Premises Liability

Three customers were without power overnight Sunday after a pickup truck struck a utility pole in the parking lot of a Powdersville church, report news sources.

The two occupants of the truck were unharmed, but firefighters had them remain at the scene until after Duke Energy workers confirmed that the downed lines were not energized. Because of the crash, three Duke energy customers lost electricity from 9:06 p.m. Sunday until 3 a.m. Monday, said a Duke Energy spokesperson. Some computer equipment in the church was damaged because of a power surge caused by the downed lines.

Being an Orangeburg auto accident attorney, I am well aware of the types of injuries that can be suffered in a crash involving a utility pole. I am relieved that no one was hurt. Because of my experience as an Orangeburg personal injury lawyer, I am very aware of the split-second difference between everything seeming fine and a terrible vehicle crash. I urge motorists always to practice safe driving habits and to stay alert to changing road and traffic conditions.

In a news release Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Under Armour, Inc., is recalling chin straps for football helmets due to a laceration hazard.

Subject to recall are approximately 541,000 UA Defender chin straps. The metal snap the attaches the recalled chin strap to the football helmet has sharp edges that could cut a player. There have been six reports of injuries requiring stitches made to Under Armour.

The recalled chin straps were sold nationwide for about $20 at sporting goods and Under Armour stores and online at underarmour.com from January 2008 through September 2011.

Consumers affected by the recall are urged to stop using the recalled chin strap immediately and contact Under Armour for a free replacement.

As a Greenville personal injury lawyer, consumer safety is something that I am very aware of. I hope that no one else was injured because of faulty chin straps. Because of my experience as a Greenville personal injury attorney, I know that the effects of a faulty product can range from inconvenience and frustration to injury and sometimes death. I encourage anyone who has purchased the recalled chin strap to arrange for a replacement as soon as possible.

In a news release Thursday, Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, announced a voluntary recall of thousands of bicycles due to a risk of a brake component coming apart, posing a fall hazard.

Subject to recall are approximately 14,200 bicycles with Advanced Group carbon forks. The brake component housed within the carbon fork on the recalled bicycle can disengage from the fork. If this happens, the brake assembly may come touch the wheel spokes while the bicycle is in use, posing a fall hazard to the rider. Specialized Bicycle Components has received two reports regarding the issue, but no complaints of injuries.

The recalled bicycles are from model year 2011 and are equipped with Advanced Group carbon forks. The affected models are: Sirrus Expert, Sirrus Comp, Sirrus Elite, Vita Expert, Vita Comp, Vita Elite, Vita Elite Step Thru, Tricross Sport, Tricross, and Tricross Comp. The bicycles were sold nationwide from June 2010 through August 2011 for between $700 and $2000.

Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled bicycles immediately and return them to an authorized dealer for a free repair or replacement carbon fork.

As a Orangeburg personal injury lawyer, consumer safety is something that I am very aware of; I hope that no one else was injured because of the recalled bicycles. Because of my experience as a Orangeburg auto accident attorney, I know that the effects of a faulty product can range from inconvenience and frustration to injury and sometimes death. I encourage anyone who has purchased one of the recalled bicycles to arrange for a repair as soon as possible.

The same company that caused a recall at Starbucks is expanding its recall, according to news reports.

Sandwiches, plates, wraps, salads, and parfaits made by Flying Food Group in Lawrenceville, Georgia are being recalled to due contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported. The expanded recall includes products made for Core-mark, Atlanta Division, Race Trac, and Starbucks. Additional FDA and USDA regulated products included in the recall are such products as the “Sano Triple Cherry Yogurt Parfait,” chicken Caesar wrap, turkey quarter pounder, cobb salad, and “tarragon chicken salad sandwich.”

So far, no illnesses have been reported yet, however testing revealed the presence of Listeria in one of the products. According to news reports, the products associated with the Lawrenceville, GA facility have been recalled and a full investigation is underway.

As a Greenville personal injury attorney, I urge consumers to avoid these products. Listeria is a potentially fatal foodborne disease that is linked to miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. It can also cause high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Staphylococcus can cause serious gastrointestinal illnesses, including nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. Both pathogens are more serious in the elderly and very young.

While we don’t handle this kind of recall we feel that it’s important to educate the community to help protect their health and safety. If you have been injured by a recalled product, you might wish to contact a Greenville personal injury lawyer who can help.

Coal mine safety is being debated among industry officials who say that two new safety rules proposed after a fatal explosion in West Virginia last year should be dropped.

The new safety rules proposed by federal regulators following an explosion that killed 29 West Virginia miners last year would require mine operators to conduct more extensive safety examinations, according to news reports.

The West Virginia Coal Association and Alpha Natural Resources Inc., the third-largest U.S. coal producer, and mine safety officials with the states of West Virginia and Illinois urged the federal to drop the proposal.

“The inspections proposal would require miners to find, fix and record serious regulatory violations while simultaneously conducting mandatory safety examinations to check for hazardous conditions such as elevated levels of explosive methane gas,” according to news reports.

“Specially certified miners conduct the examinations, but Coal Association lobbyist Chris Hamilton said they’re not trained to know federal regulations and shouldn’t be asked to perform the job of a federal inspector.”

Opponents of the safety measures said the “rule would place unrealistic burdens on mine examiners and exposes them to MSHA citations if they miss violations, which often are open to interpretation.”

As a Beaufort personal injury lawyer, I hope the industry officials and Mine Safety and Health Administration can work together to make the mining workplace safer.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a workplace accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in Beaufort.

Even in an innocent encounter, police officers can be intimidating and nerve wrecking. So what should you remember when discussing potential illegal activity? Remember your basic rights and practical survival strategies.

According to 10 Rules for Dealing with Police, a docudrama educating the public about basic legal and practical survival strategies for handling even the scariest police encounters, there are 10 easy steps to remember to protect your constitutional rights and make smart decisions when dealing with law officers.

1. Always Be Calm & Cool. A bad attitude guarantees a bad outcome.

2. Remain silent. What you don’t say can’t hurt you.

3. You have the right to refuse searches. Saying no to searches can’t be held against you.

4. Don’t get tricked. Remember, police are allowed to lie to you

5. Determine if you’re free to go. Police need evidence to detain you

6. Don’t expose yourself. Doing dumb stuff in public makes you an easy target.

7. Don’t run. They’ll catch you and make you regret it.

8. Never touch a cop. Aggressive actuations will only earn you a more aggressive response

9. Report misconduct. Be a good witness.

10. You don’t have to let them in. Police need a warrant to enter your house

Educating the public about their basic constitutional rights and learning how to recognize injustices against others is the first step to ensure lawful police action and police accountability.

Once citizens know their rights, they are much less likely to experience negative outcomes, both on the street and in a court of law. As a North Charleston personal injury lawyer I think anyone who wants to know more about their legal rights should learn these rules.

Sometimes, when companies and corporations make an error or unlawfully conduct business, consumers join together in a lawsuit against them. But if AT&T has its way in a Supreme Court ruling, class-action lawsuits may soon be banned if those consumers were working with a business that issued a contract for their services.

The case, AT&T Mobility vs. Concepcion will be heard next week by the U.S. Supreme Court, and seeks to prevent consumers to join class-action lawsuits if the business they are suing has issued a contract.

If the telecom giant gets its way, consumers may lose their most powerful legal tool available and reduce the legal weight of claims, especially for cases involving small amounts of money.

Class-action lawsuits are important for consumers because they allow consumers to band together in seeking compensation or redress, giving strength to their claim. Without the legal option, companies may be freer to engage in unfair or deceptive practices.

“The marketplace is fairer for consumers and workers because there’s a deterrent out there,” said Deepak Gupta, an attorney for the advocacy group Public Citizen who will argue on consumers’ behalf before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Companies are afraid of class actions. This helps keep them honest.”

As a Charleston class-action claim attorney, I urge consumers to pay attention to this case. If it gets passed, the law could apply to everything from credit cards and cellphones to cable TV.

A female teenage was struck in the head by a fair ride while waiting in line at the Coastal Carolina Fair on Monday night.

The 16-year-old girl was waiting to ride The Zipper ride when a wheel from the ride struck her in the head. The incident occurred around 11:15 p.m., according to Charleston County sheriff’s office incident report.

The girl was taken to a local hospital and was placed in intensive care. She is being treated with a contusion to the head, according to news reports.

Most Zipper model amusement park rides feature a long, rotating, oval frame with a cable around its edge that pulls 12 cars around the ride. The ride rotates like a Ferris wheel, except the cars are free-flipping as they move around the frame. Since the ride’s beginning in 1968, there have been four deaths and multiple injuries, mostly from riders falling out of compartment doors opening mid-ride

As a North Charleston personal injury lawyer I’m glad to hear that the teenage is OK. Accidents occurring at fairs while waiting in line for a ride are rare. Fair-goers should remember to pay attention to warning signs around rides and ensure they are properly restrained while in the ride. If you or a loved one has been injured by a carnival ride, you should have your case evaluated by a North Charleston personal injury lawyer.

DePuy Orthopaedics ASR XL hip device implant is one of the most complicated hip recalls in recent history. The case includes alleged deception, unreleased reports of failure and not one, but two devices. So can you understand the recall? The key is understanding its history.

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., the orthopedic branch of Johnson & Johnson, manufactured two hip implant products that were recalled in 2010: the ASR XL Acetabular System, a hip socket and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, designed for “partial” replacements. (Only the ASR XL Acetabular System was used in the United States.)

In March 2010, DePuy issued an “advisory,” on some of its devises, indicating they were exhibiting early failure. The devices, however, stayed on the market.

In July 2010, a New York Times exposé exposed various reports of early failures with the DePuy device, prompting the implants to be finally recalled. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also reported they knew about the early failure rates of the DePuy ASR XL hip implants since 2008, two years before the recall. They have received nearly 400 complaints of early failure rates, requiring patients to undergo difficult and dangerous revision surgery.

DePuy acknowledged the hip implant was experiencing decreased sales after its August recall, and later admitted to the higher than average failure rate.

As a North Charleston personal injury lawyer, I sort through the complicated DePuy case to get you the claim you deserve.

DePuy Orthopaedics has been in the news lately for its ASR XL Acetabular System hip implant that was recalled because of early failure rates and chances of metallosis poisoning, but there have been other recalls in recent years you should also pay attention to.

As a North Charleston personal injury lawyer, I’ve dealt with some of the major hip implant recalls and while they were recalled for different things, there were some similarities.

In January 2008, Stryker Corporation recalled the Trident PSL and Hemispherical Acetabular hip replacement cups. The recall was due to poor sterilization procedures at the company manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland. Hip recall patients with Styker cups reported pain, trouble walking, squeaking noises, the implant breaking and uneven wear of the hip’s components.

In July 2008, Zimmer Holdings halted sales of the Durom Cup artificial hip due to a high failure rate from the device loosening. The company, however, consistently blamed surgeons for failing to have the required precision to implant the cup.

DePuy Orthopaedics also blamed initial failure reports on physicians who inserted their implants. The FDA has received more than 400 complaints about early failure of the device and the ASR has also been linked to metal poisoning.

As a DePuy hip recall lawyer I’ve seen many patients with the implants who now face difficult revision surgery and pain they shouldn’t have encountered because a recalled prothesis. If you or a loved one has experienced negative results from a DePuy hip prosthesis, contact a South Carolina hip recall lawyer.