March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month. It is important to recognize the common causes of brain injuries in an effort to treat and prevent these types of injuries from occurring in the first place. Although hitting your head can happen anywhere, there are certain factors that may increase the likelihood of this happening. For example, reckless driving can cause vehicle collisions or pedestrian accidents that result in severe head trauma. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically is caused by a sudden or violent blow or jolt to the head or neck. Mild traumatic brain injury can impact brain cells temporarily. More serious traumatic brain injury can result in bruising, bleeding, and tissue damage to the brain. These injuries can lead to long-term complications and even death.

The Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Studies show that falls are one of the leading causes of TBIs, followed by being struck by an object and being involved in a car accident. When an individual slips or trips and falls, they often hit their head on pavement or other hard surfaces. A slip and fall can occur because of unsafe conditions, such as debris, clutter, or uneven walkways. Property owners may be held liable for injuries if they knew about the hazards and did nothing to address or fix them.

Similarly, reckless actions or behavior by another motorist can cause an auto accident with injuries. From the sheer force of the impact, occupants in a vehicle can hit their heads on the car’s doors, dashboard, or windshield, directly causing a TBI. Drunk or distracted driving are leading causes of crashes. Drivers who speed or disobey traffic laws may be found negligent through a personal injury claim brought against them by an injured party.

Statistics show that people are living longer in these modern times. However, this means many elderly citizens reside in assisted living or nursing homes once they reach a point in which they cannot live independently. Medical professionals at such facilities have a duty of care to keep your loved one safe and healthy. Unfortunately, cases of injuries sustained by residents due to abusive or neglectful behavior by staff members occur more often than you might think. Several reasons may exist for this, including understaffing or inadequate training by management. Regardless of the causes, if your family member has suffered any kind of injury while living in a long-term care facility, he or she may be entitled to compensation through a personal injury claim. A knowledgeable attorney can help you recognize the signs of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Physical Injuries

The mistreatment of nursing home patients or assisted living residents may be difficult to notice at first. If someone is bed-ridden, visiting relatives may not initially see signs or symptoms of abuse or neglect. For example, bruises or bedsores may be covered by clothing or blankets. When medical staff fail to do rounds or to check on residents or bathe them on a regular basis, they can develop serious to life-threatening infections.

Examples of the most common injuries that are found in long-term care facilities include:

Many people dine out every day in the United States. According to statistics, on average, Americans eat out between four and five times a week. In many cases, it can be out of convenience to save time while juggling work and child-rearing commitments. In addition, families often gather together at their favorite eatery to celebrate a birthday or a holiday. However, a nice evening out can sometimes turn into a nightmare. Restaurant accidents may cause a patron to suffer minor to severe injuries, depending on the circumstances. For example, if a person slips and falls, he or she can sustain serious damage to a body part. There are other mishaps that can cause injury to restaurant-goers, and they are often caused by the negligence of the property owner. That is why it is imperative that an injured party consults with an experienced personal attorney regarding a premises liability claim.

What Kind of Injuries Can Occur at Restaurants?

Accidents at food establishments are more common than one might think. Tripping, slipping, and falling can result in significant bodily damage since a person can land on a hard surface such as pavement or tumble down a flight of stairs. In many cases, this is due to ice on a sidewalk/entrance or oil that was not cleared from a floor, making it slippery.

In other instances, a patron can suffer burns to the skin if he or she comes into contact with boiling water or a hot plate. If the wait staff is not properly trained, they run the risk of spilling a piping hot cup of coffee on someone.

As the snow begins to fall, everyone scrambles to get their snow tires on their vehicles, change their windshield wiper blades and dig out their snow brush -- but those steps typically only pertain to the four-wheeled variety of vehicle owners. Those who own motorcycles have a set of concerns that are specific to their vehicle and riding it in cold, snowy weather. According to the United States Department of Transportation, there are approximately 8,410,255 motorcycles registered for private ownership in the country and over 300,000 of those motorcycles are registered in Illinois alone. Riders who are inexperienced or unprepared for cold-weather driving can find themselves in serious motorcycle accidents if they are not careful. If you are planning to ride your motorcycle this winter, here are three things you should think about before heading out on the road:

Prepare Your Vehicle for Winter

Just like any other vehicle, your motorcycle should be serviced and in great condition at the beginning and throughout the winter months. It is a good idea to look into getting snow tires for your motorcycle because snow tires can give you the best traction possible in snowy or rainy weather. Also, a large windshield or heated hand grips can work wonders for making driving in the cold weather more comfortable.

Wear the Proper Gear

Every motorcyclist knows that proper gear is a necessity when it comes to riding at any time of the year. In colder months, you should wear thick, warm clothing and multiple layers for maximum protection from the elements. Long sleeves and long pants are a must, as thick gloves and boots with a decent amount of tread. Protective wear is not only used to protect yourself in the event of an accident, but also to protect yourself from the cold.

Halloween is a wickedly magical time of year for children to enjoy - but it is also a dangerous time of year. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, children are more than twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year. Trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition that is enjoyed by children of all ages, but with an increase of pedestrians on the road and a decrease in daylight, it can make for deadly circumstances resulting in slip-and-fall accidents or car accidents. Fortunately, there are ways you can keep your children safe during this spooky season. Here are four tips to have a safe Halloween.

Choose a Safe Costume

Halloween is all about the costumes, whether your child is a sweet and sparkly fairy or a dark and mysterious witch. Help your children stay safe by choosing light-colored costumes when possible. Also, make sure the costume fits your child to help prevent any trips or falls from baggy fabric and make sure masks fit correctly so their vision is not obstructed.