On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Teenage drivers in South Carolina have likely heard it repeated over and over again throughout their driver's education programs: Do not to fall victim to distracted driving. More and more automobile accidents throughout the country seem to be occurring due to texting, checking email and calling from cell phones while driving. These activities consume a significant portion of an individual's concentration when it should all be focused on the road.
Even though teenagers seem to receive the brunt of the attention in regard to the consequences of distracted driving, it is not a problem restricted to teenagers.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Products Liability on Friday, May 11, 2012
One of the hallmarks of summer is being able to grill outside with friends and family. With summer rapidly approaching, many consumers are probably considering the possibility of buying a new barbeque grill. As South Carolina families shop around to find the perfect grill, they may want to be made aware of one dangerous product that has been raising alarms throughout the country.
One World Technologies, Inc., which is based in South Carolina, imports and sells gas grills at retail stores throughout the United States and North America. Unfortunately, there has been a recall over a couple different types of gas grills deemed to be unsafe, which are distributed by the South Carolina company. The two gas grills included in this product recall are the STOK Island and STOK Quattro models. In total, nearly 90,000 units are affected by the recall.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Products Liability on Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Nestle Prepared Foods Company, based in South Carolina, has issued a recall for nearly 16,890 pounds of Stouffers frozen lasagna meals after a manufacturing error led many of them to be filled with stuffed peppers rather than the box-indicated lasagna.
These meals are expected to have been shipped to locations east of the Mississippi River. While this error may appear as more of an inconvenience than a products liability issue or a true danger to consumer safety, the error does carry potential health concerns for some.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Nursing Home Negligence on Thursday, April 26, 2012
When adults put a parent in the care of a nursing home, they expect that their loved one will be treated with dignity and genuine compassion. However, nursing home negligence is ua reality for too many people. One recent South Carolina case seems to demonstrate this unfortunate fact.
The neglect was first reported when an official acting with the South Carolina Governor's Office of Ombudsman notified police of a resident who was in very poor health. After examination, hospital staff determined that he was suffering the effects of malnutrition and severe dehydration, as well as having a subdural hematoma on the back of his head.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Teenagers and their safety has been, and always will be, a major concern for parents in South Carolina and nationwide. It isn't hard to notice the consistent attention toward safety and prevention of head injuries in high-contact sports that cycle in and out of the media. While this risk is real and significant, a recent report reveals that teenagers everywhere are also posed with significant risks for these and similar injuries as a result of automobile accidents.
The report, conducted by a nationally recognized children's hospital and an automobile insurance company, found that 55,000 teenagers and their passengers were seriously injured in auto accidents in 2009 and 2010.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Workers' Compensation on Thursday, April 12, 2012
The economic downturn seen in the past several years has affected everyone in South Carolina, from individuals to large businesses. While these difficult times have led to government budget cutbacks, some programs are in danger of being phased out altogether. One type of workers' compensation program called the "second injury fund," which is designed to aid previously injured or disabled workers, has been vanished in a number of states and many are questioning whether or not it's a valid use of public dollars.
After World War II, disability and second injury funds were set up for veterans who returned from war with serious injuries that may have discouraged employers from hiring them in fear of repeated injury. These funds grew to include not only veterans but thousands of others with pre-existing workplace injuries. If one of these people were to suffer a workplace injury, the second injury fund would cover the costs of workers' compensation for that employee.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Workers' Compensation on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Workers' compensation benefits are a blessing to many employees who may have been injured on the job. It is often that these people are injured so severely they are unable to continue working and would be financially harmed should workers' compensation not be available to them. However, a bill currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate may significantly reduce the amount of workers' compensation benefits a federal employee would receive after a work-related injury. This would greatly affect federal employees, such as post office workers and federal law enforcement agents, not only in South Carolina but across the nation.
The bill is purportedly designed to eliminate excess costs when workers' compensation is paid to employees who are well beyond retirement age. In some cases, those individuals in this situation actually receive more in workers' compensation payments than their retirement benefits. Not all injured workers are in this category, though, so they may still be affected should this bill become law. The Labor Department estimates that approximately 18,600 individuals would be affected by these changes, and there is even concern that this bill could affect workers' compensation that injured employees are already receiving despite the fact that changes would not become effective until three years after the proposal is adopted.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Truck Accidents on Thursday, March 29, 2012
Semi-trucks are a necessary, but intimidating presence on the roadways. Unfortunately, smaller vehicles are often at the mercy of these huge trucks, which is why new drivers are consistently cautioned when driving on roads where semi-trucks frequent and the truck drivers ought to be particularly cautious of other motorists. An automobile accident involving a truck of this size is highly dangerous and can often result in a catastrophic injury or death, particularly when the victim is a defenseless pedestrian. Such was the case in a recent crash involving a tractor-trailer and two pedestrians on a South Carolina highway.
The truck was traveling south on a United States highway when it came upon a vehicle stopped in the road near the intersection of a state highway during the early morning hours. The truck swerved to avoid the vacant vehicle which had been involved in an automobile accident earlier on, only to strike two pedestrians. Both pedestrians died at the scene as a result of their injuries as a result of the impact.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Friday, March 23, 2012
Just a few months ago, a South Carolina driver was killed in a car accident after the at-fault driver drove away from his place of employment, a restaurant and bar, in an intoxicated condition. He has been charged with a DUI offense stemming from the December rear-end collision, which is typically the case in automobile accidents where there is evidence of alcohol or drug use. But now the family of the victim has filed a lawsuit for wrongful death against the restaurant, claiming that the establishment should not have allowed the employee to drink past closing time
According to the civil lawsuit, the driver's manager allowed him to consume alcohol after the legally mandated closing time. At the time of the fatal collision, the accused man's blood alcohol content was at .24 percent, or three times the legal limit in South Carolina. The wrongful death claims seeks monetary damages from the restaurant for its role in contributing to the cause of the heartrending accident.
On behalf of The Hyman Law Firm, LLP posted in Products Liability on Friday, March 16, 2012
South Carolina readers may be aware that Pfizer, a prominent pharmaceutical company, has recently recalled one million packets of a birth control medication it distributed, due to a mix up in the order of hormone and placebo pills in the packaging. This error in the packaging process has placed a number of women at risk for pregnancies when they believe they are protected by their birth control medication. Not only did Pfizer go nearly an entire year without realizing the defect in packaging, but a customer had to be the one to notify them of the error, which could lead to claims of products liability.
Companies may be responsible for several different forms of monetary damages in product liability incidents such as this, depending on local laws governing such issues. Those dealing with an unintended pregnancy may be owed compensation from problems with physical and mental health while carrying the child to the costs of carrying and rearing the child. In these types of cases, not every state allows for the full damage rule - including the costs of rearing the child - without removing some of the manufacturer's liability due to the "value of having a healthy child."
