Posts Tagged ‘injuries’

Two carriage drivers were sent to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with serious injuries on Monday morning following a car accident,on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. The accident occurred at around 10 a.m. when an elderly driver crashed his car into the back of a horse-drawn carriage — one of several stopped at a red light.

The car’s impact forced the carriage across the street, toppling two more carriages in front of it. A number of the horses broke free and bolted, before they were calmed down by passersby. Though scared, scraped and bruised, none of the horses were seriously injured.

However, two carriage drivers suffered serious damage, including head injuries, though both are currently in stable condition and expected to recover. The 70-year-old car driver was also taken to the hospital following the car accident, but has not yet been charged.

The crash sparked renewed calls for carriage bans from the Peace Advocacy Network (PAN), a Philadelphia-based activist group that focuses most of its energy on promoting veganism and animal rights. PAN has long been opposed to Philadelphia’s horse-drawn carriage industry and Monday’s car accident simply added fuel to their fire.

PAN members have already announced plans for a Saturday protest.

While refraining from comment on the animal rights side of the story, it’s worth taking a closer look at services like horse-drawn carriages and asking whether they really belong on today’s city streets. As Monday’s accident showed, it can be very dangerous to carriage drivers — not to mention the horses. Even if you don’t agree with PAN’s morals, it’s hard to fault them for wishing the animals safe conduct on city streets.

Additionally, imagine the outcome if those three carriages had been carrying passengers. Surely, there would have been more injuries. While driver error appears to be the sole cause of this accident, it makes little difference to the individual who has already suffered brain damage or another severe injury.

Dangerous drivers pose a threat to all of us, but the threat is even greater for those traveling by horse-drawn carriage — without any sort of protection. Certainly, you could argue that the danger posed to horse-drawn carriages is no worse than that posed to bikers and pedestrians, and, to be sure, that is a valid point.

But how many variables do we want out there on Philadelphia streets? It’s not an easy question, but one worth considering.

Read the full article here.

Are you willing to give up your rights to be compensated fully for ALL of the damages caused by another?

If you are injured in an accident, you can be sure that you want to recover every dollar you are entitled to for your treatment and for your pain and suffering.

But insurance companies for years have been trying to fight you tooth and nail to minimize what they pay out to you for pain and suffering due to your injuries so they can maximize their profits at your expense.

This is why we are constantly being bombarded in the legal world with proposals for caps on pain and suffering awards for injured people – a maximum dollar amount that can be paid to injury victims based on numbers pulled out of a hat, rather than on reality. Those proposals come from insurance companies and their very active, highly-paid lobbyists, who want to keep the money from you so they can keep it for themselves.

Image credit: © iStockphoto.com/stuartbur

Caps are not fair for injury victims. They say that your pain and suffering, no matter how severe or long-term, has a finite value and that your case is not worth any more than the arbitrary figures designated by the caps. Such caps are only good for the insurance companies.

Caps have been introduced under the argument that they’re helping to control escalating health-care costs. But that’s not true. The costs of actual health care aren’t changing via such caps. The “savings” are only being seen in the payouts by insurance companies that are trying to pay out as little as possible to injury victims. That’s an insult to the victims.

Insurance companies argue that caps help them control costs for everyone by stopping inflated damage awards. If that were the case and if those lower payouts were saving them money, why don’t we all see lower insurance premiums as a result? Because they’re pocketing the savings to fatten their own wallets, all at the expense of victims who are seriously injured in accidents and are being limited by unfair caps on their damage awards.

If a cap on pain and suffering awards is set at $250,000, for instance, then an injury victim would be limited to only that amount for their case in their lifetime, even if their injuries were so severe from burns, a vehicle crash or other catastrophic event that they could no longer work. That is outrageous.

How about if we turn the whole world of injury payments upside down and put the onus on the real perpetrators? What if you are a victim of medical malpractice and are severely injured due to an error by your doctor or hospital? Then why not create a $250,000 maximum payment cap for your injuries from the insurance company, and force the errant doctor and hospital to pay for any and all medical treatment above that for the rest of your life? Then the ones who actually caused your grievous injuries are being forced to remember it each day because they’ll have to pay for your care. That might make it more real for them the next time they treat a patient.

In states across the nation, this issue of damage caps and their legality is being reviewed. A $500,000 cap on medical malpractice damage awards imposed several years ago in Illinois was struck down last month by the Illinois Supreme Court, according to a story in BusinessWeek.  The court found that “the limits set by the Legislature violate the state constitution’s separation of powers principle,” the story said.

