South Carolina Accident Lawyers
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Severe rain in the southern part of California has caused a huge portion of a road to collapse into the ocean, leaving a huge hole in the side of a cliff.
Over the weekend, a 900ft section of highway south of Los Angeles eroded and slid into the Pacific Ocean.
The section of Paseo Del Mar in the San Pedro area has been edging seawards for months but this is the first time a sizeable chunk has broken away completely.
Creases began to show in the road a few months ago and the scenic route was closed for safety. The scenic area has seen years of home building and many blame the construction work for de-stabilizing the cliff face.
Engineer Gary Moore said in an interview with the LA Times: “This entire coast along here is a cliff, so nature has created a new cliff.”
The mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa described the once scenic route as a ”significant landslide” and urged people to stay away from the affected stretch of road.
“The landslide area remains unstable and presents a life-threatening hazard.”
Thankfully, there are no reports of injuries or property damage in the immediate area.
By: Pete Strom, South Carolina Accident Attorney
According to the CBS affiliate in Arizona KPHO-TV, a toddler who swallowed a tiny battery has undergone several surgeries as doctors battle to save his life.
The- two-year-old swallowed a lithium battery from a remote control and has now undergone 18 surgeries in the past year at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona.
His mother Karla Rauch said no one saw her son swallow the battery and the first symptoms he had were similar to a cold.
She said in an interview with KPHO-TV: “Batteries start burning in the esophagus within two hours and it was in him we think about three days.”
The acid from the battery burned two holes through the toddler’s esophagus, requiring surgery to remove four inches from it.
Unfortunately, the two-year-old has has spent more than 19 weeks of his young life in the pediatric ICU. He has also suffered several cases of collapsed lung and had close to 200 X-rays.
Lithium batteries extremely dangerous because they don’t have as much casing as an AA battery.
According to the National Capital Poison Center, each year more than 3,500 people swallow miniature disc or button batteries across the U.S.
The Rauch family set up a charity to raise awareness about the tiny batteries which are used in everyday objects like clocks, cameras and calculators. The charity is called Emmett’s Fight and informs people about the dangers of button battery ingestion.
By: Pete Strom, South Carolina Accident Lawyer
Accident News
BEAUFORT, S.C. (WLTX-TV) – A state commission that was supposed to examine the use of traffic cameras in the state was supposed to have issued its report this week. However that has not been done because the panel never met.
The Beaufort Gazette reports the panel was established as part of a law passed over the summer banning use of cameras to issue speeding tickets.
Gov. Nikki Haley’s office says there was a glitch in the law that left out who was to be on the commission, which is why the panel never met. Chairman Glenn McCall said he is ready to proceed once the members are determined.
Ridgeland became the first municipality in South Carolina to use cameras to catch speeders when it stationed them on Interstate 95 in 2010.
The town has since ended the program.
The ban on the use of traffic cameras was established after the town of Ridgefield attempted to use the cameras to catch out-of-state speeders traveling down seven miles of Interstate 95. AAA Carolinas also endorsed the cameras because of South Carolina’s poor history with traffic safety.
However, Ridgeland was told its plan was illegal based on a 2006 general attorney ruling and 2009 law that effectively disallowed photo enforcement. After the ban in late June, the town abandoned their efforts to install traffic cameras.
According to theInsurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a little of half of the States, 52%, use cameras to enforce speeding and/or red light laws.
IIHS says they support the cameras because of the dangers brought about by having a police car stop another vehicle in dense or high-speed areas and the impossibility and potential neglect of having police provide complete around-the-clock surveillance.
By: Pete Strom, South Carolina Accident Attorney
WLTX-TV is reporting that Steve Spurrier confirmed that USC quarterback Connor Shaw and linebacker Devonte Holloman both sustained a concussion in Saturday’s game against Arkansas. As a precaution, Shaw and Holloman will not participate in practice and will be further evaluated this week. A decision as to whether they will be allowed to play in Saturday’s game against Florida will not be made until Wednesday or Thursday.
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Common symptoms of a concussion include:
Because many of the symptoms of “mild” to “moderate” traumatic brain injury go unnoticed, a severe injury may not be detected.
Even a mild TBI – classified as loss of consciousness or confusion/disorientation lasting less than 30 minutes – can have long-standing after effects. While MRI and CAT scans are often normal, the patient may experience headache, difficulty thinking, memory problems, attention deficits, mood swings and frustration, among other symptoms, for weeks or even months after the injury.
Repeated mild TBI occurring over months or years can cause cumulative neurological and cognitive deficits. If repeated over a short period of time (hours, days or weeks), they can be catastrophic, even fatal.
Click here to read more about traumatic brain injuries.
The Gamecocks will take on the Florida Gators at Williams-Brice Stadium at 12:00 p.m. on CBS. Our best wishes go out for a speedy recovery.
By: Pete Strom, South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer
Richland County, SC- Wltx-TV is reporting that Columbia police is still investigating the death of a child at a day care center.
Family members told the news station that the 15-month-old girl passed away Thursday afternoon.
The coroner’s office says they are still performing tests to find out if the death will be ruled accidental, natural, or criminal. Until investigators release the cause of death, the name of the child care facility will not be released.
Authorities say a cause of death could be determined Friday after an autopsy is performed.
