Archive for the ‘motorcycle accident’ Category

Victims of Tennessee auto accidents, work injuries, motorcycle wrecks, and other trauma can experience shoulder injuries, including rotator cuff tears.

Rotator cuff tears can be surgically repaired arthroscopically, a much less invasive alternative than the typical “open” procedure. According to the American Journal of Sports Medicine arthroscopic surgery can reduce pain and improve function, but unexplainedly the procedure seems to have poorer results among women.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury or knee injury in Nashville  Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Nashville Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

Blows to the head from a Tennessee car accident are not uncommon. They are also very common in motorcycle accidents, and collisions involving tractor-trailers.

Most of the time people “shake it off” and go on with their lives. We now have the example of the NFL on the importance of taking head injuries very seriously.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Nashville ( or Tennessee), please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

A knee injury in Tennessee typically will occur either on the job, or in a motorcycle or car accident. I’ve had a knee injury and can appreciate how disabling it can be before and after surgery.

I was lucky and had a great recovery, but I have seen lots of cases where my clients weren’t as lucky as I was and had permanent restrictions and limitations that affected their ability to work and function normally. A number of our Tennessee personal injury clients have had knee replacement surgery that has allowed them much more normal (but not normal) mobility.

One of the limitations of knee replacements is that some activities, like climbing stairs, can still be very difficult (also difficult for some Tennessee motorcycle clients- riding a motorcycle). Their are two basic designs for artificial knees, the “fixed bearing” design and the “rotating platform” design.

A recent FDA study seems to show that the “rotating platform” design may provide an artificial knee that is better at things like climbing stairs. Ask your doctor about your choices if you have a Tennessee personal injury that involves the knee and the possibility of knee replacement.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Nashville personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

Tennessee motorcycle wreck

Motorcycle accidents in Tennessee and elsewhere often require hiring a Tennessee motorcycle attorney because there are often serious injuries to the rider, but if there is a fire –  It’s going to be ugly, disabling, mutilating, and perhaps fatal. Obviously the source of fire is from gas, and the most exposed gas tanks in any car accident /motorcycle accident will be the gas tank on the motorcycle.

It makes sense that gas tank that is not secured will potentially rupture during impact, and that a manufacturer would think about that, design for it, and do their best to protect riders. Unfortunately, Harley-Davidson has just announced a recall of over 100,000 bikes manufactured from June 2008 thru November 2009 (click here).

How was the problem discovered? Not by Harley.  It was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that uncovered the data that brought about this voluntary recall.  The question we should all be asking is “Why didn’t Harley discover this?” and just as important “If they missed something this simple, what else have they missed?”

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered in a motorcycle accident in Tennessee, please contact Nashville personal injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

In Tennessee, back surgery is common among people who have had some traumatic injury due to an auto accident or on the job injury in Tennessee, and they often need Tennessee personal injury attorneys to help them get what they are entitled to receive. In our practice we have represented hundreds of people who sustained Tennessee workers compensation back injuries or in Tennessee car accidents.

While many times people recover over time without surgery, many others have symptoms that can only be resolved with surgery. Usually a few weeks after surgery physical therapy is ordered to help people get their strength and flexibility back.

Now there is some research that indicates that rehabilitation after surgery really doesn’t make any difference.  A Finnish study published in Orthopedics Today Europe reports that in a recent study of 102 back surgery patients, there was no difference between patients who did or did not have rehab after surgery. My guess? Doctors will continue to order physical therapy and rehab after back surgery, and most people will want it. Even if it doesn’t make any real difference 2 years down the road, it’s helpful for people to get their confidence back, and that’s something rehab can do for anyone.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury or workers’ compensation injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Auto accidents, especially when speed is involved, can cause serious orthopedic injuries and fractures. Comminuted fractures are serious injuries to a bone where the bone is crushed,  splintered, or broken into three or more pieces. Comminuted fractures can be complicated to repair, and can be very painful. The site around the fracture will frequently be swollen and weight bearing will be painful or impossible. . Repair of a comminuted surgery may require a combination of pins, plates,  and screws. When our clients have experienced a comminuted fracture, we contact their physician early and closely track their recovery and rehabilitation. We have represented dozens of people with these kinds of injuries and know that early action is critical in order to make a fair settlement.

Auto accidents can cause fractures to the legs and arms when there are significant forces or the car rolls over. When people have seriously broken bones, orthopedic surgeons perform a procedure that shows up on a surgical note as “ORIF”. We often see victims of serious car and truck accidents who have had this procedure, but victims of motorcycle accidents are probably most at risk for this kind of serious injury. This procedure may be done when there is a fracture to the hip, ankle, wrist, the  femur, or either of the bones in the lower leg (the tibia and fibula).  To repair the fracture, the doctor surgically “opens” the area where the bone(s) is broken and then realigns the bone(s) so they are back in their natural position. This part of the procedure is called the “Open Reduction”.  The next step is for the surgeon to use the appropriate plates, rods, pins, nails, and screws to mend the broken bone together until it heals. This is the “internal fixation”. The surgeon than stitches close the opening, and hopefully the fracture will mend. There is a risk of blood clots, infection, and the failure of the broken bone to heal or fuse. When someone has an ORIF procedure, they have had a serious injury involving tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost work, and permanent impairment. The best that can happen is the regain the use of the injured arm, leg, etc. They will never be the same person. Our clients who have had ORIF procedures count on us to know understand their injuries and be able to ask their doctors the right questions. That’s our job. For a medical paper that reviews ORIF procedure and has x-rays of what the joints look like afterwards, click here.

I was working on a motorcycle injury case today involving a man who we now know has a serious brain injury. This brain injury is so serious that the victim is restricted to a wheelchair and suffers severe myoclonic seizures (severe shaking). At the time of the collision however, he seemed ok. He was conscious, was able to answer the state trooper’s questions about what happened, and he was able to stand unassisted during the interview. His motorcycle helmet only had a small gouge in it and he didn’t have any broken bones, something we see fairly often as Tennessee Motorcycle Accident Attorneys. So how did it happen? The answer has to do with the anatomy of the brain. When there is injury, there is always swelling which is part of the body’s defense and healing mechanism. That swelling is almost always visible, however swelling of the brain from an injury won’t be physically apparent because of the protection provided by the skull. Although most people who suffer a brain injury will have symptoms within 1-2 hours, it may take up to 24 hours before symptoms show themselves.  When we see someone in Nashville who thinks they may have a brain injury, we make sure they see a doctor immediately.  The most recent “famous” case of fatal brain injury without visible injury to the head involved the actress Natasha Richardson. Ms. Richardson had what she thought was a minor head injury while skiing. She developed a headache about an hour later and was brain dead shortly thereafter. There was no dramatic injury to her skull, no fracture, no cuts or external bleeding. Experts have speculated that she developed a bleed inside her brain that caused swelling and brain death. For more information about the Richardson case, click here.  There are over 1 million victims of traumatic brain injury each year, and more the 5 million Americans who have lifelong limitations as a result of a traumatic brain injury. For more information about brain injury, and links to informational sites, click here.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published a study that concludes that anti-lock brakes on motorcycles will reduce fatalities 28%. Although some riders claim they can beat the stopping power of an ABS system, that’s certainly not true for all riders. Motorcycle accidents in Nashville and Tennessee aren’t any different than those in other places. With the number of untrained riders out there, anything that can reduce fatalities this drastically needs to be considered. We have represented motorcyclists in Nashville and Tennessee for more than 20 years, and I am guessing that any of them or their families would consider ABS a safety feature that they cannot be without on their next bike. To review this study on the use of ABS braking systems to reduce fatalities from motorcycle crashes, click here.

It was just after midnight on Friday July 3, 2009. 30 year old Nicole Gill was riding her 2007 Suzuki motorcycle. She was on Trinity lane approaching the intersection with Brick Church. A driver she passed on Trinity Lane said she was traveling at a high rate of speed. The light was red for Trinity lane at the intersection, and she struck a black grand prix making a left at the intersection.

Ms. Gill was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center, but died of her injuries. Our condolences to her family and friends.

We often see people riding Suzukis and other street motorcycles around Nashville, and for fun the riders will often show off their quick acceleration and maneuverability. These maneuvers may be fun, but they are never safe on city streets. Every rider should go through motorcycle safety training like that offered by the State.  As attorneys who represent motorcycle riders in Nashville and throughout Tennessee, we know that most wrecks and fatalities are the result of automobile drivers who just don’t see the motorcycle. When witnesses report a motorcycle speeding through a redlight, it doesn’t make much difference whether or not the driver of the car saw the motorcycle or not.