North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

A Burlington man claims that he was the victim of North Carolina police brutality in Alamance County. Bobby J. Stanley is suing Sheriff Terry Johnson and two deputies for personal injury. Stanley contends that he is a victim of assault and battery, false arrest, and illegal search and seizure.

According to his North Carolina personal injury complaint, the plaintiff claims that while two cops apprehended him on DWI charges last year, they broke his arm. He is seeking at least $10,000 in damages for permanent partial disability, partial loss of the use of his arm, medical bills, depression, and anxiety. Stanley says that he wasn’t drunk and he was swerving to avoid driving into potholes.

He gave Lt. D. L. Crowder permission to search him but he says he never gave the deputy permission to search the van. Crowder and Cpl. Jackie Fortner then allegedly grabbed him with “such force and violence” that his arm broke.

Stanley says that the officers disregarded his need for medical attention and continued searching the car. They charged Stanley with failing to stop at a stop sign and gave him an unsafe movement violation. The stop sign-related charge was later dismissed. Stanley filed his Alamance County police brutality complaint in February.

Meantime, the Sheriff’s Department is denying the accusations. A police document claims that Stanley refused to be treated by an EMS who examined him at the scene. The police officers that arrested him contend that Stanley told them he taking a lot of drugs because he has cancer. They claim that they grabbed Stanley because he became agitated. They acknowledge that he did not consent to the vehicle search.

North Carolina Police Brutality Lawsuit
Police officers are not use excessive force against suspects, prisoners, defendants, or anyone else when doing their jobs. Even if no criminal charges are filed against the cops, you may still be able to hold them liable in civil court for North Carolina injury caused by physical assault, sexual assault, verbal battery, emotional abuse, and other acts of violence.

Documents show different side in sheriff's department lawsuit, TheTImesNews.com, March 2, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Alamance County Sheriff’s Department

Testimony of Police Violence Across the Nation

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

The families of Margaret Murta and Mary Corcoran have filed North Carolina wrongful death lawsuits against Galloway Ridge, the upscale retirement home where the two women lived. Corcoran, 82 and Murta, 92, were murdered by their housekeeper at the Chatham community in December 2007. Police say Barbara Turrentine Clark showered the two women with pepper spray and beat them with a cane during a disagreement over forged checks.

In October 2008, the 42-year-old housekeeper pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and two counts of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to consecutive lifetime prison sentences.

The Chatham County, North Carolina wrongful death lawsuits accuse Galloway Ridge of failing to properly protect its residents. They contend that the retirement community failed to check Clark’s criminal background before bringing her on as a housekeeper.

The housekeeper had engaged in financial elder abuse before working at Galloway Ridge. Clark pleaded guilty in 2007 to check forgery. In 2001, she pleaded guilty to stealing from an elderly person in Durham. She had been ordered to not work in jobs that allowed her access to older persons and their assets.

Assisted living facilities and retirement centers can be held liable for North Carolina nursing home negligence, premises liability, or personal injury if their neglectful or careless acts contributed to causing a resident’s injuries or death.

Financial Elder Abuse
Financial elder abuse is a crime and you can file a North Carolina elder abuse lawsuit if you or someone you love is a victim. Signs of possible elder financial abuse:

• Sudden changes to an elderly person's will
• Sudden transfer of property ownership
• Elderly person becomes broke unexpectedly
• Unusual checking account or credit card activity
• Elderly person can no longer pay for living expenses

Suit filed in beating deaths at Chatham retirement community, WRAL, February 10, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Financial Abuse, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Galloway Ridge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:
Dog Bite Prevention, CDC

Dog Bite Treatment, MedicineNet

Continue reading "Boy Requires Over 100 Stitches Following South Carolina Dog Attack by Neighbor’s Pit Bull" »

A football fan who says that he was assaulted by Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason is suing the football player for North Carolina personal injury. Gregory Frye says Beason beat him in Charlotte on November 15 for telling another Panthers football player that he had seen the linebacker “doing coke with some girl” at Lake Norman last June.

On November 30, police arrested Beason. The 24-year-old linebacker, who is one of the football team’s captains and the leading tackler, denied the assault and drug allegations. He was charged with aggravated assault over the incident, but the misdemeanor charge was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Frye’s North Carolina injury attorney, however, says that his client will continue pursuing his claim.

According to the Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawsuit, Beason's bodyguard told Frye, 29, that the football player wasn’t happy with his comments and wanted to talk to him. Frye says he suggested to Beason that they talk outside.

He says Beason punched him on the face. After he fell to the ground, he claims he was kicked and then hit on the head. Frye says he didn’t fight back. In his North Carolina personal injury complaint Frye claims that Beason admitted to striking the plaintiff.

Frye is seeking damages greater than $10,000. He says he sustained a facial fracture and a crushed nasal cavity, and he suffered swelling on the left side of his head from the alleged assault.

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury
Persons who have been injured during an altercation or are victims of violent crimes may have grounds for suing an assailant for North Carolina personal injury. This claim is separate from criminal charges filed by prosecutors. This means that even if charges are dropped or a person is found not guilty by a jury, you still may be able to obtain personal injury recovery.

Aggravated assault charges dropped against Panthers' player Jon Beason, Global Grind, December 11, 2009

Pro Bowl LB Beason charged with aggravated assault at strip club, Gaston Gazette, December 1, 2009

Man files civil lawsuit against Panthers' Beason, Charlotte Observer, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Jon Beason, NFL

Carolina Panthers

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia

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

Continue reading "Appeals Court Considers Whether Family Has Right to Sue for North Carolina Personal Injury After Pedestrian Was Mistakenly Declared Dead" »

A third person has died after participating in the sweat lodge ceremony facilitated by self-help expert James Arthur Ray. Participants paid over $9,000 each to take part in his “Spiritual Warrior” program.

Part of the program involved over 50 people entering a sweat lodge for a purification ceremony. The October 8 ritual turned tragic when Kirby Brown, 38, and James Shore, 40, were pronounced dead and 19 other people became ill from a number of conditions, including respiratory arrest, elevated body temperature, dehydration, and kidney failure. On Saturday, sweat lodge participant, Liz Neuman, also died.

Neuman sustained multiple organ damage and went into a coma after sitting in the sweat lodge. Now, her family says that they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit over the incident.

Meantime, Tom McFeeley, Brown’s cousin and the family's spokesperson, is alleging that she, Shore, and Neuman were murdered.

Hey says that Ray decided when participants could leave the sweat lodge. McFeeley says he doesn’t believe that the self-help guru was equipped to facilitate the event.

Police are still investigating the fatal incident, which occurred on the grounds of the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat in Arizona, to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against Ray or anyone else involved in the event.

According to the New York Post, the sweat lodge incident was not the only event facilitated by Ray resulting in injury or death. In July 2009, a woman attending one of Ray’s seminars committed suicide by jumping from the third floor of a balcony mall. In May 2005, a woman shattered her hand after Ray allegedly pressured her into breaking a board. She sued the self-help teacher for personal injury and the lawsuit was settled in 2007.

Mystic's past is guru-some, NY Post, October 19, 2009

3rd person in sweat lodge ceremony dies, Boston.com, October 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
James Arthur Ray

Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat

The Native American Seat Lodge

Continue reading "Wrongful Death?: Following 3rd “Sweat Lodge” Fatality, One Family Member Cries “Murder”" »

Two North Carolina parasailing companies, NC Watersports and Ocean Isle Beach Water Sports, have filed a complaint in federal court seeking to either remove them from wrongful death liability or limit any potential civil compensation to a $100,000 cap for the parasailing deaths of two women.

Kernersville resident Cynthia Woodcock and her friend Lorrie Shoup died on August 28 after the rope that was holding them to the boat that was towing them snapped during stormy water conditions off Ocean Isle Beach. Boat Captain Thomas Provazan was reportedly unsuccessful in his efforts to reel them in. The tow line broke, causing the women to slam into the ocean. According to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, they died of blunt trauma.

The potential payout cap the two companies are proposing is the estimated value of the boat the women went out in and is also a limit allowed under federal law. The companies’ complaint included the liability wavers the two women signed before the parasailing accident.

The Wilmington wrongful death lawyer of one of the women who died, however, says the companies’ request could be denied if there is evidence that the owner of the boat had been aware of the factors that resulted in the fatal boating accident prior to the tragic incident. The boat's captain has said that he didn't know the National Weather Service had put out a warning to boaters that day.

If you or someone you love was injured in a North Carolina boating accident or a parasailing accident, you may have grounds for filing a boating accident lawsuit.

2008 Recreational Boating Accident Facts (US Coast Guard):

• 4789 boating accidents
• 3331 boating accident injuries
• 709 boating deaths
• More than 2/3rds of boating accident deaths involved drownings
• Motorboats, personal watercraft, and cabin motorboats were the most common kinds of vessels involved in recreational boating accidents

According to InjuryBoard.com, over 40 parasailing accidents happen in the US annually. In the last 10 years, at least 15 people have died and hundred of others injured.

Parasail companies seek liability limit, Charlotte Observer, October 10, 2009

Parasailing captain unaware of weather advisory before fatal accident, WRAL.com, September 24, 2009

Recreational Boating Statistics, 2008, US Coast Guard

Related Web Resources:
Parasail Safety Council

Coast Guard to weigh in on first regulations after parasailing accident, The Sun News, September 22, 2009

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, LLP is proud to offer 15 high school seniors the chance to win a $2,500 college scholarship--$37,500 in total. The winners will be selected based on several criteria, including their respective presentations on how to prevent minors from driving while drunk.

Winners will be selected from one of the 23 North Carolina and South Carolina counties where our Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm represents clients, including the North Carolina counties of Cumberland, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Burke, Alexander, Iredel, Stanly, Caldwell, Rowan, Lincoln, Cleveland, Cabarrus, Union, Catawba, Gaston, and Mecklenburg and the South Carolina counties of Dillon, Marlboro, Chesterfield, Lancaster, and York. Applicants must have applied to study full-time at a four-year college or university.

Charlotte car accident lawyer Michael A. DeMayo, who has awarded $125,000 in scholarships since establishing the college fund in 2003, understands the tragic consequences that can arise when a traffic collision happens because someone was driving drunk.

Unfortunately, there are teen drivers who drive drunk. Combining drunk driving with driver inexperience and the propensity to become easily distracted dramatically increases the chances that a teen motorist will cause a deadly South Carolina or North Carolina car crash.

Findings from two studies, recently published in Pediatrics, report that when a parent is very involved in monitoring and restricting a teenager’s driving habits, the minor’s drinking and driving rate goes down by 71%, while the chances he or she will become involved in a car crash drops by about 50%. Teen drivers also were 29% less likely to text and talk on the cell phone while driving. Parental involvement can consist of setting up driving rules and regulating a teen's driving habits and activities.

