Topic: Uncategorized

Attorney Michael A. DeMayo Makes Arrive Alive® App Available via iTunes

May 21, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Michael A. DeMayo is pretty excited about the new iTunes app developed for his firm’s signature community service program, Arrive Alive – Don’t Drink and Drive. This passionate Charlotte attorney has been presenting his anti-drunk driving initiative to local area high schools for the past ten years.

The Arrive Alive® program aims to educate and enlighten high school kids about the dangers of teenage drinking and driving.  At the end of these powerful one hour presentations, students in attendance are asked to sign a pledge that they will not drive under the influence. The pledge also has wording that refers to keeping friends and family safe by trying to find them alternate means of transportation if they are intoxicated.

Although Michael A. DeMayo has personally made around 100 presentations at more than fifty different area high schools, due to the demands of his legal practice the amount of teens he can reach is limited.  But now, via the popularity of Facebook and iTunes, he is hoping that teens nationwide will make the same pledge.

DeMayo plans to also post information and videos, so that even teens who have not attended one of his presentations in person can reap the benefits.

Follow this link to download the free Arrive Alive – Don’t Drink and Drive App.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo are calling for people to get involved by downloading the free app and adding a comment that might inspire teens and young adults to take a closer look at this issue. If you have been at any Arrive Alive presentations, your comments would be most welcome, along with any ratings or reviews of the app itself. And if iTunes isn’t your thing, you can also sign the pledge on our website.

The app was designed to be interactive, so that you can share your personal story or add any comments. Teens are very involved in social media, so the app is a perfect way to allow them to connect on this vital topic. Posts about the Arrive Alive® initiative and the new app have also been added to the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo Facebook page, for those who prefer to get involved in that way.

Michael A. DeMayo has been involved in the fight against teenage drunk driving for many years, after seeing so many clients whose lives have been shattered by this plague. Please join us in this vital endeavor – please encourage our kids not to drink and drive!

And although the Arrive Alive® program and the pledge were originally designed for teens, anyone of any age could sign it. After all, the problem of driving under the influence is hardly limited to teens. This is an issue that affects us all.

North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Continue to Cause Serious Injuries to Patients

May 19, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Over the last two decades, Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home abuse lawyer Michael A. DeMayo has seen the devastation that abuse and neglect can cause on a patient’s emotional well-being and physical health. He and his legal team represent victims and their families in obtaining compensation from negligent assisted living facilities and other professional care providers.

Signs that your loved one may be receiving negligent care and/or is victim of abuse or neglect: 

  • Bedsores
  • Poor hygiene
  • Unnecessary restraints (both physical and chemical ones)
  • Malnutrition
  • Unexpected weight loss
  • Unexplained injuries
  • Sudden depression or changes in personality or mood
  • Unexplained bruises or broken bones
  • Frequent fall accidents and injuries
  • Staff seems inattentive or distracted
  • Unsanitary facility
You may want to consider transferring your loved one out of the facility where the alleged abuse or neglect is taking place.

North Carolina injury attorney Michael A. DeMayo is here to help his clients pursue their best legal course of action. North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse are serious problems that violate a resident’s rights. Many assisted living facility patients are too sick or frail or disabled or scared to report incidents of abuse or neglect. Some may not even know what is happening to them. Sometimes, the perpetrator is a malicious nursing home staff member or one who lacks the training to do a good job. Unfortunately, many patients must also contend with the threat of patient violence, especially from younger, mentally ill patients that are housed with older residents.

Physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual assault, emotional abuse, taunting, and bullying are just some of the forms that abuse can take. If you suspect North Carolina nursing home abuse or neglect, please do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo and ask for your free case evaluation.

With offices in Monroe, Hickory, Lumberton, and Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury attorney DeMayo and his team of lawyers and staff have helped over 35,000 clients in both Carolinas. Not only is Attorney DeMayo rated AV Preeminent from Martindale Hubbell, which is the highest professional rating that the national organization bestows, but also he is known for his compassion and dedication to his clients.  Michael DeMayo began his law firm with the basic mission statement to ”Put your client’s interests first and everything else will follow.” Attorney DeMayo stands by that commitment to this day, and as a result, he and his legal team have achieved excellent legal outcomes for his clients.

Nursing negligence happens not just at assisted living facilities, but they can also occur in private homes at the hands of a caregiver.  You may be able to file a North Carolina nursing home neglect or abuse claim against that caregiver or his/her nursing company. With Charlotte, NC nursing negligence lawyer Michael A. DeMayo, you have a legal representative who is also an excellent advocate.

Nursing Homes, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services

How to advocate for parents in nursing homes, AARP

Nursing Home Checklist, Medicare.gov

 

More Blog Posts:

Charlotte, North Carolina Nursing Homes: Bringing Good Cheer to Your Loved Ones During the Holidays, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 20, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Shooting Rampage: Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 20, 2011

119 North Carolina Nursing Homes Receive 1-Star, Says Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 22, 2008

 

10th Annual “Arrive Alive: Don’t Drink and Drive” Program A Success with High School Students, Parents, and Teachers

May 8, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Teens, teachers, and parents are raving about the “Arrive: Alive Don’t Drink and Drive” program that took place at a number of area high schools last week. Led by Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Attorney Michael A. DeMayo, students received an education on the dangers of underage drinking and driving.

During the free, hour-long presentation, Mr. DeMayo showed students and faculty photographs from actual drunk driving crash scenes and told them about the catastrophic injuries and deaths that can happen when someone who is intoxicated decides to get in the driver’s seat. Accompanying him to the different schools was Karl Kakadelis, who was just 19 when he caused a drunk driving collision that claimed the life of his best friend. Students were moved as Kakadelis, now 27, talked about how that tragic night irrevocably changed more than one life.

There are no “do-overs” when a drunk driving accident happens and the consequences for everyone involved, including loved ones and friends, are very real. “Our goal is to prevent even one tragic accident from occurring,” said Charlotte, North Carolina Car Crash Lawyer DeMayo.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina Injury law firm is pleased to report that the message we set out to convey, that drunk driving is dangerous and can cause real life, tragic consequences, was acknowledged and received by program attendees and their parents:

“I want to thank (Mr. DeMayo) for trying to change people and turn their hearts before they break them. Like I said, I cannot thank you all enough for coming to my school and talking about this, because it moved me, and that is a life saved. God Bless.” — Jackie Davis

“Your presentation was very powerful. I feel like it really made our students think about making good decisions.  Thank you for what you do for our youth and keep up the good work.” — Dallas Hicks, School Resource Officer, West Iredell High School

“I wanted to tell Mr. DeMayo how much I appreciate his time in coming to North Iredell High School in Olin, NC to speak to the Junior and Seniors about the consequences of drinking on Prom Night. His speech had a huge impact on the students. My daughter is still talking about it. I just wanted to say Thank You!” –Kelly Parks

 

Schools that the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo’s “Arrive Alive” program visited this year included West Iredell High School, North Iredell High School, Porter Ridge High School, Forest Hills High School, Independence High School, Butler High School, Lake Norman High School, and East Gaston High School.

In addition to the “Arrive Alive” program, our Charlotte, NC injury law firm has been active in other ways to make sure that teens know about the perils of underage drinking and driving. For the 9th straight year, The Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program awarded $2,500 college scholarships to high school students. The winners were chosen based on their winning presentations warning their peers against drunk driving, as well as their grades and community service. To find out who the 2012 15 scholarship winners are, go to this blog post for details.

Teens, parents, and guardians can take the “Arrive Alive” pledge by downloading an App, now available via iTunes and Android.  Please visit us on Facebook to LIKE our page and download the App.

Watch this PSA from our Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm: “There are No Extra Lives when You Drink & Drive.”

Learn More About Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Michael A. DeMayo

 

The Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program Awards 15 High School Seniors $2,500 Each

May 4, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

For the ninth year in a row, the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is proud to award $2,500 college scholarships to high seniors in North Carolina and South Carolina. Named after Charlotte, NC Personal Injury Attorney Michael A. DeMayo, the scholarship program seeks to help teenagers further their education while spreading the word that drunk driving is dangerous.

Candidates were evaluated based on their grades, community involvement, letters of recommendation, and original presentations or essays addressing other teens about the dangers of underage drinking and driving. Once again, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP received a record number of applications and we were pleased by the efforts made by all of our student applicants and the quality of their work.

“Because young adults respond best to advice from their own peers, our scholarship program attempts to capture the ideas and suggestions of teenagers,” said Mr. DeMayo. “Even if our scholarships save just one life, the investment will have been worth it.”

The Winners of the 2012 Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program:

  • Bria Soto, Marvin Ridge High School County in Union County, NC
  • Taylor Thompson, Mooresville Senior High School in Iredell County, NC
  • Kirsten Consing, Fred T. Foard High School in Catawba County, NC
  • Cassidy Plyler, Metrolina Christian Academy in Union County, NC
  • Megan Gurjar, Lake Norman High School in Iredell County, NC
  • Graham Collins, Covenant Day School in Mecklenburg County, NC
  • Tanner Hallgren, Cato Middle College High School in Mecklenburg County, NC
  • Dakota Palacio, Al Brown High School in Cabarrus County, NC
  • Matthew Sciascia, Hickory Ridge High School in Cabarrus County, NC
  • Emilia San Miguel, Robert Logan Patton High School in Burke County, NC
  • Brianna Gallegher, East Lincoln High School in Lincoln County, NC
  • Austin Rhyne, North Iredell High School in Iredell County, NC
  • Amare Seltun, South Point High School in Gaston County, NC
  • Meredith Avant, Independence High School in Mecklenburg County, NC
  • Meredith Morrow, Ardrey Kell High School in Mecklenburg County, NC

A selection committee chose the winners. The 15 winning presentations will be made available through web links in a booklet that will be sent to lawmakers and community leaders who can hopefully use the students’ ideas and suggestions to shape awareness and public policy.

Since 2003, Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Attorney Michael A. DeMayo and his law firm have awarded over $200,000 in scholarship money to graduating seniors. Our annual scholarship program is part of our community outreach efforts to spread awareness among local youth about the dangers of drunk driving.

Mr. DeMayo also goes out every year to local schools with the “Arrive Alive! Don’t Drink and Drive Campaign.” The free, hour-long presentation is a wake-up call to students about the real life consequences that can happen when you drive while under the influence. Charlotte, NC Injury Attorney DeMayo brought “Arrive Alive” to eight area schools this week.

The Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program

Arrive Alive: Don’t Drink and Drive

LIKE the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo on Facebook

Download Our Free ” Arrive Alive” Mobile Phone App

 

More Blog Posts:

North Carolina High School Students Take the “Arrive Alive” Pledge to Join the Fight Against Underage Drinking and Driving, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 1, 2012

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm Fights Underage Drinking and Driving with 10th Annual Arrive Alive! Don’t Drink and Drive” Community Outreach Program at Area High Schools, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 27, 2012

Deadline for North Carolina and South Carolina High School Students to Enter Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is February 27, 2012, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 4, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina High School Students Take the “Arrive Alive” Pledge to Join the Fight Against Underage Drinking and Drunk Driving

May 1, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP kicked off the first day of its 10th annual “Arrive Alive! Don’t Drink and Drive” program with two presentations at local high schools. At West Iredell High School and North Iredell High School students made the commitment to not drink and drive.

During the presentations, Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Attorney DeMayo spoke to the teenagers about the dangers of drunk driving. He talked about real incidents involving teenagers that died, sustained serious injuries, or hurt someone else because either they or someone else had been driving under the influence. “If we can just save one of you sitting here today from making the wrong decision, then our efforts will be worth it,” said Mr. DeMayo.

Joining him was Karl Kakadelis, who as a teenager was involved in the drunken driving crash that claimed the life of his best friend. Kakadelis has since become an advocate in the fight against underage drinking and driving. Yesterday, he spoke about that night and how it has impacted his life.

Following the presentation, a faculty member at West Iredell High School called the event “very powerful” and said “I feel like it really made our students think about making good decisions.  Thank you for what you do for our youth.”

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm is very pleased that our message was heard loud and clear by both teenagers and adults. We are inviting the students to take the “Arrive Alive” pledge, which is a promise to never drive under the influence of alcohol and, when necessary, ride with a designated driver or find other means of transportation. We also invited their parents and guardians to take the pledge to talk to them about the dangers of drunk driving and how to make safe decisions.

All of the students who take the pledge will have their names entered in a drawing. A girl and a boy from each participating school will be eligible to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Students can take the “Arrive Alive” pledge by visiting the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo online or going to our Facebook page where you can LIKE us and download our free “Arrive Alive” mobile app.

Our “Arrive Alive” program continues on Wednesday, May 2 at Independence High School at 9am in Charlotte and Butler High School at 1pm in Matthews.

“Arrive Alive” is one of our signature community service programs. Along with the annual Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program, which awards college scholarships to 15 high school seniors in North Carolina and South Carolina, our Charlotte, personal injury law firm is dedicated to educating teens about the dangers of drunk driving.

 

Related Resources:

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Teen Drivers Fact Sheet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Impaired Driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

 

More Blog Posts:

Drunk Driving a Factor in North Carolina Car Accident that Killed 17-Year-Old Raleigh Student, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 31, 2012

North Carolina Car Accident Disaster: Teens Texting Leads to High School Tragedy, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, April 6, 2011

North Carolina DUI Nets Man 15 Years in Jail, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, February 17, 2012

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm Fights Underage Drinking and Driving with 10th Annual “Arrive Alive! Don’t Drink and Drive” Community Outreach Program at Area High Schools

April 27, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

For the 10th year in a row, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP is proud to bring its “Arrive Alive! Don’t Drink and Drive” program to local high schools as part of its ongoing efforts to educate minors about the dangers of teen drinking and driving. Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Attorney Michael A. DeMayo will be kicking off this year’s community outreach at West Iredell High School in Statesville at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 30. Later that day, he will speak at 2 p.m. at North Iredell High School in Olin. Other presentations will take place throughout the week. Please visit our web site to view our full schedule and a list of the schools where we will be presenting.

During the free, hour-long presentation, Mr. DeMayo will show photos of drunk driving crash scenes and share stories about teenagers that died or sustained catastrophic injuries because someone was driving drunk. Joining him this year as a guest speaker will be Karl Kakadelis, a 27-year-old who knows first hand about the devastating consequences that can happen from driving while under the influence.

Kakadelis was 19 when, after drinking a number of beers at his graduation party, he and his best friend got into his jeep to pick up another friend who was about a mile away. Kakadelis, who drove his vehicle off the road, overcorrected it, causing the jeep to flip. His best friend, who was ejected from the vehicle, died from his catastrophic injuries. Kakadelis will talk about what happened that night and how his life changed forever.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident law firm is committed to helping teenagers become fully aware of the devastating consequences that can happen from driving drunk. We want them to realize that one bad decision can destroy lives.

Auto accidents continue to be the leading cause of teen deaths and drunk driving is one of the main reasons for these fatalities. Getting more teenagers to stop driving while under the influence inevitably saves lives.

In addition to our “Arrive Alive” program, every year we award 15 high school seniors scholarships of $2,500 each as part of our annual Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program. Recipients are selected from North Carolina and South Carolina applicants on the basis of their involvement with the community, SAT scores, grades, and original presentations created using their medium of choice  (essay, web site, PowerPoint, video, or brochure). The presentations are created to educate their fellow teens about why drinking and driving make a dangerous combination.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo represents North Carolina personal injury clients in the areas of injury, nursing home abuse and neglect, workers’ compensation, wrongful death, and social security disability. We have law offices located in Charlotte, Monroe, Lumberton, and Hickory.

You can find out more about our “Arrive Alive” program by visiting the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo on the Internet or watch our TV commercial on YouTube.

Please  LIKE us on Facebook. Also, coming soon:  the “Arrive Alive” app that you will be able to download onto your iPhone or iPad.

DeMayo Law Offices to Present Tenth Annual “Arrive Alive” Program to Local High Schools, PRWeb, April 26. 2012

Teen Drivers, NHTSA

 

 

North Carolina Dangerous Drug?: Acne Prescription Meds Linked to Eye Problems, Birth Defects, Bone Growth Delays, and Miscarriages

April 18, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Isotretinoin, a drug sold under the brand names of Claravis, Roaccutaine (formerly called Accutane), and Amnesteem, is a popular prescription medication that is used to treat severe cases of acne. For example, since 1982, some 16 million people have taken Roaccutaine, which is made by Roche.

Unfortunately, this medication has also been linked to serious side effects. In a new study that was conducted in Israel, 14% of participants that took isotretinoin experienced eye conditions within a year of getting on the drug. Comparatively, only 7% of those belonging to the acne-free comparison group and 9.5% of participants with acne but who had never taken the medication experienced eye problems. The most common eye condition reported was pink eye (also called conjunctivitis),  which can be contagious.  Other potential eye-related side effects include visual disturbances and decreased vision at night.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP represents children and adults injured because of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. If you believe that an injury or health issue was caused by a particular medication, contact our Charlotte, North Carolina dangerous drug law firm today.

Reuters quotes eye problem specialist and Oregon Health and Science University professor Dr. Rick Fraunfelder, who advises parents to take their kids to an ophthalmologist prior to allowing them to take Isotretinoin. He also recommends bringing them back to the eye doctor every 90 days during the first year of taking the medication.  Diagnosing any potential eye problems early can help prevent permanent side effects.

Tel Aviv University researcher Gabriel Chodick, who is one of the study’s authors, says that the likely reason for the increased risk of eye injury is that this acne medication can upset the eyelids’ meibomian glands function. These are the glands that generate oily substance that stop the eye from drying up. The drug itself may irritate the surface of the eye.

When questioned about the eye injury risk, Roche refused to comment on the study. However, a company spokesperson noted that these potential side effects are already listed on packaging labels as possible side effects.

Now just because a side effect is included on a drug label does this exempt a drug maker of liability? What if the risk is proving to be an actual risk than a possible one in that more, rather than less people seem to be developing the complication?  What about medical costs or permanent damage or other health issues that result, including complications and infection? What about the other losses and costs that may then arise? Did the drug manufacturer do enough to make sure that a drug was as safe as possible?

To schedule your free case evaluation, contact our Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm today.

Acne drug tied to a doubled risk of eye problems, Reuters, April 18, 2012

Isotretinoin, Drugs.com

 

More Blog Posts:

Anticholinergic Meds May Impair the Brain, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 27, 2012

Prescription Drug-Related Injuries and Deaths Have More than Doubled, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 1, 2011

FDA Advisory Panel Meets to Discuss Fosamax and Other Bisphosphonates But Offers No Specific Recommendations on Duration of Long-Term Use, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 16, 2011


Fatal Union County, North Carolina Car Crash Involving Hit-and-Run Motorist Leaves Unanswered Questions

April 10, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

NC Highway Patrol Troopers have found the silver Lexus SUV that they believe was involved in Saturday’s deadly Union County pedestrian accident that claimed the life of 22-year-old Joshua Mitchell Crowley. They say that a relative of the alleged driver provided them with the tip that led to the vehicle, which is damaged on its right-front side.

Crowley had been walking home from a party when he was fatally hit by a silver motor vehicle. The driver did not stay at the Union County traffic accident site. As of now, people cannot tell whether this was a case of homicide or hit-and-run.

There had been a fight at the party that Crowley attended and troopers have not confirmed whether Crowley or the alleged driver was involved in that dispute.  Crowley may have been drinking at the party. He had walked 1.8 miles when the deadly Union County, North Carolina pedestrian accident happened. According to witnesses, after the collision, the driver of the Lexus briefly stopped to check the front of the vehicle before leaving the scene.

Hit-And-Run Accidents

For a driver to leave an injured pedestrian or motorist at a crash site after being involved in a deadly collision is a crime. It can also lead to more serious injuries or a fatality that could have been prevented if only the authorities and emergency workers had been notified right away that someone was hurt.

Providing someone who is hurt in a North Carolina car crash can be critical to saving his/her life. Unfortunately, there are drivers who choose not to stay at a collision site or get help because they are scared of getting in trouble.  Among the more common reasons that drivers hit and run:

  • Drunk driving
  • He/she is at fault
  • Driving without a license
  • Driving a stolen vehicle
  • Wanted for other crimes
  • Driving without insurance
  • Denial
  • Panic
  • Intentional infliction of physical harm

Our Union County, North Carolina personal injury law firm want you to know that even if you or your loved one was involved in a hit-and-run crash this doesn’t mean the driver won’t be found or that you can’t obtain coverage or compensation for the harm you or your relative suffered. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that there are legal remedies available to them. Also, lot of car accident victims worry that working with a North Carolina car accident lawyers will be too expensive. What they don’t realize is that their initial consultation is free, and legal fees are only paid if there is financial recovery with payment coming from the compensation.

Patrol: SUV found that hit, killed Union County man, Charlotte Observer, April 9, 2012

Why drivers hit and run, Deadly Roads

 

More Blog Posts:

North Carolina Motorcycle Accident on Charlotte Motor Speedway Kills 2, Injures 1, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 4, 2012

Should we wear helmets while we drive? And other intriguing North Carolina car accident prevention questions, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 30, 2012

North Carolina Drowning Accident Claims the Life of 12-Year-Old Boy at Wastewater Treatment Plant,  North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 17, 2012

North Carolina Products Liability: Is Your Medical Implant Safe?

March 31, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to Consumer Reports, most medical implant devices are not tested for effectiveness and safety before being allowed into the marketplace. In many cases,  manufacturers pay just a $4,000 user fee and submit the required paperwork to the US Food and Drug Administration. Often, it isn’t until patients actually use them that these  devices are “tested.” Even the advance safety studies for many high-risk products are a lot less stringent than the ones conducted on prescription medications.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina  personal injury law firm represents patients that have suffered serious complications because of dangerous drugs and defective medical devices. Manufacturers should be held liable and we are committed to making sure that this happens.

While the FDA believes that its current device regulatory system works in terms of ensuring patient safety, the Consumer Reports, which conducted an investigation into this matter is not so sure. Following an analysis of medical research and the FDA’s device-safety database, as well as interviews with patients and doctors, a number of findings were reached, including the discovery that the government and researchers don’t have a systematic way at their disposal to identify medical device problems. If you think about how many consumer products have unique serial numbers that allow manufactures to notify owners when there is a problem, but not a medical device such as an artificial heart valve does not, this is obviously a serious disparity and a problem for patients.

Among the different medical devices that have recently been in the media spotlight following reports of related injuries and health complications:

Metal Hip Implants: Our Charlotte, North Carolina defective medial device law firm has been fielding calls from people that suffered complications because their metal hip implant devices failed (requiring them to undergo revision surgery sooner than should have been necessary) or metal bits of the device broke off in their bodies. Already there have been over 5,000 hip implant lawsuits filed in the US.

Lap-Bands: These implanted bands are popular among people needing them for health reasons and those that want to lose weight and keep it off. Lap-Bands make the stomach smaller so it is harder to eat large amounts of food. Over 650,000 have been sold around the world. While Lap-Bands have had to undergo advance testing before being allowed into the marketplace, testing for prescription drugs is still tougher. Also, there have been a number of reports of health complications and deaths related to Lap-Band implants.

Transvaginal Mesh: More than 650 vaginal mesh lawsuits have been filed against device manufacturers. Bleeding, pain during intercourse, pelvic perforation, perineal cellulitis, urinary tract erosion, and organ perforation are just some of the complications linked to this medical device implant.

Contact our Charlotte, North Carolina products liability lawyers to request your free case evaluation.

CR Investigates: Dangerous Medical Devices, Consumer Reports, May 2012

Investigation: Most Medical Devices Implanted in Patients without Testing, CBS News, March 28, 2012

Plaintiffs Allege ‘Gruesome Conditions’ at Lap-Band Clinics, Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2012

 

More Blog Posts:

North Carolina Defective Medical Device?: FDA Warns of Serious Complications from Using Transvaginal Mesh to Repair Pelvic Problems, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 27, 2011

Approximately 1,000 DePuy Hip Lawsuits Already Filed Against Johnson & Johnson, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 7, 2011

Protecting Americans from Defective Medical Devices: Is the FDA Doing Enough?, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 18, 2011

 

NTSB Distracted Driving Forum Highlights the Dangers of all Hands-Free Distractions

March 29, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers are very aware of the dangers that distracted driving can pose on the road. This insidious behavior that seems so harmless to many has been causing thousands of deaths and many more injuries each year since the use of cell phone devices became a constant in people’s lives.

That said, using a cell phone while driving isn’t the only distracting device for motorists. At the National Transportation Safety Board forum on Tuesday, one major theme discussed was that of pernicious technology in motor vehicles. While the US Department of Transportation has called on all US states to ban text messaging devices and handheld cell phones, the NTSB wants all hands-free devices, except for the ones that provide assistance in driving, banned.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman spoke about the need for standards and requirements that examine all distractions, including the cognitive ones. These devices not only take a driver’s hands off the wheel and his/her eyes off the road, but also they distract the mind and require some of the motorist’s attention. For instance, scrolling through an iPod or another MP3 player while driving a vehicle requires use of the hands, eyes, mind, and attention.

A panel of experts at the NTSB forum said that a distraction that lasts just two seconds could up the chance of a car crash happening. Also, beginner drivers are 16 times more likely than experience motorists to take their eyes off the road. The panelists noted that the collision risk goes up “four-fold” if a driver is using a cell phone—regardless of whether not it is a hands-free device or a hand-held one.

Last month, the US Transportation Department put out voluntary guidelines that automakers should consider for built-in systems that provide navigation and infotainment. Per the guidelines, any task shouldn’t require more than two seconds to complete. Autos also would have to be stopped and in park mode before a driver could enter navigation commands or use Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking devices.

That said, it isn’t just drivers that are becoming distracted with new technology. Pedestrians and bicyclists have also been known to text or talk on a cell phone while on the road or sidewalk. This increases the chances of a North Carolina pedestrian accident or bicycle crash, potentially causing injury to everyone that ends up involved.

Distracted driving can be grounds for filing a Monroe, North Carolina personal injury lawsuit if serious injuries or death results. At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LTD, LLP, we represent victims and their families in obtaining their financial recovery from all liable parties. Contact our Lumberton, North Carolina law firm today.

Distracted Driving Kills; Teenage Girls are Especially at Risk, AA Says, Forbes, March 28, 2012

Gadgets share blame for distracted driving, NTSB chief says, The Washington Post, March 27, 2012

At distracted driving forum, a focus of danger beyond two seconds, CNN, March 28, 2012

 

More Blog Posts:

NTSB Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use while Driving, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 4, 2012

North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Four Asheville Bars Over Fatal Car Crash, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 16, 2011

Road Where North Carolina Truck Crash that Claimed the Lives of Two Young Brothers Happened Has No Sidewalk, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 23, 2012

Charlotte, North Carolina Car Accident Claims the Life of Man Who Was Pushed Into the Street During Bar Brawl

March 5, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

A 26-year-old man was killed on Saturday after he was injured in a Charlotte, North Carolina car accident that police believe occurred after he was pushed onto the street during a bar fight. The victim’s name is Robert Edward Kingston III.

23-year-old Kenan Wells Gay has been charged with murder in connection with Kingston’s death. According to witnesses, Kingston sustained fatal injuries after a disagreement he was involved in at Ed’s Tavern spilled outside and he was pushed in front of an oncoming BMW. The driver of the vehicle will not face criminal charges over Kingston’s death.

Depending on the specifics of what happened, Kingston’s family could have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death case against any persons that may have played a role in causing the deadly accident. If inadequate security or negligence on the bar’s part allowed for the brawl to happen, the establishment could also find itself the target of a civil claim. Property owners can be held liable if there was an unsafe or dangerous condition or situation on their grounds that could/should have been avoided or remedied yet wasn’t.  Even if no one intended for Kingston to die, any reckless or careless acts on anyone’s part that contributed to his passing may be reason enough to pursue Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death damages.

In North Carolina, family members of someone that died due to another’s negligence may be eligible to compensation if, had the victim lived, he/she would have been entitled an action for personal injury damages. Damages for the wrongful death may include medical expenses, pain and suffering, funeral costs, lost wages, loss of protection, assistance, services, care, companionship, society, guidance, or comfort, and possibly even punitive damages if willful/wanton behavior or malice was involved. Loved ones have two years from the date of death to file their claim.

Figuring out the value of one’s North Carolina wrongful death claim can be challenging. By working with a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm, you increase your chances of getting the maximum recovery possible.  Your legal team can also protect your rights and advocate for your best interests. You definitely do not want to settle with the other parties involvunless you’ve first explored your legal options.

Unfortunately, many insurers will try to get you to settle for the lowest amount possible, which is why it is better that you have a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death lawyer dealing with them for you. While a statute of limitations of two years may seem like a long time, there is a lot that your legal representation will have to do to prepare your case to increase your chances of a successful outcome.

Contact the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP and ask for your free case evaluation. The sooner you get started, the better.

Police: Man pushed in front of car outside Dilworth bar, Charlotte Observer, March 5, 2012

Former UNC football player accused of murder after bar fight, WCNC, March 4, 2012

More Blog Posts: 

Fatal North Carolina Truck Accident Brings Traffic to a Standstill, North Carolina  Accident Lawyer Blog, February 13, 2012

Tragic North Carolina Car Accident Claims Life of a Child on Go-Kart, North Carolina  Accident Lawyer Blog, November 6, 2012

Drunk driving a factor in North Carolina Car Accident that Killed 17-year-old Raleigh Student, North Carolina  Accident Lawyer Blog, January 31, 2012

Preventing North Carolina Injuries to Kids: NHTSA Introduces ’10-Year-Old Child’ Crash Test Dummy

February 29, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

In an effort to increase child safety for kids weighing over 65 pounds, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is introducing a new crash test dummy for booster and child safety seats for bigger kids. The “10-Year-old Child” dummy will help provide information related to injury risk involving chest acceleration, knee excursion, and head excursion.

Also, the NHTSA has issued a final rule that now officially revises current federal child safety seat standard to include boosters and car seats for kids weighing 66-80 pounds.  This standard will assess whether higher-weight restraint systems are able to manage crash energy, as well determine if a seat’s structure will stay intact when the dummy is used during testing. Car seat and booster seat makers will have two years to certify that their child car safety devices for higher-weight kids fulfill the latest requirements.

The final rule and new testing requirements are the latest in the government’s efforts to promote car safety for children. Last year, NHTSA urged caregivers and parents to keep kids in harnessed car seats for as long as they can and ensure that weight and height requirements were met and maxed out before deciding that a child no longer needed a booster or car seat. The federal safety agency’s child seat guidance also urged that kids be made to use booster seats until they grew to a size large enough that a seat belt was sufficient to keep them properly secured—especially during a car crash.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers represent families whose kids were injured in catastrophic car crashes. Although in many cases the negligent driver or the maker of a defective vehicle will likely be the negligent party, sometimes, a child involved in an auto collision does sustain serious injuries because a car seat was defective or failed. In these instances, the victim’s family may have grounds for a North Carolina products liability case against the child safety seat manufacturer.

Just this January, Britax Child Safety, Inc. recalled about 14,220 Chaperone Infant Car Seats because the chair’s harness adjuster had a defective. If the adjuster were to come off the seat, it could render the safety harness straps that secure a baby useless.  At the time that the recall was announced, NHTSA said it didn’t know of any injuries or deaths related to the car seat defect.

It is important that you buy a child safety seat that is the right size for your child (according to age, height, or weight). The car seat must also be a good fit with the vehicle it will be used in, and it must be properly installed.

Our Lumberton, North Carolina child injury attorneys know how devastating it can be to realize that your child was hurt because of someone else’s negligence or due to a situation that was out of your control but could have been prevented.

To schedule your free case evaluation with our Monroe, North Carolina products liability law firm, contact the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP today.

NHTSA Unveils New ’10-Year-Old Child’ Crash Test Dummy, NHTSA, February 21, 2012

Read NHTSA’s Final Rule

Recall: Britax child safety seat—Harness straps will not properly restrain a child, Consumer Reports, January 27, 2012

 

More Blog Posts:

Will New Car Seat Guidelines Decrease the Number of North Carolina Child Injuries that Occur During Traffic Crashes?, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 6, 2011

Keeping Your Child Safe During North Carolina Car Crashes, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 16, 2009

Motor Vehicle Accidents Continue to Be the #1 Killer of Children, Says World Health Organization, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 29, 2008


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USDOT Announces Distracted Driving Guidelines for Car Manufacturers

February 19, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

To further combat the epidemic known as distracted driving, the US Department of Transportation has unveiled a number of proposed guidelines for automakers to limit the distraction that in-vehicle electronic devices can provide. These are voluntary guidelines for entertainment, communications, navigation, and information gathering devices, which aren’t necessary in order to drive a vehicle safely.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyers are familiar with the risks involved with distracted driving and the catastrophic consequences that can result. Unfortunately, the world has become a place where more and more people can’t help but multi-task with the help of their electronic devices. One of the places where this is happening is in motor vehicles.

Thankfully, lawmakers and safety advocates have become more proactive at taking steps to prevent distracted driving.  North Carolina has a statewide ban on texting while driving. However, it is only drivers under 18 and school bus drivers who aren’t allowed to use a cell phone, and unlike many US states, NC doesn’t ban adults from using handheld phones while driving. This, however, doesn’t mean that using a handheld phone while operating a motor vehicle isn’t dangerous.

Per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s guidelines, specific recommended criteria for electronic devices that are installed in motor vehicles when they are being manufactured would be established. Ideally, these devices could be operated in a manner that limits how distracting they are for the motorist to use in regards to how much a driver’s hands or eyes have to be engaged that it takes some of the focus away from driving. Phase I of these proposed guidelines also suggest that the device:

  • Be designed in a manner that reduces the complexity and length of the task at hand.
  • Requires that the driver just use one hand so the other hand can stay on the steering wheel
  • Necessitates no more than two seconds of off-road glances.
  • Limits any visual information that is unnecessary to complete the task.
  • Limits how much manual input the driver has to provide to operate the device.
  • Disables visual-manual texting, social media browsing, Internet browsing, and phone dialing while the driver is operating the vehicle—unless it is the passenger who is handling the in-vehicle device.

Distracted driving is a very real danger and it can lead to catastrophic North Carolina car accidents. Unfortunately, many people still don’t think that distracted driving is dangerous as long as they are the ones doing it. Yet one cannot ignore the hundreds of thousands of injuries and thousands of deaths that happen every year because a driver was distracted.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo would be happy to offer you a free case evaluation. Our North Carolina distracted driving lawyers have offices in Charlotte, Monroe, Hickory, and Lumberton.

US Department of Transportation Proposes ‘Distraction’ Guidelines for Automakers, NHTSA, February 16, 2012

Cell phone and texting laws, Governors Highway Safety Association, February 2012

 

More Blog Posts:

Drunk driving a factor in North Carolina car accident that killed 17-year-old Raleigh student?, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 31, 2012

Deadline for North Carolina and South Carolina High School Students to Enter the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is February 27, 2012 , North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 4, 2012

NTSB Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use while Driving,  North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 16, 2011

 

$20,000 Union County, North Carolina Dog Bite Settlement is Reached in 5-Year-Old’s Waxhaw Wrongful Death

February 15, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of 5-year-old Makayla Woodard has reached a $20,000 North Carolina wrongful death settlement with the owner of the two pit bulls that attacked her and her grandmother.  The incident happened on January 12, 2011. Woodard’s 67-year-old grandmother, Nancy Presson, survived the Waxhaw dog attack with serious injuries.

Meantime, the  dogs’ owner, Michael Gordon, is charged with involuntary manslaughter over the tragic North Carolina dog mauling. His homeowner’s insurance will be providing the money to pay the settlement.

The Charlotte Observer reports that prior to the Union County, North Carolina dog attack, neighbors had complained that the pit bulls were allowed to roam free. Although Gordon’s property has a fence, he has acknowledged that the animals were known to jump over it.

According to DogsBite.org, pit bulls are one of the most deadly dog breeds. The Web site reports that its research indicates that between 2005 and 2011, 73% of dog attacks resulting in fatalities involved both pit bull terriers and rottweilers. However, the Web site is quick to point out that pit bulls and their mixes are responsible for over twice as many dog attack incidents as those involving rottweilers.

Because North Carolina has a dog bite statue that protects owners from liability to a certain degree, it is important that you or your loved one is represented by an experienced Union County, NC personal injury law firm that understands the nature of dog attacks and despite the existing dog bite law knows how to successfully work with the legal system to help you or your injured family member recover all of the compensation that you are owed.

Per the statute, a dog owner can be held strictly liable for dog injuries to a person if he/she purposely allowed a canine over 6-months of age to run at large at night. If the owner’s dog did not violate the running at large prohibition, strict liability can exist but the animal needs to have seriously injured or killed a person, been declared “potentially dangerous” in the past due to previous behavior, or was used for dog fighting. A dog can be deemed “potentially dangerous” if it has caused terror to a human being when not on the owner’s property, seriously injured or killed another animal, or bitten a person and caused disfiguring lacerations or broken bones that warranted hospitalization and/or surgery.

As you can see, these stipulations can be tough to get around. Yet they cannot negate the seriousness of injuries, pain, suffering, disfigurement, and loss that can result when a dog attacks a human being. The sooner you start exploring your legal options, the better for you and your family.

Family of 5-year-old killed by pit bulls get $20,000 settlement, Charlotte Observer, February 8, 2012

Michael Gordon indictment, WBTV

DogsBite.org

NC girl dies after pit bull attack, grandmother severely injured, WISTV, January 13, 2011
More Blog Posts:

Waxhaw Pit Bull Attack Leaves 5-Year-Old Dead and Her Grandmother with Serious Injuries, December 1, 2010

Union County, North Carolina Dog Bite Lawsuit Blames School Staff for Incident on the Playground, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, August 31, 2011

Eye Complications Can Develop in Children Suffering from North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries to the Face, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 29, 2010

Drunk Driving a Factor in North Carolina Car Accident that Killed 17-Year-old Raleigh Student

January 31, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to toxicology results, alcohol was involved in the deadly North Carolina motor vehicle crash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Elizabeth Molloy on January 7. The Medical Examiner’s Office says that she died from blunt-force trauma to the head, which she sustained when the Jeep she was riding drove off the road and into a tree. The vehicle was reportedly moving at 75 mph in a 30 mph zone when the deadly collision happened.

Per the report, Molloy’s boyfriend Garrett Prince who was driving the Jeep, had a BAC of .29%. Molloy’s BAC was .12%. In North Carolina, the legal driving limit is .08% before someone is considered impaired.

Prince, 16, has been charged with DWI, felony death by motor vehicle, having an open container of liquor, provisional DWI, speeding and possession of marijuana, and careless and reckless driving. Also facing criminal charges 18-year-old Hannah R. Smith, who hosted the underage drinking party, 21-year-old Anthony Du Juan Geter, who bought the alcohol for the teenagers, 17-year-old Samantha M. McKinney, and a 15-year-old.

Drunk Driving

Drunk driving is hazardous regardless of your age. At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP, we are especially passionate about impressing upon teenagers the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

Even though it’s illegal for them, alcohol use continues to be popular among minors. According to Students Against Destructive Decisions, by high school graduation, 72% of kids will have consumed alcohol. 37% will have done so by the eighth grade.

With motor vehicle crashes continuing to be the number one case of deaths for 15 to 20-year-olds, it is important that teenagers take drunk driving seriously and not get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Alcohol by itself can slow reflexes, blur vision, impair judgment, and handicap a person’s abilities to make wise decisions. Couple that with a teenager who may be going through a rebellious phase, has an inflated sense of invincibility (that can come with being young,) or needs to look cool in front of his/her peers and the combination can prove deadly.

This is one of the reasons why our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm offers the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program. Not only do we want to help 15 high school seniors make their dream of a college education come true, but also we want to help spread the word among teens about why they shouldn’t drink and drive. The deadline to be considered for one of the $2,500 scholarship awards is February 27, 2012. Click on the link below to find out more.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers represent victims and families that have lost loved ones in traffic crashes because of drunk drivers or other negligent motorists. Contact The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP today.

Millbrook students legally drunk at time of fatal crash, Charlotte Observer, January 31, 2012

Teen driver charged with DWI in fatal Raleigh wreck, WRAL, January 7, 2012

Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program 

More Blog Posts:

Deadline for North Carolina and South Carolina High School Students to Enter the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is February 27, 2012, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 4, 2012

NTSB Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 16, 2011

North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Four Asheville Bars Over Fatal Car Crash, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 16, 2011

Pregnant Victim’s Body Found Six hours After Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer is Dispatched by 911 to the Wrong Address

January 29, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

Danielle Watson was murdered on January 13 after a co-worker, who was robbing the Flying Biscuit Cafe in Charlotte, North Carolina where they both worked, stabbed her. The man charged with her murder is 22-year-old Mark Anthony Cox. Prosecutors may also charge him for murdering her unborn baby.

Watson, the 25-year-old manager of the restaurant, was pregnant at the time.  She was supposed to marry her boyfriend Keith Smith later in the month, but instead, her funeral had to be scheduled for that day.

Could Watson have survived her stabbing if police had arrived at the Ballantyne restaurant sooner? If so, depending on the specifics of what happened, her family might have grounds for a North Carolina wrongful death case.

Apparently, Smith called 911 to tell them he thought the restaurant where Watson worked was being robbed and he asked them to check on her. Unfortunately, the call-taker had typed in the wrong address and the responding police officer ended up going to the wrong place. It wasn’t until the following morning—six hours later—when police were asked to go to the restaurant to check on a possible larceny crime that Watson’s body was found behind a dumpster.

During the 911 call, the call-taker failed to confirm the address or the name of the business that Smith provided. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Captain Mike Campagna has said that per the training of call-takers and dispatchers, they are always encouraged to confirm the addresses that are given to them. Now, however, following Watson’s death, they must now confirm this information.

Also, Smith’s call was categorized as a Priority 3, which gives officers 15 minutes to respond. The cop that was dispatched arrived at the wrong address in 12 minutes. If the call had been categorized as a Priority 1, usually given to those involving the threat of immediate death or injury, a police officers would have had to arrive at the scene within three minutes.

Smith says that the 911 call-taker told him that someone would call back after checking on Watson. No call ever came. The responding police officer’s notes indicate that she tried to call Smith “but was unsuccessful.”

North Carolina Wrongful Death

If you believe that your loved one died and that someone else’s negligence or carelessness contributed to his/her passing, you may be have grounds for filing a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death case. If someone you love was fatally injured or died while doing his/her job, the victim’s family likely cannot sue the employer, but should be entitled to North Carolina workers’ compensation death benefits. That said, there might be third parties that can and should be held liable.

The entity in charge of overseeing 911 in your area could be held liable if negligence on the service’s part allowed you or your loved one to sustain serious injuries or contributed to such injuries happening.  Contact our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm and ask for your free case evaluation with the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP.

Flying Biscuit case prompts change in 911 policy at CMPD, Charlotte Observer, January 30, 2012

Following deadly stabbing, restaurant could face penalty for hiring a felon, WBTV, January 25, 2012

More Blog Posts:

North Carolina Workplace Shooting at Lumber Company Results in Three Deaths and One Injury, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 16, 2012

North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Four Asheville Bars Over Fatal Crash, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 16, 2011

Deadline for North Carolina and South Carolina High School Students to enter the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is February 27, 2012, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 4, 2012

Deadline for North Carolina and South Carolina High School Students to Enter the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is February 27, 2012

January 4, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

High school seniors in South Carolina and North Carolina that want to be considered for a $2,500 college scholarship have until February 27 to submit their application to The Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program.

Our North Carolina personal injury law firm has been proud to help students make their dream of higher education a reality since 2003.

Last year, a record number of creative and intelligent young applicants sent their impressive presentations and applications to us. It is clear that there are many young people out there that are just as passionate as we are about the need to stop teens from driving drunk.

Participants must fill out an application form, as well as turn in a presentation that encourages other teenagers to refrain from drinking while driving. Letters of recommendation, your high school transcript, a list of your volunteer activities, and details of any school and community involvement are also required. 15 scholarship recipients will receive $2,500 from our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm.

The Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is open to seniors studying in the North Carolina counties of Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, Catawba, Cleveland, Cabarrus, Rowan, Lincoln, Stanly, Caldwell, Alexander, Iredell, Robeson, Burke, Richmond, Scotland, Cumberland, and Anson, as well as the South Carolina counties of Chesterfield, Lancaster, York, Dillon, and Marlboro.

Visit The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo online for more information and/or download an application.  You can also “Like” us on Facebook. For more information, contact Kristine Woolley at kwoolley@demayolaw.com or you can call her at (704) 343-4644.

Teenagers and Drunk Driving

With traffic crashes continuing to be the leading cause of deaths among young drivers in the 15-20 age group, it is imperative that teenagers continue be made aware of how dangerous it is to drive while intoxicated. Not only is it illegal for anyone under 21 to consume alcohol, but also drinking dramatically increases the chances of a South Carolina/North Carolina car crash. Combine inebriation with driver inexperience, youth, speeding, failure to wear seat belts, loud music, other teens in the car, drug use, and cell phone use or text messaging while driving, and you have a deadly combination.

Our North Carolina personal injury law firm supports young people in empowering themselves and their fellow teens to drive sober. Our hope is that together, we can educate teens while saving lives.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo represents victims of South Carolina/North Carolina truck accident, car crashes, bus collisions, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents. We help our clients and their families recover personal injury and wrongful death compensation from all liable parties.

To schedule your free case evaluation, contact our North Carolina injury law firm today.

“Like” The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo on Facebook

Download a Scholarship Application 

 

More Blog Posts: 

Obtaining North Carolina Dog Bite Compensation is More Challenging Without Legal Help

December 31, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm represents victims who were injured in dog attacks. Because the state has a one-bite rule, it can be tough to get compensation if you were the first person that the dog attacked. This doesn’t, however, mean that your claim is not valid or that you can’t obtain recovery. Working with a North Carolina dog bite lawyer will increase your chances for recovery. Also, there are exceptions to the one-bite rule if:

  • The dog is over six months old
  • The owner purposely allowed the dog to run “at large”
  • The attack occurred at night

The state has a strict liability clause that says a dog owner of a dangerous (or potentially dangerous) canine is liable for civil damages when severe personal injury or property damage results. A dangerous dog is one that has caused serious injury or killed a person without provocation. A potentially dangerous dog is one that has inflicted a bite injury on a human that resulted in disfiguring lacerations or broken bones, caused severe injury or killed a domestic animal, or gone after someone in a vicious way when not on the owner’s property.

At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP, we know how traumatic a dog bite can be. We are also familiar with the serious injuries that can result. Our Charlotte, North Carolina dog attack lawyers are committed to helping our clients recoup the compensation they are owed.

Factors contributing to whether a dog may bite someone:

  • The breed of the dog
  • The characteristics of the dog’s parents
  • How poorly/well the dog has been socialized
  • The quality of dog training received
  • The dog’s health (a sick or injured dog may be more likely to bite)
  • The behavior of the victim

Examples of dog bite injuries:

  • Punctures
  • Crush injuries
  • Abrasions
  • Tissue damage
  • Bone fractures
  • Scars
  • Rabies
  • Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection
  • Cellulitis
  • Scarring
  • Facial disfigurement
  • Sprains

You may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical costs, permanent disability, permanent scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, wrongful death, and other damages. Our Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm is also familiar with the emotional and psychological trauma that can result from being attacked by an animal.

The sooner you explore the legal options the better for you. There is no reason why you should have to shoulder the costs of someone else’s negligent actions.

To request your free case evaluation, contact us via our Web site or call 1-877-529-1222. The Law Offices of Michael A. Demayo, LLP has recovered over $275M for our clients and their families. We are here to protect accident victims and get them the compensation they need so that they can rebuild their lives.

Union County, North Carolina Dog Bite Lawsuit Blames School Staff for Incident on Playground, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, August 31, 2011

Waxhaw Pit Bull Attack Leaves 5-Year-Old Dead and Her Grandmother with Serious Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 1, 2010

Eye Complications Can Develop in Children Suffering from North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries to the Face, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 29, 2010

Two Newton, North Carolina High School Students Suspended Following Alleged Hazing Assault

December 22, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Two Newton-Conover High School students were arrested last week after they were accused of assaulting a freshman while allegedly hazing him. All of the students involved belonged to the school’s wrestling team. Depending on what happened and the extent of the freshman’s injuries, he and his family could have grounds for a Catawba County, North Carolina personal injury case.

According to school superintended Barry Redmonds, the incident occurred last week. Team members were gathered in the practice room when someone turned out the lights while another team member put the freshman in a wrestling hold. That was when a third person allegedly assaulted him.

The student who held the freshman down claims and didn’t know that the assault was going to happen was suspended for three days. The other student who allegedly committed the assault was suspended for the rest of the semester and kicked off the wrestling team.

Hazing

If your son or daughter was involved in a hazing incident at school, you may want to speak with an experienced Newton personal injury law firm to find out about your legal options.

Hazing is sometimes used as an initiation practice for new members joining a group. It is most often associated with joining a college fraternity or sorority. However, other groups have been known engage in hazing.

Although considered by many to be in good fun, hazing can take a dangerous turn if the person that is the target gets hurt. Alcohol poisoning, sexual assault, and physical assault are just some of the more dangerous consequences of hazing gone awry. Death may even result.

The practice of hazing has been widely written about in the media lately in the wake of the death of a Florida A & M University student. Robert Champion Jr., who belonged to the marching band, died last month after he was allegedly hazed. According to one expert who looked at Champion’s final autopsy report, which was released this week, the 26-year-old student had sustained the type of muscle damage that is commonly associated with child abuse, extensive seizures, car accidents, and torture.

It was just last week that the medical examiner’s office called Champion’s death a homicide. His family will likely file a wrongful death lawsuit against the school.

Following Champion’s death, Bria Hunter, another Florida A&M University student, is suing the school for personal injury because says she too was brutally hazed by members of the marching band. Hunter claims that she sustained a cracked femur from the beating.

North Carolina Personal Injury

Schools can be held liable if students are injured while under their supervision. It is the responsibility of school officials to make sure that activities that take place do not place anyone at risk of serious injury or death. To determine whether you have grounds for a Newton, North Carolina personal injury case, you should contact the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP today.

Expert: Autopsy of Florida A & M drum major shows badly beaten muscles, CNN, December 22, 2011

2 NC High school wrestlers face hazing suspension, WRAL, December 20, 2011

 

More Blog Posts:

Former Penn State University Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky Hit with First Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 30, 2011

Charlotte, North Carolina Nursing Homes: Bringing Good Cheer to Your Loved Ones During The Holidays, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 20, 2011

North Carolina-Based Private Security Company Blackwater is Sued For Wrongful Death, Personal Injury, and War Crimes, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 10, 2007

 

Former Penn State University Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky Hit with First Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit

November 30, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Periodically, our North Carolina personal injury blog covers cases that that have made national headlines. This sex abuse lawsuit is the first one in filed in the wake of allegations contending that Jerry Sandusky, an ex-Penn State University football coach, molested and sexually assaulted a number of boys over the years. The university and The Second Mile camp, which is the charity that Sandusky founded, are also named as defendants.

The plaintiff, now a 29-year-old man, claims that Sandusky sexually abused him more than 100 times during the 90’s. John Doe A is not one of the eight boys cited in a grand jury report involving Sandusky. The alleged victim says he was 10 when he met the former assistant coach and that Sandusky threatened to hurt him and his family if he told anyone about the molestation. In his child sex abuse complaint, John Doe A contends that “institutional failure” and “institutional concealment” let Sandusky continue to “thrive and prosper.”

Meantime, Sandusky, who is charged with 40 criminal counts related to the alleged sex abuse of young boys, continues to claim that he is innocent. Although he admitted to NBC reporter Bob Costas that he “horsed around” in showers with some of the kids, he maintains that he did not molest or sexually assault any of them.

Meantime, Penn State has taken a beating because of the accusations against Sandusky, who continued to use the University’s facilities even after he was no longer assistant football coach. Tim Curley, who is Penn State Athletic Director, and Gary Schultz, who is VP of finance and business, are each charged with one count of failure to report the abuse and one count of felony perjury.

Also unscathed in the sandal are famous Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier, who have both lost their jobs. The University and its football program are blamed for failing to appropriately deal with the sex abuse allegations against Sandusky when they first came up years ago.

In what could lead to more civil lawsuits—and unrelated to the ones against Sandusky—Bernie Fine, the associate head coach at Syracuse University, is also accused of sexual abuse. The US Secret Service has been brought into the probe against him.

Three men are claiming that Fine molested them when they were youths. Two of those that came forward used to be Syracuse ball boys. Fine says he is innocent. The US Attorney in the Northern District of New York is heading the investigation.

North Carolina Child Sex Abuse
Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyers represent children and adults that were the victims of sexual abuse. You may be able to recover compensation from your abuser and anyone that allowed that could/should have stopped the abuse from happening.

First lawsuit filed against Sandusky in Penn State child sex scandal, CNN, November 30, 2011

Agents search Fine’s former office, Fox Sports, November 30, 2011

Paterno fired over Penn St. child abuse scandal, CBS News, November 9, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Cabarrus County Sex Abuse Allegations Leads to Former Teacher’s Arrest, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 15, 2011

North Carolina Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Bishop Eddie Long, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 27, 2010

Charlotte Catholic Diocese Settles North Carolina Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit for $1 Million, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 7, 2010

Prevent North Carolina Motor Vehicle Crashes This Holiday Season by Practicing Safe Driving

November 25, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Once more, millions of Americans are hitting the road this holiday season to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. According to AAA, about 42.5 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles over this four-day weekend alone.

With more vehicles comes the likelihood of traffic, congestion, and short tempers, as motorists that are in a hurry attempt to get to their destinations as quickly and safely as possible. Unfortunately, these conditions can also increase the likelihood of a North Carolina car accident happening. At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP, we wish you all a safe Thanksgiving.

You may not be able to control the behavior of others on the road, but you can take deliberate preventive action, including:

• Check your car before you go. Are tires properly inflated? Are auto fluids at the proper level? Are your brakes in proper working condition?
• Bring emergency supplies, including a first-aid kit and basic auto repair tools.
• Try not to overload your vehicle with too many people or too much cargo.
• Make sure you never run out of gas.
• Make sure that kids are properly restrained, whether with a seat belt, child safety seat, or booster chair.
• Don’t have more people in the vehicle than there are seat belts. Make sure everyone is buckled up.
• If you are traveling with pets, make sure that they are properly secured so that they don’t pose a distraction
• Obey all traffic rules
• Don’t speed
• Have patience with road conditions, traffic, and with other drivers
• Avoid talking on a cell phone or texting
• If you can, travel before or after the hours when traffic is heaviest
• Don’t drink too much alcohol before getting behind the steering wheel
• Remember that eating a lot can put one in a food coma. If you feel too drowsy to drive after eating, then wait until you are feeling more awake, let someone else drive, or spend the night where you are and wait until the next day.

Dealing with the aftermath of a Lumberton, North Carolina car crash is the last task you likely want to attend to on Thanksgiving Day. That said, the sooner you start exploring your legal options, the better. Should you decide to hire a Monroe, North Carolina personal injury law firm, your lawyer can start preparing your case while the evidence and witness accounts are still fresh. Depending on the seriousness of your injuries, there may be a lot to consider in terms of hospital bills, lost wages, property damage, and other costs. Retaining a Hickory, North Carolina traffic collision law firm allows you to let them worry about these details while you and your family get on with the recovery process.

North Carolina Bicycle Accident Prevention 101: Why Are You REALLY Not Wearing Your Bike Helmet?, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, November 18, 2011

How Much Does Chronic Stress Contribute to North Carolina Car Accidents?, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, November 11, 2011

High School Seniors Start Sending Applications to Qualify for the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 26, 2011

Charlotte, North Carolina Nursing Homes: Bringing Good Cheer to Your Loved Ones During The Holidays

November 20, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

With the holiday season just getting started, now is a good time to plan a visit to see your loved one at nursing home. This time of year can be rough for nursing home patients, who may miss their friends and family more than usual. A visit to bring them holiday cheer can lift their spirits. spirits. It can also be good time to make sure that your relative or friend is not suffering from Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home abuse or neglect.

A few steps you can take to make sure your visit will benefit your loved one:
• Find out when is the best time to visit. You don’t want to show up in the middle of a physical therapy session or when your loved one is not available for some other reason.
• Make sure that you customize your visit according to the resident’s needs. For example, should you take the patient out of the assisted living facility for lunch or will it be better if you stay on the premises?
• Think of activities you can do together that the nursing home resident will enjoy.

Spending quality time with your loved one is what matters. However, while you are visiting—especially if you don’t go there on a frequent basis—it is also a good idea to check out the facility and observe staff to make sure that he/she is getting the proper nursing care and living in a safe environment.

• Does your loved one seem relaxed and content?
Do you notice any awkward interactions between the patient and nursing home workers or patients?
• Does he/she seem depressed or fearful?
• Does he/she have unexplained bruises or other injuries?
• Observe nursing home staff. How do they interact with the residents and each other?
• Is the assisted living facility clean?
When you ask staff members about your loved one’s care plan do they seem involved and informed?

While directly asking your relative/friend about his/her experience is helpful, not every patient can speak out because of dementia or other health issues or out of fear. Our Hickory, North Carolina nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers want you to know that if you suspect that your loved one is being mistreated or not getting the proper care you may have grounds for a lawsuit against the assisted living facility.

You should also remove your him/her from any suspected abusive or dangerous situation and notify the authorities about your concerns. The sooner you speak with a Lumberton, North Carolina personal injury lawyer about your suspicions, the better.

Licensed Facilities, NC Division of Health Service Regulation

Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence: Proper Feeding of Residents Can Prevent Choking Accidents and Other Food-Related Injuries and Illnesses, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 11, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Shooting Rampage: Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 12, 2011

Forsythe County, North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Resident Who Drowned in Puddle in 2009 is Identified by Police, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 16, 2011

Cabarrus County Sex Abuse Allegations Leads to Former Teacher’s Arrest

November 15, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Christopher Nathan White has been charged with one count of statutory sex offense and two counts of unlawful sexual activity. White, 36, used to teach at Concord High School in Cabarrus County.

The alleged Cabarrus County, North Carolina sex abuse is said to have occurred six years ago and involved two students, then 15 and 17. While White was teaching at the high school when these incidents would have occurred, police are not saying whether they occurred on school grounds.

Sexual Abuse Allegations
Depending on the specifics of the case, the students and their families may have grounds for filing a North Carolina sexual abuse lawsuit against not just White but also the school over the assault crimes. Schools are responsible for making sure that the people that they hire will not hurt their students or take advantage of their authority in any other way. They also can be held liable for North Carolina personal injury for any injuries that happen to students while under their watch—especially if the injuries could/should have been prevented.

Unfortunately, child sex abuse by teachers on students is not as rare as we’d like to think and they can happen to kids of all ages.

According to USAToday.com:

• Before age 18, one out of six boys and one out of for girls will be the victim of sex abuse
• Sex abuse affects occurs in all socioeconomic groups
• 90% of the time assailants are someone trusted by the family

Kids are easy targets for adults that have authority over them, whether in a supervisory or a guardian position. Meantime, adults in such roles are able to gain easy access to their targets, who may not understand what is happening to them or are scared to protest or report that they’ve been victimized.

Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal
Recently making national headlines are the sex abuse allegations surrounding ex-Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky who has been charged with sexually assaulting several boys. Although he retired in 1999, Sandusky continued to use the university’s facilities to work with The Second Mile, an organization that helps at-risk kids. A number of the boys that belonged to this group became his alleged victims. Sandusky, who was arraigned on 40 criminal counts, claims he is innocent.

Meantime, legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has been fired. People want to know why he did not act to stop or prevent the abuses. Perjury charges have also been filed against Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and finance and business vice president Gary Schultz. The two men allegedly neglected to tell police about the abuse allegations. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the victims and their families decided to sue Penn State, Sandusky, and those that either allowed the abuse to happen, failed to report the allegations, or covered up the incidents.

To find out if you have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina sex abuse case, you should speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer right away. Even if the abuse happened years ago, you still may be able to pursue damages.

Ex-Penn St. coach Sandusky arrested, Fox Sports, November 7, 2011

Paterno fired over Penn St. child abuse scandal, CBS News, November 9, 2011

Ex-Concord High teacher charged with sexual offenses, Charlotte Observer, November 15, 2011

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Bishop Eddie Long, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 27, 2010

Charlotte Catholic Diocese Settles North Carolina Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit for $1 Million, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 7, 2010

North Carolina Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Names Two Priests as the Perpetrators, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 3, 2009

Worker Killed in Charlotte, North Carolina Construction Fall Accident

October 31, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A worker who plunged three stories off a roof has died from his Charlotte, North Carolina construction accident injuries. The Mecklenburg County fall accident occurred at the Pike Energy Solutions building on October 26.

At around 8am, the worker and a garbage shoot that was located on the roof both fell off the top of the building. The worker, who ended up in an industrial sized dumpster, was pronounced dead at the Charlotte, North Carolina fall accident site. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the deadly incident.

Unfortunately, falls are one of the more common causes of construction accident fatalities. Statistics show that 30% of construction deaths a year are a result of falls from roofs, scaffolds, cranes, through elevator shafts, holes in the floor, and because of falling objects.

Construction crews and their companies should make sure that safe working conditions are implemented at all times—especially when the work is being done off the ground and at elevated heights. Are harnesses required? Should there be barricades put up? Is the area safe enough to have people working there? Are safety equipment and tools free from any defects that could cause them to fail?

Fall accidents can lead to serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, internal injuries, blunt trauma injuries, and even death. While you cannot sue your employer for your Charlotte, North Carolina construction accident injury, many construction jobs usually have other parties involved in the project. Negligence on the part of these third parties could allow you to seek North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death damages, as well as obtain North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits from your employer.

At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, we represent clients injured in all kinds of North Carolina construction accidents, including trench collapses, electrical accidents, welding accidents, construction blasts, machinery accidents, scaffolding accidents, motor vehicle crashes, accidents involving falling objects, crush injury accidents, fires, gas explosions, construction equipment accidents, ladder falls, conveyor accidents, forklift accidents, bulldozer accidents, boiler room accidents, elevator accidents, building collapses, and other types of construction accidents.

2010 Workplace Fall Accident Facts (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• 635 worker fall accidents
• Since 2007, deadly falls in the private construction industry have gone down by 42%

Unfortunately, for many construction workers involved in serious accidents, their careers are over and their source of livelihood gone.

You want to work with a North Carolina construction accident company that understands the nature of these types of injuries and how they can happen. There are usually numerous parties involved in working a construction job, and determining who is liable can be a daunting job unless you know what to do.

Man dies after 3-story fall into construction bin in north Charlotte, WSOCTV, October 26, 2011

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2010, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 25, 2010

Worker Killed in 3-Story Fall at Charlotte Construction Site, Justice News Flash, October 26, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Charlotte Construction Worker’s Death is Third Work Accident Involving Wachovia Project in a Month, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 15, 2008

North Carolina Worker Sustains Life-Threatening Injuries After Fall At Charlotte Construction Site, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 15, 2008

Deadly New York Crane Accident Highlights Safety Issues As Multiple Cranes Operate in Charlotte, North Carolina, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 19, 2008

High School Seniors Start Sending Applications to Qualify for the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program

October 26, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm plays an active role in helping decrease the number of drunk driving accidents that happen every year. Part of our efforts comes to fruition with the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program. Every year, we award $2,500 college scholarships to a number of high school seniors.

Recipients are selected from a pool of participants from the North Carolina counties of Mecklenburg, Cumberland, Gaston, Anson, Catawba, Richmond, Union, Scotland, Cabarrus, Robeson, Cleveland, Burke, Lincoln, Alexander, Rowan, Iredell, Stanly, and Caldwell and the South Carolina Counties of Lancaster, York, Marlboro, Chesterfield, and Dillon. In addition to a scholarship application, candidates must submit a presentation encouraging fellow teens to not drink and drive. Sat or ACT scores, high school transcript, letters of recommendation, community/school involvement, and volunteer activities will also be considered. Please click here for more information about the program and how to apply. The contact person for the 2012 Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program is Kristine Woolley. Communications Director. You can reach her at kwoolley@demayolaw.com. Or (704) 343-4644.

Teens and Drunk Driving
Our Charlotte, North Carolina car crash lawyers believe that it is important to keep reminding teenagers that not only is underage drinking a bad idea, but also so is drunk driving.

Some reasons why teenagers drink and drive:
• Risk-taking
• The desire to experience the effects of alcohol
• Peer pressure
• The need to fit in
• False sense of immortality

Not only is drunk driving potentially fatal, but also alcohol consumption at a young age can impact memory, long-term thinking, and cause liver problems, and hormonal issues. Also, alcohol may impair judgment, the ability to gauge distances, slows reaction time, blurs vision, and can cause a person to engage in high-risk activities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every day, eight teens are killed in motor crashes daily. Drunk driving is one of the behaviors that cause serious injuries and death to teens and others. Also, a drunken driver is subject to criminal charges especially if serious injury or death resulted. Help us make a difference in spreading the word about the dangers of drunk driving.

Find out about the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program.

Fill out an application


Related Web Resources:

Teen Drivers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“Like” The Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo on Facebook

Underage Drinking, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism


More Blog Posts:

North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm Announces the 2011 Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program Winners, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 25, 2011

North Carolina Car Accident Law Firm and Former Winston-Salem TV Anchor Join Forces to Combat Drunk Driving Among Teen Drivers, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 22, 2010

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

North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Four Asheville Bars Over Fatal Car Crash

October 16, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A year after a drunk driver killed Mandie Kirkconnell in an Asheville car crash, her estate is suing four bars for her North Carolina wrongful death. Kirkconnell suffered fatal injuries on October 2, 2010 when her vehicle was hit by a car driven by Jennifer Kessler, whose BAC at the time was .262%. That’s more than three times above the .08% legal limit. The 26-year-old later pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, felony death by vehicle, and reckless driving to endanger.

The defendants in this North Carolina wrongful death complaint are The Orange Peel, Highland Brewing Co., Temptations Red Room, and Sazerac. Per the civil lawsuit, employees at Highland Brewing, where Kessler first stopped, either should have known or already knew that she was drunk when they served her drinks. She drank more alcohol at the other three bars.

There is a North Carolina statute that bars establishments with Alcoholic Beverage Control permits from knowingly giving or selling alcohol to anyone who is ‘intoxicated.” Also, when third party ended up getting hurt or dying in a drunk driving accident because an establishments sold alcohol to minors or an already intoxicated persons, the state allows for the latter to be held liable through North Carolina personal injury and wrongful death complaints. Recovery is limited to $500,000.

Drunk Driving
According to a paper recently published by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, even though drunk driving appears to have gone down 30% in the last five years, about 4 million Americans still acknowledge to having at least once driven while under the influence of alcohol. This has led to 112 million alcohol impaired driving-related incidents and thousands of deaths. That’s still 1/3rd of all driving deaths.

Telephone survey data was used by the CDC used telephone survey data to put together its drunk driving figures for 2010. Among its latest statistics:

• 81% of drunk driving incidents involved men.
• 85% of those involved in impaired driving incidents have engaged in binge drinking.
• People who didn’t consistently use seat belts were four times more likely to drive drunk.

The CDC researchers’ report can be found in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Drunk driving can cause devastating injuries for those involved. It makes no sense for lives to be lost and families destroyed because someone decided to get into a car and drive. You may have a Charlotte, North Carolina car accident case against a drunk driver or the party/parties that served the motorist alcohol or allowed him/her to drive while intoxicated.

Medical expenses, lost wages, lost benefits, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, and funeral and cremation expenses can take a financial toll on the lives of victims and loved ones. There is no reason why you have to foot these burdens alone. Making the responsible parties pay is also a way to hold them accountable for their actions.

Lawsuit seeks damages in fatal drunk driving crash in Asheville, Citizen Times, October 13, 2011

Drunk driving down, still a factor in a third of crash deaths, Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2011


Related Web Resources:

Social Host Liability, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC

More Blog Posts:
Horrific DUI North Carolina School Bus Accident Raises Troubling Questions, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, May 27, 2011

DWI Driver Seriously Hurts Eight People in North Carolina Auto Accident, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, May 12, 2011

Former News Anchor Tolly Carr Settles North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit with Family of Man Killed in Drunk Driving Accident, North Carolina Injury Lawyers Blog, November 24, 2008

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence: Proper Feeding of Residents Can Prevent Choking Accidents and Other Food-Related Injuries and Illnesses

October 11, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Assisted living facility staff must make sure that each resident is properly fed. This includes making sure their diet meets their nutritional needs and restrictions and keeping each patient properly hydrated. While feeding someone may sound like an easy, obvious task, depending on the resident, there may be numerous steps involved. Should failure fulfill this responsibility result in injury or illness, the patient and his/her family may have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home negligence lawsuit.

For example, some patients may not be able to chew their food unless meats are cut into small bites, liquefied, handfed by someone else, or inserted through a feeding tube. Failure to make sure a resident’s food is in a form that the patient can easily swallow or digest can result in choking accidents, malnutrition, and even death. If a feeding tube is involved, then nursing staff must make sure that it is properly inserted in the patient’s body so that the food is delivered to the stsomach and not to the lungs or some other body part. Such a mistake can prove fatal and lead to a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death case.

Doctors, nutritionists, and nurses need to make sure that any food allergies are noted on a patient’s food chart. If sugar is a no-no, then this too must be made clear. For some patients, too much cholesterol can stress out the heart. In the last few years, gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance have become more common. Exposing a patient to foods that are bad for his/her health can lead to serious health complications that could/should have been prevented.

It is also the responsibility of nursing home workers to make sure that the kitchen is clean and free from any dangerous bacteria and that food items are properly cleaned, stored, preserved, prepared, and served. Sick and elderly residents tend to have weaker immune systems than healthy persons and food poisoning, E.coli, and other food illnesses can take a toll on their health.

It also goes without saying that even if a nursing home resident can eat on their own and without requiring close supervision that staff make sure that patients are in fact getting the nutrition and liquids that they need. Living at a nursing home can sometimes lead to depression and loneliness for patients, who may miss family and friends, as well as their old way of life. Loss of appetite can cause a patient to neglect his/her well-being, and it is the responsibility of the assisted living facility to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

FDA Food Code

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Nursing Home Shooting Rampage: Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 12, 2011

Forsythe County, North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Resident Who Drowned in Puddle in 2009 is Identified by Police, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 16, 2011

Over 18,000 Reports of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Made in 2011, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 9, 2011

Family of College Football Player Files North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against WCU Coaching Staff

October 4, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Two years after Western Carolina University football player Ja’Quayvin Smalls passed away following his first college football practice, his family is seeking North Carolina wrongful death damages against the WCU coaching staff.

The junior defensive back, who was from Mount Pleasant, collapsed during a voluntary workout session for new players. Autopsy results reported that he died from an enlarged heart. Exertion and Smalls’ sickle cell trait were listed as factors in his death.

Defendants in this North Carolina wrongful death case include football coach Dennis Wagner, athletic director Chip Smith, head athletic trainer Steven Honbarger, defensive coordinator Matt Pawlowski, former strength coach Brad Ohrt, and assistant athletic trainer Brandon King.

Smalls family says that the coaching staff knew about his condition and they contend that they should have taken precautions to prevent his death. Smalls’s dad, Henry Malcolm Smalls, is claiming gross, negligent, wanton, and willful breach of duty to his son in the defendants’ alleged failure to establish procedures and policies for safely training and conditioning athletes suffering from sickle cell.

Athletic departments and supervisors are responsible for making sure that training and practices are run in a manner that doesn’t jeopardize the health and well-being of athletes. Unfortunately, there have been incidents involving athletes getting sick or dying because the proper safety precautions were not in place or procedures weren’t followed.

For example, insisting that athletes keep practicing in extremely hot temperatures without proper hydration can lead to serious injuries. Per the CDC, heat illness is the leading cause of disability and deaths for young athletes. Permanent organ damage can occur should the body temperature hit 105 degrees. Per the University of North Carolina’s National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, there have been 30 football player deaths because of illnesses relate to hot weather.

Another cause of athlete injuries involving inadequate supervision or coaching is when a player is pressured to keep playing despite being sick or having suffered an injury. This can exacerbate his/her condition and result in permanent injury or a more serious health issue.

Athletic supervisors and coaches are also supposed to be mindful of any preexisting conditions (Sickle cell trait, a heart condition), an athlete might have and take the necessary precautions to make sure that no resulting complications arise. For example, when someone has sickle cell trait his/her red blood cells can change from road to sickle-shaped. This can prove fatal. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, between 2000 and 2007 sickle cell trait was a factor in nine athlete deaths. NATA noted that letting athletes with this trait not part in “day one” football conditioning tests appears to help save lives. Altitude, dehydration, asthma, and heat can increase the risk of sickling.

Recently, a jury awarded the family of Ereck Plancher $10 million in his wrongful death. Plancher, who played football for UCF, died in March 2008 after an off-season workout. Plancher also carried the sickle cell trait.

Wrongful death suit seeks more than $10,000 from Western Carolina University, Citizen-Times, September 24, 2011

Smalls Family Files Wrongful Death Suit, Mt. Pleasant Patch, September 27, 2011

Athletic trainers discuss sickle cell trait, USA Today, June 27, 2011

10-years later, Devaughn Darling’s family still fighting, Orlando Sentinel, October 1, 2011

Western Carolina University

More Blog Posts:
Deceased Chapel Hill High School Football Player’s Family Claims Paramedic Malpractice in Their North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 9, 2010

Parents File North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Lenoir-Rhyne University and Theta Chi Fraternity, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, August 4, 2009

Family of 18-Year-Old Shot by Police During 2006 Home Raid Sues University of North Carolina Wilmington for Wrongful Death, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 2, 2008

Charlotte, North Carolina Car Accidents: What You Should Know About Working with a Claims Adjuster

September 29, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

If you were involved in a Charlotte, North Carolina car accident, you may be entitled to personal injury compensation from any liable parties. You should speak with a North Carolina injury lawyer right away to find out whether you have grounds for a case.

What you shouldn’t do is talk to the other party’s claims adjuster about the accident or your injuries. The job of a claims adjuster is to investigate claims, negotiate settlements, and decide how much a claimant should get. They are tasked with resolving cases as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

While they do perform a necessary function in the North Carolina car accident claim process, giving them too much information could hurt your case more than help it. For example, a recent MSN.com article cautions that some claims adjusters will:

• Try to get you to agree to a settlement right away.
• Get you to a compromise that might not be in your best interests.
Convince you to go to a repair shop that is “preferred.”
• Try to get you to accept less than fair placement value for a totaled car.

The MSN.com article goes on to talk about what you should to prevent these outcomes from happening:

• Make sure that all written statements go through your Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyer.
• Be careful about what you say to a claims adjuster—less is more.
• Try not to apologize for what happened—even if it is the polite thing to do—because you’re “sorry” may be construed as an admission of guilt.
• Don’t joke about the situation.
• Don’t say anything that might later damage your credibility.
• Be wary of questions trying to get you to admit that you were at fault.
• Even if the North Carolina motor vehicle crash may have been your fault, don’t say anything to incriminate yourself. Remember, you have the right to remain silent.
• Make sure to report any injuries, aches or pains.

Remember, the Charlotte, North Carolina car accident law firm that you hire is there to make sure you receive the maximum recovery possible for your injuries and the damage to your property. Your legal team is also here to protect your rights. If you settle right away, your North Carolina personal injury lawyer won’t be able to get you a bigger sum that might actually be owed to you.

Investigating the extent of property damage and the severity of a victim’s injuries can take time. While it may initially seem like a relief to have a settlement in your hands, this could prove problematic. Your best bet is to let your lawyer handle all interactions with the other party and the people they’ve brought on to counter/minimize your claim.

