Washington Injury Attorney Blog

A jury in Kitsap County Superior court is deciding the outcome of a lawsuit, Estate of Fred. E. Taylor v. Intuitive Surgical Inc., filed by the widow of Fred Taylor who was seriously injured during robot-assisted prostate surgery performed using a da Vinci robotic system made by Intuitive. The jury heard five weeks of testimony before going into deliberations yesterday.

Taylor's estate seeks $8.45M in damages from Intuitive Surgical Inc.

Taylor, who was 67 years old at the time of his surgery, suffered serious injuries during the robot-assisted surgery. His urologist, Dr. Scott Bildsten, was using the da Vinci robotic system unassisted for the first time since training when Taylor was injured. His injuries included a torn rectum, kidney and lung damages, memory loss, incontinence and a stroke. He lived for four years after the surgery but was unable to return to his normal life.

Previously, Bildsten had performed 100 prostatectomies using conventional surgery before Taylor's botched surgery.

Taylor's estate has already settled a medical malpractice case with the surgeon and hospital. The estate filed this lawsuit claiming that Intuitive was negligent in 10 different ways including misleading surgeons into thinking that surgery using a robot was easy and required but a day of training and providing inadequate training.

This is the first case of 26 lawsuits against Intuitive to go to trial and the outcome of the case is being closely scrutinized.

Robotic Surgery

There are approximately 400,000 robot-assisted surgery performed every year and the FDA is correspondingly receiving adverse event reports as there are more robot-aided surgeries before. Since 2012, there have been 500 adverse event reports including the deaths of five patients and reports of several patients suffering serious injuries.

A robotic surgery machine is a costly investment for a hospital. With a price tag of almost $1.5M and maintenance service agreements of $100K annually, there is an incentive for hospitals and surgeons to use the devices to recoup costs.

Continue reading "Jury decides case of man injured during robotic surgery" »

Linda Astorga has been awarded $75K by a Thurston County jury for injuries she sustained when her neighbor's dog bit her reports The Olympian.

Astorga filed a dog bite lawsuit seeking $25,000 in economic damages and $50,000 in other damages after her neighbor's dogs, which were running loose, attacked her and bit her in the calf on the driveway of her Tenino home.

Astorga's attorney said that she suffered permanent scarring after being bitten and that she is coping with ongoing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after she was chased and attacked by the neighbor's dog.

The dog bite lawsuit went to trial and the jury voted in favor of Astorga by a vote of 10-2.

Washington Dog Bite Law

If you are bitten by the dog then the dog's owner is strictly liable for your injuries and you do not have to prove negligence, you only have to prove that your were bitten by the dog and were injured.

Dog bite injuries are on the rise because so many people take too few precautions in securing their dogs or training them. In Astorga's case, the dogs were running loose when they attacked her.

Children are often the victims in dog bite cases and the rate of injury is highest for children between the ages of 5 to 9.

Some dogs are inherently dangerous such a pit bulls because they were bred to be fighting dogs and they have powerful jaws that can do substantial damage.

Continue reading "Jury awards dog bite victim $75K" »

Consumer Reports will post the results of a study in June that reveals that testing of 257 samples of ground turkey in markets across the United States revealed that the 90% of the turkey samples showed contamination with a disease-causing organisms and more than 50% of the turkey samples were contaminated with fecal bacteria.

Bacteria such as e-coli and staph aureas found in the turkey have the potential to caused food poisoning and infections in humans.

According to Consumer Reports:

"Some bacteria that end up on ground turkey, including E. coli and staph aureus, can cause not only food poisoning but also urinary, bloodstream, and other infection."

A most worrying finding of the study is that many of the organisms that researchers found were resistant to antibiotics.

Turkey, like livestock, are often given antibiotics to promote animal health and growth. This practice can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and is a serious threat to human health.

Tips for Cooking or Preparing Food

To avoid food borne illness when cooking at home one should use the following precautions:

• Wash hands thoroughly before preparing food and after going to the bathroom
• Thoroughly cook eggs and meat and poultry
• Cook all foods to recommended internal temperatures, beef-160 degrees; poultry-180 degrees; fish 140-degrees
• Refrigerate unconsumed portions immediately in clean containers
• Consume only pasteurized dairy products and fruit juices

Continue reading "Consumer Reports: Ground turkey samples reveal antibiotic-resistant bacteria" »

Concussions are a common type of traumatic brain injury. The word concussion is commonly used when speaking of a sports injury but the word concussion is used routinely to describe any mild injury to the brain.

While a concussion may not seem severe, a new study by the New York University (NYU) Langone School of Medicine has found that it can result in structural damage to the brain. Often the symptoms of a concussion can be subtle and not easily recognized but it can cause problems with thinking, physical problems and emotional symptoms. Symptoms can include loss of consciousness, irritability, cognitive changes and problems with sleeping.

It is believed that concussions are under-reported and that 1.7 million people suffer a concussion in a given year. Common causes of concussions include severe whiplash due to car accidents, bicycle accidents, falls, and blows to the head. A brain injury can occur by acceleration alone without a blow to the head.

Dr. Yvonee Lui, neuroradiology section chief and assistant professor of radiology at NYU, followed 19 patients for a year after a mild traumatic brain injury. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Lui mapped a patient's injury a month after the initial injury and a year later. By looking at the images, Lui said that researchers found that the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain which regulates many autonomic functions in the body such as blood pressure and heart rate as well as cognitive functions had structural damage.

Researchers also found that the precuneus lobe of the brain which is involved with memory, spatial processing and other aspects of consciousness were also affected by a single concussion.

Other studies have shown that a person who has suffered a single concussion is more susceptible to another concussion. Athletes who have had multiple concussions from playing sports like football, volleyball or soccer, can suffer even more changes to their brains because of repeated concussions.

Continue reading "Concussions — a form of brain injury — may have lingering effects" »

A large digital sign board fell at an Alabama airport killing a young boy, Luke Bressette, and critically injuring at least one other person.

Fox4kc.com quotes a witness, Larry Snyder, saying that a family was crushed underneath the sign which is estimated to weigh between 300 and 400 pounds.

The accident occurred in a section of the Birmingham airport that had been recently renovated.

It appears that faulty construction or installation of the sign board may be the cause of this terrible accident. Our condolences go out to the Luke's family and those affected by this incident.

An investigation will most certainly discover the reason the sign fell and in what part of the design and build process failed to adequately fasten the sign to the wall.

This incident is reminiscent of the myriad of accidents we have seen where a TV or heaving piece of furniture has fallen, seriously injuring or killing a young child.

Most people aren't aware the hazards of improperly mounted TVs or, in this case, signage can pose to people.

In Seattle, we had three separate incidents of glass balcony railing panels falling from upper floors at the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences near Seattle's Pike Place Market to the sidewalks below. Luckily, no one was injured in these three incidents but one could easily see how a person walking below could have been killed.

Those injured in the incident and the young Luke's family will certainly have a claim against many parties because of the falling sign. They may have a claim against the construction company, the airport and the sign company among other potential liable parties.

Continue reading "Digital sign falls at Alabama airport crushing boy, injuring others" »

The Columbian reports that Kenneth Eugene Burgess, 49, of Medical Lake faces serious charges of driving under the influence, criminal mischief and reckless driving after driving his semi truck the wrong way on a Oregon highway and crashing into a car driven by Katherine Emerson, 24, of Vancouver, Washington.

Emerson is lucky to have survived the crash with the semi without serious injuries because her car is totaled and, when looking at pictures of her vehicle after the accident, it is mangled.

Head on collisions are some of the worst accidents because they often occur on highways at higher speeds. Every year, it is estimated that approximately 350 Americans are killed in head on accidents. Often, the survivors of head on accidents suffer serious injuries including multiple fractures, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

In the past few years, we have seen far too many head on accidents on northwest highways:

• In 2012, a Seattle boy was killed and members of his family were injured as the family traveled to Yellowstone for vacation when a drunken wrong way driver struck their vehicle.
• In 2011, a wrong way driver was killed and two other motorists were injured on Interstate 5 in Marysville.
• In 2011, Benjamin Cabral drove his car more than three miles on State Route 512, injuring Miguel Salinas.
• In 2010, an elderly woman drove her small sedan the wrong way on State Route 3, injuring two.
• In 2010, Orlando Rivera, 35, was killed in Pasco when Lori Christensen struck him after driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 397.
• In 2008, Randall G. Trivett was seriously injured when a wrong way driver hit him on Highway 2 near Leavenworth.

These are but a few of the cases we were able to pull from our files.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about half of all wrong way accidents are caused by drivers attempting to make a U turn. The other major cause is driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A less common cause is an elderly driver who either suffers from confusion or poor eye sight becoming confused.

Continue reading "Washington semi truck driver arrested for DUI after Oregon head-on accident" »

The Oregonian reports that a teenager who was burned during an MRI exam because a technician left metal discs on his body from an electrocardiogram has filed a negligence lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University.

The boy, Aaron Lee, who was 16-years-old in September 2011, was undergoing testing to find the source of his abdominal pains at the medical center when the accident happened.

According to the lawsuit, Lee suffered burns to his chest which required skin grafting. He also suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the painful experience.

Lee and his mother, Sharon, are asking for $30,000 in economic damages and $2million for pain and suffering.

This is one of several incidents of people being injured during an MRI exam. In 2010, the family of a 6-year-old boy was paid $2.9M in damages after their son was killed when an oxygen tank was brought too close to the MRI's magnetic field and struck the boy in the head. He died of a fractured skull and injuries from blunt force trauma.

MRI Exams

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests are commonly used to provide about problems that can not be seen using a traditional X-ray, ultrasound or CT because it provides a two-dimensional photo.

An MRI can be used to visualize the brain to look for damage after a motor vehicle accident or to look for tumors or bleeding after a stroke. It can also be used to check on problems with joints and bones as well as other internal problems.

Every year it is estimated that 10 million MRI tests are performed in the United States.

Because MRI machines use strong magnets, it is important that metal objects not come near the machines. The MRI technologist should insure that a patient does not have metal implanted on the body, that all jewelry is removed and the patient have no metal attached to their body. The technician should do a thorough screening of the patient before undergoing the test. Patients should be asked if they have a pacemaker, a cochlear implant, coronary stents and certain type of artificial joints. Patients with these devices are or even with certain types of tattoos are at risk for a burn injury during an MRI.

Continue reading "Lawsuit seeks $2M in damages for injuries suffered during MRI Monday, March 18, 2013" »

Motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, violence and falls are the most common causes of spinal cord injury which can result in various level of impairment.

When the spinal cord or spinal nerves are injured, a person can experience having problems with sensation, strength or permanent paralysis.

In many cases, spinal cord injuries can be prevented, whether it is avoiding a risky behavior or taking precautions when doing everyday activities.

Motor vehicle accidents

Car accidents are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries but using a seatbelt every time one drives, goes a long way in preventing a spinal cord injury. Children should always be placed in a age-appropriate child seat or booster. Drivers should also avoid drinking and driving or using drugs and driving.

Sports injuries

Sports injuries are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries. It is important that children receive proper coaching in many sporting activities such as gymnastics and football.

In other sporting endeavors such as motor biking, skiing or snowboarding, the participant should make sure they have the proper equipment such as wearing a helmet. Participants should also use caution when participating in these activities including staying on marked trails and not skiing or riding beyond one's ability.

If a concussion is suspected, the person should not return to their sport until cleared by a physician.

Falls

Falls are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries and fractures, especially in the elderly and frail. People are warned to use step stools or ladders to reach objects in high places to prevent falls. The elderly should also "fall proof" their home but removing extraneous rugs, installing handrails and have proper lighting.

Seeking help for the injured person

It is important that after an accident, proper medical care be administered. A secondary injury could occur if the injured person is moved without proper support. If person loses consciousness, has severe pain in the back, neck or head, suffers from paralysis or weakness in the extremities or loses bowel or bladder control, call 9-1-1 immediately and do not move the person.

Continue reading "Preventing spinal cord injuries" »

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has launched its 2013 Brain Awareness campaign. The BIAA is the oldest and largest brain injury advocacy organization and advances brain injury prevention, research, treatment and education about brain injury in hopes of improving the quality of life for people who have suffered a brain injury.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect 7 million people every year and an injury can change a person's ability to do many things. In an instant, a brain injury can change a person's life and change the life of their family. An accident leading to a brain injury can happen at any time and in any place.

A brain injury occurs when there is a blow to the head, a jolt to the head or if an object penetrates the skull. While not every blow to the head or jolt causes a TBI, medical care should be sought if any the symptoms listed below appear. If the person is on blood thinner medication, then one should err on the side of caution and seek medical care regardless of whether symptoms present immediately.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability and death in Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 years of age. Whether the brain injury is caused by a car accident, a sports-related concussion, or a fall, a brain injury can change the trajectory of a person's life.

While a brain injury is not something one can see, it can cause a whole slew of deficits including:

• short term memory loss
  
• visual sensitivity
  
• balance problems
  
• paralysis
  
• sensory changes
  
• cognitive and problem-solving deficits
  
• visual problems
  
• sensory problems including the sense of smell and taste

After a brain injury, the injured person sometimes becomes like a different person. While the family grieves for the loss of the person that they knew, they also try to support the brain injured person. Often, even a person with a mild brain injury can suffer headaches, depression and sleep walking. Sometimes victims withdraw from society as they are unable to cope with sensory overload.

Continue reading "March is Brain Injury Awareness Month" »

Products sold in Washington stores are being affected by two recalls.

Bread Recall

Fred Meyer and QFC stores in Washington state are recalling several bread products with a sell-by-date of March 8 after customers reported finding plastic pieces in the bread that they have purchased. The bread was made in Kroger's bakery in Clackamas, Oregon. The recalled breads are:

QFC Tender Twist Wheat Bread, 20 oz
Kroger Value Wheat Bread, 22.5 oz
Fred Meyer Tender Twist 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 24 oz
Fred Meyer Tender Twist Honey Cracked Wheat Bread, 24 oz
Fred Meyer Tender Twist Wheat Bread, 22.5 oz

While no reports of injury have been lodged, swallowing plastic could potentially damage the

Raw Milk Products Recall

Milk products from the Dungeness Valley Creamery with best-by dates of March 2 or later have been recalled due to potential e-coli contamination. Raw milk products including Jersey cream, raw Jersey whole milk or raw Jersey skim milk from the dairy should not be consumed because of the risk of illness.

The e-coli was found when the Department of Agriculture tested some raw cream at the Sequim processing facility. There are no reports of illness due the product.

Dungeness Valley Creamery distributes the milk products in Seattle at Madison Market; My Asia's Essentials and Pike Place Market Creamery. On Bainbridge Island, the products are distributed at Real Foods; Pan D'Amore; and Walt's Lynwood Center Market. In Bothell, the products are distributed at Tru Health. In Federal Way and Tacoma, the products are distributed at Marlene's Market & Deli.

Pregnant women, children and people with compromised immune systems including the elderly are at risk for serious illness due to food contamination. According to government estimates, there are approximately 47.8 million food-borne illnesses annually with more than 127 thousand people requiring hospitalization and approximately 3,037 succumbing to the illness or related cause.

The most common symptoms of e-coli illness is diarrhea and stomach cramps. In rare cases, e-coli can cause severe or bloody diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and even death.

Continue reading "Food Recall Notices in the Northwest News" »

A California nursing home chain has reached a settlement with the California Attorney General's office to increase staff in 20 of its facilities and pay for a monitor to insure the nursing home are in compliance with minimum staffing levels and are providing proper documentation reports the Los Angeles Times.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. has been under investigation by the California Department of Justice for some time for neglecting patients. According to the Attorney General's office, patients suffered from bed sores, dehydration, malnutrition and were being over medicated due to inadequate staffing.

In the agreement with the AG's office, Skilled Healthcare has agreed to pay for an independent monitor, which will cost the company approximately $350,000 per year.

In 2010, a class action suit against Skilled Healthcare was won by plaintiff's who were awarded $670 by a jury but the award was reduced to $50 million.

Inadequate Staffing Chronic Problem in Nursing Homes

Because of the for-profit of so many nursing homes, often the staffing levels are not up to par and this is one of the reasons that neglect can occur. Couple that with high staff turnover and it is a recipe for disaster.

Federal Law Requirements for Staffing

According to Federal laws, nursing homes that have been certified by Medicaid or Medicare are required to have a registered nurse (RN) director of nursing (DON); an RN on duty 8 hours of the day every day; and a licensed registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse on duty the rest of the time. However, the Federal requirements does not specify minimum requirements for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who provide most of the hands-on care.

According to Social Security Law, Sec. 1919. [42 U.S.C. 1396r], nursing homes must "care for its residents in such a manner and such an environment as will promote maintenance or enhancement of the quality of life of each resident."

How Can Inadequate Staffing Lead to Bed sores?

Bed sores or pressure sores are a common name for decubitus ulcers. Bed sores are often a red flag that a patient in a nursing home is being neglected. Bed sores are injuries to the skin and underlying tissue over a bony area. They can develop as a result of pressure or friction. Common areas where bed sores can occur are at the base of the spine, the buttocks, hips or the heels but they can also occur on the back of the head, elbows, knees and ankles.

Bed sores can be treated by frequently repositioning the patient, providing a balanced diet with enough protein and keeping the skin clean and dry. If left untreated, a deep ulcer can form and a patient can experience life-threatening complications.

Continue reading "California nursing home settles with AG's office" »

A Los Angeles jury is hearing the case of Loren Kransky v. Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of the of the ASR XL hip implant device.

10,000 lawsuits have been filed against the J&J, claiming that the company was aware that the metal-on-metal hip implant devices was defective and that the company was negligent in not fully testing the device before marketing. Attorneys also claim that J&J was sluggish in pulling the devices from the U.S. market; DePuy continued to sell the hips in the American market for more than a year after they were banned from England, France and Australia. In those countries, because of national joint replacement databases, early data showed that the devices were failing at a rate of 12.5% within five years.

Kransky is a retired business guard who received his ASR XL hip implant in 2007 and he had to have the device removed and replaced in 2012. Kransky's blood was tested in October of 2011 and it was found that he had seven times the normal level of the metal cobalt in his body.
Kransky's attorney said, in his opening statement, "This hip, this medical implant, incorporated dangers to an extent beyond what any reasonable doctor would have anticipated or expected."
It is believed that the metal-on-metal design of the hip can cause shedding of cobalt and chromium ions which can cause a condition called metallosis. Metallosis can be serious and has been linked to cancer, premature tissue death, inflammation and osteolysis or bone resorption.

Those implanted with the DePuy device are closely watching the outcome of Kransky's case. J&J had offered a $200,000 case settlement to each of people who filed a lawsuit, according to some case watcher.

Trial Witnesses

The first witness at Kransky's trial was Magness Flet, a leader of a designed and troubleshooter for Johnson & Johnson who testified that DePuy identified early on problems with the ASR hip but rejected plans to redesign it even though the redesign would have potentially lowered the amount of cobalt and chromium shed by the device.

A second witness, Professor Dennis Bobyn, who is a specialist in Biomedical Engineering at McGill University, testified that the DePuy hip implant "has multiple design defects" which caused it's high failure rate.

Continue reading "1st Depuy Hip Implant Case Goes to Trial" »

Every since the Sandy Hook massacre, the country has been debating gun control. With nearly 47% of American adults owning a gun, it seems like the genie is out of the bottle already with an estimated 350,000,000 guns in circulation.

Accidental Shootings

When one looks for newspaper articles about accidental shootings, they are not hard to find. In fact, there are upwards to 680 accidental shooting deaths annually with more than 15,000 people injured. We easily found the following articles in The Seattle Times and other newspapers about accidental shootings:

1/19/13 - 3 hurt in accidental shooting at NC gun show
1/19/13 - 5 hurt in shootings at gun shows in Ohio, Ind., NC
1/16/13 - Pa. dad won't be charged in gun store shooting in which his 7-year-old-son was killed
3/28/12 - Mother, boyfriend charged in boys accidental shooting
10/12/11 - Accidental shooting is third in Seattle since Friday
8/15/2012 - Nevada man shifts in his theater seat, shoots himself
1/19/11 - Two Gardena High students wounded in accidental shooting on campus
8/8/98 - Man accidentally wounded by 4-year-old neighbor dies
11/24/07 - Man dies in accidental shooting at Riverside firing range
5/14/07 - Boy accidentally shoots, kills fathers

Liability Insurance

One proposal to reduce gun violence is requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance the same as car owners have to carry car insurance.

A professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, Justin Wolfers, said, that if gun owners were required to pay an annual gun license fee that took into account the social -- the potential loss of life or injury by the guns whether it be an accidental or intentional death -- then people would buy fewer guns.

Russ Roberts, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, believes that requiring people to buy insurance for their guns could potentially deter a person from buying many guns or would make the person consider the potential harm the firearm could cause.

Continue reading "Should gun owners be required to carry liability insurance?" »

Every year, between one and two million elderly and vulnerable Americans are mistreated, exploited or injured. This may happen in their own home at the hands of a family member, it might happen at the hands of a stranger such as con man or thief or it might be at the hands of someone charged to take care of the adult such as a nursing home, retirement home or group home.

We have almost become immune to headlines such as "Son kills his father in Austin homicide" or "Elderly woman found living in NYCHA housing squalor" or "Caregiver accused of stealing $75000."

In cases of elder abuse, the most likely offender is a close relative, spouse, partner or the elder's adult child. In fact, in approximately 84% of the cases of elder abuse, it is a close relative who abuses their relative.

The elder being abused might be your neighbor, someone you know from church or a friend of your parent.

Signs of Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation is the theft of an elder person's money, belongings or other property and it can occur at the hands of a relative, a conman or someone who has been hired to care for an elderly person. Unscrupulous caregivers or people who have gained the trust of an elderly person have been known to steal art collections, forge checks and loot bank accounts. Conmen have been known to perform costly but unnecessary home repairs or collect funds for non-existent charities.

Signs of Physical Abuse

Not all signs of physical abuse of an elder are apparent. However, if you notice signs of bruising, burns, welts, cuts or broken bones, there might be physical abuse going on.

Signs of Neglect

Elder neglect can be intentional or unintentional. Sometimes family members or in denial or ignorant about the care their loved one needs. In the an institutional setting, neglect can occur when employees of the facility are undertrained and overworked.

Some of the most frequent signs of neglect include unclean clothing and bed linens, poor personal hygiene including dirty hair and long nails, malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores and the lack of medical attention.

Continue reading "Do you suspect elder or vulnerable adult abuse?" »

For obvious reasons, it’s hard to predict an event that would lead you to file a personal injury lawsuit. Generally you’re a cautious person and you don’t go looking for trouble, so you never expected such a severe injury. But just because you're cautious doesn't mean everyone you come in contact with will be.

Even the most careful individuals can get in accidents. Maybe it's because you went to a neighbor's house to return a piece of misdelivered mail. When the rotten steps leading to his door collapsed, you broke your ankle. Maybe a neighborhood dog got out of its fence, came to your yard and severely bit you on the leg. Maybe you were out walking after a snowstorm and a property owner along the way neglected to clear his sidewalk, causing you to slip and break an arm.

Now you’re hurt and you’re facing a long list of expenses, just starting with a visit to the emergency room. Even if you're not hospitalized, you'll have to miss several days of work. Plus you might need surgery down the road, maybe even rehabilitation. Maybe you’re a construction worker and you’re going to require months of physical therapy for your broken ankle. Maybe you’ve experienced severe scarring from the dog bite and are worried that will hurt your modeling career.

It’s all because of someone else’s negligence or poor planning that you’re going to lose so much money. At this point, you feel that you have no choice but to pursue a lawsuit. Few people really want to go that route. And it's only natural for you to worry about how the responsible party is going to come up with the money to make things right for you.

However, if the person accountable for the accident has home insurance, he or she might have some help when it comes to paying for your many expenses. It goes without saying that most homeowners have home insurance – mortgage companies require it in nearly every circumstance. If the responsible party has standard home insurance, part of the coverage typically included in his or her policy could qualify them for help if you decide to sue.

Personal liability protection is reserved for exactly this type of scenario. It makes the policyholder eligible to file a claim when facing a lawsuit. If you’ve slipped and fallen on a person’s property or been bitten by his or her dog or some other scenario involving negligence, the homeowner might be able to compensate you using insurance. Liability protection can be used for legal defense fees, as well.

How much coverage is available? It depends. Typical home insurance policies generally allot $100,000 in coverage for each claim occurrence. For the average person, that’s not a small amount of money. Some homeowners might have even higher coverage limits – up to $500,000 – that will qualify them for additional claim money. Some might even have purchased an umbrella policy – separate coverage that will kick in once personal liability limits are reached. Umbrella policies start with $1 million limits, and homeowners can purchase as much as $5 million in coverage.

Continue reading "Homeowners Insurance Can Pay in a Personal Injury Lawsuit" »

At the same time that Americans are being urged to eat healthier and to consume more fruits and vegetables, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just came out with a study covering a decade of food poisoning cases and looked at the role that certain foods played in spreading illness.

The CDC study found that, in 20% of cases where a person contracted a foodborne illness, leafy green vegetables were the source of the illness.

Every year, 1 out of every 6 Americans contracts a foodborne illness. Of those who become ill, 128,000 require a stay in the hospital and another 3,000 die from the illness or related conditions.

Norovirus

Many of the people who got sick from eating leafy green vegetables contracted the norovirus.

Norovirus is a virus that causes what most people think of as the "stomach flu". Symptoms usually include vomiting and diarrhea.

Norovirus is a pretty faced moving illness and symptoms usually occur in only 10 hours after first being exposed. Generally, the illness is short-lived, lasting between 1 and 3 days.

Produce can get contaminated with norovirus in the fields if they come into contact with dirty water or water that has had contact with animal waste.

Another way that produce can get contaminated with norovirus is by food handlers and cleanliness in the kitchen.

Norovirus can be prevented by frequent hand washing, disinfecting contaminated surfaces with chlorine-based cleaners, washing linens and avoiding contamination by dirty water or feces.

How Restaurants and Cruise Ships can Avoid Norovirus Contamination

Many consumers assume that produce contamination occurs at the farm or in the packing plant. In fact, food handlers at restaurants can play a large role in food contamination.

It is important that restaurants and food workers be properly trained in handling of leafy green vegetables. Kitchen managers should receive instruction on how to handle leafy greens and then insure that proper policies are in effect and are being followed.

Restaurants should have polices in effect so that employees who are ill report the illness to their manager along with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cough, yellow eyes or skin, etc. Restaurants should have procedures in place which tells ill employees to stay at home.

Employees should also be trained to have use soap and water and to wash often and have procedures for food handling and sanitation of food handling areas.

Continue reading "CDC study: leafy green vegetables are top source of food poisoning" »

This past week, there were two dog attacks in the Washington news. In McCleary, Washington, an 8-year-old girl was attacked by a 2-year-old American bulldog when the dog got out of a yard. The girl received bite injuries to her head and legs and has to receive treatment at a hospital in Olympia. (Seattle Times: http://tinyurl.com/bd6g69e)

In Wenatchee, a 43-year-old woman was attacked by an 18-month-old pit bull and she required hospitalization. In this case, the dog was euthanized because the dog was so aggressive. (Wenatchee World: http://tinyurl.com/awujn3m)

Both of these dog attacks received media attention because, in both cases, the victims required hospitalization.

How Common are Dog Attacks?

Dog attacks are very common with 4.7 million people bitten every year and over three-quarters of a million are injured so badly that they seek medical attention. In fact, nearly 50% of homeowner's insurance payouts are due to someone being bitten by a homeowner's dog. Approximately 31,000 are injured so severely by dogs each year that they require surgery
Dog attack fatalities have gone up in the past two decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were an average of about 17 fatalities due to dog attacks every year. Unfortunately, since 200, the number of people killed in a dog attacks has risen to 26.

In 77% of all dog attacks, the dog is a family pet or that of a friend's. In the Wenatchee case cited above, the dog belonged to a family member and lived in the same house as the injured woman. In the case of the McCleary girl, the dog belonged to a neighbor.

Serious Injuries from Dog Bites

Victims of dog bites should seek immediate medical attention even if the wounds are not serious because dogs can carry diseases which could cause serious illness or even death in a human. Parovirus, rabies and some bacterial infections can be potentially life threatening to a human.

Dog bites can cause serious wounds or even disfigurement. Some victims require many multiple surgeries from a plastic surgeon to repair wounds. Some victims even suffer permanent nerve damage to their limbs after a dog mauling.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control wrote a study in 2000 which looked at nearly 20 years of dog bite data and found that, of 327 people killed, in 76 of the cases, the dog was listed as a "pit bull terrier" or "pit bull mix." The breed with the second-highest fatalities was the Rottweiler or the Rottweiler mix.

Continue reading "Washington dog attacks in the news" »

Did you know cheerleading accidents account for 65% of all catastrophic injuries to high school female athletes?

Cheerleading is only recognized as a sport in 29 states yet 37,000 high school girls go to an emergency room every year due to injuries they received from cheerleading. While people can argue whether cheerleading is a sport, there is no doubt that girls get injured while cheerleading and they suffer disproportionately when compared to other athletes to catastrophic injuries.

In Washington state, the determination whether cheerleading is a sport is on a school-by-school basis and it is based on whether the individual school treats cheerleading as a sport and the girls who participate in it as student athletes. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is in the process of allowing its member schools to offer cheerleading as a sport. If cheerleading is recognized as a sport, then the participants will have to abide by other rules such as not being allowed to participate in another sport concurrently with cheer.

Cheerleading Injuries

Across the nation, approximately 500,000 high school girls participate in cheerleading. With cheerleading requiring more athleticism, more stunts and becoming increasingly competitive, more girls are at a risk for catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures and injuries to the cervical spine. We also read one case in which a girl suffered a broken pelvis after a fall injury.

Studies show that concussions among cheerleaders has risen by 26% between the years 1998 and 2008 as cheerleading as competition between squads has become more fierce requiring more tumbling, mumping and stunts. Often the girls are practicing year-round and with daily practice sometimes last several hours a day. Some teams even have separate tumbling practice outside of the regular rehearsals.

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If you have been in a car accident involving a semi truck, you may be seeking help in filing a claim against the driver that caused your accident and possibly a third party such as the trucking company for whom the driver was working for.

You may wonder, "How dangerous are semi trucks?" According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) who keeps track of trucking accident data, in 2009, 74,000 large truck drivers were injured and 3,000 people were killed in accidents involving semi trucks. When compared with other types of motor vehicle accidents, mile-for mile, three times as many people are injured or killed in accidents involving semi trucks per 100 million vehicle miles.

When a passenger car is involved in an accident with a semi truck, the occupants of the passenger vehicle are likely the losers with the passengers suffering serious injuries. Victims may be eligible to seek compensation for loss of income, hospital bills and for pain and suffering.

Frequent Causes of Truck Accidents

When we represent trucking accident cases we find that most accidents are caused by one of the following:

1. Driver error -- including driver fatigue, driver distraction, driving too fast for road conditions, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving without adequate rest or making an unsafe lane change.
2. Trucking company negligence -- including overloading or failing to maintain trucks, lax hiring and screen policies including driving record and background checks.
3. Mechanical failure -- including brake or tire failure, defective seatbelts or gas tanks.

In filing a claim after an accident involving a semi truck, your claim may be against not only the truck driver but also their employer based upon the evidence. Sometimes, a product liability claim against a manufacturer can also be made if faulty parts contributed to the accident.

Wrongful Death Claims after a Fatal Truck Accident

If a loved one has been killed in an auto accident involving a large truck, Washington state's wrongful death statute allows the family or estate of the victim to seek compensation on behalf of their deceased loved one. Wrongful death suit can seek compensation for medical expenses, funeral bills and lost wages on behalf of a deceased loved one but it can also seek compensation for loss of consortium.

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Joseph Tucker, 29, a bicyclist who was injured when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while he rode his bicycle on a San Francisco street has settle his injury accident lawsuit against the driver of the van who hit him and the company for whom the driver worked for.

Tucker suffered facial and dental injuries when he was knocked off of his bicycle. He required surgery which required wiring of his jaw and he also required prosthetic dental work. His injuries caused him to miss approximately two months of work.

Tucker filed a negligent driving lawsuit against two drivers and the company they worked for, Lorrie's Travel & Tours, Inc. Tucker was able to file suit against Lorrie's Travel & Tours based upon the legal doctrine of Respondeat superior which finds that an employer can be held responsible for the actions of an employee for actions performed in the course of their employment.

Tucker received a $8,500 settlement from Abecendario and a $250,000 award from Lorrie's Travel.

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