Charleston Personal Injury Lawyer

Offer of Settlement Made by State to Families of Students Killed In Virginia Tech Massacre

Amy Rothschild — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:44:35 GMT

Virginia State officials have offered about $100,000 to each of the the families of those killed in the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre if they waive their rights to sue the State of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The State has said that even if they were to be sued and found liable, a state law known as "sovereign immunity" which means that the state can do no wrong., each families' recovery would be limited to $100,000.

Under the current proposal, the State of Virginia would not admit any wrongdoing and intends to justify the renumeration on the basis that it is a way to avoid a potential series of lawsuits. The offer came after several weeks of private discussions between attorneys for the State of Virginia and for the victims' families. It has been reported that the family members have until March 31, 2008 to accept the offer.

As part of the proposed settlement, the State would also create a fund to help pay for the medical expenses of some of the more than two dozen students and faculty members injured in the shooting. The families of the 32 shooting victims who died, would each receive about $100,000. The monies would be paid for by the taxpayers.

Any settlement or payout from the state would be in addition to the $8.5 million in private donations that Virginia Tech distributed to the victims and their families last fall.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Salton Electric Toasters Under Voluntary Recall Due to Fire Hazard

Amy Rothschild — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:14:40 GMT

On March 19, 2008, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that along with Salton, Inc., a voluntary recall has been issued for certain toaster oven models sold between 2000 and 2007. While no injuries have been reported, the toaster can turn on without bread in the slots and ignite items placed on top of it, posing a fire hazard. As an aside, QVC, a home shopping channel, recalled 13,000 similar models in December 2007.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Jury Awards Family $28 Million in Wrongful Shooting of 12 Year Old Boy By Police

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:35 GMT

Today, a federal jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, awarded $28 million to the family of a 12 year old boy who was shot by police on Christmas Eve in 2002. The boy was unarmed at the time he was killed. After the boy's death, his family filed a wrongful death claim against Troopers Samuel Nassan and Juan Curry alleging that they acted intentionally. Apparently, the jury agreed. The jury deliberated for four days before rendering their $28 dollar verdict. The $28 million appears to be the largest award ever granted against state police.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

32 Pre-Schoolers Suffer Minor Injuries in School Bus Crash

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:16:57 GMT

Thirty-two students at Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary School, were headed to see "The Wiz" at Charleston Southern University on Thursday, March 6, 2008, when Dorchester District 4 school bus in which they were riding was involved in a head-on collision. On U.S. Highway 78 near U.S. Highway 178, the school bus collided with a sports utility vehicle driven by a county employee, Joe Simmons, superintendent for public works in the solid waste division. The accident occurred when Mr. Simmons, who was driving a Blazer, crossed the median and sideswiped a Mitsubishi. Mr. Simmons continued driving and then struck the bus.

Mr. Simmons was hospitalized. The driver of the Mitsubishi and her daugther were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Fortunately, the children only suffered minor injuries, the worst being bumps and bruises, but were all taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. There were no seatbelts on the school bus.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Mitsubishi Ordered To Pay $11 Million For Death Resulting From Defective Seatbelt

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:16:45 GMT

On February 26, 2008, a jury in Palm Beach County in Florida, ordered Mitsubishi to pay $11 million in damages to the parents whose 25 year old son died after being partially ejected from a sports utility vehicle. Of this amount, $10 million dollars was awarded for their son's pain and suffering and the rest was awarded for funeral expenses and other losses. Scott Laliberte, the deceased, was involved in a rollover accident in 2004 and died four hours after the accident. Even though he was properly belted on the passenger side, he was thrown out of the rear window.

The lawyers for the parents claimed that Mitsubishi marketed and sold its Montero SUV despite having knowledge that its seatbelts had problems. Donna and Peter Laliberte of Maine argued that Mitsubishi put its Montero SUV on the market despite known problems with the seat belt. The family's laywers further argued that Mitsubishi released a new version of the vehicle halfway through the 2000 model year to correct the flaws but never told customers about the defect in the earlier model.

While Mitsubishi's attorney stated that the new model was not redesigned to correct flaws in the seatblet, and rather, focused on the vehicle's front structure, he did acknowledge that the changes were a result of poor crash tests. Mitsubishi has suffered from various accusations and assaults in recent years over defects in some of its vehicles which Mitsubishi first attempted to hide. The scandal first surfaced in 2000, when Mitsubishi admitted it had hidden defects from the public for years. Instead of immediately initiating recalls after dozens of accidents, Mitsubishi secretly repaired the vehicles. Mitsubishi later acknowledged it had hidden defects for decades.

Even though the family and their son were from Maine, the legal action was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court because the Mitsubishi has business operations in the area.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Cases Settled Involving Helicopter Crash

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:29:48 GMT

In 2002, a medical helicopter crashed in Norfolk, killing three people aboard. The helicopter had just left a Norfolk hospital on June 21, 2002. when the pilot reported trouble. The helicopter subsequently crashed at the airpoirt. The pilot, an emergency room nurse and a paramedic were killed.

The families of the thre three victims filed suit. On February 19, 2008, the the famiilies' attorneys confirmed that a settlement had been reached and as such, it is likely that no trial will be held. Because the details were still being negotiated, the families' attorney could not release the details.

In 2004, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that a faulty tail rotor and an inexperienced pilot were the likely causes of the crash. In particular, specific factors included the binding of a mechanism controlling the tail rotor, gusty winds and the pilot's lack of experience with that type of helicopter.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Grassplot Brand Dried Pachyrhizus Recalled Due to Undeclared Sulfites

Jenny Albano — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:19:34 GMT

Lion Pavilion LTD., in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling 8 ounce packages of Grassplot brand Dried Pachyrhizus due to undeclared sulfites. Consumers who are sensitive to sulfites can run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions and side effects if they consume this product.

The product comes in an uncoded 8 ounce, clear plastic package. The recalled packages of Grassplot brand Dried Pachyrhizus were distributed nationwide.

The problem was discovered after the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors sampled the product and then had it analyzed by the Food Laboratory. After the analysis it was revealed that there were sulfites in the Grassplot Dried pachyrhizus that were not listed as an ingredient on the label.

The consumption of 10 milligrams of sulfites per serving has been reported to elicit severe reactions in some asthmatics. Anaphylactic shock could occur in certain sulfite sensitive individuals upon ingesting 10 milligrams or more of sulfites.

So far the company has not received any reports of illness or allergic reaction. The product was made in China.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Woman Killed on I-26 Near Charleston, South Carolina

Amy Rothschild — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:46:35 GMT

The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported that a Syvlia Kassandra Floyd, a 26-year-old woman from Olanta, South Carolina died after being hit by a car on Interstate 26 between Ridgeville and Harleyville. Apparently, Ms. Floyd's car had broken down in the right-hand lane of I-26 and she was trying to flad down traffic to let others know that the her disabled vehicle was in this lane of traffic on I-26.

Ms. Floyd was hit by a 1997 Ford Explorer driven by Sandra Childs of Alexandria, Virginia. The accident is still under investigation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Ford Motor Company Ordered To Pay $6.5 Million In Rollover Case Where Man Suffered Brain Damage

Amy Rothschild — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:28:29 GMT

In 2004, Ruben Zamora, an oil field worker who was disabled prior to the accident, lost control of a 1993 Ford Motor Company Explorer sports utility vehicle when a tire lost its tread. The Explorer rolled over and the 41 year old driver was ejected from the vehicle. Ruben Zamora lost control of the 1993 Explorer when a tire lost its tread and was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over. Mr. Zamora suffered severe brain damage as a result of the accident and will need lifetime care.

Mr. Zamora's mother who sued on his behalf said that the tire tread separations set off vibrations in the rear of the vehilce that made it slide sideways becuase of a defect in the vehicle's suspension. ``The tires get to bouncing severely and the back end swings around,'' causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, Zamora's attorney, Bill Neumann, said today in a phone interview. ``They've known about the problem for years and failed to fix it.''

On February 1, 2007, a La Salle County jury in Texas agreed with the victim's mother and held that the Explorer was defective defective and awarded $10 million in damages. The jury also found that because Mr. Zamora was 35 percent at-fault for the accident, the $10 million jury verdict was reduced by 35 percent leaving a verdict of $6.5 million against Ford.

Ford stated that it plans to appeal the verdict claiming that Mr. Zamora was not properly belted when the vehicle rolled over. It appears that a prior owner had somehow modified the seatbelt system. Ford believes that the verdict will be further reduced because of a prior settlement with another defendant in the lawsuit.

Ford, the second largest automobile manufacturer in the United States, sold 137,817 Explorers last year, a 23 percent decline from 2006. Ford sold more than 400,000 Explorers in 2002. Honda Motor Co.'s smaller CR-V surpassed Explorer in 2007 as the top- selling sport-utility vehicle.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild

Family Sues Over Six-Year-Old Son's Pool Drowning

Amy Rothschild — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:00:16 GMT

On January 28, 2008, the parents of a six-year-old boy who drowned when his arm got caught in a strong underwater swimming pool suction drain, filed a law suit agains the the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, Shoreline Pools and other defendants. The lawsuit, which asks for more than $15,000 in damages, states that Shoreline Pools ad a history of violating building code requirements. The lawsuit also claims that the town of Greenwich neglected to conduct an appropriate inspection before issuing a permit for the pool and accuses the town of failing to conduct a proper inspection before issuing a permit.

The boy was trapped in the pool drain on July 26th. The boy's father and another adult jumped into the pool to try to free him but the suction on the drain was simply too strong. The parents were not able to find a way to cut off the suction pump so they cut off power to the entire house which included the pool's drain pump. After the child was freed, the father performed CPR but was not able to resuscitate the child.

According to the claim brought by the boy's parents. there have been more than 150 reported cases of swimming pool drain entrapments, leading to at least 48 deaths and many serious injuries since 1985.

If any funds are recovered, the parents plan to donate the money to an organization that provides funding for child safety issues.

This story was first published by the Associated Press.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Amy Rothschild