Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

A recent article published in the New York Times entitled "Back From War, Fear And Danger Fill Driver's Seat" has brought to our attention another sad aspect of how the affects of deployment can have a profound impact upon; not only soldiers and their families but upon each of our everyday lives and upon us on our highways and street ways -- even in Weston, Florida. The article relates to a story of how a reservist was avoiding a cramped parking lot without obvious escape routes; straddling the middle line as if bombs might be buried in the curbs; and how her own SUV reminded her of the unarmored vehicle she rode in Baghdad during a record year of American fatalities in Iraq. Apparently, there is an increasing number of incidents of erratic driving by returning soldiers which is being identified as a symptom of P.T.S.D. (which stands for post traumatic stress disorder). The article claims there is reason for concern over a higher accident rate among veterans.

Recently in a review of the driving records for thousands of soldiers studying before and after they returned from deployment by USAA, an insurance carrier (who exclusively writes policies for veterans or their family members), has noticed a 13% increase in auto accidents after a soldier's return from deployment. In fact, the article reports that U.S. Army statistics show that 48 soldiers died in car accidents last year; the highest total in three years. Studies conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs have been focusing on the potential between dangerously aggressive or overly defensive driving and deployment. Unfortunately, there is no accepted treatment for driving related PTSD and related driving problems-"it's a new phenomenon".

Continue reading "Deployment Related PTSD Could Affect Weston, Florida Drivers" »

As noted in a recent CNBC report, Fort Lauderdale, FL was ranked as one of the most dangerous dangerous city for driving in America. Although other cities had a higher total number of fatalities, no city had a higher total fatality rate per 100,000 person population. Obviously this news is quite alarming and troublesome for the residents of the South Florida area. As a Plantation Car Accident Lawyer, I wanted to discuss this report so that people that live in our area are aware of the everyday driving danger. Hopefully if people are aware of how statistically dangerous it is out there, they will exercise more caution while driving in the future.

According to the report, which you can also find at the Sun-Sentinel, the total fatality rate per 100,000 person population for Fort Lauderdale, FL is 22.39. Additionally, throughout the year there were 41 total fatalities, and 24.4% of those fatalities were pedestrians. From the perspective of a Plantation Accident Attorney, these numbers are simply way too high. People simply must be more careful when they are driving. This includes among many other things, staying alert, keeping a safe distance from the car in front of you, and not texting while driving.

It is also worth mentioning that Orlando, FL was number two on the list and in total, four cities in Florida made the list. As a Plantation Car Accident Attorney, my hope is that people see this report and become concerned enough about what is going on out there to drive in an almost overly cautious manner. People also need to be more aware of pedestrians on the sidewalk or in the crosswalk while driving in order to seriously reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities. All in all, hopefully the residents of Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area can begin to drive more carefully and make driving safer for everyone.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Plantation, FL car accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Starting on August 14th, the new total lead content law for children's products will go into effect. As a result of this change, products such as children's toys will be affected. As of August 14th, the maximum amount of lead in these types of products will be limited to 100 parts per million. These new stipulations are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). From the perspective of a Plantation Products Liability Injury Attorney, I am always in favor of any legislation that improves product safety. The only question mark was whether this would be detrimental to these businesses' respective bottom lines.

However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted 3-2 that there was insufficient evidence that children's products manufacturers could not meet these new standards and remain at a competitive price point. These lead limitations have been a work in process since the CPSIA was passed in 2008. The legally permissible amount of lead per parts per million has been decreasing over time as outlined in the initial legislation. As a Plantation Injury Lawyer, I hope that this can continue to reduce the amount of injuries that children suffer from unsafe products. Yet as I mentioned, it is a difficult balance because we don't want to hinder a manufacturer's ability to produce a product at a marketable price point.

It will take some time to see how this new limit affects product testing costs once those regulations change later this year as well. As a Plantation Products Liability Injury Lawyer, it goes without saying how important it is to prevent children from being exposed to unhealthy amounts of lead. Ultimately, that is the goal of this entire process and only time will tell if the new lead standards can help reduce the number of injuries, and hopefully the new lead content law accomplishes just that.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Plantation, Florida product liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Last week, the CPSC announced a potentially very dangerous recall of Disney pogo sticks made by Bravo sports. The products were recalled because the bottom tips can ware out prematurely and the handles can pose laceration hazards. In total, approximately 159,000 units are being recalled. As a Plantation Products Liability Injury Lawyer, this recall is troubling to read about since it affects young children. As I've mentioned before, these types of recalls are some of the most worrisome since we try so hard to prevent our children from being exposed to any type of injury risk.

