Personal Injury Cases – Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli

Student accidents are a very real risk for both high school and college athletes. Unfortunately, when the school staff overseeing the sports programs are not properly trained, young people may be at risk of brain injuries and other serious health problems.

The state of Connecticut has taken an aggressive approach to protecting young athletes from getting hurt at school, passing legislation designed to ensure that schools do what it takes to keep kids safe. If a student accident causes injury to you or a loved one, call the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Connecticut Laws Designed to Reduce Student Accidents

According to the Norwich Bulletin, Connecticut became one of the first states in the country to enact legislation designed to minimize the risk of concussion to young people playing sports. Concussions can impact memory and cognitive function and can have a lasting impact on health, including increasing the risk of dementia later in life, particularly in cases involving repeated head injuries. Lawmakers in Connecticut enacted legislation in 2010, as the dangers of concussions became more well-established.

Under the legislation, anyone given a state permit to coach either interscholastic or intramural sports is required to receive periodic training on both recognizing and treating concussions. Further, any student who was sidelined for having a suspected concussion is required to get medical clearance before being allowed to resume playing the sport.

Other states have since passed similar legislation designed to ensure that school staff and coaches know how to respond appropriately to a head injury. Connecticut decided to once again consider the issue of concussions and sports accidents in 2014, to expand its laws and to continue to be a leader in protecting children.

The General Assembly’s Committee on Children heard testimony about an expansion to the 2010 concussion law, which would impose tougher restrictions and add additional public education components.

The proposed law would limit the amount of time spent in practices for contact sports to a total of 90 minutes per week. The State Board of Education would also be required to develop a concussion education plan and operators of youth athletic activities would be required to provide information on the risks of concussions to both young athletes and their parents. Local and regional school boards would need to report all instances of concussions that young student athletes experience, and an awareness education program would be developed about the dangers of concussions.

Taking a comprehensive approach to preventing concussions is important because of the lasting risks of brain injury, especially on a developing brain. When a young person does suffer brain injury, it is important to determine if the school or coaches were negligent in a way that caused or exacerbated the damage. In such cases, it may be possible for the victim and his family members to obtain compensation for the losses and damages resulting from the brain injury.

Contact a Hartford accident attorney today at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Calling 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 for your free case consultation or visit http://www.salomoneandmorelli.com.

When a child is left inside of a hot car, that child could suffer brain damage or loss of life. Unfortunately, some parents leave kids inside of their cars on purpose while they run in to do errands, not realizing the risk they are taking. Other parents accidentally leave a child in the back of the vehicle because they forget their kids are there.

Parents are not the only ones who may endanger a child by leaving their son or daughter in a vehicle in the heat. There are also instances where children are left inside of buses or inside of daycare vans and are injured or lose their lives as a result. If a caregiver causes a child injury, a personal injury attorney can help parents to take legal action.

Look Before You Lock

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is running a campaign to try to draw attention to the danger of leaving a child inside of a hot vehicle. From May through September, the “Look Before You Lock” campaign encourages parents to get into the habit of checking the front and back seats every time before they lock their car. This way, they will see if a child has been left inside before tragedy strikes.

The Look Before You Lock Campaign could help to reverse a disturbing trend of children dying of heat stroke. Each year since 1998, an average of 38 children have died each year when they were left inside of cars. Last year in 2013, there were at least 44 fatalities in the U.S. and there have already been several deaths in 2014.

Children may not only be at risk if parents unintentionally leave them in vehicles, but some parents leave kids inside of their cars on purpose. Parents may think that they are leaving their children for just a second while they run into a store, but it does not take very long for a child’s temperature to reach a dangerous level. If a child’s temperature hits 107, the child will die. Unfortunately, kids are less able to regulate body temperature than adults are and their bodies can heat up anywhere from three to five times faster than adults’ bodies.

Despite the risks of heat stroke, around 14 percent of all parents in the United States said that they have left their child unattended inside of a vehicle. Only eight percent of moms said that they do this, but 23 percent of dads admitted to leaving kids in cars. Children under three are at the biggest risk, and 23 percent of parents of children in this age group have indicated that they have left children inside of cars.

This means that around 3.3 million kids are potentially being put at risk of heat stroke within the United States. On a day in the mid-80s with the window cracked two inches, a child could die within 10 minutes in a hot car. Parents need to understand this incredible danger and avoid putting their children at risk.

Contact a Hartford personal injury lawyer today at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Calling 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 for your free case consultation or visit http://www.salomoneandmorelli.com

Each year in the United States, an estimated 1.7 million victims experience a head injury and 75 percent of those patients suffer from a concussion. A concussion is a temporary disruption in the way the brain functions, and it can cause a variety of symptoms that seem to last for a short period of time, such as sensitivity to light and sound or changes in mood, cognitive function and behavior. Most concussions are caused by car accidents, falls or violence, but there are also other reasons for these types of brain injuries to occur, including sports injuries.

If you are one of the many people who has experienced a concussion, you may think that you’ve recovered fully as those first weeks and months pass. Unfortunately, brain injury attorneys in Hartford know concussions can have lasting impact. Recent studies suggest changes to the structure of the brain can still be seen on a diffusion MRI four months after a concussion occurs. Repeated concussions can also have a serious long-term impact on victims, resulting in a significantly increased risk of dementia and other complications.

The Lasting Effects of a Concussion

When a CT-scan or an MRI is performed several months after a concussion occurs, the brain may appear to have returned to normal. However, a new study published in the medical journal Neurology suggests that this is not actually the case. The study involved researchers from the University of New Mexico using a diffusion MRI to take a closer look at the effects of concussion on the brain.

A total of 26 patients who had experienced a mild trauma and concussion had a diffusion MRI performed 14 days after the concussion and then another diffusion MRI performed four months after the head trauma. At the same time as the diffusion MRI was performed, the victims of the trauma also underwent cognitive and memory testing.

A diffusion MRI works differently than other types of MRI’s because the test traces molecules moving through the brain, especially water molecules. The result is that the test paints a clearer picture of the architecture and the structure of the brain. The diffusion MRI of the concussion victims showed that compared to 26 healthy patients who had not experienced any head trauma, those who had experienced a concussion had 10 percent more fractional anisotropy (FA) in the grey matter of the prefrontal cortex. This result showed up in the test that was conducted four months after the concussion occurred, suggesting that the brain looks different for a long time after trauma.

It was not clear from the research exactly why the 10 percent more FA was present in the brains of concussed victims. It could have been a function of healing, or the increased FA may also have been caused by fluid buildup that had occurred during the concussion and not been resolved. However, the increase may also have been due to changes in the brain’s structural cells.

The behavioral tests also revealed that the victims who had experienced the concussion did not perform as well on memory tests or tests of cognitive function.

All of this is bad news for brain injury victims as it suggests that a concussion is a major injury with a lengthy recovery time and potentially long-lasting changes to the brain.

Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli in Hartford today to schedule a free consultation. Call 1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Our New Haven medical malpractice lawyers know that many doctors are concerned about being accused of medical malpractice for their acts or for their omissions. In recent decades, fear over medical malpractice lawsuits has led to doctors making decisions that are not always in the best interests of the patients.  For example, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cesarean sections performed because doctors want to reduce their chances of being sued for labor and delivery injuries. There has also been an increase in the number of medical tests performed across many different fields and specialties as doctors are afraid of misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose patients and getting sued because of it.

Unfortunately, when a doctor’s care decisions are driven by fear and by a focus on avoiding medical malpractice lawsuits, patient care can suffer. The doctor’s bad choices can actually cause harm and can result in the physicians facing the very thing they were trying to avoid: a medical malpractice claim.   One example of a situation where a fear of medical malpractice may put patients in danger, for example, is when kids are given unnecessary CT scans.

Study Shows Childhood CT Scans Increases Cancer Risk

According to a recent article on  Time Health and Family, the use of computed tomography (CT scans) almost tripled between 1996 and 2010. The number of scans during this time period went from 52 scans for every 1,000 patients to 149 scans for every 1,000 patients.  There were a few reasons for this increase in CT scans, including both advancements in medical technology and the increasing fear about medical malpractice claims.

The author of one study, a professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco, indicated that the threshold has been lowered for CT scans and that the scans are now used for almost any reason. This has resulted in the scans being used more than necessary and more than is clinically indicated.

The consequences of this over-testing are not minor, especially when the tests are performed on children.  Researchers recently conducted a massive study involving looking at the records of more than 10.9 million people born between 1985 and 2005. The study compared the cancer rates of kids exposed to CT scans in early childhood with the rates of kids who did not receive such scans. The participants were tracked for between 10 to 17 years.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the study revealed that kids exposed to CT scans were more likely to develop cancer than those who had not had such testing done.   Kids who had scans done before age five had a 35 percent increased risk of developing cancer during the study period, while the overall increase in patients who had scans versus those who did not was 24 percent.

The findings of this study are disturbing because many of the kids who got CT scans likely didn’t really need them. For example, many kids are given a CT scan as a result of any head trauma in order to rule out internal bleeding or other serious problems that would cause immediate surgery. However, only around two percent of kids who get these scans actually need treatment.

Doctors need to be aware of the dangers of CT scans to kids and should be sure they are really making an informed choice about whether they are ordering a CT scan to protect the child or to protect themselves from a malpractice claim.

Further, doctors need to ensure that parents understand the risks and give informed consent before performing any testing on a patient. A failure to obtain informed consent can lead to a medical malpractice claim.   The more informed parents are, the better position they will be in to decide if a medical test or procedure is right for their kids.

If you were injured by medical malpractice, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

Confused about what’s the right thing to do after an auto accident in Connecticut? You’re not alone. A recent article published by MSN.com details many of the common mistakes – and helpful advice on what to do – after you’ve been involved in an auto accident. This surprising story reveals the secrets of car insurance adjusters. One secret you might not know – “Offering less than fair replacement value if the car is totaled” is a common practice for insurance adjusters, the author writes.

Get the facts. And get a Connecticut personal injury attorney who can help you get the settlement you rightfully deserve. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Serving clients throughout Connecticut, our experienced Hartford personal injury attorneys have seen all the tricks insurance companies use to try to avoid paying for accidents. They don’t scare us. If you’re serious about securing a fair settlement after your accident, you need a Connecticut personal injury lawyer focused on results. You need the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

The advice offered in the MSN article includes numerous helpful hints. If you have been in an auto accident, say as little as possible afterwards. Claims adjusters often use what you say in the heat of the moment after an accident to avoid paying customers a fair settlement. And if you have been injured, report your injuries. Another tip – avoid answering insurance adjusters’ “psychologically loaded questions.” These questions are designed to confuse you and make you say the wrong thing. And even though you may want a fast settlement, don’t rush. That’s exactly what many insurance companies want you to do so you’ll be willing to settle for far less than you deserve.

Auto accidents shouldn’t be a major financial burden. That’s why people have auto insurance. What people forget is insurance companies often don’t put their customer’s interests first. Insurance companies are focused on the bottom line.

Level the playing field. Get the money you deserve. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. We mean business!

You’re crossing a street in Hartford or New Haven or another busy Connecticut city. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a vehicle hits you. Sound farfetched? Pedestrian accidents happen all the time in Connecticut and across the country. More than 59,000 pedestrians are injured each year in accidents on average nationwide, according to the latest statistics compiled by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. There’s even a new study that uncovers the link between texting and pedestrian accidents.

Pedestrian accidents happen fast. Knowing what to do can be hard. You need a Connecticut personal injury lawyer who can skillfully guide you through this ordeal. You need the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Serving clients throughout Connecticut, our experienced New Haven personal injury attorneys have dedicated their careers to helping people injured in pedestrian accidents and many other types of accidents. We know what it takes to win a case. We know how track down the information clients need to get them the money they rightfully deserve. Put the power of a first-class Connecticut personal injury lawyer in your corner. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

In 2009, a total of 4,092 pedestrians were killed in U.S. auto accidents, according to the NHTSA. Here’s a sobering statistic. If you’re texting while crossing the street, you’re four times more likely to be hit by a car than someone who’s not texting. Specifically, you have a 25 percent chance of being hit by a vehicle while crossing the street if you’re texting. If you are not texting, you have a 6 percent chance of being struck by a car, according to scientific study conducted by the Youth Safety Laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Accidents happen fast. Knowing what to do afterwards can be confusing. We can help. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Our experienced, dedicated attorneys are waiting to work for you. This may be your only opportunity for justice. Go with the best. Hire the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. We mean business!

The debate over whether older drivers are safe drivers has been topic of conversation for years. Nationally, the odds of getting in a fatal accident increase each year for drivers over 75 years old, according to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). And reports about auto accidents involving elderly drivers routinely make the news. Recently, a 92-year-old Connecticut driver injured 10 people when he drove through an outdoor café in Stamford.

But drivers over 65 years old have some of the safest driving habits on the road, according to the CDC. They wear seatbelts more than younger drivers. They’re rarely involved in drunk driving accidents. And here’s another surprising statistic – children are twice as safe when their grandparents are driving instead of their parents. That’s the finding of a recent study written about in Time Magazine.

Auto accidents happen fast. Knowing what to do can be difficult. You need a Connecticut personal injury lawyer you can trust on your side. You need the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Serving clients in Connecticut in six offices, our experienced Hartford personal injury attorneys know what it takes to win a case for auto accident injury victims. We know how to thoroughly investigate an auto accident and look for important details other people often overlook. Put the power of a first-class Connecticut personal injury lawyer in your corner. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Drivers of all ages can learn a lot from older drivers. Here’s some safe driving tips for older drivers provided by the CDC, which are useful to all drivers. They include:

• Leave enough space between you and other vehicles.
• Have an annual eye exam. Good vision saves lives!
• Avoid distractions while driving. Keep your eyes focused on the road.

Don’t leave your future to chance. If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, take action now. Contact a Connecticut law firm committed to fighting for justice. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. We mean business!

Think all your children’s toys are safe? Think again! A Connecticut consumer watchdog group recently released its list of dangerous toys for 2010. The dangerous toys identified by Connecticut Public Interest Research Group include:

• Toy handcuffs made with unsafe levels of antimony, a carcinogen.
• Handy Manny’s Let’s Get Building Construction Set, which has many small parts that pose a choking hazard.
• Lokmock/Baby’s First Train, which has small parts children may choke on.

Every three minutes, a child must be treated in an emergency room for an injury caused by a dangerous toy. In 2009, an estimated 186,000 children under 15 years old were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In contrast, 152,000 children sustained toy-related injuries in 2005. Dangerous toys were linked to 12 deaths in 2009, down from 24 toy-related fatalities in 2007 and 2008, the CPSC reports.

The CPSC recalled 44 toys in fiscal year 2010, which ended Sept. 30. Click here to find a complete list of recalled toys. And even toys that have not been recalled can be dangerous, notes Joan Swartz, co-founder of World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH. Sharp-edged toys or ones with projectiles can be dangerous. That’s why WATCH cautioned against buying Spy Gear Viper Blaster. Eye injuries are a real risk. Watch this video to see WATCH’s 10 Most Dangerous Toys of 2010.

Has your child been injured by a dangerous toy? Unsure what to do? Don’t take on large toy manufacturers by yourself. You need someone familiar with handling such complicated cases. You need someone who understands federal safety regulations. You need someone experienced, determined, dedicated to getting results. You need the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Our lawyers have years of experience fighting for victims of dangerous toys in Connecticut. When you choose us, we work tirelessly for you. Companies have a responsibility to make safe products. When they fail to do so, fight back. Contact Salomone & Morelli today. We mean business!

Christmas trees fires happen fast. Don’t believe us? Watch this video here. In just six seconds, a fire started near a Christmas tree quickly becomes a massive inferno. It’s no joke. Christmas tree fires pose a very real threat of serious burn injuries or even death.

Each year,  fire departments respond to an average of 260 fires that started with Christmas trees, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Christmas tree fires kill 14 people, injury 26 and cause $13.8 million in property damage annually on average.

What can you do to prevent a Christmas tree fire in your house? First, choose a fresh tree. Older ones with needles that fall off burn fast. Next, put the tree at least 3 feet away from a heat source like a fireplace or radiator. Fires spread fast.

And every day, make sure you do two things: water your tree and turn off your Christmas tree lights before you go to bed. Watering your tree may save your life.  A dry Christmas tree burns much faster than a properly watered one. Watch this video comparing a dry tree and a watered tree to see just how much faster the dry tree engulfs the room in flames.

Knowing what to do after a Christmas tree fire can be confusing. Dealing with serious injuries or the loss of a loved one can be overwhelming. Scared? Confused? We can help. We’re the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Our lawyers have years of experience successfully representing fire victims throughout Connecticut. We know how to handle big insurance companies. Let us deal with all the red tape so your family can focus on your recovery.

Christmas tree fires can be traumatic. Recovering from one should not. Contact Salomone & Morelli. We’re on your side.

Seatbelts save lives. You’ve probably heard this slogan before. But it’s easy to forget sometimes just how important seatbelts can be in serious accidents, especially if you’re a safe driver who has never had an accident.

Seatbelts reduce the number of serious traffic injuries by 50 percent and fatalities by 60 to 70 percent, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

According to the latest survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 83 percent of Americans wore their seatbelt while riding in a car in 2008. That’s the highest rate ever according to NHTSA statistics.

As seatbelt usage has increased, the fatality rate for motor vehicle accidents has steadily declined. In 1994, just under 60 percent of motorists wore seatbelts. That year, the fatality rate for car accidents stood at 1.4 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the standard measurement for accidents. By 2006, the fatality rate dropped 21 percent to 1.1 deaths and 80 percent of motorists wore seatbelts.

Safety advocates have linked this sharp decline in fatal accidents to increased seatbelt usage. One reason why more people wear their seatbelts may be because they must do so by law. States like Connecticut have primary enforcement seatbelt use laws. This means police can pull someone over in Connecticut for not wearing their seatbelt and issue them a $92 fine. States with primary seatbelt laws report that 88 percent of motorists wear seatbelts. States without such laws report that 75 percent of motorists wear seatbelts.

Seatbelts save lives. Most people drive responsibly. But accidents happen. What would you do if you were injured in a car accident? How would you pay your bills? What if your insurance company refused to cooperate? Who would you trust to get answers for your important questions? Relax. We can help. We’re the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Our lawyers have years of experience successfully representing car accident victims in Connecticut. Allow us to evaluate your case for free. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Contact Salomone & Morelli. We’re on your side.