Washington Injury Attorney Blog

The Peninsula Daily News reports that Timothy Eric Williams, 38, of Port Angeles has died of internal injuries after being injured in an industrial accident on Friday afternoon at 2:14pm at Evergreen Fibre Incorporated.

According to the report, William suffered life-threatening injuries in an accident involving a conveyor belt. Williams was performing maintenance on the machine when it started.

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries is investigating the cause of the work-place accident. They will determine whether the company had the proper safeguards in place.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We representing people who have suffered serious injury at the workplace and the family of those killed.

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

Tyler Braithwaite, 17, of Sequim was killed in a single-car accident on Sunday after he swerved to avoid a deer on a gravel road in the Olympic National Forest and hit a tree.

Injured in the accident was Rachel Myers, 18, who was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of leg and facial injuries.

Also injured was Michael Fleming, 16, who suffered a broken wrist and facial cuts; He was taken to Olympic Medical Center for treatment.

The report said that none of the victims appeared to have been wearing seat belts.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, there are approximately 1.5 million car-deer accidents every year which results in 150 human fatalities and 10,000 injuries. Some tips to avoid a deer accident include:

• Slow down and be attentive
  
• Use high-beam headlights
  
• If a collision with a deer is unavoidable, do not swerve but brake , and brake hard, and hold the steering wheel straight.
  
• If you see one deer, be on the look out for other deer as they usually travel in groups.
  
• Look out for reflective dots along side the road which might be the reflex off of a deer's eyes.

This accident is certainly a tragedy for all involved.

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 family of those killed.

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

Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington, announced that they are building a 48,000 square foot Emergency Medical Department in Redmond which they plan to open in 2011.

The new Emergency facility will be built near Northeast 90th Street and Redmond-Woodinville Road. The facility will have 16 emergency rooms and 36 primary care exam rooms.

According to Evergreen, the new Emergency Department will be staffed with board-certified emergency room physicians, trauma-trained nurses and social workers. They plan to have complete lab services and outpatient diagnostic imaging services including CT, MRI, Ultrasound and X-ray.

The new Emergency Department plans to see patients with urgent medical conditions including chest pain, stroke, and fractures.

Ground breaking for the new Emergency Department begins in May and they project the cost to be $15 million.

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 auto accidents, construction accidents and slip, trip and fall accidents.

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

The Business Journal reports that The Big Fresno Fair has agreed to a settlement of $2.2 million to Angela Malos because the girl was sickened with E-coli after visiting the petting zoo at the fair in October 2005.

Malos, who is now 6 years old, suffered kidney failure and strokes because of E-coli infection.

In addition to the settlement by the Fair, United Site Services, who supplies wash stations outside of the zoo has will pay Malos $50,000.

E-coli O157:H7 is a form of E-coli bacterium which can cause severe illness including hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a life-threatening condition. Every year, there are approximately 60 deaths in the U.S. due to E-coli O157:H7.

E-coli is often transmitted through food including undercooked beef, unpasteurized dairy and fruit juices, contaminated raw vegetables and salamis and other cured meats.

Symptoms of food borne illness can include stomach cramping, severe and bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and dehydration.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious illness due to food borne illness including salmonella and E-coli.

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

Walter Gabriel Manuel, 50, of White Swan was killed in a car accident on Friday night when he lost control of his 2001 Jeep Wrangler and went off of West Wapato Road. White Swan is approximately 35 miles south west of Yakima.

Manuel was ejected in the rollover accident; he was not wearing a seat belt.

The Washington State Patrol believes that Manuel may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

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 family of those killed.

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

Source:
Yakima Herald-Republic
White Swan Man dies in rollover accident
March 27, 2010

The most common burn injuries are caused by scalds from hot liquids such as coffee or tea or even the tap when a water heater is set too high, contact burns from touching a hot object or the stove and flame burns caused by open flames such as one finds in fireplaces, barbecues or flammable materials.

If someone you know suffers a burn injury, here are the procedures you should take:

• If the person has clothing that is on fire, you need to smother the fire using a blanket or something similar or dropping the person to the ground and rolling them until the fire is extinguished.
  
• Cool the burnt area by running cold water on it for at least 20 minutes.
  
• Call 911 or seek other appropriate medical treatment

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have suffered serious burn injuries including from dangerous or defective products, construction accidents and car accidents.

See our Burn Victim Resources.

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

The family of Robert Shearer, who died from peritonitis after his bowels were accidentally perforated during surgery to remove a noncancerous mass, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his doctors at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

Shearer, 68, died three days after surgery in March of 2009. Shearer's family claim says his doctors were negligent in failing to diagnose that he had a complication of surgery despite clear symptoms that something was wrong.

Shearer had symptoms of peritonitis including excessive thirst and abdominal pain. His doctors apparently failed to investigate the source of his symptoms and instead increased his dosage of pain medication.

Peritonitis is usually diagnosed when the abdomen is rigid, there is fever present, and the patient has symptoms of nausea and or vomiting. If peritonitis is suspected, then surgeos usually perform surgery immediately without other testing.

Washington State has a wrongful death statute which allows the family of a person who had died because of medical or surgical malpractice to recover damages under civil law on behalf of their deceased loved one.

This information is provided by The Farber Law Group, a Washington law firm experienced and knowledgeable in handling wrongful death claims.

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

Concepcion "Connie" Pinco Giron, 51, has been charged with kidnapping to commit another crime, false imprisonment, elder abuse and six counts of theft from elder or dependent adults by a caretaker reports Henry K. Lee writing for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Giron is accused of stealing money from patients at the nursing home where she worked and actually kidnapping one patient whom she kept at her home in order to steal her pension and Social Security checks.

Giron's conduct is startling in its brazenness. According to the Chronicle, Giron financially bilked and manipulated the patients and families at the California nursing home and rehabilitation center where she was an assistant administrator.

Giron is charged with:

• Lying to one patient's son and telling him that he needed to pay $600 cash a month extra for his mother's care and then keeping the money for herself; This ruse lasted 18 months.
  
• Writing checks to herself from patients' accounts.
  
• Using patient's ATM cards.
  
• Stealing cash form patients' trust accounts.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown said:

This is a shocking case of nursing-home abuse and a gross violation of trust.

The nursing home administrators called Giron's conduct an "isolated incident."

Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms including physical signs of bedsores, broken bones, falls, dehydration, pneumonia and medication errors. Financial abuse and manipulation is becoming more common as well.

If you suspect someone you know is a victim, it is imperative that you contact a law firm who can work with the appropriate authorities to protect the victim. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience working with nursing home abuse victims and their families.

See our Nursing Home & Elder Abuse Resources.

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

In an accident similar to an accident occurred on Interstate 5 in Everett on Monday morning, a motorist was killed when he hit a semi-truck parked on the shoulder of southbound Highway 167 in Auburn on Tuesday morning reports The Seattle Times.

Kin D. Beliakoff, 29, of Bremerton, was identified as a the driver who was killed. No one else was in his car at the time of the accident . The truck driver was not injured.

In Monday's accident, a male passenger was killed with the driver rear ended a flatbed truck parked on the shoulder. Alcohol was considered a factor in this accident.

Both accidents are similar in that they occurred in the early morning hours and involved the rear-end crash into a truck parked on the highway shoulder. Driver fatigue and alcohol may have been factors in at least one of the accidents but shoulder accidents are all too common and often have devastating results.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, approximately 2,000 people die every year in highway shoulder accidents. Highway shoulder accidents are some of the worst crashes on our highways. When a moving car hits a parked vehicle on a highway, the results are usually tragic. The Motor Carrier Safety Administration recommends to truck drivers that they should exit the highway if at all possible, even if it costs a tire or a rim.

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 motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed.

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

If you are planning a surgery any time soon, you might want data on how safe the hospital is where your surgeon practices. An article published in the Seattle PI.com entitled "How safe are Washington hospitals?" looks at a study by Niagara Health Quality Coalition on data assembled by Hearst Newspapers.

The study compares hospitals by looking at various factors including post-operative infections, MRSA infections, numbers of surgeries of a certain type, number of post-operative hip fractures, and mortality rates. This data is collected by Washington State Department of Health on all patients at all hospitals. Comparing the hospital data is not an easy task as data as each hospital may enter their data in a different fashion.

You will want to read the full study on the PI web-site. Highlights include:

Honor roll hospitals

• Virginia Mason in Seattle
  
• Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland
  
• Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Seattle
  
• Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla
  
• Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver

Hospitals on the watch list:

• Tacoma General
  
• Enumclaw Regional in Enumclaw
  
• Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington
  
• Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane
  
• Harborview Medical Center in Seattle
  
• Valley Hospital and Medical Center in Spokane Valley

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm, representing medical malpractice victims and their families.

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

Source
Analysis: How safe are Washington hospitals?
By ERIC NALDER
HEARST NEWSPAPERS

The Washington State Patrol, in a media release, reports they conducted a driving under the influence (DUI) emphasis patrol in Clark County on March 20,2010.

The Washington Patrol, working with the Clark County Sheriff Office, the Vancouver Police Department, the Battle Ground Police Department, the Camas Police Department and the Washougal Police Department worked together to target drunk drivers.

On March 20, the combined efforts of law enforcement made 12 DUI arrests, 2 minor in possession arrests, a felony drug arrest, 10 misdemeanor drug arrests, 2 felony and 1 misdemeanor warrant arrests and four driving on a suspended or revoked license in Clark County.

Aggressive targeting of drunken drivers no doubt saves lives. In the United States, it is estimated that more than 500,000 injury accidents and 18,000 traffic fatalities are alcohol-related.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims of drunken drivers and their families.

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

The mother of Lynn Dale Iszley, 48, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against King County, Dr. Anthony Rains, a Jail Health Services physician, and two nurses, Flora Cruz and Eric Shirley, for not diagnosing her son's bleeding ulcer which resulted in his death.

Iszley was jailed in July of 2007 for drug possession. Iszley complained of illness but the medical staff at the King County Jail believed he was ill because of drug withdrawal. Over a period of four days, Iszley's condition worsened at the jail and he was not taken to Harborview Medical Center where his life would have been saved. Instead, he died in the jail infirmary with a raging infection due to the ulcer.

An investigation into Iszley's death found that Iszley died in agony because of the medical misdiagnosis.

Washington State's wrongful death statute allows the family of a person, who died due to a person or entity's negligent act or wrong doing, to recover damages on behalf of their deceased loved one through a civil action.

Wrongful death lawsuits can arise due to motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, unreasonably dangerous products, construction accidents, criminal attacks and supervised activities like school sports.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm with more than 30 years experience in representing families in their wrongful death cases.

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

Source: The Seattle Times
Inmate's mother sues King County, medical staff over son's death
Reported by Mike Carter

Details are sketchy but the Kitsap Sun reports that a man was killed in a construction accident when he was hit by a large construction vehicle on the Naval Base Kitsap Bangor on Friday afternoon.

According to the report, the victim was a civilian worker, employed by Intermech.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm with more than 30 years experience representing construction accident victims and their families.

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

A Kennewick man, Bernard Vinther, was injured and his guide dog was killed in a pedestrian accident in Kennewick on Wednesday evening.

According to a report in the TriCityHerald.com, Vinther, who is blind, was hit by a car driven by Victorino Mendoza, 46, of Pasco as he walked home around 7:30pm at Washington Street and Sixth Avenue.

Police are investigating the cause of the pedestrian accident. Vinther was being led by his dog and had entered the unmarked intersection when Medoza, who was changing into the right hand lane, hit Vinther and his dog.

Vinther's dog, Kaber, was killed on impact. Vinther received some damage to his teeth, a cut, and bumps and bruises. Kaber has been Vinther's guide and companion for about ten years and this is the worst pain of all for Vinther.

Police recommend for safety's sake that all pedestrians wear reflective clothing in the early morning hours or late evening hours or wear some type of light.

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 pedestrian accidents and the family 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 attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The U.S. Consumer Product Commission in cooperation with Graco Children's Products Inc. has issued a recall for approximately 1.2 million Graco Harmony High Chairs because they may pose a fall hazard to babies and small children.

According to the CPSC, Graco has received 464 reports of screws loosening or falling out on the highchair's front legs and/or the plastic brackets that holds the rear legs to crack causing the high chair to tip over. Graco has reports of 24 injuries due to falls, including a hairline fracture to the arm, bumps and bruises to the head and body.

The Graco Harmony highchairs were sold at national retailers including Sears, Target, Walmart, Shopko, USA Baby, Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us and Burlington Coat Factory.

Check Graco's website, www.gracobaby.com for more information on obtaining a repair kit.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously due to defective and dangerous products.

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

A former Massachusetts dentist has been indicted on multiple charges including dental malpractice for allegedly using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts while doing root canals. He allegedly used the paper clips to save money.

The grand jury indictment claims that Dr. Michael Clair, 51, formerly of Fall River, has also been charged with making false Medicaid claims and illegally prescribing drugs for himself and his staff members including Combunox, Hydrocondone and Percocet.

Clair was investigated by the Massachusetts state attorney general's office for nearly four years before the indictment.

Clair has had a history of malpractice and drug complaints before his Massachusetts dental license expired. Previously, he had his dentistry licenses taken away in Maryland and Florida after complaints of performing unnecessary dental procedures and irregularities in billing.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to medical malpractice including surgical malpractice and hospital errors. We have more than 30 years experience representing medical malpractice victims and their families.

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

Source: The Herald News
Former Fall River dentist accused of using paper clips in root canals
Posted Mar 16, 2010

The Journal of Pediatrics just published a study conducted by the Environmental Health Center at Children's Hospital in Boston which links lead poisoning in four children to Indian spices and ceremonial powders.

Lead is a dangerous toxin that acts on nerve cells. In children, neurotoxins such as lead, can cause blood and brain disorders. It can accumulate in bone and soft tissues over time. In children, symptoms of lead poisoning can include loss of appetite, weight loss, anemia, learning disabilities, abdominal pain, kidney failure and behavior problems. With more prolonged exposure, it can cause delayed growth, hearing loss and delay the acquisition of abilities, like speech and affect the nervous system.

The Boston study found that approximately 25% of Indian spices and other foodstuffs contained detectable traces of lead. Infants do not necessarily have to consume the spices but they can be exposed topically through the hands and skin of their parents, in utero, through breastfeeding and through inhalation.

The Pediatrics article concludes that physicians working with the South Asian community screen new immigrants for lead-exposure and that the FDA should carefully monitor Indian food products and religious products and provide warning labels.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm that represents people who have been seriously injured by defective and dangerous products.

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

Source:
ABC News/Health
Indian Spices, Powders Linked to Lead Poisoning
Written by Susan Donaldson James
March 15, 2010

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with Hitachi Koki Co. have voluntarily recalled Coil Nailers - an automatic nail gun -- after reports of 15 nail gun injury accidents including five reports of partial blindness.

In all, Hitachi Koki has received 37 reports of nails being ejected sideways. The guns pose a serious injury hazard to their users or to people nearby.

The nail gun in question is model number NV83A2 and was manufactured between October 2002 and September 2005. The guns were sold at Lowe's, Home Depot and other home improvement and building supply stores at through Amazon.com

For more information about how to get your nail gun repaired, see the manufactured web-site: www.hitachipowertools.com.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident through the course of your employment, you should be aware that Washington state worker's compensation benefits may be in effect in addition to product defect and liability laws. While worker's compensation and third party liability law can be complex, the knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorneys at The Farber Law Group can help you obtain the compensation you deserve for your medical costs and loss of wages.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The number of bicycles fatalities have gone up over the past couple of years and there are now about 900 bicycle accident deaths each year.

According to an article in Consumer Reports, there were approximately 51,600 bicycle-related injuries treated in emergency rooms in 2008.

Bicycle helmets save lives but many fatalities are associated with people not wearing a helmet. Wearing a bicycle helmet decreases the chance of a fatality by 85%.

Consumer Reports reminds bicyclists of these safety tips:

• Wear a helmet that meets the CPSC Bicycle Helmet standard
  
• Insure the bicycle helmet is properly fitted
  
• Ride three-to-four feet to the left of parked cars in case a car door is opened
  
• Use reflectors, blinking lights and reflective clothing when riding is low light and at night

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm and represent victims of bicycle accidents and their families. 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 attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Car makers are starting to design and include crash avoidance systems into vehicles to warn drivers when they are not paying attention or when they are drowsy.

Increasingly, technology is being created to warn us about the technology that distracts us. Some of the new technologies coming to a car you might purchase in the future are:

• Lane departure warnings - warn you when you drift into another lane
  
• Forward-collision warnings - warn you when you are approaching too closely the car in front of you

Cell phone blockers

Cell phone blocking software can block your cell phone while you are driving or block the ability to text message. Cell phone blocking software is available for GPS-capable smart phones including Androids and BlackBerrys right now. Software is currently being developed for iPhones.

Parents and employers might want to check out some of the software available now. Following is a short list of products:

• iZup & ZoomSafer- blocks outgoing calls and text messages and holds all incoming calls and text messages.
  
• CellControl, Guardian Angel MP - uses Bluetooth to transmit a driver's speed and other data to a phone. It can also be customized to block calls, texts and e-mails.
  
• Some apps include Textecution, DriveSafe.ly, TXTBlocker

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the family of those killed.

Read "What if my car accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?"

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

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) says there has been an increase in the number of driving under the influence (DUI) arrests they have made during daytime hours so far this year.

Already, the WSP has arrested 45 DUI drivers by March 12 as compared with 49 through April of last year reports King5.com.

The WSP has added troopers to areas where they see the most DUI arrests.

Typically, there are more DUI arrests between the hours of 11pm and 3am though people can and do consume alcohol and drive at all hours of the day; the problem of daytime DUI is more common than one might think. During daytime hours, however, drunk drivers may be more difficult to detect because of the traffic flow.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a series of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims of drunken drivers and their families. With our help, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages due to a car accident caused by a drunken driver.

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

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued an advisory to parents and caregivers of young and fragile infants about the correct use of infant slings for babies under four months of the age. The warning comes after reports indicating that there may have been at least 14 deaths in the past twenty years due to the incorrect positioning of babies in the sling, including three deaths in 2009.

Parents who use the slings should consult the CPSC web-site to view directions about the correct positioning of babies in the sling. If babies are positioned incorrectly, their breathing can be obstructed.

According the CPSC's warning many of the babies who died were low birth weight, born prematurely or had breathing difficulties due to colds.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by defective or dangerous products or because of the negligence of others. With our help, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages.

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

Two young men from Washington state were killed and a young man and woman were injured when the Chevy Aveo they were riding in apparently went around a railroad crossing arm and were involved in a train vs. car accident in Utah.

According to a report in The Seattle Times, Alex Amundson, 21, of Fariview, and Donald Callison, 18, of Monroe were both killed in the motor vehicle accident. Amundson was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. The train was estimated to be traveling at 45 mph and 55mph when it hit the Aveo.

Injured in the accident were an 18-year-old female from Salt Lake County and a 19-year-old male from Vernal. Their condition is unknown.

All four of the young people were employees of KFC and were in the Salt Lake area for a business seminar.

No one on the train was injured 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 seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed.

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

Matthew B. Sims of Port Angeles, was sentenced to three months in Clallam County jail for the February 3 incident in which his dog attacked his son and left him with serious dog bite injuries.

According a report in the Peninsula Daily News, Sims left his 11-year-old son alone with the dog -- a 50-pound Labrador retriever mix -- and it attacked the boy, biting him on his extremities and face. The boy was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and is now in foster care.

Sims was sentenced to three months on a dangerous dog charge and also a one month concurrent sentence for possession of a stolen vehicle.

According to Washington state legal code RCW 16.08.100, the owner of any dog that aggressively attacks and causes severe injury or death of any human, whether or not the dog has been declared potentially danger or dangerous, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a class C felony punishable in accordance with RCW 9A.20.021. Sims' dog reportedly had bitten someone several years ago while it lived in Alaska.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by dog bites and the family of those killed. Dog bites can often cause serious injuries which require multiple surgeries and sometimes leaves permanent scarring and nerve damage. With our help, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages including medical costs and for pain and suffering.

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

A 10-year-old Marysville girl was critically injured in a bicycle accident reports The Seattle Times.

The bicycle accident occurred in the 7900 block of 80th Avenue around 4:30pm on Wednesday.

According to the report, the girl pulled out between parked cars and was hit by a motorist. She was not wearing a helmet and suffered head injuries.

The girl was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.

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 bicycle accidents and the family of those killed.

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

Thirty-six children were on board a Conway School District school bus when it went off the road and landed on its side in the ditch. Fortunately, the bus driver nor the children, ranging in ages between 5 to 14 years of age, were seriously injured.

According to the report on Seattle King5.com, the children were being driven home from school around 4pm when the bus accident occurred. The accident took place near the intersection of Buckland and Nelson Road, south of Mount Vernon in Skagit County. Apparently, the 41-year-old female substitute bus driver took her eyes off the road to check her route map.

Nearly 25% of all motor vehicle accidents are caused by distracted driving. Taking ones eyes off the road to adjust a radio, use a cell phone or to consult map are some of the examples of driver inattention. The proliferation of wireless communication and driver assistance systems has been escalating the number of distracted driving accidents. Driving is such a complex task that it requires a driver's full engagement.

In this bus accident, driver inexperience may have also been a factor as the driver had only been on the job for two days.

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 motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages.

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

An 8-year-old Lithonia, Georgia girl, Erin Ingraham, is in critical condition after two dogs viciously attacked her while she was playing in her family's yard Tuesday afternoon.

According to a report on CBS Atlanta.com, two dogs that "resembled pit bulls" seriously injured the girl in an attack that lasted four to five minutes. The girl was hospitalized with wounds to both arms.

A neighbor called 911 to report the attack and a police officer pulled the dogs off of the girl. When one of the dogs turned on the officer, he shot it. The other dog fled but was later captured; it will be put down.

The report said that the dogs had a history of attacking people. Charges against the dog owners are pending.

Dog bite victims can suffer severe and even life threatening injuries. Victims can suffer disfigurement, often of the face. Many dog bite viticms require between 2-5 surgeries to repair the damage. Victims often suffer permanent nerve damage, severe pain and psychological damage including post-traumatic stress syndrome.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber law Gruop. We represent dog bite victims and their families. Washington State civil law allows a dog bite victim to file a civil suit to seek compensation for their damages including medical costs and for pain and suffering.

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

L. David Byers, 19 of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, died after inhaling super heated gases caused by a gas fire started by a static electricity charge at a gas pump.

While Byers' death is an extremely rare and freak accident, it is important that motorists realize that static electricity charges can build up on ones body which could potentially lead to a fire at a gas pump.

Static electricity is the build up of an electric charge on an object. The static charge will remain on the object or person until it is neutralized by a discharge. Static electricity charges have known to cause explosions or fires in industrial settings and in hospitals

Electrostatic discharges can be a danger when a person is fueling their car at a gas station. In one report of gas fires at pumps, four of the five victims were women. This is often due to electrostatic charges building up on sweaters when women re-enter their car during fueling. Most victims suffered burn injuries.

To be safe, motorists should:

• never re-enter their automobile while fueling as this can increase an electrostatic charge
• discharge static electricity -- grounding themselves -- by touching a metal object like their car before and after fueling
• never smoke at gas stations
• never remove the gas pump nozzle in the case of a fire and leave the immediate area

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 motor vehicle accidents and those injured in accidents caused by negligence of another. 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 attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Source: Philly.com
Static-sparked death raises gas-pump questions
By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer
posted March 10, 2010

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) recognizes March as Brain Injury Awareness Month and they are educating people that concussions are brain injuries.

The BIAA is working to educate coaches of athletic teams to recognize the signs and symptoms of brain injuries including concussions and second impact syndrome.

In Washington State, the "Zackery Lystedt" law requires coaches to receive concussion education and to remove a student athlete from the field of play if the athlete exhibits signs of a concussion. The player is not allowed to return to the field of play unless he or she has a release from a doctor.

Concussions are the most common type of traumatic brain injury. To diagnose a concussion usually requires a physical and neurological exam. Symptoms can include headaches, seizures, vomiting or unequal or unreactive pupils, and excessive drowsiness.

Of course sports injuries are not the only place that people can sustain a concussion. A fall, a car accident or even minor mishaps like running into a door jam can cause a concussion.

For more information about brain injuries and the work of the Brain Injury Association of America, click here:

If you or a loved one has received a brain injury due to a sports injury, car accident, fall or due to the negligence of another, you should contact a personal injury attorney with expertise in the area of brain injuries. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience representing brain injury victims and their families.

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

A lawsuit has been filed against Sky High Sports, a Bellevue company that offers trampoline recreation, alleging that the company is grossly negligent after patrons suffered serious injury.

According to a consumer investigation by KIRO 7 TV, trampoline jumpers have been taken to Overlake Medical Center from Sky High Sports more than a dozen times since Sky High opened last September for injuries including multiple incidences of broken tibia, fibula, ankle, and foot. The report also said there was an incidence of a neck injury, a back injury and a knee injury.

One physician at Overlake Medical Center says that in general, injuries could be reduced if only one person was allowed to jump at a time and if there is netting or protection over springs and grounds.

Since 1996, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that approximately 83,000 people have been injured on trampolines. Three-quarters of these patients were under the age of 15. In a report published in the Pediatrics journal, a recommendation was made that trampolines be banned for recreational, school and competitive use for children due to the likelihood of serious injury including spinal injuries and fractures.

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 slip, trip and fall accidents and the family of those killed.

King Country prosecutors are charging Michael James Shannon, 38, a physical therapist at Seattle's Swedish Medical Center, with two counts of indecent liberties after two patients complained that he inappropriately touched them while they were patients.

The first charge against Shannon occurred in mid August when a woman complained that Shannon touched her breasts. Shannon returned to work after being placed on administrative leave when he claimed he had been examining the woman's shoulder.

Two weeks later, another woman came forward accusing Shannon of the same conduct.

King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong barred Shannon from working as a physical therapist until the case against him is concluded.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm and we represent people who have been seriously injured due to medical malpractice. A healthcare provider is negligent if their conduct falls below "standard of care" in Washington.

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

Source: "Seattle physical therapist charged with abusing patients"
Seattle PI.com
Updated March 8, 2010
By Levi Pulkkinen

The Washington State legislature has approved Senate Bill 6207, which would allow cities and counties to allow golf carts to be street legal by authorizing the creation of golf cart zones. The bill now travels to Governor Christine Gregoire.

The legislature voted 44-1 to allow golf carts to travel on public roads with speed limits of 25mph or below providing they have reflectors, rear view mirrors and seat belts installed. The bill also provides that drivers must be 16 and follow the road rules. Drivers who licenses have been revoked will not be allowed to drive a golf cart on a public road.

The comments on the Washington Votes web-sites are not too favorable to the bill.

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 motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed.

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

A 2-year-old girl was seriously injured along with her 30-year-old mother and the driver of a van when a man appeared to deliberately run his Chevy Astro van ran into an Aberdeen 7-Eleven store around 3:40pm on Friday reports KOMO News.com.

The girl suffered possible internal injuries and a fractured femur. She was taken to Grays Harbor Community Hospital and ten transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The 57-year-old van driver, Calvin Kinney of Hoquaim, reportedly had a previous run-in with a building last year and was cited for negligent driving at that time. In that car accident, the driver reportedly veered to the left before plowing into the building. Apparently Kinney has emotional problems.

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 motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian accidents caused by the negligence of another person. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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

Michael D. Burke, 34, of Wenatchee was sentenced to 3-1/2 years prison in the pedestrian accident which killed Arnulfo Garcia Maldonado in September 2009. Burke was found guilty of hit and run injury accident involving death and negligent driving. Prosecutors were not able to charge Burke with Vehicular Homicide because they were not able to prove that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

According to The Wenatchee World, Garcia Maldonado was attempting to cross North Wenatchee Avenue when he was hit by Burke. Garcia Maldonado died two hours later at Central Washington Hospital.

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 pedestrian accidents and the families of those killed.

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

On October 26, 2007, Chris Eves, 29, ran head-on into a tree north of Bellingham in his almost brand-new Toyota Tundra truck. Eves was killed in that motor vehicle accident. In the police file regarding the accident, someone wrote, "It remains unknown why the collision occurred."

According to a report written by Tracy Vedder & KOMO news staff, the Washington State Patrol hypothesized that driver fatigue and Eves' blood alcohol limit, which was at .08%, contributed to Eves falling asleep at the wheel.

Apparently, Toyota has an event data recorder (EDR) installed on their cars, much like the black box data recorders on airplanes. Up to this point, Toyota had not released the information from the EDR to Eves' family. On Tuesday, Washington state senator Maria Cantwell announced that she has gotten a commitment from Toyota to turn over the EDR data.

Eves' family is hoping that the EDR data will provide the information they need as to what caused the accident. Eves' Toyota was one of those on recall lists for problems with driver-side floor mat and accelerator pedal problems. The EDR data should provide information as to what pressure was on the gas pedal and whether Eves had applied pressure to the brake.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is investigating complaints that there have been at least 34 fatalities due to Toyota vehicles that allegedly accelerated out of control.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to car accidents and due to dangerous or defective products and we represent the families of those killed.

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

Safeway stores in the west have issued a voluntary recall of potato salad because of possible salmonella contamination reports The Seattle Times.

Safeway asks that consumers discard the product or return them for a refund. The potato salad is manufactured by Reser's Fine Foods.

Salmonella is a foodborne illness which can cause serious illness. People can be infected by salmonella through consumption of unclean food, excretions from sick or infected people and animals, polluted or standing water, thawed fowl and through reptiles. Salmonella can be found in poultry, cattle, sheep and food including meats and raw eggs.

Foodborne illness can be especially serious to the elderly, young children, pregnant women and those with compromised immune symptoms.

Symptoms can include dehydration, bloody diarrhea, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by foodborne illness and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages including medical costs.

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

Kelly Loyd of Castle Rock was killed in a construction accident at a Bonneville Power Administration substation on the Hanford nuclear reservation around 9:00 am on Monday, March 1, 2010.

According to an article in the Seattle PI.com, Loyd, was operating a bobcat with a backhoe and was seriously injured while doing excavation work and died later at Kadlec Medical Center in Richland.

Loyd was an employee of Christenson Electric Inc.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Washington Department of Labor and Industries are meeting to determine whose jurisdiction the construction accident is in and who will conduct an investigation.

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 construction accidents and the family of those killed. We hare more than 30 years experience representing wrongful death cases in Washington State and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

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

The family of Ralph Seewald have settled their nursing home negligence and wrongful death suit with the Riverside Health Care Center and the Village Health Care Center nursing homes reports the Billings Gazette.

Seewald's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the two nursing homes after the 87-year-old man died in 2005 of a blood infection. Seewald's family alleged that the nursing homes failed to provide adequate health care to Seewald. The lawsuit asked for compensation for "pain and suffering, mental anguish, severe emotional distress, grief, sorrow, medical and funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and other damages caused by alleged negligence. Family also asked for punitive damages."

According to the negligence lawsuit, Seewald fractured his neck while he was being transferred from a wheelchair. After the fall, he was confined to his bed and developed decubitus ulcers, also known as bedsores. The lawsuit alleged that Seewald's pressure sores were not properly cared for and the infection developed into gangrene which eventually killed him.

The terms of the wrongful death lawsuit were not disclosed; All of the parties signed a confidentiality agreement. However, Roger Seewald, Ralph's son and representative of the Seewald's estate, expressed satisfaction in the resolution of the lawsuit.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney Blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by nursing home abuse or neglect and the family of those who have died.

Washington state has a wrongful death statute which allows a lawsuit to be filed on behalf of the deceased by the surviving spouse, child, parent or the estate. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience in handling wrongful death cases.

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

Amanda Tibble, 34, of Telford, Tennessee, has been charged with five counts of abuse, neglect and exploitation of an adult at the John M. Reed Nursing Home where she worked. Tibble was employed as a CNA at John M. Reed which provides assisted living, adult day care, respite care and hospice care.

According to a report in the Greeneville Sun, Tibble verbally abused residents with profanity and also physical abuse when she twisted one patient's arm behind his back.

Tibble was classified as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). CNAs are people who work in healthcare and are supposed to assist patients with activities of daily living under the supervision of a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse.

Nursing home abuse can take many forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, bedsores, broken bones, dehydration, malnutrition, medication errors and infections. Often inadequate staffing, insufficient staff coverage, training and education and lack of proper staff supervision leads to an environment in which abuse can and does take place.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by nursing home abuse and neglect and the family of those who have died.

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

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and reported by Moises Mendoza in the Houston Chronicle found that 40 percent of police officers killed in car accidents while on duty were not wearing seat belts at the time. A 2006 study in Journal of Trauma, which analyzed the COPS series, found that police officers use seat belts less than 40 percent of the time.

The Chronicle article said that in Texas alone, five of the 13 officers killed in motor vehicle accidents since 2007 were not wearing seat belts.

The article says that police culture is one reason that police officers due to not wear safety belts. The say that some officers fear that the belts will impede them when they want to get out of their car quickly or that the belts become entangled on a holster.

Hopefully, these studies will convince officers that they are in serious danger of being injured in a car accident and they need to buckle up.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously in car accidents and the family of those killed.

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

Roy Messenger, age 50, was killed on Friday when he urinated on a downed power line and was electrocuted in Montesano, Washington.

According a report in The Seattle Times, Messenger was involved in a single car accident in which he ran into a power pole. He was not seriously injured in the car accident but apparently he urinated in a ditch while he waited for a ride and there was a live wire which Messenger did not see.

An autopsy will be performed on Messenger's body but preliminary examination shows burn injuries that indicate that electricity went through Messenger's body.

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 family of those killed.

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