“Look Both Ways” December 4, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.Tags: child injury, child safety, pedestrian, Wisconsin Auto Accidents, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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I’ve said that phrase a bazillion times the past few years. Those with small boys will understand. As a personal injury attorney maybe I’m a little (actually a lot) more worried about car versus pedestrian accidents. I’ve handled a great number of cases where people walked across the street at the cross walk and not at the cross walk. In short, always cross at the cross walk, even if it means walking a few hundred feet out of your way.
The reason I mention this is a blog post that Attorney Michael Pines of California wrote. California has a new program called the “Safe Routes to School Program.” It’s a good idea. I don’t know of anything like it in Wisconsin.
In short Attorney Pines describes it as:
What the program intends to do is to create specific, easily accessible routes for children to walk to school with reduced dangers and hazards. The routes include smaller traffic flow, safety barriers between pedestrians and traffic, lower speed limits in these zones, and in some areas, the restriction of auto traffic altogether.
I don’t know what the cost of the program would be. But, in theory it sounds like a good idea. Maybe some generous foundation could fund this?
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Fond du lac, West Bend, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
Homeowner, Not Dog Owner, Responsible For Dog Bite December 3, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Dog Attack Information, FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: dog bite, Wisconsin Dog Bite Attorney, Wisconsin Dog Bite Law, Wisconsin Dog Bites
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Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals held today that a homeowner whose friend lived with him for four months before the attack was responsible for the damages caused by the dog. The Oshkosh Northwestern reported:
The dog bite statute holds persons who “own, harbor or keep” a dog strictly liable for any damages the dog causes. A statutory keeper may be simultaneously liable with an owner. The trial court concluded that at the moment of injury, the dog’s legal owner had control of the dog and, therefore, Seefeldt was not a statutory keeper under § 174.02. We reverse the trial court’s ruling.
The dog was one of 4 dogs at the residence. The dog ran out of the front door, charged across the street and bit the victim three times causing 16 puncture wounds.
There was a dissent. Judge Snyder argued:
That dog bite cases are decided on their particular facts and Seefeldt had relinquished her limited “keeper” status when Waterman ran after his dog.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Sheboygan, Plymouth, and Germantown.
If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.
Child Safety Seats Safe? December 2, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Auto Accidents.Tags: child injury, child safety, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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You fly to Grandma’s house for Christmas with your kids. With the increased prices of luggage these days you decide to NOT bring the kids’ safety seats. You’ll just rent them. It’s okay right? These safety seats are safe? They have to be safe. If they weren’t safe the rental company wouldn’t allow the public to use them.
Well, don’t assume anything. Consumeraffairs.com wrote about a family’s recent troubles with their rental child safety seats.
“Some seats were obviously missing parts. Some were obviously very old,” she told ConsumerAffairs.com. “We installed two of the better looking seats thinking that they were okay only to find that they were not working.”
So, what can a family on the move do? Consumeraffairs.com recommends:
• Inspect each seat thoroughly for any evidence of cracking, twisting, worn harness webbing or broken buckles.
• Verify that seatbelts are threaded through the proper channels.
• Once you have latched the buckles, pull hard to make sure that they do not detach.
• Find the “birth date” label on the side or back of the seat, and don’t use a seat more than 5 years old.
• Get a copy of the car seat manual
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Milwaukee, West Bend, New Berlin and Wauwatosa.
Troublesome Toys November 28, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.Tags: BPA, child safety, wisconsin personal injury, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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The United States Public Interest Research Group released a study entitled “Trouble in Toyland.”
What caught my eye was the discussion of chemicals in our kids’ toys.
Toxic phthalates: Numerous scientists have documented the potential health effects of exposure to phthalates in the womb or at crucial stages of development, including (but not limited to) reproductive defects, premature delivery, early onset of puberty and lower sperm counts. Effective February 2009, the CPSIA bans toys that contain concentrations of more than 0.1 percent of a toxic chemical called phthalates. PIRG found toys that contained concentrations of phthalates of up to 40 percent.
So what can you do to avoid these chemicals. I previously wrote about BPA in baby bottles, cups and dishes. Along with the advice from that blog I recommend you read PIRG’s study. In part:
Avoid toys made of PVC plastic; which often contains phthalate softeners. Choose unpainted wooden or cloth toys instead. Read the labels of play cosmetics and avoid products with xylene or toluene or phthalates. All of these pose hazards, especially to developing children’s small bodies.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in West Allis, Sheboygan, Plymouth, and Germantown.
If you’d like to submit a question or case please complete a case submission form.
Worse than Drunk Driving? November 27, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Wisconsin Auto Accidents.Tags: American Family Insurance, car accident, Wisconsin car accident lawyer, wisconsin personal injury
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According to a recent story by Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate teens who drive while texting have a reaction time that is worse than those who are under the influence of alcohol or marijuana:
A study found that reaction time for teens who text as they drive slows by 35 percent, which is worse than if they were under the influence of alcohol or marijuana.
According to the report 46% of teens admit to driving while texting. Knowing teens, because I was one once, my guess is that number is low.
