300 people were working at the plant when the deadly work explosion occurred. The fatal natural gas explosion injured almost 40 people and killed three others. One of the injured workers, Tammie O’Neal, sustained back, leg, and head injuries. She was trampled by workers that were rushing to escape the explosion. Another injured employee, Leonard Spruill, sustained serious burn injuries.
Energy Systems Analysts was a Hickory contractor that made and helped install a gas water heater that investigators think may have been a key factor in the deadly natural explosion. The workers' Raleigh personal injury lawsuit is accusing the water heater maker of not having the license in North Carolina to install, connect, or manipulate the pipes that deliver the natural gas. The plaintiffs are also accusing the Hickory contractor of failing to evacuate the plant when it became apparent that “natural gas was venting into the plant.”
The US Chemical Safety Board believes there is a strong likelihood that contractors vented the gas inside the building when they installed the device. The gas should have been vented outside. North Carolina safety officials are investigating 10 companies because of the fatal blast.
Other defendants named in the North Carolina personal injury lawsuit are Curtis Ray Poppe, an Energy Systems Analysts employee, Jacobs Engineering Group, the company that came up with the installation plans, and Southern Industrial Constructors, a mechanical contractor.
Although workers cannot sue their employers for work accidents—they are, however, entitled to workers’ compensation benefits—they can file North Carolina personal injury claims against third parties that were liable for causing their work injuries.
Hickory company named in lawsuit in wake of fatal plant explosion, Hickory Record, June 23, 2009
Injured ConAgra workers sue contractor, The News & Observer, June 16, 2009
Related Web Resources:
3 confirmed dead in explosion, The News & Observer, June 16, 2009
According to the North Carolina wrongful death complaint, the 85-year-old, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hypertension, wandered away from the facility, fell into a ravine, and died from the head injury she sustained when she fell.
The civil lawsuit contends that the Angier nursing home workers knew that the 85-year-old was at risk for wandering yet did not do anything to prevent her elopement. Not only did Evans's nursing care plan note that she could become disoriented and forgetful, but it also indicated that she was physically fit enough to walk at a fast pace for long distances without help. Evans also had a history of leaving the facility without help on several occasions. Despite having this information, the North Carolina nursing home did not make sure that she was constantly supervised.
The complaint claims that on February 1, the night the elderly resident wandered off, no one was available to give her the medication she needed for her nerves and sleep deprivation issues. Also, the security system used to prevent patients from wandering was not working. The system had not been inspected since 2005.
After Evans died, the Harnett County Department of Social Services fined the Angier nursing home for a number of safety violations, including failure to properly supervise residents so that they are protected from serious injury and not correcting certain care quality issues that the state of North Carolina had been asking the nursing home to fix for some time now. Inadequate training has also been an issue, say inspectors.
The state has inspected Primrose Retirement Villa IV 28 times in the past two years. Usually, it is standard for the state to investigate a North Carolina nursing home no more than four times a year.
Serita Cheryl Evans is seeking at least $10,000 from the Harnett County assisted living facility.
Daughter Of Resident Who Fell To Her Death Sues, DunnDailyRecord, June 15, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov
Harnett County Department of Social Services, Harnett County
Why Do Wandering Management Systems in Nursing Homes Fail?, EzineArticles.com,
Safety initiatives that pool and spa owners and supervisors can take:
• Make sure that the pool is fenced in and that the barricade is high enough to prevent children from being able to climb over or open the gate without adult supervision.
• Don’t allow kids into a pool or spa without adult supervision.
• Install pool alarms just in case a child manages to enter the pool or spa area without supervision.
• Make sure that the person in charge of supervising the pool area is someone that knows how to swim and is actually paying attention to the kids that are in the pool.
• Install the new federally mandated pool and spa safety drains that are designed to prevent kids and adult from getting suctioned to the bottom of the pool or spa and drowning.
Drowning accidents are often fatal. Earlier this month in Raleigh, a 5-year-old boy drowned at the North Hills Club pool. Some 50 people were there attending a party at the time of the tragic North Carolina drowning accident and there were four lifeguards on duty.
According to police, the child went to the pool area with an aunt and uncle. He wandered to the adult pool while they stayed by the children’s pool. A swimmer saw the boy at the bottom of the pool. Lifeguards retrieved the him and they performed CPR while waiting for paramedics. The child was taken to WakeMed where he was pronounced dead.
In May, a Greensboro boy also died n a pool drowning accident. The tragic incident occurred in South Carolina. According to the coroner’s office in Myrtle Beach, Owaes Tabbakh was at the Beach Colony Resort when a lifeguard discovered him floating in a pool. The lifeguard performed CPR on him until paramedics arrived. Emergency workers were unable to revive the boy who was later pronounced dead.
In the event that an adult or child survives a North Carolina or South Carolina drowning accident, he or she may be left with permanent traumatic brain injuries. The drowning victim may require lifelong, round-the-clock, costly medical care.
Child drowns in North Hills Club pool, WRAL.com, June 10, 2009
4-year-old drowns in Myrtle Beach, CarolinaLive.com, May 29, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Pool and Spa Submersion: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities, 2009 (PDF)
Over 700 contact lenses users in the US and Asia claim that they suffered from Fusarium keratitis because they used the solution, which was pulled off US store shelves in April 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that from June 2005 to September 2006 there were 180 confirmed cases in 35 US states. After that point, the CDC stopped its surveillance.
Seven people in the US reportedly had to have an eye removed because of the infection and at least 60 people had corneal transplants to save their vision. A racecar driver’s career ended as a result of his injury. Another person who lost his eye became addicted to painkillers, resulting in the collapse of his marriage and business.
Fusarium Keratitis
This rare infection can lead to inflammation of the cornea. Victims often experience severe pain. Delayed diagnosis has been known to occur and can cause the infection to grow worse. One woman didn’t know about the recall and suffered from the infection for two months. She lost an eye.
It is still unclear how the contact solution played a role in the mass fungal outbreak. One theory is that its disinfectant got into the lenses at a very high rate and the moisturizing agents produced a biofilm that either shielded or helped grow the fungus until the infections occurred.
MoistureLoc has also been linked to different types of viral, bacterial, and parasitic ailments. Plaintiffs have filed over 500 products liability lawsuits for their injuries. One woman claims that after her eye became infected she sustained a scar that blurred her vision and took a year to heal. Bausch & Lomb is denying that there is a link between the solution and these infections.
Bausch & Lomb settles 600 eye fungus lawsuits, AP, May 31, 2009
General Information about Fusarium Keratitis, CDC, May 10, 2006
Related Web Resources:
Bausch and Lomb
By 2030, there are expected to be almost 2.9 million seniors over age 60 living in the state. Wilder also says the number of North Carolina elder abuse complaints are increasing because the children of elderly people living in North Carolina nursing homes are less likely to put up with allowing their loved ones to become the victims of caregiver abuse or nursing home neglect. State officials say that 15% of elder abuse incidents happen in long-term care facilities, with the other incidents taking place in private residences.
One challenge to investigating elder abuse and neglect allegations is that in certain cases, the victim may be too sick or frail to report what is happening to him or her. The News & Observer recently published an article about one case involving Della Jarrett, an 88-year-old woman staying at a Raleigh nursing home. She had unexplained bruises on her face, and no one from Sunnybrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation could explain to Jarrett’s daughter, Doris Weaver, why her mother’s eye and face were bruised and swollen. Jarrett has advanced dementia and cannot walk or roll over.
Weaver reported the incident to Raleigh police. Meantime, Sunnybrook officials suspended an employee but deny that Jarrett was the victim of nursing home abuse. North Carolina law defines caretaker abuse to include the intentional act of inflicting physical injury or pain and purposely depriving someone of services.
Yet even when a nursing home worker isn’t intentionally trying to hurt a resident or withhold the proper care, injuries and accidents can happen. Nursing inexperience can lead to fall accidents, failure to properly clean a resident’s wounds, failure to follow specific feeding procedures, and poor resident supervision.
Abuse hard to verify if injured can't speak, The News & Observer, June 3, 2009
National Center on Elder Abuse
Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes, Medicare.gov
The defendants named in the North Carolina clergy sexual abuse lawsuit are the Diocese of Charlotte and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The plaintiff, Steven Souder, claims that church officials took part in a conspiracy to protect pedophile priests, including McCole and Pechulis.
Souder, who used to be an altar boy, says that the two priests forced him to take part in group oral sex while on a trip to Asheville during the 1970’s. He accuses McCole of taking advantage of him and sexually abusing him several times. McCole denies the alleged abuse incidents ever happened. Souder’s complaint also claims that when he reported the abuse to a higher ranking clergy member, he was told that what was happening to him wasn’t inappropriate.
The plaintiff, who suffers from mental illness, says he repressed the memories of the abuse for years until 2007 when the archdiocese sent him a letter talking about clergy sex abuse.
North Carolina law doesn’t count the time when a person’s memories of sexual abuse were repressed toward the statute of limitations for filing sexual abuse lawsuits. The statute of limitations only begins running after the memories have been recovered.
Clergy Sex Abuse
In the last seven years, hundreds of people have come forward claiming that priests sexually abused them. Even as the clergy sex abuse scandal rocked the United States, victims in other countries also stepped forward to make similar allegations against the priests in the areas where they lived. The leaders of the Catholic Church have been accused of covering up the abuse incidents for decades, which has allowed pedophile priests to strike at new victims over and over again.
Sexual abuse of any kind causes serious personal injury to victims and their families and can be grounds for a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit.
'70s altar boy alleges abuse & that Krol abetted cover-up, Philadelphia Daily News, June 2, 2009
Sex abuse lawsuit names deceased Asheville priest, Citizen-Times, June 2, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Spotlight Abuse in the Catholic Church, The Boston Globe
In January, Joseph Gerald Hart, 16, died in a Raleigh head-on collision with a delivery truck. The teen driver had over-corrected after driving off the road. In November 2007, 16-year-old Joel Duran drove off Interstate 40. While over-correcting, his SUV rolled over. Two of his passengers, 23-year-old Elizabeth Arch and 17-year-old Zepherino Duran were ejected from the vehicle.
Zepherino sustained critical injuries and Arch died from hers. Joel has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and manslaughter.
Adults, too, have known to over-correct. The Highway Patrol makes its troopers practice how to reenter the highway safely and correctly.
Last January, a school bus driver who over-corrected struck an SUV, killing its driver. The North Carolina bus driver, Trumeka Deon Wilson, was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
Unfortunately, over-correction and other driving errors can lead to catastrophic North Carolina car accidents that can cause serious injuries or deaths. In these instances, it is time to contact an experienced Raleigh, North Carolina car crash law firm about your case.
Other common mistakes that can lead to catastrophic North Carolina motor vehicle crashes:
• Drowsy driving
• Speeding
• Swerving out of one’s lane. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 15,574 people died in US traffic accidents in 2007 because a driver swerved out of their lane.
• Drunk driving
• Failure to yield
• Running a red light
• Reckless driving
• Not wearing a seat belt
Over-correcting linked to many accidents, WRAL.com, May 21, 2009
Most Lethal Driving Mistakes, MSN.com
Over Correction- One of the Most Common Mistakes Teens Make, ParentalCourage.com, May 22, 2008
Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Administration
Teen Drivers, CDC
]]>Also killed over this holiday weekend, but on Friday morning—which is not included in the NC Highway Patrol's holiday weekend injury and death report, which covers the period beginning 6pm on Friday through Monday at midnight—was a family of four. Wayne Pride Hicks, his wife Natalie, and their five children were taking advantage of the long weekend to meet with Wayne’s biological father, who had never met his daughter-in-law and grandchildren before.
However, on Friday morning, on Interstate 77 close to Elkin, the minivan they were riding in drove across a 60-foot wide median, hitting oncoming traffic and crashing at full speed into two other vehicles. Wayne, 44, Natalie, 35, Wayne Jr., 10, and Natalie, 3 all died in the tragic North Carolina car accident. The three surviving children, Elijah, 8, John, 7, and Josiah, 5, were treated at a hospital for their injuries. Police think Wayne may have fallen asleep while driving.
Also killed in the deadly North Carolina traffic accident was Hickory resident Bryan Mowry, who was riding the pickup truck that was struck by the minivan Wayne was driving. The other person riding in the car with the 59-year-old car accident victim was Sandra Mowry, 57, who was seriously injured. 50-year-old Bonnie Casstevents Weddle, whose car was also struck head-on by the minivan, was treated at a hospital for her injuries before being released.
