Many PA Trucks and Drivers Placed Out of Service Due to Safety Initiative

A recent press release by the Pennsylvania State Police reported on the results of Operation SAFE—a statewide police task force assigned to examine seat belt use and driver fatigue in commercial truck drivers over a single day in early June. The research resulted in the removal of over 100 trucks and the suspension of over 70 drivers due to safety issues. Additionally, an overwhelming 51% of trucks failed inspection of federal motor carrier safety regulations. Many of the drivers removed from service by the state police were done so because of their driving logs, which showed an overload of hours prohibited by federal and state standards. This overload of hours leads to driver fatigue, a significant cause of accidents on PA highways.

Driver fatigue is one of the major causes of truck accidents on PA’s major highways. Fatigue often leads to distractibility, an inability to focus, and a lack of alertness that leads to serious and potentially deadly accidents with lasting injuries. If you feel that you have been wrongly injured due to a truck accident, please contact our law office for a consultation at no cost to you. Attorney Doug Stoehr would be happy to meet with you to discuss legal action pertaining to your truck accident.

Hope For Those With Severe Spinal Cord Injuries

Disabled people who suffer from severe spinal cord injuries that make them incapable of breathing on their own may see a big development in medical technology coming their way. Doctors at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have successfully tested and implemented a new implant that will allow quadriplegic patients to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. The doctors in charge of this new development liken the new implant to a pacemaker, which stimulates muscle activity in the diaphragm. This new device is also expected to reduce the risk of infection, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which was a significant problem with ventilators.

Researchers across the country are also developing treatments to rehabilitate paralyzed patients and, hopefully, help them walk again. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on collaborative research with universities and foundations across America that resulted in a paralyzed man regaining some movement and feeling in previously immobile parts of his body. By combining the use of electrical stimulation from an implant on his spinal cord and large amounts of physical therapy, the patient can now stand and move parts of his legs after only a few days of the treatment. This exciting new development will hopefully continue to aid in fully rehabilitating some forms of paralysis.

Unfortunately, significant brain and spinal cord injuries are not uncommon as a result of a motor vehicle accident, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident, or a slip-and-fall accident. Brain and spinal cord injuries are often complicated to treat and diagnose, and are unarguably frightening and difficult to deal with from the patient’s perspective. If the injury occurred due to the negligence of another, it is also difficult to find a lawyer with both knowledge and compassion about significant neurological injuries. Attorney Stoehr has experiencing handling cases involving these types of injuries and has received favorable outcomes. If you are looking for more information regarding a claim pertaining to spinal cord or brain injuries or would like to schedule a consultation, please contact our law office.