Last week we shared a story about the ongoing problem of napping air traffic controllers. Yesterday the Federal Aviation Administration issued new rules intended to prevent air traffic controllers from sleeping during overnight shifts while they are supposed to be ensuring that airplanes are directed safely to and from their destinations, and avoiding airline accidents. Over […]
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More reports of napping air traffic controllers
We recently shared a story about a flight from Chicago to Reagan International Airport that landed without the assistance of an air traffic controller because the controller had fallen asleep on the job. There have now been additional reports of air traffic controllers napping on the job. While fortunately these lapses did not result in […]
Why Sellers of Defective Products Should Be Responsible For the Harm Those Products Cause
Simulated airplane crash in Peoria trains emergency responders
On Saturday, the Illinois Air National Guard and a number of local emergency response agencies held a full scale drill at the Peoria International Airport to test their response plans. The disaster drill is designed to provide responders an opportunity to refine their practices for responding to a plane crash. Approximately 70 local youths participated as […]
Medical product manufacturer closes during investigation of contaminated products
A Wisconsin manufacturer of baby wipes, medical pads and other products closed down its plant this week when U.S. Marshals arrived with orders to seize the dangerous products. The investigation was triggered by the discovery of bacterial contamination in some of their products. Food and Drug Administration officials had asked the company to voluntarily shut down […]
Airplane lands safely after losing power
Another in the recent string of near misses for the airline industry yesterday as a United Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing after the on-board power went out shortly after take-off. Without any instruments to guide them, the pilots relied on the directions from air traffic controllers and the landmarks which they could see out the […]
Confidential Settlement Reached In Delayed Diagnosis Medical Malpractice Case
Rapoport Sims Perry & VanOverloop has reached a confidential settlement in a medical malpractice case brought on behalf of a 44-year-old man from Rockford, Illinois. According to the complaint filed in Winnebago County, Rapoport Sims Perry & VanOverloop’s client was taken to the defendant’s immediate care facility for treatment of severe right foot and ankle […]
Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines rips open during flight
About 20 minutes after taking off from Phoenix Sky Harbor Internal Airport on Friday afternoon, Southwest Airlines Flight 812 made an emergency landing after the plane’s fuselage ruptured causing a 5 foot long tear in the ceiling. Some of the plane’s 118 passengers described hearing loud pops and then seeing a gaping hole rip through […]
Construction at O’Hare poses flight safety risk
When a FedEx airplane taxied out to takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare airport, a preflight check determined that the plane was too heavy to use the runway to which it was originally assigned because that runway was only 8,000 feet long. Air traffic controllers gave the flight the option of a new runway and the plane prepared for […]
More finger pointing regarding napping air traffic controller incident
You likely heard about a situation last week in which two airline flights, including one from Chicago, landed at Reagan National airport without the assistance of the air traffic controller who had dozed off. Fortunately both plans landed safely, but now there are rumblings within the airline industry about what should happen when a situation […]
United States District Court Issues Payments to Victims of Contaminated Heparin Syringes
In 2007 Illinois-based pharmaceutical company AM2 PAT, Inc. manufactured heparin-filled syringes contaminated with the dangerous bacteria serratia marcescens then sold the dangerous syringes to various distributors who provided them to unsuspecting patients. Many of the patients who used the syringes became seriously ill from exposure to the bacteria. The victims looked to AM2 PAT and […]
United plane that caught fire was flown without being repaired
During a flight last may, about 30 minutes after takeoff, flames shot into the cockpit from the window of a United Airlines airplane with 112 passengers on board, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. The flames extended 14 to 16 inches into the cockpit from the window near the captain. The captain quickly grabbed a […]
Two killed in Southern Wisconsin Airplane crash
The Chicago Tribune reports that two people were killed in a fatal airplane accident yesterday at about 6:30 in the evening. The crash occurred in south central Wisconsin about 15 miles from Baraboo. The plane had taken off from an airport in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. The intended destination of the plane has not yet been […]
New study examines aircraft accidents and airline employee drug use
A new study finds that an airline employee who has been involved in an accident is three times more likely to test positive for drugs than an employee who is not involved in an aircraft accident. The study was conducted by researchers at John Hopkins University School of Health and The Columbia University College of Physicians […]
Milwaukee woman killed, four injured as semi crashes into bus
In Wisconsin on Saturday night, a 75-year-old Milwaukee woman was killed and four others injured in an accident involving a semi tractor-trailer and a charter bus. The accident occurred about 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee at about 7:00 pm. Highway 33, on which the accident took place, was closed for almost ten hours. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel […]
FDA issues stronger warning of Topamax birth defect risk
New data has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to warn of an increased risk of cleft palette or cleft lip in infants born to mothers who are taking Topamax during the first trimester of pregnancy. Infants exposed to the drug during the first trimester are several times more likely to develop an oral cleft […]
Chicago Executive Airport cleared for new runway safety systems
As you may know, the south end of the main runway at the Chicago Executive Airport ends very near to Palatine Road. The owners of the airport, Prospect Heights and Wheeling, have now approved the installation of a runway safety system to be installed at both ends of the runways to help stop airplanes that […]
Study finds current semi-truck rear impact guards are ineffective
When an automobile collides with the rear of a semi-truck trailer it can cause devastating injuries and fatalities. The increased risk is a result of the height of the trailer compared to the car. The hood of most passenger cars are low enough to slide below the deck of the trailer so that the force […]
Supreme Court allows defective seat belt design lawsuit to proceed
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the family of a passenger that was killed in a car accident while wearing a lap-only seat belt could bring a lawsuit against the vehicle manufacturer. The plaintiffs argued that by manufacturing the vehicle without shoulder belts for all passengers, the manufacturer was negligent in its design of the […]
Trucking Industry Objects to Proposed Cell Phone Restrictions on Truck Drivers
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 60,000 people were injured and 3,380 people were killed in truck crashes in 2009. Many of these deaths and injuries were caused by distracted truck drivers using cell phones. “Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell […]
