Personal Injury Law
Honolulu Personal Injury Lawyer 
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Investigation Of Contaminated Heparin Syringes Highlights Medication Safety Issues
Posted on November 09, 2009Heparin is a biological compound often used as an anticoagulant, administered to patients through a pre-prepared syringe. It minimizes the danger of such diseases as deep-vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and NSTEMI. Since its commercialization in 1936, Heparin has saved countless lives; a recent investigation in the Archive of Internal Medicine, however, suggests that Heparin injections have been responsible for a recent outbreak of bloodstream infections...
Emily Midgley Dies in Big Island Hay Ride on Halloween
Posted on November 02, 2009The Star Bulletin story "Halloween hay ride proves fatal to Big Isle girl, 7" reports that Emily Midgley of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates jumped off of a trailer at the end of a hay ride and was run over by the trailer. The hay ride was a church event held on Halloween by the Evangelical Community Church...
GAO says FDA fails to follow up on unproven drugs on the market.
Posted on October 26, 2009The AP (10/26, Perrone) reports that a GAO report due Monday says the FDA "has allowed drugs for cancer and other diseases to stay on the market even when follow-up studies showed they didn't extend patients' lives" or the makers did not perform follow-up studies...
Isn't Tort Reform Only About Frivolous Cases?
Posted on October 25, 2009If you listen to doctors complain that they need protection from lawsuit abuse and that the real problem in health care reform is defensive medicine and lawsuits driving up the cost of health care, you get the impression that this isn't about terrible medical care and real injuries...
FDA commissioner endorses legislation to improve food safety.
Posted on October 23, 2009The Los Angeles Times (10/23, Zajac) reports, "Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Thursday strongly endorsed legislation that would give her agency new tools to improve food safety, but she warned that Congress still must find a way to pay for them if consumers are to benefit...
How Does An Injured Person Describe Their Injury To Doctors, Lawyers and Their Family?(2)
Posted on October 22, 2009After an injury the first thing a person hears is usually: "Are you hurt?" Describe your injury." The other driver will often ask. The police officer at the scene. The ambulance drivers will ask. The nurse at the emergency room will write it down...
House Financial Services panel debates federal preemption in CFPA.
Posted on October 21, 2009The Washington Post (10/21, Dennis) reports that the House Financial Services Committee "continued to wrangle over a provision that would allow state governments to protect bank customers by imposing restrictions that go beyond existing federal laws...
The Jones Act in Hawaii: Ed Case and Jim O'Keefe Object to American Worker Requirments.
Posted on October 21, 2009Malia Zimmerman of The Hawaii Reporter reports on 20 October 2009 that a "Jones Act Lawsuit Will Test Control of Hawaii's Shipping Monopoly". Her story is about a bread maker in Hilo who claims that he had to pay $5.50 to ship a 50 lb. bag of flour to Hilo from the mainland and that the cost ruined his business...
Recall of Chinese Drywall? Don't Hold Your Breath!
Posted on October 20, 2009The Fort Myers (FL) News-Press (10/20, Wozniak) reports, "A summit beginning Wednesday in Beijing between the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and its Chinese counterpart will press for companies in the Chinese drywall supply chain to take responsibility for their defective product...
Crewman Killed in Boat Fire at Pier 38
Posted on October 19, 2009died in a fishing boat fire last night at Pier 38 according to a report in the Honolulu Advertiser. The boat, , had just returned from a month of fishing for Ahi and the lone crew member aboard had been out druinking according to news reports. It appears that he had attempted to cook some food...
Benjamin Makekau and Ikaikakane Makekau Victims of Fatal Kalanianaole Crash
Posted on October 19, 2009The car left the road and went airborne and crashed into a tree and the roof of the Oceanic Institute building. The occupants, Benjamin Makekau, 20, and his brother Ikaikakane Makekau (19) were dead at the scene of this violent car crash according to a KHNL News reporter Duane Shimogawa...
Most See That Legal Reforms Are The Wrong Idea
Posted on October 19, 2009In an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle (10/16), N. Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, wrote, "Lately we have heard a lot...about Texas-style, anti-patient laws as a solution to our nation's health care crisis. When insurance lobbyists rammed through legal changes that were designed to severely limit the legal rights of Texas patients in 2003, we heard high-falutin' rhetoric promising dramatic improvements in the cost, access, and quality of health care...
Hawaii's William Richardson Law School Garner's National Recognition
Posted on October 19, 2009Robert Myers of the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that the National PreLaw Magazine has named the University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson Law School as being in the top 25 Best Value Law Schools, based on tuition, bar passage and employment rates...
Insurance Reform Now!!
Posted on October 17, 2009The most important consumer legislation in the last 50 years is presently moving in Congress with Senator Patrick Leahy, VT. leading the way. Senator Leahy Submits Legislation For Insurance Reform - Wayne Parsons - October 16, 2009. The insurance industry is the most political, and many say the most politically corrupt, industry in the U...
Sara Sutton Dies In Single Car Crash In Hilo
Posted on October 16, 2009Speed and alcohol may have been involved in the tragic death of Sara Sutton, an 18-year-old Big Island resident. According to KITV News "Police found the crashed 2000 Honda two-door sedan against a macadamia nut tree at about 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday...
Fire Ant Found On Maui
Posted on October 16, 2009KITV reports that a fire ant was found on a Maui farm. The fire is small but packs a mean bite. The insect is 1/16th inch long and is light orange in appearance. They aren't fast moving like some ants. It can cause blindness if it bites your pet. The farm on Maui where the fire ant was found is in Waihee...
Senator Leahy Submits Legislation For Insurance Reform -
Posted on October 16, 2009In spite of all the hem-hawing and confusion surrounding American health care reform, one senator is taking initiative. Senator Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, has recently introduced the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act into Congress, which would eliminate current antitrust exemptions for the insurance industry, thereby making them function like almost every other business in America...
CPSC Chair Tenenbaum Seeks China's Help In Paying Chinese Drywall Claims in U.S.
Posted on October 16, 2009The story of ruined homes, hopes and dreams in the U.S. Southeast has been raging in the news for almost a year: Drywall From China Causes Concern Over Sulfur Odor In Homes - by Wayne Parsons January 02, 2009. The first question that comes to mind for an attorney like me is how do you get a company in China to pay for damage that their product causes in the U...
Insurance Reform Because Of Insurance Abuse
Posted on October 14, 2009The insurance industry has more money than any other force in American politics and their right wing conservative media forces, led by Limbaugh and O'Reilly are geared up to blitz the public with screaming attacks on the public option and a veiled opposition to anything that Congress might do to loosen their grips on control of American politics...
Why Did Kenneth Richard Owens' Parachute Fail To Open?
Posted on October 14, 2009In a tragic story, Kenneth Richard Owens is dead today after his parachute failed to open during a sky dive on the North Shore Monday. Owens, a 27-year-old Pearl Harbor-based Navy diver, was set to deploy today and so this was a last bit of fun before he left to defend the country...
Separate Wahiawa And Kunia Motorcycle Crashes Leave One Dead And One Critical
Posted on October 14, 2009The motorcycle was headed toward Haleiwa at about 1:15 p.m., just past Wahiawa, when it crossed the centerline on a curve on Kaukonahua Road and crashed into an oncoming car one mile past Wilikina Drive. Going to Haleiwa ia always a beautiful way to spend the day but something went terribly wrong for the 29-year-old motorcycle driver...
Public Option Inusrance Reform - Blind Medical Student Can See What Obama and Biden Can't
Posted on September 30, 2009Sorry but I have to say this. The American public and the major media are showing their laziness and stupidity in the health - insurance - tort reform debate. If the subjects weren't so serious it would be funny. The public option is the only thing that will make health care honest...
Military Police Officer Joseph Florez-Gonzalez Was Drunk In Critical Crash
Posted on September 30, 2009Olena Heu of KHON TV reports on critical car crash that involved an intoxicated military police officer Joseph Florez-Gonzales. Military Police Officer Arrested In Connection With Critical Crash photo coutresy of KHON A passenger in the vehicle, also a Schofield soldier, was critically injured when his side of the SUV was crushed as it crashed into a utility pole...
Floor mats Spur Toyota Recall of 3.8 Million Vehicles
Posted on September 30, 2009The AP (9/29, Thomas) reported, "Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company's largest-ever U.S. recall, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash...
What Caused A Motorcyclist To Crash on Papipi Road Sunday?
Posted on September 29, 2009In a news story posted in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday another motorcycle injury is reported (Man in critical condition after motorcycle accident inwww.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090928/BREAKING01/309280013/Man+in+critical+condition+after+motorcycle+accident+in+Ewa+Beach Ewa Beach)...
Rulings open former Bush officials to liability for terror policies.
Posted on September 29, 2009In a story appearing on at least 111 news websites, the AP (9/29, Sherman) reports that former Attorney General John Ashcroft and John Yoo, "one of his hardline lieutenants face the rare prospect of being held personally liable for alleged violations of individuals' rights in the aggressive aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks...
OurExperienceCounts.com Speaks Out On Age Discrimination
Posted on September 28, 2009JEFF WINTERS - Guest Contributor Last year there were 24,582 age discrimination cases received by the EEOC (The Federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission). The Employment Act of 1967 protects workers who are 40 and older from employment discrimination based on age...
Is Congress Going To Get Rid Of All Of The Trial Attorneys With Tort Reform In Health Care?
Posted on September 25, 2009My story on the current health care and tort reform debate it became clear to me that nothing and no one in this country can stand up to the insurance industry. Not President Obama even with a majority in both the House and the Senate and a 75% public demand for the public option...
ReGen Biologics Inc.'s Menaflex Device Said To Be "unsafe" - FDA Approves For Sale
Posted on September 25, 2009In a front-page story, the New York Times (9/25, A1, Harris, Halbfinger) reports that the FDA released a report Thursday that said "four New Jersey congressmen and its own former commissioner unduly influenced the process that led to its decision last year to approve a patch for injured knees...
When Will Big Tobacco Stop Going After Kids - FDA Bans Flavored Cigarettes
Posted on September 23, 2009USA Today (9/23, Rubin) reports that on Tuesday, the FDA "banned the sale of candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes. The move was authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which President Obama signed in June." "These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," FDA commissioner Dr...
Dangerous Trailers - Why Did Michael Davison Die In Kona? - Regulation = Prevention!
Posted on September 19, 2009Why did Michael Davison die at 49 in Kona? He was minding his own business and being responsible. His SUV was slammed by a run-away trailer carrying canoes. I described it as a "freak accident". I was wrong. Trailer Hitch Failure Leads to Death of Michael Davison in Kona on Sunday I now learn that this happens across the country all of the time...
What Questions Is The Lawyer Going To Ask Me At The Initial Interview For My Injury Or Death Case?
Posted on September 19, 2009You were injured in an automobile accident and you have decided to consult with an attorney. The 13-point list below is what you need to bring in for your first interview. I am going to make this simple because it is. The work you do will please the lawyer and get the case started in the best possible way...
HHS Tort Reform Study Grants Proposed By Obama To Reduce Malpractice Costs
Posted on September 18, 2009The AP (9/18) reports that on Thursday the Obama Administration "announced $25 million in grants for states and health care systems to experiment with alternatives to costly medical malpractice lawsuits." The grants will amount to "up to $3 million each for three years," and can be used for "a range of ideas, including programs in which doctors and hospitals quickly acknowledge a mistake, offer an apology and restitution, and pledge to take corrective action...
Tort Reform Has No Place In Health Care Reform
Posted on September 17, 2009President Obama needs the support of all of us in regard to the efforts by the insurance industry to sneak tort reform into the health care bill before Congress. No back room deals with the insurance industry will be tolerated by the vast majority of Americans who are clamoring for real health care reform and no Shibai! Tort reform has no place in health care reform...
Georgia Supreme Court to hear challenge to 2005 medical malpractice cap law.
Posted on September 16, 2009The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (9/16, Rankin) reports on the case of a 75-year-old Marietta, Georgia, woman who was "permanently disfigured" after complications from facial surgery, noting that her "case is now before the Georgia Supreme Court, which on Tuesday considered for the first time the constitutionality of the centerpiece of the state's sweeping 2005 tort reform law - caps on jury awards in medical malpractice cases...
Obama Will Not Support Caps On Damages When A Doctor Or Hospital Negligently Injures A Patient
Posted on September 15, 2009Everyone knows that medical malpractice limitations supported by the insurance industry and doctors won't affect health insurance premiums at all. The California legislature passed a cap on damages when a doctor or hospital negligently injures a patient over 20 years ago (MICRA) and today the insurance company MIEC charges more for malpractice insurance to California doctors than it charges to Hawaii doctors...
I was in an automobile accident. What should I do? Ten Tips For Hawaii Drivers
Posted on September 14, 2009What you should do when you are in an automobile accident varies from state to state but there are some basic things that apply everywhere. Below are 10 steps that will help you get started. At the outset, you can find an attorney to talk to on the telephone where you live by doing a Google or Yahoo Search using the terms: Injury Board Honolulu...
Is Obama Caving In To Insurance Companies on Tort Reforn In Health Care Negotiation?
Posted on September 14, 2009The AP (9/14) reports, "President Barack Obama began a week that will dwell heavily on overhauling the health care system, declaring himself confident Congress will pass 'a good health care bill' even though some Republican opponents were trying to kill the measure for political gain...
Tatiana Beasley Now Believed To Be Driver of Truck In Fatal Moanalua Crash
Posted on September 14, 2009Rob Shikina of the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that it appears that Tatiana Beasley was driving the car that crashed on Moanalua Freeway on July 19, 2009. Ms. Beasley was found outside of the truck that crashed into a concrete barrier near Ole Lane overpass...
Bad News Hawaii Motorists! Highway Bill Passage This Fall Is Unlikely
Posted on September 12, 2009JOSH MITCHELL of the Wall Street Journal writes that federal funding for interstate highways across the country is in trouble: Highway-Bill Passage This Fall Is Unlikely. Recent articles have highlighted the importance of Congress funding these desperately needed repairs at increased letters...
Obama opens door to tort reform in healthcare speech.
Posted on September 10, 2009The AP (9/10) reports that in his speech before a joint session of Congress last night pushing his ideas for healthcare reform, President Obama said "that he wants to look at a 'range of ideas' to 'put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine...
Deteriorated Interstate Highways And Roadways In Every State Add To Fatalities
Posted on September 10, 2009One of my pet peeves is potholes. How about you, readers? Any of you like potholes? Catch a 6-inch deep 2 foot wide pothole at 45 mph and you'll feel $45 slip out of your wallet on car maintenance expenses during the rest of the year. Tires, alignment, shocks ...
Hawaii Child Passenger Safety
Posted on September 09, 2009Aidon Ng, 5-years-old, is dead today. I sadly wrote about his death in an article yesterday: Was the Death of 5-Year-Old Aidon Ng Due To A Seat-back Failure? KITV News reports today that: "[c]ar collisions are the leading cause of death of children over the age of 1, according to national statistics...
Hawaii Highway Chronicles: Are Our Roads The 4th Worst in the Country?
Posted on September 09, 2009I just read the report, 'Future Mobility in Hawaii: Meeting the State's Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,' and it does not bode well for those of us who use Hawaii Highways and rural roads. Hawaii ranks 4th from the bottom because of deteriorating roads and high incidence of fatal accidents on rural roads...
Second Circuit chief judge rules no requirement of "bad faith" finding for attorney fees reward.
Posted on September 08, 2009Law.com (9/8, Wise) reports, "A finding of 'subjective bad faith' is not a prerequisite for an award of attorney fees in a dismissed market manipulation case subject to a 1995 law designed to curb frivolous securities claims, a unanimous federal appeals panel in Manhattan ruled Wednesday...
University of Tennessee and NFL Player Jesse Mahelona Dies In Kailua-Kona Crash
Posted on September 07, 2009Jesse Mahelona Football season has just started and Hawaii is football paradise. I'm a football fan and follow the talented local athletes who play in College and the Pros. Today we all are sad to learn that one of the great ones is gone, long before his time...
Trailer Hitch Failure Leads to Death of California Man in Kona on Sunday
Posted on September 07, 2009Deadly automobile accidents continue to plague the Big Island roads. Our condolences go out to the family of a 49-year-old California man who was killed on Sunday in a freak accident on Queen Kaahumanu Highway near Makala Boulevard. The Star Bulletin reports the story in Monday's on-line edition...
Was the Death of 5-Year-Old Aidon Ng Due To A Seat-back Failure?
Posted on September 07, 2009Why do people die in car crashes? Some answers are easy. Some are hidden from view. I imagine myself tonight with the Ng family in Waimea. Three family members are dead. My wife died last year. I understand. Let me stop and catch my breath and pay respect...
Zonulin Research Key To Cures For Autoimmune Disorders Like MS
Posted on September 07, 2009Make a note: zonulin _ a mysterious human protein _ is a molecule in the human body called haptoglobin 2 precursor. According to a science news story University of Maryland researchers have found that Zonulin is an immature state (or precursor) to another molecule - haptoglobin 2 - That may lead to cures for a variety of autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis...
Why Are Fatal Traffic Accidents in Honolulu Concentrated In Downtown and Iwilei?
Posted on September 06, 2009Let take the off ramp on the H-1 Interstate Highway and cut through Downtown Honolulu over to the Iwilei area and Nimitz Highway. For the past wek a group of Injury Board affiliates across the country have be participating in a series of articles on interstate highways and underinsurance coverage (UM) and so i take a short detour to look at some particularly dangerous areas for fatal car crashes in Hawaii on the roads of Oahu and the streets of Honolulu...
Dialysis Risk: Does Your Doctor Know About Warfarin Causing Strokes?
Posted on September 05, 2009Warfarin (also marketed as Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan, Lawarin, and Waran) first hit the market in 1948. Back then, though, it was not an anticoagulant; it was rat poison. It didn't take long for scientists to uncover its therapeutic effects, and by the 1950's it was prescribed by doctors to patients at risk for strokes...
Number of implicated Chinese drywall manufacturers may be about to jump sharply.
Posted on September 05, 2009I wrote extensively about the Chinese Drywall defects in homes throughout the Southeastern United States when the story broke earlier this year: Drywall From China Causes Concern Over Sulfur Odor In Homes The Sarasota (FL) Herald Tribune (9/4, Kessler) reports, "The number of Chinese drywall manufacturers responsible for corrosion and potential health problems plaguing U...
Risky Drivers Don't Just Drive Drunk and Speed - They Often Don't have Insurance
Posted on September 03, 2009Today I am looking at the drivers who cause the injury and death that plagues our interstate highways from Hawaii to North Carolina and everywhere between. Getting inside the head of the bad drivers is the first step to preventing them from doing the harm they do...
Whistleblower suit accuses Toyota of concealing evidence in hundreds of accidents.
Posted on September 02, 2009The Los Angeles Times (9/1, Hennigan) reports, "Toyota spent years concealing evidence from victims of hundreds of rollover accidents that resulted in death and injury, a former top lawyer for the automaker says." Dimitrios P. Biller of Pacific Palisades, "a former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc...
Health Care Reform: Each Generation Has to FIGHT For their Own Freedom!
Posted on September 02, 2009Now is our time to fight for our freedom. Freedom from the CFO's of Big Insurance. Feedom from the rich and politically corrupt medical establishment. Every time I think about that I wonder why more honest doctors don't speak up. They know. President Obama reveals the truth about health care: I and many others have spoken the truth about the absolute need in the U...
Twelve Tips To Prevent Avoidable, Fatal Medical Errors and Infections in Hospitals
Posted on September 02, 2009A New Hearst Investigation Reports 200,000 Preventable, Fatal Medical Errors and Infections in Hospitals Each Year. 12 Tips to Prevent Them. By Martine Ehrenclou, MA No doubt you've heard about the frightening number of deadly medical errors that occur in hospitals nationwide...
Interstate Highways Are No Place For Drunk Drivers Over The Labor Day Weekend
Posted on September 01, 2009As the Labor day weekend approaches police across the nation are cracking down on drunk driving. Those of us who see the tragic results of dangerous driving behavior support the police and hope that our phones ring silent next week. That's why 5 of us (Steve Lombardi, Devon Glass, Michael Bryant, Steve Lombardi and Rick Shapiro), all members of Injury Board, are writing about highway safety this month _ focusing on the interstate highway system...
Criminal Charges In Waimanalo Car Crash: Teenager In Critical Condition
Posted on August 31, 2009A KITV News story reports that criminal charges face the driver of a car that crashed in Waimanalo early Sunday morning ejecting a young passenger. The teenager is in critical condition. Police said the driver faces criminal charges. Traffic investigators said the crash happened just after 1 a...
40th Anniversary of the Internet Raises Questions About New Barriers To Its Growth
Posted on August 31, 2009I wonder if Len Kleinrock has a Blog? His team at UCLA began tests 40 years ago that resulted in the internet. It all began with a comic book! At the age of 6, Leonard Kleinrock was reading a Superman comic at his apartment in Manhattan, when, in the centerfold, he found plans for building a crystal radio...
Heart Attack Slide Show
Posted on August 30, 2009Its Saturday and I am thinking about which of my weekend chores to take on first. Then I started thinking about people out in their yards and around the house doing the weekend chores and the fact that some will die of a heart attack today came to mind...
Another Pedestrian Death In Kona
Posted on August 30, 2009The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports another pedestrian death, this time in Kona. The victim was 56-years-old and passed away after being struck by a car while walking along Route 190 in North Kona, at about 3:45 p.m. Friday according to the police.. The man was heading north on the mauka shoulder near Kalaoa Road when a Honda sedan traveling in the same direction drifted onto the shoulder and hit him from behind, police said...
Woman In Wheel Chair Struck By Hit-and-Run Driver on Bishop Street
Posted on August 30, 2009Another hit-and-run victim _ a 55-year-old woman in a wheelchair _ is reported in the Star Bulletin today: A 55-year-old Mililani woman in a wheelchair was struck by a vehicle about 10:20 p.m. Friday in a crosswalk on Bishop Street, near Beretania Street, police said...
Continuous Streaming Therapy Using Dermastream Show Promise For Chronic Wound Care
Posted on August 30, 2009Permanent wounds that never heal afflict over six million people in the U.S. The wound sometimes appear to heal but then return. Elderly nursing home residents see them as dangerous bed sores or pressure ulcers, and diabetics are susceptible to wounds caused by a lack of blood flow to the extremities...
Drunk Drivers Caused 40% of Traffic Fatalities In Hawaii In 2006
Posted on August 30, 2009Alcohol Alert, a company that sells prevention devices to reduce drunk driving, and drunk driving injury and death report on Hawaii Drunk Driving Statistics: In Hawaii, the alcohol related deaths have declined by over 50% since 1982, from a high that same year of 103, to a low of 44 in 1999...
Pelagia Igne's Family Calls for Fort Weaver Road Hit-and-Run Driver's Surrender
Posted on August 29, 2009The hit-and-run driver of a vehicle that struck and killed 68-year-old Pelagia Igne last week remains at large. The public is being asked to help bring the driver to justice. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Evelyn Arrocena held a picture yesterday of her mother, Pelagia Igne, who was killed last Friday in a hit-and run crash on Fort Weaver Road...
New Medical Device Allows Immediate Blood Analysis During Surgery
Posted on August 29, 2009Timing is everything in surgery and blood analysis informs the doctors about the presence of disease. Now a team of British electronic professors and medical doctors has developed a new device to do it on the fly in the operating room. If successful _ and it looks like they are well on the way to mastering the engineering issues _ this will save lives and prevent unavoidable errors...
Chrysler Bankruptcy Update: Car Giant To Accept More Product Liability Claims.
Posted on August 28, 2009The AP (8/27) reported, "Chrysler Group LLC said Thursday it will accept product liability claims in a broader number of cases than originally planned in its reorganization under bankruptcy protection. The automaker said it will now consider product-related lawsuits from consumers involved in accidents that occurred after Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection in June that involve vehicles manufactured by the old company...
Death and Injury On Interstate Highways Increase With Higher Speed Limits
Posted on August 28, 2009Most of us don't become angry because the driver ahead of us is driving the speed limit. Some do. They are dangerous people. That make high risk choices. They probably drink a lot. Let me indulge in my Honolulu H-1 Interstate Highway major irritation: If you live and drive in Honolulu you know what I mean...
Myths About World Health Care By Big Insurance
Posted on August 27, 2009T.R. Reid a former Washington Post reporter and author of "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care," to be published this week writes on Sunday, August 23, 2009 about 5 Myths About Health Care Around the World...
Soldier's family petitions SCOTUS to reconsider Feres Doctrine.
Posted on August 27, 2009WJXX-TV Jacksonville, FL (8/26, Weeder, Wax) on its website reported, "The death of Petty Officer Nathan Hafterson is being used in a petition filed with U.S. Supreme Court asking the high court to allow active duty military personnel to sue the government...
Hawaii Freeway Chronicles #1: What Are The Danger Points On H-1, H-2 and H-3?
Posted on August 27, 2009Today I write about the Interstate Highways in Hawaii. No confusing numbering system here on Oahu: H-1, H-2 and H-3. There you have it. So it should be simple you'd think to identify the locations along those three short freeways where car crashes happen the most often...
Tort Reform Shows the Connection Between Big Insurance and the Republican Party
Posted on August 26, 2009Do you love your insurance company? I'm not talking about the friendly Agent who sold you the policy and sends you a pocket calendar on your birthday each year. I love my agent. He is a great guy. But the insurance company? They are all bad. The take our premiums and deny our claims...
Andra Kimp Sentenced to 20 Years For Dui Death On Oahu in 2003
Posted on August 25, 2009Minna Sugimoto (bio | email) of KHNL TV News covered the Court story in Honolulu of Andra Kimp who is now behind bars serving 20 years for a 2003 DUI crash that killed his passenger. The deadly crash on the H-1 Freeway resulted in a one year jail term for Kimp...
Medical malpractice reform debated.
Posted on August 25, 2009The Buffalo News (8/22, Zremskie) reported, "Dr. Richard Vienne of Amherst (NY) and many of his colleagues nationwide say there's one thing missing from the great debate over health care reform: any effort to ease the minds of doctors so they wouldn't keep wasting money on tests out of the fear of getting sued...
Can We Afford NOT To Build More Bike Paths in Honolulu?
Posted on August 25, 2009What is a life worth? How much do bike paths cost? What is a life in a wheel chair with a brain injury worth? How much does a good crosswalk warning light system cost? Health, injury death and money are three apples and one elephant. That is what I was thinking as I read the excellent article "Honolulu has plans, lacks funds to add 40 miles of bike paths - No funds available now, but backers remain hopeful" by Mary Vorsino Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer...
Interstate Highways From Michigan to Iowa to Hawaii
Posted on August 25, 2009Devon Glass from Church Wyble, P.C. and Steve Lombardi from The Lombardi Law Firm are experimenting with a joint project about highway safety. They are looking at trends and tendencies of accidents and injury or death on the interstate highway system that exists in their states, Michigan and Iowa respectively...
Obama Administration only supports medical error reporting for infections.
Posted on August 25, 2009Hearst Newspapers (8/24, Dunham) reported, "While the White House acknowledges that hospital medical errors are 'a big and serious problem,' a senior administration official says President Barack Obama does not favor a mandatory reporting system for all medical mistakes, just for infections...
Death Of A Child In Hawaii
Posted on August 24, 2009Hawaii like most states witnesses teenage death and serious injury most frequently because of suicide and car crashes. A new study shows that Hawaii _ which used to be the safest place for Keiki is now not so safe for kids. When I first came to the Islands in 1967 I was blown away by the Keiki - kids...
Experience Matters! People Over 40 Now Have A New Resource In the Job Market
Posted on August 24, 2009Putting meat on the bones of the old phrase "experience matters", a group of seasoned entrepreneurs and administrators are creating a place for people over 40 to learn how to avoid the job scrapheap. I blog'd recently on a lawsuit against AT&T for age discrimination - AT&T Charged With Age Discrimination in Lawsuit By Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) - and that put me in touch with a n interesting gentleman named Jeff Winters from the Silicon Valley Area...
Bicycle Riders Face Grim Statistics Of Injury Or Death In Hawaii
Posted on August 24, 2009Hawaii is a great place to ride a bicycle. Great weather and beautiful scenery. We have many biking events like The Ironman Triathlon in Kona and many other events that fill the roads with bicycles and encourage healthy physical exercise with bikes. But there is risk in bicycle riding...
Proposal To Fix The Economy By Lowering Retirement Age To 55
Posted on August 24, 2009Thom Hartmann has a proposal to fix the economy that is at first glance odd but on second thought makes some sense. His proposal to fix our economic woes? Lower the retirement age to 55. Mr. Hartmann (thom@thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program The Thom Hartmann Show...
Another Hit-and-run on Oahu
Posted on August 23, 2009About six hours after a 68-year old Ewa Beach woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Fort Weaver Road in Ewa Beach a young boy on a bicycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Lanikuhana Street in Mililani, who ran over him and kept going...
Truck Driver Crosses Centerline in Ka'a'awa and Kills Pearl Harbor Sailor
Posted on August 23, 2009A young Sailor is dead after being struck by a truck that crossed the centerline on Kamehameha Highway near Kualoa Ranch and struck his bicycle. Nothing can be more tragic than the death of a soldier. The risks of war are one thing but being hit by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel is disheartening and terrible sad...
Fort Weaver Road Hit-And-Run Claims Another Life
Posted on August 22, 2009If you know anything about an older light colored van that hit and killed a 68-year old woman on Fort Weaver Road on Thursday please call the police. The woman was fatally injured when she was struck by the van while crossing Fort Weaver Road in 'Ewa Beach yesterday morning...
The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Chronicles: Prevention Of Death and Injury
Posted on August 22, 2009Yes I am obsessed with crosswalk safety. I know that we as a community can reduce death and injury of pedestrians at crosswalks. The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety Teen Killed In Yet Another Pedestrian Death On Oahu In an article about jaywalking titled Watch Your Step - Don't become a statistic - By Sarah Ruppenthal she talks about the costs in terms of tragic injury or death, as well as costly fines on Oahu and in Honolulu...
Genetic Link Between Physical Pain And Social Rejection Found
Posted on August 22, 2009ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2009) reports on a discovery by scientists at UCLA that identifies a gene linked with physical pain sensitivity that is also linked with social pain sensitivity. The gene involves mu-opioids the most potent painkillers in or bodies...
Motorcycle Deaths of Soldiers Returning From Iraq Spurs Biker Training Effort By Army
Posted on August 21, 2009Mari-Ela David (bio | email) of KHNL News reports on some of the most encouraging news regarding motorcycle riding in Hawaii this year in her story from Wahiawa today. I have written many articles on this Blog in 2009 about the increasing rate of motorcycle death and injury in Honolulu, on Oahu and on Maui and the Big island...
Scuba Diving And Snorkeling In Hawaii Are Wonderful Ocean Activities But Can Be Dangerous
Posted on August 21, 2009Resorts around the world offer ocean activities that often include snorkeling and SCUBA diving. Fish can breathe underwater. People can't do that. Birds can fly. Okay, you get the picture. There is something amazing about SCUBA diving and snorkeling...
AT&T Charged With Age Discrimination in Lawsuit By Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Posted on August 21, 2009The Washington Post (8/21, Whoriskey) reports, "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against AT&T on Thursday, alleging that the telecommunications giant is discriminating against older workers. The centerpiece of the suit is the charge that by company policy, AT&T will not rehire workers who have previously retired from the company...
www.kuncinich.com
Posted on August 20, 2009What the heck is www.kucinich.com ? Truth. Dennis Kucinich. No spin. Dennis Kucinich. No media. Dennis Kucinich. Smart. Dennis Kucinich. No sex and Rock & Roll. Not 100% sure about the Rock & Roll but he looks like a Tony Bennett fan. People...
Nationwide Crackdown on Drunk Drivers Targets Women
Posted on August 20, 2009Event.observe(window, 'load', PG.updateRSSLink); Jon Schmitz, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about DUI and women in his story DUI crackdown aims at women Nationwide campaign to begin tomorrow addresses trend . Watch for sobriety checkpoints, many police on the highways and streets throughout Hawaii and a major advertising campaign focusing on drunk drivers...
Public Plan, Public Plan, Public Plan!
Posted on August 20, 2009The Republican - Insurance Industry attack on the Public Plan, Single Payer Health Care Plan is about as corrupt and shallow as politics get anywhere. The only hole low enough for them to stoop after this recent Town Hall Meeting scam of sending hired goons to disrupt meetings, is car bombs and terrorism...
Wiihabilitation Comes to Maluhia Nursing Home in Honolulu
Posted on August 19, 2009Some days are better than others. Yesterday was a great day. I was at Maluhia Nursing Home in Honolulu where I donated two Nintendo Wii games to the facility. A raucous group of residents gathered in the recreation room to see what Wii-hab is all about...
News From Congress: You Don't Matter In The Health Care War
Posted on August 19, 2009Look what happened while I and my staff was at Maluhia Nursing home in Honolulu on Monday donating two Nintendo Wii video games to the delighted residents as a part of the national effort by 60 law firms, who are part of the Injury Board, in 25 states to help bring some fun and exercise by the less fortunate in our Hawaii community? Wiihabilitation Comes To Honolulu! I was feeling great having seen the smiles on the faces of the mostly wheel chair bound nursing home residents and then came home to TV news that Big Insurance and corporate CEO's are stealing the hope for change that we all had in January...
The Potential Impact of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination on Hawaii Women
Posted on August 18, 2009My preference for cancer is to start with what we know. Knowing something is not hearing something or reading something. It is understanding. Here are the facts about the effect of HPV vaccination on young girls. You should read it if you are serious about cervical cancer, as I am: The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of invasive cervical cancers attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 in a contemporary, cytologically well-screened UK population...
Hearst Newspapers Investigation Of Medical Malpractice
Posted on August 18, 2009Joanne Doroshow has been telling us about it for years. If you care about health care I hope that you join the Center For Justice & Democracy (CJ&D). Doroshow is an American hero. Also praise Honolulu KITV NEWS. KITV has courageously run the story DEAD BY MISTAKE this week in Honolulu...
GAO to CPSC: Get A Better Plan To Protect Consumers
Posted on August 18, 2009Cecelia Prewett of the American Association of Justice has written an interesting and informative article about the (lack of) effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at its job of protecting consumers. New GAO Report Concludes CPSC Needs Better Plan to Protect Consumers...
New York Indictments In Largest Ind entity Theft Involving 130 Million Credit/Debit Card Numbers
Posted on August 17, 2009In a news release from Reuters to by Daniel Trotta the largest identity theft scam in U.S history was busted with three indictments today in New York City. Hold your breath: 130 million credit and debit card numbers are involved! Hot on the heels of Bernie Madoff and AIG, along comes another blockbuster involving hacking of corporate data...
Wiihabilitation Comes To Honolulu!
Posted on August 17, 2009In 2007 Nintendo got the good news that its innovative Wii video game had been acknowledged by physical therapists as a tool in the health and rehabilitation of their patients. Nintendo Wii Adopted By Physical Therapists for Patients Despite all the stories that claim video games are corrupting our children, plenty of good news regarding video games is also surfacing lately, much of due to Nintendo's charge to expand its market to non gamers...
Maui Motorcycle Crash Leaves Lahaina Man In Critical Condition
Posted on August 17, 2009I have written at length about the increasing statistics of death and injury to motorcycle riders in Hawaii. Motorcycle Deaths Skyrocket On Oahu Today a Lahaina man is fighting for his life after a motorcycle crash at Wainee Street and Dickenson street...
Mail Scam Asks For Bank Account Information From Hilo Man
Posted on August 17, 2009The arrived in the mail. The old fashioned mail not e-mail. It asked a Hilo man for bank account information and said they were looking for heirs in connection with a transfer of $15 million. The KGMB 9 report is quoted as saying: The letter asks the recipient to provide an account number...
Death Or Injury From Misdiagnosis Stories
Posted on August 16, 2009I have written about the news story that is shaking the country: DEAD BY MISTAKE. Kudos to Hearst News for telling the truth to the public! Here are the stories behind DEAD BY MISTAKE. Mother wants her daughter back. Sharon Moore Trevor Nelson. I cannot add to these tragic stories...
Doctor Misdiagnosis Results In Alarming Number of Avoidable Injuries And Death
Posted on August 16, 2009Cathleen F. Crowley and Eric Nadler have published a blockbuster expose entitled DEAD BY MISTAKE that exposes the truth about what is wrong with American health care and it isn't doctors being sued for frivolous matters. It isn't lawsuit abuse, a fraud perpetrated by the insurance industry and the American Medical Association...
Construction Worker Jobs Are the Most Dangerous In Terms of Injury and Death
Posted on August 15, 2009What is the most dangerous job? The construction industry ranks first as the most hazardous occupation in the United States. I have written about construction site personal injury before in the context of scaffolding collapse. Austin, Texas Scaffold Collapse Results In Three Deaths At 21 Rio Condo Project Construction Site U...
Whiplash and Headaches - The Most Common Personal Injury In Automobile Accident Cases in Hawaii
Posted on August 15, 2009In the 1950s the medical profession did not recognize whiplash as a medical condition. It was through attorneys seeking explanations of injuries from treating doctors that stimulated medical insight into the most common result of automobile accidents...
Big Island Man Dies Thursday After Single Car Crash in Pahoa on August 5, 2009
Posted on August 15, 2009A sad report on Friday in the Honolulu Star Bulletin on-line edition notes the 14th traffic fatality this year on the Big Island: a 58 year old man from Pahoa who was a passenger in the car that crashed off the road on August 5th. This time the crash occurred in beautiful and peaceful Pahoa...
Suit says hospital staff wrongly declared infant dead
Posted on August 15, 2009The news story is pretty frightening. Incompetence comes to mind. The staff at a Charleston, South Carolina hospital informed them the parents of a baby born that the child died. Can you imagine? The bereft parents learned later that their son was alive...
Misdiagnosis and Wrong Diagnosis by Doctors Cause 40,000 Deaths Each Year
Posted on August 15, 2009Why don't doctors talk about this statistic? Forty thousand patients dead _ each year _ because of a medical error. Does America have the finest health care system in the world? We have a lot of wealthy doctors. Tort reform and medical money to politicians has given doctors freedom from worrying about making a mistake...
FDA finalizes rules allowing patients greater access to experimental drugs.
Posted on August 15, 2009Bloomberg News (8/13, Randall) reports that new regulations posted on the FDA's website Wednesday will grant seriously ill patients "greater access to experimental drugs." The FDA said the rules "let drugmakers give or sell experimental medicines to patients who have no other options, including in emergencies...
Bank of America Stops Forcing Arbitration od Disputes on Customers
Posted on August 14, 2009The AP (8/13, Freed) reported, "Bank of America Corp. said that as of Thursday it will stop requiring that disputes with its credit card holders and banking and lending customers be settled by binding arbitration, opening the door for class-action and other lawsuits to push up the bank's legal costs...
Mistakes Made in Medical Care are the Top Cause of Accidental Death in America.
Posted on August 13, 2009Let me start with the facts. 98,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors each year! 99,000 Americans die from preventable hospital acquired infections each year! The cat is out of the bag. Its all over the news. How many of you have read or heard about the massive expose of the death toll from careless doctors and poorly run hospitals in DEAD BY MISTAKE? As reported in Hearst Newspapers across the country the story starts with Richard Flagg: Richard Flagg drowned in his own blood...
GIFT15 - Is A Cure For Multiple Sclerosis On The Horizon?
Posted on August 13, 2009McGill University researchers in Canada have announced that _ in mice _ they may have found a way to treat and cure multiple sclerosis (MS). In animals they can reverse the devastating disease with a new treatment that suppresses the immune system and forces MS into remission...
New legislation could help homeowners sue Chinese drywall manufacturers.
Posted on August 12, 2009We have a problem in the U.S. with holding foreign manufacturers responsible for harm their defective products cause here in the States. One example was the salmonella problem from Mexican tomatoes and currently the focus is on drywall manufactured in China...
Hawaii Consumer Alert: GM and Isuzu Truck Recall Raises Concerns Because Bailout Eliminates Product Liability Claims For Injury or death
Posted on August 06, 2009In a report in U.S. News & World Report a pickup truck recall is initiated by automakers. A brake light defect in General Motors trucks could lead to an an accident. GM is recalling about 185,000 small Chevrolet, GM and Isuzu pickup trucks to correct the defect...
Merck, Schering agree to $41.5 million settlement of Vytorin, Zetia suits.
Posted on August 06, 2009The New York Times (8/6, B4, Shih) reports, "Merck and Schering-Plough agreed Wednesday to pay $41.5 million to settle class-action lawsuits that accused them of withholding unfavorable results of a clinical trial of the cholesterol drugs Vytorin [ezetimibe and simvastatin] and Zetia [ezetimibe]...
Way to Go Bill: Imprisoned Korean Journalists Are Coming Home!!!!
Posted on August 04, 2009Wasn't it just a month ago that we were all talking in Hawaii and death and injury from a missile attack from North Korea on Honolulu? Well there was a serious mood swing on that paranoia today. And my country took a step forward in showing what it takes to find peace in the world...
Banning Texting, Twitter and Cell Phone Use in Cars Isn't Enough __ Increasing Speed Limits Spikes Automobile Accident Death and Injury Toll According to New Study
Posted on August 04, 2009Ever here the saying that "speed kills". Well its true according to a recent study of deaths on U.S. highways. But does this apply in Hawaii? Are Honolulu and Oahu roads in need of new lower speed limits? I will tell Hawaii residents and politicians that the new study did not include Hawaii...
House subcommittee finds elevated lead levels in D.C. children.
Posted on August 04, 2009The Washington Post (8/4, Leonnig) reports that congressional investigators have found that "more than twice" the previously reported number of D.C. children were "found to have high levels of lead in their blood," which throws "into doubt assurances by those officials that the lead in tap water did not seriously harm city children...
House passes food safety bill.
Posted on July 31, 2009The AP (7/31, Jalonick) reports that by a 283-142 margin, the House yesterday "passed a far-reaching food safety bill Thursday in the wake of the recent outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that killed at least nine people." President Obama "praised the bill soon after it was passed, calling it 'a major step forward in modernizing our food safety system...
The Conservative Judicial Activism Chronicles: Notice Pleading is No Longer the Law in Federal Court
Posted on July 28, 2009Filing a lawsuit for personal injury, civil rights, employment disputes and all other cases has just become more complex in Federal Court. This article is for trial attorneys who might be caught by surprise by a motion to dismiss in the very near future...
Court ordered to preserve Pennsylvania youth offenders' records.
Posted on July 28, 2009The AP (7/27) reported, "A federal judge was asked Monday to preserve thousands of juvenile court records in a Pennsylvania judicial scandal -- evidence of wrongdoing that the state Supreme Court has declared should be destroyed. The high court's plan to delete more than 6,000 records will prevent youths in northeastern Pennsylvania from pursuing federal civil rights claims against a corrupt judge and keep secret the extent of the judge's misconduct, lawyers for some of the children asserted in federal court...
Congress and Cruise Ships, Peepholes and Latches!
Posted on July 28, 2009There you go again! Those are the memorable words of Ronald Reagan in a Presidential campaign debate. Those words came to mind as I listened to Congress brag about making cruise ships safer by passing a law mandating peepholes and latches. Here is what Senator Kerry said about his get tough legislation in 2008: 'Over the past year our organization and other victims of cruise crimes have met numerous times with cruise lines executives in an effort to have them voluntarily take the necessary steps as outlined in our proposals,' said Carver, President of International Cruise Victims...
Summer Water Safety Alert: Surf's Up On The South Shore! Be Careful
Posted on July 24, 2009The waves in Waikiki look white and fluffy and the warm air and water beckon the just arrived tourists. I surf. Its great fun. But beware. Those waves are powerful. The surfers riding them are skilled athletes. Also the Boards are heavy and if one hits you the injury may be serious or even fatal...
Fatigue As The Result of Personal Injury
Posted on July 24, 2009Everyone knows about broken bones, lacerations, traumatic brain injury, loss of vision, spinal cord injury and other physical injuries that follow automobile accidents, medical malpractice, construction site accidents and product defects. One often ignored after effect is fatigue that can become chronic: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)...
Representative Kucinich Takes On The National Arbitration Forum and Forced Unfair Arbitration In Congress
Posted on July 24, 2009Bloomberg News (7/22, Van Voris, Rosenkrantz) reported, "A congressional staff investigation into the biggest U.S. consumer debt-collection arbitrator found 'deeply disturbing' abuses, U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich said" yesterday at a hearing before a House subcommittee he chairs...
Justice For Sale: American Arbitration Association and National Arbitration Forum Rig The System
Posted on July 24, 2009The alternative dispute resolution (ADR) craze was touted by supporters as a way to avoid the nightmare of court and jury trials. Well the nightmare was mainly one for big credit companies and other big corporations who didn't like their win percentage when a neutral judge or a jury looked at the facts and the law...
Single Payer Health Care Reform Is In Sight - But Watch Out For Big Insurance Trying To Stop It
Posted on July 21, 2009I just watched a disgusting story on CNN about a $900 wheelchair. The wheelchair can be bought on new E-Bay for $300 with free shipping. Or the manufacturer will sell it to you for $600. But if you get it through the current private health insurance system it will cost close to $1,000...
SUV Driver Who Killed Teen In Waimanalo Suspected of Drunk Driving
Posted on July 19, 2009A tragic teen pedestrian death in Waimanalo now seems to be the result of intoxication as police have arrested the 46 year-old Waimanalo man who was driving the SUV of suspicion of drunk driving as reported by John Windrow of the Honolulu Advertiser ...
Teen Killed In Yet Another Pedestrian Death On Oahu
Posted on July 18, 2009KHON TV News reports the death of a 15 year-old boy in Waimanalo shortly after midnight on Saturday morning: Police say a 15 year -old teen from Waimanalo was killed this morning after an SUV hit him. The accident happened around 1:55 a.m. fronting the Waimanalo Town Center...
Multiple Injuries In Kauai Car Crash
Posted on July 18, 2009Multiple people were injured in an automobile accident on Kauai on Tuesday that closed Kuhio Highway according to a statement from Kauai County officials. The crash happened at about 11 a.m. across from Kauai Community Correctional Center. The roadway was reopened at 2 p...
Hawaii Has Third Swine Flu Death As Research Shows That H1N1 Pandemic Virus Is More Dangerous Than Health Officials Admit
Posted on July 18, 2009Hawaii has now recorded its third swine flu death when a Big Island woman in he early 50s died on July 7 at Kona Community Hospital. The first Hawaii swine flu death happened on June 6 when a woman in her 60s died at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu...
Hilo Motorcycle Death On Hawaii Belt Road Leads To Negligent Homicide Investigation
Posted on July 18, 2009In another sad day on Hawaii roads Hilo resident Joseph Flood, Sr., died as he road his Harley Davidson motorcycle north on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 11). The call came into police at 11:55 A.M. on Monday July 13th reporting the crash. A 67 year old Kurtistown woman had turned left onto Hawaii Belt Road after stopping at the stop sign at the intersection of Makalika Street...
Coffee Drinking May Reduce Risk Of Endometrial Cancer In Women
Posted on July 17, 2009The International Journal of Cancer has reported that drinking coffee may decrease the risk of a woman getting endometrial cancer. In a population-based study cohort study the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, The National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Intstitutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School Insulin resistance has been linked to endometrial cancer and now coffee drinking has been reported to have beneficial effects on insulin resistance...
New Study Of Danish Women Connects Hormone Therapy And Increased Risk Of Ovarian Cancer
Posted on July 17, 2009The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports an important study regarding womens' health on the connection between Hormone therapy and ovarian cancer. The research measured the risk of ovarian cancer (OC) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women receiving different hormone therapies...
Scientists Uncover How Staph Infections Change Our Immune System
Posted on July 17, 2009Attorneys handling personal injury and medical malpractice cases often get calls from patients who have contracted a Staph infection in a hospital and often after a surgery. Of course the patient is upset and sometimes the matter can be attributed to negligence by the hospital of medical staff...
Another Serious Pedestrian Automobile Accident In Laie Leaves 30 Year Old Man in Critical Condition Monday
Posted on July 16, 2009Another pedestrian is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in Laie according to news reports. The pedestrian was not in a marked crosswalk when he stepped into the road at about 8:30 PM on Kamehameha Highway near Kokololio Beach Park...
Ocean Personal Injury Law - In A Jones Act Injury Case What Does It Mean To "Arrest the Ship"?
Posted on July 16, 2009How do you make Jones work you? If you are a 'Jones Act' Seaman and you have been injured while working then the first step is file a complaint with the State or Federal Court for your employer's Jones Act negligence. Unlike land-based employees, Jones Act seamen are able to file a negligence claim against their employer for injuries, failing to provide a safe work environment, and for an unseaworthy vessel; a seaman's damages are not limited to worker compensation type damages...
Another Day of More Spin: Do We Care If Sotomayor Answers Questions?
Posted on July 16, 2009The fact is that Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor is avoiding answering questions. Hours go by and no question is answered with anything but political speak. Is that important? I think it is and I think that we should break through the barrier of spin...
House Democrats Reveal Health Overhaul Plan.
Posted on July 15, 2009Yesterday's unveiling of a healthcare reform plan backed by the House Democratic leadership received coverage (though not top billing) from two network newscasts last night. This morning's newspapers, however, describe the plan as an historic step towards universal health insurance...
Want To Know The Top Rated Consumer Advocates?
Posted on July 14, 2009Tired of false advertising, abusive insurance companies, frustrating dealings with health care, unsafe consumer products, toxins in your home and all other matters that affect your health and your pocket book? I know that I am and so I made a list of the organizations _ all not for profit _ that are doing the best job for all of us and who tell the truth about things: Public Citizen (www...
Honolulu Health Chronicles: International Study of H1N1 Pandemic Virus Shows Great Danger
Posted on July 14, 2009The filamentous shape of H1N1 shown budding from infected cells Image: courtesy Yoshihiro Kawaoka - University of Wisconsin The prestigious science journal Nature felt so strongly about the importance of a new international collaborative analysis of what H1N1 pandemic flu virus really is, that they took the exceptional measure of fast track publication of the news...
Is The Conservative Attack On Sotomayor A Double Standard?
Posted on July 14, 2009I am using the term "conservative" rather than Republican to describe the current confirmation hearing squabbles over Sonia Sotomayor. Many Republicans support her because of her obvious qualifications. It is a small group of the "no" part of the conservative movement that opposes her...
Personal Injury Automobile Inusrance: UM/UIM Stacking Rules In Hawaii
Posted on July 14, 2009Personal Injury Automobile Insurance: Hit by an uninsured motorist? Try to 'stack.' UM/UIM Stacking Rules In Hawaii Uninsured/ underinsured coverage protects you in case you are injured by an uninsured or under-insured driver. When you purchase UM/UIM insurance you are essentially buying it for motorists who are either uninsured, because they have no insurance, or under-insured, meaning they don't have enough insurance to satisfy your total claim...
Pesticide Residue In Kitchen Floors
Posted on July 11, 2009KHNL reports that your kitchen floors - the ones that your kids are crawling around on as you read this, are laden with the worst cancer causing chemicals. Don't trust KHNL? Try the EPA and those who care about your family and cancer. Have you heard the five (5) second rule? Basically the five second rule is a rule that says when you eat food that has dropped on the floor it is safe if it was on the floor for less than three seconds...
Wrong-way Drivers Contribute To Automible Accident Death and Injury
Posted on July 10, 2009Since the creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950's, wrong way driving on freeways has been a constant traffic hazard to motorists nationwide. Although there have been years of redesign, changed marking, and improvements at interchanges, the problem of wrong way driving is still prevalent on our nations major highways...
FDA Less Careful With Bottled Water Than EPA Is With Tap Water.
Posted on July 09, 2009In a story that generated a great deal of media interest, congressional hearings today focused on two separate reports that concluded that the EPA regulates tap water more carefully than the FDA does bottled water. The Wall Street Journal reports : (7/9, Zhang) "The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees the $11...
Doctors Starting Salaries - Do We Really Feel Sorry For People Who Make This Much?
Posted on July 08, 2009In the 'Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey: 2007 Report Based on 2006 Data,' conducted in collaboration with the National Association of Physician Recruiters, found that physician-owned practices offered comparable salaries to hospital/IDS salaries for family practice without obstetrics ($130,000 versus $135,000), general internal medicine ($150,000 vs...
Sad Day For Americans: Judge Allows GM to Escape Payments to Victims of Injury and Death From Defective GM Cars
Posted on July 08, 2009If the damage done to the American economy, American workers and all of us by the inept and perhaps crooked management at General Motors (GM), The U.S. Treasury and now a federal judge have told these wealthy idiots that they don't have to pay victims of defective GM cars...
Judge approves GM asset sale, clearing way for restructuring.
Posted on July 06, 2009On the front page of its business section the New York Times (7/6, B1, De La Merced) reports that US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert E. Gerber "approved a plan by General Motors late on Sunday to sell its best assets to a new, government-backed company, a crucial step for the automaker to restructure and complete its trip through bankruptcy court...
Insurance Companies Are The Problem With Our Health Care System - We Must Have Single Payer
Posted on July 06, 2009In an article written by doctors, the myth of lawsuit abuse as being the cause of the cost of health care is once again debunked. In Fact and Fiction: Debunking Myths in the US Healthcare System, by Sarpel, Umut MD; Vladeck, Bruce C. PhD; Divino, Celia M...
Lawsuit Abuse? Medical Malpractice Crisis? Shame on Doctors and the AMA!
Posted on July 05, 2009Headline news: Medical Malpractice Payments Fall to Record Low, Public Citizen Study Shows: Medical malpractice payments were at or near record lows in 2008, but the decline almost certainly indicates that a lower percentage of injured patients received compensation, not that health safety has improved, Public Citizen reported in a study released today...
Hawaii Legislative Alert! Why The Low Policy Limits On Automobile Insurance Coverages?
Posted on July 05, 2009Hawaii legislators think that $20,000 is enough Bodily Injury Coverage: What mandatory auto insurance laws exist in Hawaii? In Hawaii, all motorists must carry minimum levels of liability coverage. The minimum levels are $20,000 per person for bodily injury, $40,000 per accident for bodily injury, $10,000 per accident for property damage, and $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP)...
What Car Insurance Should I Buy?
Posted on July 04, 20091. PIP (personal injury protection): PIP is what pays for your medical care and wage loss if you are injured. PIP coverage is cheap. Make sure you get the maximum that they will sell you. Your agent should tell you to max this PIP coverage. Five days in the intensive care unit will cost $400,000...
Toxic Air Pollutants Assessed By The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Posted on July 04, 2009The Environmental Protection Agency may be shaking off the dust of inaction during 8 years of Bush/Chaney rule and looking out for our environment again. Air pollution is a major health problem in the major metropolitan areas. Diseases from these pollutants drive up the cost of health care, sap taxpayer dollars for health care and, saving the worst for last, cause serious injury or death to real people...
Jim Dean and Democracy For America Identify Democrats in Congress Who are Cutting Deals With The Insurance Industry
Posted on July 02, 2009Meaningful Health Care Reform is being sabotaged by democrats who have close ties to the insurance industry. I have written about this before as have others and I encourage all Americans to look closely at what is happening in Congress and to speak up...
Is A Social Networking Website Like MySpace Responsible For a Rape That Occurs Between Users? A California Court Says "No"!
Posted on July 02, 2009The San Francisco Chronicle (7/2, B3, Egelko) reports, "Girls who were sexually assaulted by men they first contacted on MySpace cannot seek damages from the social-networking Web site, which is protected from liability by federal law, a state appeals court has ruled...
Does Obama Want A Public Plan for Health Care Reform? Or an Insurance Plan? At a Town Hall Event, He Says That Malpractice Caps Are Bad.
Posted on July 02, 2009President Obama's town hall meeting on healthcare reform generated extensive media coverage. USA Today (7/2, Page) reports that the event "lacked the energetic free-for-all quality of the town hall sessions Obama held during the campaign. The questions posed from social media networks were selected by White House staffers, and the three people he called on from the audience all were affiliated with advocacy groups that support Obama...
Can Acetaminophen Kill? FDA panel recommends smaller acetaminophen doses, painkiller bans.
Posted on July 01, 2009The CBS Evening News (4/30, lead story, 3:05, Couric) reported, "An FDA panel recommended today that prescription Vicodin [hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen] and Percocet [oxycodone and acetaminophen] be banned, and that over-the-counter Tylenol, Excedrin, Nyquil, and Theraflu contain stronger warning labels...
Health Care Reform? Nothing Short of the Public Plan Will Do For the Public
Posted on June 30, 2009I support the Public Plan for Health Care Reform and I am not backing down and I am not shutting up. I am in good company because between 72% and 83% of the public want a Public Plan for Health Care Reform. Is Congress listening? Does President Obama understand what is stake here? I am not sure they do...
Bone Meal is Bad Stuff in Dog Food! Fluoride above healthy levels is found in n 8 national brands.
Posted on June 30, 2009God bless the Environmental Working Group (EWG). EWG Worldwide Headquarters announces that the pet food testing that voters contributed to resulted in a significant report: share the report. EWG found fluoride above healthy levels in 8 national brands of dog food marketed for both puppies and adults...
Billy May and TBI: Another Closed Head Injury Death?
Posted on June 29, 2009Doctors are looking at a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as the possible cause of the tragic death of TV actor Billy May as Mike Bryant of Minnesota has reported recently in: Doctors Will Be Looking At Potential Head Injury With Billy May's Death. Everyone should be on alert that a blow to the head can start a small bleeding process in the brain that is unknown to the person whose head was hit - and can lead to death...
GM agrees to take responsibility for future liability claims.
Posted on June 29, 2009The AP (6/28, Fowler) reported General Motors "has agreed to take on responsibility for future product liability claims, removing what could have been a sizable roadblock" on the company's way to a "quick sale of its assets" and emergence from bankruptcy...
Illinois man Killed in Big Rig Accident On Kauai
Posted on June 28, 2009Wesley VanValkenburg was a new father visiting Kauai to pay respects to his in-laws when he became the victim of a freak accident that led to a truck collision. On a warm Saturday morning a woman lost control of her motorcycle, veered into the path of a truck that struck the rental car carrying VanValkenburg and his family...
Treasury negotiating on GM's product liability.
Posted on June 26, 2009The Wall Street Journal (6/26, B1, Spector, McCracken) reports on the front page of its Marketplace section, "The U.S. Treasury Department is negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general to roll back two key features of General Motors Corp...
The Public Deserves The Truth About Lawsuit Abuse and Medical Malpractice
Posted on June 24, 2009Facts are Stubborn things Does saying something is a fact make it one? From the context of this essay supporting tort reform, Dr. Russell Turk appears to believe so. In his essay, Dr. Turk makes a number of claims. His support for these claims is a mixture of equal parts empirical evidence, anecdotal evidence, and contempt for anyone who is not a doctor...
Washington, D.C. Nightmare As Metro Trains Collide-- As Many As 7 Dead and Over 70 Injured
Posted on June 23, 2009Probably the favorite rail system in the United States, the Washington D.C. Metrolink system is now the focus of one of the worst rail crash cases in history. The Wall Street Journal reports 9 dead and as many as 70 injured in Washington D.C. when two Metro trains collided at 5 P...
Warning of smoking's dangers, Obama signs tobacco bill into law.
Posted on June 23, 2009Coverage of President Obama's signing Monday of a bill granting the FDA greater regulatory control over tobacco focuses largely on his personal struggle with smoking and speculation about whether or not he has quit the habit. Monday's signing received brief coverage on two network news broadcasts, including ABC World News (6/22, story 6, 0:20, Gibson), which reported, "Today, at the White House the President signed a sweeping anti-smoking bill into law, and talked of his own struggle to quit...
Railroad Accidents Capture The Public Attention After Tragic Washington D.C. Wreck
Posted on June 23, 2009Trains fascinate all of us _ particularly little boys _ from an early age. The sounds of the train whistle in the distance is also part of the lore of the American country-side. But the romantic images of trains and train travel also conjure up images of train wrecks and when a train crashes it is always a disaster...
Wrong-way Drivers Cause Three Percent (3%) of U.S. Traffic Fatalities
Posted on June 22, 2009According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wrong-way automobile accidents constitute about three perscent (3%) of automobile related deaths each year on U.S. roads. I am surprised by that number. It includes U-turns and perhaps that explains the number Results of Studies Because wrong-way accidents are tragic, they have been under intensive study by the California Department of Transportation for over 30 years...
State AGs challenging GM's liability plan.
Posted on June 22, 2009The Wall Street Journal (6/22, A4, Spector) reports, "Eight state attorneys general are opposing a provision in General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy plan that would free the auto maker from liability for vehicle defects. Attorneys general from Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Vermont filed an objection in U...
High Court ruling makes proving age discrimination more difficult for employees.
Posted on June 19, 2009The AP (6/19) reports that in a 5-4 decision announced Thursday, the Supreme Court "has made it harder to prove discrimination on the basis of age, ruling against an employee in his mid-50s who says he was demoted because of his age." The decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, said "a worker has to prove that age was the key factor in an employment decision, even if there is some evidence that age played a role...
Obama makes case for healthcare reform in speech to doctors.
Posted on June 16, 2009President Obama yesterday outlined his healthcare reform plans in a speech to the AMA in Chicago. The story was covered by all three network newscasts, though it took second billing to reports on unrest in Iran. While giving the President credit for opening a dialogue, stories last night and this morning tended to cast a skeptical eye on the President's plans for funding his reforms...
Please Mr. President, Don't Sacrifice the 7th Amendment To Get Health Care Reform - That Is The Old Way Of Washington Politics That You Told Us You Were Going To Change
Posted on June 14, 2009You can help make a difference in the health care reform debate – and I ask you to help. Now is the time to weigh in! Your rights are at stake. As Congress and the President prepare to make a significant overhaul of our health care system, there are those who believe that in order to achieve universal coverage, victims of medical negligence must surrender their legal rights and remedies...
Health Alert: Recognizing When Someone Is Having A Stroke Can Save Their Or Your Life
Posted on June 14, 2009STROKE IDENTIFICATION We saw Natasha Richardson die of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) shortly after hitting her head on a ski slope. A short delay in recognizing the seriousness of her injury because she was alert and conscious, allowed the injury in her head to become fatal...
Mandatory Binding Arbitration - Forced Arbitration - Is Bad For Consumers And Congress Should Act
Posted on June 12, 2009This week on National Public Radio (NPR) 'All Things Considered' highlights new legislation banning pre-dispute mandatory binding arbitration clauses. A recent article posted on Injury Board is a good resource on the subject of forced arbitration and covers the NPR story: NPR Examines "An Arbitration Culture"...
Senate passes Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act giving FDA regulatory control of tobacco industry.
Posted on June 12, 2009I can hear Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity and Chaney moaning and whining already about the American people getting control of the runaway train that their FDA has turned loose on the public for the past decade. Big Tobacco and Big Pharma and Big Insurance have been running this country in key ways that affect the public for a long time now...
Natural Product From The Hydrangea Plant Offers Hope to People With Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis,and Other Autoimmune Diseases
Posted on June 11, 2009New Lead for Autoimmune Disease Posted by SR in News, tags: auto-immune, lead identification, natural product Do you like Hydrangeas? They are beautiful flowering plants and now medical research has discovered a natural product in the Hydrangea, halofuginone, that may help patients with autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, diabetes and many cancers...
Visiting Hawaii - Water Safety Tips For Tourists To Avoid A Personal Injury And A Ruined Vacation
Posted on June 11, 2009Yes. Its the water! No ocean water in the world is more beautiful and friendly than the beaches of Hawaii. The water is warm and the sand is soft. But do dangers lurk beneath the surface? Here are some tips to help you protect yourself and your family on your vacation: • CHOOSE ONLY LIFEGUARDED BEACHES • NEVER SWIM ALONE • DON'T DIVE INTO UNKNOWN WATER OR INTO SHALLOW BREAKING WAVES • PRIOR TO ENTERING THE WATER, ASK A LIFEGUARD ABOUT BEACH AND SURF CONDITIONS AND ANY PROBLEMS OR HAZARDS • IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO SWIM OUT OF A STRONG CURRENT, SIGNAL FOR HELP • RELY ON YOUR SWIMMING ABILITY RATHER THAN ANY FLOTATION DEVICE • LOOK FOR, READ, AND OBEY ALL BEACH SAFETY SIGNS AND SYMBOLS • IF IN DOUBT, JUST STAY OUT! IT IS FAR BETTER TO RECOGNIZE THAT A BEACH IS TOO DANGEROUS RATHER THAN ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE OCEAN AND RISK INJURY OR DEATH...
Austin, Texas Scaffold Collapse Results In Three Deaths At 21 Rio Condo Project Construction Site
Posted on June 11, 2009Probably the worst fear at a construction site is the collapse of a scaffolding. Today I came across such a story out of Austin, Texas where a scaffolding collapsed at a project called 21 Rio Condo Project. Brooks Schuelke a well known attorney and safety advocate in Austin with the firm of Perlmutter & Schuelke reported on this incident that is getting national coverage, even all the way out here in Hawaii...
Senators Question FAA Administrator on regional carrier safety.
Posted on June 11, 2009NBC Nightly News (6/10, story 2, 3:05, Williams) reported, "A lot of people, many of them veteran flyers, have suspected there are two sets of safety and training standards, one for the big commercial jetliners, another for commuters. Those regional airlines, they are under big scrutiny and today Congress got involved in this...
Honolulu Crosswalk Safety Chronicles - Tips From the Honolulu Police Department About Crosswalk Safety
Posted on June 10, 2009Thanks to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) for organizing the following Pedestrian and Driver Safety Tips. In light of the huge number of pedestrian injury and death incidents in Honolulu this year (see my recent article - Pedestrian Crosswalk Fatality In Kalihi Adds To Alarming Statistics by Wayne Parsons) Pedestrian Safety Tips Driver Safety Tips Always cross within marked crosswalks or at street corners...
Honolulu Crosswalk Injury Chronicles: Kalihi Man Seriously Injured Crossing North School Street
Posted on June 10, 2009According to a report at Honoluluadvertiser.com, a man in his 40s was struck by a car as he crossed North School Street in a crosswalk on Tuesday evening. The pedestrian is in critical condition at The Queen's Medical Center. The driver of the car was allegedly a man in his 70s...
1st Smart CrosswalkT system installation in New Mexico.
Posted on June 10, 2009I have written much about the epidemic of pedestrian crosswalk injury and death in Hawaii this year and have wondered why a system like the Smart Crosswalk™ system hasn't been implemented in Hawaii. The real costs of a crosswalk death or injury are huge...
Hispanic farmers seek class action in suit against USDA
Posted on June 10, 2009The National Law Journal (6/9, Baldas) reported, "A group of Hispanic farmers claims the federal government is dragging its feet in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that claims they've been discriminated against for years, either being denied government loans or ignored altogether...
Massey ruling said to highlight problems with judicial elections.
Posted on June 10, 2009The Wall Street Journal (6/10, A5, Koppel) reports, "The U.S. Supreme Court's decision this week calling for judges to stay out of cases involving big political donors confronts the growing role of money in the U.S. judicial system." The Journal adds, "Political donations to judicial candidates at the highest state courts have soared in recent years, creating concerns that money is eroding public confidence in the system...
Hawaii Motorcycle Chronicles: Another Death On Friday
Posted on June 09, 2009I have written extensively on motorcycle death and injury on Oahu and the neighbor islands this year. Motorcycle Deaths Skyrocket On Oahu Automobile, Motorcycle and Pedestrian Deaths On Oahu Continue to Rise Motorcycle Death In Kona Continues Tragic Year of Injury and Death in Hawaii Keaau Motorcycle Crash sadly Results in Two Deaths As I wrote: The sad facts about motorcycle crashes in Hawaii: 7 motorcycle deaths on Oahu in 2008 2 motorcycle deaths on Oahu on a single day - January 1, 2009 6 motorcycle deaths on Oahu in the first 3 months of 2009 2 motorcycle deaths on Neighbor Islands in March 2009 Now the Honolulu Advertiser has published the most thorough and comprehensive analysis of the motorcycle death and injury crisis in Michael Tsai's well written article: Hawaii Motorcycle-related deaths continue to climb in Hawaii - Fatalities already at 21, compared with last year's record total of 32 Unfortunately, the Advertiser story is written in the shadow of yet another motorcycle death: Steve Donahue, a young man dead at the age of 43 on Friday night...
Pedestrian Crosswalk Fatality In Kalihi Adds To Alarming Statistics
Posted on June 09, 2009Rich Ambo of the Honolulu Advertiser reports that "[a] 54-year-old woman was struck and killed in a Kalihi crosswalk by a Roberts Hawaii school bus this morning and remained pinned under the bus for more than an hour after the collision." The incident happened at about 6 a...
FDA says three atypical antipsychotic medications may be effective in children, but carry risks.
Posted on June 08, 2009The Wall Street Journal (6/5, Dooren) reported that on June 5, staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that three medications "currently approved to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in adults were effective at treating the disorders in children and adolescents, but carry significant risks...
Car Strikes Pedestrian on Kane'ohe Bay Drive In Yet Another Oahu Pedestrian Injury Accident
Posted on June 04, 2009According to a story in the Honolulu Advertiser a teenager was seriously injured when he was struck by a car today on the 45-000 block of Kane'ohe Bay Drive fronting 24-Hour Fitness. The incident occurred around 12:10 p.m. The victim was transported to a local trauma center in critical condition...
Questions about automakers' liability loom during bankruptcy process.
Posted on June 04, 2009Bloomberg News (6/4, Andersen) reports, "Plaintiffs in personal-injury and product-liability lawsuits against Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. are pressing members of Congress to ensure that their cases will be heard in court or an alternate form of compensation is found...
Motorcycle Death In Kona Continues Tragic Year of Injury and Death in Hawaii
Posted on June 04, 2009According to a story in the Honolulu Star Bulletin a Kona man is dead after crashing his motorcycle Speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash that killed a 25-year-old Big Island man. According to reports he lost control of his motorcycle a half-mile east of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona...
Cancer Patients Rally in New York to Reform Law To Allow More Time to File Malpractice Suits
Posted on June 04, 2009In a story by T.J. RAPHAEL in The Legislative Gazette he reports that a group of cancer patients, their families and a coalition of health care and consumer advocates came to Albany, New York on Thursday seeking legislative reform of laws that prevent cancer patients from suing negligent doctors...
Consumer groups, trial attorneys criticize GM, Chrysler bankruptcy plans.(2)
Posted on June 03, 2009The Hill (6/3, Swanson) reports, "Consumer groups and trial lawyers are crying foul over the Obama administration's bankruptcy plans for General Motors and Chrysler" because "those plans would extinguish all ongoing auto accident claims that blame a death or serious injury on a defective GM or Chrysler vehicle...
Consumer groups, trial attorneys criticize GM, Chrysler bankruptcy plans.
Posted on June 03, 2009The Hill (6/3, Swanson) reports, "Consumer groups and trial lawyers are crying foul over the Obama administration's bankruptcy plans for General Motors and Chrysler" because "those plans would extinguish all ongoing auto accident claims that blame a death or serious injury on a defective GM or Chrysler vehicle...
Keaau Motorcycle Crash sadly Results in Two Deaths
Posted on June 03, 2009A story in the Honolulu Advertiser confirms that a 36 year old man and his 7 year old son died Sunday night crash in Pahoa on the Big Island. Police officers from Puna identified the two people killed at about 7 p.m. at the intersection of Route 130 and Ainaloa Boulevard in Pahoa as 36-year-old Thomas G...
Car Crash at Lusitana and Kuakini in Honolulu - Woman Injured
Posted on June 03, 2009A report in the Honolulu Advertiser identifies the mother of penelope Tukimaka as the person taken to the hospital by ambulance after a car accident in Honolulu. Mrs. Tukimaka was allegedly on the way to pick up her grandson from school when the automobile accident occured...
Environmental Working Group Protects Babies From BPA Illnesses
Posted on June 02, 2009The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has recently focused on children and bisphenol-A (BPA). I want EWG at the table, advocating for our kids - and yours - so their health is no longer compromised by toxic chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), which is dangerous to kids' growing bodies, implicated in diseases and problems such as diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders, and cancer...
CONSUMER ALERT: Public Justice and Consumer Watchdog Force Cingular/AT&T to Face Consumer Claims for Overcharges and Bad Cell Phone Service in Federal Court
Posted on June 02, 2009In an important decision for consumers a federal court rejects AT&T's efforts to bar its customers from joining together to hold the company accountable in court. Credit Public Justice, America's greatest public interest law firm for once again leading the fight against big corporations that try to take advantage of consumers...
Consumer Tips For Healthy Homes: Nontoxic Paints Arrive
Posted on June 02, 2009New nontoxic paints let you color it 'green' As reported in the Honolulu Advertiser nontoxic paint is becoming a big subject to families who want their air to be safe to breathe. Jennifer Forker of the Associated Press reports that nontoxic paint - low VOC paint - is booming...
As GM declares bankruptcy, Obama moves to reassure consumers.
Posted on June 02, 2009Media outlets last night and this morning focused much of their coverage of GM's bankruptcy on the government's 60% stake in the company, and on President Obama's assurances that he wants the Federal role in GM to be temporary. In addition to generating extensive cable commentary and front-page headlines across the nation, GM's descent into bankruptcy led all three network newscasts, which devoted a combined 19 minutes and 40 seconds to the story...
PesticidesPancreatic Cancer Caused By Pesticides - what to do and Where to go if you are Diagnosed
Posted on May 31, 2009In a Beyond Pesticides story on May 28, 2009 the link between pancreatic cancer and two common herbicides was reported. Pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer and bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) are among the most devastating cancers. Pancreatic cancer is diagnosed in about 35,000 U...
Eighteen Students Injured in Two Separate School Bus - Automobile Accidents On Oahu
Posted on May 31, 2009No school bus automobile accidents all year and then two on one day late in May. Hopefully none of the eighteen students are seriously injured although they were taken to area hospitals for examination. According to the report of the Honolulu Advertiser: In the first accident, the bus collided with a car about 7:25 this morning at the intersection of Kaaholo and Leia streets in the Village Park area of Waipahu...
Suicide spurs investigation of "chemical restraints" in Florida foster care system.
Posted on May 29, 2009The Miami Herald (5/29) reports, "Nearly three of 10 teenage Florida foster children have been prescribed a mental-health drug, and 73 foster kids younger than 6 are taking mind-altering drugs, according to a study released Thursday in response to the death of a Broward foster child who was taking such medications...
Crosswalk Automobile Pedestrian Collision On Queen Emma Street Seriously Injures Two Girls
Posted on May 28, 2009According to a story by the Honolulu Advertiser 2 intermediate school girls were struck by a car as they crossed Queen Emma Street at Vineyard Street in a crosswalk. The Advertiser reports that Workers in a nearby restaurant said they believe the girls are students at Central Intermediate School who left the campus just before 8 a...
Two dead in Wheeler Army Airfield copter crash
Posted on May 28, 2009A Honolulu Advertiser story by William Cole, Military Writer reports that 2 Army helicopter pilots died when their helicopter crashed during a routine maintenance test flight. The soldiers were with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. The crash, described by Col...
White House begins push for Sotomayor as GOP considers strategy.
Posted on May 28, 2009Coverage of the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor follows several tracks. While much attention is given to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's online assertion that Sotomayor is a "racist" -- a reference to a speech she made in 2001 -- Republicans in the Senate are taking a more muted approach, all but conceding that Sotomayor will be confirmed, and debating among themselves how hard to press her during confirmation hearings...
Hawaii Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: On a Day of Tragedy, What is the law?
Posted on May 28, 2009Two teenage students were struck in a crosswalk on Queen Emma Street in Honolulu today. he driver said that she saw the girls. No one said this, but I will - the girls also should be able to see a car. So what happened? Why did these people not avoid a clearly avoidable collision between a car and the fragile bodies of 2 students? Don't get me wrong...
Sara Lee accuses Oscar Mayer of false advertising.
Posted on May 26, 2009The AP (5/26, Fredrix) reports that a "lawsuit focused on advertising and product claims filed this week by Sara Lee Corp., the maker of Ball Park Franks, against Oscar Mayer-making rival Kraft Foods Inc. is the latest turn in the summer wiener wars...
Medical Device Safety Act would allow state suits, but some lawmakers oppose it.(2)
Posted on May 26, 2009The Greenville News (5/24, Osby) reported that the "Medical Device Safety Act of 2009... would reverse the high court's decision" and would allow patients to sue Medtronic under state law. Don Fernbach, who was one of the patient's shocked by a defective lead said, "As long as victims of defective medical devices can't sue...
Medical Device Safety Act would allow state suits, but some lawmakers oppose it.
Posted on May 26, 2009The Greenville News (5/24, Osby) reported that the "Medical Device Safety Act of 2009... would reverse the high court's decision" and would allow patients to sue Medtronic under state law. Don Fernbach, who was one of the patient's shocked by a defective lead said, "As long as victims of defective medical devices can't sue...
Surgery in Your Near Future? Stay Out of the Hospital in the Summer Months or if You Must Go Here Are 5 Tips from Martine Ehreclou to Make Your Summer Hospital Stay Safe
Posted on May 23, 2009Martine Ehrenclou, MA - Contributor Author of Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive A good friend of mine has to have rotator cuff surgery. She told me yesterday that she was planning to wait on the surgery until a number of important events had passed...
Health Fact: What is a calorie?
Posted on May 23, 2009If you are looking for education about legal topics I have put up the "gone fishin'" sign for a few hours. A friend, Christie Bridges gave me an article on what a calorie is, and I enjoyed reading it. Ms. Bridges is a fitness Guru to many of us in Hawaii and offers more in depth information than we usually get from the fitness community...
Seat Belts and Summer Driving: Protect Your Loved Ones, Buckle Up!
Posted on May 23, 2009An article in the Bennington Banner about seat belts and automobile accidents made me think about what we can do to encourage safety in driving at this time of year. What time of year is it? From Bangor to Lahaina it is Pron season. That took me to another article I had recently read by Des Moines, Iowa safety advocate and attorney Steve Lombardi...
Lawyers Voice Objections to Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan.
Posted on May 22, 2009The Detroit News (5/21, Priddle, Shepardson) reported, "A flurry of objections in the Chrysler LLC bankruptcy case continue to be filed in advance of a hearing next week to approve a tie-up with Fiat SpA." A motion was filed by attorneys for "Public Citizen and other plaintiffs...
Virginia Mountaintop Mine That Would Pollute Miles of Streams With Mining Waste Blocked By Top Consumer Group, Public Justice
Posted on May 22, 2009Less than a week after Public Justice filed a complaint in federal court and threatened to seek a temporary restraining order, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended its permit that would have allowed A&G Coal Corporation to begin filling nearly three miles of streams with mining waste at its planned 1,291-acre Ison Rock Ridge Surface Mine, which would be within sight of the Derby Historic District that is listed on the National Register...
Its Friday! What Can I Say? Sound, Music, The Violin and Life's Lessons. I Reflect.
Posted on May 22, 2009The idea that music and dance and art take us up into the better parts of ourselves and our lives has been often expressed. My humble effort this Friday is more for me than for anyone else. I need to remind myself about what life is all about. Today I did that with another Susan Boyle moment but this time the messenger was a young Asian violinist and a story about what matters put to music...
Texas Voters Tell Their Lawmakers to Vote For Real Insurance Reform - TDI Sunset Bill, SB 1007
Posted on May 21, 2009Today, Texas Watch is sending urging voters to ask their lawmakers to support pro-consumer amendments to the TDI Sunset bill, SB 1007. That Bill requires payment of reasonable medical expenses incurred, policyholders to be made whole, prior approval of rates and standardized policy forms...
Obama undoes Bush pre-emption policies.
Posted on May 21, 2009The AP (5/21, Yost) reports, "The Obama White House on Wednesday undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine a wide range of state health, safety and environmental laws" many of which "limited the ability of injured consumers to sue companies in state courts...
Bicyclist Injured On Kamehameha Highway
Posted on May 20, 2009<p>Another traffic injury left a bicycle rider in critical condition on Sunday near the place where a motorcyclist died earlier in the day. The bicyclist was injured on Kamehameha highway near a 7-11 Store. Details are sparse and all that was initially reported was that the bicyclist was critically injured when a passing car hit him as he was crossing the road...
Motorcyclist Dies In Crash In Kaaawa
Posted on May 20, 2009<p>A motorcyclist died as a result of a crash is Kaaawa on Sunday. The motorcyclist's 10-year-old daughter was a passenger when they were struck by an Hawaiian Telcom truck that was turning into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store.</p> <p> </p> <p>Paramedics arrived at the scene and transported the girl to the hospital in stable condition...
US, states join whistleblower suits against Wyeth over Medicaid payments.
Posted on May 20, 2009<p>The <a title="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=28&m=4087858&r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2&b=0&j=MTIxODQ2OTIyS0&mt=1&rt=0" style="color: #0e4d96; text-decoration: underline" href="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=28&m=4087858&r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2&b=0&j=MTIxODQ2OTIyS0&mt=1&rt=0" name="articles_custombriefings_(1)"><u title="http://links...
Federal Departments and Agencies Announcing Regulations that Pre-empt State Laws Won't Do So Without a Sufficient Legal Basis
Posted on May 20, 2009All Americans can celebrate the breaking news regarding a landmark achievement that was announced today in Washington D.C. From now on, the regulatory preemption of state common law will be strictly limited. Even regulations issued within the past 10 years will have to be reviewed and in some cases amended...
Plaintiffs' lawyers to release AstraZeneca documents in Seroquel case.
Posted on May 20, 2009The Wall Street Journal (5/20, Rockoff) reports, "Plaintiffs' lawyers in lawsuits against AstraZeneca PLC plan to...release documents they say show executives at the drugmaker discussed promoting the antipsychotic drug Seroquel for unapproved uses in children and the elderly...
Formaldehyde shown to raise cancer risk in workers
Posted on May 18, 2009The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports that they have found a continuing 'possible link' between formaldehyde exposure and death from cancers of the blood and lymphatic system among workers exposed to the chemical. The story has been reported in USA Today and other news sources...
Judge rules Pfizer will not face class-action suits over off-label marketing of Neurontin.
Posted on May 18, 2009Bloomberg News (5/16, Fisk) reported, "Pfizer Inc. the world's largest drugmaker, won't face class-action lawsuits by health-insurance companies and patients on claims it improperly marketed the epilepsy drug Neurontin for unapproved uses, a judge ruled...
Nader's Raiders Are Back: Obanma and baucus caught in the act!
Posted on May 18, 2009I can't believe what I am watching. My president and his liberal friends have sold Americans health care hopes to corporate greed. The insurnace industry wins again. Does anyone out there care? Recently I wrote about national health care in Congress: Myths About Single Payer National Health Insurance by Wayne Parsons (www...
Obama calls for crackdown on credit card industry abuses.
Posted on May 15, 2009At a Thursday town hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, President Obama called for passage of a bill that seeks to curb practices from credit card companies that some deem "abusive." The story is receiving coverage -- but not top billing -- from major print media outlets this morning...
WHO INvestigates Claim From OZ That H1N1 Was Created By Human Error
Posted on May 14, 2009Jason Gale and Simeon Bennett of Bloomberg report on 13 May 2009 that Adrian Gibbs, 75, who collaborated on research that led to the development of Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu drug, said in an interview that he intends to publish a report suggesting the new strain may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines...
House lawmakers hear debate over medical device preemption.
Posted on May 14, 2009CQ HealthBeat (5/14, Kim) reports that the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee "heard witness testimony on a measure that would allow consumers to sue companies under state law for injuries sustained by sophisticated medical devices" on Tuesday...
H1N1 Swine Flu Question: What is Lou to do?
Posted on May 13, 2009In response to an article I wrote on the H1N1 Swine Flu situation I got a Comment from Lou. He needs help. Can someone tell him what he should do .... about the Flu? Here is Lou's situation: I returned from Honolulu last month and I was told that I had the virus...
Myths About Single Payer National Health Insurance
Posted on May 13, 2009According to leading consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, "[t]he U.S. spends twice as much as other industrialized nations on health care, but still has nearly 50 million people without health insurance and millions more with insurance who still cannot afford treatment?" Public Citizen is working to fix this serious problem by campaigning for the creation of single-payer national health insurance, because it is the only solution that provides universal access to care while reducing costs...
Tort Reform For Victims of Unsafe Medical Devices: Pass The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009
Posted on May 13, 2009Hearings began on Tuesday, May 12th before the Subcommittee on Health on H.R. 1346, The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009. I explain it below but before you go any further make sure to read the excellent analysis of Cecelia Prewett: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Considers Ability of FDA to Regulate Medical Devices...
FDA requiring black-box warnings for two testosterone gel products.
Posted on May 13, 2009The Wall Street Journal (5/8, Favole) reports, "The Food and Drug Administration is forcing strong warnings on two testosterone gel products after receiving reports of children who had inappropriate genitalia enlargement or became aggressive after getting exposed to the products...
Aviation attorney discusses hearings over Flight 3407.
Posted on May 13, 2009On The Early Show on CBS News (5/12), Julie Chen spoke with attorney Mary Schiavo and the sister of one of the crash victims of Flight 3407. Schiavo said the fault lies with the airline because the FAA training is minimal. She added that there may be many other pilots in the "regional carrier industry" that have poor training...
Obama Adminstration Makes The Devil's Deal With The Insurance Industry
Posted on May 13, 2009In her recent article: Revived Focus on Health Care, Revival of Tort 'Reform' Rhetoric Kia Franklin shines a light on the willingness of President Obama to shed his lofty campaign rhetoric about people and his mother's battles with health insurance and make a deal with the insurance industry to get any national health care plan passed...
Tort Reform Reality: A War of Attrition by Michael Bennett
Posted on May 13, 2009Introducing Contributing Author Michael Bennett, President, The Coalition For Patients' Rights Rather than initially launching an all out assault, conducting war by using a slow, incremental wearing down of personnel and resources, military leaders throughout the ages have often used war of attrition as an effective method to defeat an enemy...
Investigators examine details of plane crash.
Posted on May 12, 2009The Wall Street Journal (5/11, A1, Pasztor) reported on its front page, "The captain of a commuter plane that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo, N.Y., had flunked numerous flight tests during his career and was never adequately taught how to respond to the emergency that led to the airplane's fatal descent, according to people close to the investigation...
Tort Reform Reality: Obama May Throw Patients Under the Bus
Posted on May 12, 2009Say it ain't so President Obama! I voted for you. Say it ain't so. The number of your constituents who die from medical malpractice are equivalent to a fully loaded 747-400 crashing with all lost every week. So please tell me that you aren't going to tell the families of these Americans that they are expendable because you have to prove that you can get national health care passed...
America needs More Tort Lawyers According To Forbes Magazine
Posted on May 11, 2009I didn't believe it when I read it: Forbes Magazine Calling for More Tort Lawyers? by Dan Firth. Wait!? That can't be true. That's like the Red Sox holding an appreciation day at Fenway for Yankee fans. Dan Firth is a prominent tort lawyer in Roanoke, Virginia...
Joan Claybrook Of Public Citizen on What's In _ and behind _ a Phrase Really Does Matter
Posted on May 11, 2009If you get a degree in spin at your local mind twisting institute, you'll have been taught that if you call something "reform" everyone will support it. At the first emotional reaction will be "I like Reform". The concept of reform is a positive one: reform, reshape, improve...
Tort Reform Myth: The Legal System Causes High Malpractice Insurance Premiums
Posted on May 11, 2009What causes high premiums for doctors' malpractice insurance? The insurance industry would have you believe that the cause is the legal system. The truth is that insurance company investment practices are the cause. Americans for Insurance Reform - one of the leading consumer advocates for regular people not the privileged and powerful, has issued a series of fact sheets on these tort reform myths: INSURANCE INDUSTRY'S INVESTMENT PRACTICES – NOT THE LEGAL SYSTEM – CAUSE HIGH MALPRACTICE INSURANCE COSTS Here are the facts, not the insurance industry hype: THE INSURANCE CYCLE, NOT THE LEGAL SYSTEM, DRIVES UP RATES Typical Soft Market: Insurers make most of their money from investment income...
Vioxx suit denied class-action status in California.
Posted on May 11, 2009The AP (5/9, Johnson) reported that Judge Victoria Chaney of Los Angeles Superior Court "has rejected a proposed class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of state residents who took the painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib) before it was pulled from the market in 2004...
Hawaii Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: In Praise of the Honolulu Advertiser's By the numbers
Posted on May 10, 2009The Honolulu Advertiser has a very interesting website that I use often. Its called "By the numbers". I am a numbers person which in some way probably explains the fact that I am an attorney who also has a Masters Degree in Physics. As I research facts to put in Blog article I often find interesting and useful statistics at the By he numbers site...
Hawaii Swine Flu Update - Tamiflu Stockpiles Vary Widely Throughout World
Posted on May 10, 2009Hawaii has a few Swine Flu cases, most recently a student up at UH. Our medical community seems well organized and prepared. The entire country seems to be on top of this situation. Embedded video from CNN Video We now know that the current virus H1N1 virus probably doesn't have the teeth that will lead to a large scale pandemic like the 1918 one that killed so many people...
H1N1 Vaccine: Iowa State University Says Vaccines Can be Produced For This Virus In Two Months
Posted on May 10, 2009Steve Lombardi from Des Moines has posted a story out of Iowa and H1N1 Vaccine. ISU research and H1N1, Are pigs luckier than are humans? by Steve Lombardi You have to read that article. Steve really gets into the underbelly _ sorry to all of the pigs in Egypt _ of this story about what to do...
Kamehameha Highway Closed Early Friday Morning Following Crash
Posted on May 09, 2009Police shut down traffic in both directions on Kamehameha Highway after a car crash at about 5:45 a.m. on Friday May 8, 2009. The accident happened at a location a quarter-mile south of Lanikuhana Avenue in Mililani. Apparently at the scene a person was pinned in a car and was alert and talking...
Hawaii "Brownfields" - Land Contaminated by Pesticides,Hazardous Chemicals or Pollutants Receives Grant for Cleanup
Posted on May 09, 2009A study has shown that Hawaii women suffer higher cancer rates due to pesticide use so when I read that the EPA is giving money to clean up pesticide contaminated land, I know that this is a small step toward better health for Hawaii's families. You can read about the study at: Breast Cancer Risk in Hawaii Linked to Pesticides in Drinking Water and Indoor Air A Comment to that article was particularly meaningful to me: The woman I loved died of breast cancer eight years ago...
Tort Reform Myth: AMA Statistics Refute 'Doctors Flee' Myth
Posted on May 08, 2009The American Medical Association has data, according to the American Association of Justice (AAJ) that 'adds to a growing body of research that proves physicians are not fleeing the profession because of medical liability.' Citing statistics from the AMA's recently released 'Physician Characteristics and Distribution' report, the AAJ observed that the number of physicians in the United States grew steadily during the decade between 1998 and 2007, from 765,922 to 941,304...
Hawaii Call To Action: Support The Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii Benefit Concert/Art and Fashion Fundraiser will be held on May 16, 2009
Posted on May 08, 2009Jacie Katsuda, Contributor How can a mom or dad, the one who is supposed to nurture and protect, take advantage of that privilege by inflicting intentional pain on their innocent little boy or girl? Molesting them? Raping them? Neglecting them? Scarring them, for the rest of their child's life? We all know that tonight in Hawaii children are being subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse...
Portion of Arkansas tort reform law ruled unconstitutional
Posted on May 07, 2009On May 7, 2009 the Southeast Texas Record reporter Michelle Massey, Texarkana Bureau, writes that a portion of the tort reform law passed in 2003 by the Arkansas legislature has now been held unconstitutional. Asking the higher court whether the provisions violate the state constitution, U...
Tort Reform Myth: Legal reform is needed because lawsuits hurt small businesses.
Posted on May 07, 2009Wrong. Multiple surveys have shown that lawsuits are not a concern for small business owners. A survey from the National Association of Manufacturers suggests that 'lawsuit abuse' ranks at the bottom of concerns for manufacturers. National Manufacturing Week 2006 Annual Survey Results,' National Association of Manufacturers...
Synthes settles investigation into conflicts of interest among physicians researching its products.
Posted on May 07, 2009The New York Times (5/7, B4, Abelson) reports, "The New Jersey attorney general has announced a settlement with a medical device maker accused of failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest among doctors researching its products." Attorney General Anne Milgram added that "her office is investigating other similar conflicts in the device industry," and has "issued subpoenas to five major device makers...
Swine Flu Information for Hawaii Residents
Posted on May 06, 2009Today we learned that our vulnerable Island chain has now been visited with H1N1, the new Swine Flu virus. We have three confirmed cases that have been heavily reported in the press. National consumer health advocate Martine Ehrenclou, has recently written on Swine Flu prevention from a practical point of view: Prevention Wash your hands regularly...
Tenenbaum appointed to chair Consumer Product Safety Commission by Obama.
Posted on May 06, 2009The Washington Post (5/6, Layton) reports President Obama "has tapped a politically skilled former schools chief from South Carolina to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission and said he will boost funding at the agency, which has been struggling greatly with dwindling resources and leadership problems...
The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety
Posted on May 06, 2009A primary mission of these articles is to promote safety and make Hawaii a safer place for all of us. Everyone in the Islands is concerned about crosswalk deaths and pedestrian injuries. I have come across an innovative system that may help prevent these tragic events: In-Roadway Warning Light (IRWL) systems...
A Plaintiffs Attorney Reflects on Injury, Hardship, Disappointment and Loss - Law As Poetry
Posted on May 05, 2009They are all injured - my clients. Their lives have been visited by misfortune. Sometimes their house is falling down or some variation of that theme. Sometimes an insurance adjuster working for a huge insurer like Allstate or AIG is holding back on paying their medical bills or refusing to pay their lost wages - and the fear of being thrown on the streets is in their hearts...
Tort Reform Myth: Myth: Health care costs are rising and doctors are unable to practice due to litigation.
Posted on May 05, 2009Health care costs are rising; however, medical malpractice litigation has nothing to do with it. According to the Congressional Budget Office, medical malpractice amounted to less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. "Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice," Congressional Budget Office 1/08/04": President Bush will ignore the real causes of skyrocketing healthcare costs, such as high drug prices and unregulated insurance premiums, during his economic summit today because he has received $786,262 from drug companies, $4,790,475 from insurance firms and $764,333 from HMOs and other health insurers, said the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR)...
Mayo Clinic Backs New Personal Health Record Site
Posted on May 05, 2009The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects the privacy of your health information. But it also protects your rights to continue your health insurance as you or a spouse moves from job to job, and limits exclusions for preexisting conditions...
Mentor Corporation Sued for Complications Associated with ObTape.
Posted on May 05, 2009The New York Times (5/5, D5, Rabin) reports that "dozens of women" are "suing the maker of [a] vaginal sling, called ObTape" for complications they claim are associated with the product. The product was used in patients with "stress urinary incontinence" to "plug the leak by inserting a hammock made of a strip of synthetic mesh like material...
Tort Reform Myth - The Number of Lawsuits is Skyrocketing!
Posted on May 04, 2009Not true! Not True! Not True! How many times have you read that "the number of lawsuits is skyrocketing" in the Honolulu newspapers? How many times have you heard a TV news reporter say this? The recent article by Paula Arcena in the Hawaii Reporter makes me wonder what journalists do before they write a story...
Obama: Supreme Court nominee must be attuned to "daily realities."
Posted on May 04, 2009The Wall Street Journal (5/2, A3, Weisman, Bravin) reported, "The battle to influence the next Supreme Court pick began Friday as President Barack Obama announced that Justice David Souter would retire at the end of the current term." The President said "he would seek a nominee with 'a record of excellence and integrity...
Misdiagnosis of Brain Injury - Its Not Just a Headache - Remembering Natasha Richardson
Posted on May 03, 2009Think about tort reform in the context of medical negligence - misdiagnosis of traumatic brain injury - on a national basis. It happens everywhere from Honolulu to Hilo to Washington, D.C. Why don't the tort reform advocates talk about the 15,000 people in the united States whose life threatening head injury will be misdiagnosed by careless physicians this year? Natasha Richardson died of a headache...
The History Of Tort Reform - A Story of Corporate Greed And A Conspiracy Against Justice For The People
Posted on May 02, 2009Richard Middleton, Jr. past president of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) describes where the concept of tort reform originated: It is no secret that, for more than three decades, business interests have invested billions of dollars to sell the public a distorted view of a legal system that is justifiably envied throughout the world...
Hawaii Health Warning - The FDA Says Don't Use Hydroxycut Dietary Supplements
Posted on May 02, 2009This week the news broke across the country about a new FDA Warning: Don't use Hydroxycut Dietary Supplements. In Hawaii we don't always get the news about these things and so I have been trying to stay up on food and diet safety issues - particularly when the products are purchased over the Internet where there is less scrutiny of the products...
Coast Guard Report Blames Death Of Teen In 2006 On Unauthorized Modifications to Tour Boat's Mast
Posted on May 01, 2009Mary Vorsino, of the Honolulu Advertiser reports that the Coast Guard has reported on two tourist deaths in separate incidents. A 13 year old boy was killed on a catamaran off Waikiki in 2006 when the mast on the tourist catamaran buckled and killed the boy and injured three passengers...
New Mexico Supreme Court Strikes Down One-Sided Mandatory Arbitration Clause
Posted on May 01, 2009A news note from: Arthur Bryant Executive Director Public Justice & the Public Justice Foundation The Public Justice "Access to Justice Campaign" and "Mandatory Arbitration Abuse Prevention Project" have just won a major victory in the New Mexico Supreme Court! In Cordova v...
Forced Arbitration: Tort Reform By Contract
Posted on May 01, 2009Arbitration Fairnress Day was celebrated on April 29th and now the public is being educated about the evil of forced arbitration also know as "binding mandatory arbitration" or BME. Thwety five years ago when the CEO's of major insurance companies, the drug manufacturers, and big corporations coined the term "tort reform" and started to mislead the public about the need to reform the civil justice system...
Justice Souter said to be retiring at end of court's term.
Posted on May 01, 2009Supreme Court Justice Souter's planned retirement was heavily covered by the media, appearing on the front page of major national newspapers. The AP (5/1, Sherman, Loven) reports that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire "in June, when the court finishes its work for the summer, a source familiar with his plans said...
Consumer Health Advocate Martine Ehrenclou Provides Tips On The The Swine Flu - What You Can Do To Protect Yourself
Posted on April 30, 2009We are fortunate to have one of the top advocates for patients, Martine Ehrenclou, MA, share her thoughts on the Swine Flu pandemic that is threatening the world. Prevention is always the most important goal of every person. Martine Ehrenclou is a patient advocate and author of Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive Martine Ehrenclou With the growing numbers of Swine Flu (influenza A H1N1) cases in the United States, it would benefit everyone to implement a few simple prevention strategies and to prepare now...
Stalled suits against drugmakers proceeding after Supreme Court preemption decision.
Posted on April 30, 2009Bloomberg News (4/30, Fisk, Feeley) reports, "Just two months after the U.S. Supreme Court decided patients can sue drugmakers over injuries from medicines approved by the government, long-stalled lawsuits against GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co...
Institute of Medicine (IOM) Calls for "Far-Reaching" Changes to Prevent Medical Industry Gifts To Influence Patient Care and Research.
Posted on April 29, 2009The Wall Street Journal (4/28, Rockoff) reported, "The Institute of Medicine [IOM] recommended Tuesday that doctors, medical schools, professional groups and drug makers make far-reaching changes to prevent industry gifts and payments from influencing patient care and research...
Drug Company Has Enough Tamiflu Anti-Flu Treatment Stored To Treat 5 Million H1N1 Influenza Patients
Posted on April 29, 2009The Associated Press reports from Geneva, Switzerland on Apr. 27, 2009 that "drug company Roche Holding AG said Monday the World Health Organization has enough of the anti-flu treatment Tamiflu stockpiled to treat up to 5 million people who come down with the new strain of swine flu that broke out in Mexico...
Fact Sheet For Arbitration Fairness Act
Posted on April 29, 2009Consumer advocates Fair Arbitration Now point out that: "Corporations oppose the Arbitration Fairness Act because the system of forced arbitration allows them to escape accountability for discrimination, harassment, gross negligence, fraud, and other corporate wrongdoing...
Celebrate Arbitration Fairness Day On April 29, 2009
Posted on April 29, 2009Forced arbitration is another example of how corporations are taking advantage of Americans. As a private system without an impartial judge or a jury, mandatory arbitration allows companies like AIG to play by their own rules and escape accountability when they harm consumers and employees...
Ex-FDA official calls PCA salmonella outbreak "poster child" for food safety flaws.
Posted on April 28, 2009The CBS Early Show (4/27, Gielan, 8:00 a.m. EDT) revisited the peanut-borne salmonella outbreak earlier this year thought to have contributed to nine deaths and hundreds of illnesses nationwide. Former FDA assistant commissioner William Hubbard appeared on-camera, saying that the outbreak, ultimately linked to the Peanut Corporation of America, "is a poster child for the many flaws in our food safety system...
Puna Man Dies in All Terrain Vehicle Rollover - Are ATV's and UTV's Dangerous?
Posted on April 27, 2009On Sunday March 8, 2009 a 49-year-old Puna man was killed while riding his ATV in Hawaiian Acres subdivision in Puna on the Big Island. Robert Texeira of Kurtistown was riding a Suzuki King Quad ATV going north on Road B when the ATV overturned and landed on Mr...
Motorcycle Crash On Kailua Road
Posted on April 27, 2009Michael Tsai staff writer for the Honolulu Advertiser reports today on another motorcycle death on Oahu. According to reports the motorcycles crashed into a rental Van on Sunday afternoon. The Advertiser story relates that the Van changed lanes and apparently the Van driver, a Japanese national did not see the motorcycles as he moved to the left near Ulu'oa Street: According to the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division, the maroon Chevrolet van, driven by a Japanese national, was traveling north in the right lane of Kailua Road, near Ulu'oa Street, when it turned into the left lane — occupied by the motorcyclists — to reach a grassy median used for U-turns...
Lahood Pushes Carmakers To Crash-test Child Safety Seats.
Posted on April 27, 2009The Chicago Tribune (4/25, Callahan) reported, "U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Friday said he planned to urge carmakers to crash-test child safety seats in their vehicles and recommend which child restraints are the safest in each auto, responding to a Chicago Tribune investigation...
Swine Flu Crisis Involves Huge Health Controversy and Probably Another Cover-up
Posted on April 27, 2009In my first article on the new Swine Flu scare I didn't realize that this connection with pigs, Swine Flu, MRSA and C.Diff has been raging among corporate interests, their cadre of hired-gun veterinarians and those concerned about public health (as opposed to greed and profits)...
American Bar Association Reports On AIDS/HIV
Posted on April 26, 2009The AIDS/HIV health crisis is now thirty years old and the subject continues to challenge society around the world. The Rule of Law has faced difficult challenges as the basic concept of individual rights and cultural mores clash. In California we have witnessed a long battle in the streets, the courts and the ballot box...
Child On Guam Ejected From Car
Posted on April 26, 2009A 5-year-old boy was ejected from the passenger side of a car Friday morning. The car crash happened across from Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Church in Chalan Pagowho, Guam. The boy is in stable condition, said Guam Memorial Hospital nursing supervisor Josephine Eustaquio...
Hawaii Ocean Injuries: The Jones Act
Posted on April 25, 2009When an employee on a ship is injured, the law that covers the injury is in the category of laws called admiralty or maritime law. A specific law passed by Congress that can be used for an injury claim is The Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.App. § 688 (1958) which allows a crew member to allege that he or she sustained injuries due to the boat owner's negligence...
AIG In Another Scandal Over Denying Health Care Claims For American Workers Injured In Afghanistan and Iraq
Posted on April 25, 2009Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) has recently said there were 'serious deficiencies in the health coverage of civilian employees who have been injured while working overseas.' His outrage about insurance companies denying and delaying payments for needed medical care for overseas American civilian workers, is well known to personal injury attorneys in Hawaii and across the country...
Big Island Car Crash Injures 4 - Alcohol Implicated
Posted on April 25, 2009A radio announcer in Honolulu used to have a daily "densa" award for the most stupid person in the news. I don't think they do it anymore but if they did a Big Island 20 year old, Kahiliokeanuinu Puaalani Peleiholani, would get the dubious award for his recent car crash in Kamuela...
New Research Discovery On Proliferative Kidney Disease In Fish Will Aide In Farmed Fish Industry
Posted on April 25, 2009ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2009) reports on a European study of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), a cause of major stock losses on fish farms in England. The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). PKD has devastated the UK's fish farming industry...
Oahu Sadly Counts 23rd Traffic Fatality In 2009
Posted on April 25, 2009Sadly Oahu suffered its 23rd traffic fatality this year in a single car crash in Waianae. The city medical examiner has identified the 28-year-old Waianae woman who died Tuesday after the car she was driving went off an embankment near Yokohama Bay as Eitiline Love...
Boat Injuries To Tourists In Hawaii
Posted on April 25, 2009Why travel to Hawaii and not go out on the ocean in a boat? Whale watching, scuba diving, sunset sails and other opportunities are among the most popular Hawaii tourist attractions. Caution should be exercised in going out on one of these boats. The wind in Hawaii creates rough water off shore...
Manoa Fire and Death!
Posted on April 24, 2009Bed and Breakfast. Rental Units. Manoa fire kills 2 and injures 7. These are not new headlines in Hawaii. Am I alone in thinking that we need to look closely at what happened in Manoa? A dispute arose among tenants at a house that was rented to multiple families...
Health Alert For Hawaii: Is The New Swine Flu A Threat To The Islands?
Posted on April 24, 2009Swine Flu is back. Health officials at the Federal and State level are on alert for a new form of Swine Flu and expect to find more cases. The strain of swine flu that seems to be spreading directly among humans curiously includes genes from swine flu, avian flu and human flu viruses from North America, Europe and Asia according to the CDC's Nancy Cox...
Consumer Alert: Sebelius Confirmation Vote Set For April 28
Posted on April 24, 2009The Department of Health and Human Services is broken. Most Americans know that sad fact. Like the entire regulatory process in our government that is supposed to protect us, the the Department of Health and Human Services was turned over to the elite CEO's of the corporations that have run the country to the brink of failure...
Soldier Hit By Car As He Walks Along H-2
Posted on April 24, 2009Schofield Barracks soldier PFC Jesse Hart was on foot along the H-2 Freeway in the northerly direction shortly after midnight when he was struck by another car just before the Wahiawa off-ramp. Mr. Hart was taken to the hospital in critical condition...
New Law In Honolulu: City Council Bans Use Of Cell Phones While Driving
Posted on April 24, 2009The Honolulu City Council on Wednesday voted to ban drivers from using any mobile electronic devices. That means anyone holding a cell phone or other device while driving will be ticketed by the police. The fine will be about $97 and the law is set to be enforced starting on July 1st...
Financial Misconduct by Infomercial Marketers
Posted on April 22, 2009Stephen Barrett, M.D. reports that in his opinion infomercials and medicine don't always mesh: [T]he vast majority of health-related products promoted through infomercials don't work as advertised. Nevertheless, millions of people buy such products every year...
Diseases Like Multiple Sclerosis And Cancer May Be Too Complicated For Simple Genetic - Stem Cell - Solutions
Posted on April 22, 2009I have followed medical science advances in treatment of cancer and multiple sclerosis. People that I care about have those diseases. You all have loved ones affected by those diseases. I have been deeply into it for three years. My wife died last year about battle with a rare devastating cancer...
Financial Misconduct - A Survey Of Scams And Protections
Posted on April 22, 2009The list grows longer every day. Financial misconduct has become the biggest subject this year and more people are being victimized in this tough economy. Protect yourself from scams, many of which have been around for years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBheC5afBfc Identity Theft may only cost a few dollars because of credit card liability limitations ($50 to $500 generally) you may spend years clearing your name...
Embattled FDA Office of Device Evaluation Accused of Acting Illegally
Posted on April 22, 2009The New York Times (4/22, A15, Harris) reports, "An unusual internal meeting scheduled for Wednesday at the Food and Drug Administration may signal how agency officials intend to handle the many controversies swirling around its embattled device division...
Six Things Each of Us Can Do In Honor Of Earthday
Posted on April 22, 2009If we don't honor and take care of the earth then we probably have totally lost our way. Most of us care and want to do something positive but the treadmill is racing faster every day and time and money are actual or perceived obstacles. I am looking at the clock as I write this post...
Clean Up The FDA
Posted on April 21, 2009In an Editorial in the Providence (RI) Journal (4/20) they support the Obama administration goal of cleaning up the FDA: "One important task before President Obama is shoring up the Food and Drug Administration." The Journal said that the "FDA seems to have acquired a certain disdain for its own rules, to say nothing of its intended role" and added that "last year, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association laid out how corrupt research practices had helped lead to vigorous sales of the painkiller Vioxx...
Financial Misconduct In Hawaii: Financial Fraud And Internet Data Theft
Posted on April 21, 2009CNET is one of the best resources for technical information and I get regular email updates on current news. In a recent article by Elinor Mills at CNET she reports that fear about credit card data theft, identity theft and related financial misconduct is at unprecedented levels...
Appeals Court Rules Wyeth Must Face Prempro Case Where Woman Claims Prempro Caused Her Breast Cancer.
Posted on April 21, 2009Bloomberg News (4/21, O'Reilly) reports, "Wyeth, the drugmaker being acquired by Pfizer Inc., must face a lawsuit by a woman who claims her breast cancer was caused by the menopause medicine Prempro [estrogens, conjugated/medroxyprogesterone], a Texas appeals court ruled...
Financial Misconduct #3 help about 2,400 Hawaii homeowners avoid foreclosure
Posted on April 20, 2009In December t var mboxAjaxURL = "/tandt/related.html?alignment=right"; var mboxAjaxReqest; var mboxAjaxLoadStatus = false; var mboxTargetDivId; var myParameters=mboxCurrent.getUrlBuilder().getParameters() for(j=0;j= 25) { mboxCurrent.setOffer(new mboxOfferDefault())...
Single Car Collision With Utility Pole In Puna Causes Death Of Young Big Island Woman
Posted on April 20, 2009KGMB TV News reports a traffic death on the Big Island on Sunday. Early Sunday morning shortly before 7 A.M. in Puna a woman was killed at the intersection of 25th Avenue and Paradise Drive. Doreen Kaina, 20, was apparently speeding when she lost control of her car and hit a utility pole...
Exercise Programs Most Effective In Helping Elderly Prevent Injuries From Falls
Posted on April 20, 2009In a ScienceDaily article on April 17, 2009 - Exercise Reduces Falls In Older People, Review Suggests home safety improvements, vitamin D supplements and other prescriptions to help elders avoid injury from falls, are not as effective as exercise programs...
Financial Misconduct Alert No. 1: Illegal Loan Modification Schemes
Posted on April 20, 2009As Foreclosures rise desperate homeowners are being victimized by illegal or misleading offers of help from a myriad of companies. The companies often charge up front fees and lull frightened homeowners into thinking that they can get relief from their mortgage when it is highly unlikely any help will be forthcoming...
Automobile, Motorcycle and Pedestrian Deaths On Oahu Continue to Rise
Posted on April 19, 2009So far this year the main focus of this Blog has been on the alarming number of traffic deaths on Oahu. One week it is motorcycles. The next pedestrians hit in crosswalks or walking along Oahu streets. Then it shifts to speeding cars and drunken drivers...
Its Saturday! What Can I Say? Susan Boyle Is What Its All About Folks!
Posted on April 18, 2009Its Saturday! And so I will digress. Point of privilege. You see this little Blog of mine is more than a marketing tool for a trial attorney. My hope is that this place isn't all about me or my law office. I want to be a member of the community. That's all...
Driver Distraction - Scientists Use Driving Simulator To Measure Risks of Driving Distracted
Posted on April 18, 2009Reaserchers using a driving simulator are able to modify road conditions and throw in turns to test the risk of driving while distracted in older adults. It looks like a video game but in fact it is more like a flight simulator like they pilots are tested in only for autmobile drivers...
Hawaii Ponzi Scam Bonanza - Financial Misconduct Runs Amok!
Posted on April 17, 2009Ponzi schemes take their name from 1920s con artist Charles Ponzi. The swindlers promise huge returns and then pay returns to early investors with funds gained from subsequent victims. Bernie Madoff was not the original Ponzi scheme scammer and neither are the three (3) Hawaii Ponzi scheme scammers that have recently been busted in the Islands...
Through the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act we can give our children a safer and healthier future.
Posted on April 16, 2009'Every day, consumers rely on household products that contain thousands of chemicals. The American public expects the federal government do all it can to ensure these chemicals are safe before they reach the market. We already have strong regulations for pesticides and pharmaceuticals—it's common sense that we do the same for chemicals that end up in household items we use every day...
How Much Do You Know About HIPAA?
Posted on April 16, 2009Most people already know that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects the privacy of their health information. But it also protects your rights to continue your health insurance as you or a spouse moves from job to job, and limits exclusions for preexisting conditions...
Senator McCaskill Points To AMA Double Standard In Senate Hearing
Posted on April 16, 2009Recently, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), one of the strongest voices for consumer rights in the Senate, went head to head with the President of the American Medical Association (AMA) Nancy Nielsen over their treatment of trial attorneys. During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on deceptive health insurance industry practices, the AMA's use of class action lawsuits was discussed...
Report indicates drug makers spent over $2.9 million on Vermont physicians to market products.
Posted on April 16, 2009The AP (4/16, Curran) reports, "The nation's pharmaceutical makers spent more than $2.9 million on Vermont's doctors, hospitals and universities to market their products in the last fiscal year, according to a report issued Wednesday by the state attorney general's office...
Kapolei Man Dead In Yet Another Oahu Motorcycle Crash At Intersection - What is Going On With Motorcycles in Hawaii?
Posted on April 16, 2009According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin the city medical examiner has identified Roy Bengochea, 32, of Kapolei as the man whose motorcycle crashed into an SUV in Campbell Industrial Park. Mr. Bengochea died Tuesday afternoon from his injuries. Suffering a right leg fracture at the scene, he died of cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital...
FDA Suspends Clinical Trials Firm
Posted on April 15, 2009Having been involved in looking for new treatments for my wife who died of cancer last year, I can tell you that watching Clinical Trials is a life and death matter for millions of ill Americans. I learned in that process that you can't always trust what you hear and read about Clinical Trials sponsored by drug companies...
What Freedom Means
Posted on April 14, 2009I heard a great man give a casual talk to about 20 people today at a brown bag lunch. As we all ate our sandwiches and bottled water he talked about knowing Barrack Obama's father while they (the father, not Barrack) were in school at the University of Hawaii...
Hawaii Financial Fraud Alert #1: Tips To Avoid Loan Refinance Scams
Posted on April 14, 2009As Foreclosures rise desperate homeowners are being victimized by illegal or misleading offers of help from a myriad of companies. The companies often charge up front fees and lull frightened homeowners into thinking that they can get relief from their mortgage when it is highly unlikely any help will be forthcoming...
Bed Bugs Have Plagued Honolulu Hotels - The EPA Holds A Bed Bug Summit
Posted on April 14, 2009Hawaii has had a history of bed bugs in hotel rooms. What is a bed bug? The only one currently known to be in Hawaii is Cimex lectularius, aka the common bedbug. The wingless, flat, oval-shaped insects are about 3/8 inch in size, big enough to be spotted crawling around your sheets...
Was Any Toxic Chinese Drywall Installed In Hawaii Construction?
Posted on April 13, 2009My earlier stories on drywall from China that produces noxious fumes, fouls air conditioning systems and smells like sulfur, resulted in many Comments. See - "Chinese Drywall Is Not DRAGONBOARD!" The problem seems to have surfaced in the Southeast states, and mainly in Florida...
One Dead And One Seriously Injured When Motorcycle Hits Guardrail On Oahu
Posted on April 13, 2009A 27 year old woman driving a motorcycle on Kaukonahua Road on the North Shore was killed when her motorcycle went out of control and hit a guardrail. Her passenger, a 23 year old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition and is improving...
Crash victim ID'd as Makawao man
Posted on April 12, 2009Harrison Higa, 36 of Makawao, was identified Monday as the man who died Monday after his motorcycle crashed down an embankment off Piilani Highway in Ulupalakua. According to the report in the Honolulu Advertiser Maui police said Higa was traveling west on the highway when he lost control of his KX250F Kawasaki motorcycle, an off-road bike, and went down the embankment...
Motorcycle Deaths Skyrocket On Oahu
Posted on April 12, 2009The sad facts about motorcycle crashes in Hawaii: 7 motorcycle deaths on Oahu in 2008 2 motorcycle deaths on Oahu on a single day - January 1, 2009 6 motorcycle deaths on Oahu in the first 3 months of 2009 2 motorcycle deaths on Neighbor Islands in March 2009 Speed probably has something to do with this...
Elderly Man Killed On Kaukonahua Road
Posted on April 12, 2009TV news reporter Andrew Pereira of KHON TV news reported the death of an elderly man Tuesday morning on the dangerous Kaukonahua Road between Waialua and Schofield Barracks. Twenty two motorists have died on Oahu roads this year and in an an earlier fatal incident on this same road, Brittany Durchuk, 27, of Ewa Beach lost control of her motorcycle and died...
Motorcyclist Dies On Off Road Trail Above Kam Highway In Kahuku
Posted on April 12, 2009Everyone knows that riding motorcycles on off road trails is dangerous. Is it more dangerous than riding a motorcycle in heavy traffic at night when other car and truck drivers don't see the bike? I don't know. But taking a motorcycle off road is definitely risky...
Sixty-nine Year Old woman In Critical Condition After Aiea Automobile Accident
Posted on April 11, 2009Kaimakani Street was partially closed on Thursday at about 2:30 in the afternoon after a car driven by an older man struck a woman in a crosswalk. The injured woman was taken to Queens Medical Center in critical condition after being treated at the scene by paramedics...
Big Pharma Gifts to Medical Institutions Exposed
Posted on April 11, 2009A lot of health care news comes out of the financial industry. If you try to find out about how good a new drug is and search the internet you will find a lot of information that is tied to stock market sources. These often have press releases from pharmaceutical companie about research results at hospitals and Universities...
Automakers Put Profits Ahead of Safety - The Roof of Your Car Could Kill You
Posted on April 11, 2009It is understandable that you may think of the roof of your car as primarily to keep the rain or snow off of you and keep your hair in place. But there is a lot more to that roof than cosmetics. Cars roll over. 10,000 people die every year in this country in roll over accidents...
Soldier Fights Frivilous Doctors After Fighting For His Family And His Country
Posted on April 09, 2009Thanks to Tom Morton, Staff Writer for the Casper Wyoming Star-Tribune for this story about U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Edward Poche. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Edward Poche is a true hero. He fought for all of us in Iraq. Then he had to fight again when he came home against the American medical profession...
Genentech Voluntarily Withdraws Psoriasis Drug Raptiva [efalizumab]
Posted on April 09, 2009The Wall Street Journal (4/9, B3, Winslow) reports that on Apr. 8, "Roche Holding AG's Genentech, Inc. unit said it is voluntarily withdrawing its psoriasis drug Raptiva [efalizumab] from the market after it was linked with" a "rare, but often fatal brain disorder," progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)...
Thermal Effects of Mobile Phones on Facial Nerves and Surrounding Soft Tissue
Posted on April 08, 2009An article published in Laryngoscope, 2009 announces for the first time that researchers have investigated the possible thermal effects of microwaves from mobile phones on facial nerves (FN) and surrounding soft tissue in the face. Two things were measured on 12 rabbits prior to them being exposed to emissions from a mobile phone...
Afraid of Deadly Medical Errors If You Have To Go Into The Hospital? 8 Tips to Prevent Them.
Posted on April 07, 2009By Martine Ehrenclou - Author of the Acclaimed book "Critical Conditions - The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive" Martine Ehrenclou No doubt you've heard about the frightening number of deadly medical errors that occur in hospitals nationwide...
Medline Website Allows Self-evaluation of Drinking Behavior: "Rethinking Drinking"
Posted on April 07, 2009In an interesting and informative article: New Website About Drinking Is Very Informative anew tool is out there to help an individual check into their own drinking behavior. Michael Bryant a Minnesota personal injury attorney is getting the word out about this website in hopes that he sees fewer tragic clients in his office after a drunk driver kills or injures a family member...
Study Links Catastrophic Cartilage Damage To Pain Pumps
Posted on April 06, 2009Placement of a pain pump at the site of a surgery (hip, shoulder, knee, etc.) has been shown by studies to cause serious cartilage damage in some patients. The medical term for such a pain pump is "intra-articular pain pump" and the cartilage damage is called Chondrolysis...
Were You Hurt By Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)?
Posted on April 06, 2009Doctors believed until recently that long-term use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs such as Premarin, Depo Provera, and Prempro were safe. Here are guidelines to help you understand the risks associated with HRT treatments and criteria to know if you possibly have a claim...
FDA Warns 14 Major Pharmaceutical Companies About Misleading Ads
Posted on April 06, 2009The Wall Street Journal (4/4, Favole) reported, "The Food and Drug Administration warned 14 major pharmaceutical companies about brief Internet ads that accompany searches on Google and other search engines, saying the ads were misleading because they didn't include risk information...
Falls Lead Cause of Serious Injury and Death Among Seniors
Posted on April 04, 2009I get regular health and fitness updates called Fit Tips from a specialist here in Honolulu named Christie Bridges. She sent one recently that I have quoted below involving injuries from falls. Here is her story. "Every time I turn around lately, I've been reading an article on the subject of 'falls...
Doctor Myth #2: They Are NOT Leaving The State Because of Malpractice
Posted on March 30, 2009The statistics in Hawaii show that we have more doctors per capita than 80% of the other states. Something like 300 doctors for each 100,000 Hawaii residents. Despite this fact the doctors in Hawaii are trying to take away consumer rights and be excused for injuring their patients through medical errors by bullying the Hawaii legislature into passing anti-consumer legislation...
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Risks Ford Cancer, Blood Clots And Cardiac Problems
Posted on March 28, 2009Women who have Hormone Replacement Therapy (hrt) are more at risk for breast cancer according to the American Cancer Society: Results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) have shown that daily use of combined HRT increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer by about 5% to 6% with each year of use...
Judge Rules That Congressman Saxby Chambliss Is Immune From Attorney's Questions
Posted on March 25, 2009The AP (3/25, Bynum) reports, "A judge has ruled Sen. Saxby Chambliss doesn't have to answer questions from a lawyer suing Imperial Sugar on behalf of victims of the explosion at the company's Georgia refinery last year." The lawyer, Mark Tate, who is representing "families of six employees killed in the blast and five injured workers, subpoenaed Chambliss in hopes of asking him if the company sought his help to discredit a whistleblower and discourage workers from suing...
Medical Malpractice in Hawaii - Should The Hawaii Legislators Reward Doctors?
Posted on March 24, 2009While the Hawaii legislature considers handing out a free pass for doctors to injure their patients through blatant mistakes and not have to pay for it, a recent survey shows that the medical profession has a problem: half of the doctors in the survey hide real mistakes when they see them made by other doctors...
Medical Malpractice Legislation In Hawaii - Have the Democrats Finally Abandoned The Public?
Posted on March 24, 2009Jim Krueger, a great Maui attorney and a life long champion for the little guy, has exposed some shameful legislative manipulation by a few doctors in conspiracy with a few Democratic legislators who have abandoned the basic tenants of the Democratic Party...
Chinese Drywall Is Not DRAGONBOARD!
Posted on March 24, 2009I posted an article on January 2, 2009 about a problem in the Southeastern states involving toxic odors of sulfur from drywall installed in new homes: "Drywall From China Causes Concern Over Sulfur Odor In Homes". The story generated a lot of Comments and in the process some facts were not reported accurately...
Dairy Food, Calcium, and Risk of Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study
Posted on March 24, 2009In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):391-401) dairy food and calcium intake was studied to see if they play roles that differ among individual cancers. The science to date has been limited and inconsistent and their effect on cancer in total has been unclear...
JAMA Hides Public Disclosures Of Conflicts Of Interest - Calls Scientist "A Nobody"
Posted on March 24, 2009In the Wall Street Journal on March 23 David Armstrong writes in his Health Blog that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): "says it is adopting a new policy under which anyone asserting that study authors have failed to disclose conflicts of interest should keep the matter confidential until JAMA investigates...
Tragedy Sunday Moring On Kauai As Truck Crashes In Kekaha
Posted on March 23, 2009Max Agor, 18 years old and from Lawai, was driving his pick-up truck east-bound on Kaumualii Highway near St. Theresa's Church at about 1:12 a.m. with a female passenger. Agor lost control of the Toyota pickup truck, went onto the east-bound shoulder and flipped over several times...
Federal Preemption Puts Consumers At Risk According To Observers
Posted on March 23, 2009In an op-ed in the Des Moines Register (3/20) Joel Olah, executive director of aging resources of central Iowa, wrote, "Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of medical-device manufacturers and against consumers in a case that has ramifications on the individual rights of thousands of Iowans...
Landmark Chemical Reform places burden on Industry to prove chemicals are safe
Posted on February 21, 2009Toxic chemicals in consumer products are a major fear because they get into the poeple who use them. Three members of Congress have introduced legislation to help insure that chemicals are safe before they come to market. The current Toxic Substances Control Act, unchanged since 1976, approves most new chemicals with little or no safety testing...
Honolulu Alert: Another Pedestrian Struck Down In A Crosswalk
Posted on February 17, 2009Honolulu what is happening here? Another woman was struck down in a crosswalk Tuesday morning? The epidemic of crosswalk injuries and deaths seems out of control to me. According a KHNL news report Tuesday morning at the corner of Piikoi and King Streets a 23 year old woman was struck by a vehicle driven by a 65 year old woman...
Another Pedestrian Death In Beretania Street Crosswalk
Posted on February 11, 2009A pedestrian, Richard Tasaka, 63 years old, was fatally injured Friday night while walking in the McCully area. He was struck while in a crosswalk by a tour bus at about 7:30 p.m. Mr. Tasaka was crossing Beretania Street at McCully and the tour bus was making a left turn from McCully onto Beretania...
DUI Arrests Continue Eight Year Trend in Honolulu
Posted on February 11, 2009Drunk driving arrests in Honolulu increased during 2008 according to the Honolulu Police Department . The data shows nearly 400 more motorists were charged with suspicion of DUI in Honolulu in 2008 than the previous year. That continues an eight year trend that can be explained at least in part by increased police efforts to catch drunk drivers...
Judge Decertifies Class Action Suit Against Pfizer Over Epilepsy Drug
Posted on February 11, 2009The Legal Intelligencer (2/11, Elliot-Engel) reports, "A month before a pharmaceutical class action was set for trial, a Philadelphia judge decertified the class of users of an epilepsy and neuralgia drug seeking reimbursement from the drug's maker after being prescribed the drug for uses not approved by federal regulators" granting "a pharmaceutical company defendant's motion for class decertification in Clark v...
Italy And The Vatican Face Constitutional Crisis Over Right-to-die Of Woman In A Coma For 17 Years
Posted on February 10, 2009Silvia Aloisi of the International Herald Tribune reports that Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is pushing a law through parliament to force doctors to resume feeding a comatose woman in a right-to-die case that has plunged the country into a constitutional crisis...
What Do You Think About Drug Companies Paying Your Doctor Money?
Posted on February 10, 2009Did you know that drug companies pay doctors money? The payments cover a range of activities such as doctor's speaking engagements, clinical trials, payments to institutions like Universities where doctors do research and other things like trips to conferences and the like...
Peanut Butter Salmonella Scandal Gets Worse: Plant shipped Salmonella-tainted product before receiving re-test results.
Posted on February 09, 2009Leading the way on the tainted peanut butter scandal, one young Atlanta personal injury attorney and a law student working with him are rising in national recognition as food safety consumer advocates. Law student Jessica Smagacz and attorney Brandon Smith have done the lion share of public education about this threat to public health and safety...
New Supreme Court session seen as worth watching.
Posted on February 06, 2009Forbes (2/5, Fisher) reported, "Cases recalling the commercial struggles of the early United States, the fate of 1.2 million acres of Hawaiian real estate and the question of whether judges should be disqualified from hearing suits involving campaign supporters are all on the Supreme Court's docket this spring" and "it's not a blockbuster session like last fall, when the high court handed a big victory to Exxon Corp...
Whistleblower accuses SEC of "illiteracy" over Madoff scandal.
Posted on February 05, 2009The Financial Times (2/5, Chung, et al.) reports that former money manager Harry "Markopolos, who tried for nine years to expose Mr. Madoff, told a congressional hearing yesterday that staff incompetence on the part of the US Securities and Exchange Commission was partly to blame for failing to bring a case against Mr Madoff earlier...
Sylvia Minor: Has Our Country Lost Its Compassion For People?
Posted on February 03, 2009Two comments have been posted on my recent post about Sylvia Minor. HELP! Sylvia Is Facing Breast Cancer Alone Without Paul - A Story of Justice Gone Wrong! Both were apparently women and they both had that nasty tone of the Karl Rove, Dick Chaney, U...
Obama Promises Review Of FDA Operations
Posted on February 03, 2009In the second installment of an interview with President Barack Obama, Matt Lauer on the NBC Today Show (2/2, 7:13 a.m. EST) noted the "massive peanut butter products recall" traced back to a Georgia plant that "has a history of sending out products even though there have been traces of salmonella found...
HELP Sylvia Minor Get Her Husband Back - Breast Cancer Will Not Wait.
Posted on February 03, 2009"..... Minor’s wife Sylvia developed breast cancer during the trial, which metastasized to her brain and lungs. Last month doctors stopped all medications other than those for pain management ....." Paul Minor has been imprisoned for drinking while released on bond pending appeal...
HELP! Sylvia Struggling With Breast Cancer Needs Paul - A Story of Justice Gone Wrong!
Posted on February 02, 2009Sylvia has breast cancer and she is all alone. Her husband Paul is in prison. We need to call evreryone we know and raise the volume to a level where they will let Paul rush to his wife's side and hold her hand through this ordeal. Before you click off, this is a story that everyone should read and everyone should shout about...
Nanakuli Fatal Car Crash - Speeding Causes More Tragic Death and Injury On Roads
Posted on January 30, 2009KHON TV News reported in a story published on its website on Jan 25, 2009, details a fatal car crash in Nanakuli on Saturday morning. At 6:50 a.m. on Saturday morning Alexander Suguitan was on his way to work driving eastbound on Farrington Highway in Nanakuli near the 7-11 store...
Obama signs equal-pay bill into law.
Posted on January 30, 2009President Obama yesterday signed his first bill into law yesterday, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. USA Today (1/30, Jackson) reports the new law "makes it easier for workers to sue companies for pay discrimination and effectively reverses a 2007 Supreme Court decision that had given workers 180 days to file a lawsuit after the pay inequity allegedly first took place...
Mayor Hannemann Puts People and Health First With Plans For Sewage System
Posted on January 27, 2009Laurie Au of the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported on January 19, 2009 that Mayor Mufi Hannemann has responded to a recent federal ruling forcing the city to upgrade two major waste-water treatment plants by asking the state Department of Health to update its water quality standards...
Was Army study manipulated? Makua seafood pollution cover-up?
Posted on January 27, 2009In a report by Honolulu Advertiser military writer William Cole, Earthjustice contends that the Army skewed a study of contamination in a report. The report analyzed the impact of 60 years of military training in Makua Valley on the marine environment...
Supreme Court sides with employee on retaliation case.
Posted on January 27, 2009The Washington Post (1/27, A2, Barnes) reports, "The Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday that a federal anti-discrimination law protects employees from retaliation when they cooperate with internal investigations of harassment," siding with "Vicky S...
Labor bill may give workers tool to fight for higher pay.
Posted on January 26, 2009The Wall Street Journal (1/24, Trottman, Maher) reported, "The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, named for a woman whose attempt to sue Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for pay discrimination was blocked because she waited too long, is poised to be one of the first bills signed by President Barack Obama" and "if enacted, it could present a new tool for workers to fight for higher pay, and an array of challenges for businesses...
Obama blocks implementation of Bush's pending midnight regulations.
Posted on January 21, 2009The AP (1/21, Loven) reports the one of President Barack Obama's "first acts Tuesday was to put the brakes on all pending regulations that the Bush administration tried to push through in its waning days." The "order went out shortly after Obama was inaugurated president, in a memorandum signed by new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel...
Obama team reviewing last minute "midnight" regulations.
Posted on January 20, 2009The Chicago Tribune (1/20) reports that "Obama's team is conducting a wholesale review of scores of rules and regulations set in motion by Bush administration officials as his term wound down, the aides said, with an eye toward putting them on hold until the review is completed...
European Union Parliament votes to ban pesticides
Posted on January 16, 2009The Canary Report today covers a story that should make hawaii legislators think hard about why pesticides are rampant in the Hawaii environment. Here is their report: January 16, 2009 by Susie Collins If turned into law, the tighter rules would be phased in from next year with the aim of halving toxic substances on plants by 2013...
GAO report says FDA approved some medical devices without close scientific review.
Posted on January 16, 2009The New York Times (1/16, A15, Harris) reports, "Most medical devices have never been shown to be safe or effective, and for the riskiest devices this must change, Congressional investigators concluded in a report released Thursday." While the FDA "has promised for decades that it would fix the problem, it has not, leading the Government Accountability Office to state in the report that 'it is imperative that the FDA take immediate steps' to fix its system for approving devices...
Hawaii Headline: "Insurer punished for failing to pay claim"
Posted on January 15, 2009Tom Finnegan reports in the Honolulu Star Bulletin that Kauai Judge Randal Valenciano has ordered Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (HEMIC), an insurance company that advertises heavily in the Hawaiian Islands, to pay $325,000 to an 80-year-old woman who was forced to rely on handouts from neighbors when the company refused to honor her claim...
Women and Cancer in Hawaii - Ten Key Symptoms To Watch For
Posted on January 14, 2009The top 10 is one of my favorite parts of the David Letterman show and it always makes me laugh. The Top 10 list below however is dead serious because it is a guide to women to catch cancer early when a cure is possible. Women often endure pain silently...
Cancer Prevention: New Study Says Coffee May Prevent Oral Cancer
Posted on January 14, 2009In general I help the sick and the injured. My clients have broken bones, paralyzed limbs, brain injuries or diseases that are serious. Most personal injury lawyers wish that we could do something to prevent those injuries and illnesses. We applaud efforts by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to keep unsafe products from reaching the public...
Court Rules That Generic Drug Manufacturer Cannotb Use "Preemption" To Avoid Liability
Posted on January 14, 2009A recent court decision holds that generic drug manufacturers cannot use federal preemption to avoid liability for failing to warn of their drugs' dangers. The court in Kellogg v. Wyeth held, as Public Justice and co-counsel the Center for Constitutional Litigation (CCL) urged, that the approval of a generic prescription drug's label by the U...
Ninth Circuit Denies Immunity for Federal Officials in Case of Immigrant Detainee Neglected in Custody
Posted on January 14, 2009The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Oct. 2 that federal officials can be sued for violating the constitutional rights of an immigration detainee who had his penis amputated and later died from penile cancer that was left untreated and undiagnosed while in detention...
Organizations That Look Out For The Public: "Public Justice" Is At The Top Of The List
Posted on January 14, 2009Arthur Bryant is a brilliant attorney and constitutional scholar. He knows. He knows that as the American public grapples with the Wall Street financial crisis, fears about their jobs and their kids and wondering what terrorism will bring to their doors, the unbelievably wealthy CEO's and CFO's of Big Pharma, the American Medical Association and - back in the shadows where you see all the Limo's parked and the wafting circles of cigar smoke - the insurance industry, are working feverishly to destroy the American dream of justice and the rights of the individual...
Pedestrian Personal Injury Epidemic - Looking For Answers
Posted on January 14, 2009A male pedestrian suffered critical injuries in Kailua Wednesday night when struck by an automobile in front of Bank of Hawaii, Kailua Branch. Police said the automobile accident happened in the 600 block of Kailua Road on Oahu at about 8:30 PM. The man was taken in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center...
Pedestrian Critically Injured After Being Hit By Car On Farrington in Maili
Posted on January 13, 2009KHNL News reporter Minna Sugimoto reports that a teen aged boy underwent surgery Monday after being hit by a car in Leeward Oahu. The incident happened on Farrington Highway near Kimo Street in Maili Sunday night. Andrade family members wait anxiously as Ikaiaka Andrade fights for his life in the hospital...
Alternatives To Pesticides in Hawaii: Should The Hawaii Legislature Protect Children By Regulating Pesticide Use At Schools?
Posted on January 13, 2009What do you say? Children are the most susceptible to developing cancer from pesticides. Their organs are small and carcinogenic substances concentrations are greater for kids. Plus kids have many years for the pesticides to do their evil work. When a person gets cancer in their 20's or 30's we shake our heads and wonder why...
Automobile Strikes Man On Sidewalk Along Kalanianaole Resulting In Serious Personal Injury
Posted on January 13, 2009Did you see a fire hydrant showering Kalanianaole Highway on Sunday morning? Am automobile left the road and hit a man in his 60s walking on the sidewalk on Kalanianaole Highway in Niu Valley yesterday afternoon, according to police. According to a report in the Star Bulletin: The man, who was not identified yesterday, was in critical condition after the 11:40 a...
Salmonella in Peanut Butter
Posted on January 12, 2009According to a report in U.S. News & World Report, "King Nut" Peanut Butter is the likely source of a salmonella outbreak. Here is the U.S. News & World Report story: Two kinds of peanut butter are being recalled after public health officials pegged them as the most likely source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 399 people in 42 states...
Study Finds FDA Conflict Of Interest In Investigating Procedures
Posted on January 12, 2009The AP (1/12) reports, "An internal watchdog finds that financial conflicts involving outside researchers who test experimental drugs often remain hidden," and "missing information, loopholes, and weak oversight hamper efforts to uncover financial conflicts involving researchers who test experimental drugs before companies seek government approval...
Remember Bethany Wilkerson?
Posted on January 12, 2009Remember Bethany Wilkerson? In Hawaii we pride ourselves in family. People come first, not profits. Aloha Aina. Aloha. Love. Bethany Wilkerson will not be forgotten in the Islands. Three year olds are what its all about. But then what happens if Bethany doesn't have insurance? In 2005, Dara and Bo Wilkerson learned that their three-week-old daughter had been born with several holes in her heart...
Cusimano Letter To George Will Exposes The Truth About Litigation.
Posted on January 11, 2009George Will has been a consistent point man for the corporations and medical doctors who don't like the idea that they can be called into court for their negligence, dangerous products and drugs that kill and injure regular people. Most of us accept the lessons our parents taught us about being responsible when we make mistakes...
Best Inauguration Party in D.C.? Tickets Still Available - And Reasonable At A True Hawaiian Luau At Hotel Monaco
Posted on January 10, 2009Here is a front page story from the Honolulu Advertiser about the best party in Washington DC on Inauguration night: No room at the inaugural ball? Head for the Hawaii luau in D.C. Group's bash brings Hawaii to D.C. with local grinds, music By Dan Nakaso Advertiser Staff Writer They had their airline seats and hotel reservations but no tickets to any of the presidential balls, so a group of friends from Hawai'i decided to throw their own inaugural party in Washington, D...
Fipronil and Termidor Pesticides Followed TO Hawaii By Bans and Lawsuits
Posted on January 10, 2009I posted an article on pesticides in Hawaii waste water (KHNL Reports Possible Health Risks of Pollutants in Honolulu Wastewater) and I am following up with an inspiring piece from the Big Island about consumer activism regarding pesticides that I found today...
Honolulu Driver Arrested on Suspicion of Fatal Hit & Run
Posted on January 10, 2009KHON TV reports that a hit and run driver has been apprehended in the death of Lindsey Kane in Waipahu. The story was reported today on KHON TV by Brianne Randle. Here is their report: Charges are pending against a 31-year-old Waipahu man who was arrested in connection with a recent fatal hit and run crash...
Billion-dollar jury verdicts disappear after appeals, new rulings.
Posted on January 09, 2009Bloomberg News (1/8, Fisk) reported, "The billion-dollar jury verdict has disappeared from U.S. courtrooms" according to Bloomberg data. Bloomberg notes that, "because of changes in legal rulings, punitive-damage verdicts can be thrown out if they far exceed actual damages" and "some lawyers don't seek amounts that clearly violate the rules...
KHNL Reports Possible Health Risks of Pollutants in Honolulu Wastewater
Posted on January 08, 2009KHNL News Reporter Mari-Ela David reports on the KHNL website on January 7th about a about a federal study that exposes a public health risk from Oahu's wastewater. Here is her story. More can be found at the KHNL website. HONOLULU (KHNL) - Environmental and health experts give insight about the pollutants that, according to a federal report, are flowing out of Honolulu's wastewater treatment plants and into the ocean...
80 Year-old Nursing Home Resident Evicted and Left at Emergency Room - What do you think about that?
Posted on January 08, 2009Florence Ko, 81, had lived at Nu’uanu Hale in Honolulu for 18 months when a week before Christmas the staff at Nu'uanu Hale dropped her off at Straub Clinic & Hospital Emergency Room dressed in a hospital gown and holding her only personal belongings – a purse and a cell phone, according to the Honolulu Advertiser...
Bush implementing series of pro-business regulations.
Posted on January 08, 2009Bloomberg News (1/8, Rosenkrantz, Drajem) reports, "George W. Bush is using the waning days of his presidency to implement a raft of pro-business regulations, triggering vows by the incoming Obama administration and congressional Democrats to gut the measures...
Hawaii Wrongful Death Claim
Posted on January 07, 2009Wrongful death is always a tragedy and often the family comes into the office of an attorney with serious financial problems due to the loss of a loved one. Dealing with the huge emotional loss and the sadness is enough of a burden but paying bills and keeping current on the rent and mortgage and school tuition is often a frightening prospect to the emotionally overwhelmed family particularly if the wrongful death is of the major family wage earner...
Improve Injury and Illness Recovery Time And Treatment by Keeping A Symptom Diary.
Posted on January 07, 2009Have you ever looked at articles produced by About.com? Try it someday. Today I am posting an article that is particularly relevant to my clients: "How to Keep a Symptom Diary h1 = document.getElementById("title").getElementsByTagName("h1")[0];h1...
Hope On Insurance for Home Buyers, Builders and AOAO's in Construction Defect Cases From New Ruling In Florida
Posted on January 07, 2009Burlington Ins. Co. v. Oceanic Design & Constr., 383 F.3d 940 (9th Cir. 2004) has created havoc for home buyers and condominium associations in Hawaii since it came out in 2004. The decision was not from the Hawaii Supreme Court but from the Ninth Circuit federal court...
Judge dismisses Medtronic lawsuits, cites Supreme Court pre-emption case.
Posted on January 07, 2009The Wall Street Journal (1/7, A2, Burton) reports, "A federal judge threw out lawsuits on behalf of thousands of patients with heart-defibrillator wires that have been shown to fracture and dispatch potentially lethal shocks, concluding that a recent Supreme Court opinion made the dismissals inevitable" because that case said "that federal law 'pre-empts' product-liability lawsuits under state law, effectively precluding such cases...
Giving Antibiotics As Preventative Measure To Intensive Care Patients Reduces Deaths
Posted on January 05, 2009Giving antibiotics as a preventive measure to patients in intensive care units (ICUs) increases their chances of survival according to a study involving 6,000 Dutch patients in 13 hospitals. University Medical Center Utrecht (2009, January 4). Fewer Deaths With Preventive Antibiotic Use...
Weakness In Internet Security Uncovered
Posted on January 05, 2009Researchers in California and at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands, EPFL in Switzerland, and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands have discovered a weakness in the Internet digital certificate infrastructure...
Driving And Talking On Cell Phones Blocked By New Ignition Keys
Posted on January 05, 2009According to a new report from Science Daily (ScienceDaily Jan. 3, 2009) researchers at the University of Utah have developed an automobile ignition key that blocks cell phone use while driving. The recent Honolulu debate on this subject certainly would be addressed by this new technology that blocks voice, text and mms communication...
Marine Algae May Be The Best Source For Biofuel According To Scientists At Scripps Institute
Posted on January 05, 2009The article posted in Science Daily on Sunday January 4, 2009 is an eye-opener. Below is the full article. Go to the on-line version to see other related stories. ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2009) — Bell-bottoms… Designer jeans… Disco… Big hair… Gas shortages...
Obama Administration Planning To Overturn Supreme Court Decision On Discrimination Challenges
Posted on January 05, 2009The New York Times (1/5, A13, Pear) reports, "President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress are planning swift action to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it much harder for people to challenge discrimination in employment, education, housing and other fields...
Hawaii Survey: How Much Drywall From China Is In Hawaii Buildings?
Posted on January 04, 2009I am asking a question rather than telling you someting this time. I need feedback. In an earlier article: Drywall From China Causes Concern Over Sulfur Odor In Homes I cited news that reported on December 20, 2008 that .... drywall from China in 2004 - 2005 has has been creating noxious sulfur odors and potential health problem...
Speeding Alcohol Implicated In Campbell Avenue Crash
Posted on January 04, 2009The story by KHON News is the best report on this serious crash in which several members of the cast of Cirque de Soleil were seriously injured. What do you think about this tragic car crash? Here is the story: By KHON News Story Updated: Dec 16, 2008 at 5:53 PM HST It was just before three in the morning when the crash occurred...
Cerebral Palsy And Medical Malpractice In Hawaii
Posted on January 04, 2009Often the parents of a newborn child do not know that the child is even suffering from cerebral palsy much less knowing what caused the condition. Web resources have great information on the condition but why would parents look into cerebral palsy on the internet if they don't even know that their baby has the condition? As with many conditions affecting newborn children young parents often rely on their doctors to tell them if anything is wrong, and if it is wrong, what it is and what can be done...
Phosphorus-lowering Drugs Linked To Lower Mortality In Dialysis Patients
Posted on January 03, 2009I am posting here an excellent article from Science Daily. I find Science Daily to be the best source of health and science news of all types and highly recommend it to everyone as a source of information. Here is the story. Related information can be found on the Science Daily site...
CEA Antibody Labetuzumab With Iodine-131 Safe And Effective For Colorectal Cancer Metastases In The Liver
Posted on January 03, 2009Immunomedics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer and other serious diseases, today announced that its anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) antibody, labetuzumab, labeled with the radioisotope, iodine-131, was found to be safe and active when given in two doses to patients with colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver...
Passenger Dies In Car Crash Early On January 1, 2009
Posted on January 02, 2009As the celebrations ended on New Years eve a 23-year-old man behind the wheel of a speeding sedan lost control of his car on Likelike Highway near Kamehameha IV Road. The car went off the road, onto the right shoulder, crashed into a rock wall and rolled over several times...
Drywall From China Causes Concern Over Sulfur Odor In Homes
Posted on January 02, 2009MARY WOZNIAK (mwozniak@news-press.com) and DICK HOGAN (dhogan@news-press.com) reported on December 20, 2008 that drywall from China in 2004 - 2005 has has been creating noxious sulfur odors and potential health problem. A Florida family had to move out of their new home at the home builder's expense while the problem - and a solution - is investigated...
FDA Adds Warning of Celgene's Risks For Elderly
Posted on January 02, 2009The Dow Jones (12/31, Dooren) reported, "The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday Celgene Corp. (CELG) added an additional warning to its blood-clot busting drug Innohep stating it could increase the risk of death in elderly patients with kidney problems...
Hawaii Medical Malpractice Alert: Good Doctors Cover-up for Bad Doctors
Posted on January 01, 2009What doctors say is proper behavior isn’t always what they practice according to the report of a survey of 1,600 doctors conducted by the prestigious Columbia University's Institute on Medicine as a Profession’s Survey on Medical Professionalism...
California Sues Bush Administration Over Midnight Regulation.
Posted on December 31, 2008The AP (12/31, Young) reports, "California is suing the Bush administration to block last-minute endangered species regulations that are intended to reduce input from federal scientists, state Attorney General Jerry Brown announced Tuesday." Brown stated, "The President is trying to gut the Endangered Species Act before he leaves office next month...
Motorcyclist Critically Injured In Waipahu Crash On Farrington Highway
Posted on December 30, 2008A motorcyclist was critically injured on Monday afternnon in Waipahu when his motorcycle crashed on Farrington Highway. All eastbound lanes had to be closed with the exception of the mauka lane to allow police to investigate the incident. The crash site was near the Chevron gasoline station...
Judge Denies Class-action Status For FEMA Trailer Toxin Cases.
Posted on December 30, 2008The Wall Street Journal (12/30, Prada) reports, "A federal judge on Monday denied class-action status to thousands of hurricane victims seeking damages for alleged exposure to a toxic chemical while living in emergency housing provided by the federal government after deadly Gulf Coast storms in 2005...
Colonoscopy Significantly Reduces Death From Left-sided Colon Cancer But Not From Right-sided
Posted on December 30, 2008A complete colonoscopy is a procedure where a physician inserts a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope up into the patient's rectum to scan the entire colon for potentially cancerous growths. If a polyp or lesion is detected, it can often be removed during the colonoscopy so that no additional procedures or surgery are needed...
Diet Safety Alert: Anti-cancer Components Of Extra-virgin Olive Oil Revealed
Posted on December 30, 2008Another study supports the health benefits of high quality extra-virgin olive oil. Olive oil contains healthy ‘phytochemicals’, that can trigger cancer cell death. New research strengthens the connection between olive oil-rich Mediterranean diets and reductions in breast cancer risk...
Researcher Shows How Cancer Evades The Immune System
Posted on December 30, 2008document.write("Email Subscription: Get Latest Medical Technology delivered by email");Fundamental to cancer is its ability to avoid the immune system. Now according to researchers from the University of Southern California that trait may become cancer's greatest vulnerability...
Murder On A Caribbean Cruise Ship?
Posted on December 30, 2008We have all heard about the death of Jennifer Seitz on a Caribbean Cruise ship. At 8 p.m. on Christmas night, a surveillance camera on a Caribbean cruise ship captured the image of a woman in a bathrobe falling over the railing. Two days later, her husband accepted condolences from a fellow passenger and announced his immediate plans — a trip to the ship’s casino...
Drug Companies and Doctors
Posted on December 30, 2008Marcia Angell, former Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It." has written recently in the New York Review of Books about three books critical of the pharmaceutical industry and its relationship with doctors and clinicians: Side Effects by Alison Bass, Our Daily Meds by Melody Petersen and Shyness by Christopher Lane...
Motorcycle Law in Hawaii
Posted on December 29, 2008Motorcycles operating two abreast in same lane: Yes. §291C-153 - Operating motorcycles on roadways laned for traffic. (a) All motorcycles are entitled to full use of a lane and no motor vehicle shall be driven in such a manner as to deprive any motorcycle of the full use of a lane...
Older Adults Have More Drug Interactions
Posted on December 29, 2008ScienceDaily reports on Christmas day on a report from the University of Chicago Medical Center that concludes that in the U. S. 1 in 25 older adults, about 2.2 million people, take multiple drugs in combinations that can produce a harmful drug-drug interaction...
Novel Pathway Involved In Therapy-resistant Cancers Discovered
Posted on December 25, 2008According to an article in ScienceDaily Health, scientists at The Babraham Institute have discovered mechanisms involved in the development of drug resistant cancers. A new target has been discovered that hopefully will address therapy resistant cancers and lead to new treatments...
Lucanix: New Cancer Vaccine Being Tested In Phase 3 Trial At U.C. San Diego
Posted on December 25, 2008Oncology Nursing News reports on December 08, 2008 that a clinical trial has begun at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla to test the effectiveness of a new vaccine for lung cancer. The vaccine, called Lucanix (NovaRX Corporation, San Diego, Calif), is made from gene-modified tumor cells...
Maui Accident Victim Medically Evacuated to Honolulu After 3 AM Collision
Posted on December 25, 2008Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) received a call from a Hawaii State Department of Health official about a man who was injured in a 3:45 a.m. head-on car accident on Maui. A Coast Guard C-130 long-range search aircraft crew from Air Station Barbers Point was en route to Kahului International Airport with a Disaster Medical Assist Team (DMAT) at 6:15 a...
Is Sugar Like A Drug?
Posted on December 25, 2008In her Nutrition Blog at About.com, Shereen Jegtvig answers the question "Is sugar a drug? Rats respond to sugar binges just like they would respond to morphine, cocaine or nicotine according to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology...
Spinal Surgery Outcomes Improved by New Imaging Technology
Posted on December 25, 2008ScienceDaily reports on Dec. 23, 2008 that spine surgeons at the Mayo Clinic in Florida are using a three-dimensional (3D) image-guided system to help place screws in the spines of patients. They claim that the imaging system allows more accurate surgery with a decrease in the number of misplaced screws, and subsequent injuries, seen in more traditional operations, say neurosurgeons at Mayo Clinic in Florida...
Postpartum Depression Reduces Quality Sleep
Posted on December 24, 2008ScienceDaily reports on December 24, 2008 that postpartum depression (PPD) can lead to poor sleep quality according to an article in the Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 2008; Wiley-Blackwell (2008, December 24). The paper reports that depression symptoms worsen in PPD patients when their quality of sleep declines...
FDA Criticizes Coca-Cola over "Diet Coke Plus" Label
Posted on December 24, 2008In an article appearing in some 30 papers and websites including the Washington Post, the AP (12/24, Perrone) reports that the FDA has "scolded" the Coca-Cola company "for placing inappropriate nutritional claims on its Diet Coke Plus soft drink...
American Medical Association Reports That Preventing Diabetes May Prevent Cancer
Posted on December 24, 2008Lisa Fayed's Blog at About.com on December 18, 2008 reports on a possible connection between cancer and diabetes. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association claims that people suffering from cancer, who are also diabetic, face an increased risk of dying from cancer than those who are not diabetic...
FDA Warns Public: Diet Pills May Contain Cancer Causing Unlisted Ingredients.
Posted on December 23, 2008The CBS Evening News reported, "There is a new warning tonight for Americans looking to take a short cut to weight loss. The FDA has listed more than 25 weight loss products to avoid because they contain ingredients that are not labeled and could cause serious health problems...
Cancer Markers: MicroRNA Disruptions Drosha and Dicer Predict Ovarian Cancer Outcomes
Posted on December 22, 2008pa href="http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/12/22/antacids_linked_to_asthma_in_offspring/"Boston.com /aagain reports on significant medical discoveries, this time for ovarian cancer patients from the New England Journal of Medicine and M...
Taking Antacids During Pregnancy May Cause Baby To Develop Asthma
Posted on December 22, 2008pChildren whose mothers took antacid drugs during pregnancy were 1.5 times more likely to develop asthma than children whose mothers did not take the drugs, researchers from a href="http://www.childrenshospital.org"Children's Hospital Boston /areport...
Legal Article Review: Attorney Andrew Cohen of CBS On: "Made in America: Corporate Gall"
Posted on December 22, 2008p p p p pLike the child who kills his parents and then begs for mercy because he is an orphan, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce now is begging President-elect Barack Obama to protect corporate interests in the nationrsquo;s civil litigation system as a way of restoring jobs and bolstering an economy shattered largely (as we now know) by corporate greed and misfeasance...
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Posted on December 21, 2008Benefits of breastfeeding outweigh risks of infant exposure to environmental chemicals in breast milk. As reported in Science Daily on December 20, 2008 a new study compares infants who were breastfed with formula fed infants. The study showed that over time the known beneficial effects of breastfeeding are greater than the potential risks associated with chemical exposure to infants from dioxins that may be present in breast milk...
Toy Safety Buying Tips From the CPSC
Posted on December 21, 2008Toy safety is on the top of the list with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this month. The stores are filled with toys for the holidays and parents and grandparents are scouring department store shelves looking at a myriad of new toys. The CPSC hopes that parents and gift buyers check for toy safety as a part of every purchase...
Good Samaritans May Be Liable For Damages.
Posted on December 19, 2008The AP (12/19, Elias) reports, "Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, the state's high court on Thursday said a would-be Good Samaritan accused of rendering her friend paraplegic by pulling her from a wrecked car 'like a rag doll' can be sued...
Hawaii Pedestrians Face Crosswalk Threats
Posted on December 18, 2008pHawaii has had too many deaths and tragic injuries of a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/15/ln/FP703150352.html"pedestrians struck in crosswalks/a. The problem has been so bad that scientific studies have been made to get to the root of the the problem...
Bush Administration Midnight Regulations On Preemption Take Away Right To Sue
Posted on December 18, 2008pIn a story about the Bush administration's midnight regulations, focusing on the efforts at pre-empting lawsuits in state courts, a title="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=6amp;m=3819395amp;r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2amp;b=0amp;j=MTA2MzY4OTY3S0amp;mt=1amp;rt=0" style="color: #0e4d96; text-decoration: underline" href="http://links...
American Association of Justice Warns That Preemption Laws Rremove Right To Sue
Posted on December 18, 2008pIn a story about the Bush administration's midnight regulations, focusing on the efforts at pre-empting lawsuits in state courts, a title="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=6amp;m=3819395amp;r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2amp;b=0amp;j=MTA2MzY4OTY3S0amp;mt=1amp;rt=0" style="color: #0e4d96; text-decoration: underline" href="http://links...
FDA Raises The Bar For New Diabetes Drugs
Posted on December 18, 2008pThe American Association of Justice (AAJ) reports that the FDA has moved to protect diabetes patients by requiring more testing of diabetes drugs. In a report appearing in at least 66 media outlets, the a title="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=29amp;m=3819395amp;r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2amp;b=0amp;j=MTA2MzY4OTY3S0amp;mt=1amp;rt=0" href="http://links...
New Diabetes Drugs Undergo Greater FDA Scrutiny
Posted on December 18, 2008p /p p style="margin: 0px"In a report appearing in at least 66 media outlets, the a title="http://links.mkt1100.com/ctt?kn=29amp;m=3819395amp;r=MzczNjk3NjM0MQS2amp;b=0amp;j=MTA2MzY4OTY3S0amp;mt=1amp;rt=0" style="color: #0e4d96; text-decoration: underline" href="http://links...
Avoiding Car Accidents When Your Car Hydroplanes On A Wet Road
Posted on December 14, 2008Hawaii is famous for good (great!) weather and lots of sun, but a few times a year Hawaii is hit with a storm and the rain is heavy and the visibility reduced. The systems that drain water from road surfaces get overwhelmed in these storms and water sheets the roadways at certain locations where drains are full...
Food Poisoning Update: FDA Blasted on Melamine Contaminated Infant Formula
Posted on December 01, 2008The Washington Post reported today that the FDA is being blasted from all sides for allowing the Melamine food poisoning crisis to spin out of control. The story identifies sources of Melamine contamination: The FDA found melamine and cyanuric acid, a related chemical, in samples of baby formula made by major U...
Basic Rules That Make Good Cells Go Bad In All Cancers
Posted on November 30, 2008The general approach to cancer research is to treat each cancer as a unique disease. Now Hartmut "Hucky" Land, Ph.D., is taking the opposite approach: what do all cancers have in common and how can scientists create treatments from those similarities? The James P...
New Article Offers Tips On Expressing Emotions In E-mail
Posted on November 30, 2008Daniel A. Menchik and Xiaoli Tian of the University of Chicago) have published a new study in the current issue of American Journal of Sociology on how we use emoticons, subject lines, and signatures to define how we want to be interpreted in email. They found that " ...
Kidney Injury Increases Risk Of Serious Kidney Disease
Posted on November 28, 2008Acute kidney injury (AKI) is often caused by trauma, illness, or surgery. Research now shows that people who have suffered AKI have a higher risk later in life of getting the most serious form of chronic kidney disease (CKD), known as end stage renal disease (ESRD)...
The Center for Disease Control - Visit the CDC Website - The CDC.gov Top 10 List
Posted on November 27, 2008Why would a person book mark and regularly visit the Center For Disease Control (CDC) website? There are many reasons from protecting yourself and your family from food poisoning to being vigilant about drinking water safety issues and epidemics. Here is an example of hwt they have for you...
Ask Questions and Investigate Before Getting Multiple Vaccinations
Posted on November 27, 2008Research studies have raised concerns about the common practice of getting multiple vaccinations at one time. Most commonly this happens when a trip is coming up and particularly a trip to a foreign country. For instance you might get a flu shot, hepatitis, malaria or other vaccinations...
Have You Been Brainwashed About Attorneys And The Courts?
Posted on November 27, 2008Yes we have three branches of Government: Executive (president, governor and mayor) Legislative (Congress, state legislature and county/city council) Judicial (the courts) In the first two the public has no direct input. You vote for a "Representative" and they in turn vote or do things on your behalf without consulting you...
Melamine, Melamine, Melamine - Food Poisoning In Infant Formula? Are You Kidding Me?
Posted on November 27, 2008HEADLINE: "Consumers Union Calls on the FDA to Immediately Release All Results of Its Tests for Melamine Contamination in Food Products. Group ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Reports of FDA Test Results Indicating Melamine Contamination in U...
Please Help Jim Martin Win the U.S. Senate Election in Georgia
Posted on November 25, 2008I am stepping outside of the normal topics on this Blog because I care about getting Jim Martin elected in the Georgia Senate run-off election. The race is close and national attention is focused on the race. Saxby Chambliss is currently the incumbent and he won his seat by attacking the patriotism of a great American hero - and one of my role models - Max Cleland, a double amputee veteran from the Viet Nam war...
Food Poisoning Risk Under the Radar: Is Mineral Oil A Health Problem - Scientists Suspect It Is
Posted on November 25, 2008According to an editorial report from the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology that unless proof can be established that there are no health problems from mineral oil, people should reduce their exposure to and use of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and environmental contamination...
Food Poisoning Tips For Consumers in Hawaii
Posted on November 23, 2008Any discussion of food poisoning should start with where a person can find out about the subject and where to report suspected food poisoning. The State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) has excellent resources for consumers on this subject. Start with the DOH "Food Borne Illnesses - Frequently Asked Questions" website to learn about food poisoning...
Breast Cancer Risk in Hawaii Linked to Pesticides in Drinking Water and Indoor Air
Posted on November 23, 2008Pesticides leach into the Hawaii ground water system and end up in our drinking water. The warm tropical sun causes the pesticides to evaporate and enter the building through gaps in the foundation and infect breathing spaces inside the homes and schools and office buildings...
Thanksgiving Turkey Food Poisoning Tips
Posted on November 23, 2008No this isn't about how to poison a turkey, or the people who will eat the turkey on Thanksgiving. Its about how to prevent that from happening. Why worry you ask? Here are the facts according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) WASHINGTON - At a news conference today, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) urged the U...
States Can Reduce Deaths in Car Crashes by Vision Screening Older Drivers
Posted on November 17, 2008Science Daily reports that a Florida law mandating vision screening of all drivers over 80 is reducing death rates for car crashes in that age group. A correlation between vision and car crashes has not previously been established but it has been widely suspected...
Melamine Contamination, Food Poisoning and Foreign Products
Posted on November 16, 2008While looking into some issues relating to food poisoning I came across a very informative article written By Michael Bryant from St. Cloud, Minnesota about pet food poisoning. It turns out that the food supply for our pets is threatened just like the human food supply and Mr...
Proposed "Organic" Standards for Fish Fail Consumer Expectations
Posted on November 16, 2008The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) holds a meeting on November19, 2008 of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) at which it intends to weaken the meaning of "organic" as used in fish labels according to Consumers Union...
Water Safety in Hawaii Threatened by Wide Use of Pesticides
Posted on November 16, 2008Hawaii has suffered from contamination of ground water by pesticides in the past and the water system is always at risk from pesticides. In the early 1990's the University of Hawaii studied 40 common pesticides in the water system. Their focus was on comparing pesticides for leachability, recharge rates and depth to water...
Fresh Summit 2008 - Food Poisoning Concerns Spur Industry and Government Initiatives
Posted on November 15, 2008The Fresh Summit 2008 was just held in Orlando in October with attendance from all over the world. More than 17,000 attendees from 70 countries usually attend and this year's Summit highlighted important issues concerning food safety. During an Oct. 26 session, “Food Safety: Keeping Your Business Healthy,” a distinguished panel talked about the latest in regulations and food safety initiatives as well as how to consider food safety investments in a return-on-investment perspective...
Report From Maui to the EPA: "Waste Water Damages Reefs"
Posted on November 15, 2008The Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9 held a public hearing in Lahaina centered on what happens to waste water. The reason for the hearing is a proposed underground injection permit renewal for the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility...
Victoria's Secret Bras - Formaldehyde Contact Dermatitis Redux
Posted on November 15, 2008I was surprised by the huge response to my original post on skin injuries linked to Victoria's Secret Bras. I myself have been educating myself about formaldehyde contact dermatitis and the clothing industry manufacturing process. I posted another article on the conditions that are associated with formaldehyde contact dermatitis for those who are unfamiliar with the condition...
Formaldehyde Clothing Dermatitis - Victoria's Secret Bras
Posted on November 14, 2008The recent news story on Victoria's Secret Bras causing allergic skin reaction in women wearing the bras raises the question of the connection between Formaldehyde and women's clothing. Formaldehyde Clothing Dermatitis is a well documented condition. To know if you have it the following must be established: Formaldehyde clothing dermatitis — criteria to fulfill Suspected fabric shows the presence of free formaldehyde Patient shows a positive patch test reaction to 2% formalin Formaldehyde resin impregnated fabric show a positive patch test reaction — the piece of fabric tested should have been worn and subjected to sweat, sebum and friction Wearing the fabric causes a clinical allergic contact dermatitis Obviously the fabric must be retained for testing and the allergic reaction well documented...
Victoria's Secret Bras Contaminated With Formaldehyde According To Ohio Woman's Lawsuit
Posted on November 13, 2008A woman in Ohio purchased Victoria's Secret bras and after wearing them came down with hot , blistering welts and severe itching that made it difficult to sleep. She filed suit in May after tests revealed that the bras contained formaldehyde, an embalming chemical...
Two New Reports Analyze Cost to the Country for Dangerous Products and the Problem With Foreign Manufacturers
Posted on November 13, 2008The American Association of Justice (AAJ) in partnership with American University’s Washington College of Law, has issued a report on dangerous foreign products, entitled Defective Foreign Products in the United States: Issues and Discussion, argues that foreign producers are protected by the complex web of laws, policies, and practices that make it difficult if not impossible to sue successfully foreign manufacturers in domestic courts...
Concern Over Airbag Safety In Used Vehicles
Posted on November 13, 2008Would it surprise that 1 out of every 25 previously damaged vehicles on the road have phony or dummy airbags? Victoria Cavaliere of New York News reports that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) recently discovered that there were mechanics rags inside the drivers-side airbag in the vehicle that a California woman had been driving for 2 years...
Legal Case Study: Late Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
Posted on November 09, 2008The patient experienced shortness of breath and coughing and felt a constant need to clear his throat. He went to an internist at a medical group, who ordered a chest X-ray. The X-ray was interpreted as normal by a radiologist, and the internist told the patient that he was fine...
Legal Case Study: Hospital Liability, Nursing Negligence - Improper Handling of Fetal Distress.
Posted on November 09, 2008In this case a woman in her 32nd week of pregnancy had a fetal monitor show that her baby was experiencing tachycardia. The patient was admitted to a hospital for several days and was administered magnesium sulfate and other treatment to avoid preterm labor...
Legal Case Study: Emergency Medicine - Failure to Properly Treat Infant Fever - Anoxic Brain Injury
Posted on November 09, 2008In this unfortunate case a 1-month-old child experienced a fever of 101.3 degrees. Her parents took her to a hospital emergency room where she underwent chest X-ray, urinalysis and blood work. The child was later discharged with a diagnosis of neonatal febrile illness...
Legal Case Study - Late Diagnosis of Breast Cancer - Metastasis
Posted on November 09, 2008In this real case a woman in her 40's underwent a screening mammogram which was read by the radiologist as normal. Several months later she detected a lump in her left breast and was subsequently referred for a diagnostic mammogram and sonogram. The radiologist who interpreted the tests reported them as normal, and the patient did not undergo a biopsy...
Proton Therapy Offers More Effective and Less Painful Cancer Treatment
Posted on November 09, 2008Ian Lawrence is a physicist is suffering from a cancerous tumor that was discovered on the optical nerve leading to his left eye. According to BBC News, Europeans are looking to a small number of European Centers that offer Proton Therapy, and the U.S...
Hawaii Auto Accident - What is the Covered Loss Deductible (CLD)
Posted on November 08, 2008When a claim is made by a person injured in an automobile accident in Hawaii the "covered loss deductible" automatically reduces the amount recovered by the injured party. How does it work? let's look at the law that applies: §431:10C-301...
Treatments For Type 2 Diabetes Escalate Costs
Posted on November 07, 2008Type 2 Diabetes treatments increase in number and cost. A new report in the Archives of Internal Medicine documents the increase over the past few years of a more complex and expensive range of treatments for Type 2 Diabetes. G. Caleb Alexander; Niraj L...
Arctic Sea Ice Thins And Recedes - Global Warming
Posted on November 07, 2008According to an article published November 3, 2008 in Science Daily the thickness of sea ice in large areas of the Arctic was reduced by nearly 19 percent (half a meter). In the summer of 2007 the extent of ice coverage dropped to its lowest levels since records began being kept...
WARNING! One Out of Five Doses of Medications Given In Hospitals is Wrong
Posted on October 31, 2008Medication errors cause 7,000 deaths each year and the frightening truth is that 1 out of every 5 doses of medication given in hospitals is wrong according to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Control in Managed Care Pharmacy (Medication errors) The annual cost of drug-related morbidity and mortality is nearly $177 billion in the United States and there is at least one death per day and 1...
Most Common Medication Errors
Posted on October 31, 2008We all know that making an error in the medication a patient takes can be serious. The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) is an organization that attempts to warn patients about these risks. The NCC MERP defines a medication error as "any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer...
Study Casts Doubt on Claims That the Medical Malpractice System Is Plagued By Frivolous Lawsuits
Posted on October 30, 2008The Harvard School of Public Health has studied the claims by doctors that frivolous lawsuits against doctors are rampant and driving up the cost of health care. The subject is plagued by wild untruths spread by doctors organizations and insurance companies...
U.S. House Report Further Confirms Bush Administration's Preemption Plot
Posted on October 30, 2008Hot topic these days is pre-emption. Think of it as complete immunity for drug companies. The american association of Justice (AAJ) just released some blockbuster news about a Bush Administration plot. There press release follows: Yesterday the U...
Drug Industry Immunity Endangers Women According To New Study
Posted on October 29, 2008One week before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case, Wyeth vs. Levine, that would give the Drug Industry and "Big Pharma" complete immunity, the Center For Justice & Democracy (CJ&D) has issued a report that demonstrates the danger to women from a Drug Industry victory...
New Study: 150,000 Deaths This Year From Medical Mistakes and Inadequate Care In Hospitals
Posted on October 28, 2008A non-profit organization, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), that monitors health care, has found that 57,000 Americans die each year because they do not receive adequate care in hospitals. Their report, The State of Health Care Quality concludes that: These deaths should not be confused with those attributable to medical errors or lack of...
Complete Immunity For Drug Companies? Doctors and Attorneys Both Say "No"!
Posted on October 28, 2008In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), doctors oppose the Bush Administration attempt to grant complete immunity to drug companies through a doctrine know as "pre-emption". Attorneys have long voiced their opposition to this latest attempt by drug companies to avoid responsibility for dangerous drugs...
Book Review: "Critical Conditions - The Essential Hospital Guide To Get Your Loved One Out Alive".
Posted on October 28, 2008Martine Ehrenclou has authored a new book for patients and their loved ones that deals with going to the hospital - and getting out alive. This handbook for patients should be mandatory reading before and during any hospital stay. Ms. Ehrenclou describes the issues succinctly: There is a nationwide, drastic nursing shortage; nurses and doctors are overworked and overwhelmed by the patient overload...
The Supply Of OB/GYNs In A State Has No Relationship To Either Doctor's Malpractice Premiums Or A State's Liability Laws
Posted on October 28, 2008The March 2008 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies finds that "the supply of OB/GYNs in a state has no relationship to either doctor’s malpractice premiums or a state’s liability laws". Y. Tony Yang, David M. Studdert, S.V. Subramanian, Michelle M...
Personal Injury in Hawaii - Hawaii Automobile Accidents - Damage To The Vehicle Matters
Posted on October 26, 2008Insurance companies have had great success in court when the damage to the vehicles is very small. They argue that no one could be injured if the photos show only minor dents and scratches on the cars. Juries and judges are very unlikely to assess damages against a defendant when the damage to the vehicles is small...
Hawaii Attorneys
Posted on October 26, 2008How do you find an attorney to represent you in Hawaii? Of course it is easy to find an attorney because they advertise. But how do you determine if a particular Hawaii lawyer is the best for you? Big Firm vs. small firm? Older attorney vs. younger attorney? Lawyer who has gone to trial many times vs...
New Rules Prohibit Soliciting Insurance Sales From Military Personnel On Base
Posted on October 26, 2008The Washington Post recently reported that our military members are targeted by unscrupulous companies. Kimberly Lankford of Kiplinger's Personal Finance reported on Sunday, August 3, 2008 that: Military personnel are often young and transient, but they earn a regular paycheck from Uncle Sam...
Tips When Going on a Cruise
Posted on October 26, 2008If you go on a Cruise be aware of the following issues to watch out for: 1. Most cruise ship tickets contain contractual statute of limitations (usually one year) 2. Most tickets have a 6 month written notice requirement 3. Most also have venue provisions requiring the case be brought in a particular jurisdiction and even in particular courts (these days federal court) -- usually in Miami, Florida or Seattle, Washington or Los Angeles, California (depends on cruise line)...
Debunking the Myths
Posted on October 26, 2008Drug, oil, and insurance companies have spent millions of dollars to generate myths about how lawsuits are out of control and responsible for all of America’s ills. The facts tell a much different story. Myth: The number of lawsuits filed is skyrocketing...
The Truth About Medical Negligence
Posted on October 26, 2008Proponents of civil justice restrictions have made limiting the amount a person can receive from a negligent health care provider when they are a victim of medical negligence a top priority. A one-size-fits-all approach is unfair to victims – an informed jury is the only fair way to truly decide what a victim’s pain and suffering is worth...
Medical Malpractice Expenditures Comprise Less Than 1 Percent Of Overall Health Costs
Posted on October 26, 2008We hear a lot of propaganda from medical professionals, insurance companies and politicians who try to place the blame for America’s skyrocketing health care costs on the so-called medical malpractice “insurance crisis.” They claim that patients who are injured by negligent doctors and their lawyers are responsible for driving up the costs of health care here in Hawaii and across the country...
"They Told Me That I Waived My Rights When I signed the Contract" .... Can They Do That?
Posted on October 22, 2008Did you realize that almost every ticket you buy and every contract you sign has some form of "waiver" of rights in it? Waiver of Rights is a new tool that corporations use to avoid the law. The law is what the legislatures pass as bills and what the constitution says...
Scuba Diving Should Be Safe But Be careful In Choosing A Dive Company
Posted on October 22, 2008Hawaii has some of the best scuba diving in the world and people come from all over the world to enjoy the exploration of the world beneath the surface of the waters surrounding these remote islands. With proper supervision, professional instruction and proper ecquipment, scuba diving is a completely safe activity...
FDA Warns About Surgical Mesh Used for Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence
Posted on October 22, 2008If you are being treated for pelvic organ prolapse of stress incontinence, the FDA wants you to ask your doctor specific questions before allowing any surgery using a surgical mesh. There have been complications associated with the placement of mesh through an incision made in the wall of the vagina...
Cruise Ship Forum Selection Clauses - Redux
Posted on October 22, 2008I recently posted about Forum Selection Clauses in cruise ship tickets. If you get hurt on a cruise ship through their negligence you will find out about these clauses. They dictate that you must give quick written notice of the claim to the cruise line and then says any claim or lawsuit must be filed in a specific place, like Miami, Florida...
Fat Paychecks for Insurance Executives
Posted on October 19, 2008The CEO's of the top 10 property/casualty insurance companies earned an average $8.9 million in 2007. The CEOs of the top 10 life and health insurance companies earned - believe it or not - even more with an average paycheck of $9.1 million. For the insurance industry as a whole, the median cash compensation for an insurance CEO leads all industries at $1...
Insurance Industry Wealth
Posted on October 19, 2008The insurance industry gets $1 trillion in premiums each year, has $3.8 trillion in assets which is more that Gross Domestic Product of every country in the world except the U.S. and Japan. Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons
Ten Worst Insurance Companies
Posted on October 19, 2008Former Allstate adjuster Jo Ann Katzman put it in stark perspective: “We were told to lie by our supervisors—it’s tough to look at people and know you’re lying.” The American Association of Justice has recently published an article ranking the 10 worst insurance companies in America: A full read of the article is a "must" for any person dealing with an insurance company...
The American Association of Justice (AAJ) Teaches Consumers About Preemption
Posted on October 19, 2008This artcle from the American Association of Justice website is such a great primer in the battleground of consumer protection that i am quoting it in its entirety here: The United States Supreme Court and Congress are facing critical issues that—depending on how they areresolved—could provide negligent corporations complete immunity from lawsuits...
Bush Usurps State Rights With Federal Preemption
Posted on October 19, 2008For years we have listened to conservatives from Reagan to Bush to McCain rail against federal laws and regulations that take away state powers. "Let the states decide" is probably the most spoken core issue by these politicians. Well behind your backs they are doing the opposite of what they say...
Brachial Plexus Awareness Week
Posted on September 27, 2008The United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc (UPBN) annonces the annual Brachial Plexus Injury Awareness Week (October 19 - 26, 2008) to promote public awareness of this injury to infants during childbirth. Brachial plexus injuries result in partial or complete paralysis of a baby's arm...
Unrestecable Non-Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Standard of Care
Posted on September 25, 2008People afflicted with pancreatic cancer have a poor prognosis and oncologists do not agree on a standard of care regarding what treatment is best. I have previously reported on spectacular new research on pancreatic cancer vaccines being developed at top centers like Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore...
Save Lives And Keep Defective Vehicles Off the Road With Court Imposed National Database
Posted on September 23, 2008Public Citizen reports that: "The 16-year wait for a national database that will allow car buyers to determine whether a vehicle has been stolen or rebuilt after a wreck is almost over. In an emphatic victory for consumers, U.S. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled Monday that the U...
Wall Street, Main Street and Mean Streets
Posted on September 22, 2008Yes Mean Streets is one of my favorite movies and the financial crisis is overusing the first two street names so I threw my version of what is happening out for your consideration. Are you confused by the latest financial news? The first question is where do you get your news? Fox News you say? a lot of people like the colorful commentary but doesn't it seem to you that Fox is nothing more than a voice of the neo-conservative movement and the politicians they support? No one would consider their coverage to be fair or up to any journalism standards...
New Treatment For Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Liver Tumors
Posted on September 22, 2008Results of new research from Zurich have been published in a paper in Digestion, Vol. 78, No. 1, 2008, entitled "Chemoembolization Combined With Pravastatin Improves Survival In Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma". The authors explain: "Pravastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, has been shown to inhibit growth and to induce apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells...
Palladin Gene Mutation of Chromosome 4 in Pancreatic Cancer
Posted on September 21, 2008Scientists have identified a genetic defect in the previously mapped chomosome 4. The3 defective gene has been labeled "Palladin". An overview can be found at the Pancreatic Education and Research Letter (PEaRL) winter 2006 issue. When Palladin is mutated the cells begin to change more rapidly which may explain why pancreatic cancer spreads so rapidly and is so deadly...
Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Offer New Hope
Posted on September 21, 2008New hope for cures of pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are on the horizon. New vaccines offer great promise. Pancreatic cancer along with other adenocarcinomas in the biliary system (cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer, Klatskin tumors) are often said to be incurable...
Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury Improves With Sole Use Of Impaired Limb
Posted on September 21, 2008There is important new hope for brain injury and spinal cord injury patients reported in Science Daily Health! An important new study of rats with minor spinal cord injuries showed full recovery in rats that had to use the impaired limb. The explanation for this phenomenon is that by using the impaired limb the growth of healthy nerve fibers is increased as is the formation of new nerve cell clusters...
Deaths In U.S. Hospitals Due to Medical Errors Take 195,000 Lives Per Year
Posted on September 20, 2008The healtcare quality company Healthgrades concluded that in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, 195,000 people died in U.S. hopsitals from "preventable" medical errors. Their new report was based upon review of 37 million hospital records and followed earlier studies that concluded that the healthcare system was experience an epidemic of immense proportions...
Reuters Reports That New Study Links Some Antibiotic Use With Cerebral Palsy
Posted on September 20, 2008In the past, mothers at risk for premature birth were sometimes administered antibiotics. It turns out that certain antibiotics may increase the risks of cerebral palsy as well as other potential harm according to a Reuters report on British research...
Equipment Failures Cause Many Worplace Injuries - Know Your Rights If You Are Injurede
Posted on September 18, 2008Work is a dangerous place for many workers. In the construction industry and certain manufacturing operations, serious injuries can and do occur. But do you know your rights if you are hurt at work? Hawaii has a workers compensation law in Chapter 386, Hawaii Revised Statutes...
The National Organization of Women (NOW) Endorses Obama
Posted on September 18, 2008Kim Gandy, chair of the political action committee for the national Organization of Women (NOW) reports that the organization has endorsed the Obama/Biden ticket because of their support of civil justice issues affecting women. She said that "Although it is very unusual for us to endorse in a presidential election, this is an unprecedented candidate and an unprecedented time for our country...
Drowning Hazard leads Aqua Lung America to Recall Apeks Scuba Diving Regulators
Posted on September 18, 2008In a voluntary recall of Aqua Lung Apek scuba diving regulators the manufacturer - Aqua Lung America - has warned consumers to stop using these devices because they pose a drowning hazard. The diaphragm cover on some regulators is missing and that can cause the diaphragm to become displaced during a dive and that allows water to enter the regulator...
Why Do Doctors Make Mistakes that Injure Or Kill Their Patient's?
Posted on August 09, 2008The answer is simple. Medical science is improving and we know more about how to cure disease than ever before. So why do so many patients suffer injuries when they are treated by modern health care providers - doctors and hospitals? The answer has to do with economics...
North Shore Oahu Roads Site of One of Hawaii's Most Deadly Collisions
Posted on August 09, 2008On August 6, 2008, Hawaii relived a tragic day in 2006 at the sentencing of John Szemkow, who drove his car in the wrong direction into oncoming traffic on Kunia road in April 2006. One of the bloodiest auto accidents in Hawaii's history resulted from Szemkow's actions...
Roads On The North Shore of Oahu Continue To Take Traffic Toll
Posted on August 09, 2008The roads on the north shore of Oahu continue to be the site of major car collisions and serious injuries in Hawaii. On August 1st 2008 Terry Selig was critically injured at about 7:30 in the morning when her car crashed and ended up on its roof in an accident near 59-049 Pupukea Road...
Consumers Union Identifies Top Food Issue Risks Consumers Face
Posted on July 24, 2008The advance of technology in the food industry poses new health risks to consumers, a subject that is being discussed by scientists in Orlando Florida at the meeting of the Consumers Union© and the Consumer Federation of America© at their 2008 Joint Annual Conference...
Epilepsy Drugs Topiramate and Valporate Raise Risk of Birth Defects Fourteen-Fold According to British Researchers
Posted on July 23, 2008Topiramate (sold as Topamax© by Johnson & Johnson™) and Valporate© both have been known to cause birth defects. Studies have shown that Topomax causes birth defects in animals and Valporate©, one of the leading epilepsy drugs, has been shown to be associated with birth defects and fetal death in approximately 20% of the mothers who take it during pregnancy...
Australia Reserachers Embark On Large Cerebral Palsy Study
Posted on July 17, 2008In the largest study of its kind, scientists in Australia are attempting to identify genetic causes of cerebral palsy. A spokesperson states that this ".... study will investigate a key issue behind cerebral palsy: whether genetic factors make women more vulnerable to environmental risks that affect the brain of their unborn child...
Acetaminophen Use Can Lead to Serious Liver Toxicity
Posted on July 17, 2008The University of Washington along with 21 other medical centers warn about acetaminophen use and severe liver toxicity in the December issue of Hepatology. Dr. Anne M. Larsen M.D. warns that as little as 7.5 grams of acetaminophen per day can lead to severe liver toxicity...
50 Million Prescription Errors Yearly
Posted on July 17, 2008The Journal of Patient Safety reports in December 2007 that 49% Americans who take at least one prescription medication daily face the serious risk from 50 million prescription errors by pharmacies nationwide. The problem is serious because an error could be fatal...
Honda HRX Lawnmowers in Defective Product Recall
Posted on July 17, 2008Honda HRX lawnmowers have been recalled due to a defect in the rear plastic shield. Over 20,000 lawnmowers have this potential defect. The HRX Honda lawnmower is a model where the operator walks behind the lawnmower. The plastic shield is susceptible to break in which case debris that could cause injury can be thrown at the operator causing injury...
Serious Risk Of Bleeding When Heparin Is Administered Shortly After Stroke
Posted on July 16, 2008Heparin is an anticoagulation drug that is commonly used in various medical contexts such as dialysis and when blood clotting is a concern. But administering Heparin to victims of cardioembolic stroke - a stroke caused by a blood clot - may lead to bleeding and dire consequences...
What Causes Cerebral Palsy?
Posted on July 07, 2008The first question is what are the factors that raise the risk of cerebral palsy (CP)? 1. Labor and delivery problems. 2. Premature baby. 2. Low birth weight - less that 5 lbs 7.5 oz. 3. Do not cry for 5 minutes after delivery. 4. Brain hemorrhage. 5...
How Do You If Your Child has Cerebral Palsy?
Posted on July 07, 2008For such a serious developmental disability affecting children parents often have a difficult time knowing if their baby is suffering from cerebral palsy. Like with many conditions affecting babies, cerebral palsy requires close observation of the child...
You Doctor Says That You Should Be Well But You have Severe Unexplained Pain
Posted on July 06, 2008You are in pain. The doctor who is treating you says that there is no reason for you to be hurting. The injury has healed. Tests and x-rays are all normal. But your body hurts. The area where you are feeling the pain - and it could be in more than one area -usually feels hot, burning and painful to even the touch of a piece of soft cotton or the brush of a hand...
Tire Tread Separations Due To Defective Tires Cause Deadly SUV Rollovers
Posted on July 06, 2008In Hawaii, Florida, California and just about everywhere people drive cars, the news reports deaths and serious injuries from tire failures due to tread separations and rollovers. For example a woman in Tampa lost her life in late June when her Lexus SUV rolled over while she was driving...
Youth Bed Toy Chests Recalled By Consumer Product Safety Commission
Posted on July 06, 2008After a 22 month old child died of strangulation, safety problems were identified leading to The Consumer Product Safet Commission has announcing a voluntary recall of over 9,000 LaJolla Boat Beds and Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle Beds manufactured by Bayside Furnishings (a division of Whalen), of San Diego, California...
Garlic Bread And Garlic Spread Recalled Voluntarily
Posted on July 04, 2008Be on the alert for Giant Brand garlic Bread and Garlic Spread products that the manufacturer has voluntarily recalled according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website. According to the press release issued by the manufacturer those alergic or sensitive to dairy products may risk life threatening reactions to the products...
Fireworks Recalled By Manufacturer
Posted on July 04, 2008It is the 4th of July and if you plan on setting off fireworks today please look at the label first. The U.S. Product Safety Commission and the manufacturer of the following fireworks have announced their recall for safety reasons. The product is Screech and Scream Fountain Fireworks by Black Cat Fireworks© out of Kansas...
U.S. Supreme Court Limits Punitive Damages
Posted on July 04, 2008In one of the most important decisions since the addition of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court's decision in Exxon Shipping v. Baker took away the jury verdict against Exxon and reduced it to the standard that punitive damages should not be greater than other damages in a case...
Glaxo tests Tykerb versus Herceptin for early Breast Cancer Treatment
Posted on May 14, 2008GlaxoSmithKline has begun a phase III clinical study that will compare comparing its drug Tykerb with Herceptin in the treatment of early breast cancer. The trial will measure which cancer cells disappear in the breast following treatment with Tykerb and/or Herceptin before surgery in women with early-stage breast cancer whose tumours overexpress the HER2 protein...
Yellowfin Tuna Recalled Due to Possible Health Risk
Posted on February 10, 2008Choyce Products, in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling 5,452 pounds of frozen Yellowfin Tuna because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems...
Sandals from Wal-Mart May Cause Chemical Burns
Posted on January 12, 2008Wal-Mart Sand 'N Sun flip-flops, which are sold for $2.44 nationwide, have been causing mass peeling because of a chemical reaction between human skin and the chemical composition of the flip-flop. The chemical reaction has still not been identified, it could be linked to many things such as sun screen, etc...
Recalled Aqua Dots Still Being Advertised
Posted on November 25, 2007Aqua Dots, a dangerous children's toy that was recalled almost three weeks ago, are still being found in advertisements. The popular kids toy was recalled because they were coated in a chemical that can turn into the "date-rape" drug when swallowed ...
Dole Recalls Lettuce Because of E. Coli
Posted on September 18, 2007The Dole Food Co. is recalling bagged lettuce because a sample was found to contain E. coli on Monday, September 17. So far there have not been any illnesses reported to the company. The voluntary recall affects all packages of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B," Dole said.
Dole Recalls Lettuce Because of E. Coli
Posted on September 17, 2007The Dole Food Co. is recalling bagged lettuce because a sample was found to contain E. coli on Monday, September 17. So far there have not been any illnesses reported to the company. The voluntary recall affects all packages of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B," Dole said...
Berko Electric Recalls Toe-Space Heaters for Fire Hazard
Posted on August 31, 2007Berko Electric of Peru, Indiana, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of the company's toe-space heaters, catalog number TS, TS-1, and TS-1A because of a serious fire hazard. Berko Electric is now known as Marley Engineered Products of Bennettsville, South Carolina...
FDA Reminds of Correct Dosing for Kaletra Oral Solution
Posted on August 16, 2007The FDA and Abbott Laboratories sent out an alert to remind clinicians of the appropriate dosing for Kaletra Oral Solution after a 44 month-old baby died of an overdose of the solution. Kaletra is used for the treatment of AIDS in adults and children over six months of age...
FDA Reminds of Correct Dosing for Kaletra Oral Solution
Posted on August 15, 2007The FDA and Abbott Laboratories sent out an alert to remind clinicians of the appropriate dosing for Kaletra Oral Solution after a 44 month-old baby died of an overdose of the solution. Kaletra is used for the treatment of AIDS in adults and children over six months of age...
Class 1 Recall of Baxter COLLEAGUE and FLO-GARD Volumetric Infusion Pumps
Posted on July 31, 2007Baxter Healthcare and the FDA have announced the Class 1 Recall of Baxter COLLEAGUE and FLO-GARD Volumetric Infusion Pumps. The recall includes 534 infusion pump devices in the United States that were brought into the company's service center for maintenance and repair...
Hot Dog Chili Sauce Linked to Botulism
Posted on July 19, 2007The FDA has warned consumers not to use various brands of hot dog chili sauce because they have been linked to botulism that has sent four people to the hospital.
Zimulti Application Withdrawn by Sanofi
Posted on June 29, 2007Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third largest drug maker, withdrew its U.S. application for the weight loss drug Zimulti. The drug has been linked to suicidal thoughts and the advisory panel to the FDA voted that the agency should not approve Zimulti.
Motorcyle and Car Collide in Waipahu
Posted on May 07, 2007A motorcyle carrying a driver and passenger collided with a Toyota Corolla on Farrington Highway in Waipahu, Honolulu. The accident happened Friday April 27th. All three of the people involved in the motorcyle-car accident are from Waipahu.
FDA Declares Pork Safe in Melamine Scare
Posted on April 30, 2007In the continuing news about the pet food recall, food fed to pigs at a small number of farms in the country contained melamine. The FDA has announced that they consider any pork from the pigs as safe. 345 pigs that had eaten the contaminated food have entered the human food supply...
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How to evict a roommate?
First, in most jurisdictions "self-help" is not a remedy available to any party ...
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You local court will probably have someone to offer you some assistance as you p...
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