The Associated Press just detailed a nerve-racking anecdote of a driver who’s Toyota Prius experienced unintended acceleration while on a highway outside of San Diego. You’ll probably see more of James Sikes’ story in the news soon. Mr. Sikes contacted the California Highway Patrol with a simple message: “My car can’t slow down.” 23 minutes and some burned-out brakes later, the CHP was able to help the man stop his car.

Also reported, a few hours later in New York, a Toyota Prius appears to have accelerated into a garden wall. A separate news blog article details the story of a Minnesota doctor who’s Toyota Prius experienced unintended acceleration while in reverse.

Anything involving Toyota vehicles with circumstances that appear to be slightly out of the ordinary are becoming news stories, even when there are no injuries and minimal damages involved. Expect the Toyota sudden acceleration problem to be major news for a while yet.

See: Runaway Prius reports hit Toyota at worst time
And: Minnesota Doctor Says His Prius Took Off In Reverse

The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker and our nationally recognized team of automobile defect attorneys is continuing to monitor the current Toyota unintended acceleration recall and any additional recalls that may yet happen. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death involving a Toyota vehicle, whether that vehicle was subject to the recalls or not, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Call us at (800) 333-0000 to schedule a free consultation.

Gilbert is an associate professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. In late February, Gilbert claimed he was able to reproduce the sudden acceleration problem in Toyota vehicles using only electrical shorts. Gilbert testified to Congress that it only took him a few hours to reproduce the errors, which would cause unintended acceleration and produce no errors that would allow the braking system to override the throttle.

Toyota, for its part, contends that Gilbert’s electrical reproduction of the sudden acceleration problem is nearly impossible to occur in the real world and that any car, regardless of make or model, would exhibit the exact same behavior. This claim by Toyota was backed up by independent engineers and was aggressively marketed at news agencies in an attempt to counter Gilbert. Toyota believes that the current mechanical fix implemented on millions of Toyota is addressing the sudden acceleration issues.

With all the back and forth between Toyota, the U.S. Government, and other independent experts, it’s apparent that information about the Toyota sudden acceleration problem will continue to emerge. The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker and our nationally recognized team of automobile defect attorneys is continuing to monitor the current Toyota sudden acceleration recall and any additional recalls that may yet happen. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death involving a Toyota vehicle, whether that vehicle was subject to the recalls or not, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Call us at (800) 333-0000 to schedule a free consultation.

The final conclusion by doctors one of the obtained reports was that Avandia should be removed from the market. According to the news article, an internal debate is raging at the FDA on how to handle the Avandia question. Avandia was nearly pulled off the market in 2007, but remained on the market after a razor-thin vote by an FDA oversight board. GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, has been on the defensive. A report from the U.S. Senate accuses GlaxoSmithKline of trying to intimidate doctors and misrepresent negative data associated with Avandia.

If you or a loved one has suffered a heart-related injury while taking Avandia for type 2 diabetes, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at (800) 333-0000 today for a free consultation. For more information on Avandia, visit our Avandia Information page. For more information on the FDA’s findings, find The New York Times news article here. The just released FDA Safety Communication on Avandia can be found here.

Avandia® is a registered trademark of GlaxoSmithKline.

Perona, Langer, Beck, Serbin and Mendoza has been doing business for over 40 years, providing exceptional representation for its clients, winning thousands of difficult personal injury, construction defect, products liability, workers compensation, and civil litigation cases.  To find out more about PLBSM, check out the relocated Perona, Langer, Beck, Serbin and Mendoza website. You can also see some of their exceptional case highlights.

We’re making these upgrades for the sole purpose of being able to serve our current and future clients better.  If you have a question or are seeking a free consultation for an injury or injustice, visit any of our websites to send us an email, or call The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker toll free at (800) 333-0000.  We’ll fight for you!

The new texting ban is just the latest in numerous bans on distracted driving that have been put in place by the DOT and state governments across the country. California placed a ban on texting while driving in 2009. Arizona does not currently have a ban on texting while driving, but the city of Phoenix has had one in place since 2007. The penalty for the new texting law is steep. Any trucker or bus driver violating the new law will be fined $2,750.

The National Safety Council estimates that driving while texting causes hundreds of thousands of accidents each year, or around 1 in every 30 accidents. Accidents involving large trucks or buses often involve serious injuries, or worse. Banning texting while driving for commercial truck drivers and bus operators should hopefully prevent some major, devastating truck accidents from occurring.

The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker hears from the victims of auto accidents caused by distracted driving everyday. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker to help you preserve your legal rights. We can always be reached at (800) 333-0000.

For more information on the new texting ban, please visit the Fast Lane blog, operated by the DOT.

Because of this decision, 2000-3000 people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma, sometimes up to 50 years after first exposure. Only a doctor can determine whether or not a patient has an asbestos related illness. If you or a loved one is concerned about possible exposure to asbestos, inform your doctor of any history with asbestos. Your doctor can diagnose mesothelioma through proper monitoring and testing.

Products that contained and may have exposed persons to asbestos include:

Many jobs had an extraordinary risk for asbestos exposure, including:

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at (800) 333-0000 today. For more information on mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and how we can help, visit the Larry H. Parker Mesothelioma website.

Only months after its last huge recall, Toyota has initiated another recall in response to continued problems with unintended acceleration. Vehicles affected by the 2010 recall are the 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2008-2010 Toyota Sequoia, 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla, 2009-2010 Toyota Matrix, and the 2009-2010 Toyota RAV4.

Unlike the fall 2009 recall, no Lexus vehicles are affected by this recall. Toyota has not decided on how to proceed with the repairs to these vehicles at this time, and are recommending that anyone who experiences an unintended acceleration problem to discontinue driving the vehicle and notify their Toyota Dealer.

Unintended acceleration is especially dangerous on the freeways of Southern California and Arizona. Known for the bumper to bumper traffic, there should this problem occur at the wrong time, there is little anyone can do to prevent what could be a major accident. Should you or a loved one be the victim of a Toyota vehicle experiencing sudden acceleration, do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at (800) 333-0000. In this particular accident circumstance, while you may have caused an accident, Toyota is at fault, and you deserve fair compensation.

The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker will be making a donation in support of the relief efforts currently underway. You can help too. Many reputable relief organizations are accepting donations for Haitian relief efforts. There are many ways you can donate.

A simple way to donate is to text “HAITI” to 90999. This will automatically donate $10 to the Red Cross International Response Fund. The charge will appear on your next cell phone bill. Please note that you will be asked to confirm the donation.

Other ways to help include donating on the web to the Red Cross, World Vision, or many other organizations currently helping with the emergency situation in Haiti.

A dog attack case currently in the Brooklyn, New York federal court has made headlines for the interesting circumstances of the case. For instance, the dog attack didn’t take place on the city’s streets, but on an airplane; a flight attendant was the victim. Odder, the dog wasn’t exactly a lap dog, but a German Shepherd, trained by the military as a guard dog. But the most interesting aspect of this case are the owners: singers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

The victim of the incident has reported that the German Shepherd ran in to her leg, causing her to fall and injure her back. While the circumstances of the case may be unusual, it is important to remember that dog bites and dog attacks are not. As many as 4.5 million people are bitten or attacked by a dog, with around 850,000 people requiring a hospital visit every year.

In California and Arizona, dog owners are liable for the injuries their dogs may cause in an attack. If you are a dog owner, be sure your dog is properly trained and socialized to avoid legal liability should your dog attack someone. If you or a loved one has been attacked by a dog, do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker for legal assistance.

For more information on dog bites, please visit The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker’s supplemental dog bites website: California Dog Bites and Arizona Dog Bites. For more information on the Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony dog bite case, click here.