WASHINGTON – FDA investigators have found rodents, manure and even maggots at the Iowa egg farms believed to be responsible for around 1,500 cases of salmonella poisoning. Officials released their initial observations of the ongoing investigations at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms on Monday. The two farms recalled over half a billion eggs after salmonella cases were linked to their products.

FDA reports show numerous violations at both farms, including rodent, bug and wild bird infestation, uncontained manure, holes in walls, and other problems that could have caused the outbreak. Several positive samples of salmonella have been found at both farms.

Two local men were killed after their plane crashed in Arizona on Thursday morning.  The crash occurred at the Cochise County Airport in Willcox, an area east of Tucson.

The pilot, 47-year-old Glen Slagoske, and 27-year-old Shawn Muscat were in their two-seat, single-engine homebuilt plane when it crashed. Slagoske was an experienced pilot.  Muscat was a 2001 graduate from Poway High School.

The T-18’s first landing attempt was aborted when it came in too fast, and on the second try it appeared to pull up and stall before spiraling into the ground, according to witnesses.

Federal Aviation Administration records showed that Slagoske owned the plane, which was manufactured in 1970.

Slagoske and Muscat were the only occupants inside the single-engine Finney Thorp T-18, an experimental aircraft known for its speed and maneuvering.  The FAA and NTSB are in the area investigating the crash.

Muscat is survived by his wife and two young children.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

A 26-year-old man was seriously injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Pacific Beach on Saturday.

The accident occurred at 12:35 a.m. around 4400 Cass Street, according to the San Diego Police Department.

The victim was walking south on Cass street toward Grand Avenue when he tried to cross the street against a red light. The victim was about three-quarters of the way across the road when the light turned green, and a black pickup struck the man.

The pedestrian, believed to have suffered a broken pelvis, was taken to a local hospital.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Char-Broil, has announced a voluntary recall of Char-Broil vertical gas smokers. The gas smokers are manufactured by Ningbo Spring Communications of China.  

When the temperature setting is in “low,” the smoker’s hose/valve/regulator (HVR) assembly does not allow sufficient gas to flow, causing the flame to extinguish. Gas continues to flow and build up inside the smoker. If the smoker is reignited the build-up of propane gas can cause an explosion that bursts the smoker’s door open, posing a hazard of injury to the user.

The company has received five reports of injuries so far including burns to face and head, head concussion and cuts.

This recall involves the Char-Broil vertical gas smokers with model number 07701413. The model number is printed on a metal tag located on the right rear leg of the smoker. The smoker measures 21.5″ x 19.5″ x 45.5″ and weighs 75 pounds. A “G” inside a triangle is printed on the regulator.  The gas smokers were sold at Walmart and other retailers nationwide from March 2008 through June 2010.

Consumers should stop using the recalled smokers immediately.  It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, contact the Defective Product lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 2:02 p.m.

The former administrator of a closed Vista charter school has been awarded $1 million for wrongful termination and other damages by a jury.

Richard Alderson, the school’s executive director, brought a lawsuit against Eagles Peak Charter School after being fired in 2008.  Alderson claimed he was dismissed for refusing to retaliate against employees who criticized the Eagles Peak Board.

“I feel like I was exonerated,” Alderson said. “I’ve had a pretty long career in education without a blemish on it, and I’m glad the jury saw I did nothing wrong. The ultimate losers, unfortunately, were the parents and children of the school.”

The jury made its decision last week.

Eagles Peak was once the largest school in the Julian Union Elementary School District, serving roughly 4,000 students.  In 2007 the school was split into two schools following internal disagreements between administrators. The school closed in 2009 following the district’s decision not to renew the charter.

Former board president Danielle Hooper has not commented on the ruling.

If you have lost your job and feel you have been the victim of unlawful discrimination, contact an employment law attorney immediately. The experienced attorneys at The Gomez Law Firm will evaluate your potential case at no charge.

Two men were killed Tuesday when a car careened off the curved transition from southbound Interstate 5 to state Route 54, went airborne and landed upside down about 100 feet below on northbound Interstate 5.

Both of the victims were sailors in the Navy, said Brian O’Rourke, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. No further  information is being released about the victims at this time.

One died at the scene. The other died shortly after being taken to UCSD Medical Center.

The car was a 1998 burgundy Chevrolet Corvette according to the CHP.  Results of the investigation have not been released.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

SANTEE — A woman was killed early Wednesday morning after losing control of her SUV and crashing into the front yard of a house.

The woman was traveling south on North Magnolia Avenue just north of Mission Gorge Road at 2:25 a.m. in a red Dodge Durango when she veered across the four-lane road, sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Hill said.

The SUV hit a power pole and a tree before rolling at least once and ending up on its passenger side.

The woman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected and died at the scene, according to police officials. Investigators do not know what caused the woman to lose control of the vehicle.

No one at the home was injured but three vehicles parked in the driveway sustained property damage.

The woman has not been identified.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 23

 A race along Ocean Boulevard on Sunday sent one car crashing into a concrete sign, killing three people, according to police officials.

A fourth person was critically hurt, while two 17-year-old boys in the other car escaped without major injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police said the crash occurred just after midnight when the two cars collided while racing, sending the Mustang spinning out of control into a concrete sign in the median.

The 18-year-old driver, a 32-year-old woman, and another unidentified female were declared dead at the scene.  A 19-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition.

The two teens from the other vehicle were arrested for fleeing the scene of an accident. The car was discovered to have been stolen and the driver didn’t have a license, the Times said.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call or write a personal injury attorney  at the Gomez Law Firm today.

Monday, August 23, 2010 at 10:29 a.m.

Federal workplace safety officials have fined SeaWorld $75,000 following an investigation into the death of a trainer at the company’s Orlando park six months ago.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a “willful” citation to SeaWorld for exposing its employees to “struck-by” and drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales. The agency defines a willful violation as “one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.”

OSHA officials said their investigation showed SeaWorld trainers had a long history of “unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents” involving killer whales, or orcas.  “Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees,” the agency said in a statement.

SeaWorld has 15 days to contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.  The company said in a blog post that it will challenge what it calls unfounded allegations.

Tilikum, a 12,000-pound male orca, killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, in front of about two dozen spectators on Feb. 24, fueling a national debate about keeping the giant carnivores in captivity.

OSHA’s investigation said video footage shows the killer whale repeatedly striking and thrashing the trainer, and pulling her under water as she tried to escape. The autopsy report described the cause of death as drowning and traumatic injuries.

After Brancheau’s death, a theory emerged that Tilikum may have seen the trainer’s ponytail as a toy and pulled her into the tank. When the incident started, Brancheau was on a submerged shelf, patting and hugging the whale after a noon show.

The February fatality wasn’t the first that involved Tilikum. He was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who fell into their pool 19 years ago in British Columbia.

Tilikum also was involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, although he also was bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Killer whales have a history of aggressive behavior in captivity going back at least to 1971. That’s when a SeaWorld San Diego secretary riding the original Shamu for a publicity stunt suffered lacerations and puncture wounds when she was tossed into the water and seized by her legs.

Four years ago, SeaWorld San Diego trainer Ken Peters was bitten on the foot by Kasatka, a 5,000-pound female killer whale. Kasatka took Peters to the bottom of the tank twice during a performance, fracturing his left foot.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as CalOSHA, issued an 18-page report after that incident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact the experienced lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.