Archive for the ‘Serious Personal Injury’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Feds Release Final Truck Driver Hours of Service (HOS) Rule: 11 Hour Limit and More Changes

December 29th, 2011 by admin

Truck Drivers will have to obey new laws on how long they drive and how long they have to rest between trips, which means the roads will be safer for all of us.

After so much discussion and so much challenge by various factions of the trucking industry, the final version of the “HOS Rule” has been issued by the federal government.  The official announcement came on December 22, 2011, by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. You can read the full text of the new HOS Rule online at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration (FMCSA) site where it is available as a .pdf download.

What does the new Final HOS Rule Do? Here are some highlights:

  1. The Final Rule has kept the 11-hour per day driving limit that truck drivers now have to follow (which means that those fighting to cut that number back to 10 or lower lost here).
  2. Who’s working?  “On duty time” under the New Rule means any time spent in the truck itself except for the sleeper. It does not include up to 2 hours in the passenger seat right before or right after an 8 hour break in the sleeper when the truck is on the road.  It does not include time resting in a parked truck.   Truckers are on duty while they are waiting to load or unload unless their employer has officially released them from being on the job for the load/unload.
  3. Truck drivers moving big rig semi tractor trailer commercial trucks on American roads are not going to have the same work week:  the new rule takes away 12 hours from the total that a truck driver can be on the road in one week’s time.  That’s a day and a half — a big difference to the trucker and the trucking industry.  Total hours a truck driver can work in one week is now 70 hours, down from 82.
  4. Restarts can be used once every 7 days; under the New Rule, the truck driver gets 2 or more nights of rest between 1 and 5 o’clock in the morning, both changes to the old  restart rule.
  5. Under the New Rule, commercial truck drivers have to stop and take a break of 30 minutes or more after driving for 8 hours on the road.  If the trucker thinks they need that 30 minute break before hitting that 8-hour mark, then they are free to take a break within that 8 hour block as well.

Official Announcement from the Department of Transportation:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road. The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.

“Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This final rule will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely.”

As part of the HOS rulemaking process, FMCSA held six public listening sessions across the country and encouraged safety advocates, drivers, truck company owners, law enforcement and the public to share their input on HOS requirements. The listening sessions were live webcast on the FMCSA Web site, allowing a broad cross-section of individuals to participate in the development of this safety-critical rule.

“This final rule is the culmination of the most extensive and transparent public outreach effort in our agency’s history,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “With robust input from all areas of the trucking community, coupled with the latest scientific research, we carefully crafted a rule acknowledging that when truckers are rested, alert and focused on safety, it makes our roadways safer.”

FMCSA’s new HOS final rule reduces by 12 hours the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS final rule limits a driver’s work week to 70 hours.

In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute break whenever they need rest during the eight-hour window.

The final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit. FMCSA will continue to conduct data analysis and research to further examine any risks associated with the 11 hours of driving time.

The rule requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period.

Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by 3 or more hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.

Commercial truck drivers and companies must comply with the HOS final rule by July 1, 2013. The rule is being sent to the Federal Register today and is currently available on FMCSA’s Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOSFinalRule.


Posted in Job Site Injury, Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related | No Comments »

Indiana State Fair Tragedy Labelled Biggest Story of 2011: Where You Get Injured Makes a Difference in Damages Award You May Receive

December 27th, 2011 by admin

In one of the many end of the year recaps that are being circulated this week, the Indianapolis Star has published its article “the Top 10 Local Stories of 2011,” and topping their list is the tragic crash of the stage rigging at this year’s Indiana State Fair.  (For details, check out our earlier post here or watch this video where Kenneth J. Allen discusses the State Fair tragedy’s consequences.)

One Lesson From the Indiana State Fair Tragedy: Justice May Depend Upon Where the Accident Happened

As Kenneth J. Allen discusses in the above video, the fact that this tragedy took place where it did made a difference for those seeking personal injury damages under the law.  An injury that occurred on a government-related site got different treatment under the law than if would have if the exact same incident had happened at a privately owned location.  The Indiana State Fair took place on state owned fairgrounds.

