The Injury Board Commentary - Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall) - Most Commented

Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Reported at Plim Plaza Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland

Patrick Mickler — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:03:24 GMT

The Plim Plaza Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland has closed three days before the end of the season after three former guests were hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease. All three guests were over 50 and suffering from weakened immune systems, rendering them particularly susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease. Guests currently staying at the hotel were “voluntarily relocated” so that “everyone would feel more safe and sound,” according to the Baltimore Sun.

Officials of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are currently conducting tests of the hotel’s water system, and the hotel itself has also hired an outside firm for water testing. Preliminary results have shown the presence of legionella bacteria in the water, but official results will not be available until next week.

The Plim Plaza is purportedly contacting guests who stayed there in the past month to warn them about potential exposure to the legionella bacteria. One former guest commented that he and his elderly mother had stayed there from September 26 to 30, 2011 and that he had not yet heard from the hotel. He had noticed officials conducting tests on the hotel’s three hot tubs during his stay, but thought at the time that they were performing standard maintenance.

The Maryland Department of Mental Health and Hygiene encourages anyone who stayed at the Plim Plaza Hotel on or after September 1, 2011 to contact their health provider if they develop symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, which include shortness of breath, chills, fever, nausea, diarrhea, lethargy, coughing, chest pain, and headaches.

Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially deadly form of pneumonia that afflicts between 8,000 and 18,000 Americans per year, according to the CDC.[1] Symptoms can appear between 2 to 14 after exposure to the legionella bacteria.

Jules Zacher represented six former guests of an Ocean City hotel, the Princess Royale, in 2004, and argued that the hotel posed a danger to guests by not properly maintaining its water system.[2] Tests revealed the presence of legionella bacteria in the shower heads and faucets in the victims’ rooms, and several other locations throughout the hotel were determined to be conducive for the growth of the bacteria. More recently, Mr. Zacher settled a case involving a Legionnaires’ disease victim from Canada who was infected and became severely ill due to poorly maintained hot tubs at a hotel in Orlando, Florida.[3]

For more information, please visit www.LegionnaireLawyer.com.

[1] Reference: http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/patient_facts.htm

[2] Reference: http://tinyurl.com/LDinOceanCity2004

[3] Reference: http://tinyurl.com/LDinOrlando2008

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Patrick Mickler

Pit Bulls, Dog Breeds and the Dangers of Improper Training

Doug Landau — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:14:00 GMT

Any dog, no matter the breed, age, and even if raised with kindness and care, is capable of an unprecedented and unprovoked attack.

So if a pit bull that has no history of aggressive behavior one day attacks and bites someone without provocation, then we conclude that it must have happened because of how the owner had treated it ? And if the dog never did the attack, we conclude the owner is a good owner ? Not necessarily. Statistically, Pit Bulls are one of the most likely breeds of dogs to attack a human being, and they have a natural propensity to attack and bite hard. They were bred as a fighting dog, when society accepted that as a sport. One neighbor and long time Pit Bull owner told me that they were bred to fight lions and other animals in the Roman Colosseum !

However, the type or breed of a dog is not sufficient in Virginia to cause a jury to find for the injured dog attack victim. In a dog bite case, the injured plaintiff must still prove negligence. To prove this from an evidentiary standpoint, the injured victim will usually need an expert unless pre-trial investigation or discovery revealed that the dog had prior attacks on humans. There is no question that there are good dog owners that can train a Pit Bull to be well behaved and others who can cause an otherwise docile breed of canine to be vicious and dangerous. In tomorrow's post I write about a friend's use of a trainer to prove negligence in a pit bull dog attack case where there were no "prior bites" or other attacks.

If you or someone you know has been injured, bitten or mauled by a dog or other animal caused by someone else's negligence or fault, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

The Pope Worries About How Others Handle Pedophiles?

Mike Bryant — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:43:32 GMT

Interesting statement from the Pope last week as he pointed out that all institutions need to deal with the issues that are involved with providing access to children for pedophiles. In his statement , it was reported that he:

insisted on Saturday that all of society's institutions and not just the Catholic church must be held to "exacting" standards in their response to sex abuse of children, and defended the church's efforts to confront the problem.

If the Church had shown the commitment to zero tolerance that was available, this statement would mean something. He could actually stand there and give guidance on how each scandal should be handled. The problem is that they haven't in the past and have continued to show to not doing it in the present. They have no real policy in most of the world that even suggests that they are using "exacting" standards.

There are so many priests who are still being hidden and information that has been destroyed or covered up. If the Church was truly to lead the way, they wouldn't be suffering through the most recent problems with indited Bishops and new disclosures. They wouldn't need victims to finally come forward and be heard before they disclosed the hidden atrocities.

As Snap national director, David Clohessy pointed out:

"No public figure talks more about child safety but does little to actually make children safer than Pope Benedict... The pope would have us believe that this crisis is about sex abuse. It isn't. It is about covering up sex abuse... And while child sex crimes happen in every institution, in no institution are they ignored or concealed as consistently as in the Catholic church."

It is very true that the Catholic Church leadership should be looked at for guidance in handling these problems, but as a symbol of what not to do and not one of virtue.

Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Bankruptcy is Bringing Up Some Interesting Issues

Mike Bryant — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:12:00 GMT

Recently I wrote about the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The follow up has been interesting to say the least.

The Milwaukee Journal has been reporting the numbers:

Its financial statements, filed with the court this week, list $40.7 million in assets and $24 million in liabilities, including $13.7 million for a health care plan for retired priests.

But, the question is whether this is all of the money? The paper reported that:

Attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul implied the archdiocese engaged in a shell game during a bankruptcy hearing before Assistant U.S. Trustee David Asbach.

Anderson questioned archdiocese chief financial officer John Marek about the whereabouts of a $75 million account that last appeared on the archdiocese's audited annual financial statements in 2003-'04. And he questioned the transfer of a separate $55 million into a newly created cemetery trust in 2008, a year after the Wisconsin Supreme Court opened the door for victims to sue the archdiocese for fraud.

Marek, who was hired by the archdiocese in 2007, could not answer questions about the $75 million. He said the cemetery funds had previously been in an account under the control of the archbishop but had always been "treated as a trust."

What is clear is that there is a lot of property there and a number of people are making claims. What will be interesting is whether the church leadership is truly pushed by the bankruptcy court to make full disclosures. Compare how the local court went after Denny Hecker:

Hecker claimed poverty in a bankruptcy filing, but was accused of shifting cash and secreting assets before and after the filing. A pre-sentencing report said he misled authorities on cash transactions even after pleading guilty in September.

"The actions you've taken are not consistent with someone who can be trusted, and you have not been as truthful as you could have been in the court system," U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen said at Friday's sentencing hearing.

"Therefore, you do not get a break," she told Hecker.

He is going to prison for 10 years and the bankruptcy court isn't allowing any shenanigans. Let's see if justice is blind to the parties.

Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Indiana Stage Collapse: Who's At Fault?(2)

John Lowery — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:41:25 GMT

Tragedy has struck the Indiana State Fair. Failure to adequately secure a concert stage rigging caused its collapse in the face of strong winds just before the country music duo Sugarland was to perform. (Photos here). According to press reports, four people died and at least two dozen were injured when the temporary structure came crashing down upon fans waiting to see the award winning group consisting of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. Soon, the attention will turn to blame and legal liability. Ultimately the concert promoter, who typically provides the staging, will likely bear at least partial responsibility. Since the concert was outdoors, one can presume that winds, even high ones, were foreseeable and an appropriate outdoor stage rigging should have been in place prior to fans being allowed into the area. Some artists insist their own stage and lighting structure be used and if that is the case in this instance, Sugarland and/or their tour management company may be subject to liability.

This is an interesting (and common) legal situation that arises whenever negligence causes injury at a concert. Rest assured there will be much finger pointing between the Indiana State Fair, its concert promoters and individuals charged with securing and inspecting the premises to insure patron safety. Don't hesitate to contact a qualified lawyer if you have questions regarding concert injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Lowery

Catholic Church Leaders: Please Value Children Above Money

Mike Bryant — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:39:00 GMT

I found it interesting that St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hudson, Wisconsin, announced the immediate ousting of their priest after it was found that he stole money. The fact that they did this wasn't surprising because historically the Church has acted quickly when the theft of money is involved.

Compare this to the many cases where priests have been moved, hidden, or just left when they were accused of being sexual predators toward children. There has been talk of no tolerance policies, but where is the practice?

It has been suggested that the second response is also due to money. The cost to the church for the years of moving pedophiles has been predicted as being high. So it was easier to keep quiet and hope that the silence remains. Or to hope that enough time goes by so that the legal system will prevent a claim.

These lives are more important than the money. They deserve to be protected and they deserve to find justice.

also take the time to read:

Catholic League President Bill Donohue Dishes Out Big Bucks for NY Times Ad, David Mittleman | April 11, 2011 4:41 PM

Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Eleven Year Old Girl Bitten By Pit Bull

Mike Bryant — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:35:37 GMT

This am, a St Cloud little girl was bitten by a pit bull. Her family was apparently holding the dog for a friend. She was taken to the hospital due to multiple puncture wounds and torn flesh. It is hoped that she got needed medical care and heals quickly.

Here at the Injuryboard, a number of members have written about not only these type of bites, but also the injuries particular to pit bulls. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs. In Minnesota we have a solid dog bite law that imposes strict liability on the owner of the dog, unless the dog was provoked.

Good advice to avoid getting bit is:

♦Never approach an unfamiliar dog.

♦If you are approached by an unfamiliar dog, remain motionless until the dog leaves the area. Do not scream or run from dog.

♦If a dog should attack, throw something at it; a purse, jacket, backpack or anything that can come between you and it.

♦If you are a dog owner, have your dog spayed or neutered, take your dog to obedience classes and avoid chaining your dog.

If you are bitten:

♦Children should tell an adult right away.

♦Wash the wound with soap and water and consult a doctor. Serious bites can cause permanent scarring, so ask for a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

♦Report animal bites to Animal Care and Control. Be prepared to provide as much information about the animal as possible.

If you or a family member is bitten or injured by a dog, get the name of the owner. See a doctor. If you need help, get the advice of attorneys who are knowledgeable in handling these cases. Early investigation, needed photographs, and proper evaluation can be the difference between an appropriate recovery and inadequate justice.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

Traveling this summer outside of the US? Be careful what you sign when you check in.

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:41:00 GMT

If you’ve ever been to an athletic event, you know that when two teams compete, often one is “home” and one is “away”. You prefer for your team to be home, not just because it makes it easier for you to get to the game, but also because it tends to increase the chances of victory. This is referred to as “home court advantage”. The home team has the advantage of higher attendance by fans, comfort and familiarity in the arena, and time to prepare for the traveling team’s arrival. To a certain extent, the same can be said for the current status of resort litigation. When you’re involved in any law suit, it is beneficial to be in your own state or country where you can easily travel, understand the system, and communicate with a local attorney who is familiar with local laws. This is particularly true of the United States legal court system.

However, if you travel and find yourself injured, it can now be difficult to get the home court advantage. Actually, it can be difficult to even bring a case at all.

Take a common vacation scenario for example. Many people choose to vacation at large Caribbean resorts. It's become almost an extension of Florida. As with most agreements, your reservation at a resort is considered a contract. As with all contracts, it’s important to read the fine print.

At the time of your reservation, you are asked to agree to the resort’s policies for booking and visiting, but when you’re traveling outside the U.S., it’s imperative that you be careful before signing your guest registration card. For example, the reservation request for a major resort in St. Lucia includes the clause that “all rates and conditions are subject to change without notice”.

While the above is considered a relatively common policy, contracts also include more serious conditions that may make it hard for you to protect your rights if you have an accident. Under the forum selection clause, if you choose to bring a law suit, many vacation destinations claim that you must do so in their country (outside the US). This implies more than just traveling back to a given island paradise for a court date. It also means that you must follow, not U.S. laws and procedures, but the other country’s. Sometimes, these laws prohibit contingency fee contracts (a good example is the Bahamas where contingency contracts are not allowed), and some require significant bonds to be posted in order to bring a personal injury claim. Many countries make it very complicated to bring personal injury suits in the first place.

In some instances the traveler does not even see this forum selection clause until they have already traveled thousand country. Other resorts, have reservation websites that when travel is booked, send s a link to their website, and somewhere buried in its multi-page website is a Terms and Condition section with language similar to the following (which was taken from the Atlantis Terms & Conditions section of their internet site):

During guest registration ... you will be asked to sign a form agreeing to the following terms related to any claims you may have as a result of your stay at the resort: "I agree that any claim I may have against Atlantis, Ocean Club, or any of their officers, directors, employees or related or affiliated companies,....... resulting from any events occurring in The Bahamas shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and further, irrevocably agree to the Supreme Court of The Bahamas as the exclusive venue for any such proceedings whatsoever. The foregoing shall apply to all persons accompanying me, and I represent that I have the authority to sign this document on their behalf.

So why sign away your rights? Why not just avoid the issue altogether? If only it were so simple. The problem with the forum selection clause is that it is often not shown to travelers before they arrive at the destination. Once you are at the resort, you must agree to their terms in order to stay there. Therefore, unless you want to be stranded in paradise looking for a Super 8 Motel equivalent so you don’t have to pitch a tent on the beach, you’ll probably agree to sign what the resort asks you to sign. To avoid this kind of problem, find out the resort’s policies before you leave home. Find out if there is a forum selection clause, and if so, ask where the agreed forum is. If there are legal problems during your visit, this location will be the site of any necessary litigation.

If you are planning to travel, be careful that you know what you are signing. Actually, be careful because in some instances, you don't even have to sign- the person who checks you in obligates everyone within his/her travel group (see the last sentence in the forum selection clause from Atlantis). If you need help and want to be advised of your rights, consult an attorney who is familiar with forum selection and can help you understand the agreement you are making with the resort. It would be great not to have to worry about this because the likelihood of injury is so remote, but unfortunately accidents and injuries can happen to people while they are traveling. It would be a shame if someone was seriously injured because of a resort's negligence, but they couldn't recover simply because they had to litigate outside the US and they either couldn't afford the bond, couldn't find a contingency lawyer, or could not withstand the traveling back to the country where they were hurt.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte

Fast Food Play Areas: A Shocking Discovery

Mark Bello — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:02:30 GMT

An Arizona mother of four received a hand-delivered letter from a lawyer prohibiting her from entering eight Phoenix-area McDonald's. She believes the letter resulted from allegations that she discovered antibiotic-resistant Staph or MRSA, known to cause potentially life-threatening infections in a local McDonald’s PlayPlace.

The woman has been on a national crusade to educate parents about the hidden dangers in fast food play areas and to spur legislation that would require regular, consistent cleaning and safety checks at these facilities. Her mission began last spring after she followed her toddler through an Arizona McDonald's playground and was disgusted by the filth, grime, rotting food, matted hair, Graffiti and abandoned Band-Aids. She complained to a McDonald’s manager about unsanitary conditions, but when she returned a few days later nothing had changed. After numerous complaints went unheeded, she posted a video of the facility on YouTube. She also swabbed the play area and sent her samples to a lab for testing; the results were shocking.

Intent on proving this is not an isolated problem the woman has been mixing family vacations with her play area inspections. She videotapes conditions and swabs the areas microbial testing. Potentially dangerous pathogens including those that can cause meningitis, sepsis, hair, scalp and skin infections, abscesses, gastrointestinal disease/infection, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, food borne illness and more have been found in McDonald’s, Burger King, Chuck E. Cheese’s, and numerous other restaurants. Other concerned parents, and in some cases not parents, have joined her crusade it testing these “playgrounds.”

We will never live in a germ-free world; germs are everywhere and hand washing is an important safeguard. But, what has been found are very high counts of bacteria, and that means these places are not cleaned properly, regularly, or not cleaned at all.

A spokesperson for the Center of Disease Control said that the federal agency would not get involved unless called in by state officials concerned about a major disease breakout. Too late at that point, don’t you think? Once again, McDonald’s puts safety last; it is ignoring obvious health risks to young children. The company is willing to take the calculated gamble that no one will become seriously injured or ill; no one will file a lawsuit. The company brain trust must also assume that if someone does get sick and does sue, the cost of litigation and compensation is less than the cost of correcting the problem. Corporate profits, corporate greed triumphs over safety concerns; this is a common thread in corporate decision making. Customers have a right to expect that these indoor play areas be free of contamination and broken parts Our children should be able to play in an area design for just that without worrying about getting hurt or getting sick. Didn’t McDonald’s learn from its many “Hot Coffee” cases (yes, there were multiple cases of scalding hot coffee causing serious burns at McDonald’s, not just one)? Do company executives wish to continue their long-standing policy of profits over safety? Are they willing to risk more lawsuits and more serious injuries, this time, to our young children?

Corporate America must be held accountable for its callous disregard for safety, for its carelessness and/or negligence. Conservative legislators at the state and federal levels need to stop protecting these corporate wrongdoers. They, and we, must put an end to the concept profits over people. To draw attention to the issue and push for legislation mandating stricter standards for play areas, the nonprofit group, Kids Play Safe was formed. You can help by contacting your elected officials to let them know you would support regulation related to cleaning and maintenance of indoor play areas. Until there are regulations in place requiring these restaurants with indoor “playgrounds” to sanitize, disinfect, and maintain their equipment on a regular basis, parents might want to avoid them. Regulations need to be enacted to prevent child endangerment in these environments. It seems that lawsuits are the only way to shake these corporate wrongdoers up; when it hits them in the pocketbook, safety will become a priority. My message to McDonald’s? “Wake up and smell the coffee.”

Mark Bello has thirty-three years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life funding is needed during litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mark Bello

Maryland Pit Bull Attack Injures Friend and Dog

Doug Landau — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:24:00 GMT

His finger was deformed; lifting his shoulder was difficult and his hands were swollen like a boxer's from trying to get the fighting dogs off his chest. My friend, a military veteran, recounted how he tried to save an old Border Collie from death at the jaws of a trained killer.

My friend, who is a very large fellow, told me that he saw a man release a pit bull dog from a call with instructions to attack the collie. The Pit Bull got its teeth into the collie's neck and was trying to sever the wind pipe. My friend tired to wrestle the dogs apart. When the pit bull released its jaws' grip for a moment to spit out its victim's fur, my friend tried to jam his balled up shirt into its mouth, since punching at the attacking animal seemed to do no good. As he lay on the ground with the two dogs on top of him, the rescuer nearly had his ring finger chewed off by the pit bull. His arthritic right shoulder sustained a torn rotator cuff injury and his blood pressure and distress could itself have been fatal.

Law enforcement officers informed him that there are people in the Baltimore area who train these dogs to attack other canines for "sport." That this pit bull bypassed the people and went right for the aged border collie supports this contention. In addition, when the police went looking for the attacking animal's tetanus shot records, they found out that the owner and trainer had had their pit bulls treated for similar attack injuries at the same veterinarian's office ! Everyone at the Herndon Law firm ABRAMS LANDAU hopes that the trainers and owners of these vicious animals are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The injury and mayhem these "sport attack pit bulls" cause residents of Baltimore, Maryland and elsewhere are inexcusable in any decent society. Perhaps the combination of criminal prosecution and civil action for all of the harms and losses caused by these Defendants' unsafe decisions will reduce the number and severity of these Maryland dog attack incidents. I also hope my heroic friend's injuries heal quickly and completely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau