Posted on September 11, 2014 in Uncategorized

Does the time of day, week and month a person has a heart attack play a role in whether or not a they survive the attack? According to a new study, it does.

The research, sponsored by the American Heart Association, found that heart attack patients who arrived at the hospital during the night, on weekends or on a holiday had a 13 percent more risk of not surviving the attack compared with patients who arrive at the hospital during regular daytime business hours.

The research team looked at the records of heart attack victims from 447 U.S. hospitals during the years 2007 to 2010. The records consisted of 15,972 heart attack patients who had arrived at hospitals during business hours and 27,270 patients who had arrived during non-business hours.

When a person suffers from coronary heart disease, the arteries become hardened, or even blocked, which reduces the blood flow to the heart. This restriction of blood causes heart attacks. When a person is having a heart attack, the sooner they receive a procedure called an angioplasty, the more likely they are to survive. Angioplasty restores blood flow and reduces the chest pain of an attack. The procedure also minimizes the damage an attack can do to the heart muscle.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 04, 2014 in Uncategorized

Statistics show that more than 213,000 children under the age of 18 end up in emergency rooms for injuries they receive while at playgrounds. The majority of those children injured are between the ages of 2 to 9 years old; however, the ages of children who receive the most injuries are between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. Other statistics regarding playground injuries include:

• The majorities of injuries, 90 percent, are caused by a fall from playground equipment, especially if a child lands on a hard surface.
• The most common injuries received are fractures (35 percent), bruises (20 percent), cuts (20 percent), and sprains and strains (11 percent). Other injuries a child can receive are concussions, internal injuries, amputations and even death.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 02, 2014 in Uncategorized

Parents use baby gates to help protect children from falling down stairs and keep them safe from other injuries. But a recent study reveals that those baby gates are responsible for almost 2,000 trips to the emergency room every year because a young child has received a baby gate-related injury.

The study was performed by the Center for Injury Research and Policy and published in Academic Pediatrics. Researchers used data that was collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between the years 1990 through 2010.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 28, 2014 in Uncategorized

Known as the last “official” weekend of the summer, this year Labor Day weekend arrives at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 1. The very first Labor Day was held in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, when the Central Labor Union held a demonstration, which was followed by a picnic. The U.S. Department of Labor credits machinist Matthew McGuire with coming up with the idea of a holiday.

AAA Travel is predicting there will be 35 million people traveling 50 miles or more from their home this Labor Day weekend, the highest it has been since the recession hit the economy in 2008. Over 29 million of those celebrating the holiday will be doing their traveling on the road.

Unfortunately, the increase in the number of vehicles on the road traveling for the weekend also means an increase in the amount of vehicle crashes. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there will be 395 fatalities on the nation’s roads this Labor Day. Another 42,300 people will be injured in vehicle crashes.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 26, 2014 in Uncategorized

Primary enforcement laws against texting and driving appear to be working in helping to reduce the number of vehicle accidents and fatalities, according to a recent study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The study found that in states that had primary texting bans, there was a three percent decrease in fatalities, an average of 19 lives saved every year.

In data collected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in 2011, 31 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 to 64 admitted to either reading or sending text messages or emails while they were driving within the prior 30 days of the survey. That year, there were 3,331 deaths and 387,000 injuries in accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The laws among states all vary. There are states which have banned texting while driving for all drivers, while others have only banned texting for younger drivers. In some states, the ban is a primary enforcement law, which means that law enforcement does not need another reason to stop a driver suspected of texting and driving. However, in other states, the ban is classified as a secondary enforcement law. This means that a police officer needs another reason, such as running a stop sign, brake light out, etc., in order for the officer to be able to stop you.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 21, 2014 in Uncategorized

The guardrails that line major road roads across the country are supposed to act as safety barriers that reduce the risk of injuries in vehicle accidents by absorbing the impact of the vehicle and slowing it down. The guardrail ends are designed to hold the rail together during the impact of a crash so the metal rail does not impale the vehicle – or the passengers inside it. But one type of guardrail is being blamed for at least four deaths and multiple injuries, according to lawsuits that have been filed in several states. The state of Nevada has even gone so far as to remove the ET-Plus end terminal model of guardrail from its approved list of products. The original model had a guardrail head that was five inches wide. In 2005, Trinity Industries, manufacturer of the product, changed the width to four inches, and at the same time also made the feeder narrower. According to the lawsuits that have been filed, this change to the design causes the guardrail to not work properly. Compounding the issues for the manufacturer is their failure to notify the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the design change, which they were required to do by law. Trinity argues that the change was done on the recommendation of Texas A&M Transportation Institute researchers who had designed the original product. The company claims the reason why the government was not notified of the change until seven years later was because the researchers “inadvertently omitted” the design drawing that indicated those changes. Several victims of the crashes have been impaled by the guardrails, including one 24 year-old driver who had both legs severed when a guardrail impaled the bottom of his vehicles. That victim did survive the crash. If you have been injured in a vehicle crash and have received those injuries because of defective or malfunctioning product, contact an experienced San Antonio personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 19, 2014 in Uncategorized

