Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a recall of approximately 22,000 Axis arrows manufactured by Easton. A defect in the arrow can caused it to break when fired and potentially strike the shooter, or other bystanders.

This recall involves four different sizes of Easton Axis arrows. The sizes and batch numbers are as follows: size 300 with batch number 13169686, size 340 with batch number 13170143, size 400 with batch number 13170142 and size 500 with batch number 13169487. The carbon composite arrows are used for hunting and target archery. They are black with green and gray-colored graphics. Axis, Focused Energy, Easton, the size number and the batch number are printed on the arrows.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA")is investigating two deaths that may have resulted from the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa.

The FDA states that the patients received injections of Zyprexa and died three to four days later. At this time, regulators are unsure as to what caused the deaths. Zyprexa contains warnings that it could cause post-injection delirium sedation syndrome in which the drug enters the bloodstream too quick and causes heavy sedation and possible delirium.

Zyprexa is manufactured by Eli Lilly. It has been in use since 2009 and had $60 million in sales last year for the company. Lilly officials released an email stating that they have been "unable to conclude whether the two deaths were related to [Zyprexa]."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a recall of Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill infant recliners and covers produced by Baby Matters LLC. This recall is announced as part of the settlement of an administrative case filed by CPSC in December 2012.

Over the past 5 years the CPSC has received over 90 incident reports involving the Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill products. Five of those reports included infant deaths. CPSC is aware of four infants who died in Nap Nanny Generation Two recliners and a fifth death involved in the Chill model. There were 92 reports of infants hanging or falling over the side of the products.

CPSC is instructing consumers to immediately stop use of all Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill recliners. Over 165,000 of the Nap Nanny products were sold between 2009 and 2012 for about $130. In December 2012, four major retailers—Amazon.com, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com, and Toys R Us/Babies R Us—announced a voluntary recall of Nap Nanny and Chill models sold in their stores. Consumers who purchased a Nap Nanny from one of these retailers should contact the retailer for instructions on how to obtain a refund for the product.

Consumers should immediately dispose of the products to ensure that they are not used again. Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

The CPSC has recalled the Cedar Lake Propane Heater/Cooker due to the potential for it to malfunction and create a fire hazard. The product was sold at numerous retail outlets and online sites.

The regulator on the heater can malfunction when a consumer switches from a cooking to heating option, or vice versa. This causes the gas propane to turn to liquid, which can flare easily and pose a fire hazard. There has been one incidence of a fire reported to date.

The dual use heater/cooker consists of a single large ceramic burner with a metal stand. It measures 9 inches by 10.25 inches by 4.5 inches. It has a fitting below the burner for a propane bottle of either 16.4 oz. or 14.1 oz. sizes. The heater/cooker comes with a hose and regulator for connecting the propane bottle. The heater/cooker’s product number #14219 is printed on the packaging

Consumers should stop using the product and contact the company for information about how to return the product and receive a full refund.

A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against several New York jail officials this week by a female inmate — the second woman in four months to claim sexual abuse by male guards at the Catskill facility.

The lawsuits follow the arrests last December of two jail officers, Donald Schermerhorn, 43, and Ernest Dunn, 26. The men were charged with official misconduct and sexually abusing female inmates in their custody. Both were suspended from their jobs while their criminal cases are pending, according to an attorney for Schermerhorn.

A 52-year-old Hunter woman, who is incarcerated at the jail awaiting sentencing on burglary charges, sued Monday in U.S. District Court against Schermerhorn, Sheriff Gregory R. Seely, jail Superintendent Michael Spitz, a jail sergeant, a nurse and a social worker at the facility. The woman, alleges that while she was incarcerated last year, Schermerhorn watched her undress, groped her, forcibly touched her and threatened to punish her "if she refused his advances." The lawsuit indicates the woman reported the incidents to a jail nurse and a social worker, and a sergeant, but nothing was done, and that other jail officers knew of what was taking place but that the facility's policies gave the two male guards unfettered access to the female inmates. A sergeant who supervised the unit was only around during daytime work hours, according to the claim.

Danielle Willard’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against West Valley City and the officers who shot and killed their daughter, a shooting that ignited a chain of events that has roiled the police in Utah’s second-largest city. Melissa Kennedy and Frederick Willard sued in federal court. The complaint, which also alleges various civil rights violations, does not specify how much they’re seeking in damages.

The suit described Willard’s death "unjustified and senseless," and that the shooting was "unrelated to any legitimate law enforcement purpose." "In my mind that was murder," Kennedy said in an interview Wednesday. Kennedy said she doesn’t believe West Valley police have been honest about what happened that day, when police say the undercover detectives shot at Willard, 21, after she backed her car into Cowley and knocked him to the ground. Part of the reason for the suit is so all the evidence can be in a court for a jury to decide, she said.

The department’s routine investigation of the shooting led to the discovery that the narcotics unit as a whole had several problems, including mishandling of evidence, booking evidence without proper documentation —and the possibility of missing drugs and money. The city disbanded the unit in December. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and federal prosecutors have dismissed over 100 cases associated with the unit.

"West Valley City continued the employment of Cowley and Salmon and allowed little to no supervision of these officers in spite of the fact that these officers had prior citizen complaints for misconduct," the lawsuit reads. "[Coyle] was a lieutenant... and allowed the rampant corruption, and participated in the corruption within the department, which all led to the death of Danielle Willard."

Attorneys representing Kennedy have argued before the Salt Lake County Council that documents related to the shooting should be released under Utah’s public record’s laws. District Attorney Sim Gill’s office had denied the request because the information is protected because of the ongoing investigation and that the records belong to West Valley City and Kennedy’s attorneys are asking the wrong entity for them.

Gill does not expect to wrap their probe into the shooting until at least July. His office usually turns an officer-involved shooting case in 10 days, but he’s noted the plethora of side issues linked to the complicated case as cause for delay.

Charles Moore, 38, of Frankfort, Kentucky lost his life when the pickup truck he was driving collided with a large recycling truck on Interstate 64 near the 35 mile marker. Details are scarce right now, but the investigating agency says that the pickup rear ended the recycling truck, which had slowed down.

While a rear end collision is almost always automatically assumed to be the fault of the driver of the vehicle at the rear of the wreck, it is important not to jump to conclusions. There are myriad other potential contributing factors or causes that must be explored, especially when the crash results in a loss of life. The friends and family of Mr. Moore will surely be looking for answers as to how and why this happened, and the investigating agency should do everything they can to provide them.

We use our blog as a forum to educate the public using real life events. However, we are very sensitive to the fact that these real life events have resulted in a tragedy that will inflict great pain and sorrow on those involved and those close to the victim(s). As such, we understand that they may not approve, and we will immediately remove a post if a victim or their loved ones makes that request.

A Commonwealth Bus Service bus, transporting Waggener High School students and adults back from a college visit to Eastern Kentucky University, crashed on I-64 after the front left tire blew out. The bus lost control near the Jefferson-Shelby county line, swerved across three lanes and crashed into the concrete barrier. Thirty-five people suffered various injuries including broken bones. The victims were transported to University Hospital, Kosair Brownsboro, Norton Brownsboro, Norton Suburban and Baptist East.

Kentucky State Police inspectors have confirmed that the crash was caused by the tire blowout. KSP reported that the tires were properly inflated with current dates. However, they are looking into any previous violations and annual inspection records. Scott Cook of the Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement stated that they also hope to bring in a tire expert and look into other potential mechanical problems.

A plane crashed at Seneca Golf Course near Bowman Field on Tuesday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. Four young males were aboard the plane when it went down nose-first at the 18th hole. Luckily, a witness saw the crash and called 911.

Firefighters had to extract all four passengers from the plane. They were taken to University Hospital with significant injuries. One is reported to be in critical condition, while the others are in serious condition.

The pilot of the plane, Cody Goodan, just graduated from Butler High and recently obtained his pilot’s license. The other three passengers were friends of his. Investigators stated that the young men were participating in a training exercise to practice take-offs and landings, but the cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

The plane is a Cessna with a fixed wing single-engine, number N118JD. It is registered to Cardinal Wings Aviation. FAA Investigators have finished their inspection of the wreckage and will turn over their findings to the NTSB. A preliminary report is expected by next week, but a full report could take up to 18 months.