Trauma Survivors Network - provided by ATS

Survive. Connect. Rebuild.

A Program of the ATS

Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

TERMS OF USE

Last Modified: November 1, 2008

Welcome to the Trauma Survivors Network Website
The Trauma Survivors Network ("TSN" or "service") is a partnership of the American Trauma Society ("ATS") and member trauma centers designed to assist patients and their families to navigate their stay in the hospital and help them connect and rebuild their lives.

The following terms constitute an agreement between you ("user") and the ATS, the operator of the TSN service ("we" or "us"). This agreement ("Terms of Use") governs your use of this website, both as a casual visitor and as a registered member of the TSN. By using the service or becoming a member of the TSN, you signify that you agree to these terms of service, and you consent to the privacy and data rights & usage policies referenced herein. Please note, this site is offered "as is" and without warranties. You may receive a copy of this Terms of Use Agreement by emailing us at: admin@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org, Subject: Terms of Use Agreement.

Eligibility
Use of the TSN service and registration to be a member of the TSN is void where prohibited. By using the TSN website, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 13 years of age or older; and (d) your use of the TSN service does not violate any applicable law or regulation. The TSN website is a general audience site and is not directed toward, nor knowingly collects personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age.

Term
This agreement, and any posted revision to this agreement, shall remain in full force and effect while you use the TSN service or are a member of the TSN. You may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason, by emailing us at: remove@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org, Subject: Remove Account. ATS may restrict or terminate your membership at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice or explanation, and without liability. ATS may immediately terminate your membership without notice or liability if the user:

 

  • uses false data for the purpose of registration;
  • violates these Terms of Use; or
  • violates any applicable laws in the access to or use of the TSN website.

 

Your right to use the TSN service will end once your membership is canceled or terminated, and any data you provide through the website may be unavailable later, unless we are required to retain it by law.

Registration
Many areas of the TSN website are available to unregistered users, who can gather information about a variety of topics, including TSN programs and resources, trauma centers, and traumatic injuries. Users who choose to register a member account with the TSN service are entitled to access additional resources, sign up for support groups and classes, contribute content in community forums, and customize the TSN service through the creation of a personal profile.

In order to register as a member of the TSN website, you will provide some basic information to us about yourself, such as your e-mail address and your zip code. Additionally, during the registration process you will select a screen name (i.e. "nickname") and create a password to associate with your e-mail address. These are your credentials for accessing TSN services that are only available to members. You may not use a screen name that is offensive, attempts to impersonate another person, or violates the rights of others.

User Responsibilities
You may use the TSN service for lawful, non-commercial purposes only. When accessing or using the TSN service, the user shall not:

 

  • act in any fashion or encourage any action that might harm, harass or endanger another person;
  • infringe on the personal rights of others;
  • post information that could create a privacy or security risk for another person;
  • contribute content or conduct oneself in a manner that would be considered offensive or indecent;
  • violate the intellectual property, proprietary rights, or any other rights of others;
  • transmit, store or upload files or contents to which the user is not entitled;
  • post a photograph or video of another person without that person's consent;
  • distribute or post advertising materials or unsolicited e-mails (e.g. "spam," "junk mail," "chain letters");
  • use the TSN service in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, impair, or compromise our servers, networks or data;
  • attempt to gain unauthorized access to any services, user accounts, or computer systems or networks; or
  • provide false data for the purpose of registration or otherwise attempt to evade the requirements of eligibility.

 

User Generated Content
This site is intended for personal non-commercial use by trauma survivors, friends and family, and trauma care professionals. The TSN website contains areas where registered members can enter data about themselves to customize their TSN services or provide content for consumption by the TSN community. User generated content includes, but is not limited to: personal profile information, uploaded pictures or videos, personal stories, communications with other users through the mail center and postings within community forums. Registered members are given an opportunity to tailor their privacy settings to adjust how personal information they choose to provide may be displayed in various areas of the website and to whom. By default, when you post content to areas viewable by other users, your content will be associated with your screen name, the date you joined the TSN, and your photo if you've provided one in your profile. Please remember that any information that you post in public areas such as the community forums or information you make available to a broad base of users by virtue of your privacy settings is, by design, open to the public and may appear in search engine results.

ATS does not and will not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, or any other content that you post on or through the TSN service. After posting your content, you continue to retain any such rights that you may have in your content, subject to the limited license herein. By displaying or publishing any content on or through the TSN service, you hereby grant to ATS and its affiliates a limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, display, reproduce, and distribute such content on or through the TSN service. This limited license is non-exclusive, provided at no cost by the user, and does not grant ATS or its affiliates the right to sell or otherwise distribute your content outside of the TSN service without your express permission. If you choose to remove your content from the TSN website, we will cease distribution as soon as practicable, and at such time when distribution ceases, the license will terminate. Additionally, by posting content in areas viewable by other users, you grant any those users the right to access, display, view, store, and reproduce this material solely for their personal, non-commercial use.

At all times, you are solely responsible for the content, photographs, graphics, messages, music, sound, text or other material that you post or display on the TSN website or transmit to other site users as well as for your interactions with other users of the service. You agree that no materials submitted through your account will violate, plagiarize or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights; or contain libelous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful material. ATS reserves the right to reject, refuse to post or remove user generated content at its sole discretion within all areas of the TSN website, including from individual member profiles, without notice or explanation. This includes any content that in the sole judgment of ATS violates these Terms of Use or may otherwise be considered offensive, commercial, illegal, inappropriate to the context of this site, or that might violate the rights of, harm or threaten the safety of any site user or third-party. The need of ATS to take such actions may result in the termination of user's membership privileges.

ATS assumes no responsibility for monitoring the TSN service for inappropriate content or conduct. Any user who finds material posted by another user objectionable is encouraged to contact us via e-mail. If at any time ATS chooses, in its sole discretion, to monitor the TSN service, ATS nonetheless assumes no responsibility for the content or conduct of its users and is not obligated to modify or remove any inappropriate content.

ATS does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of materials posted by users or endorse any opinions expressed by users. You acknowledge that any reliance on material posted by other users will be at your own risk.

Content from the TSN website may not be distributed by the user to any third party at any time without the express, written permission of ATS, contributor or copyright holder as appropriate. ATS may make use of legal and technical remedies to prevent the violation of these provisions and to enforce these Terms of Use.

In addition to posting content through the TSN service, you may submit feedback to us by contacting the TSN National Administrator (contact information below). By doing so, you agree that ATS may use in any manner and without limitation all comments and suggestions you provide, and that ATS will own all intellectual property we choose to create based upon this feedback.

Privacy
Use of the TSN service is also governed by our Privacy Policy as well as our Data Rights and Usage Policy, which are incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.

Communication with TSN and TSN Hospital Staff
In order to become a registered member of the TSN website, you agree to receive e-mail communications necessary to assist in the enabling and subsequent management of your account. You may also occasionally receive messages from TSN or hospital staff at a trauma center with which you choose to affiliate. TSN and your affiliated trauma center may use contact information you provide to communicate with you regarding services you have requested and regarding your account. You may modify e-mail and privacy settings within your personal profile but understand that you may still occasionally receive messages related to either account management or TSN services for which you choose to sign up.

Links to Other Sites
Please note that some pages within this web site are linked to web sites not managed by ATS. ATS shall have no liability for the contents of such web sites and use of such web pages shall be at the sole risk of the user. ATS does not review, control or take responsibility for the content of these web sites. Links from this web site to web sites not managed by ATS do not imply endorsement or credibility of the service, information or product offered through the linked sites. Please be aware most information transmitted over the Internet is not secure; thus, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

Disclaimer and Limit of Liability
This web site is designed for educational purposes only and is not for rendering medical advice. The information provided through this web site is not intended to be used for the diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect that you may have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.

The information provided on the TSN website is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind and ATS hereby disclaim all warranties and conditions, whether express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with regard to any information provided on the TSN website. ATS makes no warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the website, the material or other content posted on the website, or the services, software, text, graphics and links provided on the website. ATS does not warrant that the website will operate error-free or that the website and its server are free from viruses.

ATS assumes no liability of any kind for any of the information contained in the TSN website or for any diagnosis, treatment, or other patient management decisions made in reliance thereof. In no event shall ATS or any third parties mentioned on the website be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages, lost profits or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) resulting from the use or inability to use the website and the material posted on the website, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not ATS is advised of the possibility of such damages. ATS may make improvements or changes to its features, functionality, or content at any time without notice to user or third-parties.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ATS, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents and employees from and against any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees and legal costs that may be made by any third party, due to or arising out of your conduct in connection with the TSN website or service, your provision of content, your violation of these terms of use, or your violation of the rights of another person or party.

Copyright
Copyright gives the owner exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license a given work. Even in instances where a web site or document does not include a symbol (e.g. ©) or other indication about the copyright holder, the U.S. copyright act nonetheless provides protection for such works and they may not be used or reproduced without permission.

Copyright Information
All rights reserved by ATS. No part of the TSN website can be reproduced, distributed or otherwise used without the express written permission of ATS.

Layout, site design, Trauma Survivors Network logo and database copyright 2007 by the American Trauma Society.

All text, images, animations, and information contained on this site are the intellectual property of ATS or third parties (including individual users of the TSN website), unless otherwise registered and protected under the U.S. Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. 101-810.

For reprint permission, contact: copyright@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org, Subject: Reprint permission.

Notification of Copyright Infringement
ATS respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same. You may not upload, embed, post, e-mail, transmit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any person or entity. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), ATS will respond to notices of alleged infringement that are reported to ATS's Designated Copyright Agent at:

DMCA Copyright Agent
c/o American Trauma Society
7611 South Osborne Road, Suite 202
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Fax: 301-574-4301
E-mail: copyright@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org.

For guidance with regard to the DMCA, please visit the U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov. The text of the DMCA may be found at: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf.

Governing Law
These terms of service are governed by laws of the State of Maryland. Jurisdiction for any claims arising under these terms of service shall lie exclusively with the state or federal courts within the State of Maryland. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any term of these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term.

Certain services on the TSN website may have additional terms (such as policies, guidelines, and rules) that will further govern your use of that particular service and supplement these Terms of Use. If you choose to register for or access any such service, you will be presented with any relevant additional terms and conditions at that time. By using those services, you agree to comply with such additional guidelines and rules.

Policy Changes
ATS may occasionally modify this agreement, which shall be effective upon posting by ATS on the TSN website. Your continued participation in the Trauma Survivors Network after ATS posts a revised agreement signifies your acceptance of the revised agreement. It is recommended that you review this agreement regularly to ensure you are informed of any changes.

Contact Us
Questions regarding these Terms of Use can be forwarded to:

TSN National Administrator
c/o American Trauma Society
7611 South Osborne Road, Suite 202
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Toll Free: 800-556-7890
E-mail: admin@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org

 

PRIVACY POLICY

 

Last Modified: November 1, 2008

Introduction and Purpose
This statement sets out the American Trauma Society's (ATS) policy relating to the collection and use of your personal information in the Trauma Survivors Network (TSN) website. This policy is in addition to the TSN Terms of Use Agreement and applies only to the TSN website and not to any other sites that are linked to or mentioned on the site. Your registration as a Trauma Survivors Network member constitutes your agreement to terms of this policy as well as the Terms of Use.

Stored Information
Of the information we learn about you from your visit to the Trauma Survivors Network website, we store the following: the IP address from which you access the Internet, the date and time, the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, the name of the file or the words you searched, and the browser used to access our site. This information is used to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and identify system performance or problem areas. We also use this information to help us improve features of the site and to make the site more useful.

Personally Provided Information
If you choose to provide us with personal information by sending an email, or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it through our Web site, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us provide you with information or material that you request. Your personal information is important to us. ATS recognizes that your privacy is very important to you. When you register with the Trauma Survivors Network you will be asked to enter a username. Your username and the date you join the TSN are the only pieces of personal information that will be automatically available to all users. We suggest that you use a pseudonym or a made-up username.

Personally Identifiable Information
In order to use the TSN service as a registered member, you may need to provide personally identifiable information about yourself, including your name, address, and contact information. Some data may be required to use the TSN service or certain features therein and forms used to collect these data will specify which fields must be completed and which may be completed optionally. The TSN service only gathers personally identifiable information within the confines of the registration process and your password-protected personal profile page. Any personal or sensitive information you provide in other areas of the TSN website (e.g. community forums) or through separate communications with other users of the TSN service (e.g. e-mails, phone calls, group meetings), should be considered public and undertaken at your own risk.

User Choice and Control
Whenever reasonably possible, we offer you choices when we ask for personal information and we tell you why we collect different types of information. You may always decline to provide personal information to us or refuse cookies in your browser, although some features or services may not function properly as a result. Registered users of the TSN service have the means to control account preferences within the "My Profile" area of the website, including the ability to change or update contact information and privacy settings. Additionally, registered users may terminate their accounts at any time.

Why TSN collects personal information from you
When you register with the Trauma Survivors Network website you will be asked to enter some information, which you may consider to be sensitive, about yourself. The program asks for this information in order to provide you with tailored and specifically relevant information about programs and services available through the Trauma Survivors Network. Information is also collected in summary form about most frequently visited pages. This is intended to help the Trauma Survivors Network website designers understand how visitors use the Trauma Survivors Network website. All the information gathered is subject to reasonable and appropriate security measures.

Cookies
The Trauma Survivors Network website uses transient or session cookies. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your computer's hard disk when you open the Trauma Survivors Network web pages. Cookies by themselves do not identify you or any user but they do identify your browser. Because the Trauma Survivors Network uses ‘transient' cookies, your computer does not retain the information delivered in the cookie once you leave the Trauma Survivors Network site. When you close your browser the transient cookie set up by Trauma Survivors Network is destroyed, and no personal information is retained which could identify you or your browser next time you log on to Trauma Survivors Network. Most web browsers are set up to accept cookies, and while you can set your browser to not accept cookies you will not be able to use Trauma Survivors Network if you do this.

Security
ATS will endeavor to take all reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard personal information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification. Your information is held on a secure server that is in controlled facilities. In addition, all the staff of ATS, as well as all contractors that provide services related to our information systems, will endeavor to protect the confidentiality of any personal information held by the Trauma Survivors Network website.

You can also play an important role in keeping your personal information secure by doing the following:

 

  • use a made up username;
  • choose a password that's easy for you to remember but difficult for someone else to figure out - don't use your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, common numerical sequences or the word "password;"
  • do not tell your password to anyone;
  • log out and close your browser when you finish your online session; and
  • install and keep up-to-date antivirus software and spyware protection.

 

Information disclosure to third parties
We know how important it is to keep the information you've entrusted to us confidential. ATS will not use or disclose any information about you without your consent unless we are required to do so by law. We will not give any of your personal information, your username or your browser details to any advertisers. We do not sell, rent, share, or otherwise willfully disclose to any third party, email addresses or other personally identifiable information shared on this site except to provide you with a product or service you request or under certain circumstances as described below. In all other cases, we will ask for your permission before we disclose your personal information.

Interaction with TSN hospitals
By becoming a registered member of the TSN service and choosing to affiliate with a participating TSN trauma center, you extend the right to know more about you to hospital staff working with the TSN. Your affiliated trauma center may use contact information you provide to communicate with you regarding services you have requested. Participating TSN hospitals are familiar with our Terms of Use Agreement as well as all policies (including our privacy policy) that affect users of the TSN service. Further, these hospitals are bound by an institutional agreement with ATS to uphold our policies, not violate the spirit of agreements between ATS and users of the TSN service, and use data it has access to in a manner that complies with the TSN Data Rights and Usage Policy. The institutional agreement between ATS and the participating TSN hospital serves as an addition to all personal obligations of individual staff members who have registered accounts through the TSN service.

Disclosure for legal reasons
We may release personal information to third parties to: (i) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; (ii) protect or defend the legal rights or property of ATS, its agents and contractors (including enforcement of our agreements); (iii) protect the safety and security of users of the TSN service or the public, including acting in urgent circumstances, or cases in which we believe it is reasonably necessary to investigate or prevent harm, fraud, abuse, or illegal conduct. In the event that we are legally compelled to disclose your personal information to a third party, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you unless doing so would violate the law or court order.

Agents and contractors
Contractors sometimes have access to your personal information in the course of assisting in operating our business and providing products or services to you. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide us with technology, services, and content for the operation and maintenance of our site.

Aggregated, non-personal information
We may share aggregated information about you with third parties. This is information that is combined with the non-personal information of other users and does not allow you to be identified or contacted.

Communications
In addition to communicating with you regarding your account and services that you specifically request, the following details how TSN may address certain other types of communication.

Electronic mail
Messages that you send to us via the e-mail links on the TSN website may be shared with a customer service representative or an individual or entity that may be best suited to handle your request. We may occasionally send you service-related e-mails, such as a welcome e-mail when you register with our site.

Networks, groups, and classes
When you join a network, group or class through the TSN services, the designated users may e-mail announcements to all group members. If you don't want to receive group announcements, you may decide to leave the group.

Invitations
When you invite a person to join the Trauma Survivors Network, your personal network or your group, we will automatically send this person an e-mail invitation on your behalf. The recipient's e-mail address is only used to facilitate the communication, is not retained by us, and will not be used for any other purpose.

Sharing the TSN Website
When using sharing services available through the TSN website, the recipient's e-mail address is only used to facilitate the communication, is not retained by us, and will not be used for any other purpose. In instances where this sharing service requires other third party username or account information, we similarly do not retain or use these data for any other purpose.

Policy Changes
ATS may occasionally modify this policy, which shall be effective upon posting by ATS on the TSN website. Your continued participation in the Trauma Survivors Network after ATS posts a revised policy signifies your acceptance of the revised policy. It is recommended that you review this policy regularly to ensure you are informed of any changes.

Contact Us
Questions regarding this policy can be forwarded to:

TSN National Administrator
c/o American Trauma Society
7611 South Osborne Road, Suite 202
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Toll Free: 800-556-7890
E-mail: admin@traumasurvivorsnetwork.org