Distracted Driving is Dangerous Up There and Down Here

Provided by McSweeney & Fay, P.L.L.P.; Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

The dangers of distracted driving have been well publicized, but drivers all over Minnesota continue to use cell phones while behind the wheel. These distractions, however, are not limited to drivers on our roads. Recently, two airline pilots were the focus of national attention after they overshot the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport by 150 miles while flying distracted by their laptop computers.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called the incident, "the ultimate case of distracted driving." Though it does represent an extreme example of the perils of distraction and the pilots were obviously irresponsible, it also represents the best case scenario: no one was injured or killed by their actions. Passengers were inconvenienced by the serious lapses in judgment, but everyone landed safely.

Distracted Driving Is a Proven Danger

Unfortunately, distracted drivers on the roads are often not so fortunate, nor are the victims of their carelessness. Traffic safety experts say that distracted driving is a factor in upwards of 25 percent of all crashes.

In a recent report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that there were 34,017 fatal car crashes in 2008; distracted driving was a factor in 16 percent, or over 5,400 fatal crashes.

The NHTSA said approximately 2,346,000 people suffered personal injuries in motor vehicle crashes in 2008, of which an estimated 22 percent — or more than a half-million injuries — involved distracted drivers.

Ninety Feet Per Second

The biggest danger in distracted driving is the most obvious one: it takes a driver’s attention off of the road. When traveling at 55 miles per hour, a vehicle covers 90 feet per second. The average time to compose and send a text message is five seconds, meaning the driver is distracted while traveling more than the length of a football field.

Texting drivers are 43 times more likely to be in a crash or near-crash; a person talking on their cellphone while driving is four times more likely to be in a crash or near-crash.

Here in Minnesota, it is illegal for all drivers to text while driving. It is also illegal for school bus drivers, drivers with learner’s permits or those with provisional licenses to use cell phones while driving. McSweeney and Fay helps injured victims of distracted drivers.

Shoulder Pain Pump Injuries

Provided by McSweeney & Fay, P.L.L.P.; Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

Scientific evidence now suggests that shoulder pain pumps temporarily implanted in the joint during surgery may be linked to serious shoulder injuries. The painful resulting condition is known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL).

These pain pumps are small, portable devices that inject pain relief medication through a catheter in the area where the surgery was performed. Unfortunately, when the catheter is inserted in the joint space instead of muscle tissue, it can kill cartilage crucial to keeping bones in the shoulder separate. The result is cartilage destruction resulting in painful bone-on-bone contact.

A study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine states that there is a high correlation between the use of intra-articular pain pump catheters (catheters inserted into the joint) and the development of PAGCL. The study showed that 63 percent of shoulder surgery patients treated with a pain pump administering bupivacaine and epinephrine into the shoulder joint developed PAGCL.

PAGCL is a disabling, painful condition that is irreversible and permanent, often requiring further shoulder surgery. It is often diagnosed months after the initial surgery.

PAGCL treatment may include pain medication, physical therapy and cortisone injections. In severe cases, it may require surgery for partial or complete shoulder joint replacements. Even with medication and surgery, many PAGCL patients continue to experience pain and decreased mobility.

Critics of the pain pumps allege that manufacturers of the devices failed to inform orthopedic surgeons that the federal Food and Drug Administration denied approval of the pumps for intra-articular use. These manufacturers include Stryker, I-Flow Corp., DJO Inc., DePuy, Inc. and Smith & Nephew, Inc. Lawsuits against shoulder pain pump manufacturers are moving forward across the nation.