Negligence

July 25, 2014

Home-buyer sues after Chinese drywall found in new home

After buying a home, in New orleans the purchaser realized a major fault was not disclosed to them by the seller, and has filed suit to rescind the sale, according to The Louisiana Record.

Jouandot Enterprises LLC filed suit against Wells Fargo Bank in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on June 11.

The suit says the plaintiff purchased a home owned by the defendant that contained Chinese drywall, which must be taken out for the house to be inhabitable. The plaintiff claims it did not know the home contained Chinese drywall and that the defendant failed to disclose this fact.

June 27, 2014

Panel revives lawsuit over 13-year-old girl’s injury in Chicago park

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

The Chicago Park District must post signs in its parks stating that only children under the age of 12 can use its equipment, a state appeals panel held last week, overturning the dismissal of a lawsuit stemming from a 13-year-old’s injury on a slide.

As reported by the Cook County Record, in an order handed down June 27, 2014, the First District Appellate Court reversed Cook County Circuit Judge Kathy Flanagan’s ruling that tossed Artenia Bowman’s lawsuit against the park district on behalf of her then-13-year-old daughter. Determining that Bowman’s daughter had violated a park district ordinance restricting those older than 12 from using its equipment, despite the lack of a sign providing such notice, Flanagan granted the park district’s motion for summary judgment.

The appeals panel, however, reversed Flanagan’s ruling, saying the park district failed to inform parks users that the slide at issue was intended for kids under 12, or to cite a case in which a child was charged with knowing municipal ordinances. Justice Robert Gordon wrote the order, with Justices Stuart E. Palmer and William Henry Taylor II concurring.

June 15, 2014

Does “Baseball Rule” Apply to Minors?

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

The Atlanta Braves baseball team has asked an appeals court to find the team not liable for the serious injuries suffered by a 6-year-old girl who was struck by a ball.

As reported in the Insurance Journal, attorneys for the team want the Georgia Court of Appeals to apply what’s known as the “baseball rule.” Already in force in some other states, the rule holds that if a stadium operator provides protective screening behind home plate, it cannot be held liable for balls and bats inadvertently flung into the stands.

The ongoing lawsuit was brought by a father who took his 6-year-old daughter to a May 30, 2010, game at Turner Field. Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera hit a ball behind the third-base dugout. It struck the girl in the head, fractured her skull in 30 places and causing a traumatic brain injury.

April 27, 2014

Woman sues hotel for fall off bar stool

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

Antoinette Allison of Reynoldsburg, Ohio was staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Syracuse, New York in April 2011 when she went to the hotel’s Library Lounge bar. Syracuse.com reports that Ms. Allison claims that while waiting for food at the bar, she fell off of a, “wooden, high-back bar stool,” and landed on her wrist, causing multiple fractures that required surgery. She is now suing the hotel for $1 million.

In her lawsuit, Ms. Allison claims that the bar stool was too high off the ground, and that, “hotel management knew of other problems with the height of the stools.” Her lawyer, Mark Ventrone, stated in a 2012 complaint that, “Said bar stools were more dangerous than patrons would expect and safer designs are on the marketplace.”

The lawsuit will proceed to court. Syracuse.com was unable to reach Mr. Ventrone for comment. They were also unable to reach Thomas Carafa, the lawyer for the hotel’s owner, Richfield Hospitality, Inc.

April 3, 2014

Connecticut Woman Can Not Sue State for Chimp Attack

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

A Connecticut woman whose face and hands were ripped off by a friend’s pet chimpanzee in 2009, on Wednesday was denied a bid to sue the state for up to $150 million to cover her medical expenses.

As reported in Reuters, the state legislature’s judiciary committee voted 35-3 against Charla Nash’s request to sue the state to cover injuries she suffered when the 200-pound chimpanzee mauled her. The attack occurred while she was visiting the home of her friend and employer, who owned the animal.

Legislators voted to uphold the state’s sovereign immunity, which protects it from lawsuits.

December 27, 2013

Tippi Hedren Awarded $1.5 Million for Injury

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

Actress Tippi Hedren, most famous for her role in the 1963 Hitchcock film, The Birds, was attacked from above once again. In 2006, while rehearsing for the TV show Fashion House, a gallon of water fell from the ceiling onto her head. It is speculated that the water had accumulated under the soundstage’s plywood roof because a bird’s nest was blocking a condensation tube in the air conditioning system. This event precipitated six years of litigation, according to The Hollywood Reporter, culminating in a California appeals court’s recent decision to affirm a nearly $1.5 million judgment in her favor.

Hedren had long suffered from severe headaches. In 2006, shortly before taking the role in Fashion House, she underwent spinal fusion surgery. The operation brought her tremendous relief. She testified it was “a miracle”, and once free of headaches, was cleared to play the non-action role of a woman dying of cancer on the show. But after she was struck on the head by water while rehearsing at Stu Segall Studios in San Diego, the headaches returned. She tried various remedies including chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, medications, Botox injections and nerve block injections, but the headaches persisted.

In October 2006 she retained attorney Joseph Allen to file a personal injury lawsuit against the owner and lessee of the soundstage.The attorney appears to have made an error. In March 2007, Allen filed a complaint, but shortly before the trial readiness conference, he dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice. He failed, however, to first obtain an agreement by the defendants to toll the statute of limitations. As a result, when the lawsuit was refiled, the defendants successfully defeated it by arguing that it came too late.

December 13, 2013

Family of North Carolina Teen Killed by Stray Bullet Sues Gunmaker

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

The family of a North Carolina teenager shot and killed by a stray bullet is suing the gunmaker, reports the Insurance Journal. A lawsuit filed Monday in Charlotte says the Remington Model 700 rifle misfired and the company was negligent in manufacturing it.

Almost two years ago, 16-year-old Jasmine Thar was killed and her godmother and a friend wounded by the same bullet as they were in the front yard. Investigations by the FBI and the state law enforcement agents determined the bullet came from a neighbor’s rifle that accidentally discharged while he was cleaning it.

Remington did not return messages seeking comment about the lawsuit. The Rockingham County-based company says on its website its Model 700 rifle is safe and malfunctions often involve alterations or improper upkeep. It has also been pointed out by gun experts that one should always empty any gun of bullets before cleaning or handling it.

October 30, 2013

Landlord May Be Liable When Tenant’s Facebook Harassment Leads To Rape

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

What is a landlord’s obligation if they learn that a resident is harassing another tenant on Facebook or other social media websites? A recent case from an Ohio appellate court, reported by Eric Goldman of Forbes, illustrates the pitfalls of this situation.

The case involves the interactions between Mr. Haynes, the live-in boyfriend of Ms. Schmidt (who was on the lease, while Haynes was not), and Lindsay, another tenant who lived in the apartment right directly above. Lindsay repeatedly complained about the noise coming from Schmidt’s apartment, and alleged that Schmidt and Haynes retaliated for her complaints in a variety of ways, including loudly banging on her door and screaming at her. Subsequently, Lindsay received a message on her Facebook account asking her to have sex and linking to a pornographic video depicting people who looked similar to Lindsay and Haynes. In response to Lindsay’s repeated questions, Haynes did not admit to authoring the Facebook messages, but Lindsay believed he had.

Lindsay showed the Facebook transcript to her landlord and asked to be released from her lease because she feared Haynes. Instead, the landlord recommended she contact the police (which she did) and moved her to another apartment in the same complex. The landlord also allegedly told Haynes and Schmidt that Lindsay was moving and warned them to leave her alone. The landlord discovered Haynes was not on the lease and told him he would have to leave. Haynes tried to get onto the lease but his credit wasn’t approved, so the landlord didn’t add him to the lease. It also, however, did not evict him.

July 12, 2013

Family Sues Gym for Daughter’s Death

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

The family of a 22-year-old Long Island woman who died after collapsing in the locker room of her gym says the staff failed to take proper action when their daughter passed out. “Things were really starting to happen for her,” said Jeanine Hamlin, the mother of Emily Hamlin. “She was only 22, but her life was just cut off.”

As reported by NBC News, Emily Hamlin, of Central Islip, had gone to the Planet Fitness gym in Bay Shore, N.Y. to work out on the morning of Feb. 6, 2012. She later collapsed in the bathroom of the women’s locker room, and according to a lawsuit filed by her family, the front desk worker failed to respond right away. According to a sworn statement given by a witness, the male worker said “he didn’t know what to do and that he wasn’t allowed to go into the ladies’ bathroom.”

Security video obtained from inside the gym by Emily’s father, John Hamlin, paints a timeline of the events that morning. At 5:16 a.m., Stephanie Dick, a club member who heard Emily collapse in the bathroom stall, goes out to the front desk to ask for help. The worker does not leave his desk and does not pick up the phone.

April 29, 2013

Oklahoma Dentist Linked to 60 Infections

by Blady Workforce Law Group, APC

Former patients of a Tulsa, Oklahoma, dentist accused of using dirty instruments are outraged over reports that at least 60 people have tested positive for hepatitis and HIV. But investigators say the source of the infections is still unclear.

According to ABC News, more than 7,000 patients of W. Scott Harrington were sent letters in late March outlining the risk of infection from poor sterilization practices and steps to obtain free blood testing. Of 3,122 patients tested by county health departments so far, 57 tested positive for hepatitis C, three tested positive for hepatitis B, and one tested positive for HIV.

“I think everyone here in Tulsa is shocked that an oral maxillofacial surgeon was so absolutely sloppy in both his technique and his regard for patient safety,” said Patrick Carr, an attorney representing one of Harrington’s former patients. “It’s extremely upsetting for everybody.”