Managing Bills For Chronic Pain

For sufferers of chronic pain, the medical expenses often add up and can become overwhelming very fast.  A recent article by the New York Times offered some tips and tricks for effectively managing healthcare bills related to chronic pain expenses.  One of the most important tips the NYT offered was to find a knowledgeable primary care physician that can take care of you on a more personal level.  They may be able to administer tests and perform procedures in their office, avoiding costly specialist visits and the possibility of duplicate tests.  Additionally, the article recommends finding affordable mental health services, since people with chronic pain are much more likely to suffer from mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.  Although your health insurance may not cover psychological visits, you might be able to find some community resources or self-management resources.

One of the most important and least expensive ways to keep medical costs down for chronic pain is to exercise.  After consulting with a doctor, it could be very helpful to do stretching or light cardiovasular excerises.  Your insurance company may also pay for a small number of physical or occupational therapy visits, which may be enough sessions to allow you to learn the exercises and techniques you need to master in order to stay fit and regain some health back.  Also, it is important to find a doctor who can effectively manage your pain medications to keep your costs down while still regulating your pain relief effectively as much as you can.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer located in Altoona, PA.  For more information on him and his firm, please click here.

Is Chronic Pain Genetic?

Those suffering from chronic pain can often name others in their family who suffer from the same or similar type of chronic pain.  Researchersat The University of Utah have investigated this phenomenon.  In a large-scale study analyzing data regarding chronic back pain, taken from over one million Utah citizens, the researchers discovered some interesting results.  Chronic back pain does indeed seem to be related, or exacerbated by, genetic factors.  If someone in your immediate family (parents or siblings) has chronic back pain, you are over four times more likely to experience chronic pain as a result of a back injury.  Additionally, having a second-degree relative (aunts, uncles, or grandparents) or third-degree relatives (cousins) that also suffer from chronic back pain will increase your likelihood of suffering from chronic back pain as well.  All of these differences were found after environmental factors, such as smoking, exercise, and career choice (manual labor versus desk job, for instance) were taken into consideration.  It is important to note that this study only focused on chronic back pain as a result of a degenerating or herniated disc; however, this leads the door open for other scientists to research the relationship between other forms of chronic pain and familial likelihood of contracting the same pain problems. 

Chronic pain, especially back pain, is common after a wide variety of accidents and injuries, such as car accidents or slip and fall accidents.  It is very important to monitor your pain and consult with a knowledgeable physician if you suspect that you may have a case of chronic pain. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer located in Altoona, PA.  For more information on him and his firm, please click here.

Teen Driving Bill Moves On To Governor

New drivers and teenage drivers in Pennsylvania are seeing many new changes come into effect after the passing of a House bill today.  State representatives voted in the House this week to approve many changes to Pennsylvania's driving laws as they apply to teenage and new drivers.  Some of the major changes that will take effect once Governor Corbett signs the bill into law (which he states that he intends to do)  are:

-For the first six months after a new driver receives their license, they are not allowed to carry more than one passenger in the car if a parent is not present.  After the driver has been accident-free for six months, the passenger limit increases to three passengers.

-For drivers and passengers under the age of 18, failure to wear a seatbelt will be made a primary offense.  This means that a police officer can pull over a teen driver for not wearing their seatbelt, even if they are obeying all other traffic laws.

-The number of driving experience hours to receive a permit will be 65, which is a significant increase of the previous amount (50 hours).  10 of those hours must be night driving, and 5 hours should be in inclement weather conditions.

Inexperienced driving is a major component in many motor vehicle accidents. Teenage drivers are arguably the most likely group to cause a car accident, due to a lack of experience, a tendency to talk on their cell phones and text while driving, and distractibility by other friends in their vehicle. Our law office hopes that these changes in driving laws will lead to a decrease in accidents and will result in more responsible and experienced teenage drivers. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury attorney serving western and central Pennsylvania.  Please contact our office if you would like more information about a potential claim. 

PA Department of Aging Recognizes Fall Prevention Day

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Health, officially recognized yesterday, the first official day of fall, as Fall Prevention Awareness Day.  43 other states observed this day as well.  Accidental falls are a major source of medical care and early nursing home admittance for Pennsylvania's elderly population.  It is estimated that, across the United States, fall-related deaths claim about 18,000 people every year.  Hospital bills and medical costs also associated to fall-related accidents amount to about $2B per year. Pennsylvania is an aggressive proponent of preventative safety measures targeted at the elderly population, since the state has such a large percentage of aging residents.  Currently, PA has over 2.4 million residents over the age of 60.  It is also estimated that every 11 minutes, an elderly Pennsylvania resident is hospitalized from a fall injury, and every week, approximately 20 PA residents die from a fall-related injury. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving clients in western and central Pennsylvania.  He is experience with claims involving older Pennsylvanians, most often in regard to nursing home abuse and negligence, hospital negligence, and slip and fall injuries.  For more information on Attorney Stoehr and his law firm, please click here.

MacArthur Genius Grant Goes to Elder Abuse Prevention Advocate

Every year, the MacArthur Genius grant is awarded to a few American citizens who are working to better the world in the areas of U.S. programs (such as community and economic development), and media, programs, and special initiatives.  This year, one of the winners of the grant is Maria-Therese Connelly--a lawyer who worked in D.C. for the Department of Justice and now spends her time working to raise awareness about elder abuse.  One of her most harrowing cases involved a mother and son, in which the son literally allowed his mother to spend her final days confined to bed, covered in severe bed sores and her own waste.

Connelly has been trying for years to make elder abuse a prominent social justice issue in America through writing, lecturing, and even testifying before Congress.  As a result, the MacArthur Foundation is giving her a $500,000 grant in which she may continue her good work.  During her time at the Department of Justice in the Clinton administration, Connelly was put in charge of a new initiative to fight elder abuse, called the Elder Justice and Nursing Home Initiative.  She was also part of the creation of the Elder Justice Act in 2007, the first of its kind in national history. Since that time, she has started an organization called "Life Long Justice" which works to fight elder abuse, and is in the process of writing a book on the same subject.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving western and central Pennsylvania.  He has litigated several claims involving elder abuse. For more on his career and firm, please click here.

New Steps in Research for Spinal Cord Damage/Neuropathic Pain

Scientists in San Diego, working for the University of California, have been researching nerve regeneration and nerve repair after significant injury.  Through their studies of over two years and looking at 654 genes, they have discovered over 70 genes that play a role in nerve regeneration after injury.  Surprisingly, little is known about how adults grow and regenerate damaged nerves, although much is known about how embryos perform the same biological tasks, leading the field of scientific inquiry wide-open for new discoveries and strides in the field.

Interestingly, the scientists working on this project also discovered six genes that seem to work to repress nerve growth and regeneration, which also serves an important biological function.  Many of the genes that the researchers identified as being important for nerve regeneration also play a role in other neurological processes, such as creating and sending neurotransmitters (such as dopamine and seratonin, which regulate emotions).   This new discovery can lead to great strides in research regarding recovery after spinal cord injuries, strokes, paralysis, and neuropathic pain.  It may also serve to inform scientists as to how depression is linked to a prolonged injury and/or chronic pain, due to the role of the neurotransmitting genes.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving western and central Pennsylvania.  For more on his career and firm, please click here.

Car Crashes Often Associated With Chronic Pain

If you or someone you know has ever been in a car crash, the idea that chronic pain often follows seems like common sense.  However, it may be startling to hear that crash victims have over an 84% increased risk of experiencing chronic pain.  This is one of the many new aspects of a research study going on in University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Scotland.  Researchers from the university have been studying chronic pain as it relates to accidents, such as motor vehicle, workplace injuries, fractured bones, surgical operations, childbirth, and other miscellaneous hospitalizations.  By interviewing 241 participants three times over a period of four years, researchers found some interesting results.  In addition to the car crash statistic listed above, 1/3 of patients who were victims of any kind of trauma were more likely to experience a new onset of chronic pain.  There was no significant link between childbirth or surgery and chronic pain. 

These results are extremely important when it comes to making a legal claim after a traumatic event, such as an automobile accident or a slip and fall.  By gauging your pain over a period of months and years, it becomes apparent when pain has resulted from the accident and is now chronic pain, or whether it's due to the healing process.  Talking to a physician may aid in helping to sort out your type, frequency, and intensity of pain in order to best treat you.  Chronic pain is also a significant factor in legal practice and is often taken into consideration when filing a claim surrounding the traumatic event.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving western and central Pennsylvania.  For more on his career and firm, please click here.