Since the repeal of Florida’s mandatory helmet law, motorcycle deaths have skyrocketed. A report by the Florida Today newspaper analyzing federal motorcycle crash statistics found “unhelmeted” deaths in Florida rose from 22 in 1998 and 1999, the years before the helmet law repeal to 250 in 2004, the most recent year of available data. Total motorcycle deaths in the state have increased 67 percent, from 259 in 2000 to 432 in 2004, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics. It seems like an easy decision for lawmakers to re-instate the helmet law.

If you’ve been involved in an auto accident, you know the sad truth. Your auto insurance company doesn’t always act “like a good neighbor”. The truth is that the auto insurance company is often too busy trying to deny your claim or minimize the amount of money they pay you to actually assist you with your claim. Just this past legislative session, the insurance lobby spent countless millions of dollars trying to minimize their risk after auto accidents. That’s not a good neighbor.

When you purchase auto insurance you naturally think that the policy will provide a certain piece of mind if you’re involved in an auto accident. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. The auto insurance companies have spent large sums of money devising ways to NOT pay you if you’re the victim of an auto crash! It seems ridiculous but if you talk to anyone who’s recently been involved in a crash, you find it’s true. That’s why you need to find a lawyer who’ll fight these insurance companies and hold their feet to the fire.

Auto accidents can cause injuries to all parts of the body. Yet, the most significant injury usually results when the brain is traumatized as a result of the car crash impact. Symptoms of such head injuries include loss of vision, loss of cognitive ability, hearing loss, alteration of smell and taste, and endocrine/glandular dysfunction. Especially in cases of moderate and severe brain injury, patients should be routinely given blood tests to see if the human hormonal glands are functioning normally. The pituitary gland is particularly at risk, and blood work should be done to show whether or not the gland is functioning properly. If there is a decrease in the production of growth hormone, rather expensive hormone therapy may need to be implemented because of the long term ill effects of low pituitary output which may affect the heart, the psychiatric status of the patient, and may have other effects not fully know at this time. Many physicians feel that there needs to be observable damage to the small but powerful glands in the brain in order to consider testing for output. There does not have to be observable damage for such an injury to occur, if there otherwise was a moderate to severe brain injury involved in the patient. These glandular disruptions would be the cause of the very common sexual dysfunction seen in TBI survivors.

Brain injury is the leading cause of death of Americans under the age of 45. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) ruins lives and debilitates millions of people. TBI occurs every 15 seconds. Approximately 5 million Americans currently suffer some form of TBI disability. The leading causes of TBI are motor vehicle accidents, falls, and sports injuries. In a brain injury scenario there are two actions (coup and contrecoup) wherein the brain is impacted and the force of the blow jerks the brain back into the rear of the head causing a second trauma.

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Now that Ben Roethlisberger has left the hospital and been charged with not wearing a helmet and lack of a proper license, he has vowed to wear a helmet each and every time he hops on his motorcycle. This is important because he’s a star and people watch and imitate what he does. Roethlisberger is very fortunate that he didn’t suffer traumatic brain injury or other serious injury.

There is a disturbing trend that affects millions of Americans who’ve been injured in an auto accident. Their own insurance companies are pushing them to resolve their claims without speaking with an attorney. In most instances, this is an injustice to the auto accident victim. The whole purpose of auto insurance is to protect the injured in the event of an accident. That’s why we pay those insurance premiums. If you’ve experienced an auto accident, seek counsel from an attorney before speaking with your insurance adjuster.

The recent motorcycle accident involving Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger highlights the necessity of bikers to wear helmets. It’s incomprehensible to me why a professional athlete who wears a helmet on the football field would neglect to wear one when he climbs on his motorcycle. While bikers can’t avoid all accidents, the use of basic safety equipment such as helmets should be a no brainer.

Speeding is a factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At 70 mph, a driver is traveling at 102 feet per second. At 80 mph, the rate increases to 117 feet per second. Given that the average reaction time is about three seconds, that means a car going 70 mph will travel about 305 feet — the length of a football field — before the driver can react. At 80 mph, the number increases to 350 feet.

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Those of us who live or work in the Sarasota area know the dangers of driving in the early morning fog and mist. This is the time of year when morning commuters face a rising sun and early morning fog. Caution is the key when driving in these situations-especially when traffic is heavy.