As reported by WYFF News 4, Jeffrey Goff Sr., 56, was killed in a Chevrolet rollover accident that occurred on Due West Highway known as S.C. 185 in Anderson County . The single car accident occurred shortly before 1 A.M. early Tuesday morning.

The 1995 Chevrolet Blazer was traveling eastbound when 26 year old Jeffrey Goff, Jr. lost control of the SUV. The SUV reportedly was driven off the right side of the road before returning to the road and flipping several times.

Two passengers were ejected from inside the vehicle during the roll over resulting in one death and Mr. Goff, Jr. being airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries.

Bobby Brown, 27, of Anderson, was taken by ambulance and is not believed to have sustained life-threatening injuries.

The state patrol is investigating the accident.

SUVS, including the Chevy Blazer, are a popular mode of transportation in today’s society. Many consumers drive an SUV intending to provide protection to themselves as well as their family in the event of an accident.

Despite placing our trust in these vehicles, studies have shown that the Chevy Blazer ranks among SUVs with the highest risk of rollover and increased risk of death or serious injury.

The problem with SUVs including the Blazer is that they have a high center of gravity and narrow track width which can make the auto unstable on the road and more likely to flip, even during a normal response where a driver is forced to change lanes quickly, swerve or otherwise respond to a road condition.

Manufacturers, including General Motors should be responsible for manufacturing vehicles, including SUVs equipped to respond to driving conditions including returning to the road after leaving the surface without threat of a roll over.

In the event of an accident, including a roll over, the Blazer is not equipped with roll over bars, roof crush protection, or even an adequate safety system. The image above, displays the crushed roof of the Blazer which could have contributed to, or even caused, the injuries sustained in the accident presenting the question of whether the injuries and death sustained in the accident could have been avoided.

Our thoughts are with the Goff family and the Brown family.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Richland County EMS deputy chief, George Rice Jr., said the collision at Elmwood and Main streets injured at least seven people.

The patients, who were all passengers on the bus, were reported as being in good condition.

Traffic is reported to be flowing around the accident scene.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

The latest reports indicate that the jobless rate in South Carolina is 12.6%. While reports indicate that the economy is in fact turning around there are many who are still working hard to find new employment.

No matter what the market conditions, there are always companies looking to hire talented professionals. Being prepared ensures that when a new opportunity becomes available, you will be in a competitive position to receive an offer.

To find your dream job in 2010, we offer the following job tips:

• Start Your Search Now
While it is easy to procrastinate, you need to take action. Update your resume, decide who to use as references, and prepare an outline of your strengths and why you are the perfect candidate. When you are finished start searching for new jobs.

• Be Aware of Potential Changes With Your Current Employer
Depending upon your current situation, it may be safer to stay with your current employer than
find a new job but in soft economies, companies can merge, get acquired, be overtaken, or even shut their doors leaving you out of work. Staying on top of the situation may enable you to take advantage of other employment opportunities before disaster strikes.

• Evaluate Your Career Objectives
Determine what really makes you happy, what you want from your career and what needs to be done to obtain your goal. As part of this determination consider whether you are able to take a step back to get your foot in the door, such as part-time employment or an internship.

• Take Advantage of Your Contacts and Network
If no one knows that you are looking for new employment, they can’t help you. Often times a job lead may come from a colleague, former boss, golfing buddy or otherwise. Talk to people and let them know what you are looking for instead of regretting that you did not speak up sooner. If you are not already involved in your community, consider joining some local groups so that you can expand your networking contacts.

• Make Your Resume Stand Out
In a soft economy, employers are flooded with resumes in response to available job positions. If yours does not stand out you may be overlooked even if you are the ideal candidate. Make sure that your resume is free of typos, that it is tailored to the job you are applying for, that it accurately highlights prior job positions and don’t be afraid to brag about your prior successes. Your new employer needs to know what you are going to contribute. In addition, make sure that your cover letter is addressed and tailored to the job that you are applying for. You would be surprised how many people actually forget to change the contact information leading their resume to be tossed right into the trash can, resulting in a missed opportunity.

• Sell Yourself
Most of us are modest and do not like to talk about ourselves. You need to be able to sell yourself, what you have to offer, and articulate your abilities and strengths with confidence.

• Be Prepared
When you get a call for an interview make sure that you are prepared. Find out everything that you can about the company, its products or services, the person you will be interviewing with, and if possible the work environment. Come up with some questions. The competition is tight these days and you want to make sure that you stand out in his or her mind.

To find a job in South Carolina check out the following resources:

South Carolina Federal Jobs

South Carolina Government Jobs

Monster.com

Yahoo Jobs

Career Builder

Strom Law Firm represents individuals and small businesses in a variety of employment matters. If you were wrongfully terminated, a victim of discrimination, or are dealing with your employer’s failure to pay wages contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

According to the report, the vehicle, identified as a Chevrolet SUV, drove off the right side of Cassatt road in a left-turning curve approximately six miles north of Camden.

After leaving the road, the SUV struck the pole of a caution arm at a railroad crossing. The SUV then overturned onto the tracks. The victim, who was ejected during the accident, has died. There were no passengers.

SUVS are a common and popular mode of transportation. While there is no indication from the article regarding how fast the victim was going or what led her to go off of the road, statistics show that sports utility vehicles are approximately three times more likely to flip than a sedan.

As consumers, we drive SUVS because we believe them to be safe, reliable cars and trust companies like Chevrolet to develop and provide us with transportation that will protect us in the event of an accident.

Despite our sense of security, statistics show that sports utility vehicles are approximately three times more likely to flip than a sedan.

Contrary to common perception, most SUV rollovers occur in single car accidents, and many occur while simply responding to an ordinary road hazard resulting in injuries and deaths that could have been prevented.

The problem with SUVs is that their high center of gravity and narrow track width which can lead the auto to become unstable on the road and more likely to flip, even during a normal response where a driver is forced to change lanes quickly, swerve or otherwise respond to an emergency situation.

Despite creation for off road driving, most SUVs are not equipped with roll over bars, roof crush protection, or even an adequate safety system to which possibly could have prevented this loss.

Manufacturers should be responsible for manufacturing SUVs equipped to deal with everyday road hazards.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Kitchens and Lanford have been officially charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Methamphetamine.

The Federal complaint alleges that Kitchens took narcotics directly from an evidence vault located in the Spartanburg County Courthouse and gave them to Terry Glenn Lanford, a Spartanburg businessman to resell to a drug dealer located in Florida.

Mr. Lanford purportedly sold the drugs to a confidential DEA informant posing as a drug dealer in Florida last August. The complaint further alleges that Mr. Lanford and Mr. Kitchens discussed obtaining more narcotics for additional drug deals with the Florida informant.

Mr. Lanford, who frequently travels to Florida on business, allegedly stated that Kitchens liked to distribute the narcotics in Florida because it helped him separate the narcotics from Spartanburg County.

Kitchens and Lanford were arrested yesterday morning after a meeting monitored by law enforcement. During the meeting, Mr. Lanford provided Mr. Kitchens with $3,000.00, partial payment for a prior drug deal which allegedly occurred last August.

Both men could face fines as large as two million dollars and 20 years in prison.

Solicitor Trey Gowdy says that they have no idea how much evidence may have been taken or how many cases may be impacted by this crime.

Mr. Kitchens and Mr. Lanford have been released on a $25,000.00 bond.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively defends individuals on all criminal charges in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the youth was charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds and the unlawful carrying of a pistol. He was taken to the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

Lott said that the tip came after students who discovered that the fellow student was carrying a pistol at school on Monday told their parents, who called the sheriff’s department.

Bullets for the pistol were found in a bag in a classroom.

Lott said deputies continue to question why the youth had a gun.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively defends individuals on all criminal charges in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Just as the name implies, the Small Smiles clinics provide dental treatment to children, including children on Medicaid. Despite the catchy name, the Government’s allegations centered on greed and placing profit above the safety and welfare of innocent children.

The government’s investigation was initiated by three lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permits private citizens to sue on behalf of the United States and in turn share in any recovery.

The whistleblowers filed actions in three federal District Courts: a case filed by the Strom Law Firm on behalf of a whistleblower in the District of South Carolina as well as two other actions filed in the District of Maryland and the Western District of Virginia.

The suits alleged that Small Smiles submitted claims for reimbursement for a wide range of dental services provided to low-income children that were either medically unnecessary or performed in a manner that failed to meet professionally-recognized standards of care. These services included performing pulpotomies (baby root canals), placing crowns, administering anesthesia (including nitrous oxide), performing extractions, and providing fillings and/or sealants.

The suit further alleged that Small Smiles submitted bills for these unnecessary services to state Medicaid programs for reimbursement.

As part of the agreement, Small Smiles agreed to put in place various remedial measures designed to prevent similar unlawful conduct from occurring in the future. Despite the settlement, the government’s investigation of the individual dentists working for Small Smiles is ongoing, and FORBA is cooperating with that investigation by providing information about dentists who may have violated professional standards.

The settlement will hopefully be a step in the right direction towards providing proper dental care to lower income families. Most dentists will not see Medicaid patients due to the amount of paperwork and payment delays associated with treatment, limiting treatment options. The DOJ press release noted that they did not automatically close the 69 clinics because they wanted to strike a balance between enforcing the law and access to needed dental care.

“We have zero tolerance for those who break the law to exploit needy children,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “Illegal conduct like this endangers a child’s well-being, distorts the judgments of health care professionals, and puts corporate profits ahead of patient safety.”

As part of the settlement, Small Smiles will pay $24 million, plus interest. The federal share of the civil settlement is $14,285,645, and the states’ Medicaid share is $9,714,355.25. In addition, as part of the settlement, FORBA has agreed to enter into an expansive five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The agreement provides for procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to this matter. Specifically, FORBA must engage external reviewers to monitor its quality of care and reimbursement processes. In addition, the chief dental officer must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that the Small Smiles clinics provide services consistent with professionally recognized standards of care. FORBA has also agreed to cooperate in the government’s continuing investigation of individual dentists.

“In this case, FORBA put greed and profits before the well-being of children,” said Timothy J. Heaphy, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. “It endangered the health and safety of innocent children and defrauded the taxpayer of millions of dollars. Today’s settlement addresses these egregious acts and sends a clear message that Medicaid fraud will be expeditiously addressed by this Department.”

As part of the resolution, the three whistleblowers credited for the government’s investigation into the allegations will receive payments totaling more than $2.4 million from the federal share of the settlement. The whistleblowers filed lawsuits under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens to sue on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.

This settlement with FORBA is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Department of Justice has used to recover approximately $2.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The Qui Tam attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively advocates justice on behalf of individuals in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Wlaschin, a road patrol deputy near Irmo, South Carolina, was fired by Sheriff James R. Metts as a result of the allegations.

According to the arrest warrant, Wlaschin knowingly downloaded images of children engaged in sexual activity onto his home computer in 2009 and 2010. Mr. Wlaschin dupliated the images and stored the files on his computer.

Deputies received information that Wlaschin had stored child pornography on his computer, obtained a search warrant, and were able to locate images in his computer.

Mr. Wlaschin is innocent until proven guilty.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively defends individuals on all criminal charges in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

Mr. Cassidy has been formally charged with committing a lewd act on a minor younger than 16 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Investigators say that the student, who was not a member of the girl’s basketball team, met Cassidy through an online social networking site and had been communicating with him for about a month. Reports indicate that Mr. Cassidy misrepresented himself on the social networking site with a false name and false picture to attract attention from a 15-year-old girl at the school. Mr. Cassidy also sent her text messages.

The incident allegedly took place on January 26, 2010 in a classroom at Camden High School. Authorities claim that Mr. Cassidy eventually revealed who he was and he sent the student a message, asking her to leave a class that she was in and to come to his room during a free period he had, which is where the acts occurred.

Reports indicate that police have taken Mr. Cassidy’s computer and phones for evidence and there is a chance that he could face more charges.

Sean Cassidy is innocent until proven guilty.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively defends individuals on all criminal charges in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

The tractor-trailer, driven by William Amaker, struck a 2003 Ford sport utility vehicle, jack-knifed and landed on its side. The tractor-trailer then slid down the roadway and into a disabled 1996 Mercedes that was parked off the roadway with a flat tire.

The driver of the Mercedes, a 65-year-old woman, was outside of her car when the tractor-trailer slid into it. Two passengers were inside of the Mercedes at the time of the accident.

The driver and both passengers were taken by Charleston County EMS to Medical University Hospital. One of the passengers had serious injuries and was in the intensive care unit, he said.

The drive of the 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer, William Amaker, was charged with driving too fast for conditions.

The personal injury attorneys at Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. include a former United States Attorney, a former public defender, a former Assistant Attorney General and Richland County Assistant Solicitor, as well as a tax lawyer familiar with IRS criminal investigations. The Strom Law Firm aggressively defends individuals on all criminal charges in all State and Federal Courts in South Carolina as well as the Federal Courts in Georgia. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia