Oklahoma Personal Injury Legal Blog
Reducing Your Risk of an Oklahoma Auto Accident
In 2008, the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office reported that at least 70% of traffic collisions in Oklahoma involved 2 vehicles. Of the total Oklahoma collisions, 43% resulted in the incapacity of either the driver or vehicle passengers and 37% of the accidents were fatalities.
Although some auto accidents in Oklahoma are unavoidable, drivers can take steps to reduce their risk of auto accidents and to minimize the severity of an auto collision through preventative measures.
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Ex-Employee Charged in Abuse and Torture of Nursing Home Residents
An article in The Oklahoman online reported that a former caregiver at a Los Angeles-based nursing home facility was sentenced to life for allegedly beating one nursing home resident to death and abusing many other elderly residents.
Witnesses claimed that the worker body-slammed a 78-year-old mute woman and attacked an elderly man in which the ex-employee crashed his knees into the man’s stomach. In addition, the former caregiver had made sexually explicit comments about the daughter of one of the patients. The widow of one of the former patients who was killed discovered that blunt force trauma and abuse caused her husband to suffer many broken bones and a head injury that eventually killed him.
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Marble City Employee Killed in Grinder Accident
According to an online article in The Oklahoman, a 30-year-old man was killed in a work related accident at a lime plant. The employee was pulled into a grinder machine used for grinding lime and other minerals for a lime plant corporation as three men performed maintenance on the machine. The employee was killed instantly during the on-the-job accident.
Based on the report, rescue workers had to partially dismantle the machine in order to recover the employee’s body. The cause of the accident is still under investigation by the Mine and Safety Health Administration. Statistics from the Oklahoma State Department of Health indicate that 21% of occupational fatalities were due to machine-related deaths between 1998 and 2006.
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Understanding the Extent of Birth Injuries in Oklahoma
Ideally, all expectant mothers should conclude their pregnancy with the delivery of a healthy, beautiful baby. Unfortunately, the negligence of medical professionals can devastate this hope and cause a newborn infant to suffer injuries that could have otherwise been prevented through additional precautions and extended prenatal care.
A birth injury in Oklahoma consists of any form of harm that occurs as an infant is being delivered through the birth canal of its mother. Birth injuries can range in severity from mild injuries, including bruises on an infant’s skull, to more severe injuries, including cerebral palsy, brain hemorrhaging, and even infant mortality in certain cases.
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Family Awarded $2.8 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The grief that a family experiences in losing a loved one in a wrongful death incident cannot be expressed in words. The very unexpected and sudden nature of such accidents makes the loss all the more challenging and even financially debilitating in some cases when a family loses their sole wage earner.
A www.cleveland.com article discusses a wrongful death incident that began over an argument about fireworks. Apparently, a neighbor shot a gun in retaliation and out of anger at five people, killing three. This would typically seem more like a criminal court case; however, the family of the deceased victims also filed a wrongful death claim in civil court proceedings.
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Oil Tank Blast Kills 21-Year-Old-Man
A 21-year-old man was killed when he was severely burned during an oil tank blast, according to a News OK article. The Oklahoma wrongful death accident is still under investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to determine if any other circumstances caused the explosion.
Witnesses say the oil tank exploded, because the man was smoking a cigarette as he opened the hatch to the tank. As a result of the explosion, the man suffered various degrees of severe burns over a large portion of his body. Another man who accompanied the victim also endured serious burns on his arms as a result of the explosion. Both men had been walking across a path that connected two oil tanks together.
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Hunting Accidents Can Cause Serious Personal Injury
Last May, a turkey hunter was shot in his left eye as he sat in a makeshift while turkey hunting. According to a Tulsa World report, the injured hunter was accidently shot by another hunter, who had mistakenly believed that he heard turkey sounds nearby. Apparently, when the defendant hunter awoke from a nap, he aimed his hunting rifle at what he believed were turkey decoys. In actuality, he had blinded another hunter who was perched up high in a tree also searching for turkey.
The defendant hunter was charged with the misdemeanor of reckless conduct of a firearm and he received a $900 fine for his actions that inflicted injury upon another. Additionally, the defendant hunter will be under supervised probation until January 2012, since he is a first-time offender.
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Class Action Suit Filed against Beechmont Plant after Chemical Spill
Facilities that house dangerous materials must take every available precaution in ensuring that the surrounding community is safe, and should be even more vigilant in ensuring the safety of their employees. However, as a recent chemical spill in Beechmont illustrates, people in the surrounding area of a chemical plant are still at significant risk in the event an accident does occur. According to a Courier Journal article, a class-action lawsuit has been filed by affected-Beechmont residents who sustained injury as a result of the spill.
Reportedly, a chemical spill at the Nuplex Resins plant resulted in chemical vapors seeping into sewer pipes and into the city’s water supply, affecting nearby residents in the process. The lawsuit cites loss of property value as one result of the chemical accident, and at least one diagnosed incident of chemical exposure. The plant manufactures resin for industrial-grade paints, and has had a spotty track record of wastewater disposal since the year 2000. Compensation for loss of property values and adverse health consequences are being sought after in the suit.
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Texting While Trucking Now Banned By U.S. DOT
A recent government ban on texting specific to drivers of large commercial trucks should help cut-down on the number of auto accidents in Oklahoma and throughout the United States involving inattentive truck drivers. Statistically speaking, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute cited truck drivers as being 23 times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than those drivers who pay full attention to the road. As it now stands, truck drivers can face fines of up to $2,750 for texting while driving, but instances of inattentive truck driving are still occurring across the country.
According to the United States Department of Transportation, distracted driving takes on three different forms: visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual distraction involves taking one’s eyes off the road, a task that the vast majority of people do while text messaging. Manual distraction involves removing one’s hands from the steering wheel – yet another action that characterizes motorists who choose to use their cell phone while operating a motor vehicles. Cognitive distraction involves not fully focusing on the task at hand. While driving a large commercial truck, much attention needs to be given to the road and the safe operation of the vehicle. Texting while driving certainly detracts from a truck driver’s ability to operate the vehicle with the utmost care.
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Toyota May Have Purposely Delayed U.S. Venza Recall
Toyota Motor Corporation has faced scrutiny for months over its less than forthright decision making when it comes to publicizing vehicle defects. According to the Los Angeles Times, Toyota is now being accused of delaying a product recall involving its Venza vehicles. Reportedly, Toyota recalled the Venza in Canada last December, citing faulty floor mats that could become entrapped as a potential safety hazard. However, Toyota failed to issue the same product recall in the United States until six weeks after the Canadian recall. This prompted some federal regulators to further question Toyota’s accountability in knowing that its vehicles posed a potential risk to consumers.
After failing to recall more than 2 million vehicles due to unintended acceleration issues, federal regulators recently fined Toyota a record $16.4 million. Auto manufacturers have an obligation to thoroughly test automobiles, ensuring that consumers are not placed in harm’s way while operating them. In the event that a defect is discovered, the auto manufacturer must promptly notify consumers of the defect, particularly since failure to do so could lead to personal injury. A failure to notify consumers of any problems associated with their vehicles can be considered negligence, and as such, auto manufactures that have been negligent may be held liable in a court of law.
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