SE Georgia Law

.FDA Issues Warning About Lymphoma Drug Brentuximab

2012-01-24T11:50:00.001-08:00

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to healthcare professionals about the lymphoma drug brentuximab (Adcetris, Seattle Genetics).

Two new cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which is a rare but serious brain infection, have been reported. Because of the seriousness of PML, which can result in death, a new boxed warning highlighting this risk has been added to the drug label, according to the FDA.

In addition, a contraindication was added, warning against the use of brentuximab with the cancer drug bleomycin because of the increased risk for pulmonary toxicity.

Brentuximab was approved by the FDA in August 2011 for the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. At the time of approval, 1 case of PML was described in the warnings and precautions section of the label. So there are now 3 cases associated with the drug.

The signs and symptoms of PML can develop over the course of several weeks or months. They can include changes in mood or usual behavior; confusion; thinking problems; loss of memory; changes in vision, speech, or walking; and decreased strength or weakness on one side of the body, the FDA says.

Healthcare professionals should suspend brentuximab dosing if PML is suspected, and discontinue the drug therapy if a diagnosis of PML is confirmed, according to the FDA.

Brentuximab generated much excitement among experts when study results were presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in 2010. Some of the responses seen in refractory lymphoma were described as "amazing." The new drug is the first to be approved by the FDA for Hodgkin's lymphoma in more than 30 years, the company said.

Lawyers: Why I follow (some of) you on Twitter

2012-01-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Image via CrunchBase

Ours is a personal injury practice with a national approach. In our offices, we not only have attorneys licensed in three states, but we litigate across the country.

On Twitter for one of our accounts we have taken a deliberate approach to following certain types of attorneys. We have compiled a list of lawyers by state and by specialty. For specialties, I follow attorneys in these areas: Criminal law, family law, estates, transactional, and immigration. I don't spend much time seeking out or searching for IP lawyers (unless they are interesting) or construction.

Why do I follow in those areas at all? Because our office now is actively involved in litigation in multiple Multi District Litigation matters involving unsafe/recalled products across the country. We are not limited to the south in our practice, and of the many people we represent, on average (we keep records) we have current clients asking about 30-50 times a month law questions other areas of law we don't practice, as well as in states we are not licensed in.

So, if you wonder why one of us decides to follow you now some of you know.

Yaz News for Savannah and South Georgia for December 2011

2011-12-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

After hours of circular debate about the safety of this family of oral contraceptives, 15 of the FDA's 26 expert advisors voted that the benefits of these birth control pills outweigh the risk of dangerous blood clots.

But that's no tub-thumping victory for Bayer. It created this family of contraceptives, which now includes Beyaz and Safyral. They contain a hormone called drospirenonethat's found in none of the other two dozen or so birth control pills available to American women.

And many who voted in favor of Bayer's drugs expressed serious reservations because of the risks. "I voted yes, but it was a difficult vote," said Sean Hennessy of the University of Pennsylvania. "I think the drug probably ought to be rarely used."

Underscoring those doubts, 21 of the 26 panelists voted for strengthening the warnings on labels of Bayer's contraceptives to reflect the findings of seven studies that the company's team had spent much of the day trying to discredit.

One of the seven was a 835,000-woman study commissioned by the FDA; it found about a two-fold increase in blood clots for Bayer's pills compared to competitors' products.

Nobody's completely satisfied with the quality of the evidence on the safety of Bayer's contraceptives containing drospirenone.

But many pointed out that the studies Bayer relies on most to argue for the drugs' safety were paid for by the company. Bayer makes a bundle on its contraceptives, although U.S. sales have fallen sharply since doubts began to be raised in 2009.

Savannah Attorney makes his case to the City

2011-11-21T06:02:00.001-08:00

Image by bjepson via Flickr

Attorney Howard Spiva was supposed to be speaking to City Council at a Thursday morning workshop about whether the city was failing to properly trim and maintain trees and whether that was putting the city at risk for increased injury claims.

Spiva represents Shanta Greene, 29, who filed a claim against the city after she lost her right leg and suffered other crushing injuries in July 2010. A massive tree branch fell and impaled her in the passenger side of a pickup as it headed along Bee Road at 42nd Street. Spiva began his presentation showing television coverage of the accident and her recovery.

“Once I saw the outline, I knew I had been bamboozled,” Johnson said. “What we got was a full-fledged court presentation ... designed to sensationalize the injury and invoke sympathy. I hope that I have not jeopardized the city’s position.”

Spiva says he told city officials from the beginning he wanted to talk about an injury claim. He asked council to direct its attorney and Risk Management staff to negotiate a settlement rather than risk losing a jury verdict that could cost the city substantially more.

Greene has had more than 40 surgeries. Spiva said she has incurred more than $760,000 in medical expenses and seeks at least $2 million more for future medical costs and loss of income. The city has denied her claim.

“Either meet to mediate,” Spiva said, “or we file suit and the war begins.”

When Greene later was wheeled into the room, council members were clearly uncertain about whether to acknowledge her. Alderwoman Mary Osborne shook Greene’s hand and spoke to her, and others eventually mumbled condolences. Johnson turned away in his chair, which, Greene said, offended her.

“I went in there as the victim” she said. “I felt like the enemy. (The mayor) just turned around like I was nothing. And I voted for him.”

With cameras trained on him while asked about it later, Johnson was dignified, but clearly angered by the implication he had no sympathy for Greene.

“Of course I feel sympathy for her,” he snapped. “She has suffered a catastrophic injury that has changed her life forever. The conflict I felt was how do I express sympathy for her while still maintaining responsibility for this city and its purse strings?”

Johnson tried to call a halt about halfway through Spiva’s presentation, saying he wanted to seek an opinion from City Attorney James Blackburn. The presentation was far different than he anticipated, he said.

On Blackburn’s advice, and with Spiva demanding the right to continue, Johnson allowed the last part of Spiva’s presentation. In it, Spiva showed city records that he says proves the city had prior knowledge of the rot and damage to the tree. City records also show, he said, the city had been called out previously to deal with rotting limbs from the tree.

Cooper Lens and Avaira Lens Recall Georgia and Florida

2011-11-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Nearly 5 million contact lenses shipped to consumers are being recalled by CooperVision Inc. in an expanded action that includes a second Avaira brand that may be contaminated with silicone oil residue and linked to blurred vision, eye injuries and severe pain.

CooperVision Inc. officials on Tuesday added Avaira Sphere contact lenses to an August recall of Avaira Toric lenses because certain lots failed to meet quality standards because of the oil residue, according to a press release from the company’s Pleasanton, Calif., office. Denise Powell, a company spokeswoman, said the line produced 6.6 million Avaira Sphere lenses affected by the recall, but 4.9 million were actually shipped.

The move comes after the federal Food and Drug Administration issued a Class I warning about the products and pressured the company last month to increase public notice about the recall of nearly 780,000 Avaira Toric lenses. Class I recalls are the most serious kind and involve problems in which there is a reasonable chance of serious adverse health consequences or death.

As of late October, the FDA had received at least 40 reports of problems associated with various CooperVision contact lenses, agency records show. At least 15 mentioned Avaira Toric and at least two mentioned Avaira Sphere, according to data shared by Phyllis Entis, who maintains the eFoodAlert blog. An FDA official was not available to discuss the new recall Tuesday.

Dozens of Avaira Toric users reported problems ranging from hazy vision and pain to severe injuries, including torn corneas, which required emergency medical treatment. Company officials were accused of issuing a “stealth recall” in August that left many consumers unaware of the problem.

Company officials noted that no product lines other than Avaira Toric and Avaira Sphere use silicone oil to manufacture the products. The firm expects to set aside a reserve of $9 million for the costs of the expanded recall. All told, the company expects to spend $23.2 million on the Avaira recalls, according to the press release.

Consumers with problems or questions related to the recalls should contact the company at 1-855-526-6737. The firm says it has reached out to affected consumers to ensure their safety.

Defective Contact Lens Lawsuit

If you or a loved one have suffered or been injured by defective CooperVision Avaira Contact Lenses you may be entitled to compensation and justice. Call Us 404-451-7781

Savannah TVM Mesh Information; Lawyer

2011-07-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

Last week I wrote about the recent FDA report regarding TVM failures. Here is the information that has been available in 2008:

Dear Healthcare Practitioner:
This is to alert you to complications associated with transvaginal placement of surgical mesh to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). Although rare, these complications can have serious consequences. Following is information regarding the adverse events that have been reported to the FDA and recommendations to reduce the risks.

Nature of the Problem

Over the past three years, FDA has received over 1,000 reports from nine surgical mesh manufacturers of complications that were associated with surgical mesh devices used to repair POP and SUI. These mesh devices are usually placed transvaginally utilizing tools for minimally invasive placement.

The most frequent complications included erosion through vaginal epithelium, infection, pain, urinary problems, and recurrence of prolapse and/or incontinence. There were also reports of bowel, bladder, and blood vessel perforation during insertion. In some cases, vaginal scarring and mesh erosion led to a significant decrease in patient quality of life due to discomfort and pain, including dyspareunia.

Treatment of the various types of complications included additional surgical procedures (some of them to remove the mesh), IV therapy, blood transfusions, and drainage of hematomas or abscesses.

Specific characteristics of patients at increased risk for complications have not been determined. Contributing factors may include the overall health of the patient, the mesh material, the size and shape of the mesh, the surgical technique used, concomitant procedures undertaken (e.g. hysterectomy), and possibly estrogen status.

Recommendations
Physicians should:

Obtain specialized training for each mesh placement technique, and be aware of its risks.
Be vigilant for potential adverse events from the mesh, especially erosion and infection.
Watch for complications associated with the tools used in transvaginal placement, especially bowel, bladder and blood vessel perforations.
Inform patients that implantation of surgical mesh is permanent, and that some complications associated with the implanted mesh may require additional surgery that may or may not correct the complication.
Inform patients about the potential for serious complications and their effect on quality of life, including pain during sexual intercourse, scarring, and narrowing of the vaginal wall (in POP repair).
Provide patients with a written copy of the patient labeling from the surgical mesh manufacturer, if available.

Savannah: Transvaginal Mesh Patch Failure

2011-07-21T10:15:00.001-07:00

Transvaginal Mesh Patch Failure

A July 2011 FDA alert warns of serious complications associated with transvaginal mesh patches when implanted to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The FDA has received more than 3,800 reports of adverse effects caused by the surgical mesh or during implantation of the patch.
According to the FDA, significant complications resulting from transvaginal mesh patches are not rare and commonly include serious issues such as:

Erosion of the vaginal tissue
Infection
Bleeding
Pain
Urinary problems such as incontinence
Pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia)
Organ perforation (puncturing) from surgical tools during mesh implantation

Less frequent problems included

Return of POP
Neuro-muscular problems
Vaginal scarring/shrinkage
Emotional problems

FDA Alerts and Research Find Transvaginal Patches Unsafe

2011 FDA Alert – Serious and painful complications are associated with the transvaginal placement of surgical mesh, and their occurrence is not rare. FDA also finds the risky surgical mesh treatment of POP to be no more effective than traditional treatment.

