Taking the perfect selfie has become a deadly new game and a major public health issue. A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology (N.C.B.I.) examining selfie deaths from October 2011 to November 2017 reported at least 259 fatalities in a seven-year period. The United States was the third leading country in the world for deadly selfies, preceded only by India and Russia.
Teens and young adults are putting their lives at risk more than ever before, just to prove on social media how ‘daring’ they can be. Parents should be aware of the most fatal selfie trends and how to educate their kids on the dangers of these behaviors.
Risky photographers, particularly those who love selfie images, are taking social media by storm. These are the top seven fatal selfie accidents your kids should be avoiding:
Researchers found drowning to be the leading cause of selfie death around the world, accounting for 70 of the 259 reported fatalities. In July of 2017, eight men from India on a boat picnic were taking selfies and live-streaming their ride. Sadly, the boat suddenly tipped over, and all eight men drowned in the lake.
Attempting to secure a photo with a serene landscape in the background is leading social media fans to pull some risky stunts. In May of this year, a college student from Oregon fell 100-feet to her death when she climbed over a retaining wall to get a better view at the edge of a cliff. Another woman in California fell 200-feet from a cliff in September 2018, when she slipped trying to take a selfie with the scenery in the background.
A social media phenomenon called ‘rooftopping’ is leading people to climb on top of buildings, ledges, and cliffs to get the perfect shot of their climb. In November 2017, a 26-year-old Chinese rooftopper fell off of a 62-story building while pulling a stunt for his Instagram. The social media star, famous for his skyscraper selfies, was attempting to do pull-ups from a building when he fell trying to climb back up.
According to the study, at least 48 people taking selfies have died by fire. In January 2015, two soldiers from Russia were posing with a live grenade when the device unexpectedly detonated, killing both of the men instantly and leaving the phone with the proof.
A huge trend currently on social media is taking photos in front of moving vehicles, such as trains, buses, and car. Unfortunately, some of these photographers are not getting out of the way in time. A 15-year-old girl from Russia was killed this past March by a freight train when trying to take a selfie on the tracks with a friend. The friend was able to jump out of the way but the girl was not so lucky.
Animals do not understand selfies or social media, and they have no problem ruining a photo with an attack. In Spain back in August 2015, a 32-year-man was killed when gored by a bull. The man was watching the annual Running of the Bulls event when he left a protected area to take a selfie with the dangerous animal.
A surprising 16 people have been killed by electrocution when taking a selfie, and some are because of the infamous selfie sticks. An English hiker was killed in July 2015 by a bolt of lighting in Whales. The man reportedly was taking a picture with a selfie stick when an unexpected thunderstorm caught him by surprise. Other electrocutions stem from individuals climbing on top of train cars, such as the 13-year-old Russian boy who was killed after touching a 27,500-volt cable in May.
The N.C.B.I. study showed adults ages 20 to 29 had the highest rate of selfie casualties with 106 deaths. Here is how the other age groups compared:
Contrary to popular belief, most of the individuals who are dying from selfies are not professional photographers and famous Instagram stars. Everyday people on vacation or just around their area are pushing the limits for a shocking photo, and losing their lives in the process.
Similar to traffic safety campaigns, countries are starting to implement selfie safety programs to warn people to stop taking risks. According to The Verge, Russia launched its first Safe Selfie campaign in 2015. The motto of the campaign reads: “Every million ‘likes’ on social media are not worth your life and well-being.”
Cities in India have also started taking steps to promote selfie safety. Mumbai has designated ‘no selfie zones’ where tourists often take risks for a picture.
In honor of National Selfie Day, our team at Jacobs & Wallace wants you to participate safely. Here are a few steps you can take when snapping your selfie today to reduce your risk of injury:
Just because something seems healthier, doesn’t mean it is. Several new trends have hit the market in the past year, claiming to be healthier alternatives to other known dangerous habits. Millions of consumers jumped on board with these trends with the expectations of a healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, experts are finding these ‘healthier trends’ could actually be putting individuals at risk for long-term health consequences and conditions.
Certain companies prey on the goals of Americans to live healthier lifestyles, especially around New Years and the summer months when most people are looking to make the switch. According to USA Today and Life Daily, these are the most popular health trends people are falling victim to that could make you sick in the long run.
Vaping and e-cigarettes have become one of the most overlooked health concerns until recently. Claiming to be healthier alternatives to smoking traditional tobacco, vaping has soared in popularity and hooked millions of new smokers with false advertising and misconceptions.
Unlike previously believed, more vaping juices contain nicotine than previously thought. Some products even labeled ‘nicotine-free’ have tested positive for small trace amounts enough to cause addiction issues overtime. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), vaping juices have also been discovered to contain other harmful substances: ultrafine particles that can harm the lungs, flavorings connected to lung disease, volatile organic compounds, cancer-causing chemicals, and heavy metals.
Vaping is becoming an epidemic across most of the country, especially with children and teens. In Connecticut, state legislators recently signed a bill raising the smoking age from 18 to 21 to reduce the access of all smoking products to younger users in hopes to curve the harmful trend.
A ‘raw movement’ has begun in attempts to eliminate the dangers of preservatives and added sugars. While certain products are better to consume raw, such as most vegetable and fruits, some consumers are taking the trend a little too far.
Raw eggs, fish, honey, nuts, and milk are becoming popular products to consume complexly raw. Some advocates of raw foods insist they have health benefits over the processed and pasteurized alternatives. But these products also pose a significant health risk when done wrong. According to WebMD, salmonella, E.coli, cyanide, and other life-threatening bacteria can be contracted from raw products when mistake occurring in harvesting, planting or collecting.
Life Daily reports ‘raw water’ is another health trend gone wrong. Some people are marketing raw water as purer than bottled water. However, bacteria sitting in untreated water is known for causing terrible stomach and gastrointestinal problems- a very unpleasant side effect and not a healthier alternative.
You may have noticed more cans of spiked seltzer floating around at barbecues this summer. Spiked seltzer or spiked water is another health trend that claims to contain fewer calories than other alcoholic beverages. Yet, experts are now finding both of these drinks are leading to undesired effects.
USA Today reports studies are showing people are drinking these products in excessive amounts. Studies are also finding these drinks are making people drunker, quicker. This is causing people to make unsafe decisions regarding drinking could be leading to an uptick in drunk driving incidents.
Alcohol consumed in high amounts is unhealthy, no matter how many calories are in the mixer. Alcohol leads to high blood pressure, strokes, liver damage, and several other health consequences. ‘Health Drinks’ such as spiked water and seltzer make consumers believe they are avoiding the health consequences of sugar while putting their body at more risk for alcohol-related conditions.
Staying healthy and fit is the right way to starting a healthy lifestyle. Various fitness trackers on the market are helping people to track their progress, but these apps could be negatively affecting their health in other ways.
USA Today reports experts are finding that fitness trackers and health apps are negatively impacting consumer’s mental health. By constantly monitoring their body, staying fit is becoming an unhealthy obsession for thousands of Americans. In addition, these apps have been found to provide inaccurate information which misleads participants to seek unhealthy workout plans or diets for optimal results.
Juice cleanses have been around for years. They all claim to detox the body of toxins, but none of them explain the health consequences of only drinking juice for days on end.
As with all other cleanses, scientists, have found no long or short-term health benefits with these dangerous trends. According to Life Daily, cleanses deprive the body of nutrients needed to stay healthy and energized. In addition to feeling faint and weak, juices cleanses can cause a number of digestive problems, muscle loss, and a compromised immune system.
Our bodies need vitamins to live. But too many supplements can have adverse effects. Some manufacturers are promoting the use of relying heavily on vitamins and supplements to maintain your health without coaching consumers on the proper amounts to take for their size and age.
Overloading on vitamins and supplements can make you extremely sick. The Recommended Daily reports that consuming certain vitamins in the wrong amounts can even cause permeant damage to internal organs. Other side effects of too many vitamins include numbness, headaches, muscle weakness, blurred vision, and hair loss.
If a trend is claiming to be a ‘miracle cure’ or to make you healthy quick, it’s probably not going to work the way you want it to. Good health takes time and dedication. Health trends are made to generate a profit and are rarely looking out for your best interests.
If you’re looking for a healthier lifestyle, WebMD has an excellent list to get you started including tips such as:
Most importantly, do your research. Some types of diets and trends can be beneficial in moderation. For more information on staying healthy, visit WebMD for tips and tricks.
More than 100 new Connecticut laws went into effect on July 1, while several others passed through the legislative session. According to an article by the Hartford Courant, here are eight of the most life-changing laws residents should know about:
One of the most meaningful pieces of legislation that passed this month was the law that now allows workers’ compensation benefits to cover post-traumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D.) for first responders. Police officers and firefighters witness traumatic and catastrophic events on the job over and over again, putting them at an increased risk for P.T.S.D. Giving these local heroes time to heal psychically and psychologically, without the stress of taking on a financial loss, will greatly increase their overall health when returning to work.
Until this month, children in Connecticut were not allowed to carry their own sunscreen at school! The new law allow children older than six to bring and self-apply sunscreen before outdoor school activities as long as they provide a written note from their parents. The old law required schools to treat sunscreen as over-the-counter medication, requiring a doctor’s note and school nurses to apply the sunscreen.
A new law will require the Department of Social Services to help mothers who require medically necessary breast milk donations by covering the costs through Medicaid. This law will significantly improve the mortality rate for premature babies or infants with health conditions that have a higher chance of survival on breast milk than formula.
Connecticut minors will now have access to HIV prevention medication without requiring parental consent. The pre-exposure medications such as prophylaxis, or PrEP, and are used by people at high risk for HIV to lower their chances of becoming infected. Under the current state law, minors were already allowed to be treated if they had HIV or AIDS without parental consent. As of July 1, high-risk minors can now protect themselves from getting the disease in private as well.
