Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer - General Personal Injury

Public and doctors warned on Spiriva

Ben Glass — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:34:18 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration is notifying patients and doctors about the potential risk of stroke with Spiriva a drug used to treat breathing problems related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Apparently, an analsys of the data of earlier trial led to the discovery of a potential relationship.
"Potential safety concerns over Spiriva could facilitate earlier Advair use in less severe patients," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note.

Spiriva is a Pfizer drug

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Taser Lawsuit Dismissed on Immunity Grounds

Ben Glass — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:50:03 GMT

A $4.5 million personal injury lawsuit filed by a man a former Colonial Beach police officer Tasered in 2005 has been dismissed by a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson decided on Thursday, March 6 that former Sgt. Ryan Hood was "entitled to qualified immunity" from civil liability after shooting James Keller with the stun gun. He said that it was appropriate for Hood, who resigned from the force last year, to use the Taser on Keller because he reasonably believed him to pose a threat.

Keller, who suffers from a brain disorder, was shot with the Taser after spending two hours wading in the Potomac River exhibiting erratic behavior and escaping police in boats. The jolt knocked him to the pavement, causing sever head injuries.

A federal grand jury indicted Hood and Courtlandt Turner, former Chief of Colonial Beach police, on multiple charges as a result of the incident. Both officers were acquitted by another federal judge after a trial last year.
Keller's attorneys then filed suit against Hood, Turner, and the town of Colonial Beach. Turner, who retired early this year, and Colonial Beach were dropped as defendants in October.

Keller claimed that by using the Taser, Hood deprived him of his Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable seizure by police and also charged him with assault and battery.

Hudson said that his review of the depositions from both the civil suit and criminal proceedings convinced him that "Keller spun towards Hood and raised his fists."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Windsprints in 90 degree weather lead to death, says lawsuit

Ben Glass — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:44:21 GMT

On Thursday, March 6, a $25 million lawsuit was filed, alleging that the wrongful death of a Richlands High School freshman in September was the result of his gym teacher forcing him to do wind sprints in 90-degree temperatures, regardless of school officials knowing that he had a heart condition which prohibited physical fitness activity.

The suit, filed by the boy's mother in Tazewell County Circuit Court, says that Kevin J. Stallard II had a medical excuse from a pediatric cardiologist clearly stating that physical-fitness activities in gym class were prohibited.

The suit alleges that Bradley S. Strong, physical education teacher, ignored the health information, forcing the boy to participate in basketball and do wind sprints in high temperature conditions.

According to the suit, school officials, including Strong and Angela Cox, the school nurse, did not "take appropriate steps to immediately render emergency first aid" and failed to contact emergency responders for approximately 20 minutes after the boy's collapse in front of fellow students in gym class. On September 6, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

According to the suit, emergency responders were only called after school officials contacted to boy's father to ask if he had a history of seizures or passing out. The suit says he told them to call for help.
The suit claims school officials treated Stallard for seizures, but did not attempt CPR, and also failed to provide his medical information to rescue workers.

Patricia Stallard, the 14-year-old boy's mother, said she told Karen Webb, the principal, of her son's medical condition and also called the school to speak with Strong after finding out earlier in the school year that her son was being forced to participate. The suit says he failed to return her call.

Note from Virginia Personal Injury Attorney Ben Glass: generally school employees are immune from suit except for "gross negligence." I'd usually say that suits against Virginia public schools are very tough because of the immunity granted schools. This case sounds awful, though. A gym teacher having kids do windsprints in 90 degree weather?

If that's true it sounds outrageous. There are two sides to every story and it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

California Personal Injury Decision

Ben Glass — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:39:06 GMT

In general personal injury law, the wrongdoer is responsible if his actions cause a series of events which themselves cause further injury. This is the personal injury law of Virginia. A recent California case highlights almost the reverse of the issue. It allows a wrongdoer to reduce his liability for damages caused by a subsequent treating health care provider.

A Court of Appeals in the Second Appellate District of California has held that defendants have an entitlement to
introduce evidence of the fault of a nonparty medical professional in aggravating the personal injuries of a
plaintiff and seek a fault allocation against that professional.

The case came about after a husband and wife filed a premises liability suit under the homeowner's policy of the
defendant after the husband suffered a personal injury to his shoulder from a fall after he had been hired to clean
and repair the homeowner's pool.

The homeowners sought the introduction of evidence that would allege medical malpractice by emergency room doctors. The doctors allegedly broke the plaintiff's shoulder in four places during their attempt to put it back in place, which required several surgeries to repair. The homeowners argued entitlement to introduce the evidence, despite Kaiser Permanente not being a party, for the purpose of seeking a fault allocation against the hospital.

Evidence of the alleged negligence of the hospital was excluded by the trial court, which held that evidence of
medical malpractice can only be introduced if the original claim is also for medical malpractice.The appellate court reversed the decision and issued a writ. It was held that if an injured plaintiff files suit
against an original tortfeasor alone, the defendant has an entitlement to reduce any liability for non-economic
damages with the introduction of a share of fault for the aggravated injuries of the plaintiff by a nonparty medical
professional.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

"Popcorn Lung" Death

Ben Glass — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:23:18 GMT

A Colorado man who is believed to be the only consumer to develop "popcorn lung" from regular microwave popcorn servings has filed a personal injury suit for injuries from the artificial butter flavoring which had only sickened workers at popcorn factories previously.

According to Kenneth McClain, the attorney for Wayne Watson, The Kroger Co. and two of its divisions: Dillon Companies Inc. and Inter-American Products Inc. have been named as defendants in the suit filed in U.S. District Court.
The case of Watson's "popcorn lung" and his diet of two bags of popcorn a day gained nationwide attention last year when he was diagnosed by doctors at National Jewish Hospital with the rare condition, which has been linked to diacetyl, a flavor chemical.

According to the lawsuit, in which unspecified damages are sought, the companies showed a failure to warn that preparing the popcorn as intended and smelling the aroma of the butter could expose the consumer to a risk of lung injury through an inhalation hazard.
Popcorn lung, which is officially known as bronchiolitis obliterans has generally been associated with those who work in popcorn plants mixing large vats of flavors. Hundreds of workers have complained of severe lung disease or other respiratory illnesses from the inhalation of diacetyl va

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Police Dog Bites Wrong Man

Ben Glass — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:30:07 GMT

A man in St. Paul, Minnesota received a personal injury as a result of a case of mistaken identity.

After a police officer went to a downtown bus stop in response to a call about a gun-toting suspect, he went to his squad car to get his police dog for assistance. The dog did his duty, chasing down a 19-year-old man and biting down on his lower left leg.

However, there was one serious problem. The man Sarik, the dog, had chased down was not the man the police were looking for.

After a confrontation with a rowdy group at the bus stop, Officer Isaac Rinehart went back to his squad car to retrieve Sarik. However, the dog did not wait to be leashed, slipped out of the grasp of Rinehart, and clamped onto the leg of Antonio Johnson, all according to a report written by Rinehart.

According to the report, police later discovered that Johnson "was neither a suspect or a victim in the weapons call." Johnson was transported to Regions Hospital. There, he was treated for "canine punctures.

According to Pete Crum, a spokesman for the police department, the incident was under review and Sarik would remain on patrol.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Texas Man Loses Arm in Work Place Accident

Ben Glass — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:25:04 GMT

A concrete worker from Texas is recovering from in the hospital after receiving personal injuries in an accident at his workplace on Wednesday, January 2. The accident resulted in the amputation of the man's arm.

According to his son, 52-year-old Robert Kerstetter was greasing a machine at 4:30 a.m. the morning of the accident when his right arm was caught in the machine.

He said that he had been stuck for several minutes before he pulled his arm away from the machine, severing it at the elbow.

According to Warren Hassinger, a member of the EMS, "His sleeve had become entangled in a pulley or an auger, and he was mangled severely and held in place for approximately 30 minutes.

Kerstetter then managed to make his way to the office of his workplace in order to call 911.

The scene of the accident was the facility of Alamo Concrete in Manor, Texas.

Kerstetter was transported by emergency crews to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas, where, as of Thursday morning, he was listed as being in critical, but stable condition.

According to officials from the Emergency Medical Services, Kerstetter's injuries were severe, but he was awake and alert enough to talk to medics en route to the hospital.

At the time of the accident, no one else was on the site.

Also according to EMS officials, Kerstetter could have died at the site and the piece of machinery very well could have pulled him in.

No statement by Alamo Concrete regarding the incident has been made.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Workplace Injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Attorney Stephen Thomas Conrad

Ben Glass — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:52:10 GMT

In the last week, our office received several phone calls and emails from clients of this attorney who has been recently arrested. We investigated and found that according to the Virginia State Bar website, his license to practice law was recently suspended.

The Virginia State Bar has a client protection fund and information about making a claim under the fund is here.

Let me say that this is all that we know, and I only know what has been reported publicly.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

"Sign Here and We'll Settle Quick"

Ben Glass — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:04:31 GMT

We often hear from potential clients who are being pressured by major insurance companies to sign documents now and "we'll be able to settle this case real quick."

This is usually a really bad move.

Don't be rushed, you have time.

According to published reports, attorneys Robert Brown and Guy Daugherty of Norfolk, Virginia just completed a case where the neck pain, while noted in some of the emergency department records, did not fully develop for several months. The insurance company on the other side was apparently so confident that the jury would not connect the two that it didn't even ask for a (so-called) independent medical examination.

Offer: $135,000

Verdict: $450,000

Had the plaintiff not been patient he might have signed away a substantial recovery in those first few weeks after the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Who Else May Be Responsible for This Sad Death

Ben Glass — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:34:13 GMT

The death of Leesburg, Virginia resident Kathleen Becker, killed by a drunk teenager, raises once again the issue of holding everyone responsible who played a part in this tragedy. According to the Washington Post, the Westfield High School student has now been charged with involuntary manslaughter and may face trial as an adult.

But someone either sold this young lady alcohol or served it to her. We hope that the Virginia State police investigation track's down the source of the alcohol and that whoever started this sad and tragic chain of events is also held criminally responsible.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass