A driver for Sky Express, a discount interstate bus service was set to appear in a Virginia court on July 6, 2011 on charges stemming from a May crash on Interstate 95 that killed four passengers and injured dozens more.

Kin Yiu Cheung, 37, of New York City is charged with four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal crash about 30 miles north of Richmond. Cheung admitted to police that he fell asleep at the wheel when the Sky Express bus bound for New York swerved off the highway, hit an embankment and overturned with 60 people aboard.

Virginia State Police have identified those killed in the crash as Denny Estefany Martinez, 25, of Jersey City, Karen Blyden-Decastro, 46, of Cambria Heights, N.Y.; Sie Giok Giang, 63, of Philadelphia; and Josefa Torres, 78, of Jamaica, N.Y.

Evidently, transportation Department officials were in the process of shutting down the company at the time of the crash, but had given the Charlotte, N.C.-based company an extra 10 days to appeal an unsatisfactory safety rating. A timeline released by the Transportation Deartment indicated that without the extension, Sky Express would have stopped operations the weekend before the crash. In response, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has directed the department to stop extending appeals periods for operators found to be unsafe.

Immediately following the crash, federal officials shut down Sky Express and issued a cease-and-desist order against the company after finding it was trying to circumvent the sgut down by selling tickets under different company names.

Sky Express is just one of the companies in the sometimes seedy industry of inexpensive buses that travel the country offering cheap fares. According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Sky Express buses have been involved in four crashes with an injury or fatality in the last two years. The company also has been cited for dozens of violations of drivers being fatigued over that same time, ranking it in the bottom 15 percent of commercial motor carriers.

Clearly, it was only a matter of time before a tragedy like this occurred. This accident probably could have been avoided if Sky Express had adhered to the rules regarding the amount of time drivers are permitted to drive in a 24 hour period and setting strict guidlelines to ensure safety procedures are followed. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of negilgent bus or limousine company, it is important that you speak with an experienced accident attorney. Contact a New Jersey Bus Accident Lawyer today for a free consultation.

On July 13, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an urgent public notice advising patients and their healthcare providers to consider alternatives to transvaginal mesh. The advisory also noted that the FDA will be meeting to discuss a potential ban on the mesh. The FDA was prompted to issue this warning after receiving more than 3,875 injury reports associated with the mesh, three of which involved fatalities, from 2005 to 2010.

Transvaginal Mesh is a medical device implanted surgically to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), conditions that may occur after childbirth and pregnancy. In 2010, more than 75,000 women had vaginal mesh surgery to repair POP.

Recent research shows that at least ten percent of women who have received vaginal mesh implants suffer from mesh erosion within 12 months of surgery and more than half of these patients require additional surgery to remove the mesh following complications.

We represent hundreds of clients allegedly harmed by transvaginal mesh and bladder sling products in filed cases against numerous large corporations as including but not limited to C.R. Bard, Inc., Ethicon, Gynecare and Johnson & Johnson. In fact, our attorneys have been named liaison counsel (lead counsel) in the cases against Ethicon, Gynecare and Johnson & Johnson and we are actively litigating against other manufacturers as well.

If you have been injured as a result of a transvaginal mesh or TVT implant, contact New Jersey Defective Medical Device Lawyer today for a free consultation.

On September 1, 2011 two people were critically injured, with three other still in serious condition after a two-vehicle crash on Route 70 in Manchester, New Jersey. The driver of one of the vehicles, Charles E. Flickinger, of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania was driving on Route 70 West near Washington Avenue at dusk when his vehicle veered into oncoming traffic and collided with a pick-up truck traveling east. Flickinger had four passengers in the car at the time of the crash; Linda Warbington (his fiance), Warbington’s two children, a 4-year-old boy and an 18-month old girl, and Rita Keller, of Manchester.

Flickinger and Keller were taken by helicopter to Jersey Shore University Hospital in Neptune where Flickinger is in critical condition with internal injuries and broken bones and Keller is in serious condition. The 4-year-old boy, who was in a car seat at the time of the crash was taken to Jersey Shore University Hospital and remains in criticial condition. Warbington and her 18-month-old daughter have been taken to Jersey Shore University Hospital where they are both in serious condition. The driver of the pick-up truck that was struck, Joseph Lacarrubba, was taken to Kimball Medical Center for minor injuries.

The accident is still under investigation by the Manchester Township police department and it is still unknown why Flickinger veered into oncoming traffic. No charges have been filed at this time.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, it is important that you speak with an experienced accident attorney. Contact a New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer today for a free consultation.

More than a dozen people have died from possible listeria outbreak that has been linked to Colorado cantaloupes. If these estimates prove accurate, this outbreak will be the most deadly in the last 10 years.

The CDC said last week that more than 50 people have been sickened and 8 deaths have been traced to the cantaloupe listeria outbreak. Since then, state and local health departments in 4 other states have reported six additional deaths that may be linked to the outbreak.

The contaminated fruit has been traced to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado, which recalled the contaminated cantaloupes in early September. The FDA reportedly has found listeria in samples of Jensen Farms’ cantaloupes taken from a Colorado store and on samples taken directly from the farm’s packing facility. Tests confirmed that the samples matched strains of the disease found in victims around the country.

According to the CDC:

In the United States, an estimated 1,600 persons become seriously ill with listeriosis each year. Of these, 260 die. The following groups are at increased risk:

• Pregnant women: Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis. About one in six (17%) cases of listeriosis occurs during pregnancy.
• Newborns: Newborns suffer the most serious effects of infection in pregnancy.
• Persons with weakened immune systems from transplants or certain diseases, therapies, or medications.
• Persons with cancer, diabetes, alcoholism, liver or kidney disease.
• Persons with AIDS: They are almost 300 times more likely to get listeriosis than people with normal immune systems.
• Older adults

Healthy children and adults occasionally get infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.

If you or someone you love has been sickened or died as a result of consuming fruit contaminated by Listeria, it is important that you contact a New Jersey Food Poisoning Attorney immediately. Contact us for a FREE consulation today.

Monroe Danbury and his wife, Mirelle Danbury of Hightstown, New Jersey were involved in a fatal limousine accident on October 11, 2011. The couple were in a Lincoln Town Car owned by a Limousine service and were on their way to the airport when the crash occurred. The police investigation has revealed that the limo was travelling on Route 130 South in Bordentown, New Jersey when it inexplicably struck the rear of a tractor trailer loaded with construction equipment. The Limo suffered heavy front end damage that confirmed the severity of the impact.

When police arrived on the scene the limo was still wedged under the rear of the truck and it was immediately apparent that the passengers were severely injured. Ms. Danbury was pronounced dead at the scene, while her husband and the limousine driver, identified as Jesse L. Graves of Trenton, New Jersey, were taken to RWJUH in Hamilton for treatment. Due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. Danbury was transferred to Capital Health Regional Medical Center to undergo emergency surgery. Unfortunately, Mr. Danbury’s injuries were too severe and he died during the surgery.

The limousine driver suffered a broken arm and hand in the crash. Police have advised that their investigation is continuing and no charges have been filed at this time. However, clearly Mr. Graves was distracted by something that resulted him negligently crashing into the rear of the tractor-trailer. In a strange twist, yesterday was “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day,” a where cities and states around the country seek to shed light on the dangers of distracted driving and danger that it poses to everyone.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a limousine accident as a result of the negligence of the limousine driver or employee, it is important that you speak to a New Jersey Limousine Accident Lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected. Contact our law firm to day for a FREE consultation — (973) 228-0391 or mmendelsohn@mskf.net .

On December 16, 2011, a jury in the Superior Court in Mercer County New Jersey awarded a verdict of $3.25 million in favor of a minor child who suffered extensive physical and psychological abuse while in DYFS’s custody. Prior to the punitive damages phase of the case, the parties agreed to settle the case for $5 million.

Specifically, the evidence established that the child, who was only 2 years old at the time, was beaten, suffered chemical burns, and was sexually abused after DYFS placed her with a known sex offender. DYFS was even aware of the abuse — and substantiated it — but left her in the care of the abuser and never came back to check on her. A neighbor called several weeks later to report that the 2 year old was found with her hands bound, beaten, and hanging from a hook on a door.

During the trial, the DYFS caseworkers admitted that they repeatedly violated state law and court orders in overseeing the child’s care, and that this is a common practice. Additionally, even after DYFS discovered the severity of the child’s injuries, they failed to provide her with the proper physical and psychological care for years afterward. The child, who is now 13 years old, will suffer severe physical and emotional scars for the rest of her life. Fortunately, the recovery from this settlement will enable the child to receive the necessary medical care and psychological counseling that would otherwise be impossible to afford.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of negligence or misconduct of DYFS or other state agencies, it is important that you speak to a New Jersey DYFS Abuse Lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected. Contact our law firm today for a FREE consultation .

A two-year-old Ewing Township boy is in critical condition after being pulled from a swimming pool by family members on June 18, 2012. Family members initially reported the boy missing from the home on the 900 block of Terrace Boulevard just before 1:30 p.m. Immediately thereafter Police received another 911 call that a child was found unconscious in a neqarby pool. The boy’s cousin found the child and he was pulled out by family members before police and EMS arrived. An ambulance took the boy to Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, New Jersey for treatment. Further information on his condition and how long he was in the pool was not immediately available.

Police are investigating how the child got into the pool and whether the pool had the required gates and locks. The Police Department has advised that they are still interviewing witnesses and their investigation is continuing.

If a homeowner has a swimming pool without the proper safety barriers required under the appropriate building codes, they may be held liable for injuries that occur to minors that gain access to the pool. If you or a loved one has been injured in a swimming pool accident, it is important that you speak with an experienced swimming pool accident lawyer immediately. Contact us today for a free consultation.