Civil Practice: Woodchips Are Real Estate, So School Could Be Liable for Injury

A school district is facing potential liability for injuries a sixth-grade girl suffered on a school playground because a Monroe County judge ruled the layer of woodchips covering the playground qualified as the school's real estate.

Eagles' Peters Settles for $2 Mil. in Crutch Injury Case

Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jason Peters has agreed to settle a lawsuit for nearly $2 million against the manufacturer of a crutch-like device that broke while he was using it, causing him further injury and time away from the team.

Personal Injury Lawyer Feels the Need for Speed

High-speed racing is "an adrenaline rush like no other," says Tom Schaefer, a personal injury lawyer in Suwanee, Ga. He says his clients who are motorcycle accident victims appreciate his expertise as a biker.

Four times a year, personal injury lawyer Tom Schaefer locks his office in Suwanee, Ga., loads his truck and heads north for a weekend that could not contrast more with a relaxing getaway in the Georgia mountains.

Schaefer, 47, races motorcycles -- at up to three times the legal speed on metro Atlanta highways. He has established 119 land-speed records in the various divisions for cycle classifications and engine size.

Schaefer's trips lead to a one-mile racing layout in Wilmington, Ohio, on a former World War II airstrip. One by one, riders test their skills and courage, and few have been as committed or accomplished as Schaefer, who raced four different bikes for a while.

He won four Motorcycle Points Championships in successive years with an organization called the East Coast Timing Association at another strip in Maxton, N.C., where he officially reached 206.391 mph.

Schaefer, a single man who estimates he has logged a quarter-million miles on motorcycles, is all too aware of the vehicle's dangers on two fronts. He serves as the attorney for casual riders involved in mishaps. And three racers whom he considered friends died in accidents while pursuing their passion.

You first hopped aboard a motorcycle at the age of 8. Was there a mini Hells Angels club?

My parents have a farm up in Missouri, where I grew up. We had a couple of horses. My dad was getting a little frustrated chasing them down on 160 acres of land so we could ride them. He asked if I wanted to ride a motorcycle. He said, "At least I won't have to go chase it down. It will be right where I left it." Oddly enough, my parents still have that motorcycle they got me, in the basement of their house.

What is the attraction of riding motorcycles at high speed?

I do it because I love it. It's exciting, an adrenaline rush like no other.

You are not just competing against people that day, but against people in history. Your records are there until somebody else is faster.

What was your most frightening experience?

It was my final run in Maxton that got me in the 200-mph club. I was blown off my line by a crosswind just before the one-mile marker. I couldn't get the bike turned for the dogleg to go into the long shutdown area. I wouldn't say I was in a panic, but I was extremely concerned about what was going to happen. I drove the motorcycle to the [outside] of the cones onto a rough, bumpy patch. Once I got to that area, I was able to slow the bike down. I remember looking down, and I could see just past my left leg into the open field a foot away.

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F.D.A. Posts Injury Data For Red Bull

The Food and Drug Administration posted online 21 reports that had been filed with the agency since 2004 that mentioned Red Bull, including ones that involved hospitalizations for heart problems and vomiting. The mention of a product in a report of a fatality or a death does not mean it caused it or contributed to it.

The release of the filings, after similar releases for three other highly caffeinated energy drinks, appears to underscore the crazy-quilt regulatory pattern governing such products. It also highlights the dearth of data that F.D.A. officials are confronting in determining whether to impose additional regulations.

Officials at Red Bull had no immediate comment, and it has said the beverage is safe. This week, in response to an inquiry from The New York Times, Red Bull said it was unaware of any fatality or inquiry filings that mentioned it.

In recent weeks, the F.D.A. has confirmed or disclosed a total of 18 filings involving fatalities and over 150 others involving injuries that mentioned one of four top-selling energy drinks — Red Bull, Monster Energy, Rockstar and 5-Hour Energy. But the volume of such filings stands in stark contrast to a federal report that found that over 13,000 emergency room visits in 2009 cited an energy drink as a possible cause.

Also, while producers of energy drinks that market them as dietary supplements, a group that includes Monster Energy, Rockstar and 5-Hour Energy, must notify the F.D.A. about death and injuries claiming a possible link to their products, companies that market energy drinks as beverages do not. Such companies include Red Bull, Coca-Cola, which sells NOS, and PepsiCo, which sells AMP.

The F.D.A. this week began publicly releasing adverse event reports related to energy drinks after The Times reported that it had received more than 90 filings about 5-Hour Energy, including ones that cited its possible involvement in 13 fatalities. In October, the agency said it had received five fatality reports that cited Monster Energy.

Those companies have also said that their products are safe and that they did not cause any of the problems reported to the F.D.A.