PERSONAL INJURY

The leading cause of death in people younger than 40 is traumatic brain injury. That is because the only treatment for a car accident victim is to operate and surgically repair the internally bleeding brain.

A Minnesota hospital is now testing drug used by the military to help soldiers injured on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tranexamic Acid, or TXA, is already being used by the military. The FDA-approved medication controls bleeding in the body.
Now Regions Hospital in Minnesota will test it to see if it can also stop bleeding in the brain.

What is groundbreaking about TXA is that it can be given right away by paramedics at the scene of the accident when precious seconds can save lives. Doctors believe that this early treatment will be crucial.

Data from 60 patients here will be collected over a 14-month period starting this September.

LABOR LAWS

Chicago’s WaterSaver Faucet Company has installed swipe card readers on bathroom doors and is monitoring employee bathroom time outside of regular daily lunch hours. The union that represents the factory workers has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming WaterSaver unfairly disciplined 19 employees in June for “excessive use” of bathrooms. The company believes that some workers are spending time in the bathrooms allegedly texting or using their cell phones and claims that 120 hours of production time were lost in may due to bathroom visits outside of the allotted break times. Cell phones are not allowed on the assembly line.

People who spent 60 minutes over 10 days in the bathroom outside of the allotted times were subject to discipline. That works out to be 6 minutes per day. Workers who do not use the restroom outside of the allotted time are rewarded by the company.