Crouse Law Offices. International ⁄ National ⁄ Local Accident Litigators

CRUISE FALLACIES

The cruise ship industry’s spin on the Costa Concordia’s grounding makes the tragedy worse.

A spokesman said that compared to the airline industry the cruise ship industry death rate is lower.  Even if true, we  have been sailing for centuries and we should have figured it out by now.  And although I would never say the sea is without peril, it somehow seems wrong to me to compare a vessel cruising on the earth’s surface at a relatively slow speed to an aircraft hurtling through the air at a high rate of speed.  Plus, what is the ratio of cruise ship operations vs. airline operations and what is the total number of ship passengers vs. airline passengers on any given day?

The comment that was especially offensive was the one that came close to calling the ship’s evacuation successful by saying that “almost all of the 4,000 people onboard the ship got away … safely…But in the scale of the event, the evacuation was achieved.” “Almost all” is not good enough—not this close to shore, or anytime. The fact that “almost all got away” is not the measure for a safe, efficient evacuation. Passengers are not supposed to just “get off” from a ship in distress. They are supposed to be evacuated safely and orderly by the crew. The crew of this ship, without its Captain, failed in providing this most basic of services.

This is an industry with even bigger boats and even bigger profits.  This will happen again and will be worse unless the industry and government address these issues.

Elon Freshman Dies After Taking YAZ

Michelle Pfleger, an 18-year-old college student – full of hope and promise –  collapsed and later died of a blood clot in September, 2010 after taking YAZ, also known as Yasmin or Ocella, a contraceptive often used to treat acne.  The drug is made by the German company, Bayer.

Her mother has filed a lawsuit against the Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and hopes by publicizing what happened to her freshman daughter will keep another family from having to go through the same tragedy.

The lawsuit claims YAZ is a dangerous prescription drug sold without proper warnings of the risks of serious and fatal injuries.  It claims YAZ poses a greater risk of serious side effects than previous generations of oral contraceptives because it contains the hormone drospirenone.  Last month the British Medical Journal published two studies which found drugs containing drospirenone increased the risk of serious blood clots 2-3 times that of earlier-generation oral contraceptives.

Although Bayer contends these side effects are rare, the official website for YAZ does warn of “increased risks of several serious side effects, including blood clots, stroke, and heart attack.”

Medical Negligence Often Not Reported

I have known for sometime that most acts of medical negligence are never reported, let alone brought into litigation.  In a previous post I have also decried the fact that legislators are limiting the rights of these people who have been harmed by medical negligence – medical malpractice – without addressing the source of the harm – mistakes made by our medical profession including doctors, hospitals and drug companies.  Read the rest of this entry »

Grandparents Sue Over Granddaughter’s Death

Grandparents who moved to the United States from Africa in 2004 to save their granddaughter’s life have file a wrongful death lawsuit against their former landlord over her death in a fire in 2009.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the 10-year-old died from smoke inhalation the day following the fire and the grandparents were in comas for months with severe burns.  They are now disabled from their injuries.

The lawsuit states the windows in their second floor apartment were not able to be opened either because they were designed that way or they were sealed or painted shut, leaving the three people no way to escape the fire.

The fire started when a man with a mental disorder andwho lived in their building passed out with a lit cigarette.

The lawsuit states the landlord should have ensured the windows would opened and should have cautioned them about their neighbor who has a history of starting fires.

The landlord claims the apartment complied with city codes and had passed inspection.

Starbucks Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Tip Jar Scuffle

The family of a Missouri who man who fought a 19-year-old thief and died from his injuries has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the coffee giant.

Mr. Kreutz was ordering coffee at a Starbucks when a 19-year-old snatched the tip jar from the counter.  Mr. Kreutz followed the man outside, had a fight with him and was thrown to the ground.  As the 19-year-old sped off, he hit Mr. Kreutz with his car.  Mr. Kruetz later died from his injuries.

The lawsuit blames Starbucks for inviting criminal activity by leaving the tip jars so near the customers and alleges they “did not employ security to prevent the perpetration of such crimes.”  The younger man was not named in the lawsuit.

John Deere Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The family and estate of a young man killed when he was thrown from a John Deere Dozer and killed during heavy equipment operator school at Associated Training Services of Texas, reports the Southeast Texas Record. 

The lawsuit has been filed against Indiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc. and Deere & Co. The original complaint states the student traveled over a ridge of dirt and then on to a slope when he was thrown from the bulldozer to the ground.  The Dozer continued moving and ran over the young man, killing him. 

Indians Mills & Manufacturing is accused of negligence and strict liability over the design and function of its seatbelt and buckle. John Deere is accused of negligence and strict liability for using an unsafe seatbelt and for failing to use due care and caution in the design and manufacture of the Dozer. 

The family is asking for wrongful death damages, survival damages, compensatory damages, interest, and court costs.

NTSB Faults Pilot For Deadly Helicopter Crash In Maryland

In its final report released earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board stated pilot error was probably the cause of the helicopter crash on South Mountain on July 23, 2009. 

Four people were killed when the helicopter went down on the flight from Hagerstown to Frederick.  The NTSB says the pilot used poor judgment when he chose to make the flight on the dark night in adverse weather conditions even after talking with a fellow employee at Advanced Helicopter Concepts.   

The report states the helicopter took off after the Hagerstown air traffic control tower closed and entered an area of reduced visibility near the top of South Mountain.  It is thought it turned around and was headed back west when it hit power lines and crashed and burst into flames. 

This helicopter crash is a perfect example of how on board recording devices would help investigators know exactly what was decided in the cockpit.

Family Of City Worker Killed In Mower Accident Settles Lawsuit

A confidential last minute settlement has been reach in the lawsuit brought by the family of a city Parks Department employee who was killed in 2003 by a runaway lawnmower, reports the Telegram& Gazette of Worcester, Mass. 

The 54-year-old man died from injuries he sustained when he was run over by a 6,000 lb. large capacity mower as it rolled down a hill.  The man had stopped the mower and shut off the engine before the mower started to roll – he was run over as he tried to halt the machine. 

His widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Textron, Inc which owns the Jacobsen Company, manufacturer of the mower.  The lawsuit accused Textron of selling an unsafe and defective product and of breaching its implied warranty of merchantability.  The lawsuit contends the accident was cause by a defective parking brake in which the cable corroded and broke because the vinyl coating did not cover the entire length. 

Textron denied any negligence and claimed the mower had not been properly maintained.

Parents Sue When Stove Tips And Kills Two-Year-Old

On July 11, 2010, a two-year-old was crushed to death when the stove in his family’s kitchen tipped over on him, reports stltoday.com.  The parents have since filed a wrongful death lawsuit in St. Louis County Circuit Court seeking damages from the Oak Tree Apartments for an undisclosed amount.

The lawsuit claims the accident could have been prevented and the child’s life saved if the landlord had secured the stove with a simple bracket. 

 At least 34 people have been killed since 1980 in similar accidents.  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counted 107 incidents of injury or death from 1980 through 2006 – half of the fatalities were children under age 2.  Most of the injuries were from burns from hot liquids when the range tipped.  

Accidents such as these are frustrating for safety advocates who have tried for years to prompt people to install the inexpensive bracket.  Pressure on an open oven door – even from a small climbing child – may be enough leverage to cause the stove to pitch forward.  Children often use an open door as a step to be able to reach something on the counter – too often with deadly results.

The making of lighter weight stoves made the industry provide anti-tip brackets since 1991.  Even with the warnings of danger, consumer experts estimate as many as 45 million American homes have not installed the anti-tip device.

Hyundai Settles In Death Of Motorcyclist

The Orange County Register reports Hyundai has made a confidential settlement with a family whose son was killed while riding his motorcycle in 2005.  The incident was caused by a Hyundai executive who was driving drunk. 

The 23-year-old musician and motorcyclist was killed when the executive lost control of his Hyundai SUV after drinking at a company –sponsored dinner, hitting the young man causing him to be thrown from his motorcycle onto the freeway where he was run over by several other vehicles.

 The family of the young man sued the executive and Hyundai claiming the company had a corporate culture of promoting drinking at company functions and that Hyundai helped the executive flee the country shortly after the accident.

 The family stated it is pleased with the settlement.  Their son was a college student and participated in a band that often played at Disneyland.