Secrets of car insurance adjusters, MSN, September 27, 2011

Car accidents and Negligence, Nolo


More Blog Posts:

HB 542 Could Cost North Carolina Motor Vehicle Crash Victims Who Have Medical Insurance, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 24, 2011

Visualizing Auto Safety: A Powerful Way to Avoid North Carolina Car Accidents, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, September 28, 2011

What Really Caused Your North Carolina Car Accident?, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, September 2, 2011

Join the Fight Against Texting While Driving: Enter Our Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm’s Sweepstakes on Facebook to Win a Flip Camera and Watch Our Distracted Driving Video

September 19, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to some studies, texting while operating a motor vehicle is eight times more dangerous than driving while drunk. Yet, for many people, knowing this information isn’t enough to stop them from reading, composing, or sending a text while driving. Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo would like to invite you and your friends to join us in the fight against distracted driving. Please watch our Distracted Driving is Like Driving Blind video on YouTube and enter our Distracted Driving Awareness Sweepstakes on Facebook. The deadline to participate is October 10, 2011.

Texting While Driving
In North Carolina, it is actually illegal for all motorists to text while driving. Unfortunately, this texting ban isn’t enough to ensure that people won’t engage in this type of distracted driving behavior. Here are a couple of reasons why:

• Not everyone understands that texting, which poses no physical danger when done while not operating a vehicle, is dangerous when driving. It takes just a few seconds for a catastrophic North Carolina car crash to happen. Usually, to text the driver has to have his/her eyes off the road for at least that long and one, even both of his/her driver’s hands will be off the steering wheel to hold and work the phone/PDA device. This can make it hard for a motorist to stay in control of a vehicle to avoid an accident.

• In this multitasking society, it can be hard to stop what has now become a bad, even compulsive habit of constantly checking and responding to text messages and emails.

According to Internet & American Life Project from the Pew Research Center, adults are just as likely as teens to text when driving. In the report, issued last year, 47% of adults reported sending or receiving a text from a mobile phone while behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. If adult drivers can’t restrain themselves from texting, how can we expect our teen drivers to stop? Please stop distracted driving by pledging to limit your texting when operating a motor vehicle.

We are familiar with the devastating consequences that can result because someone was texting or talking on the phone while driving. Please do not hesitate to contact our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm to ask for your free case evaluation.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP
Over the years, the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo has fought hard for our clients to make sure they received the damages they were owed by all liable parties. We also have been fierce advocates of combating drunk driving with our Arrive Alive: Don’t Drink and Drive community service program and the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program for college kids. Our Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm is committed to helping stop the growing epidemic known as distracted driving. Won’t you join us in saving more lives?

Adults as likely to text while driving as teens, study says, CNN, June 18, 2010

Cell Phone and Texting Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association, September 2011


More Blog Posts:

Turn Down the Music! (and Avoid North Carolina Car Accidents), North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, August 4, 2011

16-Year-Old Driver Involved in Fatal North Carolina Car Accident is Charged with Texting While Driving, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 30, 2011

Lawmakers Deliberate Whether to Step Up the Fight Against North Carolina Distracted Driving Crashes with a Ban on Handheld Cell Devices, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, March 26, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Shooting Rampage: Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder

September 12, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Robert Stewart, the man convicted of eight counts of second-degree murder in the 2009 mass shooting at a North Carolina nursing home, has been spared the death penalty. Instead, he will spend life in prison without parole.

Stewart admitted to shooting 11 people at the Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center. Eight of the people he shot at the Carthage nursing home died:

• Tessie Garner, 75
• Jesse Musser, 88
• Lillian Dunn, 89
• Bessie Hedrick, 78
• Margaret Johnson, 89
• John Goldston, 78
• Nurse Jerry Avant, 39
• Louise DeKler, 98

Already, the estates of DeKler, Goldston, Johnson, and Dunn have filed a North Carolina wrongful death claim alleging nursing home negligence and premises liability. Stewart’s wife Wanda is believed to have warned administrators that her husband was going to come after her.

On the day of the shooting, March 29, 2009, Wanda was working in a locked area of the facility. The rest of the nursing home, however, remained easily accessible to anyone. The victims’ loved ones say that the facility never warned them that Stewart might go to the Carthage nursing home and cause anyone harm. (Wanda has also been named a defendant for allegedly failing to warn the residents that her husband posed a danger.)

While prosecutors tried to get Robert convicted of first-degree murder—contending that he was aware of his actions and motives when he went looking for his wife, his defense lawyers claimed that at the time of the shooting he had been under the influence of a combination of prescription drugs that put him in a zombie-like state. They also contended that he was depressed because his wife had left him and he believed he was dying from cancer.

Following the jury’s conviction of second-degree murder, the judge sentenced Robert to 189-236 months behind bars for each murder count (that is 126 to 157 years in prison) sans parole. He also was sentenced to 16-22 years for other assault convictions. The defense plans to appeal.

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence
In addition to protecting residents from North Carolina nursing home abuse and neglect, it is up to staff to make sure that patients and their guests are kept physically safe. This means ensuring that there is adequate supervision, security, and safeguards to prevent sexual assault, physical assault, and other violent crimes.

Nursing homes should be properly secured to prevent unwanted persons from entering or leaving the premise without notice. Security guards, locks on doors and windows, surveillance cameras, and controlled entry and access are just some of the safety measures that can be implemented. If there is an imminent danger that suddenly arises, then adequate warnings, heightened security, and closer supervision can be implemented to provide adequate protections.

Robert Stewart guilty of 2nd-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison, FayObserver.com, September 4, 2011

NC man gets life in prison for Carthage nursing home killings, NBC17, September 3, 2011

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

More Blog Posts:
Alleged Shooter That Caused Eight Carthage, North Carolina Nursing Home Deaths to Go on Trial, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 11, 2011

Over 18,000 Reports of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Made in 2010, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 9, 2011

Caretaker Accused of North Carolina Elder Abuse in Beating of 91-Year-Old Woman, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 27, 2011

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm to Provide Free Speakers Bureau Service to Talk about the Legal Issues Affecting You

September 1, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

For nearly two decades the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo has been an active member of the community and every year, our Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawyers give back by participating in and offering a number of public service programs. This year we are unveiling our Speakers Bureau, a public service program that allows us to meet with you and answer your questions about specific legal issues that may be impacting you. This service is free.

At the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, we know that the legal process can sometimes seem overwhelming and confusing. This is why we want to answer your questions and explain your legal rights. Our North Carolina injury lawyers are available to speak to your group or organization in Charlotte, Hickory, or Monroe about a number of topics, including (but not limited to):

General Interest:
• What to do if you get hurt in a car crash
• Pursing law as a career
• Choosing the best auto insurance for you

Motor Vehicle/Motorcycle Crashes:
• What to do if you’ve been in a traffic crash
• Drinking and driving
• How to deal with insurance companies
• Understanding your auto/motorcycle insurance policy
• Traumatic brain injury and whiplash
• Dangerous roads

Caregiver and Family Support:
• How to handle insurers
• When you should speak with a lawyer
• Lost wages and medical bills

Social Security Disability and Workers’ Compensation:
• Who is eligible to receive benefits
• What you should do if you get hurt on the job
• What to do if your request for Social Security Disability is denied

How to Request Our Speaker’s Bureau:
To request a speaker from our law firm, fill out our Speakers Bureau Form. We will send you an e-mail notification confirming the receipt of your request. Please give us at least four weeks notice from when you would like us to speak. Speakers are available on a first come, first serve basis. Our North Carolina personal injury lawyers will make every effort to ensure that our presentation for you is informative and interesting. Professional groups, service organizations, volunteer groups, church groups, injury and illness support groups, educational groups, caregiver support groups, schools and educational groups, social clubs, and community associations are just some of the groups that could benefit from our Speakers Bureau program.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo is located in Charlotte, Hickory, Monroe, and Lumberton, North Carolina, and we represent clients in North Carolina and South Carolina. Other community services we offer include the Arrive Alive; Don’t Drink and Drive program and the Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program. We also remain actively involved in raising money and awareness for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving program and services, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Thanksgiving food drive, and the Angel Tree Toy Drive.

For more information, visit our Web site or contact our Community Relations Director Kristine Woolley at kwoolley@demayolaw.com or call (704) 343-4644.

Read More About:
Arrive Alive: Don’t Drink and Drive

Michael A. DeMayo Scholarship Program

Union County, North Carolina Dog Bite Lawsuit Blames School Staff for Incident on Playground

August 31, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

The father of a former Western Union Elementary School student is suing the Union County Board of Education for North Carolina injuries to a minor because a pit bull terrier bit his son on the school playground in 2010. According to the North Carolina dog bite lawsuit, the stray animal entered the school premises. Meantime, while the board acknowledges that the dog got onto the grounds and bit Jordan, it denies responsibility.

If you or someone you love was injured in a dog attack that occurred on another person’s property, you may have reason for filing a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit against the premise owner and/or the dog owner. Property owners can be held liable for North Carolina premises liability if there is a danger or unsafe condition on the property that causes injury that would/could/should have been prevented if it weren’t for the owner’s negligence.

Dog owners can also be held liable for the victim’s injuries. However, because of the state’s laws regarding contributory negligence, which stops victims that played any role in causing their injury from obtaining damages, receiving the compensation you are owed can be tough. Also, it doesn’t help that the state’s laws regarding dog bites appear to be more to the dog owner’s advantage.

For example, a North Carolina dog owner can be held strictly liable for the animal’s injuries if he/she purposely and willfully violated the state’s prohibition against letting dogs run at large. However, this is only applicable if the dog is more than six months old and was running at large on its own during night hours. Strict liability may also apply if severe injury or death resulted and the animal had been used in dog fighting or was previously declared “potentially dangerous” for either having terrorized or caused injury to another human being or animal while off the owner’s property. These are just some of the reasons why you should work with an experienced Monroe, North Carolina dog bite law firm that knows how to prove negligence and obtain the maximum recovery possible.

You should know that a dog doesn’t need to have broken skin during the bite for you to have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina dog attack claim. Dog bites can cause serious emotional injury and mental trauma that can impede the victim’s life. Also, as we mentioned earlier in the blog post, there may be more than one party who should be held liable for your North Carolina dog bite injuries.

Also, if a dog bit you, you should seek medical attention right away. Even if the actual physical injury doesn’t appear severe you may be at risk of infection or rabies, which can exacerbate your condition. Some dog bite injuries can be so serious that they can lead to permanent disfigurement, scarring, organ damage, and even death.

Father Sues Union School Board Over Dog Bite Incident, WSOCTV, August 31, 2011


Related Web Resources:

Dog Bites, American Humane Society

Dog Bites, Nolo


More Blog Posts:

Waxhaw Pit Bull Attack Leaves 5-Year-Old Dead and Her Grandmother with Serious Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 12, 2011

Mint Hill Dog Attack Injures Grandmother and Six-Year-Old Boy, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 24, 2010

Eye Complications Can Develop in Children Suffering from North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries to the Face, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 29, 2010

Charlotte, North Carolina Slip and Fall Accidents Can Result in Painful, Debilitating Personal Injuries

August 30, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Every year, thousands of people are injured in slip and fall, step and fall, and trip and fall accidents. While these accidents sound harmless enough (after all, as young children didn’t all of us fall to the ground on more than one occasion and live to tell the tale with our bodies physically intact?), the injuries sustained during a fall accident, especially for older adults, can be very serious and can even lead to traumatic brain injuries and death.

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

Adoptive Dad of Murdered 4-Year-Old is Not Allowed to Receive North Carolina Wrongful Death Damages, Says Jury

August 16, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Although Johnny Paddock was never charged in the death of his 4-year-old adoptive son Sean Paddock, he will not be allowed to benefit from a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit filed by the boy’s biological grandfather. Paddock’s wife, Lynn Paddock, was convicted of felony child abuse and first-degree murder. She is serving a life sentence.

Police say that Sean suffocated after being bound too tightly in blankets on February 26, 2006. Although Johnny claims he knew nothing of the abuse, the civil court says that Johnny “aided and abetted” Lynn.

Sean’s five adopted siblings have also filed a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit against Johnny. In addition, they are suing Children’s Home Society of North Carolina Inc. for North Carolina personal injury because the group placed them with the Paddocks. Sean’s grandfather, Ron Ford, is also suing the group.

During Lynn’s 2008 criminal trial, the Paddock kids testified that she beat them on a nearly daily basis with wooden spoons, plastic rods, and other devices. They also say that she controlled when they could go to the bathroom and what they ate, made them exercise, and forced them to sit in front of a wall for hours. They claim she kept them away from other adults and kids.

Some of the kids still live with Johnny, who they say never beat them and was either asleep or away when they were abused by their mom. Still, Ford’s lawyers contend that Paddock knew about the abuse and didn’t do anything to stop it.

Because of this jury’s finding, Johnny will not be able to obtain any recovery from the wrongful death lawsuits filed over Sean’s murder. The verdict removes him as Sean’s legal dad and now paves the way for Sean’s siblings to win damages.

Ford, who lost his standing as Sean’s relative when the Paddocks adopted the boy, also won’t be collecting any damages from Sean’s estate. Following the jury’s verdict, Ford says that the fact that Johnny was being held accountable for what happened to Sean makes him “very very happy with this.”

North Carolina Wrongful Death
As you can see with this case, North Carolina wrongful death actions can be complicated, which is why you want an experienced Charlotte, NC wrongful death law firm handling your case. There may be complex issues involved, such as trying to prevent a family member who may played a factor in causing the victim’s passing from recovering compensation.

Losing someone you love is never easy under any circumstances and obtaining damages won’t make up for your loss. It can, however, allow you to hold the responsible parties accountable and serve as acknowledgement of what happened. In can also provide some financial relief.

Father faulted in death, The Herald, July 24, 2011

Verdict means adoptive father can’t benefit from boy’s death, WRAL, July 20, 2011

Paddock will pay for son’s murder, News Observer, September 22, 2009


Related Web Resource:

Children’s Home Society of North Carolina Inc.

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Convicted Murderer Mike Peterson Now Owes $35 Million for Wrongful Death of His Wife, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 11, 2011

North Carolina Parents File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Stokes County Department of Social Services For Son’s Drowning Deaths, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 2, 2008

North Carolina Wrongful Death Results in $10M Award Against Taser, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 20, 2011

Alleged Shooter That Caused Eight Carthage, North Carolina Nursing Home Deaths to Go on Trial, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 11, 2011

Sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury May Up the Risk of Stroke

August 2, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to researchers, patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries may have increase their risk of stroke by 10-fold. Our Charlotte, North Carolina TBI law firm finds these latest findings incredibly disturbing. This is just one more incredibly challenging complication that some of our brain injury clients may have to contend with, along with the other repercussions from having been in a serious accident.

The results from this latest study, which was conducted by Professor Herng-Ching Lin at Taipei Medical University, were published in the July 28 web edition of Stroke. Data was gathered on 23,199 traumatic brain injury patients who got hurt between 2001 and 2003. Their information was compared with data from 69,597 patients who did not have TBIs.

Among the findings:
• 2.91% of brain injury patients suffered a stroke within three months of sustaining their injury.
• Just .3% of non-TBI patients had a stroke during the same time frame.
• The risk of stroke among TBI patients did go down with each passing year.
• Patients with a fractured skull can up the risk of stroke had a 20-fold greater risk of developing a stroke during the first thee months than for TBI patients without a skull fracture.
• Traumatic brain injury patients are at greater risk of having a brain bleed than other patients.

One possible reason for the increased stroke is that certain TBI health complications—cardiac injuries, blood clotting, and torn arteries can result in a stroke.

Stroke:
A stroke can occur when there is a disruption in the flow of blood to the brain. A stroke is considered a medical emergency. Getting immediate care can save the patient’s live and decrease the chances of permanent disability. A stroke can lead to numerous complications, which can prove even more challenging for someone suffering from a Hickory, North Carolina TBI: Aspiration, factures, permanent brain function loss, mobility problems, loss of the ability to move parts of the body, factures, lower life span, and problems communicating.

Unfortunately, North Carolina traumatic brain injuries can occur as a result of car accidents, motorcycle crashes, truck collisions, pedestrian accidents, an assault crime, boating accidents, work injuries, slip and fall accidents, construction accidents, falling debris, or other incidents.

Living with a Lumberton, North Carolina traumatic brain injury can be challenging and expensive. Depending on the severity of the brain injury, the victim may not be able to work or survive without round-the-clock nursing care. In addition to basic living expenses, there also may be bills to contend with for rehabilitation and physical therapy. A TBI can also take an emotional toll on the victim and loved ones, whose lives will never be the same.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyers are committed to helping traumatic brain injury patients and their families recover damages for medical costs, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, lost wages, and other compensation from all liable parties.

Brain injury may boost stroke risk, USA Today, August 1, 2011

National Stroke Association

Traumatic Brain Injury, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 5, 2011

North Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors at Greater Risk of Suffering from Depression, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 20, 2010

Over 37,000 North Carolina Brain Injury Patients a Year Require Emergency Room Care, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 24, 2010

Alleged Shooter That Caused Eight Carthage, North Carolina Nursing Home Deaths to Go on Trial

July 11, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the criminal trial of Robert Kenneth Stewart, the man accused of entering a Carthage, North Carolina nursing home and fatally shooting eight people (seven residents and a male nurse) and injuring three others on March 29, 2009. Stewart is charged with eight counts of criminal murder, two counts of attempted murder, and other criminal counts. His estranged wife, Wanda Stewart, says she believes he had gone to Pinelake Health and Rehab to look for her.

Because of the publicity surrounding the shooting, Stewart’s lawyer sought to have the criminal case moved out of Moore County. A judge has since ruled that jurors would come from Stanley County but that the trial would be held in Carthage. Some 750 people have been placed on notice for possible jury duty. Also expected to be at the proceedings are the families whose loved ones Stewart fatally shot (a number of these loved ones have already filed a Carthage wrongful death lawsuit accusing the nursing home of North Carolina nursing home negligence and providing inadequate security).

A complaint filed by the estates of John Goldston, Louise DeKler, Lillian Dunn, and Margaret Johnson claims that Wanda Stewart warned administrators that an attack by Stewart on her was “imminent.” They also believe she told them her husband was in an “unstable mentally state” and possessed firearms.

The day the shooting happened, Stewart was at the Alzheimer’s special care unit, which is locked 24 hours/day and can only be accessed by entering a passcode on a key panel. Meantime, the rest of the facility allegedly remained “readily accessible by anyone” while patients and their families were never warned about the possible threat that Stewart posed. The families have also named Wanda as a defendant in their case. They are accusing her of negligence, including the failure to warn the victims about her husband.

Families claim Carthage nursing home knew of potential attack, WRAL, July 11, 2011

Stewart Trial Set to Start, ThePilot, July 11, 2011

Related Web Resources:
NC Department of Health and Human Services

Licensed Facilities: NC Division of Health Service Regulation


More Blog Posts:

Forsythe County, North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Resident Who Drowned in Puddle in 2009 is Identified by Police, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 16, 2011

Over 18,000 Reports of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Made in 2010, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 9, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence Alleged in Wrongful Death Lawsuits of Shooting Victims’ Families, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 21, 2010

HBO’s “Hot Coffee” Documentary Examines America's Legal System and the $2.9M Personal Injury Verdict Against McDonald’s

June 30, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A new documentary on HBO is asking viewers to take a closer look at America’s legal system and think about whether or not it restricts the legal rights of those seeking civil damages for personal injuries. Former public interest attorney and first-time filmmaker Susan Saladoff made the documentary film.

The documentary focuses on four “exhibits.” There is the infamous “hot coffee” lawsuit, involving senior Stella Liebeck, who a jury awarded $2.9 million for injuries she sustained when she spilled a cup of scalding coffee in her lap while in a parked car at McDonald’s. Liebeck, who sustained 3rd degree burns and had to receive skin grafts and undergo years of costly medical care, soon became the butt of jokes for such a big reward. Meantime, corporate America used her case as an example for why states should set caps on injury damages.

Also under close scrutiny is the case of 15-year-old Colin Gourley, a victim of medical malpractice who sustained a traumatic brain injury during birth. Although a jury awarded his family $5.6 million to provide for him for life, the caps on non-economic and economic damages in Nebraska reduced the award to $1.25 million.

You can check your local cable listing to see when “Hot Coffee” is airing on HBO.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm represent clients injured in accidents that were caused by other people’s negligence. It is so important that our legal system allows victims to be able to receive compensation for the harm that they suffered. Sometimes, injuries can be so severe that the victim may become disabled for life or no longer able to work. Medical and recovery expenses can be astronomical.

Hot Coffee, HBO

The McDonald’s Coffee Case, Lectlaw

Faces of Medical Malpractice, Center for Justice and Democracy (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
New North Carolina Medical Malpractice Bill Capping “Noneconomic Damages” at $500,000 Passes the State Senate, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 13, 2011

American Academy of Pediatrics Want Warning Labels on Food that Pose a Child Choking Hazard, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 24, 2010

Chapel Hill Daycare Operator Sued for Infant’s Traumatic Brain Injury, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 22 2009

Forsythe County, North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Resident Who Drowned in Puddle in 2009 is Identified by Police

June 16, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Mamie Louise Holder Shelton, a 92-year-old North Carolina nursing home resident, is the name of the woman who drowned in a puddle after wandering 200 feet from Bradford Village of Kernersville – East LLC 413 on November 12, 2009. She was discovered lying face down in water about 2 inches deep. Police say that abrasions on Shelton’s knees and hands are consistent with a North Carolina fall accident and they do not suspect foul play.

Shelton, who was legally blind, suffered from coronary artery disease and dementia. She needed a wheelchair and a walker to properly get around. The nursing home patient appears to have walked out of a facility door between 2 and 4am. No one noticed because the door’s alarm had been turned off. According to nursing home staff, alarms at Bradford Village often were deactivated so that workers could go on smoking breaks.

Following the North Carolina nursing home death, the assisted living facility fired five workers. The N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation imposed a $20,000 fine over the incident. Meantime, state regulators found that the Forsythe County assisted living facility had violated codes related to personal care, supervision, physical environment, and resident rights. They also said that the nursing home did not make sure that proper measures were executed to stop patients at risk of wandering from leaving the facility without supervision.

Our North Carolina nursing home negligence lawyers know how to prove that an assisted living facility’s negligence resulted in abuse or neglect. Many patients who suffer from dementia are a wandering/elopement risk. It is important to gather evidence showing that a patient could/should have been prevented from walking out of the nursing home without supervision.

Wandering accident can lead to fatal falls, motor vehicle accident injuries, hypothermia, and other life-threatening conditions or incidents. It doesn’t help that it may be awhile before facility workers notice and/or find a missing assisted living facility patient.

Nursing home patient who drowned in puddle identified, 2journalnow, June 2, 2011

N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation

More Blog Posts:
Over 18,000 Reports of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Made in 2010, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 9, 2011

Forsyth County-Owned Assisted Living Facility Accused of North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 31, 2011

North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 5, 2011

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board and High School Band Director Sued by Ex-High School Student For North Carolina Personal Injury

May 23, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

An ex-South Mecklenburg High School student is suing the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board and school band director Richard Priode for infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and North Carolina personal injury. The plaintiff, referred to in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg injury complaint as “Jane Doe,” says she had a 13-month sexual relationship with Priode when she was a student and a band member there. The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to felony indecent liberties with a student almost two years ago.

In her Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawsuit, Jane Doe contends that the school board should have known about Priode’s history of “inappropriate behavior” involving students at schools where he had previously taught. The plaintiff says that Priode started directing sexual innuendoes at her in 2007 and that she was 16 when he convinced her to participate in a sex act. She says their sexual relationship took place at the school, as well as on a school band excursion in 2008. Jane Doe also says that when an instructor for the color guards did report Priode’s sexual remarks and innuendoes to the principal, that teacher was later fired.

Jane Doe got in touch with police in 2009 and Priode was arrested following an investigation. The plaintiff is accusing the board of negligence for not detecting her relationship with the band teacher and for not looking into the color guard teacher’s allegations. She says that because of the North Carolina sexual abuse, she has suffered mental suffering and emotional distress and has had to undergo psychiatric and psychological are.

North Carolina Child Sexual Abuse
Schools can be held liable for Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury if a teacher, another staff member, or someone else sexually abuses a student while on the premise or during school activity. Sex abuse can cause serious mental and emotional injuries for victims. Like other personal injuries, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be entitled to damages from all liable parties.

Teen sexual assault victim files suit against band teacher and CMS, WBTV, May 17, 2011

Woman’s lawsuit faults CMS’ background check, Charlotte Observer, May 18, 2011

Read the Complaint


Related Web Resource:

Board of Education, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Bishop Eddie Long, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 27, 2010

Charlotte Catholic Diocese Settles North Carolina Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit for $1 Million, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, May 7, 2010

North Carolina Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Names Two Priests as the Perpetrators, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, June 3, 2009

Over 18,000 Reports of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Made in 2010

May 9, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, the state’s 100 county departments of social services received over 18,000 reports of elderly neglect, abuse, or exploitation last year. Family members, doctors, and community members are among those who submitted their concerns. Elder abuse and neglect are clearly issues that are not going away anytime soon. To raise awareness of North Carolina elder abuse and neglect, the Governor Bev Perdue has declared May 6, 2011 through June 20, 2011 Vulnerable and Elder Abuse Awareness Month.

Research shows that victims of elderly abuse, exploitation, and neglect are three times more likely to die in 10 years than if they weren’t abused. Seeing as over 2 million elderly and vulnerable adults are harmed in these ways each year, these findings are truly disturbing. It doesn’t help that the number of elder abuse incidents are severely underreported.

Throughout the state, our Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers have seen the devastating effect abuse, exploitation, and neglect can have on victims and the toll this type of violence can take. The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo LLP represents victims who have been injured, neglected, assaulted, or abused at assisted living facilities and in private homes.

What to do if you suspect elder abuse/neglect:
If you are able to, it is important that you remove your loved one from an abusive situation and keep him/her from any alleged perpetrators. You may need to get your loved one medical help for injuries. You should also speak with a Charlotte, North Carolina elder abuse law firm to explore your legal options.

Because North Carolina is a mandatory reporting state, if you suspect any type of abuse or neglect or exploitation, you must notify your county’s social services department about your suspicions right away. Your name will be kept confidential unless a court order mandates otherwise. You could be saving someone’s life.

North Carolina Observes Vulnerable Adult and Elder Abuse Awareness Month, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse, Medline Plus

Medicare.gov

More Blog Posts:
Forsyth County-Owned Assisted Living Facility Accused of North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 31, 2011

Two People Sustain Burn Injuries in Fire at Charlotte, North Carolina Nursing Home, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 12, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence: Britthaven of Chapel Hill Sued for Inadequate Care, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 10, 2010

Veteran Settles North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit with Cab Driver Over Stabbing

May 4, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A North Carolina personal injury settlement has been reached between a US army veteran and the taxicab driver who stabbed him. The incident between James Gregory Swafford and cab driver Gaston Leigh Watlington occurred on September 6, 2009.

According to Swafford’s Winston-Salem, North Carolina injury lawsuit, the cab driver, whose drunk and disruptive girlfriend was seated in the front passenger seat, drove him around for over an hour. When Swafford realized that the taxi driver wasn’t taking him home, he got into an argument with Watlington and that was when the latter stabbed him several times. During the altercation, Swafford sustained injuries to his neck, shoulders, back, hands, face, nose, and ribs. He also suffered internal injuries, two collapsed lungs, aand experienced severe bleeding.

The plaintiff says that the two companies that employed Watlington,
Wilco Transportation Co. and Willard’s Cab Co. Inc.—they are also defendants named in this case—did not do a proper check of Watlington’s driving and criminal records, which include drug charges and convictions.

Swafford would go on to plead guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He was given a suspended sentence of up to three years and one month, supervised probation of 30 months, and 90 days in the Forsyth County jail.

North Carolina Personal Injury
If you got hurt because someone else purposely hurt you, you could hold her/him liable in civil court by filing a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit. The proceedings and outcome of your case would be separate from any criminal case against your assailant.

Lawsuit filed by man stabbed by cab driver settled, Winston-Salem Journal, April 29, 2011

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit: Parents of Child Sex Abuse Victim Sue the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, April 27, 2011

Woman Suing Omni Hotel for Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit Claims Bartender Raped Her, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 21, 2011

More Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuits Filed in Alleged Sex Assaults Involving Police Officer Marcus Jackson, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 6, 2011

The Number of North Carolina Elder Abuse and Neglect Complaints is Rising, Say State Officials

May 1, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

North Carolina officials are reporting an increase in complaints of possible elder abuse and neglect incidents, with an approximately 20% increase in the the number of requests made between ’06 –’07 and ’07-’08 to state adult-protection officers asking that they further investigate the allegations. One reason for this, according to state ombudsmen for long-term care Sharon Wilder, is that the number of people older than 60 living in North Carolina is on the rise.

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

North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

Woman Injured In Raleigh, North Carolina Bicycle Accident Dies

May 1, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Nancy Leady, 60, died last week after her bicycle was struck by a 21-year-old North Carolina State student. Brian Reid had been celebrating his 21st birthday when the tragic accident happened. He has been charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to control speed, and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

Because a bicyclist does not have any protection, except for a helmet, from the impact of colliding with a car, truck, motorcycle, or bus, many bicyclists are prone to serious injuries when they are involved in a traffic accident. Serious bicycle injuries can include broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, severed limbs, and death.

In Raleigh, Monroe, Hickory, Charlotte, or anywhere else in North Carolina or South Carolina, one of our bicycle accident lawyers can explore your legal options with you.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• 622 bicyclists died in traffic accidents in 2003.
• 46,000 others were injured that same year.
• The average age of bicyclists killed in 2003 was 35.
• Over 30% of bicyclist deaths involved alcohol (whether the pedalcyclist or motorist).

In preparation for National Bicycle Safety Month in May, the N.C. Department of Transportation offers the following reminders to motorists about keeping bicyclists safe:

• Keep a lookout for oncoming bicyclists when turning left and wait for them to clear the intersection before completing your turn.
• After passing a bicyclist on your right, take care not to cut them off by immediately turning right in front of them.
• Slow down when passing a bicyclist to make sure the rider is aware of your presence and leave plenty of room between your vehicle and the bicyclist.
• Stay alert for bicyclists who suddenly swerve or turn in front of you.
• Yield to bicyclists, when appropriate, as you would for other motor vehicles.

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles says that 114 bicyclists died and almost 2400 others were injured in traffic accidents in North Carolina from 2001 to 2005.

Bicyclist dies after struck by vehicle, News14.com, April 24, 2008

May is National Bicycle Safety Month, NCDOT.org

Related Web Resource:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Davidson County, North Carolina Wrongful Death: Mom of Teenager Struck by Paving Stone Files Lawsuit

April 23, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Lisa Hill Chisom, the mom of a high school student who died from injuries she sustained when someone threw a paving stone through the windshield of the car she was in is suing a number people for North Carolina wrongful death. Shelby Chisom died last August. The 17-year-old was returning from a party when the incident happened. The stone lacerated her liver and Shelby died from her injuries.

Michael John Craver, who threw the stone, recently pleaded guilty second-degree murder. According to Chisom’s Davidson County, North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit, Michael threw the 25-pound paving stone after his cousin Ethan Craver told him to “take care of” that car.

Ethan Craver, Tyler Lawrence Price, Alyssa Christine Everhart, Krista Leigh Cummings, and a woman named Jordan Pierce allegedly had gotten into an altercation with Shelby, whom Price accused of stealing her boyfriend. All of them were attending the same party.

Tensions then carried over onto the road when someone in the car Everhart was driving threw a bottle of beer at the vehicle Hince was driving and that Shelby was riding. Hince then began following the other car at a fast speed. Ethan Craver, who was in the other car, then directed Michael to take action.

Chisom contends that Ethan knew of Michael’s history of violence and bullying and should have realized that when drunk, the latter would act with “reckless disregard.” She is seeking compensatory damages from Michael Craver, Ethan Craver, Price, Hince, Cummings, Everhart, Katherine C. Pritchard, and her son John Tyler Pritchard. She also wants punitive damages from Katherine Pritchard, both Cravers, and Hince. The Pritchards’ residence is where the party took place.

Chisom contends that Katherine Pritchard and her older son John Pritchard knew there would be minors drinking at the party that was held at their home and even bought alcohol. About 30-50 people attended the event where they were allegedly allowed to burn lawn furniture and use drugs.

North Carolina Wrongful Death
Losing someone you love is very difficult. It can be just as devastating to know that your loved one died because of other people’s reckless actions. You may be able to obtain Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death damages from the responsible parties.

Mother of teen killed by paving stone files wrongful death lawsuit, Winston-Salem Journal, April 18, 2011

Mother of Teen Killed by Paving Stone Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit, MyFox8, April 20, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Wrongful Death Claims, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
$14.9M North Carolina Wrongful Death Judgment Awarded to Jimmy Blevins’ Family, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 14, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence Alleged in Wrongful Death Lawsuits of Shooting Victims’ Families, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 21, 2010

Deceased Man’s Estate Files Fayetteville, North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Shopping Mall and Nightclub, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 30, 2009

Inadequate Security Allowed Delvonte Tisdale to Enter Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Grounds and Stow Away on US Airways Plane, Says TSA Report

April 20, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to a Transportation Security Administration report, 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale was able to stow away on a US Airways plane last November because of inadequate security staffing at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Tisdale died after falling out of the plane while it was in the air. His body was found in a Boston suburb. In our North Carolina injury lawyer blog last December, we reported that Tisdales parents were considering suing US Airways, the airport, TSA, and/or other parties who might have contributed to allowing him to stow aboard the plane for his wrongful death.

Following the tragic accident, TSA and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department conducted a joint probe into how the teenager managed to sneak onto airport property and hide in the plane without being detected. CMPD also asked TSA to conduct an additional review of the security breach.

TSA sent a redacted version of the report to the CMPD last week. Compiled in February, the report is called “Delvonte Tisdale Investigation: Security Breach and Plane Boarding.”

According to the report, between when the plane left the gate and when it took off, Tisdale had a little over an hour to stow onto the plane. The report says evidence indicates that the teenager did not access the plane while it was at the gate or that he entered the airport through the terminal.

Many of the comments in the report were blocked out. However, it did express concerns that current security levels were not adequate for a major metropolitan airport and greater law enforcement allocations is recommended. Also, the report noted that all officers are also EMT certified and handle medical calls that occur on the property, and that perhaps contract security officers (rather than police officers, who are supposed to concentrate on security issues) should be retained to handle such matters.

Security staffing cited in security breach involving teen at airport, WISTV, April 19, 2011

Read the TSA Report

Family of dead wheel-well stow-away to sue TSA, HSNW, January 20, 2011

Family of Charlotte, North Carolina Teen Who Fell From US Airways Plane Want to Know How He Was Able to Stow Away, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 17, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Transportation Security Administration

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

Forsyth County-Owned Assisted Living Facility Accused of North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse

March 31, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to government inspectors, workers at Springwood Care Center of Forsyth struck a resident in the eye last October. The state says that the patient reported the North Carolina nursing home abuse incident to a relative of hers who noticed that the resident had a bruise on her face. The incident allegedly occurred last October.

Nursing home staff are supposed to report any abuse allegations as soon as possible. They are also supposed to not allow accused workers from working with the alleged victim while an investigation takes place. However, the Forsyth County-owned nursing home, which is run by Novant Health Care, reportedly waited several days before following this protocol. Since then the two nursing home assistants have been given written warnings and they must undergo more training on a regular basis. A Novant official has denied the North Carolina nursing home abuse allegations.

North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse
Assault by an assisted living facility worker is North Carolina nursing home abuse. Signs of possible nursing home abuse, include:

• Unexplained bruises
• Burn marks
• Open sores
• Torn clothing
• Sudden weight loss or gain
• Fractures or broken bones
• Sudden depression
• Emotional withdrawal
• Fear of a certain nursing home worker
• Sexual assault injuries

You should speak with a Hickory, North Carolina nursing home abuse law firm to determine whether you have grounds for a lawsuit.

Although Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare site gave Springwood Care Center of Forsyth a four out of five star rating for “quality measures,” the North Carolina assisted living facility received a one star rating for staffing and an overall one star rating. Five stars is the highest rating possible and one star is the lowest rating.

In addition to physical injury and emotional trauma, nursing home abuse violates the patient’s civil rights. It can also cause a resident’s health to deteriorate.

County-owned nursing home has lowest rating, allegation that patient hit in eye, Winston-Salem Journal, March 30, 2011

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 5, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence Alleged in Wrongful Death Lawsuits of Shooting Victims’ Families, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 21, 2011

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Facility Investigated Following Five Patient Deaths from Hepatitis B, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 16, 2010

$14.9M North Carolina Wrongful Death Judgment Awarded to Jimmy Blevins’ Family

March 14, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Four years after Jimmy Blevins was murdered by his uncle Fred Hammer, a judge has awarded his family a $14.9 million North Carolina wrongful death judgment–$3.74 million is compensatory damages; $11.2 million is punitive damages.

Blevins, 41, went missing on February 24, 2007. His grandmother said that he went for a ride with Hammer on the night of his disappearance. Blevins’ body was dug up more than two years later on August 4, 2009 after Hammer, who was offered $15,000 in reward money, admitted to shooting his nephew in the head.

Blevins’ family filed their North Carolina wrongful death complaint soon after his body was discovered. They sought compensatory damages of over $10,000 for his death and for the mental, physical, and emotional suffering he went through prior to his passing.

Hammer is serving several life sentences without parole for the 2008 shooting deaths of three men in Virginia and for Blevins’ murder.

North Carolina Wrongful Death
Obtaining Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death recovery won’t bring your loved one back but it can allow you to hold the responsible party liable. Under the state’s wrongful death statute, family members may be able to recover compensation for the victim’s medical bills, pain and suffering, funeral costs, lost income, loss of services, care, protection, assistance, companionship, society, guidance, comfort, or advice, nominal damages, or punitive damages.

Slain man’s family awarded $14.9 million, NewsObserver, March 13, 2011

North Carolina Wrongful Death Filed in Murder of Ashe County Man, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, August 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Wrongful Death, Nolo

Wrongful Death, Justia

More Blog Posts:
Chatham Retirement Home Sued in North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuits Filed Over Fatal Elder Abuse Beatings, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 17, 2011

Deceased Man’s Estate Files Fayetteville, North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Shopping Mall and Nightclub, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, December 30, 2009

More Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuits Filed in Alleged Sex Assaults Involving Police Officer Marcus Jackson

March 6, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Another two woman are suing Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Marcus Jackson for North Carolina personal injury. Jackson, now an ex-cop, is already sentenced to two years in prison for sexually assaulting six women while on the job.

In these latest Charlotte-Mecklenburg personal injury complaints, the plaintiffs contend that Jackson stopped their car on the evening of December 28, 2009. They say that he made them get out of the vehicle and proceeded to sexually assaulted them away from the police camera’s view.

One of the women says Jackson told her that he needed to search her because he smelled “weed. ” However, she says that instead of patting down her pockets, Jackson grabbed her breasts. The other woman claims that when it was her turn, Jackson placed his hands on breasts and down her pants. Both plaintiffs say they experienced emotional distress.

Also defendants of this North Carolina sex assault case are the city of Charlotte and Police Chief Rodney Monroe. Already, the city has spent over $617,000 to settle four Charlotte, North Carolina injury claims over Jackson’s actions.

The two plaintiffs are accusing Monroe of negligently retaining and supervising Jackson. Prior to his hiring by police, one of Jackson’s ex-girlfriends had taken out domestic violence protective order against him. Monroe has since admitted that the police missed certain information that would have prevented them from hiring Jackson.

North Carolina Police Brutality
A cop who sexually assaults someone while on the job is committing North Carolina police brutality. Police officers are not immune from the law and sexual assault committed by anyone is a crime. When a cop assaults someone under the guise of doing the job, he/she is abusing the authority given to a law enforcement officer and violating the victim’s civil rights.

2 women sue former officer, city in alleged sexual assaults, Charlotte Observer, March 7, 2011

Lawsuits say CMPD chief intervened twice to help Marcus Jackson, WBTV, February 23, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

More Blog Posts:
Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Case Over Sex Assault by CMPD Cop is settled for $350,000, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 7, 2011

City of Charlotte Settles North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuits Alleging Police Sexual Harassment by former CMPD Cop, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 9, 2011

Couple Suing City of Charlotte Claims Officer Marcus Jackson Sexually Violated Them During Traffic Stop, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 23, 2010

North Carolina Personal Injury Filed Over 2008 Assault at Convenience Store Alleges Inadequate Security

February 28, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A woman who was assaulted at a convenience story in 2008 is suing Great Stops LLC, its parent owner Premier Stores, and three individual owners for North Carolina personal injury. She is seeking compensation for the physical and emotional injuries that she suffered. She also wants financial recovery for her medical bills, loss of income, and psychological injuries related to the assault.

The attack occurred on January 16, 2008 when Kathleen Fisher-Graham stopped to get gas at the North Street Great Stops in Burlington. As she walked inside the store, a man carrying a metal object assaulted her.

The force of the assault fractured Fisher-Graham’s eye socket, shattered her teeth, and broke her nose. In addition to undergoing surgeries, she also spent more than a year eating liquefied food while all of her teeth were eventually removed.

In her North Carolina premises liability complaint, Fisher-Graham contends that Great Stops knew that the property where the assault happened was located in a high-crime area but failed to properly protect customers. She claims that although cameras had been installed, the safety devices were there to protect the owners’ money and not the customers.

Fisher-Graham’s spouse is also a plaintiff. He is seeking damages for the loss of her companionship and affection, as well as for the loss of their physically intimate and loving relationship.

Inadequate Security
Poor security on a premise can make it easier for criminals to do their job. If a crime occurred because the property owner did not do enough to make sure the premise was secure and someone was injured or killed as a result, the victim may have grounds for a North Carolina premises liability case.

For example, if there is a history of crimes in or around the area, property owners must be mindful of this and step up security efforts and/or warn about this possible danger. Fisher-Graham says that her attack was not the first of its kind—in 2007, another person, Christopher Wilson was assaulted by a man with a metal pipe. She is arguing that following that incident, the defendants should have taken steps to prevent her attack from happening.

Woman injured in unsolved assault sues convenience store, The TimesNews, February 4, 2011


Related Web Resources:

Great Stops LLC

Inadequate Security, Justia, Small Business Administration

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer, January 5, 2011

Deceased Man’s Estate Files Fayetteville, North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Shopping Mall and Nightclub, North Carolina Injury Lawyer, December 30, 2009

Husband of Murdered North Carolina Worker Who Was Kidnapped From Parking Garage Sues City of Raleigh for Wrongful Death, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 8, 2008

Charlotte, North Carolina Slip and Fall Accidents Can Cause Painful, Debilitating, and Costly Personal Injuries

February 13, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

If you were hurt in a North Carolina fall accident on someone else’s property you may have grounds for a personal injury case. Today, our Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawyers would like to discuss slip and fall injuries in greater depth.

Slip and fall accidents cause injury to thousands of people each years. While what sounds like a minor accident of someone slipping on a slippery, slick, or wet surface and landing on the ground can seem harmless enough, this type of accident actually lead to serious and painful, debilitating injuries, and, in some cases, death.

For example, a North Carolina slip and fall accident on frozen ice can cause the victim to strike his/her head and sustain a traumatic brain injury, or a slip accident on a banana peel left on a flight of stairs can lead to back injuries and broken bones. For elderly persons, hip dislocation and fractures have been known to occur because of slip and fall accidents. Infection, health complications, and challenges with recovery can also occur.

North Carolina Premises Liability
To prove that the owner of the property where the North Carolina slip and fall accident is liable for your injuries, you will have to show that he/she was negligent and that this was the proximate cause of your personal injury. This means that you need to demonstrate that the premise owner either knew or should have been aware that there was a dangerous condition on the property, there was sufficient time to warn about or fix the condition after finding out about it, and North Carolina personal injury occurred as a result of these failures.

Other types of fall accidents that can be grounds for a premises liability case include trip and fall accidents, which involves the victim tripping on an object on the floor or an uneven part of the ground, step and fall accidents, which can be caused by the victim stepping into a gap or opening on the ground, and stump and fall accidents, which can occur because of an impediment on the floor. Examples of possible slip/trip/step/stump and fall accidents:

• Slipping on the wet floor of a hotel lobby
• Slipping on spilt milk left on a grocery store floor
• Tripping on toys left on the staircase
• Stepping into a pothole and falling forward
• Stumbling on an overgrown tree root in someone’s front yard
• Stumbling and falling backward off a stairwell because inadequate lighting made it hard to see

In North Carolina, you have three years from the date of the accident to file your Charlotte, North Carolina slip and fall lawsuit.

Slip and Fall, Nolo

Premises Liability, Justia


More Blog Posts:

More Reason to Prevent North Carolina Nursing Home Fall Accidents: Men More at Risk of Dying from Hip Fractures While Women Are More Likely to Sustain The Injury, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, March 16, 2010

North Carolina Personal Injury Filed Over 2008 Assault at Convenience Store Alleges Inadequate Security, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 28, 2011

Mother Dies in North Carolina Fall Accident From Dorm Bunk Bed While Visiting Daughter at UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 13, 2010

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Case Over Sex Assault by CMPD Cop is settled for $350,000

February 7, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

The city of Charlotte has settled the North Carolina personal injury case file by a 17-year-old woman who was sexually assaulted by former CMPD police officer Marcus Jackson. The ex-cop pleaded guilty last month to assaulting six women and he is now behind bars.

To date, Charlotte has spent over $617,000 to settle fur claims involving Jackson. $587,000 has gone to the victims.

In this latest Charlotte, North Carolina injury case, the teenager accused Jackson of pulling her over during a traffic stop and threatening her with a ticket unless she performed a sex act on him. She was brave enough to report what happened.

To date, the city has paid $151,550 to the victim and her Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawyers. Over the next 20 years, they will pay her the remaining $198,450 in installments.

Charlotte, North Carolina settled the first case over Jackson in October. The victims were a woman and her boyfriend. They claimed that their constitutional rights were violated when, on December 28, 2009, he molested the woman while pretending to search her and then made the man fondle her while observing them. The city consented to pay $12,000 to Abel Moreno. Jackson arrested him after he tried stopping the then-cop from assaulting his girlfriend.

Police Brutality
Sexual abuse by a cop is police brutality. It is an abuse of power and a crime. Unfortunately, many victims are scared to report what happened because it was a cop who assaulted them and they may fear repercussions.

City settles in CMPD sex case involving former officer Marcus Jackson, Charlotte Observer, January 28, 2011

City settles in CMPD sex case involving former officer Marcus Jackson, WCNC, January 27, 2011

Related Web Resource:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Related Web Resources:
City of Charlotte Settles North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuits Alleging Police Sexual Harassment by former CMPD Cop, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 9, 2010

Kannapolis Man’s Lawsuit Accuses Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office of North Carolina Personal Injury, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 19, 2011

$200,000 North Carolina Injury Settlement Reached with Roommate of Teen Who Was Fatally Shot by Sheriff’s Corporal, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, November 5, 2010

Caretaker Accused of North Carolina Elder Abuse in Beating of 91-Year-Old Woman

January 27, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Police in Kings Mountain have charged Lisa Parson Jones with assault on a handicapped person. Jones is the live-in caretaker of a 91-year-old woman. She is accused of beating the elderly senior and throwing her across a room.

Unfortunately, North Carolina elder abuse is not uncommon. While nursing home abuse is what usually makes headlines, in private homes in the US there are also sick and elderly persons that are the victims of elder abuse, neglect, and financial abuse. Sometimes, the caretaker is a family member. In other instances, the caretaker is a professional who was hired from an agency, or independently, to provide private nursing care to a sick, frail, or mentally ill person.

Elder abuse is a crime and can cause serious injury or illness to the victim. Unfortunately, because elder abuse in the home occurs in a private setting, it often goes undetected—especially when a relative is the perpetrator.

In the event that you discover that your loved one is the victim of elder abuse or neglect by a caretaker, you should contact a Gaston County nursing home abuse law firm right away. Among those most susceptible to caretaker abuse are patients who have trouble speaking or communicating, cannot physically defend themselves, or who are suffering from Alzheimer’s. Physical abuse, sexual assault, verbal abuse, medical neglect, “forgetting” to feed a patient or administer medications as scheduled, stealing money from a patient, or getting/him or her to add the caretaker’s name to a will are just a few examples of caretaker abuse.

Police: Caretaker beat 91-year-old woman, Charlotte Observer, January 27, 2011

Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse

What is Elder Abuse?, Administration on Aging

Kannapolis Man’s Lawsuit Accuses Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office of North Carolina Personal Injury

January 19, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Dale Cook is suing the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office for the North Carolina personal injuries he claims that he sustained after he was Tasered. Cook, who fell from a tree while officers apprehended him, says he fractured his spine during the incident and he now cannot walk. Also named as defendants in the complaint are Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley, deputy Jason Thomas, and unnamed deputies.

On April 19, 2010, the Kannapolis man and his wife Tammy got into a domestic dispute at their residence. Tammy then went to the sheriff’s office and gave a statement claiming that Dale had bumped her during the altercation.

Meantime, Dale climbed into a tree stand, which was about 15 to 20 feet off the ground, in their backyard. When deputies arrived to follow-up on Tammy’s statement, they went to the tree stand and asked Dale to come down. When he refused—he claims that he told them he was unarmed and that he did not act threateningly toward anyone—Deputy Thomas Tasered him without warning. Dale fell from the tree. He says that he is now confined to a wheelchair for life.

Meantime, the sheriff’s office is disputing Dale’s account. An official report says that he had a knife and was trying to hurt himself. The report also claims that although Thomas did activate his Taser, the device did not hit Dale and that the latter got hurt because he chose to jump from the tree stand.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Anytime authorities must apprehend someone, it is important that they do not use excessive force or act in a manner that could cause North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death. When negligence, North Carolina police brutality, carelessness, recklessness, or inexperience contributes to causing injury to a suspect, a defendant, or an innocent bystander, the victim may have grounds for an injury lawsuit. Unfortunately, not everyone knows this. Often, the injured person doesn’t even realize that his/her rights have been violated.

Man sues sheriff over Taser use, Charlotte Observer, January 18, 2011

Sheriff: Deputy Did Not Stun Man With Taser, WSOCTV, May 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office

After the Zap: Taser Injuries and How to Treat Them, National Commission on Correctional Healthcare

Woman Suing Omni Hotel for Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit Claims Bartender Raped Her

January 15, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A woman who claims that a bartender at Charlotte’s Omni Hotel gave her a drink that made her dizzy and then raped her is suing the hotel chain and several other defendants for North Carolina personal injury. She claims she was sexually assaulted in September 2007 when she was the guest of someone staying at the hotel.

