- Steve Lombardi | October 31, 2007 8:29 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsChris Riley of Colfax was driving along eastbound on Highway F48 probably minding his own business when a Chevrolet Caprice crossed the center line hitting him head on. So it was reported on October 30, 2007 by the Newton Daily News. It happened in mid-afternoon so one has to wonder what Deborah Sweetman was doing in her car that allowed it to drift across the center line. Sweetman then...
- Steve Lombardi | October 31, 2007 12:04 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesL. Lunch Break Exception. The basic rule, is that the journey to and from meals on the premises of the employer is in the course of employment. Conversely, when the employee with a fixed time and place of work has left the premises for lunch, he is outside of the course of his employment if he falls, is struck by an automobile crossing the street, or is otherwise injured. 1 Larson, Workmen's...
- Steve Lombardi | October 30, 2007 6:24 PM |
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MiscellaneousLook at the statistics coming out of a consumer advocacy study that analyzed 34,000 cases tried between January 2003 and March 2007. If by the time you get down to the bottom you don't have a massive migraine then there is a good chance you work either for a cell phone, credit card or automobile company that sells crappy products to consumers and is used to hiding the fine print of those...
- Steve Lombardi | October 30, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesK. The Social Function Exception. Most courts which have addressed the issue hold that when an injury occurs while an employee is traveling to or from a social function which occurs somewhere other than the workplace, compensability depends on the extent to which the function is employment-related. 1 A. Larson, Workmen's Compensation sec 22.21, at 5-81 (1978) and ALR 3d 571 (1973). Cited in...
- Steve Lombardi | October 29, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesJ. Divided Premises Exception. Similarly, travel between two separate premises of an employer which results in an injury enroute is held to be covered under a "divided premises" exception. Thus, an employer may be liable if it operates as a parking lot and an employee is injured between the lot and his work site. (Citing Larson.) Occasionally, even the situs of an injury has been deemed the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 28, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesI. Zone Of Danger Exception. The course of employment may be extended beyond the premises if the off-premises conditions are risks of the employment. Whenever the hazards of the employment spill over the boundary-line and injure a worker on his or her way to or from work, those injuries should be compensable. 1 Larson, Sec. 15.31. When an employee's intoxication arose out of and in the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 27, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesH. Transportation Necessity Exception. In Medical Associates Clinic, P.C. v First National Bank Of Dubuque, 440 N.W. 2d 374 (Iowa 1989) we see the facts that probably have the most application to any employee whose employment requires them to use their own car, truck or plane. I believe it's very simply put, if you need your car for errands during the work day, then the going and coming rule...
- Steve Lombardi | October 26, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesG. Zone Of Protection Exception. Although this exception is discussed as a separate and distinct concept, I believe it is part of the extension of premises exception discussed in Frost v S.S. Kresge Co., 299 N.W.2d 646 (Iowa 1980). Mildred Frost suffered injury when she fell on an icy public sidewalk approximately 12-20 feet from the only store entrance available to employees, and therefore an...
- Steve Lombardi | October 25, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesF. Special Hazards Theory Exception. This theory is discussed in Frost v S.S.Kresge Co., 299 N.W.2d 646, 649 (Iowa 1980). It can also be described as the "divided premises" exception. Id. at 649. Under this "exception it is held that any "special hazards" of an employee's route become hazards of the employment where an injury occurs on the only available route to reach the premises. 1 A....
- Steve Lombardi | October 24, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesE. Extension Of Premises Exception. If the site of the injury is closely related in time, location and employee usage, to the work premises; and, the employer has exercised control over the site of the injury, the extension of premises exception may apply. In Frost v. S.S. Kresge Co., 299 N.W.2d 646(Iowa 1980) Mrs. Frost was dropped off by her husband just outside the front entrance to work. ...
- Steve Lombardi | October 23, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesD. No Fixed Site Of Employment Exception. This exception usually arises with travelling salesmen or over-the-road truck drivers. This is really a no brainer. See Lawyer & Higgs, Iowa Workers' Compensation, Law and Practice, sec. 6-15 (1991). The Iowa Supreme Court cites Katz v. A. Kadans & Co.,232 N.Y. 420, 134 N.E. 330, 23 ALR 401 in Otto v. Independent School Dist.,23 N.W.2d 915, 916...
- Steve Lombardi | October 22, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesC. Employer's Assumed Obligation Exception. If the employer assumes responsibility to furnish transportation to and from the job site the going and coming rule will not prevent an injury from being compensable. In Pribyl v. Standard Elec. Co., 67 N.W. 2d 438 (Iowa 1954) the claimant was traveling to a job site in his own vehicle, under his own control, being paid eight cents per mile for a...
- Steve Lombardi | October 21, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesB. Dual Purpose Exception. This exception is closely related to the special errand exception. Under this exception, the worker makes a trip which combines a non-compensable (personal) purpose with a special errand for the employer. See Folay v. Keister Lumber Co., 175 N.W. 2d 385 (Iowa 1970); Allen V. Allen (Arb. Descn., 941868) In McMullin v Department Of Revenue, 437 N.W. 2d 596 (Iowa...
- Steve Lombardi | October 20, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesA. Special Errand Rule Exception. This exception addresses those instances where a worker performs a duty not usually considered to be among those of the worker's regular employment, provided it is performed at the direction of the employer or demanded by the business. Otto v Independent School Dist., 237 Iowa 991, 23 N.W. 2d 915 (1946); Chia v. Quaker Oats (App. Descn. May 1994). This may...
- Steve Lombardi | October 19, 2007 10:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathThat settlement cost each citizen less than half of a tank of gas. It cost each citizen of Crawford County less than $20.66 each. If the Crawford County Supervisors were more concerned with properly managing their government they and the businessmen and women of Crawford County who were making money would have purchased insurance to cover the potential liability. Seems to me they are blaming the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 19, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesIt's called the going and coming rule. It's about being covered under workers' compensation when driving to or going home from work. Some trips are and some aren't. What's the difference? It's as easy as answering the following question. Does your job require you to have a car and to use it during the work day to further your employer's business? If yes, then you're probably covered. If not,...
- Steve Lombardi | October 18, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile Accidents... or so that is what we are being lead to believe. Yesterday I wrote about China's 2,000 unlicensed manufacturing plants and the 1,202 drug and medical instrument companies that had their licenses revoked. China is just one example of the end stages of tort deform. Russia is another example but in tort reforming the purpose is always the same, to remove consequences from the tortfeasor, the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 17, 2007 1:34 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeIt's about time the blue suits running your hospital took a back seat to the doctors who know about health. If you were a patient in a hospital and the hospital staff knew that other patients had contracted an infectious disease called MRSA, before you checked in would you want to be warned about what you could do to protect yourself? MRSA, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is an...
- Steve Lombardi | October 17, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsFive patients died and the medical device maker Medtronics Inc. suspended sales of the electrical lead wires that connects the hearts of over 235,000 patients to defibrillators already implanted in their chests. The wire, called a lead, is prone to fracturing within patients' blood vessels and erroneously dispatching a massive electrical jolt, the Minneapolis company said. This jolt can be...
- Steve Lombardi | October 17, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsDriving a car or truck or motorcycle and passing another vehicle go hand in hand. But, passing is a somewhat risky maneuver that can be complicated by several factors. Improper judgment by the driver when executing a pass can have serious consequences. In this case, one person died and five went to the hospital. This appears to have all the makings of operator error in exercising poor judgment...
- Steve Lombardi | October 16, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe Composix Kugel Mesh Patch was removed from the U.S. market on December 22, 2005. The Composix Kugel Mesh Patch is used for ventral or incisional hernias and is manufactured by Davol, Inc., a division of C.R. Bard. The device was recalled because the "memory recoil ring," which opens the patch after it has been inserted into the intra-abdominal space, can break. If you've had this type of...
