Four Die in Alcohol-Related, Head-On Crash in Ohio – A Stark Reminder to Drive Safely This Holiday Season
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on December 23rd, 2012
The holidays are here and sadly, alcohol-related vehicle accidents, fueled by holiday parties where drivers drink too much and then get behind the wheel, are already taking their deadly toll on America's roadways. Four people were killed Dec. 23 in Cincinnati, Ohio, "when a minivan carrying a family leaving a Christmas party went the wrong way on a southwestern Ohio highway and hit another minivan whose driver and family were going to see grandparents for...
Family Receives $109 Million Verdict in Backyard Electrocution Death of Mother
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on December 13th, 2012
When the power went out in her house in June 2009, Carrie Goretzka, an Allegheny County, Pa., mother of two children looked outside and saw flames in some pine trees in her backyard. Frightened by the power-related tree fire, she went out to her car to get her cellphone so she could call the electric company for help, but before utility workers could arrive to fix the outage, a power line fell from the pole...
Superstorm Sandy is Gone, But the Insurance Claim Woes Remain for Many Victims
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on November 29th, 2012
When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast in late October, it decimated the New Jersey shore, lower Manhattan and Staten Island in New York and severely damaged property and homes in a wide swath of states. The clean-up continues, often slowly, as winter quickly approaches, complicating the recovery process for thousands of families and property owners. But making recovery even harder is the rejection of many insurance claims by insurers which are shirking their...
What to Do If You Are Injured In A Vehicle Crash Caused By Another Driver
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on November 12th, 2012
Car crashes happen every day when drivers least expect them. But knowing what to do if you, your passengers and your vehicle are struck by a distracted, drunk, inattentive or dangerous driver piloting another vehicle is critical. Just last week, five people were injured, including three seriously, when a speeding car ran through a stop sign in Des Moines, Wash., and plowed into another car, according to a story by KOMO News. "All five occupants...
Texas Woman Sues Maker of Surgical Vaginal Mesh Device Due to Serious Injuries
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on November 9th, 2012
The maker of an implantable vaginal mesh device is being sued by a Texarkana, Texas, woman after the surgery with the device led to her suffering serious injuries. In a case filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Sally H. York is suing Ethicon Inc., the maker of the Gynecare Prosima Pelvic Floor Repair System, which is an implantable vaginal mesh, according to a story in The Southeast Texas Record. York's lawsuit alleges that the...
Meningitis Death Toll from Contamination Steroid Injections Hits 21, New Cases Continue to Surface
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on October 20th, 2012
After getting routine steroid shots to treat various aches and pains, 21 patients from across the United States have died from fungal meningitis connected to contaminated steroid medications provided by a Boston-area pharmacy. So far, 268 cases of the fungal meningitis from the contaminated injectable medications have been reported with more continuing to come in, according to a story from Reuters, while ongoing investigations into the outbreak continue. Now a lawsuit has been filed on...
How A Mom Who Lost Two Daughters in a Tragic, Fatal Crash of a Rental Car Fought To Change Laws and Make Rental Cars Safer
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on October 14th, 2012
When you rent a car, truck or SUV for a vacation, business trip or other need, you expect that the vehicle is well-maintained and safe to drive. It’s just a common sense expectation. But until recently, that expectation could have been very, very wrong. In the United States, there are presently no laws that forbid rental-car companies from sending vehicles out with customers if the vehicles are facing federal recalls for safety problems. So rental...
After Liposuction Surgeries in Maryland, 1 Patient Dies, 2 Fall Ill, Leaving Legal Questions
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on September 27th, 2012
Serious infections after liposuction surgery have caused the death of one patient and sickened two others, forcing the closing of a Timonium, Md., medical facility while authorities work to determine how the death and illnesses could have occurred. Officials at the Monarch Medspa surgery center "are cooperating as Maryland and Baltimore County health officials investigate the source of the infections, which involve the same bacteria that causes strep throat," according to a story in The...
Family Sues for Wrongful Death after Man Treated in Hospital, Then Later Dies in Lobby Waiting for Ride
By Dean I Weitzman, Esq. on September 21st, 2012
When 38-year-old Melvin A. Dillard Jr. felt chest pains June 26, he was rushed to a hospital in Lewes, Del., where he was checked out by medical personnel in the emergency room and then later released. But while Dillard was sitting in the ER lobby waiting for a ride home at Beebe Medical Center, he apparently suffered a heart attack and died, then his body was not discovered by hospital personnel until the next morning,...