February 18, 2010
76 percent of hit-run collisions in PSL involve parked car
tcpalm.com
The likelihood of drivers in Port St. Lucie stopping or leaving a ‘sorry’ note on your windshield if they hit your car is not very good, according to new Allstate claims data.
Seventy-six percent of Port St. Lucie hit-and-run collisions involved a parked vehicle.
While most states, including Florida, require a driver responsible for an accident with an unattended vehicle to notify the owner, such as leaving a note, some do not. Allstate recommends drivers always leave a note, including an explanation of what happened no matter how visible the damage.
Nationally, 69 percent of the country’s hit-and-run collisions involved a parked vehicle. The data is for the largest 200 cities.
Some other Florida cities:
City…………………Percentage Hit While Parked
Cape Coral………..84
Fort Lauderdale…..82
Tallahassee………..80
Orlando……………..63
Miami………………..60
Tampa……………….59
For more information about the hit-and-run report, log onto http://www.allstatenewsroom.com
January 8, 2010
$850,000 Paid by Shopping Plaza Owner & Okeechobee Utility Authority to Okeechobee Woman
A shopping center owner and a water company recently learned an important business lesson from Attorney Philip DeBerard. The two businesses had to pay an Okeechobee woman $850,000 because of their negligence regarding safety standards and their failure to prevent hazardous conditions.
In February 2004, Patti Simmons’ vehicle was parked behind the Okeechobee Plaza shopping center, owned Royal & Sons, Ltd. As Ms. Simmons walked to her vehicle, she unknowingly stepped into an uncovered water meter hole, causing her to fall after a heavy rain storm flooded the dark, un-illuminated parking lot, creating a hazardous situation.
The meter opening should have been covered with a plastic lid to protect pedestrians, but the lid was not properly attached and floated away when the parking lot flooded, creating this hazardous condition. The drain covers were managed by the Okeechobee Utility Authority, which did not maintain or repair them in a reasonably safe way.
The shopping center parking lot had been in an unsafe condition for a very long period time prior to this incident, and the owners did not make an attempt to rectify the dangerous conditions or take corrective measures. “The property owners have an obligation to keep their property safe,” commented Attorney Philip DeBerard. “Just as property owners have a responsibility to prevent dangerous conditions, so too must land and business owners act when inclement weather creates adverse conditions on a property.” Philip DeBerard and Robin A. Blanton represented Simmons in the action against the defendants.
Ms. Simmons suffered years of multiple neck and back surgeries that left her totally and permanently disabled and unable to return to her job as a beautician. The injuries and required medical care forced her to make substantial changes to her lifestyle.
December 9, 2009
Bayer Consumer Care Voluntarily Recalls One Lot of Combination Package of Alka-Seltzer Plus® Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid GelsSingle Lot Affected by Package Labeling Issue
In consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Bayer’s Consumer Care division has begun a voluntary recall of a single product lot of the combination package of Alka-Seltzer Plus® Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels. Bayer initiated the recall after identifying that the labeling on the foil blister card of certain packages within the lot (less than 4 percent) were printed with the label reversed. All individual liquid filled capsules are imprinted correctly.
The affected Alka-Seltzer Plus product lot number can be found on both the interior blister package (in black text adjacent to the expiration date) as well as on the exterior carton containing the blister packaging (embossed on the side panel under the Bayer logo)
Product Name: Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Liquid Gels
Package size: 20 liquid filled capsules per carton (12 day formulation capsules and 8 night formulation capsules)
UPC#: 016500537779
Lot #: 296939L
Expiration: 5/11
This product was sold only in the U.S. at retail outlets nationwide.
This recall does not impact any Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Cold Formula Effervescent products, individually packaged Alka-Seltzer Plus Day Non-Drowsy Cold Formula products, individually packaged Alka-Seltzer Plus Night Cold Formula products, or any other lot of Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid-Gels.
The company initiated an investigation following consumer reports and found that in a limited number of combination packages of Alka-Seltzer Plus Day and Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels from a single lot, the information on the underside of the blister package was reversed. Therefore, the label for the green Night product appears under some of the blue Day product and vice versa. As such, there is a risk that consumers may not be aware of the warnings of an antihistamine in the product that could cause drowsiness.
Consumers who purchased combination packages of Alka-Seltzer Plus Day and Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels from the lot included in this recall (details below) should stop using the product and contact Bayer with any questions or for instructions on a refund or replacement. Consumers should contact our Consumer Relations Call Center at 1(800) 986-3307 (available Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30PM eastern standard time.) Any consumer with a medical concern or questions should contact their healthcare provider.
