Explore our legal content, spanning diverse legal topics, court decisions, legislative changes, and expert analysis, as we bring you the pulse of the legal world in a succinct and informative format.
The Highest of Highs
On July 20, 1919, Mt. Everest’s nemesis was born: famed mountain climber Edmund Hillary of Aukland, New Zealand. Hillary’s first job was beekeeper, the income from which funded his early mountain-climbing excursions — in New Zealand, the Alps, and finally the Himalayas, where he scaled 11 peaks exceeding 20,000 feet in elevation. Between 1920 and 1952, seven major expeditions to conquer Mt. Everest had failed. That changed on May 29, 1953. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese sherpa, outlasted the...Read More
Dangers of Co2 – A Sneaky, Deadly Menace
Carbon monoxide (CO) is frequently linked to any engine or device that uses gasoline, diesel, kerosene, charcoal, or wood as fuel. These fuels emit CO when they are burned. While CO is generally harmless in an outdoor environment, it can be lethal when it accumulates in an enclosed setting. CO is even more sinister in that it is colorless and odorless, providing no clues that dangerous levels are present. And, it can strike quickly. Telltale symptoms of CO poisoning include...Read More
Don’t Underestimate Sparklers!
Fireworks are 4th of July tradition: colorful, booming, thrilling. When people think of fireworks-related injuries, thoughts often gravitate to high powered, and most likely illegal, fireworks such as M-80s, M-100s, cherry bombs, and silver salutes, among others. Legal fireworks such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, and roman candles might come to mind, too. (Fireworks laws vary from state to state and municipality to municipality.) And then there’s the occasional incident at a professional fireworks display that grabs headlines. Unfortunately, sparklers are...Read More
Work Zone Safety: Looking Out for Each Other
Work zones can be hazardous — to workers and motorists alike. According to the National Safety Council, 891 people were killed and over 37,000 injured due to U.S. work zone crashes in 2022. Sometimes, motorists are to blame due to distracted driving, inattentiveness, driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, speeding, or failing to maintain a safe following distance. The safety of passengers, other motorists, construction workers, pedestrians, and bicyclists is jeopardized. Liability for work zone crashes might also fall...Read More
Lithium Batteries: Impactful in Many Ways
Let’s give lithium batteries their due. They store large amounts of energy in small, compact forms; provide power and hold a charge under storage for extended periods of time; have lengthy lifespans; can be quickly recharged; require no maintenance; and perform better at cold temperatures than lead-acid batteries. They are prominent in many household items: laptops/tablets; power tools; digital cameras; game controllers; and electric cars, bikes, and scooters, to name a few. Lithium batteries can also combust and...Read More
Never Means Never
In healthcare settings, “never events” are egregious and shocking errors that take place which are clearly identifiable and entirely preventable — they should never happen. Never events are considered rare, but they still occur far more frequently than most people realize. In a Johns Hopkins study spanning the years 1990–2010, approximately 80,000 never events occurred in U.S. hospitals (it’s likely many others went unreported). In 2011, the National Quality Forum, an independent healthcare quality assurance organization, categorized never events that...Read More
Roused from Hibernation
Spring has arrived, and that means the reemergence of bicyclists in many parts of the country. But the winter-to-spring transition can be perilous. Motorists sometimes let down their guard in watching for bicyclists since they’ve been sparse for a few months — that’s not a good excuse, just reality. As with motorcyclists, visibility issues loom large. Spring showers can further limit visibility, as can early-morning and twilight lighting, rendering bicyclists more vulnerable to harm. Some simple precautions can...Read More
‘But Coffee’s Supposed to be Hot’ – A Retrospective
In “frivolous lawsuit” conversations, the McDonald’s hot coffee case is frequently spotlighted — incomplete facts, and mistaken distortions and key omissions of fact skew public perception. In 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, a passenger in her grandson’s car, purchased coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru. Upon exiting the drive-thru, her grandson stopped in the parking lot so she could add sugar to her coffee. The cup tipped over between her legs as she was removing the lid, and 190-degree coffee spilled onto...Read More
Shining a Head Light on Safety
Imagine driving at night with high beams constantly on — without blinding oncoming drivers (or drivers in front of you with the rearview-mirror rebound). Well, the technology to pull off this feat is available and enjoyed in various countries. Unfortunately, the United States is lagging behind. Adaptive driving beams (ADBs) are headlights that utilize a system of LED lights, cameras, and sensors to detect other cars on the road and adjust their light patterns accordingly. Some ADB systems use shutters...Read More
Auto Accidents & Traumatic Brain Injuries
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, auto accidents are the third-leading cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in the United States (falls rank #1). TBIs can range from mild concussions that clear up relatively quickly, to permanently disabling injuries and/or premature death. Head strikes, i.e. direct blows to the head (e.g., windshield, steering wheel, other wreckage) can cause TBI’s, but also whiplash—a sudden back-and-forth jerking of the neck and head during a crash can also cause the...Read More