Lawnside New Jersey Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Law Blog

Distracted driving has become an epidemic, according to the Ohio State University Risk Institute. In order to reduce distracted driving and create a safer driving environment, the Institute has begun an initiative designed to coordinate the efforts of dozens of companies, governmental bodies and Institute researchers. The purpose of the newly launched initiative is to create actionable change that will reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by distracted driving.

According to a recent news report, distracted driving crashes in America account for at least nine deaths and 100 injuries per day. Common distractions include the use of cell phones, voice commands and dashboard touchscreens. The National Safety Council says that such actions pose a threat to highway safety. The nonprofit group sponsors a Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April of each year in order to bring attention to the problem.

Thousands of people in New Jersey and across the country are injured or even killed each year in crashes linked to distracted driving. While most states have outlawed texting or surfing the internet while driving, distraction continues to pose a major threat to roadway safety. As a result, legislators in one state are considering adopting a still-untested technology that could allow police to determine whether a driver was using a mobile phone during or immediately prior to a crash.

Nevada legislators are debating a proposal to use the "textalyzer" machine. A similar bill was introduced in 2017 in the New York state legislator, but it failed there over privacy objections as well as concerns about feasibility. No law enforcement agency has yet made use of the device and it has not yet been tested in the field. The machine would be connected to a mobile phone after a crash to test whether messenger apps were opened or other activity was taking place at the time of the motor vehicle accident. The manufacturer claims that it only takes note of activity times rather than personal information.

Many workers in New Jersey are using wearable technology, which refers to any mobile electronic device that attaches to the body for a set purpose. Some of the common types of wearable tech in the workplace are "smart" personal protective equipment, hard hats with sensors and safety glasses with heads-up displays.

Wearable tech plays an important role in boosting workplace safety, mainly by connecting workers to a group of safety professionals who can monitor their health and other vital statistics. For instance, electroencephalogram devices could monitor workers' stress levels. Biosensors that attach to the wrist can measure this as well. Other devices measure fatigue.

If you work in the health care field taking care of patients suffering from dementia, chances are good that you may have experienced combative behavior from one of the residents of the long-term care facility where you are employed. Dealing with these behaviors is challenging, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discovered that approximately 6 percent of the million or so residents receiving care in nursing homes act physically aggressive toward staff and others at least once a week.

Some residents have longstanding psychiatric diagnoses that complicate their management and treatment in nursing homes. Others only began to display these aggressive tendencies after they were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other conditions that affect their cognitive abilities. Either way, a nurse or aid could be walking into a lion’s den of danger when entering a combative resident’s room to provide care.