Traumatic Brain Injury

August 28, 2009

South Texas Jury Finds Yamaha not Negligent in First Rhino Rollover Trial

It only took a few hours for Southeast Texas jurors in the first trial over Yamaha Rhino all-terrain vehicle rollovers to return a swift ruling of no negligence — a verdict in the company’s favor that could have far reaching effects.

With hundreds of Yamaha ATV suits pending in courts around the country, the victorious outcome obtained in Orange County may influence how Yamaha proceeds with similar litigation.

The product liability trial of Johnny Ray vs. Yamaha Motor Co. kicked off Aug. 18 and ended Aug. 27.

Jurors in the Orange County District Court of Judge Buddy Hahn were tasked to decide if Yamaha Motor Co. cut costs and negligently placed a defective off-road vehicle into the stream of commerce.

August 25, 2009

Motor scooter rider sustained head injury in collision

by Dr. Shezad Malik

On May 15, 2007, plaintiff Jonny Osler, a 57-year-old language instructor, was riding a motor scooter on Collins Road in Sunny Isles when Nasir Jamal allegedly changed lanes in his Mercedes and hit him. Osler was wearing a helmet, but he was rendered unconscious by the impact. Having no recollection of the accident, Osler was ticketed at the scene. Osler sustained a subdural hematoma and fractured collar bone.

Osler sued Jamal for vehicular negligence, alleging that Jamal was talking on his cell phone at the time of the accident. Although subpoenaed records supported that theory, Jamal denied at trial that he was on the phone when the collision occurred. There were no witnesses to the accident.

Osler’s accident reconstruction expert testified that Jamal’s testimony was incredible. He opined that the way the scooter was laying on the ground after the accident according to the police report was inconsistent with Jamal’s claim. Jamal paid cash to have his car repaired shortly after the accident. According to counsel for Osler, questions arose as to whether Jamal had repaired his vehicle and if so what had been repaired.

August 23, 2009

Dallas Woman Sustained Brain, Knee Injuries in Slip-and-Fall Incident

by Dr. Shezad Malik

On April 5, 2005, plaintiff Liria Lopez, 49, a self-employed house cleaner, entered a Minyard Food Store on the corner of Abrams Road and Gaston Avenue in Dallas. It had rained that day and water had accumulated in the store’s foyer area. As Lopez exited, she slipped on the water.

Lopez sued Minyard Food Stores Inc., alleging premises liability. She claimed that other customers had fallen in the same area under reasonably similar conditions about 18 months earlier. She also maintained that on the day of her accident there there were no warning signs or mats placed in the foyer, nor were there any warnings from store employees prior to her fall.

Lopez’s walking surfaces/traction expert testified that the manner in which Minyard addressed the water issue in the foyer was below the standard of care. After looking at the records, he said Minyard did not adequately handle the continuing problem of a wet slick floor on rainy days.

August 1, 2009

Swim Club Lawsuit for Brain Damage Caused by Drowning

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Three years ago, James Becker was doing what many vigorous 15-year-old boys do – playing baseball, basketball and soccer.

Now he is severely disabled, must use a wheelchair and is under the constant care of his mother.

The accident that reduced James to such circumstances occurred at the Woodcroft Swim Club in Parkville on July 29, 2006, when, his family’s lawyer says, he almost drowned. His brain was apparently deprived of adequate oxygen for about 10 minutes.

His parents, William J. Becker III and Mary Becker, have filed a $40 million lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the swim club and the company that runs it, D.R.D. Pool Management Inc., accusing them of failing to both “timely recognize and respond” to the struggling boy and to properly perform resuscitation efforts.

June 6, 2009

Lawsuit Filed in I-15 Wrongful Death of Stranded Honeymooners

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Two trucking companies and their drivers are being sued over a 2008 accident on I-15 in Las Vegas in which two honeymooners outside their stranded vehicle were struck and killed.

Attorneys for the parents of one of the victims, Lisa Lynn Prock-Hills, filed a negligence suit in Clark County District Court against truck driver Stanislaw Masalski of Clearwater, Fla., and his company, Stan Trucking Inc.

Also sued were driver Sam Montalvo Martinez and his employer at the time of the accident, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. of Lowell, Ark.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said Kevin Edward Hills, 38, and Prock-Hills, 41, were killed on Interstate 15 just south of Silverado Ranch Boulevard on March 13, 2008.

May 28, 2009

Quadriplegic Musician Wins $18 M Verdict Against Ford Motor Co.

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An Oakland musician who was made a quadriplegic in a rollover crash four years ago won an $18.3 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. in federal court.

Dax Pierson, 38, suffered severe spinal injuries when a Ford passenger van that the band was traveling in ran off an icy highway in Iowa and rolled over in a ditch on Feb. 24, 2005.

Pierson sued Ford for creating a defective seat-latching mechanism that caused his seat to come loose, resulting in his head hitting the roof of the rolled-over van.

The $18.3 million jury award came after three weeks of trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton. It includes $12.3 million for past and future medical expenses and lost earnings plus $6 million for pain and suffering.

May 25, 2009

Disney and Tram-Injured Woman Reach Settlement

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Chinese woman who fell out of a moving Disneyland tram and suffered injuries that left her needing 24-hour medical supervision for the rest of her life has reached a settlement in a lawsuit she filed against the Walt Disney Co.

Lawyers for Qi Zhao and Disney reached the agreement, bringing a two-week trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court to an abrupt end.

Details of the accord were not released.

Zhao, 48, filed her suit in 2007, alleging the tram driver was going too fast. She was riding the tram with two sisters and a niece. According to the complaint, one of the sisters fell from the King tram as it moved toward a parking lot.

Reacting to the fall, the other two sisters also fell out. One suffered minor injuries and Zhao hit her head on the pavement, suffering severe traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures and was in a coma for three weeks.

May 16, 2009

Denver Jury Awards Millions In Sumo Wrestling Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Denver jury awarded $2 million to a woman who was injured at a Colorado Springs resort while participating in a mock sumo wrestling game with her coworkers.

Katherine Giles was attending her company’s retreat at Cheyenne Mountain Resort in September 2005 when the accident happened.

Mock sumo wrestling is sometimes used by companies as a team building exercise. It involves participants wearing enormous padded or inflatable suits and helmets.

May 3, 2009

Family of Seattle Cyclist Killed by Dump Truck Settles Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The family of a 19-year-old man, whose death on a Seattle street in 2007 triggered a community outpouring for better bike-safety measures, has settled a lawsuit against the company that owned the dump truck that crushed him.

The parents of Bryce Lewis, Marc and Laura Paolicelli of Colorado, have agreed to an undisclosed sum of money from Nelson & Sons Construction of Woodinville.

April 29, 2009

Raising Alarm at Cheerleading’s Dangers

by Dr. Shezad Malik

It has been a year since Lauren Chang collapsed during a cheerleading competition and died, leaving behind her smiling portrait as a grim testament to the dangers of her sport.

That tragedy, as well as another death and a serious injury suffered by cheerleaders in recent years, has placed Massachusetts in a pivotal point in the crusade to make cheerleading safer.

Last fall, the mother of Ashley Burns, a Medford 14-year-old who died in a 2005 cheerleading accident, filed a lawsuit in her death. In addition to seeking damages, Ruth Burns is also asking a judge to force national groups that sanction cheerleading competitions and oversee the sport to adopt more stringent safety rules.