The U.S. Department of Transportation announced new safety rules for long-distance buses earlier this month. The rules come in the wake of a fatal bus crash that killed 15 people in New York City. Federal regulators created the rules to increase regulation on drivers and new...
Read MoreGovernment Agency Issues Safety Warning about Popular Water Recreation Toy
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about the dangers of a popular activity called water walking. The product has various brand names and the CPSC says there is a risk of suffocating and drowning while doing the activity. The participant climbs inside a large, transparent plastic ball, which the operator inflates...
Read MoreMetro Bus Driver Faces Homicide Charges for 2008 Accident
Last month, authorities arrested a Metro bus driver charged with negligent homicide in connection with a September 2008 bus accident in downtown Washington, D.C. The accident killed one man when the 40-year-old driver allegedly ran a red light and collided with a taxi, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of...
Read MoreOSHA Issues Warning about Dangerous Hair Products
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a hazard warning about hair smoothing and straightening products in hair salons. The hazard warning tells hair salon owners and workers about potential exposure to formaldehyde from the dangerous product. The formaldehyde in hair products such as the Brazilian Blowout...
Read MoreFBI Employee Sued for Pedestrian Accident
In what witnesses described as a road rage accident is now the center of a lawsuit against a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee. The vehicle-pedestrian accident occurred on the morning of March 23 near 14th and F Streets Northwest in DC. A man was unloading...
Read MoreGovernment Agency Closes Bus Company Involved in Fatal Crash
On the same day in March that the Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation investigated passenger bus safety, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) shut down the Super Luxury Tours bus company in connection with a fatal bus accident in New Jersey. In...
Read MoreDefendants Trying to Pass the Buck on Liability in Wrongful Death Case
Defendants in a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit are fighting each other over liability in a 2004 steam explosion that killed two men on 17th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. After six years of disputes amongst the various defendants, including the federal government, the case is showing signs of moving forward. The parties...
Read MoreAmerican Association for Justice President Discusses How Litigation Advances Vehicle Safety
American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Gibson Vance says litigation has played a crucial role in consumer safety and manufacturer accountability in the auto industry. Gibson said that litigation and the civil justice system have, “served as the most consistent and powerful forces in heightening safety standards, revealing previously concealed defects and regulatory weaknesses...
Read MoreParamedics Wrongfully Diagnosed Man’s Heart Attack in 2008 Death
In December 2008, Washington, D.C. paramedics made a medical misdiagnosis that cost a 39-year-old man his life. When Edward Givens told paramedics he was having difficulty breathing and experiencing chest pains, their recommendation was to take some Pepto Bismol for what they said was acid reflux. Mr. Givens later died from what was...
Read MorePaulette Chapman Running for President of the Washington DC Bar Association
Washington, D.C. personal injury lawyer Paulette Chapman has been nominated to run for President Elect of the District of Columbia Bar. Ms. Chapman is a partner at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis and an honors graduate of George Washington University Law School. She is currently serving her...
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