According to his North Carolina personal injury complaint, the plaintiff claims that while two cops apprehended him on DWI charges last year, they broke his arm. He is seeking at least $10,000 in damages for permanent partial disability, partial loss of the use of his arm, medical bills, depression, and anxiety. Stanley says that he wasn’t drunk and he was swerving to avoid driving into potholes.
He gave Lt. D. L. Crowder permission to search him but he says he never gave the deputy permission to search the van. Crowder and Cpl. Jackie Fortner then allegedly grabbed him with “such force and violence” that his arm broke.
Stanley says that the officers disregarded his need for medical attention and continued searching the car. They charged Stanley with failing to stop at a stop sign and gave him an unsafe movement violation. The stop sign-related charge was later dismissed. Stanley filed his Alamance County police brutality complaint in February.
Meantime, the Sheriff’s Department is denying the accusations. A police document claims that Stanley refused to be treated by an EMS who examined him at the scene. The police officers that arrested him contend that Stanley told them he taking a lot of drugs because he has cancer. They claim that they grabbed Stanley because he became agitated. They acknowledge that he did not consent to the vehicle search.
North Carolina Police Brutality Lawsuit
Police officers are not use excessive force against suspects, prisoners, defendants, or anyone else when doing their jobs. Even if no criminal charges are filed against the cops, you may still be able to hold them liable in civil court for North Carolina injury caused by physical assault, sexual assault, verbal battery, emotional abuse, and other acts of violence.
Documents show different side in sheriff's department lawsuit, TheTImesNews.com, March 2, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Alamance County Sheriff’s Department
Police say they are trying to determine whether over-medication occurred.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Investigations Unit of the Attorney General's Office are overseeing the investigation.
According to experts, North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse is a serious issue of concern at assisted living facilities that house dementia and Alzheimer’s presents. One reason for this is that some nursing homes may practice chemical restraint, which involves using medication to control residents’ behavior. Sometimes, a patient may be treated with antipsychotic drugs merely because he or she is exhibiting problem behavior, such as wandering, aggression, or shouting at people, even though he/she doesn’t have a medical condition that merits the medications' use.
Prescription drug abuse involving unnecessary, anti-psychotic meds can cause strokes and even kill elderly residents. Overmedicating a patient or making him/her take prescription meds for no other reason than control can be grounds for a Chapel Hill nursing home negligence lawsuit.
Britthaven runs 33 nursing homes in the state. While four of the assisted living facilities received top ranking from Medicare’s 5-star nursing home rating system, 12 of them, including Britthaven, earned no more than two stars. Over the years, a number of nursing home nursing home negligence lawsuits have been filed against the Chapel Hill assisted living facility. The long-term care facility was sued for North Carolina wrongful death after a patient who had been restrained died.
State launches criminal probe of Chapel Hill nursing home, WRAL, February 19, 2010
Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia, NY Times, June 24, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Dementia Patients On Antipsychotic Meds At Risk, Medicine.net
Payne claims that they thought he was inebriated and tried to arrest him for resisting arrest and second-degree trespassing. The police officer tried to handcuff Payne but failed to do so because the plaintiff has limited mobility.
Payne contends that two on-duty cops joined in the assault and that one of them referred to him as a “drunk autistic kid.” Blood alcohol tests would go on to confirm that Payne did not have alcohol in his system.
Payne was arrested, but the charges against him were eventually dismissed.
Payne is claiming serious emotional and physical consequences as a result of the alleged assault. He has also named the Raleigh bar as a North Carolina injury defendant.
North Carolina Police Brutality
Excessive use of force by a police officer acting under the guise of upholding the law is wrong, a crime, and can be grounds for a North Carolina police brutality lawsuit. Police violence violates the victim’s rights and can cause serious injury.
Unfortunately, there are cops in North Carolina who use their job to inflict harm upon others. Verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, physical assault, fatal shootings, intimidation, and blackmail are examples of police brutality. Often, the victims are too scared to report the incident. Even if the offending police officer isn’t charged with a crime in criminal court, you may be owed Raleigh injury compensation.
Three Raleigh police officers named in lawsuit, WRAL, February 24, 2010
Read Payne's North Carolina Injury Complaint (PDF)
Related Web Resources:
City of Raleigh: Police
Police Brutality, Human Rights Watch
]]>The academy says choking is the number one cause of fatality among kids younger than age 15, with kids under age 5 at highest risk of choking. One reason for this is that kids in this age group don’t have all of their teeth. This can make it hard for them to grind the food down enough that they can easily swallow.
More Kid Choking Accident Facts:
• Over 10,000 kids end up in the emergency room every year because of choking accidents involving food.
• A 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Study reports that about 100 kids a year die from food-related choking accidents.
• HealthyChildren.org, a Web site powered by pediatricians, says food is the most common cause of child choking injuries.
Food that is small enough to enter a child’s throat yet large enough to get stuck their, blocking the airway, can cause oxygen deprivation. If not alleviated quickly enough the obstruction can lead to a traumatic brain injury and even death.
Some foods that pose a high choking hazard risk include:
• Apples
• Peanuts
• Grapes
• Raw carrots
• Hot dogs. Considered by some pediatricians as the number one food choking hazard
• Certain candies
If your son or daughter was injured or died because of a food choking accident that the manufacturer could have prevented by designing/packaging their food product in a safer form or warning parents that about the choking hazard, you may have grounds for filing a Charlotte, North Carolina injuries to children lawsuit.
Pediatricians call for a choke-proof hot dog, USA Today, February 22, 2010
Labels urged for foods that can choke kids, CNN, February 22, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Choking Episodes Among Children, CDC
Food choking hazards and children: What parents need to know, Consumer Reports
]]> Our South Carolina and South Carolina products liability lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo represent child injury victims and their families in both states.]]>In October 2008, the 42-year-old housekeeper pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and two counts of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to consecutive lifetime prison sentences.
The Chatham County, North Carolina wrongful death lawsuits accuse Galloway Ridge of failing to properly protect its residents. They contend that the retirement community failed to check Clark’s criminal background before bringing her on as a housekeeper.
The housekeeper had engaged in financial elder abuse before working at Galloway Ridge. Clark pleaded guilty in 2007 to check forgery. In 2001, she pleaded guilty to stealing from an elderly person in Durham. She had been ordered to not work in jobs that allowed her access to older persons and their assets.
Assisted living facilities and retirement centers can be held liable for North Carolina nursing home negligence, premises liability, or personal injury if their neglectful or careless acts contributed to causing a resident’s injuries or death.
Financial Elder Abuse
Financial elder abuse is a crime and you can file a North Carolina elder abuse lawsuit if you or someone you love is a victim. Signs of possible elder financial abuse:
• Sudden changes to an elderly person's will
• Sudden transfer of property ownership
• Elderly person becomes broke unexpectedly
• Unusual checking account or credit card activity
• Elderly person can no longer pay for living expenses
Suit filed in beating deaths at Chatham retirement community, WRAL, February 10, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Financial Abuse, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
Other common slip and fall injuries include broken hips, back injuries, neck injuries, fractures, head injuries, and injuries to the arms, pelvis, legs, and hands. Bruises are also not uncommon during trip and fall accidents. Depending on the type of injury and the age and physical health of the injured party, premises liability-related injuries are very painful and can lead to permanent disabilities, lengthy confinements at nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities, loss of independence, lack of mobility, the inability to go to work or tend to daily tasks, and health complications.
Our Charlotte, North Carolina slip and fall attorneys represent premises liability victims and their families throughout the state. Property owners owe patrons, guests, and residents a duty of care to make sure there are no slip and fall hazards on a premise that can cause serious injuries. Most North Carolina slip and fall accident victims don’t realize that they may be entitled to personal injury compensation.
Common causes of slip and fall, trip and fall, and step and fall injuries:
• Wet liquids on the ground
• Uneven flooring
• Ice and snow on a driveway
• Lack of stair railings
• Inadequately lit stairwells, hallways, and parking lots
• Torn carpeting
• Objects or debris on the ground
• Cracks on the sidewalk
• Broken floorboards
• Pavement holes
Related Web Resource:
Slip and Fall, Nolo
Premises Liability, Justia
]]>Paramedic James Griffin arrived at the scene. Orange County, EMS records note that the medical worker gave the teenager Gatorade and water before leaving him alone. By the time Fraley’s parents, Malinda and David, arrived home several hours later, their son was already dead. Autopsy findings indicate that Fraley may have suffered a fatal heart attack. The Fraleys’ North Carolina wrongful death complaint accuses Griffin, Orange County Emergency Services, and the County of Orange of failing to provide their son with the proper emergency medical care that could have saved his life.
Griffin has resigned from his job. According to an internal probe conducted by Orange County, the former paramedic neglected to: take the teenager’s vital signs, check his temperature, advise him regarding when to see a doctor, take him to a medical facility where he could be treated for hyperthermia, call the boy’s parents, consult with a doctor, and fully document the medical exam he gave the boy. Griffin claims he tried to call Fraley’s parents, but there are no records of the call being made.
Paramedic Malpractice
EMS workers, like all medical professionals, are expected to provide patients with a certain level of care. People contact 911 for medical help because they are experiencing a health emergency. When failure to provide the proper medical care results in injuries, illness, or death, the victim may have grounds for filing a North Carolina medical malpractice complaint.
Paramedic errors have included:
• Failure to transport patient to hospital in a timely manner
• Wrong diagnosis
• Late ambulance arrival
• Failing to proper treatment/evaluation protocol
• Administering the wrong medication
• Improper medical care
• Other medical mistakes
Parents sue in player's death, NewsObserver.com, February 7, 2010
Chapel Hill schools investigating football player's death, WRAL, August 15, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Orange County, NC Emergency Management Services
It wasn’t until last year that Howell found out what was causing his disease. He says that even after receiving treatment for his condition, he has problems walking and experiences weakness and numbness in his legs. Due to a number of fall accidents, Howell broke an ankle and a rib. He must now use a walker and is unable to drive. Howell also lost his job working as a mechanic and receives disability.
While humans need zinc, too much of it can lead to calcium deficiencies, bone loss, anemia, and nerve damage, which can become permanent if excessive consumption of zinc goes on for too long. Howell is not the only person who has sustained injuries from using denture cream. There are dozens of people who say their nerve damage was caused by using Poligrip or Fixodent, which is made by Proctor & Gamble. Considering that about 40 million Americans use adhesives to keep their dentures in place, the health risk link is cause for concern.
Although the American Dental Association says it doesn’t know of any cases confirming that nerve damage is caused by dental glue, an article published in “Neurology” in 2008 linked high levels of zinc in Super Poligrip to “profound neurological disease” in patients that were examined.
GlaxoSmithKline just recently started including a warning with its Super Poligrip denture cream noting that too much zinc may cause health issues. Newsinferno.com reports that there are already scores of people that have been damaged by using denture creams and have filed their dangerous drug lawsuits.
Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Drug manufacturers are supposed to make products that are safe for people to use. When an over-the-counter product or a prescription drug leads to dangerous side effects that a pharmaceutical company failed to warn against, those who were injured as a result may be able to obtain personal injury damages by filing a North Carolina dangerous drug lawsuit.
Zinc in denture adhesives blamed for nerve damage, Reporter News, January 18, 2010
North Carolina Man Says Poligrip Left Him Disabled, Plans Lawsuit, NewsInferno, February 3, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Poligrip, GlaxoSmithKline
Zinc poisoning, Medline Plus
]]>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
]]> Our South Carolina dog attack lawyers and our Charlotte, North Carolina dog bite attorneys represent children and adults with personal injury claims against the liable parties. ]]>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
]]>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
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
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
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
]]> An experienced Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home lawyer can help you determined whether your loved one has grounds to obtain personal injury compensation for pain and suffering, physical injuries, mental trauma, emotional anguish, medical costs, and other associated damages and expenses.The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP represents North Carolina and South Carolina nursing home negligence clients. We have offices conveniently located in Monroe, Hickory, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
]]>The defendants named in the Fayetteville, North Carolina wrongful death complaint are Bayview Financial L.P., Bayview Loan Servicing LLC, Palomino of Fayetteville Inc., and Sophia and Bill Agapion.
According to the Fayetteville, North Carolina wrongful death complaint, a court order had been issued to the mortgage company and the Agapions to stop criminal activity at the shopping center. State law also allowed them to evict the club for such offenses.
The Reyes’ North Carolina wrongful death attorney says that the 31-year-old might still be alive today if only the defendants had followed the court order. He cites inadequate security in the parking lot and at the club.
Last year, Fayetteville police sued Bill, Palomino, and Bayview. The complaint claimed that the shopping complex was a public nuisance. The lawsuit contended that a number of clubs on the property, including South Beach, Palomino, and Crazy Dave’s Cabaret, were a burden because of the number of assaults, break-ins, drug crimes, and shootings that occurred at the three night spots and in their parking lots. In March, three weeks after Reyes was killed, a judge ordered all three clubs, and a fourth one, permanently shut down.
Premises Liability
A property owner or overseer can be sued for North Carolina premises liability or wrongful death if there was a history of crimes committed on the property or in the area and the defendant did not do enough to protect patrons, visitors, and others from becoming the victims of similar crimes. Premises owners must provide proper security so that violent crimes and petty crimes do not cause injury or death.
Man's estate sues Palomino nightclub, others over slaying, FayeObserver, December 30, 2009
Suspect arrested, charged in bar shooting, ABC Local, January 11, 2009
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