Medical malpractice is a serious problem that can happen in the doctor’s office, on the operating table, or even when filling a prescription. Our medical malpractice attorneys in Buffalo have represented victims of negligence and understand how devastating medical errors can be for individuals and their families. Recently, a well-known pilot – and national hero – took up a new mission to raise awareness of the dangers of medical malpractice and negligence.

Saving all 155 lives aboard his airplane after being forced into an emergency landing on the Hudson River, Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger was thrust into the national spotlight in 2009 for his heroic efforts. Citing over 30 years’ experience as a pilot, the retired pilot is calling for urgent changes within the medical industry.

Medical malpractice an “urgent” crisis

In a recent interview with Politico, Sullenberger said that medical malpractice errors are estimated to kill up to 200,000 people a year, or “the equivalent of 20 jetliners crashing per week.”

With these medical errors strikingly common, Sullenberger said that such a margin for error would never be acceptable within the aviation industry, where pilots take hundreds of lives into their hands every flight.

“If tens of thousands of people died in plane crashes, there would be a national ground stop. Fleets would be grounded. Airports would close. There would be a presidential commission. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) would investigate. No one would fly until we had solved the problems,” he said.

Why, Sullenberger asks, should medical professionals be held to different standards than the aviation industry?

Citing his experience in the airline industry as a model for which doctors, surgeons, nurses and pharmacists could follow to reduce medical errors, Sullenberger likened the mistakes of medical professionals to those made in airplane accidents – except without strict government regulation and preventative measures to stop such instances.

Proposed changes designed to curb medical mistakes

Sullenberger is calling for a number of changes in the way medical professionals prepare for procedures, including the use of pilot-like checklists by medical professionals. He also has proposed that raising public awareness over the dangers of medical malpractice and releasing data about medical errors could help address the problem.

In addition, Sullenberger is calling for a new method of reviewing medical errors. As opposed to blaming doctors and nurses, Sullenberger said it’s more important to examine the causes that are behind a medical error.

It’s only then, according to Sullenberger, that the situation will improve.

With the industry lacking the urgency to fix these problems, the legal representation of a seasoned medical malpractice attorney in Buffalo might be necessary if you or a loved one is injured due to a medical error. The negligent medical professional or hospital likely will fight any medical malpractice claims. With so much at stake, it’s critical to have an experience attorney on your side.

If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice in the Buffalo, NY area, contact an experienced medical negligence attorney today. Call the Law Offices of James Morris at 1-800-477-9044 for a free case consultation.

The Trayvon Martin tragedy highlights the danger of becoming involved in a fight. I have handled a number of lawsuits involving fights and generally everyone involved loses. If you win the fight you may injure the other participant and face criminal charges or a lawsuit. If you lose you may have to live with a permanent injury for life. Unlike MMA fights most people are not trained to defend themselves and there is no referee to stop the fight once you are disabled. If you fight a stranger you do not know if they are a trained combatant or if they will pull a knife or a gun. In real fights a broken jaw or a fractured eye socket is not uncommon. It is not cowardice to walk away from a fight if you can. That is the advice I would give my children or my clients.

James E. Morris, Esq.

Teenagers have limited driving experience and, unfortunately, sometimes they do not make very good decisions while they are behind the wheel. One of the riskiest decisions that a teen can make is driving too fast. Speeding is dangerous for every driver because it increases the chance of losing control of the car; makes the car more difficult to stop; and results in crashes occurring with more force. Unfortunately for young people, speeding is even more risky than for other motorists because high speeds combined with driver inexperience result in many crashes occurring.

Our Buffalo auto accident lawyers know that many teen traffic deaths occur as a direct result of drivers who go too fast. Unfortunately, when teens speed, they endanger their own lives, the lives of all passengers in the car, and the lives of every other pedestrian, bicycle rider or motorist on the road. Crashes with these young drivers are far too common and the Governors’ Highway Safety Association has recently taken a close look at the role of speeding in teen auto accident deaths.

Speeding as a Leading Cause of Teen Auto Accident Deaths

Young teenagers have a greater chance of becoming involved in auto accidents than other motorists and make more insurance claims arising from crashes. Death due to motorcycle accidents is also consistently a top cause of death among young people.  Now, the Governors’ Highway Safety Association has demonstrated that a great number of the teen traffic accident deaths happen due to speeding.

According to the GHSA report, as many as 33 percent of all fatal teen car wrecks involve excessive speed. This reflects an increase in the number of speed-related deaths since the year 2000.  In 2000, just 30 percent of deadly teen wrecks had a driver who was going too fast for the road.

This percentage increase of speeding-related deaths occurred even as the overall number of fatal teen car wrecks has declined. Improved safety efforts, a stronger focus on drunk driving and anti-texting campaigns have helped to bring the overall death toll down, even as car accidents remain a top cause of fatalities. Yet, amidst this decline in auto accident deaths, teens are speeding and ending up in speed-related crashes now more than ever.

To help save lives and prevent more teens from falling victim, it is important for lawmakers, parents and schools to work together. Lawmakers have helped to do their parts in reducing teen deaths by passing graduated licensing laws in many states that limit night driving for young drivers and that impose restrictions on the number of passengers in cars. The GHSA indicates that most speed-related teen deaths happen at night and with multiple passengers, so these graduated licensing laws can help to reduce speeding accidents. Parents should also talk to their teens and schools should consider providing educational materials about the high risks associated with driving too fast.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

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According to WGRZ.com, a tragic accident in Central New York recently led to the loss of seven lives. The accident occurred when a trailer hauling crushed cars slammed into a minivan carrying two families. The trailer had disconnected from a big rig that was traveling south, before colliding with the van traveling north.

Our Buffalo injury attorneys know that tractor-trailers can be very dangerous on the roads. When a trailer is not properly secured and the trailer comes loose from the rig, the accident can have devastating consequences. Truck drivers and trucking companies have a legal obligation to ensure that this type of disaster does not occur and can be held legally responsible for losses when they fail to live up to their responsibility to the public.

Tractor-Trailer Accident Has Devastating Outcome

The tractor-trailer was a salvage truck that was driven by a 26-year-old Manlius man. There was an additional passenger in the truck at the time of the accident.  Neither of the two people in the truck suffered injuries in the crash.

When the trailer came lose from the rig, the driver of the van reportedly saw it coming and tried to swerve off of the road and out of the way. Unfortunately, this effort to avoid a collision was not successful as the trailer was moving too quickly. The trailer tore the van apart, with some of the victims ending up under the trailer.

Rescue workers at the scene of the accident had to jack the trailer up in order to retrieve the victims. Unfortunately, seven of the passengers in the van died as a result of the crash. The seven victims included four children between the ages of four and seven as well as three adults in their early 20s.

Investigators are attempting to determine the cause of the accident, with possibilities including actions on the part of the trailer driver as well as mechanical failure. The salvage company that owned the truck has been operational since last year and the truck was subject to one roadside inspection in March of this year. When the truck was inspected, there were minor violations found including the vehicle being four pounds overweight and lacking in both required reflective tape and a mandated fire extinguisher. The truck was not taken out of service as a result of this inspection.

It is clear, however, that something went very wrong leading up to this tragic crash.  Whether the trucking company or driver failed to inspect the truck, or whether the driver did something dangerous or negligent that led to the trailer detaching, there is a good chance that the driver and trucking company will be held legally liable for the wrongful death of those killed in this tragic crash.

Trucking companies can be held responsible not only for their own negligence or failure to inspect a vehicle, but also if their drivers do anything careless or negligence that leads to a crash occurring.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

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The Governor Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently reported an alarming increase in motorcycle accidents in 2012. This news is especially disturbing because progress has been made in the last decade on reducing deaths in all other categories — except when it comes to motorcycle accidents.

While the death rate is on the rise, state and federal authorities continue to try various steps to educate the public on motorcycle accident dangers and to reduce the number of accidents that occur. One effort to help reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Our Buffalo, NY motorcycle accident lawyers know that Motorcycle Awareness Month is part of a nationwide and local education effort each May to encourage drivers to be safer around motorcycles and to encourage motorcycle riders to make smart choices.

Buffalo Motorcycle Deaths & Motorcycle Awareness Month

According to Your News Now, there are many more motorcycle riders on the streets during the spring and summer in Buffalo than there are at other times of the year. The reason for this is obvious of course: the good weather results in more people wanting to get out on their bikes. Unfortunately, it also results in many more accidents. The May YNN article, for example, indicated that two motorcycle accidents had already occurred in the week prior to the article’s publication.

These two accidents are unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg, as Erie County has one of the highest accident fatality rates in the entire state of New York.  That Erie County is in the top five when it comes to deaths is especially frightening because the boroughs of New York City are far more populous.

Education and training of both drivers and motorcycle riders is necessary to try to curb the number of fatalities that occur in Erie County, especially as the months grow warmer and more people go out to ride. Motorcycle Awareness Month aims to provide the wake-up call that drivers and motorcyclists need in order to stay safe.

Motorcycle Awareness Month is not just a local Buffalo event either, but is part of a national effort to stop the rising number of motorcycle accident deaths. The GHSA indicates that the fatality rate among motorcyclists has gone up for fourteen years of the last fifteen years, and the preliminary data from 2012 indicates that last year was no exception.

In fact, 2012 saw a 9 percent increase in motorcycle accident deaths across the U.S., which was more than government authorities had predicted. The number of deaths was near record highs, with fatalities increasing in 34 states.

The number of deaths is not going to decline unless drivers and motorcycle riders can be better about sharing the road. Motorcycle Awareness Month has the aim of helping to encourage motorcycles and cars to both be safe,  with local troopers in Buffalo warning:

• Drivers to yield when required; to avoid tailgating and to be aware of their surroundings.
• Motorcycle riders to use safety equipment, take a safety course and avoid blind spots.

By educating both drivers and motorcyclists, hopefully the ever increasing death-toll will begin to decline and more motorcycle riders will be able to ride without injury.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

On March 28, 2013, the Buffalo News reported on a tragic car accident on Wilson-Burt Road in Niagara County that resulted in two deaths. The wreck was a three vehicle accident that occurred just prior to 4 p.m.

Our Buffalo, NY accident attorneys know that multi-car pileups are very dangerous and often result in fatalities. Multi-car accidents may also raise complicated legal questions regarding who should be blamed for causing the wreck. When a death occurs, it is important to determine who was at fault for the accident because the responsible driver may be required to pay wrongful death damages to family members of those who were killed.

Multi-Car Accident Leads to Death

The three vehicle accident occurred when a large pickup truck was traveling east on Wilson-Burt Road. The pickup reportedly rear-ended a Buick LeSabre, which caused the Buick to be pushed into the westbound lane.

The LeSabre rolled over, crossed a ditch and went off the road. The driver of the LeSabre was one of the two victims of the multi-car pileup who died. The other victim who was killed was the driver of a Saturn that had been traveling in the westbound lane at the time. The Saturn was hit by the pickup truck when it was forced into the westbound lane as a result of the force of the collision.

The other two vehicles suffered significant damage, although the property loss is insignificant compared with the tragedy of the deaths of the drivers of both vehicles.

The Buffalo News reports that the multi-car crash may have occurred as a result of the pickup truck speeding. Reports indicate that an investigation is currently underway into how the crash happened, but that it is not believed that alcohol played any role in causing the accident.

Multi-Car Pileups Often Deadly

This multi-car accident demonstrates the extreme dangers that can occur as a result of a pileup. Multi-car accidents or pile-ups often occur on highways and on crowded roads where cars are in close proximity to each other and where there is no place for a vehicle to go in order to escape a collision.

Because the cars are close together in multi-car accidents, it is common for vehicles to be pushed into a lane going the wrong way. This can cause head-on and side impact collisions, both of which tend to be among the most serious types of crashes. Head-on accidents are especially dangerous because of the combined force of the vehicles while side-impact crashes can cause serious harm because there is little cushioning from the vehicle itself to deflect the pressure from the impact of the crash.

In some instances, it can also be difficult to determine what was the ultimate cause of the accident and who is responsible for the costs. The driver of the pickup truck could potentially be liable for wrongful death damages paid to the family members of those who were killed.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

Our Buffalo, NY car accident lawyers know that texting and driving is one of the riskiest driving behaviors you can engage in. Unfortunately, it is also a behavior that teens are very likely to do on a regular basis. As the Car Connection reported, a recent survey showed that 26 percent of teenagers read or send a text message one or more times every single time they drive. Unfortunately, these teens — like all people who text and drive — have a 23 times greater chance of becoming involved in a car wreck.

To help curb teen texting and save lives, AT&T has launched an “It Can Wait” program. Recently, Biz Journals reported that Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller will be a part of the program to help educate kids and encourage them to make smart choices about texting when behind the wheel.

