by Queener Law | Oct 9, 2017 | Kentucky, Personal Injury, Tennessee
Defective toys that have been recalled are still being sold by some online retailers, according to a recent study. It is important for parents to be aware of the toys that have been recalled so they can remove them from their homes. The toys that were found in the survey pose multiple hazards, including fires, ingestion dangers and potential neurological issues caused by lead paint. When children are injured by defective toys, a personal injury attorney may work to hold the manufacturers and retailers liable for damages.
Defective Toys Sold After Recalls
According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Fund in its annual “Trouble in Toyland” report, more than a dozen recalled toys were found for sale by online retailers after they were recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission from Jan. 2015 to Oct. 2016. During this time period, the CPSC recalled more than 40 toys, which involved 35 million individual products. The PIRG Fund recommends that parents search their homes to determine whether or not any of the recalled toys that appear on the CPSC’s recall list are in their homes.
Defective Toy Dangers
Some of the toys that the PIRG Fund discovered contained high amounts of lead paint. If lead paint is ingested by children, it can cause serious neurological problems. Also found still for sale was a flying machine with a charging cord that overheats, making it a fire hazard. One toy had two magnets that could be swallowed. If ingested, the magnets can link together in the intestines of children and cause serious medical problems.
It is illegal for retailers to sell toys that have been recalled. The PIRG Fund has notified the CPSC about the violators. The fund also recommends that parents subscribe to the CPSC’s recall list and check it frequently to make certain whether or not toys that they purchase have been recalled. If they find recalled toys, they should take steps to return them.
Children may be seriously injured or killed by defective toys. Despite the hazards they present, some sellers are still selling these dangerous products. When retailers and manufacturers continue to offer defective toys on the market after they have been recalled, they may be held accountable under the theory of strict liability. A personal injury attorney may seek to recover damages for injured clients.
by Queener Law | Sep 19, 2017 | Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Trucking Accident
While many truck accidents are caused by driver mistakes, some result because of defective parts on vehicles. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, almost 30 percent of accidents involving large trucks happen because of part failures. Identifying the parties who are responsible in cases involving defective components can be complicated. Victims may need to get help from expert witnesses who can demonstrate the link between the failed part and the accident’s cause. A truck accident lawyer may work with experts and investigators to help to prove liability and causation.
Common Truck Component Defects
There are a number of different defects that can lead to serious truck collisions. The FMCSA reports that brake failures are one of the leading causes of accidents related to defective parts. Other component defects that may lead to accidents include lighting problems, door and hood failures, wheel defects, engine or transmission failures and attachment system failures. Any of these defects may lead to serious accidents involving the trucks alone or other vehicles.
Defect Categories
In cases involving defective parts, there are three primary categories of defects. These include design defects, manufacturing defects and maintenance issues. Components that have design defects are parts that have problems in their initial designs, causing them to not function as intended. Parts that have manufacturing defects are made incorrectly, causing them to fail. Poorly maintained parts can also lead to failures and accidents. Companies are supposed to routinely inspect and maintain their trucks. When they fail to do so, the companies may be liable for resulting lawsuits. Some companies contract out their repair and maintenance work to third-party contractors. In those cases, the third-party repair and maintenance companies may be named as the defendants in resulting lawsuits.
Damages
People who are seriously injured in truck accidents may suffer both economic and noneconomic losses. By filing lawsuits against the responsible parties, they may recover compensation for both. The amount of damages that might be available in a case will vary depending on the losses and on what happened. Before agreeing to accept proposed settlements, it is important for people to understand how to correctly value their claims. Determining the potential claim value should include calculations of past and future medical costs, past and future lost earnings, pain and suffering, disfigurement and others. A truck accident lawyer may help to value a claim by calculating damages in the various categories.
by Queener Law | Sep 13, 2017 | Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Trucking Accident
Trucks that are used to transport hazardous materials pose much greater dangers than do other large trucks, including toxic exposures, fires, environmental damage, and explosions. Because of the risks, trucking carriers must carry higher liability insurance coverage on their hazmat trucks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the transportation of hazardous materials and it classifies them into nine different categories.
Hazardous Materials Categories
When a truck is transporting a hazardous material, the material and the truck must be properly marked and classified. The FMCSA classifies the materials as explosives, flammable liquids, flammable solids, gases, oxidizers, poisons, radioactive material, corrosives and miscellaneous hazardous materials. By requiring markings on trucks that identify the classes of materials that they are transporting, the FMCSA is trying to make certain that other motorists understand the dangers that the chemicals pose. They also are meant to help first responders and law enforcement officers who respond to truck accidents and spills.
Accident Dangers with Hazmat Trucks
When truck accidents involving trucks that are transporting hazard chemicals happen, spills may occur. The dangers that the chemicals pose to other motorists depend on what they are. Accident victims may suffer chemical burns or thermal burns. They may be injured or killed in explosions, suffer amputations, suffer poisonings or be exposed to cancer-causing agents. In addition, some chemicals that seep into the ground may be radioactive, placing everyone who lives in the area at risk of harm if the chemicals get into the water supply.
Common Hazmat Truck Accident Causes
While accidents may be caused by many different things, there are several common causes of accidents involving trucks carrying hazardous materials. One of the most common problems happens because of improperly securing the material when it is loaded. Loads that are not secured properly may be likelier to spill or to roll away from the truck. If they shift, they may also be likelier to explode. Driver errors are also common causes of hazmat truck accidents. Drivers who turn left too fast, speed, follow other vehicles too closely or drive while they are distracted or impaired place others at risk of accident involvement.
When hazmat accidents happen, the victims may be permanently disabled or disfigured and they may also die. A semi truck accident lawyer represents victims and their families in the recovery of damages from hazmat accidents.
by Queener Law | Sep 7, 2017 | Motorcycle Accident, Tennessee
In spite of research showing that lane splitting by motorcyclists reduces the risk of rear-end collisions and injuries to riders’ torsos and heads, lane splitting remains illegal in Tennessee. Lane splitting involves a motorcyclist pulling up between vehicles instead of behind them, which helps to prevent them from being struck from behind while also reducing congestion. When lane splitting is not done in the correct way, it can increase the risk of accidents and cause incidents of road rage. While there are pros and cons of the practice, when lane splitting is done in a safe manner it may reduce the risk of motorcycle accidents. When accidents are caused by negligent motorists, a personal injury attorney may help the victims.
Lane Splitting Findings
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley reviewed data from 6,000 motorcycle accidents from June 2012 and Aug. 2013. Of those, 997 involved motorcyclists who were lane splitting when they crashed. Lane splitting was found to be the safest when the motorcyclists did not drive more than 15 mph faster than the vehicles around them and when they were traveling less than 50 mph. Nine percent of the lane-splitting motorcyclists suffered head injuries while 17 percent of motorcyclists who weren’t lane splitting suffered injuries to their heads. Nineteen percent of lane-splitting motorcyclists suffered torso injuries as compared to 29 percent of motorcyclists who were not lane splitting. The lane-splitting motorcyclists were also less likely to have been injured in rear-end crashesas compared to riders who were not lane splitting.
Tennessee Lane Splitting
At the urging of motorcyclists, the Tennessee House of Representatives had a bill introduced in 2015 that would have legalized lane splitting in the state. The bill listed several advantages that would have been offered if lane splitting was legalized, including better visibility, better focus, reductions in rear-end crashes and reductions in traffic congestion. The bill was not taken up and died before it could be considered. Therefore lane splitting is still illegal in Tennessee despite its potential to prevent motorcycle accidents.
When motorcyclists are injured in accidents, they often suffer debilitating injuries because of the minimal protection that they have from the environment around them. A personal injury attorney may help injured victims with their accident claims.
by Queener Law | Aug 21, 2017 | Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Trucking Accident
A proposed rule that would have required truck drivers to submit to screenings for sleep apnea has been withdrawn by the Department of Transportation. The rule faced fierce opposition from truck drivers and some members of the trucking industry. The rule would have offered clarification to carriers and medical examiners concerning when truck drivers should be referred for sleep apnea testing. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a notice on Aug. 4, 2017, announcing its withdrawal of the rule.
Rule Withdrawal
The FMCSA has been working on the sleep apnea rule protocol since 2016. It asked for input from the industry about when referrals should be made in its pre-rule notice. The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and the MRB recommended that truck drivers whose body mass indices exceeded 40 should be referred for sleep apnea testing. Truck drivers were overwhelmingly against the proposed rule because it would have required a large number of drivers to be tested because of age and weight requirements. The rule withdrawal also comes in an anti-regulatory environment under the current administration. Federal agencies have been asked to get rid of two regulations for every new one that is proposed.
Why the Sleep Apnea Rule Was Proposed
Untreated sleep apnea has been demonstrated to have a strong correlation with dangerous driving. In one study that was presented at the Sleep and Breathing Conference in Berlin on April 12, 2013, the researchers found that people who have sleep apnea are likelier to report falling asleep behind the wheel and to fail driving simulator tests. This study as well as others that demonstrate that drowsy and fatigued driving may be nearly as dangerous as drunk driving have long been a concern for safety experts. A truck accident lawyer sometimes handles injury cases involving truck drivers who fell asleep at the wheel.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which the muscles of the upper airway become so slack that the opening through which breathing occurs is cut off. This causes the sufferers to startle and wake slightly, and the pattern may repeat itself frequently throughout the night. Sleep apnea sufferers may thus get little quality sleep, making them drowsy during the daytime. A truck accident lawyer may investigate an accident to determine whether or not a driver had sleep apnea, causing the resulting injury accident. Doing so may help to prove the driver’s fault.
by Queener Law | Aug 16, 2017 | Personal Injury, Tennessee
While many Tennesseans enjoy visiting amusement parks every year with their families or friends, thousands of people are seriously injured during their visits. The regulations governing amusement park safety are inconsistent across the U.S., and some parks may be more dangerous for visitors than others. It is important for consumers to be aware of the risk of accidents at amusement parks and the regulation inconsistencies involved when they are choosing a destination. When victims are injured at amusement parks, a personal injury attorney may work to help them to recover damages for their losses.
Amusement Park Injuries
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 30,900 people went to the emergency room for treatment of injuries that were sustained in amusement parks in 2016. Since 2010, 22 victims have been killed while visiting the parks with some tragic stories making national news. Because there is no formal reporting system in place, safety experts say that it is difficult to get a clear picture of the actual injury rate at the parks.
Regulations and Enforcement Are Inconsistent
Individual states each have their own regulations and laws regulating amusement parks, but some states do not have any regulations in place at all. There are also no federal laws governing amusement parks, and inspections of them are irregular. While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is in charge of enforcing regulations of mobile amusement parks like those that are set up at state fairs, enforcement is limited by rules the states in which they are used have in place. The CPSC lost its ability to inspect rides at fixed-site amusement parks in the 1980s, leaving inspection responsibilities strictly to individual states and parks.
Amusement Park Safety
A personal injury attorney may help victims who are injured, but it’s best to try to avoid injury in the first place. Amusement park visitors should follow safety guidelines while they are at the parks. They should adhere to all of the height, health and weight restrictions for the rides. Safety equipment, including seat bars and belts, should always be used, and guests should be careful when loading and unloading in and out of rides. Avoiding mall rides that do not have any padding underneath them is a good idea. Additionally, all riders should keep their hands and feet inside of the rides.
