Akron Personal Injury Lawyer

Wife Awarded $3 Million for Wrongful Death of Husband

Jenny Albano — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:03:41 GMT

This week, a Portage County jury awarded a mourning wife $3 million for her husband's wrongful death. Wanda Hizer received $2 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages after her husband, James Hizer, died at a Streetsboro steel-cutting company.

Hizer died while working the midnight shift alone in March 2005. He became trapped in one of the machines and suffocated. Hizer had recently been laid off from his previous job as a computer technician, but because he was 58 had a difficult time finding a new job. He took the job with Artisan Industries Inc. as a last resort to pay the bills.

While working the night shift Hizer was operating a laser cutting machine. When a sheet of steel becomes shifted in the machine a worker has to go inside the machine and straighten it.

It was while performing this task that Hizer became trapped, his chest pinned against a part of the machine. He died of compressional asphyxiation and was found that morning by co-workers; the crooked sheet of steel was still inside the machine. An attorney for Artisan's, Steve Chuparkoff, said the company has not decided whether to appeal the verdict.

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

Quong Hop & Co. Tofu Recall Expanded - Listeria Discovery

Courtney Mills — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:03:55 GMT

Quong Hop & Co. of San Francisco, California is expanding its recall of tofu products due to the discovery of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall has been expanded due to discovery of Listeria bacteria during sampling in three of the company's twenty-nine tofu product lines.

While Listeria may present only minor discomfort to healthy adults, children, the elderly, and immunosuppressed individuals can suffer severe and even fatal infections in some cases. Symptoms typical of a Listeria infection include fever, muscle pains, stiffness, and diarrhea.

Listeria can also cause serious problems such as stillbirths and miscarriages in pregnant women. According to the FDA, there have been no reports of any illness from Quong Hop & Co. tofu product.

For a list of the expanded recall, please see the FDA recall page.

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

Boy Saved After Plane Crash in Lake Erie, 2 Still Missing

Jenny Albano — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:18:12 GMT

A plane crashed on the night of September 3 into Lake Erie, near Kelley's Island in Ohio. The plane held a 46 year-old man and his two sons. When the plane crashed, one of the boys was able to escape and was rescued by Chuck Herndon, who was on the lake in his boat that night.

According to Herndon, the 7 year-old boy matter-of-factly stated, "'My father and my brother were killed in a plane crash", once he was pulled into the boat.

The boy's father and 9-year-old brother were still missing Tuesday, a day after their single-engine plane went down around 9:30 p.m., said Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier in Cleveland.

Local rescuers and divers searched the area where the plane the plane may have crashed, but nothing has been found. The names of the missing have not been released to the public.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Airlines, Cruises, Buses, and Other Mass transit Accidents.

Worker Killed in Casting Machine Accident

Jenny Albano — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:51:26 GMT

Matthew Salisbury, an employee of Brush Wellman Engineered Products, was crushed to death Sunday night in a casting machine. According to another employee, the machine broke down and Salisbury entered it to try and fix the problem. While he was trying to unclog the machine he became pinned and was crushed to death; another employee turned off the air compressor that powered the machinery, but it was too late. Salisbury was pronounced dead at the scene following the accident.

According to the medical examiner, he died of acute trauma and the injuries were "obvious and fatal".

According to Brush Wellman spokesman Patrick Carpenter, there have been no prior deaths since the factory at 7375 Industrial Parkway opened a decade ago. The factory produces specialty alloys used by other companies to make bearings and other components for commercial aircraft and parts used in oil rigs and underwater oil production.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo office said it will be investigating the accident.

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

Nokia Recalls 46 Million Cellphone Batteries for Overheating

Courtney Mills — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:41:07 GMT

The Nokia Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of cellular phones, announced on Tuesday that lithium-ion batteries in nearly 46 million phones would need to be recalled after reports of 100 incidents of overheating. There have been no injuries to date.

Nokia specified that the company's faulty BL-5C battery, a product of the Matsushita Battery Industrial Company, was placed in nearly 46 million units between the years December 2005 through November 2006 in over 50 different Nokia models, from the less advanced Nokia 1100 to the highly advanced N70.

The Matsushita batteries reportedly were manufactured in a Chinese factory. A Matsushita spokesman asserted that it was not a design flaw that led to the recall, but a "flaw in the manufacturing process" that was at the root of the problem.

There have been several reports of these lithium-ion batteries overheating in these phones during recharging. This recall comes directly on the heels of a major recall of Sony notebook computer batteries by Toshiba.

For more information on this subject matter, please review our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Recall on HoMedics Heating Pads

Jenny Albano — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:04:27 GMT

HoMedics Inc. and the FDA have announced that there is a voluntary recall of heating pads manufactured by the company. These products have been found to cause burns or fires.

Some of the heating pads contain an inadequate connector crimp, which can lead to a high resistance connection that may generate excessive heat.

This excess heat can inflict first degree burns on consumers, or can cause other items or the heating pad itself to catch fire. The FDA recommends that anyone who had the HoMedics heating pad should discontinue use of the product immediately.

Models numbers HP-100, HP-150, HP-200, HP-300, and HP-500, which all have a "01" on the hand control, are included in the recall. These models were available at Walgreens from 2001 and 2002.

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

Two Akron Residents Killed in Turnpike Vehicle Crash

Jack Landskroner — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:29:28 GMT

Two Akron residents were killed Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash on the Ohio Turnpike in Brecksville. According to police reports both vehicles were in the middle lane going eastbound when the car and truck collided.

Naushad M. Khimji, 55, and his passenger, Fatema N. Khimji, 22, died when their 1992 Honda Accord collided with a semi-truck just before 3:30 p.m.

The driver of the truck suffered only minor injuries. All parties were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

The accident is under investigation by the Highway Patrol.

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

Two Akron Residents Killed in Turnpike Vehicle Crash(2)

Jack Landskroner — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:29:28 GMT

Naushad M. Khimji, 55, and his passenger, Fatema N. Khimji, 22, died when their 1992 Honda Accord collided with a semi-truck just before 3:30 p.m.

The driver of the truck suffered only minor injuries. All parties were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

The accident is under investigation by the Highway Patrol.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section Automobile and Motorcycle Vehicles.

Common Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Released to Encourage Women to Seek Medical Care

Rebecca Castell — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:38:00 GMT

The New York Times today reports that Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Cancer Society has recommended that women experiencing certain symptoms associated with ovarian cancer follow up with a doctor for exam in the hopes to increase early detection.

Not all women experience early symptoms, but an early diagnosis results in a 93% chance of survival 5 years out.

The symptoms to watch out for are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate. A woman who has any of those problems nearly every day for more than two or three weeks is advised to see a gynecologist, especially if the symptoms are new and quite different from her usual state of health

In light of the high success rate after early detection, women are encouraged to report these symptoms. The hope is that by publicizing the link between these symptoms and cancer, which can spread quickly if left undiagnosed even for a few months, doctors and patients will become more aware of the signs of cancer and an earlier diagnosis will be made.

Stricter Warnings Needed for Diabetes Drugs

Rebecca Castell — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:59:57 GMT

This week, the F.D.A. commissioner announced a decision requiring stricter warnings on labels for Avandia and Actos, two oral medications for diabetes. After a year long review, the FDA determined that the Avandia"can potentially cause heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems" and Actos, a competitor, carries a risk of heart failure.

Today's New York Times reports that

{i]n a written statement, the commissioner, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, said the agency has asked the makers of Actos and Avandia to carry the more prominent warning, a so-called black box warning, of its heart risks because "despite existing warnings, these drugs were being prescribed to patients with significant heart failure."

While the hearings themselves were fraught with conflict and accusations of what risks were known by the drug companies and when those risks were discovered, consumers and doctors are more aware of the potential complications from these two drugs.