Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

Black Friday has been known for being a day of pure chaos for decades now. Tens of thousands if not more flock to stores during the early morning hours of the day after Thanksgiving in an effort to score the best deals on the best products before they’re gone. Dangerous stampedes of people and altercations are often common as customers compete for products and potential holiday gifts that are in limited supply. The “Shopping Holiday” is seen by many as a spirited one in which one can begin their joyous holiday season by shopping for the perfect gifts, however, in recent years the day was become a dark one as several violent and careless shoppers have caused injury and to fellow shoppers.

Black Friday 2011 was a particularly deadly one. Dozens of people in the Philadelphia area and across the country suffered injury and some even lost their lives during the day’s events. About 20 customers including children suffered minor injuries at a Los Angeles Walmart after they were pepper sprayed by a fellow shopper. Police are still searching for the sprayer who was vying for a discounted X-Box and video games and attempting to deter other shoppers away. In Arizona a man was reportedly pushed around and injured by police after putting video games into his belt loop. Police thought Newman was attempting to steal the video games, but it was later discovered that he was just trying to free his hands so that he could lift his young grandson above the stampeding crowd.

The above are just a few of the many injuries that that occurred around the country and during this year’s Black Friday events. During the last decade, hundreds of store customers have suffered severe injuries during the holiday. If you or a loved one has been injured in the Philadelphia area or anywhere in New Jersey, we advise you to contact an expert Philadelphia injury lawyer today.

As highlighted in a recent MSNBC report, Boston based watchdog group World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H) has just released its annual report on the ten most dangerous children’s toys in an effort to protect Philadelphia children and children around the world this holiday season. The group has been publishing the list each year since 1973 and has also been instrumental in eventually getting several dangerous children’s products removed from store shelves.

The toys on the current list are all still available on retailer shelves throughout the country and can be found in both national chains and independent shops alike. Parents should beware of these products and any dangerous products while holiday shopping, since, although the toys on the list have not yet been recalled, they could still be potentially harmful.

W.A.T.C.H. places toys on the list that stood out when it came to hazards for choking, electrocution, and puncture wounds. Some of the toys on the this year's list pose obvious hazards, such as the Z Curve bow and arrow set which can actually be used as a weapon, while the dangers others present are more elusive. For instance, parents may not even realize that the Schylling mini school bus featured on the “watch list” could be harmful until they bring it home to find that the small wheels can easily come off presenting a choking hazard.

Consumer products safety commission reports that in 09 about 250,000 toy related injuries were treated in US hospital emergency rooms and there have been at least 28 toy recalls representing 3.8 million units in the United States in the past year alone according to Joan Siff, president of Watch. If your child has been harmed by a dangerous product or toy, contact an expert Philadelphia injury lawyer as soon as possible in order to ensure that his or her rights are protected.

Four Pharmaceutical executives are scheduled to stand before a judge in Philadelphia this Monday regarding their part in a wrongful death case that claimed the life of three elderly victims between the years of 2003 and 2004. Michael D. Huggins, Thomas B. Higgins, Richard E. Bohner, and John J. Wash, formers executives of Synthes Inc. have been charged with violating a “responsible corporate officer doctrine” after having knowingly promoted the use of a potentially dangerous product.

Synthes Inc., who operates out of West Chester, PA, is a medical device company whose corporate operations are headed up overseas in Switzerland. A subsidiary of the firm began producing the bone cements SRS and XR, which were created to fill the gaps in the vertebrae of millions of older people, in the early 2000’s with the hopes of selling it to hospitals worldwide.

Synthes actually began testing the products in hospitals during a specific back procedure without prior approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human trial. The court found that patients were directly and proximately harmed by the conduct of the defendants and others at Synthes after they exposed patients to SRS and XR without their full informed consent without the FDA’s authorization. Three elderly patients died after exposure to the compounds. Although patient autopsies could not definitively confirm that SRS and XR compounds caused the deaths, they did reveal that all patients suffered a serious drop in blood pressure moments after the bone cement was injected into their vertebrae.

Each of the defendants has pleaded guilty and hopes for nothing more than probation but could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and $100,000 each in fines. The case is scheduled to be heard by Philadelphia Judge Lagrome D. Davis next week. If you live in the Philadelphia area or anywhere in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, contact expert injury lawyer Edith A. Pearce if you or your loved one has been injured in a products liability or medical malpractice case.

Another cast member of the seemingly ill-fated Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, has been injured in an accident that occurred while he was acting in the production. The accident marks the sixth report of an injury since the production began rehearsals just a little over a year ago. It has become all too common for actors in the 65 million dollar musical to suffer from slip and fall injuries as well as other types of injury and some say this means the most expensive production in Broadway history is also shaping up to be the most dangerous.

Authorities reported last week’s incident to have been a freak accident involving Matthew James Thomas, who plays Spiderman himself during Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Thomas was injured while waiting backstage to go back out for a scene on November 9th at The Foxwoods Theater. Details on the type of injury Thomas sustained and exactly what caused the injury have not yet been released but it is known that the actor was rushed to the hospital where he received several stitches.

The large number of accident reports during the productions relatively short run time has many authorities questioning the safety of the show’s premises. The department of Labor is currently investigating the production and the six accidents that caused its cast members to be rushed to hospitals with severe injury.

Hard working people are injured at their place of work all too often whether they work on the stage of a Broadway show like Spiderman: Turn off the Dark, on a construction site, or elsewhere. To protect your legal rights following a work related or slip and fall accident in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, it is wise to consult a personal injury law firm with experience in these matters as soon as possible.

According to researcher Rianne Ravensbergen, a PhD. candidate supervised by Dr. Victoria Claydon in the Cardiovascular Physiology Lab at Simon Fraser University, spinal cord injuries are key predictors of cardiovascular risk due to the possible damage they may cause to the autonomic nervous system. Ravensbergen recently presented her findings to the Canadian cardiovascular Congress 2011 which was co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, further explaining that heart disease is actually the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with spinal cord injuries.

Although people with decreased mobility are often are less active than much of the population, she explains that lack of exercise alone is not the issue. Instead, abnormal control of the heart and blood vessels can be caused simply because the autonomic nerves are damaged. Findings have shown that people with spinal cord injury who are still able to maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle still suffer from many cardiovascular conditions.

Ravensbergen’s study assessed 20 people with spinal cord injuries and 12 able bodied controls to determine risk. Glucose tolerance, body mass index, body fat, and abdominal fat were all treated as risk factors. Those with spinal cord injuries were shown to have decreased glucose tolerance as well as increased total and abdominal fat. Spinal cord injury patients also had more problems with blood sugar. Many were in what Ravensbergen calls a pre-diabetic state, further elevating their risk of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease accounts for 30 percent of all deaths in Canada and accounts for a high number of deaths in the United States and Philadelphia as well. The recent studies indicate that there is a value in screening the autonomic system of spinal cord patients. Researchers will need to do further studies to determine the role specific autonomic nerves play and how to improve function to ultimately prevent heart disease in SCI patients.

Two deadly accidents involving public transportation took place in the Philadelphia area recently. The accidents claimed the lives of two Philadelphia area victims who were each struck by commuter trains. Each of the men lost their life after stumbling and falling on a train station platform.

The most recent incident involved a man who was struck and killed in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. The victim, who has not yet been identified, died immediately upon impact after falling onto tracks while trying to get to the Amtrak Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg train. Authorities say the man slipped and fell right into the path of the train at approximately 4 p.m. last Tuesday. Witnesses believe the victim to have been between 40 and 60 years old.

Tuesday’s accident did disrupt Septa service, forcing service on the Paoli-Thorndale Regional Rail line to be suspended for four hours, reopen for a few hours, and then to shut down again due to a related power outage. Service on the line was back to normal by early Wednesday morning. The accident is still under investigation and it is not yet known whether dangerous premises may have played a role in the victim’s fall.

Just a few days before Tuesday’s accident, another victim was killed near Trenton, New Jersey while attempting to exit a train platform. Another victim, who also remains unidentified, was struck by a Riverline car that was traveling northbound from Camden to Trenton at about 10:50 a.m. on October 28th. The Riverline struck the male passenger on the tracks at the Cass Street station according to NJT spokesman John Durso Jr. Riverline service from the Hamilton Avenue Station to the Bordentown station had to be shut down for a few hours following the accident.

Fortunately, no injuries to passengers who were riding on the train at the times of either accident were reported. Train accidents and other accidents on high risk premises are often deadly. If you're loved one has been injured on dangerous premises or in any other kind of accident, contact the experts at The Pearce Law Firm today.

Another victim has died after suffering severe injuries in a single car crash near the Philadelphia region this week. This time the victim was a 65-year-old man. Although the name of the man has not yet been released, authorities are certain about many of the details surrounding the accident.

The victim lost control of his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda on Del. 896 also known as Summit Bridge Road in Glasgow Delaware late Saturday afternoon. Sgt. Paul Savack told reporters that the crash occurred around 4:39 pm, about 400 feet north of Sweet Hollow Road. Police say the Barracuda rotated 90 degrees and veered off the right side of the road before eventually slamming into the pole.

The accident scene was a horrific one with the vehicle having split into three pieces and the engine block flying as much as 100 feet from the impact site. Both the vehicle and the utility pole were destroyed, and after being eventually thrown from the vehicle, the man was pronounced dead at the scene from his injuries.

The car accident occurred on a clear, seemingly ordinary day, just minutes after the victim’s family refueled his car and sent him off onto the road after he had run out of gas. The victim should have been safely on his way, but instead took off traveling at the high and dangerous speed that likely caused the accident. Although crashes like these often involve other innocent drivers, fortunately no other people were hurt.

Howell School Road near the area of the accident site was closed for three hours on Saturday while the crash was investigated and debris wear cleared. Please remember to drive safely and defensively, and if you or a loved one has been the victim of a car accident or the negligence of a reckless driver, contact an expert Philadelphia injury lawyer like Edith A. Pearce to get the compensation you deserve.

Another car crash occurred just hours away from the city of Philadelphia this week. Tragically, the crash proved to be a fatal one as its aftermath eventually claimed the life of the young driver involved. That driver died early Wednesday morning of the severe injuries he sustained in the late night accident.

The victim has been identified as 25-year-old Keith Baldwin of Laurel. Baldwin was driving his 1996 Chevrolet Blazer south on Gordy road near Whitesville road when the car accident occurred around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning. According to police Master Cpl. Jeffrey Hale, Baldwin’s vehicle veered out of control after his passenger side tires left the edge of the road.

Keith Baldwin attempted to gain control of the vehicle but failed, resulting in an overcorrection that caused his vehicle to violently spin across Gorgy road. The blazer eventually hit a ditch and continued into a field where it flipped over and rolled several times. The traumatic motion jarred Baldwin from his seat and throughout the vehicle. Baldwin was also eventually thrown from the vehicle, resulting in the severe injuries that would eventually claim his life. Authorities say Baldwin was not wearing a seatbelt when the accident occurred.

Although Baldwin was rushed to Peninsula regional Medical Center, he was pronounced dead at 1:40 am on Wednesday. The medical examiner’s office has stated that they will do an autopsy to see whether drugs, alcohol, or another unknown issue may have played a role in the Tuesday night crash.

Professional legal help is the best protection for the family of or the victim of a severe auto accident. Having worked for years for an automobile insurance company and for an accident defense firm, Edith A. Pearce uses her expert knowledge from inside the industry to win victims any compensation they deserve.

New developments were made this week in the Philadelphia medical malpractice and murder case that made headlines and chilled the entire nation last January. During that month, Kermit Gosnell, 70, of the Philadelphia area, was charged with first degree murder and several other felonies after an investigation revealed that he had been regularly overdosing patients with dangerous drugs and delivering full term healthy babies and then killing them by inflicting spinal cord injury. The former doctor Gosnell conducted these actions at The Women’s Medical Society of West Philadelphia at which he practiced for the last several years. Investigators have referred to the practice as a house of horrors, which catered to poor women, minorities, and immigrants, due to its grossly unsanitary conditions.

After last year’s investigation on Gosnell, 6 other staff members from The Women’s Medical Society of West Philadelphia were also charged with various felonies. Just last Thursday, two of those employees pleaded guilty to their charges. Adrienne Moton, 34, of Upper Darby PA and Sherry West, of Newark Delaware, each pleaded guilty of one count of third-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy, and one count of participating in a corrupt organization. West was also charged with delivery of a drug that caused wrongful death related to the 2009 death of a patient, 41 year old Karnamaya Monger, who prosecutors said died because of an overdose of a sedative.

Each of the employees may face upwards of a one hundred year sentence as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Sentencing is scheduled for December 2nd by Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner, but may occur later since the action, according to the judge, will be a clerical action to get a presentence investigation started for both women. On March 1st, prosecutors announced that they will seek the death penalty if Dr. Gosnell is convicted of any of the counts of first-degree murder filed against him.