Swimming pool accidents happen at the rate of nine deaths a day in the United States. It is the second leading cause of injury accident deaths among children ages one through fourteen and is the LEADING cause of death for children ages 1-4. For toddlers up to age one – over half of the drowning occurs in buckets of water, the tub or the toilet. Another startling statistic is the fact that up to 19% of youth drowning occurs in public pools with certified life guards on duty.

Unfortunately, other statistics related to childhood drowning and other water accidents are equally as grim. For instance, nine out of ten childhood drowning deaths occur even though a parent or other caregiver offers that they were ‘watching’ the child or otherwise responsible for their safety.

Over 5000 youth experience nonfatal drowning each year. This means they were underwater and either lost consciousness or actually stopped breathing for a period of time before being revived. Of these 15% – or approximately 650 children – eventually expire and another thousand suffer permanent neurological disabilities.

Drowning deaths of children can also be traced to lake shores and other natural waterways that are unguarded by certified life saving personnel but can just as likely be overseen by lifeguards. Approximately one hundred children die each year in these circumstances.

There are several preventative measures that can help to ward off drowning deaths. First, watch your children with eagle eyes – do not count on a lifeguard or other child care giver to keep your child one hundred percent safe. Second, do not allow your child to swim in unguarded areas. Finally, give your children swimming lessons. They offer them to children as young as 6 months old. Give your child a fighting chance against water accidents.

Greg Baumgartner is a safety advocate and a Houston personal injury attorney.

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Errors in road design and construction contribute daily to automobile and semi truck crashes. Several of the more common factors include barriers and guardrails, exit and entrance ramps, road markings and road surfaces, signage problems, roadway shoulder designs, traffic control mechanisms, visibility, and the flow of traffic patterns. The car accident potential is magnified in construction areas when the roadway is not fully completed.  Let us consider each separately.

Guard rails and barriers such as those that separate the flow of traffic in opposite directions are safety devices whose inadequate design or implementation leaves drivers vulnerable to accidents. In addition, exit and entrance ramps that cause traffic back-ups or an inability to enter and leave the highway safely without endangering drivers around you can also be traced to poor road design.

Road markings such as ‘do not cross’ yellow lines or highway reflectors play an integral role in keeping drivers safe. These must receive regular maintenance to ensure driver safety – a cost that should be built into state and federal budgets. In addition, poorly maintained road surfaces are a recipe for driver disaster. Rumble strips and grooves in the highway surface indicate to the driver that there may be hazards ahead and to slow down. An absence of these two important safety features can lead to accidents.

Traffic control devices including traffic lights, appropriate signage (yield, slow down, etc.), pedestrian crosswalks and more are also meant to keep drivers, passengers and walkers safe.

Visibility is an important factor in road design. Engineers must study weather patterns in an area to determine its impact on road design, although over time these factors change. Fog, flooding and other weather conditions all play a part in safe road design.

Finally, although not impossible, road defect litigation is very difficult for a variety of factors. The best one can do is to be aware of the surrounding road conditions when driving.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston personal injury attorney and the founder of the Baumgartner Law Firm, which is dedicated to helping victims of car accidents seek civil justice. If you would like to speak to a Houston Car Accident attorney call the Baumgartner Law Firm.

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Road traffic injuries that are a result of car and truck collisions number in the millions across America annually. While statistics place the average number of roadway deaths at around 50,000 annually and in a recent year the number of major and minor injuries numbered nearly 3 million. This would include broken bones, internal injuries, spinal cord injuries, head trauma, burns, loss of limbs and other bodily parts, and even cuts, bruises, minor aches and pains, whiplash and residual emotional and psychological trauma.

Let us consider the statistics of the most common vehicle collision injuries more closely. Often the facial and head area is the first area to sustain injuries as they are directly in the ‘line of fire’. Victims may suffer facial and scalp lacerations, bruises or even fractures – such as to the jaw. In addition, those involved in auto accidents may require dental work as well. Injuries to the brain include everything from concussions to closed head injury. The worst of these is a traumatic brain injury that may forever alter a person’s way of life. Brain injuries are often accompanied by negative long term effects.

