Articles Posted in Personal Injury

Although Christmas Day has come and gone, many residents and business owners will keep their Christmas trees up for at least another week, if not two. Many of these trees were probably put up weeks ago, but it’s not too late to check them thoroughly this week to be sure everything is safe. You may not realize it, but Christmas trees can quickly turn into hazards, causing injury, death and costly property damages if not taken care of properly.

Emergency response teams respond to roughly 240 Christmas tree fire accidents in Hollywood and elsewhere every year. Over the last six years, there has been an average of 13 fatalities, 27 injuries and more than $16 million in property damages each year as the result of these types of accidents.

Our Hollywood injury attorneys understand that in about one out of every 20 Christmas tree fire reports, a fatality occurred. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that most of these accidents are the result of poor planning and careless decorators. About a fifth of all Christmas tree fires are the directly result of someone putting it too close to a heat source. If that is the case in your home or office, now’s a good time to relocate it if you plan on keeping it up for another week or so.

About half of all Christmas tree structure fires that are reported happen in this month. Another third of these incidents are reported in January, while more than 40 percent are reported during the 12 days from December 23rd through January 3rd.

Causes of Christmas tree fires:

-Nearly 35 percent of Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical failures or malfunctions.

-About 20 percent of these fires occur because a heat source was located too close to a tree.

-More than 10 percent happen because lit candles were placed too closely to the tree.

-Nearly 15 percent happened because of a malfunctioning string of lights or other electrical issue.

Residents are urged to be cautious when taking down this year’s Christmas tree. If you have an artificial tree, before you put it away for the year make sure it is labeled as either flame-resistant or flame-retardant.

If you’ve got a real tree, make sure the needles aren’t falling off every time you touch it, because that means it’s too dry. Remember to water live trees daily. When you’re done with your tree, you should contact your recycling facility or household waste removal company to determine how to dispose of it. You never want to leave your old, dry tree laying anywhere around your house. That’s a fire hazard in itself!

We hope you are enjoying the holiday season, and wish you all the best in 2012.
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Elevator and escalator accidents in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere throughout Florida can be complicated for a victim who is seeking proper compensation after an accident. These accidents can be the fault of the device’s manufacturer, the property owner or the inspection agency. Unfortunately, faulty elevators put us at serious risks for injury on a daily basis as many of use ride them every single day. We step on to these elevators oftentimes without the thought of the potential dangers we’re facing. Both elevators and escalators are required to undergo rigorous inspections and to be serviced regularly. Unfortunately, many are not.

Our Fort Lauderdale escalator and elevator accident lawyers understand how much maintenance these devices require. Day after day they transport thousands and thousands of pounds. Unfortunately, many of them are not properly maintained. Steps on escalators can come loose, elevator cables can become strained, flood hazards after heavy rainfall create risks for slip-and-falls, doors can jam, and clothing, fingers and arms can get caught in these devices. Elevators can plummet down the shaft, or their doors can open in a section of the building where there is no landing, causing a serious fall hazard.

Elevators and escalators have to be inspected by a certified inspector at least once every six months. To help raise awareness about the importance of safe-riding on elevators and escalators, the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation is holding another National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week. This year’s awareness campaign will be taking place from November 13th through the 19th.

The week-long campaign is used to raise awareness about the need for safe equipment and to recognize the contributions that have been made by these devices to our quality of life.

In the United States, there are about 600,000 elevators and 30,000 escalators. These two devices help to transport nearly 600 million riders every day. Every year, more than 100 billion people ride an elevator and about 90 billion people use an escalator. They’re used every day to provide us with convenience and quick travel.

Every year, approximately 30 people are killed and another 11,000 are injured on these transportation devices. Accidents can result in pinches, bone fractures, nerve and tendon lacerations ,and even death.

Injuries can happen when:

-Either of the machines get stuck.

-An elevator misses a floor.

-Escalators are not moving at an adequate speed.

-When elevators do not open at a level even with the floor.

-During jerky movements on either device.

-Elevator riders get stuck in the doors.

-Elevator doors open to an empty shaft.

-Elevators plummet down a shaft.

If you would like to join the National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness campaign, you’re urged to fill out a volunteer form. The foundation will provide you with all of the material you will need to help get you started in making a difference and helping to save lives.
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As part of National Fire Prevention Week our personal injury lawyers in Coconut Creek, Weston, Hallandale Beach and elsewhere want to remind residents to take fire prevention seriously. A fire can not only cause widespread property damage, but also severe and extremely painful burn injuries. The commemorative week was established as a remembrance of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 that lasted almost two days, killed more than 250 people, burned more than 2,000 acres, and left 100,000 people homeless.

Recovery from a burn injury in Port St. Lucie or elsewhere can often be lifelong and require extensive medical treatment for scarring or rehabilitation. If you have suffered a burn injury from an act of negligence caused by someone else, contact an accident attorney to help you work through the complexities of the case.

First, it is important to understand the varying degrees of a burn because the higher the degree, the more severe the injury and the more complex it will be to determine proper treatment. According to Advanced Healing Institute, the most common types are first-, second- and third-degree burns. Severity is often determined by the depth of the injury or even the mass of body size that it covers. First-degree burn is when the outermost surface of skin is damaged but is still intact. Second-degree burns are more severe and break into the second layer of skin, or the dermis. The development of a blister is an indicator of a second degree burn. A third-degree burn is slightly more severe, as the burn destroys the first two layers of skin and has a full-thickness. A fourth-degree burn penetrates to deeper levels affecting muscles, bones, tendons and internal organs.

The American Burn Association reports that there are approximately 450,000 burn injuries annually that require medical treatment. On average, there are approximately 3,500 deaths per year as a result of residential fires, car and aircraft crashes or contact with chemicals, hot liquids or electricity. Specialized burn centers average about 200 admissions per year which has grown in recent years. Approximately 42 percent of burn injuries needing to be admitted to a hospital are caused by fires and flames. The majority of fires take place in a residence but 10 percent occur at work.

According to Web Health Centre, burns are dangerous when excessive amounts of fluid are lost and cause victims to go into shock. The first 48 hours for a burn victim are the most critical because of rapid fluid loss. Many burns can become infected if not treated properly, and severe burns usually leave scarring and cause some restriction in movements.

Minor burn injuries can be treated at home by running cool water over the burn or applying a cold compress to the burned area of the skin. To help prevent loss of fluid or infection, cover the burn loosely with a bandage or non-stick gauze. Burns typically are pretty painful so over-the-counter medication can be administered if the pain persists. It is extremely important to see a physician for severe burns or if an infection develops from a minor burn.
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The National Safety Council is urging communities throughout the United States to participate in National Safety Month throughout June. The NSC is estimating 128,200 unintentional deaths in 2009, which is the highest on record. In 1992, there were a total of 86,777 preventable deaths – about 47 percent less than what is anticipated for 2009.

For each week in June, the NSC will focus on different leading causes of unintentional injuries or fatalities. Summertime is especially important as school lets out and families start to attend outdoor events or travel on family vacations. The weeks of June are highlighted as follows:

-First Week of June 1-4 focuses on summertime safety. The goal is to promote health and safety practices at home, on roadways, in the workplace and throughout communities. The NSC will offer several safety and health fact sheets with regard to key issues like distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety and home safety.

-Second Week of June 5-11 focuses on preventing overexertion. Sprains and strains in the lower back are a common type of overexertion but can often be preventable. Overexertion is the third leading cause of preventable injuries that are treated in hospital emergency rooms.

-Third Week of June 12-18 focuses on teen driving safety. Every year, more than 5,500 teen drivers, their passengers, occupants in other vehicles, cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians are killed in crashes involving a young and inexperienced driver.

-Fourth Week of June 19-25 focuses on how to prevent slips, trips and falls. Emergency rooms treat these kinds of unintentional injuries daily as falls are common among all age groups, specifically adults 55 and older.

-Fifth Week of June 26-30 focuses on staying off the phone while on the road. Car accidents remain the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the U.S. Cell phones are often a distraction that leads to 23 percent of all motor vehicle crashes.

The cost per household annually for unintentional injuries is approximately $5,900. Throughout the country, Americans and employers spend more than $693 billion on preventable injuries each year.

Other sponsors committed to National Safety Month include PDA, JLG/LiftPod, AECOM, State Farm, Toyota, and FirstGroup America.

Week 1 Safety Tips offered by the NSC for summertime include:

-Canoe safety

-Inline skating and skateboarding safety

-Playground safety

-Safe bicycling

-Summer and alcohol safety

-Sun, heat exposure and surviving hot weather

-Using fireworks safely
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A nearly decade-long battle waging between 270 residents of the small community of Tallevast and Fortune 500 giant Lockheed Martin appears to be easing with the pending settlement of a civil suit over contaminated groundwater, the Miami Herald reports.

Our South Florida premises liability attorneys have been monitoring the complex case where long-toxic, tainted, property changed hands several times and attaching liability became an epic legal struggle. It is believed that groundwater supplying the small community first became tainted more than 40 years ago when the American Beryllium Co. operated a plant manufacturing parts for nuclear warheads. In 1996, the land was purchased by Lockheed Martin and the plant was shuttered.

A 2007 Sarasota Herald-Tribune article reveals that Lockheed Martin was aware that pollutants existed in the soil and groundwater before selling the property, and for several years failed to disclose to state and local officials and Tallavast residents that area well water was contaminated with potentially toxic levels of TCE, or tricholoroethylene. TCE is a compound linked to lung, liver and kidney cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.

Three other resident lawsuits remain as residents continued to fight to have Lockheed Martin foot the bill to relocate 80 homes in the community from the contaminated site. The company argues it has taken steps to make Tallavast a safe place to live, but, at the same time, admits it will take 50 years to eradicate traces of the pollutant from the soil.

Neither Tallavast residents, nor their lawyers, are buying it. Meanwhile, 275 wells continue to monitor environmental impacts of the pollution plume and the state is launching a $125,000 door-to-door study that will detail family medical histories, among other things.
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Three 2-ounce bottles of mercury found in a homeowner’s garage and opened could see clean-up costs reach $250,000 after decontamination effort in a suburban neighborhood spread to several homes along Northwest Third Place in Margate, the Sun Sentinel reports.

After a resident found the three small bottles of the liquid metal in his garage, he poured some on his driveway and shared a bottle with neighborhood kids. The kids played with the material and carried the toxic material to at least four homes. The Florida Department of Health indicates that mercury can be harmful to humans depending upon how much of the liquid the victim handles and for how long. In short, under the right circumstances – namely eating it, breathing it or touching it – mercury exposure could lead to a Fort Lauderdale personal injury claim.

With that said, because the presence of mercury is so common in the environment, almost everyone carries at least trace amounts of the element in their bodies. In places like Florida, where commercial and recreational fishing and seafood consumption are major industries, most consumers identify mercury consumption concerns with eating fish and shellfish.

It is common knowledge that most all seafood is known to carry a conversion of mercury – methylmercury – which is absorbed via small intestines. The larger and older the fish, the higher levels of methylmercury they carry. Edible predatory fish like sharks, swordfish and king mackerel accumulate even more of the toxic element because they almost exclusively feed on smaller fellow mercury-carrying sea life.

But being exposed to mercury due to a homeowner’s negligence is a different matter. What the homeowner was doing with the mercury will certainly be investigated. But the gross negligence with which it was handled has put neighborhood children, and possibly their families, at risk.
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A 14-year-old Hollywood boy avoided a possible 30-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to a manslaughter charge for shooting his best friend in the head with his mother’s gun. The Palm Beach Post reported that the teen was sentenced to a rehabilitation program and could be released in nine months.

These are tragic cases. A Palm Beach child injury attorney can assist families in cases where a child is seriously injured or killed at a friend’s house or on someone else’s property, including a church, school or daycare center. Dog attacks and swimming pool accidents are frequent causes of child injury. But, tragically, the failure of families to safely store and maintain firearms continues to lead to serious or fatal accidents involving children.

The April 28 shooting death of the 13-year-old boy involved a 9 mm pistol belonging to the defendant’s mother. She faces a charge of culpable negligence and the judge has entered a not guilty plea on her behalf while she finds legal representation.

These cases are a tragically common occurrence in Florida:

-In June, a 2-year-old boy apparently shot himself after a man visiting the child’s mother left a loaded handgun on a bed. The man reportedly worked as a security guard, according to ABC7.

-In January, the Fort Myers News-Press reported the case of a 2-year-old boy who shot himself while visiting grandma’s house.

-In December 2008, a Cape Coral teenager reportedly made up a story about a break-in by armed burglars after shooting another boy in his home. The father in that case was also charged with culpable negligence.

The University of Michigan reports that 9 children a day are killed by handguns, including hundreds who die each year as a result of accidental shootings.

Safety advocates recommend the following safety measures:

-Keep the gun locked
-Keep the gun unloaded
-Store the ammunition locked
-Store ammunition in a separate place
-Hide keys to firearm and ammunition boxes
-Only parents should know the location of firearms in the home
-Check with local police for additional advice
-Never leave a gun unattended
-Teach children about the dangers of guns
-Talk to children about the risks of gun injury outside the home, including the homes of friends
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