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This time of year is a special time that inspires messages of goodwill and gratitude. In keeping with the season's spirit, everyone at Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Prather, Keen & Littky-Rubin wishes all of our clients, colleagues and friends a safe and fun-filled holiday season and a wonderful New Year, replete with promising resolutions for 2013! Thank you for all of your support and confidence in 2012.

Clark Fountain Obtains Settlements in Two Personal Injury Cases

Attorney Tim Murphy obtained confidential settlements in two separate cases involving different personal injury scenarios. In one case, he settled against a carpet company whose improper carpet installation led to his client sustaining a fall and crushed teeth. In a second case, the client received a monetary settlement after suffering from skin and tissue irritations, due to contaminated toilet paper at a Wal-Mart� store.

Expert Deposition Leads to Increased Settlement

Clark Fountain's client suffered significant injuries in an automobile accident involving a County employee, who was driving a work-owned vehicle. The County and the driver attempted to use the State's sovereign immunity statute in order to avoid exposure above the County's statutory cap. However, during deposition, Clark Fountain attorneys W. Hampton Keen and Poorad Razavi were able to skillfully extract testimony that was successfully used to persuade the driver's personal insurance carrier to tender the full limit of his policy. The client was overwhelmingly satisfied with the settlement, in addition to the statutory cap issue that remains in play. 

CPSC Alerted to Defective Office Depot Chair

Two defective chairs sold by mega-retailer Office Depot produced different results when one chair was recalled earlier this year, but the other, almost identical chair was not. The recalled chair, the Gibson Leather Office Chair, featured a bad weld, which caused the seat plate to separate from the chair base, sending its occupants flying backwards. The other chair, the Office Depot Biella Office Chair, has the same manufacturer, design and product registration number, along with the same defect; however, it has not been recalled. This led consumers to take their complaints into the blogosphere, where the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission took notice. The CPSC said that consumers alleging a safety defect in a product associated with an elusive manufacturer should consider filing a report on saferproducts.gov. Learn more here .

Agencies Team Up for Holiday Safety

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Fire Protection Association and Maryland's Office of the State Fire Marshal are helping consumers give the gift of a safe holiday home. This time of year, thousands of consumers are injured and millions of dollars in property losses are reported as a result of falls, fires, and other incidents associated with holiday decorations. Since 2009, the estimated number of holiday decoration-related injuries has increased at a rate of 1,000 per year, from 12,000 in 2009, to 13,000 in 2010, to 14,000 in 2011. Between 2008 and 2010, property losses from Christmas tree fires have increased from an estimated $18 million to $19 million. Candle-related fires during this same period resulted in reports of 74 deaths and $347 million in property losses. Learn more here.

Ford Recalls Escape and Fusion Models for Fire Hazard

Dream On Me Bath Seats Pose Drowning Risk to Infants