St. Martin’s Press has issued a defective product recall for more than 200,000 copies of “Big Rex and Friends” books because of a red plastic dot sewn into the book, which contains excessive levels of lead. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, this product defect recall involves cloth books, which have a black and white striped border with a red dinosaur on the cover. The books, manufactured in China, were sold at large retailers including Barnes & Noble, Toys “R” Us, Amazon and Borders for about $9. Those who have these books at home are asked to take them away from their children right away and contact St. Martin’s Press for a full refund.
Toys and other items made with high or excessive levels of lead pose serious dangers for children. Infants and toddlers have the tendency to put things, including books and toys, in their mouths. Lead poisoning presents a serious health hazard to children. When children ingest the lead from toys, they could suffer irreversible brain damage. Some of the other health effects include behavioral problems, reduction in I.Q, abdominal pain, fatigue and irritability.
If you or a loved one has suffered from lead-poisoning as a result of defective toys or recalled products, please contact an experienced Seattle personal injury attorney with The Bernard Law Group for a FREE, comprehensive and completely confidential consultation. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington product defect cases, which has useful, educational information to help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/2010/bigrex.html
A 68-year-old man was struck by a pickup truck as he was walking across the street in a marked crosswalk in the Silverdale area, the Kitsap Sun reports. Washington State Patrol officials say the man was walking across Ridgetop Boulevard when a 26-year-old woman driving a 2002 Ford pickup struck him. The woman will be cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian, troopers said. They say drugs or alcohol did not play a part in the crash. The pedestrian accident victim sustained severe head injuries. However, his injuries are not life-threatening.
A number of Seattle pedestrian accidents occur because of drivers who are distracted, inattentive or are simply not following the rules of the road. Washington law requires motorists to yield right-of-way to pedestrians legally walking in crosswalks. The Revised Code of Washington Section 46.61.235 (1) states: “The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian or bicycle to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian or bicycle is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For purposes of this section “half of the roadway” means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel, and includes the entire width of a one-way roadway.”
In such cases where negligence is involved, the injured pedestrian can seek compensation to cover medical expenses, lost earnings, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, surgeries that may be required and cost of other therapy and treatment.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington pedestrian accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information about vehicular accident cases to help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jan/04/pedestrian-hit-at-central-kitsap-interchange/?partner=yahoo_feeds
Only 10 percent of construction cranes in Washington State have been certified to new safety standards, which took effect January 1, 2010, the Department of Labor and Industries has announced. According to a news report in the Puget Sound Business Journal, out of the 7,000 cranes used in Washington construction sites, only 700 have been certified. That includes only 20 out of the estimated 100 tower cranes in Washington State. The Department of Labor and Industries is now warning businesses that they should work on getting these cranes certified. Washington State adopted new rules for crane safety after a November 2006 construction accident in Bellevue where a 210-foot crane fell, killing a Microsoft employee in a condominium complex nearby.
Washington State, in April 2007, became the 15th state in the nation to require crane operators to be certified after Governor Chris Gregoire signed HB 2171 into law. Effective January 1, 2010, no employer or contractor shall permit a crane operator engaged in construction work to operate a crane unless the crane operator is qualified. The new law also requires cranes to be certified at least annually by a certified crane inspector. I certainly hope that the state enforces this new law and pushes businesses to comply with this much-needed safety standard.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Seattle crane accident, please contact the skilled personal injury lawyers at The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington construction accident cases, which has useful educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/12/21/daily12.html
Working with heavy equipment and building materials when balancing on the limited space of a scaffold is a challenge and a danger for construction workers. Without fall protection of safe access, it can be extremely dangerous. Falls from such improperly constructed scaffolds can result in injuries ranging from minor sprains to catastrophic injuries and deaths. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all scaffolds be constructed according to manufacturer’s instructions, that guardrails are installed along all open sides, ends of platforms, and guardrail systems, and that personal fall arrest systems are used.
In fact, OSHA recently proposed a $140,000 fine against a masonry company for workplace safety violations, which contributed to the death of a worker in a scaffolding collapse. A 52-year-old man died in July when scaffolding collapsed as he and two others were laying brick at a construction site. The man fell 37 feet to his death. The company was cited for 11 violations, including improperly modifying the scaffolding, failing to properly install bracing and not ensuring the scaffolding was secured to prevent tipping.
Where construction accident deaths are caused by such serious violations on the part of the employer or a contractor, workers may seek compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, cost of hospitalization, therapy and other related damages. In case of fatalities, families of deceased workers may file a wrongful death claim.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington construction accident, please contact the skilled Seattle personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington construction accident cases, which has useful educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/30/osha-proposes-fine.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101
A construction worker died in Redmond, Washington, after he fell about 30 feet from the roof of a house, according to a Fox News report. The man sustained severe head injuries after he fell off the home that was being built on 161st Court Northeast. He was taken to a Seattle hospital. He initially survived the fall, but died hours later in the hospital. It is not clear how or why this fatal construction site accident occurred.
A fall from a higher elevation can cause devastating injuries or death to a construction worker including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones and other types of back or neck injuries. Such serious personal injuries could prevent the worker from returning to his job for an extended period of time causing tremendous financial strain.
According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), falls are the leading cause of deaths in the construction industry. An average of 362 fatal falls occurred each year from 1995 to 1999, a trend which is on the rise. In fact, falls from a higher elevation account for one-third of all construction accident deaths. These are accidents that can be easily prevented by following federally-mandated safety standards. In such cases, negligent contractors or sub-contractors who failed to maintain a safe working environment can also be held liable. Workers who are injured on-the-job are usually entitled to receive state worker’s compensation benefits.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington construction accident, please contact the skilled Seattle personal injury lawyers at The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington construction accident cases, which has educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-122209-fallfromroof,0,4821996.story?track=rss
A Spokane Washington man has filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the state of Idaho for injuries he says were caused by potholes on the Interstate 90, the Associated Press reports. The 22-year-old man was a passenger in a vehicle pulling a trailer when the trailer became dislodged while running over potholes. According to court documents, the driver pulled into the median to reattach the trailer when another vehicle hit the same series of potholes, causing that vehicle’s steering mechanism to break. The vehicle then struck the trailer, which in turn hit the Washington man. He sustained pelvic injuries as a result of this crash.
Dangerous or defective roadways can cause serious accidents that result in catastrophic injuries or deaths to vehicle occupants. In this particular case, the potholes seem to have been extremely dangerous. If they caused a vehicle’s trailer to come loose and another vehicle’s steering mechanism to break, those were some potholes! Kirk Bernard and his legal team have represented several clients who sustained severe or fatal injuries in car accidents or motorcycle accidents as a result of poorly maintained roadways with potholes or uneven pavement.
In such cases, the governmental agency responsible for maintaining that roadway could be held liable for the accident and resulting injuries. Victims could seek compensation to cover medical expenses, loss of wages, cost of hospitalization, physical therapy and other related damages.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident in Seattle, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information about car accident cases to help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard today.
Source:http://www.nwcn.com/news/Spokane-man-files-pothole-lawsuit-against-Idaho-80140822.html
A 49-year-old bicyclist sustained serious injuries after he crashed his bicycle while trying to avoid being struck head-on by a speeding minivan on Route 202 in Redmond. According to a news report, the injured man was among a group of 10 cyclists training as a team. They were heading west on Route 202 when a red minivan was heading east at a high rate of speed and veered into the westbound lane to pass several vehicles. The cyclist had to steer off the road and into a ditch in order to avoid a collision with the van. The bicyclist was seriously injured and was transported to a Bellevue hospital. Police are looking for any eyewitnesses who may have seen the van driving erratically.
In Washington State, it is illegal for a motorist to cross into the opposite lane when it is occupied by a car, bicycle or pedestrian. If a driver’s negligence or recklessness causes serious injuries, the injured victim could file a personal injury claim against the driver seeking compensation. In such cases, victims could seek compensation to cover medical expenses, loss of earnings, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, physical therapy or even long-term care in case of catastrophic injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington car accident, please contact a skilled Seattle personal injury attorney with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful, educational information about Washington auto accident cases that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2010/1/3/4419273.html
Pharmacy errors can happen more often than you know. Recent studies show that as many as 10 percent of all medical prescriptions are filled in error. Adverse reactions to receiving the wrong medication can result in serious personal injuries, organ damage and even death. Prescription errors could involve dispensing the wrong medication or giving the patient the wrong dosage. In some cases the pharmacist may not account for drug allergies or harmful drug interactions with other medications that the patient was taking.
According to a recent news report, a pharmacist error cost the life of a nursing home resident who suffered kidney damage and died as a result of taking the wrong medication. The pharmacist apparently sent the wrong formulation of a powerful antifungal drug, which caused kidney failure and prevented effective treatment for cancer and fungal pneumonia. The drug comes in four formulations including a traditional one that is more damaging to the kidneys. Although the prescription called for a different formulation, the pharmacist gave the traditional formulation and sent it to the nursing home with the wrong label. By the time the error was discovered, it was too late for this patient.
Damages for pharmacy errors may include medical expenses incurred and any future medical care required to treat the long-term effects of the harmful medicine. Victims can also seek compensation to cover lost wages if the injury or illness results in a disability, loss of enjoyment of life and pain and suffering. If the loved one died as a result of the pharmacy or prescription error, the family could pursue a wrongful death claim against the pharmacy or the hospital.
If your loved one has been seriously injured by medical negligence as a result of pharmacy or prescription errors, please contact the reputed personal injury Seattle attorneys at The Bernard Law Firm to find out about your legal rights and options. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington personal injury cases, which has useful, educational information that will help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.startribune.com/local/north/79462122.html
Two drivers sustained critical injuries in a King County car accident, after a suspected drunk driver going east on the Interstate 90, crossed the center median and crashed head-on into a westbound vehicle, near Preston. According to the News Tribune, a state trooper who was going eastbound on the highway saw a 2001 Acura RL drive up over the dirt median and cross over to the westbound lanes. After avoiding a collision with a big rig, the Acura crashed head-on into a 2006 Honda Civic. Both drivers were transported to a Seattle hospital. The driver of the Acura, a 53-year-old man, apparently has a prior DUI conviction and will face charges as a result of this major injury car accident.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious crime in Washington State. According to the Revised Code of Washington Section 46.61.502, driving under the influence is when “a person is guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within the state.” It is also illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.
Drunk drivers who cause fatalities may also face vehicular homicide charges. In addition to facing serious criminal charges, drunk drivers could also be held civilly responsible for their actions. Victims of alcohol-related accidents may seek compensation to cover medical expenses, loss of wages, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, therapy and other related expenses.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/996236.html
Crane accidents are among the more scarier and deadlier of construction site accidents. To a crane operator, few experiences may be as frightening as when a crane becomes unbalanced while a load is being lifted or when the crane collapses under the weight of an excessive load.
According to a recent news report, one worker died and another was seriously injured after a 400-ton crane collapsed onto a welding shop near a construction site. The crane operator was injured and a worker inside the welding shop was killed. About 50 workers were in the shop at the time when the crane’s 200-foot boom landed on its roof, crushing part of the building. A 30-year-old worker was pinned under the metal debris and a roof beam. He died at a local hospital. The crane carried a 30-ton weight from an 18-wheeler’s flatbed to the ground near the shop where it collapsed. Authorities are looking into the cause of this deadly crane collapse.
In such cases, the company that is operating the crane could be held liable for injuries or wrongful death caused as a result of the accident. Where negligence is involved, families of deceased accident victims may file a wrongful death claim seeking compensation to cover funeral expenses, loss of earnings and other related damages. Very often, in construction and industrial accidents, we see that families lose their sole breadwinner when tragedy hits. In such cases workers compensation benefits are inadequate to cover the expenses the family has to go through without its primary wage earner.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Seattle construction accident, please contact the reputed Seattle personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington construction accident cases, which has useful educational information that will help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20091118/articles/911189954&tc=yahoo