Archive for the ‘ Injury prevention ’ Category

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31
Jan

Love Your Car? It May Lead to Aggressive Driving

If you believe the marketing hype, the model car you drive says a lot about you. Are you a shark…a jungle cat…a rugged adventurer…a road warrior…or a road princess? What made you choose your car? Does it make you feel powerful, or eco-friendly? Like a sports star, or a soccer mom?

What does your car say about you? Or, more important, how your car make you feel? According to an article on ScienceDaily,  a scientific study shows that people who view their car as an extension of themselves have stronger aggressive driving tendencies.

One third of all car accidents that result in injures and two thirds of all fatal car wrecks are caused by aggressive driving. According to the research, people who think of their car as a reflection of their self-identity—regardless of what that identity is—are more likely to behave aggressively on the road, breaking the law in the process. Similarly, people who value their possessions (cars and other things) and have a greater sense of materialism also drive more aggressively. And young people who are just beginning to drive or who have purchased their first vehicle are more likely to show off and drive aggressively.

The study findings suggest that:

“…the perception of the car as an extension of the self leads to more aggressive behavior on the road rather than increased driving cautiousness,” the authors wrote, adding that “individuals may view cars and the road space they occupy as their territory and will seek to maintain control over it and defend it as necessary.”

Unfortunately, they research just correlated attitude and driving behavior; it didn’t offer any advice. Some take-away thoughts:  Be especially watchful of flashy sports cars on the road, the kind that might make their owners feel more powerful…a teen’s first car should be purchased with safety in mind, as opposed to image…and remind yourself daily that your car is nothing more than a tool to get you from place to place. It’s okay to love your car, just not too much!

To read the full article on ScienceDaily, click here:  People Who Really Identify With Their Car

To learn more about safe driving tips, visit our website here: HensonFuerst Auto Accident page. If you have question, HensonFuerst has answers. http://www.lawmed.com/

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9
Jan

Making Teen Driving Safety a 2012 Resolution

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Elizabeth Molloy, from WRAL.com

Car wrecks are the leading cause of death among North Carolina teens, and crashes are surprisingly common. In NC, teenage drivers are involved in car wrecks approximately every 24 minutes.

According to research, the most common mistakes that cause teen wrecks are speeding, inattention and distraction, and failure to yield. And while drunk driving is still rare among teens, it accounts for some of the most tragic and memorable motor vehicle fatalities.

One recent example—Wake County’s first in 2012—is the death of 17-year-old Millbrook High School student Elizabeth Molloy. According to an article on WRAL.com, the driver was 16-year-old fellow student Garrett Prince, who lost control of his 1999 Jeep SUV while driving 75 mph in a 30 mph zone, and ended up hitting a tree. Prince could face charges of felony death by motor vehicle, provisional DWI, careless and reckless driving, having an open container of spirituous liquor, speeding, and possession of marijuana. Jared Sink, man in the neighborhood where the wreck took place witnessed the crash and pulled Molloy from the burning wreck, said what probably everyone is thinking:  ”[It's] just absolutely tragic. To all the young people out there, there’s no taxi that’s more expensive than someone’s life.”

Parent/Teen Driving Agreement

Teens know that underage drinking is illegal, but that doesn’t stop some of them from drinking. They also know—in theory—that they shouldn’t get into a car with someone who has been drinking, but many of them disregard that advice. Why? Sometimes because the teen doesn’t have the confidence to stand up to peer pressure…or because they are afraid to call their parents for an alternate ride home…or because they don’t realize that a taxi is a viable option.

Those are some of the reasons why a Parent/Teen Driving Agreement can be an important tool. The University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol have created sample Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. It’s a formal agreement between parents and teens. It includes specific things that both parents and teens agree to do. Parents have found that driving agreements work well to keep teens safe when they first begin to drive on their own by making expectations clear.

The agreements are valuable once your child is old enough to be out with friends, even if he or she is not actually driving. An agreement should outline parental expectations for safety, such as never riding in a car with an impaired driver, always wearing a seatbelt, obeying the speed limit, and avoiding distractions, including texting, talking on a cell phone, eating, or applying make up. That’s the teen side of the agreement. The parent side of the agreement should given the child options for how to get out of a potentially hazardous situation, and outline how parents will support their child’s efforts to stay safe.