Educating young drivers about the dangers of drunk driving is essential to saving lives. It is important that teenagers educate themselves and each other about the deadly dangers that come with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Our Charlotte car accident law firm will award the 15 college scholarships based on each applicant’s teen drunk driving presentation, high school transcript, letters of recommendation, and SAT scores. Deadline to submit an application is March 1, 2010. Winners will be selected on April 9. For more specifics about contest rules, visit the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo on the Internet.

The Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo, LLP's annual scholarship program

Firm Parents Keep Teen Drivers Safe, US News & World Report, September 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
MADD North Carolina

Pediatrics

It’s been official for some time now. Texting while driving is dangerous. So why do many people still do it? The risks that come with this bad driving habit are the focus of this week’s Distracted Driving Summit being held by the US Department of Transportation.

At the opening of the two-day conference, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood provide attendees with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2008 distracted driving statistics:

• 515,000 injuries
• 5,870 deaths
• On any day, nearly 800,000 drivers used a handheld cell phone

While drivers under age 21 make up the greatest portion of distracted drivers, there are many adults who text and drive. Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers realize that it can be difficult to fathom how texting, a seemingly harmless activity, can be so deadly. But the statistics, research findings, and the number of people whose lives have been destroyed because they were injured or lost a loved one in a cell phone crash or a text messaging accident can no longer be ignored.

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute recently reported that large truck drivers increase their crash risk by 23 times when they text and drive. Merely reaching for communication device or dialing a cell phone increased the chance of a car accident or a truck collision by six times. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says that more than 1 million auto crashes a year that happen in North American can be linked to driver inattention.

Texting while driving becomes illegal in North Carolina beginning December 2009. There is still no law banning motorists from texting in South Carolina. Unfortunately, even with all the information and new laws, there will be still people out there who will risk their lives and the lives of others to make that cell phone call, send a text, turn the iPod dial to find the perfect song, or surf the web on their Blackberry or iPhone to stay abreast of the latest news headlines.

New Research Finds Increase in Use of Hand-Held Devices Among All Drivers, DOT.gov, September 30, 2009

Texting Trouble: Transportation Summit to Address Distracted Driving, September 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving Summit, US Department of Transportation

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Continue reading "NHTSA Reports Nearly 6,000 Distracted Driving Deaths in 2008" »

The Gaston Gazette is reporting that Debbie Keeter is still waiting to see whether criminal charges will be filed against the Gastonia police detective who fatally shot her son in the head. Keeter says that less fatal measures could have been taken to apprehend her son, who was confused and in the middle of a stabbing brawl with men who allegedly threatened to kill him at the time.

Terry Adam Boone died on May 1, 2008 when Gastonia Police Detective Scott Barnes shot him in the head. Boone was holding a knife in his hand and police say that the 20-year-old appeared to lunge at Barnes, who then shot him in the back of the head to prevent the attack.

Barnes was called to the scene of a stabbing. Audrey Lingerfelt, Boone’s girlfriend, told The Gazette that men who were involved in a disagreement with Boone had arrived at her residence and were threatening to beat and murder him.

When Boone arrived at his vehicle, one of the men stabbed him. He stabbed the man back before going into Lingerfelt’s home.

When police arrived at the residence, Boone left Lingerfelt’s home through the back door. She says she later heard the gunshot. A neighbor says that Boone was defending himself when police showed up in unmarked vehicles.

Keeter claims that Boone was injured and his eyes and face were covered in blood. She doesn’t believe that he posed a threat to Barnes. At the time of Boone’s death, his blood-alcohol level was almost twice the legal driving limit at 0.14.

Excessive Use of Force as North Police Brutality
North Carolina police officers are never allowed to use excessive violence when dealing with anyone at any time and the victim or his/her family can file a North Carolina police brutality lawsuit if a cop violates their civil rights and/or causes serious injury or death without provocation or justification. Unjustified shootings, verbal abuse, injuring someone with a Taser when the suspect could have been apprehended in a less painful manner, false arrest, beatings, sexual assault, and intimidation are forms of police brutality and can be grounds for a North Carolina injury lawsuit.

Mother still seeking answers in May 2008 fatal police shooting, Gaston Gazette, September 21, 2009

Gastonia police: Officer shot suspect in back of head, WCNC, May 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Gastonia Police Department

North Carolina October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality

Continue reading "Did Gastonia Police Officer Commit North Carolina Police Brutality When He Fatally Shot Man Holding Knife?" »

According to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, there were 37,261 US traffic deaths in 2008. 1,433 of those fatalities occurred during the 1,324 North Carolina motor vehicle accidents that happened last year. Nationally, there were:

• 50,430 motor vehicle crashes
• 25,428 motor vehicle occupant deaths
• 714 bicyclist deaths
• 1,045 child traffic fatalities (under age 13)
• 4,054 teen traffic deaths
• 4,268 of the fatalities were older seniors (ages 70 and over)
• 4.008 large truck deaths
• 5,091 motorcyclist deaths
• 4,378 pedestrian deaths

Motor vehicle accidents continue to be a leading cause of fatalities in the US. The injuries and deaths that are a result of auto collisions can take huge physical, emotional, mental, and psychological tolls on traffic crash victims and their families. This is one reason that you should contact an experienced Charlotte, North Carolina injury law firm as soon as possible.

As our North Carolina motor vehicle crash lawyers reported previously, the number of traffic deaths declined between 2008 and 2007, when there were 1,705 traffic deaths in the state. Yet we cannot ignore the fact that lives are still being lost in motor vehicle collisions due to defective auto parts, defective roadways, and negligent drivers.

In addition to the hazards posed by drivers who drive drunk, speed, or fall asleep while operating their motor vehicles, modern technology now has presented us with the additional dangers of talking on the cell phone, text messaging, updating one’s Facebook status, or Twittering while driving. These activities may seem harmless are enough, but they really aren’t when coupled with operating a motor vehicle.

No two North Carolina traffic crashes are alike, which is why you should speak with a Charlotte motor vehicle crash lawyer who is experienced in dealing with your type of motor vehicle accident. The sooner you start exploring your legal options, the easier it will be to focus on physical recovery while your Hickory, North Carolina injury lawyer begins the claims process for you.

Fatality Facts, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Fatality Analysis Reporting System

A former attorney for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. is suing his former employer for allegedly forcing him to withhold evidence from the victims of hundreds of rollover accidents. Dimitrios P. Biller says that not only did the world’s largest motor vehicle manufacturer make him conceal the evidence from plaintiffs who had sustained injuries or lost loved ones, but he claims that the company then made him resign two years ago.

Biller’s complaint accuses Toyota of getting rid of information in over 300 rollover accidents. He claims the data that was concealed proved that the vehicle roofs involved in the rollover accidents were substandard. He also accuses Toyota of illegally withholding computer-stored data from products liability attorneys and wrongful death lawyers.

Biller’s lawsuit claims that the company’s engineering unit was allowed to get rid of important documents and information that should have been turned over to the plaintiffs. The complaint also charges that Toyota held back records on vehicle roof testing and design.

Biller says that he was intimidated and harassed by Toyota employees even after he left the company. Because of the pressure that he was allegedly subjected to, Biller claims that he has had to undergo psychiatric treatment over the last four years and in 2007 he was diagnosed with major depressive syndrome.

Toyota has responded to Biller’s allegations with a statement calling the attorney’s claims “misleading” and “inaccurate.” The auto manufacturing giant portrays its former managing counsel as a disgruntled former employee who did not like the fact that he had to resign.

If in fact Toyota did withhold evidence in these cases, however, this could result in the reopening of rollover cases that over the past two decades the car maker has either won or settled.

Obtaining recovery for a Charlotte rollover lawsuit usually requires the experience of a North Carolina injury law firm who understands the intricacies involved with proving that an auto manufacturer was negligent and therefore owes the plaintiff damages for products liability or wrongful death.

Toyota concealed evidence in rollover cases, ex-attorney alleges, Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2009

Toyota Accused of Hiding Evidence, CBS News, August 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Q&As: Rollover and roof crush, IIHS, January 2009

Roof Crush and Rollover Information Center, Public Citizen

Ashley E. Ramos-Hernandez, 6, died last Wednesday after she was struck by a sport utility vehicle during a Raleigh pedestrian accident. The deadly North Carolina traffic incident occurred during the afternoon close to the intersection of Hillock Drive and North Hills as the young girl was crossing the street. The driver that struck Ashley, 83-year-old Geraldine Baron Deitz, has been charged with passing a stopped school bus and misdemeanor by motor vehicle death.

According to Raleigh police, Dietz says she saw a stopped school bus ahead of her and that all of the bus's markers and signals were not activated. She says she initially stopped for the bus but when it did not turn she kept driving until she heard a “thud.”

Witnesses, however, dispute her account. They say that the 83-year-old driver ignored the fact that the bus’s markers and signals were activated as Ashley and other kids were crossing the street. The fact that Deitz is an elderly senior driver is once again raising the issue of whether older drivers should be allowed to continue to drive without being tested again.

Since 1999, Ashley is the eighth student to die in a North Carolina pedestrian accident because of drivers who passed stopped school buses. Derek Graham of the state’s Department of Public Instruction was quick to point out, however, that all of the drivers did not fall under one specific age range. He also said that in North Carolina, drivers ignore school bus stop-arms about 2,000 times a day.

According to AAA:
• Almost 1/5th of child traffic deaths involving kids under age 15 are pedestrians.
• Most school pedestrian fatalities occur between 3 and 4 pm.

A driver who strikes any pedestrian due to negligence or carelessness can be held liable for North Carolina personal injury or wrongful death.

Child, 6, dies after being struck by car, The News & Observer, August 19, 2009

Back to School Driving Tips, KTVN News, August 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Walk this Way, Safe Kids

Walking Info

Continue reading "Raleigh Pedestrian Accident Claims the Life of 6-Year-Old North Carolina Girl" »

An appellate court judge in Fayetteville says that the North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of 17-year-old Jesse Marquil King can go forward. King drowned in August 2005 after he fell into a flooded ditch during a rainstorm. The ditch’s pipe dragged the teenager under the water. His family is suing the city of Fayetteville for his drowning death and is accusing the city of negligent maintenance of the drain system.

In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel agreed that North Carolina law doesn’t provide immunity against the state when it comes to operating storm drains. This ruling upholds a trial judge’s decision and allows the Fayetteville wrongful death lawsuit to move forward.

