Colorado Law Blog

Those little vehicles that buzz around golf courses as well as parks, sports fields and public recreational areas might be a cost-saving alternative to larger vehicles, but a pair of studies released this week suggests they do have their risks. The numbers of injuries have been increasing as more people rely on golf carts for transportation off golf courses. While there were about 5,772 injuries in 1990, the number more than doubled to 13,411 in 2006. Over the period studied, the researchers counted injuries in almost 150,000 people ages 2 months to 96 years.

Continue reading "Sand Traps and Ponds Aren’t the Only Hazards" »

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The chief judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overseeing a case exploring the extreme fringe of pornography, suspended the obscenity trial after a newspaper reported the judge had posted sexually explicit photos and videos on his own Web site.

Judge Alex Kozinski granted a highly-unusual joint prosecution and defense motion to suspend a trial this week. The case involves charges of obscenity against Ira Isaacs for films he markets.

Continue reading "The Pot Judging the Kettle" »

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More than 17 teens die on a typical day on American roads during June, July and August – the three months with the highest teen crash rates. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 6,000 teens die in car crashes every year, a statistic that hasn’t changed in more than a decade. While research shows that both parents and teens believe alcohol is the cause of most crashes involving teen drivers, the primary causes of most teen crashes – between 2003 and 2005 – was driver error (87 percent).

Continue reading "Youthful Drivers Face Deadly Obstacles" »

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For 40 years, an incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court justice never lost an election—not, that is, until this month, when a business-backed circuit judge narrowly defeated the first African-American to serve on the state's highest court.

But the victory of Michael Gableman over Louis Butler was stands out because the race came with such cost, partisanship, and confrontation—hardball trends that are expected to appear in judicial races nationwide. At an estimated $5 million, the cost of the Wisconsin race set records, and its campaign ads—largely sponsored by outside groups—were so negative and in some cases so misleading that they were criticized by a state watchdog group. One of Gableman's ads falsely implied that Butler had gotten out of jail a convicted rapist who then committed a second sexual assault. (In fact, the second assault occurred after the man served his full sentence.) Another ad by the pro-Butler teachers union accused Gableman of sentencing child sex offenders far below the maximum, but it used the example of an offender who received a higher sentence than the one the prosecutor recommended.

Continue reading "Buying Justice" »

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Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay $20 million to settle the last in a series of lawsuits that claimed it was responsible for poisoning water in the Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, as depicted in the movie "Erin Brockovich."

Continue reading "Wheels of Justice Move Very Slowly" »

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This week USA TODAY reported the discovery of a number of lawsuits that alleged corporate malfeasance in cases of pharmacy errors at Walgreens and CVS. Many were settled, and nearly all the settlements included confidentiality agreements.

Continue reading "Settlements Buy Silence" »

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A Santa Rosa woman who was badly injured by a bulldog has settled her lawsuit against the dog owner for $1 million. Wendy Rydberg will receive $900,000 and her husband and two children will receive about $33,000 each.

Continue reading "Man's Best Friend No Longer" »

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Just this week in Colorado, a hunter found the remains of a man killed in the crash of an all-terrain vehicle. Another Colorado hunting party discovered the remains of a northern Michigan man missing since 2003. A coroner says the hunters found the remains of Ray Wiggs, III of Alanson, Michigan. The 19-year-old and a friend traveled to Colorado in October of 2003 for a camping trip.

Outdoorsmen are an integral part of law enforcement, regularly finding human remains in areas killers hoped would keep secrets. But what is remote in August may be well-trodden in November; what was leaf-covered will reveal what's behind. Someone leaving the city for the quiet of autumn woods may find more than serenity or a six-point buck. He may find a crime scene.

Continue reading "Hunters Bag More Than Just Wildlife" »

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Pop Weaver, the nation's second-largest popcorn producer, has pulled the synthetic flavoring, diacetyl, from its microwave popcorn products because of the link between exposure to the chemical and lung disease. ConAgra, the world's largest supplier of the 3 billion bags of microwave popcorn sold each year, said Tuesday that it will eliminate the use of a controversial chemical butter flavoring linked to severe lung disease in workers from its Act II and Orville Redenbacher products.