The neck and shoulders are also very vulnerable to minor to severe damage. The most common of these are sprains and strains. Whiplash and fractures are also regular results of severe auto accidents. Shoulders may also be dislocated from collisions both minor and severe depending on the direction of the impact. Back and spinal injuries are some of the more dangerous concerns because of the possibility of partial or full paralysis. All extremities have the possibility of simple or compound fractures as well as clean breaks in which the bone may or may not protrude through the skin.

Finally, automobile accidents have great potential to cause internal injuries as well as long term psychological repercussions. None are pleasant – drive defensively.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston auto accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner Law Firm.

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An HPD officer has been arrested with the charge of intoxicated assault after being involved in a car accident while intoxicated it has been alleged. The officer who is 40 was relieved of duty and placed on a $25,000 bond.

According to reports, the accident happened outside of the Houston area near Brenham. One victim in the car he struck was 80 years old and was taken by medivac helicopter to a hospital in Temple.

Two other victims in were treated at a local hospital in Brenham and they included an 11-year-old boy.

Houston leads the nation in fatal drunk driving accidents and stepped up efforts to enforce drunk driving laws in the Houston area have not so far been effective.

The Houston-area has about one fatal car accident a day involving alcohol.

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A Houston area judge sentenced a convicted drunk driver to 60 years in prison for the death of three innocent victims in a drunk driving accident.

The 46-year-old man in effect got a life sentence. The victims were a 25-year-old man, and two young boys age 10 and 3. Reports have the drunk drivers blood alcohol content at 0.26 at the time of the car accident.

In tearful accounts of the sentencing portion of the case the drunk driver reportedly could not recall the names of the three victims he killed. It is highly likely that such testimony weighed heavily on the judges decision to give that man the maximum sentences.

In Texas courts and juries have become increasingly less tolerant of drunk driving accidents and sentences and jury verdicts in civil cases reflect the anger in the community.

Even though we have initiated new programs directed at reducing drunk driving accidents in Houston, we still lead the nation in drunk driving fatal car accidents. A distinction all Houstonians would like to get rid of.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston personal injury attorney who handles accidents with drunk drivers. If you would like to speak with the Houston DWI accident lawyer call the Baumgartner law firm.

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A Houston woman died within her car crashed with a suburban at an intersection on Beltway 8 in North Harris County. The woman had stopped at a red light and after the light turned green attempted a right turn onto the Beltway and was hit by a Chevy suburban, it was reported.

Area residents report that the intersection onto Beltway 8 is a very dangerous intersection in which numerous serious accidents have occurred. Highway designers are supposed to take into consideration disparity of speeds in intersections such the entry to a highway.

Although at first glance it appears that this fatal car accident in Houston probably was caused by driver error, it is always a good idea to ask what can we do to prevent the same thing from happening in the future.

I am sure you will recall seeing blinking yellow lights when you approach from a highway an intersection involving a residential area. Perhaps this intersection would be appropriate for that type of advance warning.

Greg Baumgartner is a personal injury lawyer in Houston who handles car accident claims and wrongful death lawsuits in Houston and across the state of Texas.

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A short time ago in Kentucky an 18-wheeler killed 10 people and the truck driver himself. Sometime early in the morning the 18-wheeler crossed the median of the highway and ran head on into a van. Accident reconstructionists hired by 18-wheeler accident lawyers can piece together what happened in the truck wreck – but who can actually know for certain why that driver lost control and crossed the highway?  Did the driver fall asleep or lose control for some other reason?  The bigger question that we must ask after the loss of 11 lives is what can we do to prevent this from happening again?

This situation happens every day in the United States.  Multiple lives lost in a truck accident and in this case nearly a dozen. This is as unconscionable as it is unstoppable in the end.  Tractor-trailers are a necessary part of our economy. They play a vital and indispensible role in our country.

The economic conditions in the United States have crushed the wage of the average truck driver, with fuel costs high and other costs rising faster than wages.   It is a balancing act between regulating the trucking industry and protecting the public and insuring the trucking industry thrives.  However, truck drivers or trucking companies who do not follow the existing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and cause accidents like this need to be stopped- we have too many lives at stake otherwise.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston personal injury attorney and the founder of the Baumgartner Law Firm, which is dedicated to helping victims of truck accidents seek civil justice. If you would like to speak with a Houston 18-wheeler accident lawyer call the Baumgartner Law Firm.

