• loss of consciousness;
• dilated or unequal pupils;
• dizziness;
• vomiting;
• headache;
• body numbness;
• slow breathing rate; and
• paralysis

Would it be too much to ask for zero accidents on our Kentucky roadways as we kick off 2012?  Unfortunately, five motorists have already died in four separate crashes on Kentucky roadways during the New Years’ holiday period, which began at 6 p.m. on December 30, 2011 and ended January 2, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.

The accidents involved motor vehicles in which two of the victims were not wearing seat belts.  Single-fatality crashes happened in Jefferson and Perry counties.  There was also a single fatality crash in Harlan which involved the suspected use of alcohol.  A double-fatality crash occurred in Owen County.

The Kentucky Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) preliminary statistics indicate that 715 people had lost their lives on Kentucky roadways through December 31, 2011.  The following shows the fatality statistics for 2011.

• · 570 motor vehicle fatalities ( 289 victims were not wearing seat belts)
• · 61 motorcycle crashes fatalities (34 victims were not wearing helmets)
• · 25 ATV crashes ( 21 victims were not wearing helmets)
• · 53 pedestrian crashes
• · 2 bicycle fatalities
• · 2 scooter crashes
• · 2 horse-drawn vehicle crashes

There have been a total of 121 fatalities in these motor vehicle accidents which involved the suspected use of alcohol.  This is 45 less fatalities than reported for the same period in 2010.  As a personal injury attorney, I am hopeful that the decline in fatalities will continue throughout the year.  Let us all do our part in keeping our Kentucky roadways safe.

Motor vehicle accidents account for more than 40 percent of mild traumatic brain injury. I found this to be an almost unbelievable statistic. Something most people don’t realize is that an injury to the brain can happen with or without a direct impact to the head. Often times, individuals injured in car accidents know they are experiencing neck pain or whiplash. It is obvious that there is an injury to the soft tissues of the neck. Many of these same accident victims experience symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury.

Many forces act on the brain during a motor vehicle accident that causes the twisting and shearing of brain tissues. Delicate axons in the brain can break. This break prevents normal electrical impulses from passing down the axons. This condition is called Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI). DAI can lead to major and often permanent neurological disability. Individuals with DAI experience symptoms such as pain, memory loss, seizures, loss of consciousness and coma. DAI has two components: first, damage occurs at the time of the accident and second, delayed component resulting from nerve damage from chemicals released at the first stage.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the favored diagnostic tool for DAI. A study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, stated that victims should be imaged within 2 weeks of the trauma, as the damage is in the acute phase and is most useful for prognostic value. When trauma victims are manifesting symptoms of DAI, it is necessary that they receive an accurate diagnosis through a MRI of the Brain.

Do not let traumatic brain injuries go without treatment. Accident victims that experience symptoms like severe headache, seizure and memory loss should seek medical attention. Failure to diagnose a traumatic brain injury can be devastating to the accident victim and mean that they will not be fully compensated for their injuries.

I have had clients where family members observed noticeable differences in the behavior of their spouse after an auto accident. There were behavioral changes and memory loss. These changes were severe enough that they resulted in the loss of their job.  The TBI or DAI injury was never diagnosed and no personal injury claim was made. Often someone suffering from TBI or DAI does not know what is best for them. Make sure that they get the treatment and diagnostic tests they need so they can be fully compensated for this devastating injury.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among ages 5-34 in the USA.  Many campaigns, projects and awareness drives for road safety are promoted by different organizations in order to save lives.   The American Automobile Association (AAA) is one organization that provides services in automotive and transportation arena, as well as conducting studies on motorist safety and supporting motorist rights.

