Texas Auto Injury Crashes, Fatalities Increase Along with Population

Texas’ rapidly expanding population has given rise to something else: more deadly car crashes.

The number of fatal automobile crashes in Texas has been on the decline since 1980, but for the past two years, both injury and fatal car accidents in Texas have risen. The increase in traffic fatalities has been linked to the state’s growth and economy, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported.

With Texas’ rapid population growth and strong economy more people are on its highways “and that translates into more accidents and more people getting hurt,” said Anne McCartt, senior vice president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

In 2003, Texas Department of Transportation figures showed the state had 190,878 injury crashes, but the number had dropped to 139,690, or a 27 percent decline by 2011. In the past two years the numbers have risen, exceeding 152,000.

Fatal crashes in Texas dropped from 3,371 in 2003 to 3,067 in 2011, or a 10 percent decline. But during the past two years the numbers increased to more than 3,330, the ICT said.

_________________________________________
Source: Insurance Journal (AP, 3/24)

Acetaminophen doses over 325 mg might lead to liver damage

You're in pain after surgery, and your doctor prescribes you Vicodin, or maybe Percocet. But when you get home, the pain hasn't subsided and you decide to pop some Extra Strength Tylenol.

Unknowingly, you may have just taken more of the drug acetaminophen than is safe.

Don't combine aspirin and ...

Acetaminophen is often used in pain medications with opioids such as oxycodone (Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and codeine (Tylenol with Codeine).

These are called combination drugs, and the Food and Drug Administration is asking doctors to stop prescribing those that have more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dose.

FDA warns of acetaminophen liver damage FDA: Pain meds may cause liver damage

The FDA says no data show that taking more than that amount provides enough benefit to outweigh the risk of liver damage.

"Many consumers are often unaware that many products (both prescription and OTC) contain acetaminophen, making it easy to accidentally take too much," the FDA said in a statement Tuesday.

The warning does not apply to over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, which contains acetaminophen. The FDA said it will address over-the-counter products in another regulatory action.

In 2011, the FDA asked manufacturers to limit the amount of acetaminophen in prescription combination drugs to 325 mg per capsule or tablet by January 2014. While more than half of the manufacturers agreed, some combination drugs with higher amounts of acetaminophen remain on the market. The federal agency says it plans to start the process of withdrawing approval of prescription combination drugs from manufacturers that have not complied.

Health risks

"Acetaminophen overdose is one of the most common poisonings worldwide," according to the National Institutes of Health.

Taking too much of this pain reliever can lead to liver failure or death.

The FDA has set the recommended maximum for adults at 4,000 milligrams per day. It's easier to reach this limit than you might think; one gel tablet of Extra Strength Tylenol, for example, contains 500 mg.

New Tylenol cap will have warning label

Consumers should not take more than the prescribed dose of any medication that contains acetaminophen, according to the FDA, and should avoid taking more than one acetaminophen product at a time. Drinking alcohol while taking acetaminophen also puts you at risk.

To find out if your medications contain acetaminophen, read the drug label or the list of ingredients in the patient information leaflet that came with your prescription. Look for the word "acetaminophen" or the letters "APAP," an abbreviation sometimes used for the drug. If you are still unsure, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

Acetaminophen may also cause serious skin reactions in some people. According to the FDA, the skin reactions are rare but can be deadly. These conditions can cause blisters, serious rashes, reddening of the skin and the detachment of the upper surface of the skin, the epidermis.

Anyone who develops these types of conditions after using acetaminophen should stop taking the product immediately and visit a doctor or emergency room. FDA issues warning about acetaminophen and skin reactions

__________________________________________
Source: CNN (Yan, 1/16)

Indictments handed down in fatal crash

A motorist, who crossed onto the wrong side of a highway, resulting in the death of two people in a fiery crash in Bandera County on July 4, has been arrested. Lab reports indicated that Troy Allen Timmins, 38, was apparently driving under the influence at the time of the head-on crash.

On Monday, Dec. 23, deputies with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office arrested Timmins at his mother's house in Bexar County on an outstanding warrant related to a previous narcotics charge, according to Bandera County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Matt King. "He's set to be arraigned in Bandera County on Monday, Jan. 6, but that will probably be reset," King said, adding that a felony bench warrant would most likely be issued to ensure Timmins' return to Bandera County.

On Monday, Dec. 2, a Bandera County Grand Jury indicted Timmins on two counts of manslaughter, enhanced.

Because Timmins was allegedly driving under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, the charges could be elevated to a first-degree felony.

The two-vehicle crash occurred at approximately 8:30 pm, Thursday, July 4, on Highway 16 South, about a half mile south of Timber Creek Road. Carolyn Buck died at the scene and her husband died after suffering a stroke during an operation directly related to the crash.

According to a Texas Department of Public Safety accident report, Timmins was driving north on the inside of the southbound lane coming out of a curve on Highway 16 when he struck the Buck's vehicle traveling southbound.

At that time, it was unknown what caused Timmins to swerve directly into the path of a Ford Expedition driven by Carolyn Buck, 63, of Helotes. However, the DPS accident report also noted that subsequent toxicology results revealed that Timmins had multiple drugs in his system at the time of the crash, including benzodiazepine and amphetamine.

Buck died at the scene and her husband, Ron "Butch" Buck, who was in the passenger seat, was airlifted to the burn unit at the San Antonio Military Medical Center. After several surgeries, he succumbed to massive injuries on July 22.

Timmins was airlifted to University Hospital with unspecified, but non-life-threatening, injuries.

Tragically, the Bucks, who were returning from an Independence Day picnic, were reportedly just minutes from their home when the head-on occurred.

Bandera County Fire Marshal John Stith happened on the grisly scene about "30 seconds after (the accident) happened," according to his estimation. When he arrived, he reported the Expedition was on its side and engulfed in flames with the Bucks trapped inside.

"Attempts made to pull the occupants out were unsuccessful," Stith said. "But, we were able to keep the fire away from them until the firefighters arrived with extrication equipment, the 'jaws of life'." The Pipe Creek Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accident.

Stith and several firefighters were taken to Boerne Methodist and treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns. Buck was pronounced dead at the scene. "It was pretty intense," Stith said of the incident. He later lauded civilians who assisted at the scene.

"The bystanders were able to do the things needed to give people the best chance of survival," he said on Thursday, Dec. 26. "The assistance from the public was incredible."

Stith also singled out for praise Dale Martin with the PC VFD, who also is a firefighter in San Antonio. "It was a tough scene," Stith added.

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chip Aragones handled the initial investigation of the fatal crash.

_______________________________________
Source: Bandera County Courier (Pannebaker, 1/02)

Johnson & Johnson Said to Agree to $4 Billion Settlement Over Hip Implants

Johnson & Johnson has tentatively agreed to a settlement that could reach up to $4 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits filed by patients injured by a flawed all-metal replacement hip, said two lawyers briefed on the plan.

The tentative plan, which must win court approval, represents one of the largest payouts for product liability claims involving a medical device.

A spokeswoman for the company’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit declined to comment on the possibility of a settlement. An announcement about the plan is expected in the coming days, the lawyers said.

The agreement will include those patients who have already been forced to have the device, known as the Articular Surface Replacement, or A.S.R., removed and replaced with another artificial hip, said the lawyers who spoke about the agreement only on the condition of anonymity.

Under the deal, each patient would receive about $350,000 on average in compensation, though that figure will vary depending on factors like a patient’s age and medical condition.

The precise value of the settlement is unclear because lawyers for patients are still trying to estimate how many of the 12,000 related lawsuits involve patients who had a replacement. Lawyers believe that number may be 7,000 to 8,000 cases.

The final cost of the deal to Johnson & Johnson could rise, depending on how many claimants who received the device undergo replacement operations in the future, the lawyers said. Under the plan, patients who have not had a replacement would not receive compensation, the lawyers said.

The A.S.R. hip was sold by DePuy until mid-2010, when the company recalled it amid sharply rising early failure rates. The device, which had a metal ball and a metal cup, sheds metallic debris as it wears, generating particles that have damaged tissue in some patients or caused crippling injuries.

DePuy officials have long insisted that they acted appropriately in recalling the device when they did. However, internal company documents disclosed during the trial of a patient lawsuit this year showed that DePuy officials were long aware that the hip had a flawed design and was failing prematurely at a high rate.

Many artificial hips last 15 years or more before they wear out and need to be replaced. But by 2008, data from orthopedic databases outside the United States also showed that the A.S.R. was failing at high rates in patients after just a few years.

Internal DePuy projections estimate that it will fail in 40 percent of those patients in five years, a rate eight times higher than for many other hip devices.

It had been long anticipated that DePuy would try to settle the case. Of the two lawsuits that have gone to trial, the company lost one lawsuit and won the other one.

However, it was facing the start of several new trials around the country with the prospect of large damage awards. The outlines of a settlement proposal were reported Tuesday by Bloomberg News.

The hip was first sold by DePuy in 2003 outside the United States for use in an alternative hip replacement procedure called resurfacing. Two years later, DePuy started selling another version for use here in standard hip replacements that used the same cup component as the resurfacing device. Only the standard version was sold in the United States; both were sold outside the country.

About 93,000 patients received an A.S.R., about one-third of them in the United States.

Problems with the design first came to light in Australia and England just a few years after its marketing began. But DePuy officials insisted for years to surgeons who complained about that device that patient problems reflected their surgical technique rather than the implant’s design.

Last year, The New York Times reported that DePuy executives decided in 2009 to phase out the A.S.R. and sell existing inventories weeks after the Food and Drug Administration asked the company for more safety data about the implant.

The agency also told the company at that time that it was rejecting its efforts to sell the resurfacing version of the device in the United States because of concerns about “high concentration of metal ions” in the blood of patients who received it.

DePuy never disclosed the F.D.A. ruling to regulators in other countries, where it was still marketing the resurfacing version of the implant.

The head of DePuy’s orthopedic unit, Andrew Ekdahl, oversaw the introduction of the hip and was warned by a company consultant in 2008 that the implant appeared to have a design flaw, according to internal DePuy documents disclosed during a trial earlier this year.

When DePuy recalled the hip in 2010, it announced a program in which it offered to pay the medical costs of a replacement procedure.

All-metal replacement hips like the A.S.R. were once highly popular with orthopedic surgeons who believed the devices would last longer than traditional replacement devices made of plastic and metal. But the metal devices are rarely used anymore because of their high early failure rates.

While the settlement, if approved, would resolve much of the litigation against DePuy involving that device, it continues to face thousands of lawsuits involving another all-metal hip that it no longer sells called the Pinnacle.

_______________________________________________
Source: The New York Times (Meieir, 11/12)

Family sues Six Flags just as ride reopens after fatal accident

As Six Flags Over Texas prepares to reopen the Texas Giant roller coaster after a fatal accident in July, relatives of the woman who died have sued the Arlington amusement park.

In a statement Sept. 10, Six Flags announced that its investigation of the July 19 accident - which included the ride manufacturer, Six Flags engineers and outside experts - had ruled out mechanical failure as an accident cause.

"Due to litigation, the company is not releasing any further information about the outcome of the investigation," the statement said.

Also on Sept. 10, representatives of the estate of Rosa Esparza filed suit against Six Flags Entertainment Corp. in Tarrant County's 342nd State District Court, seeking at least $1 million in damages.

According to the complaint filed by her son, Amado Esparza, and others, inspections after the accident showed that various parts of the giant roller coaster's security system were "experiencing inconsistencies and intermittent failures" on the day Rosa Esparza died.

As noted in the complaint, the roller coaster had one safety bar for each seat but no lap belts or shoulder-harness safety belts.

When the ride was in its first steep descent, Esparza's daughter heard screaming behind her and turned to see her mother upside-down, in the process of being thrown out of the car but struggling to hold onto the safety bar "for dear life," the suit stated.

Esparza, 52, was unable to resist the forces of the ride and was thrown against a support piling, falling many feet to the metal roof of a tunnel, the family claims in its suit.

Six Flags has admitted, the suit claims, that, after the accident, it replaced a restraint "limit switch" in a seat in the same car in which Esparza was riding.

As a result of Six Flags' negligence, the suit claims, Esparza was ejected from the ride and fell to her death "while her daughter and son-in-law rode along in horror and while her grandchildren waited for her at the end of the ride."

Six Flags Over Texas did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Park officials plan to reopen the ride this weekend, the Six Flags announcement said, with new safety measures including redesigned restraint-bar pads from the manufacturer and new seat belts.

Also, the company is providing a "coaster seat" at the ride entrance so guests can test whether they fit in the car before entering the line, the announcement said.

The announcement included the company's condolences for the Esparza family.

"We are heartbroken and will forever feel the pain and sadness of this tragic accident," park president Steve Martindale said in the statement. "The safety of our guests and employees is our company's absolute highest priority and we try to take every reasonable precaution to eliminate the risk of accidents."

According to the company's announcement, the Texas Giant has undergone extensive testing and has received approval from the Texas Department of Insurance to resume operation.

At the time of the accident, the Associated Press reported that the Texas Giant is 14 stories high, has a drop of 79 degrees and a bank of 95 degrees. It first opened in 1990 as an all-wooden coaster but underwent a $10 million renovation to install steel-hybrid rails and reopened in 2011, the AP said.

_________________________________
Source: Chron (Christian, 09/11)

Malpractice Payouts to U.S. Veterans Reach 12-Year High

Christopher Ellison went to a veterans medical center in Philadelphia to get eight teeth extracted in 2007. What should have been a routine dentist visit left him permanently incapacitated.

The $17.5 million Ellison and his family received in a malpractice judgment against the Department of Veterans Affairs was the largest against the agency in a dozen years -- and one of more than 400 payments the U.S. government made last year to resolve VA malpractice claims, according to agency records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The total cost came to $91.7 million, also the highest sum in at least 12 years.

Iraq war veteran SGT Luis Rosa-Valentin, who lost both of his legs, left arm and hearing while serving in Iraq shows the tattoo he got in memory of a friend killed in Iraq, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, in this July 30, 2008 file photo. Photographer: David S. Holloway/Getty Images The cases against the VA have included missed diagnoses, delayed treatment and procedures performed on wrong body parts. U.S. lawmakers and veterans’ advocates say they reflect deep flaws in the agency’s health-care system even as the department tends to more former troops, including those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The rapid rise in malpractice judgments against VA mirrors the emerging pattern of preventable veteran deaths and other patient safety issues at VA hospitals,” Representative Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House veterans committee, said in an e-mailed statement. “What’s missing from the equation is not money or manpower -- it’s accountability.”

‘Not Warned’

Miller’s committee held a hearing in Pittsburgh today to probe lapses that include a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a VA hospital that killed at least five veterans and also led to malpractice claims. The VA’s inspector general is conducting a criminal investigation into the outbreak, which involved bacteria in the hospital system’s water, Robert Petzel, the department’s undersecretary for health, said during the hearing.

Family members of veterans who died after being exposed to the bacteria said the VA didn’t immediately let relatives know there was a potential health problem.

“For sixteen days my father was allowed to shower and drink the water without any warning,” said Robert Nicklas, whose father, William, a Navy veteran, died last year after the Pittsburgh VA outbreak.

“Why were we not warned?”

More Patients

More veterans are taking advantage of VA medical care, including those requiring more complex treatment. As many as 1.2 million additional soldiers are due to become veterans in the next four years. Some of the soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering post-traumatic stress disorder while others are living with injuries that would have been fatal in World War II or the Vietnam War.
The age of recent veterans may be a contributing factor in the rise of claims payments, said W. Robb Graham, an attorney in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, who has represented former troops filing claims against the agency. Younger claimants tend to get larger malpractice payouts, often tied to how long victims will suffer, he said.

The median age range of veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington was 25 to 34 years old, according to a 2011 Labor Department study. That’s compared to veterans who served during the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam eras, whose median age range was 65 and older, the study said.

Higher Payments

“If the VA cuts off the wrong leg of a veteran who is 70 years old and his life expectancy is 75, he’s entitled to five years of damages,” Graham said in a phone interview. “If they cut off the wrong leg of a veteran who is 25, you’re now dealing with someone who is entitled to 50 years of damages.” The department has 152 hospitals and about 19,000 doctors. Last year, the VA tended to 5.6 million veterans, a 32 percent increase from fiscal 2002, according to agency data.

“It’s the largest health-care system in the U.S., and they do an incredible amount of good work,” said Jerry Manar, deputy director of national veterans service at the Kansas City, Missouri-based Veterans of Foreign Wars. “However, there are so many more things they could do in terms of oversight that they don’t appear to be doing now. As a consequence, sometimes you wind up with poor results that were avoidable.”

The department is “deeply committed to providing the quality care and benefits our nation’s veterans have earned and deserve,” Gina Jackson, a VA spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. “If employee misconduct or failure to meet performance standards is found to have been a factor, VA will take appropriate corrective action immediately.”

Taxpayers’ Bill The 2012 malpractice payments stemmed from both court judgments and administration settlements. The payouts, made by the U.S. Treasury’s Judgment Fund, rose 28 percent last year from about $72 million in 2011, the VA records showed. Taxpayers have spent at least $700 million to resolve claims filed against the veterans agency since 2001, according to the data.
Many valid VA malpractice claims never get paid, said attorney Graham, who served as a judge advocate general in the Navy in the 1980s. Some are rejected because paperwork isn’t filed properly, he said.

“My strong belief is a lot of lawyers don’t know how to sue the VA,” he said.

Some law firms aren’t interested in representing people suing the federal government because of laws that limit attorney fees to 25 percent of malpractice awards, Graham said.

‘An Alarming Pattern’

In a May letter, Representative Miller asked President Barack Obama to help address “an alarming pattern of serious and significant patient care issues” at VA medical facilities.

The House panel is reviewing the Legionnaires’ outbreak in Pennsylvania, and the department’s handling of two overdose deaths and two suicides at an Atlanta veterans hospital. Also under scrutiny are poor sterilization procedures and possible patient exposure to infectious diseases such as HIV at VA locations.

“We are not here as part of a witch-hunt, to make VA look bad or to score political points,” Miller said during the hearing. “We simply want to ensure that veterans across the country are receiving the care and benefits they have earned.”

The agency isn’t holding employees, especially executives, accountable for preventable deaths, Miller said. Department officials also gave bonuses to doctors even if they practiced without a license or left residents unsupervised during surgery, according to a Government Accountability Office report last month.

VA Bonuses

The recipients of $150 million in bonuses to VA health-care providers in fiscal 2011 included a radiologist unable to read a mammogram and an emergency-room doctor who refused to see patients, the report found.

Miller has said the VA employees should be punished -- not rewarded -- for their incompetence.
The number of malpractice claims filed with the VA has remained at 1,544 for the past two years, said Jackson, the agency spokeswoman. The leveling off came after a 33 percent spike in cases to 1,670 between 2010 and 2005, according to an October 2011 GAO report.

The VA’s malpractice payment rates may be similar to national levels, said Anupam B. Jena, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ellison’s Case

Less than 25 percent of the claims filed against the veterans agency result in payment, according to the VA. About 20 percent of malpractice claims filed with the largest insurer of physicians between 1991 and 2005 resulted in a payment, according to a 2011 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said Jena, who worked on the report.

Last year’s “noticeable increase” in medical malpractice payments was partly due to an “exceptionally large” $17.5 million court judgment, Jackson said in an e-mail. Such payments are “highly variable from year to year,” she said.

That record judgment went to Ellison, who was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2001. He was a 49-year-old electronics technician from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, in 2007 when he visited the dentist to have eight teeth extracted because of tooth decay and gum disease.

During the procedure at a VA facility in Philadelphia, Ellison’s blood pressure dropped several times to “unusually low” levels, his attorney, Shanin Specter, a partner at Kline & Specter P.C., a law firm in the city, said during a 2011 trial.

‘Catastrophic’ Stroke

Ellison wasn’t sent to the emergency room, and the dentist continued with the extractions, said Specter, son of Arlen Specter, the former senator from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican for more than 28 years and became a Democrat during his last 20 months in office. Arlen Specter died last year. Ellison had a “catastrophic” stroke while driving his car shortly after leaving the dentist office, Specter said.

The government argued that the veteran’s existing health problems caused the stroke, not the care he received at the VA. Ellison had a history of smoking, diabetes, hypertension and many other stroke risk factors, Thomas Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney, said during the 2011 trial in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

After the stroke, Ellison was left with limited vocabulary, “severe and pervasive deficits in all mental abilities,” and “negative personality changes,” according to court documents.

“He wound up being totally incapacitated, requiring 24-hour-a-day care,” Specter said. “This is about as devastating an injury as a person can have, and that’s what the award reflects.”


______________________________________
Source: Bloomberg (Miller, 9/09)

New Texas law: Paramedics can do blood draw on scene for DWI suspects

Starting Sunday, a new state law has taken effect in Texas to make it easier for the long arm of the law to catch up with drivers who have had too much to drink.

The new law, passed this spring by the Texas Legislature, says that if officers think alcohol played a factor in a crash, paramedics at the scene can draw your blood.

The law comes just in time for Labor Day weekend, a holiday when many folks are going to drink -- and some may try to drive.

"In the last legislative session, the legislation addressed an issue of whether EMTs could take blood in relation to intoxication behind the wheel, be it an accident issue or an arrest," said Susan Reed, Bexar County district attorney.

The change came from a state court opinion from years ago.

"Now in Bexar County, what that means is we have already established a system of taking blood and doing blood warrants and DWIs."

Now, add paramedics to that.

"We could develop a system of mobile units, using EMTs to do that," she said. "But remember, it is still the circumstance of having the sanitary place."

But at the end of the day, the DA says it's a good move -- especially for Labor Day weekend.

"It actually gives us more options and more ability to do warrants and do blood draws in relation to DWI."

The new law will allow 6,000 paramedics across the state to draw blood if the police at the scene ask for it.

More patrols will be out looking for impaired drivers for the holiday weekend. The Texas DPS is increasing DWI patrols through Sept. 9.

Last year, DPS troopers made nearly 2,000 DWI arrests.

___________________________________________
Source: KVUE (Cooper, 9/1)

Injured 'Texas' dancer's condition improves

The “Texas” company member who was injured in an accident north of Dumas last week that killed five people has improved, Northwest Texas Hospital Caytie Martin spokeswoman said.

Timothy Johnson, 30, of Portland, Ore., now is in satisfactory condition at the hospital, said Caytie Martin of Northwest.

About 11:30 p.m. Aug. 12, after leaving a “Texas” end-of-summer party, a Ford Taurus carrying six cast and crew members in the production ran a stop sign at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 119 and U.S. Highway 287 and was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Authorities said the rig’s load toppled onto the driver’s side of the car.

Clint Diaz, 20, of Amarillo; Andrew Duncan, 20, of Wichita Falls; Amanda Starz, 20, of Timonium, Md.; Julian Arredondo IV, 24, of Haltom City; and Eric Harrison, 21, of Fort Worth died in the crash.

Johnson and the driver of the tractor-trailer — Theron Arthur McSay, 70, of Fort Collins, Colo. — were injured in the accident and transported to Northwest.

McSay was released from the hospital this week.

Department of Public Safety officials said officers found alcoholic beverage containers in the Taurus, and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission authorities are investigating the party attended by the “Texas” company members, which was held at Coldwater Ranch, owned by former Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation board member Joe Batson.

“We’ve held the party there for the last 22 years,” said Kris Miller, executive director of the foundation and a “Texas” cast member.

Miller, who said he attended the party, said no alcohol was being served to minors, but attendees 21 and older were allowed to bring their own beverages.

Two of the final week’s performances of “Texas” were canceled, but the final three shows of the musical’s 48th season went on as scheduled.

_________________________________________
Source: Amarillo (Bryant, 8/23)

Fiery 18-Wheeler Crash Shuts Down North Texas Highway

FORNEY – It’s a Friday evening, rush hour traffic nightmare for drivers trying to get through Forney.

The eastbound side of the US 80 Bridge, just west of FM 460, had to be closed after an 18-wheeler crashed, overturned and caught fire.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spokesman Tony Hartzel said the traffic situation is even worse because the area is so rural. “And there are no frontage roads in that area, so there are no options for travelers to go around in that immediate area,” he said. “So what we’re asking people to do is consider taking I-20 or I-30 as alternate routes.”

The cab of the truck appeared to be on fire as Chopper 11 flew overhead. Officials with the Forney Police Department, from several surrounding cities, and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputies all responded to the crash and subsequent traffic tie-up.

Hartzel said bridge inspectors have been called to the scene. “The truck overturned and caught fire just before FM 460 and it is on a bridge over one of the Trinity River relief routes, some of the water crossings for the Trinity.”

Shortly after the crash a CareFlite medical helicopter transported a man to Parkland Medical Center. It isn’t known if that man was the truck driver.

Officials gave no estimate on how long the highway would be closed.

_____________________________________
Source: CBS-DFW (AP, 8/02)

Parkland Memorial Hospital’s make-or-break survey is underway

The critical government survey that will determine whether Dallas County’s public hospital retains its state and federal funding is currently underway. The surveyors arrived — unannounced — Monday and began combing through Parkland Memorial Hospital, looking for signs of patient-safety problems that were detected in 2011. The county hospital has been operating under federal oversight for more than a year as it retrained its staff of 9,000 and made other significant changes in patient operations.

Hospital spokesman Mike Malaise confirmed Tuesday that the inspectors had arrived. The visit will determine the fate of more than $400 million in annual government funding that Parkland currently receives.

The survey was expected to occur before Aug. 31, although the starting date was not known.

The inspection team, which is working on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, includes 14 surveyors. Three additional life-safety experts are checking to be certain all hospital exits, entrances and hallways are clear.

“They have told us they will be here 24/7 until the survey is complete,” Malaise said of the survey team.

After failing a series of inspections in 2011, Parkland was forced to make changes in nearly 500 areas of the countywide public health system. They included revamping the hospital’s nursing department, upgrading the staff in the busy emergency room and psychiatric services department, assuring physician oversight of doctors in training and improving better infection control, including a crackdown on basic hand-washing procedures by staffers.

As of April, the county facility had completed 97 percent of the mandated corrective-action plan, said officials overseeing the upgrades. The changes have cost the county hospital an estimated $75 million.

In recent months, Parkland officials have confirmed that the staff was ready for the critical review and the hospital’s top leaders have vowed that it would pass it.

Throughout the 14-month rehabilitation process, many of Parkland’s top leaders resigned and were replaced on an interim basis. The hospital has been operating without a permanent chief operating officer since December, 2011, when Dr. Ron Anderson stepped down after 29 years as CEO.

The survey’s results will be known sometime this summer.

________________________________
Source: The Scoop Blog (Jacobson, 6/18)

Ban expanding in North Texas on trucks in left lanes

FORT WORTH — Trucks are being forced out of the left lanes on more North Texas highways.

Beginning this summer, the Texas Transportation Department plans to nearly double the number of highway miles in Dallas-Fort Worth where vehicles with three or more axles are banned from the left lane.

Trucks are already prohibited in the fast lane of Interstates 20, 30 and 45 in the Metroplex. And over several months, state officials plan to expand the ban to include many other freeways, department spokeswoman Michelle Releford said.

Among the places where a new left-lane ban is planned: Interstate 35W in Fort Worth from 28th Street to the Tarrant-Johnson county line; Texas 121 “Airport Freeway” from downtown Fort Worth to East Loop 820 near Richland Hills; Loop 820 from Interstate 30 in west Fort Worth to Blue Mound Road; and Texas 360 from Texas 183 to I-20 in Arlington.

Requiring big rigs to stay on the right side of the road is extremely popular among motorists.

“Trucks have no business in the far left lane,” Richard Kevin Hager of Granbury said. “It’s already working great in the areas that have it, when it is enforced. Not only safer for everybody but definitely improves traffic flow.”

Pending approval from the Texas Transportation Commission in July, signs with messages such as “No trucks, left lane” will be installed on the selected roads. The signs will start going up in the Dallas area in late summer, and in the Fort Worth area in the fall, said Andy Oberlander, a traffic engineering supervisor with the department.

Once the signs are up, the ban will be in place, and trucks caught in the left lane will be subject to a police citation, Oberlander said.

Surveys show that roughly 80 percent of motorists approve of the restriction, state officials say.

“No vehicle should be allowed in the far left lane that is not going the maximum speed limit,” Gary Burris of Arlington said.

In North Texas, regional transportation officials also say they have some data to show that keeping big rigs out of the left lane reduces accidents, improves overall traffic speeds and reduces auto emissions.

Truckers aren’t bad guys.

But some truck drivers question the claims about the benefits of such bans.

“Our great government has made trucks into bad guys,” said Robert Duncan of Terrell, a trucker for 14 years. Duncan noted that trucks’ speeds can vary greatly, with some traveling no more than 62 mph and others hauling at 75 mph — and he said faster trucks need the ability to “get past the rolling road block” of slower traffic.

Texas law does allow trucks to use the left lane temporarily for passing.

Banning trucks from the left lane penalizes some of the most professional, experienced drivers on the road, said John Esparza, president of the Austin-based Texas Motor Transportation Association. Instead, he said, Texas would be better served by going after drivers who are inattentive, overly aggressive or impaired by alcohol.

Trucks were involved in 13 percent of Texas traffic fatalities last year, Esparza said. But he said that in 84 percent of those cases the driver of a two-axle vehicle, not a trucker, was at fault.

Plus, he said, the policy creates congestion on the outside lanes of highways.

“If you limit trucks to the right lane, you are putting folks entering the freeway into more jeopardy,” Esparza said.

History

The effort to keep 18-wheelers out of the fast lane dates from 2005 in the Metroplex. That’s when the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the regional transportation planning agency, enacted temporary restrictions on portions of I-30 in Fort Worth-Arlington and I-20 in Dallas.

During the test period of approximately five months, crashes on I-30 in Tarrant County fell nearly 24 percent, according to the council of governments. With a left-lane ban, wrecks averaged 1.27 wrecks per day, down from 1.67 before.

Also on I-30, average speeds for all traffic improved 0.88 mph in the left lane, 0.56 mph in the center lane and 0.50 in the right lane, according to the research.

After those results were announced in 2006, the temporary bans were made permanent.

In 2009, the state Transportation Commission approved expanding them to include most of I-20, I-30 and I-45 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

It’s part of a statewide trend. Such bans have been approved in many cities in recent years. On I-35, for example, one extends from Georgetown all the way through the Austin area.

In North Texas, roads that meet certain criteria — for example, roads with at least three main lanes in each direction, but not left-lane exits — are considered candidates for the ban.

“Three lanes or more — keep out!” David Benedetto of Grapevine said.

______________________________________
Source: Star-Telegram (AP, 6/3)

Leave Fireworks to the Professionals this Fourth of July

AUSTIN---June is Fireworks Eye Safety Awareness Month. "Too many Fourth of July celebrations are ruined because a child has to be rushed to the emergency room after a fireworks accident," said David K. Coats, MD, pediatric ophthalmologist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. "Potentially blinding injuries can be avoided if families attend a professional public fireworks display instead of putting on a home fireworks display."

Children are the most common victims of fireworks accidents, with those 15 years old or younger accounting for half of all fireworks eye injuries in the United States. For children under the age of five, seemingly innocent sparklers account for one-third of all fireworks injuries. Sparklers can burn at nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to cause a third-degree burn.

Roberto Diaz-Rohena, MD of McAllen once treated a 4 yr-old boy who lost an eye due to a rocket-induced ruptured globe. "The sad part was that the dad asked the young boy to pick up the rocket from the floor when it didn't shoot into the air. It did when the boy picked up the rocket – right into his eye. I'll never forget the dad's guilt-driven howling."

Fireworks are not toys for children to play with. "I treated a little girl last year who had a bottle rocket blow up in her face. The child suffered a severe eye injury and one eye is now legally blind. Be careful, because life can change in an instant," said Evelyn Paysse, MD, of Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

"Among the most serious injuries are abrupt trauma to the eye from bottle rockets," according to Dr. Coats. The rockets fly erratically, often injuring bystanders. Injuries from bottle rockets can include eyelid lacerations, corneal abrasions, traumatic cataract, retinal detachment, optic nerve damage, rupture of the eyeball, eye muscle damage and complete blindness.

To avoid any type of fireworks related injuries follow these safety tips:

• Never let children play with fireworks of any type.
• View fireworks from a safe distance: at least 500 feet away, or up to a quarter of a mile for best viewing.
• Leave the lighting of fireworks to trained professionals.
• If you find unexploded fireworks remains, do not touch them. Immediately contact your local fire or police departments.
• If you get an eye injury from fireworks, seek medical help immediately.

_____________________________________________
Source: Sacbee (AP, 6/20)

Larger crowds expected for Republic of Texas Biker Rally 2013

AUSTIN --- Get ready to rumble, Austin! It’s already that time of year again where thousands of Motorcycles flood Austin area streets and highways as they participate in the annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally.

On Wednesday evening a number of downtown Austin businesses had already put out the welcoming signs as they anticipate thousands flooding the central area over the next four days.

“Just a bunch of people wanting to have a good time and enjoy their bikes; wanting to enjoy good food and let loose," said Lillian Knape with Old School Bar & Grill on 6th Street.

About 60,000 people participated in the ROT Rally in 2012. An estimated 200,000 showed up for the big parade on Congress Avenue Friday evening. However the crowds this year are expected to grow by 10 percent.

Organizers with the ROT Rally said Wednesday that the stronger economy is why they are anticipating a larger turnout this year.

“They're good for a lot of local businesses. They spend a lot of money so my suggestion to this is just be patient and be nice, be a good host. We double our staff and our inventory and stay open later. Like I said, it's one of our best nights of the year,” said Moosa Meschin, the owner of Cozzoli’s Pizza on Congress Avenue.

The ROT Rally brought in an estimated $36 million into Austin’s economy last year.

Though the rally begins today, road closures will not take effect until Friday, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. for a downtown block party. The party will close off 2nd through 10th streets between Brazos and Colorado streets, as well as Congress Avenue between Cesar Chavez and 11th streets.

The majority of the rally will be held at the Travis County Exposition Center in Northeast Austin.

The city suggests alternative routes going North and South using IH-35, Red River Street to Brazos Street, Colorado Street to Guadalupe Street or Lamar Boulevard, and going East and West on MLK Boulevard, 15th Street or Cesar Chavez Street.

_________________________________
Source: KVUE (Green, 6/12)

Seven wrecks a day in Odessa

Seven a day.

That’s how many automobile crashes occurred on average throughout the calendar year in Odessa in 2012, according to statistics provided by the Odessa Police Department. Eighteen of those crashes resulted in 19 deaths. (These are just the crashes that the police department investigates.)

This year, so far, the city has had more than 1,000 crashes. Five of those wrecks resulted in five deaths.

But the number of citations has skyrocketed, a comparison from the first few months this year (January to May) to last year: 1,585 citations were given last year compared to 3,474 so far this year according to Sgt. Sherrie Carruth of OPD. Carruth, spokeswoman for the Odessa Police Department, said there have been significant citations written because of increased traffic and targeted enforcement, such as Safe Zones (around schools), Click It or Ticket and Selective Traffic Enforcement Program.

The police department employs just less than 185 officers.

“The Odessa Police Department is budgeted for 182 and of that, 138 are below the rank of sergeant,” said Carruth stated in an email response to questions. “Traffic volume along with calls for service demands and all other demands placed on department resources are managed on a priority basis. To the extent that we possibly can, we engage in traffic enforcement as a general product of patrol and also in targeted efforts to suppress speed. The workload is such that additional resources would be welcomed and would increase our ability to address all demands for service including demands placed on us by increased traffic volume.”

She said there is no one specific day that produces the most wrecks every year, that wrecks occur on any given day. “Memorial Day Weekend is not considered a dangerous weekend for OPD,” Carruth said. “The majority of major accidents occurred on the highways.”

Repeated messages left with a local Texas Department of Public Safety office were not returned. Steve LeSueur, a former patrol officer and the new communications officer for the OPD, has been with the OPD since August 2010 and said a lot of wrecks occur here because of speeding and driver inattention. Running red lights, another safety hazard, has led to wrecks, as well, he said.

He did not see many wrecks happen because of texting or cell phone usage or from people unsafely changing lanes, though.

His advice for motorists? “Pay attention, look both ways, be a defensive driver,” he said.

SIMPLE ARITHMETIC

James Beauchamp, president of the Midland Odessa Transportation Alliance, pointed to a couple of reasons why the area has experienced an uptick in wrecks: more vehicles on the roads and more miles driven.

“From 2011 to 2012, the number of registered vehicles here in the Odessa district — and primarily, the population based here is Midland and Odessa — increased by nearly 33,000,” he said. “The number of miles driven daily increased by over a million. We know there’s a lot more people, there’s a lot more cars, and we’re driving a lot more miles. That puts a strain on the existing infrastructure. There’s been very little out here in added capacity. Really, to be quite frank, we’re even pretty sparse in safety improvements. We’re making some, but not that many.”

Drivers can have a difficult time adjusting to a rapid type of change in the environment, Beauchamp said, and they end up “getting hurried, rushed, agitated, anxious, whatever you want to call it. And they end up making poor decisions.” That’s an explanation — not an excuse — for those decisions, he said. Capacity constraints can play a role, and driver behaviors and attitudes are exacerbated by that situation, creating a perfect storm.

CRASH DATA

Statewide, speed involvement crashes are down from 2008, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation. In 2008, there were 26,092 crashes in which speed was a factor, including everything from fatality wrecks to noninjury crashes. In 2012, there were 24,189 crashes. In 2012, 679 of those wrecks resulted in fatalities, down from 821 in 2008. In the three years between 2008 and 2012 (2009-2011), deaths in crashes were in the 600s range. For the year to date, there have 212 speed-involvement crashes.

The fatality numbers are fewer for crashes attributed to cell/mobile phone usage and driver inattention and distraction in vehicle. Deaths caused by driver inattention and distraction hit 444 in 2008, with numbers falling into the 300s in the four years after. For the year to date, there have been 138 fatal crashes caused by driver inattention and distraction.

However, the overall number of crashes because of driver inattention and distraction is significantly higher than those involving speed: in 2008, there were 101,509 crashes, with 2012 posting a number of 88,785.

But a look at fatality crash numbers attributed to cell/mobile phone use have remained pretty constant: Twenty-nine fatal crashes occurred in 2008, with 35 reported in 2012, and the three intervening years all had numbers in the 40s. Total crashes reported from 2008 to 2012 have all been in the low to mid-3000s.

Legislation to ban texting while driving died in this legislative session.

In a Friday email statement to the OA, Rep. Tom Craddick of Midland (R-82nd District) expressed disappointment about the failure of the legislation, House Bill 63, which he introduced.

“Unfortunately, the bill proposing the statewide ban on texting will not become law this year. Legislators were poised to act on this legislation that would have saved lives. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation denied lawmakers the opportunity to move House Bill 63 forward and subsequently denied Texans a chance to make our roads safer. I am incredibly disappointed by this result.

“Next legislative session, I will again attempt to put a statewide law in place to deter Texas drivers from texting while driving. It is devastating that we will have two more years of accidents and deaths on our Texas roadways from distracted driving that could have been prevented.

“Although there is no statewide law stopping Texans from picking up their phone to text while driving, I would implore everyone to focus on driving and put your phone down — it can wait.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (under the U.S. Department of Transportation), there were 32,367 deaths from motor vehicle wrecks in 2011 (last year information available). Texas had 3,016 deaths that year. NHTSA said 2012 data would be available in August.

______________________________________
Source: OAOA (Munsch, 5/28)