- Steve Lombardi | October 15, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesChina has shut 2,000 unlicensed factories in the 19 days since it began a campaign against unsafe food and products, the country's top quality regulator said. Inspectors also revoked the licenses of 1,202 drug and medical instrument companies, Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said in a statement. More than 300 toymakers had...
- Steve Lombardi | October 13, 2007 6:16 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsIt's time to pick her up and you're wearing a really expensive outfit, clean shaven, hair gelled and oh man you have got it on! You pull up in front of the loft to pick her up. Out she strolls in those heels you love and you think; Wow! She looks really sexy with that shade of lipstick she's wearing. It goes so well with her hair color. But wait! Before you kiss her ask what brand of lipstick...
- Steve Lombardi | October 12, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsIf you ride a bike and are not ready to strap on a helmet you better get ready to, if the NTSB has it's way. On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board voted unanimously to recommend that every state create and enforce mandatory helmet laws for motorcycle riders and passengers."Since 1997 to 2007 the fatality rate has doubled and the simple act of donning that helmet will begin that...
- Steve Lombardi | October 11, 2007 10:52 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsWhat possible reason can the Iowa State Patrol offer for why the report of the Obama campaign vehicle with Mrs. Obama in the vehicle that crashed with the motorcyclist isn't yet filed? Why is it people are blaming the motorcyclist even before there is an official report as to why the driver of the campaign vehicle didn't see the motorcyclist? And why is it taking this long to produce even a...
- Steve Lombardi | October 11, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsThe Sheriff of Boone County reported on a motorcycle-dirt bike crash on D Avenue occurring on Saturday, September 8, 2007. 3:31 p.m.: A motorcycle/dirtbike accident occurred near Perry. Robert Johnson, 54, Perry, was southbound on D Avenue and attempted to pass a dirt bike operated by Cole Mayhush, 11, Perry, who at the same time was making an unsignaled lefthand turn. Mayhush was struck by the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 10, 2007 12:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe last of this five part series focuses on pool and spa drains. From 2002-20004 there were 15 injuries and 2 fatalities. The suction from a pool drain can be so powerful that it can hold an adult under water, but most incidents involve children. The body can become sealed against the drain or hair can be pulled in and tangled. Missing or broken drain covers are a major reason many entrapment...
- Steve Lombardi | October 09, 2007 10:34 PM |
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MiscellaneousAlmost as good as watching the Red Sox win is watching the Yankees lose. Oh okay, you could say I'm a Red Sox fan. I did enjoy Johnny Demon running down the fly ball driven almost to the wall; man he can still run; right for the dollars. If only he had stayed loyal, oh well Johnny, money doe$n't buy common $en$e. And what's with all that talk about firing Joe Torres, come on Slimebrenner, it...
- Steve Lombardi | October 09, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsI read about a collision in Boon County where a horse and a car collided on Highway 30 at the intersection of 222nd Drive. Although the young driver is mentioned by name, (Clemens) as is the passenger (Coghlan) there is no mention of why the horse was in traffic. I can't tell if it was being ridden or was loose in traffic. I guess one could say the car being a Mercury Cougar, there was a...
- Steve Lombardi | October 08, 2007 12:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe fourth hidden danger in the home is associated with window treatments. Windows and Coverings. On average each year there are 9 deaths and an estimated 3,700 injuries to children from window falls. Children can strangle on window drapery and blind cords that can form a loop. Parents can prevent injuries by using cordless blinds or keep cords and chains permanently out of the reach of...
- Steve Lombardi | October 07, 2007 12:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousTip-overs are the number three hidden home hazard. No one said these would be hard to identify or very esoteric for that matter. Yes simple tip-overs.Average of 22 deaths per year; 31 in 2006 and an estimated 3,000 injuries. Furniture, TVs and ranges can tip over and crush young children. Deaths and injuries occur when children climb onto, fall against or pull themselves up on television...
- Steve Lombardi | October 06, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)This one is simple, knowing what products have been recalled. Each year, 33.1 million people are injured by consumer products in the home. Some hazards are from products the Agency has warned about for years; others come from new products and technologies. "The home is where people feel comfortable and secure, but constant awareness is the key to keeping families safe," said Acting Chairman...
- Steve Lombardi | October 05, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesIf you break your leg it's clear you have an injury and when it occurred. But what if your job requires you to reptitively trim meat? Doing that job might bother your hands, wrists and forearms but not enough that you have to stop. And the more you do it the easier it seems to become. But one day you notice a nagging ache, pain, stiffness and swelling that over time gets worse. And at night pain...
- Steve Lombardi | October 04, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The Consumer Products Safety Commission has published in Release #07-256 the Top Five Hidden Home Hazards. The number 1 product causing safety concerns are magnets.#1Magnets - Since 2005 there have been 1 death and 86 injuries. Eight million magnetic toys have been recalled.Today's rare-earth magnets can be very small and powerful making them popular in toys, building sets, and jewelry. As the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 03, 2007 10:13 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsRunning a red light or not stopping for a stop sign is something people do that has always baffled me. It must be like shoplifting; once you start it's hard to stop wanting to feel the thrill of the moment. Some maybe accidental like if a tree limb is hiding the warning sign or light. But far too many appear to be questionable judgment on the part of the driver. Of course the consequences of not...
- Steve Lombardi | October 03, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe Iowa State Patrol reported that a bicyclist was rear-ended by Hagen on Highway 105 near Dogwood Avenue in Worth County. Each was westbound on highway 105. Elderly drivers need to make sure their vision isn't deteriorating and that their senses are working well enough to safely operate a car. I've got such a case out of Leon, Iowa where my client was backed into as she walked across the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 03, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsCollisions with uninsured drivers require you to protect yourself and those in your car that are injured. The Iowa State Patrol reported about a two vehicle collision in Webster County on 160th Street and Quail Avenue. This is the same kind of crash as previously reported on involving a failure of the car to the left failing to yield the right-of-way. What makes it different is that Thoden did...
- Steve Lombardi | October 02, 2007 2:15 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsDriving while the sun is in your eyes making it impossible to see what is in front of you, most of the time is a civil wrong. Just because a driver isn't given a ticket (citation for violating the law) doesn't mean they aren't negligent. In other words a driver can still be sued in civil court even though the police officer didn't issue a ticket. On November 19, 2007 I'll post about falling...
- Steve Lombardi | October 02, 2007 10:23 AM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsIn 2006 57 Iowans were killed while riding on a motorcycle. Any tip about how to avoid collisions has to be a good thing. They say 2/3rds of the crashes nationwide are from operator error. I'm not sure how they define operator error. So here is the tip, leave your head light on at all times when riding and have installed a motorcycle headlight modulator that will change the lamps intensity while...
- Steve Lombardi | October 02, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathIt was reported by the Iowa State Patrol that both alcohol and speed were two factors that caused the Thomas car to crash into the motor home in the emergency lane on September 15, 2007. The speed was estimated to be 87 miles per hour and blood alcohol, although below the legal limit, was apparently at a level that it was believed to have also contributed as a reason for the crash. Since the...
- Steve Lombardi | October 01, 2007 11:03 AM |
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Wrongful DeathThe Iowa State Patrol investigated an intersection collision at county Roads E66 and V18 near CHELSEA, Iowa on September 30, 2007 at 12:15. One driver was injured and the other killed. The one vehicle was westbound on E66 and the other northbound on V18. The northbound car failed to yield the right of way to the westbound one and they collided. Iowa law provides that when two vehicles enter an...
- Steve Lombardi | October 01, 2007 12:00 AM |
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MiscellaneousMany times our firm is called into to assist or to try the case as first chair. We are available to assist as requested. We don't take every referral but when the fit is right we jump at the opportunity to assist. Here's a practice tip that you can use. Listed below are some questions you can ask the dog's owner in a deposition. Then I suggest you submit the answers on the quiz and you may just...