Texting Legislation Passed in State Senate This Week

As mentioned in the blog post yesterday, legislation officially making texting a primary offense while driving moved on to the State Senate on Tuesday of this week.  Both the Pennsylvania State Senate and the House of Representatives officially passed this piece of legislation, which Governor Corbett also reviewed earlier this fall.  Our blog has been highlighting the progression of this process since June of this summer and are happy to see the piece of legislation progressing into law.  The most recent update on this progression shows that the State Senate officially voted for the texting ban this Tuesday after some revisions were made to the earlier version of the ban.  Governor Corbett still needs to sign the legislation, and the law will take effect 120 days after he signs it.  If caught, texting drivers will face a $50 fine.  Recent surveys show that, although 96% of drivers see texting as a safety threat on the road, 30% still admit to doing it themselves.  Some Pennsylvania legislators are also considering forming a new piece of legislation that would also ban or limit cell phone use while driving.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving the western and central Pennsylvania area.  One of his major areas of practice is injury or death due to motor vehicle accidents.  He has noticed a trend of accidents involving cell phone usage, both talking or texting, and urges you not to use your phone while driving and be wary of other drivers on the road who may be using their phones.  For more information on his law firm, please click here.

Texting Teen Dies In Car Crash

Yesterday, a Butler County teenager died in a car accident.  Alexis Summers, a 17-year-old teenager from Saxonburg, PA was texting while driving when she drove over an enbankment.  Her car crashed into a tree near the road and Summers died at the scene.  This accident occured on the same day that the legislation officially passed in the Pennsylvania State Senate which bans texting while driving. Both the Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives have been in conversation since June about the possibility of banning texting while driving, making it a primary offense in the state.  Once Governor Corbett signs the legislation, the law will take effect after 120 days.

Distracted driving is one of the major causes of motor vehicle accidents, especially with young and inexperienced drivers. Distracted drivers may also swerve off the road, hitting stop signs, telephone poles, and most seriously, other people walking or biking. Additionally, they are a danger to others in the car with them, since they may cause an accident in which the passengers in their car are also injured.  Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving the western and central Pennsylvania area.  One of his major areas of practice is injury or death due to motor vehicle accidents.  He has noticed a trend of accidents involving cell phone usage, either talking or texting, and urges you not to use your phone while driving and be wary of other drivers on the road who may be using their phones.  For more information on his law firm, please click here.

Safety Tips: Drugs and Pain Management

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs are often the first and most commonly used tool for managing chronic pain.  Although many people associate prescription drug use with the possibility of drug dependence, there are many other health hazards to take into consideration when regularly using medication to manage pain.

According to Pain Pathways magazine (Spring 2011), prescription drugs are being misused and accidentally harming the population in a variety of ways.  Teenagers may get their hands on their parent’s prescription drugs to get high, people may share their medication with others, and others may use their drugs after the expiration date.  All of these common occurrences are extremely dangerous to all those involved, whether legally, morally, or physically.  Improper disposal of expired drugs is also becoming a problem, as some people are flushing their medications down the toilet.  These drugs then seep into the general water supply of their city, potentially causing great harm to anyone who may use the water later on.

In addition to the risks associated with the use of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications pose their own set of risks and safety hazards.  Chronic pain sufferers frequently use acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, as a part of their pain management routine.   Although available more readily (and therefore, perceived as safer by the general public), the use of OTC drugs can result in accidental drug overdose, especially combined with prescription medications.  It is extremely important to be aware of exactly which prescriptions you are taking and at what times in order to avoid a drug reaction or overdose.  In all cases, it is extremely important to use and dispose of any medication responsibly and safely. 

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

Radiofrequency Ablation

For many sufferers of chronic pain, the traditional treatment options of over-the-counter and prescription drugs are not sufficient enough to extinguish or significantly reduce their pain.  Many chronic pain patients turn to other, alternative, forms of treatment for their condition.  Some of these treatment options include counseling, occupational or physical therapy, herbal supplements, and acupuncture.  Additionally, many pain specialists are also trying a new technique in their offices known as radiofrequency ablation. 

Radiofrequency ablation, or RFA, is a medical technique that utilizes radio waves to use heat to inhibit pain-causing nerves (nociceptors) in the body.  RFA, a very accurate and precise piece of technology, was originally used to remove cancerous tumors and uteran fibroids, but is now frequently being used to treat neck, back, and head pain (Pain Pathways magazine, Fall 2011 issue, page 39).  For back pain specifically, RFA has significantly reduced pain associated with discogenic pain (otherwise known as degenerative disc disease), facet joint pain, and sacriliac pain in many patients. Radiofrequency ablation can also be used in a cooled format, in which the needles used in the procedure are cooled internally, allowing physicians to create a larger target of nociceptor inhibition.  This particular type of RFA is supposed to reduce risk and increase the success of the procedure.  The RFA procedure ends in a very short recovery time, with most patients being able to resume normal activities the next day.  RFA is also relatively safe compared with other similar procedures; complications are rare, and nerve damage is very unlikely. 

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

6 Tips For All Pain Patients

Regardless of what type of pain you suffer from--fibromyalgia, adhesion pain, whiplash, or others--there are a few general tips that can help you receive the best treatment possible.  According to Pain Pathways magazine (Spring 2010 Issue, pages 56-57), there are six small steps that every pain patient should take when receiving and deciding about treatment options.

The first step is to simply see your doctor.  As mentioned in previous posts, thousands of Americans suffer in silence and wait months or years before seeking treatment for their pain.  It is very important to not wait that long to seek treatment, since in most cases of chronic pain, the problems will not go away over time.  In fact, the pain may only get worse.  The second step is to be an active patient.  This means being well-informed, asking questions, and exploring all routes of treatment options that seem desirable or feasible for you.  The third step is to make a sustained commitment to managing your pain.  It is easily to get discouraged when dealing with chronic pain, since effective pain management usually involves a variety of treatments and a trial and error process.  As long as you remind yourself that there will be an effective pain management regimen that works right for you, staying committed to finding that regimen will be much easier. 

The fourth step is realizing the importance that your physical health plays in successful treatment.  This means that you should keep yourself as healthy as possible when dealing with chronic pain.  Secondary health-related problems such as being overweight, drinking, smoking, and not exercising will only exacerbate your chronic pain condition.  The fifth step is very related to the fourth, except that it involves taking care of your psychological health.  Keeping your attitude positive and upbeat while self-monitoring for the development of any mood disorders is critical to managing your pain.  You cannot effectively manage your pain when your psychological health is also suffering.  The sixth and final step is to talk with others who have the same condition.  Not only does this allow you find out more about different treatment options that you did not know about before, it also provides a network of support that you need to deal with your condition.

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

Elder Housing Complex Under Fire In Franklin County

Village Green Apartments in Waysnesboro, PA has received complaints filed against them through Franklin County Housing Authority with the Department of Aging, the Elder Abuse Unit of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The apartment complex, which caters exclusively to the elderly and disabled, had recently installed new toilets, shower heads, and heating pumps that are more energy-efficient, but do not meet the needs of their tenants.  Unfortunately, these new money saving mechanisms are not user-friendly and, in some cases, are also unsafe. 

Many of the Village Green residents have reported problems with the new installations of devices, ranging from inability to control heat/air flow, unsafe and inefficient toilets, to unusable shower heads.  Many of the elderly residents could not properly control the heat and air mechanisms in their apartments due to problems with the air flow mechanism, resulting in a lack of cool air during the hot summer months, and frigid cold temperatures during the cold spells of fall.  The new toilets are also not sturdy enough to accommodate the special chairs and other devices that people with special needs to use the bathroom. One elderly woman had reported making 40 calls to the energy services company for repairs related to the installation of her new and mandatory energy-efficient system.  Tenants were told to apply for reasonable accommodations to be made for the installations, and have received over 75 requests already.

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.

What's New With UMPC/Highmark

Throughout the summer, this blog highlighted the ongoing debate between UMPC, one of western Pennsylvania’s largest physician networks, and Highmark, a health insurance giant in western Pennsylvania.  The two companies had been in negotiation for months about renewing their contracts for the upcoming renewal period on their contract.  Since they could not reach a favorable agreement for both parties, the companies have launched campaigns against each other in order to draw customers toward their service and away from the other’s company.  Additionally, Highmark bought a rival healthcare company in the area, which is UMPC’s biggest competitor for physicians and patients.  This only served to fuel the fire of competition between the two organizations, which is still continuing on today.

The latest update involved advertisements put out by UMPC under the slogan “Keep Your Doctor”.  Highmark filed a lawsuit against UMPC for this campaign, which was recently overruled by a Pittsburgh area judge.  The judge cited lack of evidence as the primary reason why Highmark’s lawsuit against UPMC was unfounded thus far in regards to the advertising campaign.  As of this point, Highmark insured patients will be able to use UMPC doctors through summer 2013.   

As mentioned many  times in this blog, if you have Highmark insurance and are also a patient within the UPMC Healthcare system, Attorney Doug Stoehr advises you to carefully examine any correspondence that your health insurance and medical provider may send you.  It is important to be as knowledgeable as possible about what you are entitled to from your insurance company and your healthcare provider, especially when major changes are occurring within those systems.

Attorney Stoehr is a lawyer specializing in personal injury and services the western and central Pennsylvania area.  If you would like to consult with him about a possible personal injury claim, please contact our law office.