E. Michael Grossman's Personal Injury Blog

Crashworthiness

"Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of vehicles.

Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different criteria are used to determine the crashworthiness of the structure. Crashworthiness may be assessed either prospectively, using computer models or experiments, or retrospectively by analyzing crash outcomes. Several criteria are used to assess crashworthiness prospectively, including the deformation patterns of the vehicle structure, the acceleration experienced by the vehicle during an impact, and the probability of injury predicted by human body models. Injury probability is defined using injury criteria, which are mechanical parameters (e.g., force, acceleration, or deformation) that correlate with injury risk. A common injury criterion is the Head Injury criterion (HIC). Crashworthiness is assessed retrospectively by analyzing injury risk in real-world crashes, often using regression or other statistical techniques to control for the myriad of confounders that are present in crashes."

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crashworthiness"

E. Michael Grossman respresents client injured as a result of accidents due to crashworthiness.

Tumbles and Falls Leading Cause of Injury-Related Death for Seniors

A recent report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, shows that a leading cause of injury death for individuals over 65 is tumbles and/or falls.  This article was published recently in the Washintgon Times relating to this topic.

Accidental falls a leading cause of death over 65
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 17, 2006

Posted by E. Michael Grossman, Texas Wrongful Death Attorney

Rollover Quick Facts

Rollovers are dangerous incidents that have a higher fatality rate than other types of crashes.  33% of all passenger fatalities occur from rollover crashes.

• You are 75% less likely to be killed in a rollover crash if you are wearing your seat belt.
• About 10,000 people die each year in rollover accidents.

Posted by E.Michael Grossman, Texas Rollover Accident Attorney

High School BasketBall Player Killed in SUV Rollover Accident

A high school girls basketball player was killed and seven others were injured Friday when the sport utility vehicle the team was riding in slid on an icy patch and partially overturned, officials said.

Isaura Puentes, 14, a member of the Paducah High School junior varsity team, was killed when she was partially ejected and pinned under the vehicle, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Wayne Beighle said. She was not wearing a seat belt, he said.

Source: KRISTV.com  Read the full story: http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=5756567

Posted by E. Michael Grossman Texas Automobile Accident Attorney

Automobile Rollovers and Prevention

Automobile rollovers can usually be prevented if vehicles simply stick to traveling at a decent speed.  The fact is that most rollovers happen when a vehicle is traveling too fast or tries to negotiate too sharp a turn – which is usually made necessary by driving too fast.

Rollovers are one of many different types of automobile accidents.  They happen when the base of a vehicle, including the wheels, loses contact with the road and turns on its side or roof.  Most often the result is a violent jarring and tossing about of the vehicle and its passengers.

A skilled driver may sometimes prevent a rollover even when it seems inevitable, by stopping the turn and driving the car on two wheels until the side that’s up in the air has had the time and opportunity to come back down to the road.

While all cars are susceptible to rollovers to some extent, those with a higher center of mass are more susceptible, especially when they are traveling fast.  Sport-utility vehicles and mini-vans are especially susceptible to rollovers.  Trucks also can often turn over when taking tight corners and of course, trains can roll over after derailing.

To prevent rollovers some four-wheel drive pick-up trucks have reduced steering capacity.  But this creates problems with parking and taking very sharp turns.

It doesn't happen often, but rollovers sometimes occur when a vehicle has hit a very large obstacle with one of its wheels while maneuvering over a bumpy road or uneven terrain.
In any accident there is the inherent problem of safely removing the passengers, namely those that are trapped or badly injured.  In a rollover situation, the problem is often exacerbated because the vehicle is often upside down and its doors are often blocked.  Cars and trucks don’t have emergency exits on their roofs or by way of a window, such as in the case of a bus, tram or trolleybus.

Posted by E. Michael Grossman, Texas Automobile Rollover Accident Lawyer

Father and Daughter Killed in SH-130 accident

"A father and daughter were killed Thursday when the station wagon they were riding in was hit by a pickup truck that ran a red light. The accident happened just after noon at the intersection of State Highway 130 and East Parmer Lane, in Northeast Austin. Nelson Taylor, 45, a Dell employee and his daughter, Andrea Taylor, 20, a music student at Huston-Tillotson University, were both killed. After the pickup truck driver ran the red light, his vehicle T-boned the smaller Subaru station wagon, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper said.The driver of the pickup and its three passengers were examined at the scene. Their injuries were minor. The truck driver could be cited for running a red light. The DPS investigation into the crash continues, but they do not believe the incident was alcohol-related."

Source: News 8 Austin Staff

Pedestrian Accident Report

In 2004, 4,641 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States — a decrease of 15 percent from the 5,489 pedestrians killed in 1994. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 113 minutes and injured in a traffic crash every 8 minutes. There were 68,000 pedestrians injured in traffic crashes in 2004. Most pedestrian fatalities in 2004 occurred in urban areas (72%), at nonintersection locations (79%), in normal weather conditions (89%), and at night (66%).

Accornding to NHTSA, there were 424 fatal pedestrian accidents in the state of Texas in 2004.  That's 11.8% of all traffic related fatalities in the state for that year. 

For more information regarding Texas Pedestrian Fatalities, visit us at texas-wrongful-death-lawyer.net

Spinal Cord Injuries

A spinal cord injury (SCI) can happen any number of ways, including an accident (automobile collision, for instance), a sports injury, a fall, etc.  An injury is the result of direct impact on the spinal cord, which consists of the nerves that connect the brain to nerves in the body.  Any injury to the spinal cord could mean the interruption (often permanent) of messages between the brain and the rest of the body.  In other words, if you can no longer walk after an SCI, it is because your body has lost the ability to be told by your brain how to walk. 

There are approximately 11,000 new cases of spinal cord injury in the U.S. each year.  The annual incidence rate is roughly 40 cases per million population, not including those who die at the scene of the accident.  In July 2005, there were about 250,000 people in the U.S. living with an SCI.

Grossman Law Offices represents clients who have received a spinal cord injury as the result of an accident.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents are about the saddest accidents that occur on our city streets every day.  The victims are the largely nameless, faceless people you never hear about on the evening news because there is no sensationalism or angle for what happened to them.  Simply, they were hit by a vehicle of some sort and suffered an injury, often severe, sometimes fatal.

Every year in the U.S. an estimated 100,000-plus pedestrians are involved in traffic accidents.  More than half of these result in death and of those, about half occur between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m.  Sadly, this is when children are on their way home after having just gotten out of school.  Statistics show children and the elderly are in fact the two groups most at risk of being involved in a pedestrian accident.  The majority of deaths and injuries incurred in these tragic accidents are due to a negligent or careless driver.

Grossman Law Offices represent pedestrian accident cases.  Give us a call for a free consultation.

Texas Airplane Crash in El Paso

A single-engine plane crashed yesterday at El Paso airport. The pilot died from the crash.
Air traffic was temporarily delayed.

Source: http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=5473488

Grossman Law Offices represents clients and families of airplane crash victims. Visit the Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer website for more information.