Glendale Personal Injury Lawyer - Miscellaneous

I-5 Reopens After Milti-car Collision

Greg Owen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:05:00 GMT

All lanes on Interstate 5 in Burbank have been reopened after a big rig jackknifed and struck the center divider early this morning, catching fire and causing a multi-car collision.

The 5:51 a.m. accident occurred on the northbound lanes near West Alameda Avenue. A SigAlert was issued but was canceled at about 11:30 a.m. California Highway Patrol officials said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation, but CHP spokesman Andre Primeaux said the truck driver told officials he saw an obstruction in the road and swerved left, hitting the median. Three cars on each side of the road were involved in the accident, but only one driver suffered minor injuries. An official of the Burbank Fire Department, which responded to the accident, said she didn't have any update on that person’s condition.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Patients at Cedars-Sinai Receive Radiation Overdose; Hospital Fails to Inform All Affected

Greg Owen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:29:27 GMT

Four patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who received eight times the necessary amount of radiation were not informed of the hospital's error. Of the 206 patients who received radiation overdose, at least four were called and asked only about hair loss or other side effects. Those four interviewed by the Los Angeles Times reported only hearing of the error through news media.

The treatments occured between the months of February 2008 when computer protocols were modified on a specific scanner and continued until August 2009 when a patient reported hair loss. The reconfiguration was made in order to improve the ability to see blood flow to the brain.

Although the machine in question was used to perform various types of scans, the problem was limited to CT brain perfusion scans, which are used to diagnose strokes.

In a written statement Monday, Dr. Barry D. Pressman, chairman of the imaging department, said that his goal in speaking with patients was "to address any side-effects that may occur, without unnecessarily alarming them."

He said that any questions, including those about radiation levels, were addressed. "I sincerely regret if any patient feels that they did not receive the information they needed," he said.

The most severe side effect of the overdose is a brain tumor, though the chance is remote. Younger patients who received multiply scans are at highest risk as the risk of radiation is cumulative.

The discovery of the overdoses at Cedars-Sinai prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue an alert warning hospitals nationwide to check the settings on their scanners.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Driver Kills One After Allegedly Texting While Driving

Greg Owen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:19:00 GMT

A Costa Mesa motorist was ordered to stand trial for allegedly killing a pedestrian minutes after he was texting on his cellphone in the car.

An Orange County judge on Monday rejected a defense request to reduce the charges. The man's attorney argued that there is no evidence he was texting at the time of the crash, but prosecutors say his use of the phone and other factors suggest he was acting negligently and didn't see the pedestrian.

The trial comes amid a growing national debate about the texting while driving, which the state outlawed last year. If convicted of vehicular manslaughter, he faces up to nine years in prison.

Martin Burt Kuehl, 42, is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, although prosecutors acknowledge that they have no phone company records to prove that he was texting at the moment of impact.

Martha Ovalle, a Guatemalan immigrant working in Newport Beach as a nanny, died in the Aug. 29, 2008, accident. It took place about 8:30 a.m on Westcliff Drive near Dover Drive in Newport Beach.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

CHP Recommends Manslaughter Charges Against Officer Involved in Deadly Collision

Greg Owen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:58:00 GMT

The California Highway Patrol recommends that prosecutors bring manslaughter charges against La Habra police officer, Nancy Garcia, who was responding to an emergency in April when she sped through a red light and

collided with a car

. The accident killed a husband and wife, authorities said Wednesday.

The case was presented to the Orange County district attorney's office Wednesday by the California Highway Patrol's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation team, which recommended filing the charges against La Habra Police Officer Nancy Garcia.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Parents of College Student Sue Over Fraternity Hazing Related Death

Greg Owen — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:48:00 GMT

The parents of the Cal Poly fraternity pledge who died last year after an alleged hazing incident have filed a lawsuit against the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and nine of its members.

Carson Starkey’s parents, Scott and Julia Starkey of Austin, Texas, filed the lawsuit Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. It names the Illinois-based fraternity, its Cal Poly chapter, and Bennett Holden, Haithem Ibrahim, Zacary Ellis, Matt Silva, Russell Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Jamie Merkler, Christopher Perkins and Adam Marszal.

The Starkeys allege four counts of negligence and a violation of Matt’s Law, a California law that allows for lawsuits when injuries or deaths result from hazing.

A civil filing such as the Starkeys’ represents just one side in a dispute. Officials at the fraternity headquarters in Illinois couldn’t be reached Tuesday afternoon. No specific amount of money is being sought.

Cal Poly was not named as a defendant in the suit, and the university has suspended SAE indefinitely; university officials say the fraternity likely will never return to campus.

The suit alleges that the fraternity should have taken “reasonable measures” to prevent excessive alcohol consumption.

The lawsuit also claims that fellow fraternity members failed to provide medical care for Starkey by neglecting to take him to the hospital.

Carson Starkey died of alcohol poisoning Dec. 2, 2008, hours after attending a “brown bag” event at 551 Highland Drive in San Luis Obispo in which pledges were assigned to drink specific amounts of alcohol given to them by older fraternity members in a brown bag, the suit alleges.

Fraternity members were chanting “puke and rally” to urge pledges to drink excessively, the suit claims. Criminal cases against four SAE members — Ibrahim, Ellis, Marszal and Russell Taylor — allege they committed hazing and furnished alcohol to a minor. They each have pleaded not guilty.

In the civil case, the Starkey family is being represented by Doug Fierberg of the law firm Bode & Grenier in Washington, D.C., and Ivo Labar of the firm Kerr & Wagstaffe in San Francisco.

The firms have a history of filing lawsuits against fraternities for deaths and injuries caused by hazing and other misconduct, according to a news release.

In the court filing, no lawyers representing the defendants were named.

The lawsuit alleges that the fraternity-related death of Tyler Cross in 2006 at the University of Texas resulted in a $16.2 million verdict against SAE.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Peregrina Cheese Corporation Recalls All Products Manufactured In Its Plant

Greg Owen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:10:00 GMT

Peregrina Cheese Corporation of Brooklyn, New York, is recalling all products manufactured in its Brooklyn, NY plant from March 17, 2009 to the present because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

This recall action is being conducted in accordance with the Consent Decree filed on July 20, 2009, which requires Peregrina Cheese Corporation to recall all products and codes produced in the Brooklyn plant from March 17, 2009 to the present.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Fireside Coffee Recalls Tea With Potential Salmonella

Greg Owen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:12:00 GMT

Fireside Coffee Co. Swartz Creek, MI is recalling all Fireside Chai Tea that contains dry milk produced by Plainview Milk Products after June 2007. Plainview Milk Products of Plainview, MN has recalled its instant non-fat dry milk because of potential Salmonella contamination. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The Fireside Coffee Co. Chai Tea affected by this recall was distributed nationwide in retail stores, through mail orders and at art fairs. The Chai tea under recall comes in the following four flavors: Spiced, Chocolate, Vanilla and Decaf Vanilla. All four flavors come in a variety of package sizes including a 12oz. box, a 1 lb. sampling bag, 5 lb. bulk packages and single serving packets.

Click here for a list of recalled products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Hiland-Roberts Ice Cream Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall

Greg Owen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:25:00 GMT

Hiland-Roberts Ice Cream, Norfolk NE is voluntarily recalling sorbet products manufactured for Espo’s Cucina Dolce, Inc. because they contain undeclared milk. The recalled products are pint containers of Espo’s Sorbetto and Nature’s Promise Sorbetto. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Clif Shot Recovery Drink Mix Recalled After Salmonella Contamination

Greg Owen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:18:00 GMT

A nationwide voluntary and precautionary recall of Hot Chocolate Recovery Drink Mix from CLIF SHOT® sold in 40-gram, single-serve packets and 12-pack boxes with a "Best By" date of 19SEP09R was announced today because the powdered drink mix contains organic non-fat dried milk made by the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, Plainview, Minn. Plainview recently issued a recall of certain non-fat dried milk products that were made on equipment found to contain Salmonella during an FDA investigation of the facility.

The recall affects approximately 1800 boxes of Hot Chocolate Drink Mix for sale in sports retail stores and on select websites. No other products or flavors are included in this recall. None of the recalled Hot Chocolate Recovery Drink Mix has tested positive for Salmonella, and there have been no reports of illness.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

SUV Collides With Big Rig Killing Toddler

Greg Owen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:28:00 GMT

A 3 1/2-year-old girl was killed Saturday when her mother lost control of her sport utility vehicle and crashed into a tractor-trailer on the 5 Freeway in Mission Hills.

Mariana Ruiz, 50, of Bakersfield, driving a 1998 Ford Explorer, got on the freeway at San Fernando Mission Boulevard about 9:30 a.m., struck a light pole and then hit the big rig, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP’s accident report concluded that Ruiz was "traveling at an unsafe speed for the wet road conditions."

The girl was pronounced dead at Holy Cross Hospital, said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos.

A passenger, Juan Torres, 43, of Bakersfield, was injured.

The girl’s identity was not released. No arrests were made and alcohol was not a factor, the CHP said.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen