Dallas Personal Injury Law Blog

Elevator Accident Results in Plaintiff's Verdict

A jury awarded $72,905 to a courthouse security guard who suffered a back injury when an elevator skipped her stop and landed with a sudden jolt in the building's basement. Liliana Batres, then 32, sustained a bulging lumbar disc in the 2004 incident. She underwent $35,000 worth of chiropractic treatment and epidural injections, but claimed she continues to suffer from pain and impaired mobility. Batres, who sought $120,000 in damages, blamed maintenance company KONE Inc., alleging the elevator malfunction because it wasn't properly maintained. KONE argued that it performed regular service on the elevator. It attributed the malfunction to the elevator's age and argued that the incident wasn't preventable.

Toyota To Replace 3.8 Million Gas Pedals

Toyota Motor Corp. will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat, The Associated Press has learned.

As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles, the Transportation Department said in a statement provided to the AP. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, was expected to provide more details Wednesday on the fix. The Japanese automaker announced the massive recall in late September and told owners to remove the driver's side floor mats to prevent the gas pedal from potentially becoming jammed.

Popular vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, are part of the recall. It includes the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS250/350.

On Tuesday, Toyota announced a recall of 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-03 model years to address excessive rust on the vehicle's frame.

The recall involving the accelerators was Toyota's largest in the U.S. It was prompted by a high-speed crash in August involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family near San Diego. The Lexus hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

 

Biggest Baby Crib Recall In US History

 

More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by the Canadian-based Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S. history, after reports that four infants suffocated in them.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Monday the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. Sales of the cribs being recalled go back to 1993.

Nearly 150,000 of the cribs carry the Fisher-Price logo.

The CPSC said it is aware of four infants who suffocated in the drop-side cribs, which have a side that moves up and down to allow parents to lift children from the cribs more easily.

The Stork Craft cribs have had problems with their hardware, which can break, deform or be lost after years of use. CPSC said problems also can arise because of assembly mistakes by crib owners. These problems can cause the drop-side to detach and create a dangerous space between the drop-side and the crib mattress, where a child could become trapped.

The commission is urging parents to stop using the cribs until receiving a free repair kit from Stork Craft.

The cribs, manufactured and distributed between January 1993 and October 2009, were sold at major retailers including BJ's Wholesale Club, Sears and Wal-Mart stores and online through Target and Costco. They sold for between $100 and $400 and were made in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Consumer advocates have complained for years about drop-side cribs. More than 5 million of them have been recalled over the past two years alone, associated with the deaths of a dozen young children.

ASTM International, an organization that sets voluntary industry safety standards for a broad range of products that includes such disparate products as toys and steel used in commercial buildings, approved a new standard last week that requires four immovable, or fixed, sides for full-sized cribs which essentially eliminated the manufacture of new drop-side cribs.

CPSC also is considering new rules for making cribs safer and could adopt the ASTM voluntary standard as a mandatory one, which would outright ban the cribs.

Negligence Finding in Katrina Floods May Cost Feds

 

The federal government could be vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims after a judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval on Wednesday awarded seven plaintiffs $720,000, but the government could eventually be forced to pay much more. The ruling should give more than 100,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities a better shot at claiming damages.

Duval sided with six residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. He said, however, the corps couldn't be held liable for the flooding of eastern New Orleans, where two of the plaintiffs lived.

The ruling is also emotionally resonant for south Louisiana. Many in New Orleans have argued that the flooding in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck the region Aug. 29, 2005, was a manmade disaster caused by the Army Corps' failure to maintain the levee system protecting the city.

"Total devastation could possibly have been avoided if something had been done," said Tanya Smith, one of the plaintiffs. "A lot of this stuff was preventable and they turned a deaf ear to it."

The 36-year-old registered nurse anesthetist lived in Chalmette close to the channel when Katrina hit. She was awarded $317,000 in property damages, the most of any of the plaintiffs.

Duval referred to the corps' approach to maintaining the channel as "monumental negligence."

Joe Bruno, one of the lead lawyers for the plaintiffs, said the ruling underscored the Army Corps' long history of not properly protecting the New Orleans region.

"It's high time we look at the way these guys do business and do a full re-evaluation of the way it does business," Bruno said.

He said he expected the government to appeal.

The corps referred calls seeking comment to the Justice Department. Spokesman Charles Miller said the government would review the judge's ruling before making any decision on how to proceed.

During trial testimony, government lawyers and experts argued the levee system was overwhelmed by the massive storm, and levee breaches couldn't solely be blamed on the shipping channel dug in the 1960s as a short-cut between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans.

The corps had also unsuccessfully argued that it is immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system.

In his 156-page ruling, Duval said he was "utterly convinced" that the corps' failure to shore up the channel "doomed the channel to grow to two to three times its design width" and that "created a more forceful frontal wave attack on the levee" that protected St. Bernard and the Lower 9th Ward.

Man Gets 433k Due to Construction Accident Injury

A jury awarded $433,000 to a concrete worker who lost partial vision in one eye in an on-the-job accident. In 2006, Jose Gallegos, then 34, was smoothing concrete on a sidewalk in Killeen. As he was working, additional concrete was delivered by a truck owned by Transit Mix Concrete & Materials Co. and driven by employee Willie Davis. When Davis backed up, the truck came in contract with a 2-by-4 board. The opposite end of the board rose and struck Gallegos in the left eye. Gallegos blamed Transit Mix, alleging it was liable for Davis' negligent driving. Transit Mix argued that Davis was following directions shouted at him by a third party. It also contended Gallegos was at fault for not wearing safety glasses. The jury found Davis and Transit Mix each 50 percent negligent. 

 

Patient Paralyzed After Spinal Tap Gets 10.9M

 

A man who is paralyzed from the waist down after receiving a spinal tap recovered $10.9 million. Thomas Colombrito developed a hematoma at the lumbar puncture site, which compressed his spinal cord, causing paralysis. Two days later he underwent emergency surgical decompression to no avail. Colombrito claimed that Dr. Sireesha Janga failed to discontinue anticoagulants before the spinal tap. Colombrito also sued Dr. Richard Torres for failing to follow up on an MRI. The jury found Janga 51 percent liable and Torres 4 percent liable. The hospital and neurologist who delivered the spinal tap were found 45 percent liable, but they settled before trial. Due to settlement credits and award caps under Texas law, the jury's $22.5 million award was reduced.

Mailman Traumatized By Pit Bull Wins Lawsuit

 

 A jury awarded $79,703 to a mailman who was attacked by two pit bull mixes while he was on his route in Baytown. In May 2006, William Kinsey, then 46, was delivering mail to Ray Rose's home when two dogs escaped from the house and knocked him to the ground. The dogs bit him in the lower legs, thigh and buttocks -- one wound required stitches. Kinsey was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder two months after the incident. He sued Rose, alleging he failed to control his dogs. Kinsey also said the dogs were known to have vicious propensities before the attack, claiming they would bark, growl and jump on a fence when he walked by. Rose argued the dogs had never escaped or bitten anyone before. He contended Kinsey provoked the dogs by kicking and swinging his mailbag at them.

Baby Strollers Recalled

About a million Maclaren strollers sold by Target and Babies "R" Us were recalled Monday, after 12 reports of children having their fingertips amputated by a hinge mechanism.

The recall includes all nine models of single and double umbrella Maclaren strollers, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall after an investigation.

The amputation risk occurs when a child's finger is placed in the hinge mechanism of a stroller while it is being unfolded. When the opened stroller locks into place, it can cut off the tip of the child's finger.

The recall includes the following stroller models: Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller. They have been sold at Babies "R" Us, Target and other stores around the country since 1999. Prices for the strollers ranged from $100 to $360.

The company is offering free hinge covers to prevent future incidents. The covers should not be removed unless the stroller is being cleaned, according to the CPSC.

"Our message to parents, grandparents and all caregivers is to make sure that you stop using these strollers until you get the repair kit, which zips the covers in place," said CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis.

The strollers were manufactured in China and distributed by Maclaren USA Inc of South Norwalk, Conn.

 

Oil Field Ordered to Pay 2.66 Million to Injured Worker

 

 

A worker who sustained career-ending injuries in an oil field accident recovered $2.66 million from the owner of the well. In 2007, Leland Taylor, then 47, a flow back hand, was under contract to provide services for Nadel & Gussman LLC, an oil and gas drilling company. On Aug. 29, Taylor was monitoring the flow back assembly on a Nadel & Gussman-owned well in Rusk County when an increase in flow pressure caused part of the assembly to detach and strike him. He sustained right leg and arm fractures, which required multiple surgeries and rendered him unable to return to his job. Taylor blamed Nadel & Gussman, alleging it failed to properly anchor the assembly. The company argued Taylor failed to monitor the flow and also blamed Forrest Tate, Taylor's supervisor. The jury found Nadel & Gussman 70 percent, Tate 25 percent and Taylor 5 percent liable for the incident.

Family Receives 266K for Family Member Death at Work

The family of a man who died in a workplace accident received a $266,418 settlement from his employer. On Jan. 20, 2007, Jose Luis Flores Guadarrama was working at the Southern Hardwood Co. mill in Zavalla. He was operating a board edger when the machine "shot back" and a board struck him in the chest, causing fatal injuries. Following his death, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the site and found that it was in violation of numerous federal regulations. Guadarrama's wife blamed Southern Hardwood for her husband's death, citing the OSHA investigators' report which mentioned, among other things, the company's failure to maintain its equipment, inadequate safety warnings and lack of safety guards. Southern Hardwood denied the allegations, but ultimately agreed to the settlement in mediation.