Connecticut Personal Injury Blog

Connecticut Motorcycle Accident - Helmet Law Review

James Sabatini — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:12:55 GMT

A 43-year-old motorcyclist who collided with a truck Tuesday afternoon on Route 159 is recovering at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The collision occured at the Hickory Street intersection around 3:31 p.m. Tuesday in Suffield, Connecticut. The truck driver informed police that he stopped at the intersection anf thought that the road was clear. According to witnesses, the truck driver failed to obey the stop sign. The news reports have not dislcosed the nature and extent of the motorcyclist's injuries nor whether he was wearing a helmet. Connecticut does not have an universal helmet law for motorcycle riders. Helmets are only legally required under Connecticut law for riders 17 and younger. Here is a list of motorcycle helmet laws in each state.

Insulin Pumps for Teens Have Been Linked to Injuries and Deaths

Jenny Albano — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:59:55 GMT

A federal review from the FDA found that insulin pumps used by teenagers with Type 1 diabetes can be dangerous and have been linked to injuries and deaths.

Researchers from the FDA did not advise against teens using the devices, but said that parents should watch their children's use of the pumps while safety concerns are addressed.

The federal review of use by young people over a decade found 13 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries connected with the pumps. At times, the devices malfunctioned, but other times, teens were careless or took risks, the study authors wrote. Some teens didn't know how to use the pumps correctly, dropped them or didn't take good care of them. There were two possible suicide attempts by teens who gave themselves too much insulin, according to the analysis.

These pumps are popular because they allow teens to give themselves insulin discreetly in public and up to 100,000 teens may be using them. The pumps are used for Type 1 diabetes, which is also called juvenile diabetes.

The FDA study, which appears in the May issue of the Journal Pediatrics, reports injuries and deaths related to the pumps from 1996-2005. The report analyzed reports from patients 12 to 21 years old.

While some teenagers want to switch from insulin injections to pump therapy to gain more flexibility in their lives, doctors said device problems such as a blocked tube can lead quickly to dangerous episodes of high blood sugar.

Many doctors screen teens before prescribing a pump and some refuse refuse pumps to immature young patients. Teenagers need to be able to monitor their glucose or else the pump can increase the risk of getting sick more quickly compared to injections.

Connecticut DMV Setting Safe Driving Program For Teens

James Sabatini — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:00:25 GMT

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is setting up a safe driving program for teenagers in response to several fatal car accidents in Connecticut over the past year.
The center will promote tougher driving laws, coordinate enforcement campaigns for those laws, collect data on teen driver violations and recommend policy changes. The state House of Representatives has approved a bill that would increase restrictions on passengers teen drivers may have in their cars and move up the teen driver curfew to 11 p.m. from midnight. The proposal would also increase the number of hours of on-the-road training for teens from 20 hours to 40 hours and impose a reckless driving charge if a teen drives 20 mph or more over the speed limit. The bill now goes to the Senate.

AMA Corrects Impairment Ratings Guide

James Sabatini — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:31:50 GMT

When the AMA published the Sixth Edition of its Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, it contained new language that restricted chiropractic evaluations to the spine only. The restriction drew sharp criticism from the American Chiropractic Association. In a letter to the AMA, the ACA questioned the legality of restrictive language related to evaluations by doctors of chiropractic and accused the AMA of violating the permanent Wilk injuction.

The AMA responded by issuing a correction. The Guide will state in relevant part that: "Impairment evaluation requires medical knowledge. Physicians duly recognized by an appropriate jurisdiction should perform such assessments within their applicable scope of practice and field of expertise." AMA will be mailing out the correction and future publication of the Guide will contain the corrective language. For all plaintiff's attorneys, any attempt by a defense lawyer during cross examination of a treating chiropractor who has testified as to a whole person impairment should do one of two things: 1) object to the cross examination on the grounds that the langauge being cited by the defense attorney from the Guide has been retracted and corrected; or 2) allow the questioning and then on re-direct present the fact that such language was subsequently corrected by the AMA. It is my opinion that the former is the better strategy.

Connecticut Proposing Tougher Laws On Teen Drivers

James Sabatini — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:34:56 GMT

The Connecticut legislature is considering tougher penalties on teen drivers that violate the law. The proposed bill aims to place tougher penalties on teen drivers who break the law. Under the bill, if a teen driver is convicted of driving while under the influence of liquor, they would lose their license until they are 21 years old. In addition, if a teen driver gets a speeding ticket, there would be an automatic license suspension. The first ticket would result in losing his or her license for 45 days. The bill also calls for more training hours and parental supervision of teenage drivers.

Triple A Releases 2006 Auto Crash Data

James Sabatini — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:09:13 GMT

According to the Triple A, 42,642 people died in car crashes in 2006. This equates to about 117 deaths per day and almost 5 per hour. This is the equivalent of two jumbo jets crashing every week. The AAA attributes many of the fatalities to excessive speed, drunk driving and the failure to wear a seat belt. Triple A also reports that the costs arising from car accidents have gone up with the largest cost increase being hospital costs.

Truck Driver Arrested In School Bus Accident

James Sabatini — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:48:53 GMT

The driver of a Poland Spring delivery truck that collided with a school bus Monday afternoon was criminally charged this morning with speeding and running a red light. Accoprding to police, Christopher Speedling, 24, was going 42 mph in a 30mph zone. Witnesses also told police that he ran a red light before the crash. He is charged with failure to obey a traffic signal and traveling at an unreasonable speed. It is unclear from press reports if the driver was also charged with reckless driviing. Five students at Plainville High School who were on the bus suffered a variety of non life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals.

Connecticut Places Hartford Hospital On Probation

James Sabatini — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:38:45 GMT

Hartford Hospital, the state's second-largest facility in terms of licensed beds, is on probation for a year after complaints arose about its emergency and operating rooms. State officials discovered 28 complaints over a two-year period based on patient surveys. The Department of Health found serious issues during the course of its investigation. There were a number of patient care issues on a system-wide basis ranging from psychiatric care, to emergency department care, to psychiatric issues, to infection control issues. The hospital must take corrective actions or the probation will be extended. Hartford Hopsital has issued an apology to patients and their families where patient care was inadequate.

Waterbury Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

James Sabatini — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:21:29 GMT

If you have been injured by a drunk driver, it is vital that you contact a Connecticut drunk driving accident lawyer as soon as possible. Why? - because not only is the drunk driver liable for your injuries and losses, but the establishment that served the alcohol to the drunk driver. You have 120 days to put the dram shop on written notice of your intention of filing a claim against it. If written notice is not given within the 120 days, you will be prohibited from bringing a dram shop claim against the establishment. The dram shop is strictly liable for up to $250,000.00 for injuries and losses caused by the intoxicated individual.

Shiloh Farms Recalls Shiloh Farms Organic Unhulled Sesame Seeds

Jenny Albano — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:16:24 GMT

Shiloh Farms, in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling Shiloh Farms Organic Unhulled Sesame Seeds, 12-oz., because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstance, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Consumers with the above symptoms should consult their physician.

This recalled sesame seeds came in a 12 oz blue and white 5" x 8" plastic bag with the company's logo and USDA organic symbol printed on the bag. The UPC bar code number is 047593303545 and Shiloh Farms and the address appear on the back of the bag. The organic seeds were sold from November 1, 2007 to January 25, 2008. The products with the lot code numbers 17503 and 17133 are the only ones being recalled.

So far the company has not received any reports of illness from the product. The problem was discovered when FDA testing found salmonella in a sample of the organic sesame seeds from one of the Shiloh Farms suppliers.

The recall affected 98 health food stores in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Arkansas.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.