Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Health Officials are reporting that the number of illnesses caused from individuals having consumed raw milk has risen to 35 people over four states. The confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection include 28 people in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, two in West Virginia and one in New Jersey.

The tainted milk appears to have come from the Family Cow farm in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and health officials have said that consumers should discard raw milk bought from the Family Cow farm on or after Jan. 1. The farm has voluntarily suspended raw milk production.

The federal Food and Drug Administration warns that raw, or unpasteurized, milk can contain harmful bacteria, and Maryland law prohibits its sale. Still, dairy farmers have said that the demand is growing because of concerns about hormones in traditional dairy products.

Dogs are people too. Pretty much. For many of us.

So we report here on Proctor & Gamble Company has retrieved a single production lot of dry dog food as aflatoxin levels, above the acceptable limit, have been detected. This product has already been retrieved from store shelves.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring by-product from the growth of Aspergillus flavus and can be harmful to pets if consumed in significant quantities. Pets who have consumed this product and exhibit symptoms of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums, or diarrhea should be seen by a veterinarian.

The affected dog food is as follows:

• Product Name: Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry dog food with Use By/Expiration Dates of February 5 or February 6, 2013
• Version: 7.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12784177I6; UPC Code: 1901402305
• Version: 8.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177D2 and 12794177D3; UPC Code: 1901410208
• Version: 17.5 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177K1 and 12794177K2; UPC Code: 1901401848

The affected product lot was distributed to a limited number of retailers located in the eastern United States: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. These retailers have already removed this product from store shelves.

While no health effects related to this product have been reported, P&G retrieved this product from the shelves as a precautionary measure. Consumers who purchased the affected dog food should stop using it, discard it, and contact Iams a replacement voucher.

No other dry dog food, dry cat food, dog or cat canned food, biscuits/treats or supplements are affected by this announcement.

Dogs matter. I'm glad Proctor is doing the right thing by making sure our animals are safe.

Nygala will recall approximately 10,000 Halloween Projection Flashlights, as the flashlights can overhead, blister and melt, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Better late than never. I guess.

These Chinese made flashlights are black and orange plastic, and the flashlight is 6 ½ inches long with pumpkins, bats, witches, haunted houses and cats on the handle. The flashlights came with six different plastic lenses that attach to the flashlight to project various images, including a pumpkin, bat, witch, haunted house and cat. The flashlights packaging is imprinted with “Flomo,” “HW189” and UPC 677916518266 on the packaging.

The recalled Halloween flashlights were sold at discount stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah from August 2010 through October 2011 for about $1.

The firm has received one reported incident involving a flashlight that overheated, blistered and melted.

The J.M. Smucker Company has announced a limited recall on 16 oz. Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter Chunky, as it has been determined that it may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The affected Peanut Butter is packaged in 16oz jars, and is marked as follows:

• UPC: 5150001701 (located on the side of the jar's label below the bar code)
• Production Codes: 1307004 and 1308004
• Best-If-Used-By dates: August 3, 2012 and August 4, 2012
• Chunky product only (not creamy)
• Impacted product would have been purchased between November 8 - 17, 2011

This product was distributed in: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

No other products of The J.M. Smucker Company are affected by this recall.

United Natural Foods (UNFI) is recalling selected types of FoodMatch, Inc. Divina Stuffed Olives, as they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. These items have been recalled due to a lack of temperature control during the distribution process. UNFI inadvertently subjected the recall items to temperature ranges above those directed by the manufacturer.

The following products have been recalled:

• DIVINA 4 OZ OLIVES,FETA CHEESE STUFFED (blue and yellow label) UPC 63172352780
• DIVINA 4 OZ OLIVES,BLUE CHEESE STUFFED (blue label) UPC 63172352790

Divina Olives Stuffed with Feta Cheese were distributed to the Safeway stores identified below:

• #0583 1606 N Ave, Spearfish, South Dakota
• #1577 6520 S Academy Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• # 1615 3325 28th Street, Boulder, Colorado
• # 1644 7655 Mclaughlin Rd, Falcon, Colorado
• # 2761 1165 Main St, Lander, Wyoming
• # 2792 27152 Main St, Conifer, Colorado
• # 2910 1632 Hover Road, Longmont, Colorado
• # 0853 7625 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland
• # 0942 12 West Washington St, Middleburg, Virginia
• # 1283 8646 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia
• # 1606 9596 Old Keene Mill Rd, Burke, Virginia
• # 1668 5510 Norbeck Road, Rockville, Maryland
• # 1956 14939 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland
• # 2650 43150 Broadlands Plaza, Ashburn, Virginia
• # 4002 5727 Burke Center, Burke, Virginia
• # 4205 415 14th Street SE, Washington, D.C.

Date codes Best Used By: 11 JAN 2012 and Best Used By: 1 FEB 2012 sold at other retail outlets have not been affected because the products were not exposed to a lack of refrigeration controls.

Divina Olives Stuffed with Blue Cheese were distributed to the following states: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington DC through the following retail stores:

• Genuardis
• Carrs
• Safeway
• Pavilion
• Vons

Best Used By: 11 JAN 2012, Best Used By: 15 DEC 2011, Best Used By: 30 DEC 2011, Best Used By: 1 FEB 2012

These date codes sold at other retail outlets have not been affected because the products were not exposed to a lack of refrigeration controls.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

• Recall on Stuffed Bio Gaudiano Brand Organic Olives

Badia Spices is recalling approximately 3,800 lbs. of Pinenuts, as they may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The pine nuts were sold in retail stores in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey - between June 2011 and October 2011. No illnesses have been reported for any Badia brand pine nuts to date.

Badia Spices is recalling the following lots of Pinenuts:

• (UPC) 033844 00068 – 1 oz Pine nuts in small plastic bags Lot # 84666
• (UPC) 033844 00733 – 2 oz Pine nuts in pet bottles Lot # 83184, 85442

Badia Spices repacked bulk pine nuts which were imported from Turkey and subsequently recalled by Sunrise Commodities. The bulk pine nuts have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis illness.

• Sunrise Commodities' Pine Nuts Recall
• Wegman's Pine Nuts Recall

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat Turkish pine nuts, distributed by Sunrise Commodities, after tests have confirmed the presence of Salmonella.

The FDA is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. To date, there are reports of at least 42 illnesses associated with the outbreak in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

As part of FDA’s investigation, samples of Turkish pine nuts from a warehouse used by Sunrise Commodities were collected.

Sunrise Commodities has already recalled four lots of the product implicated in this matter, totaling more than 21,000 pounds of pine nuts.

The affected nuts were packed in 22-pound boxes and included the markings:

• Warehouse Lot 27963 with the identifying code “PO#: 50165”
• Warehouse Lot 29628 with the identifying code “PO#: 50558”
• Warehouse Lot 27713 with the identifying code “PO#: 49595”
• Warehouse Lot 27427 with the identifying code “PO#: 50032”

Sunrise Commodities distributed the Turkish pine nuts in bulk to various food vendors in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Canada. A recall notification was issued by Sunrise to its customers on November 3, 2011, alerting them of the test results and of the epidemiologic investigation.

Wegmans Food Markets, recalled the product from their stores on October 26, 2011. As the investigation continues, additional recalls may take place.

Wegmans Food Markets has announced a recall of bulk Turkish Pine Nuts due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled Turkish pine nuts were imported from Turkey by Sunrise Commodities.

Wegmans is recalling approximately 5,000 lbs. of Turkish Pine Nuts, sold in the Bulk Foods department of most Wegmans stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland, due to possibility of being contaminated with Salmonella. The time frame for the sale of these nuts would have been between July 1 and October 18, 2011.

The bulk Turkish Pine Nuts have been linked to an outbreak of illness from Salmonella Enteritidis, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Illness onset is typically 12 to 72 hours after consumption.

This recall only applies to Turkish Pine Nuts sold in bulk. Other pine nuts sold at Wegmans are not affected by this recall.

• Wegmans Recalls Chocolate Chip Bars
• Walnut Recall for Salmonella Concerns

Yamaya is recalling Masago (Capelin Roe), as it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The Masago (Capelin Roe) was distributed to retail stores in Los Angeles, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia, and Mexico.

The Masago was packed in a 2 lb plastic container with a white label containing Japanese and English writing, and has “Yamaya USA, Inc.” as the brand. The label indicates Masago (Capelin Roe) and the “Item No. 09867” is printed on the box.

The recall was the result of sampling testing of the facility by the FDA, and it was revealed that this Yamaya sushi contained the bacteria. The company has ceased the production and distribution of the Masago (Capelin Roe).

To date, thankfully, there have been no illnesses reported.

This Maryland Accident Lawyer blog post provides a sample cross examination of an expert that provides a good example of what you do with IME doctors that have a history of testifying for insurance companies.

Hello Accident Injury Lawyer Blog. I'm back.

I just got back from vacation and then a trial in Baltimore, Maryland. My partner Laura Zois and I won a $537,000 verdict for our client in a slip and fall case in a Baltimore County school. It does not match the $2.5 million verdict awarded to our clients last week in Rod Gaston's wrongful death medical malpractice case but it is still a good 10 days for Miller & Zois clients.

I'll write more about our trial later and try to put some of the samples from the trial in the help center on our website. We may even order the transcript to post on line because it includes so much of the David Ball/Don Keenan reptile themes that I have talked about on this blog.

This was a really fun case to try and it reminds me of why we do what we do. But I'm glad to be back to my usual routine which includes regularly posting to this blog.

The majority of the cases our lawyers handle involve auto accidents and truck accidents in the area. We handle only extremely serious injury and wrongful death accident claims.

Although not all, the vast majority of our cases are in Maryland. We will handle truck accident and car injury cases outside of Maryland but only in the event of catastrophic injury or death.

You are trying to choose a lawyer? Take a second and take a breath. Your choice matters. Do some research. Talk to a lot of lawyers. Find out who is really trying cases and getting verdicts for their clients and who is running a marketing firm to get and settle - regardless of the value - cases as fast as they can. And... one other thing I think is critical: ask every accident lawyer you talk to who they would refer a case to if they could not handle a serious car accident case on behalf of a loved one. If the answer keeps coming up one firm, you have a great candidate.

Our car accident lawyers have already recovered millions of dollars in compensation for car accident victims by settlement or trial in 2011. If you or a loved one has serious injuries and you need a lawyer, call 800-553-8082. You can also make a free on-line inquiry here. Ultimately, you should not be talking only to us. You should be interviewing a lot of accident lawyers to figure out the big question you need to answer: who is the best lawyer for you?

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog writes about whether nursing home lawsuits are a part of the solution or a part of the problem. One thing is for sure: the answer to the question is more complex than partisans on either side believe.

These are North Carolina medical malpractice statistics of interest. Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics are from 1998-2009.

• There are an average of 566 medical malpractice lawsuits filed in North Carolina each year, or one-quarter of one percent of the lawsuits filed in North Carolina. For those who think malpractice lawsuits are increasing in number: there were 496 malpractice lawsuits in 2009, the last year studied.
• ƒ Said another way, from 1998 through 2009, the number of all civil case filings in North Carolina
  averaged 228,037 per year. The medical malpractice filings accounted for 0.25%
  of all civil cases.
• Okay, but North Carolina juries award a ton of money when the plaintiff wins a medical malpractice lawsuit. No, not really. In the 54 malpractice cases in which the plaintiff won at trial and received money damages, the median jury award was $320,000. Underscoring the point, 10 of these malpractice verdicts were below $10,000. Not exactly runaway juries.
• Doctors are fleeing North Carolina? Not quite. Between 1998 and 2008 (the last year for which statistics were available), the total population in North Carolina grew by 18.3%, while the physician population increased by 29.1%. Maybe not every doctor has gone to Texas yet.
• 4% of medical malpractice lawsuits go to verdict. Plaintiffs win 22.33% of the time. If you consider cases with multiple defendants, 86% of doctors prevail at trial.

If you live in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, California, or Colorado, you Bologna's first name is R-E-C-A-L-L. Yesterday, a recall was issued for 23,000 pounds of Lebanon bologna products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause serious health consequence for all of us, most notably the very young and very old.

Each package of Bologna was made in December and has a label with establishment number “EST. 474” inside the USDA mark of inspection. You can get the details here.

Look out for:

• Whole chub packages of “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot codes “01351” or “06337” and best-by date of “Feb. 14 2011,” “Feb. 15 2011,” “Feb. 16 2011,” or “Feb. 28 2011” printed on the package.
• Half chub packages of “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot codes “01351” or “06337” and best-by date of “Apr. 6 2011,” “Apr. 7 2011,” “Apr. 16 2011,” or “Apr. 19 2011,” printed on the package.
• 12-pound bulk boxes of sliced “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot code “01351” and best-by date of “Apr. 21 2011” printed on the package.

Lebanon bologna is a semi-dry sausage that looks like salami. So check out what you think is your salami too.

You get into a car accident. You curse out the at-fault driver. You shouldn't have. But you did. Is the defense going to have the opportunity to put on this evidence or cross examine you with it? The Maryland Accident Lawyer blog writes about a recent decision in federal court in Maryland that answers this question (for this judge, under these facts).

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog provides a list of attorney related blogs in Maryland.

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog has a discussion on DePuy hip replacement problems that contains 53 comments from people who have DePuy hip replacements. If you have a DePuy hip replacement and have a comment you want to share, join the discussion.

I wrote a blog post back in November bragging that the Accident Injury Lawyer Blog was ranked #133 on Avvo's list of attorney blogs. We have since jumped to #41. Why the jump?

Continue reading "Avvo Attorney Blogs" »

According to a study by Jury Verdict Research, the average gunshot wound verdict is $727,852 ($100,000 median).

For the purposes of this study, a gunshot wound is defined as soft tissue damage to the victim caused by birdshot, a pellet gun, BB gun or traditional gun with no organ damage, fractures, paralysis, brain damage, visual impairment or hearing loss.

It is difficult to recover damages for an intentional gunshot wound because it is difficult to get insurance for intentional acts and it is even more difficult to claim that the company/municipality the shooter was working for was vicariously liable.

Most gunshot cases involve an accidental shooting which implicates the shooter's homeowners' or other insurance policy (think Dick Chaney shooting that guy in the eye) or the police department for an accidental/negligent shooting.