Here are some guidelines to ensure that you do not experience electrical problems in and around your home.

Firstly you must be very careful when using electrical appliances close to water such as near sinks, baths and swimming pools and don’t use extension leads or power leads in wet areas unless they are specially designed. Never ever touch anything electrical with wet hands or bare feet.

Don’t use portable heaters in bathroom areas but instead, you should have either a strip heater high on the wall or a ceiling unit installed by a registered electrical contractor.

If an electrical appliance has been immersed in water it must be thrown away immediately

When it comes to using extension leads they should be positioned along walls to save tripping and should have three pins, one of which is the earth. They should not be draped over furniture or benches and if they have damaged plugs or cords they should be thrown away.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured due to the negligence of another person or a defective product,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

On August 10, Jan Harding, 67, was eating at a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit with her husband, Jim, when she sipped her sweet tea and started gagging and coughing. It seems that an employee mistook degreaser,  which is made up of lye, for sugar, mixing it into the tea and causing extreme burns to Harding’s throat and mouth. The restaurant has said that the worker involved in making the toxic tea no longer works for the company,.

It now appears that an employee at the same restaurant burned her tongue on July 5 on the same substance, after she stuck her finger in a sugar container to test whether it was sugar and then licked her finger. The worker’s tongue then started bleeding and blisters formed.

Nearly two weeks after the accident at the South Jordan, Utah, restaurant, doctors say Harding is steadily improving and able to speak.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he will probably decide whether to file any criminal charges by next week.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured due to the negligence of another person or business,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 20 about eight miles west of Timmerman Junction in southern Blaine County, two people were killed in a head-on collision.

According to Idaho State Police Mary McBrier, aged 64, of Salt Lake City was driving eastbound in a 2004 Toyota 4-Runner when she crossed the center line and struck a westbound 2004 Honda Accord driven by Todd Combs, aged 39 of Eagle.

Combs was pronounced dead at the scene and McBrier was transported to St. Luke’s Wood River hospital by ambulance where she died from her injuries.

Wood River Chief Bart Lassman said that it took about 25 minutes to extricate McBrier from the vehicle, and that she still had a pulse when emergency responders arrived but was unconscious. He said that they firstly tried to get a helicopter which was not possible due to the weather and nor could they get a fixed wing airplane.

The police reported that both drivers were wearing seat belts and that next of kin had been notified.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving the negligence of another driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

According to Elko County Sheriff’s Office, a single-vehicle rollover accident Tuesday night on North Fifth Street injured several teenagers.

Undersheriff Clair Morris said that seven people were in a car which was only designed to seat five. The vehicle overturned just past the end of the pavement and two of the teenagers were apparently thrown out of the vehicle.

Morris said that deputies believe the driver was going too fast for conditions because of the rainy weather although at this time it is thought that alcohol was not a factor.

Two of the occupants of the vehicle were flown to Salt Lake City to receive treatment, one having internal injuries and the other head injuries, Morris said. He added that a third person was driven to Salt Lake City on Wednesday.

Morris did not know the names of any of the victims nor the people involved. He also did not know who was driving.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving the negligence of another driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Lieutenant Mike Ross of the Salt Lake City Police Department advised on Sunday morning, at around 10.00 a.m., a woman lost control of her Subaru vehicle, hit three parked cars and then flipped over in her vehicle.

The accident happened near the intersection of 300 South and 500 East.

The woman, who has not yet been named, suffered critical injuries and was taken to a local hospital in an ambulance.

Authorities at the scene said that she was wearing a seat belt, and to date crash investigators are still working, although the exact cause of the accident is still not known.

Witnesses to the incident said that she looked to be badly injured and it appears that she must have been traveling at speed given the state of the damage to the vehicles and the fact that she hit three parked vehicles before rolling over.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving the negligence of another driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

According to Armand Glick, head of the Utah Insurance Department’s fraud division, there is a new trend, with crooks trying to rip off insurance companies and targeting motorists. This has established a real presence in Utah with 19 people being charged with staging 80 crashes last month.

As well as the scam of putting in bogus claims for cars previously damaged using stolen identities, in addition, the fraudsters will hit each other’s car and others.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released videos to show what they call “the swoop and squat” where the driver of the “swoop” vehicle cuts you off and then slams on the brakes, called a “squat” meaning you run into him.

Or another scam when a driver waves at you to proceed and then smashes into you and denies he or she ever waved at you.

Glick advises that you report any type of injury, always call the police and take photographs so people cannot claim injury for a small bump. He warns that often the scammers’ cars are full and they all claim for medical problems such as whiplash.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving the negligence of another driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Due to a major accident at 4.45 a.m. on the Interstate 80 on Wednesday, Evanston was invaded by hoards of drivers unable to continue their journeys.

The accident occurred when a semi slammed into a parked semi in Echo Canyon. The driver of the moving vehicle was seriously injured and airlifted to hospital in Salt Lake City. However, his vehicle contained batteries and drums of acid and burst into flames.

Due to the hazardous nature of the fire, firefighters took a while to contain it, while waiting for exact information on what was on board. However, by 7.30 a.m. the fire was out and then the damaged road had to be dug up and repaved. Eastbound lanes were opened later Wednesday morning but westbound travelers had to wait until nearly 6 p.m. to continue traveling I-80.

Drivers were diverted to nearby Evanston and whilst many became frustrated with the delay, others visited local shops and restaurants.

Walmart parking lot was packed with trucks and sleeping drivers, some of whom were used to I-80 closures, although usually in the winter while they were waiting for snow to be cleared.

If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving the negligence of another driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.

According to Gary Mower who is a research analyst for the Utah Highway Safety Office, the Fourth of July holiday weekend always had more fatal auto accidents than any other time of the year.

This year there were at least 11 traffic deaths and several others are still in critical condition. This compares to 2008 when there were 12 and last year 10 deaths.

This year there were two major accidents, both of which could have been avoided.

The first took place on Interstate 80 when a car was travelling the wrong way and collided with an SUV. Three people in the SUV were killed.

The second happened on Route 191 when someone tried to overtake and the result was a head on collision between a sports car and a minivan. Four people in the minivan died and the two in the sports car which burst into flames on impact.

Excessive Drinking Death

The CDC has recently released a new study which shows that the United States is spending around $224 billion a year on alcohol related deaths, which is made up of the cost to the health care system, the criminal justice system and lost productivity.

What is more, one in 10 working age Americans die each year due to alcohol.

Alcohol contributes to these deaths in two different ways. Firstly there are those who are determined to be excessive drinkers, which is defined as drinking one or more drinks a day for women and two or more a day for men. For many people, alcohol is a part of their daily lives and they do not realize that such small amounts can lead to alcohol related diseases including cancer, heart disease, liver disease and high blood pressure.

The second way that alcohol causes death is due to binge drinking which is having more than four or five drinks in a single session. This can not only cause accidents, in a motor vehicle, or a fall or drowning, but also alcohol poisoning, risky sexual activity, and violent behavior.

Alcohol is a major contributing factor in hundreds of fatal auto accidents every year. If you, or someone you know, have been injured in a serious auto accident involving a drunken driver,  please call the at Hirschi Steele & Baer, PLLC at 801-990-0500 or contact us online today. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you get the compensation you deserve.