Seattle Injury Lawyer Blog

Banana Boat spray-on sunscreen causes skin to catch fire

October 25, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Although the season for backyard barbeques and sunscreen has come to an end in the Great Northwest, you may want to consider throwing out any Banana Boat spray-on sunscreen products left over from the season.

The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen recalled 23 spray-on products saying there was a risk they could catch fire on one’s skin, after reports of five people being burned in the US and Canada. Energizer Holdings said it was recalling its popular continuous spray sunscreen “due to a potential risk of product igniting on the skin if contact is made with a source of ignition before the product is completely dry.”

It cited a likely problem with the size of the spray valve opening that allows more of the volatile product to be sprayed on the skin than usual. As a result, the product is taking longer to dry on the skin than is typical with other continuous sprays. If a consumer comes into contact with a flame or spark prior to complete drying of the product on the skin, there is a potential for the product to ignite.

Files on alleged Boy Scout sex abusers go public

October 18, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

An Oregon lawyer Thursday will post a searchable database of 1,250 Boy Scout volunteers from across the country accused of sexual abuse between 1965 and 1985.

For more than 80 years, the Boy Scouts of America has maintained a confidential list of “Ineligible Volunteers” – adults tossed from Scouting because they’re suspected of pedophilia and other offenses. Some people call them the “perversion files.” And the Scouts have fought hard to keep the records a secret. The Scouts began keeping the files shortly after their creation in 1910, when pedophilia was largely a crime dealt with privately. The organization argues that the files helped them track offenders and protect children. But some of the files released in 1991, detailing cases from 1971 to 1991, showed repeated instances of Scouts leaders failing to disclose sex abuse to authorities, even when they had a confession.

Today, some of those files will be opened broadly to the public, when an Oregon lawyer posts a 20,000 page a searchable database of 1,250 accused Scout volunteers from across the country. It is an unprecedented glimpse into the magnitude of sexual-abuse allegations surrounding an organization that prides itself on a squeaky-clean image.

Inmate dies after one night in jail due to severe food allergy

October 16, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Michael Saffioti turned himself in after a warrant was issued due to him having missed a court date. However, after one night in jail, he was dead.

Saffioti knew dairy could kill him. He grew up reading labels and carrying medication, and still suffered severe reactions whenever he was merely near dairy protein. The stress made him anxious to the point of needing medication.

“Ultimately, he found and thought he was better functioning using marijuana,” said his mother, Rose Saffioti.

Tugboat Crew Escapes After Norton Sound Grounding

October 16, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A tugboat crew safely escaped their vessel after it hit a rock on Norton Sound and began taking on water Friday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley says watchstanders received a report at about 1:20 p.m. that the 70-foot tug Captain Hendren had run aground north of St. Michael.

The two crew members aboard donned survival suits, then got into a life raft which drifted ashore. They were picked up by residents of St. Michael to be warmed up, then treated for any potential injuries.

Salmonella cases linked to Washington restaurant

October 12, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A Clark County Public Health spokesman says the number of salmonella cases linked to a Vancouver, Wash., restaurant continues to climb.

The number of people sickened after eating at On the Border has now reached 13 confirmed and 33 probable cases. Most of the ill are adults. Three people have been hospitalized and two of them have since returned home.

Health officials are still trying to determine the source of the bacteria. They closed the restaurant temporarily on Tuesday as a precaution.

Recalled spinal injectables found in Washington State

October 11, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Federal officials say Washington health facilities didn’t get the spinal injection products that have sickened and killed patients in other states, but state officials say some facilities do have other injectable products from the same company.

The products found in Washington hospitals and clinics are included in a second, expanded recall of injectable products made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass, although they have not been linked to illness or death.

The original injectable steroid recalled, methylprednisolone acetate, was found to have been contaminated by fungus. Three lots of the steroid have been linked to more than 130 illnesses and 12 deaths in 11 states.

At least three injured and six homes damaged in three-alarm fire in Laurelhurst neighborhood

October 9, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A three-alarm fire in Laurelhurst destroyed one home, damaged five others and injured three people Monday afternoon, after a furnace exploded in a house under construction.

Investigators have determined that the fire started after paint fumes ignited when a furnace was turned on. The house under construction, which belonged to Adam Selipsky, the vice president of product management at Amazon.com, was a complete loss. Three homes on Northeast Latimer Place had roof fires. A fourth home had siding damage. A home south of the fire site also suffered serious damage.

A construction worker suffered serious facial burns and was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Two firefighters were also treated for heat exhaustion.

Edmonds Man Killed When Small Fishing Vessel Struck by a Yacht in Puget Sound

October 8, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

According to reports, Donald Hatch, a 76-year-old retiree from Edmonds, was killed Friday afternoon when a yacht collided with his small fishing boat off Seattle’s Shilshole Bay in clear weather.

Hatch was fishing with John Johnson of Mount Lake Terrance. Hatch and Johnson had taken Hatch’s skiff about a mile off Shilshole on Friday. At about 4:10 p.m., the cabin cruiser SHELMAR collided with the skiff. Hatch and Johnson were thrown into the water, according to Eric Cookson, Coast Guard command duty officer.

The two occupants of the SHELMAR pulled the men from the water, Cookson said. Police performed CPR, but couldn’t revive Hatch. Johnson was taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, and later released. His injuries were not immediately known.

Salmonella-tainted peanut butter sickens Washington residents

October 5, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Four years after a previous salmonella outbreak tied to peanut butter, it’s happened again, despite stricter industry standards.

A recent recall of Trader Joe’s peanut butter has been expanded to more than 100 products sold nationally in many other supermarkets. The Food and Drug Administration announced that it found salmonella in a New Mexico plant that produces nut butters for national retailer Trader Joe’s and several other grocery chains. The Trader Joe’s peanut butter is now linked to 35 salmonella illnesses in 19 states, including two in Washington. Almost two-thirds of those sickened are children under the age of 10. No deaths have been reported.

Health officials began investigating the peanut butter after at least 12 of those sickened reported having eaten it. The FDA said Friday that Washington state health officials have confirmed the presence of salmonella in a jar of the Trader Joe’s peanut butter found in a victim’s home.

Coast Guard searches for missing crewmember west of La Push

October 1, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The Coast Guard began searching for a missing person approximately 30 miles west of La Push, Wash., Friday.

The missing person was one of four crewmembers on board the 40-foot fishing vessel Maverick, which was involved in a collision with the 90-foot fishing vessel Viking Storm. The Maverick sank as a result of the collision and three of the four crewmembers were recovered by the crew of the Viking Storm.

The Coast Guard has diverted and deployed multiple assets to the scene to search for the missing person. The three crewmembers rescued by the Viking Storm were transferred to the a Coast Guard vessel and were reported to be in stable condition.