Premises Liability Lawsuits
Property owners and managers are supposed to make sure that there is no condition on the premise that could lead to personal injury or wrongful death. Inadequate maintenance, when a landowner neglects to maintain a premise or something on the property that could cause injury, is one reason for filing a North Carolina premises liability civil complaint for damages if someone gets hurt.

Storm drains are supposed to help drain water or melting snow off the streets so that the streets don’t flood. Unfortunately, storm drain accidents are not uncommon, especially if the grate has some defect that allows a person or a bicycle to fall into it. Fall accidents can lead to broken bones, dislocated body parts, neck injuries, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, and neck injuries. In King’s case, falling into a storm drain caused him to drown.

Government and safety officials can be held liable if there is an unsafe condition on a road that causes an injury or death to happen.

Ruling allows wrongful death suit against Fayetteville to proceed, FayObserver.com, August 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Read the Court's Opinion (PDF)

Premises Liability Overview, Justia

North Carolina has unveiled a new nursing home rating system to help families decide which assisted living facility they should admit their elderly or sick loved one to. The new system uses 0 – 4 stars to rate the quality of care provided at each home.

WRAL.com says 585 out of the nearly 1,300 North Carolina nursing homes have received their ratings, which takes into account personal care, building safety, nutrition, supervision, and personal care. Dozens of North Carolina nursing homes received 3-stars. An assisted living facility can only get 4-stars if its been able to maintain a clean record for three years.

Seven of the North Carolina nursing homes received 0-star ratings. Inspectors even moved 30 residents out of one of the nursing homes and revoked its license.

You can view the nursing homes’ Star Ratings on the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation Web site (see below).

North Carolina Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Although state and federal ratings systems provide useful information to help you choose the best North Carolina nursing home for your loved one, it is also a good idea for you visit the assisted living facility so that you can personally evaluate the premises, the workers, and the services provided.

Not only do you want to make sure that your loved one gets the proper nursing care, but you also want to minimize the chances of abuse or neglect occurring. Nursing negligence can be detrimental to your family member’s well-being and can lead to:

• Bedsores
• Broken bones
• Bruises
• Emotional trauma
• Isolation or withdrawal
• Sexual injuries
• Wandering
• Fall accidents
• Deteriorating health
• Wrongful Death

While personally inspecting a nursing home prior to admitting your relative won’t guarantee that he or she won’t become a victim of North Carolina nursing home abuse or neglect, it can decrease the risks.

In the event that you suspect your loved one is being neglected or abused, contact our Charlotte nursing home abuse law firm immediately to explore your legal options.

State provides ratings for assisted living centers, WRAL.com, July 28, 2009

Troubles afflict adult care home, NewsObserver.com, July 16, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Star Rating Program, NC Division of Health Service Regulation

Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

A 9-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital on Thursday after the neighbor’s pit bull attacked her. The Charlotte, North Carolina dog mauling incident happened in the girl’s own home after a neighbor brought the pet over so her family could consider whether to buy it.

Giselle Moquete, 9, was petting “Rocky” when he suddenly started mauling her face. The pit bull’s owner, Johnathan Hall, pulled the dog off the girl. Hall says a man he met while shooting basketball had given him the dog the day before the dog attack occurred.

Giselle had to get stitches for her facial injuries. Meantime, Rocky has been quarantined. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says they won’t file charges against Hall, who is unfamiliar with the dog’s history.

While not all pit bulls are dangerous, the police department says that they get a number of calls each year regarding Charlotte dog bite incidents involving pit bulls. This breed of dog is one of the most common breeds in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.

If someone you love was injured in a Charlotte dog attack, you should talk to a North Carolina personal injury law firm to determine whether you should file a personal injury case.

Young children are especially vulnerable to dog bite injuries. Because young kids are smaller and shorter than adults, they are more likely to sustain neck and head injuries during a dog attack. According to research published in the March issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, a large number of dog attacks happen during the summer. One reason for this could be that kids are out of school and are spending more time outdoors where dogs may also be playing. Dogs may also become more easily irritated when the weather is hot.

The study reported that areas of the neck and the head that dogs are most likely to bite include the:

• Cheeks
• Lips
• Ears
• Nose

Pit bulls were the dogs most likely to cause facial injuries during dog attacks. 64% of young children that sustained neck or head injuries sustained injuries in more than one area.

9-year-old girl recovering after pit bull attack, News 14 Carolina, July 24, 2009

9-year-old hospitalized after pit bull attack, WCNC, July 24, 2009

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

Related Web Resources:
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Pit bulls at top of fatal attacks, SF Gate, June 23, 2005

In Durham County, the parents of Lucas Lear are suing Chapel Hill daycare operator Cheryl McAdoo Alston for the 7-month-old's permanent traumatic brain injury. The North Carolina injuries to minor complaint accuses Alston of injuring the boy, who was attending her Cheryl's Infant and Toddler Preschool, and neglecting to get him medical care in a timely manner after she allegedly hurt him. The Lears are seeking over $10,000 in damages for their son’s personal injury.

A North Carolina traumatic brain injury lawsuit is not the only legal woe that Alston must contend with. She was arrested last week for allegedly shaking Lucas so violently that now, more than two months after the injury, Lucas is under close observation at UNC Hospital’s neonatal unit. The Lears say that their son is impaired for life, and it is too soon to tell whether he will be able to walk or talk normally again.

Alston, who has spent most of her life taking care of babies, has lost her license to run her at-home day care, and an Orange County, North Carolina judge has ordered the 53-year-old woman to stay away from kids.

Alston claims that she went to go wash her hands after putting Lucas in a car seat. When she returned, he wasn’t responding. She says she grabbed the baby out of the seat and his head fell back when she tried to press him into her shoulder. Lucas’s father, Chris Lear, arrived at the day care center at this time.

Alston says she would never hurt a child. However, this is not the first time that social workers have questioned the care that Alston provides at her day care center.

In April 2008, North Carolina investigators interviewed Alston about another child under her charge who sustained injuries. The child’s guardian was worried that Alston had failed to properly supervise the boy and that another child might have fallen on him.

Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are usually caused by a jolt or blow to the head or an injury that is penetrating enough that the brain’s functioning is disrupted. Depending on the severity of the TBI, the injury can be mild, resulting in temporary impairment, or severe, resulting in permanent or fatal brain injuries.

Daycare operator sued over abuse, ABC Local, July 21, 2009

Day care operator charged with injuring baby, NewsObserver.com, July 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC

Abusive Head Trauma, KidsHealth.org

A new North Carolina bill has made its way to the state’s Senate. The legislation, which passed 72-43 in the House, would ask juries and judges to determine how much a North Carolina personal injury should be award based on the premise of “comparative fault.” A plaintiff would then be able to receive damages based on how much percentage of fault was allotted to the defendant and the plaintiff.

For example, if a negligent motorist was 80% responsible for causing a North Carolina bicycle accident, then the injured rider would be entitled to recover 80% of the amount awarded by a jury. If, however, a judge or jury found the plaintiff to be over 50% at fault for causing the North Carolina personal injury accident, he or she would recover nothing.

Under current North Carolina tort law, a person suing for personal injury cannot recover anything if the injured person played any role in causing the injury accident. This can be very frustrating for personal injury victims and family members whose loved ones have died because other parties were negligent.

For example, the Winston-Salem Journal told the story of a woman whose son was killed in a North Carolina car accident. Jackson Vogel, who was an Appalachian State college student at the time, died when the car he was a passenger in flipped over. The driver of the car was his roommate, who was later convicted of DWI and involuntary manslaughter. However, the defendant was able to successfully defend himself in the North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit by arguing that Vogel, who had been drinking that night, was partially negligent for making the choice to get into the car.

In another tragic North Carolina traffic accident case, Stephen Gates died in October 2003 when he was struck by an SUV while fixing a flat tire. The vehicle dragged him and left him by the side of the road. However, because of where he chose to change his flat tire, the 27-year-old could be considered at least partially at fault for the pedestrian accident—enough so that the insurance company denied the family’s claim for damages.

Injury bill gets to N.C. Senate, Journal Now, July 13, 2009

N.C. reviews its negligence standard, News-Record.com, May 24, 2009

Related Web Resource:
North Carolina House Bill 813 (PDF)

Continue reading "North Carolina Lawmakers Considers Adding “Comparative Fault” to State’s Personal Injury Laws" »

Four people are dead from injuries they sustained on July 4 in Ocracoke when a truck filled with fireworks exploded. The four victims were workers who were preparing for an Outer Banks celebration for the 4th of July.

According to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigators, the fireworks blast was an accident that occurred while the fireworks show was being set up. The tractor-trailer was loaded with enough fireworks for a 22-minute program.

One of the victims sustained serious burn in injuries from the North Carolina fireworks accident and was flown to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville. He died on Monday. Another fireworks victim died at the accident scene. A third victim was taken to UNC-Chapel Hill Jaycee Burn Center.

The company in charge of setting up the fireworks for the Ocracoke show was Melrose South Pyrotechnics, which is located in Catawba, South Carolina. Company officials say they are working with investigators to determine the cause of the deadly blast.

Fireworks Injuries
According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission, almost 7,000 people in the US had to go to hospital emergency rooms in 2008 because they sustained a fireworks injury. At least 11 people were killed in fireworks accidents in 2007. Almost 2/3rds of these injuries occurred within the one-month period around the 4th of July.

Common kinds of fireworks injuries include:

• Burn injuries
• Eye injuries
• Hand injuries
• Leg injuries

If you or someone you love was injured in a North Carolina fireworks accident, you may be entitled to personal injury or wrongful death recovery. Even if you were a worker injured while setting up a fireworks display, there may be third parties that can be held liable for the harm you have suffered. You also may be entitled to receive North Carolina workers' compensation benefits.

Companies and premise owners charged with overseeing a fireworks display or any other event are responsible for making sure that there are no hazardous conditions on the premise that could cause injuries or death. Otherwise, they could be held liable for North Carolina premises liability.

4 in Outer Banks Die In Fireworks Accident, Washington Post, July 6, 2009

Death Toll Rises in Fireworks Blast, NY TImes, July 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Fireworks-Related Injuries, CDC

CPSC Announces Drop in Fireworks-Related Injuries; Consumers Still Urged To Celebrate Safe This July 4th, CPSC.org, June 30, 2009

Continue reading "North Carolina Fireworks Explosion Kills Four People Killed on July 4" »

Energy Systems Analysts, a water heater maker company in Hickory, is one defendant in the North Carolina personal injury lawsuit filed by two people who were injured in the June 9 blast at a Con Agra Slim Jim plant in Garner.

300 people were working at the plant when the deadly work explosion occurred. The fatal natural gas explosion injured almost 40 people and killed three others. One of the injured workers, Tammie O’Neal, sustained back, leg, and head injuries. She was trampled by workers that were rushing to escape the explosion. Another injured employee, Leonard Spruill, sustained serious burn injuries.

Energy Systems Analysts was a Hickory contractor that made and helped install a gas water heater that investigators think may have been a key factor in the deadly natural explosion. The workers' Raleigh personal injury lawsuit is accusing the water heater maker of not having the license in North Carolina to install, connect, or manipulate the pipes that deliver the natural gas. The plaintiffs are also accusing the Hickory contractor of failing to evacuate the plant when it became apparent that “natural gas was venting into the plant.”

The US Chemical Safety Board believes there is a strong likelihood that contractors vented the gas inside the building when they installed the device. The gas should have been vented outside. North Carolina safety officials are investigating 10 companies because of the fatal blast.

Other defendants named in the North Carolina personal injury lawsuit are Curtis Ray Poppe, an Energy Systems Analysts employee, Jacobs Engineering Group, the company that came up with the installation plans, and Southern Industrial Constructors, a mechanical contractor.

Although workers cannot sue their employers for work accidents—they are, however, entitled to workers’ compensation benefits—they can file North Carolina personal injury claims against third parties that were liable for causing their work injuries.

Hickory company named in lawsuit in wake of fatal plant explosion, Hickory Record, June 23, 2009

Injured ConAgra workers sue contractor, The News & Observer, June 16, 2009

Related Web Resources:
3 confirmed dead in explosion, The News & Observer, June 16, 2009

Energy Systems Analysts

The daughter of Carrie “Christine” Evans is suing a North Carolina nursing home for her mother's wrongful death. Serita Cheryl Evans is accusing Millicent Boutchway Shylon, the owner of Primrose Retirement Villa IV, of nursing home negligence leading to Carrie Evans's fatal fall accident earlier this year.

According to the North Carolina wrongful death complaint, the 85-year-old, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hypertension, wandered away from the facility, fell into a ravine, and died from the head injury she sustained when she fell.

The civil lawsuit contends that the Angier nursing home workers knew that the 85-year-old was at risk for wandering yet did not do anything to prevent her elopement. Not only did Evans's nursing care plan note that she could become disoriented and forgetful, but it also indicated that she was physically fit enough to walk at a fast pace for long distances without help. Evans also had a history of leaving the facility without help on several occasions. Despite having this information, the North Carolina nursing home did not make sure that she was constantly supervised.

The complaint claims that on February 1, the night the elderly resident wandered off, no one was available to give her the medication she needed for her nerves and sleep deprivation issues. Also, the security system used to prevent patients from wandering was not working. The system had not been inspected since 2005.

After Evans died, the Harnett County Department of Social Services fined the Angier nursing home for a number of safety violations, including failure to properly supervise residents so that they are protected from serious injury and not correcting certain care quality issues that the state of North Carolina had been asking the nursing home to fix for some time now. Inadequate training has also been an issue, say inspectors.

The state has inspected Primrose Retirement Villa IV 28 times in the past two years. Usually, it is standard for the state to investigate a North Carolina nursing home no more than four times a year.

Serita Cheryl Evans is seeking at least $10,000 from the Harnett County assisted living facility.

Daughter Of Resident Who Fell To Her Death Sues, DunnDailyRecord, June 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Harnett County Department of Social Services, Harnett County

Why Do Wandering Management Systems in Nursing Homes Fail?, EzineArticles.com,

With almost 300 kids under age 5 drowning in pools and spas every year, it is important that spa owners and managers implement all the necessary safety precautions to prevent more North Carolina child drowning injuries and deaths from happening.

Safety initiatives that pool and spa owners and supervisors can take:

• Make sure that the pool is fenced in and that the barricade is high enough to prevent children from being able to climb over or open the gate without adult supervision.
• Don’t allow kids into a pool or spa without adult supervision.
• Install pool alarms just in case a child manages to enter the pool or spa area without supervision.
• Make sure that the person in charge of supervising the pool area is someone that knows how to swim and is actually paying attention to the kids that are in the pool.
• Install the new federally mandated pool and spa safety drains that are designed to prevent kids and adult from getting suctioned to the bottom of the pool or spa and drowning.

Drowning accidents are often fatal. Earlier this month in Raleigh, a 5-year-old boy drowned at the North Hills Club pool. Some 50 people were there attending a party at the time of the tragic North Carolina drowning accident and there were four lifeguards on duty.

According to police, the child went to the pool area with an aunt and uncle. He wandered to the adult pool while they stayed by the children’s pool. A swimmer saw the boy at the bottom of the pool. Lifeguards retrieved the him and they performed CPR while waiting for paramedics. The child was taken to WakeMed where he was pronounced dead.

In May, a Greensboro boy also died n a pool drowning accident. The tragic incident occurred in South Carolina. According to the coroner’s office in Myrtle Beach, Owaes Tabbakh was at the Beach Colony Resort when a lifeguard discovered him floating in a pool. The lifeguard performed CPR on him until paramedics arrived. Emergency workers were unable to revive the boy who was later pronounced dead.

In the event that an adult or child survives a North Carolina or South Carolina drowning accident, he or she may be left with permanent traumatic brain injuries. The drowning victim may require lifelong, round-the-clock, costly medical care.

Child drowns in North Hills Club pool, WRAL.com, June 10, 2009

4-year-old drowns in Myrtle Beach, CarolinaLive.com, May 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Pool and Spa Submersion: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities, 2009 (PDF)

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool Spa and Safety Act (PDF)

PoolSafety.gov

Continue reading "North Carolina Premises Liability: Two Recent Child Drowning Accidents in Hotels Claim Lives" »

This month, The Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo participated in two community service events. The first event was Walk Like MADD, which is hosted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Michael A DeMayo served as the honorary chair for the annual 5k walk, which took place on May 2. Proceeds from the walk will go toward helping drunk driving victims and fund programs to prevent underage drinking and drunk driving.

Over two dozen of the North Carolina injury law firm’s employees and their families took part in the event. Together, they helped raise over $2,500. Attorney DeMayo and his staff are familiar with the struggles that drunk driving accident victims and their families face. He and his law firm represent North Carolina and South Carolina clients that have been injured and those whose loved ones have died in drunk driving accidents in their pursuit to recover personal injury or wrongful death compensation from all negligent parties. Just last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that both states experienced the largest spike in DUI fatalities among all US states between 2006 and 2007.

This past Saturday, employees from the Charlotte branch of the Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo participated in another event, this one at a Habitat for Humanity house. They pulled up their sleeves and spent the morning hanging dry wall at the home, which is being built for a low-income family. The North Carolina personal injury law firm, which also has law offices in Monroe and Hickory, made a $15,000 donation to this worthwhile cause.

Attorney DeMayo praised Habitat for Humanity for helping so many people in the Charlotte community that are in need of affordable housing. He also touted the benefits that his employees reaped by volunteering for this "great, team building" experience.

The Law Offices of Michael A DeMayo, LLP also helps clients with injury or wrongful death cases involving medical malpractice, nursing home abuse or neglect, defective medical devices, products liability, dog bites, and workers’ compensation.

Related Web Resources:
Walk Like MADD, Charlotte, NC

Habitat for Humanity, Charlotte

NHTSA Ranks North Carolina and South Carolina as Two US States With Greatest Increase In DUI Deaths, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, September 2, 2008

Now that the North Carolina House of Representatives has made it overwhelmingly clear—by a 104 to 5 vote—that texting and emailing while driving should be banned, the bill now heads to the state Senate and then Governor Bev Perdue. If the bill becomes law, anyone caught violating the ban would b fined $100 plus court expenses. Rescue workers and police are among those who would be exempted. An amendment to the bill helps determine when negligence might have occurred if someone was texting when a North Carolina car accident happened.

There are more people texting in North Carolina than ever before. According to the 2008 “Big City Wireless Use Study,” from April 2006 to April 2008, text messaging use increased among Verizon customers by over 600%. The International Wireless Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry says text message sending and receiving increased from 14.4 million in 2000 to 48.1 billion in 2007. That same year, a University of Utah study reported that texting while driving is similar to driving under the influence and is 50% more dangerous than talking on the phone while driving.

Even the American Medical Association has spoken out about texting while driving, calling the habit a health hazard. Another recent study says that texting while operating a motor vehicle forces a motorist to spend 400% more time with his or her eyes off the road—a dangerous practice whenever someone is driving.

In order to send or receive texts, a driver must take one if not both hands off the steering wheel, which can lead to catastrophic North Carolina motor vehicle crashes—especially if he or she has both eyes on his or her cell phone while reading or composing a text message.

Currently, in North Carolina, only minor drivers and school bus drivers are banned from texting while driving. They are also banned from speaking on cell phones any time they are operating a motor vehicle.

Texting while driving is negligent behavior.

N.C. bill would ban texting while driving, McclatchyDC.com, April 16, 2009

Texting While Driving Dangerous To Your Health, RedOrbit, November 2008

Related Web Resources:
Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

National Safety Council

Continue reading " North Carolina Bill Banning Text Messaging While Driving Now Goes to Senate" »

In Carthage, North Carolina, seven nursing home residents are dead following a mass shooting at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center. According to police, an armed man entered the long-term care facility and began shooting at people.

The suspect, Robert Stewart, is the estranged husband of a nursing assistant who works at the North Carolina nursing home, and police believe he may have been targeting her. The alleged gunman was reportedly armed with several weapons when he entered the long-term care facility and began firing at people.

The victims that died were Jessie Musser, 88, Lillian Dunn, 89, Tessie Garner, 88, Louise Decker, 98, Margaret Johnson, 89, John Goldston, 78, Bessie Hendrick, 78, and registered nurse Jerry Avant, 38. The three people who were injured, including a nursing home visitor and a police officer, are expected to survive.

The shooting rampage stopped after Officer Joseph Garner entered the Carthage nursing home alone and shot Stewart in the upper torso area. Stewart, who is in police custody, has yet to issue a statement. He faces multiple counts of first-degree murder and a felony charge of assaulting a police officer.

The Carthage, North Carolina nursing home care facility had received a five-star rating from Medicaid officials.

Nursing Home Security
In addition to providing nursing home residents with the proper care, North Carolina long-term care facilities must ensure that the proper supervisory and security measures are in place so that none of its patients, nursing workers, or visitors are harmed. This means making sure that dangerous or unauthorized individuals cannot indiscriminately enter the home, as well implementing systems and procedures so that nursing home residents who need specialized supervision cannot leave the premises without permission or a companion.

