If you've been injured by a defective product, a skilled product liability attorney is your best bet for landing fair compensation.
Federal law requires product manufacturers to use reasonable care to avoid putting defective and unsafe products on the market. Still, faulty products seriously injure or even kill thousands of people in the United States each year. If you or a loved one is a victim, know that what you do immediately after your injury can make or break your product liability claim.
To help assure you land the compensation to which you’re entitled, product liability lawyers in Jacksonville and elsewhere recommend you carefully follow these steps:
First, seek medical treatment immediately. Medical records will help legally establish that you were, in fact, injured.
Gather names and contact information of anyone who witnessed the injury. They could eventually be called to testify on your behalf if your case goes to trial.
Document the scene of the injury and the sequence of events leading to the injury. Take copious notes on all pertinent details such as the time of the injury, the weather, light conditions, etc.
If possible, photograph the scene of the injury and the injury-causing product in its position at that time.
Save any clothing or other personal items damaged, torn, or stained as a result of the injury.
Save the injury-causing product, being careful not to alter it in any way if possible.
Visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website to find out whether the product or any of its components have been recalled and to report your own injury.
Retain all documents associated with the product, including instructional manuals, warranty paperwork and purchase receipts.
Schedule a consultation with a reputable product liability lawyer.
It is your right as a consumer to be safe from harm by defective products and to be fairly compensated should an injury occur. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be sure to mount a legal defense designed to place blame elsewhere, on each other, or on the victim. But a skilled product liability lawyer can counter with a solid case for compensation, often involving consultations with product engineers and medical experts.
Faulty tires have been at the center of many product liability cases.
Each year, thousands of serious injuries and wrongful deaths occur throughout the United States simply because a trusted product proved defective. Product liability attorneys in Jacksonville and elsewhere constantly work cases involving everything from faulty electric blankets that overheat and melt, causing severe burns; to defective tires that cause horrific car crashes; to malfunctioning amusement rides that send hundreds to emergency rooms each year.
Just a few of the top product liability case types include:
Dangerous Toys and Other Children’s Products
Crib and Child Safety Seat Defects
Vehicle Roll-Overs
Tire Defects and Roof Crush
Vehicle Design and Manufacture Defects
Passenger Restraint Failures (safety belts, door latches, airbags, seat backs)
Dangerous Medical Products and Devices
Faulty Home Appliances
Defective Sporting Goods and Other Recreational Items
Dangerous Tools or Industrial Machinery
Aircraft Component Defects and Failures
Federal law requires manufacturers of products to use reasonable care to avoid putting defective and unsafe products on the market. Yet each year, poor manufacturing, design failure, inadequate or incorrect directions, lack of danger warnings or misrepresented functionality render tens of thousands of products dangerous.
Because failures can happen anywhere along the distribution chain, with the product manufacturer, parts manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, product liability cases can be tough to litigate. Each party will work hard to blame the failure on another party, or even on the victim. Large companies with big budgets have developed strategies for hiding evidence or arguing preemption, citing product approvals by the FDA or other regulating federal agency.
Fortunately, highly skilled product liability attorneys can help victims counter blame claims and successfully gain compensation for their injuries or loved one’s deaths caused by faulty or defective products.
Workers in certain industries, like shipping, are at higher risk to exposure to toxins and hazardous materials, say workers compensation lawyers in Jacksonville.
Workplace accidents and injuries aren’t limited to slips, falls and heavy equipment mishaps. Employees’ health and quality of life can be severely tested by exposure to hazardous substances and toxic chemicals, Jacksonville workers compensation lawyers say.
As defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hazardous and toxic substances are “chemicals present in the workplace that are capable of causing harm.” These can include many common materials such as paints, fuels and solvents, as well as air contaminants such as dust or fumes.
Potentially harmful toxins number in the tens of thousands. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) currently regulates workplace exposure to nearly 400 substances, and its Chemical
Sampling Information (CSI) file contains listings for upwards of 1,500 substances. The Environmental Protection Agency also keeps tabs on toxins via its Toxic Substance Control Act Chemical Substances Inventory, which features information on more than 62,000 chemicals or chemical substances. And other databases and libraries maintain files of material safety data sheets for more than 100,000 substances.
While many of these chemicals and substances pose little threat, hundreds of them can cause or contribute to a variety of health woes including fatigue, headaches, insomnia, allergies, tumors, neuromuscular and neurological problems, even depression. Often, toxin-induced health problems can be traced to particular lines of work. Shipyards, rail yards, mines, construction sites, even farms and plant nurseries all pose risks for employees due to the chemicals and substances used daily in their lines of work.
Common culprits include:
Aerosols
Asphalt fumes
Carbonless copy paper
Explosives and explosive materials used in mining
Poisonous plants
Certain drugs to which health care practitioners are exposed
Fires
Ultraviolet radiation
Health conditions and quality of life issues caused by exposure to toxins and hazardous chemicals or materials at the workplace often are covered by workers compensation. Lawyers in Jacksonville work such cases every day in Florida’s courtrooms, assuring that clients are fairly compensated for their injuries, illnesses and related losses.
Workers compensation attorneys help you recover losses suffered due to workplace injuries, accidents and illnesses.
Workers compensation lawyers in Jacksonville have seen it all when it comes to workplace accidents and injuries, from the mundane to the truly bizarre. But a few common types of injuries consistently come across their desks:
Falls from heights: Statistics show that falls from heights are a leading cause of work-related injuries and deaths. Painters or window washers fall from scaffoldings. Retail workers fall from ladders while reaching for top-shelved items. Employees taking the stairs to their upper-floor offices slip and take tumbles back down. All of these are common scenarios caused by unstable equipment, slick or uneven surfaces and the lack of adequate safety wear or equipment such as harnesses or hand rails. Injuries sustained in falls can include muscle sprains, strains or tears; fractured or broken bones; and knee or head injuries that can take weeks or months for full recovery. Fall victims number in the hundreds of thousands in the U.S. each year, and several hundred of these victims die from their injuries.
Lifting injuries: Workers in jobs that require heavy lifting, such as warehouse workers, cargo loaders and nurses are at significant risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by attempting to lift objects that are too heavy, or by improper lifting techniques. In fact, they account for nearly a third of all workplace injuries. MSDs can affect the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage and spinal discs and generally result in much longer absences from work than do other workplace injuries. Back injuries in particular can cause long stretches of absence and the physical effects, including pain and restricted range of movement, can linger for years.
Heavy equipment: Construction, manufacturing and logistics workers often are required to operate or work in the vicinity of complex heavy equipment such as backhoes, bulldozers, excavators, forklifts and front end loaders. As essential is this equipment is to the job, it also can be very dangerous. Workers can fall from them, be hit or run over, or get their fingers, hands, feet or limbs caught in the various mechanisms.
Toxic hazards: The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also warn of toxic hazards faced in certain types of environments. Aerosols, asphalt fumes, mold, even asbestos or lead paint still present in old buildings can cause respiratory and even neurological problems.
Victims of workplace accidents are entitled to workers compensation, lawyers with Jacksonville’s Spohrer & Dodd say. For more information on statistics and workplace safety tips, visit the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) website.
DUIs and drunk driving auto accidents peak during spring break in many college towns and vacation destination areas.
Spring break has long been known as a seven-day sojourn into sun, fun and, unfortunately, drinking and driving. Statistics show that in many college towns and other markets with high spring break visitor numbers, such as Florida’s Jacksonville Beach, Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, DUIs hit a year-long high during that week. Auto accident lawyers in Jacksonville see the all-too-common results when prospective clients come in for their initial consultations. Many are car crash victims whose injuries have permanently altered their lives, making it difficult or even impossible to work or fully interact with loved ones. Others are the families fighting on behalf of their loved one who was killed in a DUI accident.
A study by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety encapsulates the spring break experience that many cities share. Researchers collected data on traffic accidents across Alabama and studied the way statistics shifted during spring break. Of course, no one was surprised at the conclusion that the number of DUI related car crashes in Alabama is higher than during any other week of the year.
Demographics also shift during spring break. The number of drunk drivers and victims in their late teens and early twenties gets a significant boost. Of course, anyone sharing the same roadway as an inebriated spring break driver is at risk, no matter their age or driving habits.
These results undoubtedly are the same in every state and city where spring breakers frequent, including Jacksonville, auto accident lawyers say. College towns in particular represent a heightened risk throughout the entire spring break season. Remember, not all high schools and colleges take spring break during the same week, though breaks typically are scheduled sometime in March or April.
Keep safe during spring break season by limiting your own alcohol intake; steering clear of areas of town where spring breakers frequent, especially at night; and being extra cautious on the roadways.
A new FAA proposal seeks to boost the number of flight hours required for co-pilots.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently submitted a proposal aimed at helping to reduce the risk of airplane accidents. Attorneys with Jacksonville’s Spohrer & Dodd support the proposal, which seeks to substantially raise qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines.
If passed, the FAA’s proposal would require first officers (also known as co-pilots) to hold and Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, requiring 1,500 hours of pilot flight time. That’s a significant boost from the currently required commercial pilot certificate, which can be secured with just 250 hours of flight time. The FAA also wants first officers to have an aircraft type rating, which involves additional training and testing specific to the particular airplanes they fly.
Also included in the proposal is a call for enhanced training requirements for an ATP certificate, including 50 hours of multi-engine flight experience and successful completion of a new FAA-approved training program; and a minimum of 1,000 flight hours as a pilot in air carrier operations that require and ATP prior to serving as a captain for a U.S. airline. Other components of the proposal suggest restricted privileges for pilots who have fewer than 1,500 hours of flight time, but who have earned an aviation degree or have military pilot experience.
The FAA’s proposal is consistent with a mandate in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 and addresses recommendations from an Aviation Rulemaking Committee, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the FAA’s Call to Action to improve airline safety. Says FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta: “Our pilots need to have the right training and the right qualifications so they can be prepared to handle any situation they encounter in the cockpit… This proposed rule will ensure our nation’s pilots have the necessary skills and experience.”
As highly experienced airplane accident attorneys, Jacksonville’s Spohrer & Dodd have successfully landed multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients and ultimately contributed to the improved safety of air travel by exposing and removing multiple hazards and unsafe practices. We support any proposal that will significantly improve safety and help avoid airplane accidents.
Founded by Spohrer & Dodd Children's Advocacy Attorney Helen Spohrer, the Permanency Project helps cut through bureacratic red tape and get foster kids into permanent families faster.
Today’s economic struggles impact everyone, but perhaps none so much as foster children who have recently aged out of the system, Jacksonville children’s advocacy lawyers say. State support for those in the foster care system cuts off abruptly when participants turn 18 and studies show it just gets tougher from there.
Statistics show that only about 47 percent of Florida’s foster teens graduate with a high school diploma, in part because foster kids typically change schools at least twice during the school year, which negatively affects their grades and prohibits them from participating in school programs and activities. Aged-out foster children often lack the life skills, including resume and job preparation skills, that most kids who grow up in stable homes have. They also generally lack access to reliable transportation and have little work experience. Those factors alone are tough enough in any economy, but tougher today as they’re competing with not just their peers but also out-of-work adults for the same entry level jobs. National statistics reveal a 56-percent unemployment rate among aged-out foster kids and about 15 percent of them are homeless within a year of leaving foster care.
One way to help ease these difficulties for foster children is to act early, helping them land permanent adoptive homes before they spend years languishing in Florida’s troubled foster care system. To that end, Spohrer & Dodd Attorney Helen Spohrer developed the Permanency Project for Duval County’s Guardian Ad Litem Program, designed to help families slash through the bureaucratic red tape and expedite adoptions for children in foster care.
A dedicated and aggressive advocate for abused and displaced children, Spohrer leads Spohrer & Dodd’s team of passionate advocates for child victims of abuse, discrimination, exploitation or neglect. Our firm has successfully worked a myriad of child advocacy cases, securing verdicts and settlements in cases against abusive natural family and foster family members, boot camps and other abusive or neglectful parties.
The Marine Barracks Washington, also known as “8th & I,” is the oldest active post in the Marine Corps. Lieutenant Elle Helmer is a former spokesperson for the Barracks, and one of eight plaintiffs in a new civil suit against the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2005, Lieutenant Helmer reported being sexually harassed by her fellow Marines, but she was ignored and the harassment continued. In 2006, she was raped by her commanding officer and, in an act of retaliation, forced out of the Marines. Four years later, at the exact same base, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Iraq veteran Lieutenant Ariana Klay reported that she was being sexually harassed by her fellow Marines, was also ignored, and then raped by her superior officer and his civilian friend.
Lieutenants Helmer and Klay, along with six co-plaintiffs, allege that the military promotes a fraternity-house culture that does not adequately investigate or prosecute instances of sexual harassment and assault.
What’s unique about this lawsuit is that, traditionally, military legal problems are handled in-house. Military law is surprisingly separate from the civilian law that most of us are familiar with, and the civilian legal system has to defer to the military legal system.
However, in this particular case, the eight plaintiffs do not feel that the military ethically handled their cases, and they want a civilian jury to hear their stories.
It’s very difficult to use civilian law to sue the military, which is what these eight women are attempting to do. Our firm has handled several cases involving the interface between military and civilian legal systems, and in the process I have learned a lot about the lack of transparency in military law. However difficult it may be, it’s essential to try to intervene when we see one American trampling on the rights of another.
As Lieutenant Elle Helmer said this week, “I’m a statistic, but I’m not powerless.”
A new federal aviation law increases the number of hours of flight time required to become an airline pilot to 1,500.
A new federal aviation law set to take effect in August 2013 increases the number of flight hours required to become an airline pilot. Congress passed the law last year in response to the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y. that killed all 49 people on board and one person on the ground died. But not everyone agrees that more hours in an aircraft are necessary.
Purdue University’s Department of Aviation Technology are concerned that the new requirements will force students to unnecessarily spend thousands of dollars to increase their airtime. Students in the program typically log about 300 hours of airplane flight time during their course of study. And for collegiate student pilots at respected institutions, that should be enough, some argue.
Many agree that the 1,500 hours of flight time that will be required for landing a pilot’s license come August 2013 is appropriate for students of smaller, independent and less expensive flight schools favored by airplane hobbyists. But argue that the intense focus and comprehensive coursework that students at colleges and universities like Purdue make them uniquely qualified for employment as airline pilots immediately after graduation.
At Spohrer & Dodd, we know just how critical it is that aviation students log as much aircraft flight time as possible before being handed a license. We’ve litigated numerous multi-million-dollar aircraft accident cases, landing fair settlements for the families of those killed in airline accidents – some caused by faulty equipment, others by pilot or air traffic control personnel error. If you or a loved one has been injured, or if you have lost a loved one to an airplane crash, no matter the cause, Spohrer & Dodd can help. Call us toll-free at 800-413-7948 or complete our online “Do I Have a Case?” form for a quick response from an experienced aviation lawyer.
