Every year throughout Mississippi and the rest of the U.S., 2 million car accident patients are sent to emergency rooms. Many of them suffer from internal abdominal trauma, usually incurring injury to the liver and spleen. In mild or moderate injuries, the symptoms are limited to blood clots and shallow lacerations. However, severe cases may require immediate surgery.

It is important to note that the risk for severe liver injury can be reduced by 21 percent if drivers wear their seat belts. This is according to a new study from NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. Researchers studied the 2010 – 2015 crash data from the National Trauma Data Bank, ranking a total of 51,202 cases as involving either mild, moderate or severe injuries. Of the patients who suffered severe liver injury, 15 percent died. In mild and moderate cases, 8 percent of patients died.

Patients who wore seat belts and had working airbags were 26 percent less likely to develop severe liver injuries. While seat belts alone do not prevent liver injuries, their positive effect on the injury severity is clear. Those who neglect to buckle up because they think their airbags are enough to protect them are making a mistake. According to the study, airbags on their own do nothing to reduce injury severity.

Victims of auto accidents who survive liver injuries and other after-effects can consult with a lawyer about filing a claim. That way, they could potentially be reimbursed for medical bills, vehicle damage and other losses. A lawyer may help with the filing and negotiation process.

The results of a recent road safety study suggest that drivers in Mississippi may be the most distracted motorists in the nation. The technology startup Zendrive used anonymized customer data to determine how long drivers in various parts of the country spend on their phones each day, and the figures indicate that motorists in the Magnolia State spend almost 8 percent of their time using mobile devices to send text messages or make phone calls.

The study paints a worrying picture. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that about 660,000 American drivers use their phones while behind the wheel each day, but the Zendrive study suggests that the true figure could be closer to 69 million. This would mean that six out of 10 American drivers take their eyes off the road to use a phone every day. Even more alarmingly, the data makes it clear that efforts to curb this type of behavior by passing strict distracted driving laws have been largely ineffective.

Laws banning the use of handheld electronic devices by motorists did not prevent an increase in distracted driving in Rhode Island, Illinois, New York, Connecticut or Hawaii, according to the study. The findings also indicate that the amount of time drivers in Washington spend on mobile phones each day increased by more than a third between 2016 and 2017 despite a law so strict that it prohibits drivers from even touching a phone while stopped in traffic.

Distracted drivers rarely face criminal penalties because it can be difficult to conclusively prove distraction. However, the standards are not as strict in civil courts, and experienced personal injury attorneys may pursue car accident lawsuits against distracted drivers even when prosecutors have declined to file charges.

Nursing homes in Mississippi are generally geared to create a community atmosphere for those who live in them. They also tend to have skilled nurses and other medical professionals on staff. However, there are issues that an individual may not be aware of when entering a home or entering a family member into one. For instance, some nursing homes don’t allow lawsuits and instead require arbitration.

Residents in some nursing homes could go hungry or suffer health problems because of a lack of nutrition. In 2015, a data review found that nursing home residents have a higher rate of experiencing anorexia through aging. Nursing home residents can also feel isolated or depressed because they are not allowed to move freely within the residence. It is also possible that a nursing home resident won’t be allowed to use his or her regular doctors.

The nurses at a nursing home aren’t always permanent staff members. Temporary members are less likely to form a bond with the residents because they leave as soon as there are enough permanent nurses. It is recommended that an individual not enter a home unless at least 80 percent of the staff works permanently at that location. However, even if a nursing home has most permanent nurses, there is still a chance that the location won’t have enough staff on hand.

If a nursing home resident experiences a fall or is the victim of a medication error, it could be an example of nursing home abuse. Residents who are abused could be compensated for their injuries, and victims or their families may be able to take legal action against a liable party or parties.

The International Roadcheck should be a familiar event to commercial truck and bus drivers in Mississippi. This nationwide inspection spree, conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, takes place every year over the course of 72 hours, and its purpose is to ensure compliance with driver- and vehicle-related safety guidelines. Those found breaking the rules are handed out-of-service orders.

This year’s International Roadcheck will take place from June 5 to June 7. The CVSA has also stated that inspectors will be conducting Level I inspections on most rigs; these inspections cover both driver- and vehicle-related rules. The special focus will be on hours-of-service regulations, which have entered the spotlight due to the ELD mandate that was instituted back in December 2017.

In the mandate, the U.S. Department of Transportation required that all commercial truck drivers install electronic logging devices in their rigs. One benefit to these is that they prevent truckers from falsifying their duty hours, a practice that was previously possible with paper logs. Since hard enforcement of the ELD mandate began in April, inspectors will be checking for this.

Another reason for the focus on hours-of-service violations is that these, along with brake violations, were the top reason why truckers in the 2017 International Roadcheck were put out of service. More than 63,000 drivers were inspected during that event, and 15,000 were issued out-of-service orders.

Hours-of-service violations often go hand in hand with drowsy driving. When accidents are caused by such negligent acts, the victims can potentially file claims against the responsible trucking companies. A lawyer could hire investigators to strengthen the case and handle all negotiations, litigating only if a settlement cannot be agreed upon.

Commercial trucks number over 15 million on the roads of Mississippi and the rest of the U.S., and when they’re involved in an accident, the results can be fatal for other drivers. A new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has analyzed the causes of truck accidents and broken them down into four basic categories: Decision, recognition, performance, and non-performance.

To form its conclusions, researchers analyzed the crash data of 120,000 fatal truck crashes that occurred over a 33-month period. They found that almost 75 percent of these cases involved another vehicle and that in 68,000 of the crashes, the trucker was at fault.

In the category of decisions, researchers included cases where truckers conducted themselves in a negligent or reckless manner, such as speeding, following too close to the vehicle in front, and misjudging the speed of other vehicles. Truckers failed to respond properly to danger because of inattentiveness or distractions inside the truck or outside.

Accidents due to non-performance included drowsy driving accidents and crashes caused when truckers suffered from a medical episode. Performance refers to situations where truckers panicked, overcompensated when turning, or failed to exercise good directional control. Among the four categories, poor decisions accounted for the most crashes (30,000 out of the 68,000).

In the wake of truck accidents, victims often want to find out just what caused the accident and whether they have grounds for an injury claim. This step may be easier with legal assistance. Accident attorneys may be able to hire experts to investigate the accident and find proof, such as police reports and ELD data, that the trucker was negligent. They can then negotiate for a fair settlement covering vehicle damage, medical bills, lost wages, and other losses.