Continue reading "Popcorn may be toxic!" »

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A few years ago, traffic on Interstate-70 heading from Denver to the mountains was particularly heavy during the ski season as front-range ski enthusiasts headed up for the day. But with the increase in summer tourism and those day-trippers seeking the golden aspens of autumn, traffic is heavy year-round. Average daily traffic at the Eisenhower Tunnel increased 7 percent from 2004 to 2006, according to CDOT.

Continue reading "Truck Accidents Rising Along I-70" »

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When 3-year-old Anthony Muniz drowned in a neighbor’s backyard pool here earlier this month, the tragedy was particularly piercing: Little Anthony had been named for his mother’s teenage brother, who died in his family’s pool years ago.

The fence that Anthony climbed over after slipping out of his Long Island home on June 6 was four feet tall, as required by the town where he lived, Brookhaven. An hour’s drive west, the fence would have had to be five feet in the town of Hempstead and six feet in North Hempstead. And the pool he drowned in, built about 30 years ago, was exempt from a new New York state law that requires alarms, but only for new or renovated pools.

Continue reading "Pools Pose Deadly Attraction" »

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The widow of a leukemia victim failed to persuade the Supreme Court Monday to consider allowing her to sue oil companies over her husband's exposure to a toxic chemical, a case her lawyer calls a legal "Catch 22" in Alabama.

The justices without comment declined to take up the case of Martha Jane Cline, who is trying to hold the companies accountable for her late husband's health problems. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the case June 4.

Continue reading "No Day in Court for Widow" »

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Officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say they have dramatically boosted inspections of companies that harvest cadaver body parts for transplant, acknowledging weaknesses in government oversight of the multibillion-dollar human tissue industry that last year was rocked by scandal.

The FDA claims the inspections turned up no serious problems. But an internal task force report urges the agency to establish a method for tracking body parts from cadaver to transplant patient as well as other problems, but operators of accredited tissue banks and others familiar with the industry say the report doesn't go far enough to clean up the problem.

Continue reading "FDA Again Comes to Our Rescue" »

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By now, most folks have heard about the administrative law judge Roy Pearson Jr. with his $65 million lawsuit against a D.C. dry cleaner for losing a pair of his pants.

Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Pearson has filed tons of documents and demanded payment in a court case. Just ask his ex-wife. In 2005, the Virginia Court of Appeals denied Pearson's appeal seeking at least $10,000 in spousal support in his divorce from Rhonda VanLowe, legal counsel for Rolls-Royce North America. Pearson wanted VanLowe to help support him because he was receiving unemployment benefits in 2003 before he was appointed as an administrative law judge in 2005.

Continue reading "How to make a pair pants into a $65M suit" »

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The insurance industry determined that General Motors' vehicles had the highest and lowest death rates in the period between 2002 and 2005. According to their study, the vehicles with the highest death rate were the 2001 to 2004 Chevrolet Blazers and the Chevrolet Astro minivan was recorded to have the lowest rate. Researchers also reported that the average death rate for all vehicles has declined.

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The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Aurora over its pit-bull ban. An Aurora home-owner brought the suit against the city in Arapahoe County District Court, saying that her constitutional rights were violated by the ban. The Aurora City Council imposed the ban on new pit bulls in February 2006. But it did allow all current owners at that time to keep their dogs if they obtained $200 annual licenses and adhered to a number of requirements.

Continue reading "Pit-bull Ban Upheld" »

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Found 4/13/07 on the front page of the website for The National Law Journal, a link to an article titled:

How to make your family vacation more productive

With spring around the corner, it's time to pack the kids in the car for a family roadtrip. But don't let that stop you from keeping the clock running on your billable hours.

The above lead links to an article explaining how lawyers can pack in billable hours while touring with the family- does this suggest a loss of balance - or maybe sheer looniness- for those firms obsessed with billable hours?

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After a five-week trial, in King County, Washington, jury on last Friday awarded $14 million to a 27-year-old skier who was paralyzed after dropping 37 feet from a ski jump at the Summit at Snoqualmie.

Continue reading "Paralyzed skier wins against terrain park" »

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Last Halloween it was New York City funeral homes partaking in clandestine selling of cadaver parts, see Modern Day Body Snatchers – now the former director of the cadaver donor program at the University of California, Los Angeles, along with his modern-day Igor, have been charged with conspiracy and grand theft. Both have been accused of illegally trading body parts that had been donated to the University for Medical Research.

Continue reading "Cadaver Parts Becoming “Growth Industry”?" »

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Parents of teenagers worry about lots of things: drugs, sex, poor choices of friends. But the activity that poses the greatest danger to your child is driving the family car.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 16- to 20-year-olds, with about 5,500 teenage drivers or passengers dying each year. In addition, about 450,000 teenagers are injured, 27,000 of them requiring hospitalization, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported in the December issue of its journal, Pediatrics.

Continue reading "Teenage Death Behind the Wheel" »

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The American Bar Association, the nation's largest lawyers group, is taking on the National Rifle Association, the biggest gun rights organization. The issue is whether an employer has the right to bar workers from leaving guns in their cars while on the job.

Continue reading "Heavyweight Match: ABA vs. NRA" »

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Last winter a record 58.9 million skiers and snowboarders hit the nation’s slopes. This season, Colorado resorts are on a pace to break last winter's record of 12.53 million skier visits, with 6.74 percent more in the first part of the season than the same period last year, the industry recently reported. The resorts had nearly 3.3 million skier visits from October through December 2006, up 207,533 when compared to the same period in 2005.

While the mountains have less snow than last year's near-record, TV coverage of snow-covered Denver has well-publicized the great skiing conditions. And Colorado resorts have benefited from the lack of snow suffered in the East and most of Europe.

Continue reading "Increased Ski Numbers Pose Risks" »

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Two backcountry avalanche accidents last month, including one resulting in a fatality, and one massive slide which closed a Colorado highway, are early-season reminders of the threat of high country avalanches. And with more snow coming, backcountry enthusiasts need to tread, or slide as the case may be, cautiously. For those enjoying Colorado’s beautiful snow-covered Rockies, a visit to CAIC before visiting the out of bounds slopes is essential.

Continue reading "Know Your Snow" »

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The death of a disabled Viet Nam veteran the week of Christmas in a Denver house fire illustrates the danger of house fires in the winter. Though the cause of this fire is unknown, the high cost of home heating fuels and utilities have caused many Americans to search for alternate sources of home heating. Particularly in Colorado, where a stretch of artic weather has set in, the use of wood burning stoves is growing and space heaters are selling rapidly, or coming out of storage. Fireplaces are burning wood and man made logs. All these methods of heating may be acceptable. They are however, a major contributing factor in residential fires. Many of these fires can be prevented.

Continue reading "Fire and Ice – Danger of Winter Fires" »

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Looking forward to having a few friends over for the Big Game on February 4th? If you are hosting a party anytime, you should consider how to best protect your guests and yourself.

Continue reading "Rain or Shine, Party Hosts May Want Umbrella" »

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This week the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released the results of a study testing the safety of small cars. With increased gas prices, the fuel savings offered by smaller models have increased their popularity recently. Of the eight models tested, all received passing scores in head-on crash tests, but only one, the Nissan Versa, received high marks in both side- and rear-crash tests. The high marks for Versa is the result of its greater heft, weighing several hundred pounds heavier than competing models.

Continue reading "Small Cars May Come With Big Risks" »

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When is a pig part of the family? According to the Alabama Supreme Court, when the animal is a “potbellied porcine pet” which the owner loves. The pig lover was brought to trial by neighbors claiming the pig, Taylor, violated neighborhood prohibitions against livestock. The court cited precedent that held that Vietnamese potbellied pigs are clearly not meant to be eaten like livestock, and all doubts and ambiguities in a restrictive covenant must be resolved against the party seeking enforcement. According to the court, this was not a case in which a family is treating a farm animal like a pet, such as Arnold, the pig of television’s Green Acres fame.

Continue reading "Forget the Turkey - What About the Pig?" »

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Consumer Product Safety Council (CPSC) has reports of 20 toy-related deaths involving children under age 15 that occurred in 2005. Nine of these deaths occurred when a child choked or aspirated on a small ball or other toy parts. Also, in 2005 an estimated 152,400 children under 15 years old were treated for toy-related injuries in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. The majority of these injuries were not the result of a recalled or dangerous product. Instead, injuries from riding toys such as falls, made up a significant number of the injuries. To avoid such tragedies this holiday season, CPSC and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) are working together to make this holiday season a safe one by warning all gift givers about the five toy hazards that can take all the fun out of any celebration.

Continue reading "Grandparents Gift Giving Help" »

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You don’t have to spend much time on any major highway before you feel like your vehicle is about to be blown away by the semis racing past you. The American Trucking Associations, the nation’s premier trucking industry trade group, recognizes the significant public safety risk posed by these speed demons and last week petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to limit the maximum speed of large trucks at the time of manufacture to no more than 68 miles per hour.

Continue reading "Speed Limit Requested for Nation's Semis" »

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Many different groups of people, including the very young, participants over age 60, the handicapped and the disabled enjoy ski/snowboard activities. Approximately 10.4 million Americans either ski or snowboard. Final reports indicate that the U.S. ski industry set an all-time national skier visit record of 58.8 million for the 2005/06 season, up 3.5 percent from last season, and up 2.3 percent from the previous record set in 2002/03. As many participants now snowboard as ski. But a day on the slopes can end in the emergency room, or worse. On average, 34 people die each year in the United States while skiing or snowboarding. Another 39 suffer severe, yet nonfatal, injuries, including paralysis and brain trauma.

Continue reading "Ski Safety for the Upcoming Ski Season" »

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The classic Halloween image is that of a broadly smiling Jack-O-Lantern, animated by a burning candle. But, reported home candle fires have tripled since their low in 1990. Two-fifths started in the bedroom, while the living room, family room, or den was the leading area of origin for candle fire deaths. Half of the home candle fires occurred after by some type of combustible was too close to the candle; an unattended or abandoned candle was a factor in 18% of these fires. Falling asleep was a factor in 12% of the incidents.

Continue reading "Halloween Fun Without Fire" »

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From ghoulies and ghosties,
Long-leggety beasties,
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us. - Anonymous

The ghouls and goblins will be out in just three short weeks – make sure your trick-or-treaters enjoy a safe and fun Halloween by reviewing these simple safety points.

Continue reading "Ghoulies and Ghosties" »

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Man’s best friend doesn’t always live up to the title – an average 4.7 million people throughout the nation suffer a dog bite each year. The Insurance Information Institute reports that dog bites account for about 25% of all homeowners’ insurance liability claims.

Continue reading "Beware Friends With Fangs" »

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Home is where the heart is, but it may also be where the danger resides. In 2001, there were 33,200 accidental deaths in the home. The four leading causes of such fatalities are, in order: poisoning, falls, suffocation from an ingested object, and fires and burns. While no age group is invulnerable, the two most at-risk groups are children under age 4 and the elderly.

Continue reading "Home Perilous Home?" »

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Common wisdom is that the best thing for our children is to get them outside to play - but this may not be such good advice if they head for the background playset. A surprising report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed that over a ten year period, more children died from injuries sustained on backyard playground equipment than on public playgrounds. Data on playground related deaths reported to the agency from January 1990 through August 2000 was reviewed, and studied playground equipment related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms.

Continue reading "Playground Pitfalls" »

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It’s not something you do with a rod and reel or an alternative music group. Phishing is an online scam used to commit identity theft. A fraudulent, but official-looking e-mail is sent to a user in an attempt to con that user into divulging personal and/or private information, which is then used for identity theft. The sender is “fishing” for a bite from a few of the millions of recipients of the fake e-mail.

Continue reading "Gone Phishing" »

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Many in Colorado are familiar with the tragic story of the missing toddler being towed in Carter Lake this past July. He is now presumed drowned, and authorities report that his life jacket was too big for his 25-pound body.

Boating accidents are not so few and far between. The Coast Guard says that each year about 8,000 boating accidents are reported, resulting in the death of more than 800 people.

Continue reading "Safe Sailing" »

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The natural beauty of Colorado entices many to enjoy the great outdoors on bicycles. But sadly, Colorado motorists are often ignorant of the rights enjoyed by cyclists in our state, or choose to ignore those rights and drive so aggressively as to cause serious accidents. When bicyclists are hit on our roads, severe or fatal injuries are often the result.

Continue reading "Share the Road - Its the Law" »

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According to the National Transportation Safety Board, each year about 5,000 people are killed in accidents involving large trucks. Annually, truck collisions account for more than 25,000 injuries requiring emergency room treatment.

Continue reading "Big Rigs Pose Big Risk" »

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With summer approaching, many famiies soon will be loading up kids and bags and heading out on a road trip. But, over 400 4-to-8-year-olds are killed in traffic crashes every year, and roughly 70,000 more are injured. Research has shown that booster seats are extremely effective in reducing injuries in crashes.

Continue reading "Safety on Our Roads" »

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Continue reading "New Study on Lawnmowing Dangers" »

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