What Causes Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?
Every year in the U.S, accidental carbon monoxide poisoning claims an average of 430 lives and causes 50,000 emergency room visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Some experts believe that the true numbers are much higher than those reported, because the flu-like symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are so easy to mistake for other conditions. Many people who suffer permanent neurological damage or develop life-threatening conditions from extended exposure to carbon monoxide may never know what’s happening to them. To protect yourself and your family, it’s important to be able to recognize potential threats. All Carbon-Based Fuels Release Carbon Monoxide When Burned When natural gas, gasoline, propane, kerosene, charcoal, wood, and other carbon-based materials burn, they produce carbon monoxide, often abbreviated as…
Worker Dies by Electrocution at Atlanta Sand & Supply
An employee of Atlanta Sand & Supply was pronounced dead the morning of July 9th at the Byron location where he worked. A brief investigation of the scene indicated that the worker, James Wallace Dean Jr., had been killed by electrocution, apparently by accident. Of course, just because Dean does not appear to have been murdered does not mean that no one is responsible for his death. Electricity is a well-recognized and serious hazard of most workplaces, and there are many precautions that employers can and must take to keep workers safe from incidents such as this one. Electrocution Deaths Are Preventable According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), most electrical accidents happen for one of three reasons: Unsafe work environments Unsafe equipment…
Midtown Park Apartments May Be Liable for the Deaths of Two Residents in an Out-of-Control Fire
Two men are dead following a fire that engulfed most of Midtown Park Apartments in Columbus on July 31st, just before midnight. The two victims, Donald Lechowicz and Herman McCikens, ages 42 and 65 respectively, were immediate neighbors living in adjoining apartments. Of the building’s 31 units, the fire affected all but one, displacing a further 27 residents and, of course, destroying valuable and priceless personal property. No other tenants were physically hurt, but two firefighters sustained injuries while fighting the blaze. One couple reports that they have been unable to locate their cat, and that other pets have already been found dead in the wreckage. The ignition source has not yet been identified, but an investigation is ongoing. Too Often, the Blame for Fire…
Fatal Crane Accident in Macon May Be the Result of a Negligent Design
Employees of the Rosson Sign Company were in the process of replacing a Quality Inn sign in West Macon on the morning of July 16th, when an apparent malfunction caused their crane to drop the sign from a significant height. Three of the employees were seriously injured in the impact and taken to a nearby medical center, where one of them was pronounced dead. His name was Johnny Stewart, and he had graduated from high school and begun his work at Rosson a matter of days before the accident. He had received a $500 scholarship to Oconee Fall Line Technical College, where he was expected to study welding. Doctors were able to stabilize the condition of both of his coworkers, though one was listed as…
Worker Decapitated While Cleaning Machinery in an Alabama Tyson Chicken Plant
In a Tyson chicken plant near the Alabama-Georgia border, a man named Carlos Lynn was killed on March 3rd, 2020. He was 39 years old and employed by a third-party cleaning company under contract with Tyson. While cleaning a piece of plant machinery, Lynn’s head became caught in a “pinch point” — a place where a moving part passes close to a stationary object or other moving part. His cause of death was decapitation. When contacted for comment by the media, Tyson said that the incident was under investigation, emphasized the fact that Lynn was employed by a contractor, and expressed gratitude for “the swift response and assistance of local emergency personnel.” Commendable as a swift emergency response may be, it couldn’t possibly have offered…
The St. Regis Resort Could Be Liable for Injuries Caused by Its Collapsing Tent
A January wedding at Buckhead’s St. Regis Resort was interrupted when a tent collapsed under heavy winds, sending three guests to the hospital and causing superficial injuries to at least five more. The tent was being used to shelter the patio where the ceremony was taking place. Right after the bride walked down the aisle, the tent gave out under a gust of wind she said felt like a small tornado lifting it off the ground. A tent blowing over might sound like a minor accident, but the supports for patio tents are necessarily heavy-duty and often made of steel, more than substantial enough to cause death at the right velocity. Luckily, none of the guests sustained life-threatening injuries, and those who were hospitalized are…
MARTA Bus Kills Pedestrian Who Was Using a Legal Crosswalk
In one of the more senseless MARTA accidents yet, a pedestrian has been struck and killed by a bus while crossing Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd at H.E Holmes drive in Atlanta. It was about 1:15 in the afternoon on Sunday, June 7th — in other words, broad daylight, and not during peak commuting hours. The pedestrian died at the scene, and an investigation indicated that the bus had run over the victim. No identifying information has been released, except that the victim was an adult. Criminal charges have been filed against the driver. Deaths Associated with MARTA Buses Are Far Too Common This accident resembles plenty of others, in which the buses that are supposed to make Atlanta greener and more accessible have instead…
What is the average payout for a head injury?
What is the average payout for a head injury? If you or a loved one has sustained a head injury in a car or truck crash, serious fall or workplace accident, then you are devastated. Not only are you spending hours with medical specialists, but you’re also facing lost wages, huge medical bills and an uncertain future. If the injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, then the frustration at getting your life back to normal can be even worse. If this has happened to you, then it’s time to talk to the head injury lawyers at The Stoddard Firm. Your job is healing and getting better. Let us review accident reports, examine the evidence and build a powerful legal case on your behalf. You…
Georgia’s Heavy Truck Traffic Has Claimed Several More Lives
With its intense traffic congestion and high volume of long-haul shipping trucks, Georgia is a dangerous place to be a driver, passenger, or pedestrian. Right now, as businesses reopen and more people return to the roads, the frequency of fatal tractor-trailer accidents is also returning to its usual tragic level. “Spaghetti Junction” Can Be as Dangerous as It Is Frustrating The pictures that have been circulating recently of a fatal two-truck crash on Spaghetti Junction represent just one of a long series of deaths related to the second-worst traffic bottleneck in the country. This well-named interchange funnels together commercial and commuter vehicles and forces them to compete over complicated lane changes in a short space of time and road, leading to costly misjudgments. In a…
New Federal Standards Leave Private School Students as Vulnerable as Ever to Sexual Assault
The Secretary of Education has recently announced new changes to Title IX, a set of standards originally instituted to protect students from sexual assault and harassment in schools. In spite of many schools’ protestations that they won’t be able to institute the changes in time, while also changing school operations to address contagion risks, the new standards are set to take effect on August 14th. The Latest Changes to Title IX Discourage Sexual Assault Reporting Advocacy groups for sexual assault survivors, and for women’s equal access to education, object to the latest changes to Title IX for two excellent reasons. Firstly, schools regulated under Title IX can now institute a higher burden of proof before taking action against a student accused of sexual assault. Previously,…