Salt Lake City Personal Injury Law Blog

In 2012, Jeffrey D. Eisenberg was selected by his peers as a member of Utah Legal Elite, a select group of attorneys who practice in Utah.  He was selected in the Personal Injury group.

Honorees are selected by members of the Utah State Bar.  Members are invited to nominate fellow Utah attorneys who they hold in the highest regard and have observed firsthand and would recommend to others.  Nominators are each allowed to cast only one ballot and cannot vote for themselves.  The list is pared down by number of votes and a Blue Ribbon Panel of prominent attorneys in each specialty review and finalize the list.

As a Personal Injury Utah Legal Elite honoree, Jeff Eisenberg's name is included in the Utah Legal Elite, a special section in Utah Business Magazine.

Food-borne illnesses can be deadly. I recently represented a young woman who was an active mother, student and wife before being poisoned by an E.Coli 0157:H7 contaminated bag of baby spinach. Following her consumption of this contaminated product, she sustained life-long health problems that are debilitating and severely limit her activities and abilities to live a full and happy life. Her case eventually went to trial and, during jury deliberations, was settled out of court for a confidential amount. While the funds she recovered will help her pay for the future medical care she will require throughout the remainder of her life, she will never enjoy the life she would have had if the baby spinach she consumed had not been contaminated.

While working up this food-borne illness case, many troubling facts about the food industry came to light. It was very alarming to learn how cavalier certain food manufacturers are with regard to food safety.

I recently wrote an article entitled "From Field to Fork to Fairness: Maximizing Damages in a Food-borne Illness Case." This article has been published in the Utah Trial Journal and Colorado's Trial Talk. My article discusses various aspects of a food-borne illness case including how to determine if your case is worthy of an award of punitive damages. As the customs and practices of the food industry are more closely scrutinized, perhaps the Industry will take measures to improve the purity and safety of its products.

Utah's slopes offer the snow-sports enthusiast ideal conditions for an exhilarating ride down the hill, all the while surrounded by intense beauty. The combination is priceless.

But the rugged terrain and intense weather can also create a dangerous - even deadly - environment for ski and snowboard accidents.

Recently, a young man tragically and prematurely died when he was buried in an avalanche while snowboarding in a steep off-trail canyon area near Salt Lake City. People had been warned to stay out of that part of the backcountry after strong storms.

Snow and ice patterns this winter have raised the chance of dangerous avalanches throughout the western states and this death was the ninth of the season. Even with advanced skills, anyone attempting to ski or snowboard needs to heed the calls to avoid leaving marked and patrolled areas.

Another recent Utah tragedy was the death of world class Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke. Burke apparently died from head and spinal injuries sustained in a routine superpipe trick, which shows the inherent danger of ski and snowboard moves at high speeds and heights.

With new UTA TRAX lines opening up across the Salt Lake valley, most recently in West Valley City and West Jordan, there have been an increasing number of accidents involving the TRAX trains and pedestrians and/or automobiles. In the Summer of 2011, a 15 year-old girl was hit and killed during a test run of the newly expanded line. Her family has filed a Notice of Claim with UTA with the intent of filing a lawsuit. The accident caused UTA to conduct safety reviews at all crossings. The reviews resulted in several changes and the implementation of supplemental safety features.

New routes are being expanded to the Salt Lake City International Airport and Draper and are set to open in the next few years. As the TRAX routes continue to expand, Eisenberg, Gilchrist & Cutt are encouraging all motorists and pedestrians to be on the look out for the TRAX trains. Do not go around lowered gates at a crossing and be on the look out for trains when crossing the tracks. With a little look out and common sense, we can all travel and arrive safely to our destinations.