Washington DC Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Free Claim Evaluation!

Archive for March, 2010

Signs of Deteriorating Neurological Function

Posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 by Allan Siegel

An athlete should be taken to the emergency room if any of the following signs or symptoms are present:

1. Headaches that worsen
2. Seizures
3. Focal neurologic signs
4. Looks very drowsy or can’t be awakened
5. Repeated vomiting
6. Slurred speech
7. Can’t recognize people or places
8. Increasing confusion or irritability
9. Weakness or numbness in arms or legs
10. Neck pain
11. Unusual behavior change
12. Significant irritability
13. Any loss of consciousness greater than 30 seconds

Posted in athlete injuries | Comments Off

Keeping Our Children Safe

Posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury is a step towards this goal. Surprisingly, falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0-19. Approximately 8,000 children are daily treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. That is almost 2.8 million children each year! Many falls can be prevented and parents and caregivers play a key role in protecting children. Supervision of young children is key to avoiding falls and protecting children from fall hazards such as stairs and playground equipment. It is also our responsibility to assure our children wear protective gear when playing sports such as wrist guards, kneepads and helmets when engaged in activities such as inline skating, hockey or bike riding. We have an obligation to use home safety devices such as stair gates and guardrails. If necessary, protect your children from falling out of windows by locking the windows in a way that the child cannot unlock it or by taking other protective measures.

Fire and scalding water pose a terrible threat to young children. To keep kids safer from burns caused by fire, install and maintain smoke alarms in your home.

Drownings can happen quickly and quietly but installing fences around the pool or constantly assuring that our children are supervised when in or around water will help minimize this risk.

Poisoning by everyday household products can also be a cause of injury or death. Keep medicines and toxic products, such as cleaning solutions locked in child-proof cabinets.

Finally, when in your car, always use child safety seats, booster seats and seatbelts depending on your child’s age and weight.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms Also Pose A Slip and Fall Danger, Particularly to Older Citizens.

Posted on Friday, March 26th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

Continuing our effort to provide prevention tips to avoid slip and falls in the home, we are providing the following suggestions to assure that your kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are safe:

In the kitchen
1. Assure that items that you need to use frequently are kept on lower shelves, about waist level, to avoid having to use a step stool to reach them.

2. If a step stool is unsteady, get one with a bar to hold onto. Never use a chair as a step stool.

In the bathroom
1. Put a non-slip rubber mat or self-stick strips on the floor of the tub or shower.

2. If you need assistance to get in and out of the tub or on and off of the toilet, have a carpenter install grab bars inside the tub and next to the toilet.

In the bedroom
1. Make sure there is a lamp next to your bed within easy reach so that if you need to get up, you will have adequate light.

2. Make sure there is a nightlight to light you way to the bathroom after dark.

Posted in slip and fall | 7 Comments »

What You Can Do To Prevent Falls-

Posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

Prevention of slip and falls is not just a matter of making sure that your environment is as safe as possible. You can have an effect on the likelihood that you will suffer a slip and fall. There are many things that each of us can do to protect ourselves, as best as we can, from losing our balance and falling. These are some of those actions:

1. Exercise regularly because exercising makes you stronger and improves your balance and coordination.

2. Make sure that your doctor or pharmacist reviews your medicines. Some medicines can make you sleepy or dizzy and a combination of medicines can also have that effect.

3. Make sure your vision is checked by an eye doctor at least once a year. Poor vision can increase your risk of falling.

4. Wear shoes both inside and outside of your house. Avoid going barefoot or wearing slippers because that increases the danger of slipping.

5. Get up slowly after you sit or lay down to assure that you are not dizzy.

6. Make sure that the lighting in your home is clear and bright. Fluorescent bulbs are bright and less costly to use.

7. Paint a contrasting color on the top or edge of all of your steps so you can see the stairs better.

8. Think about wearing an alarm device which will bring you help in case of a fall which you cannot get up from.

Posted in slip and fall | Comments Off

Top Five Websites Advocating for Democracy in Ethiopia are Blocked in Ethiopia.

Posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 by Allan Siegel

Many Ethiopians are unhappy with the government that currently exists in their country. They believe that it is not as democratic as it should be and that the failure to have democracy is keeping the country back economically, as well as socially and politically. There are at least five websites existing in world today that advocate for democracy in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, these five websites are blocked in Ethiopia itself. The government of Ethiopia’s resort to cyber censorship is the ultimate assault on freedom of the press. The following is a list of the five websites:

1. Ethiomedia
2. CyberEthiopia
3. Nazret
4. EthioForum
5. Ethiopian Review

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

For Parents and Coaches- On-Field Mental Status Evaluation

Posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

The following are examples of questions recommended for high school age athletes who appear to have suffered a concussion. Any inability of the athlete to respond correctly to the questions should be considered abnormal. Examples of questions that relate to the athlete’s orientations are:

1. What stadium or field are we in?
2. What city is this?
3. Who scored last?
4. What team did we play last?

To test concentration, ask the athlete to state the days of the week backwards or repeat the months of the year backwards, starting with December. Finally, ask an athlete to repeat three words, such as: dog, girl, green. After asking a series of other questions, ask the athlete to repeat the three words given earlier; dog, girl, green.

Posted in traumatic brain injury | Comments Off

CSCS Presents the Ethiopian Heritage College Scholarship

Posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

The law firm of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. is proud to announce that the Ethiopian Heritage College Scholarship is currently taking applications for highschool seniors entering into an accredited 2 or 4 year college/university for the 2010-2011 school year!

Here is a new video of Ira Sherman talking about the scholarship on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eztqGEs1t8

For the rules and to download the application, please check out this page.

Posted in Ethiopian Heritage College Scholarship | Comments Off

NHL Seems Ready to Join the NFL in Recognizing the Risk of Brain Injury As A Result of Concussion.

Posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

Recent reports indicate that the NHL has now recognized the likelihood of repeated concussions causing brain injury in hockey players over a long period of time. Both the NFL and NFL Players Association have had representatives testify in Congress acknowledging the likelihood of repeated concussions can cause traumatic brain injury and affect memory and other cognitive functions among its players. The NHL was a little slower to recognize this effect of concussion but now seems ready to publicly acknowledge that fact. Both the law firm of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. and the Brain Injury Association of D.C. would welcome such an acknowledgement.

Posted in traumatic brain injury | Comments Off

The 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals Rejects Generic Drug Preemption Defense.

Posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

There was a case brought by a woman that alleged that she developed severe neurological disorders from taking a generic version of a brand-name drug. The Appeals Court agreed with arguments by the Center for Constitutional Litigation that Federal law does not preempt the failure to warn against a generic drug manufacturer. Accordingly, the case was permitted to proceed.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Fight to Minimize the Interference of the Right to Sue Caused by the “Federal Preemption Defense”.

Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 by Allan Siegel

Injured victims of negligence by drug manufacturers and manufacturers of other products attempt to stop lawsuits by individuals injured as a result of a defective component of the product or the failure to advise the public of defects in a product by asserting a Federal “Preemption” Doctrine. For instance, manufacturers of breast implants, orthopedic devices and numerous other products from drugs to automobiles claim that they should not be subject to lawsuits, even if their product was defective and caused an injury, because it was approved by the Federal government.

Trial lawyers argue that approval by the Federal government sets forth a minimal standard for a product but it may be based on incomplete, or inaccurate documentation and is almost always based on a historical sample, much smaller than that of the population once the product gets sold. Accordingly, regulatory agencies do not have all the information available to assure the complete safety of a product. That is why Federal agencies frequently require follow-up information.

Congress and the Courts, including the Supreme Court of the Unites States, have recently dramatically reduced the ability of manufacturers to rely on the Federal Preemption Doctrine as a defense to a claim of negligent design or defect causing an injury. This opens the door to justice for those individuals injured by defective products without having to confront the improper and artificial defense of preemption.

Posted in negligence; defective products | Comments Off