Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Miscellaneous - Most Popular

Critic Raises Questions over Crash and Death Rates of Cirrus Aircraft In “Dead Pilots Don’t Lie”--Surprising Fatality Safety Analysis of Cirrus “Parachute” Planes vs. Cessna Small Planes

Rick Shapiro — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:00:17 GMT

I just returned from the Buffalo, NY funeral of my good friend, Michael Doran, a successful personal injury lawyer from Buffalo, New York, who last week died in a Cirrus SR20 plane he was piloting, that crashed just after take-off near Cleveland. Michael, age 51, of Doran & Murphy law firm was an avid pilot and had recently purchased a Cirrus aircraft, the new breed of small plane which features safety parachute technology. Michael and a young promising attorney named Mathew J. Shnirel who had recently joined his law firm had just taken off from a small airport near Cleveland when (apparent) engine trouble forced him to immediately circle back toward the airport, before the plane crashed just outside a residential area according to news reports-it appears Mike purposefully and heroically barely cleared a residential area, crashing beside a church.

Was it mechanical failure? Why couldn't Michael have deployed the parachute-was the altitude and speed too low or did an engine failure prevent parachute deployment? Even my law partner, Jim Lewis, himself a pilot of small planes who blogs on aircraft accidents, did not have any answers though we all suspect engine failure. Following the emotional funeral and moving eulogies by family and friends, I still was looking for answers to difficult questions on my return home. Also, I recalled Michael telling me (we snow skied together) that he bought the Cirrus aircraft partly because of the safety parachute feature and I knew he was a safe pilot just from him explaining how very careful he was with weather conditions before ever flying his small plane. As of the drafting of this article, there has been no NTSB preliminary accident report, but this article deals with safety issues of the Cirrus and its main competitor, the Cessna aircraft, two of the most commonly piloted small planes. Note: I am not a pilot, but this article mainly deals with safety statistics surrounding popular small aircraft.

Cirrus aircraft are equipped with proprietary technology which can employ a special parachute and Cirrus planes also have an anti--spin feature incorporated in the wing design that is marketed as a feature that can prevent the plane from going into a deadly spin potentially saving the life of those on a Cirrus plane. As a prolific U.S. inventor myself, there is no question that Cirrus should be applauded for bringing the parachute safety feature to the small aircraft market. No other small aircraft has this safety feature. However, there are very troubling statistics relating to the Cirrus aircraft crash and death rates for the just 10 years since the Cirrus have been in use.

It’s been over a decade now since Cessna resumed small airplane production in 1997 and Cirrus delivered the first SR20 composite body plane in 1999. Together by year-end 2008, both companies delivered nearly 13,000 new aircraft, accumulating over 12 million hours flown.

Cessna aircraft are one of the most popular competitors to Cirrus planes, especially since the late 1990s. Cirrus planes go faster and feature proprietary parachute and anti-spin technology, Cessna’s metal body aircraft cost less generally. If one compares the government statistics relating to safety of the Cessna versus the Cirrus since the late 1990s, the rates show that the Cirrus aircraft has been in 2.8 times more crash deaths than the Cessna, per aircraft, per hour flown, according a long analysis called “Dead Pilots Don’t Lie” by Stephen Wilson on his aircraft/piloting blog.

Wilson is a mechanic, pilot, and operates a Cessna aircraft sales business and it is no a secret that he favors the Cessna aircraft and the Cessna safety record over the Cirrus's safety record hands down-and essentially backs up his claims on his aviation blog that he has authored since at least 2002. He is an aircraft mechanic, aircraft owner, and flight instructor; a full-time aircraft professional in the single engine aircraft business for 23 years and also was an NTSB-trained Air Safety Investigator, who represented the Cessna Aircraft Company in field accident investigations. NO question he comes to the discussion with a bias, but he may have good reason to be biased. According to his analysis of NTSB records, although always equipped with an emergency parachute, Cirrus occupants were killed three times more frequently than those in Cessna planes with no parachutes to save them. The data contained in one hundred forty-one NTSB reports to date confirm what Wilson shows in tables on his website blog, and some are shown below.

