Personal Injury
Could the Person Who Sends a Text Message to a Driver Be Held Liable in an Auto Accident?
Pennsylvania has passed a new law that could add five years in jail for a driver who causes a crash because they were texting behind the wheel. Those are stiff penalties for distracted driving and it calls into question the responsibility that the person sending the text message has in distracting someone who they know…
Read MoreAndroGel Testosterone-Replacement Defective Drug Bellwether Trials Set to Start
In August 2016, eight lawsuits were filed by people who used the testosterone-replacement therapy, AndroGel. In those lawsuits, the plaintiffs claim they experienced a number of adverse effects, including heart attacks, blood clots and strokes. These suits were approved to go to trial in 2017. United States District Judge Matthew Kennelly has approved four heart…
Read MoreWhat A Train Crash in Spain Can Teach Us in Washington, D.C.
On September 9, 2016, a Portuguese train derailed right at a station on the border of Spain and Portugal. The causes of the derailment are still under investigation. Two passengers (one from the U.S.), the driver and the conductor all died in the crash, but the rest of the passengers survived. “The front portion of…
Read MoreTragic Pedestrian Accident in Loudoun County Leads to Outcry for Safer Streets
The news is inundated with terrible stories about people who suffer losses every day, but the latest story out of Lansdowne, VA breaks our hearts. Today, a mother grieves the loss of her 5-month old baby after they were hit by a car while in a crosswalk on Riverside Parkway. As of yesterday, the “sheriff’s…
Read MoreWashington, D.C. Lawmakers Are at Odds Over a Bill That Could End Contributory Negligence
There is a new bill in front of legislators that could put an end to the contributory negligence law as it applies to bicyclists and pedestrians. The bill has stalled for the moment, according to an article in GreaterGreaterWashington.com, but it is one we should all be behind in the end. Contributory negligence has been…
Read MoreMedical Mistakes in the Emergency Room Related to Electronic Health Records
By its nature, the emergency room is a chaotic, frenetic place. Because of the speed at which emergency medical care is delivered, accuracy is important. You might think that electronic health records (EHRs) would be a helpful addition to the fast-paced environment, but it seems that EHRs are actually contributing to the medical errors that…
Read MoreGree Ordered to Pay $15.45 million Civil Penalty for Failure to Report Defective Dehumidifiers
In what is so far the highest penalty for a single offense that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has ever imposed, Gree Electric Appliances Inc. has agreed to pay a $15.45 civil penalty to the government. The CPSC has charged Gree with the following: Knowingly failing to report a defect and the reasonable risk…
Read MoreLaundry Detergent Pods Poisoning Cases Involving Young Children on the Rise
You may remember hearing about the tragic cases of small children getting poisoned when they mistook their mom’s laundry detergent pods for candy. Laundry pods are small, brightly colored packets of clear plastic and filled with highly concentrated laundry soap and fabric softener. Children are biting into them because they think it looks like an…
Read MoreTainted Scopes Cause Deadly Superbug Infections
A duodenoscope is a flexible tube that doctors thread through the mouth, throat and stomach and into the beginning of the small intestine, which is the duodenum. In a procedure called, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), doctors use the duodenoscope to get a look at the digestive system of the patient and it allows them to…
Read MoreChildren Are Still Getting Caught and Strangled in Window Blinds—What Can Be Done?
You have likely heard news stories of young children getting strangled by window blinds cords over the past few decades. You would think that such a dangerous hazard with a product used inside the home would have been completely eliminated by now, but it still continues to occur with alarming frequency. The U.S. Consumer Product…
Read MoreWhat Caused the Spike in Pedestrian Deaths in 2015?
According to new data released by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, there is a projected 10 percent spike in pedestrian fatalities in the 2015 traffic crash data. This is anticipated to be the largest annual increase ever in these numbers, which is causing great alarm for the safety agencies that track these numbers. In the…
Read MoreMotor Vehicle Accidents Caused by Failure to Yield Right of Way
Yielding the right of way to other drivers is one of the hallmarks of responsible driving behavior. Anyone who has been driving for any length of time has seen that driver who just pulls out into the intersection or speeds up when entering the Beltway, causing other cars to slam on their brakes to avoid…
Read MoreTort Reform is a Myth, and Congress is Lying to You
As a society, we forget that we have certain rights especially if it’s not pertinent to our particular life at a particular time. We feel as if, “Well, I’m not affected, so why worry about it?” But this country has held that whoever you are, you may sue a person who injures you and eventually…
Read MoreDC Metro Accident Injury Lawsuits
The DC Metro system, or the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is a public transit system that is funded by the governments of Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. The third largest transit system in the U.S. includes the Metrorail system of rapid transit trains that travel on and below ground, and the Metrobus system.…
Read MoreBicycle and Pedestrian Safety on the Roadways
Bicyclists and pedestrians must share the road with motor vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds, and can kill them in an instant in the event of a collision. All of us are pedestrians at some point, but when we get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, we must be mindful to keep an eye…
Read MoreThe Importance of More Strict Commercial Truck Underride Guard Standards in Saving Lives
If you have ever been driving too close behind an 18-wheeler on the highway, you may have seen an underride guard. It is a strip of steel that hangs from the rear end of large, commercial trucks with the purpose of keeping passenger vehicles from riding up under the rear end of a truck in…
Read MoreDefective Sprinkler Systems Spark Class-Action Suit Potentially Worth More than a Billion Dollars
The story seems almost too terrible to be true: a lawsuit out of Miami describing a “national cover-up over a significant life safety issue” in regards to CPVC pipes installed in thousands of homes throughout the country for use in safety sprinkler systems – pipes which have been proven to fail over and over again;…
Read MoreE. Coli Outbreak Linked to Chipotle Restaurants Has Expanded to Maryland
There has been an outbreak of e coli infections linked to Chipotle restaurants that began in Washington and Oregon in October and November. There have been 52 cases reported in nine states now including the state of Maryland. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli 026 infection…
Read MoreThe DC. Metro’s Platforms Are a Menace
When you live and work in Washington, D.C., you get a lot of use out of the Metro. Because it is so convenient to use the Metro a lot more people are taking the train than ever before. This has led to serious overcrowding on the platforms – an annoyance for many people, but a…
Read MoreToo High a Cost: How the Criminal Justice System Fails the Mentally Ill
The Washington Post ran a story recently about a man named Jamycheal Mitchell. He was incarcerated for stealing $5.05 worth of snacks from a 7-11 in Virginia. Because he suffered from schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, a judge ordered that Jamycheal be placed in a state run psychiatric hospital – “but like an increasing number of…
Read MoreE. Coli Outbreak Linked to Chipotle Restaurants Has Expanded to Maryland
There has been an outbreak of e coli infections linked to Chipotle restaurants that began in Washington and Oregon in October and November. There have been 52 cases reported in nine states now including the state of Maryland. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli 026 infection…
Read MoreMotor Vehicle Accidents Caused by Failure to Yield Right of Way
Yielding the right of way to other drivers is one of the hallmarks of responsible driving behavior. Anyone who has been driving for any length of time has seen that driver who just pulls out into the intersection or speeds up when entering the Beltway, causing other cars to slam on their brakes to avoid…
Read MoreChoose a Motorcycle Helmet to Protect Your Brain, Not Just Your Head
Motorcycle helmets have an important job to do. They must protect the rider’s head in the event of a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing deaths in a motorcycle crash, and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. Most motorcycle helmet manufacturers are…
Read MoreAmusement Park Accident Injury Lawsuits
Perhaps it is the threat of imminent danger that rollercoasters and other amusement park and theme park rides impose which gives thrill-seeking riders such a rush, but every year about 4,400 children get injured on these rides according to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). The most serious injuries that cause death are not…
Read MoreNursing Home Abuse: What are Your Rights and Protections When You Have Been Injured?
If you are a resident in a nursing home that is certified to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding, you are protected by federal and state laws that were enacted to make sure that you get the quality of care and health services that you require. If you have a loved one who is living in…
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