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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Injured by an Intoxicated person? Washington State Dram Shop Laws May Apply
If you or a loved one was injured by an intoxicated person – such as in a car accident or physical altercation – you may be able to recover damages under Washington State dram shop laws. For years, the state has recognized the right of a person injured by an inebriated minor to bring a civil lawsuit against the social host or alcohol vendor who sold or served alcohol to the minor. Claims against social hosts fall under social host liability laws while claims against alcohol vendors fall under dram shop laws; both sets of laws are meant to protect victims of alcohol-related accidents.
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The Famous “Scalding Cup of Coffee” Personal Injury Lawsuit Explained
Most people over the age of 30 have heard about the famous “scalding cup of coffee” personal injury lawsuit. Many use it as a notorious example of the amount of “frivolous lawsuits” in the United States. The problem is that most people don’t know anything about the details of the case or why the jury awarded the plaintiff almost $3 million in punitive damages for the burns she suffered.
What you should know about the “scalding cup of coffee” personal injury lawsuit
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Beef from Popular Grocery Chains under Food Recall After 1 Death Reported
On September 19, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Colorado based Cargill Meat Solutions was recalling about 132,606 pounds of ground beef products due to a possible Escherichia coli O26 contamination.
According to the USDA, the beef products involved in the food recall were produced and packaged on June 21, 2018. It is a class I contamination which means that the health hazard has a reasonable chance of causing serious health issues or death if ingested.
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Bellingham Man Falls Down Cliff in Whatcom Falls Park
On Sunday, July 29, 2018 at approximately 4:51 p.m., a teenaged man slipped down a steep cliff in Whatcom Falls Park and had to be pulled out by a rescue team. The fall happened near the 15-foot Middle Falls, also known as Pixie Falls. A statement by Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Newbold indicated that the man was wandering around the park off trails and fell when he got too close to the edge. Between the steep hill and some injuries sustained in the fall, the man was unable to climb out on his own.
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