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Fatal Car Accident - I91 Connecticut

James Sabatini — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:18:26 GMT

An accident on the northbound side of I-91 near Exit 24 has left at least one person dead, state police said.
Traffic has backed up on both sides of the highway. A flipped-over vehicle lies roof-down in the middle of the highway median, witnesses said.

Due to the death, the state has sent its accident reconstruction team to investigate how the car accident happened. The State of Connecticut performs an accident investigation that includes reconstruction of the accident whenever serious injury or death is involved.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Fatal Car Crash, I-84W in West Hartford Claims Life

James Sabatini — Tue, 30 May 2006 11:51:09 GMT

Over the weekend, a fatal car crash on Interstate 84 in the Town of West Hartford has taken one life and injured another. The driver of a car lost control around a curve, sailed over the grassy median and crashed into an oncoming car.

According to the Hartford Courant:

The eastbound traveling car flew over the median and crashed into a westbound car. The crash set off a four car collision resulting in the shutdown of I-84W for 2 1/2 hours.

The accident remains under investigation by the Connecticut State Police. No charges have been filed.

Read the full car accident article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Teen Drunk Driver Charged In Fatal Car Crash

James Sabatini — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:47:41 GMT

Police have charged 19-year-old Clinton resident Dennis Knapp with the death of a young Madison woman who was killed in a violent car crash early Saturday morning. Knapp, 19, of North High St., is charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol. He faces up to 10 years in prison on the manslaughter charge.
The police have not disclosed, and it is unknown if the police know, where and how the minor got the alcohol that he drank.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Fatal Connecticut Truck Accident Shuts Down I-95

James Sabatini — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 10:35:56 GMT

On Friday morning, a tanker truck collided into oncoming traffic on Interstate 95 -- killing three people, seriously injuring three others and shutting down the highway for the rest of the day.

Witnesses described seeing the tanker driving somewhat aggressively before barreling through the median into oncoming traffic. More than seven hours after the crash, the tanker remained on the highway, straddling the median.

State police shut down Interstate 95 in both directions near exit 75 and the East Lyme-Waterford line just after 10:15 a.m. on Friday, when the tanker struck a tractor-trailer and at least four cars and overturned. The truck was owned by a Connecticut company. Further details on why the truck went out of control should be forthcoming

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Tractor-Trailer Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

AMA Corrects Impairment Ratings Guide

James Sabatini — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:31:50 GMT

When the AMA published the Sixth Edition of its Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, it contained new language that restricted chiropractic evaluations to the spine only. The restriction drew sharp criticism from the American Chiropractic Association. In a letter to the AMA, the ACA questioned the legality of restrictive language related to evaluations by doctors of chiropractic and accused the AMA of violating the permanent Wilk injuction.

The AMA responded by issuing a correction. The Guide will state in relevant part that: "Impairment evaluation requires medical knowledge. Physicians duly recognized by an appropriate jurisdiction should perform such assessments within their applicable scope of practice and field of expertise." AMA will be mailing out the correction and future publication of the Guide will contain the corrective language. For all plaintiff's attorneys, any attempt by a defense lawyer during cross examination of a treating chiropractor who has testified as to a whole person impairment should do one of two things: 1) object to the cross examination on the grounds that the langauge being cited by the defense attorney from the Guide has been retracted and corrected; or 2) allow the questioning and then on re-direct present the fact that such language was subsequently corrected by the AMA. It is my opinion that the former is the better strategy.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Construction Worker Injured by Nail Gun Awarded $3.4 Million

Jenny Albano — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:31:56 GMT

A construction worker who was severely injured when a nail from a nail gun became embedded in his head was awarded $3.4 million from a Hartford, Connecticut jury.

Jerry Crutchfield, 51, of Hartford had sued toolmaker Stanley Works and Home Depot, which sold the nail gun, claiming they were partly liable for the injuries he sustained Feb. 3, 2003.

The jury stated that Crutchfield was 55% liable for his injuries because he was the one to fire the nail gun into metal instead of a wood surface. This action caused the nail to backfire at him. But nevertheless, the jury ordered Stanley Works and Home Depot to pay $3.4 million for their percentage of the liability. The two companies have not decided if they will appeal the verdict yet.

The assistant general counsel for Stanley disagrees with the verdict. He stated that the nail gun met industry standards and is used every day without injuries. Also, the case for the nail gun warns consumers to follow all instructions.

Crutchfield was doing carpentry in a church when the incident occurred. The 3 in. nail went through his cheek and into his brain, which has partially paralyzed him and causes him to have seizures.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Connecticut Motorcycle Accident - Helmet Law Review

James Sabatini — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:12:55 GMT

A 43-year-old motorcyclist who collided with a truck Tuesday afternoon on Route 159 is recovering at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The collision occured at the Hickory Street intersection around 3:31 p.m. Tuesday in Suffield, Connecticut. The truck driver informed police that he stopped at the intersection anf thought that the road was clear. According to witnesses, the truck driver failed to obey the stop sign. The news reports have not dislcosed the nature and extent of the motorcyclist's injuries nor whether he was wearing a helmet. Connecticut does not have an universal helmet law for motorcycle riders. Helmets are only legally required under Connecticut law for riders 17 and younger. Here is a list of motorcycle helmet laws in each state.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Newington - Police Arrest Driver in Fatal Accident

James Sabatini — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:43:49 GMT

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man on charges that he was criminally negligent when the Ford Expedition he was driving slammed into a motorcyclist last year in a deadly accident near the Berlin Turnpike. Meriden resident Timothy Stevens had been involved in two minor car accidents minutes before the Oct. 3 crash that killed 42-year-old James Delude, police said.

The first happened in the Hops restaurant parking lot on the turnpike, where Stevens allegedly hit a car and drove off without reporting it. The second accident occurred soon after, police said, when Stevens' Expedition struck another vehicle in the nearby Lowe's parking lot. The third and fatal accident occurred after Stevens drove away from Lowe's.
At 6:58 p.m., Delude was about a mile from his Newington home and stopped at a red light at Griswoldville Avenue and Deming Street. As he sat on his motorcycle, the Expedition rammed him from behind, police said. Delude was taken to a hospital with a broken neck and was later removed from life support, a family member has said.
Police have stated that Stevens was not under the influence. However, the police did not disclose if he was suffering from a medical condition that was impairing his abiility to drive. However, it is certainly odd to be involved in three accidents within such a short time period. Something was obviously wrong and police and now the prosecutor must believe that Stevens knew that something was wrong and should I stopped driving his SUV, but he did not and it lead to this fatal and tragic collision with the motorcyclist.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini

Shiloh Farms Recalls Shiloh Farms Organic Unhulled Sesame Seeds

Jenny Albano — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:16:24 GMT

Shiloh Farms, in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling Shiloh Farms Organic Unhulled Sesame Seeds, 12-oz., because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstance, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Consumers with the above symptoms should consult their physician.

This recalled sesame seeds came in a 12 oz blue and white 5" x 8" plastic bag with the company's logo and USDA organic symbol printed on the bag. The UPC bar code number is 047593303545 and Shiloh Farms and the address appear on the back of the bag. The organic seeds were sold from November 1, 2007 to January 25, 2008. The products with the lot code numbers 17503 and 17133 are the only ones being recalled.

So far the company has not received any reports of illness from the product. The problem was discovered when FDA testing found salmonella in a sample of the organic sesame seeds from one of the Shiloh Farms suppliers.

The recall affected 98 health food stores in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Arkansas.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Connecticut Adopts Mode of Operation Rule, Slip and Falls

James Sabatini — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:56:06 GMT

The Connecticut State Supreme Court recently adopted the mode of operation of rule. This rule is extremely important for people injured as a result of a fall down (slip and fall) at a self service store. Self service stores are supermarkets, cafeterias, fast-food restaurants and other businesses where the customer selects the merchandise or food from the displays as opposed to an employee getting the product or food for the customer. To learn about the mode of operation rule and Connecticut law on slip and falls, click here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by James Sabatini