Since the law went into effect on March 1, 2008, law enforcement officers in New Jersey have issued close to 225,000 citations to motorists for breaking the law. Between 2008 and 2009, there were 3,610 accidents that involved a motorist using a hand-held cell phone. These crashes led to a total of 13 deaths. The number of deaths from cell phone-related accidents seem to be the highest in Camden County with 231 accidents in all related to motorists using cell phones while driving. Burlington County was next with 121 accidents, and Gloucester County was third with 116 accidents traced to the use of hand-held cell phones at the wheel.

So do I think the laws have failed? No. We simply need better enforcement, heavier fines, and stricter penalties for these laws to work the way they were supposed to.

In related distracted driving news, a new bill proposes that police responding to an accident note down whether the motorist was distracted at the time of the accident. Officers would be given a sheet with a number of distractions - eating, changing radio stations and other distractions - and would have to check on the appropriate one.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey injury lawyer, representing injured victims of motor vehicle accidents and car crashes in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic, and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

As a New Jersey injury lawyer, I have been blogging about the declining accident fatality rates across the country, including in our state. This year's numbers, while not low enough by any standards, are still extremely encouraging to those of us who would like to see fewer people killed and fewer lives shattered in preventable traffic accidents. According to the Department of Translation, fewer incidences of alcohol-related car accidents, greater use of seatbelts and safer cars have contributed to these decreasing fatalities.

·         The biggest challenges come from more and more numbers of technological distractions making their way into our vehicles. These include not just cell phones and texting devices, but also dashboard computers that are beginning to appear in cars.

·         Fatalities could also be reduced if we could focus a little harder on motorcycle safety. This is one category of highway users that continues to be at a high risk for death. We still continue to have far too many deaths in motorcycle crashes, even when the motorcyclist is wearing helmets.

·         The challenges to raising a new generation of informed drivers are greater today than they were a decade ago. Teen motorists have far too many distractions to enable them to drive safely. Law enforcement agencies in New Jersey must focus harder on enforcing traffic safety rules, educating teen motorists by taking the message to high schools around the state.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey accident lawyer, representing injured victims of automobile accidents in Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic, and Bergen Counties and across New Jersey.

Travelers have become used to these billboards that flash advertising messages, news headlines, and sports scores. But exactly how distracting are these billboards? 

It seems to me that anything that can take a motorist’s attention away from the road on a busy highway for enough time to cause an accident, must be considered a serious risk. Some of these billboards change messages every 6 to 8 seconds. These are highly distracting messages that have the potential to cause motorists to take their eyes off the road for several seconds at a time. Motorists who are distracted by billboards are already talking on their cell phones or texting while driving. In short, these motorists can't handle any more distractions.

Efforts to ban these billboards are on, but the industry has been stubborn about its opposition to any such ban. In several states, nonprofit groups are trying to block the installation of more such billboards.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

However, concerns are beginning to mount about the danger to patients who could be at a higher risk of infections because of the hospital’s desire to save a few dollars or cut down trash. According to Michael Bennett who is the president of the Coalition for Patients Rights, it is unconscionable for a hospital to subject a patient to the risks of infections, just to save on costs.

As a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, I'm definitely very concerned about this potentially dangerous trend. American hospitals already struggle with a high infection rate, and we need more firm steps taken to keep these rates in check and minimize the threat of infections. While there is a need for reducing our carbon footprint and minimizing consumption in the healthcare industry, this could be done in other areas. Patient safety must not be compromised just to green hospitals.

The accident occurred last September at Cooper's new home. The anchor had recently purchased a house that earlier used to be a firehouse. On the day of the accident, the interior decorator Killian O’Brien was at the home when she fell through a gaping hole that earlier held the fire pole. Apparently, someone had removed the covers of the hole before O'Brien arrived on the premises. It was a 17-foot fall for O’Brien, and she was injured. Her lawyer claims the fall could have killed her. O'Brien has filed a lawsuit against Cooper.  

A slip and fall accident can leave a victim suffering from serious injuries. These include

• ·         Concussions
• ·         Contusions
• ·         Fractures
• ·         Spinal cord injuries
• ·         Head injuries
• ·         Brain injuries
• ·         Sprains
• ·         Strains

The victim may require weeks and months of hospitalization, surgeries and extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation. There may be extensive losses, including medical bills and days lost from work.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey slip and fall accident lawyer representing victims injured in slip and fall accidents in the state of New Jersey.

The researchers surveyed 800 teens between the ages of 12 and 17 between June and September this year. Seventy four additional teens, who were part of 9 focus groups in New York, Atlanta, Denver and Anna Arbor were also surveyed. While some of the results were not too surprising, the others were extremely worrisome.

Reactions to this behavior were mixed.  While in some cases, teens admitted to being nervous or scared when their parents texted while at the wheel, other teens had grown used to such parental behavior, and thought texting while driving was not a big deal. It’s the second group of teen motorists that I am concerned about. Texting while driving is extremely dangerous, and when a teen sees his or her parent addicted to text messaging while at the wheel, it only helps to develop and foster such reckless behavior in impressionable young motorists.

As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I believe that parents have as much of a responsibility as schools and law enforcement authorities to develop safe driving practices in children. It’s alarming that so many parents seem to recklessly text at the wheel, unaware or uncaring that their children are observing and learning from them. Parents must step up and contribute to efforts to tackle the texting while driving menace.

Last year, there had been 6 amusement park injuries that required hospital care, and more than 150 cases of bumps and bruises. This year, there were no serious injuries at all, and the number of minor injuries like bumps and bruises was lower at 147. According to Cynthia Wick, who is the director of the New Jersey Division of Codes and Standards, this year’s injury free summer at amusement parks was a result of several factors. These include training for employees on specific rides, and better coordination and monitoring of employee training. There have also been more detailed inspections of rides over the last few years. 

These measures have helped bring about some control over those runaway injury numbers. In 1998, there were 16 serious injuries, and the following year that number dropped to 12. Not that tragedies have been unheard of since then. In 2005, a 14-year-old girl drowned at a theme park in Ocean City. The same year, a mechanic who was inspecting a ride in Lacey Township, suffered an electric shock, and died. Since then, however there have been no fatalities in our theme parks.

As a consumer, you can do your bit to avoid injuries in a theme park.

• Avoid old and poorly maintained rides.
• Observe the operator to see if he is competent.
• Avoid carnivals and amusement fairs, and other temporary rides that look shabby or old.
• Follow ride operators’ instructions.

New Jersey, like most of the rest of the country, has seen a drop in the numbers of drunk driving accident fatalities on its streets every year. However, there still continue to be far too many drivers on the streets driving under the influence, in spite of the prospect of fines, jail time or license suspensions.

Between July 2008 and July 2009, police arrested 37,597 people for drunk driving in the state. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 151 people died in drunk driving accidents last year.

One of the measures that experts suggest to avoid driving under the influence - and one that New Jersey auto accident lawyers strongly support - is to have a designated driver, when you go out in a group. Unfortunately, that idea doesn’t always work the way it’s meant to. Designated drivers may find it hard to keep off the drinks themselves, thereby placing themselves and the passengers who trust them, at risk of an accident.  

Enter a designated driver service. These services are not unheard of in New Jersey. But as this feature report shows,  in some places in South Jersey, where finding a cab at night may be next to impossible, a designated driver service is the only thing standing between an intoxicated patron and a serious accident.  For instance, Camden County, and Cherry Hill in particular, seem to have large rates of drunk driving accidents.  Asking a drunk motorist to take a cab home doesn’t work, because it might take hours before a cab shows up outside a bar. A designated driver service, on the other hand, will drive you home in your own car for a fee.  Another car follows your car, picking up the designated driver to take him back.

As a New Jersey auto accident attorney, I support any measures that can prevent motorists from being drunk and behind the wheel. We lose too many of our citizens ever year to drunk drivers, and if we can keep at least a few of these motorists away from the wheel even for a single night, it could mean the difference between life and death for innocent motorists out there.

Earlier this week, motorists traveling on the Bay Bridge during rush hour got the shock of their lives when steel rods and a cross beam, weighing more than 2 tons in all, broke off the bridge and fell off. Luckily, no motorists were seriously injured.   For now, bridge authorities insist high winds caused the debris to fall off. The steel was part of a section of the bridge that had been repaired over the Labor Day holiday.

The 2007 I-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota that killed 13 people and left dozens of motorists with severe injuries and traumatic memories when the span collapsed during rush hour, is still fresh in my memory. That bridge had been declared structurally deficient.  The bad news is that there are approximately 80,000 bridges nationwide that fall under the “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” categories. The good news is that a “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete” categorization may not always mean that a collapse is an imminent.

In Monmouth County, we have had our share of problems with the Oceanic Bridge. Earlier this month, authorities lowered the weight limit on the bridge to 3 tons.  That means that only passenger cars can use the bridge until November 15^th while engineers review the safety of the bridge.  Monmouth County had planned to use about $1.3 million of federal stimulus funds for temporary repairs of Oceanic Bridge. However, federal officials didn’t believe that those repairs met the criteria for stimulus money, and the funds were diverted to another project.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injury and accident victims  around the state of New Jersey.  

The Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, however, believes that change will come to New Jerseyans' driving behavior, but it will take time.  

 Fischer is also a member of the Governor's Highway Safety Association, which recently called for a nationwide ban on texting while driving for all motorists.  That call was prompted by a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which found that a motorist's risk of being involved in a car accident increased by 23 times if he was texting while driving.  

It's not just the GHSA that is concerned about the effects of cell phone use on traffic safety. Later this month, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will convene a special summit dedicated to discussing the dangers of distracted driving, especially distractions from cell phone use.

The crash risks of cell phone use behind the wheel are well known, and now, one federal agency has decided to set an example for the rest of us by imposing a ban on all cell phone use behind the wheel, on its employees.

National Transportation Safety Board employees are now banned from using cell phones and other wireless devices while driving. The new chairwoman of the NTSB announced the ban under which employees are prohibited from using all kinds of cell phones, including hands-free devices, behind the wheel. The approximately 400 employees, as well as board members of the NTSB, will be prohibited from texting or talking on agency-issued phones while driving on duty, as well as during off hours. The NTSB is now the first federal agency to have such a ban in place.

As a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, I have always believed that we need stronger laws to prevent the kinds of accidents that occur because drivers are too distracted by their cell phones. While the state of New Jersey itself has a ban on handheld devices, it has been clear to personal injury lawyers and safety advocates who care passionately about auto safety, that the laws don’t go as far as they need to. We have heard from the National Safety Council that cell phone use of any kind behind the wheel is dangerous. However, no state has acted to completely ban cell phones behind the wheel. Seven states including New Jersey, ban handheld devices, while other states ban cell phones for some groups of motorists, like teen motorists or school bus drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distractions are a factor in approximately 30 percent of all traffic accidents. Cell phone use has quickly become the number one distraction that motorists face.

It doesn’t take super smarts to understand that you can’t be talking on the cell phone and concentrating on the road at the same time. No matter how expert a driver you are, carrying on a conversation even on a hands free set is enough of a distraction to cause an accident.  

Diane Schuler's toxicology reports show that she was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana when she drove her car the wrong way, and crashed into an oncoming vehicle head on.  In the car were her two-year-old daughter and three nieces. All of them and Diane were killed almost instantly. The occupants of the other vehicle were also killed in the crash.

The drama since the tragedy has had sympathy dissipating for the Schuler's family, after her husband continued to deny that Diane had any kind of drinking problem. Family members of the victim in the other car have already indicated their intention to pursue civil lawsuits. 

According to experts, the incidence of female drunk driving has risen along with female empowerment.  Studies show that while the arrest rates for men for drunk driving have dropped over the past decade, the rates of DUI arrests for women have actually increased. Women these days lead busier and more independent lives. This means that they are constantly under pressure to fit more into their days, to be the perfect wives, mothers and colleagues, and this pressure can increase the likelihood that they'll reach for a drink when they're not supposed to. Besides, women are increasingly mobile, and may be more likely to be involved in car pooling, driving with kids in their cars etc.

As a Passaic County personal injury lawyer, I have followed the developments in the Schuler case with sadness. I also find it disturbing that we seem to target female motorists lesser than men, especially when it comes to DUI enforcement. However, there is some reassuring news on the horizon. The Transportation Department this year is likely to focus its drunk driving efforts on female motorists.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced plans to hold a summit of experts in September to discuss distracted driving and the risk of accidents. The summit will include transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement agencies as well as lawmakers, and will discuss the effects of distracted drivers on traffic safety, as well as measures to deal with the problem. Not surprisingly, cell phone use and text messaging while driving are expected to be the focus of the summit.

The summit plans come soon after several reports linking automobile accidents to cell phone use hit the news. Like I discussed earlier, the New York Times had revealed last month  that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for at least 5 years, had access to data that would have placed pressure on states to pass stronger cell phone safety laws, but failed to make these public.  Soon after, that came a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which showed that text messaging while driving increased the risk of an accident by up to 23 times. Whether you believe those numbers are not, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that sending text messages when you drive is foolish driving behavior.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the summit is expected to focus on ways to enforce stricter laws banning cell phones behind the wheel. New Jersey does have a ban on handheld devices behind the wheel, but we have seen mixed results with the ban. While cell phone use by New Jersey motorists dropped in the first few months after the ban was imposed, those numbers have picked up since then. That's a troubling fact, and the time is right for New Jersey's legislators to look into why the ban is not working as effectively as it was meant to.

