- Staff Writer | October 31, 2006 8:58 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsYet another fatal auto accident was reported today in The Andalusua Star-News. The tragic story describes the deaths of two men, who were not wearing seat belts, thrown from the 1997 Pontiac Trans-Am when it veered off the road and struck a bridge abutment. The Alabama Department of Public Safety is still investigating the accident.
- Staff Writer | October 30, 2006 8:32 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsAccording to a report from DecaturDaily.com yesterday, a stretch of just over two miles on Alabama 20 between I-65 and U.S. 31 has seen 83 motor vehicle accidents last year alone. Many drivers treat this dangerous stretch of four-lane country highway like it's an interstate. The story reports that although the road carries about 36,000 vehicles per day, it is only designed for up to 34,000. Tena...
- Staff Writer | October 26, 2006 12:33 PM |
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Tractor-Trailer AccidentsTractor-trailers, otherwise known as semis or large trucks, are involved in nearly 500,000 traffic accidents each year. Of these, nearly 5,000 result in death, and many others in severe injuries. Another disturbing statistic is that one out of every eight motor vehicle accident fatalities involves a tractor-trailer collision. In most of these accidents, the truck drivers are unharmed, but...
- Staff Writer | October 26, 2006 10:31 AM |
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MiscellaneousToday Merck introduced a new shingles vaccine called Zostavax, which is apparently backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The company's new drug is put in a positive light after the recent Vioxx scandal, which included thousands of lawsuits from patients who suffered from strokes, heart attacks and blood clots while using the drug that was pulled from the shelves as a...
- Tom Methvin | October 25, 2006 2:59 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThis month, because of the length of this issue, we will list just a few of the recalls that were issued recently. I had hoped that the number of vehicle recalls would slow down a great deal, but that hasn't been the case.CORVETTES RECALLED AFTER ROOFS FLY OFFGeneral Motors Corp. will recall more than 30,000 Corvettes. Customers have complained that the roof flew off while driving the $45,000...
- Staff Writer | October 25, 2006 10:39 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsA number of drugs which are often used to treat osteoporosis and cancer patients are believed to cause a terrible jaw disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw or "dead jaw." Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, Skelid, Adedia, Bonefos, Didronel and Zometa are part of a drug category called bisphosphonates. These drugs have been increasingly linked to osteonecrosis, a serious disorder in which the bone...
- Tom Methvin | October 25, 2006 10:29 AM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsThe Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom is the equivalent of the FDA in the U.S. A new study was reported by MHRA on March 1, 2006, regarding Celebrex. It lists a new study by several authors, including Dr. Brent Caldwell, citing a medical journal. The website summarized, stating the new study is based on data already assessed by regulatory agencies...
- Tom Methvin | October 24, 2006 8:28 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsMerck & Co. has been playing fast and loose with the truth for years relating to its testing and marketing of Vioxx. Finally, in an admission that undermines its core defense in Vioxx-related lawsuits, Merck has finally decided to tell the truth. Merck now says it erred when it reported in early 2005 that a crucial statistical test showed that Vioxx caused heart problems only after 18 months of...
- Staff Writer | October 24, 2006 1:17 PM |
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FDA & Prescription DrugsOne of today's top Reuters headlines talks of a new barrage of Vioxx litigation over this defective drug that has been proven to cause strokes and heart attacks. Though a case in Texas was recently dropped by a plaintiff just two weeks before trial, several others move forward and will soon go to trial, including one in an Alabama state court. Drug manufacturer Merck & Co. is facing more than...
- Staff Writer | October 23, 2006 10:40 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsSadly, one need only scan recent headlines pointing to Alabama traffic and pedestrian accidents to see that the roads continue to be a dangerous place. One article on the Press-Register's al.com details the problem for pedestrians and how the government is addressing it. Two weeks in September brought nine pedestrian accidents in Mobile County alone. The Alabama Department of Public safety...
- Tom Methvin | October 20, 2006 4:41 PM |
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Workplace InjuriesThe Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that its 2005 site-specific targeting (SST) plan will focus on approximately 4,400 high-hazard worksites for unannounced comprehensive inspections over the coming year. Jonathan Snare, Deputy Assistant Decretary of Labor for OSHA, made this observation: Our targeted inspection program maximizes the effectiveness of our...
- Tom Methvin | October 20, 2006 4:13 PM |
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Tractor-Trailer AccidentsIt appears that the state of Texas has been doing a very poor job of regulating the trucking industry. As a result, trucks from Texas can create safety hazards when these trucks travel into other states. It should be noted that the trucking industry in the U.S. has grown at a rapid pace. That has also been the case in the Lone Star State. It appears that the trucking industry's growth has...
- Tom Methvin | October 17, 2006 2:56 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsThe national average for seat belt use is at a high of 71% and that's very good news. The increased use of the safety restraints come after a $3.7 million campaign called "Click It or Ticket." This program used paid advertising from public and private funds that warned communities that law enforcement would be out in force looking for violators of seat belt laws. These statistics are promising...
- Tom Methvin | October 17, 2006 2:27 PM |
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MiscellaneousOver the years it has become quite apparent that the powerful drug industry has enjoyed tremendous control over the Food and Drug Administration. We now learn that, through an apparent loophole in agency rules, the FDA has allowed its employees to receive more than $1.3 million in sponsored travel since 1999 from groups closely tied to pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Interestingly,...
- Tom Methvin | October 17, 2006 2:26 PM |
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MiscellaneousThe large and powerful companies in Corporate America (sometimes referred to as "Fat Cats") have always had ready access to the seats of power at the national level, and that has also been the case in almost every state capitol in America. In recent years that access has become much easier. Lobbyists representing these Fat Cats, who actually are more powerful than some of the elected officials,...
- Tom Methvin | October 15, 2006 4:42 PM |
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Workplace InjuriesApproximately 14,000 employers have been notified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that injury and illness rates at their worksites are higher than average and that assistance is available to help them fix safety and health hazards. OSHA has explained to these employers that the notification was a proactive step to encourage employers to take steps now to reduce those...
- Tom Methvin | October 13, 2006 4:40 PM |
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Workplace InjuriesA Texas construction contractor faces a proposed fine of $108,500 following a trenching accident that claimed a worker's life, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Utility Contractors of America LLC, Lubbock, Texas, a construction company headquartered in Wolfforth, Texas, was cited for two alleged willful and seven alleged serious violations for not protecting...
- Tom Methvin | October 13, 2006 4:12 PM |
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Tractor-Trailer AccidentsBeasley Allen recently reached a settlement of $4 million dollars with David Bulger, Inc., a trucking company, in a highway construction project death case. The settlement, which was partial in nature, was only for the claim against that company. We still have a claim pending against Wiregrass Construction Company, the general contractor on the project, which we believe has at least equal...
- Tom Methvin | October 13, 2006 4:11 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA California state jury awarded $3.7 million in damages to a family that suffered injuries during a crash involving vehicles owned by Harris Ranch Beef Co. and FedEx Ground Package System Inc. The jury found that California-based Harris Ranch should pay 80% of the damages and that Pittsburgh-based FedEx Ground, the trucking division of shipping giant FedEx Corp., should pay 20%. A husband,...
- Tom Methvin | October 13, 2006 3:46 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTransportation fatalities in the United States increased last year, according to preliminary figures released last month by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Deaths from transportation accidents in the United States in 2005 totaled 45,636, up from 45,092 in 2004. Based on our firm's experience in litigation relating to highway crashes, I was not at all surprised to learn of the...
- Tom Methvin | October 13, 2006 3:45 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsYamaha Motor Corp. is recalling around 190,000 motorcycles because the passenger seat can fall off the rear fender, federal safety regulators and the company said Friday. The recall affects XV250, XVS11, and XVS65 motorcycles from the 1988-2005 model years. The mounting hardware that connects the seat to the fender can loosen when passengers shift their weight, which eventually can cause the...
- Tom Methvin | October 10, 2006 2:54 PM |
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Defective & Dangerous ProductsFord Motor Co. approved replacement tires for its Explorer sport utility vehicle that made it just as likely to roll over as the originals that Ford had blamed for more than 200 deaths. Ford's test results of replacement tires, introduced as evidence in an Explorer trial in Mississippi, will support hundreds of pending lawsuits contending that this SUV is unstable and can roll over amid evasive...
- Tom Methvin | October 10, 2006 2:24 PM |
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Medical MalpracticeI was shocked to learn that medication errors harm 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States, costing the nation at least $3.5 billion annually. While I knew that the error rate was fairly high, I certainly didn't realize how bad it actually was. The Institute of Medicine, the nation's most prestigious medical advisory organization, released a report,...