For example, agreeing that if a child ever feels unsafe, he or she can call home at any hour and request a ride home…without risk of punishment. (As much as parents might want to lash out at a child who has been drinking or at an unauthorized party, the goal is to get the child home safely. A strongly negative reaction from a parent might cause the child to avoid calling in the future, and possibly getting into a dangerous or fatal situation. That’s not to say that discipline can’t be taken for any rule-breaking, but the ride home should be calm and concerned—any discussions or repercussions should wait for the next day.)

We’ve done some of the research for you and attached links to three separate Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. Look at all of them, take what you like from each, and create your own custom agreement. We like the first one, from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center because it allows teens and parents to write their own agreement items in their own words—that means teens aren’t just skimming over the task without thinking. And any additional minute of thinking about driving safety is another opportunity to keep our children safe.

Sample Agreement 1:  University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center

Sample Agreement 2: North Carolina State Highway Patrol

Sample Agreement 3: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles

PROJECT IGNITION

Project Ignition, funded in part by the National Youth Leadership Council, helps students, teachers, and communities address teen driver safety. Students themselves design and lead awareness campaigns–every year, 25 grants are awarded to high schools across the country. The teams often find their inspiration from personal tragedy, but their powerful messages reach across county and state lines. Some examples of the kind of service-learning encouraged by Project Ignition are holding a mock crash on campus, and learning and applying the physics of crashes from a science class, including the potential effects of velocity and crashes on the human body.

This year, we’d like to congratulate the two North Carolina high schools that won grants:

  • Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville, North Carolina. Title: “Increasing Your Survival Odds.” The Pine Lake Prep Project Ignition team will lead an in-depth 15-30 week integrating the NC Driver’s Ed curriculum to promote safe driving and better driver “road awareness” utilizing a five-prong approach: (1) mock accident scene, (2) speaker series, (3) student-based research projects, (4) obstacle course on site, and (5) service learning.
  • Lincoln Charter High School in Denver, North Carolina. Title:  ”As the Wheel Turns.” The Project Ignition team of Lincoln Charter believe that teen driving accidents are a rampant and tragic problem in their area. Their emphasis is to reduce the number of student drivers who exercise unsafe driving habits such as eating, allowing excess passengers, or driving while emotionally inept.

About HensonFuerst

At HensonFuerst, we’ve seen the devastating effects of car wrecks and DWI injuries far too often. It’s never pretty, but there is something particularly tragic when the injured individual is a young person who has barely had a chance to live. Our hearts go out the the family of Elizabeth Molloy, and all families touched by the catastrophe of a DWI wreck. We wish you peace.

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30
Dec

Top Medical and Drug Stories of 2011

Medical stories are some of the most heartbreaking:  You trust your health to a doctor or hospital, and something goes wrong. Maybe you end up sicker than you were before. Sometimes, the error may result in death. Here is a round-up of the most important medical and drug stories of the year. (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.)
Harm Done in a Hospital
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that there was a “shockingly high rate of preventable injuries to patients,” specifically in North Carolina hospitals. Of patients admitted to a North Carolina hospital, 1 in 5 will be harmed by the medical care they receive, and about 14% of medically induced harms caused permanent or life-threatening injury.

Defective Hip Replacement Devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered all producers of “metal-on-metal” hip replacements to study the implants after thousands of patines have had the devices fail, causing tissue damage and requiring second replacements. This serious problem started with DePuy hip replacement devices, and has be expanded. Anyone with a hip replacement should check with their physician to make sure that their devices aren’t in the process of failing.

Transvaginal Mesh

Over the past three years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received nearly 4,000 reports of severe complications (including 3 fatalities) associated with surgical mesh used to treat pelvic prolapse. The most frequent complications include erosion through the vaginal wall, infection, abscesses, pain, and urinary problems.