Sabres Goalie To Help Teach Kids About Texting Dangers

According to the March 12 Biz Journals article, Ryan Miller was scheduled to appear at Springville-Griffith Institute High School on the 14th of March to join an 11:30 a.m. presentation. The presentation is a part of outreach efforts launched by AT&T. Miller was scheduled to discuss texting dangers.

The presentation will also include other important information for teen drivers to help drive the point home that texting and driving can be deadly. For example:

• Students will watch a 10 minute documentary called “The Last Text.” The documentary shares stories told by students who were involved in accidents as a result of texting and stories told by family members who lost loved ones in deadly texting and driving crashes.
• Students will be given the opportunity to use an online simulator to experience the dangers of texting firsthand. The online simulator includes a laptop and a wheel and pedal kit to give kids a realistic experience of a texting and driving accident in a safe environment.
• Students will also be encouraged to sign a no-texting-and-driving pledge and to share their promise with other people using the social networks Twitter and Facebook. The hope is that these pledges will make texting and driving unattractive to teenage drivers by making it seem socially unacceptable.

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller will be taking the no-texting-and-driving pledge as part of the presentation.

Keeping Kids Safe

When teens text and drive, they endanger themselves, their passengers and everyone else on the road. It is very important that teens are aware of how risky this behavior is.

As Distraction.gov indicates, texting requires you to take your eyes away from the road for 4.6 seconds, which means you could drive a whole football field with your eyes on the phone if you were going 55 mph. During this time, you could veer out of your lane, strike a pedestrian, or hit another car.

Despite the clear dangers, Distraction.gov also indicated that around 40 percent of teens had been in the car with someone who behaved dangerously with his cell phone. The problem, therefore, is far too widespread with too many teens texting and driving. Hopefully, programs like the presentation with Ryan Miller will help to curb this habit and make the roads safer for everyone.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call 800-477-9044.

Every year, the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety publishes a summary of safety laws across the fifty states. The purpose of the summary is to see where states stand, what types of regulations they have passed to try to make their roads safer, and what regulations the state is still missing.

Our Buffalo, NY injury attorneys urge every driver to pay attention to this summary of safety laws. Not only can you learn where our state stands as far as driver safety, but you can also learn what types of laws and regulations are recommended by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. This way, you can follow the guidelines and suggested safety rules even if New York does not yet have a law in place regarding a specific dangerous driving behavior.

Where Does New York Stand on Safety?

New York was given a green rating by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. This means the state has passed many of the key driving safety laws that are recommended. Although it is lacking in a few areas, New York has done a lot to keep its roads safe.

Some of the different laws that New York has passed and some of the areas where it is lacking include the following:

• The state allows police to pull over drivers just for not wearing a seat belt, even if the driver isn’t doing anything else wrong. This type of law – a primary seat belt law – helps to ensure all drivers wear their belts.
• New York got full credit for requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets and for having a booster seat law in place.
• New York gets full credit for its laws requiring a minimum age of 16 for a learner’s permit, for its six-month holding period, for its rules on supervised driving and for restricting both night time driving and the number of passengers that can drive with a teen driver.
• While New York imposes a restriction on teen cell phone use when driving, the state does not get credit for its law on this issue since the law is not comprehensive enough.
• New York does not get credit on the issue of making drivers wait until they are 18 until they are awarded a full license.
• New York does get credit for all its DUI laws. These laws include mandates requiring all offenders to use an ignition interlock device; child endangement laws; mandatory BAC test laws; and open container laws.
• New York gets credit for its law imposing a restriction on texting messaging for all drivers.

In looking at the survey of the important safety laws identified by the Advocate’s report, it is clear that New York does very well in protecting its citizens from hazards on the road. In fact, the state has 13 of the 15 recommended laws. The remaining laws on limiting cell phone use for teens and on requiring drivers to wait until they are 18 to get a full license can be addressed by parents who may wish to set tough guidelines to keep their teen drivers safe.

According to WGRZ Channel 2, a multi-vehicle accident occurred on Grand Island Bridge on Friday morning, backing up traffic for all cars headed north to Niagara Falls. Only minor injuries reportedly occurred in the crash, but the accident involved a rollover vehicle, which normally makes accidents much more dangerous.

Our Buffalo, NY accident attorneys were very glad to hear that no one suffered serious injuries in this auto accident, which was believed to have been caused in part by reduced visibility and slick snow-build up that are so common in Buffalo winters. Unfortunately, the accident serves not just as a reminder that winter weather can be dangerous but also as a reminder of the risk of rollover crashes.

Rollover Accidents Put All Drivers at Risk

A rollover accident occurs in any crash situation where one or more of the vehicles rolls over at least once and generally ends up in an upside-down orientation. Rollover accidents can occur with any types of vehicles but they are most common when:

• A driver is driving a sport utility vehicle (SUV)
• A driver is operating a mini-van
• A driver is operating a truck
• A driver is operating a tractor trailer

In general, any vehicle with a high center of gravity can become unstable, especially in the event that the vehicle is going too fast on slippery pavement or around sharp turns. SUVs and trucks both have a high center of gravity, especially if they are packed with a heavy load. This makes them more prone to rolling over and endangering their passengers.

The Dangers of Rollover Accidents

Rollover accidents are far too common. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for example, there are more than 280,000 crashes each year in which one or more vehicles rolls over. These rollover incidents cause more than 10,000 deaths every year.

In many cases, it is the passenger who rolled over who is killed in the crash. For instance, most fatal rollovers in four-wheel drive vehicles involve just a single vehicle. The car goes around a turn too fast or otherwise makes a dangerous maneuver, the driver loses control, the stability of the vehicle is affected and the car flips. Alcohol is often, but not always, involved in these single vehicle crashes, and many of the accidents involve male drivers ages 25 and under.

When passengers are in a rollover accident, they are in danger of being ejected from the vehicle. This can cause serious injury or death. Typically, those who are ejected from the car in a rollover accident are not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. This can also put these drivers in danger of traumatic head injury from banging their head as the car rolls over.

Rollover accidents are not only risky to passengers but can also be deadly to anyone else on the road. When a large truck flips, for example, the truck can crush other vehicles and is likely to result in death.

This recent rollover accident, therefore, while it fortunately only caused minor injuries, is an important reminder of the risks presented by top heavy cars and should serve as a caution to all drivers to be careful and in control this winter.

If you’ve been injured in Buffalo or the surrounding area, contact the Law Offices of James Morris today at 800-477-9044.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that winters are cold in Buffalo, Rochester and the rest of upstate New York. Cold winter creates a lot of risks for people, but those in the greatest danger of being harmed by very cold temperatures are workers who spend the bulk of their day working outside in inclement weather. This includes people who work construction, who work in snow removal or tree trimming after storms, or any other worker who routinely spends large blocks of time outdoors.

It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that workers are safe and to provide a safe work environment. This includes making certain that workers are properly prepared for the cold and that they do not suffer from hypothermia. Our Buffalo, NY injury attorneys urge workers to pay careful attention to the OSHA information on cold stress and hypothermia and to heed the tips provided by OSHA in order to make sure that workers stay safe.

OSHA Information for Employers About Winter Safety

According to OSHA, there are a number of factors that can affect when a worker will develop hypothermia. The wind chill outside is one important factor, as is whether the worker is on medication, has certain health problems or is wearing damp clothing. Because so many things can affect when a worker develops hypothermia, it is important to realize that the problem is not limited to when it is below freezing outside.

Workers, therefore, must be properly trained to recognize signs of hypothermia any time they are performing outdoor work. Employers must be aware of the dangers that their workers face and take precautions. Some of the precautions that OSHA suggests include:

• Advising workers of the signs of hypothermia. Signs include hardness of the skin, numbness and the skin becoming pale. The extremities, including the hands, feet, nose and ears, are most likely to develop hypothermia.
• Ensuring that workers take frequent breaks to get warm. Hypothermia develops when the body is not able to warm itself back to a normal temperature. Prolonged exposure to freezing weather can cause serious and permanent injury or even death.
• Provide warm beverages to workers. This can help them to maintain their body temperature as they are working outside in the cold. The beverages should not contain caffeine, so caffeinated coffees and teas should be avoided.
• Try to schedule work for warm times. When possible, schedule outdoor work to occur on days that are above freezing. You should also always make a point to schedule outdoor work on the warmest part of the day.
• Ensure that workers have proper clothing to keep warm. Layering can be very beneficial to workers in fighting off hypothermia.

These are just a few of the key tips that OSHA provides in order to help employers to make sure to keep their employees safe. During this long cold winter season, it is very important for all employers to protect their employees who are working outdoors and who are at risk.