Kelley & Ferraro

Failure to yield leads to numerous vehicle accidents

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

Watching out for other vehicles is an important part of driving. Even when a driver has the right-of-way, this remains a priority in order to remain safe. When drivers fail to yield, it often leads to vehicle accidents.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol recently responded to an accident involving two vehicles. One of them, a commercial vehicle, was pulling out of a private driveway onto Route 7 at the same time as the other vehicle was on the roadway. The two vehicles collided, and the vehicle that was struck finally came to rest in the median near the southbound side of the road.

Asbestos exposure could result from siding on older homes

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Asbestos/Mesothelioma on Friday, November 15, 2019.

Many Ohio residents buy older homes for a variety of reasons. What they may not consider when making the purchase is that older homes could contain toxic materials. Even if they are aware of the concern, they may miss one important source of potential health issues -- the home's siding. Some older homes have a cement-type siding that could result in asbestos exposure.

As late as the 1970s asbestos-reinforced concrete was still used as siding for houses. As long as products containing asbestos are intact and left alone, they should not present any danger. Even if the exterior is left untouched, pressure washing it could damage the siding, which could release dust and/or fibers from this toxic substance.

Distracted driving plays a role in too many Ohio car accidents

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

Drunk driving, drowsy driving and distracted driving seem to be the "3-Ds" when it comes to motor vehicle crashes. Each one presents the same dangers to everyone traveling Ohio's roadways, but one has risen rapidly in the rank in recent years. Distracted driving is a factor in far too many car accidents here and elsewhere across the country.

Police suspect distracted driving played a role in a recent crash that caused serious injuries to a woman traveling in a vehicle in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75. It was around 6:45 p.m. on a Friday night when another vehicle in the southbound lanes veered off the road and into the median, where it flipped into the northbound lanes. The out-of-control vehicle then slammed into the vehicle occupied by a woman, her husband and her 3-year-old son.

Hazardous materials found in yet another food product

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Products Liability on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.

It seems as though there have been far too many news stories lately about contaminated foods. Many contain hazardous materials that have no place in foods that consumers purchase, eat and serve to their families. Some Ohio consumers may already know that the one of the latest products in question comes from Nestle USA.

The recall includes the company's ready-to-bake products, including the chubs, bars and tubs bearing certain batch codes. The products affected by the voluntary recall managed to leave the company's facilities with rubber pieces in them. It was not aware of this issue until Nestle USA received reports of the pieces from outside the company.

Further investigation is often needed in car accidents

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.

The first priority for first responders at a crash site is to ensure the safety of those involved and to assess their medical status. Thereafter, an investigation begins in order to determine the factors that led to a particular wreck. In many car accidents, further investigation is needed before authorities issue the final report.

On a recent Sunday morning just after 7 a.m., emergency medical personnel and troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a two-vehicle accident. It took some time to free all four occupants of the two vehicles because two were trapped in the wreckage when the vehicles finally came to rest. The condition of those two individuals required first responders to transport them via helicopter to the hospital.

Too many vehicle accidents happen during highway merging

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Sunday, October 27, 2019.

Ohio drivers may agree that there is an art to merging onto the highway. You need to have the correct speed, an eye for spacing and the ability to enter the flow of traffic seamlessly. Unfortunately, too many vehicle accidents occur during highway merging because some drivers fail to do it correctly.

Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a multiple vehicle crash on a recent Friday morning that began with a driver failing to properly merge onto State Route 11 from Interstate 90. For some yet unknown reason, the driver lost control of the vehicle, which sent it careening across all four lanes of the highway. A second vehicle could not stop in time to avoid colliding with the first, and it flipped over before coming to rest in the northbound lanes of SR 11.

Using J&J Baby Powder may result in asbestos exposure

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Asbestos/Mesothelioma on Sunday, October 27, 2019.

That statement may seem a bit late in the game to Ohio consumers considering the fact that Johnson & Johnson faces a multitude of lawsuits due to allegations that a toxic material in its baby powder causes cancer. The company has vehemently denied these allegations. However, those claims may receive some credence due to the fact that J&J recently announced the recall of some of its bottles of baby powder due to the potential for asbestos exposure by consumers.

After continuous statements that the company's baby powder does not contain any asbestos at all, it is a bit disconcerting that the company is now recalling 33,000 22-ounce bottles of the product because they may contain asbestos. The recall was initiated after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found trace amounts of the human carcinogen in one bottle. The company has not recalled its baby powder until this point over concerns that the product may contain asbestos.

Ohio company recalls beef product for hazardous materials

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Products Liability on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.

Kenosha Beef International is based here in Ohio. Recently, the company recalled one of its products due to the presence of hazardous materials. Somehow, metal shavings got into an undetermined amount of a seasoned beef product produced by the company, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. This is considered a Class I recall, which means consumption of the product could cause significant harm.

Specifically, Kenosha Beef International is recalling cases of "TACO BELL SEASONED BEEF Taco and Burrito Filling" with use by dates of "L2 11/14/19 through L2 11/18/19." The cases contain eight 5-pound packages of the product produced between Sept. 20, 2019 and Oct. 4, 2019. The issue came to the attention of FSIS after the company received three complaints from customers.

Speed often cited in fatal car accidents involving teens

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.

Driving always looks easier when someone with experience does it. Point the vehicle in the right direction, press the gas pedal to go and the brake pedal to stop. Seems simple enough, but anyone with a driver's license knows it is not quite that easy. Many things can go wrong, and when inexperienced teenagers drive too fast, it could easily result in fatal car accidents.

Preliminary reports from the Ohio State Highway Patrol cited speed as a contributing factor in a recent crash that killed two teenagers and caused injury to the woman driving the other vehicle. However, at last report, the investigation continued since it was not yet known why the teen's vehicle crossed over into oncoming traffic in the first place. Could it be as simple as inexperience and speed, or did some other factor contribute to this tragedy?

A large number of car accidents happen late at night

On behalf of Kelley Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP posted in Car Accidents on Friday, October 18, 2019.

Ohio's roadways look different after dark. When other factors such as weather, fatigue, distraction or drunkenness are added to the mix, the roads can be quite dangerous. For these reasons, numerous car accidents tend to happen during the overnight hours.

At last report, investigators were still determining the cause of a deadly crash that occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on a recent Friday morning. When troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol arrived at the scene, they discovered the wreckage of only one vehicle. Preliminary reports indicate that the vehicle traveled through the oncoming lane of travel, went off the road, struck the median and flipped.