Toms River, New Jersey, Personal Injury Blog

Speeding continues to be a widespread issue in New Jersey and across America. What's even worse is that it's considered culturally acceptable among many drivers. The reality, however, is that speeding is involved in nearly a third of all auto-related deaths in the country. This is according to a report from the Governors Highway Safety Association entitled, "Speeding Away from Zero: Rethinking a Forgotten Traffic Safety Challenge."

The report calls for a deeper and more comprehensive engagement with the problem of speeding, especially in rural areas. More fatal car crashes arise in rural regions; in 2016 alone, there were more than 5,000 fatal car crash victims in such areas. Still, it is important for urban areas to try to reduce vehicle speeds by altering speed limits.

More than 70,000 workers each year suffer a shoulder injury, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of those victims may be hardworking New Jersey truck drivers. Landing gear cranking, a common task for truckers, can lead to shoulder ailments. However, research published Oct. 3 in the journal Applied Ergonomics offers cranking techniques that could help truckers stay injury-free while lifting and lowering trailers.

In the study, researchers from Washington State Department of Labor & Industries and North Carolina State University observed the techniques of 12 male truckers while raising and lowering trailers. Researchers measured activity in 16 muscles involved in shoulder movement. They also checked the scapular range of motion for the drivers.

It can be dangerous to drive around semi-trucks in New Jersey or any other state in America. One recently tragic case in Florida illustrates this. In early January 2019, a semi-truck on I-75 near Gainesville suddenly moved left from the right lane, crashing into a 2007 Honda sedan that was in its path. Why the driver, a 59-year-old man, did this is still unknown.

The two vehicles broke through the median guardrail and onto the southbound lane. There, the truck collided with a 2006 Chevrolet passenger van, the 12 occupants of which were traveling to Disney World. The truck flipped the van over, causing an unknown number of its occupants to be ejected. Whether they were wearing seatbelts or not has not been determined.

Workers' compensation law is incredibly complex, in no small part because similar injuries can have different consequences for different individuals. What leaves one person permanently disabled because of their profession or other factors may not prevent someone else from continuing their career. Instead of paying the same benefits regardless of the situation, New Jersey's workers' compensation program prefers to analyze each case on an individual basis.

The type of injury, its location and the way the injury impacts a worker will all factor into what benefits that worker will receive. Most people are somewhat familiar with the idea of permanent, total disability benefits. These benefits follow an injury that precludes someone from fulfilling the obligations of their job for the rest of their life.