Georgia Trial Advocate : Georgia Wrongful Death Lawyer & Attorney : Jarome Gautreaux Law Firm : Medical Malpractice, Catastrophic Personal Injury : Macon, Warner Robins, Atlanta

     It seems like every year we hear depressing stories about adults or children (or pets) suffering a personal injury or death due to fires started by use of space heaters in homes.  The National Fire Protection Association reports that from 2005 to 2009, 79% of home heating fire deaths and 69% of injuries from home heating fires were caused by use of stationary or portable space heaters.    

     So, what can we do to protect our families from the dangers of space heaters?  Space heaters need plenty of room around them, so we should all keep adequate space around space heaters.  Also, space heaters should not be left on while you are sleeping.  A great list of tips for use of space heaters can be found at the Home Safety Council Website.  

     A list of recently recalled space heaters can be found on this page at the CPSC website as well. Please take a moment to review it to see if you might have a space heater that has been recalled.  

     On another note, readers of this blog will notice that I've been very late in getting it updated.  I've been absorbed in starting a new law firm and have not been posting nearly enough recently.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog more frequently, so look for more posts on a more regular basis to the blog, and I welcome all ideas for new topics readers would like to see addressed.  

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     The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported today that a 2 year old child died after being left in a van at a day care center in Atlanta.  The article by  Alexis Stevens and Fran Jeffries also mentions that since 1998, there have been 509 deaths involving this sort of vehicular hyperthermia, also known as heat stroke.  

     Normally we think of the danger associated with vehicle collisions on the roadways, but this sad case is a reminder that there are plenty of dangers other than roadway wrecks involving cars, including backovers, heat strokes, and children being trapped in trunks without trunk release mechanisms.  

    An organization called kidsandcars is doing great work to protect our children from these sorts of dangers.  Their website - kidsandcars.org - is a wonderful site to get information about these dangers and what we can do to protect our children from them.   

    As one example of a way to help remember that a child is in the back seat of a vehicle, one recent article recommends that a parent put a stuffed animal in the front seat as a visual reminder that their child is in the back seat.   There are many, many more things we can do to avoid the needless deaths and injuries from hot cars and other dangers associated with vehicles.  

     Please take a moment to visit these websites and read these articles to learn how to prevent your children from becoming victims of these dangerous conditions in cars.  

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          When we think of safety in the home, we normally think of things like the purity of our water, lead in paint, and other well-known safety hazards.

          But there are other hazards as well that are perhaps less well known but nonetheless important. Men's Health magazine has compiled a list of 6 safety hazards in the home. Here's the list:

• Poisoned Produce - produce can be become tainted by things like Salmonella that can be found in raw poultry.  For example, raw chicken defrosting in the fridge can pose a risk of Salmonella dripping onto produce.   What to do?  be sure to wrap poultry in plastic wrap and keep it away from other items in the fridge.

• Legionnaires Disease - the bacteria that can cause this disease can be found in water pipes.  What to do?  -  every 3 months, turn up the water heater to above 140 degrees, and run all faucets for 10 minutes.

• Mercury in Light Bulbs - when compact fluorescent light bulbs break, they can release mercury gas, which is a neurotoxin.  What to do?  Hold the bulbs by the base rather than the bulb when inserting or removing them, and put the spent bulbs in the original box or double plastic bags after removal.

• Sponges - who would have thought the humble sponge was a potential source of problems, but it turns out, according to the article, that a used sponge can harbor up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch.  What to do?  First, DON'T put them in the microwave, as suggested by The  Journal of Environmental Health recently, since there have been reports of dry sponges catching fire. A better idea is to simply put them in the dishwasher or to boil them once per week.

• Furniture - the worry here is particleboard furniture, such as some bookshelves, because the particleboard may be glued together using formaldehyde, which is an irritant for the eyes and skin of some people. What to do? The article recommends applying a coat of varnish to the particleboard furniture to trap the vapors.

• Radon - this is the gas that comes from decaying uranium in the soil, and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. What to do?  Your home should be tested for Radon at least every 2 years.  If found to be at levels that are a concern, a ventilation pipe can be installed to fix the problem.

         As you can see, most if not all of these potential hazards have fixes that are relatively easy and inexpensive.  I was certainly not aware of some of these hazards, and I hope readers will find this information helpful. 

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    If you travel much, then you have probably rented a car.  Usually, when you rent a car, you assume that the car has been properly maintained and that if the car has been recalled for a safety problem, the rental company has had the safety problem fixed.  It turns out, according to the Center for Justice and Democracy, that we can't assume car rental companies are heeding safety recalls.

      In their blog at thepoptort.com, the Center reports on the case of two sisters who died after the Chrysler PT Cruiser they rented from Enterprise burst into flames.  The vehicle had been subject to a recall for a leak of power steering fluid that could cause fires. 

      A reporter for the New York Times, Christopher Jensen, has reported on these rental car dangers, and one of his recent articles can be found here.  

      Now for the soapbox:  those who advocate for laws making it tougher to take companies to court fall silent about these kinds of cases, which expose the ugly truth that profit matters more than people to many of our nation's largest companies.  And reporters, other than a few like Jensen, seem to sit idly by while our courts are relentlessly attacked by corporations and their allied interest groups.  When will they wake up to this assault on civil justice?  

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           Spring is in the air and summer’s almost here, and with warm weather comes lawn maintenance.  We read a lot about sun, swimming and bicycle safety, but lawn safety seems all too often to be overlooked.   Cutting the grass is more of a chore than summertime fun, and sometimes, in an effort to get the yard work done quickly, we forego safety.    

          According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, each year approximately 68,000 people are treated in emergency rooms with injuries caused by power mowers (this doesn’t even include injuries from other lawn equipment), with more than 9,000 of those being younger than 18 years old.  Injuries include deep cuts, loss of fingers and toes, broken and dislocated bones, burns, eye and other injuries, some very serious.  In my practice, I have seen firsthand how badly a person can be injured by a lawnmower.  It wasn’t my client’s fault that he was injured, but it confirms the need for people to be vigilant about safety when it comes to handling power equipment, even if you’re an expert. 

                I have found a website that gives an exhaustive list of safety tips for lawn maintenance.  I encourage anyone reading this article to visit the website http://juniorbiz.com/lawn-mowing-safety-tips

                Above all, remember this:

·         Make sure someone knows when you are working with power tools in the yard.  If you are injured you want someone to be able to call for help.

·         No Child younger than 16 should use a ride-on mower. 

·         No Child younger than 12 should use a push mower.

·         Make sure you know where children are at all times.  They should be a safe distance from the area you are mowing and safely away from any flying debris, such as rocks.

·         Wear safety goggles and sturdy shoes, not sandals. 

·         READ THE MANUALS AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL OF YOUR POWER EQUIPMENT. 

                Be smart about keeping your yard looking nice this summer.  Think of all that can go wrong and take steps to prevent it from happening. 

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Deaths and Injuries Involving Distracted Driving

In a recent entry I led you to a website that showed you the tragic stories of children who had lost their lives as a result of distracted driving.  Today I thought I’d share with you some of the nationwide statistics on auto accidents that occur as a result of distracted driving.** 

•   20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. (NHTSA).
•   Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's         reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.   (Source: University of Utah)
•   In 2009, there were 30,797 fatal crashes in the United States, which involved 45,230  drivers. In those crashes 33,808 people died.

        * *Unless specifically noted, distracted driving includes anything that may distract a driver while driving, such as but not limited to using a cell phone, eating, drinking, talking with passengers, grooming, reading, changing the radio station, using a navigation system or watching t.v.

       Georgia's Laws

        So what are the cell phone and texting laws in Georgia?  Currently, there is not an all out ban on handheld cell phone use while driving; however, there are some restrictions.

