- Bruce Gibson | January 31, 2008 6:40 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsIt would seem that we all agree that driving a vehicle and talking on a cell phone is a distraction that endangers the driver/user of the cell phone, as well as everyone else on the road. Last year, a Florida jury found that a distracted driver had caused the crash which resulted in the death of another motorist. The lawyers for the cell phone user admitted to the jury that their client was at...
- Diego Madrigal | January 27, 2008 10:58 AM |
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MiscellaneousA Chicago lawyer has taken out a $10,000 bounty on an anonymous blogger. Not to worry, however, the attorney is only seeking the blogger's identity. The Illinois attorney is upset because he was criticized by a blogger named "Troll Tracker." "I want to find out who this person is," says Niro, who initially offered a $5,000 reward in last month's issue of the IP Law & Business trade magazine,...
- Diego Madrigal | January 26, 2008 7:59 AM |
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MiscellaneousA new study appearing in the Health Affairs Journal says that Emergency department (ED) wait times have increased from 1997-2004. The increase is even greater for those suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI, commonly known as a heart attack) and is especially pronounced amongst minorities, women, and urban residents. The results showed: Between 1997 and 2004, the wait to see an ED...
- Sandy Grinnell | January 25, 2008 4:29 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeThis week the FDA issued a Public Health Notification to the healthcare community which to a lay person would seem to be pretty obvious. The Notice begins: Dear Healthcare Practitioner:This is to advise you of serious adverse events associated with unretrieved device fragments (UDFs) and provide recommendations to mitigate these events. A UDF is a fragment of a medical device that has separated...
- Diego Madrigal | January 25, 2008 3:14 AM |
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MiscellaneousEvery driver has complained about speed limits at one time or another. But who determines those speed limits and how? Speed limits are determined by using the "85 percentile" method. In this method, traffic engineers set the speed limit based on the speed that 85% of drivers would travel at when there is no speed limit. For example, if 85% of vehicles on a residential road with no current...
- Sandy Grinnell | January 24, 2008 5:47 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe FDA has approved changes to the warning labels on the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch. The label will now include a warning that users of the birth control patch were at higher risk of developing serious blood clots, also known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), than women using birth control pills. VTE can lead to pulmonary embolism.The warning comes from a study completed...
- Sandy Grinnell | January 23, 2008 10:35 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsBaxter Healthcare is voluntarily recalling nine lots of Heparin because of the reports of serious adverse reactions to the injections. Reported adverse events include abdominal pain, decreased blood pressure, burning sensation, chest pain, diarrhea, dizziness, drug ineffectiveness, dyspepsia, dyspnea, erythema, flushing, headache, hyperhidrosis, hypoesthesia, hypotension, increased lacrimation,...
- Diego Madrigal | January 23, 2008 6:19 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseA nursing home patient who was brought to the hospital with maggots in his eyes and an infected breathing tube died. The Attorney General's office is investigating possible neglect or abuse directed at the man. The man was a resident at University Center West in Deland when he was taken to the hospital with these horrible conditions. He was later moved to a hospital in Jacksonville where he...
- Mike Damaso | January 20, 2008 9:49 AM |
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Miscellaneous"1-800-Ask-Gary." "Ask-Dave." "Ask-Kobe." It seems that more and more TV commercials for these lawyer referral services are becoming commonplace. But, who is behind these services? Dave, Gary, and Kobe do not appear in their own commercials. Usually, the commercials are composed of testimonials given by people who claim to have been injured, and then called these numbers, and everything was...
- Diego Madrigal | January 19, 2008 10:34 AM |
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MiscellaneousOn the heels of suspending AllState from writing new automobile policies, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy has expanded the order and suspended AllState from writing new policies in all its lines of business. That means there will be no new life, homeowners, auto, renters, etc. insurance. This will remain in effect until AllState complies with subpoenas served on October 16, 2007. Those...
- Diego Madrigal | January 18, 2008 9:42 AM |
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MiscellaneousThere were four serious tourist injuries in the last 3 months of 2007 according to state regulators. In addition to a widely reported death which occurred on Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest ride, the Orlando Sentinel reports the other incidents were: a 34-year-old woman broke a vertebra in her lower back on Universal Studios' Revenge of the Mummy ride on Nov. 18; an 81-year-old woman...
- Diego Madrigal | January 17, 2008 6:18 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe results of a 2 year clinical study revealed that the popular Cholesterol drug Zetia and the Zetia-containing pill Vytorin may be ineffective. Another interesting aspect of the study was that the pharmaceutical companies that produce the drugs kept missing deadlines to release the findings. The company originally blamed the complex data for the delay, but after news articles and Congress...
- Diego Madrigal | January 14, 2008 2:21 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsA new proposal could result in bikers losing their motorcycles. A bill sponsored by Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera of Miami calls for motorcyclists to be arrested and have their bikes confiscated if they are charged with reckless driving or exceeding the speed limit by 50 miles per hour. That is only for motorcyclists CHARGED with those crimes- if later convicted, bikers stand to lose...
- Diego Madrigal | January 11, 2008 6:29 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsWarning signs existed for 20 hours prior to Wednesday morning's I-4 pile up. The National Weather Service had given Northern Polk County (where the pileup occurred) a 10 out of 10 severe fog warning. The Department of Forestry then told the Florida Highway Patrol to expect dangerous conditions in that area, where a controlled burn was ongoing. This warning from the Department of Forestry is...
- Mike Damaso | January 09, 2008 11:20 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 70 car pile up that closed Interstate 4 for more than 12 hours yesterday, injured 37 and killed 4. The wreckage of semis, car, SUVs, and trucks stretched over two miles. The pile was made up of several collisions involving multiple vehicles. The first crash was reported around 4:30 a.m. according to the Orlando Sentinel. Less than 24 hours prior, a controlled forest burn was being...
- Courtney Mills | January 09, 2008 11:15 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe consistent problems that Tampa faces with I-4 traffic were brought into bold bas-relief during rush hour this morning when a fifty car pile-up killed three drivers and injured many more. Police struggled to reroute traffic on I-4 that was at a near standstill from the accident near Lakeland.Traffic on the only major artery into Tampa from Lakeland and Orlando faced almost zero visibility...
- Diego Madrigal | January 09, 2008 10:44 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe Florida No Fault Law is set to return on January 1st, 2008. The law requires drivers to carry mandatory $10,000 PIP coverage. The $10,000 is used to cover 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages up till that amount. Drivers should make sure they speak with their insurance agent to make sure they have PIP coverage. Although many insurance companies are automatically adding it back,...
- Diego Madrigal | January 08, 2008 9:57 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsTwo women were taken to the hospital this morning after apparently not following traffic laws and colliding with a Polk County Sheriff's deputy. According to reports, the deputy was traveling southbound on US 17 responding to an emergency when the women's Pontiac Grand Prix pulled into the intersection resulting in the car crash. The impact of the auto accident pushed the Grand Prix 120 feet. ...