- Steve Lombardi | November 30, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsCriminal Law Problem - Are you concerned about driving after having a couple of drinks? Concerned about the embarrassment and hassles associated with being arrested for OWI? Just don't want to deal with the hassle of an OWI stop or worse yet an arrest? The State of Iowa estimates costs to be around $5,000.00 for a first OWI stop.Civil Law Problem - How about the costs associated with driving...
- Steve Lombardi | November 29, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Head & Brain InjuriesAs a young boy if I asked too many questions my mother would say, "Go fly a kite!" Meaning, go find something else to do besides pester me. Can't you see I need to do my housework? Like the advice to eat eggs every morning I'm now finding out that advice if literally followed could kill me.The CPSC has issued a warning concerning certain kites. The manufacturer, Sportsstuff, Inc., of Omaha,...
- Steve Lombardi | November 28, 2007 12:00 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe pregnancy category for Myfortic has been changed to Category D (Positive evidence of fetal risk). Novartis and the FDA are warning about use of Myfortic by pregnant women. The pregnancy category for Myfortic has been changed to Category D (Positive evidence of fetal risk). Novartis and FDA informed healthcare professionals and patients that use of Myfortic Delayed Release Tablets during...
- Steve Lombardi | November 28, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The CPSC has issued a warning about certain Lane Company chests that self-lock. If the chest was purchased prior to 1987 you may very well have a problem. From 1912 to 1987 12 million chests were sold that when closed can automatically latch. Young children playing inside can become trapped and suffocate. Between 1977 and 1994, six children suffocated inside Lane cedar chests manufactured with...
- Steve Lombardi | November 27, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Head & Brain InjuriesThe Problem - You move into an older home, maybe in rural Iowa, it's and old farm house, and you aren't sure if your young children can get lead poisoning from the old paint. Be forewarned that if you live in a home built before 1950 your home probably has lead-based paint. Most of Iowa's pre-1950 homes contain lead-based paint. Young children who live in pre-1950 homes become lead-poisoned...
- Steve Lombardi | November 24, 2007 12:00 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsIf a doctor prescribes a defective drug for you that causes you an adverse reaction, the drug companies try to get out of it saying it's up the doctor to warn his patient of the risks. Understand the adverse reaction can be death or a stroke that leaves the patient unable to work. These are serious side effects I'm talking about not a simple transient head ache. Doctor's don't always know the...
- Steve Lombardi | November 23, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesIf we can reduce worker on-the-job injuries everyone benefits. In Missouri MoDot came up with a safety program that the Iowa DOT should examine. Since January 2006, MoDOT has worked to change the tasks that were causing the most employee injuries by either making different purchases or modifying the work process, like buying 48-pound bags of concrete that are easier to lift and carry instead of...
- Steve Lombardi | November 22, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsNext time you walk into the voting booth think twice about the wrong kind of tort reform. You're harmed more by tainted food that is voluntarily regulated then you ever could be by an injured person suing an insurance company for reasonable compensation. Look squarely at what is going on in California and you'll see what I mean.The regulations governing farms in this central California region...
- Steve Lombardi | November 21, 2007 9:09 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe FDA is warning of suicidal ideation, agressive and erratic behavior in patients taking Chantix.The FDA is warning of suicidal ideation, aggressive and erratic behavior in patients taking Chantix. Chantix is a drug that helps you stop smoking. Drowsiness is also a side effect. Operating machinery or being around pinch point machinery is a serious problem.A preliminary assessment reveals that...
- Steve Lombardi | November 21, 2007 7:05 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeWe are all just one accident away from being a victim of tort deform.How do thirteen patients accidentally get a multiple doses of a drug as is prescribed? How do twin infants get 1000 times the required dosage? That is exactly what happened at Cedars Medical Center in Los Angeles to the Quaid twins. Sources tell us the twins -- Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace -- were accidentally given a massive...
- Steve Lombardi | November 21, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsWhen a bicycle rider is struck and killed by a hit-n-run driver is there a possibility for the family to recover reasonable compensation? The answer is yes. It depends on whether the bicycle rider had auto insurance and did the auto insurance provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. I see reports from time-to-time of such collisions and I often wonder if the families realize they...
- Steve Lombardi | November 20, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Tractor-Trailer AccidentsTwo truckers didn't win out on Cleveland Road, just east of the I-80 interchange as they crashed causing one of Henry County's busiest roads to be shut down for more than one hour. The semi ended up on its side and in someone's yard. That driver walked away from the collision. The truck driver wasn't so lucky and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Jaws of Life had to be used. I've previously...
- Steve Lombardi | November 19, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe Ames Tribune reported on a car crash involving three very young people. The driver was 14 years old and the passengers 12 and 15, all from rural Iowa. The Story County Sheriff's Office reported that the driver lost control of the car after falling asleep at the wheel. The collision occurred about 2:05 a.m. early on a Sunday morning.All drivers, no matter how inexperienced have the same...
- Steve Lombardi | November 18, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesA truck driver hauling a load of dirt was heading east on Vandalia Road when the truck crossed the center line striking a bridge support resulting in his death. This situation probably demonstrates what most people don't understand about workers' compensation claims; that fault has nothing to do with whether or not the widow is entitled to benefits. So long as alcohol is not a factor there would...
- Steve Lombardi | November 18, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesBack on December 14, 2006 Radio Iowa reported on a worker killed at a construction site in Atkins. The name had not yet been released but it was reported by deputies he died after being hit by a piece of earth-moving equipment. What is important about this claim is that the relatives or attorney who represents them realizes there are two potential causes of action to pursue. One is a workers'...
- Steve Lombardi | November 17, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsOn Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Jason Pillard, just 38 years of age died when his pickup truck crossed the center line and struck a 1991 Honda Civic traveling north. The occupants of that car, Bradley Deshaw of Oxford Junction and Tammy Deshaw, a passenger were taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. This is the type of car or truck accident that will raise causation questions for years to...
- Steve Lombardi | November 17, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesA Carter Lake man, Robert Bates III was reported by the Omaha World-Herald to have been shot shortly after 10 P.M. last Thursday night at the Jump Start Conoco Station where he worked as a clerk. I have blogged about this type of claim previously. On August 22, 2007 I wrote about the Tama hotel clerk who was shot. This can be a viable claim for life time benefits to the widow or for a lesser...
- Steve Lombardi | November 17, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Lehigh man died while riding as a passenger in a pickup truck sometime around 10:00 P.M. on November 15, 2007. Darwin Reverts was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver allegedly lost control before striking a tree. Charges have not been filed. Blood alcohol test results are pending. Alcohol may or may not have been a factor. Reverts was only forty-one years of age. There is no indication if...
- Steve Lombardi | November 16, 2007 9:30 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA young man who moved from Michigan to southeast Iowa died after being struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle to work. The young man is Douglas Kenney who was just 21 years old. He had moved in with his grandparents to work and save money so he could attend college. He was struck from behind by a pickup truck being driven by a 61 year old man.It's being alleged that the sun had...
- Steve Lombardi | November 16, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Head & Brain InjuriesSometimes they call it a head injury and other times a brain injury but to the person suffering from the effects it's no joke. Learning to live with a brain injury is perhaps the hardest thing anyone can ever hope to achieve. With 26 years of practicing personal injury law I've seen more than my share of cases where we have a brain injury. The older you get the harder it is to adjust to....
- Steve Lombardi | November 15, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathDid you know that in Iowa if a person gets drunk at a bar, then drives and causes another person's injuries or death that the bar's insurance has to pay? Yes they do. We handle many of these cases. Don't ever think that if the bar's insurance company approaches you directly that you don't need an attorney to represent you. You do. So protect yourself and hire experienced legal representation.
- Steve Lombardi | November 14, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsHere is a case from which both operators and a property owner can learn a lesson. On September 21, 2007 in Sioux County a collision took place between a semi-truck and a Honda. It occurred at the intersections of Fir Avenue and 480th Street. The drivers are reported as Marvin Cardona and Edwin Beitelspacher. The driver of the Honda was charged with a failure to yield to vehicle on the right in...
- Steve Lombardi | November 13, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathThe Sioux City Journal reported that when a Sioux City man drove his boat while intoxicated the Court found him guilty of violating the law and causing a death. The accident happened on July 22, 2006 when the boat struck a wing dike flipping the boat and a passenger apparently drowned. Drunken driving laws apply equally to boat operation. The average cost of an OWI offense increases with the...
- Steve Lombardi | November 12, 2007 8:34 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsIs our government's focus on this world economy turning the U.S. into a second rate market? The latest recall, Release #08-074 by the Consumer Products Safety Commission) again shows that Chinese manufacturers are dumping second-rate toys into our economy. Aqua Dots are a "toy" that when water is added fuse together. Children who have swallowed them needed hospitalization after becoming...
- Steve Lombardi | November 12, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesThe Job Safety Handbook covers just this sort of work and provides specific examples of what not to do. Trench boxes can be rented and used on-site making this type of injury less likely to ever occur. Trench safety equipment may include hydraulic vertical shores, multi-shores, horizontal waler systems, lightweight aluminum shields, modular aluminum boxes, trench shields and slide rails are a...
- Steve Lombardi | November 10, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Tractor-Trailer AccidentsIn Iowa its fall and that means crops coming out of the fields and being delivered to elevators. It also means an increase in collisions and deaths. State officials warn all drivers on the roads to be more aware of farm equipment, to slow it down, to watch closely as you top a hill and to look on each side towards fields and gates to see equipment coming out or going in. Stay back from slow...
- Steve Lombardi | November 09, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathIt had been previously reported that Diane Terwey, 56 years of age was killed at about 5 P.M. on Wednesday after the pickup truck in which she was a passenger collided with a semi-truck in the northbound lane of I-35. The impact was severe enough to dismember the passenger side door of the pickup truck and embed it into the cab of the semi.Hon initially said, after interviewing one witness, that...
- Steve Lombardi | November 07, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathTractors being used on the highway or in the field can cause serious injury or death when the load shifts. Operators are always responsible for making sure the loads are secure before they begin moving. That aside there is other considerations of which every operator should be aware.In Appanoose County, Iowa such an incident resulted in the death of an operator. It is important to note that...
- Steve Lombardi | November 07, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathOn October 29, 2007 in the middle of the afternoon a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck failed to yield from a stop sign causing a collision with a Ford Escort. The Ford appears to have been t-boned causing the death of the driver, a woman from Kirksville, Missouri. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts and shoulder harnesses. In this instance it did not save the life of Mrs. Jenkins who was...
- Steve Lombardi | November 06, 2007 2:00 PM |
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Wrongful DeathThere was a crash in Mitchell County near the town of Osage that occurred on November 2, 2007. This to-the-rear-end near-collision is one that illustrates how the driver in the front can be considered negligent. Iowa being a comparative fault state there is probably fault to be attributed to both drivers but let's examine how this can be so to the front vehicle. Normally we would blame fault on...
- Steve Lombardi | November 06, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsWe just recently wrote about a crib recall and why it can cause injury or death to infants. This is not something new in product recalls. New parents need to especially be aware of how seemingly benign products can be dangerous to their infants. All new mothers and fathers should spend some time at the CPSC site browsing the recall notices for infant products to see how they can be dangerous....
- Steve Lombardi | November 05, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Wrongful DeathCrawford County Supervisors are settling the claim resulting from the death of a cyclist (Kirk Ullrich of Davenport). The rider was thrown from his bike when a bicycle tire stuck in a lock joint in the middle of county road E-16 west of Schleswig. The claim was for a failure to inspect the roadway and to warn riders of the defect in the road.These are very difficult claims to win. A failure to...
- Steve Lombardi | November 04, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Did you know that soccer goals can cause serious injury or death? There is a tipping risk with soccer goals that all coaches and parents need to recognize. Protect your children, be aware and be safe. Being a former soccer coach and working as a civil trial attorney has made me acutely aware of risks inherent in soccer. Probably more than I'd like to admit too. One such risk is easily...
- Steve Lombardi | November 03, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsOne has to wonder if the increase in contaminated food products isn't somehow related to low wages paid to workers as a result of foreign competition. Perhaps the lesson is that some products, like food, can't be imported from a foreign industry that is used to lax standards with bribery in the enforcement chain an accepted practice. The number of recalls begs several questions that equally beg...
- Steve Lombardi | November 02, 2007 12:00 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesV. Food For Thought I've settled two cases whereby traditional notions of the going and coming rule should have precluded the office from taking the case. The first involved an exotic dancer who was involved in a serious car accident on her way home from "work" after consuming alcohol on the work premises during and between her stage routine. The other involved an over-the-road truck driver,...
- Steve Lombardi | November 01, 2007 12:06 AM |
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Workplace InjuriesM. Medical Treatment Exception. I haven't been able to find an Iowa case that applies the principles underlying this exception. It is my opinion the Iowa Court will follow the leading case law as set out in the Minnesota cases. There are several from other jurisdictions. The state with the most applicable case law is Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court decided that the wife and children...