A look at some of the key statistics according to Wilson from a review of the pertinent NTSB records:

Cessna (Single Engines Mfg 1997 and Newer vs. Cirrus)

The Serious Accident Tally

1997-2009	Total Serious Accidents	Fatalities
Cirrus	59	97
New-Production Cessna (Skylanes and Stationairs Only)	36	53

1997-2009	Total fleet hours	Hours Flown per Serious Accident	Hours Flown per Death
Cirrus	2,650,000	44,900	27,300
New-Production Cessna (Skylanes and Stationairs Only)	3,590,000	99,700	67,700

Wilson's charts indicate that serious accidents occurred 2.2 times more frequently in Cirrus aircraft than in Cessna’s. 2.5 times as many people were killed in Cirrus’s than in Cessna’s given the same number of hours flown-basically an apples to apples comparison.

He also took a look back from the date of accident in either aircraft in that timeframe to analyze safety statistics in a different way as follows:

Comparing Total Hours on Aircraft at the Accident Site
Consider how many hours (total aircraft time) accident aircraft accumulated from date of manufacture until the day they crashed. The NTSB recorded aircraft total time on 41 Cirrus and 72 Cessna accident investigations where there was serious injury or death in the last 10 years.

Hours on Accident Aircraft before the Serious Accident Occurred

1997-2009	Number Reports That NTSB Reported Total Time	Hours Flown	Number of Fatalities	Average Aircraft Total Time at the Accident	Number of Aircraft Hours per Fatality
Cirrus	41 reports	17,835	61	435	292
Cessna	72 reports	76,680	95	1,065	807

Cirrus serious accidents were 2.8 times more fatal than Cessna in the same number of fateful hours flown, Wilson says, based on the NTSB statistics. To see the underlying statistics, click here:

Cirrus NTSB Serious Accident Reports
Cessna (Single Engines Mfg 1997 and Newer) NTSB Serious Accident Reports

As an injury lawyer representing victims of injury, I don't have any personal bias between Cirrus and Cessna airplanes, but I have a strong interest in personal injury/wrongful death safety in the United States, whether it be in the workplace or in airplanes-and my good friend died piloting a Cirrus. It is striking that the aircraft with the most advanced safety features (parachute and anti-spin technology), has a clearly higher rate of serious accidents or death per hour flown, compared to a more standard aircraft such as the Cessna. What is causing this as it seems counter-intuitive? Could Cirrus argue that “inexperienced” pilots fly the Cirrus vs. the Cessna? Doubtful this would skew the statistics so violently.

As of March 2009, there were 18 reported deployments of a Cirrus parachutes with at least 30 survivors. BRS, the parachute manufacturer for the Cirrus, has been installing parachutes on small ultralight and experimental planes since 1983. To date, the company claims 228 “lives saved” (assuming the plane’s occupants would have suffered death in the event). A three-year-old report from BRS shows that nearly half the “lives saved” in the most recent 50 incidents were Cirrus occupants. Obviously, there is merit to the safety feature of the parachute, but something is going on with the overall control issues on the Cirrus to make the fatality statistics so skewed in favor of the Cessna aircraft record over the last ten years.

More comparison details from Wilson: in a Cirrus, the passenger must shut off power to the engine, and follow the instructions on the emergency placard to activate the parachute. A passenger in a Cessna can also shut off power by pulling a big red knob, then turning the elevator trim wheel full up to attain best glide speed. With a Cessna, there's remains an opportunity to steer the plane to avoid injury to people on the ground as much as possible. With over 20 knots greater stalling speed, greater landing distance required and other factors, the Cirrus may be less crashworthy than the Cessna, according to pilot Wilson (not covered in this analysis). All of this is food for thought if you are pilot ready to either purchase one of these aircraft, or planning to just fly one regularly. Sometimes a safety improvement must be considered with all other available safety data. In the Cirrus crash that killed my comrade, I do not know the answers yet. And, unfortunately, none of this analysis will bring my friend and pilot Mike Doran back. God bless him, his family and the Schnirel family.

Note: If you have an important safety comment or thought on these issues, please write a comment on my blog!

May 10, 2009 Update Alert: National News Desk Reporter Jane Akre, with Lisa Brown did a national followup story on the Cirrus safety debate. Click here to read "Cirrus Fatalities Have Critics Questioning Safety."

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, aviation and medical negligence cases and more.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Man Sues Taco Bell After Suffering Injuries from Swallowing Bones

Emily Mapp Brannon — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:33:00 GMT

Hungry? You may want to think twice before you think outside the bun. Just ask George Phelps, a VA Beach man who suffered severe injuries to his throat after swallowing bones in a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell. In the lawsuit, filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, George E. Phelps Jr. said he "endured the vomiting of blood-streaked phlegm" after three animal bones got caught in his throat. He’s seeking $70,000 in compensation for his injuries from Taco Bell of America and Yum Brands Inc.

Phelps missed work for three days, rang up medical bills, and "suffered great mental anguish," the suit says. He ordered the pizza on April 13, 2007, at Taco Bell on Fordham Drive, near Indian River and Kempsville roads. He began coughing and choking, and was able to pull one of the bones from his throat, the suit says. Doctors pulled two more from his throat at the hospital.

Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell, wrote in an e-mail that the safety and health of customers and employees is the restaurant's priority. The company is investigating Phelps’s case. This is not the first time Taco Bell has been sued for tainted food. Last year, a Nebraska family was awarded $40,000 after eating urine-tainted food from a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant.

Great mental anguish? I would say so! With today’s stop-and-go traffic, hurry-up-and-wait lifestyle, this type of thing was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s bad enough that American families don’t have the time or resources to make decent, healthy meals at home. It’s even worse that finding a healthy meal at a reasonably-priced restaurant is like a real-life Where’s Waldo. Now, sloppy fast-food joints are further tainting our food with animal and human refuse!

What can you do as a consumer? Educate yourself! As a personal injury attorney, I know that prevention boils down to being knowledgeable about risks. Take a minute to think about the food you’re eating. Aside from absorption through skin, ingestion by mouth is the easiest way to poison yourself. Look around the restaurant: is it clean? Can you see a health department sanitation score? Have your friends and family gotten sick after eating at that restaurant? Trust me, making the effort to think for a minute about what you’re eating is well worth it. After all, your health is your true wealth.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the Northeast North Carolina (NC) border, practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY. CA

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon

Pre-existing injury in accident cases

Rick Shapiro — Thu, 24 May 2007 11:31:10 GMT

One issue that comes up a lot in automobile accident cases and FELA railroad cases is the questions of pre-existing conditions, like degenerative disc disease. Pre- existing condition means that the claimant had something wrong with the part of their body before it was injured in the car or train accident

The law is generally that the person hurt in an accident can not recover for the pre-existing condition, but they can recover for any worsening of that condition by the accident in question. That is the basic law applicable to a Virginia car wreck case. The law in a FELA case for an injured railroad worker may be slightly different depending upon what the plaintiff's lawyer can convince the judge is the appropriate standard. In either event the existence of a physical problem before the accident in question always raises medical and legal issue for the personal injury lawyer.

On one hand a person with degenerative disc disease in their back is more likely to suffer a serious injury with the impact. So in this way the lawyer for the injured person can argue that the fact he had a pre existing condition made him more susceptible to a worse injury then if they had a perfectly normal back before the wreck.

On the other hand a clever defense lawyer and the insurance company will try to argue that the case is worth less because of the pre existing condition. They will argue that much of what is wrong with the person after the car wreck or work injury on the railroad is really just the old condition showing itself again. How this actually plays out in terms of settlement and or jury trial in Virginia (VA) depends on what the doctors are willing to say. Further, the injury lawyer's role is to make sure to get all of the information about the pre-existing injury, to know the medicine, and to work with the doctor to express the most favorable opinions supportable by the evidence. Having done this kind of law for over 27 years in Virginia (VA), I am experienced in looking for and handling the pre-existing condition medical issue. In fact, having done this so many times I can almost predict exactly what a doctor will be willing to say about the effect of a pre-existing condition like degenerative disc disease on the injury case, before talking to them. Fortunately I can also what the hired gun insurance defense doctor will say about the issue as well. Working through tough pre-existing injury issues in accident cases is an important part of what I bring to the table to help the client on a Virginia (VA) car wreck or F.E.L.A. case

Authored by: James C. Lewis

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Richard N. Shapiro, Attorney at Law

Staff Writer — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:52:28 GMT

Richard N. Shapiro practices injury law exclusively, and is with the law firm of Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C. Rick served as staff assistant to U.S. Congressman Whitehurst (1979-1981) and graduated from George Mason Law School With Distinction in 1984. He served as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Robert C. Doumar in Norfolk, and now exclusively handles injury law. He co-authored "Railroad Health & Safety; a Litigator's Guide" which appears in a leading law encyclopedia, "American Jurisprudence Trials". Rick was elected chair of the Railroad Law section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ, 2005-2006) and has lectured on evidence law to the AAJ, VTLA and GTLA. Rick has litigated injury cases in state and federal courts throughout the Eastern U.S.A. Also, he has been an invited lecturer at national lawyer seminars of the American Association For Justice (AAJ) (formerly the Trial Lawyers of America), as well as for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA), and Georgia Trial Lawyers, and was elected Chairman of the Railroad Section of the AAJ (2005-2006). He is admitted to practice law in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court. Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the NBTA, he and the law firm are also members of Primerus Society of Law Firms, www.primerus.com , a society of highly ethical and skilled lawyers who are screened by lawyers and judges before admission.

Why do I edit this web blog? Because victims and consumers need to understand that personal injury lawyers are not all the same: there are many types and experience levels. This is my way of "giving back" some intangible benefit without charging for it, but also allows me to share knowledge and information which may benefit the public interest.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Dog Attack Highlights Necessity of Proper Pet Ownership and Vigilance

Randy Appleton — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:52:00 GMT

A woman was walking across the parking lot of a WilcoHess gas station on the 4400 block of Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) when a dog jumped out of a car and viciously attacked her. Severe damage was done to her throat, which required surgery.

The dog was an Akita and is currently in quarantine at an Animal Control Center, according to The Virginian-Pilot. There’s a misconception that pit bulls are the only violent dog breed, but this situation makes it clear that many breeds can become violent.

A study done in 1997 on dog bite fatalities between 1979 and 1996 revealed that the following breeds killed one or more people: pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas. Since 1975, fatal attacks have been attributed to dogs from at least 30 breeds, according to dogbitelaw.com.

As a personal injury attorney with 20 years of experience, I’m always saddened to hear about a traumatic injury that could have, and should have, been prevented. This attack is a clear indication dog owners must exercise consistent vigilance over their pets and manage them properly.

Charges are pending against the owner of the Akita, and rightfully so. The owner should have taken the necessary steps to prevent the dog from leaving the vehicle (such as having a leash on the dog and connected to a seat in the vehicle) and taken the dog through proper training to ensure the animal would obey rather than ignore commands.

Here is a video about what to do to prevent a dog attack

Over 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year. Approximately 885,000 people seek medical attention for those bites, according to the CDC. 386,000 of those people require emergency medical treatment and nearly 12 people die each year from dog-related attacks. Clearly, this is a serious issue and not an isolated incident. In fact, an American has a one in 50 chance of being bitten by a dog, according to the CDC.

Fortunately, Virginia (VA) has a Dangerous Dog Registry where you can find out where aggressive and violent dogs are in proximity to your home.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Appleton

"Funny" insurance ads are offensive to this injury lawyer

Jim Lewis — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:48:07 GMT

Insurance company advertising seems to involve lots of jokes these days. Obviously, some advertising executive has convinced the insurance companies that they can increase their profits [44 billion in 2006] and market share by having comic ads about insurance.

If you watch TV you've seen these insurance company ads, like the one for Zurich Insurance Company who shows gags about people yelling "four" before injuries, and being hit in the head with objects like fish parts. Liberty Mutual has a similar set of ads where they show a series of unusual near miss accidents. Nationwide Insurance Company's goof on people hurt is "life comes at you fast". Of course we have all seen the Geico Insurance ads with the cute lizard and the cavemen. These ads must help insurance companies to improve brand recognition. Even my nine year old kid can recite parts of the Geico Insurance Company ads. Given the record profits insurers are earning, they must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Having fought against insurance companies for the 28 years of my professional life as an attorney, I find very little to laugh about. When you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a car accident the results medically, emotionally, and financially are often severe further, wrongful death often results from careless driving on the highway. Knowing this, I resent it when insurers make light of injuries and accidents in these commercials. Really it is partially just propaganda to make the public who may serve on juries think that accidents are funny as if it were a Three Stooge's routine. Insurance companies try hard to poison the atmosphere against people who have hurt in automobile accidents by making it seem like "fender benders" are a joke and like in the cartoons nobody really gets hurt. The fact is that people can be hurt even where there is not major smashed up damage to the vehicles. Any doctor who is intellectually honest and who treats people for spine injury or brain injury can tell you that the force of throwing you about in a whiplash situation does sometimes lead to permanent injury. The human body is much more fragile than the hard plastic and steel that cars are made out of. Again, doctors who are being forth right will confirm that the amount of property of damage in a car crash does not bear a direct relation to the amount of injury to the occupants of the vehicle. Sometimes people are seriously hurt and the cars don't look that bad. Other times the cars can be mangled and the people walk away unhurt.

Because I deal with insurance claims representatives all day, I know the games that they play to try to get out of paying fair compensation to people who are injured in motor vehicle accidents. The insurance claims agents are trained to say "we are not going to pay you much" because the car didn't look that bad. They are trained to say that "we don't want to pay too much money" because your client is exaggerating their symptoms and injury. I know when I am dealing with these insurance professionals that part of the company and industry policy is to persuade the public that accidents are something to be made light of and just aren't that serious. It's essentially the "stuff happens" defense. Insurance companies forget that we're talking about real people, with real injuries caused by the fault of someone else not using ordinary care behind the wheel of a vehicle. Maybe I am just sensitive to the issue, but the jock ads make me mad.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jim Lewis

Big Verdict Against Fringe Baptist Church Members Who Protest At Military Funeral--Family Outraged and Apparently Maryland Jury Was Too!

Randy Appleton — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:18:57 GMT

By Randy Appleton, HSCLA Attorney

Imagine that you are the parent of a young patriotic man who desires to serve in the United States
Military and who ends up traveling to Iraq. Months later your son is killed in Iraq and you have
the unthinkable task of attending the funeral of your own child. Last, add to the unthinkable funeral that dozens of protesters suddenly show up at the cemetery carrying signs such as "God hates you!" and "God is your enemy!" and other signs which suggest that war in Iraq is punishment on the United States for tolerating homosexuality. A sci-fi movie? No.

In fact, this is exactly what happened at a funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snider, who was killed in Iraq, buried in York, Pennsylvania, and picketed by devout members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a fundamentalist Kansas church that has picketed military funerals out of a belief that society is being punished with the war in Iraq because of tolerance of homosexuality.
The family, through attorney Craig Trebilcock, convinced a Maryland jury to award a total of $11 million in damages in favor of the family. The award broke down as $2.9 million in compensatory damages, and then in a second verdict considering punitive damages, the jury awarded $6 million more for invasion of privacy and $2 million for emotional distress. The Snider's attorney was quoted as saying "that says don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again." The church members routinely picket military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they carry signs as above mentioned and others that say "Thank God for dead soldiers."
While one might believe that everyone has a first amendment right to protest, the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that restrictions on free speech that are reasonably tailored, are constitutional. For example, protesters that want to protest outside of the White House must obtain permits and meet other requirements and similar restrictions are placed on protests around funeral sites, in various states. Actually, Congress has also passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. The main theory of the lawsuit was invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress, and the verdict was rendered by a federal jury. According to published reports this was the first such lawsuit around the country brought on behalf of a military family relating to such protest.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Appleton

Dog Bite Injury Laws Changed In Virginia

Rick Shapiro — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:22:29 GMT

People have a strange attitude about a dog bite injury case, but there happen to be lots of dogs in our society and unfortunately people do get attacked or bit by dogs and some of the injuries can be fairly serious-many cause permanent scars. Virginia happens to follow the common law rule known as the "one bite" rule which offers some protection to dog owners who have had no prior warning that a particular dog might bite. However, new Virginia Code Section 3.1-796.93:1 strengthens the legal framework for putting civil liability on dog owners.

Under the new statutory provisions, the dog can be declared a dangerous animal not only for biting a human, but also for any previous attack on another dog or cat. If an animal is declared a "dangerous dog" under a finding from a General District Court, the owner is required to carry liability insurance coverage of $100,000.00 or obtain a surety bond.

However, there are a number of local, city or county ordinances that can still apply. Some local ordinances prohibit dogs running at large.

In a dog bite case, it can be important to find out if any neighbors or other persons know something about a animal's dangerous propensities.

Another idea is to subpoena records of a veterinarian in the nearby area for background records. Another tip is to check with utility crews, lawn care workers and UPS drivers about a particular animal. It is a sure bet that postal carriers will know a lot about which animals in a particular neighborhood are the bad ones.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Evenflo Recall of Bad Car Seats as an Example of Products Liability Case

Rick Shapiro — Sat, 19 May 2007 12:25:25 GMT

A recall was recently done of the Evenflo Embrace infant car seat/carriers made before April 8, 2006. This involves over 450,000 bad infant car seats with faulty handles. If you or your family has experienced and injury as a result of this defective product in Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), or elsewhere we hope you will contact us to serve as your personal injury lawyer to obtain a recovery from the at fault manufacturer.

Evidently 160 infants have been hurt falling from their car seats when these faulty handles release without warning. The Evenflo Company Inc. is responsible for injuries with are caused by this defect. Obviously cases where the child is not only bruised but suffers a skull fracture, concussion, or brain injury are the most significant kinds of injuries that would occur because of this improperly made product. For more information you can check the website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission which is www.cpsc.gov. There you will see the hotline number to call about this problem. The company which made the bad product is out of Ohio (OH) but made the faulty car seats in the U.S. and in China. Our law firm based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) handles product liability cases against manufacturers in circumstances just like these. If you have a question about this particular product recall or other similar cases please do not hesitate to contact us.

Authored By: Randall E. Appleton

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro

Obama Acts To Restore State Civil Justice Laws, Reducing Federal Agency Controls

Rick Shapiro — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:22:24 GMT

Today, President Obama issued a Directive to the Heads of all Executive Branch Departments and Agencies stating it is the policy of his Administration that “preemption of State law by executive departments and agencies should be undertaken only with full consideration of the legitimate prerogatives of the States and with a sufficient legal basis for preemption.” Preemption of state common law will no longer be presumed or asserted by regulatory agencies absent “explicit preemption by Congress or an otherwise sufficient basis under applicable legal principles.”

What is significant is that many Republicans argue that federal government is "too big" and "too regulatory" over American lives. However, despite this "rhetoric" the Bush Republican agencies systematically acted to wipe out state civil tort laws, in an unprecedented 8 year federal power grab. Eventually, by the end of the Bush second term, states began to recognize that the federal government agencies were by mere "declarations" in the federal register, asserting that federal laws snuffed conflicting state laws.

President Obama's new directive went on to state:

In order to ensure that executive departments and agencies include statements of preemption in regulations only when such statements have a sufficient legal basis, the President’s directive provides that:

"1. Heads of departments and agencies should not include in regulatory preambles statements that the department or agency intends to preempt State law through the regulation except where preemption provisions are also included in the codified regulation.

2. Heads of departments and agencies should not include preemption provisions in codified regulations except where such provisions would be justified under legal principles governing preemption…

3. Heads of departments and agencies should review regulations issued within the past 10 years that contain statements in regulatory preambles or codified provisions intended by the department or agency to preempt State law, in order to decide whether such statements or provisions are justified under applicable legal principles governing preemption. Where the head of a department or agency determines that a regulatory statement of preemption or codified regulatory provision cannot be so justified, the head of that department or agency should initiate appropriate action, which may include amendment of the relevant regulation.”

This is a major victory for all United States consumers, and essentially will end the federal agency power grab of the last 8 years.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Shapiro