Your First Steps After a Slip and Fall

An unmarked area of spillage on a hotel lobby’s floor. An unmaintained stairwell that’s missing the proper railing. An untreated patch of ice on a train platform. These are all examples of potential safety hazards that could lead to a dangerous slip and fall for anyone in the vicinity.

According to the National Safety Council, “Falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries in the United States.” Reportedly, falls account for 8.9 million visits to emergency rooms each year, as well as more than 25,000 fatalities — an occurrence that can increase with age. Falls can happen on the job, at a restaurant, at a grocery store, at a school, and even at a private residence.

Regardless of who you initially think may be at fault, there are certain action steps you should take to protect yourself and your legal rights if you ever find yourself in such a situation:

1. Keep calm and call for help. […]

Abington Heights Swimming Pool Closed For Chloramine Risk

Concerned parents present chloramine study to school board, cause temporary pool closure

Officials have closed a swimming pool at Abington Heights High School for possible air-quality dangers after children who swam there began suffering respiratory problems.

The move came one day after concerned parents voiced fears for their children’s safety to the Abington Heights School Board. At the meeting, parents presented a research paper by a national expert on the chloramines risk of indoor pools.

The high school facility was used for meets by the varsity swim team. It was also a practice facility for younger children.

School officials said they were closing the pool as a “precautionary measure.”

Following is from The Scranton Times-Tribune:

At the school board meeting on Wednesday, a number of parents shared stories of how their children had difficulty breathing after and throughout swim practice – some saying their kids had to stop halfway through to walk into the hallway and catch their breath. […]

Pennsylvania Dog Laws Are Being “Aggressively Enforced”

While Governor Tom Corbett focuses on protecting Pennsylvania residents, he also ensures that those residents who can’t take care of themselves are properly cared for – including animals.  Last week he announced the Dog Law Enforcement Office is aggressively enforcing the State’s dog laws to protect man’s best friend.

According to the press release, the Dog Law Enforcement Office is focused on “protecting the well-being of dogs and puppies across the state.”

“Pennsylvania has one of the toughest dog laws with the most aggressive protections for adult dogs and puppies in the nation,” said Michael Pechart, acting director of the office. And his office takes enforcement seriously.  Of the nearly 300 kennels that were once in operation in the state, just 51 remain.

The Enforcement Office is also working to increase enforcement of dangerous dog laws by citing owners who fail to register their dangerous dogs with the office, […]

NY Woman Awarded over $40 Million in Personal Injury Case Against Cybex International

A woman who previously worked as a physical therapist was allowed to keep nearly $45 million of the original $66 million awarded her in a case against Cybex International.  The woman was using a piece of fitness equipment at work that was not properly bolted down when it fell on top of her leaving her a quadriplegic.

According to Buffalo News.com, although a NY state appellate court reduced the award, the “appeals judges backed all of the rulings made in the case by State Supreme Court Justice.”   The article reports that the final award amount is believed to be the largest personal injury verdict in Western New York history.

Cybex appealed the initial award saying the company “was not negligent and is in no way responsible for the accident that is the basis of the suit.” However, the jury found Cybex 75 percent responsible, Amherst Orthopedic Physical Therapy, […]

Wrongful Death Suit Filed After Boy Dies in Go-Kart Accident

Claiming the Horn Rapids Kart Track was negligently designed, maintained and operated, the parents of a 12-year-old boy killed in a go-kart accident there in 2008 have filed a wrongful death suit against the city of Richland, Washington and Tri-City Kart Club which leases the kart track from the city.

The young boy’s kart slid off the track during a hairpin turn, crossed a grassy slope and crashed through a wire cable fence at a high rate of speed.  He died of injuries to his neck vertebrae and jugular vein.  The boy was an experienced go-kart driver who had won events in his class just weeks before the accident.

Also named in the lawsuit are the mechanics who worked on the go-kart’s brakes immediately before the race, race organizers and the International Kart Federation.

If you or someone you love have been hurt or killed at an unsafe or badly maintained facility, […]