Personal Injury Updates

For a kid, nothing is more exciting than an afternoon at the playground.  Not only are they fun, but some neuroscientists believe that playgrounds provide cognitive, social and emotional development in children.  While our children need a safe playground to develop their physical and social selves, many playgrounds pose a very dangerous, and often deadly, threat to kids.

Each year, over 200,000 children go to U.S. emergency rooms with playground related injuries, most of which occur when the child falls from climbing equipment onto the ground.[1]  Forty-five percent of these injuries are severe, including fractures, internal injuries, concussions and dislocations.[2]  Among children ages 4 and under, most traumatic brain injuries occur on the playground.[3]  From 2001 through 2008, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigated 40 deaths associated with playground equipment.[4]  The average age of the victim was 6 years old.

Every four years, the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) visits more than 3000 of America's playgrounds in schools, child care facilities and parks.  Considering the standards set forth by the CPSC, as well as the American Society for Testing and Materials, the most recent NPPS survey resulted in an average grade of C+ for safety, up slightly from the C grade posted from the previous survey.  With these less than stellar safety grades, and an alarming rate of serious playground related child injuries each year, parents and caregivers must be vigilant in their efforts to keep kids safe on the playground.  Use this simple checklist to help make sure your local community or school playground is a safe place to play:

1. Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials (soft surfaces reduce the risk of injury and are better able to absorb shock from a fall than non-absorbing surfaces like asphalt, grass or concrete);
2. Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar;
3. Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart;
4. Check for dangerous hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends;
5. Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches;
6. Check for sharp points or edges in equipment;
7. Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks;
8. Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls;
9. Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition; and
10. Carefully supervise children on playgrounds.[5]

Parents and child care providers can learn more from an informative brochure published by the National Recreation and Parks Association called “the Dirty Dozen,” which points out the 12 most serious hazards found on public playgrounds.  You can order copies online at www.nrpa.org or by calling NRPA Publications Orders at 866-538-1926.

A recent report released by the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board concluded the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) acted appropriately in discontinuing its investigation of unintended acceleration claims with Toyota vehicles. The report was prepared in response to a number of consumer complaints claiming that Toyota and Lexus vehicles suddenly accelerated without driver input.  In some cases, vehicles allegedly spontaneously accelerated when the driver claimed they were pressing the brake pedal.

Despite previous claims and prior recalls, this issue hit the national stage after a fatal accident in August, 2009, involving an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer driving his family in Lexus ES. Floor-mat entrapment was later determined to be the cause, involving a non-original, all-weather mat.

Several large-scale recalls were issued in the wake of this tragedy to examine potential causes for the unintended acceleration events.  Factors considered included floor mat replacement, floor mat anchors, modifications to gas-pedals to reduce the risk of  mat entrapment risk, and software updates enabling smart-throttle brake override to prevent unintended acceleration in certain late-model vehicles.

The NHTSA determined mat entrapment, misapplication of the gas pedal, and sticking pedals were the cause of these incidents, and not malfunction of the electronic throttle system.  These findings were corroborated by a separate investigation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/02/nasa-report-blame-floor-mats-and-pedals-toyota-already-addressed-sudden-acceleration-sua-problems.html

The report recommends an advisory committee to the NHTSA be formed to keep the government up to date on current and developing technologies so that the agency can be more proactive in dealing with technology-related safety issues.  The report also calls for a review of Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) with the goal of improving the ability to identify and deal with  problems related to increasingly complex electronic systems which may leave no physical trace of defect or malfunction.

Another recommendation was to have event data records, a vital aid to investigators, installed on all new vehicles. The Research Council also endorsed further research by the NHTSA regarding pedal layout and keyless ignition designs, and emphasized the importance of human factors in electronic system design.

Source: www.consumerreports.com

Whether you are a sports fan or not, when ESPN covers a story, people listen.  This is especially true the week before the Super Bowl, so when ESPN chose a special story to air during the week leading up to the big game, you just know it is important and a ‘must see.’  Last week ESPN travelled to Maple Valley, WA to do an interview with Zackery Lystedt and his parents, Victor and Mercedes, as part of a special report for its “SportsCenter” television show.  The report focused on “Safety in the NFL,” and the recent and future rule and equipment changes to make the game safer for players at all levels and ages.   The change started in Washington and with Zackery Lystedt.  Two years ago the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, came to Seattle, WA as an Honorary Chair of the Brain Injury Association of Washington’s Annual Fundraising Gala.  Mr. Goodell met Zack, medical specialists, and advocates and credits this visit with changes we are now seeing in the NFL.  The 45 minute episode on ESPN contains a 5 minute feature story on the Lystedts, the law named after him, the Brain Injury Association of Washington, and how the NFL is changing the game.  Zack’s story is one worthy of your time and one that will warm your heart.

ESPN SportsCenters Special Report – Life Changed by Concussions