Inadequate security and failure to provide the proper supervisory and safety measures at a North Carolina nursing home can be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit or wrongful death case if someone gets hurt or dies.

Alleged gunman's wife worked at nursing home, police say, CNN.com, March 30, 2009

Marital discord suspected as motive in North Carolina nursing home rampage, Kansas City.com, March 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Inadequate Security News, Justia

Continue reading "North Carolina Nursing Home Rampage Leaves Seven Patients and One Nurse Dead and A Visitor and Police Officer with Injuries" »

A 55-year-old woman remains in the hospital in critical condition after a friend’s pet chimpanzee attacked her. Charla Nash’s nose, hands, eyelids, and lips were ripped off and a number of her facial bones were crushed during the 12-minute chimp attack that took place in February 2009. She also has a traumatic brain injury and she may be blind. This week, her family filed a $50 million personal injury lawsuit on her behalf.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys are accusing the chimp’s owner, Sandra Herold, of failing to take the necessary steps to make sure that people were safe around Travis. The 14-year-old chimpanzee had a history of erratic and violent behavior.

Their personal injury lawsuit contends that Herold was aware that Travis was aggravated on the day she invited Nash over to assist her in bringing the chimp back into the house. The complaint says that because of the tragic accident, Nash has suffered serious psychological and emotional trauma, debilitating physical pain, won’t be able to retain her job, will lose her benefits and income, and won’t be able to enjoy life the way she did before the accident.

Herold believes the chimp attacked her friend because she had a new hairstyle and thought she might be a danger. A police officer who arrived at the injury scene shot Travis dead. Herold, who tried to pull the chimpanzee off Nash, had to be hospitalized for her injuries.

Chimpanzees as Pets
According to the Chimp Haven Web site, chimpanzees are wild animals who should not be treated as pets. While they might behave like dependent, helpless animals when they are young, they will exhibit a strength and cleverness by age 5 or 6 that will be very difficult to handle. They can possess up to 10 times the strength of human beings and can be very dangerous to be around.

If you were injured because you were attacked by someone else's animal, you may be entitled to North Carolina personal injury compensation.

Family of chimp attack victim seeks $50 million, CNN.com, March 18, 2009

Chimpanzees as Pets

Related Web Resources:
Worst Chimp Attack Ever, Esquire, February 17, 2009

Wild animals are not people; only people are people, Mercator.net, March 18, 2009

In Charlotte, North Carolina, a motorcycle rider sustained serious injuries when his vehicle collided with a car on the UNC-Charlotte campus. According to campus officials, the car hit the motorcycle after failing to yield.

The Charlotte motorcyclist, who is a UNCC student, had to be pulled from under the vehicle. He sustained serious injuries and was taken to Carolinas Medical Center.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a motorcycle rider is the person operating the motorcycle, while a motorcycle passenger is the person who is on the motorcycle but is not driving it. Motorcyclists can refer to both groups.

2007 NHTSA Motorcyclist Accident Facts:
• 5,154 motorcyclists died in traffic accidents.
• 2,641 of all motorcycles involved in deadly accidents were in traffic crashes with another vehicle.
• 78% of these two-vehicle crashes involved a motorcycle getting hit from the front.
• 5% of these collisions involved a motorcycle getting hit from the back.
• 36% of motorcycle riders involved in deadly accidents had been driving over the speed limit when the collision happened.
• 26% of motorcycle riders involved in fatal accidents did not have a valid license.
• 3.7% of motorcycle riders involved in deadly accidents had at least one previous DUI conviction.
• 103,000 US motorcyclists were injured.
• There were 195 North Carolina motorcycle fatalities.
• There were 119 South Carolina motorcycle deaths.

Motorcyclists are at greater risk of getting involved in a deadly auto accident with a nonmoving object than other motor vehicles. In North Carolina and South Carolina, motorcyclists are entitled to personal injury compensation if the negligence of a driver or another party caused their injuries.

Motorcyclist injured in crash on UNCC campus

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina State Motorcycle Laws

Motorcycle Safety Foundation

Continue reading "North Carolina Motorcyclist is Seriously Injured After Car Driver Fails to Yield the Right of Way on UNC-Charlotte Campus" »

In Pender Couny, North Carolina, a senior driver has been charged with felony hit and run in the death of a 30-year-old substitute teacher. According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Amy Suzanne Kornegay was struck by a pickup truck on February 9 while walking along a road.

The driver of the truck, 71-year-old Amon Hall, was charged with failing to file a police report and leaving the scene of the accident site. Hall reportedly did go back to the scene later because he thought he struck a dear.

Amy’s husband, volunteer firefighter Jamie Kornegay, rushed to the scene after he heard on his pager that a pedestrian accident had happened in the area where he knew his wife had been walking. He was off-duty at the time the call came through.

NHTSA 2007 US Pedestrian Fact Sheet:
• There were 4,654 pedestrians that died in US traffic accidents.
• A pedestrian dies in such accidents every 113 minutes.
• A pedestrian gets hurt in traffic crashes every 8 minutes in this country.
• 70,000 pedestrians were hurt in traffic collisions in 2007.
• 73% of pedestrian deaths took place in urban areas.
• 90% of pedestrian fatalities occurred under normal weather conditions.
• 67% of pedestrians were killed at night.
• 77% of the pedestrians that died were killed in traffic accidents that took place at non-intersections.
• 48% of deadly pedestrian accidents happened on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
• Of the 1,675 North Carolina traffic deaths that occurred in 2007, 171 of these fatalities were pedestrians.
• Of the 1,066 South Carolina traffic fatalities that occurred in 2007, 106 of the people that died were pedestrians.

If you are driver who has accidentally struck a pedestrian in a North Carolina traffic accident, you must stop at the accident site, contact local authorities, and make sure that the injured person gets medical help. Failure to do so could result in criminal charges against you.

If you are a pedestrian who was injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by another party’s reckless, carelessness, or negligent behavior, you may have grounds for filing a North Carolina personal injury lawsuit.

Familiar scene, unique tragedy for widowed firefighter, StarNewsOnline.com, February 13, 2009

Charges filed in hit-run death of firefighter's wife, WRAL.com, February 12, 2009

Pedestrian Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Pedestrian Crash Statistics, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

Walking Info.org

Continue reading "71-Year-Old Motorist Charged with Felony Hit-and-Run in North Carolina Pedestrian Accident Death" »

A South Carolina jury says Piedmont Medical Center must pay the family of Sierra Wilson $4.4 million for medical malpractice. Wilson, who was born on November 18, 2003, sustained a serious brain injury due to lack of oxygen during delivery. She died from cerebral palsy-related complications in February 2008. The medical malpractice complaint, filed on behalf of Robin and Brice Wilson, claims that a nurse failed to properly monitor the pregnant mother’s fetal heart strips and therefore did not realize that the unborn baby was experiencing fetal distress and in need of emergency medical attention.

Doctors, obstetricians, nurses, surgeons and anyone involved with the delivery of a baby are supposed to provide a certain level of medical care to ensure that the infant and mother get through the delivery process safely. Sometimes, however, mistakes can happen, which can lead to serious, if not fatal injuries for a newborn.

Examples of medical mistakes that can be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit:
• Failure to perform C-section delivery in a timely manner
• Failure to properly monitor fetal symptoms
• Failure to diagnose uterine abruption or preeclampsia
• Improper use of forceps of vacuum extraction

Some Injuries that can occur as a result of birthing errors:
• Brain damage
• Cerebral palsy
• Spina bifida
• Erb’s Palsy

Babies born with birthing injuries will usually require costly and specialized medical care for the rest of their lives. There is also the unquantifiable loss of never being able to experience a normal, healthy life and the emotionally and financially devastating effect this can have on an injured infant's family for years to come.

Filing a North Carolina or South Carolina medical malpractice lawsuit can allow you to pursue financial recovery from all negligent parties so that you can obtain the financial resources that you need to give your son or daughter the medical care that is required.

Jury: Hospital must pay parents $4 million, Charlotte.com, February 17, 2009

Piedmont Medical Center brain injury baby $4.4 million jury verdict!, Justice News Flash, February 17, 2009

Medical Malpractice and Childbirth, Wrong Diagnosis

Cerebral Palsy Information, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

A 38-year-old Greensboro woman won a $500,000 judgment against an alternative medicine spa that she sued for North Carolina personal injury. Shirleen Sifford says she sustained a serious blood infection nearly two years ago after she was treated at Altmed of the Triad for a procedure to reduce fat in her stomach.

She says she received some 100 injections over the course of three spa visits. Sifford was trying to lose weight before she got pregnant.

Because complications resulted from the infection, Sifford says she has to take steroid shots and that this has delayed her plans to start having children. While Sifford did not file a complaint with the Guilford County Health Department, a number of spa patients reportedly filed complaints for botched procedures they received at the Greensboro spa.

In December 2007, three women said that after receiving buttocks-enhancing injections at the spa, they developed acute kidney failure. The injections were reportedly administered without medical supervision. As a result of these incidents, 20 felony charges of prescription fraud were filed against Lauretta Cheek, the spa’s owner.

Cheek did not appear in court for Sifford’s case, and now the judge has issued the half a million dollar judgment in the plaintiff’s favor. Included in the judgment are $3,500 for lost wages and $5,200 for medical costs.

Sifford says that the botched procedure not only left her with the blood infection, but she now has small nodules and scars under her skin and she has gained weight because of the medication she has to take.

Spas that provide medical procedures are obligated to maintaining the same standard of services that other medical providers are expected to give their patients. When mistakes made during a botched cosmetic procedure causes the patient to get sick, hurt, or die, the spa and others responsible for the botched medical procedure can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Spa patient is awarded $500,000, News-Record, January 19, 2009

Spa investigation slowed by need for coordination, News-Record, August 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Prosecutors may decide on Altmed case this week, News-Record, January 28, 2009

In Henderson County, a 16-year-old driver died on Tuesday when the vehicle he was driving went off the road and hit a tree. According to North Carolina Highway Police, Travis Sain was driving approximately 50mph in a 40mph zone. Another teenager who was riding in the car with him was transported to Mission Hospital.

This is the third teen motorist death in Western North Carolina already this year. On January 29, a 15-year-old passenger died in a single-vehicle crash that occurred close to Waynesville. The vehicle’s driver was the same age. Earlier in January, a 16-year-old driver died after he drove off the road and hit a tree close to Canton. The teen driver was reportedly driving nearly twice the speed limit in a 35 mph zone.

For the entire 2008, there were only four reports of fatalities involving teen drivers in this area. Speed was cited as a cause in two of those deadly North Carolina motor vehicle crashes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that in 2007:

• 3,184 young drivers died in US motor vehicle crashes.
• 252,000 young drivers sustained injuries.
• 6,982 young drivers were involved in 55,681 deadly auto accidents.
• 1,631,000 young drivers were involved in traffic accidents that were reported to police.
• 31% of young drivers involved in deadly accidents lacked a valid driver’s license when the accident happened because of a license revocation or suspension.

While North Carolina law allows teenagers to get their driver’s license when they turn 16, this does not instantly make them good drivers. Learning how to drive properly and safely takes time and experience.

According to a study conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Sponsored by the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, the three most common risk factors for people ages 8 to 17 that can lead to motor vehicle deaths are riding with young drivers, riding without seat belts, and riding on fast speeding roads.

Henderson teen dies in traffic accident, Citizen-Times.com, February 5, 2009

Teen Drivers, Insurance Information Institute, January 2009

Related Web Resources:
2007 Young Driver Traffic Safety Facts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

North Carolina Teen Drivers Guide, DMV.org

Continue reading "Another Teenager Dies in North Carolina Traffic Accident" »

In a 14-12 vote, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration is recommending a ban on the prescription drug Darvon. The painkiller has been used for over 50 years.

First approved in 1957, Darvon is one of the 25 most commonly prescribed medicines. It is primarily marketed these days as Darvocet. In 2007, over 20 million prescriptions for this drug were issued.

Public Citizen, a consumer group, had asked the FDA to withdraw the Drug because its risk of overdose is so high and the amount of pain relief it actually offers is low.

The drug is marketed by Qualitest/Vintage Pharmaceuticals and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. Both companies maintain that the drug is effective and safe when used correctly. They also claim that there are other painkillers where the abuse risks and known consequences are far worse.

The FDA’s safety office says it found over 3,000 reports linking Darvon to serious problems, including suicide, drug overdose, and drug dependence. The office said that its findings, however, are “insufficient” for reviewers to make a decisive recommendation. Meantime, the FDA office in charge of handling painkillers says Darvon is a weak pain reliever.

Information from the US government’s Drug Abuse Warning Network found that there were 446 Darvon-related deaths in 2006 and 503 deaths in 2007. 20% of these fatalities were suicides. These figures only referred to about 30% of the country’s population.

Dangerous Drugs
Prescription drugs are not supposed to cause dangerous side effects—although the FDA is known for approving drugs that do have such side effects, as long as they don’t happen too often. Drug manufacturers and doctors are supposed to warn users of potential health complications that can arise from any prescription medications.

Sometimes, a dangerous drug is allowed to enter the marketplace. When injuries or deaths arise as a result of a dangerous drug, the victim and his or family may have grounds to file a dangerous drug lawsuit.

FDA panel recommends ban on the painkiller Darvon, Boston.com, January 30, 2009

Darvon, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:
Petition to FDA to ban all propoxyphene (DARVON) products; prescription painkiller causes many fatalities (HRG Publication #1762), Public Citizen, February 28, 2006

Read the FDA Advisory Committee's Briefing, January 30, 2009 (PDF)

Drug Abuse Warning Network

Continue reading "Ban Painkiller Darvon, Says Food and Drug Administration Advisory Panel" »

The relatives of Harrison Kowiak, a 19-year-old Lenoir-Rhyne University student who died after getting hurt during what they are calling a fraternity hazing activity, say they plan to file a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit. Kowiak died in November while pledging to join the Theta Chi Fraternity.

During the initiation, which took place off campus late at night on Buffalo Farm, Kowiak reportedly was knocked to the ground a number of times and struck his head. According to witnesses, the college sophomore became disoriented and appeared to lose some of his movement ability.

Fraternity members transported Kowiak to a local hospital before he was flown to Charlotte where he was admitted to Carolinas Medical Center. The 19-year-old passed away the next day.

Following the incident, the Theta Chi Fraternity’s international headquarters executive director said that Kowiak did not sustain his head injury during a hazing activity, but that the accident occurred during an optional team-building exercise.

Hazing
Hazing is an initiation process practiced by many US fraternities and sororities. Unfortunately, many hazing activities can be degrading, dangerous, or physically abusive—especially among fraternities. Hazing activities have included:

• Verbal abuse
• Sleep deprivation
• Making a pledge eat a disgusting substance
• Beatings
• Binge drinking

In North Carolina, hazing is illegal. Victims injured during hazing incidents, as well as their families, may have grounds to file a premises liabilityclaim or wrongful death lawsuit against all liable parties.

Lenoir-Rhyne family plans wrongful-death suit, Charlotte Observer, January 16, 2009

Tampa Teen Got Fatal Head Injury During Frat Initiation, TBO.com, November 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:

North Carolina Hazing Law, StopHazing.org

Theta Chi Fraternity

Lenoir-Rhyne University

A North Carolina construction worker died on December 2 after he was struck by a tool that fell from the 11th Floor in an elevator shaft located in the Wachovia tower. Jonathan Beatty, an elevator installer employed by Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corp., was 24. The work accident that caused his death is the third accident to occur at the Wachovia construction site, located at Tryon and Stonewall, within a month.

On November 10, steel beams dropped from a crane, smashing into windows before hitting the ground. Shards of glass fell toward motorists and pedestrians below. No one was injured in this second construction accident.

On November 4, Leslie Hopper sustained damage to her property when glass from the Wachovia construction site fell onto her vehicle, flattening her tires, breaking her windshield, and damaging her sunroof. Hopper and her daughter were headed out of town when the accident happened. Hopper has expressed frustration that the construction company didn’t do more to ensure motorist and pedestrian safety.

North Carolina Construction Accidents
Construction accidents can result in serious injuries for construction workers and others, such as pedestrians and motorists passing by the site, and other parties that may be on or around the work premise. For the year ending in September 2008, 18 construction-related fatalities occurred in North Carolina.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers do not have to report a work accident unless three or more people end up in the hospital or one person is killed. An OSHA investigation usually takes at least four weeks. During this time, OSHA employees will inspect the accident scene, gather evidence, and interview witnesses to determine the cause of the work accident and find out whether any safety standards were violated.

Wachovia tower incident provides window into worksite rules, Creative Loafing, December 9, 2008

Job at tower gave worker new hope for his dream, Charlotte.com, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Wachovia Condominium Tower, Emporis.com

Continue reading "Charlotte Construction Worker’s Death is Third Work Accident Involving Wachovia Project in a Month" »

A new education campaign by AAA Carolinas warns drivers in North Carolina and South Carolina counties against distracted driving. There are 10 counties targeted in the campaign (5 in each state). The North Carolina counties are Wake County, Watauga County, Pitt County, Durham County, and New Hanover County. The counties were selected because of annual figures pinpointing these counties as the most dangerous in each state for motor vehicle crashes and injuries.

The campaign strongly cautions about talking on the cell phone while driving. Graphic posters placed in gas stations note that a driver is four times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash while he or she is talking on a phone.

According to a 2008 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Study, for every 10 auto collisions, eight of the auto crashes involved drivers that were using cell phones or smart phones. 65% of near-crashes also happened when motorists were talking on the phone or text messaging.

A 2001 University of North Carolina study estimates that some 284,000 distracted motorists are involved in serious injury accidents each year. The AAA Carolinas Web site says that 4,000 to 8,000 traffic collisions occur every day because of distracted driving. Driving while distracted can also be linked to up to 3 million of the 6 million auto collisions that occur in the United States each year.

Distracted driving can also occur while a driver is:

• Searching through an iPod or another MP3 player
• Eating while driving
• Putting on makeup
• Reading a book or a newspaper

AAA says distracted driving contributes to one-third of S.C. crashes, SCNow.com, September 26, 2008

AAA tackles problem of distracted driving, The Watauga Democrat, September 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Distracted Driving, AAA

AAA Carolinas

Drowsy and Distracted Driving, NHTSA

Continue reading "AAA Carolinas Warns Against Distracted Driving in North Carolina and South Carolina" »

This week in North Carolina, 67 patients filed a personal injury lawsuit against Cardinal Health and Steris Corp., the companies that supply Duke University Health System hospitals with sterilization equipment. Also named in the lawsuit are a number of Cardinal workers. The lawsuit alleges deceptive trading practices, negligence, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice, and it comes right after Duke Healthy University Health System reached a settlement with patients that claim they were injured because of exposure to the fluid.

The current lawsuit accuses the defendants of trying to cover up their mistakes after some 3,800 surgical patients at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital and Durham Regional Hospital in 2004 were exposed to instruments washed with used hydraulic fluid.

Duke Health officials have said that the instruments had been sterilized after being washed in the fluid and that their findings showed that patients were unlikely to be harmed. A number of patients, however, said they suffered immune system reactions and infections as a result of the exposure.

Although Duke Health isn’t a defendant in this new lawsuit, the plaintiffs are accusing the hospital system of working with the defendants to minimize liability in the case. Duke Health allegedly shared costs with the companies for testing the instruments, conducting the test in a lab connected to Duke, preventing patients from getting more information, and destroying key evidence.

The lawsuit accuses Cardinal workers of failing to check the detergent drums before sending them to the hospital. The hydraulic fluid came from an elevator and was transported to the hospital to be used as detergent. The Steris workers are accused of disregarding complaints of greasy surgical tools and neglecting to check the sterilization equipment at the hospitals.

Hydraulic fluid is often used in equipment, machines, and motor vehicles and has been known to cause health issues in people that have been exposed to it.

If you have suffered health issues because of your exposure to a toxic or hazardous substance, contact our North Carolina personal injury law firm today.

Suit alleges cover-up in tainted surgical instrument case, WRAL.com, June 19, 2008

Duke, patients settle hydraulic fluid claims, The News and Observer, January 19, 2008

Read the Lawsuit

Related Web Resources:

Hydraulic Fluid Facts, Dukehealth.org

A compilation of correspondence related to hydraulic fluid issues at Duke University Health System, Dukehealth.org

Continue reading "North Carolina Personal Injury Lawsuit Sues Suppliers Involved in Tainted-Surgical Instrument Incident At Duke University Health System Hospitals" »

A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy Steven Boehm and firefighter Gene Thomas died on Saturday after being struck by an 18-wheeler truck. The fatal accident took place on a coastal highway near a burn site at Marine Corps Base Camp in Oslow County. Bill Hall, a second deputy, sustained minor injuries from the crash.

Reduced visibility, caused by fog and smoke from the burn, may have played a role.
The truck driver, Fayetteville resident Robert Kornegay, was charged with exceeding a safe speed and two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle.

18-wheeler Tractor-Trailer Accidents
Traffic accidents involving 18-wheeler trucks can lead to serious injuries for those involved. If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries in a collision with an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer in North Carolina or South Carolina, it is important that you hire an experienced truck crash lawyer.

Trucking companies are prepared when it comes to dealing with injury cases, and many of them will aggressively fight to minimize liability. You need a truck collision law firm that is familiar with the state trucking regulations, as well as the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Our North Carolina truck crash attorneys have successfully represented clients with trucking accident claims and lawsuits. You are entitled to financial recovery for your injuries and losses.

Causes of Tractor-Trailer Accidents include:

• DUI
• Failure to monitor blind spots
• Driver fatigue
• Break or tire failure
• Unsecured cargo
• Speeding
• Driver inattention
• Reckless or careless driving

Do NOT speak to a truck company representative without your lawyer present. Tractor-trailer accidents are usually catastrophic injury accidents.

Potential defendants in a truck accident case may include the truck driver, the trucking company, the owner of the tractor-trailer, the truck leasing company, the truck manufacturer, and other liable parties.

NC Deputy and Firefighter Killed in Tractor-trailer Crash, Efluxmedia.com, June 15, 2008

Officer Down: Deputy Sheriff Steve Boehm, PoliceOne.com, June 14, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Truck Safety Coalition

Continue reading "18-Wheeler Tractor-Trailer Crash Claims the Lives of a Firefighter and a Sheriff’s Deputy in North Carolina" »

Ag-Mart Produce has agreed to settle the birth defects lawsuit filed by the parents of Carlitos Candelario, a 3-year-old boy born without arms or legs. The boys’ parents Abraham Candelario and Francisca Herrera had worked for the tomato grower in fields in North Carolina and South Carolina that had been sprayed with pesticide while Francisca was pregnant.

Candelario and Herrera filed their birth defects lawsuit against Ag-Mart in 2006. They have accused the family of spraying pesticides on the fields while workers were present and not waiting long enough to send workers back to the field after the pesticides were applied.

A hearing has been scheduled this summer in North Carolina by the state pesticide board to determine whether Ag-Mart workers were exposed to toxic chemicals in pesticides. The tomato grower grows grape tomatoes in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

In 2005, Ag-Mart was charged with 369 violations of the state’s pesticide law. Company officials, however, says that many of the charges are false because North Carolina investigators had misinterpreted work records.

To this day, Ag-Mart continues to deny responsibility for causing Carlitos’s birth defects. Other farm workers under its employ also had children with birth defects around the time that Carlitos was born.

Ag-Mart has also voluntarily stopped using certain pesticides that appeared to be responsible for developmental problems in lab animals.

The terms of the birth defects settlement between Ag-Mart and Carlitos’s family is confidential, but their personal injury lawyer says that Carlitos will receive financial support for his medical costs, plus income, for life.

In South Carolina and North Carolina, our personal injury lawyers represent children and adults that have sustained catastrophic injuries because of the negligent or careless actions of people and/or corporations.

Ag-Mart settlement with couple OK'd, News and Observer, April 18, 2008

Board revives pesticide case, News and Observer, March 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Ag-Mart Produce

Beyond Pesticides

Continue reading "Plaintiff Mother In Ag-Mart Birth Defect Lawsuit Worked in North Carolina Tomato Fields While Pregnant With Son Born Without Limbs" »

The deadly New York crane collapse that left seven people dead and 10 others injured has brought the issue of crane safety to attention—especially in Charlotte, North Carolina where a number of cranes are in operation.

Heade Southeast, Inc. operates 20 cranes in Center City Charlotte alone, not to mention another 20 cranes in the rest of the region. Some cranes can carry weight as heavy as 40,000 pounds.

The North Carolina Department of Labor says that there have been four deaths involving cranes in North Carolina since 2004. Dennis Kenna, Heade Southeast President, cites human error or disregard of the manufacturer’s safety recommendations as causes for crane accidents.

Recent North Carolina construction-related crane accidents:

November 2006: No one was injured when a crane collapsed at a construction site at Caldwell and Third Streets.

May 2006: A construction worker suffered a broken arm, neck, and legs when he was struck by a big concrete bucket that fell from a crane.

August 2004: A construction worker died at 'Steel Fab' in West Charlotte when a large steel beam crushed him.

May 2004: A construction worker died in Statesville after a crane hit him.

In New York on Monday, rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of Saturday’s catastrophic crane collapse--bringing the death toll to seven. The three victims are construction workers Clifford Canzona and Santino Gallino and Florida resident Odin Torres.

Torres is the only fatality that was not a construction workers. She was visiting her friend John Gallego in a nearby town home at the time of the collapse. The town home was destroyed by the crane. As of Tuesday, Gallego was in critical condition after being pulled from below 30 feet of rubble.

The crane had fallen when a 5 ½-ton steel collar, which workers had been installing around the crane, brook loose. The falling collar hit another collar, which destabilized the crane. The crane then smashed into the building on East 51st street and then the townhouse.

If you have been injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina construction accident, you should contact our personal injury law firm for your free consultation.

Death toll in New York crane collapse rises to 7, Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2008

Crane safety questioned after incident, News14.com, March 17, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Crane Accidents

Continue reading "Deadly New York Crane Accident Highlights Safety Issues As Multiple Cranes Operate in Charlotte, North Carolina" »

Over three dozen current and ex-Duke Lacrosse players are suing Duke University, the North Carolina city of Durham, and a number of police and school officers. The federal lawsuit alleges abuse, fraud, and breach of duty during the high profile case, now dismissed rape case against three team members.

The three lacrosse players who were charged, Reade Seligmann, Dave Evans, and Collin Finnerty, are not plaintiffs in this civil case. They have filed their own cases against Durham and police investigators. The three of them reached a settlement with Duke University last year.

The plaintiffs in this latest lawsuit related to the rape case are 38 unindicted players and nine of their family members. They are suing for damages for emotional trauma, invasion of privacy, and other injuries.

In 2006, Seligmann, Evans, and Finnerty were indicted by then-Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong after a woman accused the three of them of raping her at a Lacrosse team party that March. State prosecutors dropped all charges against the three men in April 2007.

Apparently, Nifong and his investigative team had made up and suppressed evidence. The victim continued to change her account of the alleged attack. The federal lawsuit claims that the University and the city abandoned the lacrosse team in favor of protecting the images of the school and the city. The plaintiffs are accusing Duke of disregarding and discrediting evidence that showed the players did not rape the alleged rape victim.

As a result, the players say that they were harassed, abused, and disciplined as if they were already guilty of rape. The University cancelled the lacrosse team’s season.

The players want to hold the city of Durham responsible for Nifong’s actions. The former DA, who has declared bankruptcy and is a defendant in two other lawsuits related to his handling of the rape case was not named in this lawsuit. He was disbarred and spent a night in jail for his actions.

If you have suffered any injuries or losses because of the misconduct or negligence of any person or entity in North Carolina or South Carolina, you may be able to receive personal injury compensation for the harm that you have suffered.

Players allege Duke failed to protect their reputation, CNN.com, February 21, 2008

Duke lacrosse players seek damages in federal lawsuit, USA Today.com, February 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

McFayden et al v Duke University et al, Justia.com

Duke Rape Case Unravels, CSMonitor.com, December 26, 2006

Continue reading "Duke Lacrosse Players File Lawsuit Against Duke University and the City of Durham, North Carolina" »

In North Carolina, the parents of Larry D. Green, the man who Franklin County medical officers wrongly declared dead in January 2005, have filed a personal injury lawsuit against Franklin County’s medical examiner, Franklin County Emergency Medical Services, the emergency responders who were at Green’s pedestrian accident scene, Louisburg Rescue, and EMS.

Green, now 31, was critically injured in Louisburg in January 2005 when he was hit by a motor vehicle while walking across U.S. 401 north. He was declared dead, placed in a body bag, and sent to a morgue. It wasn’t until after his body had been at the morgue for over two hours that the coroner realized that Green was alive.

The lawsuit, filed by Green’s parents, Larry Alston and Ruby Kelly, alleges that medical officials did not properly check Green’s vital signs and that he would not have sustained permanent injuries if they had done their job correctly. Green’s mother, Ruby Kelly, says that she sustained emotional trauma after seeing the crash scene and believing that her son was dead.

Green was in the hospital for two months. Injuries included a serious head injury and leg injuries. It wasn’t until five months after the accident that he started to talk again. Green now resides in a Wilson nursing home, and he may never fully recover from his injuries.

Last month, J.B. Perdue, the Franklin County medical examiner named in the lawsuit, stated that pronouncing a person dead is not part of his job. He said his responsibilities are to investigate the cause of death.

The lawsuit says that Perdue saw Green’s eye twitching and chest moving at the morgue but did not make sure Green was dead before starting his forensic evaluation.

Green’s family is accusing emergency medical technicians and paramedics of not following policy in their handling of Green. Medics admit that they did not use a stethoscope or electrocardiogram monitor to make sure that Green was dead after failing to detect a pulse or breath.

If you or someone you love was injured because of medical malpractice or negligence, you must contact a personal injury lawyer immediately.

Death blunder draws lawsuit, The News & Observer.com, December 28, 2007

Family Of North Carolina Man Mistakenly Declared Dead Files Suit, All Headlines, December 28, 2007

After body bag, life goes on, The News & Observer.com, January 24, 2007

Related Web Resource:

No further state action warranted against Franklin County EMS personnel, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, February 9, 2005

Continue reading "Parents of North Carolina Man Sue Franklin County Medical Officers for Son’s Wrongly Declared Death" »

The families of several Iraqis hurt or killed in a September shooting incident in Baghdad are suing Blackwater, the military contractor that is headquartered in North Carolina.

The lawsuit claims Blackwater engaged in war crimes, assault, wrongful death, emotional distress, and negligent hiring. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the families of five people who died in the September 16 shootings that took place around Baghdad’s Nusoor Square and two others who were injured in the attack.

The lawsuit claims that Blackwater guards used excessive force during the shootings and that the guards involved left a secure area and fired at their victims “without provocation.” Blackwater, however, disputes this claim and says its guards were just doing their job to protect a State Department convoy under attack by Iraqi insurgents. 17 people died and 24 others were wounded in the shootings.

The plaintiffs are accusing Blackwater of failing to make sure that its guards did not use steroids. The military contractor has fired employees in the past for steroid use.

The lawsuit also claims that Blackwater knowingly hired ex-Chilean commandos that were barred from working in their own countries because they committed human rights violations, as well as mercenaries from other nations.

The plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages, personal injury compensation, and wrongful death recovery.

The United States has paid Blackwater close to $1 billion for its services since the invasion of Iraq. Blackwater guards provide security to high-level U.S. officials in Baghdad.

The Iraqi government is now considering withdrawing the legal immunity that private security contractors currently enjoy in Iraq.

If you or someone you love has been injured because of the negligent, careless, reckless, or excessively violent actions of another person or entity, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against any negligent parties.

Blackwater accused in lawsuit over civilian deaths, USA Today, November 27, 2007

Blackwater Lawsuit Says Order Ignored, AP, November 27, 2007

Blackwater guards pumped on steroids, lawsuit alleges, CNN.com, November 27, 2007

Iraq contractors say they'll keep working without immunity, Boston.com, December 9, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Prosecutors narrow focus in Blackwater killings, December 7, 2007

Blackwater Worldwide

Continue reading "North Carolina-Based Private Security Company Blackwater is Sued For Wrongful Death, Personal Injury, and War Crimes" »

Troopers in North Carolina issued over 50,000 traffic violation tickets during the November Operation Slow Down/No Need 2 Speed program, which is designed to apprehend drivers speeding on highways in North Carolina. From November 13 until November 25, 2007, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and local troopers worked together to apprehend anyone driving over the speed limit.

Speeding is considered a major cause of motor vehicle accidents. Last year, 554 people in North Carolina died in a motor vehicle accident where speeding was a factor. The NHTSA says that 13,713 people died in the United States in 2002 because of accidents involving speeding.

North Carolina’s Highway Patrol says that of the 51,198 citations that it issued, 24,274 of them were for speeding violations. 954 violations involved DWI (driving while impaired).

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a car accident, truck collision, bus accident, pedestrian accident, or motorcycle crash because another driver on the road was speeding, you should contact an experienced South Carolina or North Carolina motor vehicle accident lawyer right away.

Perils of Speeding
Speeding can make it hard for a driver to stop their motor vehicle suddenly and safely. It also decreases a driver’s ability to steer around objects on the street or go around curving roads safely. A driver who is intent on speeding may end up changing lanes unnecessarily in order to keep up the pace. Many deadly car crashes happen because a driver was speeding.

Safedrivingtest.com offers a number of survival strategies that doesn’t involve speeding:

• Drive the speed limit.
• Don’t let the car behind you pressure you to speed.
• Slow down even below the speed limit in rainy, icy or snowy weather or on a road that is under construction.
• Don’t tailgate.
• Generally keep pace with the flow of traffic.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says that it plans to continue keeping a vigilant watch for anyone speeding on the roads.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, 20 peopled were killed on North Carolina’s highways. Although the causes of all the accidents have not yet been determined, officials expect that speeding, not paying proper attention to the roads, carelessness, drunk driving, and not wearing seatbelts will arise as some of the reasons for the deadly crashes.

Troopers issue 50,000 tickets during statewide speeding crackdown, Charlotte.com, November 27, 2007

20 killed on N.C. highways over holiday, Charlotte.com, November 27, 2007
N.C.'s Operation Slow Down to 'Crack Down' on Speeders, Enhance Safety, Insurance Journal, November 13, 2007

More about Speed, Safedrivingtest.com

Related Web Resource:

Gov. Easley Announces Operation Slow Down/No Need 2 Speed, State of North Carolina Office of the Governor

Continue reading "North Carolina State Highway Patrol Issues More Than 50,000 Traffic Violation Citations During Operation Slow Down " »

Operation Buckle Up begins in North Carolina today. The state and local initiative by law enforcement officers is designed to reduced the number of injury accidents and deaths, as well as prevent certain traffic violations. Over the next two weeks, police officers will crack down on motor vehicle drivers and riders that are in violation of North Carolina’s seat belt laws.

Statistics:

• 1558 people died on North Carolina’s roads in 2006.
• 48% of fatalities involved people that did not wear seat belts.
• 88.6% of people in cars and trucks are believed to be in compliance with North Carolina’s seat belt laws.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol has also been cracking down on drunk drivers. Police cited 2,905 drivers for driving while impaired between August 13 and through the Labor Day weekend ending September 3.

The areas where the largest number of drunk drivers were apprehended in North Carolina during the two-week initiative were Carteret (86), Mecklenburg, (100), and Wake (342). One Highway Patrol officer at the Lexington office says that his agency has arrested 182 people for DWI this year.

The James Madison University Web site offers the following facts and statistics about seat belt safety:

• Out of every five motor vehicle drivers, one driver will be in a traffic accident this year.
• About 35,000 people die in accidents involving a motor vehicle every year. About 50% would not have died if they were wearing seat belts at the time of the fatal crash.
• If just 172 of the 35,000 people did not die, some $100 million a year in personal injury and wrongful death recovery costs would be saved.
• Children have been known to die or be seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash because they were crushed by adults that were not wearing seatbelts.
• 80 out of every 100 children that die in a motor vehicle collision would have been saved if they had been a safety belt or child safety seat.

Many motor vehicle accidents happen because a car driver, truck driver, motorcyclist, or bus driver was negligent. If you were injured in a motor vehicle injury victim because another party was negligent—even if you were not wearing a seat belt—you should speak to a personal injury lawyer right away.

Your personal injury attorney can file a personal injury claim or lawsuit for you so that you can obtain the recovery that you need to cover your medical costs and other related damages.

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a defective seat belt, you could have grounds to file a seat belt injury claim for your injuries.

Highway Patrol focuses on seat-belt usage, The Dispatch Online, September 17, 2007

Safety Belt Statistics, James Madison University

Related Web Resources:

NC Seat Belt Law, NC Crime Control.org

The Disaster Center's Motor Vehicle Accident Death and Injury data Index, Disaster Center.com

Continue reading "North Carolina Highway Patrol Starts "Operation Buckle Up" to Reduce Motor Vehicle Injury Accidents and Deaths " »

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation has started looking at its substandard bridges following the deadly highway bridge collapse in Minnesota. A report on the bridges’ safety is expected to be completed by the time the Board of Transportation meets in September.

Oregon Inlet’s Herbert C. Bonner Bridge is considered the bridge with the most safety issues in North Carolina, although the bridge is still considered safe for use. A number of repairs have been recommended to keep it sound for travelers and a replacement bridge is scheduled to be constructed in 2013.

On Thursday, the state’s Transportation Department inspected the bridge in Gaston County that carries N.C. Highway 273 over a canal in Duke Power. It is the only bridge in North Carolina that has a similar design to the bridge that fell in Minneapolis.

The Federal Highway Administration had previously ranked the collapsed bridge in Minnesota as “structurally deficient.” In 2006, 2,256 North Carolina bridges were rated “structurally deficient” while 2,816 were deemed “functionally obsolete.” There are over 17,000 bridges in the state.

In Minneapolis, the death toll is now up to five bodies, although that number is expected to rise. Divers searching the Mississippi River on Thursday discovered 11 vehicles in its water. At least 79 people were injured in Wednesday's collapse of the eight-lane bridge.

If it can be proven that state or federal departments or any officials or anyone else acted negligently or carelessly when maintaining or managing the Minneapolis bridge and were directly or indirectly responsible for the collapse, any of these parties might be held liable for the personal injuries and wrongful deaths that have been sustained by the victims of the bridge disaster.

Some recent bridge tragedies in North Carolina (as reported by the News & Observer):

1984: In Burnsville, a single-lane bridge over the Toe River between Yancy and Mitchell Counties collapses when an overloaded tractor-trailer crosses it. No one is seriously injured.

1987: Skeen's Mill Bridge, a 100-foot-long covered bridge, collapses near Asheville into the Uwharrie River.

2000: A pedestrian bridge spanning U.S. Highway 29 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord collapses, injuring more than 100 people. Officials blame badly corroded cables for the collapse but are unsure of how the cables became rusted.

2001: A one-lane suspension bridge near Asheville collapses under a large truck hauling magazines. No one is injured.

2004: Three vehicles are swept away by raging currents after uprooted trees wipe out a two-lane bridge over Beaver Dam Creek near Boiling Springs. One man is killed. Officials note that 10 to 12 bridges were similarly washed out during flooding from the season's hurricanes and heavy rains in the N.C. mountains.

Five now confirmed killed in bridge collapse, CNN.com, August 3, 2007

North Carolina to study 'substandard' bridges' safety, Hampton Roads.com, August 3, 2007

North Carolina bridge incidents, News Observer, August 2, 2007

Related Web Resources:

North Carolina Department of Transportation

Continue reading "North Carolina to Inspect Safety of Its Substandard Bridges As Death Toll in Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Rises to Five" »

State officials in North Carolina are investigating whether the Department of Correction administrator let a group of inmates work on a six-person roadside cleaning crew last Tuesday without giving them the proper safety equipment that they needed to stay safe on Interstate 40 near Lake Wheeler Road. One of the inmates, Charles Wilson, died after an SUV struck an empty prison van nearby. The van then rolled onto him.

Several inmates and workers at the Wake Correctional Center said that a corrections officer told his supervisor that the crew lacked the proper safety equipment, including road signs to warn motorists of their presence while working in the area. They say that the supervisor disregarded the absence of the equipment. A corrections department spokesperson says that the accusations are being investigated.

The van also struck inmate John Terry and correction officer John McDonald.

Police have charged Frederick Henri Beaujeu-Dufour, a Clinton resident and the man driving the SUV, with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

Road Construction Site Injury Statistics

• From 1995-2002, 844 workers died at a road construction site in the US
• More than 50% of these deaths involved motor vehicle accidents

The Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices defines a work zone as:

“an area of a highway with construction, maintenance, or utility work activities. A
work zone is typically marked by signs, channelizing devices, barriers, pavement
markings, and/or work vehicles. It extends from the first warning sign or high-
intensity rotating, flashing, oscillating, or strobe lights on a vehicle to the 'End Road Work' sign or the last temporary traffic control device.”

By law, safety markers must be in place to ensure that workers on the road are safe. If North Carolina’s Department of Corrections knowingly allowed the inmates to work on the roads without the proper safety equipment, they could be held liable for the personal injuries and wrongful death sustained by some of the inmates. The driver of the SUV, Frederick Henri Beaujeu-Dufour, could also be held liable for the wrongful death of inmate Charles Wilson.

Inmates in roadside accident lacked safety equipment, Winston-Salem Journal, July 13, 2007

1 North Carolina Inmate Dies, 2 Injured in Roadside Crew Accident, WRAL.com, July 11, 2007

Fatal occupational injuries at road construction sites

Related Web Resource:

Notification of the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Final Rule, U.S. Department of Transporation Federal Highway Administration

Continue reading "North Carolina Inmate Killed On Roadside Cleaning Crew Lacked Proper Safety Equipment " »