Former North Carolina Democratic Senator John Edwards announced this week he will run for president in the 2008 election.  Edwards is best known as the running mate to Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry after Edwards’ own bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination failed.

Prior to becoming a North Carolina Democratic Senator in 1998,  Edwards was a successful personal injury lawyer winning cases involving a variety of personal injury claims including product liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death and vehicle injury accidents.  In 1996, Edwards’ successfully litigated a product liability case that resulted in a $25 million personal injury award, which was the largest in North Carolina’s history at the time.

A federal jury ruled in Michelle Horton’s favor for $3 million in lost wages and punitive damages against her former employer, the 48th District Court of Bloomfield Township, Michigan.  

Horton filed the personal injury lawsuit accusing her former employer of firing her in December, 2004 for politically motivated reasons which was the same year she received the employee of the year award.  Thomas Paxton, attorney for the 48th District Court argued Horton was fired for misusing a police database, which she denied doing.

Michelle Horton and her Michigan personal injury attorney agreed to settle the wrongful termination suit against her former employer in an effort to avoid the long appeals process that usually follows a personal injury verdict.

A Cook County Court dismissed a wrongful death suit against TASER International this week.  This is the company’s 30th consecutive victory in product liability cases brought by plaintiffs who have sustained personal injuries or the families of victims killed by TASERs.  There have, however, been verdicts entered against police departments for injuries and deaths caused by TASERs.

This victory was significant because a medical examiner had determined the TASER to be the primary cause of death.

Interestingly, TASER International, in a press release, attributed the string of victories to aggressive legal strategies, a strong litigation team, and world-class expert witnesses rather than making any claim regarding the safety of the product.

The jury awarded $25 million to New York City brake reliner, Alfred D’Ulisse in the personal injury case against DaimlerChrysler AG.  D’Ulisse filed the personal injury lawsuit because he lost his right lung from Mesothelioma which doctors believed was caused by his exposure to asbestos at Chrysler between 1960 and 1981.  Lawyers alleged Chrysler knew about the hazards of asbestos since the 1930’s and failed to warn its workers. 

The rare cancer in the lining of the lungs and abdomen called Mesothelioma is usually caused by asbestos exposure.  The deadly disease can remain dormant for up to fifty years.  Once a patient is diagnosed with Mesothelioma they usually survive less than 2 years. 

The disease is 100% preventable.  However, many former factory workers, engineers, pipefitters, steel workers and auto mechanics had jobs at companies where they were exposed to asbestos.  Many new personal injury lawsuits are filed by victims and their families as 3000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year.

The first of many public nuisance lawsuit against the Texas wind energy industry ended in favor of FPL Energy, the builder of the Horse Hollow Wind Farm.  Neighbors in Abilene, Texas near Houston argued the sound and size of the 400-foot turbines on the world’s largest wind farm interfered with their enjoyment and use of their property.

Jurors were only allowed to consider the noise not the size in this Texas personal injury case.  The Texas jury ruled against the personal injury plaintiffs, Dale Rankin and other landowners.  Steve Thompson, the attorney for the plaintiffs plans to appeal the Texas personal injury verdict.

The Texas legislature continues to support the progress of wind energy and more wind farms are expected to be built in Texas.  At the same time, additional public nuisance civil lawsuits continue to be filed in Cooke and Jack counties against wind farm owners.

Two workers who suffered personal injuries during the installation of a satellite dish on the roof of a Fed Ex terminal in Ohatchee, Alabama were awarded $4,208,000 by a jury in Anniston.

Daniel Olive and Jeffrey McWilliams filed the Alabama personal injury suit after Olive fell through a skylight hidden by sunlight and weather conditions. Standing on the concrete ground floor below Olive, McWilliams attempted but failed to catch his co-worker during the fall.

Both men suffered injuries, which should have been avoided if Fed Ex complied with OSHA regulations and installed a standard skylight screen or fixed railing on all sides of the skylight. The men’s personal injury attorneys proved to the jury that Fed Ex knew of the dangerous hazard on the roof since two other workers fell through a skylight on the same building a year prior to this incident.

Fed Ex’s disregard of this unnecessary risk was further proved with evidence that a corporate architect from the company inspected the building three times prior to the Olive falling and made no recommendations about safety railings.

John Gsanger, Patricia Hamilton’s personal injury attorney, said Remicade treatments caused his client to suffer severe pain and worsen the condition of her liver already damaged by Hepatitis C.   The Nueces County Court heard arguments from the Texas personal injury attorney describing how Hamilton also developed drug-induced lupus after using Remicade for two years.

A Texas jury ruled that Remicade manufacturer Centocor failed to warn doctors and their patients about  adverse reactions associated with the arthritis drug and therefore was at fault for the personal injury illnesses Hamilton suffered due to her use of Remicade.   The Texas personal injury award for the defective drug claim included $16 million in punitive damages against the Pennsylvania bio medicine company.

Nintendo voluntarily recalls 3.2 million straps for Wii console controllers after some straps reportedly broke causing the controllers to strike players and television screens.  A few players reported minor physical injuries after being hit by a detached controller.  In an effort to prevent any serious personal injury accidents, Nintendo recalled and will replace the faulty Wii controller straps free of charge.

Additionally, the Japanese game company announced a separate recall of 200,000 AC adapters for the DS and DS Lite sold in Japan.  The adapters may overheat and could cause burns or other personal injury accidents.  To date, no personal injury lawsuits have been reported or filed against Nintendo related to either of the recently recalled products.

A New Orleans jury assessed that Merck had provided adequate warnings about the health risks for taking Vioxx and that plaintiff Gary Albright,  who filed a personal injury lawsuit against the drug maker, had untreated health problems for decades which led to his heart attack. 

While this jury ruled in favor of Merck in this particular personal injury case,  four other juries have ruled for the plaintiff in previous personal injury claims against Merck. 

Each of the 27,000 plaintiffs suing Merck for personal injury claims related to the drug Vioxx can still be hopeful about winning their personal injury lawsuits since they may have different circumstances than the plaintiff who lost his personal injury case in New Orleans on Wednesday.

A fight broke out at Madison Square Garden last night between two NBA teams, the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks.  Five players from each team were ejected after a fight between the teams started less than two minutes before the end of the game.  A couple of players ended up in the stands, but it was nothing like the 2004 Pacers and Pistons brawl that actually involved some fans.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries. Nor has anyone publicly announced plans to file a personal injury lawsuit against any of the players involved, the Nuggets, the Knicks or the NBA.

A Hampton County, SC judge rejected an appeal by Ford Motor Co. to overturn a $31 Million verdict in a 2001 automobile accident that left a 12-year old athlete and Olympic hopeful with head injuries so severe that he can not play sports again. Jesse Branham III spent three months in the hospital and was actively pursuing a dream to join the U.S. Olympic karate team.  Branham had been named among the nation’s best for his age group. In a 2001 accident, Branham was ejected from a 1987 Ford Bronco in a rollover accident. Branham’s father sued Ford Motor Co. for “knowingly manufacturing and selling a vehicle that was “unreasonably prone to roll over,” and was awarded $31 in damages against the automaker by a Hampton County jury in October.

The National Transportation Safety Board is urging federal and state governments to ban cell phone use by bus drivers in order to prevent similar personal in injury accidents like the 1994 non-fatal bus accident involving a Massachusetts Catholic school bus driver who, while using a hands free cell phone, caused a personal injury accident involving 11 teenagers on a class trip.  The NTSB also recommends that bus associations develop formal policies related to cell phone usage for its drivers.

In a recent report, the NTSB indicates there are not accurate statistics regarding cell phone use and personal injury accidents.  There are still 20 states that do not have driver distraction codes on accident report forms.   Those states would need to utilize some sort of driver distraction codes when reporting the cause of an accident in order to determine exactly how many personal injury accidents involve cell phone usage.

A jury has awarded $3.2 million to John Gordy in his personal injury lawsuit against a Colorado nursing home.

After being rendered paraplegic in a 2002 bicycle accident, Gordy chose the Red Rocks Health Care Center in Denver based on its marketing materials and skilled care. However, Gordy found his three years at the facility to be much different than what was promised.

In his elderly abuse claim against the nursing center, Gordy alleged that he was deprived of needed assistance for daily living activities, victimized by repeated acts of degradation that included being left in waste for hours, and subjected to retaliation for complaining about his care. Gordy also claimed that he developed severe bed sores during his stay and was the victim of various intentional injuries, including being dropped on his neck and burned. 

The jury agreed with Gordy and consequently ruled against Red Rocks, which has been in trouble before. In 2001, Colorado state officials withheld Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements for new patients of Red Rocks after the facility was cited for 21 violations.

Two places that most people would rather avoid have been the setting for alleged slip and fall injuries, and it will be interesting to see what results of the recently filed personal injury lawsuits.

• An inmate at South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia is suing the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority for his alleged slip and fall down a flight of stairs at the jail on December 5^th. Nalone Stallings says he slipped on a puddle of water that was left on the floor of the jail premises and then fell down the stairs. In addition to making a claim for punitive damages for his bodily injuries, Stallings is seeking compensatory damages for his physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, limitations in his activities and diminution in his ability to enjoy life. Whether he can prove negligence on behalf of the jail remains to be seen.  
• A woman who tripped and fell at Anderson Hospital in Maryville, Illinois is seeking more than $100,000 worth of damages in a personal injury lawsuit against the hospital. Paulette Green claims that she was present in a labor and delivery room at Anderson nearly two years ago when she became entangled in wires from an unused medical machine, fell down and suffered personal, pecuniary and permanent damages. Green is claiming Anderson to be negligent for not warning her of the wires and for failing to inspect the floor, maintain the wires in a safe area on the floor, barricade that area from her, and protect her from any threats posed by the wires. Green claims she has paid more than $28,000 in medical expenses, lost wages and suffered pain and mental anguish because of the fall.

New York personal injury attorneys for an 11-year old boy in Long Island have filed the first lawsuit against Taco Bell in wake of a recent three-state E-Coli outbreak that the fast food chain believes was caused by its green onions.  

Taco Bell is accused of negligence in the personal injury lawsuit after the child ate three tacos last month and had to be hospitalized because of his resulting illness. The suit does not specify any monetary damages. The boy is currently back in school.

There have now been 46 confirmed cases of the Taco Bell E-Coli outbreak in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Taco Bell is currently in the process of pulling green onions from its 5,800 locations nationwide.

This personal injury case follows a September E-Coli scare in which three people died and more than 200 fell ill after eating packaged spinach. E-Coli has been estimated to cause some 73,000 infections and 60 deaths in the United States each year.