Washington Injury Attorney Blog

Costco, the Issaquah-based big box store, is sending letters to customers who purchased JBS steaks, ribs and ground beef between April 28th and May 28th after the meat has been linked to E-coli infection in 23 people across nine states. Costco is asking that customers return all affected products still in consumer's possession to Costco for a full refund.

Specific information about the recall can be found on the JBS Swift web-site at www.jbsswift.com.

The Centers for Disease Control says they have linked 23 cases of E-coli infection to JBS beef. Of the 23 people who have become ill, 12 people have had to be hospitalized and two people have developed the serious and sometimes deadly HUS kidney condition.

It is costly and sometimes difficult to sue for damages after cases of E-coli infection. However, patients who develop severe kidney problems, which may be a life-long condition, may be able to obtain compensation for damages it there was negligence in the food preparation or handling of the food product.

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill due to a foodborne illness, contact The Farber Law Group to discuss your case. We have successfully obtained compensation for victims of E-coli illness. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A construction worker for Washington Closure Hanford was seriously injured after falling through an access door of a catwalk. The worker, whose name was not provided, fell about 50' feet, hitting a ladder as he fell.

A report in The Tacoma News Tribune said that the man had "serious but not life-threatening" injuries. The man was described as an experienced construction worker.

The industrial accident occurred inside a building at the Hanford 300 Area which is located north of Richland.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in industrial and construction accidents. With our help, you may recover compensation for you damages including rehabilitation costs, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Washington State Patrol has issued a media release that they are targeting unsafe and dangerous drivers over the 4th of July holiday weekend.

The WSP said they will being their holiday emphasis patrols on Friday July 3 in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Island Counties and continuing the patrols through Sunday, July 5.
Troopers focus on dangerous driving behaviors which they know cause injury car accidents fatalities. Behaviors such as speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, aggressive driving, driving without seat belts and driving under the influence are the things they will be looking for.

The WSP patrol asks drivers if they see someone driving erratically, impaired or aggressively to phone 911 and provide the license plate number, a description of the vehicle location and the direction the vehicle is headed. They will be using aircraft to track down these drivers.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the families of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages including pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Seattle Times reports that a woman, who was in her early 20s, was hit and killed by a Union Pacific freight train traveling on Burlington Northern tracks near the Tacoma late Friday evening.

The Portland-bound freight train was near the Black River Station at the time of the pedestrian accident.

According to the report, this is the fifth pedestrian who has been killed on Burlington Northern property in 2009. In 2008, 16 people were killed.

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This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber law Group. We represent pedestrian accident victims and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Seattle Times reports that a 4-year-old Tacoma girl sustained non-life threatening injuries after she fell out of the back of her mother's minivan and was run over by the rear tires.

According to the report, the child was taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma and she is expected to survive her injuries.

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This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents because of the negligence of another driver.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson has introduced legislation which would revise King County Code to increase fees and fines and provide special requirements and disciplinary actions for owners of "dangerous and potentially dangerous dog," according to the Federal Way News.

Patterson's legislation comes after a 72-year-old SeaTac woman was seriously injured after two pit bull dogs attacked her after she had walked her grandchildren to the school bus. In that attack, Huong Le, suffered serious injuries including a broken arm, broken jaw, severed ears and bites to her leg.

Washington state law defines dangerous dogs as dogs that inflicts severe injury on a human being, kills a domestic animal without provocation while the dog is off the owner's property, or has been previously found to be potentially dangerous because of injury inflicted on a human are considered.

The legislation would require owners of dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs to:

• spay or neuter their dog
  
• keep the dog in a proper enclosure
  
• keep the dog on a leash or muzzled at all times
  
• provide insurance or surety bonds for keeping such dogs
  
• install signs on their property warning people of their dog
  
• pay a higher license fee for certain dogs

4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites every year and one in 5 of those require medical treatment.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent dog bite victims and their families. A dog bite or dog attack falls under the category of "general negligence" and civil law allows and injured person to receive compensation for injuries if negligent behavior resulted in an injury.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Olympian reports that Ray W. Lawrence, age 60 or Montesano, was injured when the logging truck he was driving overturned on Monday morning in a trucking accident.

According to the report, Lawrence was driving a logging truck that was fully loaded when his trailer hit a guard rail causing the truck to overturn. Lawrence suffered cuts to his face in the accident.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been injured in the course of their employment including construction accidents, trucking accidents and other industrial accidents.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A Southern California nursing home has been fined $100,000 by the State after a patient died from a "preventable fall."

According to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the patient who died was in the nursing home, Aviara Healthcare Center, for physical therapy after hip surgery. The patient fell one time so the staff put an alarm on his hospital gown which informed the staff when the patient got out of bed. Even though the patient wore the alarm, no member of the Aviara staff responded when his alarm went off.

The patient got out of his bed and walked in the hallway. There were no handrails in the hallway and when the man started to stumble, he grabbed a lift device that was stored there. When he fell, the lift device fell on top of him. He died from the blunt-force trauma.

State health regulators said that the equipment was not to be stored in the hallway because it posed a hazard to patients.

Handrails in nursing homes are mandatory and heavy equipment such has Hoyer and mechanical lifts should be kept in a closet. Between 15% and 30% of nursing home falls are caused by "environmental hazards" as in this case. Wet floors, clutter, poor lighting and handrails are all types of environmental hazards. Failure to keep patients safe may be negligence and the family of a patient may file a suit to recover damages on their loved one's behalf.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We have more than 30 years representing nursing home abuse and neglect victims and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A Wisconsin man is suing the manufacturer of a lawnmower, MTD Products, Inc., and Home Depot, Inc., the distributor of the riding lawnmower after it flipped and he sustained serious injuries when the lawnmower flipped and struck him reports The Record of Madison/St. Clair.

The man, Matthew Cauble, said he was following the manufacturer's instructions when driving the MTD Shift-On-The-Go lawn tractor up and down a slope instead of driving it across. According to Cauble, the lawnmower's transmission slipped and it started to roll backwards. He jumped off of it and the transmission re-engaged and the mower blades hit Cauble.

In his dangerous/defective products suit, Cauble claims that MTD's design of a tractor was flawed because it was not "reasonably stable" on slopes and was prone to overturn when accelerating. His suit also claims that Home Depot sold a tractor that was defective and unsafe.

Cauble is asking for a judgment of more than $250,000 and other relief. Cauble had considerable medical costs due to his injuries.

In filing a defective product suit, the claims are usually based on negligence, strict liability, breach of contract, breach of warranty or guaranty under the Uniform Commercial Code. Washington State has a Washington Products Liability Act which sets forth rules and responsibilities to the manufacturers and sellers of defective or dangerous products and makes it easier for an injured person to recover compensation for damages.

Product liability can include the product manufacturer, manufacturers of component parts, the wholesaler and the retailers.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a defective product, you will require a personal injury attorney to help establish legal fault. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience in representing people in personal injury cases.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A home health-care nurse with more than 40 years nursing experience was sentenced to two years probation and 60 days of community service for failing to report that her patient, a 13-year-old boy with cerebral palsy was neglected by his mother.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Morris Lee Brinkley, age 74, pleaded guilty to criminal neglect of a disabled person and failing to report neglect or abuse after Jaylen Brown died of infections and sepsis because of bed-sores (decubitus ulcers) that were not treated.

Prosecutors had wanted to send Brinkley to prison for 12 years but because she has given up the nursing profession and lacked a criminal record she was given probation.

Charges against the boy's mother, Kesheia Phillips, and another in-home nurse are pending.

This case highlights the fact that anyone who knows that a nursing home patient, or a vulnerable person is being abused or neglect, it is incumbent on them to report the abuse or neglect. You might be a janitor in a nursing home, or a food service person or an aide but if you suspect or witness abuse or neglect your are morally obligated, if not legally obligated to report your observations.

Contact the experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at The Farber Law Group. We will provide you with a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Tacoma News Tribune reports that a man who hit a 14-year-old kayaker with his boat on American Lake has been fined $343 for negligent boating. McKinley Randle, age 34, was fined but faces no criminal charges in the boating accident in which David Kenny "D.K." Ross was severely injured.

Police said there was no evidence that Randle was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or speeding at the time of the March 1st boating accident.

D.K. Ross suffered a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a gash to his head. He has had several surgeries and is now in a nursing home where he will need extensive, long-term care, according to his father, David Hermansen.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in accidents due to the negligence of another.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Nestlé USA's Baking division has issued a recall of Nestlé® TOLL HOUSE® refrigerated cookie dough products after there have been reports of people sickened with E-coli 0157:H7 , a foodborne pathogen, after eating the raw cookie dough.

The Food and Drug Administration says that the strain of E-coli has not been detected in the product but due to health and safety concern, the company is voluntarily recalling the products.

The FDA advises people that raw cookie dough should never be eaten and that message is written on the product packaging.

Washington State Department of Health said that they believe five people in our state have been made ill by the cookie dough and two of those five had to be hospitalized.

The recall includes all varieties of Nestlé TOLL HOUSE refrigerated Cookie Bar Dough, Cookie Dough Tub; Cookie Dough Tube; Limited Edition Cookie Dough items; Seasonal Cookie Dough and Ultimates Cookie Bar Dough.

Escherichia coli (E-coli) O157:H7 is a food-borne bacterium which can cause severe illness including hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) which is a life threatening-condition which can cause permanent kidney damage, life long health problems and even death. Every year there are approximately 60 deaths in the United states caused by E-col O157:H7.

Signs and symptoms of severe symptoms include severe and acute bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal cramping.

People who have become seriously ill because a negligence during the manufacturing or product packaging are entitled to file a civil suit to ask for compensation for damages including medical costs and for pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill due to a foodborne illness such as salmonella and E-coli, you should contact a personal injury attorney who has experience in representing people with serious illness because of food contamination.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.