2011 Study Published – The New England Journal of Medicine published research showing an increased risk of complications associated with transvaginal mesh implants. Compared to colporrhaphy, a traditional treatment of POP, surgical mesh had a higher risk of defect including:

7 times the risk of bladder perforation
Nearly twice the risk of urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control)
3.2 percent of women required follow-up surgery to correct problems

2008 to 2010 – FDA received 2,874 more reports of adverse complications linked to transvaginal mesh repair of POP and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This brings the total adverse reports to over 3,800.

2010 Study Published – A study featured in the Obstetrics & Gynecology journal had to be terminated due to the extent of injuries to participants who received the transvaginal mesh patch. Of the women who were treated with the surgical mesh, 15 percent experienced erosions, and other complications included two cystotomies (bladder incision) and one blood transfusion.

2005 to 2008 – FDA received more than 1,000 reports from nine surgical mesh manufacturers about complications related to the device and its treatment of POP and SUI.
Over 200 Lawsuits Filed Already
More than 200 women across the United States have filed lawsuits against three of the makers of transvaginal mesh patches:

C.R. Bard
Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon
American Medical Systems

Complications have been reported for several other manufacturers of surgical mesh as well including:

Boston Scientific Scimmed
Sofradim
Caldera
Mentor Corporation

What Should You Do?

If you have suffered complications due to the implantation of a transvaginal patch to treat POP, you are not alone, and you have a right to compensation. By filing a claim against the surgical mesh manufacturer, you could receive compensation for medical costs, other financial burdens and the pain and suffering caused by this defective medical device. You will also send a clear message to the manufacturer that it is unacceptable to sell medical devices that harm innocent people.

Savannah Bicycle Accident News for July, 2011

2011-07-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

Savannah’s bicycling faithful say they hope a new state law requiring motorists to be more careful will help curb accidents, but they acknowledge the driving habits of their fellow cyclists also pose a hurdle to minimizing the number of mishaps.

Reports of accidents between motorists and cyclists in 2009 and 2010 fault bicyclists about 48 percent of the time and motorists about 39 percent of the time. The rest of the time there’s either no fault assigned to either or both are blamed.

Those are numbers determined by outside groups that pore over police reports every year and often assign blame to a cyclist even after an officer faulted the motorist, said Sean Brandon, Savannah’s director of mobility and parking services.

Source: http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-07-18/savannahs-cyclists-motorists-both-take-accident-blame#.TihXkGFi_Lk

One killed, one hurt in Savannah crash

2011-07-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Savannah-Chatham police are investigating the head-on collision of two SUVs on Shipyard Road Tuesday night that left one man dead and a second injured.

Charles Rockett, 31, of the 400 block of Hunt Drive, was pronounced dead at Memorial University Medical Center after the 2002 Acura MDX he was driving southbound on Shipyard Road crossed the centerline and collided with a 1999 Lexus LX470, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.

John Rathbun, 59, of the 400 block of Moon River Court, who was driving the Lexus, also was transported to Memorial for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2011-07-20/one-killed-one-hurt-savannah-crash#.TihXMmFi_Lk

Do PI Lawyers Know something about Social Media (Twitter) that other Attorneys Don't?

2011-07-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBaseI'm a lawyer who works for injured consumers. 100% of my practice is devoted to work on the Plaintiff's side of the aisle.

Last week I attended the annual convention for the American Association for Justice, which was held in New York for a nearly one week period. The lineup? More than 2,000 lawyers. Bill Clinton speaking at one event. Quite literally a 100+ seminars, meetings, sessions, and networking events. A huge vendor area.

Now, if you are a social marketing "guru" touting twitter as the be-all, end-all for success for attorneys to gain clients, "leverage" yourself and all those other BS jargon terms, you'd guess that AAJ New York was fertile ground for tweets, tweet ups (almost impromptu meetings between attorneys), and "twitpics" (pix taken around town with the ever present AAJ lanyard front and center on your chest).
You'd be wrong.

No Twitter. Yes, you read that right. Go to Twitter.com and search for #AAJ. Not "AAJ" because that has a different meaning in the far off middle east.

What do you find? Zilch. A handful of tweets by a vendor or two, maybe a smattering of "just got to NYC" tweets.

The AAJ Convention had a multitude of events, not just seminars. Lawyers were spread across two massive hotels. To me it seemed like just about every hotel bar and restaurant was filled to capacity with attorneys during meal hours and after the CLE events ended. There were after hours events, invite only shindigs, and general meetings for candidates for office. Twitter as a means to convey information of meetups? MIA.

Why? I know why. I've known "why" for some time. At least as to personal injury attorneys, they have seen first hand that not many of us drink the Kool-Aid when it comes to Twitter allegedly making the phone ring and the caseload increase. It doesn't. Is Twitter a waste of time then? For PI attorneys, the proof is there - if you base it on usage. Twitter simply does not work for PI Attorneys. And by work, I mean - making the phone ring, making a firm web page work, increasing a caseload.

So what has been realized perhaps by those attorneys who attended was simply this - in the arena of personal injury litigation, nothing beats in person, real life networking. Number one on the list at any AAJ convention is doing what comes naturally to many successful injury lawyers - shaking hands, listening to and telling stories, and connecting. In person.

I know what some of you are thinking - PI attorneys must be Neanderthals! Nope. PI attorneys have long been on the cutting edge of technology in many areas. Attorneys like me have learned Google and adwords. I (and others) have learned that the quality of a good website or blog will work wonders on your practice. Private lists for groups of lawyers are fertile areas for connections, work sharing, and even gossip.

PI attorneys have been early adopters of products in the courtroom, for motion practice, depositions, site inspections, and client management. PI attorneys use voice recognition software, SMS texting systems for certain segments of their clientele, and have long ago mastered YouTube.com.

Twitter simply is not there yet for attorneys in personal injury practices, and the AAJ convention is Composite Exhibit A. Twitter added zero value to AAJ. Information was still shared mind you among the 2,000 attorneys.

If an attorney insists on jumping in to the very large and for the most part undefined "social media" arena, I suggest that you start at ground zero. Look at your website. Update it. Make it rise to at least page two on google.com for search results. Then, work on making a blog that is worthwhile. To me a blog is the best tool by far for your firm. We have three blogs and I'm very happy with each. Next, if you must jump in to Facebook. LEARN GOOGLE ADWORDS. You don't trust your closing argument to your receptionist do you? I've gone through google's adwords certification.Then and only then do you try Twitter.

So - you ask - what are you doing on it? For me, the Twitter account I use allows me to publicize my blogs by simply using Twitter Feed. In my niches my firm follows FDA related news, so the near instant access to news helps me. Lawyers, industry professionals, and reporters who are in the area of unsafe pharma products and supplements are worth following. I enjoy reading news information from my home state of Florida through another twitter account (my main account is @ageorgialawyer).

My unsolicited advice to personal injury attorneys and even the Plaintiffs' bar - those who think Twitter is an essential part of your tool kit for marketing is this: It's not. It may never be. Anyone who suggests it is, hey that is great. Just don't pay for someone to help you with Twitter.

Don't expect Twitter to even be on the radar screen at smaller TLA groups in some states. Because the most basic was to 'have a conversation' is to do just that - but in person.

Recall Round up for June 2011

2011-06-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Been a busy month for the CPSC. Here is what has been recalled this month:

Name of Product: Portable Generator Battery

Units: About 2,500

Manufacturer: American Honda Motor Co. of Torrance, Calif.

Hazard: The hazard labels attached to the batteries used on the generators are printed in Japanese instead of English. As a result, consumers handling the battery may not be able to adequately avoid risks associated with the batteries.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Description: Only portable generator model numbers EM4000SX, EM5000SXK3 and EM6500SXK2 with hazard labels printed in Japanese are affected. The word Honda and the model numbers are located on the side of the generator. The battery is located above the wheel. The model number and serial numbers are located on the generator frame.

Quality Bicycle Products Recalls Civia Bicycle Racks Due to Fall Hazard: Link

Britax Recalls B-Nimble Strollers Due to Risk of Brake Failure: Link

June 24, 2011: Napa Home & Garden (Based in GA) Fire Gel Recall News

2011-06-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaOn June 14, the CPSC issued a warning about firepots following two burn accidents in New York.
Here is the statement from the website that day:

CPSC staff initiated an investigation last week into serious burn incidents apparently related to gel fuel used in firepots. While CPSC’s investigation is still open and active, consumers should be aware of the burn and poisoning hazards that can occur from using illuminating fuels in firepots, tiki torches, and other consumer products. CPSC staff recommends that consumers never refuel a hot product as this can create a serious situation of the fuel splattering and burning those nearby. Adding fuel to an open-flame is a potentially hazardous activity, with a risk of burns and uncontrolled fires. It is important to follow proper safety guidelines when refueling any open-flame device. CPSC staff recommends that consumers first look for flames, then cautiously feel the vicinity of the flame, as some flames are difficult to see. Only add fuel when the flames are extinguished and the container is cool to the touch. Never pour fuel over an open flame.

Consumers should keep the fuel out of the reach of young children and when not in use, store it away from children. Always securely replace the child resistant cap after use. Most illuminating fuels are sold in special child-resistant packaging because they generally consist of petroleum distillates, a specific class of hydrocarbon chemicals. This class of chemicals is particularly hazardous if ingested and aspirated into the lungs, where it can cause chemical pneumonia, pulmonary edema, or death. Illuminating fuels should never be transferred to other containers, as young children may mistake the new container with containers of common drink items.

From the CPSC site:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of Product: Pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel bottles and jugs
Units: About 460,000 bottles and jugs
Distributor: Napa Home & Garden, of Duluth, Ga.
Hazard: The pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning. This hazard can occur if the consumer does not see the flame or is not aware that the firepot is still ignited. Fuel gel that splatters and ignites can pose fire and burn risks to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Napa is aware of 37 reports of incidents, including 23 burn injuries to consumers.

Description: The product is a clear, pourable gel fuel packaged in clear one-quart plastic bottles and one-gallon plastic jugs and sold in non-scented and citronella scents. The fuel is poured into a stainless steel cup in the center of firepots or other decorative lighting devices and ignited.

Sold at: Bed Bath & Beyond, Shopko, Restoration Hardware, specialty and gift shops, furniture stores, and home and garden stores nationwide, as well as through Amazon.com, home and garden catalogs, and home decorators and landscape architects between December 2009 and June 2011 for between $5 and $78.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the pourable gel fuel in firepots and return all bottles or jugs to the retailer where the consumer purchased the fuel for a full refund. A retrofit for the Napa brand firepots is being evaluated and may be available in the near future.

Southeast Georgia: Birth Defect Link to Antidepressants?

2011-06-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

antidepressants. Several studies from 2005 show that antidepressant drugs like Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Effexor, Lexapro, Pristiq and Prozac doubled the risk of cardiac birth defects. Mothers who have taken antidepressant drugs during pregnancy have reported these devastating medical problems:

Cardiac (heart) defects
PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn)
Neural tube defects (brain and spinal cord)
Craniosynostosis (skull defect)
Infant omphalocele (abdominal wall defects)
Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
Anal atresia
Cleft lip and cleft palate
Limb Defects

Taking antidepressants such as Zoloft, in the early stages of pregnancy may alter development of the fetus, a new study indicates. This study will be published September 25 in the online British Medical Journal.

Many woman take antidepressants during pregnancy with no effect, but Zoloft, among others, may double the risk of a heart defect if taken early in the pregnancy, finds this study out of Aarhus University, Denmark, which looked at nearly half a million children born there between 1996 and 2003.

For the purposes of this study, early pregnancy was defined as 28 days before conception to 112 days after conception. The heart defect was very specific. It is in a piece of tissue that separates areas of the heart.

Zoloft increased the risk, as did Prozac and Celexa. So did using more than one antidepressant at a time reports Reuters. Zoloft more than tripled the risk, while Celexa more than doubled the risk.

Translating that into births – for every 250 women who do not take antidepressants during pregnancy, expect one infant to be born with the defect. That number increases to two infants for every SSRI taken, and four infants for mothers taking more than one.

SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors taken during pregnancy have also been connected with birth defects and heart defects in other studies.

As far back as 2007 there have been studies on these types of medications:

One study of nearly 10,000 infants born with birth defects and nearly 6,000 healthy infants found that women who took sertraline (Zoloft) in the first few months of pregnancy had twice the risk of having a baby born with a heart defect, while those on paroxetine (Paxil) had more than three times the risk. Paxil also increased the risk of a rare hernia called an omphalocele. But this doesn’t mean antidepressants are unsafe: The heart defects seen in the study normally occur in 5 out of 10,000 babies, so a doubling of the risk means they occur in 10 in 10,000 and a tripling in 15 in 10,000—thus, a baby’s risk is still far less than 1 percent.

Source.

Talk to us if you’re worried that your child may have been harmed while you were taking any of these medications. We’re not just lawyers, we are parents – fathers, uncles, cousins. The call is free and confidential.

404-451-7781

Will the Power of Twitter find Atlanta Youth Soccer Teams a Sponsor?

2011-02-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

Our firm is on Twitter and other sites. It's good to gather news, read about breaking litigation, and recent caselaw.

Now it's time to see if we have success with something else. I'm a volunteer overseeing youth soccer in metro Atlanta. A 2nd season group of teams for a school seeks a sponsor for the 12 + teams which the school will field. The teams will play eight games, four home and four away. The field locations are at other Atlanta private schools, where parents are upper end wage earners.

The color, and the shirt:

We are seeking sponsors, and hope to raise up to $5,000. So, what does sponsorship get your company or business?

$5000 - Company/business is the only logo or artwork on 120 youth jerseys. We list you as a Gold Level sponsor on all emails, flyers, and communications. You also are prominently displayed on our website. At season end, we again send out information to the families with children enrolled at the school.

At this level, we also name our field after your company/business. You'd have exposure to more than 500 families each season, along with another 250 students/families at the school grounds.

For about $10 a family, your company gains almost 20 hours of exposure for each family.

$1,000 - If there isn't a $5K sole sponsor, sponsorship at this level puts you as our sponsors on the jersey above (sleeves or back of jersey). Your company also gets a logo/sponsor graphic on our site, and we send out one promo piece to all parents of team members.

We seek up to 5 total at this level.

At this level, we prominently list your company/business on our field signage.

Your company has a chance to be in front of high end wage earning families for 10 weeks on the jerseys, and you are in front of families on our web site and our field.

Interested? All of the sponsor monies go directly to jerseys and field maintenance. No monies go to administration.

Reach us at: galawyerblog(at)yahoo.com

When Roads Are Icy, Do "Accidents Happen" or is there Negligence?

2011-02-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

A post on twitter asks that question - or more precisely - do juries find liability.

In the South where icy conditions are not as rare as you think, that depends. The first reaction here in my office is - a wreck in icy conditions with injuries is often attributable to conditions. Some questions come to mind:

1)Get details of the wreck in excruciating detail. GA is a 50%+ state on negligence. If a person calls b/c of a wreck with injuries we talk about how long the person knew of and drove on the icy road. If the person is from a warm weather state, new to the city, or if the person was speeding, or on the phone, or late to work, or you get that sense that something isn't right, you get to 50% negligence here in a hurry. And 50% means zero recovery, and a denied claim. We work way too hard on cases with merit to get bogged down in cases with denials.

Second, we look to all circumstances.

Was the person driving a car or SUV with four wheel drive; was the road an interstate with patches of ice in the hammer lane, or a state road, or a county road. In that order you usually see a high degree of clearing., some clearing of ice, and no clearing of any.

What were the conditions. We had in Atlanta 3 days of sun while the roads were a total mess. To be candid, anyone with any sense should have stayed home, and that is what a jury will think if the case gets that far.

For us, we'd consider talking to someone if perhaps the person was at a stop, and a vehicle barrelled into him/her, causing extensive property damage. Again, facts to consider - abrupt stop? other cars pulled over?

2)Gather information from various sites about the weather details the date of the incident. Did the wreck happen after sundown, black ice, with forecast of ice and snow? Was the wreck two days later after snow melt and refreeze? NOAA and other sites will explain the conditions.

Educate yourself on the road where the incident happened: I285 in Atlanta was for the most part problem free after day 3. When a wreck occurred, I can almost predict it was driver error (speeding, lane changes). One road was, however, nearly impassable and I'd want to investigate to make sure the condition was as stated.

3)From a fault standpoint- My gut feeling is that if the incident happened on a road that most knew was tough to drive on, or nearly impassable we decide we can't help. If it's day 2 or 3, clear skies, no obstructions, we talk a bit more.

All of this of course presumes some serious injury happens.

4)Next: The reality is that insurance companies have been dealing with risk like this for more than 50 years. If the claim is questionable, it either won't get paid at all, or a minimal offer is made. In my experience, a real case of wrong doing never sees a lawsuit filing, much less jury selection.

If you agree or disagree, let me know.

12/16/2010 Darvocet Legal News for Savannah, Richmond Hill and Brunswick, GA

2010-12-16T04:35:00.001-08:00

Judge wll not ban Brunswick's Disorderly Ordinance

2010-12-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

A federal judge has ruled Brunswick police may continue to enforce the city's disorderly conduct ordinance and have the legal authority to ask small groups of protestors whether they have a permit to demonstrate.

Under the city's ordinance, any group 100 or larger must obtain a city permit.

Read more here: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-12-07/story/federal-judge-declines-ban-brunswick-disorderly-conduct-ordinance

Elbert County News

2010-12-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaElbert County residents fought hard against a plan to build a waste-to-energy incinerator and 39-acre landfill west of Elberton by funding lawsuits, signing petitions and talking to their neighbors.

GreenFirst announced its decision a week after winning a ruling in one of the four lawsuits spawned by the proposal. Northern Circuit Superior Court Judge Jeffery Malcom rejected residents' efforts to hold a referendum on Elbert County government policies that cleared the way for the incinerator.
Plant Granite, which the company planned to build off Georgia Highway 72 between Elberton and Carlton, would have burned garbage and wood to generate electricity, and would have disposed of the ash in an on-site landfill.

But GreenFirst decided to abandon the incinerator plan when Covanta, the company that would have operated the plant, backed out of the project.

Read more at the source: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/121210/new_755348800.shtml

More Good News about Amazing Aspirin

2010-12-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

From NPR:

I'm one of those guys who takes an aspirin daily. So, I read this news with interest:

A British study claims evidence that aspirin can prevent death from a variety of cancers, if you take the medicine long enough in middle age. Even a baby aspirin might be enough.

Published in The Lancet, the study suggests aspirin could provide protection against a wide variety of tumors. They range from pancreatic cancer to the type of lung cancer that strikes nonsmokers.

For some of these cancers, the reduction in death was noteworthy. Twenty years after people had started taking aspirin regularly (and kept it up for at least five years), their deaths from esophageal cancer were reduced by 60 percent compared to study subjects who got a placebo.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/12/07/131873139/study-aspirin-cuts-deaths-from-wide-variety-of-cancers
Read more:

Is Social Media Crucial to Law Firm Marketing?

2010-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

I know that when it comes to the law practice (and consumer law/personal injury), it's much different than selling shoes. Alas, some so called 'social media experts' do not understand that. Imagine if Zappos.com the shoe sales site had to actually have its employees sit and take a licensing test in order for shoes to be sold in Florida?

That takes me to the subject of social media for lawyers. I will tell you that I have spoken more than a dozen time at lawyer CLE courses about law and technology, and marketing in the 21st century using the web. First and foremost I find that at least in terms of lawyers in the injury field, many lawyers get an "F" grade just for their websites. Lawyers with blogs? Right. I would say 10-15% blog, and of those less than half blog regularly.

So, why dive into social media marketing headlong, like Rene Perras suggests in this article, "Social Media is Crucial to Law Firm Marketing Efforts?"

It's easy. You don't. I will accept at face value for the sake of this post that the statement that "Currently, there are over 500 million active users on Facebook, who spend over $700 billion a month" is correct. There is a Twitter reference as well. Law services -- sticking again to the injury law practice - is not like buying books on Amazon.

Parras then goes on to write what I think is just plain bullsh*t: "Cepac uses specialized approaches to find online conversations people are having that are relevant to law firms to capture potential clients."

Remember myspace.com? Three to four years ago, the buzz was you and your firm had better get on myspace or you'd be roadkill. Folks who were 'experts' insisted to me that I had better get with it. Now, a new .com, but the same old verse. What happens in 3 years if FB goes away?

For lawyers, you make mistake number one if you or your firm go to Social Media first without taking an honest assessment of your website and the message the site conveys. Oh, I also have news for you. Now law firms (like mine) have multiple websites, niche sites, and blogs. Combined with a sensible google adwords approach, those are the touchstones to the tech/internet approach to marketing on the web.

Where does Social Media fall? Let's compare: I have almost 2700 tweets since jumping into Twitter in December of 2008. I have almost 1900 followers. Zero cases. In fact, since I have started, only one lead.

Now, look at my firm's blog network, including this one and the others. In a typical week, my firm will post 2-10 times on any given subject or set of subjects. By the end of each month, we average more than 50 calls or emails a month, and usually meet with and are retained by no less than 15 new clients. A month.While there is a cost in terms of posting time, there is zero cost for google adwords.

Google adwords has --separate and apart from the blogs - helped the firm prosper. Huge successes. Right now, though -- today -- there are firms wasting thousands on google with crooked and incompetent vendors. Start there if not with blogs. In Georgia, at the top of the results is a sponsored link for a firm - seeking a very niche client - that not only is based in California, but the firm (who I called) will not even accept a case in GA. Does that sound wise to you? Lawyers, however, will pore over a grocery bill and argue about being overcharged for milk, but won't ask why thousand of $$ are being spent on the web in areas other than your practice zone, or will spend money on adwords that don't generate leads, and don't question their vendor. Start there. I will tell you that I actually make fun of certain firms that simply don't get it when it comes to google adwords. Learn it!

Now what about Social Media? Twitter to me is good for information gathering. I'm able to direct folks to our firm blogs for news.

