wrongful death -

Are you a parent to a special needs child? If so, have you taken the time to verify that the bus driver that transports your child to school on a daily basis has received the training necessary to ensure your child’s safety? If he or she hasn’t participated in training that specifically addresses how to safely transport children with special needs, a serious or even fatal injury could take place.

A recent trial in the Orange County, California Superior Court highlights the need for this training. In 2010, three-year-old Kevin Cisler was killed when a special needs school bus driver with little training failed to properly secure and then monitor Kevin in his wheelchair during the ride home from pre-school. During the ride, Kevin slipped down in his wheelchair seat and was strangled to death by the straps that were meant to hold him upright in the chair.

There have been other incidents where special needs school bus drivers has been found to be negligent. In September of this year, a New Hampshire special needs school bus driver and monitor were terminated after they left a child unattended on a school bus for 25 to 30 minutes when they went home to eat lunch. The boy apparently was sleeping when the driver dropped off the rest of the children at school and the driver and monitor failed to notice he was not among them and still on the bus. Luckily the boy was found before any injury occurred. There have been incidents of bus drivers using tape to restrain or tape shut the mouths of special needs children who they believe are “acting up”.

Kevin Cisler’s death could have been prevented if the school bus driver had been properly training in caring for and monitoring special needs children, especially those in wheelchairs. All bus drivers should be required to undergo rigorous training before they are allowed to transport any children, but this training is especially critical to address the specific challenges faced when transporting a special needs child. Bus drivers need to understand and be trained in how to safely load and unload special needs children from the bus, and how to ensure that the child will remain safely and securely positioned on the bus throughout the trip. If this training does not take place, a serious injury could result during a bus ride.

Ask the school if your child’s bus driver has received training necessary to safely transport your child. During that short trip, your child’s life is in this person’s hands, and that should not be taken for granted.

A battle is shaping up between the makers of a medical device and a doctor who is saying that a defect in the device directly contributed to the death of more than 20 people.

In the March issue of the Heart Rhythm Journal, a medical journal, a doctor has written a report about St. Jude Medical Inc.’s Riata heart implant device.  The findings published do not speak well of the product.  Specifically, the report discusses a defect in the insulation that led to certain high voltage components short circuiting and triggering a failure of the device itself.

In 2011, the Riata and Riata ST leads for implantable cardioverter defibrillators were recalled.  Now, though, the company that makes those devices, St. Jude’s, has asked that the new study be withdrawn from the print publication of the aforementioned magazine.  They are claiming that the defect has been resolved, saying that no wiring problems exist at the moment.  They point to their efforts to put additional coating on the wiring.  According to St. Jude’s, this technique has solved any problems that may have taken place.

As a San Jose personal injury lawyer, I’ve seen a number of medical devices get recalled because of a defect that compromises the stability of the item and the safety of the individual.  This is certainly one story I will be paying close attention to as a Ventura personal injury attorney.

Since the introduction of the R-44 more than a decade ago, Robinson Helicopter Co. was allegedly aware of the vibrations present in the main rotor mast. According to a statement made by counsel Wednesday, those same vibrations contributed to the 2006 helicopter crash in Riverside County that left an experienced pilot and his brother-in-law dead.

During the opening statements of the Los Angeles Superior Court civil suit filed against the helicopter manufacturer in April 2008, attorney Kevin Boyle claimed, “They had 13 years to fix it and they never did. They masked the problem instead of solving it.”

Boyle is representing the widow and family of Leo Straatman, a passenger in the Robinson R-44 Raven II that crashed at approximately 2:30pm near Desert Center on May 1, 2006 when the tail boom shook off, causing the main rotor to hit the cabin and slice off one of pilot Frank Verellen’s legs. Attorney Brian Panish, representing the Verellen family, stated that the helicopter was roughly 85 minutes into its maiden voyage out of Zamperini Field on its way to southern Ontario, Canada, where it was to be ferried by the pilot to Zimmer Air Services Inc, an authorized Robinson dealer. According to Panish, 63-year-old Verellen was Zimmer’s chief pilot and he and 64-year-old Straatman owned a portion of the company.

According to Robinson Helicopter’s Raymond Hane, the crash was likely caused by pilot error. He stated that the craft was inspected by a Robinson test pilot prior to the flight and that the test pilot found nothing wrong. But Boyle stated that Robinson’s chief engineer admitted during a deposition that the vibration in the main rotor mast could result in the gearbox violently shaking. The engineer said that the company referred to this shaking as “chugging”, and that the company did not know the source of the issue.

“They continued to sell these things every day, and they didn’t know the cause,” Boyle stated. The attorney continued by saying that the company made minor adjustments to the rubber mounts in an effort to quell the shaking, but nothing more.

The Crown Victoria is the vehicle of choice for 85% of law enforcement departments across the country.  But does that mean that it’s safe?

The Center for Auto Safety reckons not.  The Washington D.C. based group is leading a crusade to get the Crown Victoria recalled.

Their issue has mainly to do with the placement of the gas tank, which is right behind the rear axle of the vehicle, making it a potential fire hazard.  Ford says there’s a kit which fixes the problem, but the Center disagrees.  A spokesman stated plainly that even with the kit being offered to help mitigate disaster, ten crashes have occurred in which an officer lost their life due to a fire.

The Crown Victoria has been involved in 135 law enforcement-related fatal collisions across the country between 1994 and 2009.  The latest attempt to have the Crown Vic recalled came about because of a fire which claimed the life of a Honolulu police officer over the weekend.

The country has gotten used to associating Crown Vics with officers of the law, but as a Bakersfield car accident lawyer, I think it’s important to continue to investigate the safety record of any and all vehicles.  No matter what kind of car a person drives, he or she should feel safe, especially if that person’s an officer of the law.  But that’s just my humble opinion as a car accident lawyer in Bakersfield.

According to news sources, a new study at the Dartmouth Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center shines the spotlight on dangerous levels of arsenic concentrated in rice by analyzing the arsenic in urine of about 200 pregnant woman. The study suggests a causal link between rice consumption and increased arsenic in urine.

There are reportedly no statutory limits for arsenic levels in foods sold in the U.S, as well as the European Union.

The situation represents a risk especially to pregnant mothers since exposure to arsenic during pregnancy can be of significant public health concern. Among the reasons why rice has such elevated levels of arsenic is because rice plants tend to be particularly efficient in gathering arsenic from the soil.

Exposure to high levels of arsenic can be especially harmful in early childhood.

As a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles, I’m glad to see that research is continually being conducted to provide more answers about the safety of the products we use and consume. I hope consumers find the conclusions of this research useful. If you or someone you care about has been injured or suffered from the use of an unsafe product, I recommend you contact a product liability lawyer Los Angeles as soon as possible.

According to news sources, a collaborative effort between prosecutors, social workers and police in Salt Lake City is aiming at reducing the rising number of elderly abuse cases. Two men have been recently charged in connection with aggravated abuse cases.

In the first case a 48-year-old man was arrested after allegedly depriving his father of food and medicine while leaving him in a bed filled with human waste. The man reportedly sold his fathers prescription pain medication while allegedly taking his retirement fund.

The second case involves a 51-year-old man who reportedly left his 74-year-old mother in a chair filled with human waste for weeks.

A promising newly created community response team will hopefully lower the amount of cases of elderly abuse such as these by collaboratively pooling the work of the Salt Lake County Aging Services with local police and prosecutors to identify suspected cases of elderly abuse and fraud.

As a Los Angeles wrongful death attorney, I hope that awareness may be brought to all so elder abuse will in fact become a thing of the past. Personal injury lawyers are familiar with terrible cases related to injuries inflicted in facilities that exist to care for their patients, not mistreat them. When you or a loved one is a victim of a similar case, contact a personal injury lawyer Los Angeles right away.

Many news outlets across the country are reporting a recent case of elder abuse related to financial fraud.

The case everybody has been talking about involved an elder who was the victim of Credit Card theft. The alleged thief happened to be the one caregiver who reportedly watched over the senior after she found herself recovering from surgery.

According to the authorities, the thief allegedly used a card that was furnished under the elder woman’s name but that was never used by her before. Authorities say the thief spent over $8,000.

The representative from the Adult Protective Services has stated that financial fraud related to elders is very common and that a few precautionary steps should be taken so this problem won’t continue to happen.

Being in constant contact with the bank is a good way to have credit cards closely monitored.  In the case of a senior citizen who has the same types of expenses every month, the bank should always detect an alarming and unexpected number of large purchases registered under their cards.

As a wrongful death attorney in Los Angeles, I understand that elder abuse goes beyond financial fraud. Physical abandonment, assault and neglect are the most common forms of abuse against the elder community and they’re constantly being reported.

Los Angeles personal injury lawyers urge you to always contact the authorities if you know of any case of elder abuse, don’t hesitate.

According to the news articles released around the time of Dr. Murray’s conviction, the Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor allegedly delivered a severe discourse targeted at the physician. The judge claimed Dr. Murray had committed a “horrific violation of trust” while handling his patient, Michael Jackson.

The judge went on to state that the mindless dosage of popofol administered by Dr. Murray could only mean he was practicing “medicine madness” and that his behavior showed his hunger for prestige, fame or anything else other than what his sworn obligation truly is as a physician.

According to the news reporting the case, there was a disturbing recording found in Dr. Murray’s phone. The recording itself was perceived as a dishonest act since it depicted his famous patient Michael Jackson during his most vulnerable moment.

After the alleged harsh words, Dr. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after an extensive trial that exhibited detailed accounts of the pop singer’s final hours.

The wrongful death attorneys in Los Angeles have their hearts and thoughts with the Jackson family at all times.

The Los Angeles personal injury attorney representing Michael Jackson’s family knows the family’s dedication to turn this terribly tragic and sad case into an example to all physicians nationwide is nothing short of a stoic act.

Multiple news sources are reporting on the statement read by Brian Panish, the Jackson family’s Los Angeles personal injury lawyer and friend, regarding the impact Dr. Conrad Murray’s actions have had on their family. Panish delivered a statement that asked a judge to impose a sentence for Dr. Conrad Murray that would remind all doctors to stay true to their Hippocratic oath to “do no harm” to their patients and “that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder”.

The statement read by Panish also spoke of the impact that Michael Jackson’s death has had on his children, siblings and parents, explaining that his premature death was “simply against the natural order of things” and that Jackson’s children were left without their father and best friend.

The statement did not specify what sentence the family believed that Dr. Murray should receive and provided that the family did not seek revenge, only justice. Following the reading of the statement, Dr. Murray was sentenced by the judge to four years in prison, the maximum sentence available for involuntary manslaughter. Dr. Murray has been in jail since his conviction on November 7th.

The wrongful death lawyers in Los Angeles of Panish Shea & Boyle are dedicated to this case and will continue to pursue justice for the family of Michael Jackson Tragedy.

My name is Brian Panish. I am the attorney and friend of the Jackson family. They have asked me to read this statement on their behalf.

There is no way to adequately describe the loss of our beloved father, son, brother, and friend. We still look at each other in disbelief – is it really possible that he is gone? As Michael’s parents, we could never have imagined that we would live to witness his passing; it is simply against the natural order of things. As his brothers and sisters, we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform with our brother again. And as his children, we will grow up without a father: our best friend, our playmate, our dad.

We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back. But we will keep the love in our hearts that Michael embodied throughout his life – his passion was for unifying the world through the gift of his artistry.

We respectfully request that you impose a sentence that reminds physicians that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder and cast aside their Hippocratic oath to do no harm. As we all know from this tragedy, doing so can have devastating results.

The Bible reminds us that men cannot really do justice, they can only seek justice. That is all that we, as a family, can ask for here.