Category: Texting While Driving

Nov 05 2013

Cracking Down on Distracted Drivers is One Approach But Public Education Can Help

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Distracted driving is incredibly dangerous behavior, and more states than ever before are taking steps to try to reduce the number of people on the roads who are distracted by cell phones and electronic devices.  In fact, the Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released a report entitled “2013 Distracted Driving: Survey of the States” indicating that there has been a 45-percent increase in the number of states with texting bans in place for all drivers as compared with just three years ago.

Florida became one of the states with a texting law this year when Governor Scott signed a texting ban into law after five years of attempts to get such a law passed.   Florida’s ban is relatively weak, allowing for drivers to text when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights and making texting a secondary offense with a fine of only $30 plus court costs for a first-time offender.   Still, the fact that texting is now illegal means that those injured in a texting accident may have an easier time of recovering compensation with the help of an auto accident lawyer in West Palm Beach since negligence per se rules allow victims to prove negligence by pointing to a law that the other driver broke.

While the law may help accident victims to recover compensation, however, it may be difficult for police to enforce. In fact, as the Huffington Post recently reported, texting laws in general are difficult to enforce, even in states that have taken a very tough stance on fighting distracted drivers.  The difficulty of enforcing these laws means that many people continue to text even though it is illegal.

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Nov 01 2013

Problems with Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants Health Survey Reaffirms, Canadian Institute

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It has become abundantly clear as a result of numerous medical studies and reports of complications to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that metal-on-metal hip implants are disastrous for patients. Our experienced attorneys know that metal-on-metal products are marketed primarily to younger and more active individuals with the promise that these new medical devices will last longer than traditional hip implant systems. Unfortunately, it seems the exact opposite is true.

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The high failure rate of metal-on-metal hip implants has been confirmed in yet another in-depth study, this one conducted by the Canadian Institute for Health. As reported by CBC News Health, the study showed that  the failure rate of metal-on-metal devices was not just higher, but was around twice as high as the chances of failure with metal-on-plastic implants.

Canadian Health Institute Survey Shows High Failure Rates of Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Products 

The Canadian Institute for Health study involved a review of 56,942 hip surgeries that were performed from 2003 through 2011 throughout Canada.  Of the hip implant surgeries included in the study:

  • Twenty-three percent of patients had received metal-on-plastic implants.
  • Nine percent of patients had received metal-on-metal implants.
  • Eight percent of patients had received ceramic-on-ceramic implants.
  • Five percent of patients had received ceramic-on-plastic implants.

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