A recent trip to a St. Louis haunted house turned deadly for an Illinois teenager, prompting her grieving family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the developers of the popular attraction.

According to reports, the deceased girl, Brittney Holmes, who was only 15 years old at the time of the accident, visited The Darkness, a haunted house in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, in 2009.

According to claims made in the personal injury lawsuit, Holmes’ asthma was triggered by the artificial fog and strong scents pumped into the house. As a result of an asthma attack allegedly caused by these features of the haunted house, Holmes went into a vegetative state and died in November of 2010, more than a year after the incident.

This December, Brittney’s father, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, filed a wrongful death claim in the St. Louis Circuit Court against Halloween Productions Inc., which owned and operated the ill-fated haunted house.

Sources indicate that the president of Halloween Productions Inc. is also the head of the Haunted House Association, a trade organization for other Halloween entrepreneurs. The website of this organization describes haunted houses as “extremely safe due to tough safety and fire codes they all must live by.”

Documents related to the lawsuit reveal a few interesting facts about that evening’s events. First, the haunted house apparently posted several signs warning potential customers with respiratory problems to avoid the attraction. There is no information, however, about the size or visibility of these warnings.

In addition, Holmes had suffered asthma from the age of 4, and was allergic to peanuts, mildew, grass, dust, and tree nuts. According to the complaint, Holmes began experiencing breathing problems in a car immediately after visiting the haunted house.

Holmes’ use of an inhaler while in a friend’s car did not help her condition, and reports show that her brain had been deprived of oxygen for at least seven minutes before she reached the hospital.

The wrongful death lawsuit further alleges that Halloween Productions, Inc. failed to provide a safe experience for its customers and failed to adequately monitor the presence of dangerous chemicals in the house’s air. The complaint also alleges that Holmes’ medical treatment cost the family more than one million dollars.

Wrongful death lawsuits offer families an opportunity to seek justice after they have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligent or intentional actions. In addition, family members may be able to seek compensation for their medical bills and, in particularly egregious cases, punitive damages.

If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence, or intentional actions, of another person or corporate entity, call a local injury lawyer today to learn more about your legal rights and options.

The long-suffering Sacramento Kings, who have occupied the basement of the NBA standings for the last few years, added another dubious chapter to their team’s history when a faulty exercise ball injured a key player.

Recently, the team filed a $4 million product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the exercise ball that allegedly injured one of the Kings’ players in a bizarre accident last fall.

The injured player, Francisco Garcia, was bench pressing two large dumbbells while balancing on the exercise ball when the commonly used piece of equipment allegedly burst, causing Garcia to fall and break his wrist.

Due to his personal injury, Garcia missed four months of the regular season. According to sources, he had just signed a five-year contract extension for $29.6 million. The lawsuit seeks $4 million because this figure represents the amount of compensation paid to Garcia by the Kings during his time on the injured reserve.

Sources indicate that the Kings are suing both the manufacturer and the distributor of the Gymnic “Burst Resistant Plus” Stability Ball.

The complaint alleges that the distributor of the ball had marketed the particular exercise performed by Garcia as a suitable use for the equipment. Further, the personal injury lawsuit claims that the defendants promised the ball could hold up to 600 pounds and was “burst resistant.”

After the incident, the Kings co-owner, Joe Maloof, emailed all 29 other NBA teams and recommended they stop using the Gymnic exercise ball. According to Maloof, many other NBA teams subsequently removed the exercise balls from their training rooms.

In response to the lawsuit, the manufacturer now includes phrasing on the packaging of its exercise balls that warns customers to avoid using the product in conjunction with weight lifting. The Kings have dismissed this warning as inconsequential to the outcome of their case.

This Kings’ exercise ball saga was not the only defective product lawsuit due to faulty workout equipment in the news this week. In Buffalo, New York, a jury awarded $66 million to a woman after she was injured when an exercise machine fell on her in 2004.

The defendant in the case, Cybex International, had manufactured the faulty machine. According to sources, the woman, who had previously worked as a physical therapy assistant, was left paralyzed after the incident.

While this woman’s injury is more extreme than the Garcia’s broken wrist, dangerous accidents with exercise equipment occur all too often. The proliferation of more and more workout equipment use by inexperienced customers at increasingly crowded gyms has heightened the risk of exercise accidents.

If you have been injured by a malfunctioning piece of exercise equipment, or the negligent actions of someone else, call a local injury lawyer today to learn more about your legal rights.

A defect in the packaging of two popular antacids has left Johnson & Johnson scrambling to recall millions of defective drugs. Recently, the embattled company recalled 12 million bottles of Mylanta, and nearly 100,000 bottles of AlternaGel, a liquid antacid.

The recalls are taking place at the wholesale and retail levels, as both warehouses and stores must take the offending products off their shelves. However, customers will still be able to use the products.

The reason for consumers’ ability to continue using the products centers on the seemingly innocent nature of the recall. The company launched the massive recall because it had failed to properly warn consumers of the trace amounts of alcohol in the products. Sources indicate that this warning failed to appear on the bottles’ labels.

The trace amount of alcohol, which is present in a flavoring agent used in Mylanta, causes the medicine to contain less than one percent alcohol by volume. While this is a small amount of alcohol, consumer safety advocates were concerned with the potential for personal injury to small children and non-drinkers.

The recalled products were made in a factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for Johnson & Johnson, another of the company’s Pennsylvania plants was recently shut down to remedy hygiene issues that forced other recalls of popular products.

In addition, just a week before the Mylanta recall, the company was forced to recall 9 million bottles of Tylenol because of a similar issue involving the failure to warn consumers of the presence of alcohol in the medication.

The Tylenol and Mylanta recalls come in the wake of a terrible stretch of bad luck for Johnson & Johnson’s reputation, as more than 200 million bottles of products have been recalled this year, including their popular brands Motrin, Benadryl, and Rolaids.

As more consumers lose faith in the company’s products and opt for cheaper generic brands, Johnson & Johnson faces several hurdles in regaining consumer confidence.

Beyond the company’s financial difficulties is the danger inherent in selling faulty products to consumers. In order to protect Americans from the harsh effects of defective drugs, personal injury law offers a legal recourse for injured consumers.

Defective product lawsuits may arise from a number of different causes, including faulty labeling of medicine, defective manufacturing of the drug itself, negative reactions to a drug, and injuries from unknown side effects.

Moreover, defective medical devices may also cause serious personal injuries leading to successful product liability lawsuits.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of a defective drug or medical devise, call a local injury lawyer today. You may have a valid product liability claim, and your attorney may help you determine whether you should seek damages.

A terrible mistake recently made by a veteran surgeon has led to a push for major reforms in the practices of American surgeons. While medical malpractice lawsuits provide some relief for victims of bad medicine, precautionary measures before surgery might help save thousands of people from personal injury.

The botched medical procedure occurred when Dr. David Ring of Massachusetts General Hospital performed a mistaken surgery to treat carpal tunnel syndrome on a the left hand of a 65-year old woman.

Unfortunately for the patient, she suffered from trigger finger, not carpal tunnel, and the surgeon failed to perform the correct procedure which would have straightened the affected ring finger on her left hand.

Dr. Ring noticed his error minutes after he performed the unnecessary surgery, and promptly apologized to the patient. He also offered to perform the correct surgery shortly thereafter. The woman, displaying a remarkable amount of mercy, allowed him to proceed. To the relief of both parties, the second surgery was a success.

Sources that detailed the story say that several last minute glitches led to the unnecessary surgery. First, the scheduled operating room was switched at the last minute. In addition, that day saw an abnormally busy surgery schedule which led to failures in standard safety protocols before the surgery began.

Dr. Ring, who courageously admitted to his mistakes in the New England Journal of Medicine, says that he now views pre-surgery safety protocols as an absolutely necessary step for surgeons. According to reports, many doctors find these protocols to be unnecessary burdens.

Both fellow doctors and patient safety advocates have responded positively to Dr. Ring’s call for a heightened emphasis on pre-surgery safety checklists. Not only will enhanced safety protocols decrease doctors’ liability in medical malpractice lawsuits, they will also likely improve the overall surgical outcomes for many patients.

Further, Dr. Ring has stated that the feedback to his public admission of error has been “incredibly positive” and meant a great deal to him, “considering how devastating this was for me and my patient.”

Dr. Ring’s lesson rings particularly true in today’s medical world, where shoddy treatment routinely leads to personal injury lawsuits. According to a medical injury report by the Department of Health and Human Services, roughly 14 percent of Medicare patients are harmed by mistakes made during treatment.

Common types of medical malpractice revealed by the study include excessive bleeding after surgeries, complications from the prescription of incorrect medicines, and urinary tract infections due to the misuse of catheters.

Most surprisingly, these researchers estimated that negligent medical treatment contributes to roughly 180,000 patient deaths each year. In order to avoid the harsh effects of mistreatment, some experts recommend bringing someone with you to the hospital to help you voice your concerns, and knowing all your medications.

If you or someone you love has been victimized by medical malpractice, contact a local injury lawyer today to learn more about your legal rights.

A recent personal injury lawsuit filed in Florida raises fascinating questions about restaurants’ obligations towards the customers. Specifically, when must a restaurant tell its customers how to safely eat a particular dish, even when that dish is relatively common?

According to sources that detailed the injury claim, Arturo Carvajal recently filed an injury claim against Hillstone Restaurant Group Inc. in Miami-Dade County. In the lawsuit, Carvajal claims the restaurant failed to instruct him on how to properly eat an artichoke, which led to serious intestinal problems.

In his complaint, Carvajal says the waiter offered him grilled artichokes, which were a house special and not on the regular menu. After receiving the dish, Carvajal promptly devoured the entire vegetable, including the indigestible outer artichoke leaves.

Due to his consumption of the entire plant, reports indicate that Carvajal later experienced severe pain and abdominal discomfort. In addition, the remarkably detailed complaint says that an exploratory stomach procedure discovered artichoke leaves stuck in his bowel.

Carvajal claims that his injury was a direct result of the restaurant’s failure to train its employees to inform customers ordering the special dish that the outer artichoke leaves were, in fact, indigestible.

The artichoke lawsuit surrounding an allegedly defective product has triggered a heated debate about the merits of warning customers about the dangers of particular foods.

In response to the would-be artichoke lover’s complaint, the restaurant chain’s general counsel says it is a “silly” notion to expect restaurants to post warnings about eating an entire artichoke. He further compares the situation to requiring restaurants to warn customers not to eat the bones in barbecue ribs.

His point is well taken, though the relative obscurity of artichoke dishes suggests that a bit of warning may help many naïve customers safely consume their artichokes. After all, restaurants routinely post warnings about the relative spiciness of various dishes. Such simple measures cost very little to implement and provide a wealth of important information for customers.

Of course, the lawsuit has been ripe for criticism, as critics disavow Carvajal’s seemingly frivolous claim. Carvajal’s attorney, however, makes a perfectly valid point when he says that Carvajal, who grew up in Cuba, had never seen nor heard of an artichoke before.

In response, the defendant’s attorneys cite Carvajal’s employment as a doctor to show that he was sophisticated enough to understand the consequences of eating the entire artichoke.

While this lawsuit may seem bizarre, restaurant customers are put in peril every day by the negligent actions of wayward employees. Moreover, food product safety issues are increasingly important in a globalized marketplace.

If you have recently suffered an injury as a result of a defective product, whether it was a food or medication, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.

A bizarre incident at a California residential facility in which an elderly woman was locked in a walk-in freezer has raised red flags about a nursing home with a checkered past.

The woman, who was 94 years old, was hospitalized after employees of Silverado Senior Living found her stuck in a large freezer. In response to the personal injury incident, state authorities have launched an investigation of the facility and its employees.

According to sources who profiled the potential incident of elderly abuse, most of the residents of the facility suffered from dementia, so the facility’s employees were tasked with supervising residents 24 hours a day.

In addition, the doors leading into the kitchen and the freezer itself were supposed to remain locked at all times. On the night of the incident, however, neither the kitchen door nor the entry to the freezer were sufficiently secured.

The director of the facility declined to say how long the woman was stuck in the freezer, but estimates that the internal temperature in the freezer is roughly 5 degrees. As a result, he thinks the woman was in the freezer for less than 15 minutes, since a longer time of exposure would likely result in death.

This incident is particularly troubling in light of the facility’s embarrassing incident of elderly abuse less than a year ago. Then, an employee named Cesar Ulboa was convicted on charges of elderly abuse and torture and sentenced to a life in prison.

This elderly abuse lawsuit uncovered horrific claims by Ulboa’s co-workers, who claimed the abuser would leap off of furniture and land on top of elderly residents. In addition, Ulboa allegedly used the limbs of residents in wheelchairs to strike other residents, attempting to cause fights between elderly patients.

The case was blown open after authorities exhumed the body of a deceased former resident of the facility. Examiners found evidence of severe physical abuse on the body.

In addition to Ulboa’s stunningly violent behavior, prosecutors in the elderly abuse case also alleged that Silverado Senior Living failed to adequately train its employees and was negligent in not installing cameras in the residents’ rooms.

Both the recent freezer incident and the harrowing case of abuse last year have rocked the residential living facility, which charges up to $70,000 a year per resident.

Unfortunately, incidents of elderly abuse at nursing homes and residential living facilities have become relatively common. Signs of elderly abuse include physical trauma, emotional withdrawal, and the mysterious loss of valuable items from an elderly resident’s room.

Since elderly patients, especially those with dementia, are often unwilling or unable to report instances of abuse, they are a particularly vulnerable population.

In order to prevent future incidents of abuse and punish those who abuse the elderly, the American justice system has developed a robust system of protections for abuse victims. If you or your loved one has suffered from elderly abuse, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.

In 2008, a freak car accident resulted in a severe brain injury for a Wisconsin toddler. A recent personal injury settlement ensures that the little girl’s family will be able to pay her medical expenses for life.

The Green Bay Press Gazette indicate that the personal injury settlement, which was reached between the family and several responsible parties, was worth a total of $20 million. This lofty sum is a record injury settlement in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, topping the previous largest settlement by several million dollars.

The accident that injured the young girl, only two years old at the time, was relatively minor. A large truck owned by a well-drilling company ran a red light but applied its breaks well before hitting the girls’ mother’s minivan.

Even though the impact of the crash was not severe, a pipe rack attached to the truck came loose and several pipes crashed through the windows of the car. One of these pipes tragically struck the young girl in the head. Her family’s personal injury lawsuit alleged that the pipe rack collapsed because of faulty design by the manufacturer.

As a result of the pipe’s impact, the girl suffered permanent injuries, including traumatic epilepsy and blindness. According to reports of the personal injury settlement, the girl’s medical expenses totaled almost $900,000 in the two years since the accident occurred.

The settlement money will be paid by multiple parties. The manufacturer of the pipe rack that failed is on the hook for roughly $300,000. In addition, the driver of the truck and the truck company are liable for about $1 million of the settlement’s total fund. The rest of the total, some $18.7 million, will be paid by the distributor of the pipe rack.

This settlement is intended to cover the girl’s lifetime medical needs, which are expected to be very cumbersome. According to sources that covered the story, she will require 24-hour care for the rest of her life.

In this car accident lawsuit, the split of liability between the truck driver, the truck company, and the pipe rack manufacturer and distributor showed a common feature in many negligence lawsuits. Often, liability is divvied up among several responsible parties.

Of course, not all car accident settlements are this large, nor are the accidents themselves this traumatic. Car accidents, however, occur with an alarming degree of frequency, and often result in serious personal injuries.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of a car accident, the legal system provides a commonly used, justice-oriented means for you to seek compensation. You may be able to recover damages for lost wages, medical bills, and even loss of life enjoyment.

To learn more about pursuing a car accident settlement, contact a local injury lawyer today.

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but on occasion they behave in ways that undermine this unique relationship, to put it mildly. Two recent stories portray the dangers that arise when aggressive dogs attack unsuspecting victims.

The first animal bite incident occurred recently in Indianapolis, where a teenager suffered serious injuries after an encounter with a police K-9. The victim, Natalie Bradley-Wilson, 18, claims she was walking through the parking of her church lot when she was attacked by the police dog.

After a prolonged struggle featuring several dog bites, another member of the church eventually wrestled the dog away from Bradley-Wilson. The woman was then taken to the hospital, where she was treated for severe injuries stemming from bites to her neck, shoulder, and chest.

According to a member of the Indianapolis police department, the dog likely mistook a blanket carried by Bradley-Wilson for a common police training device. Apparently, police typically use “bite sleeves” in training exercises, and the blanket carried by Bradley-Wilson looked similar to these devices.

Of course, the more pressing concern was the actions of the dog’s handler at the time of the attack. According to sources, the handler was not made available for comment.

The mother of the victim wants the dog to be put down, and is also considering filing a personal injury lawsuit in response to the unprovoked dog attack.

In another dog bite story, a man in Austin, Minnesota, recently filed a personal injury lawsuit against a police officer whose his K-9 police dog pinned the man down and bit deeply into his thigh and buttocks.

According to sources, the man, Peter Vought, claims he was the victim of police brutality, as he was unarmed and lying face down on the pavement when the dog attacked. In addition, Vought claims that he did not resist arrest nor did he attempt to flee from the officer.

This is not the first personal injury claim against this officer and his dog, aptly named Tazer. In another case two years ago, the officer was again accused of using excessive force during the course of arrest.

This incident, though, occurred three years ago and local sources indicate there was some skepticism regarding the intentions of the prosecutor, who is soon up for re-election.

Unfortunately, these stories are not isolated incidents. Dog bites happen all the time. If you or someone you know has been the victim of an animal attack, a personal injury claim may allow you to seek compensation for your injuries, including any mental anguish you suffered as a result of the incident.

To learn more about personal injury law, and to determine if you have a valid claim, contact a local injury lawyer today. Relief may be just a phone call away.

A Minnesota jury recently awarded nearly $5 million to the family of a woman who bled to death after a cesarean section went horribly awry. According to reports, the grieving family sued Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital under theories of medical malpractice and wrongful death.

The story that led to the personal injury lawsuit is tragic, to say the least. Soon after giving birth to her first child, Claudia Calcagno of Albertville, Minnesota began hemorrhaging and died a few hours later.

The attorneys for the woman’s family claimed that her doctors were not able to perform a life-saving surgery because the hospital was unable to provide enough blood for the necessary transfusion. Tragically, the attorneys claimed that the hospital had failed to keep a steady supply of A negative blood, the type needed to save Mrs. Calcagno.

In an even worse oversight, the attorneys further claimed that the hospital did, in fact, have some of the right type of blood available, but the hospital staff failed to give the doctors this information.

Two doctors were named in the lawsuit, but they were found innocent. Instead, the jury leveled the hefty penalty against the hospital itself. The jury award included money for loss of consortium for Mrs. Calcagno’s husband and past and future economic losses.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys had argued that the doctors on duty should also be found negligent, but the hospital’s lawyers successfully argued that the doctors on duty had been operating under the strict orders of their superiors, and therefore not personally liable.

Mrs. Calcagno’s fatal delivery occurred in January of 2008 when she was 41 weeks pregnant. Her labor lasted for several hours before the obstetrician decided to perform the cesarean section.

In a heart-warming end to a tragic tale, her young son Vico survived the birth and is now perfectly healthy. With the aid of Vico’s grandparents, Vico’s father has decided to stay at home for his son’s first few years.

While multi-million dollar personal injury awards are relatively unusual across the country, they have been awarded before in Minnesota, as well as several other states.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. In fact, medical malpractice results in tens of thousands of personal injuries each year. On occasion, these injuries are severe enough to lead to death.

Medical malpractice may arise from misdiagnoses, inappropriate medical treatment for your particular condition, or faulty medicine prescriptions. As a result of these potential errors, you are entitled to protect your rights as a patient and seek injury compensation if you believe you  have been mistreated by a physician.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of negligent medical treatment, contact a local injury lawyer today to learn more about your legal rights.

A recent spate of car recalls has left consumers edgy and car companies nervous about potential personal injury lawsuits. The wave of recalls has affected a number of prominent car makers, as evidenced by stories coming out this week.

First, Toyota announced this week that it was recalling more than 740,000 cars due to a potential brake fluid leak. Sources indicate that the recall includes Avalon, Highlander, and Lexus model years ranging from 2004 to 2006.

Fortunately, there have been no reported accidents or injuries caused as a result of the potential brake fluid problems. The company’s extreme caution is partially attributable to the controversy stemming from faulty brakes that led to several personal injury lawsuits earlier this year.

Toyota also announced that the first sign of potential brake fluid troubles is the illumination of the brake warning light. If this occurs, Toyota recommends contacting your local dealer for a free repair that will take roughly two hours.

Experts estimate that the recall will cost Toyota roughly $125 million.

In other recall news, Honda recently recalled 528,000 cars after mechanics discovered potential problems with a master brake cylinder seal. Most of the recalled cars are Odyssey minivans, although a few Acura RL sedans have also been involved in the recall.

Surprisingly, the supplier of the faulty seals also supplied the faulty mechanisms that led to the Toyota recall.

In order to fix the issue, Honda said it has changed the way its suppliers change the faulty seal. Fortunately for Honda, no car accident lawsuit has been filed yet due to the problem.

Finally, Ford recently issued a recall for a host of vehicles having problems with defective cruise control disconnect switches. According to reports, the defective switches could potentially cause electrical fires, even when the car is turned off.

As a result of the potential for fires, Ford recalled more than 17 million vehicles. The recall, however, has some critics worried that it was not announced loudly enough, as millions of cars remain unrepaired.

According to industry experts, proper publicity for car recalls is a significant challenge. Moreover, the fact that many cars are now on their second and third owners further heightens the difficulty carmakers have in contacting the current owner.

Further, even if the car companies are able to successfully contact car owners, they cannot force them to take their cars in for repair. Despite the free repairs offered during most recalls, there is still a great deal of inertia in getting recalled cars to the shop for repair.

Unfortunately, manufacturing flaws in cars often create accidents. If you have suffered an injury due to an accident or your car has been harmed after a recall was issued, contact a personal injury attorney today to learn more about your legal rights.

A traumatic accident this summer at a popular Wisconsin amusement park left a 13-year-old girl facing permanent paralysis. The girl, Teagan Marti, fell more than 100 feet from a ride at Extreme World in central Wisconsin.

According to sources, the girl’s family recently took a huge step towards securing a healthy future for their daughter, as the amusement park agreed to a personal injury settlement with Marti’s attorneys. As of press time, the details of the settlement have yet to be publicly released.

The young girl, who was visiting Wisconsin from her home in south Florida, had convinced her family to check out the Wisconsin amusement park after seeing an advertisement during a travel show on television. Unfortunately, the trip had disastrous results.

Soon after hopping on a ride designed to simulate the feeling of a free fall, Marti struck the ground when her descent went awry. Shockingly, the nets and air bags that were supposed to catch falling riders were not raised before she began her fall.

As a result of her lengthy fall, Marti suffered swelling in her brain, lacerations to her spleen, liver, and intestines, and severe fractured bones, including her spine and pelvis. Her doctors say her spinal injury could lead to permanent paralysis.

In September, she was finally transferred from a hospital in Wisconsin to a medical facility closer to her home in Florida.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, the injury occurred as a result of operator failure. During the course of the ride, the girl was dropped from the equipment before the cage in which she was riding had completed its trip. In addition, she was dropped before a net at the bottom of the ride had been released to catch her.

In a frank admission of guilt, the operator of the malfunctioning ride, Charles Carnell, admitted that he “blanked out” when the accident occurred. Apparently, he never saw the requisite “all-clear” signal before releasing the young girl from the cage.

For his actions, Carnell has been charged with first-degree reckless injury, which is a felony in Wisconsin. If he is convicted, the ride operator could face up to 25 years in prison or $100,000 in fines. Carnell is scheduled to be tried later this year.

In addition to filing suit against the amusement park, the Marti family is weighing whether to file a lawsuit against Montic, the German manufacturer of the faulty ride.

Amusement park accidents occur with an alarming degree of frequency. Fortunately, a robust legal system has been developed to protect responsible citizens from personal injuries.

Filing personal injury lawsuits not only offers justice to those who are injured, it also prevents future accidents by ensuring the safe operation of risky rides.

From relatively minor injuries to traumatic ride malfunctions, if you’ve suffered an injury from someone else’s negligent actions, contact a local injury attorney today to learn more about your legal rights.

While making a film creates loads of stress for movie producers, tragic accidents are rarely a cause for their concern. However, a recent incident on the set of “Transformers 3” has left a rippling effect on the filmmakers and severely impacted the life of one injured extra.

According to reports, the family of Gabriella Cedillo recently filed a personal injury lawsuit against the makers of the movie, alleging that their negligence resulted in Cedillo’s severe brain injury. The lawsuit was filed in the Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, Illinois

The details of the accident are shocking. For the stunt, Cedillo, who had just turned 24 years old, was driving her own car in a vacated part of a downtown avenue in Hammond, Indiana. Sources indicate that Cedillo was among 80 other extras driving along the same stretch of road.

While she was driving, empty stunt vehicles were being towed by flatbed trucks in the opposite direction at speeds reaching 50 miles per hour. The scene in question required one of these stunt vehicles to be lifted into the air and flipped with the aid of an intricate series of cables.

Unfortunately, on the day of the accident, the bracket attached to one of the flying cars snapped, sending the vehicle flying towards Cedillo’s car. Shortly thereafter, a metal object slammed through Cedillo’s windshield, causing irreparable brain damage.

Cedillo has been in the hospital since her on-the-job injury and is paralyzed on her left side, though she has been able to write a few words.

A particularly unsettling feature of the accident, according to sources close to the case, is that a similar incident had occurred the day before, though it did not result in injury to any of the extras.

The lawsuit alleges that the movie officials from Paramount Pictures failed to adequately ensure the safety of the brackets and cables supporting the stunt cars. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the accident was a result of shoddy welding on the cars’ brackets that held the stunt cables.

In addition, the suit claims that the film’s makers were negligent in allowing the extras to work so close to the dangerous stunt. Cedillo’s attorney claims that there was no indication that she would be subjected to such risk when she filed paperwork before filming the scene.

The woman’s small role in “Transformers 3” was her first appearance in a film. Co-workers at the bank where she worked said she had always wanted to be an actress.

While accidents on movie sets are relatively rare, car accidents occur all too frequently. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of someone’s negligent actions, contact a local injury lawyer today to learn your legal rights.

In a positive ending to a tragic story, a Louisiana appellate court recently upheld a large injury settlement award to a family who lost their young child in a tragic car accident.

Ten years ago, Juli Guillot was nine months pregnant when her Jeep Cherokee pinned her between the car and a brick column, causing irreparable brain damage to her unborn son who died shortly after birth.

According to reports, Guillot had left the parked car in order to retrieve a book from the back seat. Her husband had left the car in park, but due to a fault with the Jeep’s transmission, the car suddenly slipped into reverse, forcing her into the brick column.

A few years later, Mrs. Guillot and her husband filed a car accident lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler, the manufacturer of the car, claiming that the car’s faulty transmission caused the car to slip into reverse from park. The district court agreed, awarding the family $5 million for their tragic loss.

On appeal, DaimlerChrysler claimed that when the couple filed their original lawsuit, the Guillots had no idea that a faulty transmission caused the accident. Since they didn’t learn this until after the statute of limitations had passed, the car company argued that their claim was not warranted.

The appellate court rejected this argument, saying that the Guillots had initially presumed they had simply left the car in reverse, and that this notion wasn’t corrected by the investigating officer, who jumped to the same conclusion.

In fact, the Guillots may never have learned the truth if not for the efforts of a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. In 2001, the reporter contacted the Guillots, claiming that previous Jeep accidents had been caused by the faulty transmission. After they received this information, the Guillots promptly filed their personal injury lawsuit.

In its appeal, DaimlerChrysler also argued that the $5 million jury award was excessive. The court disagreed, saying that the award was warranted because “the unique facts of this case are extraordinarily tragic.”

The facts, indeed, were horrific. After getting pinned between the car door and a brick column, the woman later gave birth to her son, Collin. However, due to the impact of the collision, Collin was born with irreversible brain damage and spent the few weeks of his brief life attached to life support.

The family was obviously pleased with the result, but Mr. Guillot took particular satisfaction knowing that the accident wasn’t his fault. The grieving husband initially took blame for accidentally leaving the car in reverse, saying he thought it was the only possible reason for the accident.

DaimlerChrysler was less than sympathetic for his loss, claiming throughout the trial that the accident was a result of driver error, not faulty engineering.

Unfortunately, the Guillots are not alone. Every day, people suffer injuries from car accidents, whether through the fault of other drivers or faulty equipment. If you’d like to seek justice for your car accident injury, contact a local attorney today.

The maker of a popular baby food formula recently announced a massive recall of millions of containers of Similac powdered infant formulas.

Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of the popular Similac baby food, has admitted that beetles were found in some of the containers of baby formula produced in the company’s Michigan factory.

According to reports, the company was first notified of the defective formulas by two consumers who filed complaints of contamination. In response to their claims, the company inspected its plant in Sturgis, Michigan, where investigators found beetles and beetle larvae.

Sources indicate that the broad recall could cost Abbott roughly $100 million in lost revenue. This figure does not include potential defective product lawsuits that may be filed as a result of the tainted food.

While the product recall exposes a frightening defect in the baby formulas, an Abbott representative said the beetle contamination was isolated to only a small percentage of the company’s Similac powdered formulas.

According to Abbott spokeswoman, Melissa Brotz, the company “did extensive testing of every product on the (factory) line, and more than 99.8 percent of the product” did not show signs of beetle infestation.

In other relatively good news for consumers, the recall does not affect the liquid forms of Similac, which were not found to contain insects.

According to the company, the defective product does not pose a serious health risk to young children. Even if a child were to consume a dead insect, which the company describes as an ordinary household beetle, the child would likely only experience a mild upset stomach.

Independent doctors also suggested that the health consequences for young children after consuming are relatively minor, and that parents should not panic.

For parents concerned about the safety of their baby formulas, the specific products recalled by Abbott were the 8-ounce, 12-ounce, and 12.9-ounce plastic containers of powdered Similac baby formula.

This is the first product recall in a long time for Abbott, which has annual sales of roughly $35 billion.

Each year, thousands of people across the country suffer personal injuries from defective products. These potentially faulty products can range from defective drugs to dangerous food. Other common defective product claims involve automobile flaws, including faulty airbags, defective tires, and failing brakes.

In most defective product cases, the injured person must deal with insurance companies, who are less than eager to provide quick, easy assistance. A lawyer may be able to help you negotiate with insurers in order to secure compensation for your injury.

If you have been harmed by any of the defective products listed above, contact a local injury lawyer today for a free evaluation of you case.

A gruesome whale attack last year at a popular Orlando, Florida theme park left one woman dead and a crowd of onlookers horrified. Today, the legal consequences of the incident have begun to take shape.

Last February, Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old animal trainer at SeaWorld, was pulled into an exhibition pool by one of the park’s killer whales. According to a report in the Orlando Sentinel, she died from drowning and traumatic injuries inflicted by the six-ton killer whale.

Immediately after the attack, Brancheau’s family worked in concert with SeaWorld to prevent tapes of the incident from being released to the public. In addition, the two sides seemed to be willing to cooperate while they waited for an investigation of the incident.

However, recent findings by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suggest that SeaWorld may have been partially responsible for the incident, and reports indicate that Brancheau’s family may soon file an animal attack lawsuit.

After an extensive six-month investigation, OSHA cited SeaWorld for three safety violations. In the most severe blow for the theme park, the agency found that SeaWorld frequently exposed its employees to potential attacks by killer whales without having proper safeguards in place.

The failure to have proper safeguards to prevent personal injury was deemed “willful” by OSHA, which is the most severe category of violation, reserved for the worst workplace safety violations.

In addition, OSHA criticized the water park for exposing Brancheau to Tilikum, the whale who attacked her, because the offending whale was more than twice the size of similar animals at the park and was known to have “aggressive tendencies.”

Even worse, sources indicate that Tilikum was involved in another drowning incident 20 years ago at a Canadian park. Perhaps proving that its aid was too little too late, the agency proposed a relatively meager $75,000 fine for the violations.

While Dawn Brancheau’s family weighs the merits of filing a personal injury lawsuit, one New Hampshire family has filed a lawsuit of their own.

In the wake of OSHA’s findings, Suzanne and Todd Connell filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld, claiming that their ten-year-old son suffered severe emotional distress from witnessing the killer whale attack last year.

According to reports, the Connells’ lawsuit paints a negative picture of SeaWorld’s response to the whale attack, claiming that there “seemed to be no plan as to what to do to save Dawn” and that the park’s “employees were acting in an unorganized and chaotic manner.”

Wrongful death lawsuits come in all shapes and sizes. If you have a loved one who suffered an untimely death as a result of someone else’s negligent behavior, contact a local attorney to learn more about your legal rights.