Missouri Injury Lawyers Blog

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Blount International, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

About 950 units of Oregon® Replacement Lawnmower Blades manufactured by Blount International Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri have been recalled. It has been found that the replacement lawnmower blades can break during normal use, which poses a laceration hazard to user and bystanders. Seven reports of such incidents have been reported to the manufacturer. No injuries have been reported.

Details: This recall involves Blount lawnmower replacement blades for Ariens 48-inch lawnmowers. These products are sold under the Oregon® brand name. "Oregon®," part number "91-003" and "PA" or "PJ" are printed on the surface of the recalled blades. These were sold at independent lawn and garden sales and service stores nationwide for the time period January 2010 through September 2011.

Consumers should immediately stop using lawnmowers with the recalled blades and return the blades to the store where purchased or directly to Blount for a free replacement.

For additional information, contact (866) 685-5449 between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at www.blount.com.
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The Rail Safety Improvement Act was passed in late 2008 soon after a Chatsworth, California train disaster caused 25 deaths and 135 injuries. This Act mandated a $13 billion project which calls for installation of a technology known as Positive Train Control, which automatically brakes trains which are about to collide or derail. This legislation also left railroad companies with nearly all of the costs involved. Railroad companies are now pushing hard to relax the law's main provision.

Railroads are required to install Positive Train Control (PTC) by the end of 2015. This covers an estimated 70,000 miles of track utilized by passenger trains or extremely hazardous materials. The National Transportation Safety Board has championed this technology, and have identified 21 train wrecks since 2001 which they claim could have been averted with PTC.

"PTC can prevent these human errors from causing collisions, hazmat releases, passengers killed and injured, and train crews being killed," said Steven Ditmeyer, a former rail industry executive and federal official. Ditmeyer now teaches in Michigan State University's railway management program.

Leading the resistance to PTC are the Association of American Railroads, which represents freight haulers and Amtrak. They are joined by the American Public Transportation Association, which represents commuter rail systems. These organizations have called PTC the biggest federal mandate the industry has faced in more than a century. They also anticipated that the government would step up its financial support.

Crash victims, such as Frank Kohler who suffered a brain injury in the Chatsworth, California collision is distressed by talk of accommodating the industry. Kohler has said that if PTC had been in place three years ago, he would have arrived home safely. He also added, "I would still have my professional life intact and I would be a productive member of society."

Read more here.

An investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has resulted in BMW recalling around 89,000 of its turbocharged Mini Coopers. A computer circuit board controlling a turbocharger cooling system can fail. The result is a smoldering water pump. In some cases, a fire in the engine compartment may ignite.

There have been 81 cases of water pump failure in Mini Coopers globally so far. Of these cases, four engine compartment fires have been reported. No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of this issue.

Worldwide, the Mini recall covers a total of 235,535 cars. The cars being recalled include some model year 2007 - 2011 Mini Cooper S hatchbacks and convertibles, Mini Cooper Clubman S (which is the longer three-door Mini), and Mini Cooper Countryman S (the larger, four-door SUV Mini), as well as John Cooper Works high-performance versions of the Mini Cooper.

Non-turbocharged Minis are not involved in the recall. Mini Cooper dealers will replace the auxiliary water pumps on all recalled cars.

BMW had previously recalled 32,000 BMW cars and 600 Rolls-Royces for possible turbo-related fires.

For more information on this recall, read this article.

Attorneys Rex Gump and Chris Faiella of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella & Wheelan, LLC obtained a global seven figure settlement on behalf of a couple who were injured when their pickup truck was struck from behind by a commercial box truck on a divided highway. The client's vehicle went off the right hand side of the roadway, struck a highway sign and continued into a ditch where it landed upside down. The husband sustained multiple broken bones and was hospitalized for an extensive period of time.

Our investigation revealed that the operator of the box truck was in the course and scope of his employment. It also revealed that he was operating a vehicle in a rain storm at a high rate of speed with his windshield fogged over. Numerous eyewitnesses and medical and police personnel were interviewed to determine these facts.

Continue reading "TGFW Attorneys Negotiate Large Settlement in Serious Truck Crash" »

The Missouri Department of Transportation maintains an interactive map to keep people informed about roadway conditions throughout the state. This is particularly helpful when winter weather hits and you need to know the condition of the roads you plan to travel. Visit the MODOT Traveler Information Map and stay safe.