The most common type of personal injury case is a road traffic accident, but did you know the term personal injury also includes medical and dental accidents? Depending on the intent or negligence of the responsible party, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation through settlement.

General damages may be emotional stress or pain and suffering whereas special damages are measurable costs which can be itemized. These may include medical bills, property damages and lost wages. Injuries sustained may last a lifetime and in some cases result in an inability to do one’s job.

Personal injury is usually covered by liability insurance, aka “auto insurance”. The term “personal injury” does not mean bodily injury damages but instead refers to mental injury damages. However, personal injury protection (PIP) does cover medical expenses from bodily injury. PIP is designed to be paid without regard to fault.

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.
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We have all read prospective employment resumes that state, “I’m great under pressure and handle multi-tasking efficiently.” As a nation, we pride ourselves for being able to accomplish multiple things at once. Furthermore, all of us believe that we can improve productivity by doing so. What really happens when we begin doing more than one thing at a time?

Researchers have utilized MRIs to observe the human brain while multi-tasking and performing various interrupted tasks. What they found is that when working on one task the brain devotes both frontal lobes to managing the work. When two tasks are performed each half of the brain manages each task. When a third task is introduced the brain starts crashing and mistakes begin to rise. Additionally this causes longer response times so productivity goes down.

So how does multi-tasking affect your ability to drive? A study by the University of Utah psychologists found that multi-tasking can be more dangerous than drinking and driving. “Talking and driving are mutually exclusive because the same part of the brain that is used in phone conversation is also used to focus on the road.” This means that when a person is in phone conversation they are paying less attention to what is happening visually in front of them. To learn more about the effects of multi-tasking, visit: http://www.multitaskingtest.net.au/the-science/impacts-of-multi-tasking

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

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With texting and driving on the rise, there are now a number of simulators and games that have been released recently to show young adults just how difficult it is to text while maintaining complete control of a moving vehicle. The New York Times published one simulator that measures your reaction time and how it is affected by external distractions. You can find the link to test out your skills at: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/19/technology/20090719-driving-game.html?_r=0

I tested out the simulator and found that there is a delayed reaction when switching between viewing something close up and then something further away due to focusing your gaze. There is an additional delay that results in processing the information you are viewing.

Now of course the more you play the simulator the better you will get at it however this does not translate into getting better at texting and driving. Texting is a distraction that increases your risk of an accident by 23%. Try out the simulator to see just how much texting affects your reaction time.

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

Here in Seattle a lot of us commute to and from work. During long commutes we might get tired from a long work day mixed with a warm car. Sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs judgment and increases your overall risk of crashing.

Factors that may affect your level of tiredness while driving include: sleep loss from restriction or too little sleep, interruption or fragmented sleep, chronic sleep debt, driving patterns or work schedules, undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders, time spent on a task, and the use of sedating medications.

Sleepiness and fatigue can impair judgment, vision and reaction time. It may also cause problems with information processing and short-term memory. Sleepiness will decrease your performance and motivation while increasing moodiness and aggressive behaviors.

Many states now allow police to charge drowsy drivers with criminal negligence if they injure or kill someone while driving without adequate sleep.

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

Often times, after an auto accident an insurance adjuster will contact you on behalf of the at fault party who caused the collision. The insurance adjuster is looking to take advantage of your vulnerability because they know that it is easier to convince you to take a lower settlement during a stressful situation.

It is your decision whether to handle matters on your own or to contact a personal injury attorney. The following is four criteria as to why you should speak with a personal injury attorney.

1. You have been seriously injured, or a loved one was killed as a result of an accident.
2. The actions of the insurance company involved are unacceptable to you.
3. Your injury claim has been denied.
4. The at-fault party doesn’t have insurance.

A personal Injury Lawyer can help alleviate stress by dealing directly with the insurance company adjuster and stop harassing phone calls from collection agencies about your unpaid medical bills so that you can finally focus on getting well. Additionally you will have someone to explain your legal rights in a language that you can understand.

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

Your dog loves car rides. He loves feeling the wind on his face as his head sticks out the window and the privilege of going everywhere his owner goes.

Pets are a common driving distraction. Unrestrained cats and dogs inside a car can be just as distracting as swatting an insect or changing the radio station.

In the event of a crash, an unrestrained pet can become a serious hazard to everyone. In a 35-mile-per-hour accident, an unrestrained 60 pound dog will carry the force of a 2,700 pound projectile when they are sent flying. Additionally, they are more likely to be harmed or even thrown from a vehicle in even minor fender benders.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, dogs don’t have to be locked up in a carrier to keep them safe while traveling in a car. A restraining harness can be purchased from a pet store. There are several products to protect traveling pets including mobile pet beds and dog seat belts.

Cats are typically best kept in a pet carrier since they are uncomfortable riding in a car or being restrained.
To find out more about pets and distracted driving, visit: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/pets-and-distracted-driving/

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

In Washington state, where marijuana is legal, many people might not realize that D.U.I. laws apply to any mind altering substance. While approximately 88% of drunk drivers can be identified through a field sobriety test, only 30% of people under the influence of THC failed the same test in a 2012 study published in the journal Psychopharmacology. The determining factor seemed to depend heavily on whether or not the driver was accustomed to being stoned.

This raises the question, how dangerous is it to drive while stoned. Independent researchers estimate that the risk of an accident doubles when there is any measurable amount of THC in the bloodstream. Compare this to 20 times more likely for 20-year-old drivers with alcohol of .08% and 9 times more likely for older adults, up to age 34. Although driving under the influence of marijuana is less dangerous than driving drunk, there is still a present danger.

While drunk drivers have a tendency to drive faster and over estimate their skills, the opposite is true for stoned drivers. Additionally, in laboratory tests, most people who are stoned can pass memory tests with some added effort. The problem comes into play when a stoned driver needs to multitask because their brain is processing information at a slower rate.

To find out more about the risks of driving under the influence, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/health/driving-under-the-influence-of-marijuana.html?_r=0

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

Americans eat more in the car than any other country. As a matter of fact, a study in 2009 published in the Daily News found that 80% of U.S. car accidents are caused by distracted drivers who are preoccupied with eating and driving.

Eating is problematic while driving because drivers are unable to react quickly and tend to be unable to turn sharply while one hand is on a burger. Additionally, drivers take their gaze off the road to look down and see if anything has spilled. Speaking of spillage, our love for wide cups doesn’t align with our love for European cars which typically lack wide cup holders. What does this mean? We are constantly doing a balancing act between our food, drink and steering wheel.

This is why New Jersey has even gone as far as to ban eating while driving. Offenders could pay up to $400 on a first-time offense.

Distracted driving will cause accidents. What habits are you practicing to avoid being distracted while driving?

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

More than 15,000 lives are saved each year in the United States due to seatbelts. However about 20,000 lives are lost as a result of not wearing them.

There are five ways that seat belts protect us when we are in a car accident:

Seatbelts keep occupants of a vehicle inside. Otherwise your body could be thrown from the vehicle, increasing the likelihood of fatality by four times.

The strongest parts of the body are restrained. Contact is made at the strongest parts of your body (hips and shoulders).

Force from a collision is spread out. This means less stress in put on any one area of the body. The shoulder strap additionally keeps your head and upper body away from the dashboard and steering wheel.

Seat belts slow down the body. The change in speed during a collision jerks the body causing injury. Seat belts give the body more time to react.

Seat belts protect your spinal cord and brain. The two most critical areas in the body are the spine and brain; injuries to both have serious consequences.

Buckle up correctly. Putting your seatbelt on correct is just as important as wearing it. The strap that fits across your lap should be snug over your hips and upper thigh. If your seatbelt rides over the stomach, this can cause serious injuries. Shoulder belts should rest across your shoulders and chest between your breasts. If your shoulder strap falls across your neck or face, it can cause serious or fatal injuries. Additionally, never place the strap under your arms or behind your back.

For more information, visit: http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/wearing-your-seat-belt.aspx

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com

As distracted driving receives more attention by our local police departments, research is being gathered to potentially implement “distracted driving” laws. In a CBS2 News investigation in Chicago, cameras were installed in vehicles of drivers with a variety of situations. Some had no children, but talked on their cell phones and others had multiple children. Researchers watched for the amount of time drivers had their eyes off the road during an average trip and compared distraction levels among all participants.

They found that mothers of young children were the most distracted, frequently looking back to check on their children and to tell them to settle down. Drivers with children had their eyes off the road 21% of the time which is 12 times longer than the average amount of time distracted when someone is talking on a cell phone.

If you are driving with children, keep your eyes on the road while interacting with them and vocally check in with them rather than visually. Talking and singing to keep them well behaved is much less distracting then frequently looking away from the road.

The Cunnane Law Office has provided this content for informational purposes only. You should refer your questions to a personal injury attorney.

www.cunnanelaw.com