Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

Unfortunately, another deadly wreck has occurred here in the Louisville, Kentucky area. This time, Jordan Jackson, a 15 year-old girl and incoming freshman at Presentation Academy, died as a result of injuries from a golf cart rollover wreck in Grayson County. Jordan was a passenger in the front seat of the golf cart when the driver applied the brakes while going downhill causing the cart to slide sideways and then rollover.

Three other teenage girls, including the driver, were injured in the accident. Hopefully all of the injured girls involved make a quick and speedy recover. Our sympathies and condolences go out to the friends and family of Ms. Jackson.

A wreck like this one involving a golf cart raises many questions, such as whether there are causes other than driver error. It is imperative that a full investigation take place to determine if there were any factors at play causing this tragedy that are not readily apparent and to preserve evidence. Other questions should center around the permission given to and supervision of underage drivers.

Although the police are conducting an investigation to determine the cause(s), and they typically good job, it is often important for someone involved in this type of accident, or a family member or friend, to do their own investigation. Hiring an attorney experienced in handling car, truck and golf cart wrecks can assure a victim of such a wreck, or the family, that their interests and rights are being protected.

An attorney experienced in handling car, truck and golf cart wrecks will know what to do to uncover any underlying causes that do not appear on the surface and may go unrecognized in other investigations. For instance, I have seen many accidents where it first was thought and reported that a seat belt was not in use, but later the facts indicate the seat belt was in use, but failed to work properly.

This consumer protection and accident victim information is provided by Louisville, Kentucky attorney Will Nefzger, a partner at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC. Click here, and it will take you to a page containing biographical and contact information and here to e-mail Will directly.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that over 70,000 children, including teenagers, make emergency room visits each year because of injuries from medical devices. The most common and leading product responsible is contact lenses. Almost 25% of the injuries and complications documented resulted from problems like infections and abrasions.

The most serious of the injuries center around implants, such as brain shunts, chest catheters and insulin pumps, which result in infections and overdoses. Other problems include puncture wounds from hypodermic needles breaking off during an injection, skin tears caused by pelvic devices utilized during gynecological examinations of teenage girls and infections in young children with ear tubes.

The FDA says that more research is necessary to determine if malfunction or misuse is the reason for the problems. The result may be FDA devise warnings.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most lawyers will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

This consumer protection information is provided Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones partner Will Nefzger. Click here, and it will take you to a page containing biographical and contact information.

The city of Henderson, Nevada has paid $42,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by a federal agent who alleged that 3 local police officers has assaulted him at a bar. "The city emphatically denies liability in this case," the Assistant City Attorney said. "This was strictly a business decision."

Brad Hare, 35, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The complaint requested a judgment of more than $1 million. The suit was finally settled with the assistance of U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston during a seven-hour settlement conference.

According to the lawsuit, three on-duty officers entered the bar around 1:30 a.m. and, without asking Hare or the bartender about the dispute, "violently lifted Mr. Hare off (the) ground and slammed Mr. Hare on the center of the pool table."

The officers were accused of dragging Hare out of the bar in a "pain-compliance arm-bar hold," throwing him on the hood of a vehicle, searching him and asking for his identification.
The city attorney assigned to the case has stated that the city decided to settle the case after considering the cost of further litigation and the “very small” risk that Hare would prevail at trial.

Mr. Hare had moved to the area in 2002, where he worked as a federal law enforcement officer. He declined to identify the federal agency that employs him, saying he often receives undercover assignments.

After waging a lengthy legal fight against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PG&E”), a San Jose,. California mother whose daughter was killed in a collision with a utility company driver has accepted $5 million to resolve her lawsuit.

Lisa Bernstein’s daughter was struck by a diabetic PGE driver who had lost consiousness after not testing his blood sugar that day. Ms. Bernstein was so incensed by the company’s response that she hauled the remains of her daughter truck up to PG&E headquarters in San Francisco.

The $5 million judgment is at least $3 million higher than the utility's original offer. Ms. Bernstein has claimed that her first priority was to hold PG&E accountable for the 2006 crash that killed 20-year-old Mary Bernstein and her sweetheart Robert Conway so a similar tragedy never happens to another family. The driver of the PG&E truck, diabetic John Mayfield, has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter for the crash on the 11th Street off-ramp to Interstate 280 in San Jose.

What really incensed Ms. Bernstein and her attorney’s was the fact that PG&E had refused to support legislation to make companies more accountable for errant drivers, This non-support of the reference piece of legislation almost let Ms. Bernstein to go to trial even if it meant she was awarded only $1.

Clifford Blevens, of the 6100 block of Seaforth Way, was killed yesterday after being struck by a car on I-264 in Louisville, Kentucky. Blevens, age 30, was struck while attempting to walk across the expressway after his car incurred a flat tire. Blevens was taken from the scene of the accident to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to a $75 Million national settlement related to allegations that its subsidiary, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals schemed to improperly market the drug Topamax for uses that were not approved by the Food & Drug Administration.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky’s share of the settlement is nearly $2 million.

At least three people were injured in a wreck involving four semi trucks in Eddyville, Ky, yesterday morning. One of the injured people had to be airlifted from the scene, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

The four trucks were traveling westbound on I-24. No information regarding the names or condition of the injured people is available yet. All three people were taken to the hospital.

According to the West Kentucky Star, the highway is open again but clean-up efforts were ongoing. One of the trucks was hauling bleach while another was hauling beer. Additionally, there was a fuel leak in the area due to the accident.

We'll keep you updated as more information is released about the wreck and its causes become known.

The federal Food & Drug Administration issued a safety alert on July 13, 2010 to patients and doctors about a new boxed warning. Boxed warnings are the toughest warnings the FDA issues and indicate that a drug has serious and possibly deadly side effects.

The Arava boxed warning was precipitated by an FDA review of Arava side effects from 2002 to 2009. That review identified 14 deaths and at least 49 cases of severe liver injury.

According to the FDA, the side effects from taking Arava include:

* Jaundice
* Encephalopathy, or brain disease
* Coagulopathy or blood clotting problems
* Joint disorders
* Blistering on the inside of eyelids, nose, or mouth
* Chest pain
* Peeling or blistering skin
* And many other serious side effects

The FDA has issued a warning that patients with pre-existing liver disease or with elevated liver enzymes should stop taking Arava immediately and contact their doctor.

For more information, contact Larry Jones at 1-866-587-0002 or by email: click here to email Larry.

Kevin Burrus, 43, of Louisville, died after a workplace accident on Thursday. According to the coroner, he had multiple blunt force injuries and asphyxia.

Fellow employees found Burrus unconscious and unresponsive about 7 p.m. at Universal Linen, located at 1807 Commerce Road. The area contained three large washing machines and conveyors.

According to reports, Burrus was standing up but pinned between two pieces of equipment.

Bakari Hicks, 18, has been charged with molesting an 8 year old boy over a two-year period at the Count It All Joy daycare in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The day care was shut down last week following the charges.

The boy claimed Hicks, who is related to the day care's owner, threatened him and forced him to perform sexual acts on him. A Health and Human Services investigation also found other violations.

Vanessa Cantley, attorney and partner at Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones, currently represents children who have been victims of sexual abuse at local daycare facilities. She comments: "As a mother of two young children, there is nothing that sickens and angers me more than to hear that a child may have been a victim of sexual abuse - particularly in a place where parents expect their children to be safe and cared for. The owner of the daycare owed a duty to this little boy and his family to supervise him and act reasonably to keep him safe. If these allegations are found to be true, not only should Mr. Hicks be in jail, but the owner of the day care should be held liable for damages to the boy for negligent supervision."

For more information about the rights of victims of sexual abuse, contact Vanessa Cantley directly at (502) 587-2002 or e-mail her by clicking here.