A new study has both good and bad news for pregnant women, who suffer from asthma. 

The bad news is that pregnant women who use anti-asthma medication may be at a higher risk for delivering babies with birth defects.  The good news is that the increase is very slight.  In fact, doctors say they have not been able to determine whether the slightly increased risk of birth defects is due to the medications or because of the severity of the asthma.

Stronger graduated driver’s licensing laws could save as many as 17 teen driver lives in accidents in Hawaii every year.  Across the country, close to 2,000 teenagers could be saved annually if all states implemented tougher graduated driver’s licensing programs.  That information comes from a study by the National Safety Council, which investigated the role of graduated driver’s licensing programs on teen safety for the Allstate Foundation.

As parents around the country shop for gifts for their children, some parents will find limited choices to meet their child's special needs.  Parents of children with cerebral palsy need to shop strategically in order to buy toys that their children will not only enjoy, but also benefit from.

It’s important to select the right kind of toys for children who suffer from cerebral palsy.  These toys must boost the child's communication and social skills, enhance learning experiences, and promote positive relationships with family members, caregivers and others.  Hawaii birth injury lawyers would recommend that you consult with an expert when it comes to buying your child a toy.  For instance, an occupational therapist will have a better understanding of the child's interests or abilities, and can help you pick out the right toys.

When it comes to preventing birth injuries and stillbirths, the conventional wisdom has been that C-sections are safer for newborn babies.  However, that might not be true after all.  According to new research led by obstetricians at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, forceps deliveries may actually be much safer for newborns than C-sections and vacuum deliveries.

The researchers, who focused on more than 200,000 births, found that newborns who were delivered by forceps deliveries were about 45% less likely to suffer from seizures than those delivered through C-sections or vacuum pumps.  About .12% of the babies who were delivered using forceps had a seizure at birth, while that rate increased to .3% for babies delivered by C-section or vacuum.  There were also low rates of certain types of adverse events, including subdural hemorrhage and intraventricular hemorrhage in newborns from forceps deliveries.

The National Transportation Safety Board has in the past, recommended the banning of texting while driving, the use of handheld devices at the wheel, and the use of cell phones by commercial truckers.  However, earlier this month, the agency issued what Hawaii personal injury lawyers believe is its toughest distracted driving-related recommendation yet.  It called for a complete ban on the use of cell phones while driving, except in emergency situations.

The agency was responding to an accident in Missouri, in which 2 people were killed.  The accident was ultimately traced to the use of cell phones while driving.  This is the first time that the National Transportation Safety Board has actually recommended that all motorists be prohibited from using cell phones while driving, except in certain emergency situations.  According to the National Transportation Safety Board, distracted driving is this generation’s drunk driving.  Even as the number of drunk motorists across the country is on the decline, the number of persons distracted from the use of electronic devices is increasing.

Hospitals around the country have fostered a more data-dependent approach to the treatment of patients, and this has meant handing iPADs, smart phones, laptops and other electronic devices to doctors, nurses and technicians.  Such access to information at one’s fingertips is believed to enhance patient safety, by reducing errors, and increasing access to patient data.  However, many hospitals haven't bothered to set down strict rules for the use of electronic devices on the job.  As a result, Hawaii medical malpractice lawyers are coming across a number of shocking cases involving the use of cell phones and other devices by healthcare personnel for personal reasons, from around the country.

Over the past 12 months, motorists in Hawaii with a DUI conviction to their credit have been required by law to get ignition interlock devices fitted in their automobiles.  Supporters of the law, which went into effect on January 1, say that the law has been a great success.

Under the law, DUI offenders in Hawaii are required to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicle.  Close to one year since the law went into effect, 983 motorists have installed ignition interlock devices in their cars.  According to supporters of the law, the devices have prevented drivers with blood-alcohol concentration levels of .08% and above from starting the car on at least 466 separate occasions.

Even as federal transportation safety agencies reported a decline in national traffic accident deaths last year, there was an increase in the number of people killed in car accidents in Hawaii. 

Last year, there was a 2.9% decrease in traffic accident deaths in the US.  However in Hawaii, there was a 3.7% increase in fatalities.  In 2009, 119 people had been killed in automobile accidents.  In 2010, that number increased to 113.  In fact, last year’s fatality numbers in Hawaii are significantly higher than the 107 fatalities in 2008.  However, they are a marked improvement from the 138 fatalities recorded in 2007.

Police are still looking for a hit-and-run driver they believe caused a pedestrian accident in Honolulu that killed a nineteen-year-old student.

The Hawaii Catholic University student was walking at a crosswalk, just steps from her school, when she was struck by the car.  Police believe that the student had just gotten off the bus stop near the crosswalk, and was walking on the crosswalk in an attempt to get to the campus when she was hit.  The accident left her with fatal injuries.

It wasn't an unexpected consequence of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal at Penn State.  As Hawaii sexual abuse lawyers anticipated, some of the victims who were sexually abused by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky are considering filing lawsuits claiming damages for their losses.

The sexual abuse lawsuits could be filed even as investigations into the Sandusky scandal continue.   Plaintiffs do not have to wait until criminal proceedings against Sandusky are completed in order to proceed with a civil action.