It is interesting to note that more people die from occurances caused by the negligence of others than anything else.  That is why personal injury attorneys like myself are employed.  We work to help get the greiving family.

Lawyer services such as 411-PAIN, 828-HURT flourish — but caution is urged

NORMAL - means the disc is fully and normally developed and free of any changes of disease, trauma or aging.  Only the morphology (portion of biology that refers to the size, shape and structure rather than the function) is considered, not the clinical context.  Commonly, people with a variety of harmless congenital, degenerative or adaptive or developmental variations of discs, minor bulging of anuli, normal aging, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, anterior and lateral marginal vertebral body osteophytes are normal people.  By this nomenclature and classification, however, such individual discs are not considered “normal.”  Thus some people are clinically “normal” even though they have morphologically abnormal discs.

CONGENITAL/DEVELOPMENTAL VARIATION - includes discs that are congenitally abnormal or that have undergone changes in their morphology as an adaptation to abnormal growth of the spine such as from scoliosis or spondylolisthesis.

DEGENERATIVE/TRAUMATIC - these types of change in the disc are included in a broad category that includes subcategories of Anular Tear; Herniation; and Degeneration. Characterization of this group of discs as Degenerative/Traumatic does not imply that trauma is necessarily a factor or that degenerative changes are necessarily pathologic as opposed to the normal aging process.

• Annular Tears, also properly called anular fissures (primarily for fear that the word “tear” could be misconstrued as implying a traumatic etiology), are separations between anular fibers, avulsion of fibers from their vertebral body insertions, or breaks through fibers that extend radially, transversely, or concentrically, involving one or many layers of the anular lamellae. The terms “tear” or “fissure” describe the spectrum of such lesions and do not imply that the lesion is consequent to trauma. In the case where a single, traumatic event is clearly the source of loss of integrity of a formally normal anulus, such as with documentation and findings of violent distraction injury, the term “rupture” of the annulus is appropriate, but use of the term “rupture” as synonymous with commonly observed tears or fissures is contraindicated.
• Herniation is defined as a localized displacement of disc material beyond the limits of the intervertebral disc space (craniad and caudad, by the vertebral body endplates and, peripherally, by the edges of the vertebral ring apophyses, exclusive of osteophytic formations). A herniated disc is often also called a herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP), which is inaccurate because materials other than nucleus (cartilage, fragmented apophyseal bone, fragmented annulus or anular tissue) are common components of displaced disc material; ruptured disc, casts an image of tearing apart and therefore carries more implication of traumatic etiology than “herniation,” which conveys an image of displacement rather than disruption; protruded disc used in a nonspecific general sense to signify any displacement has amore commonly used specific meaning for which it is best reserved; prolapsed disc which has also been used as a general term, as synonymous with the specific meaning of protrusion, or to denote inferior migration of extruded disc material, is not commonly used and is best proscribed; and bulging disc has been used to mean many things and has caused a great deal of confusion; or even “disc material beyond the interspace” (DEBIT).  The disc material may be nucleus, cartilage, fragmented apophyseal bone, anular tissue, or any combination thereof. The disc space is defined, craniad and caudad, by the vertebral body endplates and, peripherally, by the outer edges of the vertebral ring apophyses, exclusive of osteophytic formations. The term “localized” contrasts to “generalized,” the latter being arbitrarily defined as greater than 50% (180 degrees) of the periphery of the disc. Localized displacement in the axial (horizontal) plane can be “focal,” signifying less than 25% of the disc circumference, or “broad-based,” meaning between 25 and 50% of the disc circumference. Presence of disc tissue “circumferentially” (50-100%) beyond the edges of the ring apophyses may be called “bulging” and is not considered a form of herniation, nor are diffuse adaptive alterations of disc contour secondary to adjacent deformity as may be present in severe scoliosis or spondylolisthesis. Herniated discs may take the form of protrusion or extrusion, based on the shape of the displaced material.  Further distinctions can often be made regarding containment, continuity, volume, composition, and location of the displaced disc material.

• Degeneration
includes changes in the disc due to the pathologic degenerative processes and those due to normal aging, which may include any or all of real or apparent desiccation, fibrosis, narrowing of the disc space, diffuse bulging of the anulus beyond the disc space, extensive fissuring (i.e., numerous anular tears), and mucinous degeneration of the anulus, defects and sclerosis of the endplates, and osteophytes at the vertebral apophyses. A disc demonstrating one or more of these degenerative changes can be further qualified into two subcategories:

Spondylosis deformans – possibly representing changes in the disc associated with a normal aging process – affects the annulus fibrosus and adjacent apophyses;

Intervertebral osteochondrosis – also known as “deteriorated disc” also sometimes called “chronic discopathy,” which is possibly the consequences of a more clearly pathologic process, although not clearly symptomatic and affects mainly the nucleus pulposus and the vertebral body endplates, but also includes extensive fissuring (numerous tears) of the annulus fibrosis, which may be followed by atrophy. Radiographically, intervertebral osteochondrosis is characterized by narrowing of the intervertebral space, irregular disc contour often associated with bulging, multidirectional osteophytes often involving the central spinal canal and foramina, endplate erosions with reactive osteosclerosis, and chronic vertebral body bone marrow changes.

INFECTIOUS/INFLAMMATORY – includes infection, infection-like inflammatory discitis, and inflammatory response to spondyloarthropathy.  It also includes inflammatory spondylitis of subchondral endplate and bone marrow manifested as Modic Type 1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes and usually associated with pathologic changes in the disc.

NEOPLASTIC/NEOPLASIA – Primary or metastatic morphologic changes of disc tissues.

MORPHOLOGIC VARIANT OF UNCERTAIN SIGNIFICANCE – Instances in which data suggest abnormal morphology of the disc but are not complete enough to warrant a diagnostic categorization can be categorized as Morphologic Variant of Unknown Significance.

This is not a fully comprehensive description.  If you have any medical questions you should consult with your treating doctor immediately.  For legal questions the Kane Law Firm will be happy to assist you.  We offer a free initial consultation and take all of our cases on a contingency free basis.  Please just call our offices today at (407) 644-KANE(5263).

For additional information of Florida’s seat belt laws please visit the website of the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles: 

Making calls and texting while driving have become controversial. The safety risks of cell phone calls and text messaging have led to concerns about car accidents. Mobile phone usage while driving is distracting, and distraction results in inattention. With driver inattention as the number one cause of car crashes, it’s evident that cellular phones and driving just don’t mix.

That is why a state senator from Central Florida, Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, and the AAA travel club are pushing the Florida Legislature to ban texting while driving in the Sunshine State, no matter the age of the motorist. The proposal is expected to be taken up during the regular session next spring.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 6,000 people died on the roads last year at least in part because of the use of electronic devices such as smart phones and cell phones.  Florida has no laws banning the use of cell phones while driving, and Altman’s legislation doesn’t directly address drivers talking on a cell phone.  Instead, his legislation would prohibit the reading, typing and sending of an electronic message while a person is driving. A violator would face a nonmoving-traffic ticket. If passed, Florida would join 18 other states that ban the practice.  “It may not be the ultimate solution, but it is a beginning,” Altman said. “The solution would be hands-free technology, and hopefully this bill will help bring that issue forward.”?

Teen Driver Cell Phone and Text Messaging Statistics

• Despite the risks, the majority of teen drivers ignore cell phone driving restrictions.
• In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.
• Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those that admit to risky driving also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.
• Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.
• Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.
• Over one-third of all young drivers, ages 24 and under, are texting on the road.
• Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.

Adult Driver Cell Phone, Texting, and Car Accident Information

• Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
• One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
• A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.
• The same 2007 survey found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
• In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that ten percent of drivers are on handheld or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.
• A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
• In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cell phones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.
• According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
• An estimated 44 percent of American drivers now have cell phones in their automobiles.
• Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85 percent said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30 percent use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27 percent use them during half or more of the trips they take.
• 84 percent of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.
• The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.
• The number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
• Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.

The following statistics come from a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI):

• Of all cell phone related tasks – including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone – texting while driving is the most dangerous.
• Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near crash events directly related to talking on a cell phone or texting.
• A car driver dialing a cell phone is 2.8 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-distracted driver.
• A driver reaching for a cell phone or any other electronic device is 1.4 times more likely to experience a car crash.
• A car driver talking on their phone is 1.3 times more likely to get into an accident.
• A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.
• A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.
• A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.
• For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes texting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.

Another study by the Vlingo Corp. of Massachusetts suggests that 60 percent of teenage drivers admit to at least reading incoming text messages while driving. And text messaging has overtaken the phone as the primary communications medium for teens. According to the Vlingo study, 94 percent of teens use their mobile phones to send text messages. Fifty-four percent send more than 500 text messages per month, and 79 percent send more text messages than make phone calls.  “The use of text messaging will only increase and will continue to take place on the roads as this generation gets older and others follow in their footsteps,” said Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo, whose company is working on voice-activated cell-phone technologies.

Car and Driver magazine performed a hands-on test that suggested that texting while driving can be even more dangerous than driving drunk.  On an 11,800-foot closed airport runway, two editors punched out texts while driving at 35 mph and 70 mph. Then they drank until they reached the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content and drove a second time without texting.  The results showed that even using a straight road without any traffic, road signals or pedestrians, and looking just at reaction times when approaching obstacles, the texting results were worse than when the drivers were drunk.  “Neither of us had any idea texting would slow down our reaction time so much,” said editor-in-chief Eddie Alterman. “Like most folks, we believe we are good drivers, but the real key to driving safely is keeping your eyes and your mind on the road. Text messaging distracts any driver from those tasks.

A UK company has produced the following public service announcement aimed at warning teens of the dangers of texting while driving:

There have been statistics that say that texting while driving is worse than drunk driving… do NOT do it!

S is for SUPERVISION – More than just a good idea

• There’s no substitute for ADULT supervision.
• Do not let anything or anyone distract you when a child is in or near a body of water, not even for a second.
• Keep your eyes on the pool at all times.

A is for ALERT – Pay attention, Play smart

• Toys – A favorite toy left near the water can be a very strong attraction for a child. Toys, tricycles and other playthings should be stored away from the pool or spa area.
• Store all chemicals, cleansers, and accessories safely and securely in appropriate areas.
• Sunscreen Choose It and Use It! The sun is strongest in the summer months. Be sure to apply sun protection regularly while enjoyed the pool. No sun, just clouds? Be alert – Continue to use sun protection.
• Remember to serve all food and beverages in non-breakable containers in the pool area.
• Get out of the pool at the first sign of thunder storms.

F is for FREE – Be Substance-FREE

• Never use a pool or spa while, or after, consuming alcohol or any drugs. Consult a physician if taking any mediation on a regular basis prior to swimming or using a spa.

E is for EMERGENCY Procedures – Get training and education

• Learning CPR , cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a skill that may save a life. The local YMCA, the Red Cross, and many local hospitals offer classes.
• Keep a charged portable telephone by the pool – Parents won’t have to leave children unattended to answer the phone. And if you need to call Emergency Services, your phone is within seconds reach – your call could make a REAL difference!
• Rescue equipment – Is your pool safety ready? Ropes and float lines placed across the pool alert swimmers to the separation of the deep and shallow ends of the pool. Rescue equipment such as life rings and shepherd’s crooks can be used to pull someone in trouble to safety.
• Keep a list of emergency contact numbers pool side.

T is for TEACHING – Never too old or too young

• Swimming Lessons – Everyone should be taught swim. Children of all ages should be enrolled in swimming lessons or a program to familiarize them with the water. Check your local YMCA, Parks and Recreation departments or other local programs near your area.
• Diving – Learn safe diving. Know the depth of the water prior to diving. Never dive into shallow water. Never dive into an aboveground pool.

Y is for YOU

• By thinking about SAFETY all the time, YOU are being a RESPONSIBLE pool owner and user! Thank You!

Additional information can be found at www.floridapoolpro.com

Pool Safety Equipment should include:

1. Fencing and gates

Mesh fencing should be at least four feet high and have a self closing, self latching gate. All panels should remain in place when the pool is not in use. Fencing should meet the ASTM F 1908 standard

2. Door and gate alarms

Many devices are available that attached to pool/spa access doors and gates that will sound a loud alarm when opened and closed. Placing alarms on sliding doors, windows and all exit doors will alert you to children leaving the house. Alarms should meet the Underwriters Laboratories standard UL 2017 for residential water hazard alarm equipment.

3. Perimeter and motion alarms

Infrared systems sound an alarm when the beam is crossed, and can be installed around the perimeter of a pool or spa. Water motion alarms are placed near or in the water and sound an alarm when the water is disturbed.

4. Latch and locks

Fence gates should have latches that automatically close and latch securely. Windows and doors that open to the pool or spa area should all be equipped with self-latching devices.

5. Safety Covers

Pool covers are available that completely cover the pool or spa, blocking access to water. Insist on a cover that has a label stating that it meets the ASTM F1346 Standard for pool and spa covers.

Florida is home to the 14-year-old Clermont girl who logged 35,463 monthly text messages twice this past year.  One trillion text messages were sent in just the United States last year. Text messaging is part of our supposedly multi-tasking way of living. Even under the best of circumstances, our brains don’t deal well with more than one thing at once. Texting behind the wheel of a couple of tons of steel moving down the road is a bad idea.

The National Safety Council says that “using a wireless communications device while driving is one of the most significant distractions that affects driving performance…  The relative risk, frequency and duration of cell phone use and text messaging make these activities much more likely to lead to a crash or near crash than most other activities people do in vehicles.”  It recently called on drivers to stop using cell phones and messaging devices, implored businesses to execute policies prohibiting such usage, and urged all 50 states to pass legislation prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving.  The safety council says cell phone use in general is a part of an approximated 6 percent of all crashes across the nation, which works out to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year.  Even the American Medical Association recently labeled text messaging while driving “a public health risk” citing a study that found that text messaging while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent not concentrating on the road.

However, it may soon be illegal for Florida drivers to text message while behind the wheel, if state Representative Doug Holder (R-Sarasota) has anything to say about it.  The bill would prohibit reading, manually writing or typing, or sending messages on electronic wireless communication devices while operating a moving vehicle.  Whether the bill passes or not, drivers should always refrain from texting, eating, looking for items dropped on the floor, playing with the radio or other distracting activities while driving!

For additional information, including a Driver Education a Driver Education Book for Parents, please visit www.safedriver.com.

Most European countries ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving, but not all U.S. states have laws restricting texting and driving. So far, 19 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. In seven states and the District of Columbia, drivers can only use their cell phones if they are hands-free.

The Kane Law Firm in Maitland, Florida has previously posted blogs about these topics:

• Dangers of Texting and Driving
• PSA on Texting While Driving
• Texting While Driving

The Today show had a Special Report on texting while driving that can be viewed here.

Oprah has devoted an entire show to the topic.  An abbreviated version can be viewed here.  The devastating stories of how texting and driving has affected people’s lives are summarized below from Oprah’s website:

• In September 2008, a Los Angeles commuter train conductor missed a red light while sending and receiving more than 40 text messages. His packed train collided head-on with a freight train, injuring 135 people. The conductor and 24 others were killed, making it the second worst commuter train crash in U.S. history.
• Weeks later, a school bus carrying 21 students was rear-ended by an 18-wheel semitruck. The bus was pushed more than 200 feet before bursting into flames. Twenty students escaped, but 13-year-old Margay Schee was killed. The truck driver admitted he had been texting and hadn’t seen that the bus was stopped.
• In November 2008, Shelly and her husband, Daren, were the happily married parents of three beautiful girls, 13-year-old Jessica, 9-year-old Erica and 4-year-old Valerie. “Erica is my little sunshine because she lit up the house,” she says. “She was making us laugh before she was a year old.” Two days before Thanksgiving, Shelly came back from a doctor’s appointment to find emergency crews on her street. “There were all these people and a child lying on the ground,” she says. “I had no idea it was my daughter.” Shelly remembers that tragic day. Daren says Erica was riding her bike home from school. “Erica was just around the corner from our house,” he says. “She was 30 seconds from being home safely.” Erica had been hit head-on by a 5,000-pound SUV. Police say that the driver had recently finished a phone call at the time of the accident. “The driver said: ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t see her,’” Shelly says. “I felt badly for the driver because I thought: ‘Oh, she’s unconscious. She’s going to be okay.’ … And they started cutting my daughter’s clothes off and it was hitting me this is very, very, very serious.” Erica was rushed to the local children’s hospital, then airlifted to another facility. “The neurosurgeon made it very clear she was going to die,” Shelly says. “I spent the night with her that night. I held her. Cried. I kissed her. I sang to her. I just needed to have time with my girl.
• September 22, 2006, began like any other day for Jackie Furfaro. She kissed her husband, Jim, goodbye as he left to pick up his colleague, Keith O’Dell, for work. A few hours later, Jackie arrived at work, where police were waiting for her. They told her Jim had been in an accident. “I saw Jim’s license in the hands of one of the police officers, and I realized that he was dead,” she says. “They told me that a 19-year-old who was driving a white Tahoe had crossed the center line and clipped my husband,” she says. “He ended up in the oncoming traffic line and was broadsided by the vehicle behind the 19-year-old, and he was killed instantly, along with Keith.” An investigator at the crash site suspected texting was involved when he saw the 19-year-old, Reggie Shaw, texting on the way to a mandatory drug and alcohol screening. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system, but cell phone records confirmed Reggie had been texting from the time he got into his car up until the moment of the crash. Reggie was sentenced to 30 days in jail, community service and to honor a unique request from Jackie-to watch a video of her husband’s funeral. “I just wanted him to know who he killed,” she says. “That was a way for him to get to know one of the men.” Before the accident, Reggie says he texted “pretty close to 100 percent of the time” while driving. “I just never thought about it,” he says. “Growing up, going to high school, going to driver’s ed, it was never taught to me how dangerous it was.” Reggie says he’s haunted by what he’s done. “This affects my life every day. It’s something that I can never really forgive myself for. It was a poor choice that I made,” he says. “I have trouble sleeping at night. You drive down the road, you see accidents on the side of the road, and instantly that’s the first thing that I think of. It’s hard every day. It never gets easier.” When asked whether the jail time he served was enough, Reggie says he doesn’t know. “I think about those 30 days in jail and what I went through and how hard that was for me-and I think about the two lives that are lost,” he says. “I don’t know if it was enough.”
• Linda Doyle was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother. On September 3, 2008, the 61-year-old was killed after a 20-year-old driver ran a red light and T-boned her car going 45 to 50 miles per hour. “He didn’t see the light,” says Jennifer, Linda’s daughter. “The news reports that night, the newspapers the next day said he was engrossed in a cell phone conversation.” Jennifer says she was stunned after seeing the wreckage of her mother’s car. “When I saw the seat she was sitting in, that was the hardest part for me,” she says. “Put your mother, your wife, your son, your daughter, your grandparents, your friend in that seat that my mother was sitting in and you tell me, is that phone call worth it?” Before her mother’s accident, Jennifer says she used her car as an office. “I didn’t text. That was something I knew I couldn’t do. But I was on the phone,” she says. “I was just under the same misconception as everyone else that if you’ve got that headset in your ear, you’re okay.” Jennifer wants people to know having a headset won’t protect you. “The man driving that car that hit my mother was driving for less than a quarter of a mile. He was on the phone for less than a minute. He couldn’t do it. His brain couldn’t handle it,” she says. “It’s not where your hands are. It’s where your head is.”

The U.S. government Tuesday, January 26, 2010, banned hand-held “texting” by drivers of large commercial trucks and buses to avoid the danger of distracted driving.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement the prohibition takes effect immediately. It follows a similar ban in December for drivers of federal government vehicles.  “We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” LaHood said. “This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”  The new ban carries fines of up to $2,750.

This is a big step in preventing needless accidents.  Hopefully people will pay attention to the law and dire consequences of using their phone while driving (talking on it, texting, checking their calendar, or even surfind the internet).

Already 55,000 people have signed Oprah’s “No Phone Zone” pledge that they will not use their phone in their car.

M.M. ORLANDO

Answered: Most likely, yes. If you allow a default to be entered in your foreclosure case, the court will enter a judgment of foreclosure, which will state specifically what is owed to the mortgage holder. The foreclosure will probably be followed by a forced sale of the property. If that sale does not produce enough money to pay back the mortgage holder, the mortgage holder could collect the balance from any of your unprotected assets, including your settlement proceeds.

With the help of a lawyer, you may be able to protect your settlement by employing such legal devices as a special-needs trust or a single-premium annuity. A lawyer also may be able to help you avoid having the default judgment entered in the first place.