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Two people perished in an 18-wheeler accident on US 59 Saturday. The truck accident happened when an 18-wheeler hauling a tractor struck an overpass knocking the tractor off the truck. Apparently, a passenger car behind the 18-wheeler struck the tractor and then was smashed by another 18 -wheeler.

Reports indicate that both lanes of traffic on US 59 were closed for investigation of this multiple death truck accident.

The driver of the first 18-wheeler and a passenger in the car following the 18 wheeler were killed.

In this type of multiple truck accident, investigators usually conduct a formal accident reconstruction to determine the cause of the accident.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations have specific rules regarding loads carried by 18-wheelers. Such rules also apply to equipment detached to the tractor-trailers.

Unfortunately, on Houston highways, given our congested traffic, particularly US 59, Interstate 10, and Highway 290 are very much susceptible to multiple truck accident situations.

At the Baumgartner Law Firm we have been helping families who have lost a loved one in truck accident wrongful death lawsuits for over 20 years.

If you have lost a loved one and want to speak with a Houston truck accident attorney about a wrongful death case call us at 281-587-1111.

Source:

Click2Houston

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When in a car or truck accident of any magnitude beyond a minor fender bender (and even these cannot be dismissed outright) one is advised to retain an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent their best interests whether you caused the accident or otherwise.

That is because the law and insurance claim process can be complicated and the stakes are high. In an accident in which there was bodily injury up to and including death or debilitating, life altering complications the person who caused the accident as well as the victim must be able to rely on a professional to accurately and effectively maneuver through the legal labyrinth to the best of their ability on behalf of their client.

Property and other damages are further concerns to be taken into consideration. Too, a permanent loss of income and emotional distress must also be taken into account. In the end a serious car or truck accident can involve significant compensation where negligence can be proved.

Make no mistake about it the insurance adjuster is out to save money and if they can find a basis, deny the claim.  Be very careful with your dealings with an adverse adjuster in an auto accident injury claim. Sometimes your own insurer can be an adverse party -like when the person who caused the wreck and little or no insurance and you need to make an uninsured motorist claim or underinsured motorist claim.  In these situations a reputable car accident lawyer is advisable.

Despite how we portrayed in the media – personal injury lawyers play a most valuable role in victim compensation. Without us insurance companies – uneager to pay out for accidents (although not hesitant to collect premiums) – would most likely be in a greater position to take advantage of crash victims.

We perform a service and are proud to fight for those in need. We’ve helped hundreds of victims recoup losses and return their lives to a semblance of normalcy.  Helping those in their hour of need is our personal and professional goal and frankly makes the law profession worthwhile at the Baumgartner Law Firm.

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A little research uncovered the fact that only a few states– have mandatory school bus seat belt laws!  Texas passed one in 2007 that goes into effect September 1, 2010 and requires all new school busses to have 3 point seat belts when purchased. Certainly there is no end of debate –with heavy hitters coming out for and against them seat belts and school busses. For instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) feels there is no compelling evidence of their ability to improve child safety. Conversely, other organizations such as the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) feels the use of seatbelts should be a consistent message for children – in cars and on buses.

I applaud Texas as taking a lead on this important issue. While I would have preferred that Texas go further and install seat belts in all school busses and not just new one,  we are moving  in the right direction.

Statistics on school bus accidents and fatalities are difficult to uncover. One vague source found that there have been a little over 1400 school bus related deaths in the last two decades and an average of 25 or so children are killed in school bus accidents annually. But those figures include students who are walking to the bus stop, waiting at bus stops, or entering and exiting buses. In fact, only 9% of school bus related deaths actually take place in or on the vehicle. In light of these figures it would seem that the effort to prevent student deaths should be redoubled to remind bus drivers to be careful of students entering and exiting the bus and other drivers to be cautious during school hours.

Overall school buses are an extremely safe mode of travel. Over 9 million children are transported annually via this method – and as to whether seat belts should be in all existing school busses I leave the reader with this thought – our children are our greatest possessions and we need to do everything we can to protect them.

Greg Baumgartner is a Houston truck accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner Law Firm.  If you have been in a commercial vehicle accident and want to speak with a Houston 18-wheeler accident attorney call the Baumgartner Law Firm.

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