Car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation

Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers Help Victims of Car Crashes Resulting from Sleep Deprivation

It’s almost cliché that few adults get the amount of sleep they or the medical profession feel that they need. The statistics support this assertion. A Gallup poll from December 2013 found that 40% of Americans get less than the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. The average night sleep for adults is now only 6.8 hours. Medical studies, and common sense, tell us that lack of sleep leads to health problems and cognitive impairment. Victims of drivers who are impaired by lack of sleep should seek legal help from an experienced Tulsa personal injury attorney who has successfully handled car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation cases and is thoroughly versed in the laws surrounding such cases.

The problem of sleep deprivation while driving seems to be pervasive. The National Sleep Foundation reported in 2005 that 60% of adult drivers said they had driven a vehicle while drowsy in the preceding year, and 37% said they had fallen asleep while driving. Of the 37% that had fallen asleep, 13% admitted that they did so once a month or more. 4%, or eleven million drivers, stated they had had car accidents, or nearly had car accidents, because they had dozed off or were fatigued. The problem of driving while sleepy is particularly acute for males between the ages of 16 to 29, shift workers who work at night or who work long or irregular hours, and people with untreated sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy. A study of 80 long-haul truck drivers in the US and Canada found that they averaged less than five hours of sleep per day. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that sleep deprivation was the most likely cause of over half of fatal truck driving crashes.

In Europe, driving while drowsy is estimated to be the cause of 10 to 30% of all crashes. In the United States, however, statistics on car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation are not entirely accurate for various reasons. Unlike in the case of intoxication, there is no test to determine sleep deprivation. State reporting practices are inconsistent as there is little or no police training in identifying sleepiness as a cause of an accident. Often crashes are simply attributed to driver inattentiveness or alcohol. Finally, individuals who are responsible forcar crashes resulting from sleep deprovation are not prone to admitting the fact. Still, estimates of car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation in the US range from 16 to 60%.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to impair coordination, judgment, memory, and the ability to retain information. It also can cause longer reaction times, a critical factor in avoiding accidents. Various indicators can infer that a particular crash was at least in part the result of drowsiness.

•  Usually such crashes occur during late night/early morning hours, or in the midafternoon. These are the times of day when people normally experience the urge to sleep.


• The crash oftentimes is very serious.


• The crash involves a single vehicle leaving the roadway.


• The accident occurs on a high-speed road.


• The driver does nothing to avoid the crash.


• The driver is alone.

Obviously, sleep deprivation is a major concern for traffic safety. If you have been injured in a vehicle accident, it is possible that sleep deprivation may have been one of the main causes. To determine your rights, you should seek out the advice of competent Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers who are skilled at identifying crashes that fit the pattern of sleep deprivation car accidents and who know the laws surrounding such cases. You may be able to recover lost wages, medical costs, as well as damages for pain and suffering. Call today for a consultation.

Contact a Tulsa Injury Attorney Versed in Car Crashes Resulting From Sleep Deprivation:

If youve been involved in a car accident of any kind or a car crash resulting from sleep deprivation call our Tulsa personal injury attorneys today. We offer our injury clients a free consultation and we never get any money unless you get paid.

Car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation

http://www.kanialaw.com/tulsa-personal-injury-lawyers-2/car-crashes-resulting-from-sleep-deprivation.htm

New Workers Comp Laws in Oklahoma

Tulsa Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Help Clients Understand the New Workers Comp Laws

             In May 2013, the Oklahoma Legislature passed Senate Bill 1062, which codified the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act, the Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act, and the new Workers’ Compensation Arbitration Act, as well as established the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims. The new Workers Comp Laws in Oklahoma, which went into effect on February 1, 2014 and which was backed by the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, contained sweeping changes to the existing judicial system of deciding workers’ compensation claims with the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court. It is expected to greatly improve the workers’ compensation system as well as reduce premium costs.

             The new law was sorely needed. Oklahoma’s previous workers’ compensation system ranked fifth highest in the country in the cost of claims, sixth highest in the cost of premiums, and forty-seventh worst in 2012 workers’ compensation costs. In addition, the Work Loss Data Institute gave the prior system a “D” for overall effectiveness. Needless to say, it was in part to blame for discouraging new businesses from coming to Oklahoma.

             Now all that has changed, hopefully for the better. The new workers comp laws in Oklahoma is very sweeping, as previously stated, but a few aspects of it should be highlighted:

•  The new law creates a simpler administrative system called the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (OWCC) for the filing of claims that result from injuries that occurred on or later than February 1, 2014. Claims based on injuries that occurred prior to the law’s enactment will be heard by the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims. The laws, time frames, and benefits available to injured workers are different under each system. Clearly, the advice of a competent workers’ compensation lawyer is needed to help the relevant parties sort through the claims process.


•  


• The new law again sets the temporary total disability (TTD) benefits at 70% of the employee’s average weekly wage, but reduces the maximum benefit allowed by 30% (from the former limit of 100% of the state’s average weekly wage to an upper limit of 70% of the average state wage). In addition, the maximum TTD period is reduced from 156 weeks down to 104 weeks.


•  


• Under the new system, an employee who receives surgery and returns to work with the same pay cannot receive permanent partial impairment benefits (PPI).


•  


• Private employers can opt out of the workers’ compensation system by offering employees an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) type system instead, as long as that system provides equivalent benefits to injured workers. Only employers with a specified financial strength and loss experience will be able to exercise this option.


•  


• Claims for accidental injury or death and cumulative trauma must be filed within one year of the date of injury or death, down from two years under the previous system.


•  


• “Diagnostic” services are no longer covered by employers, but first aid, medical, surgical, hospital, optometry, podiatric, nursing, medicine, crutches, and other types of apparatus are covered.


•  


• The new law has revised the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Notice that employers must post in one or more conspicuous places at the work site. The notice must advise employees that they are covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act and that counseling services are available at the new OWCC. A new version containing all the state-required notifications is available on the state web site at www.govdocs.com.

 Contact a Tulsa Workers Compensation Attorneys about the New Workers Comp Laws in Oklahoma

            With all the uncertainty surrounding a change in the law, it is more critical than ever that employers and workers retain competent Tulsa Workers’ Compensation Attorneys to advise them of their rights under the law. Call today for a consultation.

New Workers Comp Laws in Oklahoma

http://www.kanialaw.com/lawyers-workers-compensation-tulsa-oklahoma-work-injury-attorneys/new-workers-comp-laws-in-oklahoma-2.htm