Personal Injury Law

4 Killed in Car-Train Crash

Posted on November 17, 2009
Four people were killed in an auto accident last night when an Amtrak train hit the vehicle. The accident occurred near the South Carolina-Georgia border. One of the accident victims was a 12-year-old child.The gates had already been lowered to block traffic from the on-coming train...

Stroller Recall

Posted on November 10, 2009
Maclaren has issued a voluntary recall on approximately one million strollers due to a defect that places babies at risk of finger amputation. Currently, there have been at least 12 babies or toddlers who have lost their fingers after they got caught in the stroller hinges...

Byetta Linked to Development of Altered Kidney Function

Posted on November 04, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the makers of the drug Byetta to revise the drug's label in an attempt to properly warn consumers of the risk of developing altered kidney function from taking Byetta. Byetta is a drug used to improve glycemic control in adults suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus...

Half a Million Pounds of Beef Recalled for E. coli

Posted on November 03, 2009
Fairbank Farms has recently issued a voluntary recall on more than a half a million pounds of ground beef after discovering the defective product may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. So far, there are two deaths potentially linked to the contaminated beef...

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MS Drug, Tysabri, Linked to Brain Infection

Posted on October 30, 2009
The Irish drug maker, Elan, has received a subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission seeking information related to its multiple-sclerosis drug, Tysabri. Back in July 2008, Elan and its marketing partner, Biogen Idec Inc. notified regulatory agencies of two confirmed cases of a rare infection of the brain known as "progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy" (PML) in MS patients taking the drug...

Patients Received Excessive Levels of Radiation Due to Medical Error

Posted on October 27, 2009
California public health officials are currently investigating a series of medical errors committed by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Over the past 18 months, 206 patients received high doses of radiation during CT brain scans.According to a statement released by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, patients were exposed to eight times the normal dose of radiation during CT scans used to diagnose strokes...

Baby Food Recall

Posted on October 20, 2009
Plum Organics has recalled apple and carrot baby food products in portable pouches. The product recall has been issued due to concerns of potential botulism contamination.The baby food manufacturer released a statement indicating that these products do not meet FDA guidelines for acidity level...

Verdict Against Family Dollar Store Stands in Wage and Hour Lawsuit

Posted on October 13, 2009
The United States Supreme Court decided that they would not review a $35.6 million judgment against Family Dollar Stores, Inc. in a class action wage and hour lawsuit. As a result, the 2008 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling will stand, awarding each of the 1,424 plaintiffs in the lawsuit approximately $29,000 in back pay...

Florida Nurse Reuses IV Supplies, Endangers Patients' Health

Posted on October 06, 2009
A nurse at the Broward General Medical Center has been suspended by the hospital after they discovered that she had been reusing supplies while dispensing IV fluids during stress tests. The hospital has also urged all patients who may have received treatment with contaminated supplies to get tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis, C, and HIV...

Diabetes Drug Possibly Linked to Bone Fractures

Posted on September 30, 2009
Another diabetes drug has recently been linked to adverse side effects--specifically, bone fractures. The group of drugs prescribed to treat Type 2 Diabetes, thiazolidinediones, was introduced in the 1990's and has been associated with bone fractures in over 1,800 patients over the age of 40 who had been prescribed the drug at least once...

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Children's Tylenol Products

Posted on September 28, 2009
A voluntary recall has been initiated by Johnson & Johnson for 21 different Tylenol children's products after it was discovered that they may potentially be contaminated with harmful bacteria.The following products have been recalled:Children's Tylenol Cold MS Suspension 4 oz...

FDA Sends Warning Letter to Bayer about Problems with Yaz and Yasmin Production

Posted on September 22, 2009
Last month, the FDA issued a warning letter to Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, detailing several problems at a plant in Germany which produces drospirenone, one of the active ingredients in these products...

Spinal Cord Injury Prevents Phil Collins from Ever Drumming Again

Posted on September 15, 2009
Phil Collins has recently announced that due to a severe spinal cord injury, he will never be able to play the drums again. The 58-year-old lead singer and drummer for the British rock band Genesis has been playing the drums for more than 50 years. In his statement, he expressed a deep sadness over his inability to play drums, but he assured his fans that he will still be able to sing...

Toyota Charged with Hiding Evidence in Rollover Lawsuits

Posted on September 11, 2009
Dimitrios P. Biller, a former attorney for Toyota, has filed a lawsuit against the auto manufacturer, accusing the company of illegally withholding evidence in auto accident lawsuits related to SUV rollover injuries and deaths.Biller has accused Toyota of intentionally hiding evidence in an attempt to keep structural shortcomings of Toyota vehicles from becoming known...

Gulf Vets Given Death Sentence--By Mistake

Posted on August 26, 2009
Getting a diagnosis of a life-threatening or terminal disease is probably one of the most devastating and frightening experiences anyone can have. But when you get the diagnosis and later find out it was incorrect, you will, most likely, immediately be relieved, but then anger will set in...

Medical Malpractice and LASIK Surgery

Posted on August 25, 2009
Even though LASIK surgery is considered one of the safest procedures available, it is still accompanied by the risk of complications. If your eye surgeon makes a surgical error during your LASIK procedure, the consequences can be disastrous, potentially leading to permanent vision problems or even blindness...

Weight Loss Drugs May Cause Liver Damage

Posted on August 25, 2009
Two very popular weight-loss drugs may be associated with liver damage according to a recent report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The active ingredient in these two drugs, orlistat, may cause hepatoxicity, which is chemical damage to the liver...

Denver Woman Injured While Riding In Cab

Posted on August 19, 2009
When a woman in Denver, Colorado recently went out with friends, she did the responsible thing and called a cab to take her home after she had a few alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, on her way home, a drunk driver struck the cab she was riding in, breaking both her legs...

Five People Die in Horrific SUV Rollover Accident

Posted on August 13, 2009
Witnesses say that just before an SUV left the road and rolled over several times, one of their tires blew out. After the driver lost control, the vehicle careened off the side of the road and over an embankment before rolling over several times and landing on its roof...

Wages for After Hours Work

Posted on August 12, 2009
With so many advances in technology and with more and more work being done through emails, blackberries, and cell phones, questions are being raised about employees being paid for work done on their cell phones and via email after they are "off the clock...

Man's Estate Awarded $749,000 For Medical Malpractice Injuries

Posted on August 05, 2009
A World War II veteran was seriously injured during what was supposed to be a routine eye surgery at a Mississippi Veteran's Administration medical facility. The veteran was attempting to correct some of the sagging skin around his eyes with a blepharoplasty procedure, but instead received serious chemical burns to his corneas...

New Medical Technology Saves Teen's Life after Heart Attack

Posted on August 03, 2009
Jordan Myhre, a 19-year-old boy, recently suffered a massive heart attack while training for a triathlon at his local pool. While this incident could have led to Myhre's tragic untimely death, new medical technology on-hand at the pool enabled those around him to save his life...

Woman Dies After Long Battle With Medical Errors

Posted on July 29, 2009
When a mother of four went to a plastic surgeon in 2002, she believed she would be getting a simple liposuction procedure she and her doctor had talked about. Unfortunately, the routine procedure was performed with severe negligence, and the woman left the operating room with multiple punctures to her lower intestine and colon...

Texas Boating Accident Could Have Been Caused By Manufacturing Defect

Posted on July 28, 2009
When the competitors on the Texas A&M sailing team went to compete in a race to Veracruz, they never expected to deal with a serious boating accident and the wrongful death of a friend. The racing boat, named the Cynthia Woods, was 38-feet-long and lost its keel about 10 hours into the race...

Festival Accident Puts Four in Hospital

Posted on July 20, 2009
An employee at a funnel-cake stand in Hanover, Virginia tipped over a vat of oil, spilling 350-400 degree oil all over himself and three other people working alongside him. Two of the employees suffered second-degree burn injuries over 30 percent of their bodies and had to be flown to a nearby hospital...

Computers Contribute to At-Home and Work Injuries

Posted on July 17, 2009
According to a recent study from The American Journal of Preventative Medicine, an estimated 9,279 of emergency room visits were caused by computer-related personal injuries. This number is a serious increase from just 1,267 computer injuries in 1994...

Woman Files Toxic Exposure Lawsuit Against Navy Base

Posted on July 16, 2009
Camp Lejeune, which has been the home of millions of people over the years, is now being cited as the cause of what could be millions of toxic exposure injuries. One Iowa woman, who was too sick to file her lawsuit herself, had lawyers file a lawsuit against the United States government for the cancer she has suffered from...

Commercial Truck Driver Hits Bridge

Posted on July 15, 2009
On his way to deliver peat moss, a commercial truck driver collided into a bridge that was too short for his truck to fit under. The driver of the truck is claiming that the reason the semi-truck accident occurred is because he was following directions on his new GPS device...

Florida Woman Loses Limbs After Failure To Diagnose

Posted on July 14, 2009
When a Florida woman went to the hospital on Sept. 20, 2003, she knew that she was suffering from a severe kidney stone episode. She had suffered from them in the past and told a nurse in the emergency room what was happening.What ensued was a tragic combination of failure to diagnose, medical error, and miscommunication between doctors, hospital staff, and other professionals...

Washington Man Sues McDonald's for Tampered Burger

Posted on July 09, 2009
A 65-year-old man from Washington who has been a faithful McDonald's patron for decades is now suing the restaurant chain for injuries he received after eating a portion of one of their hamburgers. The man's injuries were so severe, he couldn't eat for days after the incident...

How To Keep Your Child Injury-Free This Summer

Posted on July 08, 2009
The summer months are filled with all sorts of activities for children, and many of these activities carry the risk of serious injury in the event of an unforeseen accident.Some of the most common accidents causing injuries to children include swimming accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, and burn accidents...

Motorcycle Accidents Often Caused By Other Drivers

Posted on July 07, 2009
Motorcycle accidents can be some of the most serious and fatal accidents on the road, and many people think that inexperienced riders or operator error cause the majority of horrific motorcycle crashes seen on television. In reality, motorcycle accidents are often caused by other drivers...

Surviving Family Awarded $4.5 Million After Fatal Airplane Crash

Posted on July 06, 2009
After nearly 6 years, the two children of a man who was killed in an airplane accident were awarded $4.5 million for the wrongful death of their father. The man was flying in a plane off the coast of Florida with three other people who also died.The wrongful death lawsuit that was brought by the surviving family members with help from their personal injury attorney, listed that negligent piloting as well as improper airplane maintenance as the causes of the crash...

Woman Nearly Dies After BOTOX Injections

Posted on July 02, 2009
In the United States, the FDA has only approved BOTOX for use in cosmetic applications. In Canada, on the other hand, BOTOX has been approved by Health Canada to treat some of the effects of cerebral palsy. Recently, a woman receiving BOTOX to treat her cerebral palsy was seriously injured after the effects of the BOTOX spread throughout her body...

Boy Suffers Serious Head Injury During Sleepover

Posted on July 01, 2009
A 10-year-old was on his first sleepover ever when he fell from the top of a bunk bed and suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to the lawsuit, if the bunk bed had not been altered by the other boy's parents, this serious injury would not have occurred, or at the very least, it would not have been so bad...

Patients Are Not Always Informed Of Test Results

Posted on June 30, 2009
With all of the tests available to doctors today, medical professionals are able to spot and treat many different diseases and conditions before they become too serious. Unfortunately, many patients who undergo medical tests are not always informed of the results, which can lead to a failure to diagnose a serious disease...

Accutane Pulled from U.S. Market

Posted on June 29, 2009
Pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG, the makers of the acne drug Accutane, has announced that they will be pulling the drug from the U.S. market. They informed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of their decision this week.The product recall has come as a result of the large number of lawsuits filed against Roche for pharmaceutical injuries sustained from taking Accutane...

Nursing Home Care Varies Greatly From Corporation to Corporation

Posted on June 26, 2009
Two Alabama nursing homes received very different ratings from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The new evaluation and ranking system from the government department gave one nursing home their highest rating, while the other home across town received one of their lowest...

Dog Bites Much More Common Than Most People Think

Posted on June 25, 2009
In the past week, there were three dog bite incidents that occurred in East Texas. Two people suffered treatable injuries after the animal bites, but one 10-year-old child is now dead after being mauled and killed by two pit bulls.Every year, there are more than 4 million dog bite attacks in the United States...

Wrongful Arrest Lawsuit Filed Against Washington Police

Posted on June 24, 2009
A Washington man has filed a wrongful arrest lawsuit against local police after they illegally searched his home and then arrested him. The man ended up spending 45 days in the Spokane County Jail.On April 20, 2007, the man's ex-wife was arrested by Washington police on a charge unrelated to her ex-husband...

Study Shows That Many Birth Injuries Could Have Been Avoided

Posted on June 23, 2009
The birth of a child is one of the most memorable times in a mother's life. For many women, though, this beautiful moment is marred by a birth injury. A new study by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that many birth injuries suffered by both newborns and mothers could be avoided...

Two Wrongful Deaths Spur Product Recall Request

Posted on June 22, 2009
After the wrongful deaths of two Arkansas children, a child-safety organization from Kansas is requesting that General Motors (GM) recall 2000-2001 models of several cars. The organization says that GM should install emergency trunk releases in all the trunks of their cars...

Missouri Police Officer Charged With Manslaughter After Causing Drunk Driving Accident

Posted on June 19, 2009
A Missouri police officer was arrested and charged with manslaughter after causing an auto accident that killed four passengers in another vehicle. According to the accident report, the officer was drinking at a bar for a few hours before getting in her car and driving...

Deadly Plant Explosion Caused By Natural Gas

Posted on June 18, 2009
The ConAgra plant that exploded on June 9, 2009, killing three, has now been determined to be caused by natural gas. The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' National Response Team was sent to the scene of the plant explosion to investigate the accident...

Zicam Causes Loss of Smell

Posted on June 17, 2009
Zicam, a popular nasal spray made by Matrixx Initiatives, has been linked to permanent loss of smell in consumers using the product. As a result of this harmful side effect, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has urged all consumers to discontinue use of this defective product at once...

Georgia Student Dies in Work-Related Tractor Accident

Posted on June 17, 2009
A student from Auburn University died after the tractor he was working on went over an embankment and killed him. The student was working for a local club and was attempting to pull a blower when the accident happened. When dealing with a wrongful death or work-related accident, an experienced personal injury attorney can help file any necessary claims on your behalf so you can recover the compensation you deserve for your loved one's injuries...

Three Men Die in Texas Construction Accident

Posted on June 16, 2009
Three men working on a high-rise construction project in Austin, Texas died when the scaffolding they were working on collapsed and sent them plunging to the ground several stories below. The families of the deceased men are now coping with the loss of their loved ones...

Teens Injured in Seattle 15-Passenger Van Rollover Accident

Posted on June 15, 2009
On June 14, 2009 a 15-passenger van traveling with 12 teenage passengers went off the road on Blewitt Pass and rolled over, injuring several people inside. In a van rollover accident, there can be many different parties who are liable for injuries suffered, which is why you should have an experienced auto accident attorney help you with your claim...

Avandia Linked to Heart Attacks

Posted on June 12, 2009
The GlaxoSmithKline diabetes medicine, Avandia, has recently been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and heart-related deaths. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a warning about this dangerous drug and suggests you speak with a doctor about these potential side effects...

R&B Singer Reaches Wrongful Death Settlement

Posted on June 11, 2009
Celebrity R&B singer Brandy smashed into a car, killing a mother of two in December 2006. Since then, she has faced numerous lawsuits attempting to recover compensation for the wrongful death of one woman and the serious injuries sustained by other motorists in the auto accident...

Nevada Parents File Wrongful Death Lawsuit for Daughter

Posted on June 10, 2009
The parents of a Nevada 15-year-old have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of a pickup truck that rolled over and killed their daughter. In the lawsuit, the family claims that the driver's parents knew he was an unsafe driver and should not have allowed him to drive their pickup...

California Man Awarded Millions in Defective Product Lawsuit

Posted on June 10, 2009
A California musician was traveling in a Ford van with his band when they were involved in a rollover accident. During the accident, the seat the man was sitting in became dislodged and left the floor of the vehicle. The roof of the van then crushed the man's head and he suffered severe spinal cord injuries, leaving him a quadriplegic...

Personal Injury Victims May Be Affected By Bankruptcies

Posted on June 08, 2009
With all the news about GM and Chrysler filing for bankruptcy, personal injury victims should be concerned. For thousands of people who have filed personal injury claims against both companies for poor manufacturing, the bankruptcies might leave them out in the cold...

Man Dies in Wisconsin Motorcycle Accident

Posted on June 05, 2009
A Wisconsin man was killed when he was thrown from his motorcycle, according to the Langdale County Sheriff's Office. The man was driving on Highway A when he failed to negotiate a turn properly.The man was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Highway A when he lost control of the vehicle...

Patio Umbrellas Recalled by Home Depot

Posted on June 04, 2009
The Home Depot in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has filed a voluntary product recall for defective umbrellas. The umbrella can potentially tip over and injure people if they do not remove the umbrella's collar before closing it...

Florida Families Flee From Defective Drywall Construction

Posted on June 03, 2009
While there have been numerous stories all over the country of homes having to be reconstructed or repaired after builders installed defective Chinese drywall, Florida may be suffering worse than other states. In Florida, tens of thousands of homes have had Chinese drywall installed, and families are forced to pay for it...

Wrongful Death Claim Filed After Wheelchair Accident in California

Posted on June 02, 2009
The family of an elderly woman who died after a wheelchair accident has filed a wrongful death claim. The accident occurred at a Del Taco restaurant; the woman was being pushed by her son down a defective ramp when she fell off and suffered serious injuries in March 2008...

Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Oklahoma

Posted on June 01, 2009
The surviving family members of the victims of a truck accident are filing a wrongful death lawsuit in order to recover compensation for the loss of their loved ones. The truck accident occurred in Oklahoma. When the family was waiting at a traffic light, a tractor trailer crashed into the car, setting it on fire and killing a husband, his wife, and two of their children...

Officer Involved in Dog Attack in Georgia

Posted on May 29, 2009
A Georgia officer is recovering after being attacked and bitten by a dangerous dog. The female officer was attempting to pick up a dog and place it in her pickup truck when another dog attacked her and bit her on the lower leg.While the dog bite did not leave severe injuries, it did leave two fairly large gashes in the woman's calf...

Family receives $12 Million in Compensation for Birth Injury

Posted on May 28, 2009
A Rockford, Illinois family has recently received a $12 million settlement after filing a medical malpractice claim against the hospital staff that delivered their baby. The birth injury that occurred during the delivery of their son has caused him to develop cerebral palsy...

Oregon City Fined for Asbestos Violations

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Central Point, a city located in Southern Oregon, for failing to protect workers from asbestos. During a demolition project performed by the city of Central Point, trace amounts of asbestos were found in the debris...

Atlanta Officers Come Forward Against City Workers' Compensation System

Posted on May 26, 2009
Four officers in wheelchairs came forward in Atlanta last week to speak out against the city's workers' compensation system. According to the former police officers that were injured while on-duty, the city's workers' compensation program has been systematically challenging their medical needs for the past two years...

Drunk Driving Teen Kills Two Women in Boston

Posted on May 21, 2009
In yet another heartbreaking story, one woman's life was cut short and another was injured at the hands of an irresponsible teenager who chose to drink and then drive his car in Boston, Massachusetts.The two women, mother and daughter, were walking their dog down the street when they were hit by a car...

Illinois Woman Seeks Compensation After Slip and Fall Accident

Posted on May 20, 2009
A woman in Illinois is suing a bar and restaurant after she fell and suffered serious, permanent injury to her knee. In addition to the knee injury, the woman incurred medical expenses and lost wages when she was unable to perform her job after the accident...

Defective Mercedes-Benz Cars Recalled

Posted on May 19, 2009
When you purchase a new Mercedes-Benz, you expect to be purchasing the best quality available in an automobile. For many California car buyers, this wasn't the case, causing Mercedes-Benz to issue a recall for more than 16,000 vehicles. The product recall has been issued after an investigation into the cars revealed the seal around the taillights in these vehicles was faulty...

Texas House Clears Workers' Compensation Bill

Posted on May 18, 2009
The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that will potentially make it easier for independent contractors to receive workers' compensation from property owners if they are injured on the job.The bill just barely passed by majority in the Texas House by a vote of 73-71, and it overturned a previous law that shielded property owners against lawsuits brought by contract workers...

Two Women File Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Tucson, Arizona

Posted on May 15, 2009
On April 10, 2005, Christopher Lambeth, a mentally ill man, stabbed his two grandparents to death. The mother and aunt of Christopher Lambeth are now filing a medical malpractice claim in order to recover damages from the psychiatrist as well as the behavioral agency that worked with Christopher...

Victims and Surviving Family Members May Receive Workers' Compensation

Posted on May 14, 2009
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania workers who worked from 1942 to 1944 in the Westinghouse Atomic Power Development Plant may be able to recover federal compensation if they suffered from certain forms of cancer. If they died from cancer caused by working in the plant, their surviving family members may be eligible to receive this compensation...

FSIS Recalls Mucci's Food Products

Posted on May 13, 2009
The United States Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is recalling certain products from Mucci's Food Products Inc. due to safety hazards. The food company released unsafe pasta and meat products in California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio...

Signs of a Brain Injury

Posted on May 12, 2009
A brain injury can be devastating to deal with whether you've suffered the injury yourself or if you're helping a loved one recover from one. Brain injuries have the power to completely transform the way you live your life.Most people think that brain injuries occur from serious accidents like car accidents or motorcycle accidents, but the fact is, a brain injury can occur from any blow to the head...

Drunk Driver Car Accident Leaves One Dead and Two Injured

Posted on May 11, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, Gregario Diaz was arrested after driving the wrong way down Holly Drive and then getting onto the freeway in the wrong direction. Diaz then crashed head-on into another car, killing the driver and seriously injuring the two passengers in his car...

8-Year-Old Saves His Friend from Violent Dog Attack

Posted on May 08, 2009
An 8-year-old boy from Florida showed tremendous bravery last week when he rescued his best friend from a violent dog attack. Aaron Dingman was playing at his friend Lucas' house, when Lucas' dog lunged at Aaron, mauling his face.The dog sliced Aaron's face open...

Wal-Mart Settles with Nassau County DA in Black Friday Stampede

Posted on May 07, 2009
Wal-Mart reached an agreement with the Nassau County District Attorney in relation to incidents stemming from a stampede at one of their Long Island stores on Black Friday. Last November, shoppers looking to take advantage of early Christmas deals stormed the store, injuring several employees and shoppers in the process...

2 NY Brain Surgeons Suspended for Abandoning Patient in OR

Posted on May 06, 2009
Two of New York's highest paid brain surgeons have recently been suspended for two weeks after abandoning a patient in the operating room. The patient had already been anesthetized and prepped for her brain surgery.The two surgeons involved in the incident were Thomas Milhorat, chief of neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital, and Paolo Bolognese, a colleague of Milhorat's...

2 Dogs Get Loose, Attack People at Missouri Mall

Posted on May 05, 2009
Two pit bulls got loose in the parking lot of a Columbia, Missouri shopping mall and attacked several people nearby. Police have confirmed one dog bite victim. He was attacked when he tried to divert the attention of the dogs while they were chasing a woman in the parking lot...

Child Severely Injured in Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion

Posted on May 04, 2009
Recently, an Italian family flew to the United States in hopes that they could receive treatment for their young son, Francesco. Their hometown raised over $100,000 to send Francesco and his family overseas to receive treatment for cerebral palsy, a birth injury that has prevented him from walking and talking properly...

Laci Peterson's Family Drops Wrongful Death Suit Against Her Husband

Posted on May 01, 2009
Laci Peterson's family has dropped their wrongful death lawsuit against her former husband Scott Peterson. He is currently on death row for the murder of Laci and their unborn son.Laci's mother and stepfather withdrew the lawsuit in a Modesto, California court last week...

Crib Recall

Posted on April 30, 2009
Approximately 96,000 Jardine cribs were recalled today due to product defects that have endangered the safety of babies using the cribs. The recall covers seven crib models, which are sold at Toys R Us and Babies R Us. It is the third crib recall for the company this year...

5 French Tourists Died in Bus Accident

Posted on April 29, 2009
A tour bus carrying French tourists overturned on a California highway yesterday. At least five people were killed and many others were seriously injured in the bus accident. The bus was the only vehicle involved in the crash.The bus crashed into a guard rail on a two-lane overpass headed southbound on U...

Pain Management Doctor Faces Two Lawsuits

Posted on April 28, 2009
A Denver pain management doctor currently faces two lawsuits -- one for medical malpractice and the other for wrongful death. In both cases, his errors led to cardiac arrest in the patients. One woman died, while the other suffered brain damage.Dr. Daniel Brookoff administered trigger point injections of a pain medicine called Marcaine to both patients...

Vitamin Manufacturers Sued over Failing to Warn about Lead

Posted on April 27, 2009
The district attorneys of nine California counties have asked the court to bar 74 vitamin manufacturers from selling their supplements until proper warnings are placed on the products. Currently, there is no warning that these products contain lead, a highly carcinogenic substance...

Police Taser Naked Wizard Multiple Times at Music Festival

Posted on April 24, 2009
Unfortunately, for many people attending the Coachella Music Festival in California this year, the most memorable event of the weekend did not come from a performance on stage. It came from a disturbing act of police brutality that most likely left the victim nursing serious injuries...

Chicago Jury Awards $13.7 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on April 23, 2009
This week, a Chicago jury awarded the family of Roger Czapski $13.7 million in a wrongful death lawsuit over his death in a 2004 auto accident.Czapski was a 22-year-old car salesman at a local Chicago dealership. On August 4, 2004, he was sitting in the passenger seat of a BMW 530i that was being taken for a test drive by a customer...

Woman Paralyzed after Suffering Spinal Cord Injury on Flight

Posted on April 22, 2009
A woman is still in the hospital after suffering a spinal cord injury on a flight over Texas last Friday night. The injury has left the woman paralyzed.The woman was aboard Continental Flight 511 from Houston to McAllen, Texas. She went to go to the bathroom while the flight was experiencing considerable amounts of turbulence...

Probation Period Extended for Hartford Hospital

Posted on April 21, 2009
The Department of Public Health extended Hartford Hospital's probationary period while they continue to investigate a series of claims filed against the hospital for health violations. Inspectors have documented approximately 30 health code violations at the hospital during 2008, many of which are likely to lead to hospital medical malpractice claims...

Woman Injured by Collapsing Wall at Denny's

Posted on April 20, 2009
Faye Hall, a 40-year-old Memphis resident, was critically injured leaving Denny's after breakfast this past Sunday. As she was exiting the building, a large sign detached from the side of the building, causing the 2 story wall to which it was attached to collapse...

Sperm Bank Sued for Providing Defective Sperm

Posted on April 17, 2009
Brittany Donovan, a 13-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, is suing Idant Laboratories, the sperm bank that provided her mother with the donation that led to her being born. Donovan was born with a genetic condition called X syndrome, which has left her with mental disabilities...

Blood Tests May Replace CT Scans for Brain Injury Patients

Posted on April 16, 2009
A recent study published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing indicates that a blood screening, called an S-100B blood test, may be a safe and viable alternative to a CT scan for individuals who have suffered a brain injury. This blood test can be used to evaluate the severity of a brain injury and determine whether or not the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is functioning properly...

2 Teenagers Killed in Train Accident

Posted on April 15, 2009
Two teenagers were hit by an Amtrak train Tuesday night in southwest Washington. Both teenagers died in the tragic train accident.The teenagers were standing on the northbound train tracks, waiting for a freight train to pass on the southbound tracks...

Nursing Home Violence on the Rise

Posted on April 14, 2009
In recent years, nursing home abuse lawsuits have increased dramatically due to a rise in the incidence of violent attacks among nursing home residents. Many of these acts of violence are perpetrated by criminal offenders and mentally ill residents housed in our nation's nursing homes...

Hundreds of Hospital Patients Potentially Exposed to Tuberculosis

Posted on April 13, 2009
A 26-year-old female resident in Northwestern's medical training program has exposed hundreds of hospital patients and employees to tuberculosis, placing them all at risk of contracting the disease. The doctor-in-training has been on rotations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Prentice Women's Hospital, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Evanston Hospital...

Cheese Dip Recall

Posted on April 10, 2009
Mrs. Grissom's Salads has issued a voluntary recall of some of their dips and spreads. The products that are part of the recall include cheese spreads, dips, and pimento cheese spread.Mrs. Grissom's Salads recalled the products because the Worcestershire sauce used in making them contained anchovies...

Recall Issued for Raptiva

Posted on April 09, 2009
Genetech, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Raptiva, has just announced a voluntary recall for their psoriasis drug due to the risk of developing a rare but serious condition from taking the dangerous drug. The Raptiva recall will take effect on June 8, 2009...

New Law Requires Dog Owners to Provide Victims with Information

Posted on April 08, 2009
Ottawa County, Michigan has just passed a new law requiring dog owners to provide dog bite victims with information following the incident. The information exchanged must give the victim the dog's and owner's names, the dog's age, and its vaccine history...

Raptiva Linked to Rare Brain Infection

Posted on April 07, 2009
There is mounting evidence that Raptiva, a psoriasis drug manufactured by Genetech, may cause a rare brain infection in patients who take the drug. In October 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed a "black box" warning on Raptiva. This is the FDA's strongest warning and is reserved for drugs that may cause life-threatening conditions...

Defective Chinese Drywall

Posted on April 06, 2009
The housing boom occurring between 2004 and 2006 led many builders and contractors to scramble for construction supplies. As a result, many builders began importing drywall from China in order to accommodate the increase in building needs.It has recently become apparent that the Chinese drywall used in building and remodeling homes across the country is defective...

NFL Player Charged with DUI Manslaughter in Auto Accident

Posted on April 03, 2009
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been charged with DUI manslaughter in an auto accident occurring on March 14. Stallworth hit a pedestrian, 59-year-old Mario Reyes, while driving his Bentley in Miami. His blood alcohol level was .126, well above the Florida legal limit of ...

Evenflo Recalls 2 High Chair Models

Posted on April 02, 2009
Evenflo, Co. announced a voluntary recall of two models of their high chairs today. They are recalling approximately 643,000 Envision high chairs and they have expanded a previous recall of 90,000 Majestic high chairs due to product defects that have led to injuries in young children...

Denture Cream Causes Zinc Poisoning

Posted on April 01, 2009
Nearly 35 million Americans use denture cream in association with wearing dentures. A recent report by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has linked denture cream to neurological problems caused by zinc poisoning. Unfortunately, since the major denture cream manufacturers such as Poligrip and Fixodent do not warn consumers of this risk, many Americans have unknowingly suffered serious side effects from zinc poisoning...

Three Children Injured When Train Hit School Bus

Posted on March 31, 2009
Three elementary school children in the town of Dexter, New Mexico were injured yesterday when the back of their school bus was hit by a train on the way to Dexter Elementary School. One rear corner of the bus was smashed in the train accident. The injuries to the children were not severe...

Colorado Snow Storm Causes Multiple Auto Accidents

Posted on March 30, 2009
A second unexpected spring snowstorm in the past week has wreaked havoc on Denver roads. Approximately six inches of snow hit the Denver metro area just in time for Monday morning rush hour, leading to many auto accidents and several fatalities.Three people died in three separate accidents in the Denver metro area this morning...

Congress Debating Medical Malpractice Bill for Military

Posted on March 25, 2009
Congress is currently deliberating over a bill that would enable individuals serving in the military to sue the U.S. government for medical malpractice. If it passes, this bill would be a complete reversal from our country's current policy on medical malpractice suits against military doctors...

Mandatory Helmets for Skiers?

Posted on March 24, 2009
In light of the recent tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson after a minor ski accident, many people are questioning the safety of one of our country's most popular winter sports. It is very true that skiing comes with inherent safety risks, but so do many other sports...

Investigators Are Trying to Find Cause of Montana Plane Crash

Posted on March 23, 2009
Federal investigators are currently examining the site of a Butte, Montana plane crash that killed 14 people over the weekend. The private plane was traveling from Redlands, California to Bozeman, Montana with stopovers in Vacaville and Oroville, California...

Man Sees Blue from Taking Too Much Viagra

Posted on March 20, 2009
John Pettigrew, a 58-year-old British plumber, has been seeing blue for several weeks after overdosing on Viagra. The divorced man hadn't had sex in over a year. When the time came to get back on the horse, he struggled with his performance, prompting him to seek a prescription for Viagra...

Brain Injuries Aren't Always Immediately Apparent

Posted on March 19, 2009
The recent death of actress Natasha Richardson after a seemingly minor ski accident underscores the importance of seeking medical attention immediately if you have received any type of blow to the head. Richardson died from a condition that many neurosurgeons commonly call "talk and die" syndrome...

Hospital Discovers Deadly Bacteria in Neonatal Unit

Posted on March 18, 2009
Miami Children's Hospital has moved children from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) into another section of the hospital in order to cleanse the ward of toxic substances. At least two strands of pseudomonas, a fatal and drug-resistant bacteria, have been discovered in the NICU recently...

Health Care Overhaul May Hinge on Tort Reform

Posted on March 17, 2009
As President Obama gears up to attempt a major overhaul of our health care system, doctors and lawyers are digging in for what may potentially be a long battle.For years, doctors have been arguing that medical malpractice lawsuits are a big reason health care costs are so high...

Accutane Manufacturer Gets New Life on Appeal

Posted on March 16, 2009
Last week, the New Jersey Appellate Court overturned a verdict against Hoffman-LaRoche, the makers of Accutane, and remanded the case for a new trial. This ruling comes directly on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision in Wyeth v. Levine, which dealt a major blow to pharmaceutical companies hoping to avoid product liability claims by using the controversial preemption defense...

ExxonMobil to Pay $150 Million over Gas Leak

Posted on March 13, 2009
A Maryland jury has ordered ExxonMobil Corp. to pay $150 million in damages to a class of 300 people who suffered medical and property injuries from wells contaminated by a gasoline leak near Baltimore.In total, about 26,000 gallons of fuel leaked from a gas station...

Teen Dies After Doctors Fail to Diagnose 4.4 Pound Chest Tumor

Posted on March 12, 2009
Christopher Chaffey, a 19-year-old volunteer charity worker in England, recently died from a 4.4 pound chest tumor. Despite having repeated opportunities to properly diagnose Chaffey's condition, doctors failed to detect the presence of the tumor until two days before his death...

Should Preemption Laws Differ for Drugs and Medical Devices?

Posted on March 11, 2009
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on two cases that have serious implications for defective drug and defective medical device lawsuits in our country. Interestingly, the two decisions were rather contradictory -- one expanded the rights of victims while the other limited their ability to receive compensation for their injuries...

Daylight Savings Time Increases Risk of Auto Accidents

Posted on March 10, 2009
This past weekend, we turned the clocks forward an hour for daylight savings time. While we all enjoy that extra hour of daylight after work, it comes at a serious price -- at least in the short term. Studies have shown that auto accidents increase by 17% on the Monday immediately following daylight savings time...

New Jersey Jury Awards Largest Oral Surgery Malpractice Verdict in State History

Posted on March 09, 2009
A New Jersey jury awarded the family of Francis Keller $10.2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving his wrongful death after an oral surgery procedure. It is the largest oral surgery malpractice verdict ever awarded in the state of New Jersey...

Ex-Professional Wrestler Kills Man in Nursing Home Scuffle

Posted on March 06, 2009

Supreme Court Upholds Victims' Right to Sue Drug Manufacturers

Posted on March 05, 2009

FDA Issues "Black Box" Warning for Metoclopramide Drugs

Posted on March 04, 2009

Southwest Airlines Fined for Safety Violations

Posted on March 03, 2009

Surviving Family Members of Flight 3407 Victims Likely to Win Big Settlements

Posted on February 26, 2009
In the wake of the tragic Flight 3407 plane crash earlier this month in Buffalo, many families are picking up the pieces to shattered lives. Children have lost parents, newly widowed mothers are wondering how they will provide for their families, and family and friends are still trying to get over the shock of unexpectedly losing a loved one...

Legislation May Restore Victims' Right to Sue for Defective Medical Devices

Posted on February 25, 2009
Our judicial system may be charged with the duty of defending the rights of ordinary citizens who have been injured by the negligent actions of large corporations, but unfortunately, it does not always act in accordance with this duty.In 2008, the United States Supreme Court delivered a grossly irresponsible ruling that effectively robbed victims of defective medical devices of their ability to hold negligent device makers accountable for their actions...

Chemical Company Accused of Contaminating Montana Town with Asbestos

Posted on February 24, 2009
Several retired executives from W.R. Grace & Co. face criminal charges for exposing residents of a Montana mining town to asbestos and failing to disclose their knowledge to workers and government agencies. If convicted, they may receive up to 15 years in jail and have to pay millions of dollars in fines...

Truck Loading Accidents

Posted on February 23, 2009
Jobs involving the loading or unloading of heavy freight from trucks poses serious health risks. There are numerous injuries that can occur while performing your job duties. Some of the most common include:A steel band severing the fingers of a workerFalling bricks that crush a worker's footA stack of lumber that unexpectedly releases, causing a serious accidentWhen lifting heavy objects, it is important to use proper equipment to ensure that you don't do serious damage to your body...

Fall Through Construction Accidents

Posted on February 20, 2009
Fall through accidents are some of the most dangerous and frequenly-occurring accidents at construction work zones. Due to the frequency and severity of these injuries, it is important that site managers take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their workers...

Phillip Morris Loses $8 Million Lawsuit

Posted on February 19, 2009
A Florida jury has ordered Phillip Morris to pay $8 million in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in 1997. This verdict may have far-reaching implications for more than 8,000 similar claims against tobacco companies throughout the state of Florida...

Teen Pulled out of Burning Car

Posted on February 18, 2009
An Illinois State Trooper pulled a teenager out of a burning car minutes before the fire completely consumed the vehicle.The auto accident occurred on I-57. The teenager lost control of the vehicle, veered off the road, and hit a tree. The Chrysler sedan caught fire immediately on impact...

Weight Loss Supplements Recalled

Posted on February 17, 2009
There is growing evidence that many of the diet pills and weight loss supplements available for sale as over-the-counter products may be harmful to your health. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already initiated an investigation into many of these products...

Octuplets Doctor Has Faced Many Malpractice Suits

Posted on February 16, 2009
Dr. Michael Kamrava, the fertility doctor who implanted Nadya Suleman with octuplets, has been sued for medical malpractice at least 12 times. While most of these lawsuits were dismissed, this is still an alarming figure for one doctor.In one of the lawsuits, a 19-year-old woman claimed Dr...

50 Die in Tragic Plane Crash

Posted on February 13, 2009
A Continental Airlines commuter plane crashed into a Buffalo home last night, killing all 49 people on the plane and one person in the home. The plane was arriving in Buffalo from Newark, N.J. The plane crash occurred about five miles from the Buffalo airport...

Peanut Manufacturer Knew Product was Contaminated

Posted on February 12, 2009
Stewart Parnell, the owner of Peanut Corp. of America, could have prevented the massive salmonella outbreak that has killed nine people and caused more than 600 others to become very ill. But instead, he just ignored the problem and conducted business as usual...

58 Corporations Charged in Massive Asbestos Lawsuit

Posted on February 11, 2009
Joseph and Lisa Headley have filed an asbestos lawsuit against 58 corporations. By encompassing all of these companies, it becomes the largest asbestos lawsuit in our nation's history.Headley's claim alleges that all 58 corporations had knowledge that their products contained asbestos and that these products were harmful to the health of anyone exposed to them...

Wheelchair Manufacturer Faces $8.5 Million Lawsuit

Posted on February 10, 2009
Invacare Corporation of Ohio, a manufacturer of motorized wheelchairs and hospital beds, has been sued for $8.5 million in a wrongful death and product liability lawsuit.Karlene Willemsen, a 60-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, died last year in a fire at her home...

Heath Ledger's Daughter Settles with Father's Life Insurance Company

Posted on February 09, 2009
The 3-year-old daughter of the deceased star of The Dark Knight has been involved in a legal battle over her father's $10 million life insurance policy since last year. ReliaStar Life Insurance Company refused to pay out on the policy, claiming that Ledger's death may have been suicide...

Man Dies Due to Delayed Treatment after Motorcycle Accident

Posted on February 06, 2009
A 69-year-old Japanese man was turned aside by 14 hospitals before finding a one that would treat him after being involved in a motorcycle accident. The man was riding his bicycle at the time of the crash. The driver of the motorcycle sustained injuries as well but was only denied treatment by two hospitals before one agreed to take him...

Fentanyl Pain Patch Recall

Posted on February 05, 2009
Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, recently announced the recall of two lots of 50 mcg Duragesic pain patches. The recall is for Duragesic 50 mcg/hr patches, lot number 0817239 and Sandoz Inc. 50 mcg/hr patches, lot number 0816851...

Asbestos Insurer Must Pay Out On Claims

Posted on February 04, 2009
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the Liberty Mutual Group, a Boston-based insurance company, must pay the full costs of hundreds of asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits filed against one of the companies they insure.Plastics Engineering Co., a family-run plastics company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, manufactured many products using asbestos in their Sheboygan plant from 1950-1983...

Exploding Cell Phone Kills Man

Posted on February 03, 2009
A computer shop employee was killed at work last week after his cell phone exploded and severed an artery in his neck. The man had just put a new battery in his phone. The accident occurred shortly after the new battery had finished charging.The phone was in the man's breast pocket at the time of the incident...

Ex-NFL Players Struggle with Life after Concussions

Posted on February 02, 2009
For an NFL player, getting hit in the head comes with the job. Many players will receive hundreds of serious blows to their head over the course of their career, and often they just get back out there right away to do it all over again.For quite some time, there has been growing evidence that many NFL players suffer from serious medical issues after sustaining multiple concussions during their career...

ADHD Drugs Linked to Hallucinations in Children

Posted on January 30, 2009
Based on a recent FDA analysis of clinical trials conducted by drug manufacturers, it has been determined that many drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can cause hallucinations in children, even when taken in their prescribed dosage...

Navy Veterans and Mesothelioma

Posted on January 29, 2009
From the 1930's to the 1970's, the U.S. Navy used a large quantity of products containing asbestos in their ships. Virtually every ship constructed prior to 1970 was riddled with asbestos. No matter where you went on a ship, you were almost guaranteed to be exposed to the toxic chemical...

6-Year-Old Boy Dies at Monster Truck Show

Posted on January 28, 2009
A 6-year-old boy died at a monster truck show in Washington after pieces of one of the trucks hit the boy. One other person was injured in the truck accident.During the freestyle competition at the show, parts began flying off of a truck that was doing doughnuts...

Uninsured Drivers on the Rise

Posted on January 27, 2009
With our country in the midst of an economic recession, many people are trying to cut corners wherever possible in order to stay financially afloat. Unfortunately, not all people make wise decisions about what to eliminate from their budget in these tough times...

Massachusetts Doctor Pays $2 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on January 26, 2009
A Massachusetts jury has awarded the family of Priscilla Jardine $2 million in their wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Debra Gail Knee, the doctor who delivered her baby in February 2004.Jardine was given labetalol, a blood pressure medication, during her Caesarean section birth back in 2004...

Botched Deliveries Alleged in Two Erb's Palsy Cases

Posted on January 23, 2009
The mother of two children born a year apart alleges that Queens Hospital Center in New York City is responsible for each of them having a paralyzed arm. According to mother Annemarie Dhana, the doctors "yanked" both infants out of the womb in 2006 and in 2007 resulting in both children being diagnosed with Erb's palsy...

Young Girl Killed by Dog

Posted on January 22, 2009
Brianna Nicole Shanor, an 8-year-old girl from Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, died Monday after being attacked by a dog.Shanor had been staying with William Renda, a friend of her mother, for the past month. Renda has several large dogs on the property...

Ohio Court Deals Crushing Blow to Asbestos Cases

Posted on January 21, 2009
A recent Ohio Supreme Court decision has made it much more difficult for people to receive compensation on asbestos and mesothelioma claims. They ruled that a 2004 law enforcing more stringent regulations regarding asbestos claims can now be applied retroactively to cases filed before the law went into effect in 2004...

Salmonella Outbreak Leads to Peanut Butter Recall

Posted on January 20, 2009
A sudden salmonella outbreak has killed six people and left more than 470 others very sick across country. Salmonella is a dangerous bacteria that commonly causes food poisoning. People suffering from salmonella generally experience diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and a fever...

Computer Glitch Jeopardizes the Health of Many Veterans

Posted on January 19, 2009
The U.S. government is currently trying to promote the use of electronic medical records in hospitals across the country. This is a bipartisan effort, supported by both President Bush and President-elect Obama.In theory, electronic medical records seem like a great way to eliminate medical mistakes resulting from the use of paper records, such as unreadable prescriptions...

Plane Crashes into Hudson River

Posted on January 16, 2009
Yesterday afternoon, C.B. Sullenberger made the most harrowing flight of his career and narrowly averted disaster as he landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. Despite landing in the frigid New York waters, there were no fatalities in the airplane accident, and very few passengers were injured...

Eli Lilly & Co. Settles Zyprexa Lawsuits

Posted on January 15, 2009
Eli Lilly & Co., the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Zyprexa, will pay $1.42 billion to settle federal and state civil and criminal lawsuits related to the drug. They have been charged with illegally marketing Zyprexa for an unapproved use...

High School Girl Suffers Brain Injury in Car Accident

Posted on January 14, 2009
Kristian Sales, a DeKalb County, Georgia high school student, suffered a brain injury and several broken bones after being hit by a car. The incident was a hit and run.Sales was walking across the street to get on a bus when she was hit in the auto accident...

Hormone Replacement Therapy Linked to Brain Shrinkage

Posted on January 13, 2009
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has come under fire recently due to studies linking it to an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. Now two new studies have demonstrated that HRT also shrinks the brains of women over age 65...

Jardine Expands Crib Recall

Posted on January 12, 2009
Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission declared that Jardine has announced an expansion of the voluntary recall for their cribs. The original recall took place in June and involved 320,000 cribs. This expanded recall will cover an additional 56,000 cribs...

Hospital Leaves Knife in Woman's Head

Posted on January 09, 2009
A Jacksonville, Florida woman is suing the doctors at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center for medical malpractice after they left a piece of a knife in her head.In August 2005, Edith McQueen was attacked in an incident of random violence. The attacker knifed her in the face...

Ex-Marine Stabs Attacking Pit Bull to Save his Wife

Posted on January 08, 2009
Douglas Perry, an ex-marine, was forced to stab and kill a pit bull that attacked his wife and two dogs. Perry and his wife were walking their two dogs when they were approached by a pit bull. The pit bull attacked one of their dogs, a Siberian husky...

Fosamax Linked to Esophageal Cancer

Posted on January 07, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently released a statement detailing a link between the drug Fosamax and the development of esophageal cancer. Fosamax is used to treat osteoporosis in women and is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Merk...

Man Charged with Elder Abuse and Neglect

Posted on January 06, 2009
A Port St. Lucie man was arrested on charges of abuse and neglect of an elderly person. Sadly, the person he has been charged with abusing is his 90-year-old mother.His mother, Anna Chuboff, fell at the home she shares with her son and was taken to the hospital for treatment...

Contractor Indicted in Crane Accident Deaths

Posted on January 05, 2009
William Rapetti, the contractor running the rigging company involved in a March construction accident in New York City, was indicted on homicide charges related to the incident. Seven people died last spring after a crane collapsed from a midtown Manhattan apartment tower...

Hospital Fined for Poor Patient Care

Posted on January 02, 2009
Bristol Hospital in Connecticut has been fined $4,000 for several instances of grossly poor and inappropriate patient care.One patient was given a dosage of medication ten times as strong as what was prescribed by the doctor. Another patient suffered severe burns during an MRI...

Wal-Mart Settles Class Action Lawsuits

Posted on December 30, 2008
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has recently settled 63 wage- and hour-abuse class action lawsuits across the country. This settlement ends a long legal battle that has extended for several years.Each settlement will still need to be approved by the courts. The total amount to be paid in each settlement will be determined by the number of claims filed by class members...

Pilot Has Breakdown During Flight

Posted on December 29, 2008
A co-pilot aboard an Air Canada flight was removed from the cockpit, restrained, and sedated after suffering a mental breakdown mid-flight. There were no injuries to the 146 passengers or nine crew members on the plane. Fortunately, an airplane accident was avoided despite the co-pilot's actions...

Plane Veers off Runway at Denver Airport

Posted on December 23, 2008
Catastrophe was narrowly averted in an airplane accident at Denver Airport this past Saturday. An aborted take-off of a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 jet injured 38 people, but fortunately all passengers survived the crash. Two people are still in critical condition...

Defective Transvaginal Mesh Products

Posted on December 22, 2008
span xmlns=''pIt is quite common for women to suffer from two vaginal conditions called pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). These conditions result from a weakening of the muscles in the pelvic region, generally following childbirth or surgery...

Bridge Collapses, One Person Dies

Posted on December 19, 2008
A pedestrian bridge collapsed this morning at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. One person died and 18 others were injured in the accident. There were at least 30 people on the bridge when it collapsed at 9 a.m. this morning. All of the people injured in the accident were construction workers who were building a new 600 foot, 45-foot long canopy walk...

EvenFlo Recalls Defective High Chairs

Posted on December 18, 2008
span xmlns=''pEvenFlo has recalled 95,000 Majestic High Chairs today due to a defect that has caused children to fall out. The company has received over 1,000 reports of parts falling off, leading to many injuries in young children.br //ppPlastic caps and metal screws on the side of the high chair have been coming loose, causing several parts, including the seat back, to fall off...

Macaulay Culkin's Sister Dies in Car Accident

Posted on December 17, 2008
span xmlns=""pMacaulay Culkin's older sister, Dakota, was hit by a car last week in Los Angeles. She stepped in front of a moving vehicle in West L.A. The driver followed all expected protocol for a href="http://www.burgsimpson.com/auto.html"auto accidents/a: he stopped the vehicle, tried to offer assistance to the injured victim, and provided police with all of his identification and insurance information...

Medtronic Recalls Sprint Fidelis Leads

Posted on December 16, 2008
Many pharmaceutical injury lawsuits are currently underway against Medtronic for their defective Sprint Fidelis leads. In 2007, the company voluntarily recalled their Sprint Fidelis lead after it was discovered that the product was prone to lead fractures...

Acanthamoeba Keratitis Lawsuits on the Rise

Posted on December 15, 2008
Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK) is a rare eye infection resulting in permanent vision loss or in extreme cases, blindness. The disease typically affects healthy people who wear contact lenses.Symptoms of AK include eye pain and redness, blurred vision, light sensitivity, sensation of something in the eye, and excessive tearing...

Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Lawsuits on the Rise

Posted on December 12, 2008
Many personal injury lawyers across the country are receiving calls to evaluate potential defective product lawsuits over the Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant. Clinics have been reporting failure rates as high as 5.7% in association with the product.The Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant has been used with over 12,000 patients since being approved for use in 2006...

Fighter Jet Crashes into Home, Killing 3

Posted on December 11, 2008
A military fighter jet crashed into a San Diego home on Monday, starting a huge fire and destroying the house. Three people, a grandmother, mother, and child, were all killed in the crash. The father was at work at the time of the crash and is the only surviving family member...

Police Officers Criticize Use of Taser

Posted on December 10, 2008
Many police officers are starting to openly criticize the use of Tasers against suspects. While Taser International adamantly insists that their devices are completely safe, many police officers now have first-hand knowledge to the contrary.Nick Dial is a police officer who volunteered to be Tasered during his precinct's Taser Training class...

Soldiers Face Health Risks from Brain Injuries

Posted on December 09, 2008
Thousands of American troops have returned from Iraq after suffering a major injury; many of them from brain injuries. The Institute of Medicine estimates that approximately 22% of wounded soldiers suffer from traumatic brain injury. A serious brain injury will put soldiers at risk for long-term health problems, including depression and Alzheimer's disease...

Teenage Girls Charged with Nursing Home Abuse

Posted on December 08, 2008
Two teenage girls, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson, have been charged with nursing home abuse. The girls have been accused of taunting, spitting on, and groping the breasts and genitals of residents suffering from Alzheimer's disease...

Child's Near Strangulation Leads to Recall of Window Blinds

Posted on December 05, 2008
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall on window blinds manufactured by Green Mountain Vista, Inc. after receiving a report of a two-year-old girl who almost died from a near strangulation.The girl slipped off of a radiator with a loose bead cord loop around her neck and began gasping for air...

Arizona Hospital Sued after Man Dies During 8-Hour ER Wait

Posted on December 04, 2008
An Arizona hospital is being sued for medical malpractice by a local woman after her husband died while waiting eight hours to receive treatment in the emergency room.The woman, Rachel Sweitzer, claims the hospital staff is guilty of negligence and reckless disregard in the treatment of her husband, which ultimately led to his wrongful death...

Bus Crash Kills 3 in Arkansas

Posted on December 03, 2008
A bus crossed the median on Interstate 40 in eastern Arkansas, colliding with a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck. Three people were killed in the bus accident.The accident occurred about 35 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee. The bus hit the pickup first before crashing into the tractor-trailer...

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death by Shopping Mob

Posted on December 02, 2008
Shoppers at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY gave new meaning to the term "Black Friday" last week when an out-of-control mob started a stampede resulting in the death of an employee.The Long Island branch was set to open for business at 5:00 AM the day after Thanksgiving...

Morphine Overdose Leads to Recall

Posted on November 25, 2008
ETHEX Corp. is recalling a lot of morphine sulfate pills due to a potential defect. Some of their morphine pills were found to be twice the proper thickness. It is very possible that these tablets contain a double dosage of morphine sulfate as a result of the increased thickness...

Victoria's Secret Sued Over Defective Bras

Posted on November 24, 2008
Victoria's Secret has already been sued by one woman over a claim that their bras are defective. They now potentially face a class action suit for the same claim.The class action suit alleges that Victoria's Secret's Angels Secret Embrace and Very Sexy Extreme Push-Up bras are causing rashes, hives, and permanent scarring in consumers...

Fertility Procedures May Increase Risk of Birth Defects

Posted on November 21, 2008
A recent study found that babies conceived using fertility techniques are two to four times more likely to be born with birth defects than babies naturally conceived. The increase in risk of birth defects is mainly associated with heart problems, cleft lip, cleft palate, and abnormalities in the esophagus or rectum...

Martha Stewart Sued in Product Liability Case

Posted on November 20, 2008
Patrick Albanese, a hand model, actor, musician, and magician, has filed a defective product lawsuit against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Kmart Corp. over injuries he suffered from using a lounge chair manufactured by Stewart's company and sold by Kmart...

Gardasil Linked to Genital Warts

Posted on November 19, 2008
Gardasil, a vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer in women, has recently been linked to outbreaks of genital warts.Gardasil is generally given to 11 and 12 year-old girls to prevent cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Women who have not yet received the vaccine are still eligible for it through age 26...

Malpractice Claim Filed for Diseased Organ Transplants

Posted on November 18, 2008
The Indiana Organ Procurement Organization faces two medical malpractice claims after two people died from cancerous organ transplants.Both men received organs from the same donor in October 2006. Anthony Taylor received a liver and a kidney, and James Fell received the other kidney...

Merck Faces Lawsuits Over Fosamax

Posted on November 17, 2008
Over the next year, Merck will face the first wave in a large set of defective drug lawsuits over their osteoporosis drug, Fosamax.When the pharmaceutical company released the drug in 1995, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that they place a warning on the drug about its potential risk to cause osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ)...

Recall Issued for Insul Recall Issued for Insulin Syringesin Syringes

Posted on November 14, 2008
Covidien has issued a recall on 500,000 syringes used by diabetics. The recall is for single-use ReliOn syringes sold at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there has been a mislabeling on these syringes that can cause patients to overdose by 2...

Yamaha Off-Road Vehicle Under Investigation

Posted on November 13, 2008
Federal safety regulators are investigating the Yamaha Rhino, a new off-road vehicle that has been gaining popularity in our country. There have been over 30 deaths involving the Rhino to date.At this moment, over 200 defective product lawsuits have been filed against Yamaha, claiming that their off-road vehicle is unsafe...

Burn Pit Making Troops Sick

Posted on November 12, 2008
An open-air burn pit at a U.S. military base in Iraq is putting our troops in danger. As a result of the pit, thousands of troops have been exposed to carcinogenic toxins and medical waste. The fumes from the burn pit create a cloud that continually covers the base headquarters, military hospital, and living quarters for the troops...

ETHEX Recalls Pills for Danger of Overdose

Posted on November 11, 2008
The ETHEX Corporation has recently pulled many of its pharmaceutical products off the market after it was discovered that they may lead to overdoses in patients as a result of oversized pills.The drugs recalled by ETHEX include:Morphine Sulfate Extended Release Tablets, 15 mgMorphine Sulfate Immediate Release Tablets, 15 mg, 30 mgDextroamphetamine Sulfate Tablets, 10 mgPropafenone HCl Tablets, 150 mg, 225 mg, 300 mgIsosorbide Mononitrate Extended Release Tablets, 30 mg, 60 mgThe Morphine Sulfate Extended Release pills have led to respiratory depression (in severe cases, breathing has stopped completely) and extremely low blood pressure in patients who received an overdose...

Brain Injuries Common for High School Athletes

Posted on November 10, 2008
It is becoming increasingly common for high school athletes, especially football players, to suffer from brain injuries. Most of the brain injuries sustained by high school athletes are on the milder side and consist of concussions.Many students who suffer concussions on the playing field may not even realize it until much later on, and the failure to properly diagnose the injury can have serious consequences...

Florida Court Gives Go-Ahead for Anthrax Lawsuit

Posted on November 07, 2008
The Florida Supreme Court ruled this week that a Palm Beach County woman can move forward with her lawsuit against the government and a private research lab responsible for making anthrax.The woman's husband, Bob Stevens, died after being exposed to anthrax in 2001...

Asbestos Reform Law Upheld by Ohio Supreme Court

Posted on November 06, 2008
The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld a 2004 asbestos litigation reform law designed to enable people who have been seriously harmed by asbestos to receive fair compensation for their injuries in a timely manner.The reform law defines the process by which asbestos claims will be prioritized in the court system...

Addicted Doctors Allowed to Treat Patients

Posted on November 05, 2008
Dr. Brian West, a plastic surgeon in California, is just one of many doctors who have been treating patients while battling drug and alcohol addictions. Unfortunately, due to the confidentiality of the treatment programs, the patients treated by these doctors are never informed of their doctor's substance abuse problems...

Blue Cross Denies Cancer Claim, Gets Sued for Bad Faith

Posted on November 04, 2008
A Texas couple is suing Blue Cross Blue Shield and their claims adjuster for bad faith insurance practices. They claim the insurance company wrongfully denied coverage after the woman, Gloria Landry, was diagnosed with colon cancer.Gloria and her husband, Rodney, were issued a policy with Blue Cross on June 1, 2007...

Family Sues Hospital after Man Dies in Bathroom

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Takoma Park hospital in Maryland has been sued for wrongful death in a case involving a man who died under their care in 2006. The staff couldn't find the key to his locked bathroom, leading to his death.Jose R. Valladares was admitted to the hospital for chest pain in the spring of 2006...

Four High School Girls Die in Car Crash

Posted on October 31, 2008
Five people died in an auto accident in Tennessee last Friday night. Four out of the five were cheerleaders at a local high school. The SUV carrying the girls crashed into an oncoming vehicle shortly after the girls left their school's football game.The fatal accident was caused by wet and foggy road conditions...

$4 Million Awarded in Medical Malpractice Case

Posted on October 30, 2008
The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a $4 million verdict in a medical malpractice case against Hospice Ministries and Dr. William Causey, but they reversed the $500,000 award for punitive damages.The lawsuit was related to an incident in 2001 when Ersel Alllen was misdiagnosed with pancreatic cancer and then given a lethal dose of painkillers...

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Bar

Posted on October 29, 2008
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a River Falls Bar for an incident occurring in February 2007. Joseph Roscoe was escorted out of The Library bar by bouncers for being "obviously intoxicated." He was eventually found unconscious in the alley behind the bar and died 10 days later...

7-Year-Old Attacked by Dog

Posted on October 28, 2008
Jesse Schaffer, a 7-year-old boy from Ft. Lupton, CO, was rushed to the hospital by helicopter last weekend after being attacked by a local dog.Schaffer was playing football with his friends at the time of the incident. He ran behind a shed to retrieve the football and was bitten in the face by the dog...

Beware of Faulty Smoke Detectors

Posted on October 27, 2008
While you may feel safe knowing that the smoke detectors in your home will alert you of impending fires, you can't always bank on them. Smoke detectors fail to perform all the time, and the results are frequently catastrophic for the family involved.There are very few defective products that are more dangerous to our lives than a faulty smoke detector...

Woman Sues Hospital over Failed Operation

Posted on October 24, 2008
A woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital where she had her tubes tied, claiming they didn't perform the operation correctly.The woman became pregnant five years after undergoing the procedure. The surgeon who delivered her baby discovered that one of the clips used in the operation had been placed on a ligament instead of the right fallopian tube...

Jury Awards Florida Condominium $1M from Insurance Company

Posted on October 23, 2008
On October 17, a Florida jury ordered the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to pay close to $1 million in damages to the Sunglow Condominium Resorts for failure to provide proper coverage after hurricanes Charley and Frances in 2004.The jury found that the $370,000 Citizens paid out to the condo complex did not nearly come close to fulfilling their financial obligations to cover damage created from the hurricanes...

Veterans Hospital Investigated for Poor Treatment of Vets

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Philadelphia VA Medical Center has recently come under investigation after errors were discovered in the treatment plans administered to cancer patients.The hospital has been running a treatment program for veterans suffering from prostate cancer since 2002...

Man Dies After Being Tasered Nine Times by Police

Posted on October 21, 2008
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against former Louisiana police officer Scott Nugent, Louisiana city officials, and Taser International in relation to a police brutality incident last January.Baron Pikes, a 21-year-old from Winnfield, LA, died of cardiac arrest brought on by multiple taser shots...

School District Sued in Murder of Gay Teen

Posted on October 20, 2008
The Hueneme school district in Ventura County, California has been sued in relation to a shooting at one of its middle schools last February.Larry King, a 15-year-old eighth-grader at E.O. Green Junior High School, was shot and killed by a classmate, Brandon McInerney last winter...

