Posts tagged Spinal Cord Injury

• Big Box Store Head Injury Hazard Continues

  Ken Margolin | February 05, 2007 12:15 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  One of the earliest blogs I wrote on InjuryBoard, entitled "Shop till you're Dropped," pointed out the hazards in big box hardware and home goods stores, from falling overhead objects. Here is a news flash - based on my one store survey this past weekend, nothing has changed. I went to this cavernous home supplies store - you would all recognized its name - to purchase some rug pads. As I...

• Reducing Traffic Fatalities

  Ken Margolin | January 30, 2007 4:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Automobile Accidents
  

  A widely cited USA Today analysis of 2006 statistics shows that traffic fatalities were down significantly in sixteen states. Obviously that's good news. The causes of reduced fatalities raise some interesting cost-benefit questions. Some measures - public relations campaigns to reduce aggressive driving - are not controversial. Other means to reduce car accidents force the public to think about...

• Blame it on the Trial Lawyers

  Ken Margolin | January 26, 2007 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  I was thinking the other day about the gripes of the anti-justice forces who would reserve the courts for corporations and the wealthy and who enhance political careers by bashing trial lawyers. If they long for an America of 100 years ago, they have a good reason for their animosity. Want your segregated schools back? Sorry. Brown v. Board of Education took care of that, using trial lawyer...

• Construction Accidents and Unionization

  Ken Margolin | January 23, 2007 3:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  A New York Times article at the end of last year reported that the number of construction fatalities more than doubled from the previous twelve month period. The biggest cause of construction deaths was falling, followed by deathfrom falling objects. The OSHA spokesman in New York City noted that non-union workers appeared to be more heavily at risk for death and serious injury. Union workers...

• Spinal Cord Injury

  Ken Margolin | January 22, 2007 1:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  An estimated 250,000-450,000 Americans are living with spinal cord injury . The primary causes are motor vehicle accidents (nearly 50%), falls, violence (especially gunshot wounds) and sports activities. The majority of victims are males under the age of 30 (some studies indicate that the age range has risen in recent years). Spinal cord injuries are either complete or incomplete and their...

• Significant Plaintiff Recoveries Continue in 2006

  Ken Margolin | January 17, 2007 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  This week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly contained a summary of significant plaintiffs' verdicts and settlements in Massachusetts in 2006. Fifteen jury verdicts equaling or exceeding $1 million were reported, as well as 88 seven figure settlements. A survey of these positive results gives an idea of the current thinking of juries and insurance claims personnel. I will start with the verdicts...

• Liquor Licensee Liability Laws

  Ken Margolin | January 16, 2007 5:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  Most states in the US have some form of laws imposing liability on liquor licensees that serve liquor to clearly intoxicated persons who then go out to cause injury or wrongful death to a third party, usually by causing a car crash. The laws are known as "dram shop" acts. Organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have been quite successful in campaigning and lobbying to get...

• The Vocational Expert

  Ken Margolin | January 16, 2007 12:45 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Head & Brain Injuries
  

  Success in serious personal injury cases require the plaintiff's lawyer to put together many pieces in a way that makes the jury decide that justice requires a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. One of these pieces is testimony from a vocational expert. Testimony from a vocational expert is called for in any serious accident case in which the injuries permanently impair the plaintiff's ability...

• Dangerous Car Seats

  Ken Margolin | January 11, 2007 5:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Defective & Dangerous Products
  

  Recent study findings by Consumer Reports have caused a flurry of news reports about the safety of infant and child car seats. The Consumer Reports tests found that most US-manufactured rear-facing car seats passed the standard U.S. car seat test, which is for a frontal collision tests at 30mph. It turns out that these tests are dangerously inadequate. The crash safety test for most cars is for...

• Liquor Liability for Serving Drinks to Minors

  Ken Margolin | January 11, 2007 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA Category: Automobile Accidents
  

  The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts just ruled that commercial establishments that serve drinks to underage persons (under 21 in Massachusetts) have a higher level of liability than when they serve to legal age, intoxicated patrons. The case, decided on January 9, 2007, is Nunez v. Carrabba' Italian Grille, Inc. The plaintiff, a 19 year old, spent a night drinking heavily at Carrabba's...