Personal Injury Law
Mobile Personal Injury Lawyer 
Post Frequency: 0.9/day Last Entry: November 14, 2009 at 04:40:00 Recent Entries: 265
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New Website to Help Families Learn About Nursing Homes
Posted on November 14, 2009The National Citizens for Nursing Home Reform (http://www.nccnhr.org/ ), a consumer advocacy group for nursing home residents and caregivers in nursing, homes, announced that the Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research has introduced a website designed for nursing home researchers that provides data on nursing home care in the US...
Burn Safely This Fall
Posted on November 09, 2009Fire is an alluring medium. Kids love it - so do adults. Watching kindling slowly take flame is like watching magic. The Fall means leaf and trash burning in back yards all across the country. While everyone knows to watch kids around fire, there's a hidden danger that many folks are unaware of - chances are the gas can in your garage does not have a flame arrester installed in the spout...
Disaster Preparation - From An Attorney's Perspective
Posted on November 08, 2009Everyone on the Gulf coast today is watching the news or accessing their favorite weather site. Fortunately, this storm will be passing over cool water before it hits land and thus will lose a good bit of its force. That said, everyone who has been through a storm before knows that strange things can happen...
Caps on Damages Make No Sense
Posted on November 07, 2009The Republican proposal on health care reform has provisions to limit compensation for non-economic injuries to persons injured or killed as the result of medical malpractice including residents of nursing home who are neglected or abused. Most of my practice over the past 23 years of my 35 year career has been representing nursing home residents...
Get Off the Phone
Posted on November 03, 2009Every year, well really every month for that matter, our cell phones appear to be able to perform more and more functions. They truly have become computers in the palm of our hand connecting us to anyone at anytime. Unfortunately, their distracting nature is causing tragic accidents on our road ways...
Why Can't I Recover Everything I Lost?
Posted on November 03, 2009I settled a case recently right before jury selection. It was a legal malpractice case. My client had lost a good bit of money because the lawyer representing him in a real estate transaction did not read the rules closely enough. I spoke with my client today and he asked a very reasonable question - why is it that I end up with less than a whole loaf when I did not do anything wrong? After I pay your fee and expenses, he said, my recovery is less than what this whole ordeal cost me...
Qui Tam and Health Care Savings
Posted on November 02, 2009A south Texas hospital agreed to pay $27.5 million to settle a qui tam suit. San Antonio Express-News (10/31, Brezovsky). The whistleblower got $5.5 million for his trouble and the taxpayers got the rest! Patients are a source of profit for hospitals...
Contact You Congressman to Pass the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act
Posted on October 31, 2009Last January I wrote a blog on the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act (then Senate Bill . 2838 and now Senate Bill 512) The last report from Congress is that the bill was referred to committee in July. I said then that we all need to keep an eye out for the bill and write our Senators...
The Consumer's Role in the Nursing Home/Healthcare Reform Battle
Posted on October 24, 2009Health care reform is the big issue today- as it should be. But how will it affect our elderly in nursing homes? Nursing home owners say they are looking at $16 billion dollars in cuts from Medicare over the next 10 years. Is that so? The Washington, DC-based Center for Medicare Advocacy (http://www...
Safe Sidewalks
Posted on October 21, 20098 Schools in the Mobile, Alabama, area are finally getting safe sidewalks around their campuses. The cost of this federally funded project was just over one million dollars. While the percentage of students who walk or ride their bike to school has dropped from nearly half to 15% this is a very positive step towards improving the health, and safety of our children...
AHA Advocates substituting good ole boys for juries
Posted on October 21, 2009The American Hospital Association is advancing a bizarre version of malpractice 'reform'. It advocates substituting a local panel of experts appointed by state authorities for juries. So the state medical association would appoint doctors in each community to sit in judgment of doctors in their communities...
Wlls For Heroes
Posted on October 19, 2009Last Wednesday, my firm and another lawyer went over to the local Sherriff's office and drafted 17 wills, durable powers of attorney and advanced healthcare directives for first responders. This was the second year that we partcipated in the Wills for Heroes program...
CBO Report
Posted on October 12, 2009The Congressional Budget Office has determined that limiting the rights of malpractice victims would only result in three tenths of one percent savings in medical cost. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-malpractice10-2009oct10,0,4877440...
President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, should be good news for all Americans...
Posted on October 11, 2009Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week, you have heard the news that President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. With this recognition, has come unbelievable scrutiny from conservatives, moderates, and even liberals. This criticism not only is unwarranted, but it is also does not benefit the United States...
Health Care Reform
Posted on October 07, 2009Now that President Obama has focused public attention on the deplorable state of health insurance in America everyone purports to agree that we must change the system. In truth, insurance companies and their executives are profiting handsomely because of preexisting condition clauses and laws that afford the insurance company the right to rescind a policy with impunity...
New Ways To Market for Small Firms
Posted on September 28, 2009Marketing your firm in new and inventive ways is one of the most crucial cogs in the small law firm machine. If you are unable to stay on top of new trends and tendencies in the advertising world you can be left waving as the competition zooms right past you...
We Need the Medical Device Safety Act Passed
Posted on September 24, 2009In the Spring I wrote a blog about the introduction of the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009. in the Senate. The bill was introduced in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Riegel v. Medtronic, 552. U.S. 2 (2008) where the Court ruled that a medical device manufacturer cannot be sued under state law by patients who claim to have been harmed by the device that received marketing approval from the FDA...
Durable Power of Attorney over Health Care Issues
Posted on September 23, 2009No one likes to think about their own mortality, especially while feeling vibrant and alive. The "It could never happen to me attitude," dominates our thoughts, and while it is true that most of the time it won't happen to you sometimes it does, and the people left to suffer through painful decisions are friends and family...
Tort Reform - As Seen In The Movies
Posted on September 23, 2009Remember the opening scene in the movie "10"? The elderly woman sitting in a chair against the wall lets one loose, whereupon the sleeping dog next to her bolts out of the room. As Dudley Moore watches in wonderment, the butler explains, "whenever Mrs...
Remember nothing is guaranteed but Death and Taxes.....
Posted on September 21, 2009Everyone knows the old saying, but in this economic climate, that is becoming more and more evident. For years PACT programs have been very popular choice in a way to fund a child's education. They terms are fairly simple, you pay for a child's education now, for the full price of what the tuition costs are today, and when they are eligible for college, their tuition is already paid...
How Do You Feel About Tort Reform? It Depends On How you Feel
Posted on September 19, 2009Feelings about tort reform can vary with the landscape. Anyone who makes their policy decisions primarily in accordance with their financial bottom line, and happens to be on the white collar side of the equation, loves tort reform - as long as it does not affect their pocketbook...
Study Does Not Support Changing Med-Mal Tort System
Posted on September 18, 2009In December, 2008, the Congressional Budget Office ('CBO') prepared a study paper entitled Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals. One of the issues addressed were proposals which seek to change medical practices by focusing on the ways in which patients and medical providers settle disputes about treatment...
Are Insurance Companies failing to recognize that pain and suffering should be compensated?
Posted on September 16, 2009It is becoming more and more evident that Insurance companies are taking the position that your medical bills are the only matter they are going to take into consideration when evaluating your claim. This hard and fast rule is elminating compensation for genuine pain and suffering that people experience from car wrecks or other accidents...
Are you or someone you love addicted to.........Facebook?
Posted on September 14, 2009Sounds silly doesn't it? Unfortunately for some, it is not a joking matter. Technology is great, who doesn't love being able to record live TV by clicking on just one button, the ability to check emails and sports scores on their phone, and know what everyone is doing no matter where you are in the world...
Replace "Deny & Defend" with "Honesty & Apology"
Posted on September 13, 2009Tying 'Tort Reform' to health insurance reform could benefit both the doctors and the patients. The typical victim of a medical error wants fair compensation not a lawsuit. Most doctors who negligently injure a patient would rather that their insurance company quickly settle the matter than go through a lawsuit...
Health Care Crisis- Common Sense Approach or Political Football
Posted on September 11, 2009In last Wednesday night's address, President Obama directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on Bush administration initiative of demonstration projects in individual state to test whether doctors are truly practicing defensive medicine contributing to unnecessary costs, how to put patient safety first and to let doctors focus on practicing medicine...
Remembering September 11th, 2001...
Posted on September 11, 2009Every year around this time I remember where I was when I learned that the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I had just started clerking for Judges Breland Hilburn and Swan Yerger in Hinds County, Mississippi, and had only been on the job for one week, and had not even found out if I had passed the Mississippi Bar Exam...
Four-Wheelers Are Not Toys
Posted on September 09, 2009Like many folks in the Mobile area, I went to the beach on Labor Day. On my way home, I saw two young boys coming the other way on a four wheeler in the grass next to the road. This road is a four lane, divided highway with a 50 MPH speed limit. The driver appeared to be no older than 12 or 13 and his passenger was considerably younger...
Horrible accident in West Mobile...
Posted on September 09, 2009A 9 year old girl, who's name has not been released was struck by a vehicle while trying to board a school bus. The extent of the young girl's injuries are unknown at this time, yet the article linked below does reference a broken collarbone, and a potential brain bruise...
Better Insurance Choices Back on the Coast in the Near Future?
Posted on September 08, 2009GULF SHORES, Ala. -- The City Council is pondering a switch to the most recent set of International Building Codes, which would mandate, among other things, that single-family homes be outfitted with indoor sprinkler systems and in-ground pools be enclosed in fences...