According to her Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury complaint, she became sick and helpless after a bartender, referred to in the lawsuit as “Santiago,” offered to buy her a drink. He then allegedly forced his way into her hotel room and raped her.

The plaintiff claims that the hotel knew or should have known that Santiago had committed similar acts in the past. She says the Omni should have done more to protect guests from him. She also is accusing the hotel of providing inadequate security, including a lack of surveillance cameras in hotel hallways. Meantime, Omni Hotel’s general manager is saying that the woman’s claims are false and that the police have not filed any charges over the alleged incident.

Hotel Lawsuits
Hotels are responsible for making sure that patrons, guests, and visitors do not become the victim of any type of crime on the property—especially on a premise that virtually anyone can enter. Unfortunately, robberies, sexual assault crimes, and murders have occurred in hotels before and victims and their families may very well have reason to sue for Charlotte, North Carolina premises liability.

Safety measures hotels can take to prevent crimes:
• Video surveillance
• Security guards
• Working locks on emergency exits, windows, and balconies.
• Safes in rooms
• Careful screening of hotel personnel
• Better security measures for ensuring that not just anyone can enter a hotel room floors
• Adequate lighting
• Stepping up security when crimes have been committed in the hotel or the surrounding area

Lawsuit: Uptown hotel barman raped female patron, Charlotte Observer, March 9, 2011

Hotel crime rises in recession, but hotels say they’re still safe, USA Today, March 19, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Omni Hotels and Resorts

Inadequate Security, Justia

More Blog Posts:
North Carolina Personal Injury Filed Over 2008 Assault at Convenience Store Alleges Inadequate Security, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, February 28, 2011

North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, January 5, 2011

Big Rig Trucker Involved in North Carolina Truck Accident that Killed Three on Interstate 40 Was Drunk, Say Investigators

January 10, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A deadly North Carolina tractor-trailer crash on I-40 on June 30 that claimed the lives of three people has landed the trucker in a lot of trouble. Police have charged Ronald Eugene Graybeal with two counts of felony death by vehicle, one count misdemeanor death by vehicle, DWI, and drug possession.

The Durham, North Carolina big rig crash happened at around 4pm just west of the US 15-501 exit when Graybeal crashed into three autos that were in slow traffic. All three drivers—Burlington resident Gary Dwayne Smith, Mebane resident Barbara Boda Caldwell, and Kannapolis local John Paul Llanio died from their injuries. A box truck driver, Greensboro native Reginald Keith Thompson, was also hurt when Graybeal’s vehicle struck him, but fortunately his injuries are non-life-threatening.

The charges against Graybeal are very serious and could land him in jail for a very long time if he is convicted. He and the trucking company he works for could also find themselves the defendant of North Carolina wrongful death cases if the family members of the three people that died decide to sue them. Any civil charges would be separate from the criminal ones and it will be up to the plaintiffs and their North Carolina semi-truck crash lawyers to prove liability.

The North Carolina truck crash is also raising questions from drivers who worry that this section of I-40, which is near the Durham-Orange County, is currently a higher risk crash zone. One of the lanes has been closed, causing the highway to go from three lanes to two close to the US Highway 15/501 (where the accident happened). Because of this, some motorists say that when traffic slows suddenly there isn’t enough of a warning to ensure that everyone has time to react safely to the sudden traffic jams that can arise.

The DOT is looking into whether better warning signs should be added or a revised speed limit put into effect. If there is evidence that the stretch of road where the Durham tractor-trailer collision happened could have and should have been made safer, the victims’ families also may have a case against the entities responsible for the road.

Scene of I-40 triple fatal wreck worries drivers, WRAL, July 7, 2011

Charge upgraded in triple fatal I-40 crash, WRAL, July 5, 2011

Trucker in I-40 triple fatal jailed on DWI charge, ABC Local, July 2, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

North Carolina Department of Transportation


More Blog Posts:

North Carolina Truck Accident Claims: Is True Total Compensation Possible?, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, June 21, 2011

North Carolina Truck Accidents: Getting Past the Anger, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, June 8, 2011

Goldsboro Driver Sustains Burn Injuries in Fayetteville, North Carolina Truck Crash, North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Blog, October 23, 2009

North Carolina Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Pittsboro Retirement Center for Assault that Left Elderly Resident with Brain Injuries

January 5, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

Becky Fisher, 80, is suing the Galloway Ridge retirement community for North Carolina personal injury. Fisher sustained a brain injury in 2007 when housekeeper Barbara Clark assaulted her.

Clark is serving a two life prison terms for the first-degree murders of Margaret Murta, 92, and Mary Corcoran, 82, who were fatally injured during the assault, which involved pepper spray and a walking stick. The 42-year-old housekeeper reportedly became angry over a monetary dispute that she was having with Murta and Corcoran.

Now, she is accusing Gallow Ridge of negligence because the owners let Clark work at the retirement community even though there was a court order barring her from working with elderly persons. Murta and Corcoran, who were roommates, had hired Fisher to help them with housekeeping duties at their apartment. Now, Fisher is wondering why no background check was conducted on Clark even though she had regular access to the building. The Charlotte lawyer for the Pittsboro retirement home has said that Corcoran and Murta failed to notify staff members that they had hired Fisher.

If you or someone you love sustained serious injuries because of a violent crime committed on someone else’s property, you may have grounds for a North Carolina premises liability lawsuit against the premise owner if negligence contributed to allowing the incident to happen. Inadequate security, poor lighting, failure to install locks or an alarm system or surveillance camera, and failure to conduct background checks on employees or contractors are some reasons why property owners can become defendants of injury lawsuits.

Lawsuit blames NC home in deadly 2007 assault, CTPost.com, January 5, 2011

Survivor of 2007 beating sues retirement home, The Herald-Sun, January 4, 2011

Survivor’s lawsuit blames NC retirement center for housekeeper who also killed elderly women, MyFOX8, January 5, 2011

Investigators: Financial Problems Spurred Maid to Attack Elderly Women, WRAL, December 6, 2007


Related Web Resources:

Galloway Ridge retirement community

Premises Liability, Justia

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence Alleged in Wrongful Death Lawsuits of Shooting Victims’ Families

December 21, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The families of two of the eight people who were shot and killed during a shooting at Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center on March 20009 are suing the assisted living facility for North Carolina nursing home negligence. In their North Carolina wrongful death complaints, the relatives of 78-year-old John Goldston and 98-year-old Louise DeKler claim that the Carthage assisted living facility and its owner Peak Resources did not do enough to protect residents despite the fact that the alleged shooter Robert Stewart’s estranged wife had warned the facility’s supervisors that he might come for her that day.

Killed in the North Carolina nursing home shooting were Goldston, De Kler, five other nursing home patients and a nurse. Two other people sustained injuries.

Stewart is accused of storming the assisted living facility and firing at people while searching for his wife, who was hiding in a closet. A police officer entered the nursing home and shot him. Stewart now faces eight counts of first-degree murder. If he is convicted, prosecutors would like to see him get the death penalty.

The families of DeKler and Goldston are contending that the defendants could have set up even the most basic protections, such as a surveillance system and someone to work the front desk and lock the front doors after Stewart’s wife warned that he might go to the facility. The plaintiffs say that Stewart was able to walk fully armed through the Carthage nursing home.

Nursing Home Negligence
Assisted living facilities are supposed to protect their patients from becoming the victims of North Carolina nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault, and other violent acts. When failure to act or implement the necessary safety measures allows such crimes to happen, the residents and their families may have grounds for a civil suit seeking damages for North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death.

Families of Victims Sue in North Carolina Nursing Home Shootings, Insurance Journal, December 17, 2010

Families of victims in Carthage nursing home shootings file suit, FayObserver, December 16, 2010

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Nursing Home Rampage Leaves Seven Patients and One Nurse Dead and A Visitor and Police Officer with Injuries, North Carolina Injury Lawyer BLog, March 31, 2009

NC Division of Aging and Adult Services

Family of Charlotte, North Carolina Teen Who Fell From US Airways Plane Want to Know How He Was Able to Stow Away

December 17, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of teenager Delvonte Tisdale want to know how the 16-year-old was able to sneak onto a US Airways plane last month. Now, Charlotte airport authorities are asking police to investigate how the boy was able to get past security. One theory under exploration is that the teen jumped the 6-foot chain link fence that has barbed wire on top of it. According to the Transportation Security Administration, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport is responsible for the security on its grounds.

The Charlotte, North Caroline teenager died after falling several thousand feet from the air. Investigators say that Tisdale fell out as the plane was lowering its landing gear. However, experts are saying that he was likely dead before then.

Tisdale stowed onto the plane early on November 15, 2010. Officials say the teen appears to have hidden in the commercial plane’s left wheel well.

Tisdale’s body, which was severely damaged from the fall, was found in Massachusetts. However, seeing that at 20,000 feet the air inside a wheel well can go down to more than 20 below zero, there is a good chance that Tisdale lost consciousness because of the severe cold and lack of oxygen. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, out of 86 known stowaway attempts only 18 people have survived.

North Carolina Wrongful Death
If hazards, inadequate security, insufficient safety measures, and other circumstances on a premise contributed to your loved one’s death, you may have grounds for a Charlotte, North Carolina wrongful death case.

Family wants to know how teen snuck onto plane, Associated Press/Boston.com, December 14, 2010

Authorities Work to Determine Whether N.C. Teen Delvonte Tisdale Fell From a Plane, ABC News, November 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Federal Aviation Administration

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

North Carolina Medical Malpractice?: Study of 10 Local Hospitals Reveal Failure to Decrease Hospital Mistakes

December 6, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, efforts to lower the number of medical errors made in US hospitals have generally failed. The Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers examined the practices conducted at 10 North Carolina hospitals between 2002 and 2007. They chose the hospitals for their aggressive and progressive handling of medical mistakes.

Out of 2,341 medical records that were evaluated, there were 588 incidents reported involving harms caused by hospitals to patients, including:

• Prescription errors
• Infections
• Wrong diagnosis
• Procedure mistakes
• Hospital falls

63% of the medical mistakes were considered preventable. 2.4% played a factor in causing a resident’s death. 8.5% of medical mistakes caused injuries that were life-threatening.

During the time period examined, the rate of medical errors went down at the hospitals by about 1%. Researchers say that the lack of improvement in these hospitals is an indicator that nationally more should be done to prevent medical mistakes. Currently, many US hospitals have reportedly been slow to implement certain lifesaving measures, including:

• A comprehensive electronic medical record system
• Enforcement of hand washing and other simple procedures
• Ensuring that nurses and doctors-in-training are not overworked

Charlotte, North Carolina Medical Malpractice
Medical mistakes can cause serious injuries and health issues for patients. If a hospital error was preventable or caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or another medical professional, you may have grounds for a North Carolina medical malpractice case.

Other common medical mistakes:
• Surgical errors
• Failure to check patient’s vitals
• Failure to obtain informed consent
• Anesthesia mistakes
• Nursing negligence
• Delayed diagnosis
• Wrong site surgery
• Birthing errors
• Failure to provide proper postoperative care

Despite Efforts, Study Finds No Decline in Medical Errors, Business Week, November 24, 2010

Medical Injuries Harm 18% of Hospital Patients in N.C., Researchers Find, Bloomberg, November 24, 2010


Related Web Resources:

The New England Journal of Medicine

Medical Malpractice, Nolo

North Carolina Hospitals

Hospital Malpractice?: Medicare Analysis Reports that Too Many People Die Unnecessarily at US Hospitals

December 1, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to a U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services analysis, too many people die unnecessarily at US hospitals. Researchers also say that many hospitals seem to serve as revolving doors for patients, with a number of patients ending up back in the hospital within 30 days. The American College of Cardiology’s National Data Registry’s chief science officer calls this situation a “double failure in the health system.”

For example, one out of every four patients suffering from heart failure ends up returning to the hospital within one month. The same goes for slightly under one out of every five pneumonia patients. Also, in 5.9% of US hospitals patients with pneumonia died at rates that were higher than the national average. 3.4% of hospitals reported heart failure-related death rates that were above the national average.

There were, however, over 200 US hospitals with death rates that were better than the average. Hundreds of hospitals garnered better results when it came to readmission rates.

Analysis findings come from the over 1 million readmissions and deaths involving Medicare patients between 2005 and 2008. Solutions under consideration include offering hospitals and doctors rewards not just for the number of procedures they perform but also for good patient outcomes. Creating a more competitive atmosphere between hospitals so that they have to give prospective patients a reason for admission might also lead to better quality care.

North Carolina Hospital Malpractice
In addition to providing better hospital care, it is also important that US hospitals prevent incidents of hospital malpractice from happening. Hospital malpractice can involve any kind of North Carolina medical malpractice committed by a hospital staff member, including a doctor, a hospital lab technician, a nurse, a hospital pharmacist, or another hospital staff member.

Examples of possible grounds for North Carolina hospital malpractice:

• Surgical errors
• Not ordering the correct medical tests
• Improper monitoring of a patient
• Nursing negligence
• Infections
• Wrong diagnosis
• Failure to provide the proper medical care or treatment
• Medication mistakes

Double Failure at US Hospitals, USA Today, July 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice Overview, Justia

North Carolina Hospitals, USA Hospitals

Waxhaw Pit Bull Attack Leaves 5-Year-Old Dead and Her Grandmother with Serious Injuries

December 1, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

5-year-old girl McKayla Woodard has died from injuries she sustained this morning during a Waxhaw, North Carolina dog attack involving two pit bulls. Her grandmother, who tried to rescue her from the dogs, is alive but with serious injuries.

A family member of McKayla’s says that the Union, North Carolina dog mauling happened as the young girl tried to get into the fenced yard next to her home. The two pit bulls belonged to neighbor Michael Gordon. Police have since shot them dead. It is not known at this time why they were running loose in the area.

Media outlets have said that McKayla sustained multiple dog bite wounds around her neck—an area of the body where young children are especially vulnerable to serious dog attack injuries. One reason for this is that the neck is an area on kids that is not difficult for a dog to reach. Children are also vulnerable to dog bite injuries on their lips, cheeks, head, ears, and nose. According to research published in 2009 in the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, pit bulls were the most likely culprits when it came to inflicting these types of dog bite injuries to kids. Injuries to the head and face can result in permanent disfigurement, severe pain, scarring, and, in some cases, death.

North Carolina’s contributory negligence law can make it challenging for victims and their families to obtain damages from liable parties, which is just one reason why you should consult with an experienced Union County, North Carolina dog bite law firm.

Pit bulls kill 5-year-old girl, attack grandmother in Waxha, Charlotte Observer, January 12, 2011

Pit bulls kill 5-year-old, maul her grandmother, WCNC, January 12, 2011

Analysis of Dog Bites in Children Who Are Younger Than 17 Years, Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Dog Bites A Particular Threat To Young Children, Especially As Temperatures Rise, Science Daily, March 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Dog Bites, Nolo

DogsBite.org

C-Sections Have Their Medical Risks, Too

December 1, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every three babies born nearly one will be delivered by cesarean section. Even though C-sections have lower birth injury rates, the procedure still come with certain risks, such as a higher infection risk, a longer hospital stay, and potential respiratory problems for the newborn.

Yet now more than ever women are having cesarean deliveries. In some cases, this choice is elective rather than necessary. Scheduling the birth date to fit into the busy schedules of the doctor and/or patient, economic incentives, and the fear of medical malpractice lawsuits are non-medical reasons why a baby might be delivered via C-section instead of naturally. For example, Northwestern Memorial Hospital obstetrician gynecologist Dr. Lauren Streicher notes that obstetricians are not financially compensated for the hours they must be available during a woman’s labor. They also usually have to cancel other appointments during this time.

Some medical professionals feel that cesarean delivery disrupts the natural process that helps newborns move into a world where they have to breath air. According to Dr. Lucky Jain, C-section babies are more likely than infants that are born naturally to develop respiratory distress after they are born. They also risk developing asthma.

Jain also notes that C-sections—especially if a woman has multiple cesareans—can lead to medical complications for the mom.

North Carolina Birthing Malpractice
If you believe that your child’s birthing injuries are a result of a medical mistake by your obstetrician or gynecologist, you should contact an experienced birthing malpractice lawyer to discuss your case.

A C-section is a major surgery and should be performed only after determining that this is a good medical option for the mother and baby. In certain cases, failure to perform a cesarean delivery can be grounds for a North Carolina birthing malpractice lawsuit if the baby sustains injuries, such as cerebral palsy or brain damage, as a result.

Are C-Sections Too Common?, ABC News, March 10, 2010

Cesarean Section – Risks and Complications, Web MD

Related Web Resources:
Recent Trends in Cesarean Delivery in the United States, CDC (PDF)

Medical Malpractice Basics, Nolo

Goldsboro Driver Sustains Burn Injuries in Fayetteville, North Carolina Truck Crash

December 1, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

As of yesterday, a Goldsboro tanker-truck driver who sustained burn injuries from a Fayetteville, North Carolina truck accident on Interstate 95 on Monday night remains in critical condition.

Frankie Graves is in Chapel Hill at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center. The 54-year-old trucker sustained burn injuries on 40% of his body. According to North Carolina state troopers, the fuel tank of Graves’s tanker truck was punctured when the the vehicle struck the guardrail after crashing into a semi-truck that had stopped abruptly to avoid hitting the driver of a pickup truck that had run out of gas.

Graves reportedly jumped out of his cab with his clothes burning. Another man rolled him in the median to put out the fire.

Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can be very painful and they can take a long time to treat and recover from. This can require costly surgeries, skin grafts, physical therapy, and psychological counseling. There may even be internal damage and permanent physical disfigurement. The burn injury victim may no longer be able to work, which makes the need for financial recovery if someone was liable for the injuries even more of a priority.

There is the misconception that passenger vehicle occupants are the only ones that get hurt in North Carolina truck crashes. Truck drivers do get hurt and sometimes it is because of the negligence of another trucker, the driver of a passenger vehicle, a trucking company, a truck manufacturer, or another liable party.

While injured truck drivers are likely entitled to North Carolina workers’ compensation recovery, there also may be third parties that can be held liable.

Burned tanker truck driver still in critical condition, FayObserver, Oct 22, 2009

I-95 tanker accident still causing issues hours later, News 14, October 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Traumatic Brain Injury, Medline Plus

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence?: Facility Investigated Following Five Patient Deaths from Hepatitis B

November 16, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Public health investigators have been looking into whether the use of unclean or shared diabetes testing equipment caused at least eight patients to contract hepatitis B GlenCare Mount Olive center the GlenCare of Mount Olive. Five of the patients passed away last week. The average age of those who developed the virus is 70. This week, the state released its findings.

According to the NC Division of Public Health, certain staff members did not receive proper training on how to take care of diabetic patients and the assisted living facility violated resident rights. The virus was spread because blood monitor meters used for diabetes testing that had come into contact with tainted blood.

During the probe, a medication tech had indicated that adjustable lancing devices had been used on more than one patient and that the devices, as well as glucometers, were not routinely disinfected or cleaned in between uses. Also, nursing home employees reported that they were only allowed to use one box of gloves a shift, which forced them to have to buy their own additional gloves.

Hepatitis B
The Centers for Disease Control says that hepatitis B serious disease can impact the liver, resulting in diarrhea, appetite lose, jaundice, tiredness, vomiting, stomach pain, and joint and muscle aches. People with diabetes have a 15 times greater chance of developing acute hepatitis B.

It is the responsibility of nursing homes to make sure that they provide residents with the proper medical, nursing, and daily care, while protecting them from North Carolina nursing home abuse, neglect, and negligence. This includes making sure that the patients are not exposed to any unsafe or unsanitary conditions that could cause them to become even more ill or die.

Officials Release Findings In GlenCare Investigation, NBC17.com, November 16, 2010

Unclean procedures likely caused 5 hepatitis B deaths at nursing home, NewsObserver, November 12, 2010

Report: Unsafe practices led to fatal NC outbreak, NECN, November 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NC Divison of Public Health

Hepatitis B, eMedicineHealth

North Carolina Personal Injury: A Free Step-by-Step Guide for Victims and Their Families

November 11, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Our Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, L.L.P. know how confusing and scared you must feel now that you or a loved one has been involved in an accident. To help you get through this stressful and challenging time, we have written a book called “Carolina Injury Law: A Reference Guide for Accident Victims” that is available for free to all South Carolina and North Carolina residents. This step-by-step guide was created to answer many of your questions about the claims process and provide you with information on how to best pursue your financial recovery from a responsible party.

In the book, Our Monroe, North Carolina personal injury attorneys will walk you through the process, provide you with concise and clear information about your legal rights, and offer valuable insights about a number of topics, including:

• Basic insurance concepts
• Dealing with underinsured and uninsured motorists
• Workers’ compensation
• Understanding your injuries
• Understanding damages
• Choosing a lawyer
• What to expect as a plaintiff
• When to file a lawsuit
• The litigation process
• Settling your case
• Your personal injury trial

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP has locations in the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Monroe, Hickory, and Lumberton. We represent clients and their families in North Carolina and South Carolina whose cases involve personal injury, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, nursing home abuse and neglect, and social security disability.

Our Lumberton, North Carolina injury lawyers have worked with 10 other US law firms to provide you with this invaluable public service resource. To receive your free copy, send an e-mail request that includes your name and address to Kristine Woolley at kwoolley@demayolaw.com or download a free copy at www.DeMayoLaw.com.

$200,000 North Carolina Injury Settlement Reached with Roommate of Teen Who Was Fatally Shot by Sheriff’s Corporal

November 5, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

A North Carolina personal injury settlement has been reached between Michael Rhoton and New Hanover County. Rhoton is accusing Sheriff Ed McMahon, ex-Sheriff Sid Causey, other office members, and the county’s insurer of failing to follow proper procedures when a warrant was served to his roommate Peyton Strickland on December 1, 2006. Strickland, a suspect in the robbery of a University of North Carolina Wilmington student’s Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles, was accidentally shot in the head by Cpl. Christopher Long, who didn’t realize that what sounded like gunshots was in fact a battering ram.

Rhoton saw his roommate get shot multiple times. The heavily armed law enforcement team then allegedly held a gun to Rhoton’s head while forcing him to stay on the ground next to Strickland, who was dying. The officers also shot and killed Strickland’s dog.

Rhoton, who was never a suspect in the robbery, was held in custody overnight. His North Carolina injury attorney says that Rhoton has been dealing with trauma, survivor’s guilty, and post-traumatic stress issues. Rhoton’s North Carolina excessive use of force lawsuit against the UNCW’s police department is still pending.

In 2008, Strickland’s family settled their wrongful death case over the deadly shooting with the county for $2.45 million.

North Carolina Excessive Use of Force
It is not acceptable for someone to get hurt or die because a law enforcement official used excessive force when dealing with him/her. There are less violent ways to apprehend or question or hold a suspect. Unfortunately, North Carolina police brutality and excessive use of force do happen.

New Hanover County pays roommate of fatal shooting victim Strickland, StarNewsOnline, November 2, 2010

Sheriff’s department settles with Strickland family, WWAY, February 27, 2008

Related Web Resources:
New Hanover County

University of North Carolina Wilmington Police Department

Eye Complications Can Develop in Children Suffering from North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries to the Face

October 29, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to a recent study, approximately one in seven children who are treated for facial dog bite injuries end up with ophthalmic injuries. These injuries can lead to health complications and the need for revision surgery.

The retrospective review examined 537 kids who were treated at a hospital for their facial dog bite injuries between 2003 and 2008. 77 of the kids suffered from ophthalmic injuries. All of the injuries involved the eyelids. The authors of the study say that ophthalmic injuries, more than nonophthalmic injuries, can lead to complications, such as:

• Epiphora
• Upper eyelid ptosis
• Nasolacrimal duct obstruction
• Eyelid notching

Surgical repair was more likely required with ophthalmic injuries.

Charlotte North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries
Regardless of whether the victim of a North Carolina dog attack is a child or an adult, dog bite injuries can be extremely painful, traumatic, and disfiguring. Facial injuries can be especially difficult to heal and repair—especially for young children, who are still growing and changing at a rapid rate. A child who has serious facial injuries after being mauled by a dog or another animal may have to wait years before undergoing reconstructive surgery. Facial injuries can lead to all sorts of emotional and psychological traumas.

Facial Dog Bite Injuries in Children Affect the Eyes More Often Than Previously Reported, Medscape, October 29, 2010

Cat and Dog Bites, Family Doctor

Related Web Resources:
Prevention and Treatment of Dog Bites, American Family Physician

Dog Bite Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

City of Charlotte, North Carolina Sued for Wrongful Death From Falling Tree Accident

October 9, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of Kay Plyler, the 53-year-old woman who died last year after a tree fell on her car, is suing the city of Charlotte for wrongful death. The civil lawsuit contends that the tree was a public hazard that should have been removed.

The North Carolina premises liability accident happened on March 8, 2008, when a tree, located close to the corner of East and Asheville Place, fell on Plyler’s black SUV. Plyler’s 14-year-old daughter was in the motor vehicle with her. While the teenager did not sustain physical injuries, the complaint says that she suffered emotional trauma from the deadly accident.

Also according to the wrongful death lawsuit, the tree, which was suffering from 90% root decay, should have been removed. Other trees in the area that were suffering from similar health issues were taken away.

This is not the first time Charlotte has been sued over a tree. In 2003, the city was sued for personal injury because of a tree. Another lawsuit for property damage involving a tree was filed in 2005.

Just last week, a 35-year-old woman was in Charlotte driving her two young children in her car when she was almost struck by a giant oak tree that fell. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Over 400 people died because of falling trees or limbs between 1995 and 2007. In Charlotte, high winds and soggy soil are just some of the conditions that can cause the city’s older trees to fall, potentially causing injury to motorists, pedestrians, and residents, as well as damage to power lines. There are steps that city officials and property owners can take to make sure that such accidents do not happen.

Some 160,000 trees are planted in Charlotte’s public areas. Each year, workers cut down some 300 to 400 trees that are in poor health.

Family suing city over tree that killed woman, Charlotte Observer, January 11, 2009

Our cherished trees can be a danger, Charlotte.com, January 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Who Is Responsible When Your Tree Falls?, Realty Times, January 12, 2009

8 Signs of a Sick Tree, Treejob.com

North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Carbon Monoxide Fatality

October 5, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of Monique L. Carpenter is suing Old Republic Home Protection, homeowner Willie McKinney, Windham Heating and Air Conditioning, and its owner Paul “Eddie” Windham for her North Carolina wrongful death. Carpenter and her friend Darryl Gregory died on November 14, 2008 from carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to the North Carolina wrongful death complaint, Carpenter had gone to visit Gregory at the home that he was renting in Greensboro. McKinney is the owner of the home.

Gregory had reportedly told McKinney on several occasions that the furnace needed to be fixed. Old Republic, a home-warranty company, hired Windham to fix the furnace. On November 12, 2008, Windham went to the rental and discovered that the access doors and flue pipe connection to the furnace weren’t in place. Despite a recommendation by a technician that a new furnace be brought in, Windham did not install a new one. The family’s North Carolina wrongful death complaint is accusing Windham and his company of “willful and wanton conduct” that reflect an “intentional disregard of and indifference” to others’ safety. They also claim that Windham did not check the ventilation system to ensure that the carbon monoxide gas couldn’t enter the house.

On November 14, Gregory, who was told that the furnace had been fixed, used it for the first time. He and Carpenter died of carbon monoxide poisoning that day.

Carpenter’s family is accusing Old Republic of failing to investigate Windham, who had been disciplined twice by the by the N.C. State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. He has been placed on probation twice.

Carbon Monoxide
Nearly 500 people are killed in the US each year because of carbon monoxide poisoning from fuel-burning appliances, charcoal burned inside a garage, car, home, or tent, or cars that were left running in garages attached to residences. The Centers for Disease Control says that more than 15,000 hospital visits a year are a result of CO poisoning. CO is a tasteless, odorless, colorless gas. Signs of CO poisoning include fatigue, nausea, and headaches. Co poisoning can cause brain injury and death.

Family sues over death, Winston-Salem Journal, October 2, 2010

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, eMedicineHealth

Family Files North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Inmate Who Was Tasered While in Jail

September 30, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of Ronald Eugene Cobbs is suing the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office and Prison Health Services for his North Carolina wrongful death. Cobbs, 38, died on August 19, 2009 after he was shocked with a Taser while in the Guilford County Jail. Cobb’s wife, Tricolia Cobbs, is accusing the defendants of using excessive force. She is seeking triple damages under North Carolina’s Wrongful Death Act.

Cobbs was behind bars waiting for his criminal trial on robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and a probation violation when he got into a dispute with a guard. MyFox8 reported that the altercation happened when a detention officer tried to recover alleged contraband from Cobbs’s cell. The sheriff’s office claimed that Cobbs assaulted the officer and resisted arrest, which was why he was restrained with a Taser and physical force. Soon after Cobbs was handcuffed and shackled and taken to the nurse, he fell unconscious. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Cobbs family claims that not only were their insufficient medical tools available to treat someone who had been shocked with a 50,000-volt Taser at the jail, but also, staff members there were inadequately trained to provide Cobbs with the necessary medical care.

Autopsy results could not confirm Cobbs’ cause of death. The report says that he may have died from respiratory arrest or cardiac arrhythmia and he may have been suffering from an underlying cardiac disease. The struggle with a deputy could have been a triggering factor for either condition.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Police and other law enforcement officers must never use more force than necessary to apprehend, arrest, restrain, or guard someone. North Carolina excessive use of force or police brutality is a violation of the victim’s civil rights and can cause Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death. Do not be afraid to report any incidents of North Carolina police brutality to the authorities or to a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm.

N.C. family files lawsuit over jailhouse Taser death, CorrectionsOne.com/News and Record, September 30, 2010

Guilford Inmate Dies After Being Tasered, MyFox, August 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Are Tasers Overused?, CBS News, September 23, 2010

Taser International

Guilford County Sheriff’s Office

North Carolina Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Bishop Eddie Long

September 27, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

A North Carolina sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed against Bishop Eddie Long, the senior pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia. The complaint was filed in Huntsville where the Long runs New Birth Charlotte, a satellite church. He is an outspoken critic of gay marriages. The plaintiff, 22-year-old Spencer LeGrande, is the fourth person to sue Long.

According to LeGrande (a New Birth Charlotte church member), Long gave him a sleeping aid, fondled him, and coerced him into having sex during a trip to Africa in 2005 when he was 17. LeGrande also claims that Long persuaded him that having a sexual relationship was part of having a healthy spiritual life.

Three other males are also suing Long. Two of the men, now 21 and 20, say that Long seduced them with money, cars, clothes, jewelry, international travel, and access to celebrities when they were 18- and 17- year old members of the Baptist church.

Long has denied all allegations.

Child Sex Abuse by Religious Leaders
The sexual abuse of young people by priests, pastors, and other religious leaders has caused injuries and trauma to its victims. Sexual abuse of any kind committed by anyone is a crime. The victim may be entitled to North Carolina personal injury compensation from the assailant and/or from those that helped cover up the abuse.

While the topic of sexual abuse by religious leaders was a taboo that was concealed by church officials for years, in the last decade, hundreds of victims have begun stepping forward to accuse their assailants and seek damages.

In a clergy sex abuse complaint that has made national headlines, a deaf man is suing Pope Benedict, who used to be called Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, for failing to take action against Father Lawrence C. Murphy, the former headmaster of St. John’s School for the Deaf. Murphy allegedly molested 200 boys, including the victim. Many of the alleged sex abuse incidents with Murphy reportedly took place in the victims’ beds in the school dormitories.

North Carolina Man Suing Bishop Eddie Long, Digtriad, September 25, 2010

Questions Have Long Surrounded Accused Minister, NPR, September 27, 2010

Bishop Eddie Long Hit With Lawsuit, Two Men Claim He Coerced Them Into Sex, September 22, 2010

Pope Named in Lawsuit by Clergy Sex Abuse Victim, Politics Daily, September 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
New Birth Charlotte

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

North Carolina Police Brutality: Inmate Wins $10,000 Personal Injury Settlement Over Alleged Pepper Spray Abuse

September 8, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Prison inmate Bill Rayburn will receive a $10,000 North Carolina personal injury settlement from the state over alleged incidents of pepper spray abuse. State officials say that they are not admitting liability by settling. Rather, they are reaching a compromise over the dispute. However, earlier, the North Carolina Department of Correction had determined that employees involved in the alleged incidents were in violation of the use-of-force policy. As a result, several employees were disciplined and a top administrator was replaced.

Per the use-of-force policy, guards can use pepper spray for self-defense or to hinder inmates that are behaving in a threatening, violent, or aggressive manner. Inmates should then immediately be allowed to wash off the chemicals from the spray.

Rayburn claims that he was sprayed on four occasions last year at Lanesboro Correctional Institution and that the policy was not followed. For example on January 13, 2009, correction officers allegedly doused him and his bed with the spray, which contains hot peppers and can be extremely painful, after he called for help following a panic attack.

In Rayburn’s North Carolina excessive use of force complaint, he says that a female guard sprayed his genitals and that more than one can of pepper spray was used on him. The guards then allegedly left him on the shower floor and he was unable to wash the painful chemicals off until the next shift of prison guards arrived.

Rayburn is now at a new prison.

North Carolina Police Brutality
Excessive use of force by law enforcement officers is never warranted—even if you have been convicted for a crime. Unfortunately, many people don’t report incidents of Charlotte, North Carolina police brutality because they are too scared and don’t realize that their civil rights have been violated. Verbal abuse, sexual assaults, threats, emotional blackmail, and physical violence are just a few examples of the different types of police violence that can occur.

State settles with inmate over claim of pepper spray abuse, Charlotte Observer, September 8, 2010

NC prisoner who sued over pepper spray gets $10K, WCNC/AP, September 8, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Lanesboro Correctional Institution

North Carolina Department of Correction

North Carolina Dog Attack Injures Jogger

August 30, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

A Mocksville men was injured on Sunday evening in a North Carolina dog attack when he was bitten three boxers. David Potts was jogging when the animals surrounded him. They didn’t stop biting him until their owner, Ralph Kinary, called them off.

Potts had to undergo surgery to repair his arm tendon. He also needed 30 stitches for his arms and legs.

The dogs were in the owner’s backyard and weren’t leashed because the owner’s wife was outside at the time. Kinary told WXII that the dogs had never been vicious until now and he doesn’t know why they chose to attack Potts.

North Carolina Dog Bites
Under state law, dog owners are not allowed to let dogs older than six months run at large at night unless they are accompanied by the owner, the owner’s relative, or someone else in charge of supervising the animals. Our Charlotte, North Carolina dog bite lawyers want to remind you of the importance of exploring your legal options soon after the incident.

Because the state has laws regarding contributory negligence, you will need experienced North Carolina injury representation to prove that you didn’t contribute to causing your dog bite injuries. This is not the kind of North Carolina personal injury case that you want to handle on your own.

Recent Dog Bite Facts from the Insurance Information Institute:
• $412 million was spent on dog-bite insurance claims in 2009—up from the $387.2 million in homeowners’ insurance liability that was paid the year before.
• On average, a dog bite claim costs $24,840.
• The increase in dog-bite related costs can be credited to to dog bite injury verdicts and judgment and injury-related medical costs that have gone above the inflation rate.

Jogger Encircled, Attacked By Dogs, WXII12, August 30, 2010

Dog-Bite Claims Exceeded $400 Million in 2009 on Higher Medical Costs, InsuranceNewsNet, August 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Dog Bite Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dog Bites: When Is an Owner Liable?, Nolo

Charlotte, North Carolina Medical Malpractice: AMA Says 95 Liability Claims Filed for Every 100 US Physicians

August 25, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The American Medical Association says that an average of 95 medical malpractice claims are filed for every 100 doctors. The AMA reveals this and other key findings in its report, which includes data based on a 2008 survey of 5,825 doctors from 42 specialties.

Other findings from the study:
• Almost 61% of doctors in the 55 and older age group have been sued.
• 90% of general surgeons in this age group will have been sued.
• The number of claims for every 100 doctors was over 5 times more for obstetricians-gynecologists and general surgeons than for psychiatrists and pediatricians.
• Over 50% of OB/GYNs will have been sued before they turn 40.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina medical malpractice lawyers are dedicated to helping our clients and their families recover injury compensation from negligent hospitals, surgeons, OB/GYNs, nurses, pediatricians, dentists, oncologists, radiologists, ophthalmologists, and other medical professionals. Contact us to request your free case evaluation if you believe that you or your loved one was the victim of medical malpractice in this state.

Interestingly enough, according to a study on the University of Michigan Health System’s disclosure-with-offer program, telling patients and their families about medical mistakes and offering them compensation in a timely manner—this is exactly what the program does—does not increase the likelihood of a medical liability lawsuit. Instead, the results include less medical malpractice complaints, faster resolution of cases, and lower liability expenses.

Regardless of whether or not a medical provider is willing to offer you compensation for the medical-related injuries that you have suffered, it is still important that you explore your legal options with an experienced North Carolina medical malpractice law firm.

Medical error disclosure not linked to more lawsuits, American Medical News, August 23, 2010

New AMA Report Finds 95 Medical Liability Claims Filed for Every 100 Physicians, American Medical Association, August 3, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Medical Liability Claim Frequency: A 2007-2008 Snapshot of Physicians (PDF)

Medical Malpractice, Insurance Information Institute

North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse, Medical Malpractice, and Inadequate Care Among Reasons Given for Why State Wants to Fine Chapel Hill Assisted Living Facility $20K

August 17, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fine the Britthaven of Chapel Hill nursing home $20,000 in penalties. This amount is the federal maximum allowed for violations, which investigators say took place in February.

Following investigations of the Chapel Hill nursing home by the Nursing Home Licensure and Certification Section on February 18, June 15, 16, 17, 29, July 1and 27 of this year, the state found evidence supporting 8 of 25 complaints that were filed, including those involving:

• Failure to protect 14 Alzheimer’s patients from becoming victims of abuse.
• Failure to ensure protect patients from being administered unnecessary drugs.
• Failure to prevent medical mistakes.

The violations stem from incidents connected to Angela Almore, a former registered nurse who has been charged with North Carolina nursing home abuse and second-degree murder for the death of resident Rachel Holliday. The 84-year-old patient had morphine levels in her system that likely contributed to her death from pneumonia and asphyxiation. Almore is also blamed for the morphine-related injuries of six other residents. None of them had morphine prescriptions as part of their treatment.

It was just last year that CMS fined Britthaven of Chapel Hill $216,400 for not being in compliance with certain requirements. Resident Mary Lou Barzon, 95, broke both thigh bones when a nursing home worker dropped her while transferring the patient to her bed. The nursing assistant did not use a mechanical lift, even though the patient’s care plan called for it. No one reported the North Carolina fall accident, which left Barzon’s injuries untreated for two weeks. The elderly resident passed away soon after. Now, her family is suing the assisted living facility for her Chapel Hill wrongful death.

In another Chapel Hill nursing home negligence lawsuit against Britthaven of Chapel Hill, Marian Orlowski’s widow is seeking damages. Orlowski, who had dementia, was injured in a fall accident. Jadwiga Orlowski claims the assisted living facility did not provide her husband with the proper nursing care.

Nursing home may be fined, NewsObserver.com, August 12, 2010

Report calls for Britthaven fines, The Herald Sun, August 11, 2010

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence: Britthaven of Chapel Hill Sued for Inadequate Care, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, July 10, 2010

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services

Nursing Home Licensure and Certification Section

At Least Four North Carolina Nursing Home Residents Killed by Mentally Ill and Violent Patients in the Last Two Years

July 31, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to Disability Rights North Carolina, the state has violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by neglecting to give mentally ill patients the correct type of housing, as well as not properly overseeing the sometimes hazardous and poor conditions at these state-licensed and inspected facilities. The advocacy group filed its complaint with the U.S. Justice Department earlier this week.

It was almost 10 years ago that the state of North Carolina closed thousands of beds in psychiatric facilities that were run by the government. A state study reports says that last year, there were over 6,400 patients suffering from serious mental illnesses that were living in North Carolina assisted living facilities and adult care residences. Unfortunately, in the last two years alone, at least four North Carolina nursing home residents have died at the hands of mentally ill and violent residents. Per TheSunNews.com:

• In December 2008, Levi Montgomery , 69, was allegedly killed by his roommate, Muncie Grimes, 60, at a Fayetteville nursing home. Grimes, suffers dementia and schizophrenia.

• Roland Simmons, 70, was beaten to death with a stick at a Hickory, nursing home last July. Dennis Scherzer, 43, is a paranoid schizophrenic.

• In October 2009 in Asheville, Kenneth Hayward, a 43-year-old mentally ill resident, allegedly beat 66-year-old Walter Davis to death during a disagreement over $4.25.

• Also last year, 27-year-old Jeremiah Love was beaten with a cane at a Surry County rest home by another patient. According to residents at the facility, no rest home workers were around during the altercation, which lasted several minutes. Love was later given a bag of ice for the bump on his head. He died from blood pooling in his brain.

According to the Associated Press, in 2009 there were close to 125,000 seriously mentally ill middle-aged and young adults living in US assisted living facilities—a 41% jump from 2002. The issue of whether it makes sense to house seriously mentally ill nursing home residents with the general population is not a unique one, and there have been incidents in other US states involving patient violence that have resulted in resident fatalities and deaths.

Allowing seriously mentally ill nursing home patients to live with other residents can be detrimental for everyone involved. If your loved one was the victim of a violent crime committed by another patient, you may have grounds for filing a North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse case.

At Least Four North Carolina Nursing Home Residents Killed by Mentally Ill and Violent Patients in the Last Two Years, WakeMyNYC.com, July 28, 2010

Four killed in N.C. rest homes, TheSunNews, July 30, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Americans With Disabilities Act

Disability Rights North Carolina

Robeson County Nursing Home Negligence?: North Carolina Regulators Shuts Down Facility Following Series of Bad Performance Evaluations

July 23, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The Robeson County Department of Social Services has found new assisted living facilities for the 43 people who had been living at St. Mary’s Assisted Living. The North Carolina nursing home was shut down by the state last week after it received a series of poor performance reviews.

Violations against the Robeson County, North Carolina assisted living facility included problems involving nursing home’s staffing levels and qualifications, evacuation plan, fire alarms, health care practices, and personal care practices. The shutting down of the facility comes just days after a July 11 electrical fire that was cause by wiring issues. Fortunately, no one was hurt during the blaze and the damage was contained to one room.

Running an assisted living facility is hard work and requires more than merely providing housing, food, and nursing care for residents. There must be adequate staffing consisting of qualified, skilled, and properly trained nursing home workers. Safety plans must be put in place and safety regulations met to eliminate health hazards and protect the workers from unsanitary conditions. There must be procedures and practices implemented to make sure that the patients are getting the nursing care, medical care, and personal care that they need. Each patient should have a customized care and feeding plan. Security must also be at such a level that robberies, violent crimes, sexual assault, financial elder abuse, and North Carolina nursing home abuse and neglect don’t happen.

It is the nursing home residents and their families that suffer when North Carolina nursing home negligence occurs.

State shuts down Robeson County nursing home, FayObserver, July 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Robeson County Department of Social Services

Licensed Facilities, NC Division of Health Service Regulation

Pilot Error May Have Been a Factor In North Carolina Plane Crash at Horace Williams Airport

July 20, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, pilot error may have been a factor in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina aviation accident on July 12. Per the report, a Cirrus SR20 touched down on the runway at Horace Williams Airport so hard that the plane bounced several times before crashing into a fence and trees.

Killed in the North Carolina plane crash was pilot Thomas Pitts, 66. The two passengers riding with him were injured. Kyle Henn has since been released from the hospital, while Jim Donohue was still in critical condition as of last Friday.

According to witnesses, the private plane appeared to be operating out of control as it arrived at the airport, which belongs to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While it is not uncommon to add a power climb when attempting to re-land an aircraft, “pilot-induced oscillations” are not, and, per the report, excessive speed may have been a factor in this particular case.

One witness says the plane may have been traveling speeds of 60 to 70 mph as it went off the runway, while another witness has said that the nose of the plane was at a 45-degree upward angle during landing. No mechanical problems have been discovered.

North Carolina Plane Accidents
Unfortunately, plane crashes usually result in fatalities and serious injuries for those involved. Aviation accidents are different from other types of injury accidents, and it is important that you work with a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm that knows how to determine who should be held responsible for your plane crash injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death.

Crash may be pilot’s fault, News Observer, July 20, 2010

Friends grieve for pilot killed in crash, The Chapel Hill News, July 18, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NTSB

Plane Accidents Overview, Justia

Former Inmate Files North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit Over Tuberculosis Outbreak

July 13, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Lumberton resident Floyd Baldwin is suing Brunswick County officials for North Carolina personal injury. The plaintiff, a former inmate, claims that negligence contributed to the tuberculosis outbreak that occurred in jail last summer. The defendants include Brunswick County’s sheriff, health department, commissioners, and Southern Health Partners Inc., the county’s insurer.

Baldwin says that he spent nine months on the same cellblock were inmate Omar Morales was living. Baldwin, who is taking medicine for the non-contagious form of the disease, contends that Morales, who started the outbreak, was not tested for TB before being admitted to the jail in October 2008. He also says that not only did the defendants disregard the seriousness of Morales’s condition and symptoms, but also, he is accusing the sheriff’s office of failing to have the required jail health plan.

Baldwin claims that the jail ignored the inmates requests that Morales be given medical help and that it was only after Morales’s cellmate also developed TB that the medical care the latter needed was provided.

Since August, 42 people have tested positive for TB, but only two have the active type that is contagious. Baldwin wants damages over $10,000 for emotional trauma, mental anguish and pain, permanent physical injury, physical injury, future medical bills, and other injuries. His North Carolina personal injury attorney says more civil complaints from other inmates who contracted TB are expected.

North Carolina Personal Injury
Officials in charge of prisons and jails are responsible for making sure that suspects and inmates do not become victims of police brutality, violent crimes by other inmates, medical neglect, or other types of negligence. Unfortunately, inmates have been known to suffer North Carolina injury, illness, and death because officials failed to abide by regulations, protect them from physical harm, or make sure they received the necessary medical care.

TB is a contagious bacterial infection that can attack the lungs, kidney, brain, or spine. Failure to treat tuberculosis properly and in a timely manner can prove fatal.

Inmate sues sheriff’s office, health department, county commissioners for TB exposure, Brunswickbeackon.com, July 13, 2010

Former inmate suing Brunswick County after contracting tuberculosis in jail, Star News Online, June 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Tuberculosis (TB), CDC

Brunswick County, North Carolina

North Carolina Nursing Home Negligence: Britthaven of Chapel Hill Sued for Inadequate Care

July 10, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The widow of Marian Orlowski is suing Britthaven of Chapel Hill for North Carolina nursing home neglect. Marian, who suffered from dementia, died from pneumonia at age 86.

His wife, Jadwiga Orlowski, had him admitted to the Chapel Hill nursing home two years prior to his death after he underwent surgery. She contends that on his first day there, he fell from his bed and suffered North Carolina personal injuries, including a fractured hip.

Jadwiga is accusing Britthaven of North Carolina nursing home negligence. She claims that the nursing home staff did not properly monitor her husband and neglected to provide him with a bed that had side rails.

Britthaven is considered a “special focus facility,” meaning that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have singled the assisted living facility out as a home that has a pattern of providing substandard nursing care. For example, one of its nurses, Angela Almore, is scheduled to appear in court this week on second-degree murder and nursing home abuse charges over the morphine death of Rachel Holliday, 84, and the morphine-related injuries of six other patients.

In 2009, CMS ordered Britthaven of Chapel Hill to pay $216,400 for failing to comply with Medicare requirements in a nursing home case involving 95-year-old Mary Lou Barthazon. A federal judge says that the elderly patient likely broke both thigh bones close to her knees in September 2007 when she was dropped by a nursing home assisted who was attempting to transfer her from a chair to her bed. Per Barthazon’s care plan, the nursing assistant was supposed to use a mechanical lift.

Because the North Carolina fall accident was not reported, Barthazon’s fractures went untreated for two weeks. Her daughter Anne Blanchard is the one who demanded that she be taken to an emergency room. Four days later, Barthazon passed away. Blanchard is suing Britthaven for Chapel Hill, North Carolina nursing home negligence and wrongful death.

Other North Carolina assisted living facilities that have made the Special Focus Facilities list are the Brian Centers in Goldsboro and Gastonia and Chapel Hill Health and Rehabilitation.

Nursing home faces lawsuits, NewsObserver.com, July 10, 2010

Prosecutor: Nurse charged in patient death acted alone, WRAL, June 8, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

Britthaven Inc.

Woman Shot During Police Pursuit Sues City of Asheville for North Carolina Personal Injury

June 30, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Mary Wilcox is suing the city of Asheville and its police department for North Carolina personal injury involving use of excessive use of police force. Wilcox was shot in the leg, liver, and spleen during a police pursuit on May 31, 2007 in the Haw Creek neighborhood.

Wilcox was a passenger in the car that Officer Justin Clinard was chasing. According to police, the driver of the car, Larry Julius Wilson, had tried to run over a cop at a housing development. He then allegedly tried to run down another police officer at an apartment complex. That officer started shooting at the vehicle.

Stop sticks were put out on New Haw Creek Road, which blew out at least one of Wilson’s tires. However, he kept driving and allegedly tried to run over another two cops that fired at his car.

While Wilson has pleaded guilty to one count of felony flee to elude arrest, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, and a habitual felon charge, Wilcox was never charged with any crime. In her Asheville, North Carolina injury lawsuit, Wilcox is accusing the police officers of negligence for firing their weapons. She is also alleging excessive use of police force and inadequate supervision. Officers Clinard, Brian Hogan, Cheryl Intveld, Stony Gonce, and Chief Bill Hogan are among the defendants named in her Asheville personal injury complaint. Four months after the shooting, Clinard left the police department.

Wilcox is seeking unspecified damages for her shooting injuries.

Police Pursuits
It is important that police officers follow proper procedures and drive carefully even when in the midst of a police pursuit. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 360 deaths a year occur because of police chases. Usually, 1/3rd of the victims are innocent bystanders. However, the reality may be much harsher than what these figures portray because not all bystander injuries related to a police chase are documented.

