenance, maybe you have a case? Proving this could be quite a challenge!

Why? When you put two thin metal blades on your feet  and purposefully walk out onto slippery ice, you know you are risking a potential slip-and-fall accident. Staying in an upright position on ice requires at least some skills. I thought I was golden because I had learned to ice skate on a bumpy country pond. Wrong!

However, just like police officers are obligated to pay attention and stop aggressive, hazardous drivers —  the owners of sporting facilities need to protect their clients from aggressive behavior, such as human “bulldozers” at their ice rink.

I’ve seen the “ice-patrol” at work removing ice-skating privileges from an out-of-control skater who thinks it’s fun to plow into people repeatedly.

So, if you or a loved one are suffering from sports-related injuries due to obvious negligence, it’s worth your while to call an experienced personal injury attorney.  If you merely lost your balance, probably not.

The Law Offices of Nathan A. Steimel, LLC will give you a free initial consultation.  Attorney Steimel  is an experienced personal injury lawyer practicing in the greater St. Louis area. He offers a thorough knowledge of the local law and your personal rights. Call 636-244-3737 today.

This website is designed for general information only. The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

 

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Is a slip-and-fall injury keeping you down?

Baby, it’s cold outside!   Businesses and property owners are pulling out the snow shovels and “ice melt” to protect others from slip-and-fall injuries.

Cracked, uneven sidewalks? Inadequate clearing of snow and ice? Combine these elements with THE elements.  You have a recipe for a personal injury disaster and a premises liability claim. 

A personal relation had her day in court and won a ten  year settlement that allowed her to retire.  Never mind that she was  wearing high heels to the office party when she tripped on the uneven pavement.

Even more telling, no one ever asked in court if she had a drink at the party.  What mattered was that she was a charming older lady who suffered a slip-and-fall injury at least partly due to an uneven sidewalk.

What mattered the most was that this lady suffered chronic back and neck pain for the rest of her life due to one slip-and-fall accident!

Slip-and-fall injuries are life-changing and costly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of every five falls causes a serious injury. https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html

Some of these serious injuries include:

  • traumatic brain injury
  • fractured hips
  • broken bones
  • concussion
  • soft tissue injuries to muscles, joints, and ligaments

If you are a senior citizen and experience a slip-and-fall accident, the stakes are even higher.

Once again, the CDC points out that each year 300,000 older folk end up in the hospital for hip fractures.

Recovering from a hip fracture can be a long, tough road. You will probably need to do rehab and physical therapy. If you do not have a family member nearby who has plenty of time to help, you likely will have to live in a rehab facility.

Depending on your financial situation,  such a long-term recovery may end up costing you your independence — your ability to drive or even to live alone.

Imagine being the bread-winner for your family and breaking a bone due to a slip-and-fall injury!

If you are not injured on the job, you will need paid time off to manage the bills while you heal. Workers’ compensation will not help.

The average minimum healing time for a broken bone is 6 to 12 weeks!

If you have NO complications, this time frame is your “best-case” scenario. Unfortunately, you may need to file for unemployment and even temporary disability.

There are also legal restrictions to applying for unemployment.

If your slip- and-fall injury happened due to the negligence of a home or business — say an icy sidewalk or puddle of water — you may be eligible for financial compensation due to:

  • Loss of work
  • Pain and suffering
  • Permanent or temporary disability
  • Hospital and medical bills
  • Rehab bills
  • Physical therapy bills    

  • If you feel you are suffering due to someone’s carelessness, you need the help of an experienced slip-and-fall injury lawyer. Life’s hard. Don’t suffer alone!

http://steimel-law.com/personal-injury.html

Call 636-244-3737 today for a free, initial consultation for residents of Missouri and the Greater St. Louis area. The Law Offices of Nathan A. Steimel, LLC will give you a fair evaluation of your personal injury case.

 

 

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Firefighters and heart disease — why you need an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer

Firefighter or first responder injured in the line of duty? You put yourself in harm’s way for us. Are you being fairly compensated?

Your job is tough — rough on the back, muscles, ligaments, nerves, joints, lungs, and even your heart!

It’s more than fair that your workers’ compensation should cover all of the damages you suffer due to your job.  However, some of your body’s wear and tear might be hard to see and possibly harder to prove.

Take your heart, for instance. While it’s busy pumping about 90 gallons of blood a minute, you may be giving it the shock of its life, inhaling burning chemicals from a burning vehicle or a building on fire.  These toxins take their toll.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration,  in 2015 there were 94 firefighter fatalities in the line of duty.  Sixty of those deaths were stress-induced — fifty-four of those fatalities due to a heart attack.

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ff_fatalities_2015.pdf

In simple terms, heart attacks were responsible for at least half of the “line-of-duty” fatalities among firefighters in 2015! 

So, if you’re a firefighter,   you need your good doctor to be keeping a close eye on your heart health.   The unique combination of stress and toxins you  may be exposed to certainly make you a canidate for heart disease!

How can you make sure your workers’ compensation will cover you for any heart-related issues? 

Good question!  Heart disease is often not considered a workers’ compensation issue.  Unfortunately, it’s a leading cause of death among firefighters!

While there are no guarantees in life,  there are certain steps you can take to improve your chances of getting compensated for job-related heart issues or occupational disease.

  • Ask your doctor to run baseline tests for heart disease.  If you have evidence of a healthy heart to begin with, then changes in heart functions may be easier to trace to work-related hazards.
  • Don’t ignore the many different possible signs of heart disease.  Take time to go the doctor!  WebMD lists more than a dozen symptoms,  chest pains, squeezing, and tightness being only a couple of the many possible signs.  https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-symptoms#1
  • Get an accountability partner for diet and exercise!  If you have a certain amount of “proof” that you’ve been good,  you have a better chance of being  on the “nice” list, not the naughty.  However, if you’re known to de-stress by always partying hard during your time off, this may not sit well those reviewing your workers’ compensation case!

If you know you’ve been exposed to carcinogens or experienced smoke inhalation in the line of duty,  you need the help of a legal expert with your workers’ compensation case!

Heart disease or a heart attack could change the rest of your life. To survive, you will absolutely need time off of work to heal!  Worrying about the future of your job only adds to the stress.

The Law Offices of Nathan A. Steimel, LLC will fight for you, firefighter or first responder !  They are licensed  to handle workers’ compensation cases in both Missouri and  Illinois.   You will get a free and fair evaluation of your case when you call 636-244-3737.

http://steimel-law.com/workers-comp.html

Do you want the best possible outcome for your future and your family? Don’t let heart disease defeat you.  Call 636-244-3737 today!

 

This website is designed for general information only. The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

 

 

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What to do about whiplash, the “invisible” car crash injury

neck pain, personal injury lawyer

It was all my fault — my first car accident. No police reports were filed. No ticket was given.

I swerved and overcompensated my steering on a narrow, shoulderless road, and ended up hitting the embankment on the opposite side of the road.

The officer looked my brother over carefully,  my only passenger and fellow accident victim, and said, “What’s that white stuff dripping off your face? First time I’ve seen that.” ( The white stuff was his yogurt-to-go.)

We both looked fine.  We escaped injury better than my sadly damaged car.  Or so I thought…

A few hours later, my brother was lying in bed alternating ice and heat on his  very sore neck and shoulders.  His whiplash was apparently much worse than mine.  I felt terrible!

Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries, even for a low-impact car accident.

It is an unwelcome guest that often shows up after the initial car accident.  Very commonly, rear-end collisions are to blame.  However, side-impact and head-on collisions are definitely also culprits.

Sports accidents, getting hit in the head, slip-and-fall accidents — all of these  can result in a rapid whipping motion of our super flexible cervical spine!

Neck and shoulder pain after a car accident are sometimes the first signs of a whiplash injury.  However the list of possible symptoms is quite long.

https://www.webmd.boots.com/pain-management/guide/pain-management-whiplash

Potentially serious whiplash symptoms according to WebMD include:

  • Severe, ongoing pain
  • Blurred vision
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Numbness or tingling
  • Difficulty chewing or swallowing
  • Problems breathing

Since whiplash injuries are so common, many insurance companies will investigate any claims for fraud.  You need to have your ducks in a row when making a car accident whiplash claim!

 Seek medical attention promptly when you feel the onset of symptoms.  Don’t wait to see if you symptoms will just vanish.

Make a list of your symptoms before your doctor’s visits.
Sticky note, journal, list on the phone — use whatever works for you! The thing is, you don’t want to forget a symptom while discussing your needs with your doctor. Not only will this improve your medical treatment,  you will also need this documentation for your whiplash insurance claim.

Document your doctor’s visits. Ask for copies of the records of each visit.  More doctors’ offices are going completely digital, but they will still print out a report of your visit per your request.

If your neck is being a pain, and you can’t think clearly on the muscle relaxers you were prescribed, you’ll be glad you have a paper copy of the visit to help you with the next step you need to take.

Your next step is to call your car accident lawyer.  Again, don’t wait and hope your insurance company will resolve everything

You may think calling your insurance claims office is enough. However, if your whiplash turns out to be a  sign of a greater spinal injury, you need a lawyer who will be on your side.

You need unbiased legal help. After all,  any insurance company is naturally trying to minimize their own cost for your car crash.

Your car accident lawyer will speak directly with your insurance company, but your personal records will also be an important part of the process.

Stand up for yourself!  Get medical help and a caring, experienced personal injury lawyer.

Taking these positive steps will not only help you heal from your car accident whiplash injury, but also make sure you have the financial coverage you need to fully recover.  Your best possible recovery is the goal of The Law Offices of Nathan A. Steimel, LLC.  http://steimel-law.com/personal-injury.html

Call 636-244-3737 for a free initial consultation today.

This website is designed for general information only. The information presented on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.