Meanwhile, Bergen County car accident lawyers will be watching the September summit very closely to see if it comes up with any proposals that could add more bite to our cell phone safety laws.

The five counties with the highest seatbelt usage rates this year are Mercer County with a rate of 94.53 percent, followed by Bergen County with 94.45 percent, Hudson County with93.87 percent, Middlesex County with 93.14 percent and Morris County 93.13 percent.  

Passaic County has increased its seatbelt usage by 4.4 percent to touch 92.66 percent this year.

Ocean County seatbelt usage rates are up by 3.9 percent this year to touch 90.05 percent.

The largest improvement has been made in Hudson County which was up by 5.9 percent to touch 93.87 percent in 2009.

Those numbers are very encouraging, and as a Passaic and Bergen County personal injury lawyer, it's gratifying to see so many motorists in these countries responsible enough to buckle up while driving. However, our state's seatbelt laws don’t make it mandatory for backseat passengers to buckle up. The New Jersey Institute of Technology survey shows that seat belt usage by backseat passengers is very low. Just about 32 percent of adults in back seats bother to buckle up.

Over the past 9 years, 259 backseat passengers who failed to wear seatbelts have died in accidents. According to Pam Fischer, the director of New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, at least 200 of these people would have survived if they were wearing seatbelts. Fischer is urging legislators to support Senate Bill S-18, which would make it mandatory for backseat passengers to buckle up.

At a news conference to bring attention to the bill, Dr Bruce Bonanno who is a doctor at the Bayshore Hospital in Holmdel, spoke about the high number of backseat accident-fatalities he sees. According to Dr Bonanno, there has been a huge decrease in the number of accident-related fatalities over the past couple of decades,  but more lives could be saved if we promote back seat belt usage through the “Click it or Ticket Campaign” that has done so much to raise seat belt usage rates in New Jersey.

A study commissioned by the Transportation Construction Coalition and released last week says that more than 50 percent of the automobile accidents that take place in the country are caused because of a defective or dangerous highway. According to the report, poor roadway design or maintenance was a factor in approximately 22,000 accident-related fatalities annually. These fatalities cost the economy $217.5 billion each year. In comparison, fatalities caused by speeding-related accidents cost $130 billion, speeding related accidents cost the economy $97 billon, and failure to wear seatbelts resulted in costs of $60 billion to the economy. Yet, accident fatality prevention efforts in our country seem to focus heavily on drunk drivers and speeders (which is absolutely necessary) and seatbelt enforcement, with little attention paid to the obstructive utility poles, the lack of barriers, the barely visible signs and other roadway defects that cause most of these accidents.

The Federal Highway Administration agrees that making highway improvements would save lives. With $16 billion from the federal stimulus funds currently tied up  in highway improvement projects around the country, we could see the impact in the form of a drop in accident-related fatalities in the years to come.

In New Jersey, work has already begun on massive highway development projects, involving an expenditure of $389 million. Projects that will be paid for by stimulus money include those in Bergen, Monmouth, Passaic, Essex, Hudson, Somerset Counties etc. As a New Jersey personal injury lawyer who frequently represents victims of accidents in these areas, I couldn't be happier about these investments in safer roads for all.

Earlier this month, I discussed the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act of 2009, a bill introduced by Senator Lautenberg and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA- S). The bill would extend current size and weight restrictions on large tractor trailer trucks to the entire National Highway System. Current limits are 53 feet  in length and 80,000 pounds in weight. These limitations however, are only enforced on interstate highways, and individual states are free to set restrictions for roads that come under their jurisdiction. If the bill is passed, these restrictions would apply to trucks across 160,000 miles of that National Highway System.

A large heavier truck is going to be even more difficult to navigate on busy highways. Motorists will be at risk from out of control tractor trailers, a jackknifed big rig or a large truck that’s tailgating. While increasing productivity may be important during a time of recession, Monmouth County truck accident lawyers feel that we need to safeguard public safety too. In any case, the costs resulting from accidents involving these large commercial trucks is far too severe to ignore.

Image Courtesy: Flickr - streetsmarts

In March, 18 municipalities across 17 counties in New Jersey, including Bergen County undertook a special two week crackdown on motorists who use their cell phones while driving, thereby increasing their risk of being involved in an automobile accident. The two week crackdown also included the participation of Atlantic, Morris, Union,  Mercer counties and others.

New Jersey passed a law last year prohibiting the use of hand held cell phones behind the wheel.  However, judging by the number of people who continue to use handheld cell phones while driving, many New Jerseyans, including those in Bergen and Monmouth County, still haven’t received that particular message. 

So, what does that mean?  That people are aware of the law, but many of them support it only in theory? There could be other reasons why the law, even though it has resulted in dramatic spikes in the numbers of people ticketed for cell phone use, has still not led to people curbing that itch to reach for the phone when it rings. Law enforcement has had a problem putting enough officers on duty to enforce the law. So, the numbers of motorists who have been able to get away with cell phone use has been higher than Governor Corzine would have liked when he signed the law.

Personal Injury Lawyers Support the Ban

Cell phone use behind the wheel has grown into enough of a driving risk for states across the country to move quickly to enact laws regulating the use of these devices. No state in the country has a complete ban on the use of all cell phones while driving, but many including California and New Jersey have laws banning the use of handheld phones, which includes texting. In New Jersey, the law itself has been controversial with safety experts divided over how effective a ban on handheld devices is. Many MonmouthCounty personal injury lawyers however believe that the ban on handheld devices is a promising first step, and while it may not show the kinds of results we want immediately, it could lead to a more comprehensive ban down the road.

The problem is serious enough for the New Jersey Turnpike authority to launch an education campaign asking motorists to remain in their cars when they pull over. Both the turnpike and parkway are New Jersey's busiest highways, and approximately 2 million vehicles use these highways every day. The awareness campaign encourages drivers to stay in their cars, and not step out. It includes warning signs that have been posted on electronic message boards along the turnpike or the parkway. Over the next few weeks, authorities plan to have fliers and signs warning motorists on rest stops and toll plazas.  

MonmouthCounty accident lawyers have come across such behavior from motorists. While some get off to inspect a blown out tire or other car problem, others may be under the influence of alcohol when they get hit by a vehicle on the busy highway. In almost all cases, the collision between a pedestrian on the highway and a vehicle is either fatal, or leaves the pedestrian with very serious injuries.

Motorists may either not be aware of how dangerous getting out of your vehicle on a busy highway is, or may be under the influence of alcohol, and simply don’t' care. In some cases, the accident is the result of pure bad luck, while in others, drivers don’t realize the consequences of their actions until it’s too late. Like Barry Gilman, an East Brunswick resident who pulled his car over on the turnpike. The car it appears, was accidentally put in reverse, and drifted off onto the highway. In a panic, Gilman tried to follow his car to stop it. He never made it. He was hit by a tractor trailer, and died.

There are already far too many serious and fatal accidents involving these large commercial trucks on our highways. Many of these result in life altering injuries like spinal cord injuries and brain injuries  that not only rob the victim of his life as it was before the accident, but also end up heavily straining the public healthcare system, and consequently, our economy. Our existing transportation infrastructure is already bursting at the seams, and is in need of substantial renovation and repairs. With a recession in full swing, finding the money to improve existing highways is going to be hard. Allowing heavier and larger trucks into the situation would simply aggravate an already stressful truck traffic situation.

We can expect opposition from the trucking industry which  would like nothing better than to introduce larger, bulkier trucks capable of carrying bigger loads.  Bigger trucks would make more business sense to these companies, and lead to higher profits. However, it would place smaller passenger vehicles around the country at an even greater risk than the one they face now while sharing the road with a big rig. Besides, the bill would contribute to savings in highway repairs, because of the reduced wear and tear on our roads, thereby preventing other accidents as well..

Health inspectors have described the conditions at Dr. Dara's Toms River office, including blood stains on the floor of the room where the doctor conducted chemotherapy treatments. Inspectors found medication vials left open, and blood inside a bin used to store blood veils. They also found saline and gauze that had not been sterilized. Earlier, health officials had advised approximately 3,000 of Dara's patents to be tested for hepatitis B, after five cancer patients who were undergoing treatment under him, contracted the diseases. Two of his patients were confirmed to have hepatitis B in February, and three others tested positive later.  None of the five patients had any other risk factors for hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. It's up to 100 times more infectious than the HIV virus.  Infected blood is one of the most common modes of transmission.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers

You shouldn't have to worry about contracting a deadly disease when you walk into your doctor's office for treatment. Unfortunately, the threat of being held accountable for errors and negligence by medical malpractice lawyers is often the only thing that coaxes health care professionals to carry out their responsibilities with care.