Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

CPSC Offers Tips to Prevent Washington DC Pool Drowning Accidents

May 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With the swimming season fast approaching, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is reminding parents and guardians to exercise caution so that tragic drowning accidents are avoided. Already, the CPSC says there have been 38 near-drowning and 37 drowning incidents in the US this year. The government agency, along with the Y and American Red Cross, are launching a Pool Safety campaign this year to reduce the amount of child drowning accidents in spas and swimming pools.

Considering that about 300 kids under the age of 5 drown annually and thousands of others are injured in near drowning accidents, employing the proper safety precautions will hopefully save lives. To help prevent Washington DC drowning accidents:
• Makes sure that there is a fence around the pool so that kids can’t get in when there isn’t an adult around
• Don’t allow children to swim unsupervised
• Make sure there is someone at the pool that knows how to perform CPR in the event of an emergency

A pool or spa owner can be held liable for Washington DC personal injury to a child if he/she did not make sure that the pool or hot tub is safe for swimmers. For example, if someone drowns at a public pool that should have (but didn’t) have a lifeguard on duty or because the wasn’t properly cleared of leaves and other debris so that it would be easy to spot someone in trouble at the bottom of the pool, the victim or his/her family may have grounds for a lawsuit.

Common causes of pool or spa drownings:
• No fence or pool cover
• Inadequate warning signs
• Lack of rescue equipment in the pool area
• Drain entrapment (Could be grounds for a DC products liability case)
• Inadequate pool maintenance
• No lifeguards
• Defective pool or spa equipment

Our Washington DC injury lawyers represent families throughout the DC area and Maryland.

Pool & Spa Safety Educational Video Transcript, Pool Safety.gov
75 Drownings and Near-Drownings in 15 Weeks, CPSC, April 21, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Unintentional Drownings, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Drowning Prevention Fact Sheet, Safe Kids USA

More Blog Posts:
Six-Year-Old Girl Dies in Washington DC Drowning Accident at Turkey Thicket Pool, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, July 12, 2010
In Maryland, Accidental Drowning Of Anne Arundel County 5-Year Old Renews Calls For Greater Pool Safety, Maryland Accident Law Blog, October 13, 2006
Family of Baltimore County Woman that Drowned in Apartment Complex Pool Files $100 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit, Maryland Accident Law Blog, August 15, 2008

Former Special Ed Student files Amended DC Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Teacher Who She Says Fathered Her Child

April 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

20-Year-old Ayanna Blue has filed an amended complaint to the Washington DC personal injury lawsuit she filed last year accusing Robert Weismiller, an ex-DC Public Schools teacher, of fathering her child. According to Blue’s civil attorney, several other females have also said that Weismiller also was inappropriate with them when they were in school. The allegations go back as for as two decades.

Blue used to study at Shadd Transition Academy, which is a school for kids with emotional and cognitive disabilities. She claims that staff at the high school suspected that Weismiller was having sex with her in his classroom but did nothing to stop the incidents, which went on for five months. Blue says that paternity test results show that there is a 99% probability that Weismiller is the father of her daughter, who was born on November 28, 2009. Blue’s lawyer has said that the District failed to protect the plaintiff from continuous exposure to a sexual predator. Weismiller, who was laid off, is no longer with the school.

Blue’s DC injury lawsuit contends that she continues to suffer financially and emotionally from her encounters with Weismiller. Her originally complaint requested compensation from him, DC schools, and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

Washington DC Escalator Accident Injures 52-Year-Old Metro Rider

April 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A female Metro passenger was injured last week in a Washington DC escalator accident. The woman suffered chin and knee injuries when she fell into an escalator access hatch at the Pentagon Station. At the time, the escalator was not moving. It had, however, been undergoing maintenance so that the workers could replace the step rollers.

The opening, which was at the top of an escalator, was about the size of a manhole. Officials say that that it should have been covered and barricaded. The injured woman was hospitalized for two days for her injuries.

Escalator Accidents

Escalator accidents can cause serious injuries. Just last month a 4-year-old boy was killed in an escalator accident. In another Washington DC escalator accident last February, several steps on one at the Foggy Bottom Metro Station bucked to pile atop each other, creating a three-foot-hold. One passenger lost her balance and fell backwards. Fortunately, she did not fall into the hole, as two other passengers helped pull her up. Last October, four people got hurt in a DC Metro escalator accident at L’Enfant Plaza station. Riders fell on top of each other after the brakes failed.

If faulty maintenance, elevator malfunction, or some other safety issue caused your escalator accident, you may be able to file a Washington DC personal injury lawsuit against the owner of the property where the elevator is located, the elevator manufacturer, and/or other liable parties. Other common causes of escalator accidents include improper installation, missing or loose parts, inadequate inspections, escalator parts defects, and clothing/hand/foot entrapment.

UPDATE: Metro rider falls into escalator hatch left open, Washington Examiner, April 28, 2011
L’Enfant Escalator Collapse, NBC Washington, February 26, 2011
Escalator Steps Collapse at DC Foggy Bottom Metro Station, MyFox DC, February 18, 2011
4-Year-Old Boy Killed in Escalator Accident, ABC7, March 14, 2011
Related Web Resources:

DC Metro

Danger on the escalator, CBS News, February 17, 2005
More Blog Posts:
Escalator Malfunction at DC Metro Station Injures Four, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, October 14, 2011
DC Metro Assault Crimes: Does WMATA Provide Adequate Security?, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, August 27, 2010
One Person Dead and One Injured in DC Metro Stabbing Incident, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, May 31, 2010

Botox May Get Rid of More than Wrinkles, Says New Study

April 23, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a new study, Botox not only smooths wrinkles, but it may also dull your ability to comprehend other people’s emotions. This latest finding was published in the Social Psychology and Personality Science this week. Our Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog team will continue monitor this story in the event that there are more developments.

One of the cosmetic uses for Botox is to paralyze the muscles so as to reduce facial movements that can lead to wrinkles. USC psychology professor David Neal, who is the research’s lead author, says that if someone’s “muscular signals to the brain are dampened” he/she is likely “less able to read emotions.” He wants Botox users should think about whether getting injections of the botulinum toxin is decreasing their ability to comprehend people’s emotions and empathize. Another study published in the journal Emotion last year found that Botox might inhibit a person’s ability to feel emotions.

Controversy over whether the benefits of Botox outweigh the risks has been going on for some time now. While there are known medical benefits when Botox is used to treat certain conditions, serious side effects have included aspiration pneumonia, partial paralysis, and death.

Just this week, a federal jury started hearing one man’s products liability lawsuit against Allergan over his personal injuries that he claims are Botox-related. Douglas Ray Jr. claims that the drug, which he took to alleviate writer’s cramp, left him totally disabled and with brain damage.

Ray, 65, contends that the drug manufacturer promoted that Botox could be used to treat writer’s cramp and hand tremors—even though the US Food and Drug Administration had not approved Botox for these uses. He contends that he experienced a severe immune reaction to the drug, which resulted in his permanent injuries. Ray is seeking more than $20 million.

Washington DC Products Liability

A person who is injured or gets sick from taking a defective or dangerous drug, or one that has side effects that a manufacturer never warned about, may be able to file a Washington products liability lawsuit to recover damages.

Botox may deaden perception, study says, USA Today, April 21, 2011
Study: Botox cuts ability to read others, UPI, April 23, 2011
Federal jury in Va. begins hearing $20M lawsuit alleging Botox caused man’s brain injury, CBS 6, April 20, 2011
Related Web Resources:

Social Psychology and Personality Science

Botox, Allergan
Botulinum Toxin, Overview, Medscape
More Blog Posts:
Mother Sues US Secretary of Health and Human Services in Washington DC Alleging Daughter Was Injured by HPV Vaccine, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, May 4, 2010
Products Liability Lawsuits Cost Bausch & Lomb Over $250 Million, Maryland Accident Law Blog, June 1, 2009
ISMP—Prescribing Fentanyl Pain Medication for Short-Term Pain Be Deadly, Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer, January 25, 2011

Washington DC Playground Accidents are a Leading Cause of Injuries to Minors

April 19, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

With spring well under way, more kids are making their way back outdoors and onto playgrounds. Unfortunately, playground accidents are a leading cause of injuries to children in the 5-14 age group. SafeKids USA reports about 150,000 playground injuries a year result in ER visits, with injuries ranging from cuts, bruises, and scrapes to traumatic brain injuries, fractures, broken bones, dislocations, amputations, and other serious injuries. Approximately 10 playground fatalities occur in the US annually. Washington DC playground accident injuries can occur in public parks, private backyards, residential areas, daycare centers, on school grounds, and other premises where playground equipment has been set up for kids to use.

Common Causes of DC Playground Accidents:
• Inadequate supervision
• Defective or deteriorating playground equipment and rides
• Poorly designed playgrounds
• Inadequate maintenance
• Rust or sharp edges on equipment
• Inadequate protective surfacing that doesn’t provide a proper cushion in case of a fall
• Not enough space between equipment
• Trip hazards
• Playground equipment that is inappropriate or too advanced for the kids that are likely to use them
• Elevated surfaces that lack guardrails

Playground operators must make sure that their premise and the equipment on it are safe for use and that all precautions have been taken to decrease the chances of a DC playground accident. It is also the responsibility of playground equipment manufacturers to make sure that their products are safe for us.

Examples of Common Playground Accidents
• Falls from slides or jungle gyms
• Trip and fall accidents
• Burn injuries from equipment made of metal that can get hot
• Falls from swings
Playground Injuries, CDC
Playground Safety, Safekids
More Blog Posts:
Six-Year-Old Girl Dies in Washington DC Drowning Accident at Turkey Thicket Pool, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, July 12, 2010
Baltimore’s Public Housing Authority Says It is “Not Possible” To Pay Judgments in Maryland Lead Poisoning Cases, Maryland Accident Law Blog, April 11, 2011
Family of Girl Electrocuted at Druid Hill Park Softball Field Revisits Maryland Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Baltimore, Maryland Accident Law Blog, May 12, 2010

Ford F-150 Pickup Truck Recall Over Air Bag Safety Issue Expanded to 1.2 Million

April 14, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two months after recalling 144,000 Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks over concerns that the air bags might deploy inadvertently, Ford Motor Co. has expanded its recall to 1.2 million pickup trucks. Our Washington DC car accident lawyers are pleased to see that the automaker has decided call in these additional vehicles, a move that had been called for by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Following the original recall, NHTSA said that the recall of the 144,000 vehicles wasn’t enough to address the air bag safety issue, which had resulted in at least 269 inadvertent air bag deployments and about 98 injuries. Ford, however, insisted that only those vehicles were affected by the problem, which involves a possible short-circuit that could cause the safety device to suddenly go off. The wiring needs to be replaced. In addition to more F-150 pickup trucks (model years 2004, 2005, and 2006), Ford is now also recalling a number of Lincoln Mark LT trucks (model year 2006).

Air Bag Safety

DC Injury Lawsuit Filed Against FBI Employee Over Hit-and-Run Car Accident

April 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Two Voice of America journalists have filed a Washington DC personal injury case against Joy Ellen Mullinax, who is an FBI employee. They claim that she struck them during a hit-and-run accident on March 23. The plaintiffs, William Greenback and Thomas Bagnall, are each seeking $1 million.

According to the men, on the morning of March 23, Mullinax pulled up behind them as Bagnall was unloading equipment from their SUV that was outside the National Press Club. Greenback was sitting in the driver’s seat.

In their DC car accident complaint, they claim that Mullinax yelled and blew her horn. When Bagnall told her to drive around them, she allegedly accelerated her vehicle, striking Bagnall. Greenback then got out of the SUV and yelled at her to stop. Mullinax allegedly moved her car toward Greenback, pinning him between her car and another vehicle, stepped on the gas again, and hit him with her auto. This caused him to land on the roof of her auto.

DC Personal Injury Accidents are a Common Cause of Brain Injury

March 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Washington DC brain injury lawyers represent clients throughout the District and Maryland that have suffered head trauma in accidents caused by another party’s negligence, and we have seen the toll that living with a brain injury can have on the victim and his/her family. We join others this month, which is Brain Injury Awareness Month, to offer you more information about this potentially devastating injury.

Common causes of Washington DC TBI including fall accidents, traffic crashes, getting hit or striking a hard object or surface, and assaults. A person can also sustain a brain injury as a result of medical malpractice, lead poisoning, near drowning, an explosion, near suffocation or strangulation, or other accidents involving the head getting hit or the brain not receiving enough oxygen for way too long.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that for traumatic brain injuries alone, medical costs and indirect costs totaled about $60 billion in 200 in the US. At least 5.3 billion Americans will need extended or lifelong help performing daily tasks because of a TBI. In addition to physical impairments and health complications that can result, a brain injury can affect a person’s emotions, personality, and behavior, irrevocably altering that person’s life and the lives of their loved ones.

If you suspect that you or your loved one have a brain injury—even if it appears to a be a mild one, you should seek medical attention right away. The sooner you get treatment, the better—especially as sometimes, the symptoms for a serious head trauma may not show up immediately.

Related Web Resources:

Signs and Symptoms of Brain Injury (PDF)

Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC
Brain Injury Awareness Month March 2011, Brain Injury Association of America

More Blog Posts:
Many Brain Injury Patients Suffer from Pseudobulbar Affect, Says Survey, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, January 6, 2011
$10 Million Washington DC Injuries to a Minor Settlement to Go to Boy Who Sustained Catastrophic Brain Damage During Foster Care Beating, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, November 9, 2010
Maryland TBI: Call a Concussion a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Says Researchers, Maryland Accident Law Blog, January 23, 2010

Street Smart Program Aims to Prevent Washington DC Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents

March 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

DC officials are kicking off their Street Smart campaign this spring to combat last year’s increase in pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Last year there were 83 cyclist and pedestrian fatalities in the Washington region—a 9% rise from the year before. This year, at least four people have died in DC pedestrian accidents.

More DC pedestrian and cyclists facts as reported in The Washington Post:

• There were 436 DC bicycle accidents in 2010.
• The number of bicyclists and pedestrians hit last year was 25% higher than in 2009.
• Ambulances answered 1,299 pedestrian collisions calls in 2010.
• 16 of the DC traffic fatalities were bicyclists or pedestrians.
• The intersection of Howard Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE saw the most number of DC pedestrian accidents—13—with 1 of the victims dying.
• The intersection of New York Avenue and North Capitol Street saw 12 Washington DC pedestrian accidents.

• 11 Washington DC pedestrian injuries were sustained at the Seventh and H streets NW intersection and the H and North Capitol streets N.

Most DC pedestrian accidents take place at intersections when an auto is turning and a person is crossing the street while the “walk” sign is activated. Unfortunately, even if a pedestrian has the right of way, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the driver has seen him/her.

Pedestrians and bicyclists have little in the way of protection during a DC traffic crash, and the injuries are usually catastrophic. Spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, head trauma, severed limbs, and organ damage can be costly to treat and recover from. Some injuries are permanent.

Our Washington DC pedestrian and bicycle crash lawyers are familiar with the serious injuries can result. For years, we have helped many victims and their families prove liability and obtain the financial recovery that they are owed.

Hopefully, the Street Smart campaign will bring the DC cyclist and pedestrian injury toll down. In addition to new ads, the campaign will include heightened efforts by police to ticket drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians who don’t follow traffic laws.

Campaign to protect pedestrians, cyclists as number of crashes in the District rises, The Washington Post, March 30, 2011
Related Web Resources:

District Department of Transportation

Street Smart

More Blog Posts:
71-Year-Old Dies in Hit-and-Run Washington DC Pedestrian Accident, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, November 18, 2010
Washington DC Pedestrian Accidents At Higher Risk of Occurring After Daylight Saving Time Ends, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, November 5, 2010
68-Year-old Mount Pleasant Woman Killed in Bicycle Accident with DC Guard Truck, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, April 20, 2010

Washington DC Construction Accident: Worker Nearly Buried in Trench Dies

March 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A worker is dead following a DC construction accident on Thursday. The man suffered fatal injuries when a large quantity of clay dirt fell on him, trapping him in a trench where utility work was being done. The site where the incident happened is a house under construction.

75 rescue and fire workers spent three hours trying to save him. Heavy, wet dirt had fallen around the worker. Although there was a space left around his upper torso and rescuers could see the top of his head, it wasn’t until a medic hooked him to a heart-monitoring device that it was confirmed that the construction worker had died.

The trench the construction worker was trapped in was about 20 feet long and 12 to 15 feet deep. His body was finally extricated nearly seven hours after the DC work accident. His cause of death appears to be fatal “compression” injuries.

DC Construction Accidents

Injuries in many construction accidents can be so severe that many workers who sustained catastrophic injuries may not be able to work again or find themselves disabled for life. There are also those workers who are not fortunate enough to survive their injuries.

Although you likely cannot sue an employer over work accident, there may be third parties involved in the project who can and should be held liable. It is important that you explore your legal options as soon as possible with an experienced Washington DC personal injury law firm.

Common Construction Accidents:
• Falls from roofs
• Scaffolding fools
• Elevator shaft falls
• Crane collapse
• Falling objects
• Machinery accidents
• Falls through floors
• Machinery or equipment defects
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Electrical accidents
• Explosions
• Trench collapses
• Fires
• Gas blasts
• Welding accidents
• Ladder-related accidents
Serious Construction Accident Injuries:
• Head injury
• Traumatic brain injury
• Cumulative trauma disorder
• Spinal cord injuries
• Nerve damage
• Severed limbs
• Paralysis
• Burn injuries
• Limb loss
• Hearing loss
• Broken bones
• Blindness
• Suffocation
• Amputations
• Infected wounds
• Dislocated shoulder
• Fractures
• White finger syndrome
Construction worker dies at D.C. work site, The Washington Times, March 25, 2011
Worker trapped in trench dies, The Washington Post, March 24, 2011
Related Web Resources:
OSHA Construction, US Department of Labor
OSHA Construction Accidents, Workplace Safety Tips
More Blog Posts:
Maryland Crane Accident Leaves One Worker with Serious Injuries, Maryland Accident
Law Blog, February 9, 2009
Maryland Attorney Sues Baltimore For Burn Injuries Caused By Fall Accident into Construction Hole, Maryland Accident Law Blog, October 10, 2008
Two Construction Workers are Seriously Injured in D.C. Construction Accident, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, August 22, 2007