Under Indiana law, this meant that a cap applied to the damages claim: a cap of $5 million.  If the accident had not been on publicly owned land, then the cap would not be an issue.

Attorney General Announces Settlement in December 2011 – $5 Million is Paid Out

On December 19, 2011, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller officially announced that settlements had been reached with 64 of the 65 claimants in the Indiana State Fair tragedy and that his office expected checks to begin being sent out to these victims by the end of the month. 

Meanwhile, Kenneth J. Allen is working for justice here, going into federal court to ask that this $5 million cap be nixed for the Indiana State Fair victims.  In December 2011, the federal judge okayed Allen’s plan to have federal review of the situation. More on that fight in the months to come.

The Indiana Attorney General seems to have ended 2011 with checks being sent and an idea that this is a done deal.  From the AG’s news release:

“Deciding on compensation for the victims of the State Fair tragedy is one of the most difficult duties the Indiana Attorney General’s Office has ever undertaken. From the start we knew that no matter how we divided the $5 million available, it could never replace the seven lives lost nor erase the pain of the injured and grieving. We did all that was possible to treat victims equitably and to assist them with their medical and financial needs within the amount the law allows,” Zoeller said.

Defending the state’s Tort Claim Fund, which is made up of tax dollars, from claims and potential lawsuits is one of the duties of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. After the deadly stage rigging collapse August 13 at the Indiana State Fair, Zoeller announced that he would make available the $5 million in tort claim funds the State has, without regard to liability.

Working with nationally-known expert Kenneth Feinberg who administered victim compensation programs after 9/11 and the BP Gulf oil spill, Zoeller’s office designed a victim-centered program where victims could submit tort claims to the state and receive settlement payments on an expedited basis, even if they did not hire an attorney.

A total of 114 individual claimants – including the representatives of the seven deceased – filed a total 101 claims and utilized a customized State Fair claim form the Attorney General’s Office developed. The State also retained a claims management firm, JWF Specialty Company, to receive and review the claims and follow up with claimants to obtain additional medical documentation.

Under the compensation protocol Feinberg helped design, the estates of the seven deceased victims were guaranteed settlements of at least $300,000 each. Another 58 claimants who were most seriously injured and met at least one other protocol criteria were offered payments equal to approximately 65 percent of their medical and hospital bills submitted to date. Since that amount will exhaust the rest of the $5 million the State has available, claimants with non-physical injuries did not receive settlement offers under the protocol.

To be offered settlements, claimants or their attorneys were required to submit documentation of hospital expenses; the form asked that documentation be attached. Offers could not be extended to any claim that lacked medical documentation or where the requested information was not provided. JWF Specialty Company was available to answer questions from claimants and their attorneys throughout the process.

On December 6 the State sent offer notices to 65 eligible claimants or their representatives requesting a prompt reply. Although claimants had the legal right to decline the offers, all but one accepted, including the estates of all seven deceased victims. The remaining $1,691 that one claimant’s attorney declined was redistributed among the other 64 claimants and their offers were recalculated. By accepting offers, claimants sign settlement documents releasing the State of Indiana from future liability. That does not prevent claimants from pursuing separate legal actions against other private entities over the stage rigging collapse.

After offers were extended, three claimants identified conflicting medical billing data that had been previously submitted to claims manager JWF Specialty Company during the claim-filing period. The disputed claims were carefully reviewed, and the State and JWF agreed to resolve the disputes in favor of the claimants, meaning their offers were revised upward by a combined total of $33,027.31. Since by law the State’s cap per incident is a total $5 million and cannot exceed that, JWF Specialty Company graciously agreed to pick up the difference and pay the increased offers to the three claimants out of its own funds.

“JWF Specialty provided invaluable service to the State under extraordinarily difficult circumstances under an accelerated claims-review period. We appreciate their good corporate citizenship in resolving disputes in favor of the claimants in keeping with a victim-centered approach, and we thank them for their expertise on an extremely complicated claims-management process. There was nearly 100 percent participation from those claimants who were offered settlements, an indication we believe of how carefully the protocol was developed,” Zoeller said.

During the process of calculating settlement offers, the Attorney General’s Office participated in mediation with a group of approximately 30 attorneys and law firms representing many claimants and reached tentative accord on the protocol. Settlement offers are with the consent of the Governor’s Office.

“Members of the legal profession who met repeatedly with the State to reach consensus on a compensation program for their clients should be commended for helping bring this process to an expedited conclusion. And I’m enormously grateful to Kenneth Feinberg who donated his services at no charge to the State of Indiana or taxpayers. His wisdom from developing past victim compensation programs after other tragedies was indispensible to my office in helping us navigate through difficult questions. The work of the Attorney General’s Office does not end here and we will continue to diligently represent the State in legal matters involving the State Fair tragedy,” Zoeller said.

Now that the final list of accepted offers has been calculated, the State Auditor’s Office will begin the process of issuing payments by check or electronic funds transfer. The first group of checks is scheduled to be mailed Wednesday and the process should be complete by the end of the year. JWF Specialty Company will follow up with any claimants from whom any additional paperwork is needed.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Work Related, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Neti Pots Are Dangerous Products Warns Louisiana Health Dept: People Are Dying From Sinus Remedy, Another Example of Hidden Dangers on U.S. Store Product Shelves

December 22nd, 2011 by admin

Family and friends can swear by them; trusted companies make them; they’re sold on television these days and they are prominently displayed near the over-the-counter cold products in your local grocery or superstore.  Neti Pots. They look so cute and innocent, too, don’t they?

Except Neti Pots are killing people. Another product being sold in American marketplace that is so dangerous that lives are being lost.

This week, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals issued a public warning regarding the use of neti pots to clear out sinus congestion after the state agency confirmed two deaths after using a neti pot.  From the Lousiana release:

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is warning residents about the dangers of the improper use of neti pots. The warning follows the state’s second death this year caused by Naegleria fowleri, the so-called brain-eating ameba. A 51-year-old DeSoto Parish woman died recently after using tap water in a neti pot to irrigate her sinuses and becoming infected with the deadly ameba. In June, a 20-year-old St. Bernard Parish man died under the same circumstances. Naegleria fowleri infects people by entering the body through the nose. A neti pot is commonly used to irrigate sinuses, and looks like a genie’s lamp.

“If you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a neti pot, use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution,” said Louisiana State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raoult Ratard.  “Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose.”  It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

Naegleria fowleri infection typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater lakes and rivers. In very rare instances, Naegleria fowleri infections may also occur when contaminated water from other sources (such as inadequately chlorinated swimming pool water or heated tap water less than 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit) enters the nose when people submerge their heads or when people irrigate their sinuses with devices such as a neti pot. You cannot be infected with Naegleria fowleri by drinking water.

Naegleria fowleri causes the disease primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissue. In its early stages, symptoms of PAM may be similar to symptoms of bacterial meningitis.

Initial symptoms of PAM start one to seven days after infection. The initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.

Naegleria fowleri infections are very rare. In the 10 years from 2001 to 2010, 32 infections were reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 30 people were infected by contaminated recreational water and two people were infected by water from a geothermal drinking water supply.

Neti Pots Kill People By Allowing Brain-Eating Bacteria to Access Your Brain Through Your Sinus Cavity

You use a neti pot by filling it with water and then flushing that water through your nose and sinus cavity.  It’s been used by people all over the world for years.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s safe for you to use.  If someone uses a neti pot without taking proper precautions, they can flush dangerous germs and bacteria — brain-eating amoeba — into their bodies which can kill them.

In Louisiana, two people have died from using tap water in a Neti Pot.  The tap water may have looked clean enough, and sure they could have swallowed it safely, but flushing it into their nasal cavity was a different story.  No stomach acids there to kill things off.  Nope.

In the sinus cavity, there is an ability for chemicals to quickly access the brain.  (That’s why those drug users like to snort things.)  When the tap water with its bacteria was sniffed into the sinus, it carried the evildoing bacteria with it.

Evildoing bacteria like Naegleria fowleri, which is the bacteria that killed both the Louisiana Neti Pot victims.  It literally eats brain tissue.  It’s difficult to treat once there’s an infection, and people almost always die from it.  Horrible to think about, isn’t it?

Posted in Defective Products, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Other Jurisdictions, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Prescription Drug Deaths Are Epidemic in This Country: Pain Medications Alone Are Killing 40 People Every Day

December 20th, 2011 by admin

Prescription drugs are killing people in the United States.  Lots of people.  So many people, in fact, that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report last month (November 2011) that is downright terrifying.

Among people 35 to 54 years old, unintentional poisoning caused more deaths than motor vehicle crashes.

These are not street drugs sold illegally.  They’re not drugs like cocaine or crack, sold with no safety checks or ingredients listing and bought for the purpose of getting high.  No.  These drugs that are killing so many Americans in this country that the  situation has been declared an epidemic by the federal government are those that have been prescribed by doctors to patients to help them with ailments and injuries.  Ones that you have to go to the drug store to get.  Ones that may be in your medicine cabinet in your home right now.

In its report, the CDC provides details of its research, confirming:

1.  the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has more than tripled in the past decade;

2.  more than 40 people die every day from overdoses involving narcotic pain relievers like hydrocodone (Vicodin), methadone, oxycodone (OxyContin), and oxymorphone (Opana);

3.  Overdoses involving prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels;

4.  Prescription drug overdoses now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined; and

5.  In 2010, 1 in every 20 people in the United States age 12 and older (12.000,000 people) reported using prescription painkillers nonmedically.

So, what is causing this Prescription Drug Epidemic of Death?

According to the CDC (and from its blog post by guest blogger Christopher M. Jones, PharmD, MPH, LCDR, U.S. Public Health Service), the amount of prescription drugs sold in the United States over the past ten years has skyrocketed.  Not by just 100% or 200% — but by 300%.

Imagine the profits to the drug companies.

Doctors are using these prescription painkillers more and more to help patients who are suffering from pain.  That is how these drugs are getting out there — from doctors’ signatures on prescription pads, which are filled at pharmacies around the country.

As coverage grows about this terrifying truth in our America today, it’s important to remember that solid fact.  These are PRESCRIBED medications that are killing people, not home-cooked, back-alley street drugs made with ingredients scarfed up at the lcoal grocery store.

Posted in Defective Products, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

New NHTSA Study Shows Increase in Deaths Caused by Big Rig, Semi, Tractor-Trailer Truck Crashes on Our Highways

December 15th, 2011 by admin

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has just released its latest study, 2010 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview.

You can read the NHTSA report online for free here.

It’s got some important news – something we all need to know – because according to the NHTSA, it’s getting more dangerous to be driving on the American roadways alongside large commercial trucks (i.e., big rigs, semis, tractor trailer trucks, etc.)  For our part of the country, with the tremendous amount of commercial trade rolling along our interstates and state highways, this is especially concerning.

According to the new NHTSA study, last year there was a 8.7% increase in the number of deaths caused by highway accidents involving large trucks.

NHTSA Is Not Focusing On This Increasing Danger

In releasing these results as part of its report,  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood chose to focus upon an overall decline in highway deaths across the country, to the lowest levels since 1949.   Which is, of course, important and encouraging.

“While we have more work to do to continue to protect American motorists, these numbers show we’re making historic progress when it comes to improving safety on our nation’s roadways,” said Secretary LaHood. “Thanks to the tireless work of our safety agencies and partner organizations over the past few decades, to save lives and reduce injuries, we’re saving lives, reducing injuries, and building the foundation for what we hope will be even greater success in the future.”

However, what is also true is that the new report reveals that fatalities rose among pedestrians, motorcycle riders, and large truck occupants. As shown in the report’s chart below,  there’s been an increase in deaths for truck drivers as well as occupants of the other vehicles involved in these serious trucking industry crashes.

As Hours of Service challenges progress in Washington, news like this is extremely important for us all to know and recognize:  big rig, semi truck accidents are all too often deadly.

Posted in Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation | No Comments »

NTSB Seeks National Ban on Drivers Using Any Electronic Devices While Driving on US Roadways

December 13th, 2011 by admin

One, single traffic accident – if it’s bad enough – can change how things work in this country, surprising though that might be in today’s complicated world.

Today’s example: a bad, bad traffic pile-up down in Missouri last year, where a teenager who was busy texting on his cell phone while driving along a Missouri interstate highway in his pick-up truck ended up crashing into the rear-end of a tractor trailer semi truck. That would have been bad enough, the teenage driver was killed in this crash, but that’s not the end of this story.

It’s now known as the Gray Summit, Missouri crash, where the 19-year-old pickup truck driver had sent 11 texts in 11 minutes right before he drove right into the back of a semi truck, including one text that was sent “right before impact.”

After the pickup rear-ended the big rig, seems that a chain reaction happened and there was a big pile up that included two school buses crashing one after another into the wreck. Tragically, a local high school band was taking a field trip by bus to the Six Flags St. Louis amusement park.

Two people died that day (one of the kids on the bus along with the kid who was texting) and 38 others were seriously injured. It was a horrific accident, and it got the attention of the powers that be at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Today, pointing directly to that one, single crash, the NTSB has issued a federal goverment recommendation of a national BAN on drivers using any kind of “personal electronic devices” whatsover while they are driving a vehicle on American roads. Of course, the NTSB can only recommend this to the states – however, states are listening.

The Governors Highway Safety Association is keeping track of the state laws that are being passed against distracted driving: no handheld cellphones, no texting, etc.

To see what the current laws are for Indiana, Illinois, or our surrounding states, go here.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Bus Crashes, Illinois Wrongful Death, Indiana Wrongful Death, Other Jurisdictions, School & Playground Injuries, Semi-Truck Crashes, Serious Personal Injury, Transportation, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Illinois December 2011 Preparedness Campaign – Is Your Home Safe? Are You Ready in Case of Emergency?

December 8th, 2011 by admin

This month out of Springfield there’s something akin to holiday cheer being distributed out of the offices of IEMA (Illinois Emergency Management Agency) as its December 2011 Preparedness Campaign kicks off, trying to increase citizen awareness of home dangers like fire and radon as well as being ready in case of a home emergency.

Major, life-altering disasters can hit families within their home, along their street, or in their neighborhood, it’s not just the big winter storms or flooding disasters that can strike and alter lives forever.   It’s because of these kinds of possibilities that a new website has been created (www.Ready.Illinois.gov) and IEMA has started its new campaign.

All through December 2011, IEMA will be publishing all sorts of home safety tips at the Ready.Illinois website.  Things like decorating for the holidays will be covered.  Candles can start fires, for example.  So can faulty strings of outdoor lights.

Injuries and Deaths at Home From Fire and Toxic Fumes

Even more importantly from a personal injury point of view are things that cause serious injury and death in our part of the country each year.  Old furnaces collect dust and get old and rusty, and can cause fires as well as release toxic carbon monoxide fumes.  It’s very important to have furnaces professionally checked every year.

The IMEA also reminds us all that it is mandated by Illinois law that homes must have both smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors within 15 feet of each and every bedroom.  Landlords must abide by this; is yours? Homeowners have to abide by this, too.  Are your batteries still working in your smoke alarms and CO detectors?

Radon Gas Is Top Cause of Lung Cancer Among Non-Smokers in the U.S.

The agency also has a very wise warning for all of us:  radon is an undetectable gas that causes cancer – in fact, it’s second only to smoking tobacco in causing lung cancer among smokers and the top cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.  Radon comes out of the soil as uranium decays.  It’s important to have your home (as well as other buildings, schools, hospitals, etc. ) tested for radon.   You can do the test yourself (see www.radon.illinois.gov).

From the EPA’s Citizen’s Guide to Radon:

Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Any home may have a radon problem. This means new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements.

Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems. Sometimes radon enters the home through well water (see “Radon in Water“). In a small number of homes, the building materials can give off radon, too. However, building materials rarely cause radon problems by themselves.