AAA director of federal relations Chris Plaushin says they wanted to raise the profile and raise the awareness about road safety so they have conducted a study. Their study shows the average cost of $6 million per fatal accident in a motor vehicle crash. The cost of motor vehicle crashes was more than three times that of traffic congestion:  $299.5 billion compared with $97.7 billion.  The congestion costs include the price of gas wasted idling in traffic and loss of motorists’ time.  Traffic fatality cost was based on Federal Highway Administration data on 11 components:  property damage; lost earnings, loss of household activities;    medical costs; emergency services; travel delays; vocational rehabilitation; lost time at work; administrative costs; legal costs; and pain and lost quality of life.  Also, the average cost of an injury-only crash is $126,000.  These numbers are higher as compared to 2005 study wherein cost of traffic fatality was $3.24 million and the injury crash was only $68,170.

These figures are staggering, not only for fatalities but for a car accident.  Plaushin states that AAA’s study is designed to push road safety to the forefront of the national debate over transportation priorities as Congress considers a long-term highway funding bill.  More investment in proven safety measures such as cable barriers along medians to prevent crossover accidents , modernized roundabouts and rumble strips are among of the recommendations from the AAA in order to reduce the financial impact of motor vehicle crashes.  It is evident from this study that the cost of safety measures will be off set many times by the amount of many saved from fewer car accidents and fatal accidents.

The abnormal motion or force applied to the neck in motor vehicle accidents causes the neck’s movement beyond the normal range of motion that leads to “whiplash”. Neck pain can occur immediately, minutes, hours or even later after the car accident. Headaches are also experienced from this type of injury. Headaches are commonly cervicogenic, that is they originate in the structures of the neck such as ligaments.

A case report

You must be carful not to ignore headaches after a car accident.  A headache may be a symptom of a more sever injury.  Let me give you an exapmple from a study I recently read.

A 65-year-old woman visited a chiropractor six days after a car accident.  She voiced complaints of neck pain, lower back pain and headache. She did not seek immediate medical attention after the accident, she had no loss of consciosness and she did not hit any body parts on the interior of the vehicle. She took Advil, which provided her some pain relief. Her memory function and cognition was good. She described her headache as “a pressure-like sensation.” She went through a treatment program of mobilization of the upper spine, and manipulation of the lumbar area. She reported progress with all her symptoms other than the headache.

“Approximately one month after the initial treatment began, she reported feeling numbness in her right arm. She noticed her right leg was weak and that her right leg was dragging. She was also starting to lose her balance. On several occasions, her daughter caught her, as she was ‘falling.’” She was brought to the emergency room due the seriosness of her symptoms where she was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. This condition is caused when brain tissue bleeds and puts pressure on the brain. The pressure results in neurological symptoms such as numbness or weakness, problems with concentration and severe headaches. She underwent surgical decompression to relieve pressure on the brain and two weeks later she had recovered with no significant physical impairment.

What we need to know?

Here’s the point.  A brain injury does not require direct head impact. To have a brain injury does not require loss of consciousness. It is hard to determine the difference in brain injury and cervicogenic headache. The lady I spoke of only had a whiplash injury.  There was no trauma directly to her head.  There are warning signs that may indicate subdural hematoma. These signs include:

• headaches getting worse as time progresses,
• headache may not begin until 24 to 72 hours after trauma, and
• weakness in one side of the body is often present.

If these signs are felt, immediately seek medical attention and testing such as CT or MRI to determine if you have subdural hematoma.  Do not assume it will go away.  Always seek medical attention.

If you and your loved ones experience headache after an auto accident, look for warning signs of serious trauma and ask for a medical referral in order to receive the proper diagnosis.  Don’t let this condition threaten your life.

A shocking report was released September 27, 2011 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing of approximately 1.7 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, many because of auto accidents.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is sudden, non-congenital physical damage to the brain from an external force that temporarily or permanently disrupts normal brain function.  Some form of traumatic impact such as a blow to the head, violent shaking or penetration of the brain tissue from impact falls, vehicle accidents and violence is usually the cause.  Half of all traumatic brain injuries are the result of a motor vehicle accident.  Any damage to the brain can impair physical and psychological activity.  In more serious cases of TBI, the complications can be fatal.  Injuries can range from mild, to severe but the long-term effects are often devastating and life-altering.  About 75 percent of TBIs are classified as mild, but many who suffer severe TBI require an extensive hospitalization.  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has even reported deaths due to TBI.

TBI is sometimes referred to as the “silent epidemic”, because it can manifest itself without outward signs of damage.  Jonathan Lifshitz, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center’s Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, stated that many people with TBI are “walking wounded” and suffer from injuries that are serious but not easily observable.  Consequently emergency care and surgery is frequently necessary, followed by medication, therapy and cognitive rehabilitative training when TBI occurs.  TBI can cause permanent changes in mental processing, including slowed thinking, dulled attention, memory problems and impaired judgment and change the victims life wholly.

You or your loved one can make a claim if you suffer TBI or serious injuries which are caused by someone else.  You should contact a personal injury attorney immediately after the incident in order to help and give you advice for any potential legal claims and any significant things for you to know.  Many times a Traumatic Brain Injury is left undiagnosed.  This can be due to coping by the injured or embarrassment.

Do not let traumatic brain injuries go without treatment. I had a conversation with only yesterday where a family member saw noticeable differences in the behavior of a niece after an auto accident. She was from behavioral changes and memory loss which caused her to lose her job. The TBI injury was never diagnosed and no personal injury claim was made. Often someone suffering from TBI does not know what is best for them. Make sure that they get the treatment they need so they can be compensated for this devastating injury.

In Kentucky if you are a pedestrian or a bicyclist that has been hit by a car or a truck you may be wondering whether or not your medical treatment will be paid for and by whom.  This is a good questions for bicycle accident victims, as well as pedestrian accident victims. As a personal injury attorney, I can tell you that in almost every circumstance your treatment for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident will be paid for by an insurance company.  The question is what insurance company? Is it your health insurance? Is it your car insurance? Is it the car insurance for the car that hit you?

The first place that we look is to the car that hit you, the car that caused the bicycle accident or the pedestrian accident. If the car had auto insurance their PIP benefits will pay for your first $10,000.00 of medical treatment, no questions asked, as long as the treatment is related to the accident. 

If for some reason the car that caused the accident did not have insurance we then turn to your own personal car insurance company if you owned a car.  You might think this is the last place that you should look. After all you weren’t in your car at the time of this accident. Under almost all car insurance policies your car insurance is required to pay your medical treatment from injuries sustained in an accident between a car and you if you were a pedestrian or riding a bicycle. No matter how the accident occurred your car insurance will pay as long as it was a motor vehicle accident of some sort. 

Now if the other car did not have insurance and you do not own a car you will be eligible for benefits under what is called the Kentucky Assigned Claims Plan.  This is a state run program that requires insurance companies to, on rotation, pay for medical treatment for people that did not have insurance or no insurance available to them in a particular accident.

After the PIP benefits are exhausted you will then look to your personal health insurance, Medicare or Kentucky Passport. This insurance is secondary and is not used until the $10,000.00 in No-Fault Benefits are exhausted. Your health insurance will pay under the terms of your policy for any medical bills over the $10,000.00. Your health insurance company, Medicare or Passport may be entitled to repayment under federal law called ERISA or the terms of the policy from your personal injury recovery. You should check with an attorney to determine if subrogation is required.

After the PIP benefits are exhausted you will then look to your personal health insurance, Medicare or Kentucky Passport. This insurance is secondary and is not used until the $10,000.00 in No-Fault Benefits are exhausted. Your health insurance will pay under the terms of your policy for any medical bills over the $10,000.00. Your health insurance company, Medicare or Passport may be entitled to repayment under federal law called ERISA or the terms of the policy from your personal injury recovery. You should check with an attorney to determine if subrogation is required.

The bottom line is if you’ve been in a pedestrian accident or a bicycle accident where you’ve been hit by a car you are entitled to have your medical bills paid.  So don’t hold off on getting the treatment you need to recover from your injuries.  Get the doctor and find out what’s wrong with you and get better. This will enable you to achieve the best result possible in your bicycle accident or pedestrian accident case.