Module 14: 1.20 – 2.50pm (1.5 General CPD Hours)

Monday 12th September 2022 = Seminar 14 in the Postal Booking Form

Personal Injuries

‘Understanding The Typical Injuries To Expect From RTA’s, The Workplace & Criminal Assaults’

For Personal Injuries practitioners and Employment Law advisors, we should know and understand the different types of injuries that our clients can sustain, whether in RTA’s, at work, or in any way caused by the civil negligence or criminal actions of a third party; what occupations and work related hazards result in injury, and what a carpel tunnel syndrome is…or a tenosynovitis…or an epicondylitis even!

PART 1:

In this two-part talk, Dr Jim Gray, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine (EM) will firstly discuss the topic of occupational injury, what constitutes one, some common types of injury as well as most common occupations. He will review the current data from national and international sources. Any employee can get an occupational injury!

He will focus on Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), explain what it is, the most commonly affected areas of the body, occupations and work most at risk of developing RSI, treatments, as well as steps to mitigate the risk of RSI.

Injuries Covered in Part 1 Will Include:

  • Occupational Injury:
    • Examples – most common injuries.
    • Common occupations.
    • Data national / international.

 

  • Repetitive Strain Injury:
    • Examples on bodymap:
      • carpel tunnel syndrome
      • trigger finger
      • de Quervains tenosynovitis
      • epicondylitis
      • rotator cuff tendonitis etc.
      • elaborating on the common RSI pathologies
    • Common occupations/ work hazards
    • Treatments
    • Prevention
    • Employer obligations
    • Employee obligations

PART 2:

In the second part, Dr Gray will explore the various mechanisms of trauma and how these lead to patterns of injury. For example, what injuries occur when a body suddenly decelerates, or what injuries might result from an airbag deploying? What about an explosion?

He will look at blunt and penetrating type trauma. In terms of penetrating trauma Dr Gray will allude to the various mechanisms and the resultant injuries. And in terms of blunt force trauma he will discuss compression and deceleration forces and the common injuries sustained; how frontal, side and rear impact trauma can result in patterns of injury; and how safety devices including seatbelt restraints and airbag deployments can result in patterns of injury on impact.

Dr Gray will then discuss a number of life threatening injuries that can occur in the multi-trauma patient.

Injuries Covered in Part 2 Will Include:

  • Penetrating trauma:
    • Incised vs stabbed wounds.
    • Firearm injuries:
      • shotgun vs bullet trauma.
    • Explosive injuries:
      • mixture of penetrating and blunt force trauma.
  • Blunt force trauma:
    • Lacerations, abrasions, bruises, scratches.
    • Compression forces and examples of injury.
    • Deceleration forces and examples of injury.
    • RTA’s – frontal, side, rear impact collisions and patterns of injury.
    • Restraints / seatbelts and patterns of injury.
    • Airbag deployment injuries.
    • Body injuries:
      • immediate life threatening injuries found on primary survey including airway obstruction, tension pneumothorax, open pneumothorax, massive haemothorax, flail chest and cardiac tamponade.

Speaker

Dr Jim Gray is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine (EM). With extensive experience having worked in EM in both the UK and Ireland, he is a medico-legal expert witness in all aspects of injury and trauma.

Graduating in Medicine at TCD in 1996, Dr Gray trained initially gaining Surgical Membership and Associate Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 2001 followed by higher training in the UK gaining a Fellowship of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) in 2006.

He returned to Ireland in 2006 taking up an EM Consultant post at Tallaght University Hospital and completed the Post–Graduate Diploma in Forensic and Legal Medicine at UCD in 2012. Dr Gray currently works as an EM Consultant at the University Hospital Limerick Group and the Blackrock Health Galway Clinic as well as medico-legal clinics at Cherrywood in Dublin.

Dr Gray lectures and attends courses and conferences regularly keeping abreast of current trends, clinical practice and continuing professional development. He is an Adjunct Senior Clinical Lecturer in EM at the University of Limerick as well as a Senior Examiner for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in London, UK.

Dr James Phelan Gray MB, BCh, BAO, BA, AFRCSI, DFLM, FRCEM