VIDEOS
In addition to blogs, we also create videos about important health, medical, and legal topics. To see all of our available videos, please visit our YouTube channel here:  HensonFuerst YouTube Channel.  Here are links to some of our medical videos:

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5
Dec

Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” Campaign Has Begun

State and local law enforcement officers will be working to keep motorists safe this celebratory season with the Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. Checkpoints and stepped-up patrols will be conducted across North Carolina, now through Monday, Jan. 2. This is part of the ongoing effort by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) to remove impaired drivers from the roads.

“Please plan ahead and designate a sober driver this season so everyone can make it home safe over the holidays,” State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said.

In 2010, there were 1,017 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina during the holiday campaign, which ran from Dec. 3 through Jan. 2, resulting in 31 fatalities and 728 injuries. That’s one death each day of the campaign…a steep price for a little too much holiday cheer.

In addition, officers charged more than 3,800 North Carolina motorists with driving while impaired during the 2010 Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign.

Wishing all of you a safe and happy (and let me repeat: SAFE) holiday season!

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23
Nov

Thanksgiving “Click It or Ticket” Campaign Underway

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign is in force throughout North Carolina, from now through Sunday, November 27, 2011. The Thanksgiving “Click It or Ticket” campaign is designed to crack down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts.

“It is the law to wear your seat belt, no matter where you are seated in a vehicle,” said N.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Gene Conti. “I remind all citizens to buckle up; it could save your life.”

That’s not an overstatement. In 2010, 425 motorists who were not wearing seat belts died in crashes on North Carolina roads. According to the director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP), Becky Wallace: “The single most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday season is with the simple action of buckling your seat belt.”

Although the campaign runs for only a week, the overall goal is to increase seatbelt usage every day of the year. When “Click It or Ticket” began in 1993, only about 65% of North Carolinians wore seat belts. Today, our seat belt usage rate is 89.5%. Not perfect, but a dramatic improvement.

From all of us here at HensonFuerst, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

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25
Oct

Pharmacist Changes May Reduce Drug Injuries

Pharmacists are highly trained professionals. They are proficient in biology, chemistry, public health, and pharmacology. They are trained to dispense prescription drugs, while also advising patients and physicians about drug interactions, dosages, and side effects. Some pharmacists also compound new medicines by mixing ingredients.

But lately, these drug experts have been stuck behind the counter at local pharmacies, dealing with insurance companies or answering the phone to tell a patient whether her medication is ready to be picked up. A total waste of talent.

There may be hope. An article in The New York Times reports that Walgreen pharmacists are once again being allowed to become medical care providers. The company is slowly starting to renovate stores to take pharmacists out from behind the counter.

Pharmacists in the revamped stores are being kept away from the telephone, where dealing with insurance coverage questions and other administrative tasks occupy 25 percent of their time, Walgreen says.

“What we are seeing now is pharmacists should be using their knowledge to help consumers manage their medications appropriately,” said Nimesh Jhaveri, executive director of pharmacy and health care experience at Walgreen. “It’s not about the product but the care we give.”

If this works, it will be a great benefit to customers who buy prescription drugs. Fully 50% of all Americans take at least one prescription drug. Each year, more than 825,000 adverse events from medications are reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and pharmacists are important sources of this type of information. They can also be an important gatekeepers to prevent adverse events in the first place. But, of course, there must be financial incentives to allow pharmacists to regain their rightful role in the medication-dispensing process. According to The New York Times:

Federal Medicare drug laws allow for payment to pharmacists for “medication therapy management,” when patients have multiple chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes and asthma and are taking multiple medications. In recent years, Walgreen and other pharmacy chains have lobbied aggressively for reimbursement and changes to rules that allow pharmacists to do more and to get paid for these additional services.

We’ll take anything that reduces the numbers of drug injuries in this country.

To read the full article in The New York Times, click here:  Out from behind the counter

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20
Oct

Durham Daycare Shut Down For Operating Without a License

October 20, 2011

Typically, when we think of nursing home abuse cases, the first thing that comes to mind is elderly folks being neglected in retirement homes and assisted living facilities. What we tend to forget though, is that many of the same regulations in place for elderly-care facilities apply equally for the place of care our youngest family members attend.

Take for instance the recent case of a Durham, North Carolina, woman who was arrested this past Tuesday on felonious charges for running a daycare out of her home without a license. WRAL News reported that authorities acted on a tip from a concerned neighbor that the woman was still running the business after being shut down by officials a year earlier.

The daycare was closed in 2010 when Department of Health and Human Services officials made an unannounced visit only to find that the children had been moved to another house a mile down the road. Can you imagine a parent arriving to find their child is not at the house or with the person they left them with?

This time, after being tipped off the daycare was still in operation, officials returned to find eleven children in the house. The woman and her husband were charged with three counts of running a daycare facility without a license.

The North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers with HensonFuerst want you to contact them immediately if you suspect that your loved one, young or old, is not getting the care that they deserve. We can be reached by simply filling out a free online consultation form.

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27
Sep

Staying Safer After Carotid Stenting

Results of a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggest guidelines for patients that could help keep them safer after carotid stenting. In fact, this advice might even save lives.

A stent is a tiny tube that acts to keep an artery open, allowing blood to flow properly. Stents are most commonly used to treat blocked arteries around the heart to prevent heart attack, but a newer procedure — carotid stenting — uses stents in the internal carotid artery (which rises to the brain through the neck) to prevent strokes.  This is significant because approximately 10% to 15% of ischemic strokes are due to atherosclerosis of the internal carotid artery. Since 2004 when the first carotid stent was placed, the use of this medical procedure has more than doubled in Medicare beneficiaries.

Unfortunately, carotid stenting is quite a demanding procedure that requires a great deal of technical skill on the part of the surgeon. Researchers from the University of Michigan and numerous other medical institutions examined whether a surgeon’s experience performing carotid stenting had any effect on outcomes for patients. Data came from nearly 25,000 patients and about 2300 operators who performed the surgeries between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2007.

The results show that experience makes a big difference. I’ll even go out on a non-scientific limb and say:  Experience makes a ginormous difference… and it is news you can actually use.

Study Results

The researchers categorized operators into 4 groups:

  • Very low experience:  performing fewer than 6 carotid stent procedures per year;
  • Low experience:  performing 6 to 11 procedures per year;
  • Medium experience:  performing 12 to 23 procedures per year;
  • High experience:  performing 24 or more procedures per year.

They found that patients treated by operators with “Very Low” experience were nearly twice as likely to die within 30 days as those treated by operators with “High” experience. In addition–not surprisingly–patients who were treated by operators who were just beginning their experience faired worse than those who had more overall experience. For example, patients receiving one of an operator’s first 10 surgeries were about 70% more likely to die within 30 days than patients who received an operator’s 12th or or higher surgery.

It’s important to note that the overall 30-day death rate was only about 2%. So the differences we’re talking about here in raw numbers is small. Still, most people would like the option of reducing their risk of death after a procedure. In this case, the “fix” is simple:  When you talk with a potential surgeon before a carotid stenting, ask how many procedures he or she has performed in total… and how many procedures he or she performs each year.  Look for an operator who has performed more than 12 procedures overall, and—if possible—performs at least 24 procedures annually.

If you have an option, remember that “more is better,” and choose the most experienced operator possible.

RESOURCES

Article citation:

Nallamothu BK, Gurm HS, et al. Operator Experience and Carotid Stenting Outcomes in Medicare Beneficiaries. JAMA. 2011; 306(12):1338-1343.

To read a summary of of the JAMA article, click here:  JAMA abstract

Popularity: 2% [?]

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2
Sep

Health Risk from Improper Medication Storage

Where you store your family’s medications could mean the difference between cure and relapse. Too much heat or humidity can alter the way a medication works, making them lose their potency. If a life depends on proper dosage of a specific medication, this could have serious consequences.

An article in The New York Times outlines the causes, risks, and solutions to improper medication storage.

Pharmacists suggest that most drugs be stored at room temperature, no lower than 58 degrees, no higher than 86 degrees. Temperatures above or below that range can cause medicines to physically change, lose potency or even threaten your health.

For patients with such chronic illnesses as diabetes or heart disease, a damaged dose of a crucial medicine, like insulin or nitroglycerin, can be life-threatening. But even common medicines can break down with potentially harmful effects, and you can’t always tell by looking at the pill or liquid that a problem has occurred, said Janet Engle, a pharmacist and past president of the American Pharmacists Association.

Examples of what can happen if a specific medication decays or undergoes other dangerous changes:

  • Antibiotics–if they decay, they can cause stomach or kidney damage.
  • Aspirin–can cause stomach upset (more than the usual).
  • Hydrocortisone cream–can separate and become useless in the heat.
  • Diagnostic test strips–like those used to test for blood sugar levels, pregnancy or ovulation, are extremely sensitive to humidity. If moisture sticks to the strips, it will dilute the test liquid and possible give a false reading.
  • Hormone pills–thyroid, birth control and others, are especially susceptible to temperature changes. These are often protein-based, and when protein gets hot it changes properties.
  • Insulin, seizure medicines and anticoagulants–small changes in doses in some medicines like these can make a big difference to your health.

HOW TO STORE MEDICATIONS

According to The New York TImes:

  • Don’t store medicines in the medicine cabinet… or anyplace in the bathroom. The high heat and humidity of a bathroom is dangerous for drugs.
  • Choose to store medicines in a cool, dry place, such as a hallway linen closet, bedroom closet, or even a kitchen cabinet (as long as it is away from the stove.) If children have access to the medicines, consider storing them on a high shelf or in a lock box.
  • Packaging doesn’t protect drugs. Just because you haven’t opened the package doesn’t mean the drugs are safe.  HOWEVER, drugs become even more vulnerable to alterations if they are taken out of their original packaging. (It is okay to use a day-by-day pill box if necessary.)
  • When traveling, keep medications in a handbag or separate bag that you can carry with you. Even 10 minutes in a hot car can expose medications to dangerously high temperatures.
  • If you must carry emergency drugs with you for long periods or in hot locations, store them in a small cooler with a cool pack.
  • When you travel on a plane, keep the medications with you. Baggage holds aren’t temperature-controlled. Make sure to keep prescription medications in their original bottle or packaging (to make it easier to go through checkpoints).
  • If you notice that a medication has changed color, smell, taste, or consistency, don’t take it. Also, throw away pills that stick together, are chipped, or are harder or softer than usual.

Before discarding any medicine that you think may have been damaged by extreme temperatures, call your pharmacist. Some will replace the drugs free of charge. If the medicine was covered by an insurer, check with the company as well. It may reimburse you for a replacement dose.

Check with the manufacturer of the drug, too. Many have programs to replace certain damaged medicines.

And one last thing: If you do need to throw medication away, read our previous blog about the proper way to discard drugs. Click here:  News About Old Drugs

To read the full article in The New York Times, click here:  Mistakes in Storage May Alter Medication

Popularity: 3% [?]

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18
Aug

Menthol Cigarettes Harder to Quit Than Regular Cigarettes

August 18, 2011

Although it is known that the urban myth about menthol cigarettes containing fiberglass in order to cause small cuts in smokers’ mouth and throat so that more nicotine and menthol can be ingested is false, new studies are showing the minty smokes may be harder to quit, especially among minorities. A news release issued Monday by the Cancer Institute of New Jersey announced the findings of the organization’s study.

The study focused on the likelihood of quitting among smokers of menthol cigarettes versus non-menthol cigarettes throughout different ethnicities, and the findings were shocking.

Smoking menthols was much more common among African-Americans, with almost 72% of black smokers choosing menthols, than among Hispanics (28.1%) or whites (21%). The study was also one of the first to break the Hispanic population down into sub categories of ethnicity and found Puerto Ricans (62%) were more likely to smoke menthols than other Hispanic groups, such as Mexicans (19.9%).

Races with higher probabilities of smoking menthols also had a harder time quitting. Puerto Ricans who smoked menthols were 43% less likely to quit than those non-menthol smokers. African-Americans also had lower rates for quitting among menthol smokers, with a 19% success rate versus non-menthol smokers.

The Raleigh Personal Injury Lawyers with HensonFuerst would like to encourage all smokers to try to put the pack down. The medical benefits could save you tens of thousands of dollars and many headaches arguing with insurance for coverage of associated medical costs.

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