The National Safety Council (NSC) annually celebrates the National Safety Month every month of June. The National Safety Month is an opportunity for various organizations and groups to get involved and participate in NSC’s endeavors of pursuing safety in all aspects of people’s daily lives. The NSC’s main focus is on educating and influencing behaviors that surround the causes of preventable injuries and deaths.

This month’s celebration is focused on four weekly themes that bring attention to crucial safety issues. The weekly themes are:

·         Week 1: Employee wellness

·         Week 2: Ergonomics

·         Week 3: Preventing slips, trips, and falls

·         Week 4: Driving safety

Today is Week 3 (June 17-23), and the focus is now shifted on slips, trips and falls prevention.

Preventing slips, trips, and falls

Falls are considered the leading type of unintentional injury in the United States. Every year, slip, trip, and fall injuries account for more than 8.7 million emergency room visits. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every three adults aged 65 and older experience falls each year.

Many people perceive slips, trips, and falls as a result of clumsiness or inattention; however, it is important that they should be made to realize that such accidents also involve certain risk factors. These risk factors include:

·         The environment, particularly physical hazards

·         Issues related to age

·         Health conditions

Most falls, however, can be prevented. Eliminating fall hazards inside or outside the workplace or at home would help in curbing the possibility of injuries. One way is to keep the floors and stairs clean and free from impediments such as scattered objects. Another is wearing proper footwear to help keep the feet firm on the ground while walking.

An expert Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer always remind people to be aware of the dangers of slipping and falling, not only this National Safety Month, but all year round.

The impact of car crashes often leads to devastating injuries. One of the most severe among the body damages that could be sustained from a crash is that of the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Incidentally, one of the U.S. states with high mortality and disability rates due to such crashes as well as SCI cases is that of California.

From the data presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2008, there were 3,434 casualties reported in California. It is then possible that a portion of such numbers had sustained debilitating injuries, like SCIs.

To fully define the ailment, SCI is the damage done to the nerves of the spine. Since the spinal cord is described as the “bridge” that transmits the messages of the brain, once it is ruptured or damaged, there is a possibility that the part below the injury would be paralyzed for life. SCI does not come from diseases but from traumatic accidents like car crashes.

Additionally, SCI is considered as a traitor ailment since its symptoms appear quite late when physicians can no longer alleviate the damage. With that, it is important for the victims to have an early detection of SCI to avert the possible harmful effects that it could cause when left untreated. Accordingly, to help victims regarding this, here are some of the early symptoms of SCI:

·         The victim of the crash fails to move.

·         The victim of the crash experiences changes in strength.

·         The victim of the crash experiences pain from the spine or stinging sensation.

·         The victim of the crash has breathing problems.

·         The victim of the crash does not feel changes in the temperature.

Incidentally, treatment, as well as rehabilitation for this kind of ailment, is often expensive. However, if the mishap was caused by the negligence of another person, group, or entity, then the victim should file a formal complaint to get monetary support. With the help of a competent personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, victims of car crashes in California have the chance to recover damages wards and be able to pay for the treatment that they need.

People who got involved in road crashes should not only worry about the legal problems that will soon follow; they should likewise be wary that they might have been afflicted with a dangerous and undiagnosed injury, which may worsen if it remains unattended for a time. 

One of the possible injuries that a person might sustain is that of whiplash. Most people think that the impact of the crash is relative to the injury that a person might sustain. On the contrary, this is incorrect, and has been proven by most of the accidents that involved whiplash victims.

A simple rear bump may dislocate and injure the neck area. This kind of injury is defined as the dislocation, damaging of tendons, ligaments, tissues and muscles from the neck. It is extremely painful and shall definitely prevent anyone from fulfilling his or her daily life activities.

To help those who are suspecting that they have gotten this injury through crashes, they may look out for the following symptoms:

·         Attention difficulty

·         Frequent headaches

·         Discomfort around the neck

·         Having difficulty in moving the neck

·         Extreme pain around the neck area

·         Back sores

·         Inflammation of the muscles around the neck

·         Loss of memory

·         Feeling lightheaded

Since whiplash is a form of injury due to street accidents or mishaps, there is a huge possibility that it would occur in places where there is a lot of road activity. One such place is the city of Los Angeles in California. This area is known for its beautiful sceneries that attract a lot of tourists and motorists. Since authorities could not fully control the traffic some drivers tend to commit traffic violations that would usually result to collisions.

A victim who would like to file for a lawsuit may seek the help of a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles. This person aids the client in making a formal complaint in court. A lawyer specializing in personal injury would prosecute the liable party so that their client would get the needed damages awards, which could be used to settle hospital bills and rehabilitation of the injury.

To cope with the demands of the world nowadays, people have to work nonstop. Due to this, sleep and rest were no longer seen as a necessity, but as a form of luxury.

However, this practice would always take its toll, since no one can really skip sleeping, and those who resist sleep would be haunted by it throughout the day. Fatigue can be a symptom of the lack of sleep. For drivers, the lack of sleep is potentially fatal since it could lead them to road mishaps.

The feeling of sleepiness while on the road is popularly termed as drowsy driving. Those who submit to sleepiness could fatally injure themselves, their passengers or some unknowing pedestrians. To prevent this from happening, the driver should observe these tips before hitting the road:

·         Sleep adequately – Nothing can substitute sufficient sleep. Anybody may drown himself or herself in caffeine but still feel the urge to rest afterwards. Due to this, the driver should not resist the temptation to doze off, but rather give in to it. However, this should be  at home whenever possible to guarantee undisturbed sleep.

·         Have a driving companion – Having someone within the vehicle will lessen the probability of mishaps. This is because the driver could always talk to that person and forget the thoughts of having the need to sleep.

·         Make frequent breaks – When the driver needs to go to far places, he or she would have to make a lot of breaking stops when feeling drowsy. This should be done for the driver to regain energy and focus to continue the long journey.

·         Take naps – A driver who cannot take it any longer should of course take a nap. The driver could park or pull over the vehicle or go to a nearby motel and get some sleep.

·         Drink caffeine – The driver may opt to buy caffeinated drinks to battle sleep. However, this may only work and last for a while since nothing can really replace sleeping.

Nonetheless, if the accident occurred in California, the driver may hire the services of a Los Angeles vehicle accident lawyer. This person would make sure that his or her clients were provided with proper rights. Defending a case is very delicate and it would need the assistance of brilliant lawyers specializing in personal injury cases to guarantee victory.

Vehicle accidents are a common problem in places where there is a huge resident or tourist population. Car crashes is particularly prevalent in such locations because of the uncontrollable road activities within such areas.

California is one of the many locations where this type of problem occurs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of accidents in this state had already shown a considerable decline — from 3,995 in 2007to about 3,081 in 2009.

There is an apparent direct link between the number of vehicle accidents and the population. Authorities in California are quite vocal in stating that they could not really control road activities in their area due to the number of tourists. Moreover, the main cities, including Los Angeles, had also been confirmed to have the most instances of car mishaps.

These kinds of road accidents are often categorized under personal injury. If the victim of the mishap files a court complaint, it will fall under this classification. Surely, those who are victimized by the event would be prompted to assert their rights by filing a complaint. They would need the help of a Los Angeles injury lawyer to assist them with the difficult processes that seem complicated to those who are not familiar with litigation's.

In truth, personal injury cases are not limited to vehicle accidents. They come in many forms, since the basic element for a case to be under this is that a person had acted carelessly, which resulted to the injury of a victim. Other kinds of personal injury accidents are the following:

·      Slip and fall – This is the most common type of mishap. However, proving the liability of the owner of the establishment may need the help of adept lawyers.

·      Animal attacks – This kind of accident is prevalent in populous areas. Negligent animal owners turn their pets into vicious creatures that could bite or hurt unsuspecting neighbors.

·      Product liability – This happens when a product causes damage or injury to the victim. One of these is defective tires or vehicle equipments which causes accidents.

A client who would ask a lawyer about personal injury might be surprised to know that it covers a wide array of subjects. Within the United States, personal injury has gained certain notoriety for ushering in the most complex ideas in the field of law. It is necessary then to seek the help of people who are well knowledgeable in this field just to be able to understand certain terms.

In line with this, one of the states with the most cases of personal injury could be California. According to the 2009 records of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there were about 3,081 traffic fatalities in this State. Los Angeles, meanwhile, had a total of 588 casualties in that same year. This number, if compared to other cities all over the U.S., is the highest rate of mishap for any U.S. city.

Residents of California, especially those living in Los Angeles, should be wary about the probability that they could get involved in accidents. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, they should learn the following terms for their perusal:

·         Personal injury – is the mental, physical or emotional damage that a victim of an accident sustains. This case only tackles bodily injuries and treats the damages to property as a separate case.

·         Tort Law – is often the basis for the violations that the liable party had made. Under this law, the victim of the accident can assert his or her rights that somebody did a wrongful act on him or her, which led to personal injury. Moreover, the tort law requires people to recover things that they have lost in a couple of ways.

·         Accidents that fall under the personal injury category – road accidents, if they were specific, may include car crashes, motorcycle collisions, truck accidents, and boat and plane mishaps. These days, animal attacks, medical malpractice, and defective products (product liability) are also under this category. 

·         Damages awards – the victim of the accident can recover damages awards that could be in the form of monetary payments through the help of a Los Angeles injury lawyer. Damages awards can be used by t    he victim to pay for the medical bills, medicines, or rehabilitation that they wish to have because of the mishap.