Facebook is everywhere. I am on it.  My kids are on it.  Even my mother-in-law is on Facebook. Millions of people are using it every day. It is a social networking site that can be useful, addictive and an important source of information. Facebook is a tool utilized by employers, investigators, police officers, lawyers and even by insurers to do background checks.

Through Facebook lawyers have found evidence for cases of fraud, police have caught criminals, and insurance adjusters have collected information that would lower the value of insurance claims. Insurance companies are now monitoring social media sites. This may take money from accident victim’s pockets. Check out this news story from Seattle that shows how posting on Facebook can lead to lowering the value of your personal injury damage claim or delay you receiving medical treatment for your injury.

I can tell you that this guy wasn’t smart about it but in my opinion the insurance company over reacted. Kurt Norland posted pictures of himself drinking a beer and hanging out at the beach while he was collecting worker’s compensation benefits. Based on the pictures his benefits were cut off and a shoulder surgery postponed. This was done by the insurance company even though an MRI showed a rotator cuff tear. Did Norland deserve this treatment from the insurance company? Probably not, but he put himself in this situation by not monitoring his Facebook account and making his posts private. Never post anything on Facebook or any social media site that in any way could lower the value of your personal injury claim. His case was eventually won by his attorney, but I am sure the delays and the fact that no benefits were being paid was frustrating.

Another person posted a video of him pulling kids on an ATV while collecting disability. A lady was tagged in photos showing her taking helicopter flying lessons while she claimed to be severely injured. If they weren’t hurt this may be insurance fraud, but what were they thinking? These posts have destroyed their claims at the very least.

As a Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn one must control the privacy settings. As a personal injury attorney I suggest you mke sure that your profile, photos, videos and posts are only visible to your friends and not to everyone else. It is also important to choose your friends well. You might approve someone you don’t know whose job is to investigate you through your Facebook account. In some cases even the apparently irrelevant is twisted to make you look uninjured or to be lying about your injury. Insurance companies might find something that could ruin your insurance claim and cave you to receive less then what you deserve or nothing. The bottom line is, check what you post and be in control of your privacy settings.

A non-profit group, Safe Kids USA, has done a research study and released a statement that most parents fail child car safety tests.  The study shows that only 30% are using the tether straps. Tether straps keep the tops of child seats and children’s heads secured in car crashes.  Also, many parents aren’t using the safest seats for their children’s ages.

Safe Kids reviewed 79,000 car seat checklists collected at inspection events the group held in 2009 and 2010.  They found out that there are a low percentage of people who know the proper usage of car seats. There needs to be more education.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, car crashes remain the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14.  The risk of death decrease by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers due to the proper usage of the child safety seats.  Children are 59% less likely to be injured in a booster seat than if they were using seat belts only. Automobile accidents are deadly to children.

It is very important that parents and caregivers should know how to properly install and use the right seat for their child’s size and weight.   Kyle Johnson, Safe Kids spokesman says that many kids are moved out of the right seat for their age. This is common for children ages 7 or 8, who should have still been in booster seats.  Lack of public awareness is a contributing factor for most parents aren’t knowledgeable enough for the proper safety for their children.

The proper use of child restraints can save their life in a serious car accident.  Jeff Hamilton hit road debris and their car slid into a guardrail and spun across the highway before flipping over and landing upside down on rocks.  As emergency medical technicians saw how the car was crushed, they assume that any children inside would be dead.  Fortunately, Anne Hamilton has been trained to install child seats and had each of her three children in the best possible seat and position for their ages.  She’s convinced that the proper use of the child seats really did save the lives of her children.

Thousands of children are tragically injured and killed in car accidents each year.  Car accidents are the leading cause of death for children ages 1-13.  This could decrease if parents and those that take care of our children understood how car seats work and would familiarize the age and weight that a child must reach before he or she can be safely transitioned to the next car seat type or a seat belt.

This is why we have Child Passenger Safety Week every year.  The purpose is to increase awareness by educating parents and caregivers on this issue and to motivate others to ask for help and guidance on the proper way of correctly restraining their child in their car. This in and of itself will prevent serious child accident injuries in a car wreck.

A friend of mine, and Michigan accident attorney, Larry Buckfire, shared with me about a video produced by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute showing exactly what happens to a child left unrestrained. The crash test was conducted using two 33-pound crash test dummies in the rear seat of a vehicle. The dummies simulated 3-year-old children, one in a forward facing car seat and one is completely unrestrained.  A moderate-to-severe crash at about 30 miles per hour was simulated.  The unrestrained dummy launches forward into the front passenger seat before being thrown back into the seat while the dummy in the car seat was pulled back by the harness and seat belt.

Miriam Manary, a UMTRI senior engineering research associate said that “This test illustrates the significant difference between the two experiences.  The restrained child would likely walk away with minor bruises and scrapes while the unrestrained child would likely be killed or seriously injured.”

As parents, we should determine which restraint system is best suited to protect our children. Be educated you make the right choice and protect your child from a serious car accident.

As parents, we take good care of our children.  We do everything in our power to keep our children safe.  We don’t want something bad to happen.  An injured infant and toddler is always a tragedy.  Our children have a right to safe, healthy and happy upbringings.

When I was a kid I ran the neighborhood in Zanesville, Ohio.  There was a lake in the middle of the subdivision.  I fished, swam and played baseball everyday in the summer.  My parents often didn’t see me until dinner time.  It is a different world today.  Millions working and single parents place their children in some form of daycare.  These childcare providers are expected to be trustworthy and educated professionals.

How safe are our children?  Let me share you a very informative graphic, “Who is Watching Your Kid?”, from my friend, Mark Bryer in Arizona.  In the child care industry, about 44% of workers had a high school degree or less in 2008.  There are minimal training requirements.  900,000 children are abused or neglected in day care centers each year.  70% of these children are under the age of three years old.  Many students have been abused in schools.  In fact, 4.5 million children suffer sexual misconduct by school employees, from inappropriate comments, to physical abuse each year.  This child abuse could affect the lives of our children or even worst could cost them their life.

Sad to say, that there are still 19 states without any laws regarding the use of restraints and seclusions in schools.  But last year, on the 3^rd day of March, the House passed the “Keeping All Students Safe Act” to protect school children from harmful restraint and seclusion and been re-introduced last April 6, 2011 for bicameral approval.

I know these aren’t happy thoughts, but as parents we need to be aware of these statistics so we can watch out for warning signs of damage to our children.  By being aware a parent can help avoid an injury accident or neglect to their child.

Take action to protect our kids from child accidents.

In every day struggles to live in this world, there are car and truck accidents that none of us want to witness.  When there are accidents, I am thankful to those people who lend their helping hand.  These Kentuckians are heroes.  They are savers of lives.

Here in Kentucky, the Lexington Fire Department honors community heroes each year.  They usually announce the award at its annual awards banquet in the spring, but for this year they recognized three Kentucky citizens as heroes on July 02, 2011 during a news conference at the Lexington Government Center.  These three heroes had exceptional outstanding stories.  Anna Carlson, Erick Long and Chris Soulis all received Meritorious Citation Awards for saving lives during the summer.

Anna Carlson, a Lexington resident, stopped a man from bleeding whose arm was nearly severed in a car crash last July 4 at about 2:30 a.m. at Glenn Place and North Limestone by using her pajama bottoms.  She used to be licensed as a certified nursing assistant and knew she needed to stop the bleeding or the man would die.  Anna tied the pajama around the wound and kept pressure on it until the paramedics arrived to take over.  She never imagined she would save someone’s life while pantsless.

Ironically, on the same day Carlson saved a man’s life, Soulis also performed his heroic deed.  Chris pulled his neighbor, a barely conscious woman, from the window of a burning home at 268 East Louden Avenue.

A month earlier, on June 7, a 3-year-old boy named Keelan McClanahan, nearly drowned at a swimming pool at a home on Bridle Ridge Lane.  Eric Long was working on a sidewalk outside when he heard the sister of Keelan crying hysterically.  She was looking for someone who knew how to perform CPR.  Eric performed CPR on Keelan and was he was breathing normally by the time the ambulance arrived. This actions prevented a horrible child injury by drowning.

Each of these Kentuckians deserve a round of applause and praises for doing such heroic acts.  May their actions be an example to us to help others who are in trouble.  Who are heroes in your life?  I would be interested to know these stories. Your stories can also inspire others to do the extraordinary and safe a life if they are witness to a serious injury accident.

As parents, our number one priority is our kids. I have two daughters and am probably over protective. We set a lot of limitations, precautions and care for them. It is hard to trust others with our kids, maybe even with our own parents (their grandparents!).

Guess what? Maybe we are wrong. There’s a new study which shows that children are less likely to be injured if grandparents are driving as compared to the parents. That is your kids are more likely to be involved in a car accident when they are with you. I find this unbelievable!

The study was based on data from nearly 12, 000 children from 15 U.S. states between 2003 and 2007 injured in car crashes involving children younger than 16. This study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Dr. Fred M. Henretig, an emergency medicine physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is the lead researcher on the study. 0.7 percent of children were injured in the crash when grandparents were driving compared to 1 percent when parents were the one driving.

Older drivers are just not as safe. That is the general consensus. We think that grandparents driving is worse because they used old cars and they lack knowledge in new technologies.

There are factors that Dr. Henretig cited as reasons for the lower injury risk of children when with their grandparents.

* Grandparents drive at a lower speed
* Grandparents do not following the car in front of them quite as closely,
* Grandparents think that grandchildren are special cargo,
* Grandparents are less distracted than busy working parents tend to be.
* Grandparents focus on their driving and refrain from distractions like using cell phones, fiddling with the radio, eating while driving or thinking about their work.

The bottom line is that the risk of being injured in a Kentucky car accident goes down when we care about what we are doing and are not distracted. Focus on driving and your risk of being injured in a car accident will likely decrease.

Monet Parham, a mother of two, from Sacramento, California filed a lawsuit last December that accuses McDonald’s Corporation of unfairly using toys to entice children into their restaurants.  She charges that McDonalds advertising violates California consumer protection laws.  She is represented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group.

McDonald’s Corp. stated that this lawsuit is trying to stop their Happy Meal promotion. McDonald’s argues that the case is about toys offered in a certain Happy Meal and must be dismissed since it’s the parents’ choice to buy the meal for their children.  In fact, Parham has admitted that she often refuses to buy Happy Meals for her children.  McDonald’s added that she was not misguided by any advertising, nor did she rely on any information from them. 

According to a litigation attorney for the public interest group, Stephen Gardner, McDonald’s approach to dismiss the lawsuit is to blame Parham. They state that Parham is at fault if she doesn’t force her children to disregard McDonald’s advertisements.  He added that the company’s strategy in making a lot of money is by marketing directly to kids. 

The U.S. food industry has successfully defended obesity-related lawsuits for years. Would this type of case be successful in Kentucky?  I doubt it. Kentucky already has a statute that prohibits a lawsuit against the fast food industry for a wrongful death caused by eating fatty foods at fast food restaurants. These child obesity cases would not be considered a child injury accident.

The marketing McDonald’s does is very effective.  Parents should refuse to buy the Happy Meal for their children.  If more parents put their foot down, obesity would not be a major health concern among our children.  Am I the only person that believes in parental responsibility?

Two months ago I received a phone call that no parent ever wants to receive.  My 16 year old daughter had been in a car accident with three of her friends. In fact it was a four car accident. Luckily she was not severely injured.

I didn’t know whether she was hurt or not at the time of the phone call. I went into automatic panic mode.  The parent in me kicked into gear. The Kentucky accident attorney was nowhere to be found. This got me thinking. If I reacted this way what would someone that isn’t involved in car accident litigation on a daily basis do?  What should a parent do when they receive a phone call from their child saying: “I’ve been in a car accident”? 

First and foremost don’t do what I did. Don’t panic! Do not overreact.  Your new driver is going to be nervous enough. They may be bleeding. They are in pain. They are confused. And believe it or not they are going to be worried about the damage that has been done to the car.  They are worried that you are going to be mad at them for wrecking the car, even if the accident wasn’t their fault.  Calm yourself down and calm them down.

Make sure that your child and her friends are not hurt.  Make sure that they’ve called the police and they have an ambulance on the way. They should always be checked out by an EMT to make sure that they do not need to go to the hospital. If they are hurt they should be transported to an emergency room to receive immediate treatment.

If they are able ask your new driver to exchange information with the driver of the other car. Ask them to write down the license number of all the cars involved in the accident. Have them document as many details as they can in reference to the accident.  Things such as pictures of the cars, pictures of the accident scene and those involved are all items that they should obtain if possible and it doesn’t put them in danger. This will help down the road as you negotiate the settlement of property damage claims and eventually any pain and suffering if they were injured in this Kentucky car wreck.  

The final thing that I would do is try to go out to the accident scene.  Your child is going to need all of the help, support and love they can get at his point in time. Your presence will have an immediate calming effect. Being in an accident is a very nerve racking experience.  You want to make it as easy on them as possible, yet you want to make sure that everything is documented. Help protect your child’s Kentucky auto accident claim.

What does a personal injury attorney really do for you?  What do you get by hiring an attorney to represent you in your automobile or truck accident case in Kentucky?  There are hundreds of things I do for clients on a daily basis.  These range from basic filing and record collecting to interpretation and application of the law to the case at hand. I prepare clients to give statements. I obtain paperwork to send to the insurance company. I prepare forms. I am involved in negotiating settlements with the insurance adjuster.  I educate clients on the process involved in a personal injury case. I collect medical and employment records. The list goes on and on.

Let’s cut to the chase. What a personal injury attorney really does is take care of everything that happens behind the scenes so you can concentrate on what really matters in your case and that is getting well. You can go to the doctor and recover from your injuries. You don’t have to worry about dealing with the insurance adjuster. Your attorney is doing it for you.  While you are recovering your attorney is behind the scenes collecting information, doing the daily grunt work to get everything together to properly present your case to the insurance adjuster to maximize your potential settlement.  If the case is not able to b settled this ground work allows the case to be properly presented to a jury.

Many times you might be wondering what your personal injury attorney is really. Behind the scenes he is in the process of collecting and gathering information to properly present your accident claim.  So what a personal injury attorney really does is allow you the freedom to take care of your daily life to get better while he takes care of the technical aspects of your accident claim. This allows you to be fairly compensated for your injuries either through a settlement or through the litigation process. 

Here is what The Schafer Law Office will do for you if you are a Kentucky accident victim we represent:

• Educate them on the personal injury claims process and the litigation process.   
• Obtain all written records and documents that are needed to develop and support their claim. This includes, but is not limited to, medical records, the police report and employment records. 
• Conduct an investigation of the facts surrounding the accident. I will obtain witness statements, photographs, diagrams and other physical evidence. 
• Review your automobile insurance policy to determine what coverage is available to you to compensate you for your damages, like medical, hospital and wage loss benefits.  Additionally, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is looked at to see if they are applicable to your accident. 
• Review the medical records from your doctors and meet with them when necessary. This can be done in person or telephonically. 
• Retain experts and then obtain reports when needed to support your claim for damages and/or liability. 
• Analyze legal issues and advise on those issues as they arise in your case. 
• File the necessary forms with the at-fault insurance company and the clients own insurance company, including PIP applications. 
• Analyze your health insurance policy and/or governmental benefit plan (such as Medicare or Passport) to determine whether any money paid by that policy is required to be reimbursed. 
• Contact and maintain contact with the insurance company about your claim to help ensure adequate reserves are set aside for the potential settlement of your claim. 
• Conduct negotiations with the insurance adjuster in an attempt to settle your claim, before litigation.   
• When a lawsuit has to be filed, I will prepare and draft the Summons and Complaint to be filed in Court. 
• Confirm the address of the Defendant for personal service of the Summons and Complaint. 
• Draft written questions for information from the other side (called Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents). 
• I will help you respond to interrogatories sent by the defendant.                 
• I will prepare you for your deposition. 
• Prepare for and conduct the deposition of the Defendant and any other witnesses that are necessary. 
• Meet with your doctors to prepare for their deposition whether it is a defense deposition or their trial deposition. 
• Prepare and take the deposition of the Defendant’s experts, including medical experts. 
• Prepare you for a medical examination by the Defendant’s doctor, called an Independent medical Exam. 
• Review your medical records and billings. 
• Hire experts to support and prove your claim when necessary. These include other physicians, economists, engineers, vocational experts, etc. 
• Review and analyze expert reports about your case. 
• File all documents in Court as required by the Judge’s Trial Order, including witness lists, exhibit lists, trial memorandum, jury instructions, motions in limine, etc.   
• Meet with and prepare you and other witnesses for trial. 
• Create and prepare exhibits for trial. 
• Organize records and other documentary evidence intended to be introduced at trial. 
• Prepare for mediation when ordered by the Court or agreed to by the parties. 
• Research and write briefs and file motions with the Court when required.  
• Perform or participate in mock trials or focus groups to prepare for trial when deemed necessary. 
• Try the case before a judge or jury. 
• Write briefs or motions following the verdict to obtain post-trial relief, including motions for attorney fees, or to overturn the verdict. 
• Analyze the trial record to determine if an appeal is warranted (if the trial is a loss). 
• Research and write briefs and motions if appeal is filed. 
• Negotiate subrogation claims asserted by client’s insurance company or governmental agency that provided benefits to client.

Kentucky schools are back in session. Your kids are back at school, but they are still outside playing. Children love the playground whether it is at school or the park. Unfortunately your child can be seriously injured while playing on a playground. Don’t forget playground safety just because school is back in session.

What can you do as a parent to prevent injuries to your children?  Nobody wants to have an accident claim especially when your kids are involved whether it is a skinned knee or a broken arm. There are some precautionary measures you can take when you go to a playground to ensure that it is safe for your child to play on.  

        1)  Look at the base where the playground and the swing equipment are attached to and see if it is soft.  Make sure that it is firm and that everything is attached in a good manner. 

       2) Check for any loose bolts. 

        3) Check for bare bolts or joints that may cause an injury to your child. 

        4) On a playground made of wood, check to make sure that there’s no exposed splinters. Make sure that the wood is new and is not going to cause an injury to your child. 

        5) Look at the area around the playground. This can actually be more dangerous and cause more serious injuries than the playground itself. 

        6) Make sure that there’s no a broken glass or bottles that can injure your child.

        7) Look for any discarded construction type material.

        8) When a playground is close to a roadway , a ball field or a golf course make sure that there’s not going to be any loose or errant balls, etc. coming toward the playground. 

        9) EDUCATE your children! Explain the dangers that are out there. 

The bottom line is we want our children to have fun but be safe wherever they are. A trip to the emergency room is not part of that.  Take these steps so that you don’t have an accident claim against the playground that your child is playing at.  Child accidents are no fun. Prevention is the key.