On June 9th at a Slim Jim plant in North Carolina, tragedy ensued. The building collapsed - injuring nearly 40 workers who were inside, and killing three employees.
According to an InjuryBoard.com report, the autopsies on the three deceased workers came back showing that the bodies had been crushed to death.
The three deaths and the other 40 personal injuries sustained as a result of the building collapse all qualify as work-related injuries and will likely be filed as worker’s compensation lawsuits.
Federal investigations of the accident have shown that natural gas may have been responsible for the collapse of the building. The gas allegedly leaked into the building when water-heater installers were working on the building. The gas should have been vented outside, but instead caused an explosion inside the factory.
No litigation has been decited on yet, but injury lawyers may work on the case. To read the full story, visit InjuryBoard.com.
Posted by mbrickley | Posted in General
A recent L.A. Times article touts the benefits of manning your own summer fun risk management team - don’t let technology do it for you.
Apparently there are several gadgets and gizmos that can help you stay safe in the summer and potentially help you avoid what the L.A. Times calls “the common banes of summer.” The newspaper also advises not to depend too strongly on these devices.
Common summer ailments:
- Bug bites
- Sunburns
- Heat stroke
- Sports-related injuries
Some gadgets that claim to help:
- Off! insect repellent clip-on
- Oregon Scientific Portable UV Monitor
The Off! clip-on sprayer is meant to surround the user with bug protection - when tested, the user said it wasn’t so great. The UV monitor told one user that she could safely stay in the sun for almost 40 hours - she didn’t try it, probably with good reason.
According to the L.A. Times article, several exercise equipment products have recently been recalled because of potential defects and injury.
It seems like it might be best to stick to the family-friendly non-aerosol bug spray and the old-fashioned sun screen lotion. Get your exercise outdoors to avoid any exercise equipment risks, and you should be good to go!
Posted by mbrickley | Posted in Uncategorized
According to U.S. News and World Report, when the federal speed limit of 55 miles per hour was taken away, rates of car accidents increased - noticably.
During a 10-year study period that lasted from 1995 to 2005, researchers recorded a total of 12,545 deaths and 36,582 injuries, which they correlate to the allowed higher speed limits.
Because of the exponential numbers, some researchers are calling for reduced speed limits - back to the old maximum of 55 miles per hour - and cameras on expressways to help reduce speeding.
Other experts in the field say that with the new technology in car safety, like seat belts and airbags, a federal limit of 55 might be too slow. Some believe that 65 miles per hour would be a safe speed, and that the excessive accidents, deaths and injuries don’t occur until speeds above 70 miles per hour are reached.
For more information, view the full article from U.S. News and World Report.
In Winter Park, Fla., a family has pressed charges against a dentist for allegedly dropping dental tools down the throat of their 90-year-old family member - twice.
According to a Chicago Tribune article, Dr. Wesley Meyers dropped an implant screwdriver down Charles Geal Jr.’s throat in 2006 and a mini-wrench in 2007. After several invasive surgeries to remove the tools, Geal never fully recovered. He died in 2007, but there is no known direct correlation with the dental mishaps.
Meyers was fined by the state for his mistakes, and was found negligent - but now the family is seeking more compensation. To drop anything down a patient’s throat beyond the point of recovering it is awful - but to do it twice is even worse.
An injury lawyer is representing Geal’s family in this personal injury lawsuit.
According to state laws in four states and the District of Columbia, if you play any role in your own personal injury, you cannot collect compensation from a personal injury lawsuit against other parties involved.
One of these states is North Carolina, and for the first time after repeated attempts, a bill to change this law has passed the State House of Representatives and is in the State Senate.
According to the Winston-Salem Journal, N.C. resident Lisa Vogel will never receive compensation for her son’s death - because he knowingly got in a car with his friend’s roommate, who was convicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and DWI.
The driver was able to defend himself because he was able to prove that Vogel’s son was negligent in getting in the car in the first place. Even an injury lawyer can’t help that case.
Fortunately for victims of personal injury and injury lawyers, a change is in process. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that the bill in the Senate would also make a major change to the current state law by taknig away a rule that says that if a plaintiff wins a lawsuit against several defendants, each defendant can be held responsible both for paying their share of the damages and the shares of the other defendants.
Check out the full article at the Winston-Salem Journal.
Prison inmates have their rights, too. In the Dallas County jail, two different inmates and their families filed injury lawsuits against the county, claiming they were neglected and denied much-needed medical treatment.
According to a report from the Dallas Morning News, the county paid out nearly $500,000 in damages for the two cases. The first suit was filed as a wrongful death in 2005, when a schizophrenic inmate died of pneumonia and the prison guards did not take her to the infirmary for medical treatment after she was found in her cell lying in her own waste. Her family will be awarded $250,000 in compensation.
The second lawsuit involved an inmate who was punched in the eye by another inmate, and clearly needed medical attention after losing his vision because of the blow. Guards refused to send him to doctors, and he never received the surgery he needed to properly fix his severely bruised eye. He will receive $190,000 for compensation.
An injury lawyer helped with the injury settlements in both of these cases.
The Dallas Morning News article also cited other cases of neglect of inmates needing medical treatment in the Dallas County jail in the past decade.
Moral of this story? If you ever find yourself inprisoned in Dallas, don’t get hurt, or you may never receive treatment.
Posted by mbrickley | Posted in Uncategorized
Every year without fail, there are some crazy stories about firework injuries as a result of July 4th fun. According to the American Burn Association, men are three times more likely than women to sustain firework injuries - no real surprise there.
If you get hit with a firework at a professional display, you may want to hire an injury lawyer to talk about possible options for compensation.
Here are some crazy firework injuries that have happened over the years:
According to a report from the Miami Herald, colonoscopies performed in Chattanooga, Tenn. may have resulted in the patients being exposed to HIV.
The patients are currently awaiting a response from the VA to see if they will be receiving compensation for their damages in this medical malpractice situation.
Unfortunately, the responsible parties are not offering to pay out the damages they caused in this lawsuit, though this is a clear example of medical malpractice in action. The lawsuit has resulted in congressional hearings and new patient safety standards from the VA, but the organization claims there is no way to trace the evidence back to the VA.
The victims exposed to HIV are represented by a personal injury attorney in the case.
Posted by mbrickley | Posted in Defective Drugs
Heath experts are now calling for lower doses of over-the-counter acetaminophen in drugs like Tylenol and Excedrin.
At a two-day conference hosted by the Food and Drug Administration, approximately 40 health experts came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to decrease the recommended dose of acetaminophen - currently at 1000mg - to 650mg.
According to an Associated Press report, acetaminophen is one of the most widely used drugs in America because many people find it easier on the body than ibuprofen and aspirin - but now the popular painkiller is accused of causing liver injury.
In addition to decreasing the over-the-counter dose of the drug, prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet may be taken off the market for good because of the severe damage they can do to our bodies.
So what does this mean for the future of pain relief? One theory is to just take more than recommended on the bottle - which is clearly not a good idea, and don’t count on any personal injury lawsuits if that’s a decision you make.
As for prescription drugs, there are other painkilling options out there that might be a bit safer to ingest. To learn more, see the Today Show’s report.