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Jan 22, 2013 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

Last year, more than 650 vehicle and vehicle product recalls were issued, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Our Birmingham personal injury attorneys understand that of the total 664 recalls, 586 were for the entire vehicle, 56 were for the vehicle equipment, 4 were for child safety seats and 18 were tire recalls. Overall, this is a slight increase from the number of recalls we had in the previous year (654), though the number has fluctuated greatly in the last 10 years, with as many as 781 (in 2008) and as few as 506 (in 2002).

Jan 15, 2013 - Nursing Home Neglect by Cross & Smith

An alarming report released recently by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns of the dangers of adult bedrails – the metal bars fitted onto beds to keep people from falling out.  As our Tuscaloosa nursing home neglect lawyers have learned, these devices have reportedly been on the radar of federal regulators since at least 1995. Since that time, some 550 people have died after becoming stuck or strangled in the rails, and another 4,000 a year have had to be rushed to the emergency room for injuries. Despite the human toll, the federal government has been reticent to take any action at all, according to reporting from The New York Times.

Jan 10, 2013 - Car Accidents by Cross & Smith

On December 19, 2012, Money News published an article indicating that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine had just accredited its 2,500th sleep center. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has been accrediting centers since 1977 but the number of centers is now at an all time high. In fact, there are double the number of centers than were available just a decade ago. Our Tuscaloosa injury attorneys are pleased that more attention is being given to the problem of sleep disorders and that more people are seeking treatment. When people get help with their sleep problems, it could cut down on the high number of drowsy driving accidents.  The news that more people are getting help with sleep issues couldn’t come at a better time, as a recently released study by the CDC demonstrates that drowsy driving is a very widespread problem.

Jan 7, 2013 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

On December 29, 2012, the News Sentinel reported on an Alabama man who had recently been fitted with a bionic hand. The advanced medical device has allowed him to return to work just one year after he lost his limb in an industrial accident. Our Tuscaloosa injury attorneys are glad to hear that this man is recovering, and now thriving, after such a serious injury. In the United States, around 1.7 million people live with limb loss according to the National Limb Loss Information Center. Around 20 percent lose their limbs as a result of traumatic accidents. Many are faced with having multiple prosthetic limbs over the course of their lives. The story of the Alabama man with the bionic hand provides hope that advances in medical technology will allow more people who lose limbs to get their mobility back, provided that they can cover the costs of paying for medical advances.  The Bionic Hand According to the News Sentinel, the Alabama man fitted for the new bionic hand is one of just a few thousands who has the Touch Bionics i-Limb model. The prosthesis is one of the most technically advanced devices available and it is controlled by the muscles that would normally control the human hand if it had not been amputated. Each of the fingers of the hand can move independently and can bend at the joints so it is possible for the user to grab objects just like a normal human hand.

Jan 3, 2013 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

New Years is a time for resolutions and you may have already made some promises and set some goals this year. Rather than going with the cliched resolutions of losing weight, getting healthy or being on time, our Birmingham auto accident lawyers urge you to make a resolution this year that could potentially save your life or save the lives of others. We urge you to make a resolution to become a better, safer driver in 2013.  There are lots of reasons why you should make the resolution to become a better driver: 38,328 of them in fact. That’s how many people were injured in crashes in Alabama in 2010. These injuries, and many of the 862 deaths that Alabama Traffic Crash Facts reported during the same time period, could have been prevented if every person throughout Alabama just made a commitment to stop engaging in dangerous or risky driving behavior.

Jan 2, 2013 - Birmingham by Cross & Smith

On New Year’s Day, ESPN anchor Hannah Storm returned to television to host the 2013 Rose Parade. The event was Storm’s first appearance on television since she was badly burned in an accident with a gas grill on December 11. ABC World News Tonight also released some images of Hannah Storm immediately after the accident that showed the extent of her burns. These images are available on Yahoo Sports.  Our Birmingham injury lawyers are pleased to see that Hannah Storm has made a solid recovery and is back on television. We also believe this accident serves as an important reminder of the potential dangers of propane and gas grills and urge everyone to exercise extreme caution when using such devices. Burn injuries can be very serious or even deadly and it is important that grill manufacturers and rebottled propane distributors do everything possible to make sure their products are safe and do not put people at undue risk. Propane Grill Accidents and Injuries Hannah Storm suffered her injuries when she was preparing dinner at her Connecticut home. When she saw that the flame on her gas grill had done out, she turned off the grill and then reignited it. Flame roared into her face in a loud explosion that her neighbor indicated sounded like a tree had fallen through the roof. The explosion blew the doors off the grill, set Storm’s shirt on fire, and caused her to lose half her hair as well as her eyebrows and eyelashes. Storm […]