According to the Home Safety Council, a non-profit safety education and resource organization, accidents that occur in homes across the U.S.A.  result in over 20,000 deaths and 21 million injuries every year. Home owners and their families can avoid accidents by being proactive in identifying areas around their homes that pose safety risks and taking corrective measures to remove potential dangers. This process needs to be ongoing. A homeowner should inspect her/his property looking for safety hazards on a monthly basis. Using the whole-house safety approach, we recommend the following:

1. If children are in the home,  childproof furniture, cover hard corners, and install locks on cabinets containing poisons or prescription medicines. Be sure to inspect your garage for poisonous products, such as pesticides, paints and automotive fluids.

2.  Gate off stairs and other unsafe areas, cover electrical sockets if there are small children at home.

3.  Remove boxes, electrical cords or items that could be a tripping hazard.

4.  Make certain that heavy appliances or furniture cannot fall over by anchoring them to a wall with braces, brackets. Secure flat screen TVs to the wall. In your garage, make sure shelving is not overloaded and is anchored to the wall.

5.  Stairways should be well-lighted. Install handrails on both sides of the stairs to prevent falls.

6.  Clean up spills as quickly as possible to avoid slipping and falling. Make people in the house aware of a damp or wet floor, especially after cleaning.

7.  Regarding your fireplace, be certain that the flue is operating properly and the chimney is not clogged with chemicals or other material. Hire a professional chimney sweep.

8.  Never stand a chair to reach for high items. Use a ladder or step stool.

9.  Have a fire extinguisher available in your kitchen in case of cooking fires.

10. To prevent accidents involving hot pots and pots on the stove, use the back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. Never wear long, flowing sleeves while you cook!

11. Adjust the water temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or just below the medium setting. When running bath water for a child, start with cold water, and run your hand back and forth in the water to check temperature before placing a child in the tub.

12. Unplug all electrical appliances in the bathroom, i.e. hair dryers and shavers, when not in use.

13. Install smoke detectors in each bedroom and hallway. Check detectors twice a year and change batteries yearly.

14. Install carbon monoxide detectors on each level of your home.

15. Never leave a car running inside a garage, as carbon monoxide can seep into your home.

16. Test your garage door reversing sensor by placing a roll of paper towel in the door’s path. Have the door repaired if it does not immediately reverse.

17. If you have a pool or spa, install a fence at least five feet high with an automatic locking gate.

18. When using an outdoor grill, position it three feet or more away from your home, trees and shrubs or a wooden fence. Use long-handled cooking implements and gloves to prevent burns.

19. Areas under play equipment should be covered with 9 to 12 inches of soft material such as sand or mulch. The soft materials should extend 6 feet on all sides of the play area.

20. Don’t wear sandals or gym shoes to mow the lawn! Wear protective clothing, leather shoes and safety glasses to prevent accidents.

21. Outdoor lighting is important to safety and security. Make sure that walkways and stairs leading to your home are well-lighted to prevent injuries to  family members and visitors .

The United States Justice System is among the best in the world. If you, a friend or your loved one has been seriously injured by a corporation or person, and you are unable to reach a settlement, generally you or your loved one will receive a just result in our court system.

A key component to receiving fair compensation is choosing an experienced personal injury lawyer who has the resources and commitment to represent you. Personal injury refers to both psychological and physical injuries that a person suffers as a result of someone’s negligence, their intentional actions, or strict liability. Negligence simply means failing to act as a reasonable or careful person or business would act under the same or similar circumstances. For example, if you are injured in an auto accident, caused by a driver who was on the phone or texting while driving, then you would suffer personal injury as a result of that driver’s negligence. Intentional actions refer to a person who purposefully and deliberately sets out to harm another individual, such as in an assault. Strict liability means that an individual or corporation may be held financially responsible if they produce, sell or distribute a defective or unsafe product that kills or injures someone.

While these scenarios may or may not also result in criminal charges brought against the offending party, generally they result in civil penalties. Civil penalties may include compensation for lost wages and medical bills as well as money damages for pain and suffering.

Types of Personal Injury Cases:

Car, Truck and Motorcycle Accidents

Construction, Industrial and Work Place Accidents

Hospital and Medical Error

Nursing Home Negligence

Defective/Unsafe Products

Airplane & Cruise Ship Accidents

Not All Attorneys are Equally Qualified to Handle Personal Injury Cases

In order to prove your case in a court of law, you must be able to show that your injury was caused by the negligence of another party. The personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik will help you to determine if you have a valid claim. After your case is carefully analyzed and evaluated, our attorneys will discuss with you the best course of action to follow. Filing a law suit may not always be in the best interest of the client. Virtually every case handled by the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik is on a contingency basis; that means our office advances the costs necessary to handle your claim.  A fee is charged only when we make a recovery on your behalf.

Call us now for a free case evaluation at 810-720-4000 or toll-free at 888-905-4632.

Given the millions of dogs in the United States, it is clear that we truly love our our pets. However, dog bites result in thousands of severe and permanent injuries each year, including disfigurement, scarring and even death. According to Michigan law, there are essentially no “free bites.” A dog owner cannot claim that she/he did not know that the dog was dangerous and would bite, except if the dog was provoked by an act, such as striking. Many Michigan municipalities have passed leash laws that require a dog to be leashed, and not allowed to run unrestrained. A personal injury claim can proceed on the basis of negligence, especially if the owner knew that the dog had previously bitten someone else.  As stated earlier, dog bites can result in death, as in the case of a Washington State man who died from a bacterial infection caused by bacterium in the dog’s saliva. The bacterium led to multiple organ failure, tissue necrosis and eventually, the man died a painful death. The family of the deceased man is suing the dog owner for wrongful death. This case highlights the need for dog owners to take full responsibility for their pets by taking precautions to protect others from injury or death. (9/9) Seattle Times

The drowning of a Richfield Township girl a few week ago is a sad reminder about the importance of implementing strategies to prevent these tragedies from occurring.  (7/15) Flint Journal In the Richfield case, the toddler awakened from a nap and climbed into the family’s pool after going outside unnoticed. According to a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in the U.S. among children  between the ages of 1 and 19. The report states that for drowning and injury prevention there must be “layers of protection” in place as no single strategy would likely prevent all drownings or water-related injuries. Layers of protection could include adult supervision, pool covers, water-entry alarms and swimming and survival skill training. Four-sided pool fencing around all pools, including large above-ground inflatable or portable pools, isolating the pool from the house and yard have been shown to decrease pool immersion deaths and injuries by over 50%. Using these strategies may have prevented the Richfield drowning.

Did You Know that Michigan has Very Restrictive Slip and Fall Laws?

Most people seem to think when you fall on some business property, the business is automatically required to pay for your expenses and injuries. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the more obvious/blatant a particular condition is, the chances of recovery are reduced. It is known as the doctrine of “Open and Obvious”.

Over the past several years, Michigan Courts have increasingly been preventing persons who have been injured on someone else’s property from recovering any damages based upon this “open and obvious” defense. Property owners are held by Michigan law to have certain duties to keep their property reasonably safe. However, Michigan Courts have increasingly held that property owners are NOT required to protect you from dangers that are “open and obvious”. This means that, if the Court feels that a “reasonable person of ordinary intelligence”should have discovered the condition that caused your injury, the property owner is entitled to assume that you would discover that condition as well and then take steps to protect yourself. This rule can sometimes have harsh consequences in its application because persons are often distracted as they walk and assume that a property owner had maintained their property in a reasonably safe manner. Therefore, if the dangerous condition that causes your injury is “open and obvious”, the Court will often rule that the property owner owes no duty at all to protect you and your claim will fail.

A fitness instructor who was injured in a ship and fall accident while aboard an NCL cruise ship was awarded $9.5 million by a Miami jury. The accident rendered the victim incontinent and impotent from back injuries he sustained in the fall. The verdict included damages for pain and suffering, economic loses and medical expenses. (12/30) Miami Herald