Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer

Construction Worker Dies at Fort Bliss

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:46:09 GMT

A construction worker on a job site at Fort Bliss in Texas was killed on Friday. The construction accident involved a C.F. Jordan employee and not a member of the military. The victim was hit by a concrete block.

Fort Bliss firefighters responded to the incident, which happened about 9:30 a.m. at a construction site on Biggs Army Airfield. The victim was a 45-year-old man who had been with the company for more than 10 years.

The victim's name has not been released and there are no further details on why the accident happened. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as base officials, will be investigating the accident.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Warning About Pot Pies With Salmonella

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:40:40 GMT

Banquet is warning consumers about turkey and chicken pot pies that may have possible contamination with salmonella. The contaminated pot pies are made in a plant in Missouri. Salmonella can cause food poisoning.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a health alert Tuesday to warn about the possible link between the pot pies and the salmonella cases.
The USDA is advising consumers to discard the pies, said Amanda Eamich, of the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service. ConAgra is not recalling the pies but is offering mail-in refunds and store returns.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been tracking reported salmonella cases since last Wednesday.

There have been 139 reported cases of salmonella around the country from people that have eaten the pot pies. The company maintains the pies are safe if cooked according to the directions.

If you would like to read more about defective products, please visit InjuryBoard's Defective Products Information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Car Accident Injures Topeka Doctor

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:54:21 GMT

An endocrinologist from Topeka was injured in a car accident on the Kansas Turnpike near Lawrence on Tuesday. The doctor was driving his car on Interstate 70 when he was hit by another vehicle trying to pass on the right shoulder.

It happened just before 11 am Tuesday. The Kansas Turnpike Authority says Wynne was stopped on the right shoulder at mile post 200 near Lawrence when another vehicle driven by Randy Hilgers of Meriden struck his car.
KTA says Hilgers was passing cars on the right shoulder and also hit a road work sign before striking Wynne's car.

The doctor had to be airlifted to KU Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. He is listed in fair condtion. The Kansas Turnpike Authority is investigating the accident.

If you would like to read more about car accidents, please review our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Barbie Toys Included in Latest Mattel Recall

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:56:56 GMT

Mattel has issued another toy recall for toys with lead based paint. This is the third recall in a month by Mattel. The toys were all found to have an excessive amount of lead. The toys were made in China.

The company is recalling 675,000 Barbie accessories, including Barbie Dream Puppy House, in which lead paint was found on the dog, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall also includes 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys and about 90,000 Geo Trax locomotive toys. The products were sold from September 2006 to last month.

Parents are asked to take the recalled toys away from their children. Mattel expects more toy recalls as they do testing on all of their toys. Some members of Congress are calling for a great oversight into the safety of products imported into this country.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Spinach Tainted with Salmonella

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:30:32 GMT

A large spinach recall is underway for 34 tons of bagged spinach that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can cause food poisoning if ingested. It is unknown how the spinach was contaminated. The distributor of the spinach is Metz Fresh of California.

The current recall involves a batch of spinach that was packed on Aug. 22 and distributed late last week to retail and food-service customers, such as restaurants or institutional kitchens, in the United States and Canada.
The salmonella was found during testing at a packing plant that was operating under contract with Metz Fresh, said Greg Larsen, a company spokesman.
In a statement, Metz Fresh said the salmonella was detected in a single sample of spinach at the processing plant. The company said it decided to recall spinach from three processing lines at the plant as a precaution, since all three lines were handling produce from the same field.

The company believes that 90 percent of the spinach never reached consumers. This is not the first time that spinach has been recalled. Last summer there was a large recall of spinach due to contamination by E. coli.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Toys R Us Baby Bibs Contain Lead

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:04:41 GMT

Baby bibs sold at Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores across the country contain lead and may be potentially harmful to children. The defective bibs have not been recalled and the company says they are in compliance with safety standards. The Consumer Product Safety Commission tested the bibs.

But their own recent tests of baby bibs on the market in the United States found that the lead, when present, was at levels low enough that a child chewing on or rubbing the bib would not get an unhealthy dose.
As a result, the agency urges parents to discard vinyl bibs only if they are ripped or otherwise deteriorated.
"There is a potential risk of lead exposure from babies swallowing pieces of cracked vinyl on used bibs," the agency said in a statement, after being presented with the test results on the Toys "R" Us bibs.

The baby bibs are made out of vinyl and sold under the Especially for Baby and Koala Baby labels. The bibs were made in China which has been the source of many product recalls this year.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Big Dig Epoxy Company Targeted in Lawsuit

Courtney Mills — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:47:36 GMT

Powers Fasteners Inc., the company that provided Boston's "Big Dig" tunnel project with defective epoxy for ceiling tiles, was indicted Wednesday, August 8, 2007, in the death of a motorist. The motorist was killed when several of the massive ceiling panels lining the Big Dig tunnel came crashing down on her car from above.

The president of Powers Fasteners, Jeffrey Powers, claimed that Powers Fasteners was being unfairly singled out in Boston's colossal public works program that had become a growing embarrassment of cost overruns to Governor Romney during his term in office.

Prosecutors hastened to point out that the indictment of Powers Fasteners does not preclude subsequent lawsuits against Bechtel, the primary developer of the Big Dig. More likely than not this indictment against Powers is the opening salvo in a series against the many contractors associated with the Big Dig public works tunnel project.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Courtney Mills

Mattel Recalls Almost One Million Toys Due to Lead

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:04:46 GMT

A large recall has been issued by Mattel for almost one millions toys that have lead based paint on them. The toys were manufactured in China. Mattel was able to stop about 60 percent of the recalled toys from reaching consumers.

The recall, the second biggest this year involving toys, covers 83 products made from April 19 to July 6. Many of them feature Sesame Street and Nickelodeon characters -- including the Elmo Tub Sub, the Dora the Explorer Backpack, and the Giggle Gabber, a toy shaped like Elmo or Cookie Monster that toddlers shake to hear giggles and funny noises.

The recall involves toys with a product code of 109-7LF to 187-7LF that should be stamped on the toy or the package. The toys should not be played with as they pose a health hazard.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Texas Man Dies in Accident at Work

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:45:32 GMT

A 28-year-old man from Bartlett died of injuries he sustained at the TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. manufacturing plant in Round Rock, Texas. The firefighters that responded to the scene treated him for a chest and abdomen injury. The workplace injury happened last week Monday.

Round Rock firefighters said they received a call from TECO-Westinghouse about 1:45 p.m. When they arrived, they found Bice unconscious. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used a defibrillator until paramedics arrived.
TECO-Westinghouse, a manufacturer of electric motors and generators, referred questions to Austin attorney Wayne Meissner. He would not answer questions about the incident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Teen Found Dead in Man's Closet

Jenny Albano — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:17:57 GMT

Friday night a teens body was found in Jason Shenfeld's closet by his father. Apparently the son was acting strange and kept locking his door so his father checked the room and found the body of an 18 year old girl, Amanda Buckley.

Shenfeld told his father that the girl had overdosed on drugs and didn't know what to do. But investigators found duct tape in her hair, bruises on her body, and evidence of rape. The autopsy report said that teen was strangled, beaten, and sexually abused.

Shenfeld had just recently been released from jail in February after being accused of sexually assaulting to women. Charges ended up being dropped because of "conflicts in evidence". Now Shenfeld has been jailed for suspicion of murder and sexual battery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano