On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
There's a message that we send to young drivers, basically all drivers, on a constant basis: Don't drink and drive. Drunk driving is against the law for a reason. It isn't so the government can make money and make fools out of people. It's because drunk driving injures and kills. It takes the roads and turns them into an accident scene just waiting to happen.
A Rochester driver recently exemplified this all too common reality by supposedly getting behind the wheel of her car while intoxicated. Unsurprisingly, she didn't get to her destination without creating trouble and danger for herself and others on the road.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Products Liability on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
It can seem adorable for a little girl to want to look like her mommy. She will put on a pair of high heels and messily apply the darkest shade of lipstick she can find to her tiny mouth. A recent report suggests that this seemingly cute behavior could pose some health risks.
USA Today reports on an FDA finding regarding the existence of lead in many popular brands of lipsticks. According to tests, 400 lipsticks currently sold contain lead and, therefore, could be a dangerous product. At certain levels, lead can cause injury, most easily among children. There are regulations for children's products that limit how much lead can be present. But should lipsticks be better regulated?
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Medical Malpractice on Monday, February 13, 2012
Your doctor may not always be telling you the truth according to a survey in Health Affairs of roughly 1,900 U.S. physicians. Researchers found that 55 percent of doctors said that they had been more positive about a patient's prognosis than his or her medical history justified. Ten percent of doctors had also told their patients something that was not true.
More surprisingly, the survey found that a third of doctors felt that it wasn't always necessary to disclose medical errors to patients and 40 percent said they didn't think they needed to disclose financial ties to drug or medical device companies.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Saturday, February 11, 2012
On a snowy day in January 2004, the young, popular mayor of East Syracuse, New York, died in a horrific single-vehicle accident. Mayor Jason Rhoades was driving his SUV on Interstate 81 when he drove up a snow bank on the side of the highway - apparently created by public snow plows - and over the side of the bridge over Park Street, smashing onto the road below.
On Jan. 31, a full eight years after the fatal car accident, a state appeals court found that the state of New York is liable for Rhoades' death because its plowing operation created the dangerous condition that caused the crash.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Last week, an elderly woman slowed her car as she approached her driveway in the town of Vernon, New York. She was driving east on Route 5 and had to cross westbound traffic in order to enter her driveway, which sits on the north side of Route 5. She came to a complete stop, waiting for an opening in the line of cars going west.
But before she could turn into the safety of her driveway, a car driven by an 87-year-old man slammed into the back of her car. The force of the rear-end collision threw her car into oncoming westbound traffic, where a van hit her car again. The van flipped into a roadside ditch. The woman's car was so badly damaged that rescue workers had to cut through the mangled heap of steel in order to remove her.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Products Liability on Monday, February 6, 2012
Laptop computers are a ubiquitous presence in New York households. We use them at work, home, and in the classroom. We may never pause to consider the potential for injury that may lie within them due to a manufacturer's defect. Lithium-ion battery packs are a popular choice for many laptop manufacturers because they are efficient. But if overheated, they can catch fire. Safety measures are put in place to prevent this from happening.
But according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) knowingly manufactured and sold a number of defective lithium-ion battery packs in its computers and other products. Under federal law, HP was required to notify the CPSC within 24 hours when it became aware that its batteries were defective or posed an "unreasonable risk of serious injury or death."
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, February 2, 2012
For many, the playful strains of music emanating from an ice cream truck recall images of carefree and innocent childhood summers. But not for one New York family. Last July, a 6-year-old Brooklyn girl heard the familiar sound of an ice cream truck coming through her grandparents' neighborhood. She ran to catch the truck, but was run over by a drunk driver. She died of her injuries received in the car accident five days later.
A blood alcohol test revealed that the driver was over New York's legal limit of .08. Last fall the driver pleaded guilty to the charge of vehicular manslaughter, which can place an offender in prison for a maximum of seven years. The plea deal reached with prosecutors, however, provided that he would not serve time in prison for now.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Part of the school year for many students is riding the school bus. It is the beginning and end of kids' school days, and the everyday aspect of taking the bus can cause us to forget how school transportation comes with dangers.
A New York community was reminded of how important driver safety is among school bus drivers when a scary incident occurred in Dansville last week. A child had stepped out of the school bus but didn't clear the exit before the driver thought it was okay to drive on. The school bus accident didn't cause serious injury, but it still serves to emphasize how crucial it is for drivers to be alert.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Brain Injury on Monday, January 30, 2012
You never know when disaster will strike. How many times have you ridden your bicycle along a road, pedaling hard for exercise or going slow to enjoy the scenery? Oftentimes cars fly by only a few feet away. Have you wondered whether drivers are paying as much attention to the road and to you as they should?
This past week in Lima, New York a man was hit by a drunk driver while riding his bicycle. He sustained a head injury along with cuts. According to the police, the driver initially thought he had run into a deer and he paused to investigate. When he discovered that the supposed deer was a human on a bicycle, he fled.
On behalf of Kammholz Messina, LLP posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, January 27, 2012
A bridge in South Fallsburg, New York, will soon be no more. Why? Because of a truck accident that took place on the bridge and that could have been easily prevented.
According to news reports, a truck driver who worked for a waste company in New York drove along the bridge recently, but he didn't make it over safely. The driver had forgotten to lower the bed of the dump truck, which caused great damage to the bridge, damage that requires the bridge to be completely torn down.
