Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, asking the Department of Transportation to delay the effective date of a new Hours of Service (HOS) rule for truck drivers and commercial bus drivers by three months. The rule was originally scheduled to take effect July 1.

The new rule changes the “restart” period for the number of hours truck drivers may spend on the road. The new rule still limits drivers to the 60- or 70-hour on-duty period, but it allows them to “restart” the clock on this period only once every seven days, by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. This 34-hour period must include at least two time periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. In addition, if more than 8 consecutive hours have passed since the driver was last off-duty or in the sleeper berth, the driver must take at least a 30-minute break before driving.

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The rapid progression of technology and its place in the medical world can be personified in the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic console controlled by a doctor to perform surgery. Rather than perform incisions by hand, robotic arms do the work, giving doctors a hands-free approach. But are there more risks created by this system than there are benefits?

The da Vinci consists of four arms that manipulate instruments and control a camera in an effort to perform minimally invasive laproscopic surgery. The console senses the surgeon’s hand movements and turns them into micro-movements for the instruments while trying to eliminate any tremors. However, concerns have been raised over whether the system could actually lead to more mistakes and causes too many financial challenges.

One of the main complaints about the da Vinci is that there is no tactile feedback for performing incisions or suturing. As such, surgeons may not be able to properly respond to a patient’s unique condition or realize that they are making a mistake, such as cutting too deeply. Additionally, some physicians believe that there is no advantage to using the system in place of traditional surgery in many instances. Whether or not it improves in the future, in the present it may simply be a more expensive option that is no better or worse than other procedures, with it costing $3.5 million during a five-year period.

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A sideswipe car accident on I-49 near Peculiar, Missouri in Cass County left at least two people with moderate injuries, according to a recent article in the Democratic Missourian. Investigators believe the cause of the crash was a 19-year-old driver heading the wrong way on I-49.

The crash occurred during the mid-afternoon hours. Witnesses saw the vehicle driven by the 19-year-old heading south on the northbound side of I-49. About one mile south of the Route J interchange, the teen’s car sideswiped another vehicle, driven by a 32-year-old man from Kansas City. He later sought treatment for minor injuries related to the crash.

After the collision, the teen’s car crossed the median and stopped on the southbound side of Interstate 49. Rescue workers transported her to a local hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. Investigators believe that drug or alcohol intoxication was a factor in the crash.

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The union that represents players in the National Football League (NFL) recently provided a $100 million grant to Harvard University, according to a news article by Reuters. The grant is earmarked for the study of brain damage, heart conditions, and other medical conditions that affect current and former football players.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School plan to use the grant to study former and current players. Their goal is to understand and to limit the long-term damage that football players suffer after years of taking hits on the field. Researchers have recently found that even mild blows to the head, built up over the years, can cause life threatening injuries or permanent disability.

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