California Injury Blog

Published on: August 6, 2007

HANNAH FREDRICKSON-SHE DARED TO TELL THE ‘INCONVENIENT TRUTH’!

By Brian Chase

Hannah Fredrickson is my new hero in a world with few heroes left! You see, Hannah did something almost no one her age or in her position would have done – she told the truth, in pictures no less, in the Conifer High yearbook, about the sad prevalence of alcohol and drug use by her classmates at Conifer High School, located in Conifer, Colorado. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Hannah, a senior and the yearbook editor, and her staff, made the decision to shine a light on some serious issues for their senior yearbook instead of the usual fare of senior smiles and silly stuff.

An admirable choice, right? You might think the town would have held a parade in their honor or they might have received some positive reinforcement for such a noble effort…but, sadly they did not. In fact, after publishing the yearbook, which included at least five pages of under-aged teenagers drinking and drugging, and several pictures of students proudly holding up citations for under-aged drinking, many parents condemned the pictures and the yearbook staff that published them.

What is going on here?? Are the inmates running the institution???? Hannah and her staff should have been commended for placing an emphasis on a very real alcohol and drug problem in not only their school but so many others across our nation!
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Published on: August 5, 2007

Fatal 15-Passenger Van Crash in Tennessee

By Brian Chase

A Louisiana woman was killed and 12 others were injured Monday when their 15-passenger van veered off the Interstate 75 and crashed into a guardrail, according to an article in the The Knoxville News-Sentinel. According to reports, the driver lost control of the van as he reached for a soda on the floor of the van. The accident occurred in the early morning of July 30.

Sharel Lapine, 45, was ejected from the van and pronounced dead on the scene. Her husband, Ricky Lapine, who drove the van, was also injured as were four other adults and seven children. All were taken to local hospitals. None of the injuries were life-threatening, the newspaper reported. Tennessee Highway Patrol officials also told reporters that the entire side of the 15-passenger van, which was not identified by brand, was ripped open in the crash. All the children were wearing seatbelts, but the adults were not buckled up and were ejected, officials told the News-Sentinel.

The dangers of 15-passenger vans are quite significant. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a study two years ago which found 74 percent of all 15-passenger vans had tires which had not been properly inflated and as a result increased the propensity of the vehicle to become unstable or roll over – even in normal speeds, road conditions and weather conditions. Only 39 percent of passenger cars reportedly had a similar problem. The report strongly recommends all occupants to wear seatbelts because studies found that nearly 80 percent of those who died in 15-passenger van accidents between 1990 and 2003 were not buckled up.

More information is available on NHTSA’s 15-passenger van advisory page.

Also, federal law prohibits these vans from being used to transport children. To find out more about the interpretation of the federal law relating to 15-passenger vans, visit their web site.
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Published on: August 4, 2007

Fatal Pedestrian Accident, Two Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter

By Brian Chase

Erick Wiswell, 24, and Donald Anderson, 30, both of Long Beach, have been arrested and jailed on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving with great bodily injury after a fatal pedestrian accident, according to a story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Thursday morning, the two Long Beach men were apparently engaging in mutual road rage while driving north on Paramount Blvd. in Long Beach at 60 mph in a 35 mph zone. According to Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Nancy Pratt, Wiswell, the driver of the front car, slammed on his brakes and then Anderson, the driver of the following car, swerved left to avoid a collision and struck a pedestrian, Lois Kay Rahimam, 55, of Signal Hill.

Rahimam, who regularly walked the neighborhood in the morning, was rushed to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where she later died.

A senseless death of an innocent pedestrian. A women’s life cut short way before her time. Two men who are rightfully charged with and probably will be convicted of a felony – vehicular manslaughter.
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Published on: August 3, 2007

Fresno Fire Victims Need a Skilled Personal Injury Lawyer on Their Side

By Brian Chase

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a roaring fire that swept through an apartment complex Saturday night killing a teenage couple and three young children. The fire also destroyed the home and personal belongings of a number of residents of the building.

According to an article in the Fresno Bee newspaper, the horrific tragedy struck in the wee hours of the morning taking the lives of the couple – Derek Fabian and his fiancée, Michelle Mattison; their 2-month-old daughter, Hayden and two other children who were there for a sleep over – Mattison’s siblings, Lexus Bisnar, 4, and her 2-year-old brother, Ariel.

Firefighters have been unable to explain why the five victims were not able to get out of the second floor apartment. Other residents of the building escaped unharmed. The fire didn’t take too long to spread because the apartments had shingle roofs and plywood siding, fire officials said. Neighbors told the newspaper that the apartment did have smoke detectors and that the apartment managers inspected them regularly.
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Published on: August 1, 2007

San Diego Woman First Botulism Victim in California

By Brian Chase

Millions of Castleberry Tainted Meat Products Recalled for Botulism Poisoning
Federal agencies must hold food manufacturers and providers accountable for their products. But how on earth are they going to do it if they don’t inspect food production facilities as often as they should? Over the last year or so, we’ve seen a slew of recalls and hundreds if not thousands of people and animals sickened or killed nationwide by food that should not have been in our homes in the first place.

Last week, the botulism related to tainted meat products that spurred a massive recall, found its first victim in California. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, a 51-year-old San Diego woman reportedly became sick and was hospitalized for 10 days this month after eating Kroger Chili Beans, a Castleberry product that was part of the recall. San Diego public health officials say she is recovering in her home, but that they could not confirm she contracted botulism from the chili because she did not keep the can.

This is exactly why food-borne illnesses cases are tough to prove. You’ve just eaten part of the evidence and thrown the rest away. Unless medical lab testing is conducted early, there is no physiological evidence of what made you sick.

Castleberry, which is based in Augusta, Ga., last week recalled millions of cans of meat products after a huge botulism scare – the worst one involving commercial canned goods in 30 years, according to a news article in the Kansas City Star.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, the products tainted with the deadly bacteria include more than 80 brands of chili sauce made by a company called Castleberry in Augusta, Ga. — corned beef hash and beef stew sold under various brand names including Bryan, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion and Thrifty Maid. FDA officials also believe that these foods are likely to be sold at hundreds of smaller retail outlets and stocked in church pantries and food banks because they are non-perishable foods.
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Published on: July 31, 2007

Evenflo Liable for Infant’s Car Seat Death in Rollover Crash

By Brian Chase

When we strap our babies into car seats, we do so with the promise that if something bad happens on the road, the car seat will protect our little ones from harm. But what happens when these car seats that are meant to protect our infants add to the danger? What happens when a car seat contributes to your child’s injuries making it more serious – even fatal?

That’s exactly what happened to Chad and Jessica Malcolm, whose 4-month-old son Tyler died after a July 2000 rollover crash. Tyler was snugly buckled into an Evenflo “On My Way” brand car seat. But when the vehicle rolled over, little Tyler hit his head on the car seat’s hard plastic shell after the car seat was ejected. How did the infant car seat get ejected? Because a hook broke loose from the seat and there was evidence of the same defect in five other incidents that resulted in serious injuries to the babies.

Last week, a jury awarded $10.4 million to the grieving couple – including $6.7 million in compensatory damages, $3.7 million in punitive damages, according to an Associated Press news report posted in the Arizona Star’s Web site. This certainly is not the only failure of Evenflo child car seats. They have lost at least three other cases over their car seats, the damages adding up to $19.6 million. I have no idea how many other cases they have settled.

To me, the most aggravating fact of this case is that the car seat manufacturer had originally considered lining the hard shell of the car seats in question with foam. But later they decided against it. I can sum up the reason for that decision in one word – profits. I bet that was the reason they decided to go with the cheaper hard shell. To a manufacturer, that car seat is another finished item off the production line. It’s a serial number. It’s part of an inventory. To us, it’s a protective shield for those little people we treasure the most – our precious children.
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Published on: July 30, 2007

Dog Attacks Post a Threat to Postal Workers Every Day

By Brian Chase

It must be nerve-wracking to be a postal worker. As someone who delivers mail and parcels for a living, he or she doesn’t know the viciousness that lurks behind an open door or gate. I’m of course talking about dangerous dogs here.

Take the case of Mai-Anh Nguyen, a Milpitas letter carrier who was mauled by a Pit-bull while she was delivering mail on July 14. According to an article posted on NBC News’ Web site, Nguyen was on her rounds walking on the sidewalk when she was attacked by the Pit-bull that charged at her from an open garage door of a house in that neighborhood.

Nguyen, who is quoted in the NBC article states: “There was not even enough time to pull out my dog spray. It happened so fast.”

The article states that dog bite incidents costs the U.S. Postal Service $25 million annually. That includes medical expenses, workers compensation, legal costs, delivery curtailment, worker replacement and other miscellaneous costs. Last week, the Postal Service also released the picture of the injured Nguyen, whose face was completely disfigured by the dog bites, to raise public awareness about the horrific aftermath of a dog attack.
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Published on: July 29, 2007

Pit-bulls Maul Poodle in Irvine Park

By Brian Chase

It is time to institute criminal penalties for irresponsible dog owners whose dogs injure people or other animals. Civil penalties are not enough, especially for those who are not able to pay for the damages their dogs cause. Irresponsible dog ownership has always been with us. What has changed?

Two major factors have changed. The number of severe dog attacks by bigger, stronger, more aggressive dogs causing horrific injuries to people and other animals is on the rise. The number of vicious dog attacks on dogs is on the rise. The number of insurance companies dropping coverage for dog owners or refusing to cover certain breeds and sizes of dogs is increasing dramatically.

A steady stream of people have contacted us who have been attacked by vicious dogs, their children have been horrifically mauled by dogs, their pets have been seriously or mortally wounded by dogs or who are afraid to walk the streets of their own neighborhoods because dogs roam their streets. My wife is reluctant to walk our Bichon Frises in our gate guarded community due to a previous attack on them by a much larger unleashed dog. Nearly every day I see large dogs being walked, without a leash, on the bike/horse trail on the side of our property where over a hundred people pass each day.

In Orange County, California we have an ordinance that states:

“No person owning or having charge, care, custody, or control of any dog shall cause or permit, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, any such dog to be upon any public property unless such dog be restrained by a substantial chain, or leash not exceeding six (6) feet in length, and is under the charge of a person competent to exercise care, custody, and control over such dog” (OCCO 4-1-45).
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Published on: July 28, 2007

Avoiding Nursing Home Abuse

By Brian Chase

Many of us fall into the ‘sandwich’ generation, so named because while many of us are still raising our children we are also finding ourselves responsible for the care of our parents as well. According to a CBS news story, over 16 million Americans find themselves sandwiched between children and parents, and when family members can no longer care for a loved one at home a nursing home may become necessary. In 25 years it is projected that there will be 60 million Americans between the ages of 66-84 – many needing part or full time nursing home care. The only thing worse than the feelings of guilt at not being able to care for a sick, aging parent is the guilt of placing them in a nursing home and then finding out they are being abused in that home. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse happens way too often! So, do your homework!

But how does one find a good nursing home? How does one know if a nursing home has had violations and/or fines levied against them? There is so much to learn and fortunately as the need for such homes has continued to rise, so has the information that is available. Many organizations and government agencies are there to help you in your search for an appropriate nursing home. For example, Medicare provides a helpful checklist to use as you call each nursing home center.

Another organization, called Member of the Family provides a list of over 16,000 Medicare and Medicaid ‘certified’ nursing homes-listed by state.

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Published on: July 27, 2007

Clergy Abuse Cases are Settled for $660 Million

By Brian Chase

The recent settlement reached by the Los Angeles Archdiocese certainly catches our collective breath for the staggering amounts of money involved. At $660 million, it is the largest sexual abuse compensation package negotiated in the country. The settlement resolves over 500 claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy just before the first of the cases were to start trial.

Is the settlement amount a reflection of how badly the Archdiocese wanted to keep its secrets secret? Was it coincidence that the first of many clergy sex abuse trials was about to start? Before this is over, the Catholic Church and its insurance companies will have paid over a billion dollars in settlements to abuse victims. Apparently it was worth a billion dollars to the Catholic Church to keep their dirty laundry from being aired in public courtrooms with the media hanging on every word.

A report in the Los Angeles Times stated that each of the 508 plaintiffs could receive amounts ranging from just about $100,000 to over $3 million. That is a big spread. How are the individual claims going to be valued? The short answer is, on the relative value of each case, prorated against the entire settlement fund.
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