On September 25, 2012, Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. issued a recall for approximately 12,000 of its Globe model bikes because the front fork can break, posing a fall and injury hazard to riders. Specialized has received four reports of the front fork breaking and causing a fall. The falls resulted in riders sustaining head injuries, facial fractures, shoulder injuries, and cuts. The recall includes some 2008 and 2009 men and women’s Globe model bikes, including Globe Elite, Globe Sport Disc, and Globe Comp. The bicycles with defective forks manufactured by Kinesis, were sold at Specialized retailers nationwide from July 2007 to July 2012 for $500 to $1,100. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Specialized are advising consumers to stop using the bikes immediately until a replacement fork is installed. For a complete list of affected Globe bike models, please visit the CPSC website. Do not wait to Contact a Product Liability Attorney If you or someone you know was injured while riding a Specialized Globe bicycle, please do not wait to get legal help. Your legal rights may entitle you to financial compensation and you do not want to risk your one chance to recover funds for medical bills, lost earnings and wages, and pain and suffering. Waiting to seek the counsel of competent product liability (area of law defective products fall under) attorney [...] Read more »
NEW JERSEY – The family of a boy who was seriously injured after being struck by a line drive of a metal bat while playing a youth baseball game will receive a $14.5 million settlement from the baseball bat manufacturer, Little League Baseball, and a popular sporting goods store, The Sports Authority. In the lawsuit, the boy’s family claimed that the metal bat used was unsafe because baseballs could bounce off of it at much faster speeds than a wooden bat. Although Steven was playing in a Police Athletic League baseball game, the manufacturer of the baseball was named a defendant because the group certifies that specific metal bats are approved for and safe for use in games involving children. In June 2006, Steven Domalewski was pitching in a youth baseball game when he was struck in the chest, just above his heart, by a line drive off of the batter’s metal bat. After being hit, Steven clutched his chest and attempted to reach for the ball, however, the ball had hit him between heartbeats and he went into cardiac arrest. Steven slumped to the ground and stopped breathing. A passerby began CPR on Steven and paramedics, who were nearby, arrived within minutes of being notified, but Steven had already gone approximately 15-20 minutes without oxygen. The lack of oxygen caused Steven to suffer a [...] Read more »
KERN COUNTY – On July 11, 2012, one person was tragically killed and three people were injured in a five-vehicle pile-up on State Route 99 Wednesday afternoon. The multi-vehicle collision happened at about 3:00 p.m. when the 39-year-old driver of a white pickup truck didn’t notice that traffic had slowed for road construction. The driver of the white pickup truck didn’t stop in time and rear-ended a silver Hyundai, which rammed into the vehicle in front of it. The driver of the Hyundai, 85-year-old Arletta McIsaac, suffered major injuries in the crash and was taken to Kern Medical Center (KMC), where she died about an hour later. The driver of the pickup truck sustained severe head injuries in the crash and was also taken to KMC. Two of the other three drivers involved in the pile-up suffered injuries in the crash – one driver had head and chest pain, the other driver had chest pain and face lacerations. Both drivers were taken to KMC by ambulance. San Bernardino County Car Accident Liability If news reports are accurate, the driver of the white pickup truck is at-fault for this tragic multi-vehicle car accident. At this time, it is not known why the driver of the white pickup failed to see traffic slowing. Many times, drivers are not paying attention to the road because they are talking [...] Read more »
LOS ANGELES – A 26-year-old woman who was seriously injured while working as an extra on the set of the “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” movie will receive an $18.5 million settlement from Paramount Pictures. On September 1, 2010 Gabriela Cedillo was driving a car in a background scene during filming when a stunt vehicle that broke lose from a cable struck her in the head. Cedillo sustained serious brain injuries in the accident and had to have a portion of her skull removed. As a result of her injuries, Cedillo suffers memory problems, seizures, and is blind in one eye. In the lawsuit, Cedillo claimed that the accident was negligently caused by a poor welding job and that Paramount failed to follow through on a promise to assist her with medical bills. Compensation for Serious Injuries On the job accidents cause hundreds of thousands of workers to suffer serious injuries every year in the U.S. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), more than 124,000 workers were injured while on the job in 2010. Although many workers are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits, the amount of benefits obtained is often not enough to cover injury expenses. Workers injured on the job may be able to receive additional compensation for medical bills, lost earnings, impaired earning capacity, and pain and suffering by [...] Read more »
WASHINGTON – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Wednesday that Skechers will pay $40 million to settle charges that the shoe company misled consumers about the benefits of its toning shoes. Skechers boldly claimed that their Shape-ups would promote weight loss, improve posture, tone muscles, and reduce stress on ankles just by simply walking in them. Most of the $40 million settlement will be returned to consumers, but a small portion will be used to administer the payouts. Although the settlement proves Skechers’ claims were unfounded, the settlement does nothing to help those seriously injured while wearing a Skechers Shape-ups toning shoe. If you suffered a serious head injury, broken bone injury, brain injury, stress fracture, hip injury, muscle injury, or any other type of injury while wearing a Skechers Shape-ups toning shoe, you may be able to collect compensation from Skechers for damages related to your injury. The different types of financial compensation you may be able to collect in a personal injury claim, include past, current, and future medical bills, lost earnings, loss of relations (if applicable), loss of quality of life, mental anguish, and physical pain. To learn if you are eligible to pursue legal action against Skechers, talk to a knowledgeable Skechers Shape-ups injury attorney at the law firm of Estey Bomberger. Our firm has filed several mass tort lawsuits against [...] Read more »
The widow of a Certified Steel warehouse worker killed in a 2004 crane accident will receive $2.85 million dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit settlement. Marcia Austin will receive $1.8 million from Hamilton Steel Company, the Trenton, NJ. company who runs Certified Steel warehouse, and $1.05 million from Morris Material Handling, a crane supplier. Wayne Austin, a father of four, was killed when a 20 ton crane crashed into a bundle of steel he was unloading from another crane. The six and half ton bundle of steel Austin was unloading swung sideways and struck him in the head. The wrongful death lawsuit claims Hamilton Steel Company had prior knowledge of cranes accidentally crashing into each other, but did nothing to implement solutions to the problem. Austin was the second employee to be killed at the warehouse in less than a year.
Marci Grell, of Cottonwood, filed a $7.1 million dollar claim against Tehama County for damages related to injuries she sustained when hit by a TRAX bus in November of 2010. The Tehama County Board of Supervisors rejected the claim during a regular supervisors meeting but later discussed the claim in a closed session. The Tehama County Board of Supervisors is now preparing for an anticipated lawsuit from Grell. Grell was helping two accident victims when a regional transit bus on Highway 99 struck her. As a result of being dragged under the bus, Grell sustained severe head injuries in the collision. In the claim, Grell states that the driver of the bus, Carol Lasora, caused the pedestrian accident because of negligent behavior.
A Louisiana state appeals court upheld a $5 million dollar settlement award to August and Juli Guillot, for the fatal injury their unborn son sustained when the couple’s 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee backed up and pinned Juli against a brick column. A jury had previously awarded the $5 million in a 2008 verdict, but DaimlerChrysler had appealed the product liability lawsuit, claiming that the judge presiding over the trial made several errors. In May 1999, the Guillots entered their Jeep Grand Cherokee to leave for the hospital where Juli, who was nine months pregnant, planned to give birth. Before leaving their driveway in Violet, LA, August went to grab a cell phone from inside the house, while Juli exited the vehicle to retrieve a book in the back seat. As she looked for the book, the Jeep Grand Cherokee begun to move backwards and crushed Juli’s midsection between a car door and the brick column. Their son, who was born with permanent brain damage, was removed from life support in early June 1999. August Guillot blamed himself for the accident for two years, thinking that he had left the car in reverse when he went to retrieve the cell phone, until a reporter from the Los Angeles Times called to investigate “park-to-reverse” complaints about Jeep Grand [...] Read more »
JANUARY 26, 2010 – A 66-year-old Gilroy woman has filed a lawsuit against Caltrans and Monterey County for major injuries she suffered in an accident on January 20, 2009, at the intersection of Highway 101 and San Juan Road, near the Red Barn. Anna Reznik of Gilroy was driving south on Hwy 101 when she was struck by a Toyota Sequoia driven by Yong Ae Bowman, 69, who was attempting a turn onto northbound 101 from San Juan Road. A passenger in Reznik’s Toyota Corolla, Olga Tarcher, 91, died in the Aromas crash. Reznik sustained a massive head injury and broke numerous bones. She was bedridden for six months and now remains in a wheelchair and requires around the clock care. Bowman, the driver of the other vehicle, suffered less serious injuries. Reznik filed suit against Caltrans, the County of Monterey, and Bowman. The intersection is dangerous in part because vehicles turning left from San Juan Road onto northbound 101 must cross two lanes of southbound traffic before merging into the fast lane of a 60 mph freeway. Entering southbound is also dangerous because cars can turn simultaneously from both lanes. The CHP has confirmed the intersection is one of the most dangerous on Highway 101 in Monterey County. In the past 10 years, [...] Read more »
NOVEMBER 6, 2009 – A 51-year-old woman was seriously hurt Thursday morning when she was struck by a car at Walnut Street and Ham Lane. The victim, identified as Sharon Boyd, was taken to Lodi Memorial Hospital following the pedestrian accident, which occurred around 11 a.m. Boyd, who was heading east on Walnut Street in a crosswalk, was struck by an unlicensed 18-year-old driver turning on Ham Lane. Boyd was trapped under the vehicle and suffered bone fractures, head trauma and lacerations. Police reported the driver would likely be charged with not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The San Joaquin County accident remains under investigation. View Larger Map