On January 13, 37-year-old Tom Jones was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Brandywine Highway and Frederick Street at around 6:30 p.m., as reported by Binghamton Police. He died on the scene after suffering from fatal injuries.

A woman was said to be driving the vehicle which hit Jones. This woman, whose name was not released pending further investigation, was initially cleared of driving under the influence by police. At the time of the accident Jones was crossing the intersection against the light and under less than ideal weather conditions. At the time of the police report, it was stated that the woman would have no criminal charges filed against her for the accident.

The thoughts of our team at Levinson Axelrod, P.A., are with the family and loved ones of Tom Jones.

Three new bills introduced by state Senator Fred Madden last week hope to increase awareness of and prevent the occurrence of sudden cardiac arrest among high school students.

The bills are based on three of the nine recommendations made by the Student Athlete Cardiac Screening Task Force. They plan to create a Sudden Cardiac Events Registry where new cases of sudden cardiac death will need to be reported. They also plan to increase the standards of the mandatory physicals students must pass in order to play sports.

Sudden cardiac arrest is often caused by an underlying genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. During an instance of sudden cardiac arrest, the heart’s beating becomes uncoordinated, and it stops pumping blood to the brain. This can result in sudden cardiac death.

If you have lost a loved one, contact the wrongful death lawyers of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., at 800-346-5529 for a free case evaluation.

The captain’s alleged negligence while guiding the Costa Concordia ship in Italian waters led to the ultimate demise of the cruise liner on January 13, 2012.

The Costa Concordia was grounded last Friday when a reef near Giglio, Italy created a 160-foot hole in the side of the cruise liner, causing the massive ship to tilt on it’s side. Passengers and crew members alike were panicked and doing whatever they could to evacuate the boat.

As of now, 11 people have lost their lives in the crash and officials in Italy have released the names of four more of those victims. Three of these victims were passengers on board the ship and one of them was a crew member who was working as a violinist. There are still 21 people missing and rescue efforts were reinstated today in order to locate those individuals.