The Injury Lawyer Blog

General Motors Corp. hasn't had a very good year. Rising gas prices and layoffs have hit the company hard, and now over 850,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a danger of fire. Vehicles equipped with heated windshield wiper fluid systems may short-circuit, which can lead to a fire. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), other electrical systems may also malfunction, create smoke, or cause an odor.

Vehicles that are part of this recall include:

• 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT
  
• 2007-2008 Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Avalanche, and Suburban
  
• 2007-2008 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL
  
• 2007-2008 Saturn Outlook
  
• 2006-2008 Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, and Hummer H2
  
• 2008 Buick Enclave
  

The NHTSA has said that GM will fix the problem free of charge by installing a wire harness with an in-line fuse.

In addition to this vehicle recall, GM is also recalling nearly 89,000 2008 Buick Enclave, and 2007-2008 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook SUVs in 28 states and Washington, D.C. due to a threat of snow or ice build up on the windshield or wipers that may restrict the movement of the wipers, causing them to detach from the motor.

If you have a vehicle you suspect may be defective and put your life at risk in some way, please contact an attorney with experience in product liability in your area.

Simplicity Inc., a company from Reading, Pennsylvania, made the convertible bassinet known as the Close Sleeper and Bedside Sleeper. Last year, after becoming stuck in the metal bars of the bassinet, a four-month old girl died. Last spring, SFCA, Inc. bought out Simplicity, Inc.'s assets at an auction. Earlier this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) learned that a five-month old girl from Kansas was trapped in the bassinet's metal bars and strangled to death. And though the CPSC has asked SFCA, Inc. to recall the bassinet, the company has refused.

While the reasons behind the refusal are unclear, the CPSC stated in a press release warning of the dangers that, "SFCA maintains that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity, Inc." In a statement released late today, SFCA said the CPSC warning "does not involve any product it manufactures or distributes." The company said the warning doesn't include bassinets that were manufactured recently that have fabric over the bars.

"All bassinets produced and sold by SFCA are produced in this manner, with fabric permanently attached over the lower bar, and meet or exceed ASTM standards and CPSC guidelines," they said.

The bassinets the CPSC believes are the most dangerous are the Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets that have metal bars spaced more than 2 3/8 inches. The bars are covered by a fabric flap attached by Velcro. When the bassinet is converted into a bedside position, the fabric folds down. If the Velcro is not secured properly when the bassinet is readjusted, infants may become trapped between the metal bars where they can suffocate or strangle.

The issue here seems not to be the fact that this doesn't affect the most recently made bassinets, but that SFCA refuses to inherit the liability of a product that is still being sold. CPSC has asked the company to withdraw a product it knows has injured and killed infants. They have also warned parents to stop using the bassinets immediately. Still, SFCA, who may acknowledge the bassinet has killed in the past seem to be saying since it didn't happen with a product they manufactured, then it doesn't matter if they own the product or not.

Strange behavior for a company that sells products to parents with new babies and takes their money. Some might even call it unconscionable.

If you or a loved one has an infant who was injured by one of these bassinets, please contact an attorney with experience in product liability in your area. For more information, visit US Recall News.

The town of Cameron, Missouri, site of a cluster of brain tumors, has had lawsuits filed on its behalf by attorney Grant L. Davis. This was done after environmental testing performed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources showed the presence of arsenic and lead at the Rockwood Industries plant and at a nearby quarry. Insulation was also found buried in the ground around the plant. However, the EPA states that the chemicals found may not necessarily be the cause of the 68 reported brain tumors, although arsenic can affect the nervous system with toddlers more susceptible than adults.

One of Davis' class-action lawsuits requests medical monitoring and another is for property damage. Davis states that the people responsible for "illegally dumping" the chemicals should come forward to help with the medical monitoring. He also says that the property values in Cameron have been negatively affected due to the health developments around the town. Davis names companies that operated on the sites where the chemicals were found in one of the lawsuits as defendants.

If you or your loved one has developed an illness you believe was caused by environmental poisoning, please contact an attorney with experience in environmental litigation.

First, there was the Spanair crash in Madrid last Wednesday that killed 154 people; then, 65 passengers were killed in an Itek Air crash in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Monday saw an Air Dolmoti plane catch fire at Munich's airport, forcing some of the passengers to jump to safety, and later that night, a Ryanair flight made an emergency landing at Limoges airport in France after cabin pressure was lost. Sixteen passengers were injured. All of these crashes, as well as the handful of smaller plane crashes here in the States, make one wonder if flying really is the safest mode of travel these days.

Statistics and statisticians love to point out that the chances of being in a plane crash are extremely small. How small? Well, certainly not as small as being struck by lightning and winning the lottery in the same lifetime small, but they're tiny. They point to the safety records and the numbers of flights per year, the technology that is continually improved on (sometimes after witnessing the tragic shortcomings of something that could have been done better before the crash), and also point to the convenience, if not the comfort, of flying. After all, what would be a two-day car trip from Denver to San Francisco can be done in a couple hours on a plane. Not to mention the fact that auto accidents claim tens of thousands of lives a year, and injure hundreds of thousands more.

Maybe it's the nature of planes that makes the accidents so much more tragic. The chance of over a hundred people being killed at once is bad, and the crashes usually involve massive explosions and structural damage. While this happens with cars and trucks, explosions are rare and injuries can be minor or even non-existent. Not so with a massive airliner full of jet fuel and reaching very high speeds - or even small four-seat Cessnas. Whatever the reason or reasons, the airline disasters of the last week probably didn't give potential passengers much faith if they're flying overseas. What this should do is spur the airline industry to back up their claims that flying is the safest mode of transportation with concrete improvements in planes, mechanics, pilots, and control towers.

If you have lost a loved one in an airline disaster, please contact an experienced aviation accident attorney in your area.

While the death rates for each hospital have been known to board members and doctors of those hospitals, USA Today and the Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Compare, run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has made the findings public. Now potential patients and others can see just how their local hospital compares to the national average - or at least the government's best estimates - in the categories of heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia. In the past, information only stating how a hospital was performing against the national average was released; there were no numbers.

Many people will agree that revealing the death rates is a good idea. It allows for greater transparency in an area where the public has been ignorant in the past. CMS' Kerry Weems believes this information will not only benefit the communities where the hospitals are located, but will also "encourage hospitals to excel in the quality of care they provide." Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, agrees that making this information public is a good thing, too, since most people see the death rate statistics as indicators of how well the hospitals are performing.

However, some, like Jeffrey Kirsch, the chairman of anesthesiology at Oregon Health and Science University, think the information may be misleading. He says it's a good start, but "it is not enough and not the right type of information." Robert Kaplan, Wasserman chairman of the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health at UCLA agrees with Kirsch. Kaplan believes patients would benefit more from other key indicators that go beyond mortality rates and the methodology that found the averages.

CMS tried to give these standings to the public back in the '90s, but critics complained that the list didn't show who these patients were based on age, economics, and health. The new analysis simply shows some of the most common life-threatening conditions people will seek hospital care for rather than the overall mortality rates of the hospitals. This "strict statistical formula" gives the agency confidence that the average death rates are correct.

The Best

One of the examples used in the USA Today article is Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania, which comes in at the top for the country's lowest heart attack death rate at 11.6% on average. Lehigh Valley claims they were using balloons to clear clogged arteries before it became common to do so. Doctors at Lehigh say their attention to detail and teamwork are what help them. They have given paramedics electrocardiograms so they can diagnose heart attacks before patients are at the hospital. This is done so the hospital is prepared for the patient. The attention to detail even goes into the trip from the emergency room to the room where angioplasty will be performed. In the USA Today example, the elevator doors held up the trip for one patient. They realized that if they lock down the elevators, they can take three or four minutes off the time it takes in life or death situations.

The Worst

There are many hospitals that fall short of Lehigh Valley's mortality rate. And this could be for many reasons. Money allocated to the hospital, the general health of the local population, or even the quality of doctors and nurses. One thing found in these numbers is that doctors realize that many patients who see their personal physician for follow-ups may wind up dying because those personal physicians are not up to snuff in some cases. Baylor All-Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, where heart failure deaths are higher than average, has found this to be the case. Out of 31 heart failure deaths, ten of those occurred in the hospital. This suggested to Baylor's chief medical officer, Paul Convery, that the hospital is responsible for patients even after they've gone home. Baylor has improved and even won this year's National Quality Health Care Award.

However, what this means to the hospital and what it means to patients and their families are two separate issues. Yes, it's good information to have in case someone is in need of hospital care, but just because you're going to the best hospital in the country doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get the best care that specific day (although the chances of you being ignored and left to die in the waiting room are slim). Doctors are overworked, their staffs overworked and underpaid, and HMOs make it hard for all patients to receive quality care. While no one will argue that patients bare much of the responsibility in taking care of themselves to ensure they don't have a heart attack in the first place, it might still be comforting to know we aren't going to wind up as part of the mortality rates because the hospital didn't do its job.

For information on your local hospital, see the HHS Hospital Compare site. And if you are in need of a medical malpractice lawyer, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

Spanair Flight JK5022 crashed and burned while attempting to take off from Madrid's Barajas airport today, killing 149 of the 177 people aboard. The flight was heading to the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a popular tourist spot for Europeans, and the crash comes at the height of the tourist season.

Details of the accident are still being pieced together, but it is known that the flight was delayed for an hour for technical problems. The plane was able to get airborne before it crashed at the end of the runway. It is thought that there may have been an explosion on board the plane. Early reports also said the plane may have lost one of its engines. The resulting fire also sparked a grassfire.

Spanair is a budget airline owned by Scandinavian SAS, and is one of Spain's three major private airlines. The flight was carrying passengers from Lufthansa Flight 2554, which officials have said may mean many of those on board are German.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to Madrid to help in the investigation because the aircraft is an American-made McDonnell Douglas MD-82.

If you or a loved one has lost someone in an airline disaster, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

For many years, we've heard about the wonders of nanotechnology and how it will change our lives for the better. As commercial technology gets smaller (computers, cell phones), so does the focus of science in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the field of science that looks into the development of different things on a molecular and atomic level. It specifically studies the development of devices or materials that are 100 nanometers or smaller. This field has already brought nanotech materials into the public sphere by using them in computer chips, clothing, building materials, and sunscreen, as well as other products. According to Lux Research, a group that provides advice on emerging technology, nanotechnology accounted for $88 billion in manufactured goods in 2007. They estimate that, by 2014, $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods, nearly 15 percent of the total global output, will contain some level of nanotechnology.

However, the question that remains is what are the ramifications of using nanotechnology and its effects, not only on us, but on the environment? And if those implications are negative and injurious, what recourse is there?

Silver Nanoparticles

One of the best examples of this involves socks. By utilizing nanotech, scientists were able to develop silver nanotech particles as a way to reduce foot odor. This seems like a good idea on the surface. However, what happens when those silver nanoparticles are inevitable washed out of the socks and into the water? Though these silver particles are extremely small, silver is known to hamper the development of bacteria (good in fighting foot odor), which may then destroy the way bacteria works on organic material in places like waste water treatment plants and farms (bad for the environment and everyone else). Because of this concern, the nonprofit International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last May, challenging the EPA's regulation of nanoparticle silver. This is because the EPA does not think of nanoparticles as unique from their larger counterparts. While silver is labeled as a pesticide in its larger form due to studies showing the adverse affects on marine life, the argument seems to be that nanoparticles are so small as to be a negligible threat. ICTA wants the EPA to regulate the material as a "unique pesticide" that could potentially harm the environment in a serious way.

Unknowns

Because nanotechnology is still a developing technology, one with extremely promising revolutions for all aspects of life, there is no way to tell exactly what the outcome will be. There are already regulations for different chemicals, but there is no real protection yet for the downside of nanotechnology. Materials in the nanotech realm currently fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but, according to former EPA general counsel Roger Mertella, there is some question on how TSCA should be applied. The EPA has already decided that there should not be a subcategory for nanomaterials. Size does not apply here. Martella and others are concerned due to the fact that some properties are changed when things are made smaller. The way these nanoparticles act and react may affect things like color, conducting electricity, and their chemical composition.

Future Liabilities

Beyond the worries about nanomaterials on the loose in the environment, there is some thought that nanotechnology will become the center for future litigation in realms like product liability and insurance issues. Once nanotechnology makes its way from cancer research to the marketplace, David Wallace, an attorney with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, believes liability cases will "pick up dramatically." However, Wallace states, "The shape of litigation in nanotechnologies remains to be seen in many ways." He believes the health effects are far in the future and that litigation may not appear until next-generation devices and nanopharmaceuticals begin their use. Wallace also said that insurance companies have been following nanotechnological movements, both scientifically and politically, and are trying to come up with some kind of strategy that balances the risks and the uniqueness of potential breakthroughs. Until then, agencies are still in the study phase. Regulation of nanotech materials may have to wait until it is determined if they react in the same way as their larger counterparts.

BMW has issued a recall on 200,000 cars and SUVs due to the possibility of the passenger side airbag failing. The recall affects 2004 and 2005 5-Series standard and sports models, 2004 to 2006 X3, and the 2006 3-Series with sport seats.

The national Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the passenger-side airbags may deactivate due to wear when a passenger enters and leaves the vehicle. According to the NHTSA website, "Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracs have developed in the (sensor) mat.... [T]he front passenger airbags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated. They warn that the airbag may not deploy "even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur."

The NHTSA began investigating earlier this year when the Office of Defect Investigation reported the airbag may malfunction. Those models targeted in the initial investigation were the 2004 to 2006 BMW 5 and 7 series, Z4 convertibles and X3 SUVs, and the 2006 BMW 3 and 6 series and X5 SUVs.

BMW has said dealers will repair the system when the recall begins. However, this isn't to begin until late September.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective product, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

The family of 21-year-old Baron Pikes has filed a wrongful death suit against the central Louisiana town of Winnfield. Pikes was allegedly shocked nine times by a 50,000 volt Taser while handcuffed by police officer Scott Nugent in January. The coroner ruled the death a homicide, and Nugent was fired.

Besides the city officials in Winnfield, who are accused of civil rights violations, and Nugent, Taser Inc. was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, filed by Latrina Thomas, mother of Pikes' four-year-old son. The federal lawsuit seeks punitive and compensatory fees, plus fees and expenses.

Nugent is appealing his firing, and his lawyer places the blame on the town of Winnfield, claiming in part that Winnfield failed to properly train and supervise its officers. This echoes one of the claims made in Latrina Thomas's suit.

Since the death of Pikes, who was arrested on a charge of selling cocaine, some things about Nugent and the town of Winnfield have come out that seem to make his defense a little more difficult:

• Tasers were used 14 times the first year they were given to Winnfield police to use
  
• 12 of those 14 times, Tasers were used against African-Americans
  
• Ten of those 12 times, the Taser was used by Nugent
  

Another interesting fact: Baron Pikes is the first cousin to Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six.

If you have lost a loved one due to another's willful or negligent acts, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

The bus crash that killed 17 Vietnamese Catholics on Friday resulted in more than tragedy. Authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have ordered the bus companies linked to the bus that crashed to cease operations due to several violations. They further state that the companies (and presumably specifically their buses) pose an "imminent hazard." Another bus in Carthage, Missouri was taken out of service because it was operating illegally.

The buses were registered to Iguala BusMex Inc. and Angel Tours Inc., based out of Houston, Texas. Both companies are owned by Angel De La Torre. According to reports, Angel Tours was taken out of service in June because of repeated safety violations, and Iguala BusMex was formed two months ago, and had not yet been given the go-ahead by the U.S. Department of Transportation to carry passengers across state lines. In order for this to happen, the company needed to show proof they had secured $5 million in insurance, and had not yet done so.

Authorities are focusing on the right front tire becoming separated and resulting in the crash, but are still looking into other factors, such as driver fatigue. The driver, Barret Wayne Broussard, is currently in critical condition. However, he was a driver for the failed Angel Tours Inc., and has a history of driving violations. He has been cited by police three times since 2001 – once for DUI, and twice for speeding. He has also failed roadside inspections twice since last year, and had his vehicle taken out of service for logbook violations. Mr. Broussard's medical card also expired in May.

In addition to the safety record of the buses, the separated tire, and Broussard's record, Grayson County officials believe that the stretch of the highway where the accident occurred has a speed limit that is much too high. However, Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson, Christopher Lippincott, has noted accidents on this stretch of highway are lower than they are in other parts of Texas.

As this investigation goes on, another bus in Mississippi has crashed on its way to a casino, killing at least four people, and a bus in Las Vegas crashed, injuring 20. Authorities are also looking at a tire problem in the Las Vegas crash.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.

Six people who have come down with symptoms of E. coli in Massachusetts may have become sickened through eating beef products. Investigators have said this is the same bacterial strain that has been found in other patients across the country, and in Quebec.

Massachusetts health officials and investigators from the USDA are focusing on ground beef as a possible source of contamination, and are currently collecting samples from several stores. Dr. Bela Matyas of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, believes that for every person hospitalized, there are many more who have been sickened, but not hospitalized. Dr. Maytas also stated that the strain, E. coli 0157, can cause serious illness. The Massachusetts Department of Health is reminding the public to cook their meat completely to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the bacteria.

A federal foodborne illness surveillance program called PulseNet makes it possible to test DNA and compare results from across the country. This program is what helped find the link between the Massachusetts cases and those in at least 20 other states.

E. coli 0157 can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and kidney failure. The young, elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are at the most risk.

If you or a loved one has been sickened by contaminated food, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A charter jet carrying six construction and gambling executives and two pilots crashed while approaching the regional airport at Owatonna, Minnesota airport Thursday morning. All eight people aboard were killed.

The Raytheon Hawker 800 left Atlantic City International Airport and was due to arrive shortly before 9:30 am, but never made it. This is the first crash for East Coast Jets, the company that operated the chartered jet. The company's headquarters is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and both pilots were from the Bethlehem and Hellertown, Pennsylvania area. Only one of the six passengers, 44-year-old Karen Sandland, has been identified. Sandland was a project manager for Tishman Construction.

Although chartered airline usage seems to have peaked in 2005, there are still thousands of flights a year in the U.S. and their track record of avoiding accidents isn't as good as large commercial airliners. Few and far between, these accidents occur because many small jets land at smaller airports where runways, control towers and more are not as convenient as national airports, and the craft aren't large and can be tossed around easier than other bigger planes in bad weather.

If you have lost a loved one in a small business jet crash, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.