Oklahoma Personal Injury Legal Blog
Traveling Safely Through Oklahoma City Construction This Summer
Construction site car accidents have claimed over 4,400 lives in the past six years, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – and most of them belonged to drivers who were trying to navigate a work zone when something went wrong. Another 200,000 people were injured, making work zones a dangerous stretch of roadway to navigate. Summer and fall are the top times for road construction accidents, according to the FHWA.
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Boat Safely in Oklahoma This Summer With These Safety Tips
Boating is a fun summer activity in Oklahoma and neighboring states, but it can also result in accidents and injuries if boaters don’t take basic safety precautions. Plan ahead for an enjoyable time on the water by learning all you can about boating from the U.S. Coast Guard and other sources, and by keeping boating safety tips like these in mind:
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Top Things to Do in Oklahoma City This Summer
Summer has arrived! Children are out of school, parents are submitting their vacation plans to their employers, and everyone is getting ready for summer fun. Whether you’re heading outdoors this summer or plan to beat the heat in indoor, air-conditioned settings, Oklahoma City offers endless opportunities for summer fun. Below are the top spots you don’t want to miss, courtesy of TripAdvisor.com.
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OSHA Encourages Workplaces to Address the “Fatal Four” Causes of Accidents
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for setting and enforcing workplace safety standards in millions of workplaces throughout the United States. OSHA is therefore responsible for the safety of 130 million workers, as well as for collecting data on workplace deaths, injuries, and accidents in order to measure whether safety regulations and enforcement are working.
In 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 4,585 workers lost their lives in workplace accidents nationwide. In other words, about 88 people per week or 12 people per day were killed on the job in the United States in 2013. These numbers are the second-lowest for any year on record. Nevertheless, as every experienced Oklahoma City injury lawyer has seen, even a single death or catastrophic injury is one too many.
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Ways to Help Prevent Accidental Drowning Injuries This Summer
Summer is a great time to head to a lake, river, or swimming pool – but it is also a time when the risk of accidental drownings increases. Accidental drowning is the number-one cause of death for children under age 5, and it is a top cause of severe traumatic brain injury in children and adults.
Experienced Oklahoma personal injury lawyers recommend keeping in mind these top drowning causes – and tips for avoiding them – in mind this summer. This safety information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
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Attorney Ray Maples Earns a Spot on Oklahoma Super Lawyers List
Attorney Ray Maples has earned a spot on the Oklahoma Super Lawyers list for 2015, his third consecutive year receiving this honor. He was selected for the Oklahoma Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list in 2011, and he also earned an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell in 2013. The Super Lawyers selection process focuses on attorneys who make substantial contributions to the practice of law in their areas of practice. The process begins with a nomination from a partner at a law firm, a peer, or another outside source. The Super Lawyers team then researches the attorney’s work, professional achievement, and contributions to the practice of law and to the community. After asking for feedback from professional peers, the committee makes its final selection.
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Celebrate National Bike Month by Driving “Bicycle-Safe”
May is National Bike Month, which means it’s a great time to add some new safety habits to your routine when you’re commuting by car. The League of American Bicyclists estimates that the number of bicycle commuters is rising in all fifty U.S. states, as people take to bicycles to get more exercise, enjoy the fresh air, and reduce their impact on the environment.
Bicyclists in Oklahoma have the same right to use the roads as cars, as long as they obey traffic laws. This means that Oklahoma drivers have a responsibility to share the road safely with bikes as well as with cars. Experienced Oklahoma City personal injury lawyers recommend adding some “bicycle-safe” practices to your ordinary driving habits, like:
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Identifying Whiplash Neck Sprain After a Car Accident
About 30 percent of all car accidents in the United States each year are rear-end collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Although many of these accidents seem minor, rear-end crashes are well-known for being one of the top causes of whiplash, a condition that can cause serious and lingering medical complications.Whiplash can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Often, the symptoms may not appear for a day or two after the accident. Since there is no single medical test for whiplash, a diagnosis must often be reached by ruling out other possible causes of a patient’s pain, stiffness, dizziness, swelling, or other conditions. X-rays and medical imaging like a CT or MRI scan can help. Finally, patients who have been told that whiplash is a “minor” or “made-up” condition might delay getting treatment.
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Oklahoma Nursing Homes Face Allegation that They Forced Patients to Sign Away Rights
If your loved one needs nursing home care in Oklahoma, you’re probably comparing facilities based on factors like location, quality of care, available medical providers, and cost. Experienced Oklahoma nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers recommend adding one more factor to your list: Choose a nursing home that does not require you or your loved one to sign away any legal rights.
This factor makes the list after allegations have arisen that several nursing homes throughout the state have been requiring patients and their families to sign away their right to sue the nursing home for negligence or other harm resulting from substandard care. Instead, these agreements state that the patient and family agree to submit to binding arbitration – a type of out-of-court settlement in which damages awards are frequently lower than the patient or family deserve.
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NTSB Considers Ways to Improve Tire Safety Information for Consumers
When a motor vehicle is recalled for a hidden defect, vehicle owners can look up their vehicle by VIN on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. Auto manufacturers keep track of VIN ownership and strive to contact as many vehicle owners as possible about recalls.
But no similar system exists for tires, and for that reason, thousands of vehicles are still on U.S. roads with defective tires, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
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