By: Pete Strom, South Carolina Criminal Defense Lawyer
South Carolina Accident Attorneys
Approximately 20,000 CO 1224T Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors are being voluntarily recalled by Sensor System, of St. Charles, Ill., and ADT Security Services Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In order to check your detector and determine whether you are affected by the recall, you should check the model number which is listed behind the front cover.
Hazard: The CPSC says when the CO detectors reach the end of their useful life, they should send a signal to make a sound in the home alarm panel indicating to the homeowner that it is time to replace them and also send signal to ADT’s alarm monitoring center.
However, some of the detectors were not wired properly to the ADT alarm system. This can result in the sound not going off in the home alarm panel. It can also mean the detector will not send a signal to the ADT alarm monitoring center at the end of its useful life. Not replacing a CO detector at the end its useful life poses a severe CO poisoning hazard.
Incidents/Injuries: Thankfully, no injuries and incidents have been reported.
Sold at: The defective detectors were installed by ADT between October 2008 and December 2010 as part of a home security system.
Manufactured in: They were made in China and Mexico
Remedy: If you have a CO detector affected by the recall, you should call ADT immediately for a free inspection of the recalled detectors and, if necessary, a free repair. The CPSC says consumers should not try to disable the recalled detectors. ADT says they have contacted all customers.
Consumer Contact: For more information, call ADT toll-free at (800) 238-2727 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the company’s website at www.us.adt.com
By: South Carolina Accident Attorney Pete Strom
One of America’s most fun-filled holidays is just around the corner. With proper planning and safety prevention, you and your family can enjoy a safe and Happy Halloween.
One of the most important safety measures a parent or guardian can take is to understand the laws regulating sexual offenders and know where they live within your community. Look up the locations of sexual offenders here.
South Carolina Sexual Predator Directory
South Carolina prevents sexual offenders who are on probation or parole from answering their doors on Halloween night. The law states that sexual offenders who are on probation should turn off any outside light (porch lights) and not answer the door at all on Halloween night. They should also not participate in any Halloween parties, carnivals or other celebrations. State law also prevents them from putting up any Halloween decorations. (Note: This does not apply to all sex offenders, many of whom are no longer on probation or parole and therefore not under the jurisdiction of SCDPPPS.)
Sexual offenders also have to comply with a mandatory curfew from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. and some S.C. counties require sexual offenders to report to a designated location during the curfew.
Parents and guardians should be cautious and follow these additional safety tips for a safe and fun night:
South Carolina Accident Lawyers
(source: wltx.com)
WLTX-TV reports that an elderly woman was fortunate enough to walk away uninjured Thursday morning after her car came to rest inside a building located near Two Notch Road and Interstate 20.
Authorities say the 77-year-old woman hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes causing her to ram her Toyota Camry into a Buddhist center, Shin Hatch, located in the SGI-USA building on O’Neil Court. Ironically, the Department of Motor Vehicles is also located in the same building.
A volunteer manager at the center Shin Hatch says no members were inside the building during the accident, but if the accident had occurred 15 minutes later, people could have been inside studying and praying.
“We never expected this,” said Hatch. “We had members arriving here right after it happened.”
A DMV spokeswoman said the accident may have caused a small crack in their space, but described the repairs needed as minimal.
Thankfully, no one was injured and no charges have been filed.
By: South Carolina Accident Attorney Pete Strom
WLTX-TV is reporting that Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is asking the local community for assistance in resolving a string of car break-ins in the Midlands.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department says a string of the break-ins have occurred in the Ballentine, White Rock, and Chapin areas of Richland and Lexington Counties. The incidents, which occured between September 16 and October 21, 2011, took place in the early morning hours of 2:00 AM – 5:30 AM.
Authorities say a large number of these crimes have occurred in the Forty Love Point, Foxport and Lakeport communities in Richland County. Fortunately, one of the incidents was captured on surveillance video. In the video, it shows the suspect carrying items taken from a car break-in that occurred in Lexington County.
Sheriff Lott says the suspect is forcing his way into cars and stealing guns, laptop computers and iPads. He stated the suspect is believed to be a male approximately 6 feet tall and of slender build.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and Richland County Sheriff’s Department are working together to identify the person(s) responsible.
Anyone with information on the identity of those responsible is urged contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME SC or www.midlandscrimestoppers.com.
By: South Carolina Accident Attorney Pete Strom
A new study conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center on behalf of the AAA Foundation, found that teens are at the greatest risk of getting into a crash during their first month of solo driving. For the frantic parents out there, there is some hope. The risk of getting into an accident drops drastically after one to two years of experience behind the wheel.
The study also stated that during the first month of solo driving, teens are 50 percent more likely to be involved in an accident than in their entire first year, and twice as likely to wreck than after their second year of experienced driving.
The most common mistakes that caused crashes were failing to reduce speed, inattention and failure to yield. These mistakes accounted for approximately 57 percent of the crashes in which teens were at least partly to blame during their first month of solo driving.
If you have been injured in a car wreck, you need an aggressive Columbia, South Carolina auto accident lawyer to protect your legal rights. Even minor accidents can lead to severe and catastrophic injuries, result in permanent disability, and even death.
Centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina the car accident and personal injury lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. will aggressively pursue your right for fair compensation after an accident.
Our South Carolina auto accident injury lawyers have the experience you need. Whether your case involves:
The auto injury lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. will help you maximize the amount of compensation that you receive and let you focus on getting better.
By: South Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Pete Strom
