The majority of accidents – and the majority of driving – occurs on low-speed roads close to drivers’ homes, where drivers and passengers use seatbelts at lower rates. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that if drivers and front-seat passengers always used seatbelts, traffic fatalities would fall by 45 percent.

“We wanted to find out what makes occasional seatbelt users buckle up more than half the time,” said Jon Hankey, a director of the study at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. “They know it is a good idea, so why don’t they do it all of the time?”

The study was the first of its kind. Over the course of one year, instruments in 100 cars gathered data on more than 150,000 trips by 108 primary drivers and 299 secondary drivers. Participants answered questionnaires designed to measure certain personality traits such as aggression and risk-taking.

“The first objective was to determine if there were variables, such as trip distance, speed, and time of day, that uniquely characterized consistent, occasional, and infrequent seatbelt users,” said Hankey.

“The second objective was to conduct a more detailed analysis of the group defined as occasional seatbelt users to identify factors associated with these drivers’ decisions to wear their belts on some trips but not others,” he added.

Data showed primary drivers wore their seatbelts 79.1 of the time and second drivers buckled up 81.2 percent of the time. Researchers found that during trips around town averaging 30 mph, occasional seatbelt users opted for the seatbelt 72.7 percent of the time, but trips averaging 50 mph saw seatbelt usage at 89.0 percent.

“Occasional users may have an unrealistic view of a certain trip’s risk, and an education program targeting this unrealistic view may have a significant impact on seatbelt compliance,” said NHTSA fellow Sharon P. Berlin.

The study also showed that individuals with more formal education were more likely to be consistent seatbelt users, and those with aggressive driving habits were more likely to be occasional seatbelt users.

The NHTSA is planning another, much larger, study, called the Strategic Highway Research Program. The study will involve driving data on 2,000 cars.

If you need to speak with a auto accident lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Some issues with cars are so rare that they may only present themselves to a handful of customers; automakers may never encounter them despite extensive testing. This is why it is important for you to file a complaint if you believe your vehicle has a safety issue. Every piece of available data is valuable in solving these difficult problems.

The NHTSA receives many complaints, and some are more useful than others. If you file a complaint, take care with your submission to be sure you are part of the solution.

DO include:

• your vehicle identification number, which is not required, but which gives investigators important details about where your car was made and how it is configured;
• a clear statement of how you expected the car to behave and how it actually behaved;
• whether you can duplicate the malfunction – that is, it happens every time;
• any relevant information about maintenance and repairs; and
• any relevant aftermarket equipment installed on the vehicle.

DO NOT include:

If you believe your vehicle may have a safety issue, visit the NHTSA website and file a complaint.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

The verdict, however, was not in connection with his infamous alleged killing of two Tampa police officers. That trial is still to come.

The Tampa jury deliberated for just under six hours before convicting Morris, 27, of the 2010 killing of Rodney Jones, then 42, at the Cotton Club in Tampa. Jurors also convicted Morris of attempted robbery. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

Police said Morris shot Jones in the neck outside the Cotton Club as revenge for Jones previously robbing Morris.

Three more murder trials await Morris. He may be sentenced to death if found guilty of killing the police officers.

Those killings created such a stir that in order to find unbiased jurors for this trial who were unaware of Morris’s other charges, Judge William Fuente held jury selection in Orlando and sequestered jurors in a Tampa hotel during the trial.

After Judge Fuente released the jurors, he gave Jones’ family members an opportunity to address the court before sentencing, which will be scheduled soon.

Jones’ sister Daphne Fuentes asked Judge Fuente to sentence Morris to life in prison.

“If he spends eternity plus one day, that’s still not enough to fill the void he left in my family,” she said.

The killing of a family member is an enormous burden to bear. When another may be at fault for a death, an experienced wrongful death attorney can help you understand your rights and remedies.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

The brachial plexus is a group of nerve fibers near the top of the spinal cord, near the shoulder. These nerves control movement in the shoulder, arm, and hand.

If a newborn’s shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone during delivery, this can result in injury to the brachial plexus. The force of delivery, whether from the mother pushing or from medical personnel pulling, can place excessive force on the shoulders and cause nerve damage. Although most commonly seen in vaginal delivery, brachial plexus injuries can also happen during cesarean section delivery.

This type of injury is most often seen in larger newborns, especially those weighing over nine pounds. It can occur as a result of the infant being positioned feet-first, called a breech birth. It also happens more often when the mother has been in prolonged labor. Any of these circumstances should prompt medical personnel to be especially diligent in protecting the infant.

Brachial plexus injuries can lead to Klumpke’s palsy, Erb’s palsy, and total brachial plexus palsy. Paralysis, numbness, and impaired motor skills may occur. The symptoms of brachial plexus injury are commonly observed at birth, leading to diagnosis by x-ray or by testing the Moro reflex.

The Moro reflex is present in all newborns and is a reaction to a sudden loss of support, such as a feeling of falling. Newborns will quickly spread their arms then move them together in an approximation of a grasping motion. Asymmetry or absence of movement in either arm may be evidence of a brachial plexus injury.

There are four classes of severity of brachial plexus injuries. From least serious to most serious, they are:

• an excessive stretching of nerves that does not tear them – this injury, called neuropraxia, heals without treatment;
• an injury that stretches nerves to the point where a few are damaged, called a neuroma;
• a tearing of nerves, known as a rupture; and
• a severe tearing of nerves and separation of the brachial plexus from the spinal cord, known as an avulsion.

Avulsions unfortunately are the most common class of brachial plexus injury.

Medical negligence and medical malpractice can be contributing factors to brachial plexus injuries. Doctors must deliver newborns with precise and gentle force. When medical professionals are at fault, a birth injury attorney can help patients recover damages.

Contact a Tampa personal injury lawyer at Joyce & Reyes to learn more.

Genetic disorders and other “acts of God” account for many cases of cerebral palsy, but birth injuries can contribute to the condition as well. Experts estimate that 10 to 15 percent of all cases of cerebral palsy are the result of brain injury.

For example, oxygen deprivation during delivery, if not quickly recognized and alleviated, can permanently damage the infant brain.

Other examples of medical malpractice that may cause cerebral palsy include:
Mistakes in performing a C-section, such as failure to timely execute an emergency C-section.
Failure to diagnose meningitis, an infection in the brain and spinal cord.
Improper use of delivery aids such as forceps and vacuum extractors.
Use of too much force in delivery.

Parents and doctors usually begin to suspect cerebral palsy when the baby is about six months of age and is not achieving significant developmental milestones. Symptoms may include:
Lack of coordination
Stiffness
Delayed growth
Respiratory conditions
Seizures

Parents whose babies display symptoms of cerebral palsy should speak with their pediatrician. If your baby is diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you think birth injury may have been a factor, speak with an experienced birth injury lawyer and find out your rights and remedies.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

But substandard care is not the norm. It is good to take a moment to recognize some of the excellent treatment and care that residents receive in the majority of Florida nursing homes.

Recently, two nursing homes in South Florida received the Governor’s Gold Seal Award for high quality care. Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center in West Palm Beach and Harbour’s Edge in Delray Beach already held the distinction and in February received it for another two-year period.

Of the 678 licensed nursing homes throughout Florida, just 19 – under three percent – carry the seal.

In order to receive the award, nursing homes must submit applications, which are reviewed by an independent panel. Gold Seal facilities must have excellent satisfaction ratings, stellar inspection reports, and low staff turnover.

State legislators began the award program in 2000, when consumer rankings of nursing homes were quite limited in availability. The federal government also rates facilities on a scale of up to five stars.

Floridians seeking nursing home care are encouraged to visit Florida’s Nursing Home Guide online, where they can search for facilities with the Gold Seal Award and/or a five-start federal rating.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

A recent ruling by the Florida Supreme Court said that a wrongful death lawsuit against a nursing home in Leesburg must go to arbitration. The case is seen as a victory for the nursing home industry.

Many nursing homes include in their contracts with incoming patients a provision binding the parties to arbitration to resolve any lawsuits over the treatment provided at the facilities. These arbitration agreements are the subject of numerous lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who argue they improperly take away their right to a jury trial.

Debra Laizure brought the recent wrongful death suit against Avante at Leesburg after her father, Harry Stewart, died there in 2006, having been admitted four days earlier. Avante argued that a contract signed by Stewart bound Laizure to accept arbitration in the dispute. Laizure was not a party to the contract.

Laizure argued that an arbitration agreement entered into by Stewart could not cover a wrongful death claim because the claim belonged to Stewart’s estate and heirs.

The Justices unanimously found that the arbitration agreement applied to Laizure’s suit, upholding an earlier ruling by the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

“The agreement expressly encompasses claims arising out of or relating to Stewart’s stay at the facility, including negligence and malpractice, and is expressly binding upon and includes claims brought by Stewart’s heirs,” Justice Barbara Pariente wrote in the Supreme Court’s opinion. “As reflected in the terms of the arbitration agreement, it is clear that the contracting parties intended to include wrongful death claims such as those brought in this case.”

The Fifth District found that “the beneficiaries of the estate were intended third-party beneficiaries of the agreement” and referred to a similar case in the Fourth District in which the court ruled an arbitration agreement encompassed a wrongful death claim.

Although it ruled against Laizure, the Fifth District did send a certified question to the Supreme Court asking for further clarification of the issue, saying the question was “of great public importance.”