• Bus Drivers and Drivers under 18 – Completely banned from using cell phones while driving.  In fact, you can be pulled over and cited for using a cell phone without any other traffic offense if you fall into this category
• All Drivers – Completely banned from texting while driving.*  Again, drivers may be pulled over and cited for texting while driving even without any other traffic offense having taken place. *

There are some exceptions to these restrictions, which may be found by going to www.gahighwaysafety.org/textingsafety  and reading the law prohibiting texting while driving.  

*This information was obtained from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) at www.ghsa.or/html/stateinfo/bystate/ga.html  

 Accident related statistics in Georgia may be found at www.gahighwaysafety.org/statistics/overall.html

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         Most of us have heard the dangers of driving while texting or talking on a cell phone, but we do it anyway.   That is, until we personally know someone who has been injured or killed by a distracted driver. 

      There are lots of statistics showing the number of people killed or injured by distracted drivers, but sometimes seeing a bunch of numbers can fall flat and the numbers can lose their meaning.  To have a real impact, people need to see real life situations of sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers or fathers killed or injured by a distracted driver. 

     The website www.distraction.gov lets you see the faces of people whose lives have been permanently altered because of distracted drivers.  I urge everyone to go to this website, click the faces tab, and listen to each story.  Each situation is similar in that someone was killed as a result of a distracted driver, but each one is also very different.  You will not be able to watch these without believing that no one should be driving while texting or talking on the phone. 

     As a lawyer who represents people injured in auto and trucking accidents in Georgia, I’ve seen firsthand how  families can be devastated by a terrible irresponsible decision by a reckless driver, or by companies allowing truck drivers to drive without regard for the rules of the road.  Having seen such tragedy and being the father of two young boys, I want to do whatever I can to try to make our roads safer for my family and for others.  Please take a moment to visit this site.    

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If you are like me, you bought smoke detectors for your home trusting that they would protect you and your family if a fire broke out.  It turns out there is some reason to worry that some types of smoke detectors are better than others at detecting fires in a home.

There are 2 basic types of smoke detectors - ionization and photoelectric.  And 9 out of 10 homes have the ionization type of detector rather than the photoelectric type.  MSNBC's consumer reporter Herb Weisbaum reports today in an article entitled What You Need to Know About Smoke Alarms that this is because they are cheaper and fire departments have given away the ionization type of detectors for years.  But they may not be the best choice.  

Weisbaum reports that several states and municipalities are now favoring the photoelectric type of detectors because they are better at detecting smoldering - rather than flaming - fires.  

Perhaps the most important suggestion in this article is for people to consider buying dual-sensor models which combine both ionization and photoelectric capabilities.  This is recommended by Consumer Reports as well. I am planning to switch all our smoke alarms to these dual-sensor models. 

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I have often wondered why more vehicles did not have that annoying "dinging" sound to remind the passengers and driver that someone in the rear seat had not bucked their seatbelts.   It seemed to me that you would especially want this kind of warning system for the back seats since that is where parents usually seat their kids.  It's hard not to put on your seatbelt when this sound is being repeated.  

Now Consumers Union is seeking to have the NHTSA require auto manufacturers to have such seat belt warning systems in place.  You can read the CU blog entry here.  The NHTSA research on such warning systems is found here.   

Hopefully this new rule will be adopted by the NHTSA.  

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 As lawyers for people who have been injured through the negligence of others, we  hear very often  from people who got infections during a stay at a hospital.  These infections can be very dangerous, especially for the very young, the very old, and  people with immunity problems.  

Find Out About Your Hospital's Infection Control 

Consumer Reports has reported on new rules to make it easier for patients to identify which hospitals are better at preventing infections.  Their article is at their health and safety blog. Consumer Reports had earlier reported on an investigation that revealed that nearly all these infections are preventable, including central IV line infections, which account for about 30% of the 99,000 annual deaths from hospital-acquired infections.  Under the new rules, hospitals will have to report their infection rates.  Here's a link to the site, Hospital Compare, that has the reports on infections.   The report shows one hospital in Georgia that reported no central line infections. It would be great if all the hospitals in Macon and Middle Georgia could achieve this same result. 

