The St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting that two of the nearly 100 people injured in the April 28 storm accident at Kilroy’s Sports Bar filed lawsuits today against the pub and the company that leased and installed a tent that collapsed.

These are the first of several expected lawsuits to be filed against Kilroy’s and the company that leased and installed the tent.

If you or someone you love was injured when the tent collapsed on April 28, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri product liability attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lawsuits-filed-in-fatal-tent-collapse-at-kilroy-s/article_d590b270-9df5-11e1-8bf6-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1ut2eZTPn

The total has now risen to 16 individuals that have become infected with Salmonella from at least 11 brands of dry dog food manufactured at a Gaston, S.C., plant operated by Diamond Pet Foods of Meta, Mo. They include the store brand pet food sold by Costco, Kirkland Signature and Kirkland Signature Domain.

Lab tests have confirmed that those sick were infected with a rare strain of salmonella Infantis, which was detected only after a routine test of dry dog food revealed contamination, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Although three individuals are from Missouri, people have been infected in eight other states including North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, and Virginia.

People can become sick by handling the tainted pet food or through contact with an animal that has eaten the contaminated food.

If you have purchased one of the 11 recalled brands of Diamond Pet Food, you should immediately discard of it. If you believe you may have contracted salmonella from the tainted dog food or any other contaminated product, please contact the experienced Springfield salmonella attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark. and Toys R Us Inc., of Wayne, NJ are announcing the recall of about 21,000 inflatable Banzai in-ground pool water slides. During use, the slide can deflate, allowing the user to hit the ground underneath the slide and become injured. The slide is also unstable and can topple over in both still and windy conditions and carries inadequate warnings and instructions.

The CPSC is aware that a 29-year-old Colorado mother died in Andover, Mass. after fracturing her neck going down a Banzai in-ground pool water slide which had been placed over the concrete edge of a pool. The victim hit her head at the bottom of the slide because it had partially deflated.

The CPSC and the retailers are aware of two other injuries which have occurred in a similar manner, including a 24-year-old man from Springfield, Mo. who became a quadriplegic and a woman from Allentown, Pa. who fractured her neck.

The recall involves Banzai in-ground pool water slides designed for use with in-ground pools. The vinyl slides have a blue base, yellow sliding mat and an arch going over the top of the slide. By connecting a hose to the top of the slide, water can be sprayed on its downward slope. The words ‘Banzai Splash’ are printed in a circular blue, orange and white logo, shaped like a wave on either side of the slide.

The recalled slides, which were manufactured in China by Manley Toys, Ltd, were sold at Walmart and Toys R Us nationwide from January 2005 through June 2009 for about $250. The recalled slides have the barcode number 2675315734 and model number 15734. Both the barcode and model number appear on the original packaging but are not on the actual slide.

CPSC urges consumers to immediately stop using the product and return it to the nearest Walmart or Toys R Us for a full refund. Consumers can also cut the two safety warning notices out of the slide and just return that portion. For additional information from Walmart, call (800) 925-6278 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.walmartstores.com. For additional information from Toys R Us, call (800) 869-7787 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday and between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, or visit the firm’s website at www.toysrus.com

Read more: http://www.ky3.com/news/wpmt-pool-slides-recalled-after-woman-dies-20120510,0,5960415.story

If you or someone you love has been injured by a Bonzai in-ground pool waterslide, please contact the experienced Springfield product liability attorneys of Strong-Garner-
Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Social networking has become common-place among a large percentage of the American people. From the looks of things, it appears that social networking is here to stay and is progressing at a steady rate. Whether it be Facebook, Myspace, Twitter or another, people are willing to share or post even the most sensitive information with family and friends. Sometimes clients will unknowingly post incriminating pictures or comments that may contradict their own sworn testimony. The thought being that this “private” information is only viewable by friends and that outsiders will not have access to it. As outlined below, recent court decisions have allowed insurance companies complete access to social media where public information contradicts their own testimony.

In the Pennsylvania case of Zimmerman v. Weis Markets Inc., the judge ordered the plaintiff to provide the court with the login information for his social media account. The court reasoned that since the public portions of his Facebook and MySpace accounts showed evidence of his injury, a discovery of the remaining private postings were likely to contain similar information. The court made this decision because the man had profile pictures of himself on Facebook and MySpace. In one of the pictures, he is shown wearing shorts that happened to expose a scar from his accident.

In the New York case of Romano v. Steelcase Inc., a judge entitled defense attorneys access to the private MySpace and Facebook pages of a plaintiff who claimed to be confined to her home because of her injuries. The profile picture on one of her social media accounts depicted her standing outdoors. The court decided that because the public portions of her social networking accounts contained evidence that was contradictory to her claims, the private portions of her accounts would likely yield additional contradictory evidence. The profile picture could have been months or years before the accident. The defense pushed the idea that the woman maintained an active lifestyle, and she was not seriously injured.

Social media is now one of the first sources insurance companies check for information after a suit is filed. Insurance companies have access to Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines in an attempt to access any and all information they may be able to use against you. Anything on the web is fair game to the insurance company including posts or pictures regarding the facts or causation of the accident and the effects it has had upon the injured party.

The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. strongly encourage clients to either take down their account or deactivate it indefinitely. If deactivation is not an option, then other steps may be taken to insure complete privacy.

- Immediately make your profile “private,” and set all privacy settings to the highest level.

- Do not discuss your accident, injuries or treatment, including any prescribed medication, on these sites.

- Do not discuss activities you’ve engaged in, physical exertion, abilities and limitations, or any other information that may bear on what you can and cannot do because of your injuries—even in a way unrelated to the lawsuit.

- Remove all photographs and videos of you taken since your injury, and refrain from posting until your claim has been resolved.

- Be sure you know everybody who is your “friend.” Do not accept friend requests from people you do not personally know.

- Review your friend list and block anyone you are not 100 percent confident you know and trust. The Defendant could pose as a friend to access your personal page or to place or obtain incriminating evidence that can negatively affect your lawsuit.

If you or a loved on have been seriously injured, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Source: http://www.pbn.com/Social-Networking-Impacts-Personal-Injury-Cases,65265

As spring has arrived in Springfield, more and more bicyclists will be on the roads. Along with being avid bicyclists themselves, the attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. have handled multiple bicycle accident cases and know all too well what can go wrong. When riding a bike, here are some bicycle safety tips to help avoid being involved in a bicycle accident:

*Ride on the right side of the road with traffic.
*Many roads now have bike lanes; make sure to use them.
*Obey all traffic signals, including stopping at all stop signs.
*Make sure to wear bright, highly visible clothing and always wear a properly fitted helmet.
*Avoid riding at night or at dusk. If you must, make sure your bicycle has reflectors, wear reflectors and make sure your bicycle has a light.
*When in doubt, yield to a car or truck. You may be right, but that’s a multi-ton vehicle that can kill you.

As far as drivers are concerned, they need to keep an especiallly careful lookout. Keep an eye out for bicyclists. Give them some room on the road. Don’t squeeze past a cyclist as that can cause an accident. In residential areas, be particularly vigilant for children riding bicycles that they may not control very well.

Please don’t let these warnings and safety precautions take the fun out of bike riding. It’s a great sport, great excerise and a great pastime. Riding safe means you can ride for many years to come.

In the unfortunate event that you have been injured in a bicycle accident, please contact the experienced bicycle accident attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

The mother of one of the two Hungarian students killed when a tugboat-guided barge crashed into a disabled sightseeing boat in Philadelphia almost two years ago says she should be home celebrating Mother’s Day with her daughter.

But instead the students’ parents will be in federal court in Philadelphia on Monday for proceedings on whether there should be a limit on what the two vessel operators could be required to pay stemming from the July 2010 crash on the Delaware River.

Sixteen-year-old Dora Schwendtner (SHVENT’-ner) and 20-year-old Szabolcs (ZAB’-ultch) Prem were killed and 35 others aboard the amphibious duck boat were thrown into the water.

The victims’ families have sued the city, the vessels’ operators and others.

The tug boat pilot was sentenced in November to a year in prison.

If you or a loved one have been involved in a serious accident, please contact the experienced Springfield personal injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at417-887-4300.