According to the CPSC Disney pogo sticks recall release, there have already been some injuries. There were 82 reports of the bottom tip wearing out and five children have been injured. As a Plantation Injury Lawyer, it's always painful to hear about people's injuries, but when children are involved, it's even worse. According to the CPSC release, one 9 year old girl suffered a skull fracture, and another girl needed to get stitches. Clearly, these types of injuries are incredibly serious and troubling. These injuries are due to the fact that the rubber bottom tips on the bottom of the pogo sticks are defective.

Unfortunately, this the second Bravo Sports pogo stick recall this year. The company already recalled 169,000 pogo sticks back in March. The fact that over 325,000 pogo sticks have been recalled by Bravo Sports this year alone is certainly disconcerting. As a Plantation Products Liability Injury Lawyer, I'm curious as to why Bravo Sports didn't inspect the rest of its product line more carefully after the March recall. Although many of the Disney pogo sticks might have already been sold, had the company hypothetically found out about these defective parts months ago, perhaps these little girls would not have suffered these horrific injuries. All in all, this is a very serious product recall and it deserves every parent's attention.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Plantation, Florida product liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Just last week, a woman in Pennsylvania was awarded $500,000 in her medical malpractice lawsuit. The woman sued Lower Bucks Hospital, Dr. Richard Turner, and nurses Megan Blatcher and Laura Tedesco, for an incident stemming from 2004. The lawsuit claimed that the aforementioned medical professionals acted negligently by leaving a laparotomy sponge inside of the woman, after her cesarean section had been completed. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Lawyer, I understand these types of cases and how painful they can be for the victim. This poor woman experienced a variety of afflictions before doctors figured out what the problem was.

According to the complaint, the sponge was not discovered until two months after the cesarean section. The woman claimed to suffer from abdominal pains, a severe infection, bowel perforation, bowel obstruction and digestive problems. From the perspective of a Weston Injury Attorney, that is already a serious amount of trauma, however, the problems listed above were not the totality of her issues. She also had to undergo surgery to remove sixteen inches of her small bowel.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleged that the nurses failed to do a proper count of the medical equipment both during and after the surgery. As a result, the jury found the nurses and the hospital liable, but not the doctor. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Attorney, this isn't the first time I've heard about cases like this one, but that doesn't discount the severity of this type of negligence. In the most extreme cases, leaving a surgical instrument inside of a patient can have potentially fatal consequences. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with this incident, although the woman did suffer an unreasonable and unfair amount of pain.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, FL medical malpractice. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Last week, a jury awarded the family of Darryl Turner $10 million in their taser death lawsuit. The lawsuit was held in North Carolina concerning the wrongful death of Darryl Turner. The family sued Taser International, Inc. after Darryl died in a supermarket in Charlotte in March 2008, after being shot in the chest by the company's Taser Model X26. The plaintiffs claimed that the manufacturer was negligent for failing to warn the police officers that shooting the taser gun into a person's chest could cause cardiac arrest. As a Weston Wrongful Death Lawyer, it is very tragic to here that it took the death of this teenager for the manufacturer to think to warn its customers about the proper use of its product.

According to the lawsuit, Darryl Turner was tasered for 37 seconds and after that period of time he stopped moving. However, the police officer stunned him again for another five seconds for not putting his hands behind his back. As a Weston Injury Lawyer, I think that it is worth nothing that there was a police brutality lawsuit that was settled out of court for $625,000. Additionally, the city has retrained officers on tasers and the appropriate uses and applications of them.

Another interesting point is that Darryl Turner was not on drugs, nor did he exhibit any signs of heart disease prior to the taser incident. As a Weston Wrongful Death Attorney, my opinion is that this contributed to the plaintiffs' arguments, since it makes it even clearer that the taser, not any previous medical conditions, was the ultimate cause of death. Despite the large damage award, this really isn't a victory for the family since they tragically and wrongfully lost their son.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, Florida wrongful deaths. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Earlier today, it was announced that Uvex Funride Ski Helmets have been recalled. The company initiated the recall because it was found that the helmets might not function as well as intended, which could pose a risk for head injuries. In total, about 800 of the Uvex Funride Ski Helmets are being recalled. As a Weston Product Liability Accident Lawyer, I think that this recall is important, since head injuries are among the most severe injuries imaginable. We trust a helmet to protect our head and brain from traumatic injury, and if this product isn't functioning properly, then recalling it is the only option.

According to the CPSC Uvex Funride Ski Helmet Recall Release, "The helmet provides insufficient shock absorption and resistance to penetration, posing a head injury hazard." Clearly, if someone were to fall while skiing, the ability of the helmet to absorb the majority of the impact to the head is critical. From the perspective of a Weston Injury Attorney, the company is doing the right thing by admitting the potential defect. While it might cost them financially in the short run, the potential injuries that could result from this defective product could be quite traumatic.

The company said that it discovered the defect during internal quality control inspections. The company also issued a statement on its Uvex recall page. Fortunately, there haven't been any injuries associated with this product defect. As a Weston Product Liability Injury Lawyer, I think that as long as the approximately 800 owners of this product find out about the recall before next ski season, then any head injuries should be able to be avoided. Thus, since it is the summer time now, the company should have a good chance of being able to spread the word about the recall before owners of the helmets begin to ski again next season.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston product liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

It was just announced today that Target has issued a recall of children's lamps. In total, the company is recalling about 13,000 units. The Circo Children's Task Lamps are being recalled due to laceration and fire hazards. As a Fort Lauderdale Product Liability Injury Lawyer, I'd say that a move like this is necessary, especially since children are the primary users of the product. Exposing thousands of children to a potentially dangerous product is simply wrong, which is why this recall needed to happen.

According to the CPSC Target Children's Task Lamps Recall Release, the lamps can overheat, which in turn may cause the adhesive inside the lamp socket to melt and move towards the bulb area. From there, the cooled glue can make the light bulb difficult to remove, which is where the laceration risk stems from. Additionally, the melted flammable glue can get on the electrical components, which then can pose a fire hazard to consumers. Clearly, this is a complex process that most consumers wouldn't be expecting. From the perspective of a Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorney, this is exactly why the recall is necessary. It doesn't seem reasonable for a consumer to assume that this complex process would occur, leaving them susceptible to harmful consequences.

To date, according to the CPSC report, there have been "six reports of glue on the lamp socket melting and migrating into the bulb area of the socket." Fortunately, there haven't been any injuries reported. As a Fort Lauderdale Product Liability Injury Attorney, what still worries me is the number of potentially dangerous lamps that need to be recalled. Nearly 13,000 lamps, and thus, nearly 13,000 children are potentially at risk for injury. Hopefully anyone who reads this post can pass the information along to any parents that they know, just in case they might have purchased this product. The full list and descriptions of the recalled units can be found via the CPSC Recall link above.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Fort Lauderdale, Florida product liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Just recently, a jury in Buffalo, New York awarded a former laboratory chemist $2.5 million in damages. The former chemist sued Ford for exposure to asbestos, which caused him to suffer from mesothelioma. The lawsuit claims that the man was exposed to asbestos while working with a Friction Assessment Screening Test machine manufactured by Ford. As a Fort Lauderdale Products Liability Injury Lawyer, I can attest that asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits have been unfortunately common in the past. Asbestos cases have been around for a long time and there have been hundreds of thousands of lawsuits regarding this issue.

The lawsuit alleged that while using the machine mentioned above to grind down substances, that the chemist was exposed to asbestos. Moreover, the plaintiff's lawyers claimed that there were no warnings about asbestos on the machine. As a Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney, it is unfortunate to continue to hear about asbestos cases, since so many people have already been affected. It is truly unfortunate how many people have suffered severe illnesses from asbestos and ultimately mesothelioma.

The jury found that Ford was 15% responsible for the chemist's exposure to asbestos, meaning that the rest of his exposure could be attributed to other companies' products or work conditions. From the perspective of a Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyer, it is unfortunate that is case had to go to trial, when so many of this man's other lawsuits were settled before they reached court. Settling outside of court could have saved both parties a considerable amount of time and money.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Fort Lauderdale, Florida product liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

According to various news reports, the parents of an 11 year old girl are suing an amusement park in New Jersey for wrongful death. The young girl fell from a Ferris wheel and ultimately died. The ride in question is the Giant Wheel at Morey's Mariner's Landing Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey. The lawsuit alleges that the amusement park was negligent for operating the Ferris wheel in the midst of high winds. As a Weston Wrongful Death Lawyer, I think this case will be interesting to follow to see if the amusement park is found negligent because of the weather conditions.

According to various news articles, the plaintiffs allege that the park was negligent for allowing the girl to ride the Ferris wheel by herself, without any supervision. Moreover, they are also claiming that the high winds, lack of adequate restraints, and a failure to properly warn the little girl of the potential for danger, all played a roll in the wrongful death. It is worth nothing that state officials later said the restraints seemed to working properly. From the perspective of Weston Accident Lawyer, it is tough to give a meaningful analysis of the case at this point, since not all of the details are clear. As more details emerge, we should get a better picture of whether the park was negligent for allowing her to ride the Ferris wheel.

We're not sure how severe the wind was on that day or whether that was a major, contributing factor to her fall. However, what is certain is that this is a terrible tragedy. As an Injury Lawyer in Weston, and as a parent, I know that every year thousands of children in our community ride Ferris wheels at carnivals and festivals. Unfortunately, this case shows us what the worst case scenario looks like.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, Florida that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, Florida wrongful deaths. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Just a few weeks ago, a jury found the University of Central Florida Athletics Association negligent in the Ereck Plancher, wrongful death lawsuit. The jury awarded $10 million to the family who brought the wrongful death lawsuit. For those who don't know, Ereck Plancher died during football conditioning workouts in 2008 while a member of the University of Central Florida football team. As a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer, I have unfortunately heard about and read about similar stories to this one. The lawsuit alleges that Plancher died from organ damage brought on by the nature of the training workouts, which in turn caused his red blood cells to warp.

His red blood cells warped because he had sickle cell anemia. One of the bigger issues in the case was the allegation that the university knew about Plancher's condition because he had previously undergone medical tests for the university. The plaintiffs alleged that the university never informed Plancher, or his his parents, whereas the University of Central Florida Athletics Association argued that he signed medical wavers. From the perspective of a Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney, and as a parent, that is a very terrifying thing to hear. If true, I cannot imagine any parent who wouldn't be outraged if they weren't informed of an issue like this. In the end, the family countered that he had to sign the waivers out of fear of losing his football scholarship.

This particular tragedy is very relevant to us in South Florida, since many children in our community attend the University of Central Florida. As a Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer, I think that, especially in the Florida heat, it seems apparent that there needed to be better safety precautions in place. This is one of those lawsuits where there truly are no winners. This wrongful death outcome seems like it could have, and should have, been avoided.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Fort Lauderdale wrongful deaths. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal last week, approximately 1,000 DePuy hip replacement lawsuits have already been filed. These lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts against Johnson & Johnson alleging that there are defective components causing the hip replacement failures. As a Weston Medical Malpractice Lawyer, it seems logical to reason that even more lawsuits will be filed against Johnson & Johnson, assuming that additional hip replacements continue to fail. The Wall Street Journal reports that Johnson & Johnson added $570 million to its liability fund last year in anticipation of these DePuy hip replacement lawsuits.

However, some estimates in the Wall Street Journal article have the total cost of the lawsuits for Johnson & Johnson at over $1 billion. From the perspective of a Weston Injury Lawyer, part of what could cause Johnson & Johnson to be found liable is the widespread assumption that it knew about the problems with the product and anticipated that many would fail. As many people know, in August of last year, 90,000 DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Systems and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems were recalled.

The manufacturer acknowledged the findings that 12% to 13% of the hip replacements would fail within five years. Readers of this blog will remember a post on a DePuy hip replacement failure report, which purported that ultimately nearly half of the hip replacements would fail within six years. From the perspective of a Weston Medical Malpractice Attorney, I will be very interested in seeing how these cases progress, and to what degree Johnson & Johnson is ultimately found liable. As with many other high dollar volume lawsuits, I expect this issue to stay in the news for quite some time.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, FL medical malpractice. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

It was recently announced that the family of a teenager who was killed in a car accident was awarded $40 million as a result of their lawsuit against Kia Motors. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kia, claiming that the seat belts in the teenage girl's Kia Sephia were defective and should have been recalled. The young girl was killed in 2004. As a Weston Car Accident Lawyer, a case like this is very tough to read about, especially when the company allegedly could have avoided this awful situation by initiating a recall. Recalling the seat belts could have potentially saved this teenage girl's life.

According to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family, Kia had already issued recalls for several seat belts in various Kia models such as the 1995 to 1998 Kia Sephia and Kia Sportage. However, they did not recall the 1999 Kia Sephia model that this girl was driving. The issue with the seat belts was that the latching system was defective, meaning the person in the seat thought they were safely buckled, when in reality, they might not have been. This, in combination with federal inquiries, led Kia to recall 189,000 vehicles in 2002, but still not the 1999 Kia Sephia. As a Weston Car Accident Attorney, these details are disturbing since it appears that Kia had ample opportunity to rectify the situation before this disaster had occurred.

Finally, in 2004 Kia was asked to submit the seat buckles for testing, which it never did. One month after the teenage girl was killed in the car accident, Kia recalled an additional 251,000 cars, including the 1999 Kia Sephia. From the perspective of a Weston Accident Lawyer, the details of this case seem to speak volumes. This large corporation with ample financial resources had years to prevent something like this from occurring, yet it was uncooperative. This is truly a sad story, yet unfortunately in the world of personal injury lawsuits, it is still somewhat common.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Weston, FL car accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Just yesterday, Mizuno USA announced the recall of some of its baseball and softball gloves. The Mizuno gloves were recalled because some might contain a variety of molds. In total, nearly 131,000 baseball and softball gloves are being recalled. As a Pembroke Pines Product Liability Attorney, I think the timing of this recall is one of the biggest issues for Mizuno. It is the middle of summer and the middle of the MLB season, a time when a lot of children are outside playing or playing in organized leagues. This is not the time of year to have bad publicity because of a product recall.

According to the CPSC Mizuno USA Baseball and Softball Gloves Recall Release, the molds that were found in some of the gloves "could cause respiratory or other infections in individuals with chronic health problems, or in individuals who have impaired immune systems." The gloves that are being recalled are the Supreme Series and Ballpark Pro. Fortunately, no injuries or illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall. As a Pembroke Pines Accident Lawyer, I think that the large number of gloves that need to be recalled could unfortunately still pose an injury risk. It is very difficult to alert 131,000 people of an issue that they aren't expecting to hear about.

For those who think they might have purchased these products, they were sold at Walmart and Target from April 2010 until May 2011. From the perspective of Pembroke Pines Injury Attorney, I think that as long as no one gets hurt from this recall, that Mizuno should be able to move on from this without taking too big of a financial hit. Obviously, the cost of recalling and refunding 131,00 gloves is expensive, but the costs of a potential personal injury lawsuit would be much, much greater.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Pembroke Pines products liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.

Last week, 300,000 Hamilton Beach toasters were recalled because of a potential fire hazard. The reason for the recall is that the heating element in the recalled Hamilton Beach toasters can stay energized when something is placed in the toaster, potentially igniting the contents or other things around the toaster. As a Fort Lauderdale Products Liability Injury Attorney, I can say that any product recall that poses a fire hazard needs to be taken very seriously because of the potentially dangerous consequences. Fortunately, there haven't been any injuries reported.

According to the CPSC Hamilton Beach Toasters Recall Release, there have been three reports of the toasters causing minor damage to consumer's kitchens. The fact that there have only been three reports of minor damage and no reported injuries is great news. However, as a Fort Lauderdale Accident Lawyer, the large quantity of units that needs to be recalled still worries me. The fact that there are 300,000 potentially defective units that could pose a fire hazard is troubling.

Moreover, this is a product that consumers probably use with great frequency, if not daily. If someone is unaware of the product recall and continues to use their toaster daily, then the chances of the toaster igniting the contents might increase. That is why whenever you hear of a product recall it is important to pass along the word to friends and family, just in case they might own the defective, and potentially dangerous product.

The Schulman Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Weston, FL that is committed to representing personal injury victims, including victims of Fort Lauderdale products liability accidents. Please visit our website at www.schulaw.com. For a free consultation, please call us at (877) LAW-0444 or email us.