Between now and Halloween next week, there will be plenty of parties and harvest activities like hayrides and haunted houses. That means that there is a higher risk of accidents from collisions with drunken drivers. You might not think of Halloween as a big drinking holiday, but it's actually in the top five of the whole year. Halloween is not just a children's holiday anymore (if it ever really was). There's nothing wrong with donning a mask and costume and having fun and some adult beverages with friends at a bar or party. The trouble starts when intoxicated partyers try to drive home ..read more

You turn to trusted doctors and other medical professionals to correctly diagnose and treat your ailments and get you back on the road to recovery. Sometimes, however, the doctor may drop the ball and make the situation worse. Such is the case when doctors misdiagnose their patients. Read on to learn of some commonly misdiagnosed conditions that can cause or contribute to patient mortality rates. Heart attacks You experience sweating, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and pain in your left arm and chest and head to the emergency room. You suspect it might be a heart attack and are surprised when ..read more

It can be quite frustrating to go back and forth with your auto insurance company over a denied claim. You paid your premiums, and then you got injured. You shouldn't have to battle with claims agents in order to get satisfaction. And yet, you are. What options do you have? Below are some steps you can take to move your claim along and get relief. Determine why it's not been paid Was your claim rejected outright or has it merely been languishing in some lackey's inbox? That's important to determine because the path to resolution will be different. If it's the former, you will need to find ..read more

Along with the bouquet and the boutonniere, this homecoming season, make sure that your teen has a little common sense tucked into their homecoming plans. For most high school students, the homecoming game, dance and after-parties are a big deal and a coveted rite of passage on their march toward adulthood. It's a chance to wear some finery and step out with their friends and/or dates. But while these kids might look like adults in their fancy dresses and formal wear, they are still teenagers who often make unfortunate decisions. Parents, you can help your teens to choose safer options thi ..read more

When Louisville residents go to the grocery store and buy meat, they can depend on the product to be free of contaminants and disease. But that was not always the way, as chronicled in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. While it was a work of fiction, the book described the disgusting filth and dangers present in America's meat-packing industry in the early years of the 20th century. In the wake of what was essentially an expose, Congress created the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to oversee slaughterhouse conditions and ensure our food supply chain remained safe and unadulterated. But that a ..read more

Parents often worry about the safety of their kids while they ride the school bus to and from school every day. While school buses are designed as safe vehicles for transporting their precious cargo, kids die every year from accidents they suffered while riding the bus. In fact, almost two-thirds of deaths from school bus accidents happen to the kids after or before they are on the buses. A third of those children who suffer fatal injuries are just 5-7 years old. Children who don't even ride the buses themselves face danger. Child pedestrians are more likely to be killed in an accident dur ..read more

You consulted with your doctor about the fibroids in your uterus, and they recommended a hysterectomy to fix the problem once and for all. With no more uterus, you'd never have to worry about them recurring and causing further problems. It sounded good to you, especially when your doctor recommended a robotic surgery utilizing the da Vinci Surgical System and its robotic arm. There would be less downtime, your doctor promised, using this type of device. But something went horribly wrong during your surgery. Perhaps the robotic arm malfunctioned and careened off in the wrong direction, burn ..read more

When defective products enter the consumer marketplace in America, they pose dangerous risks to the purchasers, their family members and even strangers who may be nearby when those products malfunction. That's why federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) all play vital roles. They ensure that the products that reach the American marketplace are safe when used correctly for their intended purposes. In a perfect world, that would be sufficient to keep our country's consumers safe. But, o ..read more

People carry insurance because there is a legal obligation to do so and because they want to limit their own financial liability if something bad happens. Whether you have recently had storm damage to your house that necessitated the claim against your homeowner's insurance policy or experienced a car crash, you trust your insurance company to provide you with financial help during this difficult time. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies follow through on their obligations to the people who hold their policies. In fact, some insurance companies will do just about anything they can to av ..read more

You worked late at the office and are just too tired to cook. Instead, you call your favorite pizza shop on the way home and place an order for a couple of pizzas to bring home for your family's dinner. But as you enter the pizza parlor to pick up the large combo and the medium pepperoni that you ordered, you slip down in a puddle of spilled 7-Up right by the door. You can hear the audible (and very painful) pop when your ACL tears loose. You won't be walking out of there — or anywhere else for a while — unassisted. In fact, you could be in for a lengthy recovery that likely will involve s ..read more