Over the past few decades, distracted driving has been a significant issue that has affected roadway safety in the United States. Despite awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, it continues to be a common cause of car accidents. In fact, an average of nine people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured in distracted driving accidents every day, according to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). If you have been injured in a car accident involving distracted driving, you may be wondering what your legal options are. An experienced personal injury attorney can work with you to demonstrate that a distracted driver was responsible for your accident, and they can help you get the compensation you deserve.

What Is Distracted Driving?

Distracted driving may include anything that takes a driver's eyes or attention off of the road. Distracting activities can include using a cell phone to make calls, reading or sending text messages, eating and drinking, conversing with passengers, adjusting the car stereo, using a GPS navigation system, and more. In recent years, cell phone use has become one of the most common—and deadliest—forms of distracted driving. 

There are multiple reasons why the food served to people at restaurants may be unsafe, and in some cases, different types of food may become contaminated with dangerous viruses or bacteria. E. coli is one of the most common causes of food poisoning, and a recent outbreak that took place in the Midwest has raised concerns about the risks people may face when eating at certain restaurants. Those who have suffered harm due to food poisoning will want to determine their options, and a personal injury lawyer may be able to assist in taking legal action against a restaurant, food supplier, or other company that failed to follow the correct safety practices or allowed contaminated foods to be sold to consumers.

E. Coli Outbreak Associated With Wendy's

On August 17, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it was investigating an outbreak of cases of food poisoning related to E. coli. The CDC's investigation is still ongoing, and it has not confirmed a specific source of food poisoning. However, out of the initial 62 patients the CDC interviewed, 52 of them reported eating at a Wendy's restaurant within one week of becoming ill. While Wendy's has not admitted responsibility for this outbreak, it did take the step of removing romaine lettuce from its sandwiches at restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. To date, the CDC has received reports of 97 illnesses affecting people in six states, with 43 of these cases requiring hospitalization.

Toxic chemicals are insidious substances - often without a bad smell or clear visual warning, chemicals can cause serious physical harm to unsuspecting victims. Chemical burns can happen quickly and be immediately painful, but they can also happen slowly over time and cause damage that is hard to detect and prevent. Depending on the source of the chemical and which organization or individual was responsible for its unsafe handling, victims of toxic chemical contact may want to take action to recover financial compensation for their injuries and pursue justice. 

Where Do Chemical Injuries Frequently Occur? 

Chemical injuries are categorized into four groups: Acid, alkali, phosphorus, and chemical injection injuries. The most common chemical that burns people is sulfuric acid and chemical burns most often occur in the workplace, but they can also happen at work, school, or on the premises of restaurants, grocery stores, and home improvement stores. Even seemingly harmless substances like paint can cause external tissue damage and should be avoided when the source and substance are not well known. 

People are also often injured when chemicals are improperly stored, such as when holding tanks leak, rupture, or overflow. Industrial plants that handle chemicals on a large scale may not store chemicals or their by-products safely, causing them to leech into the ground and contaminate rivers, drinking water, and other elements of the nearby environment. 

A normal person going about their daily business - working, driving, helping a friend - can have their life changed in the blink of an eye when a spinal cord injury takes place. The consequences of a spinal cord injury are often wide-ranging, expensive and laborious to treat, and difficult or impossible to adjust to. If you or someone you love has been debilitatingly injured by a spinal cord injury, Michigan law may allow you to seek compensation with a personal injury lawsuit. Learn more about spinal cord injuries and then contact an experienced personal injury attorney who may be able to help. 

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord is a large column of nerve tissue that connects the entire body’s nervous system starting at the base of the skull and down through the middle of the back. Protective membranes surround the spinal cord, and these are further protected by vertebrae. The nerve signals that tell our bodies to pick something up, retract from painful stimuli, or scratch an itch all run through the spinal cord. Unsurprisingly, then, when the spinal cord is injured, the consequences can be devastating. Spinal cords are most commonly injured in accidents - unexpected events that happen in a split second and which can change a life forever. These accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• Car accidents

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In February of this year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported exposure of cronobacter sakazakii from an infant formula manufacturer in Michigan. Tragically,  the infant died, and exposure to the tainted formula is believed to be a contributing cause. 

While infant formula producers generally recall products that are potentially tainted with bacteria that can cause fatal illness in babies, this action is often too little, too late for the children whose lives were put at risk. If your little one has suffered severe illness or death from exposure to pathogens in their food, the parties who allowed this to happen should be held responsible. Fortunately, with the help of an infant food poisoning attorney, you can do just that. 

Common Types of Pathogens in Infant Food

Parents need to be able to put their trust in the manufacturers of the food they feed to their babies. When food is tainted with pathogens, unsuspecting parents are often put through a terrible ordeal trying to discover why their child is suffering. Because baby food is often produced in facilities that manufacture many different types of food, testing shows that a significant amount of infant foods contain harmful pathogens, as well as other toxic substances like heavy metals. Pathogens that have been found in baby food include, but are not limited to: