THE INJURY LAWYER DIRECTORY BLOG

Toyota has initiated yet another recall on their vehicles. This time, the auto manufacturer has recalled over 400,000 cars throughout the United States for potential steering-related issues.

The recall covers 373,000 Toyota Avalons produced between 2000 and 2004. In certain conditions, the steering lock bar had a tendency to break, increasing the risk of an auto accident. There were also 39,000 Lexus LX 470 vehicles involved in the recall. When these cars endured a strong impact to the front wheels, such as from hitting a pothole, the steering shaft may disengage. The recalled Lexus vehicles were manufactured between 2003 and 2007.

In the past year, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles across the world due to a variety of safety problems, including sudden unintended acceleration and issues with anti-lock brake software.

Auto manufacturers have an obligation to make sure their vehicles adhere to the highest possible safety standards. When product defects in a vehicle cause you to be injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to receive compensation through a defective auto lawsuit. These lawsuits serve two important purposes. First, they provide you with the financial resources you need to pay for your medical expenses, property damage, and lost wages. Second, they hold auto manufacturers accountable for their negligent actions, which will hopefully prevent similar issues from arising in the future.

If you have been injured due to a defective auto in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia areas, please contact the Washington, D.C. defective auto attorneys at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. today to schedule your free initial consultation.

A wage and hour lawsuit has been filed against Smith & Wollensky by a waiter at the steakhouse chain’s Chicago restaurant. The lawsuit alleges employees at the Chicago restaurant have been paid less than minimum wage.

A U.S. District Judge in Chicago has granted class action status to the case. Approximately 140 current and former employees may participate in the claim, which will seek compensation for unpaid wages dating back to March 25, 2006.

Smith & Wollensky is charged with failing to pay the minimum wage, currently $8.25 an hour in Illinois, to employees who earn tips, such as waitresses and bartenders. According to Gerald Schmidt, the employee who brought the wage and hour lawsuit, the Chicago restaurant violated a law that allows workers to be paid less than minimum wage if their total earnings after tips equal the minimum wage.

Employees at the restaurant were required to carry out non-tipped job responsibilities before opening and closing, even though they were still being paid at the lower tip-credit wage for these duties. Smith & Wollensky also allowed non-tipped employees to receive money from the tip pool, which is a violation of the Illinois minimum wage law. The lawsuit also alleges employees who worked more than 40 hours a week were not paid the time-and-a-half that is legally required for employees working overtime.

The class action wage and hour lawsuit seeks to recover lost wages and unspecified additional damages for injured employees.

If you have a wage and hour claim in the Houston, Texas area, please contact the Houston employment law attorneys at Kennedy Hodges today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Due to tough financial times, lawmakers in Sacramento, California are currently considering whether to impose a “car crash tax.” If approved, this tax would levee a fee on non-residents involved in auto accidents within city limits to recover the costs of services by rescue units such as the Sacramento City Fire Department.

Sacramento Deputy Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan estimates the city may recover as much as one million dollars each year if they start billing the non-resident driver’s insurance company for the cost of the recovery fee.

Several fire departments throughout the state of California have already implemented a similar recovery fee. Lawmakers claim that the program is not intended to be a major revenue maker; it is simply a way to relieve the intense financial burden faced by local government officials who are struggling to come up with enough revenue to fund important programs.

However, the proposed “car crash tax” has been sharply criticized by several people, including the president of the Association of California Insurance Companies, who claims the fee is bad for all drivers. He argues that in the long run, the implementation of these fees across the state will ultimately raise insurance rates for all drivers, placing an additional financial burden on city residents and non-residents alike.

If you have an auto accident claim in the Southern California area, please contact the Southern California auto accident lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Testing is still underway for the well cap placed on top of the oil spill late last week. Recently, a seep was discovered near the well. Investigators are trying to ascertain whether methane has been detected as well. If so, this would be an indication that additional leaks may be present.

The federal government has informed BP that they will only continue to approve testing of the well cap if the oil company continues to meet their obligations for observing signs that the overall situation is deteriorating. The government is mainly concerned with ensuring that no irreversible damage is caused which may result in additional leaks from various points on the ocean floor.

No oil has flowed into the Gulf of Mexico since BP capped the well last Thursday. However, pressure in the cap has not reached optimal levels yet, indicating that there may be one or more leaks present. The oil company hopes to complete a relief well, which will provide a permanent solution to the oil spill, by August.

As the clean-up efforts get underway, investigators will develop a better understanding for how much damage has occurred in the Gulf Coast region. It is expected that many more toxic tort lawsuits will be filed against BP relating to the oil spill in the next few months.

If you have suffered damages as a result of the BP oil spill, it is important to consult an experienced toxic tort attorney at once. You may be entitled to receive compensation for your damages.

If you have a BP oil spill claim in the Beaumont, Texas area, please contact the Texas toxic tort attorneys at Bush Lewis today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Yesterday, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel handed down a split decision regarding recommendations for actions to be taken with the diabetes drug Avandia. A majority of committee members (20 out of 33) voted to leave Avandia on the market but recommended imposing restrictions on its use. Twelve members voted to have Avandia pulled from the market altogether, while one member abstained from voting.

The vote occurred on the second day of hearings over Avandia’s safety, which has come under fire in recent years after several studies published in 2007 demonstrated a link between consumption of Avandia and an increased risk of heart failure.

While the majority of committee members voted to keep Avandia on the market, there is no guarantee that this will be the course of action taken by the FDA. The panel’s findings are merely recommendations; the FDA is free to take an alternate course of action if they believe it is in the best interest of consumers. The FDA is expected to make their decision on Avandia’s fate shortly.

During two preliminary votes, the FDA committee determined that Avandia does result in an increased risk of heart issues compared to alternative diabetes drug options; however, they found the evidence to be insufficient to warrant pulling the drug from the market.

GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Avandia, continues to insist that Avandia is perfectly safe, despite the growing evidence to the contrary. However, Glaxo’s RECORD study, which is the primary study the company used to support their assertions, has been heavily criticized by the FDA as “inappropriate and biased.” According to the FDA, Glaxo regularly submitted sloppy data and failed to follow up on reports of problems experienced by patients, including reports of deaths associated with taking Avandia.

Furthermore, a Senate committee released documents on Tuesday which indicate that Glaxo “failed to publish studies that found serious health risks associated with Avandia in a timely manner and actively promoted the drug despite known safety concerns.” These documents include studies conducted as far back as 2000.

Sales of Avandia have dropped dramatically in recent years due to the growing safety concerns. In 2006, Avandia sales totaled approximately $3 billion annually. Now, they are roughly $1 billion. GlaxoSmithKline also currently faces numerous defective drug lawsuits in association with Avandia.

If you have an Avandia claim, please contact the defective drug attorneys at Schlichter, Bogard & Denton today to schedule your free initial consultation. Schlichter, Bogard & Denton serves clients nationwide.

A 22-year-old student at UMass suffered serious injuries in a dog bite
attack by three pit bulls. The student was walking near campus at the time of the incident. The three dogs got loose and viciously attacked the student.

The student was treated at Saint Luke’s Hospital for injuries to his face and arms. Part of his lip was ripped off during the dog bite attack. The student may require reconstructive plastic surgery to repair the damage caused by the three dogs.

Neighbors claim that the three dogs have a history of violence, and they are constantly getting loose, jeopardizing the safety of local residents. Several people at the scene tried to help the student, and one person even used a baseball bat to stop the attack.

Two of the three dogs have been quarantined, and the third pit bull is currently residing with its owners, a 19-year-old girl and her mother. While no charges have been filed yet, the dog bite attack is under investigation by both the New Bedford Police Department and Animal Control.

Dog owners have an obligation to make sure that their pets do not endanger the safety of others. When a dog owner’s negligent supervision results in serious injuries, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your damages in a dog bite lawsuit.

If you have a dog bite claim in the Baltimore, Maryland area, please contact the Baltimore dog bite lawyers at Cohen & Dwin today to schedule your free initial consultation.

On March 24^th, about a month before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion which set off the largest oil spill in our nation’s history, BP filed a report with the federal government claiming they could skim approximately 500,000 barrels of oil daily in the event of a major oil spill. Unfortunately, this total appears to be grossly inflated.

To date, BP has only been able to capture approximately 67,000 barrels of oil through their skimming capabilities. This equates to less than 900 barrels a day. Currently, more than 2 million barrels of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico.

There have been several obstacles to BP’s skimming efforts, including:

• Slow response of emergency workers
• Insufficient supplies and equipment
• Improperly trained cleanup crews
• Harsh weather conditions

While these issues may partially explain BP’s inability to live up to their promises, it does not address the needs of the many Gulf Coast residents whose lives have been disrupted due to the massive oil spill.

If you have suffered damages due to the BP oil spill, an experienced toxic tort attorney can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Currently, many lawsuits are pending against BP and their associates. Most likely, many more will be filed in the coming months as the damages continue to mount.

If you have a toxic tort claim in the Beaumont, Texas area, please contact the attorneys at Bush Lewis P.L.L.C. today to schedule your free initial consultation.

Rocky Mountain Natural Meats has announced a recall of approximately 66,000 pounds of ground and steak bison meat due to contamination with a potentially deadly strain of E. coli. The company is based out of Henderson, Colorado.

There were five cases of E. coli illness reported in Colorado between June 4^th and June 6^th. All are believed to be linked to consumption of the contaminated Rocky Mountain Natural Meats bison meat. The product was sold in retail stores nationwide and by food service distributors in Utah and Arizona.

The contaminated bison meat was produced between May 21^st and May 27^th. While the sell-by dates have all passed, the recall was initiated due to concerns that consumers may still have the product in their freezer. The following products are included in the recall:

• 16-oz. packages of Great Range All Natural Ground Bison with a sell-by date of June 21, 22, and 24
• 16-oz. packages of Nature’s Rancher Ground Buffalo with a sell-by date of June 22
• 16-oz. packages of The Buffalo Guys All Natural Ground Buffalo 90% Lean with a lot number of 0147
• 12-oz. packages of Great Range Brand All Natural Bison Steak Medallions with a sell-by date of June 23 and June 24
• 12-oz. packages of Great Range Brand All Natural Bison Sirloin Steaks with a sell-by date of June 20, 23, and 24
• 15-lb. boxes of Rocky Mountain Natural Meats Inc. Bison 10 oz. Sirloin Steaks, sent to restaurants and containing a Julian Code of 0141

Eating meat contaminated with E. coli bacteria can be very dangerous, resulting in bloody diarrhea, dehydration, or kidney failure. In serious cases, it can be fatal.

If you have suffered an injury from consuming the recalled bison meat, you may be able to receive compensation through a defective product lawsuit. It is important to work with an experienced defective product attorney with the skills and background to ensure your rights are protected.

If you have a defective product claim in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, please contact the experienced Oklahoma product liability lawyers at Stipe Injury Law today to schedule your free initial consultation.