A custodian burned his leg after spilling a bottle of nitric acid at Bread and Roses High School in Harlem, NYC. All students had to be evacuated but none of them were injured.
The custodian was moving bottle of chemicals from a classroom when one of them fell on the floor.
It’s not clear what a bottle of such a powerful chemical was doing in a classroom. Nitric Acid is a colorless, fuming and highly corrosive liquid that is commonly used in the chemical industry for fertilizers and explosives.
The defective ignition switch in some GM cars was a widely known issue among GM engineers and executives in 2012 and long before that General Motors had received multiple warning about the defect said David Friedman, the acting administrator of the National Traffic Safety Administration of the Transportation Department Today in a joint news conference with Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox. As part of the settlement GM agreed to pay a record $35 million civil penalty and to take part in unprecedented oversight requirements.
Read more in the New York Time
Read the press release from the US Department of Transportation
In a previous product liability blog we discussed the unusual use of the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine (Park doctrine) by the CPSC in the Buckyballs recall. Last Monday The CPSC announced that they had reached a settlement agreement with Craig Zucker from Brooklyn, NY, to recall the small Buckyballs and Buckycubes. The settlement calls for Craig Zucker to fund a Recall Trust that will be controlled by the CPSC. The Recall Trust will be used to provide a refund to consumers who return the magnetic sets.
Buckyballs are made of rare-earth magnets. They are described as toys for adults but they pose a swallowing hazard for children and teens. If a child swallows more than one magnet, the powerful balls can pull together inside his or her digestive system, potentially causing internal injuries that the CPSC has described as similar to “a gun shot wound to the gut with no sign of entry or exit.”
Read more in the Huffington Post
Patients suffering from Limbic Encephalitis may be misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia. In a recent article in the Washington Post, Sandra G. Boodman tells the story of a 16 year old girl who was hospitalized for treatment of what seemed to be a severe psychotic break and who went through weeks of hell before a neurologist diagnosed her with Limbic Encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can lead to permanent neurological damage or even death if not treated on time.
Read the article here
Photo: Courtesy of Wikipedia
Truck accidents are more likely to happen when truck drivers are being harassed or coerced to drive in unsafe conditions. For years, unscrupulous dispatchers have been threatening truck drivers with economic penalties such as the loss of their job for refusing to operate under illegal conditions. Often drivers are being pressured to work past the limits of the hours of service rules or to drive trucks with mechanical problems. The new Coercion Rule proposed by the FMCSA prohibits carriers and others from coercing a driver to violate the commercial regulations. The proposal also includes procedures for drivers to report coercion. The penalty for violating the Rule can go up to $11,000 per occurrence. Carriers and brokers can also have their authorities revoked.
The Rule was posted in the federal register and the public has 90 days to comment on this Rule.
Read more in Go By Truck News
Crashes involving trucks from drilling projects are on the rise. An Associated Press analysis of traffic deaths and U.S. census data in six drilling states shows that in some places, fatalities have more than quadrupled since 2004 – a period when most American roads have become much safer even as the population has grown.
Read the complete article here
As part of the Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, NYC DOT, NYPD, Congressman Nadler, Borough President Brewer, Council Members Rodriguez and Rosenthal announced yesterday that the dangerous intersection of Broadway and 96th Street in the Upper West Side of New York will be revamped.
The project simplifies signal timing, eliminates two left turns at the intersection, adds pedestrian space, enhances access and safety by reducing pedestrian crossing distances and creates a signalized crosswalk across West 96th Street between the two median malls at this busy transit connection.
Read more in the Department Of Transportation Press Release
A 5 year old boy broke his arm and suffered facial injuries and a 6 year old boy suffered traumatic brain injury after the inflatable bounce house in which they were playing was swept by the wind. The “flying” bounce house also knocked down a 10 year old girl who suffered minor injuries. The two young boys fell more than 15 feet as the bounce house continued to rise to 50 feet into the sky. One of the boy fell on a car and the other one fell directly on the asphalt. See video below
Inflatable bouncers are a lot fun for children but they can also lead to serious injuries such as broken bones an concussion. According to the Child Injury Prevention Alliance, every day in the US 30 children are treated in hospital emergency department for injuries related to inflatable bouncers. Bump, bruises and broken Bones are the most common as well as concussions and closed head injuries.
Defective software may delay the deployment of the airbags in case of a rollover accident in the 2013-2014 model-year Escapes. Therefore Ford Motor is recalling 692,487 vehicles in North America to fix the glitch.
Ford also announced the recall of 692,744 2013-2014-MY Escapes because they may have defective handles that may prevent the doors from latching properly, posing a safety risk when the car is in motion. Dealers will inspect the door handles and re-position them if necessary.
The majority of the recalled Escapes are at risk for both problems – the air bag software glitch and the faulty door handle.
Every year in New York and in the US, motorcycle operators and bicyclists are injured or die during crashes with a motorist. Sometimes the motorcyclist or the bicyclist are at fault and sometimes the accident is due to the motorist’s lack of attention. Here is an excellent video on how to share the road safely with motorcycles and bicycles.
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog