Greensboro Personal Injury Lawyer

Research into “nature’s glue” may improve unpaved roads

Pierce Egerton — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:04:22 GMT

I’m a-blowin’ down this old dusty road, Lord, Lord,

And I ain’t a-gonna be treated this a-way.

If Mother Nature could sing, she might well do a cover of that old folk song.

On an unpaved road, be it dirt or gravel, the impact of tires on the road pulverizes surface material, and the breeze of passing vehicles creates pollution, sending particles of soil into the air. The wear and tear on the road makes for a rougher riding conditions such as washboarding, but worse, the dust granules are swept away by the wind and most often land where they will be carried into the drainage system of the roadway.

One civil engineering graduate student in Kansas is working on a way to cut the dust.

“One of the problems with unpaved roads is that they are made from loose granular soils with particles that are not bound to each other on the road surface,” said Wilson Smith, a Kansas State University master’s student.

^{Image by LHOON}

^{The sustainable plant byproduct "lignin" can reduce pollution from unpaved roads. It is 100 percent non-toxic, unlike traditional soil stabilizers.}

The solution may be an industrial waste product called “lignin,” a substance found in all plants. The adhesiveness of the material, sometimes called “nature’s glue,” can significantly improve the stability of unpaved roads.

Kicking up a dust is just part of the problem. Erosion from unpaved roads is a major cause of pollution. The loosened dirt particles tend to wash into the roadway’s drainage system. That results in flooding, which in turn leads to more erosion. Most of the runoff will wind up in streams and rivers. There the sediment can reduce the stream’s capacity to let water flow and cause a cycle of more severe and more frequent flooding. That destroys wildlife habitat and harms water quality.

Several properties make lignin a valuable material. It is adhesive when it becomes moist, making it good for binding soil particles together and providing cohesion. Apart from environmental advantages, more stable roads have an added benefit of lower maintenance costs.

Smith is in the right spot for doing his research. Located in middle of the Great Plains, Kansas is one of the largest wheat-producing areas in the world, and wheat straw is an excellent source of lignin. And the need to improve roads is a big incentive there – more than 70 percent of Kansas’s 98,000 miles of roads are unpaved.

For his research, Smith takes soil and mixes it with different amounts of water and lignin. He is mixes various lignin concentrations with water – 2 percent lignin, 4 percent, 6 percent, 9 percent and 14 percent – to understand how different levels of lignin affect the soil cohesion and, consequently, road erosion.

As for application, lignin mixtures can be sprayed on a road surface to control dust. For stabilization, it's better to mix it with the top few inches of road surface. Some other benefits include increased load-bearing capacity (similar to a 3-inch layer of asphalt concrete), a firmer road surface without loose gravel, dust abatement, reduced frost-heave damage, and cost-savings in both construction and maintenance.

A person living in our region might ask how this all might relate to North Carolina. The Tar Heel state also is home to a robust agricultural industry. Lignin constitutes almost 30 percent of common coniferous and deciduous trees, and the state is home to many forestry operations and pulp mills. Lignin can also be extracted from cotton stalks, corn stalks, peanut shells and other crop residue.

As research reveals the optimum lignin concentrations and means of application, Mother Nature might well be able to sing another verse to the old song:

I'm a-goin’ where them dust storms never blow, blow, blow,

An’ I ain't a-gonna be treated this a-way.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Randleman roundabouts: The right way to roll?

Pierce Egerton — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:23:01 GMT

New intersections draw complaints but advantages are significant

Round and round and round you go …

But at those circular intersections called “roundabouts,” at least you do go, rather than being stuck in traffic for what seems like forever.

And a collision is far more likely to be a minor fender-bender than a deadly crash.

But are there more collisions, or fewer?

For years, drivers in Randleman, a town in central North Carolina, have complained about traffic jams on High Point Street. At peak times, traffic would come to a standstill from beyond the entrance of the Walmart shopping center to Tigers Den Road, which goes to Randleman High School and Randleman Middle School.

“If you go back to when there was a traffic light, when school was taking in or letting out or at Walmart when it was Christmas, traffic could be backed up all the way to Commonwealth Road,” said Randleman Police Chief Steve Leonard. “There was no telling how long people would have to wait.”

A lot of people came together to work on the problem: the N.C. DOT office in Asheboro, Traffic Engineer's office in Carthage, the DOT Congestion Management unit in Raleigh and the Triad Rural Planning Organization. The result? Three roundabouts on High Point Street within a half mile from the school road to Walmart.

“Out of all of the possibilities to improve these intersections, the roundabouts

^{Image by Missouri DOT}

proved to be the best at solving the problems and provide a long-term solution,” said Reuben Blakely, district engineer at the Asheboro N.C. DOT office. “This project was being designed in 2009, and we forecasted traffic through 2029.”

Construction was begun in April 2010 and completed in June 2011.

Still, some local drivers are pretty unhappy about the new intersections.

Cindy McIntyre-Harber was the victim of a hit-and-run driver in one of the roundabouts in December, according to a report by WGHP Fox 8 News.

In addition to the collision which put a big dent in her right front quarter-panel, she says, three roundabouts so close together are just too many. Anywhere near the intersection you go – Walmart, McDonald’s, the school, she said, you have to navigate through a roundabout.

It’s true that roundabouts are more challenging for drivers. The roundabouts require drivers to be more aware of other cars, anticipate other drivers’ mistakes, and learn new rules of the road to get around these unfamiliar intersections.

“Nobody seems to know the word ‘yield,’” said McIntyre-Harber.

When drivers approach a roundabout, they have to choose when to wait, and when it’s clear to go. “At lot of them are not used to having to make a decision, Blakely told Fox 8. “The signal used to make the decision for them.”

It’s common sense that roundabouts reduce the severity of crashes. Vehicles move more slowly and the threat of a right-angle crash is virtually eliminated.

“As far as accidents – no accident is ever good – but accidents now are low-speed, said Chief Leonard. “With the traffic light you could be T-boned at a pretty good clip and have serious injuries.”

Officials and some studies also say roundabouts reduce the number of accidents. But anecdotal evidence tends to belie that claim.

At the largest roundabout in Randleman, the one at the intersection of High Point and Academy streets, there were 18 collisions in the eight months after the roundabout opened. In the eight months prior, there were 11, Leonard said. There have been two at Tigers Den Road, but that was in the two months after the opening.

“And, I hope I don’t jinx myself, but we’ve had no accidents at Walmart,” he said.

In another example, in an eight-month period after one roundabout opened in Raleigh near the N.C. State University campus, 42 accidents took place there. A newspaper in Albany, N.Y., reported that crashes went up at 15 of 20 roundabouts constructed in the region.

I believe that as people gain experience with roundabouts, the benefits will definitely outweigh the negatives.

As Leonard said, “If you go in Hardee’s parking lot on the corner and watch, the traffic just flows. It’s amazing to watch people maneuver through it when they do it the proper way.”

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Snow Shoveling and Heart Attacks -- Is There Really A Link?

Pierce Egerton — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:51:00 GMT

We’ve all heard it. Urban legend warns shoveling snow causes heart attacks. In fact, two of the most important cardiology associations in the US include snow shoveling on their websites as a high-risk physical activity. The citation references, however, indicate the warning is based on only one or two incidents.

Recently, a team of researchers at Canada’s Queens School of Medicine, together with Adrian Baranchuk, a professor in Queen’s School of Medicine and a cardiologist at Kingston General Hospital set out to get to the bottom of the issue. “We thought that this evidence should not be enough to convince us that snow -shoveling is potentially dangerous, ” said Dr. Baranchuk.

After plowing through piles of data, including an Ontario hospital’s patient records from the two previous winter seasons, the researchers discovered that of the 500 patients who came to the hospital with heart problems during this period, 7 per cent (35 patients) started experiencing symptoms while shoveling snow.

“That is a huge number,” said Dr. Baranchuk. “7 per cent of anything in medicine is a significant proportion. Also, if we take into account that we may have missed some patients who did not mention that they were shoveling snow around the time that the episode occurred, that number could easily double.”

The team also identified three main factors that put individuals at a high risk when shoveling snow. The number one factor was gender (31 of the 35 patients were male), the second was a family history of premature coronary artery disease (20 of the 35 patients), and the third was smoking (16 out of 35 patients). The second two factors may carry much more weight than the first, however, since the team could not correct for high rate of snow shoveling among men in their sample.

These findings were recently published in the journal Clinical Research in Cardiology.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Winter Storm Season - A Good Time to Think About Carbon Monoxide Hazards

Pierce Egerton — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:18:00 GMT

As we move into the colder winter months, here in North Carolina it's time to think about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is extremely poisonous and can kill within minutes. In the US each year, nearly 500 people die from CO poisoning. As many as 20,000 visit emergency rooms for CO exposure, mostly from poorly-maintained heating systems or gas stoves and gas-powered generators used for heat or power during storms.

Here in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, CO poisoning is particularly a problem in the winter. The culprit is the ice storms we seem to get every year. Often homes will lose power for days while crews work to clear lines. People will turn to generators and kerosene heaters to stay warm.

Of course, CO poisioning can happen at other times of the year as well. I've seen cases where defective or poorly maintained heaters, stoves and other appliances created CO hazards.

Here is a helpul and informative video from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) with more information about CO poisoning and ways to protect yourself and your family.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Happy Christmas Eve -- Please Remember to Check Little Ones' Gifts

Pierce Egerton — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:57:00 GMT

Happy Christmas Eve! I hope you are ready for the big holiday. If you have little ones who will be scrambling under the tree tomorrow, please keep in mind the importance of checking toys for lead content. Below is a bit of helpful advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control about lead in toys.

I hope you have a joyous and peaceful season and the happiest of new years.

Joyeux Noel! Feliz Navidad! Happy Chanuka! Merry Christmas!

Parents should be aware of potential lead hazards associated with some holiday toys and toy jewelry. Review these important facts to keep your loved ones safe this holiday season.

The holiday season is here, and that means many children will be given toys as gifts. While new toys are a holiday tradition, parents should be aware of potential lead hazards associated with toys, including toy jewelry. Review these important facts to keep your children safe this holiday season.

Lead is invisible to the naked eye and has no smell. Children may be exposed to it from consumer products through normal handling of the product. They often place toys and other objects, as well as their fingers that have touched these objects, in their mouth, which exposes them to lead paint or dust.

Lead in Toys

Toys that have been made in other countries and then imported into the United States, or antique toys or collectibles passed down through generations; often contain lead that puts children at risk for such exposure. To reduce these risks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues recalls of toys that could potentially expose children to lead. Learn more at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/.

Lead may be used in two aspects of toy manufacturing.

Paint: Lead may be in the paint on toys. It was banned in house paint, on products marketed to children, and in dishes and cookware in the United States in 1978. However, lead is still widely used in other countries and therefore can be found on imported toys. Lead may also be found on toys made in the United States before the ban.

Plastic: While regulated, the use of lead in plastics has not been banned in the United States. It softens and stabilizes the plastic; however, when the plastic is exposed to substances such as sunlight, air, and detergents, the plastic breaks down and may form a lead dust.

How can I test a toy for lead?

Only a certified laboratory can accurately test a toy for lead. Although do-it-yourself kits are available, they do not indicate how much lead is present, and their reliability at detecting low levels of lead has not been determined.

What should I do if I am concerned about my child’s exposure to lead?

If you suspect that your child has been exposed to a toy containing lead, remove the toy immediately. The only way to tell if your child has been exposed to lead is to have the child’s blood tested. Your health care provider can advise whether such a test is needed and also can recommend treatment if your child has been exposed to lead.

Lead in Toy Jewelry

If jewelry containing lead is swallowed or put in a child’s mouth, the child can be poisoned.

What should I do if I believe my child has put lead jewelry in their mouth?

See your health care provider. He or she can perform a blood test to see whether your child has been exposed to lead and recommend treatment if necessary. Most children with elevated blood-lead levels do not have any symptoms. However, there is no safe level of lead in blood. As blood-lead levels increase, a larger effect on children’s learning and behavior will occur. A blood-lead test is the only way to know if your child has an elevated lead level.

What are the effects of wearing toy jewelry?

Just wearing toy jewelry that contains lead will not cause your child to have a high level of lead in their blood. However, small children often put things in their mouth. You should make sure that all children in your household do not have access to jewelry or other items that may contain lead.

Recall Information

The CPSC asks parents to search for possible recalls of toys their children have and take the toys away immediately if they have been recalled. Parents should search their children’s toys for metal jewelry and throw it away. Photos and descriptions of recalled toys and toy jewelry are available on the CPSC Web site. CPSC can be contacted also by telephone at 1-800-638-2772.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

WTF?!?! Cursing eases pain?

Pierce Egerton — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:19:34 GMT

I stubbed my toe! Dang!

I barked my shin! Darn!

I got run over by a bus! Dagg-nabbit!

But if I cuss a little, I’ll feel better.

So says a study from “The Journal of Pain.”

BTW, I definitely do not have a subscription to that journal. (You have to pay for it.)

An article at medicalnewstoday.com says that experiments show cursing can provide short-term pain relief.

That is, if you don’t normally curse a lot.

The study, from the School of Psychology at the University of Keele in England, expanded on findings from a study done in 2009 that showed that cursing eases pain.

In the earlier study, it was found that people who endured an “ice-cold water challenge” were able to withstand

^{Emilio Labrador/flickr}

^{Swearing actually helps alleviate pain.}

the pain longer if they repeatedly said swear words than people who underwent the challenge while saying “neutral words.” (what’s a “neutral word” – “vanilla?”)

And what does an “ice-cold water challenge” involve? I shudder to think.

In the newer study researchers discovered that subjects who admitted to using swear-words frequently every day (at a maximum rate of 60 per day, which researchers called a “constant curser”), derived no greater benefit from swearing during the ice-water challenge than from uttering neutral words.

But people who normally only swore just a few times a day were able to endure the ice-cold water challenge for twice as long when they repeated swear-words than when they used the neutral words.

Twice as long? Now that is pretty dad-gummed longer.

The researchers said swearing helps people withstand pain because of the emotional response it produces in the swearer. The emotions – aggression or anger – lead to “stress-induced analgesia,” a natural form of pain relief that results from the surge in adrenaline that goes with the body's natural “fight or flight" response to stress.

However, people who curse a lot become “habituated.” The emotional response becomes weaker with use, resulting in a weaker effect as pain relief.

Used in moderation, one researcher explained, swearing can be a useful alternative pain-reliever in situations where someone can't easily get medical care or pain-relieving medicine.

As a personal injury attorney, I often have clients who have undergone pain, or are even still enduring it. I do my best to help them legally, but I can’t help them physically.

Of course, many people don’t ever want to say a dirty word. But if it can ease your pain without your feeling it to be offensive, I say, “Let ’er rip!”

Gee whiz! I hope this is helpful.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Driver Charged with DWI in Wreck that Hospitalized Eight Apologizes on Facebook – Sort of

Pierce Egerton — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:52:24 GMT

A driver charged with DWI in a Sunday collision that hospitalized eight members of an Eden, NC, family has offered an apology on his Facebook page – well, sort of. The accident occurred on U.S. 220 in Guilford County.

According to reports from Fox8, State Highway Patrol Trooper Gordy said the accident occurred when a Dodge Intrepid driven by Mitchell Edwin Winfree of Reidsville struck the rear of a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer SUV. The Mountaineer rolled several times. Ambulance crews took eight people in the Mountaineer, including four children under the age of 10, to the hospital.

WFMY reports one of the injured adults is listed in critical condition but expected to recover while another adult required surgery for non life-threatening injuries.

Trooper Gordy said Mr. Winfree did not stop at the scene and was found approximately ½ mile away. Mr. Winfree was charged with DWI, careless and reckless driving and felony hit and run. According to WFMY, Mr. Winfree was under the influence of an unknown narcotic at the time of the collision.

In an unusual move, Mr. Winfree offered his own statement in reader comments to the WFMY article that were repeated on his Facebook page.

Here’s what he had to say:

"this is micthell winfree i hit the vehicle but my brake went outafter the impact it was not a hit and run an also they were running 85 and went to a sudden stop and my cruise control was set at 63 mph im so sorry i hit them but in my eyes they should have never slammed on breaks like they did down to 45 on the highway i just hope there all ok .so sorry to all who was involved"

"they slammed on breaks so hard all i seen was smoke and smelled burnt rubber"

"hope u all get well"

It seems likely from his comments that Mr. Winfree disagrees with Trooper Gordy’s account of the crash. However that may be, there can be no argument with his final sentiment offering hope that the injured family gets well.

UPDATE: Since I posted this article, the comments appearing on the WFMY website as well as those on Mr. Winfree's Facebook page have disappeared. It is unclear whether Mr. Winfree removed them.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Woman sentenced in connection to crash that killed 3

Pierce Egerton — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:09:19 GMT

With the holiday season come parties, and with parties often comes alcohol. What appears to be the final chapter in the story of a terrible accident serves as a reminder that responsibility should also be a component of parties.

Theresa Bruckner, 52, of Browns Summit, North Carolina, near Greensboro, pleaded no contest this week to three counts of aiding and abetting a person less than 21 years of age in possessing an alcoholic beverage. She was charged in July 2010.

The wreck, which took place in February 2010, killed three people, two of them teenagers. The driver, Amanda Sperduti, age 20 at the time, survived. She is serving 7 to 12 years in prison for aggravated felony death by motor vehicle.

^{Photo taken at the scene}

^{The car was ripped in half when it hit a tree.}

Sperduti and her three passengers had left Bruckner’s home and were going from one party to another. Sperduti’s blood-alcohol level was .20 – more than twice the legal limit.

She rounded a bend in the road, driving 90 miles per hour in a 45 zone. She ran off the road, struck a street sign and then a tree. The Acura the four were riding in was torn in half; the three victims pronounced dead at the scene.

In Bruckner’s plea deal, she was given a 45-day jail sentence, placed on probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. Also as part of the deal, the same charges against her son, Kyle Bruckner, who was 22 at the time he was charged, were dropped.

The sentence seems mild for actions which led to the deaths of three people, especially considering that a 20-year-old – and likely a very immature one – was sentenced to up to 12 years.

It’s tempting to some adults to let the young folk join in the partaking of spirits at parties. After all, everyone is having such a good time. What is a little drink going to hurt? But a little can lead to a lot. And a lot leads to bad decisions and reckless behavior. Alcohol is best kept absent from any party attended by young people.

Young, inexperienced drivers are at a higher risk for crashes, and wrecks are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adding alcohol to that mix is terribly irresponsible.

But the bottom line is, giving alcohol to people under 21 is illegal. Offenders can be prosecuted criminally, although the penalties for it don’t have enough teeth. And under some circumstances an offender can also be exposed to civil liability for serving alcohol to someone who is obviously inebriated. The civil liability of the offense may actually be a more powerful deterrent to the crime of providing alcohol to underage young people who then go out and injure someone, or worse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

Beware illegal online knock-offs this holiday season

Pierce Egerton — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:13:13 GMT

If you’re shopping online for a genuine Louis Vuitton handbag, it’s probably not a good idea to buy it at a website with a name like “louisvuitton-bags-forcheap.com.”

For most people, the Christmas season is a time of joy, celebration and giving. But for criminals who peddle counterfeit merchandise, it’s a time of taking.

In a recent sting called “Operation in Our Sites,” authorities seized 150 website domain names that were selling and distributing illegal “knock-offs.” This sting was the eighth phase of the operation, and was the biggest raid to date. The operation, a joint effort by several agencies led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has seized a total of 350 domain names since its launch in June 2010.

^{image by fairfaxcounty}

^{Seized counterfeit watches}

"The sale of counterfeit goods cheats consumers and robs legitimate businesses — both large and small — of the fruits of their hard-earned work," said Assistant Atty. Gen. Lanny A. Breuer, who oversees the criminal division of the Justice Department, one agency involved in the sting. "We will not tolerate those who seek to profit by abusing the Internet and stealing intellectual property at the expense of authors, artists and inventors. The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively to combat intellectual property crime."

To give you an idea of what these site names look like, you can find a list of them here.

Counterfeit goods are a huge business, with profits going to organized crime and even to fund terrorism. In fiscal year 2010, goods with a suggested retail price of $1.4 billion were seized – and that was before they entered the United States. Footwear was the top product seized accounting for almost a quarter of the value of the seized illegal merchandise.

China continues to be the No. 1 source country for counterfeit products, accounting for 66 percent of goods seized.

One website provides a list of steps you can take and rules to remember so as not to not be taken in by these websites. Rule No. 1?

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

You should be suspicious if you find a pair of jeans that normally retail for $300, for only $50 online.

Another rule was: Trust your gut. If there is something fishy about the site, just walk away.

Other things to think about:

Examine the site closely. Beware of sites with poor quality photos, spelling mistakes and lack of terms.

If you are purchasing items from an auction site, see how many identical products they have available. For example, if they have too many of an expensive custom-made handbag, the handbags are probably fake.

Also, if a site posts information about something called the Internet Privacy Act, that’s a dead giveaway. The act doesn’t exist. The reference is used by websites conducting illegal activities to try to avoid prosecution and to keep investigators from entering the site.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton

NTSB calls for nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving

Pierce Egerton — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:56:36 GMT

“No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life”

The National Transportation Safety Board voted yesterday to recommend a nationwide ban on cell phone use and text messaging devices while driving.

The ban applies only to non-emergency driving.

It does apply to the use of hands-free devices, according to early reports from the LA Times, the Christian Science Monitor and other media.

^{OregonDOT’s photostream}

“According to NHTSA, more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents,” said Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving.”

“No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also reports on its distracted driving site that in 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured. That statistic may indicate that as cell use bans such as this one are implemented, they are effective in decreasing crashes.

The NTSB strengthened its stance on banning cell use after completing its investigation of a major accident that occurred in Gray Summit, Missouri, in August 2010, and injured nearly 40 people, and killed two. A GMC pickup truck struck a Volvo tractor trailer that had slowed for a construction zone. A school bus then struck the pickup, and a following school bus struck the first. The pickup truck driver and one passenger were killed. Thirty-eight other people were injured.

It was found that the 19-year-old pickup driver had sent or received 11 text messages in the 13 minutes before he hit the tractor truck.

Which brings to mind a couple of other sobering facts on the NHTSA website.

Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.

Distracted driving kills. And we see drivers doing it constantly. But we can hope that stricter, more common-sense laws will bring down the death toll.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pierce Egerton