Pittsburgh Personal Injury Blog

When winter weather moves into Pittsburgh, temperatures drop and snow is seemingly always in the forecast. While this change alters the life of many residents throughout the area, some continue to commute to and from work on their bicycle.

As someone commuting on their bicycle during the cold winter months, here are several tips to follow:

• Keep an eye on the sky: Is there snow in the forecast? How about rain or ice? Or maybe fog? Cold temperatures are one thing, but precipitation is a different beast entirely. For instance, icy roadways require special caution to avoid a situation in which your tires skid out from under you.
• Wear the appropriate gear: Regardless of the time of year, you'll want to wear a helmet at a minimum. During the winter months, it's essential to wear warmer clothing, without restricting your movement.
• Watch for distracted drivers: Cold weather can distract drivers in a number of ways. Maybe someone is on their phone to check the forecast for the drive home. Or maybe someone is struggling to see the road ahead because they didn't clear their windshield. If you spot a distracted driver, take special caution to prevent trouble.
• Pedestrians are dangerous, too: Winter weather has a way of distracting pedestrians, as they only care about one thing: getting to their destination as quickly as possible. This can cause them to make mistakes, such as walking in a bicycle lane or neglecting to look twice before crossing the road.
• Get off and walk your bike: If road conditions turn dangerous while you're on the saddle, jump off your bike and walk it to your destination. Sure, it may slow you down, but safety always comes first.

When you arrive at work, the last thing you're thinking about is the safety of your hips. However, depending on your profession, you may be at risk of suffering a hip fracture among a variety of other injuries.

If you injure your hip on the job, such as the result of a slip-and-fall or fall from height, you may have concerns about a potential fracture. This is even more so the case in the event of extreme pain, discomfort in the area, the inability to walk and swelling.

A neck fracture is not the most common on-the-job injury, but it's one that every worker should be fully aware of. From office workers to construction workers to individuals who drive delivery trucks, anyone and everyone is at risk of this serious injury.

A neck fracture, also known as a cervical fracture, occurs when there is a break in one or more of the seven cervical bones, ranging from C1 to C7. Not only do these bones protect the spinal cord, but they also allow for normal range of motion of the neck.

A suspected drunk motorist is believed to have caused a deadly head-on crash in Beaver County on the afternoon of Oct. 10.

Pennsylvania State Police were summoned the scene of a crash near the intersection of Langham Drive and Lincoln Highway (Route 30) just after 4:30 p.m. on that fateful day. It was upon their arrival there in Greene Township that police officers discovered the mangled mess left behind by two vehicles that had collided into each other.