About Bayer Consumer Care
The Consumer Care division of Bayer HealthCare, is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. Bayer Consumer Care is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. These include Aspirin, ALEVE®, Alka-Seltzer®, Midol®, One A Day® Vitamins, and Flintstones™ vitamins.
Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The pharmaceuticals business operates under the name Bayer Schering Pharma and as Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals in the US and Canada. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide.
September 29, 2009
Toyota recalling 3.8 million cars
WASHINGTON (AP) – Toyota is recalling 3.8 million vehicles in the U.S.
The problem is a removable floor mat that could interfere with the vehicle’s accelerator and cause a crash.
Owners of several Toyota and Lexus models are being warned.
They’ve been asked to take out the floors mats on the driver’s side and not replace them.
The consumer alert affects 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
Toyota ordered dealers to inspect their cars for mismatched floor mats after a mat was suspected of snagging a gas pedal on a runaway Lexus in California. The August crash killed four family members.
September 6, 2009
WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
This is a GRAPHIC AND HAUNTING video created by British law enforcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rdV9ADjpcg
Talk to your family members about the dangers of talking and texting while driving.
Call for a FREE dash board gel pad to mount your cell phone in your car.
July 29, 2009
Let Attorney Philip DeBerard Give You Some Facts About Dog Attacks, Bites and Children
According to the Humane Society, every year approximately 4.7 million dog bites occur in the United States. That is almost 2% of the American population. Roughly 26 people are killed a year by dogs in the last decade. Approximately eighty percent of dog bites occur by an animal that is known to the victim and is usually a pet of the owner or neighbor. And most dog bites occur near the victim’s home. And over half the dog bites occur on the dog owner’s property. Children are three times more likely than adults to sustain serious injury from dog bites. Over half of the child victims sustain significant injury to the face. The Humane Society reports that over fifty percent of the bite victims are under the age of 13-years-old. One kennel reported that of the children killed by dogs (canine homicide), nearly 70% of the victims were under the age of ten-years-old, nearly 22% are under the age of one year and approximately 7% were sleeping infants. It is important to discern between dog bites and canine homicide. While Pit Bulls and Rottweiler’s are responsible for a large number of the canine homicides, all breeds and their owners are responsible for the high number of dog bites. You will recall the case of the Pomeranian dog that killed an infant while its owner was preparing a bottle in the other room. Even in communities where certain breeds are banned and there are low concentrations of “dangerous breeds” there is still the same frequency of dog bites in the population. Any dog can and will bite under certain circumstances.
It is important to remember the greatest single cause of canine homicide and dog bites are irresponsible dog owners. Dog owners that do not take responsibly for properly training and supervising their dogs are the single greatest cause of dog bites and dog attacks.
Tips to minimize the risk of your child from being bitten by a dog: 1) Teach your child to move slowly and speak softly around dogs. 2) Teach your child not to chase or tease dogs. 3) Teach your child that all dogs may bite. 4) Teach your child to wait to be introduced to the dog by the dog’s adult owner. 5) Teach your child to ask the dog owner’s permission to pet their dog first, before trying to pet the dog. 6) Teach your child to wait for a dog owner’s permission to pet the dog and then teach your child to let the dog sniff the child’s hand first, before petting the dog. 7) Teach your child to pet the animal gently after the dog sniffs his/her hand. 9) Teach your child to never pet a dog while it is eating or sleeping. 10) Teach your child to never approach a dog that has puppies or is nursing puppies. 11) Teach your child to never pet a dog while it is playing with a toy. 12) Teach your child to never try to take a dog’s toy away from the dog. 13) Teach your child to never try to pet a dog that is in a car by reaching in the window. 
Teach your child to avoid petting a dog that cannot sit nicely.
May 22, 2009
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF TEXTING
According to AAA and Seventeen Magazine 46% of 1000 teenagers polled said they text-message while driving. 51% said they talk on their cell phones while driving.
“Adults with their blackberries also text-message while driving. This is one of the biggest challenges facing drivers today is distractions,” comments spokesperson for AAA. “The next generation of drivers is doing it and do not think twice about the consequences it could cause.”
Almost 70% of American cell phone users send at least one text a day. Texting statistics done by livescience.com show that 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries are caused by cell phone distraction in the U.S. everyday. These numbers are probably on the conservative side, as mobile phone usage is on the rise. Five people a day die from cell phone distractions.
Everyone seems to agree, even those in the wireless industry that the buzz of ones PDA or cell phone shouldn’t be answered in the car. But we still check to see who it is and important or not send a response.
Studies show that text-messaging distractions are like being drunk while driving, cutting down attention and ability to react to dangerious situations. Distractions have been around as long as their has been cars. The most common driving distraction is day dreaming,texting or talking on the phone, fixing hair, comforting or disciplining children and eating.