RADON GETS IN THROUGH:

  1. Cracks in solid floors
  2. Construction joints
  3. Cracks in walls
  4. Gaps in suspended floors
  5. Gaps around service pipes
  6. Cavities inside walls
  7. The water supply

Winter Storm Emergencies

Finally, those big storms do hit and we’re going into a long winter now.  IEMA has a great checklist for a home emergency kit, now is the time to make sure you’ve got everything you need.  Among them:

  • A battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio and a battery-powered commercial radio
  • Extra batteries.
  • Foods that do not require cooking or refrigeration.
  • High energy foods such as dried fruit and granola bars.
  • Extra medications and special items for babies, the disabled or elderly.
  • Extra water in clean containers.
  • Flashlights.  Do not use candles.
  • First-aid kit, non-prescription drugs and personal sanitary items.

Your Duty to Keep Safe

Of course, there is much discussion here on the legal duties of product manufacturers, sellers, and distributors, as well as trucking companies, car dealers, road crews, and employers along with all other sorts of individuals or entities to keep us from harm in their ordinary course of business.

However, we each have a duty, too.  All of us have a duty to ourselves and our loved ones to avoid danger and maintain our homes, our cars, etc. as well as to do what reasonable people do to protect themselves and their families from harm.

For example, if you race over 100 mph and crash your car, then you’ve assumed some of the legal risk of that wreck.  Similarly, if you hang a sweater over a space heater and it catches fire, you’ve got some legal responsibility for that home disaster.

Be careful out there.   Participate in this preparedness campaign – it’s a good thing.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, School & Playground Injuries, Serious Personal Injury, Slip & Falls, Spinal Injuries, Sports & Boating Accidents, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Electronic Cigarettes Banned by City of Boston, Where’s the FDA? How Safe (or Dangerous) Are Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigs)?

December 6th, 2011 by admin

This week,  the City of Boston didn’t wait for the federal government or the State of Massachusetts to do something about trendy electronic cigarettes, and on December 1, 2011, Boston issued a BAN on the use of e-cigs on the job (in workplaces) as well as LIMITING SALES to adults-only.

The Boston Public Health Commission may be light years ahead of the rest of the country in dealing with this popular and largely unregulated device.  That’s right: there’s not much law out there to protect your loved ones – including your teenagers – from trying out these products.

What are electronic cigarettes?

These are devices that are being advertised as a safe substitute for tobacco products – like cigarettes or cigars.  They’re also known as vaporizing devices, and so far, no one is calling them a drug or a drug-related product.

Developed in China, these e-cigarettes are either plastic or metal cylinders that are charged with an lithium ion battery and they look like cigarettes or cigars, usually.  Sometimes they come with a USB port.  Some are throw-away, some are reusable.

Here’s how they work.  The user sucks on the “e-cig” like they would otherwise smoke a cigarette, to get a vaporized mist that has a tobacco flavor.  (Some e-cigs offer other flavor options).    

Thing is — there’s nicotine in that vaporized mist.  That’s right: nicotine. Nicotine, by the way, is the chemical contained in tobacco that is addictive.

Which is why there are a lot of people that think someone needs to look into these e-cigarettes that are becoming so very popular.  People like those concerned about public health in the City of Boston as well as:

1.  AAPHP

the American Association of Public Health Physicians who in April 2010 announced that they believe that e-cigarettes may help smokers kick the smoking habit but that these devices should never be used by kids.  This doctor group wants the FDA to get involved and re-classify the electronic cigarette.

2.  World Health Organization

Three years ago, the World Health Organization warned that electronic cigarettes were being marketed all over the world even though there wasn’t any real testing done to make sure this was a safe product.  No one appeared to pay much attention to the WHO.

What Does This Mean to You?

Smoking is bad, and kicking the smoking habit is important.  However, using a product without sufficient testing is dangerous, too.  Particularly if you are a teenager or young adult who thinks the e-cigarette is just plain fun to use.

From a products liability law perspective, it’s things like this — introducing a product into the marketplace without bothering to make sure it’s safe —  that can result in nightmare situations and real life tragedies.

Be careful out there.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Biggest Drug Company Settlement in US History Made by GlaxoSmithKline for Diabetes-Drug Avandia and Other Claims

December 1st, 2011 by admin

It’s not a done deal yet, but that may just be paperwork at this point because everyone seems to acknowledge that GlaxoSmithKline has settled its claims with the federal government to the tune of $3 billion, which beats the old record of $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer back in 2009 in settlement with the feds for violating the law in marketing some of its drugs for uses other than what was instructed on their labels.

GlaxoSmithKline will be paying $3,000,000,000 to the government to settle a bunch of claims of illegal activity: Medicaid reimbursement hijinks; promoting its drugs for off-label uses; and some strange things in particular about its cash cow drug, Avandia, which was said to help people suffering with diabetes but was revealed by medical researchers to be connected to an almost 50% increase in the chance of a heart attack and an even higher risk of dying from heart problems.

Key: Mayo Clinic investigations revealed that almost every single scientist (90%) who published papers that supported the use of Avandia in humans had financial connections with GlaxoSmithKline. (For more details on Avandia issues, please refer to our earlier post).

The Biggest Drug Company Settlement In History Isn’t High Enough

Billions of dollars in settlement sounds like a serious deal, a financial hit that should make the drug company think twice about doing things like this in the future. GlaxoSmithKline has this cash on hand, and has already informed its shareholders that the settlement will be paid by cash in the bank.

That’s right: GSK has $3 billion setting around to pay the U.S. Department of Justice when the paperwork is signed, no surprise when GlaxoSmithKline is reported to have a market value in excess of $110,000,000,000.00.

So who really won here?

Many will argue the drug company did.   The lesson learned: drugs are products manufactured and marketed for profit in this country just like cars and boats and smartphones and coffeemakers.  Americans cannot blindly trust that the products that they bring into their homes are safe to use or consume.

If you or a loved one has reason to think that you may have been harmed by a drug or drug-related product, then it is important to get medical help first and legal help as well. That’s what products liability law does – and maybe, in the future, an American jury will explain to big drug companies that putting profits over people is just plain wrong.

Posted in Defective Products, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Chevy Volt: How Dangerous Are They? What About the Safety of Other Electric Cars?

November 29th, 2011 by admin

Earlier this month, we began monitoring the story about the Chevy Volt and its lithium-ion battery bursting into flames three weeks after the car was in a crash. At that point, many thought the incident was a fluke: after all, the Volt involved was part of a national safety test and the battery had been crashed as part of an intentional accident.  Its own version of a crash test dummy, right?

Well, not so fast.  News reports are coming to light now that the electric car offered by Chevrolet, the Chevy Volt, may be more dangerous than previously thought.  The fire erupting from the crash test battery might not be such a fluke; instead, it may be a big early warning to Volt drivers everywhere (and maybe to others who have cars with electric power via lithium ion batteries).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Friday that it was instituting an investigation into how dangerous electric cars may be after all, now that several more tests have caused concern in lithium ion battery operated Chevy Volts.  From NTHSA:

However, the agency is concerned that damage to the Volt’s batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire. NHTSA is therefore opening a safety defect investigation of Chevy Volts, which could experience a battery-related fire following a crash. Chevy Volt owners whose vehicles have not been in a serious crash do not have reason for concern.

While it is too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts, if NHTSA identifies an unreasonable risk to safety, the agency will take immediate action to notify consumers and ensure that GM communicates with current vehicle owners.

What About Other Electric Cars? Is This Problem Bigger Than Chevy Volts?

Right now, the focus of the federal investigation has been solely Chevy’s product.  This is expanding to include other electric cars on the market.

As most experienced products liability attorneys are aware, if there is a design problem in one company’s product, there may well be a similar issue in their competitor’s product.

Which means that lithium ion battery operated vehicles may all be more dangerous than we knew – it may be that this is a much bigger safety issue than just the Chevy Volts that are out on the roads today.

Be careful out there – and if you have had an issue with your electric car, contact the dealer and if you think you may have a claim, contact an experienced products liability attorney.

Posted in Defective Products, Product Liability, Serious Personal Injury | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »