Nashua Personal Injury Law Blog

Safety authorities urged employers in all retail-related businesses nationwide, including New Hampshire, to take extra precautions to keep workers safe and prevent workplace injuries. This warning came in the time leading up to Black Friday and other marketing promotions that are common at this time of the year. Workloads increase, restocking shelves becomes urgent and rushed work is always more hazardous -- as proved by workers' compensation claims usually filed after the rush of the holiday season.

Affected workers include those who pack boxes, stock shelves, sell merchandise and deliver products. Managing sales events that involve large crowds can pose deadly hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminded employers that all workers are entitled to safe work environments and suggested increased numbers of trained security officers, and crowd control using rope lines, barricades and other emergency measures to prevent trampling.

Thousands of people nationwide, including in New Hampshire, suffer animal bites each year. The number of personal injury lawsuits that follow dog and cat bites underscores the prevalence of such incidents. Wild animal bites occur much less frequently because very few people get in close contact with non-domestic animals.

Dogs typically bite when they are overexcited, injured, scared or when they feel threatened. They might also attack if they believe they have to protect their human owners, their food or their young from harm. When dog or cat bites do not break the skin, there are no infection risks, and scratches or scrapes that only graze the surface of the skin pose minimal dangers of infection.

Most workers in New Hampshire know that their employers carry insurance that would provide financial assistance if they should get injured on the job. They might think it is merely a case of getting medical care, filing a workers' compensation claim and receiving compensation. However, it could be considerably more complicated, and failing to follow the correct procedures might jeopardize the chances of receiving maximum benefits.

It might be a good idea for employees to gain knowledge about the procedures to follow before they are injured and when there is no emergency or trauma with which to deal. The first step to take after a workplace injury is to get the necessary medical care, but the workers' comp rules might require workers to see a doctor authorized by the comp system. Moreover, the injury must be reported to the employer, and this notice must be given in writing.

Despite the many efforts of law enforcement to stop mobile phone distractions and impaired driving, many drivers pay little or no attention. Auto accidents involving alcohol and texting while driving continue to cause severe injuries and fatalities on New Hampshire roads. A 32-year-old Sullivan woman is facing criminal charges after one such an accident.

According to a police report, the crash occurred in Nelson on a recent Saturday. The woman was allegedly traveling in the wrong direction on Route 9. She was eastbound in the westbound lanes when she smashed head-on into a car that was heading west.