Facebook? I've tried it a bit with a business page at the beginning of the year. Advertise on FB? We do. Just like we have ad buys on linkedin.com. For a biz page or other page, however, you and your firm are foolhardy if you hire some person out of the blue to handle SM. Beware the 'experts' in the area.

Social media is like that new client who walks in the door. Do the research on your own. Biz lawyers call it due diligence. Don't allow yourself to get your eyes glazed over and let someone else do it for some price Roll up your sleeves and spend no less than 50 hours on sites like I have (and I may be your competition) first.

Never mind that what Parras suggests would possibly be unethical in some states. In Florida, you're not even permitted to have on your own website a page about verdicts without first posting a "warning" page ahead of it that the user acknowledges that the page is deemed an ad before viewing. Never mind that lawyers who are not licensed in Mississippi who wind up with info that may reach citizens there could risk a criminal charge.

My advice: Look very closely at the substance before rushing headlong into SM. Perhaps toutmeisters who seek SM clients might look up the definition of "crucial" - "Extremely significant or important. " Better yet: "Vital." None of those words in my view would marry up with lawyers, their practices and 'social media.'

I will tell you this: Look at Social Media closely. It's crucial that you don't make a costly mistake.

Advanced Bionic Recall of HiRes 90K Implant

2010-11-27T05:48:00.001-08:00

Image via CrunchBaseAdvanced Bionic has advanced a recall of its cochlear implant systems, announced today that it has notified the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that it will voluntarily recall its HiRes 90K cochlear implant device and is retrieving all unimplanted devices in distribution. This action is being taken in response to two confirmed instances where the product experienced a malfunction requiring explantation.

These recipients experienced severe pain, overly loud sounds and/or shocking sensations at 8-10 days after initial activation of their device.

There are three companies in the world that manufacture cochlear implants: Med-El, Cochlear Corporation, and Advanced Bionics. Advanced Bionics is based in the Los Angeles, California area, and Advanced Bionics was recently acquired by Sonova, a Swiss corporation. Advanced Bionics was previously controlled and owned by Boston Scientific Corporation. Over the course of its history, Advanced Bionics has manufactured three types of cochlear implants: (1) The Clarion / Clarion 1.2 / C1.2, (2) The Clarion II / CII, and (3) The HiResolution 90k / HiRes90k.

In 2004, Advanced Bionics issued a worldwide recall of all unimplanted Clarion and HiRes90k devices. The company was issued a Warning Letter by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2005. Later, in March 2006, the company issued a second recall of all unimplanted HiRes90k devices containing a feedthrough manufactured by AstroSeal, Inc. / vendor B. Almost 4,500 persons around the world were implanted with HiRes90k with vendor B feedthrough components.

Talk with us if you believe that you have a defective or recall implant. Call
404-451-7781.

Darvon and Darvocet/Propoxyphene Recall News November 19, 2010

2010-11-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

The FDA has asked that propoxyphene, (brand names Darvon and Darvocet, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals) be removed from the US market. The decision will also affect generic manufacturers and the makers of propoxyphene-containing products.

The FDA has told medical professionals to stop prescribing propoxyphene. Patients who are taking the stated medications should not sinply stop taking it, ut should contact their doctor soon as possible to discuss switching to another pain-management therapy.

Propoxyphene is an opioid typically used to treat mild to moderate pain. It was first approved by the FDA in 1957. It is sold by prescription under various names alone or in combination with acetaminophen. Since 1978, the FDA has received two requests to remove propoxyphene from the market.

In January 2009, an FDA advisory committee voted 14 to 12 against the continued marketing of propoxyphene products. At that time, the committee called for additional information about the drug's cardiac effects.

From Public Citizen:

Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Public Citizen's Health Research Group said it was too little, too late, noting that Britain banned the drug six years ago.
"Due to FDA negligence, at least 1,000 to 2,000 or more people in the United States have died from using propoxyphene since the time the U.K. ban was announced," Wolfe said in a statement.
"Our February 2006 petition to the FDA to ban the drug, following the U.K. ban announcement, did not even result in an FDA advisory committee hearing until we had sued the agency in 2008 to force them to respond to our petition."

An FDA advisory committee split on whether to ban the drug in 2009. The European Medicines Agency pulled it from the market in June 2009.

Tech, The Web, and Being Told what Lawyers Should Do

2010-11-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

The way lawyers do business is changing rapidly, which is obvious to just about every attorney in the business. That may not be news. It is also not news to have non lawyers who do not run an office, seek clients, counsel clients, pay bills, or handle 'bet the company' litigation trying to tell lawyers how to do all of some of those.
Today was no different. A webinar was hosted today by a company that from its site provides services like software to lawyers. The webinar dispense free information to attorneys. Some of it was helpful, some - not so much.
First a little about our office - we have a very diverse clientele. It is not uncommon for us to send emails with updates. For some of the younger, mobile generation, many of those clients only have a cellphone. More than a handful will move at least once during the course of a case that lasts two years or more.
With that being said, here is the first bad advice this company (through a speak) gave in its webinar:
1. Bad advice #1: Don't text with clients. Then later, "Never text message your clients."
In my offices, texts are common but limited in subject matter. When we call on the phone and leave a client a message, it is short. "Please call us when you have time." Same for texts - it is to ask the client to call. We never give advice, or simply remark on a pending case.
We have a policy in place for texts. No one in the office but a law partner may text, and that person may only leave a msg to call us back, or to give an address for a meeting or deposition, or to confirm that the attorney is at a meeting place.
It's overly simplistic that "never" is the rule. It once again shows how non lawyers, without clients - especially injury clients - lack an understanding of how an office operates now.
2. Minimize mobile emailing as well. It's very reactionary..
I'm in court or on the road - a lot. It does take discipline to limit emails. If like me you are in a courthouse, or another office, or on the way to/from either, it's just a way of life to address and prioritize what you may respond to while 'mobile.'
3.Don't answer the phone simply because it's ringing.
I saw this one from the vendor on twitter. It's a head scratcher. May need better context. For a call into my office, I may let it ring to VM. For the office as a whole, they get answered. After 5PM lawyers may answer.

A story - it was after 8 PM one night. A new call came to my cell. I answered. It was one of the most significant cases for us that year, a fellow lawyer who needed help on a legal case (his own) and he was impressed that I took the time not only to answer but to talk for an hour.

My advice - we are all busy. Answer.

Finally, not bad advice, just not sure how real this one is: "Work with a clean desk"

I worked with a clean desk. My first day in the practice of law. Never again since.

Avandia News for Southeast Georgia: Avandia Legal

2010-10-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

Image by neofedex via Flickr

A good report from American Counsel on Science and Health:

As drugs continue to be taken for longer periods of time, unexpected complications may arise that were absent from short-term clinical trials. New York Times science journalist Gina Kolata reported on what happens when drugs cause problems they were originally developed to prevent, focusing on the risks associated with the now highly restricted diabetes drug Avandia, and bisphosphonates, a class of medicine used to treat osteoporosis.

After post-market analysis revealed that Avandia is alleged to be associated with an increased risk of heart failure, the drug was temporarily removed from the market in Europe and then restricted by the FDA last month.

“Diabetic treatment is supposed to reduce the rate of diabetic complications including vascular disease, kidney disease and neuropathy — not merely control blood sugar. Studies that show Avandia may increase the risk of heart failure illustrate a case of when a drug does the opposite of what it’s supposed to.”

Here is the link: http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.1961/news_detail.asp

In the Middle East, this news:

The UAE Ministry of Health has ordered all doctors and hospitals to suspend prescribing the diabetes drug Avandia.

According to a circular issued Sunday, health officials have decided to suspend all products containing Rosiglitazone over fears in the United States and Europe over its safety. Bahraini health officials have also banned drugs containing Rosiglitazone, like Avandaryl, Avandamet and Avandia, the Gulf Daily News reports.

Dr Ameen Al Amiri, CEO for medical practice and licensing at the ministry, was reported by the official news agency WAM as saying the drug control directorate had held extensive talks with Avandia’s manufacturers and local distributors.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/avandia-diabetes-drug-be-banned-over-health-fears-351519.html

http://www.markzamora.com/AvandiaGA/index.html

SE georgia LAwyer: Recalls, Meridia and others

2010-10-12T06:15:00.001-07:00

Image via WikipediaThe folks at the FDA have been busy the past several weeks. Here's a short list of recalls:

Amgen Initiates Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Certain Lots Of Epogen® And Procrit® (Epoetin Alfa):The product that is being recalled may contain extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation with glass vials over the shelf life of the product. The products are indicated for the treatment of anemia related to HIV therapy, chronic renal failure, and chemotherapy. Link.

Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Issues Voluntary Recall of One Lot of ThermaCare HeatWraps Menstrual Product The company said it is taking this precautionary step after finding a potential for a leak of the components contained in the wrap, which could cause skin injury such as irritation or burn. Link

Recall of AROM-X Capsules, AROM-X UTT Liquid, AROM-XL Liquid, 4-AD Capsules and Decavol Capsules Marketed as a Dietary Supplements Containing ATD: FDA's states that the ingresidnets 1,4,6 etioallocholan-dione do not meet the definition of a dietary ingredient and therefore the product is in violation of provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Recall of Reversitol a Product Marketed as a Dietary Supplement Containing ATD: FDA has requested that iForce Nutrition inform consumers that adverse events associated with the use of aromatase inhibitors could include the following: decreased rate of bone maturation and growth, decreased sperm production, infertility, aggressive behavior, adrenal insufficiency, kidney failure, and liver dysfunction. Consumers with liver, kidney, adrenal, or prostate abnormalities are at higher risk for developing adverse events. iForce Nutrition has not received any adverse event reports nor are they aware of any adverse events associated with the use of these products. Link.

Georgia: Meridia Recalled

2010-10-11T08:41:00.001-07:00

From the FDA:

AUDIENCE: Primary Care, Consumers

ISSUE: Abbott Laboratories and FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients about the voluntary withdrawal of Meridia (sibutramine), an obesity drug, from the U.S. market because of clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

BACKGROUND: Meridia was approved November 1997 for weight loss and maintenance of weight loss in obese people, as well as in certain overweight people with other risks for heart disease. The approval was based on clinical data showing that more people receiving sibutramine lost at least 5 percent of their body weight than people on placebo who relied on diet and exercise alone. FDA has now requested market withdrawal after reviewing data from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial (SCOUT). SCOUT is part of a postmarket requirement to look at cardiovascular safety of sibutramine after the European approval of the drug. The trial demonstrated a 16 percent increase in the risk of serious heart events, including non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, the need to be resuscitated once the heart stopped, and death, in a group of patients given sibutramine compared with another given placebo. There was a small difference in weight loss between the placebo group and the group that received sibutramine.

RECOMMENDATION: Physicians are advised to stop prescribing Meridia to their patients, and patients should stop taking this medication. Patients should talk to their health care provider about alternative weight loss and weight loss maintenance programs.

Talk to us at 404-451-7781

18 Wheeler Truck Wrecks in Georgia

2010-09-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia18 Wheeler Dangers:

The size of a tractor-trailer means that they handle much differently than a passenger vehicle. One of the biggest differences is stopping distance. At 65 mph, a car requires approximately 160 feet to stop. A semi-truck, on the other hand, needs approximately 420 feet to stop.

A big rig also has huge blind spots, commonly referred to as "no zone" areas. We are all used to the blind spot in our own car, but trucks have multiple blind spots, including in the front and the back. This makes it difficult for the driver to spot surrounding vehicles, which could lead to a collision.

In addition, semi-trucks make wide turns. A driver often has to swing in the opposite direction before negotiating a turn. For example, before making a right turn, a tractor-trailer driver may first swing the truck left to accommodate the wide turning radius. This can endanger vehicles on either side of the truck.

The height and weight distribution of an 18-wheeler makes it particularly susceptible to rollovers. Although often caused by speeding, truck rollovers can occur even at very low speeds, especially when going around corners and up or down a steep pitch. Rollovers may also occur when a tire goes off the pavement and a driver tries to return the semi-truck to the road.

Driver Error

Aside from the physical limitations of 18-wheelers, other factors can lead to truck accidents. Although truck drivers by and large are skilled, attentive, courteous drivers, even minor lapses in judgment on their part can lead to a catastrophic situation. Actions such as speeding, tailgating, swerving, failing to signal, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can all lead to a truck accident.

There are also a number of factors inherent to the trucking business that can lead to a big rig accident. Truck drivers often operate within a system of compensation that encourages driving faster and for more consecutive hours than is safe. They may also drive through hazardous conditions in order to meet deadlines. Additionally, drivers may receive inadequate training that does not prepare them for the danger of driving a tractor-trailer.

GA: LNH Trucks on Roads are too Risky

2010-09-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

Source: http://savannahnow.com/column/2010-09-29/watson-lng-truck-route-too-risky

The recent debate on these pages over the proposed trucking of liquified natural gas through Savannah is unfortunately typical of what passes for policy discussions these days, with competing interests making technically true but misleading statements.

The letter from Bruce Hughes of Southeast LNG on Sunday is an excellent example. As a scientist involved in energy and natural hazard research I feel compelled to dissect his letter in the hope of shedding a little light on this debate.

The claims by industry that LNG cannot burn or explode, and that when it evaporates it rises, are true. Yet they are also misleading.

Natural gas at ambient temperatures will rise, but LNG is extremely cold. Even as the liquid evaporates, the vapor is too cold to rise for some time and can travel for a significant distance over the ground before dissipating below dangerous levels. The radius of risk varies depending on weather and terrain, but can be several hundred feet for a truck accident.

While LNG may not explode in the conventional sense, it can undergo a process known as a rapid phase transition (RPT), which while physically a different process, has the destructive potential of an explosion. This process is triggered by contact with water - something we have in abundance along the route.

Of special concern is a truck running off the Truman Parkway and landing in the Casey Canal near Memorial Hospital. This could create a situation where a small leak results in an RPT event, catastrophically rupturing the container, and creating a cloud of cold gas.

Even a simple traffic accident could result in a pool fire, which would be a dangerous situation if it occurred near the hospitals. An LNG pool fire, while short lived, burns extremely hot - so hot it can cause burns and trigger secondary fires at a considerable distance from the fire itself. A pool fire in traffic would surely ignite adjacent vehicles and cause multiple severe burn injuries and fatalities.

The standard (and essentially only) practice for dealing with a pool fire is to let it burn itself out. Given that risk, I would not want these trucks passing closer than 1,000 feet to a hospital or other critical facility on a regular basis, certainly not in the volumes proposed by Southeast LNG, which would exceed two trucks an hour.

As to the repeated claim that LNG is "clean," while it may be true relative to coal, it is false overall. The LNG production and transport process is energy intensive, and the net impact on the environment per unit of energy produced by LNG is far greater than other energy sources, especially when compared to nuclear or renewables.

Mr. Hughes statement that LNG will "reduce our dependence on oil" is absolutely ridiculous, as we are simply exchanging dependence on foreign oil for dependence on foreign LNG, obtained from the same limited, unfriendly and politically unstable sources.

To be fair, the opponents of LNG often use fear-mongering and exaggeration in their efforts to stop LNG related facilities. The fact is, the risks of LNG are manageable, the environmental impacts no worse, and in some ways better, than comparable sources.

The industry has a fairly good safety record. But LNG does have risks, and natural gas in general is extremely problematic as a fuel, especially if one includes environmental and geopolitical considerations. My own view is that natural gas/LNG is not an appropriate fuel choice and its use should not be expanded, but we should make that decision based on facts, not on either the fears of opponents or the platitudes of industry.

As for the current debate, in my opinion the truck route as proposed is inappropriate, given the risks it presents to our critical lifeline infrastructure in the form of Memorial and Candler Hospitals. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should not approve it, and our elected officials should bring all of the pressure they can on Southeast LNG to change the route to avoid critical assets.

If it is approved, all the parties involved, especially the hospitals, must create realistic plans based on realistic scenarios to deal with a potential accident.
Chuck Watson lives in Savannah and runs Watson Technical Consulting, which performs risk assessments.

Keppra News

2010-09-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

A generic version of the anti-convulsant medication Keppra, commonly used to treat patients that suffer from seizures, such as epileptics, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing in 2009. However, it seems that patients who switch from Keppra to the generic, Levetiracetam, are experiencing increased re-occurance of seizures after having been seizure-free on the brand name Keppra.

Patients who were switched from Keppra to generic Levetiracetam may suffer economic losses resulting from having their driving privileges revoked because of seizure danger, inability to work, unable to attend school, and other problems. Additionally, there have been reports of injuries and at least one death resulting from a patient who suffered a seizure and died after being switched from Keppra to the generic drug.

In addition to treating patients with epilepsy or other seizure disorders, Keppra or Levetiracetam may be administered to patients who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and had seizures from their brain injury.

Generic Keppra is made by a number of different manufacturers:

Aurobindo Pharma
Cobalt Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Mylan Pharmaceuticals
Roxane Laboratories, Inc.
Sandoz
Teva Pharmaceuticals
Generic Keppra tablets are available in the following strengths:

Levetiracetam 250 mg
Levetiracetam 500 mg
Levetiracetam 750 mg
Keppra oral solution (liquid) is also available in generic form.

All generic medications must undergo certain tests to compare them to brand-name medications. The FDA then looks at these tests to decide if the generics are equivalent to the brand-name medications and assigns each generic a rating.

An "AB" rating means that the FDA has determined that a generic medication is equivalent to a brand-name medication. All of the generic Keppra versions currently available have an "AB" rating, meaning they should be equivalent to Keppra.

However, generic medications are allowed to have different inactive ingredients than the brand-name medication. This might include fillers or dyes or other ingredients that may cause problems for people with allergies or sensitivities.

It should also be noted that many health care providers believe that special care should be taken when switching a patient from a brand-name seizure medication to a generic one, or even switching between different generic versions of a medication.

ROP and ETROP: The Seminal Study about ROP

2010-09-08T16:16:00.001-07:00

My office has worked on cases involving ROP in young children. I get asked about what might be the best source for information and to me it's the ETROP study.

At age 5 1/2 years, the oldest age for which follow-up data are available, children with threshold ROP who were enrolled in the Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity (CRYO-ROP) -- Outcome Study showed fewer treated eyes (31.5 percent) than control eyes (48 percent) that were blind (P<0.001). of those eyes that had a favorable structural outcome, with or without retinal ablation (cryotherapy to destroy the fringe of the retina through freezing), only a small percentage had best corrected visual acuity better than or equal to 20/40 at age 5 1/2 years (13 percent in the treated group; 17 percent in the untreated control group (p=0.19)). among the 1398 followed from the 5 large natural history centers of the cryo-rop follow-up study, children with retinal residua of rop (structural changes) had measurable visual acuity that was severly affected and tended to worsen with age. the cryo-rop study proved conclusively that peripheral retinal ablation improves the chances of avoiding blindness, but at least 80 percent of eyes are left with acuity less than 20/40.

Two concerns emerged from the CRYO-ROP extensive study on the natural history of ROP and treatment of threshold ROP. The first of these is failure of peripheral retinal ablation to eliminate all, or nearly all cases, of retinal detachment due to ROP. In the CRYO-ROP Study, 26 percent of eyes with threshold disease in zone II and 78 percent of eyes with zone I threshold disease had an unfavorable structural outcome despite treatment. The second concern is that most children who developed threshold ROP disease had visual acuity worse than 20/40 even if the eye had a favorable structural outcome.

Since no other treatment has yet been shown to be effective in preventing blindness from ROP, retinal ablation remains the treatment of choice. The ETROP Study will test whether earlier treatment is more effective than treatment at threshold in improving functional (visual acuity) outcome following ROP, as well as determining whether earlier treatment decreases the probability of an unfavorable structural outcome.

Description

Earlier treatment is defined as retinal ablation administered to the avascular retina when an eye reaches high risk prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Prethreshold indicates any Zone I ROP; or Zone II stage 2 with plus disease, or stage 3; or Zone II with less than 5 contiguous or 8 cumulative clock hours of stage 3 ROP with plus disease. Recognizing that a substantial number of eyes undergo spontaneous resolution of ROP, eyes will be randomized to early treatment only when high risk for an unfavorable visual acuity outcome is identified. High risk will be determined using a risk model analysis program based on longitudinal natural history data obtained from the CRYO-ROP study. This model integrates risk factors to assign a risk of progression to blindness without treatment. These factors include birth weight, gestational age, ethnicity, singleton/multiple status, outborn status, Zone on first exam, severity of ROP and rate of progression of ROP. When an infant develops prethreshold ROP and greater than or equal to 15 percent risk of unfavorable outcome, randomization to early treatment of one eye will occur. Visual acuity outcome will be measured by masked observers after wearing best corretion using the Teller Acuity Card Procedure at 9 months corrected age.

Patient Eligibility

Infants <1251 grams birthweight born at participating centers and/or examined by 42 days of life are eligible. the early treatment trial requires that an infant have prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (rop).

Patient Recruitment Status

Completed. A total of 317 infants with birth weights less than 1251 g and birth dates between October 1, 2000, and September 30, 2002, were enrolled at 26 participating centers.
Grating acuity results showed a reduction in unfavorable visual acuity outcomes with earlier treat-ment, from 19.5% to 14.5% (P = .01). Unfavorable structural outcomes were reduced from 15.6% to 9.1% (P<.001) at 9 months. further analysis supported retinal ablative therapy for eyes with type 1 rop, defined as zone i, any stage rop with plus disease (a degree of dilation and tortuosity of the posterior retinal blood vessels meeting or exceeding that of a standard photograph); zone i, stage 3 rop without plus disease; or zone ii, stage 2 or 3 rop with plus disease. the analysis supported a wait-and-watch approach to type 2 rop, defined as zone i, stage 1 or 2 rop without plus disease or zone ii, stage 3 rop without plus disease. these eyes should be considered for treatment only if they progress to type 1 or threshold rop.

Early treatment of high-risk prethreshold ROP significantly reduced unfavorable outcomes to a clinically important degree. Additional analyses led to modified recommendations for the use of peripheral retinal ablation in eyes with ROP. Long-term follow-up is being conducted to learn whether the benefits noted in the first year after birth will persist into childhood.

