The minivan driver had also complained of neck and back pain and was taken to a hospital. The trooper also indicated that the motorcycle driver was facing charges for the incident, though he did not elaborate. Motorcycle riders are at a constant state of risk for these types of accidents. Motorcycles provide very little protection for a rider in the event of an accident, and can contribute to additional injuries, should the cycle slide on to the rider. Many motorcycle accidents prove fatal to the rider, and even if he escapes with comparatively minor injuries, he may still be facing a long road to recovery. He may need multiple surgeries to repair his damaged leg and head injuries are always dangerous. Motorcycle and car crashes always pose the risk of traumatic brain injuries. Anytime you have been in an accident with injuries, you should speak with a personal injury attorney,…

Concussions, especially in sport-related situations, used to be looked at as minor and trivial. If you got up and brushed yourself off, the goal was to get back into the game as soon as possible. Most athletes, and certainly young teens, who are sensitive to the importance of maximizing playing time, could feel pressure to return to the field. There is a growing body of research that indicates that concussions, while not all leading to traumatic brain injury, nonetheless, are not the minor, non-event, that many have been treated as over the years. The ABC news story discusses a girl playing soccer, who suffered three blows to the head within a few days, and ends up "disoriented and having memory lapses." While the coaching staff did not suggest seeing a doctor, the girl eventually told her parents what she was feeling and they took her to a doctor, where she was…

Drunk driving has been subject to a sustained attack on all fronts, from increasingly severe punishments and greater restrictions to a decade's long publicity campaign by organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). And there has been progress. The decline in highway fatalities has in part been attributed to increased enforcement of drunk driving laws. In 2011, highway deaths fell to 32,367, the lowest number in absolute terms, since recordkeeping of these statistics began in 1949. Nonetheless, in 2010, 31 percent or 10,228 deaths resulted from alcohol-impaired motor vehicle accidents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that 30 people die every day in the U.S. in drunk driving accidents. In Columbia County last week, one of those deaths resulted in the conviction of an Evans man. He was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide and running a red light. Prosecutors asked for, and obtained, a 12-year prison sentence…