March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a brain injury that many people suffer in a variety of ways and degrees. TBI is typically caused by a sudden, unexpected and forceful blow to the head. This can happen in a slip and fall, a bicycle accident, car accident, motorcycle accident, many kinds of job-related injuries, a fist strike to the head, a weapon striking the head, injuries suffered in wartime and even injuries suffered in early childhood abuse. I have a childhood friend who suffered a very serious TBI while a group of us were ice-skating, just kids having a fun day at the ice rink.

The injury the brain suffers can be minor to quite extensive. In a TBI, the brain crashes against the skull and the brain can bleed, and become torn and bruised. The brain can also begin to swell, and with little room to do so in the skull, that can cause additional damage to the brain. On the minor end of the injury scale, the person may suffer a mild concussion and have no more than a headache. On the other end of the scale, a TBI can result in death. Much of what determines the extent of the injury is not only the cause of the injury, but the degree of the injury and the time in which the person is (or is not) treated as well. A TBI that results in a concussion, even a mild concussion, is one that should still be taken seriously and the patient should seek medical assistance.

Do you think you have suffered a TBI, or a loved one? Here are symptoms, some mild, some quite severe:

Headache, and headaches that continue over time, even becoming more severe

Nausea and vomiting

Confusion

Blurry vision and/or dilation of pupils

Moody, becoming very quiet or "not themselves", or on the other end, becoming quite agitated and angry

Ringing ears and dizziness

Loss of coordination and numbness of extremeties

Seizures

Unconsciousness

Comatose

TBIs can result in a great deal of phsysical and emotional pain and suffering. Survivors of TBI often feel "helpless" or "hopeless" as this injury can dramatically impact their lives, and some symptoms do not simply "go away". The symptoms and issues can last a lifetime, and create hardship for the survivor, as well as much heartache for friends and family.

TBIs on the minor end of the scale can be treated and resolved, however, it is always best to still consult a doctor, even if it just a "bump on the head". The patient may be simply asked to get plenty of rest and given medication for pain or headache relief. More severe TBIs, however, may be treated with hospitalization, physical therapy, medications and even psychiatric treatment to help them deal with the emotional and psychological issues they may be experiencing.

Every TBI is unique, as the same injury can result in different effects in two different people. Again, that is why it is important to stress that medical treatment should be sought immediately. It is also recommended to document every aspect of the injury, to include any objects involved, water or liquids on the floor for a slip and fall, the accident scene, etc. All of this can help to reconstruct the accident for the doctors, as well as create a documentation trail should there be issues of liability and fault.

For this reason, it can also be important to contact an attorney to cover any legal issues involved with a TBI. There may be damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, physical therapy, lost wages, lost job and more. There can be overwhelming medical bills and lifelong treatments to cover, so the sooner an attorney is contacted and involved, the better. An attorney can also make sure that a TBI patient is getting their proper and due treatments, and that their rights are being protected at every step of this process. Contact a New York Brain Injury Attorney in your area to ensure that you or your loved one has their legal rights fully protected.

Brain Injury Attorneys New York presents the following update in which a recent study proved that brain injury raises epilepsy risk for years.  If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, there are attorneys who can assist you with information about your rights and legal representation if necessary.

LONDON (Reuters) - A severe brain injury puts people at high risk of epilepsy for more than a decade after they are first hurt, a finding that suggests there may be a window to prevent the condition, researchers said on Monday.

A Danish team found that the odds of epilepsy more than doubled after mild brain injury or skull fracture and was seven times more likely in patients with serious brain injury.

The risk remained even 10 years on, more so in people older than 15, Jakob Christensen and colleagues at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and colleagues wrote in the journal Lancet.

"Traumatic brain injury is a significant risk indicator for epilepsy many years after the injury," they wrote.

"Drug treatment after brain injury with the aim of preventing post-traumatic epilepsy has been discouraging, but our data suggest a long time interval for potential, preventive treatment of high-risk patients."

The researchers analyzed data taken from a national registry on traumatic brain injury and epilepsy of 1.6 million young people born in Denmark between 1977 and 2002.

Epilepsy, a condition in which people experience seizures, is incurable. Drugs can control seizures in most patients, although they sometimes cause severe side effects.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Maggie Fox)

Brain Injury Attorneys California presents the following article regarding new treatments in brain injured soldiers.  Please refer to the phone number at the bottom of the article if you are interested in more information or you or a loved one may qualify to be part of this study.

Medical Watch: New treatments helping to cure brain injuries for soldiers

Meg Farris, www.wwltv.com

NEW ORLEANS – It’s been called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traumatic brain injury may have affected 320,000 service men and women, costing as much as $32,000 a year to treat.

Now a local doctor and injured soldier are part of a groundbreaking study that hopes to find a new treatment.

At 17 years old, Jake Mathers enlisted in the Marine Corps, the youngest in his division of 20,000. He served in Iraq twice.

"Until like the last two months that we were there, we literally got shot at and blown up and mortared every single day," Mathers said.

His role models: A father who flew U-2 Spy Planes in the cold war and a grandfather, George "Bud" Day, who was highly decorated in the Marine Corps Air Force. He served in Korea and Vietnam.

Day was a POW with Senator John McCain, earned several Purple Hearts and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Like his grandfather, Jake now too has the Purple Heart, and the same terrible post war nightmares.

"You think you’re going to die?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, those dream – I always have those dreams, you know. They probably will never go away. My grandfather still has them, and he’s in his 80s," Mathers said.

That’s why Jake has come to New Orleans from his home in Monroe. He is part of a pilot study with LSU Health Sciences Center’s Dr. Paul Harch.

As an emergency medicine expert, Harch has been studying in animals and humans for years if Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments, the kind used to heal wounds of diabetics and divers, can also heal brain damage.

"If you lose consciousness, you will lose brain cells. You lose brain tissue," Harch said.

And that’s exactly what happened to Jake in Iraq. Nearly two dozen times he was knocked unconscious. So, along with the post traumatic stress disorder known as PTSD, he has brain damage.

"You forget where you put your cell phone, like, 10 times a day. You can’t find your car keys. You can’t really do anything productive without screwing it up a couple of times," Mathers said.

A video with music recorded on it, put on YouTube, shows a suicide bomber in a truck loaded with artillery shells and barrels of gasoline that hit Mathers’ observational post. Fellow soldiers lost eyes, limbs, fingers and toes.

"The gasoline went everywhere and started burning all around my body, and so I could still feel that pain in my unconscious state and it felt like I was burning. So I thought I was going to hell and it was really bad," said Mathers, who said he thought he had died.

Jake is one of the first soldiers in the study to complete the testing, brain imaging and 40 so called "dives" in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. And he believes it’s made a difference.

"My sleep is better, I’m sleeping longer, I’m not dreaming about mean and angry things constantly," Mathers said. "My memory, I don’t even have a memory problem anymore. I don’t have headaches at all any more."
Harch said the results have been encouraging.

"Two of the three have had an over 40 percent reduction in PTSD symptoms in a 35 day period using the military’s PTSD check list, which is a huge reduction in symptoms," Harch said. "And we are also seeing improvements in memory, attention and some of the other factors."

Harch has many critics who don’t believe hyperbaric medicine can help the brain. He hopes this study will lead to bigger military studies and published scientific evidence to convince them.

At only 21, Jake hopes to convince his critics as well. "A lot of people see all the bad things that U.S. Marines do. But nobody ever sees all the schools that we build and all the medical supplies that we give," Mathers said.

"I must have given out 10,000 soccer balls alone myself, and hundreds of pounds of candy to little kids. But nobody ever shows that."

The study is open for people who have traumatic brain injury from a blast, with or without post traumatic stress. The injury has to have been within the last five years. People in the military are encouraged to call.

To see if you qualify, call 504-366-1445.

Brain Injury Attorneys New York presents the following article about how March is designated National Traumatic Brain Injury Month along with a forum open and free to the public.

(Commack, N.Y.) One of the most prevalent, severe and compelling health issues in sports today - a condition that affects athletes of virtually all ages, sizes and types - - is serious head injuries.  From suffering frequent concussions to experiencing a severe jolt to the head, this issue is becoming more worrisome and frequent in today’s world of sports.

With March being designated “National Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Month,” the Long Island-based Head Injury Association is hosting its annual “Head Injury Awareness & Prevention Sports Celebrity Forum” on Thursday, March 12, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Wind Watch (1717 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge, NY).  The event is free and open to the public.

According to Liz Giordano, CEO of the Head Injury Association, the function will feature distinguished sports figures, entertainers, newscasters and public figures.  Already committed to participate in the Forum are WCBS-TV’s Medical Reporter, Dr. Max Gomez, who will moderate the program; and internationally-renowned recording artist Deborah Gibson, who will perform two songs. 

Also expected to attend the event are former Yale University and NY Jets running back John Nitti, who lost his own father to a brain injury; one time NFL punter Sean Landeta, who won two Super Bowls with the NY Giants; retired top-rated heavyweight boxing contender Gerry Cooney; the host of her own radio show on WFAN radio, Ann Liguori; News 12 LI’s sports producer & anchor, Michael Coleman; the son of highly-popular former Mets manager, Gil Hodges, Jr.; and County Legislator John Cooper.

In addition, one of the speakers that day will be Bruno Cavallo, the star basketball player from Hampton Bays High School, who has suffered two sports-related concussions in the past seven months.

Ten athletic endeavors will be directly represented at the Forum: six team sports (baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer) and four individual sports (boxing, pro wrestling, gymnastics and figure skating).  The spokespersons from these activities will represent constituencies ranging from adolescents, junior and senior high school athletes and private youth league competitors to recreational, college and professional performers. 

“In the U.S. today,” stated Giordano, “there are more than five million people who suffer from a traumatic brain injury, which is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain.  In 2008, a traumatic brain injury occurred every 16 seconds in this country, with death happening every 12 minutes.  And sports, unfortunately, play a big part in these statistics.”

Giordano also pointed out that among children, from 0 to 14 years of age, there annually are 2,685 deaths, 37,000 hospitalizations and 435,000 emergency room visits due to traumatic head injuries.

To register for the Forum of for further information about TBI’s and the services available to individuals affected by them, call the HIA (631-543-2245) or visit www.headinjuryassoc.org. 

Media requiring further details about this function should contact Ira H. Silverman, Silverman Media & Marketing Group in Woodbury, NY, at 516-495-5280

Brain Injury Attorneys in California presents the following article for a reference tool for seeking a brain injury attorney.  This tells the story of one woman’s struggle with a TBI and dealing with the multitude of issues.  If you have a TBI case, contact a brain injury attorney in your area for more information. 

This article serves as a reference tool for anyone in search of a medical malpractice attorney or an attorney who specializes in traumatic brain injury cases. By way of background, my wife, Cynthia Paddock Doroghazi, has written a book, Searching for the Open Door: A Woman’s Struggle for Survival after a Traumatic Brain Injury.

Her book chronicles how medical malpractice caused her traumatic brain injury and how medical rehabilitation ultimately leads to her financial rehabilitation and spiritual rehabilitation. Her physical recovery from her traumatic brain injury through intense physical rehabilitation enabled her return to her graduate studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In thinking about her traumatic brain injury case for medical malpractice, it occurred to me that the concept of suing for malpractice, hiring a lawyer and going to trial is foreign to most people who suffered a traumatic brain injury or those who care for a traumatic brain injury patient.

Because my own law practice has absolutely nothing to do with traumatic brain injury medical malpractice or personal injury, I am able to give unbiased advice. In other words, I have no economic agenda behind offering suggestions to benefit a victim of a traumatic brain injury on how to hire an attorney to pursue those responsible for causing a traumatic brain injury or any other type of malpractice. The ability to hire a competent attorney to deal with insurance companies and/or those responsible for causing a traumatic brain injury is crucial because virtually no one will admit to fault in causing a traumatic brain injury and, insurance companies simply are not in the business of paying claims to traumatic brain injury patients or those who care for the patient who suffered the traumatic brain injury.

There are a number of specialty organizations, such as the American Association for Justice (AAJ), which offer online directories of their membership. Most attorneys with significant personal or traumatic brain injury practices are members of AAJ. However, bear in mind that most legal organizations are open to all attorneys and membership means only that the attorney has paid the membership fee.

The same caveat applies to use of online directories. A number of commercial online directories claim to screen their attorneys, or claim to list only highly qualified attorneys. Most are not being completely forthright on this point. Regardless of their promises, most on-line directories will list any personal injury or traumatic brain injury attorney who pays the required fee, and there is absolutely no guarantee that the listed attorneys are qualified to handle your case. Somewhat apart from this same issue are websites on the Internet, which look informational, but are in fact owned by law firms. Be very wary of any "traumatic brain injury information" site, which lists law firms or offers lawyer referrals, particularly if it does not make obvious the identity of its sponsor.

Generally speaking, television and radio advertisements are also a very bad way to find a personal injury or traumatic brain injury attorney. Many advertisements are paid for by referral agencies, which collect large numbers of calls and then divide them up between member attorneys. Even when the advertisements are paid for by a law firm, often many of the cases are simply referred out to other firms who share the enormous cost of advertising. Many times, the attorney with the big advertising campaign will not even have an office near you. Unless your traumatic brain injury case is worth a lot of money, you may well find that you are quickly referred to a different firm or that you cannot get much attention for your traumatic brain injury case.

Your best bet for finding a competent malpractice attorney to handle your traumatic brain injury case, is through something known as "referrals". Probably the best way to determine which personal injury attorney (or one who professes to specialize in traumatic brain injury cases), is the best for your case is to consult with an attorney you trust, asking him or her to give you the name of one who specializes in traumatic brain injury cases. If you do not know any attorneys, ask your friends for names of attorneys they trust, and then ask that attorney for a referral to an attorney, who specializes in traumatic brain injury cases. It is important that they give you the name of an attorney, who specializes in medical malpractice and/or traumatic brain injury cases. Many of the best personal injury attorneys (or those who specialize in traumatic brain injury cases), do little or no advertising. They are referred by other attorneys, due to their reputation for doing good work and getting excellent results for the client with the traumatic brain injury and/or care givers of the one who suffered the traumatic brain injury. You should also keep in mind that when it comes to retaining a malpractice attorney (or one specializing in traumatic brain injury), bigger does not mean better. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times during my twenty-three years of developing cases for trial, attorneys from large firms have attempted to negotiate a settlement, saying that the case would ultimately be turned over to trial counsel in their firm if the case cannot be resolved without trial.

In most cases, that trial counsel was just another attorney in a big firm representing the client. The actual attorney assigned the case had, at best, an incomplete comprehension of the very specialized practice area and could not provide the best representation for his/her client.

When you are seeking a personal injury attorney for your traumatic brain injury case, recognize that most personal injury attorneys do not practice medical malpractice law, let alone specialize in traumatic brain injury cases. Just as you would seek a specialized doctor to provide a special type of medical care, the practice of medical malpractice law (with specialization in traumatic brain injury), is very specialized and in retaining an attorney, it is almost always best to look for an attorney or law firm, which has significant experience in handling cases involving traumatic brain injury.

Furthermore, within the area of medical malpractice, certain law firms specialize in particular types of injuries or causes of action. There are personal injury law firms, which focus primarily on burn injury or traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. There are personal injury firms, which concentrate primarily on car accidents, construction accidents, or litigation over defective products. You will benefit from asking whether a lawyer you consult has experience with your type of traumatic brain injury case before you make your hiring decision, and do not hesitate to ask that lawyer for a list of previous case summaries that have the same or similar factual traumatic brain injury patterns as your traumatic brain injury case. Always keep in mind, however, that the attorney/client privilege generally precludes an attorney from furnishing references by name, but not by reference to similar or common facts to your specific traumatic brain injury case.

Personal injury attorneys (and those who handle traumatic brain injury matters), almost always accept cases on a contingent fee basis. From your point of view, this means that if they win your traumatic brain injury case, they receive a percentage of the award as their fee. Conversely, if they lose your traumatic brain injury case, they do not receive an attorney fee.

You do need to keep in mind that attorney fees are different from costs, and you may be responsible for certain costs associated with your traumatic brain injury case, such as the filing fee for your lawsuit, even if you lose your traumatic brain injury case. While this is rarely an issue, as most civil litigation settles short of trial, you should clarify the issue of costs with your attorney before signing any retainer agreement related to your traumatic brain injury case.

For a more thorough discussion on how to hire a malpractice attorney and what questions you should be asking perspective attorneys related to your traumatic brain injury case, click on:

HYPERLINK "http://www.newriverpublications.com/malpractice_attorney.html" http://www.newriverpublications.com/malpractice_attorney.html

To learn more about Cynthia Paddock Doroghazi (and her traumatic brain injury), or read blurbs from notable authors like Jim Stovall and Francis Fukuyama, or a sample chapter from Searching for the Open Door: A Woman’s Struggle for Survival After a Traumatic Brain Injury, go to:

HYPERLINK http://www.newriverpublications.com/Searching_for_the_Open_Door http://www.newriverpublications.com/Searching_for_the_Open_Door

Brain Injury Attorneys New York presents this article regarding the facts to know about Brain Injuries.

Facts To Know About Brain Injury

The brain is a vital part of the body because through it, information for the body is received, distributed and organized. In addition, the brain is also responsible for a person’s mental processes and physical actions.

When a person obtains a brain injury, his/her life may suddenly change. Due to the problems that are brought by this kind of injury, persons who are suffering from it are entitled by law to file a claim against the person at fault. Compensation that will be received, if the fault of another party is proven, will be used for that person’s recovery.

Types of Brain Injuries:

There are two types of brain injuries that can be obtained by a person. The two types of brain injuries are:

1.Traumatic Brain Injury- A traumatic brain injury is obtained when an outside force hits the head. The brain is traumatically injured when that certain amount of force is hard enough for the person’s brain to go within the skull or causes the skull to be broken which will hurt the brain directly. A person who has a traumatic brain injury may show the following symptoms:

confusion

vomiting

loss of bladder or bowel control

indistinct speech

Traumatic brain injuries have different types. These types depend on the amount and type of force that hits a person’s head. Some of the types of traumatic brain injuries are:

Diffuse Anoxal Injury- this injury can be a result of string rotation or shaking of the head

Concussion- this injury can be a result of a direct blow to a person’s head, aggressive shaking of the head, and gunshot wounds

Penetration Injury- a person obtains this injury due to the blow of a knife, bullet, or other kind of sharp object that forces skin, hair, bone, and other elements into the brain from the object

2.Acquired Brain Injury- Acquired brain injury is an injury which is not congenital, degenerative, hereditary, or stimulated by a birth trauma. It is an injury which occurs and is acquired after the birth of a person. The following symptoms may be seen from a person who has an acquired brain injury:

disorders in muscle movement

cognitive impairment

Meanwhile, here are two types of acquired brain injury:

Anoxic brain injury- anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is unable to be get oxygen which is needed are needed by the brain cells in order to function and survive

Hypoxic brain injury- this occurs when the brain gets insufficient oxygen

Los Angeles Brain Injury Claims:

Obtaining a brain injury will bring a lot of problems to the victim as well as to the victim’s loved ones. Claims may be filed by the victim in order to receive compensation for the following:

lost wages

punitive damages

medical and hospital bills

medical monitoring

By: Jan Camille Canivel

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Brain Injury Attorneys New York presents this article regarding your rights in a structure settlement agreement. 

New York Structured Settlement Protection Statutes

Major Provisions Of New York Structured Settlement Protection Statutes

The major provisions of the New York structured settlement protection statutes were adopted so as to make selling structured settlement payments in New York fairer to the seller. The state accepts the practice of selling payments as a viable financial management and cash-access tool, but it recognized the need to protect sellers so that it remained a tool of use for the buyer and not one for dishonest buyers to use to only their advantage. With the law behind them, sellers can now be assured that their interests have been accounted for in the transaction.

Major Provisions in New Your Structured Settlement Law

There are two major provisions of interest to sellers of structured settlements in New York. They are:

Disclosure
Approval

Buyer Disclosure In New York Structured Settlement Sales And Transfers:

One of the most important things the New York structured settlement transfer protection law does is require buyers to be open with the terms of the sale through full disclosure. The law requires that a written statement be provided to the seller before the seller can be obligated via contract to the sale. The disclosure must come at least ten days before the seller signs the contract for the sale and transfer of payments. It must include

The amount of payments being paid to buyer
The dates and number of payments to be made to buyer
The present value (discounted value) of payments to buyer
The gross and net amount of the payment to the seller (before and after fees, etc, are paid)
The discount rate used in determining purchase values
Any penalty amount that could be charged to the seller if they breach contract
Comparable values of annuity purchases from the obligor (annuity fund) or an equivalent
The right to cancel the contract within three days of signing

Court Approval In NY Structured Settlement Sales And Transfers:

The court will look to see that all of the above disclosures were made as required and that the purchases are in the best interest of the seller. It will also require an application and package of supporting documents from the seller. When all of this is received the court will rule on approval. Once approval is granted the transfer can move forward and payment can be made to the seller.

Court approval is not a vote of no confidence in the process or act of selling structured settlement payments; it is nothing more than a security blanket for the seller. This is a law designed to keep selling and transferring NY structured settlement payments on a level ground, and to retain the integrity of the practice for the benefit of structured settlement payment holders.

By: Jason Rigler-23196

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Brain Injury Attorneys New York presents the following article regarding choosing the right attorney for your brain injury case.   

Choosing Lawyers For Brain Injury Compensation

It is unlikely that you have ever considered what situations you might have to face if your child, brother, sister or a parent were to suffer a catastrophic accident that left them with a severe brain injury, unless you presently find yourself in such an unfortunate situation.

When a brain injury occurs, any combination of effects is possible.

In more extreme cases, a family member who has had a trauma resulting in a brain injury may be unable to feed, clothe or wash themselves unaided; speech and cognitive thought may be impaired. It is also possible that co-ordination and movement could be adversely affected by a brain injury. For example, in some milder cases a family member who has had a trauma resulting in a brain injury may lose the ability to remember what was said or done a few moments previously, or may be unable remember much of their previous life, but may function quite normally in all other respects.

Precisely which effects are experienced will depend on which areas of the brain have suffered injury and damage. Unlike many other body tissues, our nervous system is not able to heal or repair itself very effectively, even with time. Very small improvements and recovery of partial function can be gained as a result of ongoing specialist therapy and treatment for brain injury. However, in the vast majority of cases, a significant degree of recovery from the damage caused by a serious brain injury is unlikely.

However severe a brain injury may be, the time will come when the patient can be brought home, and day-to-day responsibility for care will pass to the family and specialist nursing staff. This means that practical plans must be made to address the realities that face a family member who has had a trauma resulting in a brain injury in the months and years ahead.

A compensation award will fund the ongoing care of a family member who has had a trauma resulting in a brain injury, enabling families to achieve the best possible quality of life in the years ahead for all concerned. This is where specialist advice from a legal firm with considerable experience in handling, managing and executing brain injury claims is essential.

The issues are many and complex and only one compensation award will be made. If the figures or claim procedures used to pursue a compensation case are inadequate to provide lifelong care, there is no opportunity to go back to the courts to ask for further funds at a later date, even if the initial compensation award for brain injury proves to be insufficient. Settlements may take between three and five years to achieve, and in the interim, the brain injured patient will still need specialist equipment, adaptations to homes, therapy and specialist nursing care. A legal firm that specialises in serious brain injury cases will be able to help you, as contrary to widely held beliefs, they will do far more than merely fight your case for you in the courts. A good firm will be able to assist you in finding expert staff as well as helping you to manage the day to day living requirements of a patient with a brain injury.

If you are reading this article because you are experiencing the trauma of a loved one having suffered a brain injury and are seeking further information, visit the website of any prospective serious law firm to check that they specialise in serious injury compensation cases, and have successful track record in dealing with brain injury cases. Brain injury does not have to be a life sentence for the whole family.

By: nglover-28669

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Brain Injury Attorneys New York understands all too well the number of brain injuries that result from car accidents.  Some experts say that "Driving While Distracted" is a far more serious problem than we truly understand.  California now bans cell phone usage, including text messaging.   

According to a study by the Network of Employers For Traffic Safety, distracted driving is a factor in 25% to 30% of all car accidents, or 4,000 car crashes every day. As hard as it is to believe, drivers make an average of 200 decisions for every mile traveled, making it all the more critical that your attention is on the road, not on that important meeting you are heading to or a cell phone call you need to make in the car. The same study found that distracted drivers fail to recognize potential safety hazards on the road and react more slowly to traffic conditions, decreasing their margin of safety.

To know if you are driving distracted, take the following test: Have you ever slammed on your brakes because you didn’t see the car in front of you stop? Run a stop sign unintentionally? Forgot entirely that you drove from one place to another? If so, you have been "driving while distracted."

The study identified the percentages of distracting activities that drivers engage in: 96% talk to their passengers; 89% adjust vehicle climate and radio controls; 74% eat a meal or snack; 51% use a cell phone; 41% tend to children; 34% read a map; and 19% groom themselves for work.

It is certainly a given that you will be speaking with your children in the car, but I have seen people shaving, putting on makeup, reading a map, making a cell phone call with no hands on the wheel, adjusting their radio, and turning around to speak with their passengers on many occasions, and have had to avert numerous wayward drivers due to these activities.

The best advice is to eat that snack, make that call, comb your hair and get your directions before getting on the car, so we can all be safer on the roads!

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