According to research from the University of Wisconsin Extension program, more than one million kids aged five and under die of poisoning each year.

There are many factors in every household that contribute to home safety - and when you have young children or elderly adults in the house, being extra cautious is even more important.

Below are some steps that can be taken to avoid personal injury and make sure your home is as safe as possible:

1. Keep toxic cleaning supplies in locked cupboards or closets - or up high so children cannot reach them
2. When very young kids are in your house, use electric socket blockers to prevent electrocution
3. Don’t leave plastic bags in places available to children to avoid suffocation
4. Put potentially hazardous plants on shelves or windowsills instead of on the ground
5. Install a smoke alarm in each room for fire safety
6. Store matches and lighters in a secure, fire-retardant location

For more suggestions about home safety, view this Home Safety brochure.

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!

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.

America’s Watchdog - a national organization that serves as an advocate for consumer rights - has branched out into a new genre for its services.

The Nursing Home Complaint Center is a new organization under the America’s Watchdog parent company designed to help people who have suffered, or have relatives who have suffered, from elder abuse or nursing home neglect.

The goal of the organization is to pair with personal injury lawyers across the country to help get justice for elderly abuse victims and their families.

With this system, victims, families, nursing home employees and the American taxpayer will all be protected. Some things the organization plans to focus on include:

• Medicare over-billing
• Improperly compensated employees
• Neglectful or inadequate/unprofessional care

Patients or family members who believe they or their loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse should not hesitate to talk to a personal injury attorney to help find out what options are available.

Nursing home abuse and improper care are not new problems in the world of personal injury - and it can be difficult to prove the offenses and take action against elder care organizations. It’s great that America’s Watchdog has recognized the problem and is taking measures to help everyone potentially involved.

President Barak Obama returned to his home city this week - Chicago, Ill. - to address the American Medical Association on the topic of health care reform.

Obama wants to let doctors do what they are trained to do and be doctors - not bureaucratic businessmen that are constantly thinking about money making and worried about lawsuits.

According to a CNN report, Obama said the current health care model focuses more on the quantity of heath care patients received rather than the quality of care. Obama said to his audience of physicians that this model “pushes you, the doctor, to see more and more patients even if you can’t spend much time with each; and gives you every incentive to order that extra MRI or EKG, even if it’s not truly necessary.  It is a model that has taken the pursuit of medicine from a profession — a calling — to a business.”

According to Obama’s speech, the extra tests and scans called for by doctors are often unnecessary precautions, used by doctors to lessen the risk of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

If the system is reformed in the manner that Obama is proposing, there would be protection for doctors, allowing them to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

Obama did say he does not want to put a cap on medical malpractice lawsuits, but he wants to make sure that patient safety comes first and allow doctors to be the “healers” they are meant to be.

So what does that mean for the health care system of America? Obama is still making his case for universal care - a topic on which doctors are still torn.

The President was very well received by the audience of doctors at the AMA in Chicago, but I think some of the country’s health care professionals are still wary of the changes that might be coming their way.

According to a Chicago Tribune article, city officials in Crestwood, Ill. have been lying to residents and the EPA about the town’s water source.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against the village of Crestwood, which alleges that the village has lied more than 120 times to the state EPA about the source of water. The village has claimed that all the water being used comes directly from Lake Michigan - when in fact the water has been coming from a contaminated well containing cancer-causing chemicals.

Sounds a little bit similar to the situation Erin Brockovich handled in Hinkley, Calif. back in the late 1990s.

Crestwood mayor, Robert Stranczek, his father and former town mayor Chester, and Crestwood’s certified water operator, Frank Scaccia could be facing millions of dollars worth of fines if a Cook County Circuit Court agrees with Madigan’s allegations, the Tribune reported.

These three city officials have been lying to state officials and Crestwood residents about the village’s water source for more than 20 years - and Madigan now wants to see them held accountable for their actions, and use this as an example so nothing like this happens in Illinois again.

Hopefully her tactics work - the residents have been drinking water from a contaminated well - and not just any contamination. The well in question contains vinyl chloride, which is so toxic the U.S. EPA says there is no safe level of exposure.

Personal injury lawyers could help Crestwood residents file a class-action lawsuit against village officials, and residents could win a lot of money for their damages from drinking a lifetime of dangerously contaminated water.

To read the full article about Madigan’s lawsuit and the severity of Crestwood’s situation, see the Tribune’s report.

Johnson & Johnson - when you hear this name, you probably think of a comforting household brand that has been happily serving American families for generations. You wouldn’t hesitate to wash your child’s hair with Johnson & Johnson’s gentle shampoo or use the company’s soothing powder when changing your baby’s diaper.

Unfortunately, recent accusations might just change your mind about the trusted name. This morning on JusticeNewsFlash.com, a report from Newark, N.J. said that lawyers have filed a product liability claim against Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble and other personal care product companies because many soap products are produced using harmful chemicals like formaldehyde.

The claim says that these companies are allegedly using known carcinogenic chemicals in several personal care products that are a daily staple in many peoples’ lives.

If this is truly the case, it’s time to rethink the toiletries you are using on your skin and hair every morning in the shower. Learn more about personal injury and find out if you might be able to file a claim against these companies, or if there is potential for a class action lawsuit in this situation.

Accumulations of ice and snow on public roads, sidewalks and private property can create dangerous conditions and serious slip and fall injuries.

Property owners can sometimes be held liable for slip and fall injuries; however, standards of liability for these injuries are different depending on whether the property is owned by a state government, local government or private landowner.

Slip and Fall Accidents on Private Property

Owners of private property must not willingly or wantonly engage in misconduct that could injure a trespasser. Beyond that standard, private landowners generally have no duty of care to trespassers.

Private property owners have a higher duty of care to social guests, must correct problems or defects if they are aware of them and must warn guests of known dangers that could cause injuries.

Slip and Fall Accidents on a Private Property Used as a Business

When a private property is used as a business, the property owner must keep the property safe by finding and repairing defects that could cause harm or injuries to visitors. 

The business property owner is generally liable for injuries to visitors even if the property owner was unaware of the danger if reasonable care would have made the property owner aware of the defect or dangerous condition.

These standards mean that if snow and ice accumulates on property and a visitor sustains a slip and fall injury, private property owners could be found responsible for the injury.

Slip and Fall Accidents on Government Property

If a person sustains a slip and fall injury due to snow or ice on government owned property, the issue of liability is more complex.

Government entities are often protected by sovereign immunity, which prevents an injured person from suing for damages. However, there are limited exceptions to this immunity. 

If an injury occurs on a government-controlled roadway, property or sidewalk due to a dangerous condition or defect of the property, the government’s immunity may be defeated.

However, dangerous conditions such as an accumulation of snow or ice are not considered a condition or defect of the property; therefore, the government’s immunity generally remains intact.

Have you been injured from a nasty slip and fall? Need a lawyer? All you have to do is fill out this 2-minute free case evaluation form and we’ll get you connected to a local personal injury lawyer.

Recent Dog Bite Story: Woman Develops RSD After Being Bitten By Dog

A Florida woman was minding her business on her own property when a neighbor’s dog suddenly attacked her and bit her arm. The dog bite was severe enough to brake her skin and cause bleeding.

She did the right thing and went to the hospital to get the wound checked out. After seeing a doctor, she was told that the wound was not severe enough to require stitches and was sent home.

Within a few days, she developed a serious infection. She also experienced severe burning pain at the wound site and noticed abnormal hair growth on the arm. She also saw color changes in her arm and her arm was at a cooler temperature than the rest of her body.

She went back to the hospital where she was told that she had developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), which is a serious—sometimes permanent—neurological condition that’s typically caused by an injury to an arm or leg.

This story goes to show that every dog bite should be monitored carefully.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans that have suffered a severe dog bite, be sure you get proper medical care. Be sure to also demand fair compensation for your injuries. If you’ve been attacked, you shouldn’t be footed with the medical bills. Your pain and suffering also matters.

If you’re in need of a personal injury lawyer in your area, simply fill out our free personal injury case evaluation and we’ll connect you with a local attorney who may be able to help you receive compensation for your injuries.

The city of Los Angeles this week filed a first-of-a-kind lawsuit against leaders of one of the city’s most troublesome gangs.  The suit, which names 9 imprisoned gang leaders (including two members of the Mexican Mafia), seeks cash damages on behalf of residents of two neighborhoods where the gangs have imposed "street taxes". 

The suit, if successful, will create an important precedent because the neighborhood residents targeted by such gangs are usually unable or unwilling to pursue their own relief out of fear of retaliation.  City officials seek compensation on behalf of residents for property damage, property devaluation, emotional distress, personal injury, medical expenses and time in which residents could not use public parks because of gang activity.

If judgment is entered against the gang leaders, property will be seized and distributed among residents who have been victimized by gang activity.