Many sicknesses, illnesses, and injuries can bring a whole host of residual medical problems with them, oftentimes resulting in continuing and ongoing care. Medications have become very commonly prescribed in Texas and throughout the United States, creating a lucrative financial market for the manufacturers of these drugs, in addition to driving up the patient costs to obtain them.

For this reason, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted pharmaceutical companies the right to manufacture their own generic equivalents for certain common medications. Not only did this allow consumers to better access and afford their prescriptions, but it also helped to regulate the economics of the pharmaceutical market. On paper, this is a wonderful system that has the potential to save you money in the short and long term.

The problem with generic medications, however, is that they are often not held to the exact same health and safety standards as their brand name equivalents.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 14, 2014 in Uncategorized

A new report by AARP exposes the overuse of antipsychotic and other dangerous medications to nursing home patients. According to nursing home statistics from the University of California, one in five nursing home patients are given antipsychotic drugs that are unnecessary. These drugs are also often extremely dangerous, especially for elderly patients.

A major issue with many nursing homes is they are understaffed. There should be one CNA to every seven patients, but the average nursing home ratio is one CNA for every 15 patients. There are also very few physicians on staff at nursing homes.

Antipsychotic drugs are given to patients as a “chemical restraint” to keep patients who may be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other conditions sedated and quiet. Many drug manufacturers marketed these drugs to nursing homes to be used in this manner. Last year, several drug companies were fined more than $2.2 billion for touting the use of antipsychotics to nursing homes, even though the companies knew the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not approved their use in elderly patients.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 11, 2014 in Uncategorized

The popularity of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) has increased over the years. In 2013, there were 228,305 new ATVs sold to consumers. But many question the safety of ATVs. According to data collected from ATV accidents in 2011 by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the number of adult fatalities has slightly declined, but the number of children who are injured has increased.

Statistics in the CPSC study highlighting the dangers of ATVs included:

• There were 107,500 people who received injuries in an ATV accident which were serious enough that they required treatment in an emergency room.
• There were 57 children killed in ATV accidents in 2011. This accounted for almost 20 percent of the total amount of fatalities. Forty-seven percent of children killed were under 12 years of age.
• There were 29,000 children under the age of 16 who received serious injuries in ATV accidents.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 05, 2014 in Uncategorized

Three years ago, in July of 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) placed restrictions on the number of shift hours that trainee surgeons (interns) could work. The reason behind the move was because of pressure received from both the government and the public over the amount of preventable medical errors that were occurring because interns were sleep deprived from the long hours they were forced to work. ACGME placed a 16 hour shift limit for first year residents. More senior residents are allowed to work up to 28 hours per shift. This replaced the prior restrictions, which had been in place since 2003, which allowed doctors in training to work up to 80 hours per week. However, although interns may be getting more sleep, there is now concern that they are not getting enough experience because of shorter amount of time they are spending treating patients. According to a new study published in JAMA Surgery, surgeon interns actually participated in surgeries 26 percent less that surgeon interns did four years ago. Researchers analyzed the cases of 52 interns who were working under the new restrictions. They also analyzed cases of 197 interns from the years 2007 through 2010, before the new restrictions were in place. The average number of operations each of the 52 interns participated in was 66. The average number of operations each of the 197 interns participated in was 89. There were also decreases in the number of cases where the interns were assisting more experienced surgeons, as well as the number of major cases where the intern was the lead surgeon. Surgeons in training are required to participate in 750 major cases by the end of their fifth residential year. In a recent presentation at the annual meeting of the American Surgical Association, a professor from the Indiana University School of Medicine expressed the concerns that many in the medical community have with the new restrictions. Dr. Samer Matter, who also researches surgical training, said that 20 percent of fellowship program directors, who administrate surgical residency programs, feel that new surgeons coming out of these programs are not ready to operate. If you have received injuries as a result of a surgical error, contact a New Braunfels personal injury attorney to find out what civil action you may be able to file in order to receive compensation for pain and loss.

Continue Reading ››