North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

A 7-year-old boy required over 100 stitches after he mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull. Ravion “Ray Ray” Cunningham was riding his bike last week when the 1-year-old pit bull mix attacked him.

One neighbor who witnessed the South Carolina dog attack and ran to Cunningham’s rescue says she thinks the dog was trying to play with the boy and got excited when the 7-year-old ran away. Cunningham sustained buttock and facial injuries and part of his right ear was severed during the South Carolina dog bite incident.

While hospital staffers were able to reattach the boy’s ear and stitch up his wounds, doctors have said that the boy likely will have permanent scars. Ravion’s mother, LaQuantra Cunningham, says her son had nightmares after the dog attack.

Police have cited Luis Muniz, dog owner for allegedly violating the city of Rock Hill’s ordinance that dangerous dogs must be muzzled or contained. Muniz told journalists that his family has given the pet to animal control and told police to euthanize the dog.

North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries
Dog bite injuries can be very painful and, depending on the severity of the injuries, can result in extensive scarring and permanent disfigurement. Kids are especially prone to serious, disfiguring injuries. Dogs can more easily reach their faces during an attack and a child who sustains dog mauling injuries may have to wait until he or she is fully grown before undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery. In the meantime, the child must grow up with scars and other disfiguring injuries, which can negatively impact the self-esteem and affect one’s social development.

You may be able to hold the dog owner liable for your dog bite injuries, which can be extremely costly to treat and recover from.

7-year-old attacked by neighbor's dog, Charlotte Observer, January 19, 2010

Boy, 7, requires more than 100 stitches after pit bull attack in Rock, Herald Online, January 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Dog Bite Prevention, CDC

Dog Bite Treatment, MedicineNet

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A couple who says that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Marcus Jackson sexually violated them have filed North Carolina police brutality lawsuits against the city of Charlotte. Jackson, who was arrested on December 30, has been accused of committing sexual acts against several people that he apprehended during traffic stops.

The couple filed their Charlotte police brutality lawsuits in Mecklenburg Superior Court. They say that the city of Charlotte and Jackson violated their constitutional rights.

According to their North Carolina injury complaints, the 26-year-old police officer pulled them over after midnight on December 28 (Radio transmission from that night document Jackson telling dispatchers that he didn’t need police backup). He made them drive to a church parking lot, where he allegedly fondled the woman while pretending to search her. When the couple protested, Jackson threatened to arrest the boyfriend. He then ordered the man to pull down the woman’s bra and fondle her.

The woman says that after what Jackson did she can’t live by herself anymore and she has moved out of Charlotte. She started seeing a therapist and continues to have nightmares. She is scared of getting into a car again for fear that another cop will sexually assault her. She says she is scared of what might happen when Jackson gets out of jail.

These are the first Charlotte police brutality complaints against the city over Jackson’s alleged actions. They likely won’t be the last. One alleged victim, a teenager, says that after pulling her over, Jackson made her get into his car and took her to a location where he sexually violated her. Other victims have made similar allegations.

Cops who sexually violate or physically assault someone under the guise of doing their job are committing a crime and abusing their power as police officers. Do NOT be afraid to report the incident and contact a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyer to explore your legal options.

Couple sues city, former officer, Charlotte Observer.com, January 23, 2010

North Carolina Police Brutality?: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cop Accused of Multiple Sexual Assaults, NorthCarolinaInjuryLawyerBlog, January 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Communities United Against Police Brutality

Top 5 Police Brutality Videos, Huffington Post, July 30, 2008

Dorel Asia SLR and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling about 635,000 cribs, following 10 injuries to infants and one child death. The crib manufacturer and the CPSC are concerned that if the hardware that holds up the crib’s side fails, the drop side might detach, which could lead to suffocation or entrapment.

So far, there has been one related death involving a 6-month-old Iowa baby who was fatally injured as a result of strangulation and entrapment. The CPSC and Dorel Asia have received 31 reports of drop side accidents. Six of them involved kids who became entrapped between the mattress and the crib’s drop side. Three babies sustained bruises. There have also been 36 reports of cribs’ slats breaking. Two children became entrapped because of this. Fortunately they were not injured. Seven babies sustained scratches and bruises.

Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled cribs and contact the manufacturer for a free replacement kit.

This latest crib recall comes just one day after the CPSC and Carmia Furniture recalled 1,000 Diana cribs due to worry that the slats on the drop-sides might detach, potentially causing the child to become entrapped in the crib or fall to the ground. There have been 18 reports of the slats detaching from the cribs rails.

Over the last few years, the entrapment, suffocation, and fall hazards posed by drop-side cribs have become issues of great concern to parents, guardians, and child safety advocates. Since December 2005 more than 2 million drop-side cribs have been recalled. At least 11 infant deaths have occurred because of drop-side crib defects. And there are those, including manufacturers, who are calling for a ban on the manufacture of drop-sides cribs.

Drop-Side Crib Defects
While drop-side cribs offer the convenience of allowing a parent easy access to their child because one side of the crib can be lowered, these cribs have proven prone to hardware warping, slat breakage, and drop-side detachments. These product defects can create an opening between the drop side and the crib mattress that a child can easily become entrapped in, which may lead to suffocation if the infant or toddler stays trapped for too long. A drop-side that detaches or drops suddenly can also cause fall accidents, which can lead to head injuries and other child injuries.

It is inexcusable for your child to get have gotten hurt because a product manufacturer was negligent. You may have grounds for filing a North Carolina products liability lawsuit involving injuries to a child.

Dorel Asia Recalls To Replace Cribs; Pose Strangulation and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC, January 19, 2010

Major manufacturers propose ban on drop-side cribs, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Report: Drop side cribs can be dangerous, ABC, June 24, 2009

Dorel Industries

Continue reading "Products Liability: 635,000 Cribs by Dorel Asia SLR are Recalled after 1 Infant Death and 10 Injuries to Children" »

We all know that suffering from a North Carolina traumatic brain injury can be devastating for the victim and family members. Depending on the degree of seriousness of the TBI, a person living with a brain injury may experience memory problems, confusion, communication difficulties, attention problems, speech problems, sensory impairment, vision problems, hearing difficulties, a decreased sense of smell, a decreased sense of taste, paralysis, chronic pain, spasticity, bowel problems, aggressiveness, depression, or personality changes. Now, new research has shown that a traumatic brain injury can also cause problems with a person’s ability to process emotions.

This impairment can make recovery more difficult and cause relationship problems for the TBI patient. According to head injury specialist Professor Roger Wood from the University of Swansea, family members reported that following a TBI accident, the patient exhibited a lack of love or warmth that strained their relationships.

Wood and colleague Clair Williams asked TBI patients to fill out a neuropsychological test questionnaire that helps identify who has low empathy. Williams and Wood found that TBI patients generally scored low results for empathy. They also found that TBI patients have a harder time identifying not just what someone they saw in a video or photograph might be feeling, but also they were more likely to have problems describing and identifying their own feelings.

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury is devastating enough without compounding its effects with a decreased ability to feel and empathize. TBI victims and their families lose so much in terms of what their lives and experiences with one another would otherwise have been like if only the brain injury accident never happened.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina traumatic brain injury attorneys represent victims and their families with claims against the parties responsible for causing the TBI. Traumatic brain injuries can occur during car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, pedestrian accidents, slip and fall accidents, or as a result of medical malpractice or some other type of negligence.

Traumatic Brain Injury leads to problems with emotional processing, Psychology Today, January 3, 2010

Inability to empathize following traumatic brain injury, Cambridge Journals

Related Web Resource:
Traumatic Brain Injury, MedlinePlus

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There are now five women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Marcus Jackson. The 25-year-old police officer, who was fired from his last week, is currently in jail on charges of sexual battery, kidnapping, extortion, second-degree sex offense, indecent exposure, and felonious restraint.

One alleged victim, a 17-year-old girl, says that Jackson made her pull over and get into his car. He then allegedly drove off and committed sexual acts on her. Another woman, 21, claims that she was a victim of a similar sexual police brutality crime involving Jackson.

A third victims says that Jackson fondled her twice. The first time was during an unlawful search on November 2, 2009. She says that on December 29, he stopped her and fondled her again. The man she was with tried to call 911 for help but Jackson unlawfully arrested him for delaying and obstructing a cop. The charges against her companion, who was thrown in jail, have been dropped.

Two other women say that Jackson stopped them for speeding on the night of December 28, 2009. They claim he asked them to get out of the car and obtained their consent to search them. The women say the searches were improperly conducted. Now, the District Attorney’s Office wants to file additional sexual battery charges against Jackson for the improper searches.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Rodney Monroe says that oversights in the hiring process led to Jackson’s hiring. He says the CMPD was not aware that before Jackson joined the police a restraining order had been issued against him. The CMPD’s hiring process was revamped two months after Jackson was hired.

North Carolina Police Brutality
Sexual assault is a crime. When a cop sexually assaults someone while “doing his/her job,” not only is the act a crime but it also police brutality and a violation of the victim’s civil rights. Police are never allowed to use excessive force of any kind. Unfortunately, many victims are too scared to report police violence or they may not even be aware that what happened to them was wrong.

2 more women say police officer assaulted them, Charlotte Observer, January 8, 2010

CMPD Chief: Mistakes Made Hiring Accused Officer, WSOCTV.com, January 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Police Brutality, Human Rights Watch

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Beginning this week, the state of North Carolina is imposing tougher standards on assisted living facilities. Nursing homes can now receive a four star rating, but it will be harder to earn this highest rating and a facility will have to earn high ratings for over two years. Nursing home violations, such as medication mistakes, nursing home neglect, poor nursing care, hazardous conditions, inadequate worker training, and poor sanitation, will now count against a nursing home when its rating is determined. North Carolina investigators visit assisted living facilities throughout the year. A facility's rating is posted within 45 days of the visit.

North Carolina’s new rating system went into effect in 2007. The Division of Adult Care Licensure began issuing star ratings last year but previous penalties for inadequate care weren’t factored into the assessments.

While the rating system provides a guide for family members seeking to find the proper assisted living facility for their loved one, it is still important for relatives to visit prospective nursing homes, talk to workers, and observe the facilities and the residents. North Carolina nursing home negligence continues to be a problem at a number of facilities and it is the sick and elderly patients that suffer.

Bedsores, sudden weight loss, unexplained weight gain, poor hygiene, unexplained bruises, bedsores, fall injuries, change in the patient's behavior, mood swings, and depression are some signs that a nursing home patient may be the victim of abuse or neglect. A sick or elderly person can die because of nursing home negligence.

Elder-care ratings get tougher, Charlotte Observer, January 5, 2010

NC adds 4-star rating for adult-care homes, Daily Comet, January 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Star Rating Program, NC Division of Adult Care Licensure

Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

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