- IB Contributor | February 28, 2007 1:27 AM |
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Head & Brain InjuriesGood news after twenty years!Most mothers are not surprised when they get a phone call from their daughter, but when Betsy Scantlin got a call from her daughter Sarah Scantlin she was stunned, because Sarah had been basically unconscious for twenty years after having been hit by a drunk driver. The doctors told Sara's dad, James Scantlin, "The brain injury is so severe that the daughter you had...
- IB Contributor | February 28, 2007 1:15 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsDriver overcorrection dooms SUV to rolling over.A Toyota 4-Runner overturned in a single vehicle SUV accident causing the death of driver and injuries to three others late Monday night in an area just north of the Dallas Fort Worth airport. Of the three injured passengers, two were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and the other was treated and released at the scene. This is...
- IB Contributor | February 28, 2007 12:45 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsShouldn't an operators permit or driver's license be required?Legislators in Oregon are considering a new bill in that state's Senate that would ban children under 12 from riding all terrain vehicles and limit 12- to 15-year-olds to riding ATVs with smaller engines, according to a news report in the International Business Times.ATV enthusiasts are of course, against this bill saying that Oregon...
- IB Contributor | February 27, 2007 8:41 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsWrong way driver dies in Highway 99 auto acciident.A pickup, headed the wrong way on Highway 99 near Atwater, collided head-on into another vehicle before it was hit by a third vehicle. The driver of the pickup, Octavio Garcia Sereno, 34, of Atwater, died in the Saturday night automobile accident. The investigating officers said that Sereno was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the...
- IB Contributor | February 27, 2007 8:01 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsDid computer use while driving cause fatal auto accident?California Highway Patrol officers found a computer plugged in and still running, even though the screen was shattered, in an auto accident Monday, after they discovered the 28 year-old driver dead. It appeared to the officers that the Chico, California computer tutor had been using his computer when his car crossed into oncoming traffic...
- Christina Cole | February 27, 2007 6:36 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsGlobal Recall of Civic Hybrid Sedans45,335 Civic Hybrid Sedans world wide are being recalled by Honda Motor Co. to repair an electrical auto defect that can stop the car engine, reports Wall Street Journal online.Honda is planning a recall of 7,219 vehicles in Japan and 38,116 others that were sold overseas with many of them being sold in the U.S.In documents filed with the Ministry of Land,...
- IB Contributor | February 27, 2007 12:29 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsAs seen on TV.The national hysteria over unsanitary conditions in our country's restaurants and markets continued this week when television stations captured footage of shrieking onlookers as they saw numerous rats scurrying around a closed Taco Bell/Pizza Hut restaurant in Greenwich Village Friday morning.The restaurant, near New York University has been cited as recently as two months ago for...
- IB Contributor | February 26, 2007 7:20 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsHit-and-run driver sought and another driver arrest for DUI after fatal auto collision.A three-car accident that closed portions of the southbound Interstate 405 (San Diego) Freeway for nearly five hours early Friday morning claimed the life of a 24-year old Laguna Hills man according to a story in the Orange County Register.Christopher Laurent was returning to Orange County from Sherman Oaks...
- IB Contributor | February 26, 2007 12:06 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsHow did the Salmonella get in the jar?One week after ConAgra Foods Inc. pulled its Peter Pan brand of peanut butter off the shelves following a salmonella outbreak, the Center for Disease Control has confirmed the presence of the dangerous bacteria in the jars.Opened jars from people who were sickened after eating the peanut butter tested positive for the salmonella, according to an Associated...
- Christina Cole | February 25, 2007 5:21 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsJudge Sentences Man to Maximum in Hit-and-Run Case.A judge has sentenced a homeless man to four years prison time for fleeing the scene of a car accident that has left two Orange County women permanently disabled. The judge issued the maximum sentence despite both women's pleas for leniency.Both women, through their attorney, say they forgive Bradshaw for the accident and also noted his decision...
- IB Contributor | February 25, 2007 1:41 PM |
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Nursing Home & Elder Abuse$1.6 Million settlement included fraud allegation.Maxwell Manor nursing home admitted nursing home abuse, in settling a federal lawsuit. They admitted permitting routine sexual assaults, theft and improper medical care, as well as billing federal and state governments for care that was never administered, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune."It was an atrocious case," said an attorney...
- IB Contributor | February 25, 2007 12:33 PM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseBroken hip after repeated falls for a 81-year old grandmother.The granddaughter of a former Riverside nursing-home resident has sued the owners of Pleasant Care Convalescent of Riverside claiming her grandmother repeatedly was neglected and abused there, according to a Feb. 20 news report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.Gegett A. Mike, of Montclair, alleged in her lawsuit that nursing home...
- IB Contributor | February 25, 2007 12:19 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsMall manager admits to "substandard escalators".At least four people were injured or trapped over the last three years and as recently as two weeks ago at the Kaleidoscope Courtyards mall in Mission Viejo, according to an article in The Orange County Register Saturday.Early last year, state inspectors shut down six out of 12 escalators at the outdoor mall for not having valid permits because of...
- IB Contributor | February 24, 2007 10:46 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsGeneral Motors Corp., the world's largest auto maker, announced Friday that it is recalling most of its new 2007 Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia sport utility vehicles because the vehicles' front air bags may fail to deploy in a crash, according to a Bloomberg News report.The recall includes 13,032 of the SUVs built from August to this month, the automaker told the U.S. National Highway Traffic...
- IB Contributor | February 24, 2007 7:06 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTwo people injured in overturned automobile accident.An auto accident involving a pair of overturned vehicles blocked portions of southbound Interstate 5 (San Diego) Freeway just before 6:00 a.m. in San Clemente yesterday, north of the Calafia exit, according to the Orange County Register.According to the California Highway Patrol passengers were trapped inside one of the overturned vehicles. ...
- IB Contributor | February 24, 2007 12:35 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTwo park patrons hospitalized after fall.Two people were injured and taken to Anaheim area hospitals after falling off the slow moving tram in the Disneyland parking lot yesterday at approximately 10:30 p.m. according to an article in today's Orange County Register.The tram was moving at about five miles per hour at the time of the incident according to Bob Tucker, a Disney spokesman. He did...
- IB Contributor | February 23, 2007 1:45 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsBoeing and other settle soldiers defective product claims. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday approved a $13.5 million settlement of a lawsuit filed against the Boeing Co. and three other companies by two soldiers who were hurt in a 2003 Army helicopter crash in Iraq, according to an Associated Press news report.The product liability lawsuit claimed that a gear box on an AH-64 Apache...
- IB Contributor | February 22, 2007 1:22 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsGraduated Driver LicensingThe number of fatal and injury crashes involving 16-year-old drivers is dramatically lower in states that have a graduated driver licensing (GDL) program with at least five of seven common components, according to a study released last week by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The study states that 16-year-old drivers are involved in 38 percent fewer fatal crashes...
- IB Contributor | February 21, 2007 3:52 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe first three, of many, lawsuits filed against ConAgra.At least three lawsuits have been filed nationwide against ConAgra Foods Inc. alleging that salmonella-tainted peanut butter have made the plaintiffs sick. ConAgra has not commented on the lawsuits other than to say consumers safety is its top priority and to advise consumers to discard the suspected salmonella-tainted Peter Pan and Great...
- IB Contributor | February 20, 2007 12:42 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsShould we trust Merck after Vioxx?Is mandating innoculations the way to go? The National Vaccine Information Center has asked state officials to investigate the safety of a Merck-produced "breakthrough cancer vaccine," which is said to prevent the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, the Washington Times reported.According to the Feb. 3 article, negative side effects are being...
- IB Contributor | February 19, 2007 4:05 PM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseBreak-in at Costa Mesa nursing home.According to Costa Mesa's Mesa Verde Convalescent Home they not only have had no formal complaints filed against their AAA rated, government certified nursing facility, in the last four years, but they offer such amenities as: bingo and ice cream; movies with popcorn; and smiling strolls. Unfortunately this nursing home doesn't offer one important amenity and...
- IB Contributor | February 19, 2007 3:38 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsOscar Mayer recalls cooked chicken breasts.The string of outbreaks and recalls relating to food-borne illnesses continued Monday with a nationwide recall of Oscar Mayer chicken breast strips for bacterial contamination, according to a news article on the Web site, www.healthday.com.The recall by Carolina Culinary Foods of West Columbia, S.C., involves 52,650 pounds of fully cooked chicken...
- IB Contributor | February 19, 2007 12:01 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsEarth's Best provides information hot line, 1-800-442-4221.Earth's Best has reported on its website that their recall of Wholesome Breakfast Apple Peach Barley 2nd Foods due to a potential contamination with Clostridium botulinum, was a voluntary precautionary measure. A small portion of 4.5 oz jars with lot code "F6J14NP" and expiration date "EXP 14 SEP 08 A" imprinted on the top of the jar...
- IB Contributor | February 18, 2007 12:28 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsFood and Drug Administration food poisoning warning.The FDA on Friday warned consumers not to use certain jars of Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast baby food. The baby food may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism. Botulism is a bacterial illness that can become fatal, especially in infants.According to the FDA (www.fda.gov), the...
- IB Contributor | February 18, 2007 12:12 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThis time in cantaloupe.The tainted food scare continued Saturday with the recall of fresh cantaloupe manufactured by Dole Fresh Fruit Co.After testing positive for salmonella, Dole recalled thousands of cartons of imported cantaloupes. Salmonella is the same type of bacteria involved in the nationwide peanut butter recall earlier this week, according to the Healthday Web site...
- IB Contributor | February 18, 2007 12:06 AM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsSafety training requested as well. Federal officials are urging motorcycle manufacturers to provide free or discounted helmets certified by the Department of Transportation with the purchase of every new motorcycle. U. S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary E. Peters, on Friday called on manufacturers to make safety equipment an integral part of every motorcycle sold to a consumer."Helmets and...
- IB Contributor | February 17, 2007 9:42 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsOsteonecrosis allege by Fosamax Users Merck & Co., the drug maker who was already battered by numerous Vioxx lawsuits, is preparing for an avalanche of litigation from patients claiming they were harmed by Fosamax, the company's quick-selling osteoporosis drug, according to an article on consumer.com.Merck reportedly announced last week that it is setting aside $48 million to set up a defense...
- IB Contributor | February 17, 2007 1:46 AM |
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MiscellaneousAppalling and distressing news report from consumeraffairs.com.According to this article posted Friday on the group's Web site, they have inside information that Michael Baroody, chief lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a powerful trade group that opposes aggressive product safety regulation, is President Bush's choice to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission...
- IB Contributor | February 16, 2007 7:39 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsFatal multiple auto accident closes San Diego Freeway for over an hour.An early morning five car auto accident near the Beach Blvd. exit of the I-405 (San Diego) Freeway resulted in the death of an 18-year-old male driver and injuries to at least three others. The accident occurred just after 3:00 a.m. and closed all southbound lanes of traffic for over an hour this morning, according the...
- IB Contributor | February 16, 2007 12:52 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsOne of mom's last acts saves here child's life.Here is a heart-rending story that clearly tells you why your infant should be in a car seat.On Valentine's Day, 21-year-old Natalie Canton and her 10-month-old son, Aiden Koch, were traveling on the 91 Freeway. According to various news reports, the woman's car flew off the freeway before it plunged nearly 100 feet. Canton died on the spot, but the...
- IB Contributor | February 16, 2007 12:45 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsSalmonella causes 288 cases of food poisoning.Do not eat Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter purchased since May 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning. The warning is based on a just-completed epidemiological study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which links 288 cases of foodborne illness to consumption of varying types of peanut butter.According to...
- IB Contributor | February 15, 2007 10:11 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsIn NHTSA test, everyone passes.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given five stars for front and side crash tests to 24 passenger vehicles for the 2007 model year. The complete results may be viewed at www.safecar.gov.Five stars is the highest rating available from the federal regulating agency. Recently, officials retooled some of the requirements for a five-star rating,...
- IB Contributor | February 15, 2007 4:29 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Pair of dogs viciously attack 59 year old man.Two pit bull dogs ripped apart a man's left hand and badly mauled his right arm before bystanders were able to beat the dogs away in Memphis, Tennessee this week, according to an Associated Press report. Doctors had to amputate the man's left hand. They saved his right."I couldn't believe I wasn't dead," James Chapple said from his hospital bed. "I...
- IB Contributor | February 14, 2007 5:05 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsLawsuits allege E.Coli caused food poisoning and hospitalization. The mother of a teenager, who fell sick after eating food from a Taco Bell restaurant three months ago, filed a lawsuit Monday in New York, according to an Associated Press news report.The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's State Supreme Court, alleges that the E.Coli bacteria in the food sickened 16-year-old James Robinson and caused...
- IB Contributor | February 13, 2007 12:47 AM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsMotorcyclist killed in Garden Grove traffic collision. A 42-year-old motorcyclist died last week after his motorcycle collided with a car on Gilbert Street and Orangethorpe Avenue, Garden Grove, CA according to a news report in the Orange County Register.The victim, identified as Adolph Amuriles, was traveling west on Orangethorpe approaching Gilbert when he collided with a 1997 Lexus EX 300...
- IB Contributor | February 12, 2007 11:20 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsConsumer Auto Defect Complaints To Be Kept SecretThe American Association for Justice, formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, is urging federal authorities to withdraw a newly proposed set of rules that endangers consumer safety by restricting their rights to learn about the safety of the automobiles they purchase.The National Highway Transportation Safety...
- IB Contributor | February 11, 2007 3:45 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsMost of us have hired a babysitter to watch our children at one time or another. Even one of the neighborhood kids, right? But, what happens when the babysitter causes an automobile accident? You could be liable, according to a recent decision by the 3rd District Court of Appeals.Babysitter, eighteen year-old Michael Ruhland, driving his father's car, had just picked up William and Lori...
- IB Contributor | February 10, 2007 2:54 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is asking manufacturers, retailers and consumer groups to make child safety seats easier to install.Nicole Nason who heads the NHTSA said Thursday that improving the use and safety is child car seats and the special anchors used to attach them to the vehicles is a combined effort - especially in light of new evidence which shows parents...
- IB Contributor | February 09, 2007 2:23 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsHasbro Inc. has recalled nearly a million Easy-Bake Ovens sold since last May. Children were get their hands or fingers caught in the oven's opening, which poses an entrapment or burn hazard, according to an article on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site. Checking the article out if you have questions or concerns. At least 29 reports of children getting their fingers or hands...
- IB Contributor | February 08, 2007 12:30 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe Food and Drug Administration is now proposing steps to improve the safety of prescription medication after years of criticism of its drug safety standards and the much-publicized Vioxx scandal.The new steps are designed to make sure concerns about potential drug safety are widely circulated within the agency before a drug is given the stamp of approval, according to an article in...
- IB Contributor | February 07, 2007 11:41 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsL.A. Unified School District held responsible.The family of a six year old girl who was struck and killed by a van in her school's parking lot two years ago was awarded $10.3 million by a Los Angeles jury, according to an Associated Press news report. The jury concluded that the Los Angeles Unified School District was primarily responsible for the accident.The wrongful death lawsuit filed by...
- IB Contributor | February 06, 2007 12:47 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsLast week, the family of a woman who died after being rear-ended on the freeway by singer-actor Brandy Norwood, filed a $50 million civil lawsuit against the entertainer, according to an article in E Online.The civil complaint accuses Brandy of "driving recklessly when her Land Rover struck the back of a Honda driven by Awatef Aboudihaj" on Dec. 30.The deceased woman, a 38-year-old wife and...
- IB Contributor | February 05, 2007 7:57 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsWas the recall voluntary? Maytag officials last week recalled 2.3 million of its dishwashers after they found out that the faulty appliances caused 135 fires and four injuries, according to an MSNBC news report.The announcement generated so many calls to the company that it could not handle the volume, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.The news report said...
- IB Contributor | February 04, 2007 2:23 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsSpilled Load Causes Freeway FatallityThrough the years, we have represented a few thousand clients. Each of them has a special story to tell. Each of them has suffered some tragic loss due to some accident or negligence.Alvin Austin is one of our clients whom we have had the pleasure of representing. Alvin's wife of 23 years, Beverly, died in July in a traffic accident. Beverly Austin was...
- IB Contributor | February 03, 2007 11:02 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe Next Katrina Waiting To HappenThe Government Accountability Office has added food safety to its list of critically flawed federal programs, saying that splintered jurisdiction among 15 agencies has left the United States wide open to outbreaks of food-borne illness or, worse, a terrorist attack, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.The article also quotes a senior administration...
- IB Contributor | February 02, 2007 3:02 PM |
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MiscellaneousA Week In Maui For Star EmployeeThis week our "Intake Paralegal", Carey Wagenblast will not be in the office. Carey is the paralegal who attends to potential clients when they call in the first time for assistance. She helps them clarify what type of assistance they need and then gets it for them. Carey is also the paralegal that helps inquiring potential clients find attorneys when we do not...
- IB Contributor | February 01, 2007 9:20 PM |
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MiscellaneousMining Company Covered Up Prior ExplosionPennsylvania regulators have stripped a coal mine operator of its permit because they say the operator covered up the cause of an explosion two years before a miner was killed there in a similar blast, according to an Associated Press news report. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered R&D Coal Company to shutter its Buck...