Persons injured during police pursuits, including suspects, may have grounds for a North Carolina injury lawsuit. It was just in 2008 that the city of Asheville paid two families $1.5 million for police chase-related injuries. A truck driver died and his passenger was injured when cops chased him the wrong way on an interstate exit ramp and his vehicle was struck head-on by a car.

Woman injured in Haw Creek police chase shooting files lawsuit, Citizen-Times, June 17, 2010

Deaths lead police to question high-speed chase police, USA Today, April 22, 2010

Related Web Resource:
City of Asheville, NC

Asheville Police Department

High Point Pool Drowning Accident Claims the Life of Teenager in North Carolina

June 22, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

17-year-old Anthony Hayes died earlier this month in what appears to be a North Carolina drowning accident at High Point pool. City officials are trying to determine exactly what happened at the Washington Terrace Park Pool. Hayes did not know how to swim.

The Parks and Recreation Department says five lifeguards were on duty at the pool on the day of the accident, and it was one of them that pulled the teenager out from the deep end. The lifeguards performed CPR on Hayes until emergency workers arrived at the scene.

He was treated at two hospitals, one at High Point and the other in Winston-Salem, before he was pronounced dead.

According to accounts of some of the people who were at the pool when the drowning incident happened, Hayes was on the diving board when he fell, struck his head, became unconscious, and fell into the water.

Drowning Accidents
Now that summer is here it is so important that pool owners make sure that their pools are properly supervised and that there is someone at the pool, whether a lifeguard or an experienced adult, that knows what to do in the event that someone gets hurts or drowns while in the water. They also must make sure there are no hazards in or around the pool that can contribute to any injuries or deaths. It takes just minutes underwater for a person who survives a near –drowning accident to sustain a permanent traumatic brain injury.

Drowning accidents can occur in private pools, public swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, wading pools, and in other bodies of water. The owners and/or supervisors can be held liable for North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death if negligence played a part in the drowning accident.

City reviews drowning accident at local pool, Charlotte News 14, June 7, 2010

Family Reacts To Fatal Accident At High Point Pool, Digtriad, June 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Swimming Pools, Guilford County Department of Public Health

Summer Pool Safety Tips, ABC News, June 18, 2010

5-Month-Old Baby Dies After 911 Calls in Cleveland County, North Carolina

June 20, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Would 5-month-old Allyson Ray Smith be alive today if only someone had responded to all of the six 911 calls made by her family on Friday morning when she stopped breathing? That’s what her family is saying. Now, Cleveland County, North Carolina officials are trying to determine what happened.

The little girl is said to have stopped breathing in her sleep on June 4. At around 4 am, her father began administering CPR and her grandparents, who lived next door, called 911. Smith’s mother, Bonnie Edmondson says that she called the emergency number for help six times but no one would pick up.

While a cell phone tower in Cleveland County did pick up four of the calls, the county’s emergency communication director David Dodd says the 911 dispatcher’s phones never rang, which is why no one answered. He says that this the first time in the more than 30 decades that he has worked for the communication’s office that such a problem has ever happened.

Two of the family’s 911 calls were sent to dispatchers in Rutherford County, located 18 miles away. They notified Cleveland County and 24 hours after the family’s first 911 call, paramedics finally arrived at the family’s home but by then Allyson was dead.

Her cause of death has yet to be determined, although the corner has said that Allyson may have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Autopsy results are still pending. However, Allyson’s family says that if paramedics had arrived sooner, she might still be alive today.

AT & T provide’s Cleveland County’s 911 phone network.

North Carolina Wrongful Death
There may be more than one party who should be held liable for a loved one’s Cleveland County wrongful death. Who you can sue will depend on the specifics of your case. A good way to ensure that you pursue all avenues of recovery is to explore your legal options by talking to a North Carolina wrongful death law firm. Negligent parties do not have to directly have caused a death to be considered financially liable for your loved one’s accidental passing.

Family says baby died after 911 calls went unanswered, WCNC, June 8, 2010

911 calls went unanswered in Cleveland Co. baby’s death, Charlotte Observer, June 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
American SIDS Institute

Wrongful Death Claims, Nolo

Hickory, North Carolina Personal Injury: Collapse of Church Ceiling Sends 12 to the Hospital

June 15, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

12 people were injured on Sunday when a section of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church collapsed during service. Fortunately, non of the injuries were fatal and all of the North Carolina injury victims were treated and released. At least 150 people were at service when the ceiling collapsed.

However, now Catawba County building inspectors are testing the ceiling material to check for asbestos. The Friendship Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1958, which, according to the Hickory Daily Record, a the primary year that asbestos was in use.

Asbestos Exposure
Exposure to asbestos can be dangerous to a person’s health. Asbestos fibers that are inhaled can get trapped in the lungs, which can cause inflammation, scarring, lung cancer, mesothelioma, other forms of cancer, asbestosis, pleural disorders, lung disorders, and even death. People who are constantly around asbestos, either through work or their environment, are the ones at higher risk of developing an asbestos-related illness. However, family members of people that are heavily exposed to asbestos have also been know to contract asbestos-related illnesses through secondary exposure.

Even if no asbestos is found in the ceiling, the church may still decide to remove the ceiling to ensure that a similar collapse accident doesn’t happen in the future. Ceiling and wall collapses can lead to serious head injuries, neck injuries, back injuries, and even death for persons that are hit by failing debris.

Property owners are supposed to make sure there are no hazardous conditions on a premise that can cause serious North Carolina personal injuries or death. Negligent property owners can be held liable for Hickory premises liability or wrongful death.

Church ceiling to be tested for asbestos, HickoryRecord, June 15, 2010

Asbestos possibly present at church where ceiling collapsed, Charlotte Observer, June 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Hickory

Premises Liability Overview, Justia

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Nursing Home Under Investigation Following Patient’s Death

June 7, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

North Carolina officials are investigating Britthaven of Chapel Hill for possible wrongdoing related to the administration of strong-pain control drugs to Alzheimer’s patients. Nine residents tested positive for these medications, including opiates, which they weren’t supposed to be taking. Six of the Alzheimer’s patients were taken to NC Hospitals. One of the patients, 84-year-old Rachel Holliday has died.

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

North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

Britthaven of Chapel Hill

US News Offers Nine Thoughts to Consider When Looking for a Nursing Home

May 31, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

With the life expectancy rate getting longer, more elderly persons are having to stay at assisted living facilities. In 2007 alone, 975 people resided in 38,000 US nursing homes in 2007. In 2030, there will likely be71.5 million seniors in the over 65 age group occupying this planet.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse law firm knows that deciding if and where you should allow your loved one to live is a very important decision. Not only do you want to make sure that your family receives the proper nursing care, but also, it is imperative that he/she does not become the victim of nursing home abuse, neglect, sexual assault, elder financial abuse, or patient violence. You also want to make sure that your loved one feels as safe and content as he/she can be when living at a nursing home.

According to US News & World Report, that when looking for the right nursing home you need to consider:

• Choose an assisted living facility that is located in a place that allows your loved one to still feel connected to his/her community.

• Make sure that the nursing home can provide the type of medical and nursing care your loved one needs.

• Choose a facility that is licensed and meets the state’s nursing home standards and requirements

• Get recommendations from friends and do your research before choosing a place.

• Visit the nursing home more than once. Check out life at the facility during the day and at night.

• Talk to residents that are living at the nursing home now and ask them about the staff, the food, security, and whether or not they are satisfied with their experience.

US News Offers Nine Thoughts to Consider When Looking for a Nursing Home, US News, May 27, 2010

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

May is Older Americans Month, Administration on Aging

Gastonia Police Brutality: Mother’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Cop of Killing Her Son Without Just Cause

May 25, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Cleveland County resident Debra Keeter has filed a federal lawsuit suing the city of Gastonia and former police detective Scott Barnes for her son’s North Carolina wrongful death. Terry Adam Boone died after Barnes shot him in the back of the head on May 1, 2008.

The police shooting happened while Boone was fighting with a group of men who had threatened his life. Police claimed that the 20-year-old was stabbing one of the men when Barnes arrived at the scene. The former police detective says that he shot Boone because he went after him with a knife.

According to Keeter’s North Carolina police brutality complaint, police later found out that Barnes had lied when he said that he saw Boone stabbing someone else. She is also accusing the police of withholding key information from investigators.

Barnes was let go from the Gastonia Police Department in August 2008. Officials say that his firing is not connected to Boone’s shooting.

In November 2009, the district attorney’s office determined that the former Gastonia police detective would not be criminally charged in Boone’s shooting because they found that he acted appropriately when he shot Boone, who allegedly posed a physical threat.

However, Keeter’s North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit contends that Boone was far enough away from Barnes that the former was not a danger to the detective or those around them. She accuses the Gastonia Police Department of failing to provide investigators with information regarding Barnes’s past transgressions as a cop.

Excessive Use of Police Force
Unnecessary use of police force is never justified, and it is usually suspects and innocent bystanders that end up suffering. Unfortunately, many victims and their families fail to realize is that they can file a North Carolina police brutality claim against the liable parties.

Federal lawsuit alleges Gastonia police officer killed man without cause in 2008, Gaston Gazette, May 3, 2010

Did Gastonia Police Officer Commit North Carolina Police Brutality When He Fatally Shot Man Holding Knife?, North Carolina Injury Blog, September 22, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Police Brutality and Misconduct, New York Times

North Carolina Traumatic Brain Injuries Linked To Emotional Processing Issues

May 20, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

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

North Carolina Train Derailment Accident Injures at Least 10

May 13, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

At least 10 people were injured in a North Carolina train accident involving a tractor-trailer that got stuck on the train tracks at a Mebane crossing. The Amtrak train was headed for Charlotte this morning when it collided with the large truck between Raleigh and Greensboro and became derailed.

The train was carrying 1,900 gallons of fuel and hazardous materials. A team from Norfolk Southern had to come out to the train derailment sight to contain about 500 gallons diesel fuel that had leaked out of the locomotive, which, along with a train car, caught on fire. Meantime, the train accident victims were treated transported to local hospitals.

This is not the first train accident to occur at this particular crossing. Six previous North Carolina train accidents going back to 1978 have take place at site of today’s crash.

Also, it was less than two months in that another Amtrak train was involved in a Charlotte, North Carolina train crash with a tractor-trailer that had gotten stuck on the tracks. 118 people were riding the train when it collided with the semi-truck, which was transporting luxury vehicles. No serious injuries were reported.

Some reasons why a vehicle might get stuck on a train track:

• Mechanical problems
• Panic on the driver’s part
• Vehicle is physically stuck on the tracks
• Railroad crossing arm malfunction
• Vehicle is stopped on the tracks while caught in slowed or stopped traffic
• Train malfunction
• Human error

Just last month, a woman was killed in an Illinois train accident involving an Amtrak train because the warning system failed to let her know that the train was arriving.

Amtrak Train Crashes Into Truck, Derails in North Carolina, MyFox8, May 13, 2010

Charlotte-bound Amtrak train hits truck, Charlotte Observer, May 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Amtrak

Train Accidents, Justia

Charlotte Catholic Diocese Settles North Carolina Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit for $1 Million

May 7, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The insurance company for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has agreed to pay $1 million settle North Carolina sexual abuse allegations that former altar boy Robby Price was sexually abused by Rev, Robert Yurgel in 1999 at St. Matthew Catholic Church. The diocese will also pay Price, now 25, another $47,500 for counseling medication for the next five years.

According to one of his North Carolina sex abuse attorneys, it wasn’t until 2007 that Price was able to tell his parents about that the priest had molested him.

Yurgel was arrested in 2008. After pleading guilty to a second-degree sex offense, he was sentenced in February 2009 to almost eight years in prison.

Despite agreeing to settle, the Charlotte diocese is not admitting to or denying liability. Diocese officials say the weren’t aware of any misconduct allegations against Yurgel until his arrest.

Price says that the priest started molesting him when he was 14. At Yurgel’s sentencing last year, Price told the priest that he continues to experience nightmares and flashbacks over what happened.

Sex Abuse Lawsuits
A criminal conviction against one’s abuser can force the perpetrator to pay for his/her crime behind bars. However, that will not make the pain, suffering, and trauma go away for the victim. The injuries inflicted by any type of sexual abuse can take longer than a lifetime to heal. Physical injuries, emotional issues, sexual issues, depression, eating disorders, relationship problems, suicidal tendencies, and other harmful consequences can result from being sexually abused. The injuries can be further compounded if the abuser is someone that the victim knows and/or is someone who had authority over them in some way.

Charlotte Catholic diocese to pay $1 million to molestation victim, HeraldOnline, May 7, 2010

Priest sex abuse suit settled for $1 million, Charlotte Observer, May 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Vatican’s Handling of Clergy Sex Abuse Gets Failing Grade in Survey, Politics Daily, May 4, 2010

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Schools Must Protect Students Under Their Supervision from South Carolina and North Carolina Personal Injury

April 29, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

A Thomasville high school student broke his arm and suffered facial lacerations on Monday after falling 30 feet through a skylight and landing on the floor of a Thomasville High School classroom. Police say that three students who were taking part in a masonry program where allowed to go on top of the roof of the vocational building so they could learn how to make scaffolding. Following the North Carolina fall accident, 17-year-old Brian Shuler was airlifted to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

According to Quindale Williams, a student who was quoted in JusticeNewsFlash.com, glass from the skylight started falling onto the classroom. Williams said that as Schuler fell, he struck the poles on the ceiling before falling face first onto the ground. Schuler was bleeding from his nose, mouth, and ears.

Following the North Carolina injury accident, Thomasville High School Principal Deboy Beamon said that the construction teacher had told Schuler and the two students that were on the roof to come down right before the fall accident happened. Beamon maintained that the school is committed to its kids’ safety. Moving forward, the students will have limited access to the building when they are on scaffolding.

As our Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm has discussed in passed blog posts, schools are responsible for making sure there are no dangerous conditions or situations on the school grounds that can injure students or place their lives in peril. While the kids are under the school’s watch it is the responsibility of the school and its employees to remedy any hazards that might be a premises liability or a personal injury hazard.

Just yesterday in South Carolina, a Rock Hill teenager was assaulted by a fellow student on a school bus. Ashley Barber, 17, sustained razor cuts to her face after she was assaulted by a 15-year-old.

The 15-year-old is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, disturbing schools, and carrying a weapon on school grounds. Barber, who was released from the hospital after she was treated for her injuries, was charged with disturbing schools and carrying a weapon. A kitchen knife was found in the purse that she was carrying while on the bus.

Girl assaulted with razor on school bus, Charlotte Observer, April 29, 2010

Thomasville NC injury news: Student airlifted after 30 ft. fall through roof, Justice News Flash, April 28, 2010


Related Web Resources:

World report on child injury prevention, World Health Organization

Injuries among children and adolescents, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

ConAgra Foods Workers Injured During 2009 Slim Jim Blast File North Carolina Negligence Lawsuit Against Town of Garner and More than 15 Contractors

April 22, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Over 20 ConAgra Foods workers who were injured during an explosion at the company’s Slim Jim plant last summer are suing the town of Garner and more than 15 contractors for North Carolina negligence. The workers sustained serious injuries, including emotional trauma and serious burn injuries, during the June 14, 2009 blast that was caused by a natural gas leak. 3 workers died and 38 were hurt. Also included as plaintiffs in the North Carolina negligence lawsuit are the wife of an ex-worker and one contract worker.

Federal investigators say the blast was caused by the improper indoor purging of a gas line that provided the fuel to the water heater. In their North Carolina negligence complaint, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants knew this was taking place but didn’t stop it. The explosion happened as a contractor attempted to light a gas-fired water heater in a pump room. The complaint also contends that the town let contractor Midsouth Industrial Refrigeration Inc. install natural gas and propane lines even though it lacked the proper licenses and limits.

As a worker injured on the job, you are likely entitled to North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits. This precludes you from suing your employee for personal injury or wrongful death. However, you still may be able to file a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death complaint against liable third parties.

Explosions at a workplace can result in serious injuries for those that are lucky enough to survive. Burn injuries, disfigurement, broken bones, internal injuries, spinal cord injuries, and emotional trauma are just some of the serious work injuries that can result. You deserve to receive all the injury compensation that you are owed for your injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Workers injured in ConAgra explosion file civil suit, NewsObserver, April 8, 2010

ConAgra workers sue N.C. town, Omaha.com, April 8, 2010

Third Body Found in Slim Jim Plant Explosion Rubble, FoxNews/AP, June 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
ConAgra Foods

Town of Garner, North Carolina

Protecting Your Loved One From North Carolina Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

April 17, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Our Charlotte, North Carolina nursing home negligence lawyers represent patients (and their families) that have been injured or died because of nursing home neglect and abuse. If you suspect that your loved one is suffering due to the mistreatment or lack of care he or she is receiving at an assisted living facility anywhere in North Carolina or South Carolina, do not hesitate to remove your loved one from the nursing home, report the incident, and seek legal advice.

While you can never predict whether or not your loved one will become the victim of Hickory, North Carolina nursing home abuse or neglect, you can take steps to decrease the likelihood by personally inspecting the facility before deciding to place your relative at the home, reading federal and state ratings evaluations, and finding out whether or not the assisted living facility has a history of nursing home negligence or safety violations.

A number of factors can increase the likelihood of nursing home negligence at a long-term care facility, such as:
• Not enough nursing home workers on staff
• Low nursing home worker to patient ratio, leaving each employee to take care of more patients that he/she can handle
• Unsanitary conditions
• Inadequate (or no) criminal background checks conducted on prospective nursing home workers and patients
• Inadequately trained employees
• Inadequate security
• History of nursing home abuse or neglect at the long-term care facility
• History of patients dying or becoming more ill because of poor nursing care

Some signs of possible North Carolina nursing home abuse or neglect:
• Unexplained bruises
• Bedsores
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain
• Malnutrition
• Soiled clothing
• Complaints by the patient that he or she is being mistreated
• Unusual patient behavior
• A resident’s sudden desire for isolation
• The patient appears emotionally aggravated

Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse and Neglect, Helpguide.org

Nursing Homes, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services

10 Things Nursing Homes Won’t Tell You, Smart Money, April 18, 2010

Appeals Court Considers Whether Family Has Right to Sue for North Carolina Personal Injury After Pedestrian Was Mistakenly Declared Dead

April 9, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The family of 34-year-old Larry D. Green is asking North Carolina’s Court of Appeals to let them sue Louisburg paramedics for personal injury. State law usually protects civil servants from being sued for North Carolina personal injury if the alleged negligence occurred while the worker was doing his or her job. However, a lower court judge has already ruled that J.B. Perdue, the former medical examiner for Franklin County, should be sued in civil court for his role in the catastrophic mix-up.

Green was injured in January 2005 in a North Carolina pedestrian accident when he was struck by a car as he crossed a highway north of Louisburg. A local paramedic declared him dead after feeling for a pulse. The worker never attempted to resuscitate him.

The paramedic then asked a county paramedic to check Green for a pulse. The second paramedic, however, said he trusted the first paramedic’s judgment and did not check the victim.

The North Carolina personal injury lawsuit accuses Perdue, then the Franklin County medical examiner, of ignoring signs that Green was not dead, including eye twitching and chest movement. Green was placed in a body bag and transported to a morgue.

It wasn’t until 2 ½ hours later when a North Carolina Highway trooper asked the medical examiner to help figure out from which direction the auto had struck Green did Perdue realize that the victim was still alive.

Green’s family and guardian say that wrongly declaring him dead when he was, in fact, still alive caused him to sustain injures that have left him bedridden in a rest home where he is fed through a tube and cared for 24 hours/day. Franklin County and the family reached a $1 million North Carolina injury settlement earlier this year.

Court weighing right to sue over mistaken death, Winston-Salem Journal, November 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Tort Liability

Wrongful Death, Nolo

North Carolina Doctor Groups and N.C. Medical Board Disagree on Whether Medical Malpractice Settlements Should Be Made Public

April 4, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The North Carolina Medical Board wants doctors in the state to list online any medical malpractice settlements that they’ve been involved in. Data would include the doctor’s name and the settlement—although the amount of the settlement would not be published. The doctor would also be given the option of posting an explanation for the settlement. The information would remain on the doctor’s profile for seven years.

North Carolina Doctor groups have expressed concern that while they agree that medical malpractice verdicts or notice about whether a doctor has had his practicing privileges revoked should be made available to the public, they don’t think that information about medical malpractice settlements should be published.

North Carolina Medical Society President Dr. Hadley Callaway has suggested that the board investigate the legal settlements first—and if substandard care is proven, then only then should the settlements be listed.

He says that doctors may want a chance to make their case before the NCMB and that just because they settled doesn’t mean they provided poor medical care. Callaway expressed concern that listing explanations for settlements could sound like the doctors were making excuses.

Allowing settlement information to be available to the public could also lead to more lawsuits going forward because doctors may be less willing to settle any medical malpractice claims.

Another doctor, North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Christopher Snyder says that this proposed rule is unfair. He says that some doctors choose to settle because of pressure from insurance companies and not because they have done anything wrong. However, it is ultimately up to the NCMB to decide whether the information will be posted.

If you have been seriously injured because a hospital, a doctor, or another health care provider was negligent or careless when providing you with medical care, contact our North Carolina medical malpractice law firm to discuss your case.

N.C. Medical Board may put malpractice settlement info online, Triangle Business Journal, April 25, 2008

Malpractice Settlement Data Could Go Online in North Carolina, IHealthBeat.org, May 5, 2008

Related Web Resource:

North Carolina Medical Board

Over 37,000 North Carolina Brain Injury Patients a Year Require Emergency Room Care

March 24, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

The Newsobserver.com reports that 37,000 emergency room patients are treated for North Carolina brain injuries each year. The Brain Injury Association of North Carolina calls TBIs a “silent epidemic,” with more people suffering from brain injuries than there are patients diagnosed with breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS combined. In the state of North Carolina alone, there are 180,000 brain injury patients—equal to Fayetteville’s entire population.

Many people don’t really understand what a TBI is or how serious the injury can become in certain cases if medical attention isn’t immediately sought. Also, with car crashes and fall accidents as two of the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries, many victims sustained their injuries because another party was negligent. Please do not hesitate to contact our Charlotte, North Carolina brain injury law firm to explore your legal options.

March has been designated Brain Injury Awareness month, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued its latest report on TBI’s called “Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Death.” Among its latest statistics:

• There are approximately 52,000 TBI deaths in the US every year.
• 1.7 million hospital visits are traumatic brain injury-related.
• 75% of brain injuries are considered mild TBIs.
• Older people, above the age of 65, kids, younger than 5, and teens, 15-19, are most at risk of suffering from a TBI.
• Adults, 75 and older, had the highest TBI death and hospitalization rates.
• The leading known causes of TBI’s are falls, motor vehicle crashes, getting struck by or striking an object, and assaults.

Sustaining a serious TBI can prove catastrophic and not to mention devastating for the victim and loved ones. The costs of living with one can be astronomical.

When you look at the most common causes of TBI’s, it is no surprise that many traumatic brain injuries could have been prevented. Contact our Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury law firm to discuss your TBI case.

CDC Study Examines Rising Incidence of TBI, Medpage Today, March 19, 2010

Brain injury alters her life, Newsobserver.com, March 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Brain Injury Association of America

Living with a TBI, Brain and Spinal Cord.org

North Carolina Police Brutality?: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cop Accused of Multiple Sexual Assaults

March 9, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

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

Chapel Hill Nursing Home Abuse?: Cary Nurse Indicted in Murder of Alzheimer’s Patient

March 4, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Angela Almore, a registered nurse from Cary, is charged with six counts of felony patient abuse and second-degree murder in the death of 84-year-old Rachel Holliday on February 16. The 84-year-old Alzheimer’s patient was a resident at Britthaven of Chapel Hill when she died.

According to officials, last February, nine of the patients in the Alzheimer’s unit of the Chapel Hill nursing home tested positive for opiates, which are often used to manage pain. Six of them, including Halliday, had to be hospitalized.

According to a medical examiner that looked at the elderly woman’s records, she died from pneumonia-related asphyxiation with morphine toxicity as a contributing factor to her death. Tests conducted prior to her passing found that her morphine level was over 50,000 nanograms per milliliter of urine. Holliday and some of the other patients who tested positive for opiates weren’t supposed to be taking any pain medication.

After her death, the Chapel Hill nursing home tested its staffers at the Alzheimer’s unit for drugs. Their results came back negative.

North Carolina Elder Abuse
Mistreating, neglecting, or depriving a nursing home resident of the proper care in any way is a violation of his/her rights, against the law, and can be grounds for a North Carolina nursing home neglect and abuse lawsuit against the assisted living facility and the nursing home worker responsible for inflicting the abuse or neglect.

Overmedicating, administering the wrong medication, using drugs as a form of chemical restraint, or not giving a patient all of his/her medication is North Carolina nursing home negligence and can cause a resident to become seriously ill or die.

Murder charge filed in nursing home death, WRAL.com, June 7, 2010

Nurse indicted in patient’s death, NewsObserver, June 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Britthaven of Chapel Hill

NC Division of Health Service Regulation

Raleigh Personal Injury Lawsuit Filed by Man with Cerebral Palsy Alleges North Carolina Police Brutality

February 27, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Charles Payne is suing the city of Raleigh and its Police Department for North Carolina police brutality. The 34-year-old plaintiff, who has cerebral palsy, says an off-duty and a bouncer assaulted and kicked him outside the Pourch/The Bassment on August 8, 2008.

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