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

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.

The AP is reporting that St. Louis rescue crews are searching for a crane operator who fell into the Mississippi River while working on a new bridge at St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the crane broke Wednesday morning and fell over in the water. St. Louis Fire Department rescue crews went to the scene. The worker’s life jacket was found, but not the man.The worker was helping to build the new $640 million bridge.

As spring begins and the economy contrinues to strengthen, many construction workers will be returning to work. Large projects and developments can often lead to worker safety hazards or require working with dangerous or defective equipment. In the above incident, not only was the worker forced into a dangerous and unsafe situation, but he also fell victim to a faulty product. It is incidents such as these that often times could have been avoided if proper safety procedures were followed.

If you or someone you love has been involved in a contruction site accident or has been injured by a defective product, please contact the experienced Springfield construction site attorneys and Springfield product liability attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

The family of a man who died after he was paralyzed when a skydiving plane crashed settled a wrongful death case a few days before trial was to begin for more than $3 million.

Steven Parrella was a cameraman aboard the plane to record other skydivers, explained his family’s attorney, Morry Cole, of Gray, Ritter & Graham in St. Louis.

The plane crashed near Sullivan, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis, after it experienced engine failure. Six of the eight people aboard died in the crash.

This is one example where someone’s negligence has left a family in ruin. Tragic as it may be, family members are often left with no choice but to file a wrongful death suit when someone they love is tragically taken from them.

If a family member has been tragically taken from you, please contact the experienced Springfield wrongful death attorney’s of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A two-vehicle crash in Springfield sent a 1 year old to the hospital after her car seat was ejected.

Cindy Wells, 45, of Springfield, said she was driving south on Kansas Expressway and making a left-hand turn onto Hovey Street. Wells, who was driving a 1986 Bronco, said she was hit by another car.

The baby was in a forward facing car seat but was thrown out of the back of the vehicle during the wreck.

“The only thing we could figure is that the pressure on the seatbelt caused the lock to disengage,” Wells said.

Fortunately, no one in the accident was seriously injured including the baby, who was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

There are several lessons to be learned from this accident. First of all, it is imperative that car seats are properly installed. Failing to properly install a car seat can result in serious injuries to your children. One should consult an expert if they have any questions regarding proper installation. Secondly, one should make sure the product they are using to keep their child free from harm is a safe product. There are many dangerous and defective products on the market. In order to avoid purchasing a dangerous or defective productive, make sure and conduct your own research before purchase.

If you or a loved one feel that you have been harmed by a dangerous or defective product, please contact the experienced Springfield product liability attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A 2-day-old baby survived a crash that killed his mother, father and 3-year-old brother.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Reinsh said the family of four from Eldon was traveling west on Missouri 52 in Miller County, 100 miles north of Springfield, when an eastbound Toyota moved into their lane.

“The one vehicle just crossed the center line and they hit pretty much head-on,” Reinsh said, noting it was sunny and clear when the crash happened at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. “As far as I know, the weather was not a factor.”

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a car accident, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

A Lenexa woman knew the dangers posed by gel fuels long before a warning this week from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Last October, Pam Polson and her family sat on her sister’s patio catching up on each other’s lives.

Her brother-in-law, Steve Michnick, began to refill a Napa Firelite firepot with a gel fuel called NAPAfire. All Polson can remember are the flames landing on her.

“It was horrible,” she said. “I mean, I was flaming. One minute I was sitting doing nothing, and the next thing I know these flames shot out and landed on me and I was immediately engulfed in flames.”

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning on gel and other fuels used in firepots, tiki torches and other products. Spokesman Alex Filip said the agency had received multiple reports that are being investigated, but the focus of the investigation was on the fuel.

“Because it’s a jelly-like substance, it will get onto clothing or skin and when it catches fire, just splashing water or smothering it won’t always kill the flames,” Filip said. “You need a dry chemical extinguisher to put it out.”

Filip said the gel fuel has only been available on the market a couple of years, to his knowledge. He said it would take time for scientists to understand how to best deal with the product and to review its safety labels. Already, though, retailers are pulling the product.

Filip said the most important thing is for the public to be aware that the products are hazardous.

“It looks like the flame has gone out when it actually hasn’t,” Filip said. “When people pour the fuel on when the fire is not completely out, it’s like pouring fuel onto a fire.”

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

An 11-year-old girl died Friday after falling from a Ferris wheel while on a class trip to an amusement park in New Jersey, police said.

Abiah Jones fell at Morley Piers Mariner’s Landing Pier about 12:30 p.m., according to the Wildwood Police Department.

First responders gave her first aid and took her to Cape Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about 1:15 p.m., according to police.

The girl was riding one of the park’s main attractions, “The Great Wheel.” At 156 feet, it’s one of the tallest wheels on the East Coast, according to Morley Piers spokeswoman Lindsey Young.

The cause of the girl’s fall was unknown and the Wildwood police and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office continue to investigate.

The Carnival Amusement Inspectors of New Jersey were also on the scene Friday afternoon conducting their own investigation, police said.

It is the first time someone has fallen from the ride since it opened in 1985 and the park has suffered no other guest fatality, Young said.

The ride was inspected by the state in March and passed, Young said.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a serious fall accident, please contact the experienced catastrophic injury attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer at 417-887-4300.

All to often trucking accidents involve drivers who are operating an eighteen wheeler on inadequate rest or are carrying a load that exceeds capacity regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is in the final stages of two related truck rules: to limit service to 10 consecutive hours and to require trucks to convert to electronic on-board recorders to keep tabs on the hours driven continuously. The Truck Safety Coalition is pushing for quick approval of the rules, while the trucking industry supports the on-board recorders but not changing the driving limits.

Joan Claybrook, a consumer activist, stated that ”every year about 4,000 people needlessly die on our highways and 100,000 more are injured in truck crashes.” “Families and truck drivers are being slaughtered on our highways because of the trucking industry’s relentless push for bigger, overweight trucks operated by drivers who are exhausted and pressured to meet unreasonable delivery deadlines.”

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, you may be entitled to compensation.  The attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer are experienced truck accident lawyers.

A man working on a tractor was killed last week at a local salvage yard when a split rim wheel struck him in the head.  The man was working at a salvage yard when a tire exploded off the rim of an industrial tractor, cutting his head open and causing severe brain trauma.  Split rim wheels are known to have random explosions, given the inflation pressure, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic head injury, please contact the Springfield head injury lawyers of Strong, Garner, Bauer at 417-887-4300.

PRESS RELEASE (Available for immediate release)

Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Steven B. Garner as the “Springfield, MO Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigator of the Year” for 2011.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 17th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2011) is based on more than 3.1 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Steven B. Garner on being selected as the ‘Springfield, MO Best Lawyers Personal Injury Litigator of the Year’ for 2011.”

With warm regards,

Steven Naifeh
President
Best Lawyers