Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog

NHTSA Investigate Whether Toyota Delayed Notifying Safety Officials of Steering Relay Rod Defect

May 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether or not Toyota Motor Corp. notified federal safety officials of a steering relay rod defect affecting some of its vehicles within five days of discovering the safety issue or whether, as the Associated Press is reporting, the automaker knew there were problems but waited to tell federal safety officials and issue a recall. It was just last month that NHTSA had fined Toyota $16.5 million for not notifying federal regulators within 5 days of discovering the sticky accelerator problem and for waiting so long to recall millions of vehicles.

Steering Relay Rod Defect

In 2004, Toyota had recalled pickup trucks and SUVs in Japan but did not issue its recall of all most one million 4Runner sport utility vehicles, Hi Lux and T100 pickup trucks in the US until eleven months later. At the time, the automaker had told NHTSA that the steering relay rod defect did not affect vehicles in the US because the road conditions are different in this country.

However, AP, which conducted an investigation into the matter, found that even before the recall in Japan, Toyota had received at least 52 reports from people in the US who said that their steering rods had snapped. Also, documents from the automaker show that prior to the 2004 recall, it had received 35 steering rod relay-related complaints through its customer service department, 13 warranty claims through dealers, and four formal complaints through its legal department. Now, NHTSA says it has linked seven injuries, three deaths, and 16 car crashes to the steering relay rod defect.

Toyota’s reputation for making safe and reliable cars has taken an enormous hit in the wake of its recalls of millions of vehicles over different auto defects and the auto products liability and wrongful death cases that have followed. Today, Consumer Reports said that the automaker’s safety recall crisis has caused its customer loyalty rating to slip. It was the magazine’s “Don’t Buy” recommendation that car shoppers stay away from the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV because it posed a rollover risk that prompted Toyota to recall more vehicles. In the wake of software updates made by the automaker to fix the problem, Consumer Reports has lifted its “Don’t Buy” warning.

Consumer Reports survey shows Toyota loyalty is slipping in the US, EGM CarTech, May 13, 2010
Toyota waited months to issue ’05 steering recall, Associated Press, May 10, 2010
NHTSA Opens Investigation into Timeliness of 2005 Toyota Steering Relay Rod Recall, NHTSA, May 10, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Toyota Motor Corporation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Mother Sues US Secretary of Health and Human Services in Washington DC Alleging Daughter Was Injured by HPV Vaccine

May 4, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Tracy Wolf has filed a dangerous drug lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims in Washington DC. She is suing the Secretary of Health and Human Services over injuries that she says her teenage daughter sustained from taking the HPV vaccine.

The vaccine is supposed to prevent women from getting cervical cancer. However, Wolf says that after taking a three-shot series of Gardasil in 2007 and 2008, her 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a number of health issues, including encephalitis, a seizure disorder, and physical and behavioral problems. Wolf says that one month after her daughter took the first injection, the teenager started to exhibit “significant negative” behavioral changes and physical problems, including heart palpitations.

Gardasil

Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin, and Zyrtec Included Among 43 OTC Infant and Child Medications Recalled by Johnson & Johnson Division

April 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In an attempt to prevent infant and child injuries and deaths, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a Johnson & Johnson division, is recalling 43 over-the-counter child and infant medications after regulators discovered deficiencies at a manufacturing facility. Hundreds of thousands of medicine bottles will have to be pulled from store shelves in the US, its territories, and nine other nations.

Following a routine check of McNeil Consumer Healthcare’s Fort Washington plant, Food and Drug Administration inspectors discovered that the manufacturing process was “not in control,” which could alter the medicines’ composition. As a result, some of the medicines may have a higher concentration of an active ingredient than what is noted, may have inactive ingredients that don’t meet testing requirements, or may contain tiny particles.

Even though the chance of serious injury from the medicines is “remote,” the FDA is counseling caregivers and parents to stop using the recalled products right away. The FDA also says that if a child displays any unusual symptoms after taking one of the recalled medicines, then caregivers or parents should seek the advice of a physician. The federal agency is warning that giving children and infants the adult versions of these medications can result in serious illness or injury.

Washington DC Personal Injury?: Staff Misconduct and Unsanitary Conditions Alleged at Family Emergency Shelter

April 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Washington Family Emergency Shelter managers admitted to DC Council members earlier this month that it had fired workers over their alleged sexual behavior with female residents. Families Forward, the nonprofit group that was contracted to run the shelter, admits that they made a mistake when they didn’t tell DC officials about complaints by residents that were related to such incidents.

According to DC Council member Tommy Wells, a number of residents had accused shelter workers of misconduct. One woman who arrived at the shelter on January 27 with her three daughters says she turned down the advances of one Fast Forward worker who not only invited her to a club but also told her she could spend the night at his residence. In her email to DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s office, the woman said other residents were told that they would be given certain favors in exchange for sex. She reports that one resident had sex with a staff member because he promised to take care of her.

She also complained that when she and her daughters arrived at the shelter, they slept on “semi-inflated air mattresses, on the floor” like “3rd world refugees.”

Washington DC Motor Vehicle Crash Leaves One Person Dead and Six Others Injured

April 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Washington DC traffic crash involving a van and a Toyota Camry has resulted in six injuries and one death. The auto accident occurred at around 7pm on Monday in Southeast DC.

According to witnesses, a speeding van drove over the center median on Alabama Avenue and into the path of an oncoming Toyota. The van rolled over a number of times before catching fire. Some 50 fire workers arrived at the crash scene where utility wires had been knocked down and there was a fuel spill.

The Camry’s driver, 37-year-old Mary Elizabeth Wimbush, died at the crash site. Four children who were riding in the car sustained serious injuries. One of the child victims, a 2-year-old girl, was ejected from the vehicle. All of them were taken to Children’s National Medical Center and admitted in critical condition.

68-Year-old Mount Pleasant Woman Killed in Bicycle Accident with DC Guard Truck

April 20, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Constance Holden, 68, died on April 12 after she was in a Washington DC bicycle collision with a five-ton truck. The Washington DC truck crash occurred at the intersection of 12th Street and New York Avenue, NW.

The truck involved in the catastrophic traffic accident was a DC National Guard truck. The vehicle was doing motorcade security work for the Nuclear Security Summit.

The cause of the Washington DC truck accident has yet to be determined. The National Guard vehicle was accompanied by a human escort as it made its way through crowds.

Washington DC Bicycle Accidents

Without air bags, seat belts, and the body of a motor vehicle to protect a cyclist from the impact of collision, he or she is at risk of serious injury in the event of a traffic crash. Wearing a bicycle helmet and protective clothing is not enough to prevent serious injuries and deaths.

While bicyclist negligence is a common cause of bicycle crashes, many bicycle injuries and deaths happen because the driver of the vehicle involved was negligent, reckless, distracted, or careless. Unfortunately, many motorists forget that they share the roads with pedalcyclists, and they may not watch out for them or notice when they are there.

Common causes of bicycle crashes involving negligent drivers:

• Pulling out onto street in front of a pedalcyclist
• Attempting to turn in front of the bicyclist
• Driver inattention
• Distracted driving
• Failure to yield at an intersection
• Failure to stop at a red light
• Running a stop sign
• Neglecting to look both ways before proceeding
• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Following too closely
• Driving under the influence of drugs
• Texting while driving
• Talking on a cell phone
Bicyclist Dies in Collision With DC Guard Truck, NBC Washington, April 13, 2010
Cyclist killed in collision with nuclear summit motorcade, CNN, April 13, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Bicycle Map, District Department of Transportation
Bicycles, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Police of Negligence and Failure to Protect

April 14, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Kimberly Trimble is suing the District of Columbia, the Metropolitan Police Department, and unnamed cops for Washington DC wrongful death and police negligence, failure to protect, and failure to respond in the stabbing deaths of her sister and nephews. She is also suing Joseph Randolph Mays, who is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in their slayings.

The victims, Erika Peters, 37, and her children Dakota Peters, 10, and Erik Harper, 11, were killed during a domestic dispute in March 2009. Documented injuries included multiple stab wounds to the head, face, (over a dozen to the) chest, and hands for Erika, multiple stab wounds to the chest and a large laceration on the side of the head for Erik, and stab wounds to the head, right ear, and the back of the neck for Dakota.

Mays was Peters’ live-in boyfriend. Police later found him at the murder scene with superficial chest wounds that the treating doctor says appear to have been self-inflicted.

Older Motorcyclists Have Higher Risk of Injury and Death During Motorcycle Accidents

April 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a University of Rochester Medical Center study, aging motorcyclists have a higher risk of getting hurt or dying during a traffic crash than their younger counterparts. This is contrary to the belief that the typical motorcycle victims are young, healthy riders.

Among the study’s findings:

• Between 1996 – 2005, the average age range for motorcycle accident victims was ages 34 to 39.

Preventing Bus and Truck Accidents: U.S. Department of Transportation Wants Federal Rule Banning Truckers and Bus Drivers from Texting

March 31, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a federal rule that would ban commercial truck drivers and bus drivers from texting. The proposal comes after an interim ban that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced in January. The ban would apply to commercial drivers of vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds and will hopefully decrease the number of truck accidents and bus crashes that happen.

According to research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, drivers who text have their eyes off the road for 4.5 seconds out of every 6 seconds. During that time, a vehicle moving at a speed of 55 mph while have traveled the length of a football field. Texting motorists also have a 20 times greater chance than drivers that aren’t distracted of getting involved in a traffic crash. The FMCSA says that it is working on other regulations related to electronic devices.

It is now no longer mere speculation that while texting while driving is dangerous for all motorists, it is especially so for truck drivers—who, as last year’s Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reports, are 23 time more likely to become involved in a near-accident or an actual truck crash when they text and drive at the same time. When this occurs, it is usually the occupants of the other vehicles, pedestrians, motorcyclists, or bicyclists involved in the truck collision that suffer.

Washington DC Nursing Negligence: Socialite Karen Feld Accuses Private Nurse of Neglect and Fraud

March 25, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Karen Feld, a socialite and a former DC gossip columnist, is suing Inger Sheinbaum, her former home-care companion and private nurse, for $1.5 million. Feld is alleging Washington DC nursing home neglect and fraud.

According to Feld, Sheinbaum lied about her qualifications as a registered nurse, failed to perform the nursing duties she was hired for, and allowed men who didn’t have permission into the 62-year-old woman’s hospital room. Feld, who had to undergo brain surgery in January 2008, hired the 61-year-old nurse because she needed 24-hour nursing care while she recovered.

Feld claims that Sheinbaum was away during numerous “critical junctures.” After one week of employment, Sheinbaum resigned. The nurse claims that Feld allegedly attacked her during a rant that included profanity. Sheinbaum’s legal representation says that the Washington DC injury lawsuit is unfounded.