Alabama Injury Attorneys Blog

A Pelham, Alabama teenager returned home yesterday after an automobile accident seriously injured him on August 18, 2011.

Tyler Lee, 14, was walking along Bearden Road near Pelham High School with his girlfriend around 7:00 p.m. when a motor vehicle struck him. Lee was immediately airlifted from the accident scene to Children's Hospital in Birmingham and underwent surgery to repair a portion of his fractured skull. One of the first responders to the Pelham accident scene, Tim Honeycutt, found Lee unconscious and barely breathing.

Even though Lee suffered series head injuries, he is expected to make a full recovery. According to reports, Lee suffered from several cuts and bruises but no broken bones.

Since the accident, Pelham Mayor Don Murphy has been trying to acquire federal stimulus money to install sidewalks along Bearden Road, a road heavily traveled by pedestrians.

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A Federal Judge has approved a $1 million settlement in the wrongful death of a Bay City teenager. The family of Brett Elder filed a wrongful death lawsuit after the 15-year-old died from a police taser. The teenager's father filed the personal injury lawsuit on Brett's behalf in December 2009.

Autopsy reports indicate the teen died of ""alcohol-induced excited delirium" together with "application of an electromuscular disruption device." According to the police, Elder was intoxicated, extremely aggressive towards police officers and required restraint. Settlement proceeds will be distributed among Elder's remaining four family members.

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of one of the victims killed after the Indiana State Fair stage collapsed on August 13, 2011. The victims were waiting the hear the country music group Sugarland play Saturday night when winds reached up to 70 mph, whipped the stage rig, and sent it crashing down onto fans below. Six victims were killed in the stage collapse and dozens more were injured and treated at nearby hospitals.

The personal injury lawyer representing the family alleged the stage was erected poorly and the fair grounds failed to have proper inspections and permits. The accident attorney claimed in the wrongful death lawsuit that the stage was overloaded with equipment and improperly designed, and the event coordinators failed to properly maintain the configuration, construction, and overall layout of the stage. The complaint also stated that the event organizers failed to meet safety guidelines mandated by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).

The wrongful death lawsuit was flled on behalf of 42-year-old Tammy VanDam, who was crushed when the stage collapsed. The accident severely injured VanDam's life partner, 49-year-old Beth Urschel, who suffered a crushed leg and shoulder.

According to reports, fair officials were notified of weather conditions and advised of severe thunderstorms approaching the fair grounds. Around 8:00 p.m., officials were notified a second time of impending weather conditions. The personal injury attorney representing VanDam's family stated "severe thunderstorms" describe heavy and intense wind, rain, hail and lightening-- "the potential for lightening alone should have caused fair official to call off the concert and send everyone home."

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A former police officer was awarded a $1.3 million settlement after an automobile accident left him disabled.

Forty-two year old Kenneth McMillian was responding to the scene of a robbed bank when he slowed to approach a traffic light. Jane Golden was following Office McMillan when she bumped into the rear of McMillian's police cruiser. Golden was driving a car owned by her father's company, Golden Garage and China Outlet. At the time of the accident, she was not on a cell hone and was not distracted. The car accident was a minor bump that caused no foreseeable damage to either vehicle. However, the accident caused McMillian's body to twist and in an unnatural position.

According to the personal injury attorney representing Officer McMillian, "the impact was not a very major impact" yet it managed to temporarily blind Officer McMillian. The collision also caused Officer McMillian nerve damage to his ulner neve making it impossible for him to hold and fire a weapon. McMillian's injury lawyer said, "since McMillian was unable to hold a gun, his career as a police officer was over."

The personal injury lawsuit settled out of court for $1.3 million.

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A state agency notified the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point about alleged asbestos violations that occurred during a project to remove asbestos from a campus building. Among the issues, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce report claims that employees were not properly notified about the asbestos abatement project; were not properly protected during the work; and were not provided with alternative routes around the work site for employees - a requirement to protect their health. Given until Sept. 13 to correct the breaches, the university rejected the report and is appealing. The discovery of the issue occurred after a faculty member complained about the removal of asbestos-containing floor tiles in March, 2010. The state of Wisconsin sent its report to the university on July 13, 2011; the university sent its appeal in August, 2011 and claims that it notified employees near the work project and posted signs.

Asbestos is a fiber that naturally occurs in the environment; it can be mined and used in numerous industries including construction, automotive and shipbuilding. Exposure to asbestos is known to lead to health issues including malignant mesothelioma, an incurable disease that takes numerous decades, sometimes, to manifest. Most common in men ages 50-70 who worked in asbestos-laden environments, mesothelioma also can affect women who received second-hand exposure to asbestos.

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MetLife said asbestos-related claims rose 11 percent during the first half of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010, in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The largest life insurer in the United States acknowledged that 2,306 claims were reported during the first half of 2011, compared to 2,076 claims in 2010.

According to epa.gov, asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been used commonly in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. Because of its fiber strength and heat-resistant properties, asbestos has been used for a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials; automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts; heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets and coatings.

Asbestos exposure is known to cause life-threatening diseases, including mesothelioma -a form of cancer that is caused by an inhalation of asbestos fibers. The disease, also called asbestos cancer, attacks the mesothelium, a protective, two-layered membrane that covers the internal organs of the body, including the heart, lungs and abdominal organs. Mesothelioma typically develops over a period of 20 to 50 years. Occupations most commonly associated with mesothelioma include shipyard workers, electricians, plumbers, construction industry workers, pipefitters, boilermakers, and anyone subject to heavy exposure to dangerous airborne asbestos fibers.

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A former chemist received a $2.5 million payout after becoming exposed to asbestos while using a Ford Motor Co.-manufactured machine. The chemist was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March, 2010. A rare form of malignant cancer, mesothelioma develops as a result of exposure to asbestos.

The asbestos-exposing machine required the chemist to file and grind products that ultimately were used as brakes on automobiles. Because asbestos material is frequently used in brakes and clutch facings, asbestos exposure remains a likelihood for automobile industry workers. According to epa.gov, asbestos fibers have been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, including roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper and cement products, textiles, coatings, and friction products such as automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts.

Though a rare disease, about 2,500 to 3,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States. According to asbestosnews.com, government tracking of mesothelioma started in 1999. In the five-year period between 1999 and 2004, more than 18,000 mesothelioma deaths have been reported. No cure is known for mesothelioma - a cancer caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Symptoms for mesothelioma may take decades to manifest. The long latency period - in addition to the disease's absent or minor early symptoms - contributes to the disease's deadliness; only about one in 10 mesothelioma patients live more than five years after diagnosis.

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The Department of Justice on August 4 announced that a 23-count indictment has been issued in which two companies and nine individuals have been charged with criminal violations relating to the asbestos abatement project conducted at the Kensington Towers apartment complex in Buffalo, New York. The two companies involved are Johnson Contracting of WNY, Inc. (Johnson Contracting) and JMD Environmental, Inc.
After an environmental survey revealed the existence of 63,000 square feet of hazardous asbestos-containing material in each building located in the Kensington Towers, Johnson Contracting - in June, 2009 - was awarded a sub-contract to ensure the asbestos was properly removed. But, Johnson Contracting and others have been charged with conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act and defrauding the United States by instructing workers to leave asbestos-containing material in buildings knowing that the buildings were intended for demolition; failing to conduct proper air sampling; and creating false visual inspection reports certifying that all asbestos had been removed from the buildings when in fact, it was known that all asbestos had not been so removed - among other violations.
The indictment acknowledges the federal Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal and state agencies that closely regulate the removal of asbestos - a known human carcinogen that is recognized for causing mesothelioma, asbestosis and other life-threatening illnesses. The fact that a crime has been alleged is merely an accusation, and those charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
According to epa.gov, three major health effects associated with asbestos exposure include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer (which causes the greatest number of deaths related to asbestos exposure). Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term, non-cancer disease of the lungs; there is no effective treatment for asbestosis. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining (membrane) of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart; the disease may not show up until many years after asbestos exposure.

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A $1 million settlement was reached for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) at the Blackburn & Union Privileges Superfund Site in Walpole, Mass. The Walpole site included 22 acres of contaminated land and water. Operations of various industrial facilities that date back to the nineteenth century exposed the site to asbestos, arsenic, lead and other hazardous substances.

Involved in the settlement were two former owners and operators of the site, including W.R. Grace & Co. - Conn. and Tyco Healthcare Group LP, in addition to the current owners of the site, BIM Investment Corp. and Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust. A predecessor of W.R. Grace, from about 1915 to 1936, manufactured asbestos brake linings and clutch linings on a large part of the site. A predecessor to Tyco Healthcare, from 1946 to about 1983, operated a cotton fabric manufacturing business that used caustic solutions on part of the site.

For an estimated $13 million and as part of a 2010 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, parties agreed to ensure the site was cleaned. The consent decree lodged on Aug. 3, 2011, resolved both state and federal NRD liability claims for injuries to ecological resources including groundwater and wetlands - which provide habitat for waterfowl and wading birds, including black ducks and great blue herons. The decree requires parties to pay $1,094,169.56 to the state of Massachusetts and federal natural resource trustees, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of the Interior.

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The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) recently recalled 208,000 of Fischer Price-imported children's toy wagons. At least seven incidents of child injuries from the toy wagons have been reported.

The voluntary recall involves Fisher Price's Little People® Builders' Load 'n Go Wagon model number P8977. The product includes a red wagon with a yellow handle, multi-colored plastic blocks and a dog figure. The model number is located on the bottom of the wagon. "Little People® Builders" is found on a label on the side of the wagon and "Fisher Price" is embossed on the handle. Wagons with green handles are not included in this recall.

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