D.C. Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Gabriel Assaad : Assaad Law, PLLC : D.C. Injury Law Journal

One reported bout of food poisoning can send customers fleeing and destroy the reputations of Washington D.C. and Virginia restaurants. Even though the fault may lie with tainted produce, eggs or meat and not restaurant health and safety procedures, once the public connects a restaurant to the outbreak of an illness it can be difficult to convince customers to return.

Every summer seems to bring at least one major outbreak of food illness in the U. S. that has the potential to sicken and sometimes kill consumers and eat away at D.C. and Virginia restaurant reputations if they are unlucky enough to count the offending supplier among their list of food providers. Earlier this year an E. coli outbreak in pre-cut lettuce sickened scores. Salmonella-laced peanut butter from a Georgia manufacturing plant sickened hundreds. The recent salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1,000 people nationally has been traced to two egg farms in Iowa that supply eggs to stores and restaurants across the country. Egg suppliers recalled 228 million eggs sold under a variety of brands, including some of the country's well known grocery chains. 

When customers become ill or die from food-borne illness because a restaurant has unknowingly used tainted food products, the restaurant can be held liable. A D.C. personal injury lawyer with a firm background in restaurant law can guide Washington D.C. and Virginia restaurant owners through the confusing maze of applicable laws and regulations governing the food industry, advise restaurateurs of potential liability risks and work to protect the rights and reputations of restaurants if food-borne illness strikes.

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A man fell 3 stories from a bucket lift in a Washington .D.C construction accident yesterday afternoon. The accident took place near the Old Executive office building near the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. D.C. fire and EMS responders transported the man to a nearby hospital where he remains in critical condition. A few weeks ago D.C. fire and EMS responders rescued another construction worker who had become trapped after falling into an unsecured 25-foot deep hole at a construction site in northeast D.C. That construction worker sustained serious personal injuries to his neck and back.

More than 1,000 construction workers die on U.S. construction sites every year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  Thousands more sustain severe personal injuries, many of which result in partial or permanent disability. Among the construction trades, construction laborers, particularly ironworkers and electrical power installers, suffer the highest number of fatal work injuries. Falls, electrical installation, traffic accidents and contact with construction equipment account for the majority of construction accidents.

Construction companies are responsible for protecting the health and welfare of their workers.  Many construction accidents result from faulty or poorly maintained equipment or from the construction company's failure to provide adequate safety equipment and enforce safety practices on the job site, When construction accidents occur, an experienced Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer can see that your rights are protected and work aggressively to see that you are justly compensated.

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In a grisly Washington DC accident, a woman pedestrian suffered catastrophic injury when she was struck by a dump truck on M Street SE. Apparently unaware that he had hit the woman, the truck driver continued driving until bystanders alerted him to the tragedy. The driver immediately returned to the scene and is reported to be cooperating with police. The woman suffered critical, life-threatening injuries and was unconscious when EMT crews arrived. She was rushed to a nearby hospital via helicopter. Washington DC police are investigating the accident and charges are pending against the driver.

According to EMT and fire department records, 8  to 10 pedestrian accidents occur in Washington DC every day. Fortunately, not all pedestrian accidents are fatal, but the potential for catastrophic injury is high. Catastrophic injuries require significant medical treatment, usually involve long-term rehabilitation and are likely to have life-changing consequences for the victim and his family. Serious permanent disability can occur that may leave the accident victim with diminished physical or mental abilities. Repeated reconstructive surgery may be necessary to repair the victim's injuries. Pedestrian personal injury accident victims frequently face a lifetime of continued medical care and chronic pain as a result of their injuries.

When catastrophic accidents occur, a Washington DC personal injury attorney with extensive experience handling catastrophic injury cases will work aggressively to protect your rights and argue for just compensation.

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A drunken driver killed one Catholic nun and gravely injured two other nuns in a serious personal injury auto accident in Bristow, Virginia this past Sunday. The driver, who was also hospitalized, is an illegal immigrant from Bolivia with numerous motor vehicle violations and two previous DUI arrests. The 23-year-old man was driving with a suspended license as a result of previous DUI convictions. Following the accident, Virginia police charged Carlos Montano, a Prince William County resident, with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving. As a result of a prior arrest, Montano was awaiting deportation but had been released by the court on his own recognizance.

The serious personal injury auto accident occurred Sunday morning as the three nuns were driving to attend a retreat at the Benedictine Monastery in Bristow, VA. Montano's car veered out of its lane, hit a barrier and crashed head-on into the nuns' car, killing 66-year-old Sister Denise Mosier and severely injuring her fellow Benedictine Sisters.

As happened in this case, tragic auto accidents can result in severe, life-altering personal injuries and death. While injured parties concentrate on healing and rehabilitation, an experienced Virginia personal injury attorney will investigate and work to see that accident victims receive the financial compensation they are entitled to.
 

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In the past decade, motorcycle registration in Virginia has increased by 105%. More motorcycle riders on Virginia highways have led to a disturbing increase in the number of Virginia motorcycle accidents resulting in severe personal injuries or death. In the first 6 months of 2010, 38 motorcyclists were killed, a 19% increase over the same 6-month period last year. According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, 2009 saw 71 motorcycle deaths and 1,506 injuries.

Because of the lack of protection around the rider, motorcycle injuries are more likely to be severe or life-altering than injuries suffered in car accident and carry of higher risk of fatality. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an increase in the number of riders over 40, spurred by still-active retiring Baby Boomers, has contributed to the increase. Age takes a toll on the body's ability to heal, making older motorcyclists are more likely than their younger counterparts to suffer severe injuries or die in a motorcycle accident.

Weather and road conditions, road rage, distracted or impaired driving and unsafe vehicles have greater potential to impact motorcyclists than automobile drivers and, in many cases, are contributing factors in serious Virginia motorcycle accidents.  When a serious motorcycle accident occurs, investigation and representation by an experienced Virginia and D.C. personal injury attorney can ensure that your rights are fully protected and that you receive the compensation you are entitled to.

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No one likes going to the dentist but no one expects to die in the dental chair either. A routine dental procedure to cap several teeth turned tragic for a six-year-old Virginia boy and his family not long ago.  While under anesthesia for the dental procedure, Jacobi Hills went into cardiac arrest. The young boy was rushed to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center where he died shortly thereafter. 

Jacobi Hill's family was at a loss to explain why their son died. Before Jacobi's appointment at the Virginia Commonwealth University dental clinic, his mother had taken him to the pediatrician for a check up. The pediatrician had pronounced the boy healthy and able to undergo the dental procedure. Jacobi suffered from asthma but was otherwise a normally, healthy 6-year-old. No one expected Jacobi to die in the dentist's chair.

An autopsy was performed and both the state medical examiner and university dental clinic investigated the boy's death. After a month-long investigation, the state medical examiner ruled that Jacobi Hill died of natural causes, officially listed as "cardiac dysrhythmia due to endotracheal extubation." What that means is that Jacobi died from an irregular heart beat caused when dental personnel removed a breathing tube used during his dental procedure.

In cases of medical malpractice, a ruling of natural causes often means an end to investigation unless families contact a Virginia personal injury attorney to fight for their rights and just compensation. Jacobi Hill's family would argue that there was nothing "natural" about their son's death. 

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An 11-year-old Texas boy touring Washington D.C. with his family was fatally injured in a tragic traffic accident in Georgetown Sunday evening. The youngster was with his parents and brother, crossing Wisconsin Avenue NW near 33rd Street when he was hit by a car. The boy sustained severe head injuries and was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries Monday.

Washington D.C. police are investigating. The woman driver of the vehicle that hit the boy has not been charged. It was not immediately clear whether the boy was in a crosswalk at the time of the accident. There is no traffic signal at the 3-way intersection which area residents called "dangerous."

Expert investigation is usually required to determine responsibility and fault when car-pedestrian accidents result in serious personal injuries or death in Washington D.C. and Virginia. D.C. personal injury attorneys confer with police and insurance investigators and interview eyewitnesses to determine precisely what happened when serious personal injury accidents occur.

Washington D.C. personal injury attorneys conduct accident investigations for their clients and protect their legal rights so that victims and their families can concentrate on recovery or, when an accident victim dies, on grieving for their loved one. If you suffer personal injuries in an accident in Washington D.C. or Virginia, contact an experienced personal injury attorney. 

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Independence Day celebrations  turned tragic for some Virginia families. A deadly personal injury car accident in Fairfax County, Virginia killed a man and injured four young people in the early morning hours of July 5. Six people riding in a Ford Explorer hit a tree on Route 641 near Clifton, Virginia. A 31-year-old man was ejected from the vehicle and died of his injuries at the scene. Four other passengers ranging in age from 14 to 21 suffered serious personal injuries and were transported to the hospital. The 20-year-old driver was unhurt. Police are investigating the Virginia car accident but said the driver appears to have been speeding.

When Virginia personal injury car accidents occur, accident victims and their families are besieged with hospital and doctor bills, rehabilitation schedules and complicated insurance forms. Insurance companies anxious to close their files often pressure accident victims to settle claims. But some accident injuries may require weeks or months of rehabilitation, and it can be more than a year before the full extent of recovery or impairment is known. When catastrophic injuries occur, medical intervention may be necessary for years. Sometimes car accident victims face lifelong disability.

Washington D.C. and Virginia personal injury car accident victims and their families should be able to concentrate on the recovery and, when death occurs, on grieving for their loved ones. When accidents occur, an experienced Virginia personal injury attorney can advise you of your rights and help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled.

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Car accidents are the number one killer of teens in Washington D.C. and Virginia. Every year more than 4,000 teens across the U.S. lose their lives in auto accidents and thousands more suffer serious, often life-altering, personal injuries. Distracted driving is the primary cause of teen personal injury car accidents and may have contributed to the tragic death of a Greater D.C. area teen early this week.

Seventeen-year-old Justin Dorsey of Gaithersburg, Maryland was one of 5 teens in a car driven by 17-year-old Ryan Sparks, also of Gaithersburg, when Sparks' vehicle swerved across the road and crashed head-on into an oncoming car driven by Daniel Schwartz, 31, of Burke, Virginia. Schwartz, Sparks and the other teens were treated for minor personal injuries at a Washington D.C. area hospital and released. Their friend Dorsey died of his injuries at the hospital. 

New drivers, teens are often distracted while driving by noisy or rambunctious passengers, loud music, cell phone use, texting or eating. In their inexperience they fail to realize the concentration required to drive safely. Many choose to ignore local laws limiting passengers and prohibiting texting that are aimed at keeping teen drivers safe. Tragic personal injury car accidents and deaths are the result.

To combat distracted driving by teens, a bill to create a nationwide Graduated Driver Licensing system has been introduced in both houses of Congress. If you or your teen is the victim of a car accident, consult a Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer about your rights.

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