The highway fatality rates over the last few years have been unsettled, with decreases followed by increases, followed by another decrease. Last year, fortunately, the number decreased, but they remain far too high. In 2013, there was a 3 percent drop, to about...
PROTECTING THE LEGAL INTERESTS OF INJURED HAWAII RESIDENTS AND VISITORS SINCE 1973
Month: February 2014
Cocaine-using surgeon leaves man quadriplegic
The next time you need surgery, would you consider choosing a doctor who used cocaine? Some patients in a Texas hospital allege there were not given a choice, but were nonetheless operated on by a doctor who was known to have used cocaine. A man is suing the hospital...
They didn’t think kids eat in cars?
Car accidents are always bad. Even "minor" accidents pose a great risk to the human body, as the physics of a vehicle crash exert terrific forces on the body, breaking bones, tearing muscle, crushing internal organs and causing concussions and traumatic brain injuries...
Driver drags man under car for blocks
There are car accidents, where elements of the collision seem more accidental, where events have to line up just right (or just wrong) for the accident to occur. And then there are car accidents where nothing seems accidental, and the collision moves from a reckless...
The risk of a live donor in transplant surgery
Before a patient has surgery, the doctors are required to obtain what is known as "informed consent." This is where they are supposed to explain to a patient the potential risks of the surgery or other procedure and the expected prognosis.This allows the patient and...
Good Samaritan: experience too bizarre for ‘Hawaii Five-O’
In the Hawaiian Islands, there is a feeling of community. It wouldn't be unusual to see someone stop and help a neighbor in need. That's exactly what one woman did when she saw a vehicle stranded on the side of the Honolulu freeway where a female passenger was visibly...
A car safety regulation that will save billions
Often, the car industry complains loudly when government regulators put forward requirements for new safety features for automobiles. The adoption of the now standard airbag was long delayed by the car manufacturers recalcitrance. There is frequently much outcry...
Troubling increase in fatal car accidents and marijuana
As the marijuana legalization movement gains momentum and states like Hawaii consider following Colorado and Washington's lead, a growing problem will need to be addressed: that of drugged driving caused by marijuana use. A recent study has found that the number of...
Ride sharing service sued for pedestrian death
At one time, when you were in college, if you needed to catch a ride, you could place sheet of paper on a bulletin board and hope someone would give you a call and a ride. Times have changed and the modern version of that bulletin board is an app that allows riders to...
The difference between inattentive driving and driving drunk
Everyone agrees drunk driving is bad. Alcohols ability to deaden our reaction time and slow our cognitive powers is a poor mix with a couple of thousand pounds of metal moving at dozens of feet per second. If someone drinks and drives, it is virtually certain that...