What you have to reveal at an accident scene

What you have to reveal at an accident scene

You've just been involved in a fender bender. Police are on the way. Meanwhile, what information do you have to exchange with the other driver? That answer varies by state. In Florida, for instance, state law requires drivers to share name, address, contact details, driver's license number, license plate number and auto insurance information. In New York it's more of the same, plus if the driver's name is different from the name on the insurance card or registration, you're supposed to provide the name of the person who owns the car or who holds the insurance policy. In California you're supposed to show your driver's license, vehicle registration card, evidence of financial responsibility and current address to the other driver or persons involved. car accident information exchangeBut state laws can defy common sense. Is it really wise to hand a stranger your driver's license in this age of identity theft? "First of all, nobody says you even have to get out of your car in the middle of the road with cars buzzing all around you and put your life at risk and potentially be assaulted or carjacked," says Robert Siciliano, an identity theft expert with McAfee. He says in the commotion of an accident scene, caution is often thrown out the window. People can get into heated arguments over who is at fault, or a rear-end collision could be a scam to steal your personal information.

Third Largest Storm Ever for U.S. New York & New Jersey

Third Largest Storm Ever for U.S. New York & New Jersey

NEW YORK, April 19, 2013 — Insurance regulators in New Jersey and New York—the two states hardest-hit by Sandy—report that insurers have settled 93 percent of the claims they received in the wake of superstorm Sandy, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). More than half of the 1.5 million claims for Sandy-related damage to homes, vehicles, boats and businesses were filed in either New Jersey or New York. The others were filed in a dozen other states as well as the District of Columbia. The I.I.I. said that insurance companies will pay an estimated $18.8 billion in claims to their policyholders, making Sandy the third costliest storm in U.S. history, as defined by insurance claims payouts. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 ($48.7 billion) and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 ($25.6 billion) were larger insurance events. Both of those claims payout numbers are expressed in 2012 dollars; moreover, Katrina and Andrew were hurricanes when they made landfall whereas Sandy was a post-tropical cyclone. “The billions of dollars that private insurers paid to home, business and vehicle owners have helped to stabilize the economies of states hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. Those same dollars also helped to spur growth and create more resilient communities for the future,” said Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute and an economist. The estimates of claims payments do not include claims for flood damage insured under the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The damage caused by Sandy generated nearly 1.1 million claims from homeowners, a quarter million from vehicle owners and more than 200,000 claims from business owners. Business claims accounted for only 13 percent of all those filed after Sandy yet they will in the end account for 48 percent of all the Sandy claim dollars paid, an I.I.I. analysis determined. The reason is that the value of commercial property is often higher than that of home properties and thus the cost to repair or rebuild is greater. In addition, business interruption coverage reimburses a business owner for lost profits and continuing fixed expenses during the time that a business must stay closed because of physical damage to their premises. New York and New Jersey also had the largest Sandy-caused flood damages. Flood insurance is usually not covered under a standard homeowners or business owners policy but is available through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program. The percentage of homes and businesses situated on the Atlantic Seaboard, with flood insurance policies prior to Sandy, was comparatively low as compared to other hurricane-prone states, such as Louisiana and Florida. Flood damage to vehicles is typically covered under the optional comprehensive portion of standard auto insurance policies. Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 29, 2012, causing fatalities and widespread power outages in addition to significant property damage. Sandy insurance claims were also filed in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia. 

News Source :  www.iii.org

Babies' herpes linked to circumcision practice

Babies' herpes linked to circumcision practice

New York -- Two more infants have contracted the herpes virus after undergoing an ultra-Orthodox Jewish type of circumcision, which has been linked to the spread of the potentially deadly virus to newborn boys, according to the New York City Health Department. In the ritual, known as metzitzah b'peh, after removing the foreskin of the penis the person performing the procedure places his mouth briefly over the wound, sucking a small amount of blood out, which is discarded. Antibacterial ointment is applied and the wound is bandaged. The health department says the procedure is dangerous because the contact with the mouth could transmit diseases such as herpes. Most adults are infected with the herpes simplex virus type 1, and while they may have no symptoms, the virus may be present in their saliva, according to the health department. (It is different from herpes simplex virus type 2, which is usually transmitted sexually.) "While HSV-1 in adults can cause the common cold sore, HSV-1 infection in newborns is very serious," a department statement says. Since 2000, there have been 13 reports in New York City of infants contracting HSV-1, two of whom died from the virus. The health department reported that an estimated 20,493 infants in New York City were exposed to the practice in that period. In the most recent case, the infant developed a fever seven days after circumcision and vesicular lesions the following day, according to a press release from the city health department. Seventy percent of neonatal herpes cases show lesions and only 40% produce a fever. The DOH passed a regulation in September requiring all those who perform the ritual to get parental consent on a form stating that the procedure can lead to health risks. Several Jewish groups and three rabbis filed a lawsuit in federal District Court in Manhattan arguing that "the government cannot compel the transmission of messages that the speaker does not want to express -- especially when the speaker is operating in an area of heightened First Amendment protection, such as a religious ritual." Dr. Thomas A. Farley, commissioner of the city's health department, claimed the consent requirement was "lawful, appropriate and necessary" in a September press release. "The city's highest obligation is to protect its children; therefore, it is important that parents know the risks associated with the practice," he said. Baby boys whose circumcisions likely involved the ritual between April 2006 and December 2011 had an estimated risk of contracting neonatal HSV-1 infection of 24.4 per 100,000 cases, 3.4 times greater than other infants, according to the health department. "There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn," Farley said. While Jews regularly practice circumcision as part of their religion, metzitzah b'peh is limited to a relatively small number of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

News Source: edition.cnn.com