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Police Use Taser on Elderly Man in Wheelchair

Every day I read a new Taser story. Each day the story seems to get more outrageous. Today, the story’s about a Harris County (TX) sheriff’s deputy using a taser on an elderly man in a wheelchair! The deputy has been placed on administrative leave for improper use of the stun gun weapon. The 73 year

By The Legal Examiner

/ 8 Mar 2006

Truth, Not Marketing, Goal of Scientific Research

According to Harold C. Sox, MD, scientific research should be directed at truth and objectivity rather than promoting the marketing initiatives of pharmaceutical companies. In an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the doctor decries the use of fake scientific data to bolster sales

By The Legal Examiner

/ 7 Mar 2006

Tasered Inmate Remains in Coma

A Tennessee man remains in a coma after being tasered while in custody for public intoxication. The FBI has begun an investigation into why the man lapsed into a coma after being tasered by a jail deputy. According to police, an M26 Taser was fired at the man after he became combative.

By The Legal Examiner

/ 7 Mar 2006

Taser and Military Don't Mix

Randall Udelman, fellow Injury Board blogger in Phoenix, has a nice post on the military’s stance on tasers. The military recognizes the stun gun weapon is just too dangerous for any training exercise.

By The Legal Examiner

/ 6 Mar 2006

Drug Trials Promised but Unseen by FDA

The FDA has reported that 2/3 of the drugs approved by the agency remain untested and unproven. When new drugs are approved for public use, they are supposed to report the results of clinical trials to the FDA. One drug approved in 1955 has still not complied with these tests. These studies are impo

By The Legal Examiner

/ 6 Mar 2006

Taser 12 Gauge

Outrageous but true: in the midst of mounting public concern over its dangerous stun gun, Taser International has developed and plans to market a 12 gauge shotgun so that its users can fire from a greater distance! That’s just brilliant! In the face of a public outcry over safety concerns and more t

By The Legal Examiner

/ 6 Mar 2006

EPA Requests Reduced Use of Teflon Chemical

The chemical manufacturers use to make Teflon, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, have been asked by the EPA to reduce and eventually eliminate its use due to its carcinogenic properties. Teflon is used in a wide range of consumer goods, including nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and food packa

By The Legal Examiner

/ 5 Mar 2006

Obesity Raises Car Crash Death Risk

If there weren’t enough health risks associated with being overweight, along comes another one-maybe one you wouldn’t have thought about. If you’re male and obese, you’re at a significantly greater risk to die as a result of a car crash according to a Milwaukee based investigation. The study cites v

By The Legal Examiner

/ 5 Mar 2006

Drug Patch Latest to be Targeted by FDA Probe

In July 2005 it was the fentanyl patch used for chronic pain. The following November it was the Ortho Evra birth control patch after studies had shown women using the patch were exposed to 60% more estrogen than non-users. Now, the FDA is going to probe the entire drug patch industry for safety conc

By The Legal Examiner

/ 5 Mar 2006

Pharmacy Mistakes More Than a Bitter Pill to Swallow

Check out fellow Injury Board blogger Kerry Jardine’s post on pharmacy mistakes.When you get a prescription filled at your drug store, make sure the pharmacist has filled it correctly. The consequences of taking the wrong prescription can be dire or fatal depending upon the severity of the mistake.

By The Legal Examiner

/ 4 Mar 2006

Orlando Jury Rules Against Cop in Taser Case

In what is thought to be the first Taser lawsuit against a cop, a fedral civil jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $100,000 in punitive damages. The case stemmed from a June 2003 traffic incident during which Dontray Chaney was pulled out of his car and forcibly thrown to the ground

By The Legal Examiner

/ 4 Mar 2006

Lead Poisoning Treatment Linked to Deaths in Children

The CDC has linked a drug used to treat lead poisoning with cardiac arrest in children. Hospira, Inc, the maker of the drug Endrate, had no comment after the CDC released its results. Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, said hospital pharmacies should consider wheth

By The Legal Examiner

/ 3 Mar 2006