Multiple Deaths in Amtrak Train Derailment Accident in Washington

Authorities say it could take more than a year to understand how the inaugural run of the train carrying 85 passengers and crew members ended in disaster along a new 15-mile (24-kilometer) bypass route. Friends Jim Hamre, 61, and Zack Willhoite, 35, died of brain and skull injuries. Benjamin Gran, 40, died of multiple traumatic injuries. Whimpering in pain, bleeding from head injuries and dazed by the enormity of the crash, victims in the Amtrak train derailment south of Seattle begged 911 dispatchers for help and said "tons of people" had been hurt. Dozens of emergency recordings released Wednesday by South Sound 911 Dispatch provided a vivid account of what happened during the deadly Dec. 18 crash. "My abdomen hurts really bad. I don't feel good," said a crying woman identified as Angela who was bleeding from her head and wailed in panic each time she couldn't find an answer to a dispatcher's questions. "I don't know how old I am off the top of my head. I'm sorry!" A passenger train on a newly opened Amtrak route jumped the tracks on an overpass south of Tacoma on Monday, slamming rail cars into a busy highway, killing at least three people and injuring about 100 others, officials said. The derailment of Amtrak Train No. 501, making the inaugural run of a new service from Seattle to Portland, dropped a 132-ton locomotive in the southbound lanes of the Northwest’s busiest travel corridor, Interstate 5. Two passenger coaches also fell partly in the traffic lanes, and two other coaches were left dangling off the bridge, one of them wedged against a tractor-trailer. On the highway below lay five crumpled cars, two semi trucks and huge chunks of concrete that were ripped away from the damaged overpass. All 12 of the train’s coaches and one of its two engines derailed. The National Transportation Safety Board said at a Monday night briefing that the train had been traveling more than twice the speed limit before it derailed, or at 80 miles per hour instead of the allowable 30 m.p.h. Don Anderson, mayor of Lakewood, about 11 miles northeast of the crash site, said shortly after the wreck that the tragedy "could've been avoided if better choices had been made" about using the route for upgraded passenger service. "Our community was skeptical of the project both from a financial and safety standpoint, primarily a safety standpoint," Anderson said The mayor of a city along a new route taken by the Amtrak train that derailed in Washington state had expressed concerns about the line as long ago as 2013, court records show.

Amusement Park Injuries On The Rise

The consumer product safety commission reports that emergency-room injuries from amusement park rides rose almost 87% over the last five years.  While some cases involve serious trauma and wrongful death from attractions, many also involve lacerations, broken bones, or fractures caused by slip-and-fall accidents.

If you or a family member suffered an injury at an amusement park, water park, or on a carnival ride, you may be able to collect compensation for related expenses and punitive damages.

Here are some questions that a lawyer will explore when considering such a case:

• Negligence:  Did the park or operation display a lack of reasonable care that contributed to or caused an injury?  If the accident occurred on a ride, did the rider take an assumed risk?
• Product Liability:  Was an attraction inherently dangerous, meaning that maintenance and inspection still would not ensure safety?  It is expensive and difficult to prove that a manufacturer could have used a safer design for a ride.  A court will also consider assumed risk
• Premises Liability:  Did the owner take reasonable care of the construction, management, and maintenance of the facility and grounds?

Joovy Recalls Zoom Car Seat Stroller Adapter

Due to fall hazard, the Zoom Car Seat Stroller Adapter has had about 1,500 units recalled by Joovy. Reportedly, adapter clips can loosen on the stroller frame, posing a fall hazard.

The adapters are gray and black plastic clips designed to attach infant car seats to stroller frames. Joovy has received nine reports of incidents involving lose adapters on stroller frames, however no injuries have been reported.

Consumers should stop using these adapters and contact Joovy at (855) 251-0759 for a free repair kit to help assure proper attached to Zoom stroller frames.

Fair Worker In Critical Condition After Ride Collapses

A North Carolina State Fair worker who was disassembling a ride was taken to the hospital after suffering a severe leg injury. 

Brian Long, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, said Anesto Newell, 32, was injured about 3:30 a.m. as he was taking apart a ride called the Vortex. The ride is not the same one – also called the Vortex – that was idled last week after five people were hurt.
 Family members who were also working nearby said he suffered a broken back, pelvis and leg when a piece of the ride fell on him.

"All I saw was this yellow hoodie laying on the ground and I said, 'Oh no, that's my brother,'" said Tywan Newell. "When I got there, the ride was on top of his body."


Anesto Newell was taken to WakeMed where he had surgery and was in critical condition in intensive care.

Fair/Festivals have proven to be an unsafe environment in recent years with a number of injuries and even fatalities reported due to faulty rides and defective equipment.  

Ovoid these common Summer Vacation injuries...

Top 10 Summer Activities that Cause Injuries

You’ll probably be surprised by our list of top 10 summer activities that cause the bulk of injuries (many of which can result in serious neck and back pain) because they all sound like so much fun! Remember, helmets have proven to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85%. So make sure you wear a helmet. The data below reflects 2011 emergency room visit statistics compiled by the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) which collects data from hospitals across the country:

1. Bicycle injuries: 550,000
2. Baseball and softball injuries: 260,000
3. Playground injuries: 250,000
4. ATV, mopend and minibike injuries: 220,000
5. Soccer injuries: 215,000
6. Swimming injuries: 180,000
7. Backyard trampoline injuries: 85,000
8. Volleyball injuries: 60,000
9. Amusement park, state fair and carnival ride injuries: 40,000
10. Water sports injuries: 30,000