A dairy product manufacturer in Tenino, Washington conducted a product recall on all of its raw milk for the possibility of E-coli contamination.

The Frisia Dairy and Creamery immediately recalled its raw milk after the January 17 issue released by the Washington State Department of Agriculture stating that the dairy’s raw milk product was contaminated with a dangerous strain of E-coli.

Though the strain of E-coli on a skim milk product was found only within this month’s routine sampling conducted by the agency, the dairy’s product recall included all expiration dates.

At present, no illnesses related to the milk product have been reported. However, the dairy voluntarily initiated a product recall right before the possibility of any product liability claim.

The dairy has been cooperative with the Department of Agriculture. While the investigation determining the main source of the problem is still ongoing, the dairy notified all consumers and is currently removing all their raw milk products from its 8 retail outlets in Lewis, Thurston and Pierce counties.

According to the said news released by the WSDA, the E-coli was not found in other product samples collected at the same time nor has been found in the past routine monthly samples collected from the dairy.

Frisia has been operating for a couple of years, manufacturing unpasteurized fluid milk products like whole, skim and cream but it just started selling raw milk for more than three months. Now, one of the dairy’s co-owner – Anita De Boer said that they made a big risk when they decided to market raw milk and so now the dairy is thinking of shipping their milk to a processor for pasteurization.

The dairy is calling the attention of customers who bought its raw milk products to return the same for a full refund.

Frisia apparently held itself liable for any product liability claim that may arise. However, it doesn’t always gothat way. In the event that the manufacturer denied its liabilities in case of product defects, a claimant may get the right support for his or her claim through the help of an expert lawyer. In Los Angeles, product liability lawyers can prove the defective nature of any product and bring a claim to a sure win.

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Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions’ press release, the agency is urging employers to eliminate unnecessary broad background checks after discovering hundreds of applicants filing for racial discrimination charges. All of these resulted from the criminal background checks done by a beverage company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The EEOC recently found out that over 300 Africans-Americans are harshly affected by the Pepsi Beverages, formerly known as Pepsi Bottling Group. It occurred when the company conducted a criminal background policy check that disproportionately rejected black applicants for employment.

Under Pepsi’s former policy, applicants who have been arrested or convicted of certain minor offenses shall be denied employment. However, this contradicts the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where the use of arrest and conviction records to deny employment can be unlawful when it is not relevant for the job since it can limit the opportunities of the applicants or workers based on their race.

In the course of events, the said Beverage Company has agreed with the EEOC in modifying their policies thus adopting the new one. However, the aforementioned company is still required to pay all the monetary fines and other penalty charges set against them.

The EEOC Minneapolis Acting Director, Julie Schmid reminds employers that when conducting a background check, the nature and gravity of the offense of the applicant must be taken into consideration. More over the time that has passed since the conviction or completion of the sentence and the nature of the job in search must also be dealt with proper jurisdiction to make sure that job rejection is important for the particular position. She also added that such rejection can be considered as racial discrimination, a violation of the Title VII. In behalf of the EEOC, Acting Director Schmid hopes that employers with unnecessarily broad criminal background check policies would reassess their policies in order to comply with the provisions stated under Title VII.

The EEOC is expecting that employers would take note of their settlement agreement with Pepsi regarding on its strict qualifications in order to eliminate employment discrimination and establish equal employment opportunities for everyone.

In Pepsi’s case, the EEOC is grateful that Pepsi chooses to make an agreement in setting some real great changes without the need of further litigation. In some cases, employers usually oppose employment discrimination claims by trying to fabricate reasons for the employment action. Therefore, an employee filing for complaints must be sure that his or her lawyer is familiar with the tricks that employers do.  Los Angeles Employment lawyers know very well on how to utilize their knowledge regarding laws when employment discrimination cases arises such as these.

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The driver who is believed to have caused the vehicle accident that killed a pedestrian last January 1 in Green County, Pennsylvania has surrendered to police.

The driver, 22–year-old Maris Chandler, is accused of hit–and–run charge as he struck and dragged to death Chelsea Robison. The accident occurred at Pit Gas Road in Jefferson Township, Pennsylvania.

According to reports, right after the accident, Chandler jumped out of the car to flee in fear for his life, while Robinson sustained life-threatening injuries and was brought to a nearby hospital. Few days after the incident, Chandler finally showed up himself and surrendered to the authorities.

According to Chandler’s vehicle accident lawyer, Blaine Jones, the driver never intended to escape but he panicked after a racially motivated crowd attacked him ripping off his clothes. The attorney has said that the crowd called Chandler with racially discriminating names and threatened him.

Robinson’s mother is claiming that Chandler’s car struck into his daughter causing the woman to fell on the ground. Furthermore, she said that when her daughter was getting up, Chandler struck her again causing Robinson to roll under the car.

This is a very complicated story of a vehicle accident which involves racial discrimination concerns. Well, Chandler must wish for his win in this case which involves other relevant issues. It is imperative for him to have the smartest attorney in order for him to strengthen his defense.

In California, car accident victims should always be supported by an experienced and skilled Los Angeles personal injury attorney so as to ensure that justice would be serve just in time.

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Landers family was awarded with $1 million for their car accident wrongful death claim after losing their son to a drunk driver.

Leaving your kid to one of your most trusted relatives or friends for a weekend or a vacation trip will absolutely bring you peace of mind. However, this verdict must be seen as a warning to parents leaving or planning to leave their children behind for a weekend getaway or a vacation.

The family of a young boy who died in a drunk driving vehicle accident finally won the wrongful death claim they filed way back in 2009. The said drunk driving accident occurred on July 18, 2009. It was when the parents of a 12–year-old Matthew Landers left him under the custody of Randy Sonzanski – a close family friend for a fishing trip in Alaska.

The couple probably gave too much of their trust to Sonzanski, not knowing that the latter would be unmindful of taking good care of their son. Sonzanski being careless about Matthew, allowed the boy to ride on the car of Sonzanski’s friend – Daniel Armstrong upon knowing that Armstrong was already intoxicated by an alcohol.

Don’t drink and drive – that’s the golden rule that Armstrong violated. The worst thing is that the young boy is with him when his car submerged into the Alaskan river as a result of drunk driving. Matthew died from drowning in the river while Armstrong survived.

The police officers who conducted an investigation regarding the incident confirmed that there was a substantial blood alcohol concentration level found in Armstrong’s sobriety test.

Driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or more is strictly prohibited in Alaska. According to researches, having a BAC level of .05 may weaken the driving ability of most people. Therefore, 0.08 BAC level was set to be the lawful limit for drivers.

Finally, after several years of waiting, justice has come. Armstrong pleaded guilty and will be facing four years imprisonment. May this serve as a warning to would-be drunk drivers.

Having a quality time with each other might be one of the best moments for spouses. However, kids should never be overlooked in such instances. Take some time and effort in considering to bring your kids too on your vacation trip rather than leaving them under the custody of other people.

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This may be seen as a very notable consumer case against a retail giant by any Los Angeles slip-and-fall injury attorney: A man walked up for a cup of coffee at one of the best coffee shops in the world was not only served with coffee but also with a plateful of million dollars.

Finally, on December 29, 2011, a San Diego jury awarded a man and his wife with almost $7.5 million in their slip and fall injury lawsuit filed against Starbucks.

According to the report, the personal injury claim was filed by Anthony Zaccaglin and his wife way back in 2009 stemming from the slip-and-fall accident that happened at a North County Starbucks branch. Zaccaglin sustained a traumatic brain injury after slipping and falling inside a Starbucks shop in Melrose, Vista. Witnesses stated that Zaccaglin was walking towards the pick–up counter from the cashier when he fell and hit his head on the cash register.

Witnesses added that a manager from the said Starbucks branch just mopped the floor area where Zaccaglin passed to fetch his order and then slipped. An employee later apologized for not “dry mopping” the wet floor. However, an apology could not heal the wound as well as the serious effects that the incident brought into Zaccaglin’s life.

Zaccaglin suffered from complications arising from the slip and fall accident. He is also permanently unable to attend to his job as a chiropractor. His wife said that he is suffering from excessive fatigue, severe headaches and side effects from his medication.

Zaccaglin’s slip-and-fall attorneys said that Starbucks initially offered $100,000 to Zaccaglin and his wife but the couple turned down the offer.

A jury awarded Zaccaglin with about $6.5 million and his wife with $1 million for losing consortium. The total amount of their slip and fall injury claim could amount to $8.5 million including added costs.

Starbucks, feeling sorry for Zaccaglin but somehow disappointed with the size of the verdict are reviewing the ruling to know if they can do some appropriate steps regarding the jury’s decision.

It looks like the case was not yet resolved since Starbucks is looking for ways to make an appeal. Wherever it may lead, hopefully Starbucks will not only focus on its appeal but as well as on the safety of their premises to avoid similar slip and fall injury accidents to occur again.

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After a hit-and-run incident killed a 12-year old girl at a Southern California freeway, the vehicle driver, John Sullivan, was never charged with any personal injury claim nor was cited for it.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Sullivan hit the 12-year old Eunice Flores who was crossing the road to pick up clothes scattered on the freeway after the suitcase had fallen from the roof rack of the car she was riding.

The incident happened last Christmas at the State Route 60 in Mira Loma, California. Sullivan saw the girl crossing the road but it was too late for him to avoid the collision. His vehicle struck Flores which caused the girl’s death.

Sad to say but the driver, Sullivan was never ticketed nor arrested for any violation because he was not at fault. Instead, the girl was to blame for the accident because she illegally crossed the road.

Under the California Vehicle Code Section 21954, a pedestrian crossing the road not within the pedestrian lane or marked crosswalk shall give a right-of-way to all vehicles on the roadway. However, it also states that in this provision, drivers should still take some proper precaution for the safety of a pedestrian in the roadway.

In Sullivan’s case, probably it was too late for him to take some safety precaution since he doesn’t even have any chance of avoiding the girl when he saw her on the road.

Apparently, Sullivan doesn’t have any liability for the girl’s wrongful death. Now, the issue here is the reasoning of the 12-year-old girl’s adult guardian for allowing her cross the freeway filled with fast-moving vehicles, For sure, the girl was not alone riding the car and that she is with someone before the accident happened.

The negligence of the adult that was with the 12-year-old during the time of accident made the vehicle driver that struck her exempted for any personal injury charges and other offenses since it is the liability of the child’s guardian to protect and provide safety for the minor.

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Last Monday night Kansas’ Interstate 40, one of the major east – west route was closed due to the strong wind and snow that left several fatal accidents on the road.

Major highways were closed to prevent more vehicle accidents from happening in five states. There were about 100 rescue calls from different drivers, which were received by the Texas Panhandle.

Travelers through Kansas rearranged their plans and booked themselves into hotels. According to reports, in just a matter of 20 minutes, three dozens of hotel rooms were filled as drivers get off from the interstate 70.

Many vehicles during that time are sliding into a ditch, that’s why travelers chose to get off the road wait for the storm to calm rather than taking the risks.

Western Kansas has nearly 10 inches of snow which fell before sunset and several more inches were expected as the strong wind blows. This is the reason why many major roads were closed according to a National Weather Service meteorologist, Marc Rusell.

Schools in Manhattan canceled their classes for the day and Topeka was covered by a cold rain.

The Interstate 70 was among the roads that were still closed on Tuesday morning.

In Southwest Kansas, roads are entirely shut down due to cars sliding across the road and falling into ditches.

The blizzard left six dead and four of them were the result of a vehicle accident that occurred in Eastern part of New Mexico and on an icy road in Eastern Colorado.

The snowstorm that struck the region has turned roads into ice and made zero visibility.

In Northern New Mexico, all the roads from Raton to the Texas were closed by the snow and ice. It’s actually about 90 miles away in Oklahoma borders. Several highways there still remained closed early Tuesday.

Though snowfall started to pour gradually, the public was still warned by the weather service of the poor weather condition.

As expected, numbers of vehicle accidents in this coming holiday season will continue to increase. Apart from drunk driving a bad weather, condition would of course cause trouble to any driver.

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