Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

October 26, 2009

Toyota’s runaway-car worries may not stop at floor mats

A fatal accident in San Diego raises the question: Might a vehicle’s complex electronic features make it hard for drivers to react quickly when accelerating out of control?
The 2009 Lexus ES 350 shot through suburban San Diego like a runaway missile, weaving at 120 miles an hour through rush hour freeway traffic as flames flashed from under the car.

At the wheel, veteran California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor desperately tried to control the 272-horsepower engine that was roaring at full throttle as his wife, teenage daughter and brother-in-law were gripped by fear.

“We’re in trouble. . . . There’s no brakes,” Saylor’s brother-in-law Chris Lastrella told a police dispatcher over a cellphone. Moments later, frantic shrieks filled the car as it slammed into another vehicle and then careened into a dirt embankment, killing all four aboard.

October 26, 2009

Illinois Supreme Court Rules Doctors Owed no Duty to Nonpatient

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling is a victory for patient-physician confidentiality and protects doctors from unwarranted liability exposure, according to physicians.

On Sept. 24, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a group of physicians and other health care professionals did not have a duty to prevent the murder of the wife of a mentally ill patient they treated.

October 25, 2009

Nurse Alleges Dangerous Yaz Birth Control Drug “Altered My Life”

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Candice Atkinson filed a personal injury lawsuit against Bayer Corporation and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for severe side effects from the prescription birth control drug Yaz, manufactured and marketed by Bayer. The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, where Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is located.

Candice Atkinson was prescribed Yaz to treat acne skin condition, and the South Carolinian developed life-threatening blood clots and other serious side effects

October 25, 2009

$14 M Settlement in Wrongful Death Case From EMS Copter Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A $14M settlement has been reached with family members of a flight nurse and a paramedic who died last year when an emergency medical services helicopter crashed into the Laguna Madre, Texas.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit that family members of Raul Garcia, 40, and Michael Sanchez, 39, filed against Metro Aviation Inc., the company that operated the Eurocopter AS350, and South Texas Emergency Care Foundation.

October 24, 2009

U.S. to Press China on Drywall Litigation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said she would ask China to help pay for the billions of dollars in damage to U.S. homes blamed on Chinese-made drywall.

“I will find out if any discussions are going on in China about the costs, are they prepared to participate in providing funds, and what would it take for that to occur,” CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said ahead of a trip to China next week for a biennial U.S.-China consumer product safety summit.

October 23, 2009

Jury Awards $13.5 M in Product Liability Faulty-Fan Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Philadelphia jury has issued a $13.5 million verdict against Lasko Products Inc., a West Chester fan manufacturer, after a defective fan motor sparked a 2005 house fire in Mount Airy that killed a 7-year-old boy.

The award was issued after a 13-day trial in the death of Joshua Foster, who was killed on June 14, 2005, when a fan in his mother’s bedroom triggered a blaze in the home. The child died of burns and smoke inhalation.

The fire was caused by a faulty Chinese-made motor in the portable fan, built in 2000, and the defect in the model was discovered in 1999.

October 22, 2009

BNSF Railroad’s Penalty of $25.6 M for Trial Misconduct

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. engaged in a “staggering” pattern of misconduct aimed at covering up its role in the deaths of four young people whose car collided with a train largely because a crossing gate wasn’t working properly.

To punish the railroad, which allegedly began destroying evidence within minutes of the 2003 accident, Judge Maas awarded $4 million to the victims’ families and their attorneys. The award comes on top of $21.6 million from a jury that placed 90 percent of the blame for the accident on Burlington Northern.

“When encountering conduct as egregious as that of BNSF, this court … has a duty to impose sanctions of a sufficient severity in order to deter future misconduct of the same caliber,” Maas ruled.

October 21, 2009

Trial Set in Wrongful Death of Wal-Mart Slip and Fall

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A trial date has been set in the case against Wal-Mart in the death of a Chadron, Neb., woman.

David Lehman sued the corporation shortly after his wife, Julie, died after falling in the Chadron store. The case, filed in Dawes County District Court was removed to the U.S. District Court, which has scheduled a trial for Feb. 16.

Julie Lehman was in Wal-Mart July 21 with her son, Steffan, 17, when she slipped on a wet floor in the automotive cleaning products aisle on her way to the restroom. Julie received her initial diagnosis and treatment at the Chadron Community Hospital before being flown to Rapid City Regional to have a massive blood clot in her brain surgically removed. Julie never woke up after surgery and died July 27.

October 20, 2009

Metrolink Pays Out $30 M in 2005 Crash Settlements

by Dr. Shezad Malik

After years of foot dragging, Metrolink has spent $30 million to settle most of the lawsuits arising from the 2005 Glendale train crash that killed 11 and injured about 180, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Among those settlements are two injury cases, one for $5 million and the other for $3.8 million, and two wrongful death cases in which the heirs will receive $3.5 million for each claim. One of those cases involves payments to the family of a sheriff’s deputy killed in the crash.

October 19, 2009

Zometa Lawsuit Against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Underway

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A lawsuit against a Swiss pharmaceutical company went to trial last week in Missoula, but a verdict in the case could have national significance for hundreds of plaintiffs suing the company in a mass tort.

Peggy L. Stevens of Missoula filed suit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. last year, alleging the company was professionally negligent when it failed to disclose health risks associated with one of its medications.

Stevens, who has lymphoma, developed severe dental and jaw-related problems after taking Zometa, a bone-strengthening medication manufactured by Novartis. Her attorneys say the company knew patients taking Zometa were vulnerable to a degenerative jaw disorder called osteonecrosis, particularly those patients who undergo invasive dental procedures, like root canals or tooth extractions.