At least $250,000 in funding will be used to create a LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network. Individuals in the LGBTQ community can often be discouraged from seeking medical care out of fear and the prejudice views they receive from unaccepting heath care providers. The goal is to build a healthier and safer environment for Connecticut residents to seek the services they require without discrimination.
A new council will review proposals for Connecticut communities who want to take advantage of 5G Technology. These networks are up to five times more responsive and 100 times faster than current wireless services. State officials believe 5G Technology is critical to our state’s economic future and would like to see more communities take advantage of the opportunity.
Connecticut residents who support the armed forces in the community could now receive a civilian award under this new law. The Connecticut Medal of Merit, similar to medal honoring military members, will be awarded to any civilian who “has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious conduct that contributes significantly to the accomplishment of the armed forces’ mission.”
State officials want people to view Connecticut as a bioscience hub. In line with this image, a new law was created to dedicate funding to a marketing plan, social media campaign, and website to promote the idea. The deadline for the launch of the project is currently February 1, 2020. The states current bioscience sector includes 2,500 companies with nearly 39,000 workers.
For more information about the new Connecticut laws, you can find the full list here.
There is something about lawn mowers that makes kids go nuts, especially when mom or dad allows them to take a ride. But the utter excitement children show for lawn mowers makes parents forget these machines are hazardous pieces of equipment. With spinning metal blades, heavy wheels, and deadly carbon monoxide gas spewing from the exhaust, lawn mowers cause more than 9,000 pediatric emergency room visits every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As summer persists, lawn mowers will be out daily in communities across the state. These dangerous machines can lead to life-threatening injuries. Connecticut parents must be cautious when mowing the lawn and know how to avoid the most common accidents to help keep their kids safe this season.
Despite popular belief among children, lawn mowers are not toys. There are several features of law mowers that can put children at risk for serious and fatal injuries. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons highlights these as the most common lawn mower-related accidents to watch for:
Cuts and lacerations from mower blades are the most common lawn mower-related injury in children and responsible for nearly 40 percent of all accidents. A lawn mower blade spins at an average of 3,000 rpm, comparable to a car going 25 mph down the road. Children can easily get their hands and feet caught up in the mower’s blade when standing too close or if they slip while riding on the seat. A significant number of these injuries result in cuts so serve amputations are necessary to save the remainder of the extremities injured.
The engine or gas tank on a lawn mower becomes extremely hot during operation. Children who touch lawn mowers, even after they are turned off, can sustain serious burn injuries that can damage the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments or even the bones depending on the depth of the burn.
Lawn mower blades operate with enough force to cause an ‘open broken bone,’ an injury where the skin above the bone is torn. These injuries are common after lawn mower accidents and can be extremely painful to recover from. Open fractures often involve damage to surrounding tissue, muscle, tendons, or ligaments, increasing a persons’ chance of infection and permanent damage.
A back-over accident occurs when someone is injured while the operator is backing up the lawn mower, typically with a ride on machine. According to a study by the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, there were over 1,641 back-over injuries in the United States from 1990 to 2014. Over 70 percent of these injuries were individuals under the age of five.
Back-over accidents most often occur when the operator is not aware someone is behind them. According to NBC, safety advocates believe back-over accidents could be completely prevented if lawn mowers were unable to mow in reverse. However, mower manufacturers continue to grant the operators ability to override these features, defeating the purpose of the addition.
At least 600 lawn mower-related injuries result in partial or full amputations. Amputations are one of the most traumatic injuries a person can endure. Lawn mower-related amputation accidents most often involve the hands and feet in children. These injuries can be immediate caused by the force of the blade or a secondary consequence to another injury if the damage is severe.
Children under the ages of 17 are at highest risk for lawn mower accidents. In a study published in Science Daily, researchers found varying types of common lawn mower injuries depending on age. Children younger than five showed a higher risk of burn injuries from touching hot metal and back-over accidents. Children ages five to seventeen showed an elevated risk for injuries pertaining to being struck or cut, most often by the lawn mower or projectile objects when they are standing too close.
The A.A.P. reports children ages 3 and 16 are most at risk for injuries overall. Three-year-olds are incredibly intrigued by lawn mowers and will sneak up behind them without a thought. Sixteen-year-olds are more at risk for driving or operating injuries. Teens who help out at home with mowing the lawn may not be experienced or familiar with the equipment, which increases their risk for accidents.
Freak lawn mower accidents can happen right here in Connecticut. Last month, two children in Fairfield were injured from a 10-inch metal that came flying through their car window. A nearby commercial lawn mower had sucked up the spike, propelling it 20-feet into the rear window of the vehicle the children were riding in. Thankfully, they sustained only minor injuries, but they were also 20-feet away from the lawn mower and behind glass. Not all children are this lucky.
In 2017, 4-year-old boy, Rocco Mongillo from Berlin, lost his hand in a lawn mower accident when riding with his father. Rocco was sitting in the seat, between his father’s arms and legs, when he suddenly slipped under the lawn mower. The family rushed Rocco to the hospital where doctors were forced to amputate his hand and wrist from the extensive damage. Rocco has since had five surgeries after his accident and will need many more as he grows.
No matter how safe and careful you try to be with your children around lawn mowers, accidents still happen. Connecticut parents should be aware of the most common lawn mower accidents that could put their children in harm’s way before they consider letting their kids out on the lawn.
Lawn mower accidents are entirely preventable. Keep your children safe this summer by following these safety tips from the AAP, including:
With Fourth of July celebrations right around the corner, summertime fun is on the way. Millions of Americans are planning patriotic festivities this weekend, but celebrators should beware. Fourth of July is one of the most dangerous holidays of the year, both on the road and at home. Connecticut parents can reduce their child’s chance of injuries this weekend simply by being prepared. Planning for safety could mean the difference between spending your holiday celebrating or taking a less than thrilling trip to the emergency room.
The AAA predicts over 41.4 million people will jump in the car this Independence Day to travel for the holiday. With nearly 2 million more travelers on the roads than the previous year, traffic accidents are bound to skyrocket.
Fourth of July is one of the deadliest days for families on the road, and mostly due to impaired driving. In 2017, over 600 people died in motor vehicle accidents during the month surrounding Independence Day. According to Forbes, more than 39 percent of these accidents were caused by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a 23 percent increase from 2016.
Connecticut State Troopers respond to an average of 300 to 400 vehicle accidents on the Fourth of July every year, but not all are caused by drunk driving. Fatigued, distracted, and aggressive drivers, can also lead to catastrophic accidents on the road, particularly road congestion rises.
Parents can significantly protect their children from vehicle accident injuries this weekend by buckling their seatbelts or using a child safety seat. Make sure your child is properly restrained based on their size. If you need help with installing a car seat, find a fitting station near you to put your mind at ease before your trip.
Modeling positive driving behaviors is another way to reduce your risk of getting into an accident over Independence Day. Keep your speeds slow on the road to give yourself a longer reaction time to road hazards. Reduce distractions in your car by setting ground rules with your kids about volume and noise. Avoid aggressive maneuvers and look out for drivers showing dangerous driving behaviors such as swerving, drifting, speeding or driving too slow, or quickly making traffic moves. These behaviors could indicate a driver is under the influence.
Swimming is an all-time favorite summer pastime for kids that can also be one of the deadliest. More than 800 children die annually in the United States from unintentional drowning accidents, according to the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors (C.W.C.S). Approximately 54 percent of the deaths are children between the ages of 0 to 4, at the time when most children are unable or still learning to swim.
Connecticut sees about seven unintentional child drowning deaths a year. Though learning how to swim can significantly reduce your child’s chance of drowning, accidents still happen. It only takes 25 seconds for a child to drown, and unlike on T.V., they can do so without a sound.
The number one step parents can take to keep their kids safe while swimming this summer is to pay attention. Most drowning accidents happen when parents look away or lose sight of their children in the water for only a few minutes. Even if your child has a life preserver or swimming aide, never leave them alone in the water. Take additional steps to keep children safe such as gating off pools, learning C.P.R., and requiring life jackets for all children unable to swim independently.
Connecticut bans the commercial sale of all fireworks aside from sparklers and fountains, but even these products can be extremely hazardous. Sparklers, for instance, are products that kids have been waving around for decades. Yet, touching the end of one of these fiery sticks is equivalent to the same amount of heat that accumulates at the edge of a blow torch- nearly 2,000 degrees!
As exciting as they seem, children are severely and permanently injured in preventable firework accidents every Fourth of July. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 44 percent of firework injuries resulted in burns. The most injured body parts include:
Parents can avoid firework injuries completely this year by saying ‘no’ to home fireworks. There are plenty of opportunities for families to view spectacular fireworks in Connecticut this year without putting their health and safety at risk. For more information on firework shows near you, click here!
Just because you stay home to celebrate the Fourth of July does not mean you are safe from injuries. Backyard barbecues are full of opportunities for kids to sustain horrific injuries, especially when parents are not paying attention.
Some of the most popular barbecue mishaps parents should watch for this year include:
As community safety advocates, our team at Jacobs & Wallace wishes everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend! Plan ahead, stay alert and don’t take a risk with your family’s health this holiday.
If you or a loved has been injured in an accident due to the negligent acts of someone else, you may be eligible to receive compensation for any damages suffered. Contact our expert team of personal injury attorneys at Jacobs & Wallace for a free consultation to explore your options.
As high school graduation ceremonies around the state come to a close, graduation party season begins. Celebrating the achievements of our high school grads this summer with alcohol is a common practice, but parents should beware. Allowing your underage drinkers to consume alcohol in your home is illegal in Connecticut. Here’s what parents need to know before handing their teen a beverage this summer.
Drinking laws in Connecticut can give parents the wrong idea when it comes to underage drinking. According to the Connecticut Underage Liquor/Drinking Laws, it is illegal for minors under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol aside from four exceptions:
When it comes to graduation parties, a parent may supply their own child with an alcoholic beverage. However, the law does not protect parents who serve other underage drinkers on their property, even if it was your teen who did the serving.
According to the Connecticut Social Host Law: “No person having possession of, or exercising dominion and control over, any dwelling unit or private property shall 1) knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, permit any minor to possess alcoholic liquor or 2)knowing that any minor possesses alcoholic liquor fails to make reasonable efforts to halt such possession.
There are two ways parents can be held liable for underage drinking in Connecticut:
Aside from the legal repercussions for permitting underage drinking, parents who allow their kids to consume alcohol are putting their health at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.)reports drinking before the age of 21 is significantly linked with the following outcomes:
Many parents who allow their teens to drink at home believe they are positively exposing them to alcohol. However, health experts have proven this theory to be incorrect.
A study posted in The Lancet in 2018 found that teens who drink at home are just as likely to become dependent on alcohol or suffer alcohol-related harm(s) as teen drinkers to drink elsewhere. The study followed more than 1,000 underage drinkers in Australia and found those with parents who prohibited underage drinking in the home were the only individuals with a lower risk of alcohol-related issues. Any teen allowed to consume alcohol at their residence, even if only a few sips here and there, showed higher rates of alcoholism, binge drinking, and poor decision making when it came to responsible drinking.
Drinking laws were created in our country for a reason. Alcohol is harmful to the teenage brain, and early exposure can set your teen up for disaster.
According to the C.D.C., the national drinking age of 21 was adopted nationwide after the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Studies showed significant safety and health benefits from adopting the legal drinking age of 21, including:
Allowing your teen to consume alcohol immediately puts their health and safety at risk. High school graduates about to embark on their first year of college significantly decrease their chances of academic success by consuming alcohol. Educating your teens on the risks of alcohol and helping them make positive decisions about underage drinking is critical to protecting them from alcohol-related harm.
Parents are allowed to supply their children with alcoholic beverages in private residences, but it’s still not a good idea. To help protect your teen from alcohol-related harm this summer, here some steps parents can take to reduce their risk:
Graduation parties are for celebrating high school graduates, not for drinking. Consider hosting a dry graduation party for your teen to show how sobriety can be fun and seek support from your family and friends to spread the word. Congratulations to all Connecticut graduates- have fun and stay safe this summer!
There is approximately one dog bite per every 75 seconds in the United States. At least 4.5 million dog bites occur annually nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.). Of these attacks, over 800,000 people required medical care for their injuries, and an estimated 40 people died from these tragic accidents.
Not every dog you see in the community is safe or fit to be around others. Now that summer break is almost here, Connecticut should be alert to unfamiliar dogs roaming the neighborhood when children are outdoors. Knowing which dogs to be cautious around and how to react in the case of a dog attack could save your life and protect your children from severe or permanent harm.
Dog advocates will tell you until they are blue in the face that a dog’s environment is what shapes aggressive behaviors, not the breed. Although these beliefs may be true, statistics continue to show that certain breeds are more likely to initiate unprovoked attacks, and parents cannot take a chance if one of these dogs approaches their family.
According to DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victim’s group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks, 471 Americans were killed by dogs between 2005 to 2018. These were determined to be the seven deadliest breeds within the 14-year period examined:
The remainder of the 471 fatal dog attacks were carried out by a combination of 35 dog breeds, each with fewer than nine attacks. Pit bulls were unsurprisingly at the top of the list for deadly attacks. Despite the efforts to show that pit bulls are a product of decades of abuse and neglect, this breed continues to kill more people every year than any other type of dog. This breed has the highest number of fatal and unprovoked attacks, particularly when it comes to attacking their owners and family members.
Dog bites can cause permanent and debilitating injuries that can be costly for victims to treat. Over 1,000 Americans seek emergency medical treatment for dog bites every day. DogsBite.org reports the average cost of a dog bite-related hospital stay is 50 percent higher than the average injury-related stay, around $18, 200.
Types of injuries that can be sustained after a dog attack include:
Nearly one out of every five dog bites becomes infected, some with life-threatening diseases. Tetanus, MRSA, rabies, Pasteurella, capnocytophaga are all common infections victims can contract. If infections are not treated promptly, secondary health conditions can cause significant damage to a person’s body.
Children are most at risk for dog bites due to their innocence and size. Particularly for families who have dogs at home, children can be over friendly with strange dogs that put these animals in defensive and attack mode. Children are also less likely to be able to fight off larger breeds or to remember safety measures to use during an attack.
In Connecticut, there are several laws dog owners must follow to maintain ownership of their pets. These are the laws residents should be familiar with:
Dogs do not have to be on a leash at all times, but they are not allowed to roam free. A dog owner may not allow a dog to roam on someone else’s land, a public highway, sidewalks, or state parks. Local governments can also create their own leash ordinances that best fit for their community’s needs
Connecticut’s dog bite statute (CGS § 22-357) holds owners and keepers of dogs fully liable for any damages caused by the animal to someone else’s person or property. These laws are strict when it comes to protecting the public, and do not require the victim of a dog attack to prove that the owner or keeper 1) knew the dog was dangerous or 2) was otherwise negligent. Dog owners and keepers are not the only individuals who can be sued for dog bite injuries. The Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled that landlords who knowingly allow a vicious dog to live on their property, and who do not take active steps to remove the animal, can be liable for any injuries the dog causes to tenants or individuals on the premise.
If a dog in Connecticut bites a person, the laws require the dog to be held in quarantine for 14 days in a public pound, veterinary hospital, kennel, or other approved facility. The dog is checked for rabies and examined during the 14 days to asses its demeanor and risk to others if allowed to return home.
If the injuries or aggressive behaviors of a dog are severe enough, an animal control officer (A.C.O.) or the Department of Agriculture commissioner can order the dog to be put down. The victim of the attack must be notified within 24-hours of the decision.
Some neighbors allow their dogs to run around with each other in the community and play unsupervised. Pack dog attacks are increasing in popularity and can be utterly terrifying for victims who are alone or with children. In the case of an attack by two or more dogs who have different owners, all owners are responsible for the entire amount of the damages suffered by the victim, not just the portion their dog was responsible for.
As soon as an accident occurs, victims should report the incident with visible evidence of an attack to the state, town, or regional A.C.O. where the dog is owned or kept. Not all victims of dog attack receive the same benefits as others. Any victims over the age of seven who are trespassing on the property, or guilty of teasing, abusing, or tormenting the dog that attacked them cannot file a liability claim against the dog owner- for obvious reasons.
How you react in the first few minutes of a dog attack can greatly decrease the severity of your injuries or the possibility of an attack. The C.D.C. encourages individuals who believe they could be attacked by a strange dog to do the following:
The best way to prevent injuries during a dog attack is to avoid these dangerous situations altogether. DogsBite.org encourages Connecticut residents to avoid the following behaviors to reduce the chance of an attack:
Teach your children at an early age to be cautious of all dogs, even family pets. Family pets inflict over 53 percent of dog bites in the United States. Remember that any dog can be unpredictable. For more information on how to keep your family safe around dangerous dogs this summer, click here for resources and safety steps.
Residents of Connecticut have the right to enjoy their community without fear of being attacked by a dangerous pet. If you or a loved one has sustained a dog bite-related injury, Jacobs & Wallace is here to fight for your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation to review your case and your options for seeking justice.
June is National Safety Month and the perfect time to focus on protecting your family from preventable harm. With summer activities just around the corner, injuries will be on the rise. While some injuries may only result in bumps and bruises, others can have life-threatening consequences when the safety of others is neglected. Connecticut families can stay ahead of the most common safety hazards this season by knowing the facts and prevention techniques to avoiding fatal accidents this year.
Accidents happen every day. Unfortunately, some are far worse than others. Over 400 Americans die every day from preventable injuries. In January of 2018, the National Safety Council (N.S.C.) released a shocking report identifying preventable injuries as the new third leading cause of death in our country. From 2015 to 2016, unintentional deaths rose a terrifying 10 percent, resulting in 14,803 more lives lost in just one year.
In 2017, there were 169,936 Americans who died from unintentional injuries- 2,078 of these fatalities were in Connecticut. These were the leading causes of death across all age groups:
Other causes of accidental death included poisoning and drownings. The highest age groups affected were individuals 65 and older with 670 preventable deaths and 25 to 34 with 343 preventable deaths.
Similar to the rest of the nation, fatal accidents have been on the rise in Connecticut. Since 2012, our state has seen a steady increase. In 2017, Connecticut saw 57.91 deaths for every 100,000 people in the state, surprisingly higher than all surrounding states: New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.
Observed annually in June, National Safety Month focuses on reducing the number of preventable injuries through education and awareness. For each week of National Safety Month, the N.S.C. will highlight a leading hazard to preventable injuries with recommendations on how to spot these around your community and how to prevent them from causing accidents:
Preventable accidents can happen anywhere: at home, work, on the road, or in the community. It’s essential for all Connecticut residents to stay alert to the most common hazards in each one of these environments to help reduce their chances of fatal injuries:
If you have children who will be home all summer, it is especially important to keep safety in mind around the house. Young children are at higher risks of poisoning, falls, choking, suffocation, and burn injuries when unsupervised. Keep all sharp items, medications, and small objects out of reach. Place safety gates and baby proofing locks where hazardous chemicals are kept children away.
If your family enjoys the pool, lake, or ocean, take extra precautions to keep your children safe. Know the hazards for each body of water your family plans to swim in this summer and ensure you have enough supervision for all the young children in your family to reduce the possibility of drowning. If you have a pool, install gates to keep young children from wandering into the pool unsupervised.
Severe storms and natural disasters can also put your family at serious risk this summer. Consider creating an emergency plan for your family to follow and keep provisions in a safe place if a natural disaster prevents you from leaving your home.
Over 4,414 workers died in 2017 from preventable work injuries. Training and organization are two of the most effective methods for preventing injuries in the workplace. By focusing on these areas, employers can help keep workers safe and alert:
Help your workers keep each other accountable for workplace safety by taking the SafeAtWork Pledge to save lives on the job!
In 2017, more than 40,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents. Educate the drivers in your family on the three leading causes of vehicle accidents and how they can prevent them by driving safe:
Teens are more susceptible to all three leading causes of fatal road accidents than any other age group. Educate your teens on road safety and ensure they are practicing safe driving habits. If your teen refuses to drive safe, make sure they do not drive.
All residents are responsible for helping to keep their communities safe, not just law enforcement. Connecticut residents can help reduce accidents in their neighborhood by removing clutter from sidewalks, checking in on neighbors, driving safe, reporting suspicious behavior, keeping public spaces clean, and spreading awareness. The more involved you become in reducing preventable accidents in your community, the more support you will gain in your cause.
There are plenty of ways Connecticut residents can get involved with National Safety Month by merely sharing the message and spreading information. If you would like to get involved this summer, here are a few ways to participate:
If you or a loved has been injured in an accident due to the negligent acts of someone else, you may be eligible to receive compensation for any damages suffered. Contact our expert team of personal injury attorneys at Jacobs & Wallace for a free consultation to explore your options.
Motorcyclists have been revving up their engines for months, waiting for the first sign that warm weather was here to stay. As eager and ready as these riders were to hit the roads this Spring, drivers of other motor vehicles may not have been as prepared.
Just this past April, three motorcycle fatalities occurred in Connecticut in a matter of three days. On April 24, the driver and passenger of a motorcycle in Torrington were killed when their bike collided with a pickup truck on Route 4. Two days later on April 26, a motorcycle rider from Plainfield was killed in a crash with another pickup truck when the bike collided with the rear end of the vehicle.
Every year, thousands of motorcycle riders and their passengers lose their lives to preventable accidents on the road. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (I.I.H.S.), there were a total of 5,172 motorcycle fatalities reported in 2017, accounting for 14 percent of all motor vehicle deaths across the country for that year. While some of these fatal accidents involved only the motorcycles, 3,216 of the reported deaths resulted from accidents involving other cars and trucks sharing the roads- vehicles that could easily overpower a motorcycle in any situation.
May is the unofficial start of motorcycle season and the official beginning of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. To help protect the lives of all motorcycle riders on the road, Connecticut drivers must do their due diligence to be educated, stay alert, and safely share the roads this season.
In 2015, the Connecticut Department of Transportation reported 1,590 motorcycle crashes across the state, with 53 fatalities resulting from these accidents. One-third of the accidents (33.58%) that occurred involved single vehicles. The remainder of the accidents included the following types:
Accident reports showed that most crashes occurred on Saturdays and Sundays in the early afternoon from noon to 4 p.m., and mostly between the months of June and September. In Connecticut, this is prime time motorcycle riding weather, as rain and snow are much less likely during this time of the year.
Motorcycle riders love the feeling of freedom when on their bikes. Unfortunately, this experience leaves them with little protection in the case of an accident. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) reports that 80 percent of motorcycle accidents end in serious injuries and fatalities. Motorcycles crashes are far more dangerous than other motor vehicle accidents for several reasons, including:
Understanding how motorcycle accidents happen is the first step to preventing them. When examining single and multiple vehicles crashes separately, the N.H.T.S.A. identifies these as the common causes leading to fatal motorcycle accidents:
Single Vehicle:
Multiple Vehicle:
When motorcyclists are injured in a crash, their injuries are rarely minor. Riders can suffer a range of injuries to the head, back, legs, arms, and torso all from the same accident, such as:
Depending on the angle and level of trauma inflicted on the body during an accident, motorcyclists can sustain injuries that leave them with permanent disabilities such as brain damage or paralysis. In other cases, injuries are so traumatic that riders succumb to them completely. When a rider is injured or killed in an accident, their lives or the lives of their loved ones will never be the same. Catastrophic injuries lead to a plethora of consequences financially, emotionally, physically, psychologically, and socially- and all from preventable accidents.
If you haven’t been paying attention to motorcycles on the road, now is the time to start. May to September is the busiest season for motorcycles. Following these simple safety tips from Esurance every time you are on the road can help you save lives and protect riders from unnecessary injuries:
We know you like to ride carefree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be careful. If you are licensed and trained to ride, Geico has some excellent safety recommendations to help keep you safe on the road:
We want you to enjoy a safe and happy riding season. For more information on safe riding resources in your area, visit the Department of Transportation’s websitefor class and statistics about motorcycle in Connecticut.
Your passengers are not as safe in the back seat of your car as you thought. According to a new study of frontal collisions performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (I.I.H.S.), passengers riding in the beat seat of a vehicle in the case of an accident are at an elevated risk of serious injuries and fatalities even when wearing their seatbelts. The study analyzed 117 crashes involving rear seat occupants who were seriously injured or killed across two national databases and found most injuries to be connected with a lack of sufficient restraints.
While car manufacturers have been focusing on advanced safety features protecting drivers and front seat passengers on the road, the back seat occupants have been left behind. These findings are particularly disheartening for parents who have long been told that the back seat was the safest place in the car for their children, as well as passengers who often use ride-sharing options which constantly places them in the rear seat and at risk.
Safety experts believe further research into the manufacturing of more complex restraints for back seat passengers is an essential next step to decreasing the deadly risk these occupants face. In the meantime, spreading awareness on the dangers of the back seat and what not to do as a back seat passenger can help prevent unnecessary harm and the possibility of future injuries.
When looking at the outcomes for rear seat passengers in accidents from 2014, the I.I.H.S. study found that failing to buckle up was a significant factor leading to injuries and fatalities. Until now, many motorists and passengers held the misconception that sitting in the back of a car is not as dangerous as sitting near the front. The idea that the backseat was almost a ‘safe zone’ in the car has led to an increased number of passengers engaging in risky behaviors, such as not wearing a seat belt or lying down flat to sleep while the car is in motion and sometimes at high speeds. Some individuals use the back seat of a car to pile in as many passengers that will fit, well exceeding the number of seatbelts available and often leading to lap sitting. When passengers do not buckle up they face an elevated risk of being ejected from a vehicle or thrown forcefully into windows, doors, seats, and other car parts in the case of an accident.
However, what was most surprising from the I.I.H.S. study was the alarming number of rear seat fatalities and injuries involving passengers who actually were properly buckled up in the car. When examining the types of in injuries recorded in the 117 rear seat crashes, the study found a significant difference in the way front and back seat restraints function that’s causing an elevated number of injuries for some passengers over others.
When a passenger is involved in an accident while sitting in the front seat, their seatbelt is designed to tighten around them upon impact for security, while the front and side airbags prevent them from slamming into the dashboard, steering wheel, or other objects in the car. These seatbelts also have force limiters installed to reduce the chance of chest injuries by these passengers.
In the back seat, occupants do not have as many protections. Seatbelts in the back do not come with force limiters, allowing the force of the seatbelt to cause severe injuries to the chest area of a rider. In the case of a side collision, passengers are protected by side airbags if their vehicle has them, but these do not always come standard. There is also no option to add front airbags for backseat passengers leaving them open to injuries from headrests, seat bodies, and other objects that may be located in front of them during a crash.
For decades, experts have been guiding parents to put their children in the rear seat whenever possible to keep them safe from airbag impacts and windshield injuries. The news from this study is extremely disheartening for parents, particularly those who have older children who have graduated from harnessed car seats. Adults who frequently use ride-sharing options should also be concerned with these results. According to an article in WIRED, at least one-third of the American population has used ride-sharing and have been put at risk of injuries every time they set foot in the back seat of any vehicle due to poor design.
The I.I.H.S. found that most occupants examined in the study commonly suffered from injuries to either the chest or head. Chest injuries were reported in 22 of the injured occupants and were documented as significant injuries in 17 of the 37 fatalities that resulted from the pool of crash reports. These types of injuries may have included damage to the ribs such as bruising or fractures, or even more serious punctures of the ribs to the lungs or heart.
Head injuries were the second-most common type of injury found in the study, present in nine injured passengers and recorded as an injury in 18 fatality cases. When passengers hit their heads on the windows or seats, the impact can lead to traumatic brain injuries, memory loss, brain bleeds, and other cognitive difficulties from brain damage.
The I.I.H.S. is confident that the results of the study will be enough to keep car manufacturers on their toes when it comes to passenger safety. Three solutions the organization included in their report suggest making the following safety changes to better protect rear seat passengers in a crash:
Until car manufacturers jump on board with creating more efficient restraints to keep backseat riders safe in an accident, taking preventative safety measures whenever you are riding is the only step to reduce the chance of injuries. Here are some safety tips provided by Kids Health to keep your passengers safe while riding:
For consumers looking to buy a new car, the I.I.H.S. study suggests going with a newer model for the most up to date safety features in seatbelts and side airbags for passengers.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident due to the careless acts of another driver, Jacobs & Wallace is here to fight for your rights and the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a FREE consultation and to discuss your options for seeking justice for your injuries.