Patients Need to Know 

Most of these infections, if not all of them, can be prevented with the use of a simple checklist, called the Pronovost checklist, found here.  This checklist focuses on simple measures, like hand-washing and use of disinfectants, to prevent infections.  I would urge everyone to make sure that their caregivers are following these simple steps so they can protect themselves and their loved ones from these infections in hospitals.   Please watch the video above for information on preventing infections.  

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I have not been posting new entries for several months.   The summer months flew by, but I had a great time with my family, and even got to enjoy an oil-free trip to the Gulf Coast.  

I plan to keep the blog more current from now on.  The blog is devoted to safety issues and trial advocacy.  These two topics are tied together because I see what I do as a trial lawyer as furthering the goal of making all of us a little more safe.  Our court system should be used to hold wrongdoers responsible and to make everyone act in a more responsible and safe way.

Safety was definitely on my mind last week as I purchased a new vehicle.  My overriding concern was to buy a vehicle that would protect my family if we were in a severe collision.  Since we live near I-75, a major highway,  with plenty of large truck traffic, I wanted a vehicle that would protect us if we were in a wreck at highway speeds. 

Unfortunately, this weekend I read of another serious wreck involving a large truck on I-75 in Dooly County.  You can read about the wreck in the article by Linda Morris in the Macon Telegraph.   Please use this link to read about safety ratings of vehicles by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  You can read excellent articles about truck safety, and other topics on safety at the website for the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. 

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Medical Malpractice Payments Fall       Many special interests want to close the courthouse doors to Georgia citizens who suffer terrible injuries or death because of the negligence of healthcare personnel.  The special interests complain about "frivolous lawsuits" and the alleged "crisis" of medical malpractice lawsuits.  When you peek behind the surface, however, the truth is that we are suffering from a problem with people being killed or injured by medical errors rather than a problem with lawsuits.  For example, as this article by Chelsey Ledue shows, the number of payments related to malpractice claims fell in 2009, and the amount paid is at its lowest level since 1992.

The Real Problem:  Failure to Protect Patients    In 1999, the Institute of Medicine found that 44,000-98,000 people die every year due to preventable medical errors!  In 2004, the problem was worse, and according to the report by Health Grades, medical errors would be ranked as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.   And in 2009, it is estimated by the Hearst Newspapers that approximately 200,000 people would die due to medical errors and hospital infections!  These are frightening statistics that don't  get the attention they deserve.  

    Please take a moment to review the report by Public Citizen that shows the real problem is too many Americans die needlessly from medical errors.  Thus, we should focus on keeping patients safe and holding hospitals and medical personnel accountable when they needlessly harm patients.  The right to trial by jury is essential to hold wrongdoers accountable.  We should not allow special interests groups to take away this right.   

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What is Causing the "Sudden Acceleration" problem?

     The initial reports about the Toyota sudden acceleration problem focused on gas pedals and floor mats.  Now, in response to concerns that these "fixes" do not fix the problem, Congress is continuing to investigate.  According to an article by Joseph B. White and Kate Linebaugh in the Wall Street Journal, Toyota officials are continuing to investigate the cause of the problem.  So the short answer is that no one really seems to know the precise cause of the problem.  Even Toyota officials say they are continuing to investigate the problem.

What To Do If Your Vehicle Suddenly Accelerates

    So while the cause of this problem is being investigated, what should you do if you find yourself in a situation where your vehicle suddenly accelerates?  Generally, the advice is to put the car in neutral, put on the brakes, and turn off the engine.  A more detailed explanation can be found at the Consumer Reports blog on how to protect yourself in this situation.  A video of how to react can be found on YouTube as well.   Please take a moment to review these and practice reacting to a sudden acceleration in your vehicle. 

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