Senator Lasee will introduce a bill in January 2009 calling for fines for offenders and even jail time if someone dies because of a texting driver. This legislation failed last year.
Teen drivers need to consider the consequences of their actions. Depending on the facts of the collision I don’t think verdicts including punitive damages against texting drivers are too far in the future.
Wisconsin’s Punitive Damages law states at Section 895.85 Wis. Stats.:
“The plaintiff may receive punitive damages if evidence is submitted showing that the defendant acted maliciously toward the plaintiff or in an intentional disregard of the rights of the plaintiff.”
How does this apply to teens who text? Well, if a teen knows of the dangers of texting or has had near misses or accidents while texting then punitive damages may be possible under Wisconsin law.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court stated:
We conclude that the statute’s requirement that the defendant act ‘in an intentional disregard of the rights of the plaintiff’ necessitates that the defendant act with a purpose to disregard the plaintiff’s rights or be aware that his or her conduct is substantially certain to result in the plaintiff’s rights being disregarded.”
Parents watch your kids. American Family offers a teen safe driver program. More about this later.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Milwaukee, West Bend, New Berlin and Wauwatosa.
Happy Thanksgiving! November 27, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Groth.add a comment
I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving.
I’m thankful for all I have. My family, friends and even my co-workers. This Thanksgiving I encourage everyone to thank the men and women in the armed forces. I’m thankful we live in the United States.
Wisconsin's Turkey Stamp
Recalled Products in 2008 November 26, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.Tags: child safety, lead paint childrens products liability, wisconsin personal injury
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So far there have been about 354 recalled products in the United States. These products were recalled for various safety and health concerns.
Of these 354 products:
- 52 or 15% were manufactured in the United States
- 302 or 85% from foreign countries
Of the products recalled from foreign countries 201 were manufactured in China.
The American Association for Justice states:
This is significant because foreign manufacturers can set their prices lower because they are not subject to the equal prospect of restitution as U.S. manufacturers face if a consumer is injured by their product. Also, foreign manufacturers often face huge discrepancies in product liability insurance rates. Without the prospect of being held accountable through the U.S. civil justice system, a foreign producer has little incentive to maximize product quality and safety.
I’ve discussed the topic of recalls in past. As we enter the toy buying season please be aware of what you purchase. Not all toys are equal. Lead based paint in toys and melamine in candies and other foods make me very weary of buying anything manufactured in China. But how do you avoid it?
ww.jonpgroth.com
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Waukesha, Beloit, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
The Safe Cars of 2009 November 25, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury.Tags: Safe Cars, Wisconsin Auto Accidents, Wisconsin car accident lawyer
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In short, don’t buy a Chrysler.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety released it’s safe cars list. Ford (including its Volvo subsidiary) topped the list with 16 vehicles. Honda came in second with 13 vehicles.
Why do I say don’t buy a Chrysler. Well, Chrysler didn’t win any awards. None.
The story that I link to above states:
Seventy-two cars, trucks and SUVs received the top safety pick designation for the 2009 model year, more than double the number of vehicles in 2008 and three times the number in 2007.
“No matter what kind of vehicle buyers may be considering, now they can walk into just about any dealership and find one that affords the best overall protection in serious crashes,” said Institute president Adrian Lund.
But when it comes to Chrysler:
IIHSsaid Chrysler LLC was the only major automaker that did not receive a single award. They said Chrysler could have picked up five awards if the head restraints had been improved.
I may be a little biased against Chrysler. My Dad owned a K car in the ’80s. He didn’t like it. I think he didn’t like it so much that I’ve been tainted.
For full disclosure I own a Ford and Saab.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Fond du lac, West Bend, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
It’s the Time of Year for Toys (Dangerous Toys) November 24, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in Personal Injury Law.Tags: child injury, child safety, Personal Injury Law, Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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The group W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm Inc.) recently released its “Ten Worst Toys” list. The most common reasons are “Eye Injuries,” “Choking Injuries” and “Other Serious Injuries.” Simply put, these are dangerous toys.
I can say, as a father, I would not let my 3 and 1/2 year old play with nunchucks when he turns 4. If that makes me a bad father so be it. According to W.A.T.C.H.:
4-year-old children are encouraged to play the part of a Ninja, while wielding various weapons. One such weapon is Michelangelo’s “Nunchaku”, which the manufacturer describes as a “Kick-butt signature weapon!” consisting of two long plastic handles connected by a plastic chain. Remarkably, there are no accompanying cautions or warnings relating to potential impact injuries.
I was a TMNT fan as a kid. But, my parents would never have let me own nunchucks as a 4 year old. Who is the marketing genius that came up with this marketing scheme? It reminds me of the Dan Aykroyd skit from SNL.
Jon Groth is a Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney handling cases throughout Wisconsin and most recently in Shawano, Algoma, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.
Google Alerts and Litigation November 21, 2008
Posted by Attorney Jonathan Groth in FAQ Personal Injury, Personal Injury Law.Tags: Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
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I wrote about this topic a few weeks ago. There isn’t much to add other than an interview I recently gave to the Wisconsin Law Journal.
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