OTHER OCULAR AND CLINICAL FINDINGS
The distribution of refractive errors at the 9-month examinationwas similar between the high-risk prethreshold eyes that receivedearly treatment and those that were conventionally managed.
Cataract or aphakia that was not associated with total retinaldetachment or vitrectomy was found in 4 eyes (1.2%) in the grouptreated at high-risk prethreshold and 4 eyes (1.2%) in the conventionallymanaged group. Nystagmus occurred in 22% of randomized infantswith bilateral high-risk ROP.

A table ompares other ocular and systemic complications oftreatment among infants treated at high-risk prethreshold vsconventionally managed infants in whom high-risk prethresholdROP progressed and who later underwent treatment at threshold.Ocular complication rates were similar in the 2 groups. Systemiccomplications were higher following treatment at high-risk prethreshold.Infants with high-risk prethreshold ROP who were randomizedto early treatment received peripheral retinal ablation at amean postmenstrual age of 35.2 weeks compared with 37 weeksin conventionally treated infants who underwent peripheral retinalablation at threshold.

http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/static/study83.asp

Georgia: FDA Recalls DePuy Hip Implants

2010-08-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

After receiving complaints about the product, orthopedic manufacturer DePuy has issued a recall of its ASR hip implants. This hip system has a shockingly high rate of failure, and many of the victims of these failures have had to undergo a second, painful surgery to remove and replace the defective hip.

Due to a fairly high percentage (12-13%) of five year revision or secondary hip surgeries DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. reported based on this year's data from the National Joint Registry (NJR) of England and Wales, the manufacturer announced this week it is voluntarily pulling the ASR™ XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System from the marketplace. DePuy has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies globally of the voluntary recall.

The ASR device is part of a class of large diameter, monoblock hip resurfacing and replacement devices preferred by surgeons for young patients who may benefit from the stability of the device, thus limiting the chance of repeated dislocation. The DePuy ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System was introduced in 2003 and is only approved for use outside the U.S. The ASR™ XL Acetabular System was first launched in 2004 and has been available worldwide.

The risk for revision was highest with women utilizing ASR head sizes below 50 mm in diameter.

As the numbers suggest, most ASR hip replacement surgeries are successful. However, Depuy is strongly suggesting patients utilizing an ASR device immediately see their implant surgeons for a full evaluation of performance.

Savannah - LNG Tankers are a bad idea

2010-08-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Image by TruckPR via FlickrRecently a Liquid Natural Gas producer suggested it should be allowed to deliver LNG from Savannah, GA throughout the south, to include Atlanta.

From Savannahnow.com:

A new proposal from the operator of Elba Island, one of the largest importers of liquefied natural gas or LNG in the country, would have some of that natural gas stay in its liquid state and make the journey out of Elba by tanker truck. The proposed route takes 13,000- gallon double-walled tanker trucks south on the Truman Parkway and then across DeRenne Avenue to I-516. Southeast LNG wants to start its trucking operation in late 2012 with 8-10 trucks a day and ramp up to 58 trucks a day over the ensuing decade.

Both the idea of additional traffic and the transport of hazardous material on DeRenne worry some who live along the already beleaguered corridor.

The Danger?

What is the danger? Outside of normal wrecks, tankers are prone to rollovers.

LNG tankers make perfect terrorist bombs. In Savannah these trucks will pass right by Hunter Army Airfield. It is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart.

Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an aircraft parking area that is more than 350 acres (1.4 km²). The runway and apron, combined with the 72,000 sq ft (6,689 m²) Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group (A/DACG) Facility and nearby railhead, allow the 3rd Infantry Division from nearby Fort Stewart to efficiently deploy soldiers and cargo worldwide. NASA identified Hunter as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiters.

In 1944 a LNG explosion leveled one square mile of Cleveland, known as the Cleveland Disaster. The very first commercial LNG facility built in the United States in 1941, caused a major industrial accident known as the "The Cleveland Disaster." According to the U.S. Bureau of Mines report, LNG holding tanks failed and released their contents into the streets and sewers and their vaporous cloud ignited and fire engulfed the nearby residents and commercial establishments.
The Fiery Inferno Devastated One Square Mile Of Cleveland, Ohio. Liquefied Natural Gas Destroyed 79 Homes, 2 Factories, 217 Cars,7 Trailers, Left 680 Homeless,Injured 225 and Killed 131.

In 2004, a blast at Algerian liquefied natural gas plant killed 27 people.

In Savannah, they propose 58 trucks a day passing local retail stores, businesses with thousands of jobs and homes and families.

Each truck tanker will have 13,000 gallons of Liquid Natural Gas which in a wreck, if released, may convert from liquid to vapor and expand to 600 times to about 8 million gallons of gas....

This would will produce about a 5,000 degree fire.

Simply stated, this is a bad idea. Time to kill the proposal now

Paxil Claims Settle

2010-06-24T04:19:00.001-07:00

GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to settle almost 200 cases in which plaintiffs allege the use of the antidepressant Paxil caused birth defects.There has been just one trial so far. In Philadelphia a a jury awarded $2.5 million.

The jury awarded only compensatory damages and no punitive damages. But GSK then decided to settle Kilker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline along with another 190 cases, according to an order signed by Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Sandra Mazer Moss last week.The cases have settled for confidential amounts, according to the lawyer who litigates the cases.

Up to another 100 cases, including cases that have not yet been filed, have settled.

Source

Truck Safety Coalition News

2010-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) today announced that that two of its senior officials, John Lannen and Jane Mathis, were recently appointed to the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) by Anne Ferro, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

“Making the nation’s highways safer for all drivers by making truck safety a top national priority is what the Truck Safety Coalition is all about,” said John Lannen, TSC Executive Director. “I am pleased that this Committee is now more balanced with representatives from the safety advocacy community, and we look forward to helping to make some real improvements in motor carrier safety policy.”

Established by Congress in 2006, the MCSAC is charged with providing information, advice and recommendations to the FMCSA on motor carrier safety programs and regulations. The eight new MCSAC members will begin their two-year terms on June 8, 2010. For more details on the other members and upcoming MCSAC public meetings, visit http://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

“From ideas and concepts concerning truck drivers’ hours-of-service to raising the safety bar for new carriers entering the industry, the members of the MCSAC make an invaluable contribution to the safety mission of our agency,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We welcome our new MCSAC members and look forward to working with the committee to explore new ways to strengthen commercial vehicle safety.”

Jane Mathis, Board Member of Parents Against Tired Truckers, from St. Augustine, Florida, whose son and daughter-in-law were killed in a truck crash returning home from their honeymoon in 2004 said, “I know all too well the tragedy that can happen when truck safety is not the main concern on our roads. I look forward to offering the perspective of a mother whose child’s death could have been prevented had stronger regulations and enforcement been in place to this Committee.

It is a testament to the leadership of the U.S. Department of Transportation and FMCSA that a victim/volunteer has a seat at the table with the industry.”

The Truck Safety Coalition is a partnership between Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) and Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T) dedicated to reducing death and injury caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policy-makers and media about truck safety issues.

http://www.patt.org/images/stories/tsc%20fmcsa%20mcsac%206%202%2010%20release.pdf

Jones County Truck Wreck

2010-06-21T05:33:00.001-07:00

Electricity has been restored to 350 Georgia customers in Jones County after a tractor-trailer carrying frozen chickens bound for Savannah hit a power pole off Gray Highway near Creekside Drive.
The power came back on at about 9:45 a.m., said Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson.

Marco Carswell, the owner of the rig, said driver Brent Gooden was parking on the side of the road when the rig rolled on the muddy shoulder, slid on its side down an embankment, and came to rest on the pole at about 6:15 a.m. about four miles into Jones County.
Gooden was not hurt in the incident but northbound traffic detoured in the southbound lanes on Ga. 11 so crews could lift the rig. The road reopened at about noon.

Source.

Trucks and Safety Data

2010-06-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

The FMCSA recently stated that only 8,851 trucking companies, out of the 650,000 active trucking companies in the US, have bothered to see the company safety data that is compiled on each company by the FMCSA. These figures were as as of May 21, 2010, according to FMCSA spokesman Duane DeBruyne. This is ironic considering 1 in 5 trucks are unsafe based on Roadcheck percentages and the industry's stated desire to be "safe."

Safe Boating

2010-06-21T05:22:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Rangers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are reminding boaters, fishermen and swimmers to use common sense and follow precautions while enjoying state waters in the summer boating season.

"For many people, the holiday weekend signals the perfect time to be out on the water with family and friends," said Col. Terry West, chief of DNR's Law Enforcement Division. "We want to remind everyone that public waters will be very crowded. ... We encourage boat operators to stay sober and alert and know Georgia's boating laws before heading out on the water."

Last year, 13 people died and 113 were injured statewide in 158 boating accidents. Forty people drowned last year. Alcohol was a contributing factor in 20 cases. Meanwhile, DNR rangers arrested 177 people for boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs last year, according to state records.
DNR recommends people follow these safety rules year-round on Georgia waters:

- Never swim alone.
- Never dive into unknown waters.
- Wear a life jacket while boating, using a personal watercraft or water skiing.
- Don't drink alcohol and swim, operate a boat or personal watercraft.
- Don't swim or operate a boat or personal watercraft while under the influence of drugs.
- Designate a driver for boats or personal watercraft.
- Use navigation lights at night regardless of whether the boat is anchored or moving.
- Know the boating "rules of the road" and boating safety procedures.
- Don't overload the boat with people or equipment.
- Personal watercraft operators should maintain a safe and legal speed. Don't jump wakes.
- Boaters and personal watercraft operators should stay clear of other vessels and watercraft.
- Georgia law requires the reporting of any boating accident resulting in death, serious injury or at least $2,000 in property damage.

Beware of phony Tamiflu sold online warns FDA

2010-06-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

In an attempt to protect consumers from internet medication fraud, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on June 17 alerting consumers about fake Tamiflu being sold through illegal internet pharmacies which could prove to be perilous to the health of the user.

According to the health regulators, the fraudulent drug is being sold as “generic” Tamiflu online.

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the U.S. commissioner of food and drugs, stated, "A rogue internet website marketing drug products may look like a professional and legitimate website but may actually be an illegal operation.
"Medicines purchased from websites operating outside the law put consumers at increased risk due to a higher potential that the products will be counterfeit, impure, contaminated, or have too little or too much of the active ingredient.”

Source.

FL Court Ruling: Fisherman can make Pollution claims

2010-06-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

A recent Florida Supreme Court decision is especially timely given the man made catastrophe in the Gulf. The Court answered two certified questions:

DOES FLORIDA RECOGNIZE A COMMON LAW THEORY UNDER WHICH COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN CAN RECOVER FOR ECONOMIC LOSSES PROXIMATELY CAUSED BY THE NEGLIGENT RELEASE OF POLLUTANTS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE FISHERMEN DO NOT OWN ANY PROPERTY DAMAGED BY THE POLLUTION?

DOES THE PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION RECOGNIZED IN SECTION 376.313, FLORIDA STATUTES (2004), PERMIT COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR THEIR LOSS OF INCOME DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE FISHERMEN DO NOT OWN ANY PROPERTY DAMAGED BY THE POLLUTION?

As to the first question, here's what the Court held:

"The Legislature has enacted a far-reaching statutory scheme aimed at remedying, preventing, and removing the discharge of pollutants from Florida‟s waters and lands. To effectuate these purposes, the Legislature has provided for private causes of action to any person who can demonstrate damages as defined under the statute. There is nothing in these statutory provisions that would prevent commercial fishermen from bringing an action pursuant to chapter 376."

The Court wrote as to the second question:

'We have plaintiffs who have brought traditional negligence and strict liability claims against a defendant who has polluted Tampa Bay and allegedly caused them injury. Thus, the economic loss rule does not prevent the plaintiffs from bringing this cause.'

The Court went on:

We conclude, as did many of the courts in the cases discussed above, that the defendant owed a duty of care to the commercial fishermen, and that the commercial fishermen have a cause of action sounding in negligence.

In the present case, the duty owed by Mosaic arose out of the nature of Mosaic‟s business and the special interest of the commercial fisherman in the use of the public waters. First, Mosaic‟s activities created an appreciable zone of risk within which Mosaic was obligated to protect those who were exposed to harm.

Mosaic's business involved the storage of pollutants and hazardous contaminants. It was forseeable that, were these materials released into the public waters, they would cause damage to marine and plant life as well as to human activity.

Here, the discharge of the pollutants constituted a tortious invasion that interfered with the special interest of the commercial fishermen to use those public waters to earn their livelihood. We find this breach of duty has given rise to a cause of action sounding in negligence. We note, however, that in order to be entitled to compensation for any loss of profits, the commercial fishermen must prove all of the elements of their causes of action, including damages.

Find the opinion here. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2010/sc08-1920.pdf

FL Accident in the News

2010-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

A multiple-vehicle collision involving a van, pickup truck and car resulted in the tragic death of six family members on Friday, April 2, 2010. The fatal motor vehicle collision (MVC) occurred in Nassau County, according to information provided by News4Jax.com.

Authorities from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reported the family’s van en route from Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida to visit a family member, who was being released from prison, when a car struck it. The impact sent the van careening into the median of the roadway, causing it to become involved in a collision with a pickup truck. The pickup truck had allegedly attempted to “avoid a cloud of dust kicked up by the wreck”, when it violently hit the van. The car involved in the horrifying three-vehicle wreck was reportedly traveling at an excessively high rate of speed when it crashed into the van.

The automobile accident resulted in six fatalities, sadly eliminating members from three different generations within the family. The victims, who were occupants of the van during the accident, were identified as 57-year-old Brenda Mitchell Edwards; her 39-year-old daughter Melissa L. Mitchell; Mitchell’s children, 11-year-old Miya Mitchell, and 4-year-old twins Christian and Keyshawn Perry; as well as Edward’s 16-year-old granddaughter Dhanja Mitchell. It was not stated whether emergency medical services (EMS) personnel responded to the scene to transport any severely injured victims to area hospitals or if they were all pronounced dead at the scene.

A public viewing and funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Charlton County High School, 500 Indian Trail, in Folkston, Ga.

An account in the Mitchell-Family name has been established to help pay for funeral expenses at VyStar Credit Union. The account’s number is 702814864.

Trucker Honored for saving an Accident Victim

2010-04-13T05:54:00.001-07:00

The Truckload Carriers Association has honored Peter Pearce, a truck driver for Flying J, Inc., as a Highway Angel for helping an accident victim get out of her overturned car.

On Feb. 9, 2010, Pearce was heading north on Highway 42 between Debolt and Grand Prairie in Alberta when a pickup truck passed him going close to the speed limit. As the driver switched back into her original lane, the vehicle slipped on a patch of black ice, careened backward into a ditch, flipped over three times, crashed through a fence and landed upside down in a field.

Both Pearce and another motorist stopped to help. While the other driver called emergency personnel, Pearce ran down the embankment and leapt over a crash barrier to reach the pickup. The vehicle's engine was still running, and the rear wheels were turning. The driver was in a state of panic, screaming for help.

Since both doors were too damaged to open, Pearce asked the woman to cover her face while he broke a window. He then reached in, turned off the ignition and extracted the driver. He moved her a few feet away and covered her with a travel blanket that the other motorist provided. The woman had a large gash on the back of her head, so Pearce retrieved a cushion from her car to help absorb the flow of blood. All three waited together for the next 20 minutes until paramedics arrived at the scene.

For his efforts, Pearce will receive a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate, and patch. Flying J will also receive a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway Angel.

Zocor News

2010-03-20T04:28:00.001-07:00

Based on new data, the FDA warned that higher doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, sold generically as simvastatin, carry an increased risk of muscle injury.

The FDA also warns that mixing Zocor with certain other drugs also increases patients' risk of muscle injury, including the rare but serious complication known as rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis can sometimes result in fatal kidney damage.

From the FDA site:

Based on review of data from a large clinical trial and data from other sources, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public about an increased risk of muscle injury in patients taking the highest approved dose of the cholesterol-lowering medication, Zocor (simvastatin) 80 mg, compared to patients taking lower doses of simvastatin and possibly other drugs in the "statin" class.

The clinical trial data being reviewed is from the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH) trial. The agency is also reviewing data from other clinical trials, observational studies, adverse event reports, and data on prescription use of simvastatin to better understand the relationship between high-dose simvastatin use and muscle injury

Patients should:

* Not stop taking simvastatin unless told to by their healthcare professional.
* Talk to their healthcare professional about any questions they have about the use of simvastatin.
* Call their healthcare professional if they experience any of the following: muscle pain, tenderness or weakness, urine that is dark or red-colored, or unexplained tiredness.

Rhabdomyolysis (often shortened to simply "rhabdo") is the rapid breakdown (lysis) of skeletal muscle (rhabdomyo) due to injury to muscle tissue. The muscle damage may be caused by physical (e.g., crush injury), chemical, or biological factors. The destruction of the muscle leads to the release of the breakdown products of damaged muscle cells into the bloodstream; some of these, such as myoglobin (a protein), are harmful to the kidney and may lead to acute kidney failure.

The damage is more common at the highest approved dose of Zocor, 80 mg. A large clinical trial comparing 6,031 patients taking 80 mg. daily with 6,033 patients taking 20 mg. found 52 cases of myopathy in the 80-mg. group and only one in the 20-mg. group. Eleven patients in the 80-mg. group developed rhabdomyolysis, but none in the low-dose group.

Betty Nestlehutt Video - Georgia Medical Malpractice Caps are Wrong

2010-03-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

This is a video that discussed Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery v. Nestlehutt, which challenges the provisions of Senate Bill 3, passed in 2005 by the Georgia General Assembly, that caps noneconomic damages that a jury may award to a victim of medical malpractice at $350,000.00.

The case arose from a medical malpractice claim filed by Adam Malone and Frank Ilardi on behalf of their clients Betty Nestlehutt and her husband Bruce Nestlehutt in the Fulton County State Court in October of 2008. Married for over 50 years, the Nestlehutts raised two children and they shared a real estate business. Bruce handled the behind-the-scenes work, and Betty, a people-person by nature, focused on client and public interaction. Competition was tough and as Betty aged she found that more and more clients seemed to prefer younger agents. So, at seventy-one years of age, Betty Nestlehutt, after much thought and consideration, sought consultation with Dr. Harvey P. Cole of Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. concerning bags under her eyes and lines around her mouth. Dr. Cole recommended she undergo several surgical procedures including a simultaneous CO2 laser resurfacing and full facelift.

Having both the CO2 laser resurfacing and full facelift done together is well-known by practicing cosmetic surgeons to be risky, as the chance of damaging the facial blood supply is greatly increased on a patient of Betty’s age and complexion. However, based on her doctor’s recommendation, Betty went through the combination of procedures and the blood supply to her face was, in fact, severely damaged.

After the surgery, the skin on Betty’s face struggled to live without its usual blood supply and after a 3-week period, died completely, leaving the once fair-skinned wife and mother with huge, gaping wounds from her temple to her jaw line, covering both sides of her face and over both of her cheeks to her chin. Betty Nestlehutt’s face, quite literally, fell off.

In the Nestlehutt case, a Fulton County, Georgia jury awarded Mrs. Nestlehutt well over $350,000.00 for permament injuries she received to her body due to medical malpractice by her physicians. After a trial, the Fulton County jury found Mrs. Nestlehutt's case to be meritorious and awarded her substantially more than the $350,000.00 cap. When judgment was about to be entered, however, the Fulton County trial court judge ruled that the cap of $350,000.00 found in SB3 was unconstitutional.

Expect a decision on this case soon.

Insulin Pump Dangers

2010-03-05T12:44:00.001-08:00

Insulin Pump Dangers

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is working to reduce risks from dangerous problems that affect what it described as tens of thousands of diabetics. While the has not provided specific insulin pump manufacturers names in its report, there are known insulin pump makers, including Medtronic Inc, Roche Holding AG, and Johnson & Johnson, said Reuters.

Insulin pumps are primarily used by people with Type I diabetes, a condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to help the body properly use sugars from foods. People with Type 1 diabetes need to administer insulin daily whether through a pump or other methods like shots.

The more common form of diabetes, Type 2, which is often associated with obesity and typically develops later in life, is managed with oral medications designed to help the body properly use insulin, although some cases do require insulin.

The FDA said the number of Type I diabetics using insulin pumps has increased, with about 375,000 U.S. users in 2007, up from about 130,000 in 2002.

Recalls:

MiniMed Insulin Pumps
The thin plastic tubes are used with the MiniMed Paradigm Medtronic insulin pump to deliver insulin to diabetes patients. The infusion set is typically replaced every three days. However, thousands of patients may have been sold infusion sets that may not allow the insulin pump to vent air pressure properly, potentially resulting in the device delivering too much or too little insulin.

Over or under delivery of insulin from an insulin pump could have serious and catastrophic consequences for diabetes patients.

Medtronic announced that approximately 60,000 Quick-set infusion sets used with the Medtronic MiniMed Paradigm insulin pumps could be defective and not work properly. Therefore, they recalled an estimated 3 million of the infusion sets with reference numbers MMT-396, MMT-397, MMT-398 and MMT-399 with lot numbers starting with an “8”.

Accu-Check:

Accu-Check Spirit insulin pumps were previously recalled by Disetronic Medical Systems Inc., a unit of the Roche Group, because of a potential defect in the “up” and/or “down” buttons of some devices. Malfunctioning buttons could prohibit users from changing any programmed setting on the Accu-Check Spirit insulin pumps. Another earlier recall was issued for battery caps included with some varieties of Aimas insulin pumps. According to Animas Corp, the defective battery caps could cause the pumps to stop administering insulin, putting patients at risk of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.

