Fort Myers Personal Injury Lawyer - injury

Multiple Car Crash In Heavy Smoke In Lee/Hendry Counties on State Road 25

Joseph Bernardo — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:39:21 GMT

A multiple vehicle pile-up involving cars and trucks occurred early this morning in thick smoke from nearby brush fires. It happened on SR 25 near the Lee/Hendry county line. There were numerous injuries and a death.

A 1998 Lincoln four-door was traveling northbound when it rear-ended a semi, according to FHP reports. As traffic slowed because of the crash, another semi failed to slow down for unknown reasons and crashed into the Lincoln and the semi it had collided with.

This caused a domino effect, and, in the end, 11 vehicles, including a bus and at least four semi-trucks, had been involved in five separate crashes.

The driver of one of the vehicles died, but no information was available about the death. The victim has not been released pending notification of the family.

Slowing down in reduced visibility situations is common sense. It appears, unfortunately, not all drivers wish to use it. This type of multiple car/truck crash with resulting numerous injuries and death can be avoided with the above mentioned common sense and appropriate driving behavior in the situation.Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

School Bus and car accident with critical injuries update

Joseph Bernardo — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:26:58 GMT

The recent serious car and school bus crash at a local dangerous intersection has apparently prompted action to get a street light installed. Things are now moving faster after a woman and her teenage daughter ended up in critical condition(where they remain). I noted yesterday that there was the need for a light at this location, Surfside Blvd. and Trafalgar Pkwy. It is now supposed to be installed by the end of May. Tommorrow might be a better idea. I'll be happy to round up some volunteers and we will all go out and help. Bonita Bay group or City of Cape Coral, just let me know. I don't think we need another accident there if it can be prevented.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

School Bus and car accident in Cape Coral cause serious injury

Joseph Bernardo — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:14:48 GMT

A school bus and car collided at a dangerous intersection this afternoon injuring students from a local school and the passengers in the car. The intersection at Surfside and Veterans has no traffic light yet in spite of the dangerous nature of the intersection and the high traffic. A passenger in the vehicle had to be airlifted to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. Several students and the bus driver were taken by ambulance. I happen to live near this area and know it to be a problem. It is a shame that better planning for this recently constructed area didn't produce the appropriate traffic control device. Lee county has its share of accidents which I've been commenting on lately, and we certainly don't need additional and unnecesary ones to add to the total.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

Plastic bottles recalled due to safety concerns

Joseph Bernardo — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:45:38 GMT

Nalgene bottles with BPA are being recalled over safety concerns. Wouldn't it be nice to see companies studying these issues sufficiently before shoving their product into the stream of commerce and hope for the best. Good god, everyone from healthy hikers to kids in school lunch rooms have been drinking out of these bottles for years. So have I. A group of scientists looking into the effects of BPA have apparently determined their is sufficient concern to warrant further study. Whatever that means. Canada was already smart enough to ban baby bottles with BPA. Its enough for me to not fill that bottle of mine up any more when I head for the beach !

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

Auto Accidents and Death on Lee County roads

Joseph Bernardo — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:45:02 GMT

Last week was a dangerous and deadly one on the roads in Lee County. A bicyclist was killed in a crosswalk, a man was killed in a single car crash with a woman passenger injured and taken to the hopital, then a tire blow out on the interstate killed another person and injured five others. Then on Wednesday two more vehicles, a Suburban and a Cadillac crashed causing injury to at least one person who said he was suffering from a minor head injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

Long Term Pain In Personal Injury Cases

Joseph Bernardo — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:04:33 GMT

Trauma patients in America's hospitals are not necessarily "all better" just because they are released from the hospital. A large number of those hurt in accidents and falls and are treated at hospitals are not pain free upon their release.

62.7% of patients in hospital admissions from trauma had pain 12 months llater. The pain was characterized as moderately severe. More than half of these patients had 3 painful areas or more.

The above findings come from a study of over 3,000 patients in 69 hopitals in 14 states in the U.S. (published in the Arch Surg. 2008;143(3):282-287.)

Pain is a factor in recovery from an injury. It is also an important component of a claim for damages in a personal injury case.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo

Issues With Traumatic Brain Injuries

Joseph Bernardo — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:21:22 GMT

Traumatic Brain Injury, now frequently referred to as Post Concussive Syndrome can be a devastating injury yet
can be overlooked by health care providers and family members alike. After the initial traumatic event to the head and brain has been dealt with by health care providers, family members provide the after care. They are untrained
in recognizing or responding to the symptoms presented by the injured person.

The newer term, PCS ,is a poor fit for these very serious injuries. They are difficult to diagnose in the first place
so why reduce the alarming nature of these injuries by fostering this much weaker and banal term ? Various levels of injury, differing degrees of symptoms, and weak descriptions of a serious injury all contribute to a difficult diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury. Since any head trauma and/or brain injury is potentially a life long if not life threatening injury, why diminish the needed concern by using a term that doesn't aptly decribe much of anything.
Everybody can understand Traumatic Brain Injury. What does Post Concussive Syndrome mean ?

Awareness is crucial. Reducing awareness hinders the recognition of this type of injury and prevents a deserving
patient from getting complete medical care and rehabilitation to restore his or her cognitive functions. Be aware of changes in behavior or personality after an injury. Look, also, for reductions in energy level/exhaustion or sleeping more than normal. Have cognitive functions changed at all ? Can the person remember things the same way ?

What are the signs and symptoms of TBI?
The signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be subtle. Symptoms of a TBI may not appear until days or weeks following the injury or may even be missed as people may look fine even though they may act or feel differently.
For a list of common signs and symptoms of TBI, see Signs and Symptoms.

What are the long-term outcomes of TBI?
CDC estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans, approximately 2% of the U.S. population, currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.2

These, of course, are very general symptoms and do not always apply. They do not necessarily appear immediately after the trauma and frequently will not manifest themselves for weeks or months. The key is to recognize these changes and seek appropriate follow up medical or rehabilitative care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joseph Bernardo