It 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...
A 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,...
A 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...
This 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...
Every 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...
The 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...
Baxter 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,...
A 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...
"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...
On 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...