This is a key theme in the fight in Congress today as the health care reform proposals continue to be batted around between Congress and the White House. Many Republicans in Congress continue to argue that such damage caps are a good way to rein in health costs. Well, that may sound like a great sound bite, but that will change the minute you are involved in a serious accident or are the victim of medical malpractice. That’s when you’ll realize that your rights are being limited all in the name of “solving the nation’s health care crisis.”

Instead, caps of pain and suffering damage awards are arbitrary and protect only the insurance companies, doctors and hospitals. They are not looking out for the victims of such tragedies. Instead, it’s an attempt to deprive innocent victims of their day in court.

Yes, as a personal injury attorney, I do have a vested interest in this emotional topic. But that doesn’t make my premise wrong. When you take away the rights of the individual in favor of a corporation, which is what damage caps are doing, then I can never side with the corporation. An individual’s rights are paramount to those of the insurance companies. I am not ashamed to say that.

After hearing all the evidence and rendering a decision, if a jury verdict is too high after a trial, there are natural controls to fix that problem and make the award fairer. The trial judge can lower the award, as can state Superior Court and Supreme Court judges, if necessary.

We don’t need caps. That’s a red herring.

Jan. 26, 2010 UPDATE:  Toyota announced that it will immediately suspend production and sales of eight vehicle models bound for the U.S. market to further investigate and repair the cause of sudden acceleration that has been plaguing some Toyota vehicles since last year, according to The New York Times.

For the second time in less than four months, Toyota is recalling millions of their cars and trucks in response to incidents of sudden acceleration being reported by some drivers, which have resulted in loss of vehicle control, accidents, injuries and several fatalities.

This time, the company said the recall affects about 2.3 million vehicles to correct what is being called “sticking accelerator pedals on specific Toyota Division models.”

Last fall, about 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles were recalled in connection with similar concerns about sudden acceleration, but at that time the company said the problems appeared to come from apparent pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats.

According to Toyota, about 1.7 million of those Toyota vehicles are subject to both overlapping recalls.

The latest recall is finally beginning to at least acknowledge what many affected Toyota vehicle owners have said all along — that the sudden acceleration problems were likely caused by more than just improperly positioned floor mats in the past.

A typical vehicle speedometer in a modern automobile is shown here in this photograph. Image credit: © iStockphoto.com/fountain_of_useless_info

These recalls follow another alleged safety matter related to Toyota vehicles that occurred  last September.  In that case, the company  was sued by a former corporate attorney who alleged that Toyota illegally withheld critical information about hundreds of rollover crashes involving injuries and deaths. That case is still in its early stages.

If you own one of the affected vehicles in the recalls, be sure to contact your vehicle  dealer to schedule the required repairs as soon as possible.

And if your vehicle should be affected by a sudden acceleration episode, here’s what you need to know, based on an ABC News video report.  If your Toyota or any other vehicle should accelerate on its own, apply the brakes and shift the transmission into neutral. Then use the brakes and steering to stop and control the vehicle safely. The engine will be racing noisily, but you can shut it off safely with the ignition key once the vehicle is stopped.  Don’t shut the key off as you are still moving because that will cut off your power steering and power brakes, and will also lock your steering, which you don’t want to do.  After stopping the vehicle, have it towed to your vehicle dealer and have it repaired.

You also could have legal rights beyond the recalls and repairs for any injuries or damages that you suffer as a result of these vehicle issues.  Don’t sign anything or give up those legal rights until you have evaluated your situation and your options.

Some 1.5 million Graco brand baby strollers are being recalled due to design defects that allow children’s fingers to be caught in the sunshade hinges. Five children have already suffered fingertip amputations and two others have suffered fingertip cuts due to the design, according to the voluntary product recall announced yesterday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

For parents and their children, this means that if you own a Graco stroller, you need to immediately check to determine if you are using one of the affected strollers. Owners are urged to stop using any affected stroller at once and to call special toll-free hotlines to find out how to get a free “cover kit” that can be installed over the injury-causing sunshade hinges.

The affected strollers are Graco Passages, Alano and Spree models, according to the company. Here is a list of the affected model numbers:

(Graphic courtesy of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

According to the recall, two different types of hinge mechanisms were used by Graco in these strollers. The recalled models use a “plastic, jointed hinge mechanism that has indented canopy positioning notches,” according to the recall. The affected strollers were  manufactured between October 2004 and February 2008. The model numbers and dates of manufacture can be found on a label on the lower inside portion of the rear frame, just above the rear wheels. More details and a video that shows the suspect hinge mechanisms can be found in a story in The Christian Science Monitor.

The affected strollers were sold at the following stores: AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Kmart, Fred Meyer, Meijers, Navy Exchange, Sears, Target, Walmart and other retailers nationwide from October 2004 through December 2009.

The good news is that Graco and the government are recalling the defective strollers and helping parents to repair them so they won’t injure any more children.

The bad news is that these incidents didn’t have to occur in the first place had the product been designed and built with safety in mind from the beginning.

Baby strollers have been manufactured and used for more than two centuries, dating back to 1733 when garden architect William Kent created what is considered to be the first baby carriage for use by the third Duke of Devonshire in England. Originally, such strollers were designed for the amusement of children and were to be pulled by ponies or dogs. They have come very far in their development, with elaborate folding mechanisms, built-in cup holders, thick padding and insulation and wheels that turn in all directions for handling ease.

So you’d think that  by now, some 277 years later, stroller makers would have been able to come up with stroller designs that don’t cause injuries to the babies and toddlers who ride in them.

The injuries we’ve heard of so far are just the injuries that have been reported to the government and to Graco.

If your child is injured in one of the affected Graco stroller models, be sure to contact the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as getting medical attention for your child.

Product liability cases due to poor product designs that cause injuries to people are some of the most common legal actions filed in our nation. If you or someone in your family are a victim of poor product designs and are injured, then you should contact a lawyer to protect your legal rights.

Important phone numbers for parents checking on the recall:

Graco Web site: www.gracobaby.com

Can you explain what caused your slip and fall accident? If not, you may not be able to recover compensation for your injuries.

In this video blog from MyPhillyLawyer.com, Attorney Dean Weitzman explains the importance of identifying the cause and responsible party for your trip, slip and fall accident. He assures that the attorneys of Silvers, Langsam & Weitzman will help you with the discovery process and with filing a successful claim.

Electric hand tools are fabulous.

They let you get building projects done more quickly and accurately, and they help you produce professional results and true satisfaction with a job well done whether you’re renovating your home, fixing a porch swing or building hand-made furniture.

At the same time, though, they can be dangerous if used improperly or without the correct safeguards.

The hazards of the  “10 Most Dangerous Power Tools” were highlighted recently in a story in Forbes magazine,  just in time for the holidays.  Lots of power tools were given as gifts during the holidays,  so it’s a good time to take a fresh look at their risks.

A construction worker uses an electric circular saw to cut a concrete block. Image credit: © iStockphoto.com/rappensuncle

A case we are currently handling was featured in the story — that of a local carpenter who was using a power nail gun to install a joist hanger.  The nail missed the hole in the hanger, deflected off the metal hanger and struck the carpenter in the mouth, knocking out three of his teeth.  The story also mentioned other serious injuries caused by power tools, including several fatalities caused by electric saws and power drills.  Some 418,000 emergency room visits were caused by injuries from power tools in the U.S. in 2001, according to a 2003 report — which are the latest statistics available from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission

None of these incidents, of course, mean that people shouldn’t use such tools, but they should certainly serve as reminders to use caution,  proper eye protection, work gloves and other means to make safety a priority whenever operating power tools.

And manufacturers of the products have key responsibilities, too, in making sure that the tools have built-in safety systems whenever possible, including guards, quick-stop blades and other mechanisms.  If injuries are caused by poorly designed or manufactured tools, then users who are injured are eligible to sue for damages for their injuries, loss of income and pain and suffering.

In the workplace, many rules and regulations exist to protect workers from injuries from power tools and other hazards in the workplace.  Among the key regulations are those from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in the U.S. Department of Labor, which outline safety tips, tool use help and other advice for protecting workers from injuries on the job.

Be sure you take precautions and use only quality tools and hardware from reputable companies when engaging in your own building and home improvement projects.  Carefully read operating manuals that come with your tools.  Know how the tools work and what precautions are involved.  Don’t use a tool for a procedure for which it wasn’t designed.  And never use broken or defective tools, such as those with frayed or damaged electrical cords, because you are in a rush to get a job done and can’t stop to replace your equipment.

Avoiding an emergency room visit, serious injuries  and a potential lawsuit are all good things to remember at the start of the new year.

So get to work, but let’s be careful out there.