News for 2010

Hormone may hold key to brain injury recovery

brain 100x100For decades, big pharmaceutical companies have spent untold millions researching drugs that will assist in the recovery of traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Now, new research shows that the answer may have been there all along.

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OSHA tells 15,000 employers to improve workplace safety

OSHA logo2The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said it is notifying the owners and managers of about 15,000 workplaces that their rate of employee is exceedingly high compared to other similar companies. OSHA uses data, known as the DART rate (Days Away, Restrictions and Transfers) to determine which businesses have the highest number of illnesses and resulting in days away from work, restricted work activities, or job transfers.

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Traffic fatalities fall for fourth consecutive year

dot 100x100At a time when the news is full of reports of cars accelerating out of control and crashing, drivers texting behind the wheel and car roofs crushed in deadly rollovers, here’s some welcome news: the number of people killed in U.S. traffic accidents is the lowest since 1954.

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FDA warns of counterfeit surgical mesh

surgical meshThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning health care professionals, hospital personnel and patients that counterfeit flat sheets of polypropylene surgical mesh are being marketed in the United States and labeled with the C.R. Bard/Davol brand name. Four products have been identified to date as not being Bard-manufactured products. These products are used to reinforce soft tissue where weakness exists in the repair of hernias and chest wall defects.

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Pressure test kills one Chicago gas worker, injures another

manhole worker sml 100x100A Frankfort, Illinois man was killed while conducting pressure tests for Peoples Gas in Chicago Wednesday. According to Chicago Fire Department authorities, Mike Gryga, 41, and his fellow workers, also employees of Peoples Gas, were performing an air pressure test on a section of a 20-inch gas pipe in downtown Chicago below Jackson Boulevard and Wacker Drive at the time of the accident.

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NYC crane bosses may go to jail after crane accident kills 2

construction crane 100x100The owner of two construction crane and rigging companies and a mechanic have been indicted on manslaughter charges after a 200-foot construction crane crashed onto a New York City apartment, killing 2 men and seriously injuring a third.

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FDA warns food companies to change ‘misleading’ labels

Dreyers 100x100Several food products on store shelves have misleading labels that violate federal law, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning companies to change those labels within 15 days or the agency will pull those products from grocery store shelves. The FDA sent warning letters to 17 different food makers last week demanding swift compliance.

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father and son hit the road to raise brain injury awareness

TBI 100x100When Joshua Brantner was 20 years old, he attended a party that changed his life forever. He arrived as a healthy, ordinary guy but left in an ambulance with a traumatic brain injury that severely impaired his mental and physical functions.

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NHTSA wants more states to ban texting while driving

nhtsa logoThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed a legal template that will help states develop legislation banning the act of texting behind the wheel. The sample law is modeled after the Executive Order issued by President Obama in October of last year that prohibited federal employees from texting while driving.

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March is brain injury awareness month, concussions take spotlight

concussion 100x100March is Brain Awareness Month, and this year the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is calling attention to concussions, which are often overlooked, ignored, or not taken seriously. To help boost awareness of concussions and the threats they pose, especially to children and adolescents, the BIAA is launching a year-long education and advocacy campaign called under the banner “A concussion is a brain . Get the facts.”

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