Pariente’s written opinion continued, “The question presented is whether an arbitration provision in an otherwise valid contract binds the signing party’s estate and heirs in a subsequent wrongful death case … we hold that it does. Because the signing party’s estate and heirs are bound by defenses that could be raised in a personal injury suit brought by the decedent, as well as by releases signed by the decedent, it would be anomalous to conclude that they are not also bound by a choice of forum agreement signed by the decedent in a wrongful death action arising out of the treatment and care of the decedent.”

Illustrating the importance of the issue, senior advocacy organization AARP and the Florida Health Care Association, a nursing home industry association, filed briefs in the case.

“This case has far-reaching implications for people requiring admission to long-term care facilities and their families,” the AARP said in its brief.

Robert Joyce is a Tampa nursing home litigation attorney at Joyce & Reyes Law Firm. To learn more about the Tampa nursing home litigation lawyer, visit http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/ or call 1.888.771.1529.

But in the wake of the state’s recent crackdown on pill mills, defense attorneys are increasingly arguing that the doctors should instead be charged with writing prescriptions improperly – a third-degree felony with a sentence of only five years.

A Palm Beach County defense attorney made that argument for his client in 2012 and was successful in getting his charges of trafficking oxycodone dismissed.

State prosecutors are appealing that ruling, and a similar defense maneuver in Orange County Circuit Court recently failed, with the presiding judge denying the motion to dismiss. Nevertheless, it is likely that defense lawyers throughout the state will continue to try the strategy.

In the Ninth Judicial Circuit, encompassing Orange and Osceola counties, prosecutors have not pursued a single charge under the improper prescription law in the past decade.

The argument that a doctor should be charged under the law instead of being charged with trafficking painkillers may be a bit of a stretch. The law says physicians cannot “employ a trick or scheme” and cannot prescribe drugs to a fictitious person.

Patients accused of improperly obtaining painkillers are not victims of trickery at the hands of a doctor and generally use their real names.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

The program will hire no fewer than 28 nurse care coordinators statewide to assist the families of the approximately 221 disabled children who live in Florida nursing homes.

Last year, federal officials released a report accusing Florida of “warehousing” disabled children in nursing homes where they lived in isolation with little education or stimulation.

The AHCA and director Liz Dudek have refuted the allegations from the beginning, saying that the children were well cared for.

In a statement announcing the new program, Dudek said it is “designed to help empower parents, to help them and to educate them and to help them personalize the experience that they have,” adding that some children have already left the nursing homes to move back with their families, and the program would accelerate that process.

The Florida Development Disabilities Council (FDDC) sees the program as encouraging. FDDC Chair Kathy McCallister said that the council “believes that children, even those with medically complex conditions, should be living with their families or in a home-like environment.”

Dudek said that the AHCA’s relationship with the federal government has been a difficult one, but added that her agency will work to convince federal officials of the children’s well-being.

Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Each year in the United States, approximately 228 people are killed in “backing crashes” – crashes in which a vehicle is traveling in reverse, often striking a pedestrian. Of those, about half are children under age 10. Another 17,000 are injured in such crashes.

Restricted rear visibility is a factor in the vast majority of these crashes. In many vehicles, particularly SUVs and pickups, vehicle design is increasingly resulting in large blind spots directly behind the car.

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law a measure passed with strong bipartisan support in Congress that requires car manufacturers to improve rear visibility in order to help prevent such accidents. But after nearly five years, new standards have yet to be issued to auto makers. Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), has pushed back the deadline to issue new mandates four times, most recently in January, and safety advocates are growing frustrated.

The proposed rules would require expanding the driver’s rear field of view in all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. In the case of many car models, this would mean that rearview video cameras and in-dash video screens would be standard equipment.

In a letter to Congress in February 2012, after the third delay in rule implementation, LaHood said the DOT needed to conduct more “research and data analysis” to “ensure that the final rule is appropriate and the underlying analysis is robust.”

But some suggest that the real sticking point is money. Lawmakers are likely reluctant to place any additional regulatory burden on an auto industry hobbled by a stagnant economy.

According to NHTSA estimates, a mandate requiring rearview cameras on every passenger vehicle would add between $58 and $88 to the price of cars that already have in-dash video screens and $159 to $203 to the price of cars without them.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an auto industry lobbying group, says that the total cost to the car industry would be approximately $2 billion per year. In December 2011, the group made an alternative proposal to government officials: rearview cameras in vehicles with very large blind zones and wide-angle convex mirrors for the rest.

Automakers are increasingly integrating cameras and video screens into their models even without rules requiring them. Edmunds, an automotive research firm, rearview cameras were standard equipment on nearly half of all 2012 models and optional on another 27 percent. According to iSuppli, another research firm, 90 percent of 2012 models had in-dash video displays as standard or optional equipment.

Robert Joyce is a Tampa personal injury attorney at Joyce & Reyes Law Firm. To learn more about the Tampa personal injury lawyer, visit http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/ or call 1.888.771.1529.