ATV flips on side, killing 3 year-old boy in Jones County, Mississippi
On Sunday, a 3 year-old boy died after an Artic Cat ATV he was riding in flipped on its side, killing him on impact. The ATV, driven by an 18 year-old, had three passengers, ages 3 to 11. The other passengers suffered minor injuries.
Information provided by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Lawyer
Source: Clarion Ledger
Mississippi needs tougher laws on ATV use by children
The Hattiesburg-American had an article on Sunday calling for tougher laws on the use of ATVs by children. While the legislature is currently considering proposals making helmet use mandatory for children younger than 16 and requiring a driver's license or completion of a ATV safety course, more needs to be done to ensure the safety of children. At a recent hearing, Dr. John Porter of the UMMC Trauma Center said the Center sees two or three ATV crash victims every week. For every patient who dies, three or four are critically injured and about 25 percent have debilitating injuries, according to Porter. More alarming is the fact that Mississippi death rates from ATV crashes for children under 16 are increasing at twice the rate of all ATV deaths.
Source: Hattiesburg-American
Reported by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Lawyer
Toyota halts production of 8 models due to accelerator problems
Toyota has temporarily ceased production of 8 different Toyota models due to accelerator problems that have left the company searching for answers. According to the press release, Toyota instructed its dealers to remove the models from the sales floor and will temporarily cease production of the models. The eight models are:
Reported by Robert Kisselburgh, Product Defect and Injury Attorney
1.5 million Graco strollers recalled due to amputation risk
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of Graco strollers that could cause fingertip amputation and laceration hazards to children. Graco, an Atlanta, Georgia based company, recalled approximately 1.5 million strollers, including three models of the Strollers and Travel Systems. The recall includes Graco's Passage™, Alano™, and Spree™ Strollers and Travel Systems, which were manufactured in China from October 2004 to February 2008. The strollers were sold at Burlington Coat Factory, Babies "R" Us, Toys "R" Us, Kmart, Sears, Target, Walmart and other retailers throughout the U.S. For more information on the recall, contact Graco at 800-345-4109 or visit the firm's web site at www.gracobaby.com
Information provided by: Robert Kisselburgh, Jackson, Mississippi Injury Attorney
New initiative intended to reduce deadly medication errors
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that medication errors cause at least one death per day and injure approximately 1.3 million people annually in the United States. Today's Wall Street Journal says a new effort is underway to spread the word about medication errors and offer advice to prevent similar mistakes. Read about the effort here.
Information provided by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Medical Malpractice Attorney
Tylenol & other drugs feared contaminated; J&J expands recall
Johnson & Johnson has expanded a previous recall of Tylenol to include the following medications: Children's Motrin, Children's Tylenol, Benadryl, Extra Strength Tylenol, Tylenol 8 Hour, Tylenol Arthritis, Tylenol PM Motrin IB, Regular Strength Tylenol, Rolaids, Simply Sleep and St. Joseph Aspirin.
The recall is due to possible contamination by a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole that causes an unusual odor and has caused some customers to experience nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. Customers are advised to stop using the product and contact the company either www.mcneilproductrecall.com or 1-888-222-6036
Information provided by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Injury Lawyer
Two Rankin County, Mississippi school buses collide
Two Rankin County, Mississippi school buses collided today, sending a number of children to local hospitals. According to the article, one school bus rear-ended the other bus. Although there were no life-threatening injuries, a number of students were transported to local hospitals.
Source: Clarion-Ledger
Reported by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Injury Attorney
Over 50 million shades and blinds recalled due to strangulation hazard
More than 50 million Roman-style shade and roll-up blinds are being recalled due to the risk of children being strangulated by the cords. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said since 2006, there have been 5 deaths and 16 near-strangulations involving children and the Roman shades. Strangulation can occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the blind or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around their neck. Consumers can obtain a free retrofit kits for roman style fabric looped and flat panel shades and roll-up blinds online at www.windowcoverings.org or by calling 1-800-506-4636.
Shades involved in the recall include:
For more information about this recall, go to these websites:
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Window Covering Safety Council
The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a personal injury law firm representing individuals seriously injured due to defective products, car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, drunk drivers, and prescription drugs. If you would like to discuss your legal rights, call us now for a free consultation at 877.601.4040 or contact us online.
Attorneys beware--watch out for those subrogation liens.
Two days ago, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment where a plaintiff's attorney was found liable to the ERISA health plan for settlement funds he disbursed. A fellow blogger, Health Plan Law, has a great discussion of the case here.
For those with personal injury lawsuits, if your health insurance company pays for your medical and you ultimately recover money from the person who caused those injuries, your health insurance company has a subrogation lien for the amount of medical paid. That means you could possibly have to pay the insurance company for the amount it paid for medical expenses you ultimately recovered from the liable party.
In the case above, the client did recover monies and the attorney disbursed the settlement funds without paying the insurance company back for the medical it paid on behalf of the client. The plan ultimately sued the client and attorney for the money. Lesson to all parties. Prior to settling a personal injury case or disbursing funds from a personal injury settlement, make sure you have paid all liens.
Reported by: Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Lawyer
Popular strollers may cause fingertip amputation
Approximately one million Maclaren strollers, sold in Target and Babies "R" Us, were recalled on Monday due to an amputation risk for children. When unfolding the stroller, 12 children had their fingertips amputated when the child's finger got caught in the hinge mechanism as the stroller was unfolded.
The recall includes the following models: Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno, and Easy Traveller. These strollers have been sold since 1999. According to the article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson said, "Our message to parents, grandparents, and all caregivers is to make sure that you stop using these stroller until you get the repair kit, which zips the covers in place."
Source: Chicago Tribune
Reported by Robert M. Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Attorney
Two Forrest County, Mississippi teenagers killed by oil tank explosion
Two Forrest County teenagers were killed early on Saturday morning when a oil holding tank exploded. The cause of the explosion is unknown and there are no known witnesses to the incident. The oil tank appears to be owned by Delphi Oil, Inc. The majority of the oil in the tank had been sold which made the tank extremely dangerous. With little oil in the tank, dangerous fumes probably filled the tank and could easily be ignited. Our hearts go out to the families of those killed.
The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi accident injury law firm which handles all types of cases involving serious injury or death including car wrecks, truck accidents, wrecks involving motorcycles, drunk driving accidents, and injuries from dangerous products. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.
Source: Clarion Ledger
IKEA Roller Blinds recalled due to risk of strangulation
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall of IKEA Roller Blinds to repair tension device which could be a strangulation risk to children. According to the article, the recall involves ISDANS, TUPPLUR and ENJE roller blinds. If you have those blinds, immediately contact your local IKEA store or visit the firm's Web site.
Federal government takes first step in banning texting while driving
In a follow-up to previous posts (here, here, here, and here.) about texting while driving, yesterday the President signed an executive order banning all federal employees from texting while driving. According to the New York Times, the federal government will use it rule-making authority to implement new rules prohibiting interstate drivers of tractor-trailers and commercial buses from texting or using on-board computers. However, you can be assured the American Truckers Association and trucking companies will attempt to water down those restrictions. The administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the trucking industry, has already said there first needs to be a definition of "text messaging." This sounds to me like back-pedaling already. Well, here is a start on a new law--"Drivers of vehicles subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act shall not read messages (whether by text messaging or e-mail) or send written messages (whether by text messaging or e-mail) from a cellular telephone or on-board computer while driving a tractor-trailer on any roadway." How about it? That wasn't so hard.
As for outlawing texting while driving among other drivers, the federal government is relying on individual states to enact legislation prohibiting such conduct. Hopefully, Mississippi will see a successful bill in the next legislative session covering more than new teenage drivers--the only ones currently prohibited from texting while driving in Mississippi.
Stay tuned.
Information provided by: Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Lawyer
Texting while driving in national spotlight
With the federal government holding hearings on the hazards of texting while driving, the issue is in the national spotlight. Today, the New York Times ran an article on the issue including a number of individuals who now realize the ultimate hazard of texting while driving--death.
Given the increases in technology and our ability to "stay connected", expectations have increased for all of us to stay in touch and multitask while we drive. Unfortunately, many times you cannot do both while operating a vehicle. When I started driving some 35 years ago, we only had to worry about the person putting on their makeup, shaving, or reading a book while we were driving. That was bad enough. Then in the 90s, cellphones invaded the inside of our cars and no longer could we just listen to the radio while we drove. Now, we had to multitask while driving. Then this decade, the advent of texting really took off in addition to using computers while we drive. The advent of our "mobile" society. While most agree that you can't safety text or work on a computer while driving, the numbers show that the majority of us (including me) have tried it. It does not work. Recent studies show that drivers who send text or read e-mails while driving take their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. What can happen during those five seconds?
Ask Jered Noe and Samatha Earnest. Samantha was driving on a two-lane highway in Oklahoma with her three children, Jason, 7: Dakota, 5; and Haily, 4, in the car. Jered Noe, driving his Coca-Cola delivery truck, was coming from the opposite direction. As Jered crested a hill, he looked over at his on-board computer and veered into Samatha's lane, slamming into her carload full of children. Jason died on impact. A seven year-old-boy lost his life because another driver thought he could look at his computer while he drove. This is just one of the tragic stories.
It is time for a change. Either the states can enact strict laws prohibiting this activity or the federal government is going to recommend enacting a federal law banning this activity. Either way, it is time for change.
For previous blog post about texting while driving, click here, here, and here.
The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi injury law firm which handles all types of cases involving serious injury or death. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.
American Trucking Association OK with drivers using computers while driving
As you drive down the interstate in Mississippi and approach an 18 wheeler, ask yourself this question: Is the driver of that 80,000 pound rig reading the on-board computer screen and sending messages to their company as opposed to watching the road ahead of them? There is a good chance the driver is and the trucking industry does not want to ban such practice. The on-board computers allow the company to send the trucker messages, the trucker can respond, and gives the trucker the ability to surf the internet. No problem if the truck is idle on the side of the road. But, a major problem if the truck is barreling down the road at 70 miles per hour. The question is whether there should be a ban against truckers using these on-board computers while driving? Under most proposed legislation banning texting while driving, these computers are included in the ban.
In a recent New York Times article, the spokesman for the American Trucking Association, said a federal bill requiring states to ban texting while driving was "overkill." Why? Here is the laughable part. Because banning the use of such devices "won't improve safety." REALLY?? So if your driver is watching the road as opposed to a computer screen, safety will not be improved? This guy is amazing. I think the real reason for the objection by the American Trucking Association is deeper in the article where Randy Mullett, a Con-way executive, said requiring drivers to stop to respond to the on-board messages cost the company money. The company loses about $1.50 a minute when the truck is idle. Essentially, this guy just said Con-way puts profits over the safety of people.
Here are the facts: Using these on-board computers while driving increases your chances of crashing, just as texting on a cellphone does while driving. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that using on-board computers while driving increased the risk of crashing by 10 times. In all fairness, the same study found that texting on a cell phone increased your risk of crashing 23 times. However, the point is that both activities don't mix with driving.
We live in a technologically adept society, but using computers or texting on cellphones does not mix with driving a vehicle at the same time. It is time to ban both on our roadways before more people are killed.
The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi injury law firm which handles all types of
cases involving serious injury or death including car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, drunk driving accidents, and injuries from defective products. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.
Mar 7, 10 11:56 PM 3 year-old boy killed in Jones County, Mississippi ATV accident ATV flips on side, killing 3 year-old boy in Jones County, Mississippi On Sunday, a...
Feb 22, 10 07:15 AM Mississippi death rates for ATVs crashes involving children are increasing Mississippi needs tougher laws on ATV use by children The Hattiesburg-American had an article on...
Jan 27, 10 06:44 AM Toyota's continued accelerator problems prompts stop in production Toyota halts production of 8 models due to accelerator problems Toyota has temporarily ceased production...
Jan 21, 10 08:37 AM Graco recalls 1.5 million strollers due to amputation and laceration risk 1.5 million Graco strollers recalled due to amputation risk The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced...
Jan 19, 10 08:12 AM Initiative to reduce deadly medication errors in Mississippi and other states New initiative intended to reduce deadly medication errors The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates...
Jan 16, 10 07:59 PM Tylenol recall expanded by Johnson & Johnson Tylenol & other drugs feared contaminated; J&J expands recall Johnson & Johnson has expanded a...
Robert M. Kisselburgh
