A San Antonio woman is sharing the story of her tragic motor vehicle collision in an effort to draw attention to the problem of drowsy driving.  Her husband was killed in the collision in 2009, and she had her legs, pelvis, ribs, elbow and facial bones broken. The accident happened when a drowsy driver hit the couple’s vehicle, causing it to roll over multiple times. She wants motorists to know that fatigued driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving and hopes that going public will make motorists think twice about driving while they are too tired. 

In some ways, drowsy driving is actually more dangerous than drunk driving because it is harder to prevent. There’s no current test for drowsy driving, although this may change in the future. Until a test is developed, victims will need to rely on witness statements and expert testimony to prove fatigue caused their crash injuries.

A personal injury lawyer in San Antonio can help victims to pursue claims for compensation against fatigued drivers. Call the Herrera Law Firm for a confidential legal consultation.

Research Underway to Tackle Drowsy Driving Issues

A Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) was recently launched at Monash University in Australia, and it is the first ever consortium dedicated to studying sleep disruption.  The CRC is an allegiance of academics, regulators, technology companies and employers who are all joining together to develop new technologies to reduce drowsy driving risks.

The Centre will be focused on multiple goals, including finding ways to better identify people at risk of insomnia, sleep apnea and other disorders that make rest difficult. Current diagnostic tools for sleep disorders are limited, and it can be difficult for people to get treatment to avoid excess fatigue.  If people are properly diagnosed and their conditions managed, they are less likely to doze off while driving.

CRC hopes to save the healthcare system $2 billion in costs associated with fatigue-related injuries and to deliver $196.4 million in public health benefits over the course of 15 years. Helping people get enough sleep could reduce the rate of drowsy driving crashes and be an important step in this effort.

However, one of the most important projects that CRC is undertaking involves developing a test for drowsy driving.  Researchers believe a device could be created that will test a person’s sweat or saliva for newly-discovered biomarkers of alertness. The test will serve as a real-time, accurate assessment of whether the person is alert.

The test is being proposed as a means of helping employers, who can test workers for alertness before the employees are allowed to operate machinery. However, it also has an important application in car accident cases. A driver who causes a crash could be tested to see if he was sufficiently alert. If the alertness biomarkers show he wasn’t, this could be used as evidence in holding him legally liable for the collision.

A personal injury lawyer in San Antonio can help collision victims. Call the Herrera Law Firm at 1-800-455-1054 or visit www.herreralaw.com to schedule a free consultation.

A recent tractor-trailer accident sent one driver to the hospital with injuries described as life-threatening. As My San Antonio reports, the truck collision occurred when a man in a black Jaguar was trying to pass a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer hit the rear quarter panel of the Jaguar, sending the vehicle crashing into the guardrail. The Jaguar then bounced off of the guard rail, became caught on the rear tires of the tractor trailer and was dragged for a few hundred feet.

Cause of this crash remains unclear. However, truck accident lawyers in San Antonio know that it is one of thousands of truck accidents that occur each year in the state of Texas.  The Texas Crash Data indicates that a total of 27,403 accidents in 2012 involved commercial motor vehicles, and many of these accidents resulted in serious or even deadly injuries for motorists. Preventing truck accidents should be a top priority for every trucking company, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has an important tool that can help these companies to ensure that the drivers they employ are safe.

FMCSA Study Shows Pre-Employment Screening Reduces Accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) created a pre-employment screening program in 2010 in order to try to help trucking companies ensure they were hiring only the safest drivers. The idea was to allow employers to check the background of prospective truckers before hiring them to ensure that the truckers had clean driving records and were being honest about their past driving experience.

The screening program includes five years of accident data on truckers involved in collisions as well as three years of information on inspections. Truckers can thus check whether the driver they are considering has been in trouble for not following safety rules or has been involved in an accident.

Many employers have used this program already, although screening employees before hiring is voluntary. Just three years after the screening program was developed, there were 35,000 registered users by 2013. The trucking companies registered to use the program were making as many as 70,000 information requests each month. This is a massive number of pre-employment background checks that helps to ensure that drivers are safer on the roads.

The widespread use of the pre-employment screening program has proven to be very successful. As Trucking Info reports, motor carriers using the pre-employment screening system experienced a 17.2 percent reduction in OOS violations among their drivers as compared with other carriers who did not screen employees before hiring. Furthermore, there was also a 12.4 percent decline in the rate of accidents for trucking companies that used pre-employment screening.

Since employers can be held legally liable for the negligence of their drivers on duty, and can also be held legally liable for negligent hiring practices, employers who want to protect themselves from potential litigation should strongly consider making use of the pre-employment screening program. Truck accident victims should also consult with an attorney for assistance in determining whether the trucking company who employed the driver in their crash followed reasonable hiring protocols to ensure safety.

Contact the Herrera Law Firm in San Antonio. Call 800-455-1054 today for a free case evaluation.

Many drivers in the United States are angry, with the Washington Post reporting that 12 percent of drivers responding said that they frequently felt road rage and 21 percent of responding drivers saying that they felt occasional hostility to their fellow drivers at least sometimes.

The large percentage of drivers that are prone to anger behind the wheel results in dangerous choices that cause accidents. This is especially true when motorist are feeling stressed, since around a third of all drivers say that they are more likely to become aggressive on the roads as a result of feelings of pressure or anxiety.   Unfortunately, stress happens a lot around the holidays, so it should come as no surprise that car accident claims increase by as much as 20 percent through the month of December.

The Holiday Season is a Time for Road Rage

Car accident lawyers in San Antonio know that the month of December is a time when there are many drivers on the roads and when traffic is usually bad. Drivers may be on the roads more because they are getting holiday shopping done or because they are traveling to visit family over the festive season.

Far too many drivers on the roads in December are intoxicated, especially if they are coming from holiday parties or special events. Others may simply be frustrated and may be taking this anger out on other motorists. A State Farm Insurance report, for example, found that 32 percent of drivers were likely to become more aggressive during the holiday season. Drivers may also be more distracted in the month of December, as pointed out by a University of Alabama Professor who studies holiday traffic and who warns that a  person whose “mind is on other things” is more likely to pull out in front of you or otherwise make  careless driving choice.

Distraction, intoxication and road rage are three of the biggest risk factors for car accidents, along with speeding, which is also a problem during the holidays according to the deputy executive director of the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. Motorists who are on the roads in December need to do everything they can to try to avoid these risks by making sure they pay attention to the road, never drive drunk, and avoid giving into anger or anxiety while behind the wheel.

Practicing these safe driving tips is important throughout the month, but there are certain days that are more dangerous than others. The six days surrounding the 25^th of December have been described as the most dangerous of the month. During these six days, 18 percent more crashes happen than over Thanksgiving weekend and 27 percent more accidents happen than occur on New Years Eve.  Drivers should stay off the roads during this time if they can, especially on the Friday before Christmas when there is commuting traffic, traffic from last-minute shoppers and traffic from people traveling home. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are much safer days on the road for drivers to travel since there tend to be few people out on those days.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

Over the past four decades, the numbers of auto accident deaths and serious injuries have declined, in large part because of new safety features and advances in driver safety technology. Advancements and changes ranging from required seat belts in every car to the standard use of anti-lock brakes have all contributed to helping drivers and passengers to be safer behind the wheel.

Any car accident lawyer in San Antonio knows that many of the positive changes that have occurred to reduce car accident deaths have happened because of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA was created in 1966 and in its first decade in existence, the agency passed more than 50 regulations and requirements imposing mandates on automakers. Much of the safety framework the NHTSA put into place is still in effect today and still shapes the way cars are made.

The NHTSA, however, is not making rules the way it used to. In fact, there are serious concerns about whether the NHTSA is doing enough to protect the safety of passengers.  In light of these concerns, a lawsuit was filed in September and a Senate Hearing was convened to take a closer look at the role of the NHTSA and whether the agency was fulfilling its role.

NHTSA Is Focused on Recalls, Not Rule Making

Many experts indicate that the focus of the NHTSA has changed in recent years and that the agency is now primarily concerned with recalling vehicles after the cars have proven to be unsafe for drivers. In other words, instead of being proactive and working to stop accidents, the NHTSA is instead being reactive and only recalling cars when forced to do so because of serious problems.

According to Auto Blog, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Panel is concerned that not only is the NHTSA declining to use its initiative to make new rules that could improve safety, but also that the NHTSA is actually defying congress by not passing regulations that it was expressly ordered to put in place.

The concern of the Senate Judiciary panel centers in part around a new mandate to require rear view cameras in all cars. The mandate was passed as far back in 2008 as part of a transportation safety act designed to make kids safer on the roads. The rearview camera requirement was promoted by lawmakers because more than 100 children under the age of five die each year in a backover accident when someone is backing out of a parking space, driveway or other location. With a rearview camera, these lives could be saved.  Unfortunately, the NHTSA has delayed five separate time to actually put the rear-view camera regulation in place. This delay also prompted a lawsuit to be filed in September.

Hopefully, the concerns of the senate coupled with the threat of legal action will lead the NHTSA to take the actions it is supposed to take to protect the public from auto accident risks.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft are widely prescribed to treat depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, a number of serious side effects and risks have come to light involving these medications. Hundreds of lawsuits have already been filed as plaintiffs take action against the makers of SSRI drugs for these dangerous unexpected side effects, but even as litigation is pending, new problems are arising.  

One new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research demonstrates that the SSRI fracture risk among post-menopausal women exceeds the fracture risk associated with corticosteroids and PPIs. Older women who use SSRI drugs and who suffer a fracture should consider a dangerous drug lawsuit in San Antonio to hold drug makers responsible for injuries.

SSRI Study Shows Magnitude of Bone Fracture Risk

The link between SSRIs and bone fractures has been well established by medical studies. In 2012, researchers published the results on PubMed of their careful review of information from 12 prior studies on SSRI fracture risks. Adjusting for variables and other risk factors, the researchers from the Department of Family Medicine determined that “fracture risk associated with SSRI use may have a significant clinical impact.” Research has also demonstrated an increased risk of falls in dementia patients prescribed SSRI drugs. Seniors with dementia have a lengthy recovery period from bone fractures and may not recover fully from the bone break or associated complications.

This past data, however, had not fully identified the magnitude of the effect of SSRIs on bone fractures. The new study attempted to assess just how badly SSRIs affect bone density. The study involved comparing the risk of fractures in patients taking SSRIs versus the risks in patients taking PPIs and corticosteroids.  Both PPIs and glucocorticoids are well-known for their strong link to fractures, and researchers believe understanding the relative fracture risk of these medications versus SSRIs is helpful because there are clear guidelines for preventing glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis but not for SSRI-induced osteoporosis.

The study compared incidents of reported fractures over a five year period among women using one of the three drugs: SSRIs, glucocorticoids (GCs) and PPIs. Women aged 55 and up in 10 countries from 615 primary care practices were included in the study.  A total of 9,347 of the women had not been treated with SSRIs, GCs or PPIs while 2,715 used PPIs, 5304 used GCs and 1,149 used SSRIs.

Researchers found anxiety was the highest in the SSRI patients, and that after five years, SSRIs were the only therapy that showed a significant increase in the risk of overall fractures, nonhip/nonvertebral fractures and clinical spine fractures.

This is bad news for patients as the results mean the risk of fractures caused by SSRIs may actually be greater than the risk caused by corticosteroids and PPIs. Patients need to be aware of the magnitude of the risk and should take legal action if they believe the SSRI manufacturer failed to adequately warn them about the dangers associated with SSRI use.

If you believe you should pursue a dangerous drugs lawsuit, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case consultation.

According to USA Today, a nationwide voluntary recall was announced in August after 15 patients throughout Texas developed infections following an injection of calcium gluconate. The bacterial bloodstream infections the patients developed are believed to have been linked to contamination at a compounding pharmacy.

Patients who have developed infections due to their use of a medication may be able to file a dangerous drugs lawsuit in San Antonio and/or in the location where the drugs were produced or infection occurred.  A dangerous drugs lawsuit can allow injured victims to recover monetary compensation for their losses.  Unfortunately, such claims continue to be necessary to hold these compounding pharmacies responsible.

Compounding pharmacies have become a major public health concern due to repeated contamination issues. In fact, the federal government is now aiming to change the way in which compounding pharmacies are regulated in order to try to prevent more patients from being harmed by unsafe medications produced at these pharmacies.

Dangerous Drugs from Compounding Pharmacies Put Patients at Risk

According to USA Today, the voluntary recall that occurred in August was one of several this year.  Earlier in August, a compounding pharmacy, Nexus Pharmaceuticals, voluntarily recalled injectable benztropine mesylate, which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease.  In July, a pharmacy called Beacon Hill Medical Pharmacy instituted a recall when questions were raised regarding whether its products were sterile. Finally, in June, Fresenius Kabi USA recalled four lots of benztropine mesylate injections because of potential contamination with glass particles.

In Texas, an organism called Rhodococcus equi, which was found in the calcium gluconate, was believed to have been the cause of the 15 reported infections.

While the Texas recall was the worst of the most recent recalls because people actually got sick, the extent of the damage did not come close to the outbreak of fungal meningitis that was prompted by contaminated vials of medication from New England Compounding Center. That outbreak resulted in almost 50 deaths from meningitis and more than 700 people becoming ill.

Changing Rules on Compounding Pharmacy Regulation

Compounding pharmacies were originally intended to be small-scale operations that produced specific drugs for specific patients when the necessary medication was not available in pre-made form on the market. Many compounding pharmacies now serve as de-facto drug manufacturers and produced medications that are distributed nationwide. This is the case with the pharmacies recently forced to recall drugs.

Their role as de-facto drug manufacturers means that if something goes wrong, many hundreds or even thousands of people could get hurt. Yet, the compounding pharmacies are still largely regulated by individual state pharmacy boards, which don’t have the resources or means to ensure the pharmacies are safe.  New proposals suggest putting the compounding pharmacies under the purview of the FDA.  Hopefully, this could help to prevent more injuries and more harm to patients who depend upon drugs produced at compounding pharmacies.

If you believe you should pursue a dangerous drugs lawsuit, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

According to My San Antonio.com, a 77-year-old man was struck by a car when he was crossing West Cypress Street. The man was in his wheelchair at the time when he cross the Maverick Street Intersection and was hit by a compact car going east down West Cypress. The driver of the vehicle reportedly failed to see the man who was crossing. Fortunately, the elderly gentlemen survived the incident but was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Our San Antonio car accident lawyers know that there are thousands of fatal pedestrian accidents each year and even more wrecks that cause injury. Unfortunately, the man who was struck in the San Antonio intersection fell into one of two groups in the greatest danger of being hit by a car and injured: senior citizens.

Pedestrian Accident Risks For Senior Citizens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides important information regarding the pedestrian accident risk to seniors. Pedestrians aged 65 and up accounted for as many as 19 percent of the 4,280 fatal pedestrian accidents in 2010. Seniors within this age group also accounted for a total of 11 percent of the 70,000 pedestrians who sustained serious injury.

Seniors and children, especially those between the ages of five and nine, are the two demographic groups most likely to be hurt or killed in a pedestrian-motorist wreck. Unfortunately, an article in US News & Health earlier this year indicated that the number of traffic-related death rates for senior pedestrians aged 75 and older was more than double the rate of those aged 34 and under.

Senior citizens are not only more likely than those in other age groups to be killed, but are also more likely to sustain serious life-changing injuries. Seniors, for example, may be more prone to suffer hip fractures and other bone fractures when involved in a car wreck. When a senior suffers a hip fracture, the recovery period is long and a large percentage of elderly people are never again able to live outside of an assisted or independent living facility after sustaining a hip fracture.

The recent San Antonio accident involving the elderly 77-year-old man who was injured in the intersection is a perfect example of why older adults may be more likely to be involved in pedestrian wrecks. The motorist who hit the older pedestrian reported that he simply did not see the man in his wheelchair.   A motorist in a wheelchair is lower to the ground, making him more difficult for drivers to spot and thus increasing the chances of a pedestrian accident occurring.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

According to the Killeen Daily News, a 50-year-old retired soldier is on trial in Texas for killing a motorcycle rider when driving home drunk. The driver was reportedly traveling westbound on Westcliff road at the time when he struck and killed the 47-year-old motorcyclist.  He reportedly hit the motorcycle from the rear, near where the road intersected with Beta Circle. The motorist was reportedly intoxicated at the time and fled the scene of the accident.

Our San Antonio motorcycle accident lawyers know that motorcycle riders are at serious risk on the roads, accounting for 13 percent of highway deaths despite representing only three percent of drivers on the nation’s roadways. In fact, as the National Transportation Safety Board reported, an average of 12 motorcycle riders are killed every day. Tragically, this recent accident fits the pattern of so many motorcycle crashes, which are often caused by motorists in passenger cars.

Motorcycle Riders at Risk

The Killeen Daily News reports that the rider was thrown from his motorcycle after being struck by the car.  The motorcyclist was thrown onto the windshield of the Toyota Camry.

Instead of stopping to help the injured motorcycle rider, who suffered a serious brain injury, the driver drove off in his Toyota Camry and went home to his back yard where his wife reportedly found him drinking heavily. The man claims his post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) activated his fight-or-flight response and caused him to leave the scene of the accident. However, this is not a valid excuse for fleeing the scene of a crash, and the evidence that the motorist left the scene will be used against him in trial.

Other evidence linking the motorcyclist to the crash includes DNA lab tests and blood samples on the windshield of the Camry. The fact that the motorcyclist was thrown onto the windshield thus was a major contributing factor in his death and will also potentially be useful in helping to bring his alleged killer to justice.

Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents like this are far too common. While drunken driving significantly increases the chance of any type of accident occurring, motorcyclists are far more likely to die when hit by a drunk driver than those in other passenger vehicles.

The accident was also a rear-end crash, and rear-end accidents are another very common cause of both fatal and serious injury crashes that harm motorcyclists. Motorcycle riders may be especially likely to become involved in tailgating accidents because drivers often don’t give riders sufficient space, misjudge the speed that motorcyclists are going, or fail to understand the impact that a change in road conditions can have on a motorcycle rider.  When drivers tailgate or follow too closely behind a motorcyclist, they can be held responsible if their actions cause an accident. This is true even when the motorist is completely sober, too, if he or she has behaved in a careless or unsafe way that puts the motorcyclists life in jeopardy.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

Our San Antonio brain injury lawyers know that there are at least 1.7 million new traumatic brain injuries that occur each year and that many of these injuries are fatal. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that brain injuries account for 30.5 percent of all injury-related deaths.

A traumatic brain injury is often a life-changing event for the victim, leading to an extended rehabilitation period where the injured patient needs to re-learn basic skills such as walking and talking.  While the severity of the injury may be obvious, caregivers often don’t understand exactly what the victim is going through. Unfortunately, insurance companies may also try to downplay the lasting effects of the brain injury in order to reduce compensation for medical costs and pain and suffering when the brain injury results from a slip and fall or car accident.

Recently, however, more new evidence suggests that a brain injury can cause physical damage that not only has lifelong consequences in terms of affecting cognitive function, but also puts patients at risk for other serious conditions in the future. Further, a new HBO documentary, The Crash Real, may shed some light on what brain injury victims really go through, which could help to make the public more aware of the plight of brain injury sufferers.

Developing a Deeper Understanding of Brain Injury Consequences

Forbes reports that the new HBO documentary is the “definitive film on brain injury” and that there has never been another like it. The movie is a compelling account of the serious injury sustained by professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce, who suffered a severe blow to the head while attempting a technical trick called a cab double cork.

Pearce had been on his way to the Olympics before his accident, but instead ended up spending months in a rehabilitation facility learning to walk and talk again. His doctors also spoke in the film, reporting that he will forever be at risk of potentially fatal consequences if he suffers another blow to the head. Doctors also indicated that the damage done to Pearce’s brain will affect his vision and memory for the rest of his life.

The movie focuses not just on Pearce’s struggles to relearn basic life skills but also on the pervasive nature of the brain injury and how it affects every area of his life including the social, the mental, the physical and the practical. While Pearce reportedly hopes to snowboard again, the film gives the audience a first-hand glimpse into what an uphill battle brain injury sufferers face.

Unfortunately, recent new studies indicate that even when brain injury patients win their battle and recover their faculties, they still face lingering consequences. The study, published in MedScape, suggests there is a clear link between brain injury and ischemic stroke. Although researchers are not yet ready to confirm such a link exists, the data of more than 1,173,353 brain injury patients shows that there may be just as strong of an association between TBI and an ischemic stroke as there is between hypertension and ischemic stroke (hypertension is currently the top stroke risk factor).

As new evidence comes forward on exactly how far-reaching the consequences of TBI are, documentaries like the Crash Real could become even more important at helping to underscore to the public just how dangerous a blow to the head really is.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.

Recently, a tragic accident occurred at Six Flags Over Texas. The Washington Post reports that a woman visiting the amusement park fell 75 feet while riding on the Texas Giant roller coaster, losing her life as a result of injuries sustained in the fall.

The accident has resulted in the Texas Giant being temporarily closed pending an inspection. Six Flags has reportedly ordered an internal review and is bringing outside investigators in to help determine the cause of the fatal accident. However, our San Antonio injury lawyers know that many safety groups are expressing concerns about whether the investigation will be enough and whether the report will be publicly available. Further, the tragic accident has also reignited debate about whether amusement parks should be regulated on the federal level rather than just by individual states.

Are Amusement Park Regulations Sufficient to Protect the Public Safety?

Currently, each individual state has the authority to establish its own rules for amusement parks operating within its borders. Different states have approached this responsibility in different ways, with some jurisdictions such as California requiring regular inspections by state inspectors. In Texas, inspections are also required annually but the inspections are conducted by the insurance company providing the park’s policy.

States also differ regarding who is in charge of regulating the industry and enforcing rules on amusement parks. In some jurisdictions, it is the Department of Agriculture, for example. In Texas, however, the Department of Insurance is the agency in charge of setting guidelines. The guidelines set by the Department of Insurance not only mandate an annual inspection on each ride but also require that amusement parks have $1 million in liability coverage on each ride.

Six Flags Over Texas was in compliance with the state requirements and the Texas Giant roller coaster on which the death took place had been subject to an annual inspection. Unfortunately, it seems clear that something went wrong despite this inspection, with the end result being a fatal accident.

While Six Flags has reported it will be conducting an in depth investigation into what happened, many have expressed concern that there is no requirement the inspection report be submitted to the state.  There are also concerns by some safety advocates that allowing individual states to regulate parks may not be sufficient to prevent further tragedies like this one.

Senator Edward J. Markey is a vocal proponent of federal laws regulating amusement parks and has expressed concern that a baby stroller is subject to tougher federal rules than a roller coaster that could reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Federal regulations could perhaps help to make the safety rules uniform across all jurisdictions and, if regulations were to pass, they might be tougher on amusement parks. Still, regulations can only go so far and inspections by state officials can only be so frequent. Ultimately, the responsibility needs to lie with every amusement park company to full its obligation to its patrons and ensure that the rides are safe so no injuries or fatalities happen.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, contact the Herrera Law Firm at 800-455-1054 for a free case evaluation.