Portland Personal Injury Lawyer

Two Teens Die in Oregon Car Accident

Jenny Albano — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:33:51 GMT

Two teenagers from Roseburg, Oregon died on Friday, March 28 after the car they were riding in swerved off the road, hit an electrical pole, hit a tree, and then flipped over. The 15-year-old driver, Jacob Gonzales, of the 1995 Toyota Camry is in serious condition after the car accident and another passenger was already treated and released from the hospital.

Gonzales failed to negotiate a corner and the vehicle left the road near Goedeck Avenue. The driver's side of the vehicle swiped an electrical pole and then spun around and hit a fir tree. The vehicle knocked the tree down and the car flipped upside down.

Both Rachel Merrell, 17, and Anthony Nickels, 15, both of Roseburg, were pronounced dead on the scene and Gonzales was flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, where he was listed in serious condition Saturday afternoon. Sarah Sitton, 16, of Sutherlin, was treated at Mercy Medical Center where she has been released.

The electrical pole damage caused local homes to lose power until workers were able to replace the pole.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Toxins in Fish Sicken Many in U.S.

Jenny Albano — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:26:22 GMT

The FDA has announced that there have been at least 28 reports of consumers getting sick from ciguatera fish poisoning. The fish that were eaten were harvested in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The first reproted case was in November and outbreaks of the illness were confirmed in Washington D.C. and St. Louis.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain. In the most serious cases, neurological problems can last for months or even years. Grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda are the biggest threat to consumers.

Ciguatera is common in fish living in tropical and subtropical regions, including the Caribbean Sea, the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. But the FDA has considered it rare for fish in the northern Gulf of Mexico to have the toxin.

The fish linked to the ciguatera poisoning were harvested near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the FDA is recommending that processors not buy the fish harvested near this sanctuary. The FDA is also warning processors to make sure their hazard control plans are up to date, because failure to take the proper precautions could cause their products to be considered adulterated.

Consumers who think they may be ill due to ciguatera poisoning should consult a physician and report their illness to the local health department.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Paricon Recalls Children's Snow and Sand Castle Kits Because of Sharp Edges

Jenny Albano — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:48:05 GMT

Paricon, in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 800 Children's Snow and Sand Castle Kits because the largest plastic castle block maker in the kit can crack at the handle during when being used, which creates sharp edges that pose a laceration hazard to children.

The recall castle kit consists of three red plastic block makers. Only the largest block maker in the set is included in the recall. The largest block maker measures about 19 inches in length and 5 inches in width. Smaller block maker blocks and castle kits with the letter "A" on the inside of the large block maker are not included in this recall.

So far no injuries have been reported to Paricon. The castle kits were sold at L.L. Bean retail stores across the country from September 2007 to October 2007.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Car and Train Collide Because of Text-Massaging Driver

Jenny Albano — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:14:10 GMT

An Oregon man crashed into a freight train on Tuesday, October 16 at around 2 a.m. The driver, Robert Gillespie, and the crew on-board the train were not seriously injured.

Gillespie told rescue workers that he was using his cell phone to send a text message while they were trying to release him from the demolished vehicle. He has been charged with drunken driving and careless driving. It is also believed that Gillespie was driving over the 35mph speed limit at the time of the accident.

Gillespie stated that once he looked up after completing his text message he finally saw the freight train. Apparently he tried to slam on the brakes at the last minute, but it was too late.

Text messaging or using cell phones while driving is very dangerous, and can cause the driver to not concentrate on the road. This accident is just another example of how distracting cell phone use while driving really is.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Xcel Energy HydroPlant Chemical Fire Kills Five Contract Workers

Courtney Mills — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:29:38 GMT

A smoldering fire 1000 ft. inside a tunnel at a hydro-electric plant outside of Georgetown, Colorado, developed late Tuesday, killing five contract workers of the company as they tried in vain to escape.

The five who perished in the chemical fire were from a group of nine contract maintenance workers at Xcel Energy. The workers had crawled 1,000 feet inside an empty 4,000 foot long underground water tunnel to perform certain maintenance upgrades when something went awry.

The machinery used to apply epoxy to the surface metal of the tunnel to prevent corrosion malfunctioned and ignited a chemical fire, trapping the workers in the tunnel and subjecting them to toxic fumes of burning epoxy resin. Officials at Excel Energy and Cabin Creek authorities had initially hoped to rescue the trapped workers, but efforts proved futile. Miraculously, four co-workers were able to escape the fire alive.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Courtney Mills

Worker Dies in Wind Tower Collapse

Jenny Albano — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:49:09 GMT

Chadd Mitchell died on Saturday at a wind farm that is under construction in Oregon. Mitchell was killed when a 242-foot-tall tower he was working on fell over.

Mitchell, of Goldendale, Washington, was working at the top of the tower -- essentially a hollow tube -- when it buckled. A second worker in the tube was injured and a third worker on the ground was not hurt, according to The Oregonian newspaper. Federal officials are investigating the incident, it said.

Mitchell's death is the first reported for the wind power industry due to a tower collapse.

Susan Sloan of the American Wind Energy Association stated that wind turbines and the towers that hold them are not inherently unsafe, and said she could not speak specifically of the Oregon incident. Sloan also mentioned that there have been a handful of people who have been killed while performing maintenance or construction at wind farms.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Certain Models of Triple-Channel Infusion Pumps Recalled

Jenny Albano — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:54:56 GMT

On Friday, the FDA alerted healthcare professionals of a class 1 recall of certain models of an upgraded triple-channel volumetric infusion pump made by Colleague and Colleague CX. A software malfunction may sound an alarm in the device, showing an error code 16:310:867:0002, which will stop infusing.

An electronic infusion pump delivers controlled amounts of medicine or other fluids to patients through a direct line into the bloodstream (intravenously, intra-arterially, or through an epidural).

"The error occurs when all three channels are in use and a healthcare professional initiates a user interface-intensive command such as overriding the Guardian dose limit feature, displaying the dose mode window, performing dose calculations or performing running rate changes," the company says in a news release.

So far there have been sixteen injuries reported. All the affected users have been contacted and have had their infusion pumps replaced with alternate devices, such as non-upgraded triple-channel and upgraded single-channel pumps.

From May 14 to June 18, 2007 there have been 4512 defective infusion pumps administered to 427 customers, according to an alert from the FDA's MedWatch.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Three More Chinese Toy Recalls

Jenny Albano — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:42:02 GMT

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced three more Chinese toy recalls. Children's jewelry sets were recalled because they contained lead, and a magnetic building set and plastic castles were recalled because they could be a choking hazard to children.

Around 20,000 sets of Essentials for Kids Jewelry were recalled because they were found to have high levels of lead in them, which can be very toxic to children.

800 Mag Stix Magnetic Building Sets and 68,000 Shape Sorting Toy Castles were pulled from the market because they had many small parts that could pose a choking hazard to young kids.

These new recalls are adding to the growing list of drug and product recalls from China recently. So far all 24 toy recalls from this year have been products from China. Since the FDA has been more strict with regulations in the last few months, there have been many more product defects found.

China says they are increasing regulation and enforcement of health and safety rules for their exports. But many Chinese officials think that the recent safety warnings on their products are driven by protectionism.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Numb Tongue From Wisdom Tooth Removal

Staff Writer — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:56:54 GMT

Most people have their wisdom teeth removed -- the 3rd molars. If the teeth are removed wrong a patient can leave the oral surgery or dental office with a permanently numb tongue. The lingual nerve provides sensation, including taste, to the tongue.

If your tongue is still numb the day after your wisdom teeth have been removed, you should report the problem to the dentist or oral surgeon who removed your wisdom teeth and consider getting a second opinion from a facility that evaluates lingual nerve damage (OHSU and UW have the oral surgery departments). Make sure you have this evaluation right away if you are going to consider lingual nerve repair. Many oral surgeons who do the repairs believe there is better success on the repair surgeries with patients they see sooner and that it is ideal to repair the nerves within six months of injury.

Beware, some patients who have an injured lingual nerve are told that it was part of the consent form the patient signed or was a risk of the procedure -- that is irrelevant. The only issue is whether the wisdom tooth removal was performed properly or not.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

New Book Reveals Where Doctors Go Wrong

Staff Writer — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:00:26 GMT

An article in Time magazine discusses a doctor's new book on why doctors make medical mistakes. The research found that 80% of medical mistakes are due to thinking errors on the part of the doctors and 20% are due to technical errors.

The book is "How Doctors Think" and is a good read for anyone trying to get the best possible care and help protect him/herself from medical errors.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer