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Japanese carmaker Nissan has just issued a recall for more than 1 million of its vehicles because of a software issue that can cause failed airbag deployment.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan’s vehicles may not detect a person sitting in the passenger seat, which would disarm the airbag and cause it to not inflate in the event of an accident. The company said that faulty software is the issue. So far the company is aware of two instances where vehicles’ airbags did not deploy during accidents, however it is still unclear whether those cases were linked to the software glitch.

990,000 of the cars recalled are those of U.S. drivers. Models impacted include 2013 – 2014 Altima and Sentra cars, Pathfinder sport-utility vehicles and Leaf electric cars. The 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV, 2013 NV200 cargo van and 2013 Infiniti JX35 crossover are also included in the recalls.

Nissan expects to begin the recall in April. During the recall, dealers will update the software free of charge.
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A female nurse who was injured while working for the Rhode Island Veterans Home was awarded a $500,000 verdict against the state of Rhode Island last week.

Victoria Roach was seriously injured when she slipped and fell on soapy water or cleaning fluid that had not been cleaned up on her patient’s bathroom floor. At the time of her fall she was disposing of a small amount of liquid used in administering medication to the totally disabled patient.

According to court documents, Roach’s lawyers presented evidence that the spilled liquid on the bathroom floor was not properly cleaned up by one of the certified nursing assistants who had visited the patient prior to Roach. It was his or her responsibility to do so, and their negligence led to Roach’s fall and subsequent injury. Roach suffered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (a knee ligament) as well as a torn meniscus (cartilage), which resulted in her having to undergo reparative knee surgery. Roach was unable to return to work for an extended period of time resulting in lost wages.

SLIP AND FALL ACCIDENTS

Slip, trip, and fall accidents can happen anywhere and often result in painful or debilitating injuries, including serious bruising, broken bones, hip displacement, back and spinal cord injuries, and head and brain injuries. Most commonly, slip and fall accidents are the result of another’s negligence; improper maintenance, uneven and damaged flooring or stair railing, a missing step, inadequate lighting, as well as liquid or debris on a floor.

When a person is injured in a slip and fall accident, immediate worries of victims turn to who is responsible for paying for medical attention, long-term disability care, and even lost wages if the injury prevents the victim from returning back to work.
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It was a bitterly cold January night when firefighters responded to a report of an unconscious 7-year-old girl after the furnace vents in her family’s Plymouth home had been blocked by snow from a recent storm. Nicole Garofalo later died from carbon monoxide poisoning in her own home. Carbon monoxide, often referred to as the “Invisible Killer,” has claimed thousands of lives due to its odorless, colorless, and poisonous qualities. After this particularly terrible event, “Nicole’s Law” was enacted in her honor to require carbon monoxide detectors in homes and businesses in Massachusetts by March of 2006. Eight years later, residents in Massachusetts are reaching a crucial point. According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, carbon monoxide detectors must be replaced every 5-7 years, making alarms installed as a result of the law in dire need of replacement.

According to CBS Boston, “It has been about seven years since the law went into effect, so there could be countless CO detectors that are at the end of their life. The devices are supposed to make a chirping sound to let you know they are no longer working, but there are no guarantees.” In collaboration with fire officials, the local CBS affiliate in Chicago performed an extensive test on several models of carbon monoxide alarms.
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According to CTA union president Robert Kelly, the operator of the Blue Line train involved in a train crash at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago early Monday morning may have fallen asleep at the wheel. The train train jumped the platform and went up an escalator.

Over 30 people were injured in the CTA train crash. None of the injuries are life-threatening.

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the accident. After the train crash, the eight-car train remained stuck on the escalator so investigators could try to figure out what happened.

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Kristen Tavares, a 23-year-old mother of two, is now in a coma with severe swelling in her brain, according to the New York Daily News. The Hilo, Hawaii native was scheduled to have routine dental surgery to remove her wisdom teeth by Dr. John Stover when something went horribly wrong. At some point during the common procedure, Taveres went into cardiac arrest and became unresponsive. “It’s really hard especially for her family and just having our three-month-old son and to be put in this situation is really hard,” her boyfriend, Chauncey Prudencio told WAVE-TV. “It’s very strenuous and stressful for everyone.”

Kristen’s father says that CT scans show a large amount of swelling in her brain and her heart is still too weak to handle any subsequent medical procedures at this time. While Taveres’ children are staying with family for now, many are now wondering what could have gone wrong to cause her heart to stop. The New York Daily News cites Daniel Orr, a specialist in oral surgery and anesthesiology, who stated that, “it was possible a foreign body had gotten into her airway such as a piece of gauze or even a tooth…” The staff at Dr. Stover’s office used a defibrillator to shock Kristen’s heart back into rhythm, but she remained unresponsive after she was airlifted to an area hospital where she is connected to a breathing machine.
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This week, a New York Supreme Court judge jury awarded $12.5 million to the families of several workers who developed cancer after they were exposed to asbestos-containing materials. The victory at the end of the four month trial provides a sense of relief to the family of three New York tradesmen after watching their loved ones lose their battle the notoriously brutal disease. Though asbestos is carefully monitored and outlawed now, not much was known about the dangerous material commonly used for fireproofing and insulation when it was widely used until it was banned in 1989.

Since then, numerous studies have been conducted to determine the correlation between exposure to asbestos-containing materials and the rare cancer known as Mesothelioma. A study about early detection of the illness published in PLoS One, a respected science journal, states that, “…mesothelioma is an aggressive, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer that is increasing in incidence. Because diagnosis is difficult and the disease is relatively rare, most patients present at a clinically advanced stage where possibility of cure is minimal.” The disease has a vicious reputation as being extremely painful and difficult to treat. Because the illness attacks the lungs, air flow is disrupted and the patient is most often reduced to the confines of his or her bedroom as loved ones look on helplessly.
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Making the road safer for drivers and pedestrians alike remains a primary concern for lawmakers and first responders in the United States, but unlike seat belts, child car seats, and drunk driving, the mission to curb distracted driving due to cell phone use is difficult to enforce. The Washington Post reports that 28% of accidents are caused at least in part by talking or texting on a cell phone. However, according to a new infographic published by the National Safety Council, the actual data is more than likely much higher than the official report. The National Safety Council argues that cell phone use in fatal accidents is grossly under reported.

Officially, there were 350 fatal car accidents involving cell phone use in 2011. While 350 incidents may appear rather insignificant relative to a country of 317 million people, the National Safety Council believes that the absence of data regarding cell phone use poses a threat to public safety. When data is skewed or under reported, it causes the risk to appear less substantial than it may actually be, minimizing the impact on the decisions of the driver.
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Halifax Health has reached a tentative deal to pay $85 million dollars as part of a federal whistleblower case accusing the hospital of Medicare fraud and paying kickbacks to neurosurgeons and doctors. The lawsuit is .S. et al. v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center et al and was filed by hospital employee Elin Baklid-Kunz.

The deal was reached just as the case was about to go to trial. However, a second part of Baklid-Kunz’s case, accusing Halifax of increasing revenues by admitting patients who could have been discharged to stay overnight, is scheduled for trial this summer. Possible liability for that could reach $400 million.

Baklid-Kunz continues to work at Halifax Health. Previously she worked for years for them in financial and regulatory compliance. Now she is director of physician services. Baklid-Kunz filed her Qui Tam case under the False Claims Act and she is entitled to a percentage of what is recovered. According to the News-Journal Online, Baklid-Kunz and her lawyers will get $20.8 million.

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Sources at USA Today reported that Toyota will pay $1.2 billion in criminal penalties stemming from a series of recalls for faulty accelerators in numerous Toyota brand car models, which began in 2009.

The settlement, according to USA Today, is the largest criminal penalty to be imposed on a car company in United States history.

Attorney General Eric Holder said that “Toyota intentionally concealed information and misled the public about the safety issues behind these recalls,” and that the company’s conduct was “shameful.”

Chief legal officer for Toyota Motor North America Christopher P. Reynolds stated in a press conference that “Entering this agreement, while difficult, is a major step toward putting this unfortunate chapter behind us. We remain extremely grateful to our customers who have continued to stand by Toyota. Moving forward, they can be confident that we continue to take our responsibilities to them seriously.”

The billion dollar settlement calls for dismissal of the government’s case against the Japanese car company in exchange for Toyota’s payment and continued cooperation. The deal also stipulated an independent monitor of how Toyota handles safety communications, its internal handling of accident reports and its processes preparing and communicating technical bulletins. The federal criminal probe did not include the lawsuits and federal safety regulator and congressional probes of the Toyota sudden acceleration recalls and instead looked strictly at whether Toyota provided false or incomplete statements to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The case also investigated how Toyota handled consumer complaints.

To date, Toyota has paid approximately $1.6 billion to car owners for lawsuits in the cases and paid federal fines of more than $33 million for delaying its safety defect reporting to NHTSA.
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A jury in Washington State awarded electronics technician Verl Lee $3.8 million for painful and unusual injuries sustained in an electrical explosion. Lee was working with Advanced Electrical Technologies of Longview when he was contracted to help repair a damaged Variable Frequency Drive at an Oakville, Washington chip mill on January 25, 2010.

Verl Lee sustained his injuries when Daniel Fletcher, an employee of Willis Enterprises who was escorting Lee to a series of malfunctioning cooling fans in the Variable Frequency Drive, struck the fan with a screwdriver when both parties were aware that the fans were energized. Mr. Fletcher’s lapse in judgment caused a short circuit of about 700 volts according the Daily World, a local Washington newspaper. The average wall outlet, easily capable of producing a painful charge, is only 120 volts by comparison. The resulting explosion left Verl Lee momentary blind and with a list of disabling injuries.

According to the National Trial Lawyers blog, Mr. Lee now suffers from, ” hyperacusis (abnormal sound sensitivity) and a case of tinnitus that Dr. William Martin, one of the top tinnitus experts in the world, said put Lee in the top one or two percent of people who suffer from this debilitating condition. Lee also developed chronic pain behind his eyes.” Essentially, Verl Lee’s life has been permanently altered, and he now needs to wear protective headphones and a hearing device to combat the incessant ringing in his ears and sound sensitivity. Lee was an elder in his church and active in both the worship team and the choir. He was forced to give up what he loved because his injuries made it too painful to function in situations with a large amount of people and sound.
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