West Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

Known as an "invisible killer," carbon monoxide poisoning is a very real concern for many West Virginia residents and their families. Every year, carbon monoxide poisoning is responsible for injuring more than 10,00 people and killing 5,000 more. Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and colorless, which makes it very hard to identify preemptively without an adequate CO detector.

When inhaled, carbon monoxide is a potentially deadly gas that emanates from any source that burns fuel. Often times, carbon monoxide leaks occur in old or faulty space heaters, large heating and cooling systems, camping equipment, fireplaces and gas stoves. Carbon monoxide can be found not only in homes, but also in businesses, offices, boats, trailers, recreational vehicles and cabins.

It is always a good idea to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home if you don't have one, especially since the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be so innocuous. Generally, symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include dizziness, nausea, fatigue and headaches. If you or your family members are experiencing these symptoms regularly, be sure to contact a doctor right away.

CO blocks oxygen from getting to your body, which can damage your cells over time and even kill you if the exposure is great enough. Continued exposure usually exhibits in the form of heart irregularity, coma and eventually death. If you or someone you love has been exposed to CO in a work environment, in someone else's home or in an apartment building, contact a reliable personal injury lawyer. You may have a case against responsible parties for your injuries.

Medical malpractice lawsuits in West Virginia can be tough to pursue. In these types of cases, a personal injury attorney must prove that the victim suffered a significant injury or wrongful death after a negligent act or omission by a doctor (or other medical professional).

Intentional torts are not considered under this category; instead, crimes like assault by a doctor, threats of harm by a medical staffer or battery from a medical worker can be pursued in civil litigation or criminal court, depending on the circumstances. It takes an aggressive lawyer in order to pursue hospitals, doctors or other medical personnel for injuries sustained at their hands, but it can be done.

Compensation for Medical Malpractice
Negligent actions by a doctor can cause serious and even fatal injuries. Under the law, patients who suffer needlessly are entitled to various types of compensation, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of consortium (payments for the loss of a spouse's ability to work) and more.

Damages are designed to put the victim back (or as closely as possible) in the same position as he/she was in prior to being hurt. If there is a permanent injury or ongoing injury, you may also be entitled to further payments for future lost wages, compensation for disfigurement or dismemberment or emotional distress.

Medical malpractice suits require a skilled personal injury lawyer in order to be successful. Especially when you're dealing with pharmaceuticals companies or large corporations like hospitals, it can be a very long road to success. It's important that you keep accurate records, get outside medical opinions, note lost work days and document each step of the recovery process.

With summer officially here, many West Virginia parents are stocking up on all types of toys to entertain antsy children over the summer months. New bicycles, playground equipment, games and other items can create hours of fun for young people, but they can also be very dangerous. As a parent, it is crucial that you check for recalls on new and old toys periodically to safeguard your children from potential dangers.

Both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Recalls.gov, a collaborative website from six different federal safety agencies, list current and past recalls for products sold in the United States. On both of these sites, you can find specific recalls by brand and type. Toys and other products can be recalled for a myriad of reasons, including high levels of toxic ingredients (like lead or mercury), choking hazards, flammability hazards, laceration hazards and potentially dangerous chemical ingredients.

Investigate Safety Before You Buy
When you're shopping for summer toys for your family, be sure to consider a few things before you buy any toys:

- Are the toys age-appropriate for your children? Toys must be clearly labeled for use by a certain age group, so be sure your child is old enough to use the toy safely.
- Make sure the toy is BPA (bisphenol A) and lead-free. These ingredients are toxic to children, even in small amounts.
- Are there any small parts that might present a choking hazard to your child? Do any parts break off easily or come apart to present a hazard?

If a toy, regardless of a recall, injures your child, you must contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. Toy manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the safe use of their products and they can often be held liable for injuries caused by their items.

As we discussed in Part I of this entry, air bags can save your life in an auto accident, but they can also cause severe injuries such as temporary or permanent hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears). When an airbag deploys, it causes a rapid and often violent explosion. The airbag, although more helpful than harmful usually, can cause still collateral damage to car accident victims. X-rays and CT scans are often needed to accurately diagnose hearing loss and other problems. This is why it's so important to get a medical examination after an auto accident. With proper medical diagnosis, a personal injury lawyer can help you recover fair compensation for your injuries.

Common Signs of Hearing Loss
If you have been in an accident in which the airbag deployed, it is critical that you are checked for signs of hearing loss. These include muffled hearing, trouble understanding what others are saying, difficulty distinguishing between direct conversation and background noise, the inability to hear when there are competing voices, listening to the radio or television at higher than normal levels, avoiding conversations you would have taken part in before the accident and even depression. You may also have other physical symptoms, such as ear bleeding, pus leakage or vertigo.

Although some ear injuries can heal on their own, many are permanent. Damaged eardrums can be surgically corrected for some people and devices can be implanted for others to increase hearing ability, however, there is no complete cure. This is why you need a lawyer on your side - to fight for the compensation you deserve for your injury.

Air bags save lives in West Virginia every day. However, the rapid and loud explosion required for immediate airbag deployment can cause injuries that result in temporary or permanent hearing loss in car accident victims. The average airbag deployment causes sound pressure equal to 170 decibels - louder than a close-range shotgun blast or a jet engine.

This type of noise exposure is enough to rupture eardrums, cause ear canal bleeding and create permanent "tinnitus." According to the Mayo Clinic, tinnitus (pronounced TIN-i-tus) is defined as noise or ringing in the ears. It can also exhibit as persistent buzzing, roaring or pulsating sounds in the ears. This condition is serious because it not only affects the way people hear, but it can also cause disruptions in equilibrium, causing unsteadiness and dizziness.

No matter if the car accident is at a low speed or a high speed, airbags will always deploy at the same explosive rate and noise level. Airbags are actually equipped with small explosive mechanisms that inflate them within a fraction of a second. Impact with an airbag can save your life, to be sure, but it can also cause dislocation of sensitive bones in your ear, such as those that transmit sound from the middle ear to the inner ear (cochlea). This is how hearing loss often occurs.

If you or someone you love has experienced tinnitus or hearing loss after an auto accident in West Virginia, contact a personal injury attorney right away. It is important that you have a legal representative to advocate for your rights in the event of hearing loss, since this is a problem that is going to affect the rest of your life. A lawyer can get you adequate compensation for your permanent injury.

As the summer months arrive, West Virginia residents will flock to local lakes and rivers with their boats, jet skis, canoes and kayaks. Water sports are the highlight of the summer for many people, but as more people head out on the water, the risk for boating accidents also increases.

Boating accidents are often exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol, driver lack of experience operating recreational boats and driver error. The U.S. Coast Guard urges drivers to wear life jackets to prevent or minimize injuries. According to a May 21, 2010 report by CBS affiliate station WOWK-TV in Huntington, 70% of people who die in boating accidents were not wearing a life jacket.

The U.S. Coast Guard also encourages boaters to keep away from locks and dams, as these locations can be hazardous for recreational boats and swimmers. Restricted areas around locks and dams are clearly marked and should be avoided at all times, unless you have authorization to travel through the lock.

Complete Safety Checks to Reduce Risk
To reduce your risk for boating accidents this summer, take a boater-safety course and be sure to have your boat thoroughly checked for safety at the beginning and end of every boating season. When boats sit for long periods of time, corrosion and engine wear and tear can make them dangerous out on the open water.

West Virginia and Ohio boaters can utilize Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) safety checkpoints along the Ohio River to ensure that their boats have all the required equipment on board. These items include life jackets, a fire extinguisher, distress flag, anchor and line, horn and/or whistle.

As always, all authorities discourage boaters from drinking, as most boating accidents involve alcohol. If you have been injured in a boating accident in West Virginia, be sure to contact a reliable personal injury lawyer immediately to protect your rights.