According to the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the number of deaths attributed to drugs and medications outnumbers the amount of people who are killed in a car accident. The reports show that these drug-related deaths are not only caused by illegal recreational drug use but also from prescription medications. Many of these medications include pain killers and anti-anxiety medicines prescribed by doctors. Experts say that deaths from medications and drugs have doubled over the past ten years while car accident victim deaths have dropped. Public health advocates say that there is considerable concern over the fact that prescription medications are causing more and more injuries and deaths. Some blame doctors for prescribing so many medications that can interact with each other and are not always properly monitored. They say that doctors who don’t properly monitor their patients and prescribe inappropriate medicines are committing medical malpractice. A New York lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice explained that a wrongful death lawsuit may need to be filed in situations such as these because some doctors act negligently and don’t take their prescriptive privileges seriously. A negligent doctor can face disciplinary actions, lawsuits and even loss of their medical license. Transportation officials note that the reduction in traffic accident related deaths is a significant win but warn that there’s still much work to be done. Car accidents still cause too many accident injuries and deaths, especially with the number of distracted drivers talking on their cells phones or texting as they drive. Catch more details about the latest statistics on drug, medication and accident deaths here.

Police report that a drunk driver caused serious injuries to a bicycle rider this past week. The bicyclist was struck by the intoxicated driver and suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with bleeding in his brain. The woman driving the car apparently was drinking vodka not long before the car accident and she also suffered injuries from the crash. Her car accident injuries included a broken neck with a fractured vertebra. Trauma specialists, who may often treat a victim of a car accident, say that serious injuries from this type of accident may include head injury, broken bones with neck and back injuries, and even internal organ injuries. Reports also emerged that the woman who caused the crash was served the alcohol at a local bar. A personal injury lawyer familiar with these types of driving while intoxicated (DWI) car accidents said that the bartender and even the owner of the bar may share responsibility for the victim’s injuries. In fact, a personal injury lawsuit may also be filed against those parties if they are found to have acted with negligence in serving alcohol in this situation. Find out more about this bicycle accident here.

New York — The bus driver who caused the dangerous and deadly bus accident a few months ago was arrested and charged in the accident. The driver of the bus apparently did not have a valid driver’s license because his license was suspended when the bus accident occurred. The accident occurred in the Bronx, New York when a tractor-trailer truck hit the bus, causing it to roll over. The man driving the bus was charged by a grand jury for not having a driver’s license and also for reckless driving that caused the accident. Reports show that the number of accident victims who dies in the bus crash rose to 15 with an additional 15 passengers who were injured. One of the concerning points that came up during the investigation was that the bus driver was issued a commercial driver’s license to drive the bus even though his regular driver’s license was suspended. Apparently, the department of motor vehicles (DMV) was unable to correlate the man’s driving records with his application for the bus driving license because of a simple name change. Public transportation advocates are troubled by the fact that the New York State agency charged with the protection of motorists and pedestrians on the roads was unable to track this man’s records properly. They note that the man’s falsification of his name on his application should not have prevented them from declining his application, especially since his address and birth date were the same. An accident lawyer in New York City noted that this may also place the New York DMV in the position of a negligence lawsuit that led to personal injuries and wrongful deaths. You can find out more about the bus versus truck accident and the charges brought against the bus driver here.

Reports of another amusement park accident raise renewed concerns of public advocates. A four-year-old girl was visiting an amusement park with her family when they were involved in a serious accident last week. The girl and her grandmother were riding on the carnival’s flume when it crashed and threw the two accident victims from the ride. The older woman suffered a serious leg injury when the flume car they were in rolled over. An air ambulance was called to the accident scene and paramedics had to amputate the injured leg at the scene. The accident victim was then flown to the hospital’s trauma unit for further treatment of her serious injuries. The young child also suffered serious injuries and required emergency treatment in the hospital. Specifics of the child’s injuries were unavailable. Two other amusement park accident events occurred over the past several weeks that have consumer safety experts worried. A New York man was killed on an amusement park roller coaster ride several weeks ago. A Ferris wheel accident killed another little girl in June, according to the New York Post. A New York accident lawyer explained that some amusement parks and carnivals do not maintain proper safety precautions in the relaxed atmosphere of their venues. He warns that negligent maintenance or repair of rides and equipment can place the public at risk for injury and death, as seen in these horrible accidents. This also places the owners of the events at serious liability for causing these injuries and wrongful deaths.

New York — A woman driving on a busy highway in Westchester, New York was hit by a flying truck tire that flew off of a passing tractor-trailer truck. The truck was driving in the opposite direction when two tires broke off the axle and were thrown through the air. One of the tires sailed high over several lanes of the highway and then crashed on top of a passing car. The driver of the car was killed in the car accident. Another woman who was in the front passenger seat, apparently the elderly mother of the driver, was injured in the accident. The older accident victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of her injuries. Specifics of her accident injuries were unknown. Transportation experts and police were called in to investigate the unusual motor vehicle accident and to help determine a cause for the series of events that led to the car crash. It was unclear if negligent repair was an underlying cause of the accident. Car accidents caused by truck tires are not uncommon, although they don’t often involve a tire that is thrown in to the air and come slamming down on the car. Some public safety advocates worry that accidents are often caused by truck tires that shred and leave debris on the roadway. Other accidents are caused by tires that roll in to a nearby car or van. A New York accident lawyer explained that it is the responsibility of the truck driver and the trucking company to ensure that all tires are tightly fixed and in good repair. Negligent maintenance in this type of situation can lead to serious car accidents and even wrongful death, as seen in this case. Read more about this deadly accident along with a video clip here.

Officials from the United States Occupation and Health Administration (OSHA) have reportedly told Yale University that improper safety precautions may have contributed to the wrongful death of one of their students. Several months ago a student working in a school chemistry laboratory was injured when her hair became caught in a machine she was working on. The machine accident pulled her in to the fast-spinning mechanism and caused her fatal injuries. The young female victim had been working on her thesis at the time of the injury and was rushed to the trauma center of a close hospital. Unfortunately, she died of the injuries and the federal OSHA regulators opened up an investigation of wrongful death due to noncompliance with safety standards. The OSHA investigators noted that some workers from the school also used the facility and therefore this accident fell under their jurisdiction, as a possible work accident. According to their report, the investigators found that the school had not followed the necessary safety precautions and this helped lead to the victim’s injuries and ultimate death. Safety violations included not having the proper instructions for use of the machine posted and not having an emergency shut-off switch. Officials believe that an emergency cut-off switch would have allowed the accident victim to shut down power to the machine before suffering such severe injuries. Reports also stated that safety precautions should have included students not working alone in the lab. Proper supervision and guidance, as well as the other necessary safety precautions, may have saved this young woman from the deadly accident. Personal injury and wrongful death attorneys often deal with injuries or deaths that could have been prevented. A New York accident lawyer who specializes in these types of cases and lawsuits explained that further investigation is necessary to properly determine the extent of the negligence that may have lead to this victim’s death. You can find out more about the OSHA investigation and report here.

New York — A bus was involved in a rollover accident on an upstate New York highway last week. The tour bus was travelling with 30 people in bad weather when the motor vehicle accident occurred. Investigators believe that the combination of the bus driver speeding and the rainy weather contributed to the rollover accident that trapped and injured many of the accident victims. Police, fire rescue and ambulance personnel responded to the mass casualty incident and needed to extricate several passengers from the wreck. The crash happened when the bus veered off the road, went down a hill and flipped on to its side. Further investigation was underway to determine the exact cause of the accident and what caused all of the injuries. A personal injury lawyer who works with bus accident victims noted that some long distance bus crashes occur because of driver fatigue, inexperienced drivers, or other forms of negligence. Check out this site for details on this bus crash.

New York — Police report that a speeding van ran through a red light in the Long Island, New York and crashed in to an MTA bus over the weekend. The vehicle was apparently being driven by a drunk driver when it caused the car accident according to reports. The drunk man’s van hit 2 cars while approaching a busy intersection where he should have stopped for the red light. His vehicle then charged forward and hit a bus that was operated by the Manhattan Transit Authority. The bus was pushed in to the side of a building with the van wedged into its side. The driver of the van was taken to the hospital with a head injury. The driver of the bus suffered an injury to his face and a knee injury during the crash. No other accident victims were taken to the hospital at the time of the accident but more subtle injuries may be discovered over the next few days, noted a trauma specialist. Some accident injuries don’t become apparent until hours or even weeks after an accident. Authorities arrested the man who caused the accident on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) and investigators are reviewing video footage of the multi-vehicle accident. Catch details with this article and video.

New York — A driver of an SUV truck backed up in to a parking spot and hit 2 pedestrians. The car accident, which occurred in Manhattan, New York, killed a 78-year-old woman and injured the first victim’s daughter. Witnesses say that the driver of the vehicle struck the pedestrians despite at least one person yelling for the man to stop. However, the man did not see the women walking and did not stop until after he hit them. Both women suffered severe injuries with the elderly mother being thrown in to the air and suffering a severe head injury. The mother was struck unconscious from a brain injury and was taken to a local New York City hospital’s emergency room. She died in the hospital due to the car accident injuries according to the doctors there. The second accident victim of the pedestrian accident was taken to the same hospital with various injuries, including broken ribs. Police say the driver of the SUV vehicle was arrested after being found to have been driving on a suspended license. Read more about this deadly accident here.

A construction worker was injured while at work on a New Jersey highway. The man was crushed by a concrete construction barrier during the accident. Officials say the workman’s injuries were so severe that he was pronounced dead shortly after. The construction worker’s death will need to be further investigated, says a near-by accident specialist based out of New York. Investigators will need to determine if proper safety precautions were taken to prevent worker injury. Many safety devices and protocols are needed to prevent accidents and deaths when working in dangerous construction zones, especially on the side of a busy road. Workers comp injury specialists say that many of these accidents and injuries are avoidable if proper precautions are taken. More on this highway construction accident is available here.