Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

Honda has recalled many models of its 2001 Civics and Accords for an airbag defect, which may cause serious injuries to vehicle occupants. According to this news report, a 26-year-old woman was nearly killed when metal fragments shot out of her Honda airbag during a car crash in April.

The metal shards from the airbag apparently cut two arteries in her neck and left her with a whole in her chest. What this woman, like many others in the country, found out was that the airbag that was supposed to protect her in the event of a car crash instead hurt and almost killed her.

Honda recalled these vehicles for a problem with a device that inflates the airbag on the driver's side, which produces too much pressure. This in turn can cause the device to rupture, sending metal fragments through the airbag. These sharp metal pieces can injure or even kill a driver during an auto accident. Consumers expect that the vehicles they purchase are safe and won’t pose any direct harm caused by a defective auto part.

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A two-car crash in Warren County killed two people, according to this news report. The fatal auto accident in Pennsylvania occurred when a pickup truck collided with a sport utility vehicle on Route 6 in Columbus Township. The driver of the pickup attempted to pull out of a driveway into Route 6 when he drove into the path of an SUV driven by a 20-year-old man.

Police say the man tried to avoid the collision, but that his vehicle struck the truck. The impact caused the pickup to roll over to its left side. One person was ejected from the vehicle. The driver of the SUV and a passenger were transported to an area hospital with injuries. Police say none of those involved in this accident may have been wearing seatbelts.

Auto and truck accident cases in Pennsylvania can be extremely complex. The causes for car crashes could range from drunk driving, negligence, recklessness, dangerous roadways or defective automobile. Some auto accidents, such as the incident previously described, may involve multiple defendants and claims against auto makers or even governmental agencies. In various other cases, our attorneys have seen auto accident cases often involve uninsured or underinsured motorists.

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A man has sued his surgeon for operating on the wrong knee during a knee replacement surgery. According to this news report, the suit alleges that the doctor botched his right-knee operation that left him with damage to his left knee. The patient actually went in for right knee replacement. However, his surgeon prepped the left knee and began performing replacement surgery on his left knee. However, midway through the procedure, the surgeon realized he was operating on the wrong knee, removed the instruments, sutured the incision and started operating on his right knee as planned.

The suit alleges that the defendants not only failed to perform the surgery properly, but also failed to documents in their medical records that they "surgically invaded" the wrong knee. The patient was later diagnosed with damage to cartilage under his left knee cap. The five-count medical negligence lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 on each count, plus costs of the suit.

It is an unfortunate and unnerving reality that surgical errors commonly occur in Pennsylvania. Most surgeries are done without any problems, but sometimes complications can arise because of medical negligence on the part of the surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse or other hospital support staff. Surgical errors in Philadelphia and throughout the state of Pennsylvania can leave you with lifelong problems or worse, result in death.

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Brookstone Pharmaceuticals has issued a voluntary recall of all lots of its Concentrated
Acetaminophen Drops that come in 16-ounce bulk containers. According to a consumer safety alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the 16-ounce container is comparable to the size normally used to package regular strength acetaminophen liquid preparations. This aspect of the product combined with the absence of an integrated dosage delivery device could possibly contribute to dosing errors or inadvertent overdosing.

Overdosing on acetaminophen can cause a variety of complications including liver toxicity, kidney damage and blood disorders. The recalled drops were manufactured by Pharmaceutical Associates Inc. Consumers and those who have this unsafe product in their possession are asked to stop using it right away.

Drug makers, pharmacists and doctors have a duty to make sure that the medications they prescribe do not cause their patients injury or harm. Some drugs have dangerous side effects that can sometimes leave patients with long-term or lifelong damage. In some cases, mislabeling of drugs can cause dosage errors, which can also result in serious personal injury or death.

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The city of Pittsburgh must face its growing number of landslides that are affecting its residents and public roadways, according to a report in the post-gazette.com. Landslides that go back as far as 2004 have gone unattended or barely worked on and those are the lucky residents. Many homes have been bought out by the city. A myriad of streets including Greenfield to Stanton Heights, Spring Hill to Oakland, and from Perry South to Arlington all have significant landslide problems. Home owners are encountering that either their backyards are sliding into other back yard homes or end of covering roads which lead to homes becoming inaccessible to other homeowners.

Many feel that the city of Pittsburgh most force homeowners to make the necessary changes but the city itself must assure safe public rights of way, especially if they expect homeowners to get private contractor up those steep and unsafe roads. Most contractors now are refusing to take on work in these areas in fear of liability lawsuits.

A homeowner had this to say about her house, “The kitchen gets water [from the hillside] when it rains, and the cabinet's buckling. We're like the sticks up here and never get any service, no snow removal, not even paving. The city has cited us to fix up our house but they don't fix our road. We don't want to put anything in this. It's a buyout waiting to happen.”

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Some cities in the state of Georgia have failed to implement a new law which requires them to increase the yellow light by one second at stop lights equipped with red light cameras. Cities that have implemented the change have noticed an 80% decrease in violations according to an account.

Cities such as Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville, and Suwanee have declared that they will be halting the red light cameras as they are no longer making money. On the other hand, the city of Atlanta insists that they do not want to do away with their 8 red light cameras and said that they actually saw an increase of violations. Not only have the number of violations increased for the city but so have the fines, in some cases more than double the amount than just a year ago.

Jack Murphy, State Senator (R-Cumming), sponsored the amendment that added the one second to the yellow light. He said, “If they’re not doing it, I’m going to find out why. Longer yellow was the intention of the bill. They set the yellow too low – especially for left turns.”

Why would cities fail to follow state law, putting drivers and essentially anyone on the road including people on motorcycles and pedestrians at increased risk? These stop light cameras can bring in significant cash revenue for cities that are finding it ever more difficult to balance their budgets. Cities also have a responsibility to make sure that our public rights are secured. If cities fail to comply with state law, they must be held responsible.

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