Pfizer Settles Drug Lawsuits for $894 Million

Posted on October 17, 2008
Pfizer Inc. has recently reached a settlement for the legal claims against two of their products, Celebrex and Bextra. They will pay $894 million, avoiding litigation on many of the claims against these two painkillers for causing heart attacks and strokes...

Pennsylvania Takes its Dog Laws Seriously

Posted on October 16, 2008
The state of Pennsylvania has enacted a series of laws that clearly outline the responsibilities of owners of dangerous dogs, and the consequences for failing to abide by them.Pennsylvania has set up the following criteria for classifying a dog as "dangerous...

Man Charged with Felony DUI after Killing Two People

Posted on October 15, 2008
A Myrtle Beach grand jury has indicted a local man on felony DUI and reckless homicide charges in relation to an accident occurring on May 11.On the night of the accident, the local man hit two people on a motorcycle at the corner of Kings Highway and Wild Wood Dunes Trail...

Young Boy Dies Due to Hospital Error

Posted on October 14, 2008
The New York State Health Department concluded that Stony Brook University Medical Center failed to diagnose a heart condition in one of their patients, leading to his untimely death.William Gonzalez, a 6-year-old boy, was treated by Stony Brook Medical Center on three separate occasions in August and September of 2007...

Chemical Plant Leak Puts a Scare into Pennsylvania Town

Posted on October 13, 2008
On Saturday, October 11, a tank at the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant in Petrolia, Pennyslvania overflowed releasing a toxic liquid. The chemical, olueum, is similar in composition to sulfuric acid. It evaporated into a toxic cloud that spread through the town...

Man Waits 19 Hours in Emergency Room While Having Heart Attack

Posted on October 10, 2008
Mike Herrera, a 58-year-old restaurant owner in Dallas, died of a heart attack after waiting 19 hours in the emergency room before seeing a doctor.Mike went to Parkland Memorial Hospital with stabbing pains in his stomach. At the time of his arrival, 164 people were in the emergency room waiting to see a doctor...

Hospital Declares Living Woman Dead

Posted on October 09, 2008
The Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Delaware, is being sued for medical malpractice in a case where they declared a living woman dead.In May, 2007, Judith Johnson went to the Beebe Medical Center believing she had indigestion. In reality, she was having a heart attack...

Mother and Daughter Rescued from Carnival Ride

Posted on October 08, 2008
A mother and daughter were rescued from a carnival ride just outside of Daytona Beach, Florida on October 4. One woman watched the incident for over 10 minutes, fearing that the woman would lose her grip and fall at any minute.Sherri Pinkerton and her daughter Gracie were dangling 35 feet above the ground from the carnival's "Crazy Bus" ride...

Don't Drive on Election Day!

Posted on October 07, 2008
A recent study indicates that traffic deaths occur more frequently on days when we have a presidential election. The study analyzes auto accident statistics on presidential election days from the 1976 election to the present compared with other Tuesdays in October and November...

Mother Stuffed Her Kids in the Freezer

Posted on October 06, 2008
Police were investigating a child abuse complaint in a Maryland home when they stumbled upon the frozen remains of two girls. Their adoptive mother claims that the girls have been the freezer for at least 7 months. They were 9 and 11 years old.Police came to the house following up on a case regarding a 7-year-old runaway...

Nursing Home Employees Charged with Murdering 6 Patients

Posted on October 03, 2008
A Woodstock, Illinois nursing home has been the subject of scandal and controversy. The nursing home is being investigated for six suspicious deaths occurring in 2006.Two former employees may face criminal charges for the deaths. The primary charge they are facing is neglect...

Drug Manufacturer Guilty of Improper Marketing Tactics

Posted on October 02, 2008
Cephalon, Inc., a major drug manufacturing company in the United States, settled a lawsuit in which they were charged with "off-label" marketing of their pharmaceuticals. "Off-label" marketing refers to the practice of marketing a drug for a use other than what it received FDA approval for...

Most Nursing Homes around the Country Guilty of Violations

Posted on October 01, 2008
A federal report issued earlier this week declared that over 90% of nursing homes across the country were cited with violations of federal health and safety codes in 2007. According to the report, for-profit homes were the worst offenders, racking up more violations than their non-profit counterparts...

Doctor Accused of Medical Malpractice in Bowel Surgery Case

Posted on September 30, 2008
A Maryland doctor has been sued for surgical complications resulting in a severe rectal blockage. Ronald Watkins, a 64-year-old from West Virginia, has claimed that as a result of his doctor's botched surgery, he now suffers from permanent bowel issues...

Not Your Typical Circumcision

Posted on September 29, 2008
In Kentucky, a man has sued his doctor for malpractice due to a botched circumcision. The 61 year old man went in for a routine circumcision to treat an inflammation in his penis. When he awoke from the anesthesia, he found that the doctor had amputated his penis...

Prevent Needless Dog Bites

Posted on September 26, 2008
Dog bites happen all the time. They can be very serious injuries, causing major infections, psychological trauma, and scarring that can leave you disfigured. Any dog can bite any person at any time. Even dogs with the friendliest dispositions have the potential to bite or attack a human if they feel threatened...

Middle School Girl Dies in School Bus Crash

Posted on September 25, 2008
A 13 year old girl died Tuesday when a tractor-trailer crashed into her school bus. Frances M. Schee, was an 8th grader at North Marion Middle School in Florida. There were 21 students on the bus. Eight others were injured in the crash.The tractor-trailer rear-ended the bus while it was dropping students off on its after school route...

Regulator Calls for Strict Heparin Measures

Posted on September 24, 2008
 Heparin, a blood thinner produced by Baxter Healthcare and others, has been the subject of a number of high-profile drug recalls. First, questions were raised about the labeling of the drug after the high-profile medical error in which Dennis Quaid's twelve-day-old twins were administered a dose from an adult strength vial...

Los Angeles Transit Trains Have Second Accident in One Week

Posted on September 19, 2008
Last week, the driver of a Metrolink train was texting and distracted and allowed the train he was driving to collide with a freight train in the San Fernando Valley. The accident killed 25 people and injured over 130, making it the worst railroad accident in 15 years...

Study Shows Private Equity Owners Do Not Sacrifice Care for Profit

Posted on September 17, 2008
A recent study of nursing homes revealed that levels of nursing home neglect and abuse did not increase when the nursing home was purchased by private equity groups. In a study published in the September/October issue of the journal Health Affairs, researchers from Harvard University looked at the quality of care both before and after the nursing homes were purchased by private investors, and found that the level of care did not significantly suffer...

Insurer Asks Doctors to Reconsider C-Sections

Posted on September 16, 2008
Although insurers generally rig the game so they make a profit no matter what the outcome, they have learned that preventing undesirable outcomes gives them a much more predictable return. This is part of the reason why they're moving more toward increasing preventive care (often slandered with the name "defensive medicine," although the two are very distinctly different paradigms)...

Stronger Warnings Ordered for Arthritis Drugs

Posted on September 11, 2008
The FDA announced today that four drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses will now have stronger black box warnings due to the increased risk of fatal fungal infections. A black box warning is the strongest warning the FDA gives before pulling the product from commercial use...

9/11's Legacy: Honor the Dead, Cheat the Living

Posted on September 11, 2008
All across the country, government officials, especially elected officials and those who hope soon to be elected, are trying to curry favor with the public by calling our attention to the thousands of Americans who were killed seven years ago today. It's very convenient to trot out the honored dead every once in a while to stir up positive sentiment for you by showing how much you really care...

Don't Take "No" for an Answer in Denied Insurance Claims

Posted on September 10, 2008
If you made a claim for a medically necessary procedure which your insurance company denied, there are two things you should not do: take no for an answer and rush out to get a lawyer.If your insurance carrier is routinely denying a claim that should be covered, you may be able to file a bad faith insurance lawsuit, but if you run right out and get a lawyer, the insurance company may be able to label you as acting in bad faith, hurting your chances of receiving any compensation whatsoever...

C-Section Rates and Medical Malpractice Insurance

Posted on September 08, 2008
I don't often get to say "I told you so," but here's a good opportunity. On another blog, I recently wrote about the correlation between rising c-section rates and rising medical malpractice insurance rates. Well, it turns out that a University of Connecticut researcher had been working on the same problem and came up with the same conclusion about the correlation between the two sets of data...

Lawsuit Results from C. difficile Infections that Killed 16

Posted on September 04, 2008
A recent outbreak of Clostridium difficile at a Quebec hospital, Honore-Mercier, that killed 16 is the source of a medical malpractice lawsuit that has been filed. The outbreak occurred in 2006, when the so-called superbug, a bacteria resistant to antibiotics, and festered for several months before being brought under control...

Medtronic Tries to Keep Balloon Catheter Gravy Train Running

Posted on September 03, 2008
You may remember the balloon catheter from the landmark Riegel v. Medtronic Supreme Court decision a few months back. You know, the one that burst during Charles Riegel's angioplasty procedure, causing him to become disabled and probably dramatically shortening his life...

Roadside Memorials Illegal

Posted on September 02, 2008
We have all seen them: a loving memorial--such as a cross, a bouquet (natural or artificial), wreaths, even teddy bears--dedicated to some unfortunate victim of an automobile accident. The memorials are put up by family members and friends left behind, and they can serve as a reminder for us all that careless or reckless driving can cost lives...

GM Recalls Vehicles for Fire Risk

Posted on August 29, 2008
General Motors Corp. hasn't had a very good year. Rising gas prices and layoffs have hit the company hard, and now over 850,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a danger of fire. Vehicles equipped with heated windshield wiper fluid systems may short-circuit, which can lead to a fire...

Company Refuses to Recall Dangerous Bassinets

Posted on August 28, 2008
Simplicity Inc., a company from Reading, Pennsylvania, made the convertible bassinet known as the Close Sleeper and Bedside Sleeper. Last year, after becoming stuck in the metal bars of the bassinet, a four-month old girl died. Last spring, SFCA, Inc...

Class Action Suits Filed in Brain Tumor Case

Posted on August 27, 2008
The town of Cameron, Missouri, site of a cluster of brain tumors, has had lawsuits filed on its behalf by attorney Grant L. Davis. This was done after environmental testing performed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources showed the presence of arsenic and lead at the Rockwood Industries plant and at a nearby quarry...

Airline Industry's Bad Week

Posted on August 26, 2008
First, there was the Spanair crash in Madrid last Wednesday that killed 154 people; then, 65 passengers were killed in an Itek Air crash in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Monday saw an Air Dolmoti plane catch fire at Munich's airport, forcing some of the passengers to jump to safety, and later that night, a Ryanair flight made an emergency landing at Limoges airport in France after cabin pressure was lost...

National Hospital Death Rates Disclosed

Posted on August 21, 2008
While the death rates for each hospital have been known to board members and doctors of those hospitals, USA Today and the Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Compare, run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has made the findings public...

Plane Crash in Spain Kills 149

Posted on August 20, 2008
Spanair Flight JK5022 crashed and burned while attempting to take off from Madrid's Barajas airport today, killing 149 of the 177 people aboard. The flight was heading to the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a popular tourist spot for Europeans, and the crash comes at the height of the tourist season...

Nanotechnology and Future Litigation

Posted on August 18, 2008
For many years, we've heard about the wonders of nanotechnology and how it will change our lives for the better. As commercial technology gets smaller (computers, cell phones), so does the focus of science in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the field of science that looks into the development of different things on a molecular and atomic level...

BMW Issues Recall for Airbag Failure

Posted on August 13, 2008
BMW has issued a recall on 200,000 cars and SUVs due to the possibility of the passenger side airbag failing. The recall affects 2004 and 2005 5-Series standard and sports models, 2004 to 2006 X3, and the 2006 3-Series with sport seats.The national Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the passenger-side airbags may deactivate due to wear when a passenger enters and leaves the vehicle...

Louisiana Officials Sued Over Taser Death

Posted on August 12, 2008
The family of 21-year-old Baron Pikes has filed a wrongful death suit against the central Louisiana town of Winnfield. Pikes was allegedly shocked nine times by a 50,000 volt Taser while handcuffed by police officer Scott Nugent in January. The coroner ruled the death a homicide, and Nugent was fired...

Feds Order Bus Operations Shut Down

Posted on August 11, 2008
The bus crash that killed 17 Vietnamese Catholics on Friday resulted in more than tragedy. Authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have ordered the bus companies linked to the bus that crashed to cease operations due to several violations...

Beef Suspected in E. coli Mass. Cases

Posted on August 05, 2008
Six people who have come down with symptoms of E. coli in Massachusetts may have become sickened through eating beef products. Investigators have said this is the same bacterial strain that has been found in other patients across the country, and in Quebec...

Eight Killed in Charter Jet Crash in Minnesota

Posted on August 01, 2008
A charter jet carrying six construction and gambling executives and two pilots crashed while approaching the regional airport at Owatonna, Minnesota airport Thursday morning. All eight people aboard were killed. The Raytheon Hawker 800 left Atlantic City International Airport and was due to arrive shortly before 9:30 am, but never made it...

Explosion at Paper Mill Kills Three Workers

Posted on July 30, 2008
Three employees at a paper mill in Tomahawk, Wisconsin were killed Tuesday night when a storage tank exploded. A fourth person was injured. The tank was used to store recycled fiber and exploded when the men were doing maintenance on top of it. The injured party was standing on a platform below the tank...

Congress Agrees to Ban Toxins in Toys

Posted on July 29, 2008
Congress has agreed to permanently ban three types of chemicals for children's toys, as well as outlaw three others from pending products. The chemicals, called phthalates, are added to plastic to make them softer and more durable. They are also added to items, such as lotions, perfumes and shampoos...

Two Emergency Landings for Qantas Airlines in a Week

Posted on July 28, 2008
Australia's national airline, Qantas, boasts of never having had a fatal accident in their history of flying commercial jets. However, two incidents in the last week had the potential for a major airline disaster.In the first one, on a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne, a ruptured oxygen container tore a nine foot section of the Boeing 747 from the jet's body on Friday, July 25th...

Feds Penalize Utah Mine for Violations

Posted on July 25, 2008
The US government's highest penalty for coal mine safety violations was imposed on mine operator, Genwal Resources, for a collapse that killed six miners in Utah last August. Three rescuers were killed ten days later in a second collapse. Federal investigators found that activity in areas that should not have been mined, as well as weakened pillars caused the Crandall Canyon collapse, and not an earthquake as the mine's owner, Bob Murray, has contended...

Oil Spill Closes Mississippi River Traffic

Posted on July 24, 2008
An early morning accident between an oil tanker and a barge on Wednesday has closed a nearly 50 mile stretch of the Mississippi River just south of the Port of New Orleans. According to port spokesman, Chirs Bonura, the closure is likely to continue for several days while teams are rushed in to clean up the heavy tar that is drifting south...

Accident Fatalities Dip Dramatically

Posted on July 23, 2008
According to the National Safety Council, the number of people killed in traffic accidents has fallen nine percent through May compared with the first months of 2007. This also includes an 18 percent drop in March and a 14 percent drop in April. According to the Associated Press, there are some states that have shown declines of 20 percent or more, and 31 states have seen declines of ten percent or more...

Flatbed Flips Its Load of Bees

Posted on July 22, 2008
With stories of semi trucks crashing and endangering drivers when their loads spill all over the roads, comes yet another tale of loss. In this case, the load was bees. Thousands and thousands of bees. A flatbed truck carrying a load of bees ran off the road and flipped near St...

Supreme Court Ruling May Foreshadow Big Pharma Protection

Posted on July 21, 2008
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a patient injured by a balloon catheter manufactured by Medtronic Inc. was not entitled to damages because Medtronic was shielded from liability. The Supreme Court ruled in Medtronic's favor because the device in question met the specifications of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...

Award Refused for Parents of Girl Blinded by Motrin

Posted on July 18, 2008
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury voted 9-3 to deny the family of 11-year-old Sabrina Johnson an award, stating that Johnson & Johnson, as well as McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals were not liable for Sabrina's blindness.The parents of the girl sued Johnson & Johnson for $1 billion, claiming Children's Motrin nearly killed Sabrina and left her legally blind...

City of Lincoln, Nebraska Named in Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on July 17, 2008
Lincoln, Nebraska, Lancaster County, and six emergency medical technicians were named in a wrongful death suit filed last week. This stems from the asthma-related death of 28-year-old Emy C. Choquette, who died last August. According to Choquette's mother and attorney, David Domina, Choquette suffered an asthma attack the night of August 10th...

Fuel Tank Explosions Eyed in New FAA Rule

Posted on July 16, 2008
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered that a device to keep the fuel tanks on some passenger and cargo planes must be installed over the next nine years. This ruling comes almost 12 years to the day TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean while taking off from New York's Kennedy Airport...

Missouri Town Sees Dramatic Increase in Brain Tumors

Posted on July 15, 2008
The town of Cameron, Missouri, whose population was 8,312 during the last census, has seen a rash of brain tumor diagnoses. More than a dozen people have been diagnosed this year alone. However, there is concern that this number will only go up. This is because no one is sure what is causing the tumors, though there is suspicion...

Cargo Ship Company Charged with Illegal Ocean Dumping

Posted on July 11, 2008
Casilda Shipping of Malta, Genesis Seatrading, Inc. of Greece, and the chief engineer of a cargo ship have been charged with the illegal dumping of oil and other waste into the ocean. Pantelis Thomas is charged with falsifying log books, as well as other charges related to illegal dumping...

Overdose of Heparin Given to Newborns

Posted on July 09, 2008
Seventeen babies in a Corpus Christi, Texas hospital's neonatal intensive care unit were given overdoses of the blood thinner heparin over the weekend. Christus Spohn Hospital South discovered the mishap on Sunday, two days after most of the newborns were believed to have been given the drug...

Black Box Warning Issued for Antibiotics

Posted on July 08, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration issued a black box warning, the most "urgent" warning they can give, on a class of antibacterials called flouroquinolone drugs. This includes Cipro and other antibiotics. The FDA cites evidence that using these drugs can lead to tendon ruptures, which can leave patients in need of extensive surgery...

Accident Critically Injures Gospel Singer

Posted on July 07, 2008
Timothy Wright, a well-known gospel singer and New York pastor, was critically injured in an auto accident in central Pennsylvania. The accident killed his wife and injured his 14-year-old grandson. Both Wright and his grandson were taken Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania...

Continental Ordered to Stand Trial for Concorde Crash

Posted on July 03, 2008
A French judge has ordered Continental Airlines and five others to stand trial for manslaughter for the crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people in 2000. The Concorde crashed shortly after takeoff from Charles de Galle airport in Paris where it slammed into a hotel...

Salmonella Outbreak: More than Just Tomatoes?

Posted on July 02, 2008
The outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul which has sickened 869 people, and put 107 in the hospital, may have as much to do with the types of food eaten with suspected tomatoes as the tomatoes themselves. The reason is due to the longevity of this outbreak, which began in April...

Liability Claim Denied by San Francisco

Posted on July 01, 2008
Officials in San Francisco have denied the city is responsible for the death of a teenager when he was mauled by an escaped tiger at the city's zoo on Christmas Day, 2007. City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a letter that the claim filed by Carlos Sousa Jr...

Regulatory Climate at FDA May Slow Drug Advancement

Posted on June 30, 2008
In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 19 new drugs. This was the fewest number of new medicines approved in 24 years. At the same time, they announced nearly 75 new or revised black-box warnings about the risks of side-effects. Furthermore, approvable letters the FDA sends out when they believe more data is necessary, increased 40%...

Wall Collapse Kills Three Masonry Workers

Posted on June 27, 2008
A wall of a building being erected for Dayton Freight Lines, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana collapsed and killed three masons. Two other construction workers were seriously injured. The wall collapsed toward the end of the day during a thunderstorm. Authorities believe 60 mph gusts of wind may have been partially to blame...

Punitive Damages Significantly Slashed in Exxon Valdez Ruling

Posted on June 26, 2008
Fourteen years ago, Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered to pay $5 billion in punitive damages for the destruction of beaches and wildlife in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was then reduced to $2.5 billion in 1994 by a federal appeals court. On Wednesday, June 25th, this was further reduced to $500 million by the U...

Crib Recall

Posted on June 25, 2008
Cribs made by Jardine Enterprises were recalled on Tuesday because the wooden slats can break. About 320,000 of the Berkley, Hilton, Positano, Spindle, and Windsor crib styles are affected by this recall.The slats and spindles that break may cause entrapment and strangulation risks for infants in the cribs...

Couple Receives $9.5 Million Settlement in Helicopter Crash

Posted on June 24, 2008
A helicopter manufacturer and parts maker has been ordered to pay a New Hampshire couple $9.5 million for injuries sustained when the tour helicopter they were in crashed on Kaua'i in 2007. Judy and Douglas Barton survived the crash, but both sustained fractured spines...

Florida Dentist Fined $17,000 for Death of Patient

Posted on June 20, 2008
Even though 90-year-old Charles K. Gaal's dentist, Dr. Wesley Meyers, dropped a tiny screwdriver down his throat in October of 2006, he insisted on returning to Dr. Meyers for care. This lead to his death following another incident with many similarities...

Salmonella Outbreak Closes in on 400

Posted on June 19, 2008
Six new cases of salmonella caused by tainted tomatoes have been confirmed in New York. This brings the national tally up to 383. Furthermore, this outbreak is far from over according to Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The six new cases are somewhat misleading because most of the individuals who were sickened became ill weeks ago, but were just counted...

911 Operator and County Sued by Family of Murdered Student

Posted on June 16, 2008
Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old UW-Madison student would have graduated in 2009 with a degree in medical microbiology and immunology. She had plans to go on to graduate school after that to study infectious disease. But on April 2, 2008, Brittany Zimmerman was stabbed to death in her apartment...

Questions Over Safety of Raw Milk Abound

Posted on June 13, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started to look into raw, or unpasteurized, milk due to the growing concern over food-borne illnesses across the country. Raw milk sales are currently prohibited in 22 states, and cross-border sales are prohibited by the FDA...

Foster Care Death Sparks Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on June 12, 2008
The mother of a seven-week-old baby who died in the Indiana foster care system plans on filing a wrongful death suit naming the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) at fault. Randi Linden, mother of Destiny Linden, claims that the infant's death was caused by the improper removal from Linden's home...

Taser Loses First Court Case

Posted on June 11, 2008
After winning 45 wrongful death or injury lawsuits, Taser International, who markets the ubiquitous stun gun, lost a federal case in San Jose, California on Friday, June 6th. The federal jury found that Taser was responsible for the death of 40-year-old Robert Heston Jr...

Automated External Defibrillators Save Lives

Posted on June 09, 2008
According to the American Heart Association, over 450,000 adults die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. There are no statistics kept on the number of children who die each year, but it obviously happens. This is exactly the situation the Levine family found themselves in almost three years ago as their 9-year-old son, Robbie, died running bases at Little League practice in Merrick, New York...

Amtrak Train Hits Two Cars in Two Separate Accidents on Same Day

Posted on June 05, 2008
Just an hour and a half after hitting a car in Mississippi and injuring the driver, an Amtrak train hit another car in Louisiana killing two people. None of the passengers or crew on the train was injured, which was traveling from Chicago to New Orleans...

Man Shot by Police 20 Years Ago Denied Award

Posted on June 04, 2008
Darryl Barnes was initially awarded $76.4 million by a jury when he was shot in the back and paralyzed by a police officer 20 years ago. That was then reduced to $8.9 million by a trial judge. Now, Barnes will receive nothing except a bill for $100 for court costs...

Trasylol Risks

Posted on June 03, 2008
Trasylol (generic aprotinin) is administered by injection during complex operations to reduce bleeding. It reduces bleeding by slowing down a process known as fibrinolysis, which prevents the formation of blood clots. Its use is intended to minimize the need for blood transfusions and organ damage due to low blood pressure resulting from considerable blood loss...

Gadolinium/NSF Link

Posted on June 02, 2008
A common dye used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been linked to a potentially fatal disease for patients suffering with kidney problems. The dye is a gadolinium-based product, and the FDA issued an expansion on the black box warning earlier this year, stating that even a single exposure could cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)...

Dangers of Zelnorm

Posted on May 30, 2008
Zelnorm (generic tegaserod maleate) was approved in 2002 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation by increasing the movement of stools through the bowels. IBS is a painful and debilitation condition, which is difficult to successfully treat...

Nursing Home Abuse Growing Problem

Posted on May 29, 2008
Nursing home negligence and abuse is a growing problem in the United States.As the general population of the United States ages, the demands placed on our medical system to care for our elderly loved ones have also grown. At this time, there are approximately 34 million people over the age of 65, and nearly one in twenty of those elderly Americans will eventually require some form of assisted living...

KBR Asks Judge to Throw Out Family's Lawsuit

Posted on May 27, 2008
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the military contractor once tied to Halliburton, KBR, asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by the family of a soldier who died in Iraq when he was electrocuted while showering. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a 24-year-old stationed with the Green Berets in Baghdad, was killed in January, and an Army investigation found that the electric pump that supplied water to the building was improperly grounded...

Woman Injured by Intoxicated Doctor Gets $6 Million

Posted on May 22, 2008
When Elizabeth Nelligan visited her primary physician's house for dinner in 2005, she got more than she wanted. Her mother was dating the doctor, Mark Radzicki, at the time, and this was a social visit. However, Radzicki who was allegedly drunk, staggered and stepped onto Nelligan's foot, and then fell on her...

Verdict Upheld against Rocky Flats

Posted on May 21, 2008
A $350 million verdict has been upheld by a federal judge in a class-action lawsuit brought by residents living around the defunct Rocky Flats nuclear plant against its former operators. Rocky Flats is located 15 miles outside of Denver, Colorado. Judge John Kane stated in a ruling released Tuesday, May 20 that the suit could move forward and added eight percent interest compounded annually...

Police Overlook Dead Teens; Father Finds Them

Posted on May 20, 2008
The parents of two high school seniors who were killed in a car accident allege their sons were left along the side of the road for several hours after police overlooked them while investigating the accident. Brandon Smith and Dominique Green, 18, were killed in the single-vehicle accident in Gary, Indiana, and two other occupants survived the crash and told emergency workers over and over that two of their friends were still at the crash site...

Possible Link between Birth Defects and Immunosuppressant Drug

Posted on May 19, 2008
Infants born with congenital anomalies, such as microtia, an ear deformity, and cleft palate, may have gotten them due to exposure to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). According to the FDA, MMF is the active drug in CellCept, manufactured by Roche Pharmaceuticals, and part of the chemical makeup of metabolite mycophenolic acid (MPA) in Myfortic, manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals...

Heparin-Coated Catheters Recalled

Posted on May 16, 2008
Atrium Medical Corporation has announced it is recalling lots of its Hydraglide brand heparin-coated Thoracic Drainage catheters due to contamination of the blood thinner. The contamination only affects selected lots of Atrium's catheters, and they have not received any reports of patients who have had adverse reactions...

Digitek Problems Noted as Early as 2006

Posted on May 15, 2008
The recent recall of Digitek (digoxin) due to twice the appropriate dosage goes back to March 2006. The FDA issued a recall notice at the beginning of May and stated that the distributer, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and its manufacturer, Actavis Totowa, were voluntarily complying...

Foam Manufacturers Agree to Settle in R.I. Nightclub Fire

Posted on May 14, 2008
The fire that killed 100 people in 2003 at a Great White rock show in Rhode Island has seen another chapter close. Foam manufacturers including Leggett & Platt, Inc. and Wm. T. Burnett & Co. have agreed to pay $30 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors and family members of those killed at the Station night club...

CVS/Wal-mart Face Premises Liability Suits

Posted on May 13, 2008
An ATM that was not properly secured fell on a customer's foot in a CVS store recently. The suit claims the ATM became unsecured and came to rest on the customer's foot and that CVS failed to properly operate, manage and control the machine. Allegedly, screws were missing from the ATM...

Sinkhole Suspicion Points toward Company Involvement

Posted on May 12, 2008
A massive sinkhole that opened up near Daisetta, Texas may have been the result of too much saltwater being pumped into the ground by a company called Deloach Vacuum Services. Deloach was given a permit by the Texas Railroad Commission to dispose saltwater waste...

Family of Woman Injured at Hospital Files Suit

Posted on May 09, 2008
Nine months after going into Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan for a heart catheterization, 74-year-old Rosa Kashat is still there. A lawsuit filed by her family alleges that Kashat fell off a table and suffered a serious head injury and "other sever damage" while she was there...

Oil Companies Agree to Settle Water Suit

Posted on May 08, 2008
Some of the largest oil companies, including Citgo, Sunoco, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Conoco Phillips, Chevron, Valero, and Marathon Oil have agreed to pay out nearly $424 million to settle a lawsuit brought by over a hundred public water companies. They will also pay for 70 percent of future cleanup costs over the next 30 years...

Med Mal Claim Targets Meridian Village Care Center

Posted on May 07, 2008
The estate of Irmona Browning filed a medical malpractice suit against Meridian Village Care Center in Madison County (Illinois) alleging they violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The claim states that Browning fell on two separate occasions, just hours apart where she sustained permanent injuries...

Air Safety Bill Fails in Senate

Posted on May 07, 2008
A bill meant to modernize the nation's air traffic control system, improve the inspection of commercial airlines, and ensure that stranded passengers on delayed flights are given food and water failed in the Senate after Republicans blocked the bill. They claim Democrats were trying to add provisions into the bill that had nothing to do with aviation, and were angry that they were not allowed to add in their own amendments...

Digitek Recall

Posted on May 06, 2008
The FDA has announced that, Actavis Totowa, formerly Amide Pharmaceutical, Inc., has recalled all Digitek (digoxin) tablets due to a double dose of the active ingredient, digitalis, in each tablet. This is a Class I recall, meaning the level of toxicity in each tablet may cause serious health problems or even death, especially to those with renal failure or impaired kidney function...

Wrongfully Terminated Paramedic Reinstated by Judge

Posted on May 05, 2008
An Eagle Mountain, Utah paramedic was ordered reinstated and to be given back pay after he was fired in March. Bryan Miner had reported cases of possible medical malpractice and sexual harassment to his superiors and was allegedly let go for blowing the whistle...

Blood Substitute Tests Allowed by FDA Despite Known Risks

Posted on May 02, 2008
In a report to be released this Monday, May 5, by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), experimental blood substitute tests allowed by US regulators raised the risk of heart attack and death. The report is written by scientists with the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and advocates from the watchdog organization Public Citizen...

Government Admits Negligence in Cancer Death

Posted on May 01, 2008
A federal judge ruled in March that an illegal immigrant who was being held in custody in San Diego died as a result of denial of medical treatment, and that this was "beyond cruel and unusual punishment." Francisco Castaneda, 36, was placed in immigration custody after serving an eight month prison term in 2005 for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute...

Port Authority Liable in 1993 WTC Attack

Posted on April 30, 2008
In 1984, the Port Authority's executive director, Peter Goldmark, asked Scotland Yard to assess security at the World Trade Center complex. Scotland Yard's assessment was that they were "appalled" that there was public underground parking at the complex...

Families of Heparin Victims Meet with Subcommittee

Posted on April 29, 2008
A congressional subcommittee allowed the families of victims who died due to tainted heparin to say their piece today. They told stories of family members looking forward to birthday dinners planned for the night of the day they died, and of multiple family members lost for the same reason...

Father Accidentally Kills Own Toddler with Car

Posted on April 28, 2008
An 18-month-old girl was killed when her own father backed over her in front of the family's home. The child wandered out of her home in Ohio and walked behind her father's Chevrolet Suburban as he was backing out of the driveway to go to church. The car struck his daughter, pulling her beneath the sport utility vehicle; she was pronounced dead at a local children's hospital...

New Study Helps with Understanding Concussions

Posted on April 28, 2008
Concussions in young athletes are a very common form of traumatic brain injury, but the changes that occur in brain function because of those concussions have been poorly understood in the past. A recent University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study linked changes in brain function directly to the recovery of the injured athlete...

Another Suit Filed Against Boston Scientific For Faulty Defibrillator

Posted on April 24, 2008
When Boston Scientific bought Guidant Corp. for $27.5 billion, they also bought the company's faulty defibrillators. Now, Patsy Roberts has filed a wrongful death suit against Boston Scientific alleging that a faulty defibrillator was the cause of her husband, Joseph Roberts', death...

Troubled Airlines are Literally Falling Apart

Posted on April 23, 2008
US Airways Flight 1250, traveling from Orlando, Florida to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has become the latest chapter in the saga of airlines struggling with fuel prices, lost luggage, and stressed out, well, everybody. While American Airlines grounded over a thousand flights recently to make sure they were up to FAA standards, and Southwest was exposed for flying planes with structural cracks, Flight 1250 is this fear put in motion...

Heparin Contamination Spreads to Other Countries

Posted on April 22, 2008
As the Chinese government continues to insist that it had nothing to do with the tainted anti-coagulant heparin supplies found in stocks in the U.S. supply, officials have found contaminated heparin in 11 other countries. Meanwhile, the tainted heparin is now suspected in 81 deaths here...

Family of Woman Killed by Bus Files Suit

Posted on April 21, 2008
The family of a woman hit by a bus as she was crossing the street in Daly City, California has filed a wrongful death suit against the bus driver, as well as the San Mateo County Transit District. In November of last year, 50-year-old Amy Aiwa Leong Chan was crossing inside the crosswalk when she was struck...

Mother Claims County Negligent in Daughter?s Murder

Posted on April 18, 2008
Though it occurred nearly ten years ago, the mother of Deborah Kirk, Phyllis May, believes Franklin County, Ohio should still be held responsible for her daughter's murder. Records show Kirk called 911 three times before a Franklin Township officer showed up...

CDOT Aims to Lower Motorcycle Fatalities through Safety Campaign

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has started a new safety program, called "Live to Ride," due to the rising number of motorcycle accident fatalities. According to CDOT, a record high of 90 deaths were recorded last year. This number has doubled in just over ten years...

Bipartisan Panel Wants FDA to Have More Funding

Posted on April 16, 2008
Members of both political parties believe that the Food and Drug Administration needs further funding if it is to continue to protect American lives. As it stands now, a report sent out last year by a panel of outside advisers stated the FDA does not have the staff, scientific expertise, or the money to do all it can...

Maybe Toby Keith could Write a Song about it

Posted on April 15, 2008
Cruise control switches in Ford Motor Company vehicles are continuing to cause problems. Specifically, they're heating up and causing the vehicle to burn. Nearly 1,500 fires are alleged to be due to a faulty switch that was installed in millions of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln vehicles from 1999 to 2004...

Family Sues Mall and Security Company for Son?s Death

Posted on April 14, 2008
When one thinks of mall security, chances are the images that pop into the head range from gangly pimply-faced teenagers, elderly men asleep at the station, or something in between. Whether fair or not, due to the media portrayal, mall security guards get little, if any, respect...

Food-Borne Illnesses and Recalls Rising

Posted on April 10, 2008
William Marler, a Seattle lawyer and food safety expert, testified before the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to discuss why illnesses resulting from E. coli O157:H7 bacteria soared in 2007. The panel believes that the last time any significant positive changes occurred in this area was at the beginning of the decade...

Insulin Inhaler Tied to Lung Cancer

Posted on April 09, 2008
Clinical trials of Exubera, an insulin inhaler, have shown an increased incidence of lung cancer. Exubera is made by Pfizer, Inc. in a partnership with Nektar Therapeutics. The findings have lead Nektar to end talks about marketing Exubera with potential partners...

Claims Denied for Families of Six Shooting Victims

Posted on April 08, 2008
Six families whose loved ones were killed in an off-duty officer's shooting rampage last October have had their claims denied by the Crandon (Wisconsin) City Council. Claims are the first step in filing a wrongful death suit. 20-year-old Tyler Peterson gunned down his ex-girlfriend and five other people in an apartment, and left one young man injured...

Number of Children Harmed in Hospitals Higher than Originally Thought

Posted on April 07, 2008
The National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality reports that o ne out of every fifteen hospitalized children is harmed by accidental overdoses, bad drug reactions, and mix-ups with medicine. This is much higher than previously reported; prior reports showed two out of every 100 children are harmed, but the rate has gone up to 11 for every 100 children...

NuvaRing is a fairly new birth

Posted on April 04, 2008
NuvaRing is a fairly new birth control method for women; it is a small flexible contraceptive ring about the size of a silver dollar. NuvaRing contains the same hormones as many birth control pills and is inserted into the vagina, where it stays for three weeks...

Three Killed in Scaffolding Collapse

Posted on April 03, 2008
Three men working to install a water main beneath a bridge fell into the Arkansas River when the scaffolding they were on collapsed Wednesday morning. Two of the men have not been located and are presumed drowned. The third man's body was found entangled in rope that was attached to the platform...

Flights Cancelled to Insure FAA Compliance

Posted on April 02, 2008
After it was recently reported that Southwest Airlines had been flying dozens of jets that had not been properly inspected for structural damage, as well as a recent crackdown on other airline maintenance issues, United Airlines has announced it will ground its fleet of 777s for maintenance checks...

Makers of Vytorin Withheld Findings

Posted on April 01, 2008
The Senate's Finance Committee and the House's Energy and Commerce Committee allege that the makers of the cholesterol drug, Vytorin, withheld negative findings to boost sales. Drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. are accused of suppressing data that shows Vytorin is only as effective as another generic drug called Zocor, made by Merck...

Just in Time for Spring, Salmonella in Your Cantaloupe

Posted on March 31, 2008
Products containing Honduran grown cantaloupe are being recalled because of the risk of salmonella. The Honduran company, Agropecuaria Montelibano, has been linked to a multistate outbreak of the bacteria. The FDA ha s asked grocers across the country to remove the cantaloupe from grocery stores and blocked imports from the Honduran company after dozens of cases of salmonella were reported in 16 states...

Rocker Recall

Posted on March 28, 2008
In yet another example of why it's safer for children to watch TV, than play, Tek Nek Toys International L.P. has announced it is recalling the Rock 'N Ride plush rocker due to their unstable base. The base of the rocker has the potential to tip over, spilling the child riding it to the cold, hard ground...

$8 Million Claim Filed Against City of Phoenix

Posted on March 27, 2008
The family of a woman who died last year at Sky Harbor International Airport while in police custody has filed $8 million wrongful death claim against the city of Phoenix and the police department. This is the first step taken before a wrongful death suit is filed...

Young Girl Injured in Pool Drain Accident Dies

Posted on March 26, 2008
A young girl who had her part of her lower intestines ripped out by an uncovered pool drain last summer has died. Six-year-old Abigail Taylor was in the wading pool at the Minneapolis Gold Club last June when she sat, or got stuck, over the uncovered drain...

New Spokesperson to Warn about Medical Errors?

Posted on March 25, 2008
Last year, actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins were given an accidental drug overdose by hospital staff. According to Quaid, the drug heparin "basically turned their blood to the consistency of water." Heparin is an anti-coagulant given to patients during surgery or kidney dialysis...

Another Attempt at a Settlement in Wrongful Death Case Involving Congressman

Posted on March 24, 2008
In 2003, Bill Janklow, a Republican senator from South Dakota, was driving at least 70 mph in a 55 mph zone when he ran a stop sign and hit a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist, Randolph Scott, was killed instantly. Janklow escaped the worst with a broken hand and bleeding on the brain...

Contaminant in Heparin Identified

Posted on March 21, 2008
Federal officials have announced that a fairly common ingredient in nutritional supplements has been identified as the contaminant in heparin, a blood thinner used in surgery and kidney dialysis. Heparin helps to prevent blood clots that may cause heart attacks and strokes...

15-Count Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Illinois Hospital

Posted on March 20, 2008
In October, 2006, Rosella Beckley was admitted for treatment of a fractured hip at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Madison County, Illinois. After her surgery, she was admitted to the coronary care unit to be placed on a ventilator. According to the wrongful death suit filed by Rosella's husband, Donald, an "improperly manipulated" endotracheal tube changer caused a tracheal bronchial laceration which lead to an anoxic brain injury...

Akron Family Sues Police for Son?s Death

Posted on March 19, 2008
The family of 19-year-old Demetrus Vinson is suing the Akron police for $10 million citing wrongful death and violation of civil rights. Vinson was killed last March after police pulled his car over. Police officers, Michael Orrand and Michael Koubek, allegedly saw Vinson's car leave a known drug house around 2:00 a...

Blood Thinner Imports Stopped at Border

Posted on March 18, 2008
Imports of heparin, a blood thinner used in surgery and kidney dialysis to prevent clotting, have been stopped at the border by the FDA to test for a contaminant. The contaminant was found in the drug thinner's raw ingredient, pig intestines, and is linked to hundreds of allergic reactions and 19 deaths...

$82.6 Million Award Upheld by Appeals Court in San Diego

Posted on March 17, 2008
The 4th District Court of Appeals has upheld an $82.6 million award given to a woman whose back was crushed when her Ford Explorer flipped in 2002. $55 million is for punitive damages. Ford plans to appeal this latest ruling. Ford Motor Co. attorney, Theodore Boutrous Jr...

Street Race Kills Taxi Driver

Posted on March 14, 2008
A taxi driver was killed in Toronto, Ontario when his taxi was hit by one of two Mercedes Benzs allegedly street racing in January 2006. Tahir Khan was a Pakistani immigrant, and was three days from obtaining Canadian citizenship when he died. Khan was killed almost instantly when he was hit by the Mercedes Benz, which then slammed his taxi into a light pole at a busy Toronto intersection...

Chiquita's FARC Relationship Center of Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on March 13, 2008
The banana company, Chiquita Brands International Inc., is involved in yet another legal battle for its payouts to Columbia's left-wing paramilitary group, the Fuerza Amadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). Families of five missionaries killed by the FARC in the 1990s have filed a wrongful death suit claiming that Chiquita's payments to the rebel group contributed to the deaths...

Record $250 Million Settlement Announced in Superfund Case

Posted on March 12, 2008
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that W.R. Grace & Company has agreed to pay a record $250 million to clean up past mining operations in Libby, Montana. The settlement results from asbestos poisoning claims that helped to drive the chemical company into bankruptcy...

Pharmaceuticals in Our Water Supply

Posted on March 11, 2008
An Associated Press investigation has shown that drinking water supplies in at least 24 major metropolitan areas across the country have trace amounts of a variety of pharmaceuticals in them. These 24 cities supply drinking water to 41 million Americans...

Anemia Drug Warning Expanded by FDA

Posted on March 10, 2008
Amgen, Inc. has announced that their anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen, as well as Johnson & Johnson's Procrit, have had their black box warnings expanded by the FDA. The warning approved by the FDA in November, 2007, state that using these anemia drugs may increase the risks of death and tumor growth in patients who have been taking them...

Misdiagnosis Leads to Blindness

Posted on March 07, 2008
In June, 2006, Juanita Tomlinson went to the Paris (Illinois) Community Hospital emergency room complaining of double vision, a headache and pain in her eyes. The doctors who evaluated Tomlinson diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics...

Pennsylvania State Trooper on Trial in Wrongful Death Case

Posted on March 06, 2008
Pennsylvania State Trooper, Samuel Nassan, took the stand on Tuesday to explain his actions in the Christmas Eve 2002 shooting death of a 12-year-old boy named Michael Ellerbe. Nassan claims that he shot Ellerbe, in the back while he was running away from an SUV he had stolen, because Nassan's then-partner, Juan Curry, had just fallen over a fence and accidentally discharged his weapon...

Wrongful Death Suit Hits the College of New Jersey

Posted on March 05, 2008
John Fiocco, Jr., a student at the College of New Jersey, went missing from his dorm room in the early hours of March 25, 2006. His body was found in a landfill a month later in Tulleytown, Pennsylvania. While the cause of Fiocco's death has not been determined, it is thought he may have somehow fallen through the door of the compactor room and into the trash container inside...

Transplant Surgeon Allegedly Hastens Patient's Death for His Organs

Posted on March 04, 2008
Ruben Navarro, a 25-year-old who suffered a nerve disease for most of his life, died at the beginning of February while in the operating room at a San Luis Obispo, California hospital. In a criminal complaint against Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, prosecutors allege Navarro's death was hastened by a mix of sedatives usually given to dying patients...

Las Vegas Clinic May Have Infected 40,000 with Hepatitis C

Posted on March 03, 2008
A Las Vegas clinic has been accused of reusing single-dose vials and syringes leading to the largest national hepatitis C scare the U.S. has seen. Officials say up to 40,000 people may be at risk for contracting the disease, as well as being exposed to HIV...

Alleged Nursing Home Abuse in a Place that Doesn't Exist

Posted on February 28, 2008
When you take your loved ones to a nursing home, it can be an emotionally draining experience. Now, imagine that nursing home doesn't "exist" in a legal sense. That's exactly what has happened in Glens Falls, New York, where the Eden Park Health Care Center was found to be operating illegally...

Drug Ad Deception Brings Down Lipitor's Famous Face

Posted on February 27, 2008
How the mighty fall. Dr. Robert Jarvik was recently fired as the pitchman for Lipitor by Pfizer. The advertising practice Pfizer used for its cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor, has been called into question by a Congressional committee investigating the ads' credibility...

Time for a Rewrite?

Posted on February 26, 2008
In 1857, when the Oregon constitution was written, the law claimed that the only way you could recover damages from an assailant was if they injured you, not if they killed you. So, if someone got into a fight over something, it was better to kill the opponent so the attacker didn't have to pay damages...

O.J. Tests Long Arm of the Law and Loses. Again.

Posted on February 25, 2008
Remember, during the 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial, when Johnnie Cochran said, "If the glove don?t fit, you must acquit"? Some people might remember that, but most may only remember the recent reasons Simpson has been in the news. The book Simpson wrote called If I Did It, whose rights were signed over to Fred Goldman, Ron Goldman's father, and retitled If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer made a bit of news a few years ago...

O.J. Tests Long Arm of the Law and Loses. Again.

Posted on February 22, 2008
Remember, during the 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial, when Johnnie Cochran said, "If the glove don?t fit, you must acquit"? Some people might remember that, but most may only remember the recent reasons Simpson has been in the news. The book Simpson wrote called If I Did It, whose rights were signed over to Fred Goldman, Ron Goldman?s father, and retitled If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer made a bit of news not long ago...

A "nonsensical situation"

Posted on February 21, 2008
In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court overrode tough state regulations, claiming that makers of medical devices, such as breast implants or defibrillators, are now immune from liability for personal injuries if the device in question had premarket approval from the F...

When Good Dogs Go Bad

Posted on February 20, 2008
In many states, there is something called the "one-bite" rule for dogs. This means that dog owners are generally not liable if their dog attacks someone, and that dog has been well behaved showing no vicious tendencies in the past. However, with the continuing popularity of animals, and the fact that twice as many Americans own pets as have kids, the odds of being attacked by even a good dog have gone up...

Defective Monitor Destroys Man's Heart

Posted on February 19, 2008
After going in for what was supposed to be a fairly routine bypass procedure at Providence Everett Medical Center, one of the top cardiac care hospitals in the Northwest, Paramjit Singh is now facing a new round of problems. In 2004, Singh suffered a minor heart attack and had successful bypass surgery...

Metal Shavings Found in Lollipops

Posted on February 18, 2008
Remember the good old days when the only worries with handing out candy were razor blades in apples at Halloween? It seems that age of innocence has passed, never to return. Last week, an elementary school in Polk County, Florida had their Valentine's Day party crashed by metal shavings in their Pokemon lollipops...

Pharmacies, Prescriptions, and Mistakes: Who is at Fault?

Posted on February 15, 2008
Last year, a pregnant woman was prescribed the prenatal vitamin Materna by her doctor. According to a federal lawsuit she later filed, Walgreen's gave her Matulane, a drug used in combination with other chemotherapy drugs, and one that hinders cell growth...

Toy Helicopter Recall

Posted on February 14, 2008
The U.S. Product Safety Consumer Commission and Soft Air U.S.A., Inc., of Grapevine, Texas, have announced that remote-controlled "Fun2Fly Microcopter" sold at sporting good stores and other retailers between May and December 2007 might catch on fire...

Fentanyl Painkiller Patch Recall

Posted on February 13, 2008
Another drug recall has been announced. This time patches containing the painkiller fentanyl were recalled on Tuesday, February 12, due to a flaw that might cause caregivers or patients to overdose. The FDA recently put out its second warning in two years on the dangers of misusing this drug...

John Ritter's Family Seeks $67 Million

Posted on February 12, 2008
Last week, we blogged about the malpractice suit John Ritter's family filed in California. Well, the medical malpractice suit has reached the court. Ritter's family is seeking $67 million from the two doctors they claim are responsible for Ritter's death in September 2003...

Kugel Mesh Lawsuits Expanded

Posted on February 11, 2008
The Federal Court in Rhode Island charged with handling of all claims related to the Davol, Inc Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch, has announced that it is now accepting personal injury claims based on all Davol patches, not just the ones recalled in the FDA class 1 recall...

Jury Awards $15.3 million in Asbestos-Mesothelioma Case

Posted on February 08, 2008
A Baltimore County jury awarded $15.3 million, primarily in pain and suffering damages, to 73-year-old ex-shipbuilder George J. Linkus, Sr. who is suffering from mesothelioma as a result of his shipbuilding work that exposed him to asbestos fibers. He suffered exposure partly from a rope he used to line valves, a rope manufactured by defendant John Crane, containing between 60 to 70 percent asbestos...

Inquest: Criminal Negligence Responsible for Delivery Room Death

Posted on February 07, 2008
A woman who died in May 2004, three hours after giving birth to her son, because a nurse attached the bag of anesthetic for her epidural to a line going to her arm rather than to her back, was the victim of "gross negligent manslaughter" according to an inquest recently concluded on the tragedy...

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed in John Ritter's Premature Death

Posted on February 06, 2008
When John Ritter died unexpectedly at the young age of 54, the world mourned an actor who was famous not only for his television comedy work on the hit Three's Company and its less popular spin-off Three's a Crowd, but also for his ubiquitous presence in TV and movies, with guest spots on everything from Hawaii Five-O to Felicity to Scrubs...

Bull Riders Reluctant to Don Safety Helmets

Posted on February 01, 2008
Bull riders are ten times more likely to get injured than players of major contact sports like hockey and football, but that could be changing. One of the main changes that could improve the injury rate is the swapping of the ornamental cowboy hat for a protective helmet...

Illinois to Offer Brain Injury Assistance to Returning Vets

Posted on January 31, 2008
Illinois is trying to take the characteristic injury of the Iraq war, traumatic brain injury, head on, as it launched a new program designed to give special assistance to veterans who have suffered the injury or have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...

Man Sues Union Pacific for Injuries from 2004 Train Derailment

Posted on January 30, 2008
A man who was injured by chlorine gas released in one of seven derailments of Union Pacific trains in Bexar County, Texas, near San Antonio in 2004 is suing Union Pacific for as-yet-undisclosed damages. We can only hope that the damages will be sufficient to make Union Pacific sit up and take notice, hopefully even put its house in order in terms of the safety of the people who live near the rail lines on which it operates...

Ohio Doctors May Be Protected from Med-Mal Cases

Posted on January 29, 2008
As a result of an Ohio Supreme Court decision last year, doctors and other private practitioners can be granted immunity from lawsuits such as medical malpractice if they are employed by the state even on a part-time basis. Now, the family of a man who choked on his vomit, suffering brain damage and eventual death as a result of oxygen deprivation, must sue the state if they wish to recover damages for medical bills, funeral expenses, and mental suffering...

Medical Malpractice Claims Drop in Ohio, Legislators Try to Take Credit

Posted on January 25, 2008
A report by the Ohio Department of Insurance says that medical malpractice claims in Ohio dropped by 20 percent in 2006 from 2005. The report says that there were 4,006 medical malpractice claims filed in the state in 2006, down from over 5,000 the year before...

Minnesota Lawmakers Debate Specifics of I-35W Bridge Fund

Posted on January 24, 2008
To help victims of the I-35W bridge collapse, Minnesota state legislators have decided to set up a fund that circumvents the state's law limiting its liability to $1 million in an incident. However, the lawmakers cannot decide whether to put a cap on the amounts awarded to victims or allow a mediator to decide what constitutes a reasonable payment for victims...

Recent Death at BP Plant to Be Investigated by Same Official as 2005 Explosion

Posted on January 23, 2008
The same official who led the inquiry into the 2005 explosion at a BP plant that led to an admission of federal environmental standards will be investigating a recent death at the company's Texas City refinery. The US Chemical Safety Board team will investigate the on-the-job death of a veteran operations supervisor who suffered fatal head injuries while the team he supervised was installing a water filtration vessel...

US Pays $750,000 for Woman's Death at Naval Hospital

Posted on January 22, 2008
The Federal Government accepted a $750,000 settlement in the medical malpractice case of a woman who died after receiving eight surgeries at the Jacksonville Naval Hospital in just over a month in 2005. In the wrongful death suit, the woman's family accused the Navy of doctor error and failure to transfer her to another facility...

911 Operator Convicted of Neglect for Ignoring Child's Call

Posted on January 21, 2008
On January 18, a jury convicted a 9-1-1 operator of willful neglect of duty after she blew off a boy's call for help when his mother passed out. The boy was six at the time, and when his mother passed out as a result of her heart condition, he called for help...

Record $22-million Verdict in Chicago Malpractice Case

Posted on January 18, 2008
A Cook County jury has awarded the largest ever medical malpractice verdict for the wrongful death of a woman to the family of a 34-year-old woman who died in 2003 from complications at a Chicago-area hospital, St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. The jury awarded $22 million dollars in support of the claim by the woman's family the woman suffered a massive brain hemorrhage as a result of the staff's negligence in improperly treating her high blood pressure during labor...

New Technology May Prevent Prescription Error

Posted on January 17, 2008
FDA statistics indicate that more than one person per day dies in the US as a result of a medication error. Whether the prescription error is giving the wrong dose of a medication or giving the wrong drug entirely, the results can be equally lethal. ValiMed is a new tool developed by the CDEX corporation in Kansas City to prevent just such errors...

Husband of Woman Killed by Tread Separation Accident Seeks $100 Million

Posted on January 16, 2008
On May 15, 2006, a Texas woman was riding in a 2000 Mazda half-ton pickup driven by a friend when one of the tires suffered a catastrophic tread separation, sending the truck into a spinning flip. She later died from injuries sustained in the auto accident...

Fatal Truck Accident Caused by Permit Violation

Posted on January 15, 2008
On January 8, a truck hauling a modular trailer at night in violation of its permit to keep its unrealistic delivery schedule, led to a fatal crash that killed two passengers of a Kia Sephia. The truck, owned by Davidson Industries of Commerce City, CO, was hauling a portable office for use during the filming of the ESPN Winter X-Games...

For those who suffer medical malpractice, sometimes not even a lawyer will help

Posted on January 14, 2008
I have written before about not all complications as a result of surgery being malpractice. However, one sad feature of our current medical system is that it often doesn't matter whether a person's suffering is caused by medical malpractice or not, it is sometimes impossible to recover damages...

Head Impact Monitoring Helmets to Deploy

Posted on January 08, 2008
The army technology that was developed to track traumatic brain injuries suffered by troops in the field as a result of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is ready for deployment and will soon see service in Afghanistan. Soldiers equipped with this device, which we have discussed here in some detail, will be deployed to Afghanistan this spring, even as calls for greater NATO involvement in the area seem to be falling on deaf ears and Taliban-aligned insurgents are gaining in strength...

Army to Help Injured Soldiers Apply for Benefits

Posted on January 07, 2008
The Army is dispatching support specialists to counsel injured servicemen and ?women who are applying for benefits under the Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Although every injured servicemember who cannot perform the normal tasks of daily life for a period of at least 30 days is eligible for up to $100,000 dollars...

Israeli Heart Association Calls for AEDs in Public Places

Posted on January 03, 2008
The Israeli heart association encouraged the Ministerial Committee on Legislation to vote in favor of a law requiring the installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places. Cardiovascular disease kills more people in the Western World than any other cause, and cardiac arrest (heart attack) is its most common condition leading to death...

Ohio Law Limiting Damages for Pain & Suffering Upheld

Posted on January 02, 2008
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a law limiting non-economic damages in tort lawsuits, including pain, suffering, loss of consortium, etc. The 2004 law, known as Senate Bill 80, does not limit easily calculated damages, such as lost wages or medical costs, but it does limit the noneconomic portions of damages to $250,000 or three times the economic damages (up to $500,000), whichever is greater...

Tragedy in the Ring II?

Posted on December 28, 2007
After winning his December 25 WBO Intercontinental championship bout against Indonesian challenger Heri Amol, South Korean boxer Choi Yoi-Sam collapsed of traumatic brain injuries. He was rushed to Sonchunhyang University Hospital, where he was diagnosed as being in a coma...

Insurance Companies Forced to Prove Material Misrepresentations

Posted on December 27, 2007
It is a more routine practice from insurance companies than you'd think. You sign up for a policy, filling out the complicated forms to the best of your ability. The insurance company gives you a policy, takes your premium payments for months or years...

$6 million settlement in Big Dig tunnel collapse death

Posted on December 26, 2007
The epoxy supplier whose product was blamed for the fatal tunnel collapse in one of Boston's Big Dig tunnels on July 10, 2006, has agreed to a $6 million settlement. The company, Powers Fasteners, Inc, has said that it informed contractors that its epoxy was unsafe to use for ceiling panels and would pull away over time...

Rampant abuse of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes

Posted on December 21, 2007
In recent years, nursing homes have increasingly turned to antipsychotic drugs as a cost-effective solution to caring for more patients with less staff. As the nursing home industry has moved toward larger institutions with more residents, the managing companies have sought to streamline their operations by reducing the number of staff members...

Nursing Home Abuse Citations Up 22%

Posted on December 20, 2007
From 2000 to 2006, citations for nursing homes putting residents in "imminent jeopardy" rose by 22%. Imminent jeopardy means that patients were suffering from physical abuse, injurious falls, malnutrition, bedsores, left unmedicated, and other potentially fatal circumstances...

Colorado's New Election Machine Rules May Mean Return to Paper Ballots

Posted on December 19, 2007
On December 17, the Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman decided that the majority of voting machines used by the counties of Colorado were unreliable and not secure. What Coffman's office termed "decertification" of the voting machines may have a profound effect on election law nationwide...

Golf balls rain regret on house purchase

Posted on December 18, 2007
A family in Ventura County, California, is trying to get their purchase of a $2.1 million house rescinded because the house suffers a daily rain of potentially deadly golf balls. When the man mows his lawn, he dons a suit of improvised gear to protect himself against severe brain and spinal injury from falling golf balls...

Targeted Cancer Drugs Cause Heart Trouble

Posted on December 17, 2007
The promise of molecular-based targeted cancer drugs has always been that they would attack only the cancer and reduce possible side effects to small effects with a low probability. However, they are proving to come with just as many dangerous side effects as more traditional drug therapies...

Ohio: Dangerous Crossroads of US Trucking Industry

Posted on December 14, 2007
As a central crossroads in the United States, Ohio highways carry more freight per mile than any other state in the Union. North-South on I-71 or east-west on I-70, traffic travels from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from sea to shining sea goes through Ohio...

Jury gives woman $2.5 million for misdiagnosis, 9 years of HIV treatment

Posted on December 13, 2007
A Boston, MA jury awarded $2.5 million in damages to a woman who was told she had the HIV virus, then underwent treatment for almost nine years before learning she never contracted the virus. As a result of the potent cocktail of dangerous drugs she took to kill the virus she never had, the woman suffered numerous side effects, including depression, fatigue, loss of weight and appetite, and inflamed intestines, all of which no doubt confirmed the AIDS hypothesis in the minds of doctors and nurses...

New Study Confirms Avandia Danger

Posted on December 12, 2007
A recent study by the Canadian Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) has increased concerns about Avandia and drugs in its class that are used to treat type 2 diabetes. The study showed patients treated with glitazones had a 60 percent higher risk of heart failure requiring hospitalization compared to patients given another class of diabetes pill...

If no-one is at fault, who should pay for serious accidents?

Posted on December 11, 2007
The case of a Hartford, Connecticut man brings up an interesting ethical dilemma at the heart of defective product litigation. The man, a 51-year-old carpenter with 20 years of experience was injured in early 2003 in a nail gun accident. The man was working on the rafters of a church when a nail rebounded off a subsurface layer of metal...

Clinics Fighting Back when Their Physicians Get Sued

Posted on December 10, 2007
Following up on my entry on the strain in doctor-patient relations, it seems that medical institutions have decided to play hard-ball with their patients over medical malpractice suits. In one case in Wichita, a clinic has severed relationships with patients who file medical malpractice suits, even though there was no accusation of hospital malpractice...

Bargaining Advantages for Doctors in Med-Mal Settlements

Posted on December 07, 2007
Although lobbyists for the insurance companies and the AMA are winning the PR battle over the representation of medical malpractice litigation (as they are winning the battle over health care reform), the truth is that physicians and their insurers rarely are forced to settle outrageous medical malpractice claims for significant amounts of money...

Medmal Case Outcome Linked to Merit

Posted on December 06, 2007
Although critics of the tort system for settling medical malpractice claims have long charged that the legal system is nothing more than a lottery system that can hurt good doctors and reward crooked lawyers, the truth is that the tort system works surprisingly well...

Couple Would Give back $5.5 million to Have Old Life

Posted on December 05, 2007
A couple that was awarded $5.5 million in October following a crash with a tractor-trailer on Highway I-35 in central Texas said they would rather have their lives before the accident than the money. On June 16, 2006, the couple was driving in the right-hand lane of the highway when they witnessed traffic slowing ahead...

Ortho Evra Patch Coming Under Fire For Withholding Information

Posted on December 05, 2007
Johnson & Johnson company has allegedly misled doctors and regulators for years by altering and withholding medical information about the risks of its Ortho Evra birth control patch according to lawyers for women suing the company. Johnson & Johnson are facing lawsuits by almost 2,500 women who claim the patch releases high levels of estrogen that cause strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots in the legs and lungs...

First Lawsuit Filed in Nov 30 Chicago Train Accident

Posted on December 04, 2007
It is common to hear about truck accidents and auto accidents, but far less common are train accidents. However, when they occur, they can be serious. On November 30, just such an accident occurred on Chicago's South Side, causing 60 people on an Amtrak train to suffer injuries when it struck a Norfolk Southern freight train...

Imprint of License Plate, Logo Brings Semi-Truck Operator to Settle Lawsuit

Posted on December 03, 2007
Two men who were injured when their pickup was run off the road by an 18-wheeler, then insulted with a ticket that accused them of being at fault, received a $900,000 dollar settlement when the trucking company realized the men could prove they were not at fault...