Personal Injury Attorney Blog Bellingham

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Sends Ferndale Family to Hospital

A family of four was hospitalized the morning of January 21 for apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at a house in the 6600 block of Church Road in Ferndale, WA. Firefighters responded to the home about 1:50 a.m. after receiving a report of carbon monoxide poisoning with multiple patients. The home had two adults living upstairs who were evaluated and released to go to a friend’s house. They were advised to stay out of the house until an inspection could be done to identify the source of the carbon monoxide and repair the issue. The family of four living downstairs included two adults who were transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center in serious condition and two children who were transported in stable condition, according to Whatcom County Fire District 7 Division Chief Ben Boyko. Two family dogs were also removed from the home. One of the dogs seemed lethargic and was given oxygen by firefighters before both dogs were released to the care of the Whatcom County Humane Society.

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Risk of Permanent Kidney Damage Causes Voluntary Product Recall ofLiquid Infant Ibuprofen

A voluntary product recall for three liquid infant ibuprofens sold at Walmart, CVS and Family Dollar has been issued because of the possibility that they could cause permanent kidney damage. The issue with these three lots of infant’s Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension stems from potentially higher concentrations of ibuprofen. New Jersey based pharmaceutical manufacturer Tris Pharma Inc. stated there is a “remote possibility” infants, who are more susceptible to a higher potency level of the drug, may be more vulnerable to permanent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-associated kidney injury. Other potential reactions include headache, abdominal pain or diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, gastrointestinal bleeding and tinnitus. There are no reports of children sickened by the recalled products but parents and caretakers should return or dispose of any of the liquid infant ibuprofens on the recall list.

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Jimmy Dean Sausage Recalled after Pieces of Metal Found

CTI Foods LLC was forced to recall 29,028 pounds of Jimmy Dean frozen, ready-to-eat (RTE) pork and poultry sausage links products after five customers reported finding metal in their meals. Specifically, the contaminated meat is in the 23.4-oz. pouches of Jimmy Dean Heat ‘n Serve Original Sausage Links Made with Pork & Turkey. The product has a January 31 use-by date with case code A6382168 and establishment number EST. 19085. The meat was made on August 4 and sent to Tennessee.

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JBS Ground Beef Recall Expands to 12 Million Pounds

Since October 4, 2018, JBS Tolleson Inc. has expanded its ground beef recall twice due to a Salmonella outbreak that has made almost 250 people sick since August. More illnesses are expected because it can take four or more weeks for a person exposed to the bacteria to become sick, be diagnosed, confirmed and reported to the CDC. The latest expansion – announced on December 4, 2018 – brings the total nationwide recall to more than 12 million pounds. The recall notice said: “The scope of this recall expansion now includes an additional 5,156,076 pounds of raw beef products, which were produced and packed from July 26, 2018, to Sept. 7, 2018. FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers…”

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2018 Car and Booster Seat Recall Updates Released

On November 23, 2018, The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration updated information for multiple existing recalls of booster and child car seats, affecting thousands of products from different manufacturers.

If your child was injured because of a defective car or booster seat, contact a personal injury lawyer with experience in product liability claims in your area. He or she can discuss your legal rights and may be able to fight on your behalf for an appropriate settlement.

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Assault and Battery: Downtown Bellingham Fight Ends with Finger Bitten Off

A fight between two men who knew each other happened downtown Bellingham on November 7; it ended with one of the men having the index finger of his right hand bitten off. The plaintiff, 28-year old Terrence Uriah Erickson, was booked into Whatcom County Jail Monday on suspicion of first-degree assault, and held on $20,000 bail.

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CDC Recalls Romaine Lettuce over Apparent E. Coli Contamination

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on November, 20, 2018 that 32 people living in 11 states and 18 people in two Canadian provinces had been infected with a strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli most likely stemming from eating romaine lettuce. The first reported illness was on October 8 and the last was on October 31. Thirteen of the 32 were hospitalized and one person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been associated with the contaminated lettuce. The strain of E. coli found in this outbreak was the same one found in people sickened in a 2017 outbreak linked to leafy greens in the United States and to romaine lettuce in Canada. This outbreak is not, however, related to a recent E. coli outbreak across several states also associated with romaine lettuce.

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WA State Supreme Court: State is Liable for Safety of Foster Kids

In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme court ruled that the state is liable for safety and welfare of the more than 10,000 foster children in the state’s foster system. Specifically, the majority opinion says that the state Department of Social and Health Services – now the Department of Children, Youth and Families “owes a duty of reasonable care to protect foster children from abuse at the hands of their foster parents…the foster children produced sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that DSHS breached its protective duty, and that the breach of that duty caused their injuries.” In the dissenting opinion, Justice Barbara Madsen disagreed that “a special relationship exists between foster children and DSHS and that, therefore, the state shouldn’t be held responsible for child abuse that occurs after custody is transferred to the foster parent.”

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10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips for Fire Prevention Month

Fire departments across the United States are called to extinguish almost two million fires every year; three-quarters of them are house fires. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, fires take the lives of over 4,000 Americans and injure about 20,000 more each year. Prevent property damage, burns, smoke inhalation and death with these fire prevention safety tips.

10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips

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Common Carrier Injury Claims: Limousine Personal Injury Case

A common carrier is a person or company that transports goods or passengers on regular routes at set rates. People traveling in a rented limousine, sightseeing bus, taxi, train, airport shuttle, cruise ship, airplane or any form of private group transportation are using a common carrier to get where they need to go.

Common carrier injury claims are filed when a passenger is injured while traveling on one of these types of transportation.

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