Nursing Home Direct Care Givers are Essential to Good Care
Posted on September 05, 2009The SCAN Foundation, a California philanthropic organization which was established to advance the development of a sustainable continuum of quality care for seniors released a paper which confirmed that direct care workers ('DCWs') are essential to quality nursing home and home health care for the elderly...
Arbitration Clauses and Consumers
Posted on September 02, 2009Arbitration clauses are a huge aspect of many of our largest purchasers as consumers. Whether it is a mobile home, a car, or an entertainment center, many companies now have customers sign a contract that will require them to arbitrate any controversies that may arise from the purchase of a product...
College Football Season is almost here, make sure you are prepared...
Posted on August 30, 2009I like most men from the South, really like College football. Ok, I love college football. Growing up in the South, it is tradition to attend tailgates at college towns like Tuscaloosa, Athens, Auburn, and my personal favorite, Oxford, Mississippi...
The Healthcare Debate - Inform Yourself
Posted on August 30, 2009The healthcare bill being considered seems to have a 1000 angles. One of the problems with tackling this monster is that it has many causes, and most of those causes lead back to a special interest group. When I am having trouble resolving a legal issue, I like to break things down in small pieces, so I can see the forest for the trees...
Your Dryer - Is There A Fire Inside?
Posted on August 29, 2009I ran into a friend in court a few weeks ago who looked distressed. As we spoke, the cause of that distress spilled out - a fire had just about destroyed a weekend getaway he owns nearby. The cause - his dryer vent hose became obstructed with lint and overheated...
Keeping Your Child Safe on the Way to School.
Posted on August 25, 2009As the dog days of summer come to a close and we begin to hear the groans of children heading back to school, we should take a moment to sit down with our kids and teach them about safety. After all, for some parents this will be the first time thier child has not been in their care or a trusted confidant's care for more than a few hours...
Executive Responsibility
Posted on August 24, 2009Let's hear it for New York federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff who, in presiding over the settlement between the S.E.C. and Bank of America. Judge Rakoff is requiring disclosure of the identity of the individuals who failed to disclose huge bonuses that Merrill Lynch was paying on the verge of merging with BOA...
Wendell Potter - Inside Man
Posted on August 24, 2009Though there has been press coverage of Wendell Potter's changing role, it has been curiously light. In June, he testified before Congress on the abuses of HMOs. Now he's back in the picture, weighing in on the health care debate: The former vice president of corporate communications at insurance giant Cigna, who left his post, says the industry is playing "dirty tricks" in an effort to manipulate public opinion...
Think something isn't your job, be careful it just might be..
Posted on August 23, 2009More and more people don't realize what they are signing up for when they take new jobs and the fact that they are taking on new responsibilities. This is a big mistake that can come back to haunt them. Some jobs have fiduciary duties that create legal obligations that a person will owe to third parties merely based upon their job title...
Nursing Homes Owners: Care Givers or Money Grubbers?
Posted on August 19, 2009While we have learned about nursing home owners and operators setting up sham corporations to own property, rent facilities, ‘manage' nursing, and ‘consult' with nursing homes allowing them to rake in money, I never thought I would see them scoop so low as to rip off their own underpaid employees...
Water Rights
Posted on August 18, 2009You've finally retired and have purchased that dream plot of forty acres. You know the one just outside of town, with open spaces where grandkids can come and explore, where the only honking you hear is from the Canadian Geese who have come to spend the winter in a nearby pond...
Misdiagnosis
Posted on August 17, 2009Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is yet another anti consumer republican trying to shift the focus from insurance reform by pretending that problems in health care are the result of 'junk lawsuits'. A well researched editorial published by a leading newspaper in McConnell's home state points out that McConnell's claims are contradicted by empirical evidence...
Hurricane season is about to kick back up again for the Gulf Coast....
Posted on August 16, 2009As someone who grew up on the coast, I used to enjoy hurricane season. Most of my friends enjoyed hurricane season, what wasn't to like? School would shut down, families and friends would get together for hurricane parties, and all in all, even if there was a cleanup required after wards, the payoffs were more than worth it...
Finding Quality Medical Care ... And Avoiding Bad Care
Posted on August 15, 2009When a lay person calls me about a legal problem, it is generally a friend or former client. We encourage them to call us because, although we confine our practice to civil jury trials, we want them to get quality representation if their problem is outside our area of expertise...
Is Justice is Second Fiddle to Arbitration?
Posted on August 15, 2009Maybe arbitration involving consumers is beginning to run its course. A recent post by Wayne Parsons describes Bank of America's decision to stop forcing arbitration on consumers. Wayne cited David Robertson's belief that Bank of America's decision was a result of the recent decisions by the National Arbitration Forum and the American Arbitration Association to stop hanlidng consumer arbitrations as well as by increased congressional scrutiny...
American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends rear facing car seats for kids up to Two years old...
Posted on August 09, 2009Recently, one of the partners at my law firm, Burns, Cunningham & Mackey, blogged with the recommendation of having your child secured in a rear facing car seat versus being in a front face car seat. Well the Ameican Academy of Pediatrics have recently commented that the safest position for your young child is rear facing, which our law firm has been advocating...
The Adjuster Says We Can Work It Out - Part 3
Posted on August 08, 2009In the last entry of this series, let's discuss you acting as your own lawyer. Rule number one -- don't think about it. Rule number two -- don't think about it. If rules number one and two go unheeded, here's the advice I would give. First, get organized...
Nursing Home Caregivers Strike
Posted on August 08, 2009Over 300 union members at the four OMNI nursing homes in New Jersey have been without a contract since 2007. Two years ago, the owner of these homes, Avery Eisenreich, walked away from the negotiations and unilaterally implemented a number of changes including a loss of pension payments...
Check Fraud
Posted on August 05, 2009Nearly all of us have had it happen to us at least once. First all oxygen appears to be sucked from the room, then, almost simultaneously, your stomach is twisted into a pretzel as if you are one of the performers from Cirque de Sole, and it is only after the flood of fear that the true fun begins...
The Adjuster Says We Can Work It Out - Part 2
Posted on August 02, 2009In the second part of this series, I want to discuss health insurance and how it plays into the settlement of your injury claim in a car collision. The overwhelming majority of Americans who have health insurance get it through their employment. Most of these policies are covered by a Federal law known as ERISA...
When your Health Insurance Policy is Rescinded
Posted on August 02, 2009Post hoc underwriting is the process the medical insurance companies use to cancel a customer's policy after the customer develops a serious illness. If the individual develops a condition that is likely to result in large medical costs the insurance companies scour the customer's medical records to see if there is any basis for contending that the customer had a medical condition that materially affected the customer's health...
Are you about to sign an employment contract?
Posted on August 02, 2009More and more companies are requiring their prospective employees to enter into employment contracts, and in this economy, most prospective employees would sign anything if it meant they were able to get a job. Employers know this, and they will exploit it unless employees attempt to protect themselves...
Federal Campaign for Mandatory Use of Anti-Alcohol Control
Posted on July 31, 2009BLOG USA Today reports that there is a national campaign against first-time drunk driving offenders which is gaining support throughout the United States. This past year three states enacted laws requiring all first time driving while intoxicated violators to install devices on their vehicles which interlock with the ignition system and measures their alcohol content...
Condo market in Orange Beach, Alabama looks to rebound....
Posted on July 26, 2009As the condo market falls on the Gulf Coast, developers are looking to get out from crushing debt, and are beginning to auction off their condominium units at rock bottom prices. This past weekend, the first of multiple auctions of condominium units occurred this past weekend, and more auctions are coming...
Potentially Dangerous Remington Rifles
Posted on July 25, 2009Remington Arms Company, Inc. has had knowledge of unintended discharge for the Model 700 and 710 rifles over the past 30 years. There have been numerous lawsuits against it over a defective design of the trigger mechanism in both the Model 700 and 710 rifles...
Sexual Harassment suit allowed to go forward against Home Depot...
Posted on July 19, 2009The 11th Circuit Court of appeals reversed a granting of a summary Judgment by a Federal District Court Judge in favor of Home Depot. Congratulations to the attorneys on behalf of the Plaintiffs, and good luck at trial. blog.al.com/live/2009/07/appeals_court_allows_home_depo...
Medical Malpractice: Universal health care & shifting the cost of negligence
Posted on July 15, 2009We have approximately 50 million Americans without health insurance. Health care cost following an accident or illness is the most common cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Cleary this is a system in need of change. Congress and the President are proposing universal health care legislation...
Girl's ATV death brings out mourners in Fairhope....
Posted on July 12, 2009An unfortunate accident involving an ATV, has claimed the life of another young child. "The driver apparently turned too sharply, the vehicle rolled over and Dunnam's head was struck, Sawyer said. She likely died instantly; family members tried to revive her before emergency personnel arrived, he said...
Best Nursing Homes and Tips to Help Find Them
Posted on July 07, 2009The U.S. News and World Report's July 7, 2009 issue has some very helpful information for those of us faced with putting a loved one in a nursing home. It also lists the 41 best nursing homes in the country. Sadly, none of those homes are in Alabama or Mississippi where I practice...
Undue Influence
Posted on July 07, 2009Many people do not realize that when a beneficiary is active in procuring a will it generally creates a presumption of undue influence. Whether a beneficiary was 'active' in procuring the will" is fact driven but a presumption may arise from something as minor as taking the decedent to the lawyer's office...
Congress Considering Nursing Home Reform
Posted on July 04, 2009Both houses of Congress are considering legislation to improve nursing home care. There has been no new legislation regarding nursing homes since 1987. Statistics have demonstrated that care provided to our elderly is still not what it should be. The National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform ('NCCNHR') http://www...
FDA finds E. Coli in Nestle Cookie Dough Sample...
Posted on June 30, 2009How many times have you herad that "one more cookie won't kill you"? Well today's news release by the FDA, shows that this may not be true. Here is the full report: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529531,00.html The Food and Drug Administration said Monday a sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestle USA manufacturing plant last week has tested positive for E...
A tragic accident in Brewton, Alabama...
Posted on June 30, 2009Yesterday afternoon, there was a fatal accident involving Angela Dixon. According to the police on the scene, Ms. Dixon was not wearing a seat belt. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Dixon's family. blog.al.com/live/2009/06/woman_killed_man_hurt_in_car_c_1...
Supreme Court finds in favor of firefighters in controversial discrimination suit...
Posted on June 29, 2009In a 5-4 decision the United States Supreme Court found in favor of the white firefighters in their discrimination lawsuit against the city of New Haven Connecticut. This decision will certainly be discussed at length over the next few days, and may have a great impact on future affirmative action type cases...
Safety tips to remember for July 4th....
Posted on June 28, 2009As the July 4th holiday approaches, many people will take to the road to celebrate our country's independence, and hopefully everyone will be able to their home safe and sound. In order to make sure that happens, please remember the following safety tips: Never Drive a car or boat while intoxicated...
The Adjuster Says We Can Work It Out - Part 1
Posted on June 28, 2009The other driver ran the red light. There were three witnesses to the collision. You broke both arms (the ones you use to handle the machine at work) and will be out of work for six weeks. The other driver's insurance carrier calls you the next day...
Buyers Beware!
Posted on June 28, 2009I am arbitrating condominium contracts that should be void under the Inter State Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and the sophisticated buyers are appalled at the terms of the contract they signed. If you are going to buy an expensive piece of property take the time to have an attorney review the paperwork and explain the details to you...
Medical reform
Posted on June 22, 2009We must be alert that the insurance and pharmaceutical industries do not further limit the rights of victims of medical errors to recover fair compensation. No one knows who will be the victim of medical malpractice but the insurance companies know they will be paying the verdicts...
Summer Heat - A Real Killer
Posted on June 21, 2009I played tennis today. Feeling pretty puny, even though I drank almost a half gallon of weak Gatorade while playing, I came back to my air conditioned house and sat under a ceiling fan for about 30 minutes. Only halfway back to life, I looked up Weather Underground and saw that the heat index in Mobile today was 109 degrees...
Fireworks and Safety
Posted on June 20, 2009The 4th of July is just around the corner and fireworks have become a regular part of its celebration. The American Pyrotechnics Association reports that revenue from the sale of fireworks for 2008 was $940,000,000- the highest ever. That is a lot of fireworks...
FDA warns against using certain nasal cold remedy products...
Posted on June 17, 2009According to this report, the FDA warns that using certain Zicam nasal cold remedies can reduce and in some cases completely eliminate the sense of smell in some users. Please check your medicine cabinet and be sure that you or a loved one isn't using these products...
Overboard passenger in Gulf of Mexico...
Posted on June 16, 2009Last night tragedy struck the carnival cruise lines that sails out of Mobile, Al, when an unidentified fifty (50) year old apparently fell overboard approximately 70 miles off the coast of Pensacola. For most people, cruises are a way of escaping there every day problems, but unfortunately common sense can be left at home...
A Reminder to Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange
Posted on June 13, 2009Today my best friend while I was in the U. S. Marine Corps died. For the last 8 years he has suffered through the long term effects of Agent Orange. Always upbeat and confident, he fought like a Marine should and died valiantly in his own home at the too early age of 64...
The appearance of impropriety
Posted on June 08, 2009Let's hear it for Justice Kennedy who led a 5-4 Supreme Court in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. to hold that a state judge must withdraw when a party in a case has had a "significant or disproportionate" influence on placing the judge on the court through a large campaign donation...
Are eighteen wheelers drivers becoming the new dominos delivery drivers?
Posted on June 08, 2009We all remember in the late 80's the famous "30 minutes or its free" pizza guarantee that Dominos advertised. Well it was a very successful, but dangerous ad campaign. Domino drivers started driving recklessly and unfortunately innocent bystanders were the casualties of this ad campaign...
There Is Trouble In Your Gasoline Can
Posted on June 07, 2009That gasoline can in your garage sure looks safe. You bought it from a big box store - they would not sell it unless it is safe, right? Wrong. In fact, there is a key safety component that most manufacturers fail to install and which can lead to drastic consequences...
No Arbitration in Nurisng Homes Cases In Illinois
Posted on June 05, 2009In the case of SSC Odin Operating Co. v. Carter, Sue Carter the U. S. Supreme Court on June 1, 2009 by refusing to review an Illinois appellate court ruling, has tacitly agreed that a state law nullifying nursing home arbitration agreements supersedes the Federal Arbitration Act which favors arbitration agreements...
Confidential Settlements
Posted on June 01, 2009Confidential settlements create thorny issues. Lawyers who represent injured people do not like confidentiality agreements. Those agreements help culpable defendants prevent other injured parties from learning how strong their cases really are. However, when the client is offered a fair settlement in exchange for a release and confidentiality agreement many clients are so happy to put the matter behind them that they agree to keep the terms of settlement – and sometimes the underlying facts - secret...
Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act Does Not Become Law
Posted on May 30, 2009In January I wrote a blog on S. Bill 2838, Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act. This bill never became law. The last action taken by the Senate on the bill was in September when it was reported favorably out of committee and then on October 1, 2008, it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders...
A thought for Memorial Day
Posted on May 25, 2009"A veteran is someone who, at one point in his (or her) life, wrote a blank check made payable to the 'United States of America' for an amount 'up to and including my life'. That is honor, and there are way too many people in the Country who do not understand it...
Be extra cautious while driving during the summer months...
Posted on May 23, 2009As someone who traveled to the Beach with his family for Memorial Day weekend, I would like to urge everyone to be extra cautious while driving the roads these summer months. Not only may your life depend on it, but more and more drivers are driving without car insurance which could leave you relying on your own Uninsured motorist coverage to compensate you for your injuries...
Nursing Assistant Survey Reveals Problems
Posted on May 23, 2009In the April 1, 2009 issue of The Gerontologist published a survey study about Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs). 3,017 CNAs were surveyed in 2004 and 2005 abut recruitment, education, training and licensure, job history, family life, management and supervision, client relations, organizational commitment , job satisfaction, work place environment, work place injuries, and demographics...
EPA finds suspect materials in Chinese drywall
Posted on May 21, 2009In a report released Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, said that limited testing in two Florida homes revealed sulfur and two organic compounds associated with acrylic paints in Chinese made drywall. Those chemicals were not found in four samples of American made drywall...
Lawyers suing Lawyers
Posted on May 19, 2009A circuit court judge who is a friend of mine told me that he hates to see lawyers suing lawyers. I laughingly ask him if he would prefer that only plumbers sued lawyers. He shook his head and said "I see what you mean". The point is that people identify most easily with those who are like them...
Is Tort Reform the ultimate hypocrisy?
Posted on May 17, 2009Though this isn't mean to be a political post, I think most would agree that Republicans are the main supporters of tort reform, and to me it seems that this philosophy is in stark contrast to the main principle of the Republican party, which is "small government"...
If You Want To Push Tort Reform, At Least Do It With Facts
Posted on May 16, 2009When I hear something, I want to know it's true. We all do. Just saying something does not make it so. Jurors understand that. If you tell them in your opening statement that you will prove that the defendant ran a red light and collided with your client, they will need to hear or see some facts in order to agree with you...
Senior surveillance proposed in care facilities
Posted on May 14, 2009Nevada's Legislature is considering a bill that would allow patients in care facilities or their families or guardians install surveillance devices in the patients' rooms. Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, told the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee that SB290 would protect seniors in hospices, nursing homes and other group home settings from abuse, and would comfort guardians of such patients who might live far away...
Investigate car wrecks promptly
Posted on May 12, 2009Prompt investigation of a car wreck involving serious injury or wrongful death is a must. Frequently alcohol is involved in car wrecks and bars are often the source of the alcohol. Dram shop laws are a way of holding bar owners who serve alcohol to minors or intoxicated persons responsible for the injuries caused by their drunken patrons...
Tort Reform - A Modest Proposal
Posted on May 09, 2009Whenever a tort reform proposal is advanced, it is trumpeted as a cure for a problem. When an individual leads the charge, it is usually a politician or industry lobbyist who stands to gain from taking that particular position. Our system is not perfect...
Will jury waivers replace arbitration clauses?
Posted on May 09, 2009The next time you sign a contract, make sure you look closely and make sure you aren't signing away your rights to a jury. One of the fundamental principles of our court system, is that in most situations a Plaintiff is entitled to have a jury hear their case...
Tort Reform: What's in a Name?
Posted on May 05, 2009The change the "reformers" want to persuade the American people to enact is to abandon the Constitutional protection of a righ to trial by jury. Rather than allow a group of 12 disinterested citizens to resolve a fact situation and apply justice for that particular case the insurance, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries want to limit the amount that they will have to pay regardless of the damage they cause...
ABA to Consider Resolution Curtailing the Arbitraiton Fairness Act
Posted on May 04, 2009Paul Bland, a staff attorney with Public Justice in Washington, D.C. and a leading advocate for consumers is asking attorneys who are members of the American Bar Association to contact colleagues about a proposed ABA resolution asking Congress to limit the proposed Arbitration Fairness Act...
What Is Tort Reform?
Posted on May 02, 2009Tort Reform is the process of changing the civil justice system to limit a claimant's remedies and/or damages. It is sought by those who perceive the civil justice system as negatively impacting their financial bottom lines. It is not actually reform at all - it is a catchy name for legislation that hurts the consumer and helps big business...
Thinking about getting a four wheeler for your kids?
Posted on May 02, 2009Please make sure you know all the dangers involved. This is a horrible accident that claimed the life a 10 year old who was wearing a helmet. Her family is in my prayers. A 10 year-old Warren County girl was killed Wednesday in a tragic ATV accident. Morgan Caruthers was crushed by her ATV when the vehicle flipped on top of her outside her home on Tucker Road...
Jury Awards Nursing $6.5 million in Nursing Home Patient Death
Posted on May 01, 2009The Columbus Ohio Dispatch reported that a jury returned a verdict against Whetstone Gardens & Care Center due to the death of Peter Southard by dehydration- lack of water. Mr. Southard had suffered a stroke in 1984 and was cared for by his wife at home...
Armed Cruise Ship Security Team Fights Off Somali Pirates
Posted on April 30, 2009An Italian cruise ship carrying armed Israeli security guards successfully fought off a hijacking attempt by Somali pirates last Saturday, April 25, 2009. The MSC Melody, a 670 foot Italian flagged cruise liner, was carrying 991 passengers and 536 crew members when it was attacked by a speed boat carrying six men armed with Kalashnikow rifles...
Maersk Alabama ship's cook sues shipowner and employer
Posted on April 29, 2009Richard Hicks, the ship's cook on the U.S. flagged cargo ship, Maersk Alabama, that was hijacked by Somalia pirates on April 8, 2009 has filed suit against the shipowner and the operator alleging that they knowingly sent the ship into dangerous, pirate-infested waters without adequate security measures...
Starting a new business...
Posted on April 26, 2009With the job market shrinking, a lot of people are starting new businesses, and when doing that they sometimes enter a lease based on what the agent leasing the retail space tells them. Please be aware of what you are signing. Most landlords that rent retail space have a clause in their lease that state that the tenant is not relying on anything said to that tenant during the negotiations...
Another Death From Texting?
Posted on April 25, 2009This past week a legal secretary I knew died in an automobile wreck when she crossed over the center line and struck an oncoming car. Apparently, she was texting when she veered over and could not have been paying attention to the job of safe driving...
Wyoming Looks To Improve Worker Safety
Posted on April 21, 2009Wyoming lawmakers are taking steps to improve on the state's abysmal work safety record. Wyoming had more work place fatalities per 100,000 workers than any other state in 2007. To Governor Freudenthal's credit, he has formed a task force to address the issue and come up with proposals for improvement...
The New England Journal of Medicine Supports the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009
Posted on April 17, 2009An editorial of the April 9, 2009 issue of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine encourages Congress to swiftly pass Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 and to allow lawsuits by injured patients to proceed in the courts. In doing so, the editors note that allowing lawsuits like this are an important part of the regulatory framework and very effective in keeping medical devices safe...
Whistle Blowers And The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Posted on April 16, 2009A former employee of McDonalds has filed a 'whistle—blower' lawsuit against the company alleging misrepresentions relating to executive compensation in its 2007 proxy statement. The claim is brought under the whistle—blower protections provided by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act...
Five killed, nine seriously injured in Florida Boat Crash
Posted on April 14, 2009Five persons were killed and nine others were seriously injured when a 22 foot Crownline boat rammed a docked tugboat in the Intracoastal Waterway near St. Augustine, Florida about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 12, 2009. Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (which includes what was formerly the Marine Patrol) said the 22 foot boat was heading north when it hit the starboard side of the 25 foot tug which was tied to a dock with no one onboard...
Assisted Living Regulations Available for all 50 States
Posted on April 11, 2009The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) recently compiled a summary of the assisted living regulations in all 50 states. The Assisted Living State Regulatory Review can be found at this web page: http://www.ncal.org/about/2009_reg_review.pdf The Review noted that about one million Americans are now resident in assisted living facilities...
Fraud against the government
Posted on April 08, 2009If you are aware of your employer or another company being paid government funds for work that was not done you may be able to file suit in behalf of the United States Government. Those are called Qui Tam suits and the person who files such a suit, the Relator, is entitled to a percentage of any recovery...
Policy Limits Demand
Posted on April 07, 2009The policy limits demand is a powerful tool for the plaintiff and should be taken seriously by the insured defendant. The plaintiff is saying that she will settle her case for a specific sum or the amount of insurance the coverage available to the defendant...
A Good Move By The American Psychiatric Association
Posted on April 06, 2009The American Psychiatric Association recently announced that it would put a halt to medical seminars financed by drug or device makers and also would put a halt on industry paid meals at its annual meeting. This is good news for consumers. All professionals are required to attend continuing education courses each year to keep their licenses current...
Nursing Home Bonus Bill
Posted on April 04, 2009According to an article in the Des Moines Register by Clark Kauffman, Congress is considering legislation that would eliminate taxpayer-funded bonuses to nursing homes. The amendment to a presently pending budget bill was accepted by unanimous consent of the Senate on Thursday, but the bill itself has yet to be approved...
Southern Governors: Ignoring The Unemployed At The Worst Time?
Posted on April 03, 2009Alabama Governor Bob Riley joins several other southern republican governors who claim they intend to refuse that part of the stimulus package which would provide additional unemployment benefits for Alabama citizens. If Riley follows through in his threat, the state will lose out $100,000,000 in funds...
AIG shareholder suit
Posted on March 30, 2009AIG may be too big to fail but thankfully its management will be called to account for their conduct. Americans, while furious about the huge bonuses, know that the tax man is not the answer. The legal system is the tool designed to protect shareholders from management malfeasance...
Man Drowns After Boat Capsizes Off Panama City, Florida
Posted on March 30, 2009The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that a man drowned over the weekend off of Panama City, Florida as rough weather pounded the Florida Panhandle. The victim was identified as 55 year-old Morris Miller of Tallahassee. Miller and 33 year-old Archie White were in a 21 foot boat that capsized Saturday afternoon...
If it Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Usually Is.....
Posted on March 28, 2009With everyone trying to squeeze the most out of every dollar, the possibility of getting caught up in a scam can happen to anyone. By now all of us have gotten the emails from the Prince of some African country that just needs an American bank account to transfer his money to and will provide you with a finders fee of 15%, which will be millions of dollars...
Judge Refuses To Grant Mistrial In Fen-Phen Case
Posted on March 28, 2009Federal Judge Danny Reeves recently denied a motion for a mistrial by lawyers William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. (now disbarred) for defrauding their Fen-Phen clients by taking more (much more) than their share of a $200,000,000 settlement. The motion was based on the illness of Gallion's lawyer...
Report Issued: Improper anchoring caused boat to capsize in Gulf
Posted on March 28, 2009The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has released a report concluding that a deadly boating accident that took the lives of two NFL players and another friend was caused by improper anchoring and also cited carelessness and operator inexperience...
Provisions of the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act
Posted on March 27, 2009Last week I wrote a blog on the proposed Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act introduced in the Senate. This week, let's explore some of the provisions of that bill . It will enable state and federal regulators to identify all persons and entities with a significant ownership interest in a nursing home, or that that play an important role in the management, financing and operation of a home...
Your (overturned) Boat is Your Best Life Jacket
Posted on March 27, 2009The recent, tragic boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico which took the lives of two NFL players and one other young man illustrated the old Coast Guard saying that "your boat is your best life jacket". The only survivor was found clinging to the motor of the overturned boat ...
How To Tell If You Have Toxic Drywall In Your House
Posted on March 25, 2009Several people have contacted me asking how to tell if they have toxic Chinese drywall in their house or business. Generally, but not always, there is the "rotten egg" odor caused by Sulfur gasses. Also if there is some way you can view the back, or unfinished, side of the drywall see if it is marked as being made in China...
Social networking sites can be a very good thing!
Posted on March 24, 2009I was trying a case recently in Gadsden Alabama and needed to find someone/anyone who had been transferred from Riverview Regional Hospital to UAB. The object of the exercise was to determine how long it took in an emergency. I only know a couple of people in Gadsden but my high tech daughter determined that there are 500 people from Gadsden on Facebook...
Nursing Home Tranparency and Improvement Act Reintroduced
Posted on March 21, 2009While Congress is debating health care reforms, two Senators, Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), have reintroduced the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act. This bill would provide consumers with more information about individual nursing homes and their track record of care...
Big Brother is watching....
Posted on March 21, 2009Well it only took 25 years longer than expected, but Big Brother is finally here. No, Im not talking about the government, Im talking about Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. If you haven't joined one of these sites, you are one of the few remaining holdouts...
Economic Crisis: Are People Looking For Lawsuits?
Posted on March 17, 2009My wife and I were at a party Saturday night and the conversation turned to ... what else? The economy. The couple I was speaking with were worried, like everyone should be, about where things are heading. One asked whether I have seen more people wanting to file lawsuits in the last six months...
Arbitrators do not have to follow the law
Posted on March 17, 2009Arbitration is an illogical procedure for dispute resolution in our society. Arbitration clauses are buried in consumer contracts of all sorts and until you have a legal problem most people either don't notice the clauses or assume they are a reasonable alternative to our 'costly' legal system...
AIG Accountability
Posted on March 16, 2009We are justifiably outraged that AIG is paying $165,000,000 in bonuses to its executives while taxpayers have paid $170 billion to bail AIG out. AIG says it is contractually obligated to make these payments regardless of how poorly AIG's executives have run the company...
Coming face to face with the economic crisis.....
Posted on March 14, 2009When some people are asked how the economy is affecting them, most people talk about retirement accounts, and the lack of available jobs in their respective fields. Well this past week I came face to face with the economic crisis and how it can have a more direct impact on someone's life...
Is There A Quicker, Cheaper Way To Get A Case To Trial?
Posted on March 13, 2009A joint project by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System recommends radical changes in the discovery rules in civil lawsuits. During discovery, each side pursues evidence from the other side to help them advance their claims or defenses...
Contingency Fees in Business Litigation
Posted on March 13, 2009Last week I wrote a blog on labor and materialmen liens and suggesting to contractors and suppliers that they protect themselves before getting into construction project. What happens in other business matters when contracts are broken, promises are not kept, misrepresentations occur, business or intellectual secrets are stolen, or two business entities just disagree about a matter? During most of my 35 years of practice I have watched those business entities hire their corporate lawyers who charge on an hourly basis to represent them...
Toxic Drywall From China Causing Health Concerns In Homes
Posted on March 13, 2009Several news sources have recently reported that drywall imported from China and installed in new and renovated homes in 2004-2005 has been creating noxious sulfur (rotten-egg) odors and potential health problems. In addition, the fumes given off are causing a problem with copper wiring and the coils in air conditioning units...
A Hand For The Folks Who Run This Show
Posted on March 11, 2009I had business in Tampa this week and used the InjuryBoard office for my depositions. It is interesting to "see" this site from a different angle. I ate supper Monday night with Tom, Nick, Angus and Patrick. Most of the conversation centered around InjuryBoard - the philosophy, what works and what doesn't, site improvements, etc...
Lasik surgery expert witness
Posted on March 09, 2009Some experts will say anything. The defense Lasik surgery expert, Dr. Woolfson, testified that he has performed approximately 70,0000 Lasik procedures without ever performing the wrong prescription. Even so, he testified that the surgeon who performed the wrong prescription on both of my client's eyes did not fall below the standard of care!Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Pete Burns
Too many motorcylce riders are receiving a bad rap...
Posted on March 08, 2009How many times have you known someone that has been involved in a motor cycle accident and when you tell someone that your friend has been hurt, the person rolls their eyes and almost gives you the look of, "They were probably going 100 miles per hour, and it was their own fault...
Recent Polls Show Americans Doubt The Partiality Of Elected Judges Hearing Cases Involving Major Donors
Posted on February 28, 2009Alabama Unemployment Compensation Benefits - Look Before You Leap
Posted on February 21, 2009In recent cases, the Alabama Supreme Court has held that an unemployment compensation (UC) agency hearing officer’s ruling can have a preclusive effect on the claims and defenses of both employees and employers in subsequent litigation. Let me explain this with an example...
You had an accident, what to do next. Part 2 of 3.....
Posted on February 21, 2009In my last blog post, we gave you some tips as to what to do if you had a motor vehicle accident, this post will be helpful if you have an accident while at a store, which normally is described as a "slip and fall" accident. The most normal type of accident at a store is one where you are shopping for groceries, and unfortunately there is some type of substance on the floor that causes you to slip and fall...
Unemployed? Beware Of Job Scams
Posted on February 20, 2009The entrepreneurial spirit is a wonderful thing. To an entrepreneur, a problem is not a bad thing, it is an opportunity for a money making solution. Unfortunately, some entrepreneurs would rather feed at the bottom. The financial crisis has brought about the newest of that ilk – companies who con the unemployed...
TVA - Kingston Plant Cleanup Cost Could Exceed $800 Million
Posted on February 19, 2009The Tennessee Valley authority has revealed that the cleanup cost for the rupture of a containment pond in East Tennessee could reach the $825 million mark. When that containment pond ruptured, more than a billion gallons of coal ash sludge flooded homes and waterways near the Kingston Fossil Plant...
Judicial Elections: Is There A Better Solution?
Posted on February 18, 2009Each election cycle, the amount of money spent on judicial elections rises. Each time that it does, the spotlight on this issue gets bigger and brighter. In most states, judicial candidates run in non-partisan elections. In the five 2006 Alabama Supreme Court races, the candidates spent more than 12 million dollars...
Big Tobacco Sued By One Of Its Own
Posted on February 18, 2009Alan Landers, a billboard model for Winston in the 60's and 70's, has filed suit in Palm Beach County against the tobacco companies. He claims that the dangers of smoking were hidden from him and caused his cancer. The tobacco industry, no doubt, will claim that he is more like Nick Naylor in Thank You For Smoking...
Officer and director liability for fiduciary breach
Posted on February 17, 2009The pendulum is swinging toward reasonable accountability in the business world. News flash: Officers have fiduciary duties to their companies! The lack of regulation that lead to our disastrous financial meltdown is beginning to cause a sober look at liability rules...
The Ledbetter Act: Can Claims Arising Before It Became Law Go Forward?
Posted on February 17, 2009Since President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, lawyers and legal commentators have been exploring the boundaries of this new law. The question is – can people file lawsuits for wage discrimination violations that were committed by their employer prior to the signing of the Act? The answer is yes...
Arbitration For Consumers Needs More Protection
Posted on February 17, 2009Additional appellate remedies should be available to consumers who have been subjected to arbitration and are left with an award against them. The Federal Arbitration Act and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court appear to limit the remedies to four: (1) Fraud, corruption, or undue means (2) Evident partiality or corruption of the arbitrator(s) (3) Refusing to postpone the hearing or failure to hear evidence or other misbehavior (4) Arbitrators exceeded their power or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final and definite ward on the matter submitted to them was not made...
You had an accident, what to do next? Part 1 of 3....
Posted on February 14, 2009So many people are faced with this exact question if they have been injured in a car accident, slip and fall, or injured by product that was defectively manufactured or designed. Lets start with the most common, car accidents. It happens to all of us, it could be as simple as being hit from behind by someone not paying attention, or by being sideswiped by someone that ran a red light...
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Part 4: How To Buy Your Coverage
Posted on February 11, 2009This post will wrap up my series on uninsured/underinsured motorist (um/uim) coverage. In Part 1, we talked about the basics of um/uim coverage and buying all that you can afford. In Part 2, we talked about “stacking” coverages and in Part 3, the issue was damages...
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Part 3: Damages
Posted on February 10, 2009In previous posts in this series, I have described Uninsured/underinsured (um/uim) insurance and discussed "stacking" of coverages. Today, let's talk about damages. Um/uim coverage provides "bodily injury" damages, but not property damage...
The Arbitration Fairness Act Of 2009 - Get Behind It
Posted on February 10, 2009<p>This week, Congressman Hank Johnson from Atlanta, Georgia will introduce the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. This is an act which would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer, employment and franchisee contracts. Businesses have long touted arbitration as a cheaper and more expeditous alternative to a trial by jury...
Medical Errors
Posted on February 10, 2009<p><p>There have been recent blogs on InjuryBoard about the Chamber of Commerce’s attacks on the tort system. That attacks are often point to medical malpractice – most often to insinuate your health care provider could not have erred...
Beware of Arbitration
Posted on February 10, 2009Arbitration is expensive and favors business over consumers. Furthermore, it is an arrogant concept based upon the notion that industry insiders are better able to deliver justice than judges and juries. Arbitration is expensive because participants pay a private individual, or individuals, thousands of dollars a day to do the job of a judge who is paid with tax payer funds...
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Part 2: Stacking Coverage
Posted on February 09, 2009If you have more than one vehicle insured under the same insurance policy and you are involved in a collision where the at fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, you can "stack" the uninsured/underinsured (um/uim) coverages of up to two more insured vehicles on top of the vehicle involved in the collision...
Automobile Collisions: Should Evidence Of Seatbelt Use Be Allowed At Trial?
Posted on February 09, 2009According to the Daily Report, the Georgia Senate is considering a bill that would allow jurors to hear evidence at trial of whether or not a claimant was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The Chamber of Commerce supports the bill and many trial attorneys oppose it...
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Part 1: Buy All That You Can
Posted on February 08, 2009Reading another post on this site about uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage provoked me to talk about this issue in Alabama. This type of insurance is purchased from your own carrier and covers situations where the at fault driver that hits you either is uninsured or does not have enough coverage to compensate you for the damages that you have sustained...
EEOC Whistleblower Protection - The Supreme Court Says Yeshisemployer
Posted on February 05, 2009A unanimous Supreme Court held last week that an employee who provides information to his employer as part of a discrimination investigation is protected against retaliation for doing so. While Title VII has always protected employees who opposed unlawful employment practices or participated in an investigation of an unlawful employment practice...
Alabama Legislators Propose Taxpayer Protection Act
Posted on February 03, 2009Last week I reported on Impact Alabama’s undercover investigation regarding the improper preparation of tax returns by storefront tax preparers and urged consumers and lawyers to be on the lookout for improper tax returns and the trouble they cause...
Limitations on Damages
Posted on February 03, 2009It is interesting that Ga. is debating tort deform while the salmonella outbreak that has resulted in over 800 recalls has been traced to a Ga. plant with a history of sending out products in which traces of salmonella have been found. Why should the state protect that plant from being responsible for the full consequences of its conduct? If a company looses millions of dollars as a result of the poisoned peanuts the Chamber of Commerce will surely understand that the company which negligently distributed the contaminated product should fully compensate the injured business...
Is the Tide turning....
Posted on February 03, 2009Over the lats few weeks and months, I am hearing from fellow Trial Lawyers that juries are beginning to render verdicts in favor of the injured Plaintiff, and handing down appropriate verdicts. For the past few years juries would award the medical expenses that an individual incurred as a result of being rear ended by someone not paying attention, and there would almost be a sense that they were doing the Plaintiff a favor...
Sex Abuse Victims: Testifying May Be Part Of The Healing Process
Posted on February 02, 2009A recurring theme in just about every case that I have tried is my client's fear of testifying at trial. He worries that a jury won't believe him because he is black/white/overweight/short. She does not believe that she can effectively communicate to a group of people or that she will sound appropriate...
Who should get the money?
Posted on January 27, 2009When a woman experiences wage discrimination, a child is damaged by a dangerous drug, or a defective product kills or injures a worker most Americans agree compensation is in order. Traditional Americans believe that compensating the injured party at the expense of the wrongdoer promotes public policy...
ERISA: Short and Long Term Disability Claims
Posted on January 26, 2009In a previous post, I wrote about ERISA and its effect on your healthcare claim determinations. In this post, we will talk about ERISA and its interplay with your disability insurance. Many people have short term and/or long term disability insurance provided as a benefit of their employment...
Be Wary of Tax Preparers
Posted on January 26, 2009Impact Alabama, a Birmingham, Alabama based non-profit organization that helps low-income Alabama residents sent undercover staff with recording devices to 13 seasonal tax preparers across the state and found that none of them correctly prepared tax returns...
SLAPP Lawsuits: One Type Of Litigation That The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Can Live With
Posted on January 24, 2009Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation are lawsuits filed by overdogs against underdogs. The plaintiff in a SLAPP lawsuit is not trying to win, but only to spend the underdog dry. These lawsuits are seen as a threat to First Amendment rights and about half of the states have passed legislation against such abusive suits...
The Fair Pat Act: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Has No Shame
Posted on January 24, 2009Yesterday, I was forwarded an e-mail from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warning me that trial attorneys are heading to Washington looking for a handout. I wondered what the Chamber thought about the real Bailout, the one that a lot of its member banks and financial institutions have been wallowing in...
The Trial Attorney's Role: Why We Do What We Do
Posted on January 22, 2009If you have never been represented by a trial attorney during a time of personal tragedy - an injury, financial devastation or losing a loved one, you may not understand all the aspects of our role. Sure, it's our job to fight for your rights and get you just compensation...
Super Bowl Sunday, not just a game....
Posted on January 22, 2009With Super Bowl Sunday just a little over a week away millions across the country are making preparations to travel to their Super Bowl Party of choice. Some may go to the local sports bar, some may watch the game at a friend's house, but what is certain is that almost everyone will get to and from their Super Bowl party in an automobile, and unfortunately a high percentage of those people will have consumed at least two alcholic beverages before getting behind the wheel...
Getting Healthy in 2009....
Posted on January 19, 2009With a new year comes, new years resolutions, and one of the most common new years resolutions is to lose weight and get healthy. Unfortunately in the desire to look skinny, people sometimes go the quick and what they think will be easy route and that means diet pills...
King - Obama - The Stars Are Aligned
Posted on January 19, 2009I re-read Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail every year at this time. This year's reading was cast through a radically different prism. Dr. King's words from 45 years ago portend tomorrow's inauguration - amazing stuff. Who would have thunk it - even a year ago? I read his letter because I want to understand how life really was for black people in the South in 1963...
Do I have a case against a Nursing Home?
Posted on January 18, 2009My partner, Pete Mackey, recently posted a blog about how we evaluate cases to determine whether we can represent someone in lawsuit. Nursing home abuse cases are unique. Often the resident has died and family members are in our office trying to get an explanation...
Health Care Insurance - ERISA Is Not Your Friend (unless you are an insurance company)
Posted on January 17, 2009When you sue an insurance company for failing to pay your medical bills, chances are that your lawsuit will be governed by the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. That Act was originally intended to protect participants in company benefit plans by imposing notice and conduct requirements on those running the plans (fiduciaries)...
Equal Pay for Equal Work
Posted on January 17, 2009Senators will vote on the Lilly Ledbetter bill when it comes for a final Senate vote in the very near future. The bill supports equal pay for equal work by removing a loophole that has allowed widespread abuse of women and minorities in the workplace...
UnitedHealth Settlement - Not So Fast Says Plaintiffs' Lawyer
Posted on January 16, 2009UnitedHealth's $350,000,000 settlement is not enough money, says a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs in that case: “We believe the amount agreed to is inadequate and does not reflect as meaningful a settlement as could be negotiated,” said the lawyer, Barbara Quackenbos, whose firm is one of several handling the cases on behalf of patients and doctors...
UnitedHealth Settlement - Another View
Posted on January 15, 2009The UnitedHealth settlement with the state of New York has been hailed as a boon for healthcare plan subscribers who want to use doctors aho are not part of their network. Perhaps it is not all that it is cracked up to be, says Robert Laszewski, a healthcare consultant and president of Health Policy and Strategy Consultants, Inc...
UnitedHealth Settlement - Phase Two
Posted on January 15, 2009UnitedHealth Group entered into a $350,000,000 settlement of three class actions on behalf of the American Medical Association, health plan members, healthcare providers and state medical societies. The Plaintiffs claimed in each lawsuit that UnitedHealth, through a company that it owned, cheated patient members and out of network providers on reimbursements for services rendered by those providers...
UnitedHealth Group Settles With New York Attorney General
Posted on January 13, 2009UnitedHealth Group has agreed to settle a case filed by the New York Attorney General's office. That lawsuit, filed in the spring of 2008, accused the health care giant of defrauding its members by underpaying reimbursements for visits to out of network doctors...
Pressure Ulcers Are Preventable: Medicare and Medicaid Agree
Posted on January 12, 2009Hospitals around the country were scrambling to put new programs in place to prevent pressure ulcers after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in May 2008 that starting in October, 2008, it will no longer reimburse hospitals for treating eight "reasonably preventable" conditions...
George Will - Heavy On The Invective, Light On The Facts
Posted on January 12, 2009George Will's recent op-ed piece, "Exploding Litigation Means the death of Common Sense," lacks a key ingredient - a basis in fact. Mr. Will, generally a stickler for detail, offers only anecdotal evidence for his conclusion. The readily obtainable facts clearly show otherwise...
Who Got Bailed Out?
Posted on January 12, 2009The bailout for the financial industry has been somewhat of a mystery to me. I have been busy with work and have not been able to delve into the details. So ... watching from afar, I am not sure what to think. When I heard, "they are too big to fail," I thought of the working men and women I represent and how beholden they are to their present jobs...
The Ledbetter Bill Nears Passage
Posted on January 11, 2009The Lilly Ledbetter Act, along with the Paycheck Fairness Act, was passed by the House last Friday and the Ledbetter Act could reach the Senate as early as next week. The Ledbetter Act increases the time that employees have to file equal pay claims and the Paycheck Fairness Act provides gender based equal pay claims with the same damages that other discrimination statutes provide...
Dissecting Aorta: Timely treatment or death and malpractice
Posted on January 11, 2009There are about 2,000 cases of aortic dissection in the United States each year. With timely treatment the survival rate is approximately 85%. Without treatment 25% of patients die in the first 24 hours, 50% die within the first week, 75% the first month and a whopping 90% the first year...
Judge To Michigan Prison System - Settle These Lawsuits
Posted on January 09, 2009In his continuing report, Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press reports that County Judge Timothy Connors has ordered mediation in the lawsuits by female inmates alleging sexual assaults by prison guards. The lawyers for the state, however, believe that any efforts to settle will be a waste of time until all appeals, which the state thinks that they can win, are exhausted...
Nursing Home Arbitration Bill
Posted on January 08, 2009With a new administration ready to be sworn in and some significant changes in Congress there is real optimism that the S. Bill 2838, Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act may actually pass this year. The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act provides that a pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care facility and a resident (or anyone acting on the resident's behalf) shall not be valid or specifically enforceable...
The Problem With Fly Ash Sludge - The Other Shoe Drops
Posted on January 08, 2009Prior to the fly ash sludge holding pond rupturing at the Kingston, Tn. steam plant on December 22, not many people even knew what fly ash was. In the aftermath of that disaster, news surfaced that the Tennessee Valley Authority's inspectors had reported as early as March of last year that the same problem existed, and was ignored, at a similar plant in Alabama...
My New House Is A Lemon - Will You Take My Case?
Posted on January 08, 2009You have been in your brand new house for four months. It was kind of scary draining your savings account for the down payment and your new monthly payment is $350 more than the rent you were paying for your apartment. But now that you are in, life is good ...
Michigan Prison Faces Sex Assault Law Suits
Posted on January 07, 2009The Michigan prison system may find that protecting female inmates from sexual assaults by guards is not just the morally right thing to do, but that it makes business sense, as well. In the first of a five part series, Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press reports that inmate rights groups have been reporting sexual assaults for years, to no avail...
Will You Take My Case?
Posted on January 07, 2009Nobody comes in to our offices to tell us what a great day they have had. We don't do adoptions, we represent folks who have suffered severe personal or financial injuries. Unfortunately, we have to turn down many more of those cases than we take. Over the next few weeks, we will explain how we evaluate different kinds of cases...
Feds Give State Veterans' Home Failing Grades
Posted on January 06, 2009The William F. Green State Veterans Home in Bay Minette, Alabama was severely critcized in a report by Federal inspectors released last month. The inspection, conducted in February of 2008, found that "deficiencies have contributed to the untimely deaths of ...
Fire Alarms
Posted on January 06, 2009Deaths from fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury and deaths in the United States (CDC 2005) and the third leading cause of fatal home injury (Runyan 2004). In nearly 75% of the cases where a fire fatality occurred there was either no fire alarm present or it malfunctioned...
The Ledbetter Decision may not be Long for this World
Posted on January 06, 2009The Democrats controlling Congress are looking to overturn the Supreme Court's recent decision which limited worker's discrimination claims by providing a restrictive statute of limitations. The Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at the Goodyear tire plant in Gadsden, Al...
The People's Law School Returns
Posted on January 05, 2009A 10 week course to better explain to lay people how the legal system works - the People's Law School - returns January 26 in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville's Mayor, Tommy Battle, explains how the school works: "The topics include practical information a citizen needs to know in the event he or she buys a house, gets arrested, goes bankrupt, gets divorced, applies for Social Security, gets hurt on the job, has tax problems or has a problem with a will or an estate," Brinkley said...
Life Insurance Companies Need Your Help
Posted on January 05, 2009Consumer groups are opposing the insurance industry's effort to lower reserve requirements. The Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Economic Justice are up in arms - they believe that doing so would increase the risk that an insurer would not be able to pay its annuities and life insurance claims as they come due...
Bicycle safety tips....
Posted on January 04, 2009With Christmas bringing new bicycles to both kids and parents, the importance of bicycle safety should be stressed to all new cyclists. Unfortunately, this past weekend a South Alabama resident was riding his bicycle and was struck by a car, which caused his death...
TVA - Business Before Regulations
Posted on January 04, 2009Two weeks after the area around the Kingston, Tn. steam plant was inundated with fly ash sludge after a holding pond ruptured, news has surfaced a TVA Inspector General had issued a report in March of 2008 finding that the agency managers put business interests before regulatory compliance at a similar plant in Alabama...
Damage from the Madoff Scandal Grows
Posted on January 02, 2009By now, if you do not know who Bernie Madoff is, chances are you have been hibernating in a cave for the winter. This self professed financial scammer has been front page news world wide for his purported $50,000,000,000 fraud. The list of investors who were conned by Madoff include largely sophisticated, well heeled investors...
Have a Happy but Safe New Years.....
Posted on January 01, 2009I would like to wish everyone a Happy, but Safe New Years. I know that saying is cliche, and everyone hears these same words every year around this time, but even if you are being safe, you still need to be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your children as well...
Homeowners Sue TVA for Environmental Spill
Posted on January 01, 2009Residents of a subdivision in Tennessee located near the Kingston, Tn. Power Plant filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority seeking $165,000,000 in damages caused by the rupture of a coal ash retention pond. In the lawsuit, the homeowners claim that more than one billion gallons of coal ash sludge spilled over 300 acres of property and polluted two rivers...
It is Time to Look for Dangerous Toys
Posted on December 31, 2008Remember Dan Akroyd as Irving Mainway hawking "safe toys" such as "Bag O' Glass," "Doggy Dentist" and "Mr. Skin-Grafter" on Saturday Night Live? The joke was, nobody would sell toys that were as dangerous as those, right? Wrong...
Rear-facing carseats
Posted on December 31, 2008Rear-facing carseats are substantially safer than front-facing car seats for children up to 3 to 4 years old. The following youtube video clip is 3 minutes and 28 seconds long. It graphically demonstrates the difference between the movements of a child’s head when in a rear-facing carseat versus a front facing carseat...
How a poor economy can affect people not just in the pocketbook....
Posted on December 30, 2008As everyone knows and has felt, the current economy is effecting how people shop, eat, and live their day to day life. Some people think it is only the middle and lower class that are cutting costs, and trying to save every penny, well those people are wrong...
What Are Family Values?
Posted on November 07, 2008The red states in the Southeast and parts of the West (I guess that is just about all of them) lead the country in poverty levels and divorce, infant mortality, obesity and teen pregnancy rates. The leadership in these states should be doing something about these very real problems...
eVoting: It could be worse...it's worse.
Posted on November 03, 2008Recording votes electronically is a bad idea. I take that back. It's a horrible, no good, awfully rotten idea. And there is no way to make it better. Unlike a physical record, altered data in electronic forms can be indistinguishable from unaltered information...
Placebo Prescribing: a suprisingly common lie and its risk
Posted on October 24, 2008National Public Radio reported today that prescription of placebos by American doctors may be a common practice. Placebos are a form of off label use where the medicine is not shown to treat a patient's diagnosed ailment, but the influence on the particular patient is hoped to be positive--sometimes from nothing more than positive thinking and expectations...
Internet con artists seek to prey on uneasy consumers amid financial crisis
Posted on October 12, 2008In response to the financial crisis the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has temporarily raised its coverage on bank and credit union accounts to $250,000. This attempt to buttress consumer confidence was enabled by a provision of federal bailout legislation that authorizes the FDIC to borrow from the treasury in the event of losses exceeding the old limit of $100,000...
Off Label Uses of Prescription Drugs
Posted on October 09, 2008Off label use is a drug is prescribed for a purpose, at a dose, or through a route of administration that has not been approved by the FDA. After clinical testing the FDA approves drugs for specific conditions and in specified dosages. The FDA does not control the practice of medicine...
Durogesic Patch - Informed Consent
Posted on October 05, 2008We represent a lady who has experienced brain damage as the result of inappropriate prescription of a Durogesic Patch. She had one day surgery and was sent home wearing a Durogesic Patch. The manufacturer’s warns against using the Durogesic Patch unless the patient is under supervision...
The Need for Greater Protection for US Nursing Home Patients
Posted on August 19, 2008Many of our nation's elderly have spent their entire lives supporting this county, be it through their service, their investment, their guidance, or any other fathomable form of aid, and yet these individuals are finding themselves at risk of physical, sexual, or mental injury in many of our nation's nursing homes...
Using Technology to Market Your Law Firm
Posted on August 19, 2008Everyone has undoubtedly witnessed the tremendous rise in the day-to-day use of electronic information devices. Most individuals no longer have the patience to wait even until they get home to Google for information about a subject or business that interests them...
Apology Laws
Posted on August 19, 2008Surfing the internet a few weekends ago I came across this article from a Dallas based plaintiffs firm discussing new measures state legislatures are taking to curb medical malpractice payouts. The apology laws, as they are being touted, basically state the contention that most med...
What Are Emotional Distress Damages? - Part 1
Posted on June 26, 2008A friend of mine recently told me that he had read about a jury awarding emotional distress damages in favor of a husband and wife whose home was improperly wired by an electrical contractor and, as a result, burned down after they got out with only the clothes on their back...
Is Alabama Really That Unfriendly To Business?
Posted on June 25, 2008It is your first trip to the State of Alabama. You have traveled to Mobile on a business trip. Your mission is to assess Alabama as a potential site for your company's expansion. As you read the op/ed page of the local morning paper , you start thinking that you are wasting your time...
Nursing Homes Demanding Arbitration/How To Draft A Power Of Attorney To Prevent Arbitration
Posted on June 24, 2008Family members who sign their loved ones into nursing homes are often automatically signing arbitration agreements without realizing they are signing away rights to a jury trial if the nursing home neglects or abuses a resident. From a strictly legal point of view it is difficult to understand how one person can give up rights another person has...
A New Home Warranty May Not Be All That You Think It Is
Posted on June 18, 2008Youare buying a brand new home. Youare excited - you should be. Atclosing, the builder hands you a warranty on your new home. It may have been mentioned back whenyou first spoke with your builder, but you cannot remember. In any event, what's not to like aboutgetting even more protection on what is probably the biggest investment youwill ever make? Depending on the warranty provided, you may be getting lessthan the builder is legally obligated to provide had you not accepted thatpiece of paper...
Should I Hire a Home Inspector Before I Buy?
Posted on June 18, 2008Whenyou made a offer on your new home, your realtor no doubt pointed out that you could make your offersubject to a home inspection. Thatway, if you found something that you did not like, you had a basis forwithdrawing your offer and getting out of the contract...
Medical Malpractice
Posted on May 01, 2008We represent the mother of a 14 year old girl in a wrongful death case. The child was having headaches so her mother took her to the defendant neurologist. He prescribed 200 mlg of desipramine (off label) without doing any kind of a cardiac work up. The child died of a desipramine overdose 33 days later...
Tort Reform Will Save You Money???
Posted on April 23, 2008The next time a group supporting tort reform tells you that your vote will result in lower insurance rates for the professional being sued that they are looking to protect, ask a question. Of the states that have passed the tort reform laws you want passed in my jurisdiction, how many have reported a decline in the applicable insurance premiums? If they tell you that some states have, ask them to back up their claim with real statistics...
What To Do About Homeowners Insurance
Posted on April 22, 2008Thousands of people in South Alabama are caught in a real bind - their present homeowner's insurance carrier has cancelled their policy and they can not find replacement coverage. What is a home owner to do? The starting point is to find an independent agent that you can trust who can search out smaller specialty carriers...
Lawsuit Bans Furniture Dealer From Doing Business in Florida
Posted on March 08, 2008A lawsuit filed by Florida's Attorney General, against a Jacksonville furniture company, will prohibit the business from operating in Florida. The lawsuit, filed against Leather Depot, alleges the company is in violation of a prior business litigation settlement and is involved in deceptive business practices...
Magna Bank Finishes Presenting Evidence in Legal Malpractice Lawsuit
Posted on March 07, 2008Magna Bank has finished highliting evidence in a legal malpractice lawsuit against Thompson Coburn after four weeks of testimony.
Lawsuit Bans Furniture Dealer From Doing Business in Florida
Posted on March 07, 2008A lawsuit filed by Florida's Attorney General, against a Jacksonville furniture company, will prohibit the business from operating in Florida.The lawsuit, filed against Leather Depot, alleges the company is in violation of a prior business litigation settlement and is involved in deceptive business practices...
Magna Bank Finishes Presenting Evidence in Legal Malpractice Lawsuit
Posted on March 06, 2008Magna Bank has finished highliting evidence in a legal malpractice lawsuit against Thompson Coburn after four weeks of testimony.The trial, which was on a three-day hiatus so presiding Judge Daniel J. Stack could attend a judicial conference in Chicago, resumed March 6...
Yahoo Faces Shareholder Lawsuit
Posted on March 05, 2008A shareholder lawsuit has been filed against, Internet giant, Yahoo, for refusing a $44.6 billion buyout offer by Microsoft.
Six Charged With Filing False Storm Claims
Posted on March 04, 2008Following a federal grand jury indictment earlier this week, six Orlando-area residents have been arrested by federal officials and charged with filing false storm claims with the federal government in 2005.
Yahoo Faces Shareholder Lawsuit
Posted on March 04, 2008A shareholder lawsuit has been filed against, Internet giant, Yahoo, for refusing a $44.6 billion buyout offer by Microsoft. The Detroit Police and Fire retirement system andWayne County Employee's Retirement System, of Michigan, which owns approximately 13,600 shares of Yahoo, filed a lawsuit in Michigan court asking that Yahoo be forced to consider the buyout...
John Ritter's Widow to Speaks at Wrongful Death Trial
Posted on March 03, 2008John Ritter's widow sat before jurors, on Monday, at her late husband's wrongful death trial and gave testimony about the events that led up to the actor's death in 2003.
Six Charged With Filing False Storm Claims
Posted on March 03, 2008Following a federal grand jury indictment earlier this week, six Orlando-area residents have been arrested by federal officials and charged with filing false storm claims with the federal government in 2005.Each of the six individuals arrested, are being charged in separate indictments, and accused of filing and collecting $2,000 in disaster assistance claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)...
Lawrence Place Nursing Home Ordered to Close
Posted on March 02, 2008The owners of Lawrence Place Assisted Living have been ordered to close and seek relocation of its residents by midnight, Monday, after allegations of nursing home abuse.
Man Awarded $24 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Posted on March 01, 2008A Streator man was awarded nearly $24 million in a medical malpractice case for brain damage he suffered while in the hospital to have a kidney stone removed, according to court records regarding the case.
Crane Operator Injured in Worksite Accident
Posted on March 01, 2008An Omaha crane operator suffered on the job injuries, in a construction accident, when the 140,000 pound crane he was on slipped down an embankment and into the Papio Creek trapping him inside the cab.
Lawrence Place Nursing Home Ordered to Close
Posted on March 01, 2008The owners of Lawrence Place Assisted Living have been ordered to close and seek relocation of its residents by midnight, Monday, after allegations of nursing home abuse.A Franklin County Judge ordered the facility to close following an emergency investigation by officials from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) based on complaints that residents were at serious risk of elder abuse and mismanagement of medication...
Crane Operator Injured in Worksite Accident
Posted on February 29, 2008An Omaha crane operator suffered on the job injuries, in a construction accident, when the 140,000 pound crane he was on slipped down an embankment and into the Papio Creek trapping him inside the cab.The worker was trapped for almost an hour. Firefighters were able to release him from the cab with the Jaws of Life, according to the Omaha Fire Department...
Cribs Recalled Because of Fall Hazard
Posted on February 28, 2008Munire Furniture Inc., in cooperation with the CPSC, announced a voluntary crib recall of about 24,000 cribs due to a fall hazard. The recalled cribs were sold under many different brand names including: Brighton/Sussex Cribs, Captiva Cribs, Essex Cribs, Majestic Curved Top and Flat Top Cribs.
Cribs Recalled Because of Fall Hazard
Posted on February 27, 2008Munire Furniture Inc., in cooperation with the CPSC, announced a voluntary crib recall of about 24,000 cribs due to a fall hazard. The recalled cribs were sold under many different brand names including: Brighton/Sussex Cribs, Captiva Cribs, Essex Cribs, Majestic Curved Top and Flat Top Cribs...
4 Injured, 2 Killed in Car Crash
Posted on February 25, 2008A two vehicle accident, Monday, claimed two lives and left four others injured. There have been 78 Alabama traffic fatalities reported in 2008 so far this year. At this time in 2007, there were 95 reported accidents.
Biggest Beef Recall in U.S. History
Posted on February 23, 2008Westland/Hallmark Meat Company recently initiated the largest beef recall in U.S. History, to date. The recall includes over 143 million pounds of frozen and raw beef produced by a slaughterhouse in Chino, because it may contain foreign materials.
Baxter Recalls Heparin After Allergic Reactions
Posted on February 23, 2008On Monday, Baxter announced they are temporarily suspending the production of the drug Heprin, after 350 negative reactions have been reported in conjunction with the drug.
Aloha Portable Heaters Recalled for Fire Hazard
Posted on February 20, 2008Aloha Housewares, in cooperation with CPSC, announced a voluntary product recall of its portable heaters due to a fire hazard.
One Teen killed, One Critically Injured in Car Accident
Posted on February 17, 2008A Marbury High School student, 18, was killed in a car accident when his vehicle went into an intersection in front of an oncoming log truck, said the Alabama Department of Public Safety.
Alabama Truck Driver Pleads Guilty in Deaths of Guardsmen
Posted on February 15, 2008A Citronelle truck driver accused of killing two members of the Alaska National Guard, in a 2006 truck accident, has plead guilty to charges accusing him of driving while under the influence of drugs.
Mobile Woman Killed in Car Accident
Posted on February 13, 2008A Mobile woman, 27, died from injuries she suffered in a car accident, on Friday, when the car she was driving overturned.
New Era Expands Nationwide Recall of Canned Vegetables for Botulism Risk
Posted on February 08, 2008The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced they are expanding a nationwide recall of canned vegetables for a third time due to potential Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) risk.
Gasoline Tanker Accident Shuts Down Alabama Interstate
Posted on February 04, 2008State trooper's shutdown both lanes of Northbound Interstate 85 to clean up the aftermath of a trucking accident that involved an overturned tanker truck transporting gasoline.
Crib Turtle Toys Recalled by Kids II for Choking Hazard
Posted on January 31, 2008Kids II Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has announced a crib toy recall. The recalled products include the Baby Einstein, Baby Neptune and Soothing Seascape toy turtles.
Mobile Man Killed in Motorcycle Collision
Posted on January 28, 2008A motorcycle accident claimed the life of a Mobile man, 46, on Sunday, when he collided with a sedan, according to Mobile police. Another motorcyclist was hit as well, police said, but he was not injured.
Belulah Woman Ejected From Vehicle; Dies Instantly
Posted on January 25, 2008A car accident, Monday night, claimed the life of a Belulah woman, 44. Officials say the accident occurred at about 6:30 p.m. on Lee Road 375. The woman died instantly from head injuries she suffered when she apparently lost control of her car and was ejected from the vehicle.
'Formula 1' Toy Racing Cars Recalled for Paint Lead Hazard
Posted on January 23, 2008OKK Trading Inc. in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a toy recall of its "Formula 1" toy racing cars because the surface paint on the toys contains excessive levels of lead.
FDA Approves Update to Ortho Evra Patch Label
Posted on January 18, 2008The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved revisions to the current Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch label. The updated labels will reflect results from a new study that found users of the patch were at an increased risk of developing serious blood clots (also known as (VTE - venous thromboembolism), than those women who use birth control pills.
City of Cleveland Suing 21 Banks Over Increase in Mortgage Foreclosures
Posted on January 15, 2008The city of Cleveland has filed a public-nuisance lawsuit against 21 of the biggest subprime mortgage lenders, such as Ameriquest Mortgage Co., seeking damages due to a huge increase in foreclosures.
Lowe's Recalls Torchiere Lamps for Fire Hazard
Posted on January 13, 2008LG Sourcing, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a voluntary recall of 90,000 Torchiere lamps sold by Lowe's Stores. A short circuit located in the lamps' wiring can pose a fire hazard to users.
American Honda Motor Co. Recall ATVs Due to Loss of Speed Control
Posted on January 10, 2008American Honda Motor Co., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 40,000 Model Year 2007 Honda TRX 500 ATVs due to loss of speed control. It is possible for water to get into the throttle position sensor and freeze it, which causes permanent damage if the rider tries to force the throttle lever...
FDA Warns About False Claims for Some Menopause Therapy Drugs
Posted on January 10, 2008The FDA has sent warning letters to seven pharmacies ,within the last week regarding false or misleading claims about their made-to-order products, commonly marketed as
Bicyclist Suffers Life Threatening Injuries After Crashing with Car
Posted on January 08, 2008A bicyclist suffered life threatening injuries in a car accident, Tuesday night, when his bike was struck by a car.
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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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There are several things you can do. First of all, contact any welfare advisors,...
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You local court will probably have someone to offer you some assistance as you p...
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