South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

Cakes, snakes, spinners, shells, rockets, and candles all provide a fantastic way to celebrate the Fourth of July. And here in South Carolina, comparatively lax state laws concerning fireworks allow consumers to purchase bigger bangs than most other states. But with all that explosive fun comes the potential for serious injuries if not handled properly. With that in mind your Charleston personal injury lawyers and staff at Howell and Christmas, LLC would like to run through some quick firework tips, as well as provide additional resources, to celebrating our nation's independence safely.

Without a doubt the safest way to enjoy fireworks is through public displays conducted by professional pyrotechnicians. But if you prefer lighting them yourself its important to obey local laws and use common sense. The National Council of Fireworks Safety (NCFS) says to only use fireworks outdoors and always have water handy, whether it be a garden hose or simply a bucket of water. Before you even start your start lighting up the summer sky, take the time to choose an open area with a considerable distance away from spectators, homes, buildings, and dry vegetation. Use a garden hose to wet down your launch pad before firing, as this will help prevent your patriotic display from turning into an unwanted brushfire.

And while it may seem like a momentary stroke of genius to tether four bottle rockets together, it could prove disastrous. Experimentation with fireworks is one of the leading causes of firework related injuries, so do not try to alter or combine fireworks in any way. When it comes to those frustrating "duds," never attempt to relight it. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water. Alcohol and fireworks do not mix, and the NCFS suggests designating a shooter in the same way you would designate a driver for a night out on the town. Even a small quantity of alcohol can impair one's judgment and ability to properly set up and use consumer fireworks safely. Despite seeming safer and more kid friendly, the tip of a sparkler burns at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit--hot enough to melt some metals and cause potentially fatal third degree burns. Thus, to prevent an unfortunate child injury, it is best to keep sparklers out the hands of children under the age of 12.

Continue reading "Charleston, SC Lawyers Talk Fireworks and Tips for a Safe Fourth" »

Since last Thursday Charleston area news coverage has been dominated by a Goose Creek apartment fire that has taken a total of four lives, including a young child and the girlfriend of the man accused by building residents for starting the fire. And your Charleston personal injury attorneys have taken a keen notice of new developments and information concerning this tragedy. Below there is a basic outline of the known facts surrounding the incident, as reported by local news sources. Additionally, there is some brief information detailing liability, nuisance, and negligence issues that may arise for property owners and landlords in the event of a meth lab explosion.

Authorities investigating the apartment fire have indicated the blaze was started by methamphetamine lab in one of the apartments. Local reports note that several residents logged complaints with the building's management prior to the blaze about suspicious behavior in, and strange smells coming from, the individual apartment that is alleged to have contained the lab. Tenants say their complaints were either ignored or met with threats by the complex's managers.

In sum, the fire is reported to have torn through 16 units of the apartment complex, displacing 46 of the building's residents, close to half of which are children.

Continue reading "Berkeley County Apartment Fire Ignited by Meth Lab Kills Three, Displaces Dozens" »

During the summer months your Charleston accident lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC came across a number of train-related accidents occurring at railroad crossings. Links to the entries covering these incidents can be found directly below this post. But, over the last month there have been two fatal accidents involving trains. The happened in mid-November when a 27-year-old woman from Alabama either jumped off or fell from a CSX transportation train. According to a Post and Courier report, the train was about two miles south of U.S. Highway 17 and S.C. Highway 162 in Charleston County when the serious accident occurred. According to the Charleston County Coroner's Office, the woman died of blunt force trauma and it is thought that the fatal injury was not caused by direct impact with the train, but rather from the fall or jump from the moving locomotive.

After the accident, it was discovered that the woman was not riding alone on the train, she had illegally hopped on the train with a 29-year-old man from Connecticut. The man has since been charged with breaking and entering onto a train. According to an affidavit signed by the man, he continued on the train until it stopped in Georgia, where he told railroad officials about the incident.

More recently, a man was killed in Hanahan when his car was hit by an Amtrak passenger train. Witnesses on scene told authorities and investigators that a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire sedan was sitting on the railroad tracks when the crossing arms came down at Mabeline Road. Furthermore, witnesses said that the man in the vehicle appeared to be intoxicated at the time a southbound Amtrak train collided with the car, ripping the vehicle in half and killing the driver.

Continue reading "Vagabonds Hop Charleston Train Leading to Fatal Incident" »

It has been some time since your Charleston work accident lawyers have posted an entry to the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, so the lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC would like to use this post as a brief re-cap of accidents and injuries that have happened across the Palmetto State since our last entry. Surprisingly, yet nonetheless tragic, they all concern driver's running off the roadway they were traveling.

At the beginning of this month the driver of an AT&T work van that struck and killed a cyclist on the James Island connector paid a $113 fine for his involvement in the fatal July accident. The driver's payment of the fine allowed him to miss his court date in Charleston Municipal Court. The fine is form of settlement; commonly known as "forfeiting a bond," which also means the driver is not formally admitting guilt for his involvement in the fatal bicycle accident.

The driver was charged by police with improper lane usage, as it was the closest charge applicable under the South Carolina Code of Laws regarding car-versus-bike accidents. Allegedly, the driver of the AT&T van drifted into the breakdown lane on the connector, striking said cyclist from behind, ultimately resulting in the cyclist's untimely and wrongful death. While police have said there was evidence indicating that the van's driver was distracted because of his use of a mobile device, it is not illegal to use a cell phone or text while driving in South Carolina. The driver contends he was not distracted by a phone or other electronic device.

A week ago today, a Summerville man was killed and another person injured after the pickup truck they were in ran off Interstate 26, struck a tree, and overturned. Charleston's Post and Courier reported that the 23-year-old driver of the 2007 Chevy Colorado was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital after being airlifted from the scene of the serious auto accident. Authorities were unsure if either of the occupants were wearing their seat belts at the time of late-night accident. In a plethora of the posts entered to the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, your Charleston car accident lawyers have urged readers to remember that wearing a seat belt is the easiest way to prevent serious injury in the event of an accident. Although that information is unknown in this case, it is safety measure all should keep in mind.

Continue reading "A Look Back Since the Last Entry Reveals a Trend of Driver's Running Off the Road" »

The last entry posted by your Charleston accident lawyers discussed the outcome of a three month long investigation into a fatal motorcycle accident in which a young woman fell off the back of the bike. It was determined by authorities that the male operator of the vehicle was at fault in the accident and now faces serious criminal charges. Sadly, today's post also concerns a fatal motorcycle accident on Interstate-26. The collision occurred at the beginning of this week in the Columbia area in the eastbound lanes between Interstate-126 and U.S. 378, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The South's oldest daily newspaper, the Post and Courier, reports that a 28-year-old man from Cayce (near West Columbia) struck a horse trailer being hauled by a Chevy sport utility vehicle (SUV). Fortunately, the 67-year-old driver of the SUV was wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident and was uninjured in the collision. The crash caused both the motorcycle and the trailer to catch fire. Reports note that the motorcyclist was killed in the accident, but does not mention whether the cause of death was due to burn injuries suffered in the blaze, nor does the Post and Courier's report disclose if the 28-year-old was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

While your experienced personal injury lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC have posted blog posts in the past involving dog bite injuries, it is a first for the South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog to note an accident involving horses. Although the driver of the SUV hauling the horse trailer was able to escape the serious accident unscathed, the horses in the trailer were lost in the fire.

Continue reading "Motorcyclist Killed Near Columbia After Collision with Trailer" »

Your Charleston burn injury lawyers recently learned of a terrifying number of incidents involving ceramic pots filled with flammable gel that have exploded onto consumers and caused serious burns. In some cases these injuries have been life threatening. Since April of 2010 there have been eight instances where consumers have been caught off guard when, either refilling or lighting, their ceramic pots, containing citronella gel to keep the summer time bugs away, have exploded and sent the highly flammable gel onto their bodies.

On May 21, 2011 one of these accidents happened in the Charleston area, West Ashley to be more specific. A woman, her husband, and mother-in-law were sitting on their home's back porch, relaxing and listening to music after a nice family dinner when the husband lit a ceramic firepot full of citronella gel to keep the bugs away. In less than a second after the flame hit the gel, flames engulfed the woman's legs causing second- and third-degree burns, according to today's Post and Courier.

The woman's husband put out the flames out by wrapping his arms around her and smothering the flames, but he also suffered burns in the process. The woman, who is a schoolteacher, was rushed to Medical University Hospital before being transported to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia for treatment to her severe burn injuries.

Since the accident, she has undergone several surgeries and an extremely painful skin graft to repair her badly burned left foot, which she nearly lost because of the incident. For informational purposes, a skin graft is a surgical procedure that removes a healthy patch of skin from part of the body, called the donor site, and transplants it to the damaged area.

Continue reading "Severe Burn Injuries from Firepots and Bug Repellent Fuelgels on the Rise" »

Your South Carolina truck accident attorneys came across an article in Monday's Post and Courier concerning a single tractor-trailer wreck that ultimately took the driver's life. The fatal accident occurred late Saturday afternoon around 6:00 p.m. in Jasper County. According to reports, the 1995 Freightliner went up into flames after the truck crossed the life side of the Interstate-95 median, colliding with several trees.

As of today, investigators are still looking into the incident to determine exactly what happened leading up to the truck's going off the interstate. Also, due to the intense blaze, the driver's body was burned beyond recognition and the Jasper County Coroner's Office is working to identify the driver. More than likely the coroner will cross-reference the driver's teeth with dental records to determine his or her ID.

The article did not mention, and it may yet to be determined, as to the exact cause of death in this accident. Investigators and officials from the coroner's office will probably be looking to see if colliding with the roadside trees caused some form of lethal head injury or body trauma, or if the subsequent fire caused fatal burn injuries, or it could be the case that a combination of collision and burn was the cause.

Continue reading "Weekend Tractor Trailer Wreck and General Considerations if You're Ever Involved in an Accident" »

Your Charleston personal injury attorneys came across a recent court decision involving fatal burn injuries and the labeling of the product that fueled the fire. The following are the facts of the case. A Missouri man purchased a can of DAP Cement to use in installing new baseboards in his home. While he was carrying the closed can through his laundry room (located in his basement), he accidentally dropped the can causing some of the can’s contents to spill on the floor. When he attempted to clean up the spill by wiping up the adhesive, the vapors emitted from the DAP cement ignited and caused a flash fire. The 32-year-old man suffered second- and third-degree burns to 80% of his body. Remarkably, he was able to grab his 2-year-old and 3-year-old sons and saved them from the burning home. Unfortunately, the man ultimately died from his burn injuries two months after the accident.

The man’s wife and family sued DAP Inc., in federal court for: wrongful death on the theories of negligence, strict liability, and failure to warn; for negligent misrepresentation; and for violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted summary judgment in favor of DAP, and the plaintiff’s appeal summary judgment on their wrongful-death, failure-to-warn claim.

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) requires hazardous substances sold in interstate commerce and intended for household use to bear adequate cautionary labels. According to case precedent, a plaintiff may bring a failure-to-warn claim based on the theory that a product label failed to comply with the FHSA. However, also according to a court's previous decision, a plaintiff cannot bring a failure to warn suit based on a state law theory that the product’s label should have included warnings not required by the FHSA.

Continue reading "Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Decision Concerning Wrongful Death from House Fire and Hazardous Materials' Labels" »

Preceding the internationally covered Chilean mine collapse and rescue, there was mine explosion here in the United States known as the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. Charleston workers' compensation attorneys remember that in April of 2010, an explosion killed 29 of the 31 miners at the Upper Big Branch site near the community of Montcoal, located in Raleigh County, West Virginia. While investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials have speculated that the explosion may have been initiated by a spark from a mantrip, a shuttle that transports miners into and out of the mine, and fueled by extremely high methane levels within the mine. The Disaster marks the worst mining accident in the U.S. since 1970.

While browsing the internet this morning, the on the job injury lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC found interesting Wall Street Journal article that reports the Massey Energy Co., owners of the Upper Bring Branch mine, have been accused of failing to clean up its act since the 2010 explosion.

Officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration conducted a surprise inspection at Massey's Randolph Mine last Friday, finding conditions that were "nothing short of outrageous." During the inspection they found miners engulfed in coal dust and combustible loose coal accumulated in working, posing a "serious risk" of fire, explosion, and severe burn injuries.

Continue reading "Massey Energy Hasn't Learned Lesson A Year After Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster" »

Charleston auto accident attorneys were sent the following case and felt it an excellent example of the difficulty in determining negligence in highly unpredictable circumstances. The Ford Motor Company, back in November, pleaded with the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn a large reward in the amount of $43 million granted in a Madison County verdict in 2005. The lawyers representing Ford argued that manufacturers of any goods would be subject to open-ended liability for many years to come if the ruling were allowed to stand, according to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

The initial verdict came in Madison County Circuit Court and was upheld by the Fifth District Appellate Court before the case went to the Illinois Supreme Court. An Appellate Court Justice wrote, "we believe that the parties received a fair trial in this case." It goes without saying Ford disagreed with this opinion as the suit made its way to State Supreme Court.

The reason for the case came after the fuel tank exploded in a couple's 1993 Lincoln Town Car. The husband driving the Town Car was killed and the wife suffered severe burn injuries.

Continue reading "Big Auto-Maker Asks to Overturn a Big Award Verdict" »

Not too long ago a Pennsylvania jury awarded two melters working at Ametek Special Metal Products $12.7 million. Back in 2003 the two men were working in the North Strabane, PA plant overseeing melting operations when the specialty metals furnace exploded, spraying the 44-and 45-year-old men with molten metal causing severe burn injuries. The lawsuit names the manufacturer of the furnace as defendants, including Inductotherm Group, Allied Minerals, and Vesuvius USA Corp.

The furnace exploded due to a lining failure, allowing the molten metal to come into contact with a copper coil filled with ethylene-glycol and water, resulting in a chemical reaction and explosion, which ejected hot, liquid metal across the workplace. Defective products and machinery such as this furnace pose a serious threat to their operators and workers around them. In the United States burn injuries similar to those incurred by the aforementioned melters are responsible for approximately 2.4 million injuries a year and can be debilitating and keep you away from work.

Continue reading "South Carolina Work Injury Attorneys Look At Huge Industrial Accident Verdict" »