With summer fast approaching and more people expected to travel on state roads, North Carolina troopers are taking more steps to prevent traffic crashes. The state’s Highway Patrol has been part of the nationwide “Click-It or Ticket” seatbelt campaign meant to remind people that there are consequences to not wearing a safety belt.
9 die in NC wrecks over Memorial Day weekend, Citizen-Times, May 26, 2009
Van crash in North Carolina kills four from Queens family on way to a first-time reunion, Daily News, May 23, 2009
Fifth Person In I-77 Crash Dies, Fox 8, May 23, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Click It or Ticket, North Carolina Department of Transportation
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is reporting 142 motorcycle fatalities in 2008—a decline from the 192 rider deaths in 2007. However, AAA Carolinas says North Carolina still has the number eight highest motorcycle death rate in the US. While motorcycles make up just almost 2% of all registered vehicles in the state, they represent almost 12% of all North Carolina traffic deaths.
Just this month, a 21-year-old Onslow motorcyclist died in a single-vehicle crash. Police say that Christopher Steiner may have been traveling approximately 90 mph in a 55 mph zone when he lost control of his bike. His cause of death, according to the Onslow County Medical Examiner’s Office, was blunt force trauma. In another North Carolina motorcycle accident in Lillington, Victoria Allen was charged in the fatal traffic accident that killed Brandon Rodney Brown on US 421.
Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month seeks to make riders and other motor vehicle drivers aware that they are both responsible for preventing North Carolina motorcycle accidents from happening. AAA Carolinas Offers a Number of safety tips for motorcyclists and drivers, including:
For Motorcyclists:
• Wear a helmet. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program recommends that you use a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS ) 218 helmet. North Carolina law mandates that motorcyclists wear helmets.
• Before you get on a North Carolina highway, take a state-approved motorcycle training course.
For Other Drivers:
• Don’t share the lane with motorcyclists.
• Signal to indicate your next move.
• Give at least 3 seconds more following distance to a motorcycle than you would another motor vehicle.
• Check your blind spots for motorcycles.
Both riders and the drivers of trucks, cars, and buses are reminded to pay attention when driving.
Gov. Perdue Proclaims May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, Media Newswire
Motorcycle riders aim to spread awareness this month, WRAL, May 13, 200
Woman charged in motorcyclist's death, WRAL.com, May 3, 2009
Onslow man killed in motorcycle wreck, WRAL.com, May 5, 2009
Related Web Resources:
AAA Carolinas
Over two dozen of the North Carolina injury law firm’s employees and their families took part in the event. Together, they helped raise over $2,500. Attorney DeMayo and his staff are familiar with the struggles that drunk driving accident victims and their families face. He and his law firm represent North Carolina and South Carolina clients that have been injured and those whose loved ones have died in drunk driving accidents in their pursuit to recover personal injury or wrongful death compensation from all negligent parties. Just last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that both states experienced the largest spike in DUI fatalities among all US states between 2006 and 2007.
This past Saturday, employees from the Charlotte branch of the Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo participated in another event, this one at a Habitat for Humanity house. They pulled up their sleeves and spent the morning hanging dry wall at the home, which is being built for a low-income family. The North Carolina personal injury law firm, which also has law offices in Monroe and Hickory, made a $15,000 donation to this worthwhile cause.
Attorney DeMayo praised Habitat for Humanity for helping so many people in the Charlotte community that are in need of affordable housing. He also touted the benefits that his employees reaped by volunteering for this "great, team building" experience.
The Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo, LLP also helps clients with injury or wrongful death cases involving medical malpractice, nursing home abuse or neglect, defective medical devices, products liability, dog bites, and workers’ compensation.
Related Web Resources:
Walk Like MADD, Charlotte, NC
Habitat for Humanity, Charlotte
NHTSA Ranks North Carolina and South Carolina as Two US States With Greatest Increase In DUI Deaths, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 2, 2008
]]>The proposal seeks to only place a cap on North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits for retirees with temporary disabilities and not retired workers with permanent disabilities. The Senate Commerce Committee is looking at S 975, a companion bill.
While supporters of the bill believe that the workers’ compensation cap would allow North Carolina to become more competitive with other states that already have such caps, as well as decrease fraudulent workers’ compensation claims, opponents of the bill are worried that this could cause injured elderly workers to struggle during their retirement. The NC Advocates for Justice as well as AARP North Carolina don’t approve of the bill, and the latter group has expressed concern over the financial and medical challenges a retired, injured worker might face if he or she solely had to rely on Social Security benefits.
North Carolina Workers' Compensation
If you are a North Carolina worker who was injured on the job, you should report the injury incident as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after it happened. Make sure that you issue your report in writing so that you've documented the details of the incident, as well as your notice to your employer.
As an injured North Carolina worker eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits, you are entitled to receive coverage for medical treatments that are required to heal your injury, help you recover from your disability, or, at the very least, allow you to be as physically comfortable as possible while living with your injury or disability. You are also entitled to temporary partial disability benefits or total disability benefits if your work injury requires you to miss more than seven days of work.
If your injures warrant permanent partial disability or total disability status, you are also eligible for certain benefits. The body part that was injured and your average weekly income will be factors in calculating these benefits. In certain instances, your employer’s insurer may try to work out a settlement with you, which would prevent you from seeking additional workers' compensation in the future.
The best way to make sure that you receive all of the North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits that your injuries warrant and that you are owed is to consult with an experienced Charlotte workers’ compensation law firm about your work injury case.
Lawmakers back workers' compensation limit, Citizen-Times, May 13, 2009
North Carolina Considers Cap on Workers' Compensation for Retirees, Claims Journal, May 12, 2009
Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Industrial Commission
Layon struck the Ford Taurus that the siblings were riding in at the intersection of White Oak Road and US 70 on January 11, 2008. Layon, who had been operating a Ford F-150 at a high speed, rear-ended their vehicle, crushing it and killing Hancock and Altman.
Pleading guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges would have set Layon free on probation. The defendant was at first charged with second-degree murder and has been behind bars for 16 months. Stephens, however, has requested that the defendant now be given a psychiatric evaluation. He says he doesn't feel comfortable releasing Layon just yet.
Layon’s psychiatric state at the time of the crash has long been an issue. His wife Jennifer, who was in the car with him and their two sons when he struck the other vehicle, reportedly told police that prior to the deadly auto incident, her husband started behaving strangely. He read specific portions of the Bible, experienced painful headaches, slammed the family cat into the ground, commented that Satan lived inside the pet, and told his wife that God was inside him. She also said he stepped on the gas pedal right before hitting the car that Altman and Hancock were riding in.
Following the deadly North Carolina car accident, he managed to throw off the people who were holding him down and ran off. Clayton police found him the next day. They say that he told them that God told him to hit the other car.
Wake County Car Accidents
If you were involved in a Wake County, North Carolina car accident that was caused by another party’s reckless, negligent, or careless behavior and you sustained serious injuries, you may be entitled to North Carolina personal injury compensation. If your loved one was killed in a Wake County traffic accident, you may have grounds for filing a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit.
Did man's crisis cause crash?, News Observer, May 12, 2009
Bond Denied for Suspect in Fatal Hit-and-Run, WRAL.com, January 14, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia
The Tragedy of Fatal Hit and Run Accidents on America's Deadly Roads, Deadly Roads
The current light vehicle requirement is the ability to withstand 1.5 times the force of the vehicle’s weight. The new standard would require that a light vehicle’s roof withstand 3 times the motor vehicle’s weight. Heavier vehicles will now have to meet a roof strength requirement of 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight.
September 2012 marks the beginning of the phase in schedule of these new requirements that must be completed for all vehicles that fall under the applicable weight categories by the 2017 model year. Some 10,000 people are killed in rollover accident each year.
Kinds of Rollover Accidents:
Tripped Rollovers: When a vehicle trips over an object, like a guardrail, a curb, or a steep slope.
Un-Tripped Rollovers: Can occur when the driver is driving at a high speed and tries to avoid getting involved in an auto collision.
While driver negligence can lead to rollover accidents, auto manufacturers must make sure that they make sport utility vehicles and other autos that are designed in such a way that they prevent rollover accidents from happening. In the event of a rollover collision, then the motor vehicle must offer vehicle occupants the proper safety protections needed to minimize injuries and prevent deaths.
Other safety precautions that auto makers can include in their motor vehicles:
Electronic Stability Control: Helps drivers stay in control of the auto so that it doesn’t go off road or skid out of control.
Rollover Air Bags: Side-impact head air bags can prevent occupants from getting ejected during a rollover accident.
Seat Belts: Use of seat belts improves survival chances in a rollover crash by 75%.
Auto makers must make sure that their vehicles are free from defects and come with the proper safety precautions. When a rollover accident occurs and a person gets hurt of dies because a vehicle part was defective or the vehicle malfunctioned, the car manufacturer can be held liable for North Carolina products liability or wrongful death.
U.S. DOT Doubles Roof Strength Standard for Light Vehicles, NHTSA, April 30, 2009
Rollovers, Safercar.gov
Related Web Resource:
Read the NHTSA Final Rule (PDF)
According to a local coroner, the elderly woman died because she drowned. Foul play is not suspected and she may have accidentally ended up driving into the water.
Now, Young’s family is suing the Gaffney Board of Public Works, Duke Energy, and the Department of Natural Resources for her wrongful death. They contend that proper lighting, warning signs, a barricade, or another design change could have prevented Young’s drowning accident and she would still be alive today.
According to the family’s wrongful death lawyer, they are suing Duke Energy because it is in charge of the Broad River and all access to it. The Board of Public Works is in charge of the area near the river and made improvements. DNR approved a study conducted by Duke Energy that made improvements to the water area a number of years ago. Young’s family wants to receive a wrongful death settlement or a civil trial.
Proving liability in a North Carolina or South Carolina motor vehicle crash can be complicated—especially if the collision is one involving just one auto. However, there may be more than one party responsible for the personal injury or death. The best way to determine this is to hire an experienced car accident law firm to help you prove your case.
Wrongful Death
Losing a loved one is never easy. Not only will there be expenses to pay for and other financial losses, but there is also the loss of your loved one that can never be quantified. There are, however, ways to hold the responsible parties liable for your suffering and the loss of your loved one’s life.
Upstate Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit, WYFF.com, April 23, 2009
Body From Submerged Car Identified, WYFF.com, December 18, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Duke Energy
The plaintiffs, Mary and Daniel Flannigan, also contend that Stafford Custom Homes, in Southern Pines, should have known that the drywall could become dangerous and cause damage. The couple say they first noticed the “rotten eggs” odor before buying their residence in 2004. They said Stafford employees said that the smell was coming from the water heater.
The water heater coils were replaced and the couple later paid to have the water heater removed from under the house. Home inspectors became suspicious that mold might be growing, so Stafford Homes installed a layer of plastic in the basement to act as a vapor barrier. Despite all these changes, the smell wouldn’t go away and a number of family members began to experience chronic health issues. Also, guitar strings and jewelry are among the metals in their home that turned black.
In 2007, the evaporator coils connected to the gas furnace corroded and needed to be replaced. Last year, the Flannigans found out that their air and heating system was failing. The couple said that they were experiencing serious headaches and didn’t consider that the drywall in their home might be defective until they saw a tv news report about the Chinese-made product.
They are seeking North Carolina personal injury compensation for medical costs and to replace damaged property, including compensation for new drywall and the reconstruction of their home. They also want punitive damages.
Other North Carolina defective Chinese drywall lawsuits are expected. Just this February, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission started investigating complaints about Chinese drywall. They've been asking electrical engineers and toxicologists to collect samples so they could figure out the associated safety and health hazards.
In the last 10 years, millions of pounds of Chinese drywalls were installed in apartments and homes because they were costly and abundant and to meet the demands of the US housing boom. In the meantime, Congressional lawmakers have filed legislation to recall and ban drywall made in China until new safety standards for drywall are established.
Some 100,000 thousands homes in the US may be covered with Chinese drywall. The defective material has been linked to sinus and respiratory issues in some people.
North Carolina Sees First Chinese Drywall Lawsuit, NewsInferno.com, April 22, 2009
Holly Springs couple sues over Chinese drywall, The News and Observer, April 22, 2009
Related Web Resources:
CPSC: Chinese drywall poses potential risks to southeastern homes, WSLS, April 24, 2009
U.S. Lawmakers Seek Ban on Tainted Chinese Drywall, Insurance Journal, April 10, 2009