A St. Louis County great-grandmother is recovering after being shot in the face with an arrow. A man is now behind bars facing two felonies.

Police say the man who shot the arrow was a neighbor practicing archery in his backyard, more than 300 feet away. Relatives of the great-grandmother said they’re upset that this man didn’t have any regard for the families around him.

Margaret Shofner, 80, is all stitched up now and a bit swollen after her ordeal Tuesday morning. She was sitting in the kitchen of her home when an arrow came crashing through the window, piercing her face.

“I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was black and I reached up and pulled it out, still not knowing what it was, but it was the arrow and it was in my face,” Shofner said.

Shofner said she was baby-sitting for her grandson and enjoying a chocolate doughnut when the arrow came crashing in around 8:30 a.m.

“Who would have thought an arrow was going to come into your house and hit you?” said Shofner.

She said she was in shock, but managed to clean herself up. Once her grandson returned home about an hour later, the police were called.

“When the officers did a neighborhood canvass, they discovered this resident in his backyard. He was still back there shooting,” said Cpt. J.R. Morris, assistant chief of police with the St. John Police Department.

Robert Joiner, 26, was arrested and charged with assault and armed criminal action. Joiner has since posted his $25,000 bond.

“He was kind of surprised by it all. He didn’t think his arrow could go that far, so he didn’t feel that he was really responsible,” said Morris.

Police say the arrow came from a neighboring home behind where Shofner was baby-sitting. The arrow penetrated two panes of glass and a screen before landing in Shofner’s mouth.

“It came down from an angle and went through her upper lip lodged into her jaw, busting out some teeth,” Morris said.

St. John police said there’s an ordinance in place that can result in fines and jail time if residents are found shooting arrows in St. John. Officers said that ordinance pales in comparison to the two felonies Joiner is now facing.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injuried by the actions of another, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 418-887-4300.

In January 2004, Diane Manganiello, then 42, of Montague, went to a Port Jervis, N.Y., hospital for treatment of a low sodium level. She left with a brain injury that took away much of her physical movement and her speech.

The onetime calculus teacher at Wallkill Valley Regional High School in Hamburg now functions with “the cognitive level of a young child,” said her attorney, Robert Winters.

Earlier this month, a jury in Orange County, N.Y., awarded the Manganiellos $34 million in a 5-year-old medical malpractice case.

Much of the award will pay for around-the-clock care that will let Diane Manganiello live at home, but, her husband says, “It’s not over yet.”

Attorneys for Bon Secours Community Hospital and the doctor and nurse who were sued are appealing, and it’s unclear when the money will be paid.

After his wife was hospitalized, Andrew Manganiello lost his job as sales manager for a printing company in Morristown, because he was spending so much time “running to the hospital every day.” He remained devoted to his wife’s care and finally returned to work last September, employed by the state Department of Labor as a business representative for Sussex County.

Through all these troubles, the couple’s five children — who ranged in age from 12 to 18 back in 2004 — have all gone to college. The three girls went into fields that would enable them to directly help their mother — speech pathology, occupational therapy and nutrition. Meanwhile, the two sons, the oldest of the group, got financial-services jobs and now help their father pay the bills.

The jury accepted the Manganiellos’ contention the hospital — and specifically, the physician, Moinuddin Ahmed, and a nurse, Rose Aumick — created Diane Manganiello’s condition by giving her too much sodium too quickly.

Patients suffering from hyponatremia — or a low sodium level — should have their sodium raised slowly, no more than 10 to 12 units over 24 hours, Winters said. However, Diane Manganiello’s level was raised 27 units in 14 hours, causing irreversible brain damage.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a medical professional, please contact the experienced trial attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer at 417-887-4300.

Portable swimming pools are potentially more dangerous than stationary models, according to the first U.S. study involving child drownings in temporary pools.

The reason, experts say, is that the inflatable pools — which are relatively inexpensive, readily available and don’t require professional installation — don’t generate the same sense of risk among owners, according to the study appearing in the journal “Pediatrics.”

“Parents think if something is sold without a barrier it doesn’t need one. It’s safe,” said Richboro resident Beverly Payton, a water safety advocate whose 3-year-old daughter drowned in a neighbor’s unsecured pool in 1988. “You have to think of it as a monster in your backyard ready to eat your child.”

The new study found that a child in the U.S. died every five days in portable pools during warm weather months. Between 2001 and 2009, there were 209 deaths nationwide and 35 near-drownings involving children under age 14. More than 90 percent of the children were under 5.

Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio and Independent Safety Consulting in Maryland say the findings are comparable to drownings related to in-ground pools.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates an average of 5,100 pool or spa-related submersion injuries were treated in hospital emergency departments each year from 2008 through 2010. Most involved children younger than 5.

The new study focused on temporary swimming pools, ranging from wading pools that are less than 18 inches deep to inflatable pools and soft-sided pools that can reach depths of 4 feet.

Study researchers found that many safety features, such as fencing, pool alarms, safety covers and removable ladders used with permanent pools are too expensive or not easily available for families who buy stationary pools.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous product, please contact the experienced trial attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer at 417-887-4300.

A six-week trial in Hamilton County Court ended yesterday afternoon with the award of a $14.5 million jury verdict for Joseph Radcliff and his restoration company, CPM Construction of Indiana, against State Farm Insurance.

State Farm had filed suit for insurance fraud and RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) claims against Radcliff and CPM. The case arose out of work done by Radcliff and CPM following the April 2006 hailstorm. Radcliff and CPM’s allegations were that after State Farm received negative publicity in the Indianapolis media for denying hail damage claims, State Farm made unfounded claims of fraud against Radcliff and instigated the filing of felony charges against him. Those charges were dismissed by the Marion County Prosecutor, but the negative publicity resulted in Radcliff’s personal reputation and business being destroyed.

Not only did the jury find that State Farm’s claims against Radcliff were baseless, but they also found that the Radcliff’s allegations of being defamed by State Farm were true. The jury ordered State Farm to pay Radcliff $14.5 million.

If you or a loved one has been injured financially by the acts of others, please contact the experienced trial attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer at 417-887-4300.

In Springdale, Arkansas, five people remained in the hospital on Thursday after an accident caused chlorine gas to fill part of a Tyson Foods plant. Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said none of the five are in intensive care.

More than 170 were taken to hospitals on Monday morning after someone accidentally poured a chlorine solution into a drum of mixed acids. That caused a chemical reaction to create chlorine gas, which can be toxic.

Federal investigators and the company continue to investigate how the accident happened. Many chicken plants use water mixed with chlorine to cool and clean chickens before they are processed. Experts say adding acid to the water separately can make the chlorine more effective.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a dangerous condition, you may be entitled to compensation.  The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer are experienced dangerous condition lawyers.