Posts Tagged ‘Wrongful Death’

Defective Drain Covers Not Protecting Swimmers

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

The heat of summer is in full swing.  As our children head into the pool to cool off, keep in mind that modern pool and spa drains generally contain direct suction.  Powerful suction can trap swimmers under water causing serious brain injury and death.  According to statistics reported in the Los Angeles Times, “Between 1999 and 2008, 12 people were killed in pool and spa entrapments and 72 were injured, according to a CPSC report released Thursday.”  Fortunately, at the end of 2008, federal legislation went into effect to prevent powerful suction from trapping swimmers at the bottom of pools and spas. In response, public and private pool owners invested in drain covers intended to mitigate the dangerous effects of direct suction drains.  However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a massive voluntary recall just as the summer swimming season starts to heat up.  As reported by the Los Angeles Times on May 27, 2011, “About 1 million covers made by eight manufacturers, some among the largest, were being voluntarily pulled after a confidential report revealed the products had failed safety tests. Officials with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said public pools and spas with direct suction systems and recalled covers should close until replacement covers could be installed.”  http://www.latimes.com/health/fl-cpsc-recall-florida-pools-20110526,0,5231496.story.

Defense Attorneys Delay Justice for Wrongful Death Victims in Fiery I-5 Crash

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

On October 12, 2007, 34 vehicles crashed inside a tunnel along I-5 in Southern California.   A diesel tanker spilled fuel onto the freeway which exploded.  Three people died.  Although the California Highway Patrol completed their accident investigation fairly quickly–and assigned responsibility to speeding drivers, including a trucking company using faulty brakes–the three surviving families have not recovered a dime for their losses.  One of the dead, an entrepreneur carefully driving his recently purchased tractor-trailer on the slick roads, left a young family behind in dire financial straits. Tragically, the defense seems to be able to avoid paying money to help make up for the losses of these families by taking advantage of the sheer number of people involved in the crash and related pressures on the court system.  Here is an L.A. Times article discussing the matter: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tobar-20100618,0,4762224,full.column

Baby Cribs Pose Risk of Injury and Death

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) announced the “voluntary recall” of approximately 217,000 Graco cribs due to significant safety risks that came to the public’s attention after several reports of the drop side rail of cribs failing.  The CPSC recall notice warns that the rail failure poses a “risk of suffocation and strangulation” as well as risk of the child falling to the ground.  The recall period covers cribs sold from February, 2007 to March, 2010.  The recall notice includes cribs sold “nationwide”.   Thus, if you are an Oregon resident who purchased a Graco crib during this time period, please assume the recall applies to you.  For more details about the recall, including photographs of recalled cribs, please read the April 29, 2010 Recall Notice.

If your child has already suffered injury or death as a result of a crib-related incident, please call an attorney immediately so that the claim can be properly reported to the CPSC and your family’s rights can be fully protected.  Even if the incident occurred in a crib other than those affected by the current recall, it is still possible that the crib was defective.  Therefore, a complete investigation should be undertaken by an attorney and appropriate experts.