2010 March Archive

A train killed three teenage girls on Melbourne Bridge in Florida. It happened on February 20th, Saturday night when the girls were walking over the Melbourne trestle and were struck by a southbound train on the Crane Creek railroad trestle around 6: 30 p.m. Initial reports said two juveniles were in the water, about 20 feet below the bridge, but ultimately the bodies of three young teens were found just off the tracks. A fourth juvenile male was interviewed at the scene to find out what happened.

Our condolences go out to the families of these young girls. Two were eight-graders at Southwest Middle School. The other was just 15-years-old.

Accident Statistics
The deaths remind us about the importance of being safe at railway crossings. Between January 1999 and December 2009, 22 people classified as ‘trespassers’ lost their lives on Brevard County rail tracks, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. These mark the first railway fatalities in more than a decade of someone under the age of 15 in Brevard County.

Pedestrians are supposed to cross only at a railroad designated pedestrian or roadway crossing.

Liability Issues
The train had reportedly sent out its warning horn and hit the emergency brake, then stopped at the scene. How and why they were killed is the focus of Melbourne police and Florida East Coast Railway officials, which operates the train involved. It spent Sunday measuring the scene. The girls had reportedly been taking pictures on the track and cross the trestle to get to the beach.

One question for investigators is why the girls did not react sooner to get off the track. Was there clear visibility? Were warning signs adequate? Why did they not hear or feel the train coming sooner? What speed was the train going?

If I was a member of the family, I would ask for an independent investigator and a Florida accident attorney to help determine the adequacy of the warning signs posted. The FEC says ‘no trespassing’ signs are posted at crossings because of the potential for danger. Were the warning signs adequate? “Private property: No trespassing” signs are bolted to small concrete pillars warning people to stay off the tracks, but they are battered and rusting, Florida Today reports. And the bridge has no railings or fencing. East Coast Railway has launched its own internal investigation to probe whether it was following proper procedures.

No one knows why the girls didn’t jump into the creek below when they saw the train. It is thought that they panicked and thought they could outrun it. Trains travel too fast to do that and that particular bridge runs about 650 feet and is about 20 feet above the water. A man fishing under the bridge said he heard the sound of brakes then a girl screaming and crying. Florida East Coast Railway released a statement to the media Sunday, February 21, expressing their sympathies.

Source:http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100221/NEWS01/2210317/Train-kills-3-teenage-girls-investigators-comb-crash-site

Medical malpractice in Florida and throughout the United States can involve a host of mistakes - from over medicating to under-diagnosing and wrong-site surgeries. Occasionally medical devices are left in patients that can cause months, even years of mysterious complications, even death.

Now a medical device company has a new way to search for objects unintentionally left behind in patients during surgery. Made by RF Surgical Systems of Bellevue, Washington, the RF Surgical Detection System uses a wand to scan for any device remaining in a patient, no matter what its size or consistency. That could include something as small as a grain of rice or discarded gauze and sponges. The wand is used over the patient before they are closed up, relieving medical personnel of doing an actual count of devices, sponges, and gauze.

The best guess as to how often that happens is about one incident in 8,801 cases up to 18,760, according to researchers who published a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers based their conclusion on medical malpractice claims, which could mean that they are grossly underestimated since only about one in eight who are injured by medical malpractice ever file a claim. More than 100 hospitals are reportedly using the system, at a cost of about $15 per surgery. Patients may well want to add whether a hospital is using the wand before scheduling surgery.

Source:http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0217-sponges,0,3903380.story

The investigation has concluded into the deadly September 12, 2008 collision of a commuter train with a freight train in Chatsworth, California that killed 25 and injured 135. As previously thought, the engineer was texting a message to young engineer fans from his phone as he passed a stop signal.

The engineer was killed in the head-on crash of two trains traveling at 40 mph. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that all of the mechanical systems appeared to be working properly.

The 16-month investigation also concluded that the collision could have been avoided had an automated system that stops trains when humans fail, been installed.

Lawsuits filed against Metrolink, Veolia Transportation, Inc. and Connex Railroad LLC hope to show that authorities were aware that the engineer had engaged in this behavior previously, but was never disciplined or fired him.

The crash and subsequent investigation has renewed calls for an automated technology that can stop trains in the event of human error. Metrolink has plans to install a $201 million positive train control system by 2012. The NTSB recommends that all commuter trains install cameras and audio recorders to monitor train operators. And the 15-hour work day that is occasionally required of engineers and conductors, has raised concerns with NTSB board members.

In October, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that bans texting while driving. Florida texting ban legislation to be introduced this year may mean that our state joins California, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington State, which have all banned text messaging while driving motor vehicles.

Source:http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-metrolink22-2010jan22,0,5862623.story

The American Trucking Association (ATA) is encouraging the federal government to focus on safe driver behavior as a top priority in its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan.

The ATA is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. It made these safety recommendations as part of its progressive safety agenda adopted in 2008. In comments filed January 5, 2010, ATA tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that distracted driving, speeding, and aggressive driving are dangerous behavior that become more so when congestion worsens and the number of trucks carrying freight on U.S. highways increases. ATA says to stress driver safety, states should focus on driver licensing and graduated driver licensing for teenage drivers. ATA also supports programs that educate and enforce such as Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT).

ATA encourages states to reinstate a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph for all vehicles and governing the speed of all Class 7 and 8 trucks manufactured after 1992 to 65 mph or less.

These safety recommendations echo some safety recommendations in the annual report from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. The group takes a close look at areas that need stronger enforcement – text messaging, graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs and ignition-interlock laws for drunk-driving offenders. Newly added to the set of 15 model laws includes seat belt use, booster seat and motorcycle helmet measures. The group also recommends setting a minimum age for a learner’s permit at age 16, and requiring an applicant for an unrestricted license to be age 18.

Given that car accidents in Florida and throughout the United States are the leading cause of death of teenage drivers, raising the driving age will cause much controversy but would also save lives.

Source:http://www.examiner.com/p-455200~ATA_to_NHTSA__Highway_Safety_Resources_Should_Focus_on_Driver_Behavior.html

Most doctors and chiropractors will tell you cheerleading is the most dangerous sport around, so there is a lot to discuss concerning safety. This information comes from the 25th Annual Report from the National Center for Catastrophic Injury, which says that more than half of catastrophic injuries in female sports come from cheerleading.

Falls are the most dangerous injury, especially on a hard surface. When a girl is tossed into the air, she’s called a flyer; she can go as high as 15 to 20 feet. The girls beneath her are called bases and are supposed to catch her. When they don’t, however, the flyers can land on gym floors or hard surfaces, taking a direct hit to their neck, head, shoulder, face or any other body part.

Recent science says that surfaces, such as grass, artificial turf or a rubberized track are no safer than wood floors. In fact, the best surfaces on which to do cheerleading are spring-loaded floors or foam mats. The springy floors are standard for cheerleading competitions at the All-Star level where girls as young as five, and into their 20’s as well as boys, fly across the floor in an incredible display of coordination and strength.

The National Cheer and Safety Foundation and the US Sports Academy are developing safety courses and certification for cheerleading coaches. It’s much needed and a little overdue, since until recently, cheerleading was not considered a sport. The annual report is a first step with the next one to educate parents to only allow their children to stunt, and fly and base on a safe surface such as mats and spring floors. Choosing a qualified coach with a background in tumbling or gymnastics who will stress safety and make sure your child undertakes difficult stunts in a logical progression when they are ready while minimizing Florida brain injury and other catastrophic injuries throughout the nation.