The Law Firm of Stephen M. Reck Settles Construction Injury for $350,000 

A construction worker who suffered head and neck injuries on the job has reached a settlement of $350,000.  The parties have requested that details of the case not be disclosed.  Attorney Scott Camassar handled the case for the injured worker.   

State Farm Paid Over $109M Last Year for Dog Bites

The AP reported that "State Farm Insurance, one of the nation's largest home insurers, paid more than $109 million on about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year."  In 2010, there were about 3,500 claims and $90 million in payments. "The Insurance Information Institute estimated that nearly $479 million in dog bite claims were paid by all insurance companies in 2011," compared with $413 million in 2010. 

DOT Will Study Factors Affecting Commercial Driver Safety

The DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief, Anne Ferro, wants the agency to study "to what extent driver compensation practices, and detention time at shippers' loading and receiving docks affect drivers' ability to drive safely." One study "will explore whether long waiting times in a parked vehicle at a shipper's dock -- which as of Feb. 27 became "off-duty time" under the new driver hours-of-service rule -- would contribute to driver fatigue and influence performance, Ferro said in a keynote speech April 20 at the annual Spring Forum of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' Columbus (Ohio) Roundtable." The other study "would examine whether a link exists between the way drivers are compensated-either by the load or by the mile -- and driver behavior behind the wheel, according to Ferro."  Read more.

CDC: Injury is #1 Killer of Children

Traffic-Related Injuries Most Common

The CDC states that from 2000 to 2009, the overall annual unintentional injury death rate for kids "decreased 29%, from 15.5 to 11.0 per 100,000 population, accounting for 9,143 deaths in 2009. The rate decreased among all age groups except newborns and infants aged <1 year; in this age group, rates increased from 23.1 to 27.7 per 100,000 primarily as a result of an increase in reported suffocations. The poisoning death rate among teens aged 15-19 years nearly doubled, from 1.7 to 3.3 per 100,000, in part because of an increase in prescription drug overdoses (e.g., opioid pain relievers). Childhood motor vehicle traffic-related death rates declined 41%; however, these deaths remain the leading cause of unintentional injury death."  Read more.

U.S. Proposes Brake Override for All Passenger Cars

The Chicago Tribune reported that U.S. auto safety regulators announced a proposal that would require brake override systems on all new passenger cars and trucks, likely by the 2015 model year. The cost to auto manufacturers are expected to be "close to zero" because most automakers already install brake override systems that can stop a vehicle if the accelerator pedal gets stuck open. The proposal comes after much-publicized unintended acceleration claims made against some Toyota Motor Corp models, which caused a worldwide recall of nearly 19 million vehicles from late 2009 to early 2011. Toyota maintained from the start of its worst safety crisis that the issue was linked to floor mats pinning gas pedals down rather than a systemic electronic problem. In early 2011, a federal probe essentially agreed. 

NHTSA to Study Technology's Impact on Driving Safety

Motor Trend reported, "In a bid to further reduce traffic accidents and deaths, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will study whether technologies can make driving safer. The" NHTSA "research projects are being undertaken even as the nation enjoys roads that are statistically the safest since 1949." NHTSA will first research "vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems that would detect and warn drivers if a collision was imminent."

Most Malpractice Cases Decided in Doctors' Favor

Medscape reported: "Results of a new study of medical malpractice claims offer a mix of reassurance and sobering reality." The study found that "55.2% of medical malpractice claims that required some defense cost led to litigation," though "most are ultimately decided in the physician's favor." Yet it also found that "litigated claims often take months or years to be resolved." The study was based on "data from all 50 US states for the years 2002 through 2005" including "10,056 malpractice claims that necessitated some defense costs."