Insulin Overdose Symptoms
Diabetes patients who begin to develop any of the following signs or symptoms should seek medical attention immediately as they may be experiencing an insulin overdose:

* Severe headache
* Increased/rapid heartbeat
* Nausea
* Tremors, anxiety
* Uncontrolled sweating
* Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia
One of the most dangerous risks associated with insulin overdose is hypoglycemia, a condition in which a person’s blood sugar (glucose) is too low. Symptoms include: cold sweats, confusion, double vision, convulsions, fatigue and general discomfort. Severe hypoglycemia can result in seizures, coma and death.

Call us today if you believe that an improperly functioning insulin pump has harmed you. You may use the Contact Us form, or call Rob Bunch today.

Florida/Georgia: Denture Adhesives May Cause Zinc Poisoning and Neuropathy

2010-03-04T16:38:00.001-08:00

Several Poligrip lawsuits have been prompted by cases of peripheral neuropathy in the United States among users of Poligrip and other denture adhesive creams. A serious neurological condition, peripheral neuropathy is most commonly seen among diabetics, and the Poligrip lawsuits contend that neuropathy is an unwarranted risk of a denture cream use that is not described by GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical giant that makes Poligrip.

Denture Adhesive Cream and Neuropathy

Millions of people in America have dentures and use Poligrip or another adhesive on a daily basis to keep their dentures in place. A link between neuropathy from denture cream was claimed to be revealed in the Poligrip lawsuits that have arisen in the past years. These lawsuits note the often debilitating symptoms of neuropathy:

* pain and/or tingling in the extremities (i.e., the "peripheral" part of "peripheral neuropathy")
* sensation disorders, such as a sensation of gloves or stockings being worn although the hands or legs are bare
* a loss of balance, difficulty walking
* cognitive decline

In some cases, neuropathy symptoms improve on their own after a period of time. Unfortunately, however, in other cases, treatment programs do not help and the neuropathy never goes away.
Poligrip and Zinc Poisoning

Neuropathy can be caused by:

* an injury
* a metabolic problem
* an infection
* exposure to toxins
* diabetes (about half of all diabetics develop some degree of neuropathy)
* alcoholism (because of poor dietary habits)

However, the link between denture creams such as Poligrip and neuropathy is based on the zinc content of the creams. Zinc — a mineral that is normally vital to one's health — is toxic at high doses. The USDA recommended daily allowance (RDA) for zinc is 15 milligrams of zinc from food and/or supplements every day. On the other hand, too much zinc can be quite harmful to one's health, because a high-enough level of zinc decreases the body's ability to absorb the essential minerals copper and iron.
In Japan on March 4, 2010, the Japanese subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), announced that it would begin a voluntary recall of Poligrip products that contain zinc in that country. The company's decision followed just three reports of adverse health effects in consumers of the product, sold in Japan as Poligrip EX.

Despite hundreds of American consumers reporting similar disabling effects stemming from the company's many zinc-containing products in the U.S., Glaxo's American subsidiary has yet to order a recall here.

In a letter in 2009, the company had “received an increased number of adverse event reports” that together with recent medical literature suggest that there were serious dangers associated with denture adhesives spiked with zinc.

Even as Glaxo warned doctors of the dangers posed by its denture cream, the company continued to blame users of its products, writing, “some patients apply more adhesive than directed and use it more than once per day.”

Talk with Mark Zamora, who may be reached at mark@markzamora.com or call 404-451-7781.

Georgia Avandia: Heart Attack and Stroke Risks?

2010-02-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

Image by neofedex via Flickr

Rosiglitazone (AVANDIA). More than 1000 reports of patient deaths were received for
rosiglitazone in the first three quarters of 2009, more than any other drug we monitor. Rosiglitazone is an oral medication for treating Type 2 or adult onset diabetes. Most deaths were attributed to cardiovascular causes, a problem for which the FDA has required warnings. While these cases do not appear to signal previously undetected risks of rosiglitazone, the large number of reports alleging serious and fatal injuries associated with rosiglitazone further reinforces concerns about its cardiovascular safety. The company, GlaxoSmithKline, told us it believed most reports were generated by lawsuits.

In February 2010 the FDA announced it was conducting an overall safety review of
rosiglitazone and would present its findings to a special advisory committee meeting in July.

"Rosiglitazone should be removed from the market," concluded Dr. David Graham and Dr. Kate Gelperin, both epidemiologists with the FDA. Linkavandia

Necklace Recall

2010-01-29T14:39:00.001-08:00

FAF Inc. Recalls Children’s Necklaces Sold Exclusively at Walmart Stores Due to High Levels of Cadmium

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Children’s Metal Necklaces

Units: About 55,000

Importer: FAF Inc., of Greenville, R.I.

Hazard: The recalled necklaces contain high levels of cadmium. Cadmium is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled jewelry is shaped as a metal crown or frog pendant on a metal link chain necklace in a crown hinged box. The packaging has the words, “Disney” and “The Princess and the Frog” on it and contains the following model numbers and UPC codes:
Crown Model # 4616-4187 UPC # 72783367144
Frog Model # 4616-4190 UPC # 72783367147

Cadmium poisoning is an occupational hazard associated with industrial processes such as metal plating and the production of nickel-cadmium batteries, pigments, plastics, and other synthetics. The primary route of exposure in industrial settings is inhalation. Inhalation of cadmium-containing fumes can result initially in metal fume fever but may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and death.[24]

Cadmium is also a potential environmental hazard. Human exposures to environmental cadmium are primarily the result of the burning of fossil fuels and municipal wastes.[25] However, there have been notable instances of toxicity as the result of long-term exposure to cadmium in contaminated food and water. In the decades leading up to World War II, Japanese mining operations contaminated the Jinzu River with cadmium and traces of other toxic metals. As a consequence, cadmium accumulated in the rice crops growing along the riverbanks downstream of the mines. The local agricultural communities consuming the contaminated rice developed Itai-itai disease and renal abnormalities, including proteinuria and glucosuria.[26] Cadmium is one of six substances banned by the European Union's Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, which bans certain hazardous substances in electronics.

Cadmium and several cadmium-containing compounds are known carcinogens and can induce many types of cancer.[27]

Research has found that cadmium toxicity may be carried into the body by zinc binding proteins; in particular, proteins that contain zinc finger protein structures. Zinc and cadmium are in the same group on the periodic table, contain the same common oxidation state (+2), and when ionized are almost the same size. Due to these similarities, cadmium can replace zinc in many biological systems, in particular, systems that contain softer ligands such as sulfur. Cadmium can bind up to ten times more strongly than zinc in certain biological systems, and is notoriously difficult to remove. In addition, cadmium can replace magnesium and calcium in certain biological systems, although these replacements are rare.

Source is wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium#ToxicityNecklace

List of Georgia Truck Companies

2010-01-26T16:37:00.001-08:00

Georgia

Command Motorways - Atlanta Value Transportation- Cartersville
Eastern Service Corporation - Columbus Taylor McLean Trucking - Doerun
Nova Logistics - Kennesaw RB & G - LaGrange
Mac-Ran Enterprises - Lawerenceville Hudson Group - Marietta
Condor - Perry

Georgia Dump Truck Accident?

2010-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

Recent dump truck accidents have involved rear-end collisions, wheels hitting other vehicles or pedestrians, intersection collisions, construction site accidents, and pedestrian back-overs.

Let our lawyers investigate your potential case:

More than one party may be liable (legally responsible) for a dump truck accident:

* The owner of the dump truck
* The driver of the dump truck
* The employer of the dump truck driver
* A parent company of the owner of the dump truck or employer of the driver
* The manufacturer of the dump truck
* A third-party maintenance company
* The driver and owner of another vehicle
* The manufacturer of another vehicle

US Government Bans Truckers from Texting

2010-01-26T14:11:00.001-08:00

The government Tuesday formally barred truckers and bus drivers from sending text messages while behind the wheel, putting the federal imprimatur on a prohibition embraced by many large trucking and transportation companies.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

Although both houses of Congress are considering bills restricting texting and 19 states have banned the practice, LaHood said existing rules on truckers and bus drivers give him authority to issue the prohibition. LaHood said drivers of commercial vehicle caught texting could be fined up to $2,750.

source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012602031.html

Automobile Accident in Brunswick?

2010-01-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

From segeorgialaw.com:

This website was started for one simple reason – to let folks who live in Southeast Georgia – Brunswick, Nahunta, Waycross, Homerville, Kingsland, St. Mary’s, and our counties – Camden, Glynn, Charlton, Brantley – know that you don’t have to pick up the phone and talk with a Florida-based lawyer to help you get justice.

Accomplished, plain talking conservative lawyers who work for consumers- not big Insurance Companies – are ready to talk with you, meet with you, and work for you right here in South Georgia.

Keep More of Your Settlement

In this economic times, you can’t afford to be hurt for any reason. If someone injures you or your family costing you time from work, making you pile up medical bills, and pain, we understand. That’s why attorneys’ fees are less – and only if we recover money for you. Call us first.

We simply believe that if you’re hurt, the justice system should work for you and your family; it does not exist to line the pockets of lawyers.

Huber Needles Recall

2010-01-26T11:49:00.001-08:00

More than two million Huber needles -- about a third of the number used in the U.S. with implanted ports to treat chronic diseases -- have been recalled, the FDA announced.

The needles can cut the resealing silicone septum of the ports and possibly send slivers of the material into the body, with the potential to cause embolisms and other damage, according to Mary Brooks, RN, of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

The material could also lodge in the needle, restricting the flow of medication to the patient.

The recall affects needles made between January 2007 and August 2009 by Japan's Nipro Medical Corp. and imported by Exelint International Corp., of Los Angeles.

The recalled needles have lot numbers that begin with either 07, 08, or 09, and one of the following product codes or catalog numbers:

* Exel/Exelint Huber Needles Product Codes/Catalog Numbers: 26901, 26902, 26904, 26906, 26907, 26908, 26909, 26911, 26921, 26922,26923, 26924, and 26925
* Infusion Sets Product Codes/Catalog Numbers With/Injection Site: 27940R, 27941R, 27944R, 27945R, 27946R, 27948R, 27949R, and 27950R
* Infusion Sets Product Codes/Catalog Numbers Without/Injection Site: 27954R, 27955R, 27958R, and 27959R
* Exel/Exelint "SecureTouch +" Safety Huber Sets Product Codes/Catalog Numbers: 37854S, 37855S, and 37858S

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm198676.htm

Texting Train Engineer Caused Rail Crash

2010-01-26T06:19:00.001-08:00

NTSB investigators determined the weather in the San Fernando Valley was clear on September 12, 2008. Equipment on the Metrolink locomotive and on the tracks was working properly.

They also concluded that veteran engineer Robert Sanchez was distracted by texting and failed to see a red signal after his locomotive pulled away from Chatsworth Station. His northbound train smashed into a southbound Union Pacific freight train minutes later. Sanchez died in the crash.

In all, 25 people were killed, including one passenger who’d been in Metrolink’s Glendale crash in 2005. Another 135 people were injured.

NTSB chair Deborah Hersman says Sanchez texted constantly while on the job.

“There was a violation of company policy and it was flagrant, it was consistent and it was longstanding,” said Hersman. “It was not a ‘one-off’ event. This operator sent and received upwards of 95 text messages that day.”

http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/01/21/ntsb-blames-engineer-in-metrolink-crash/

Hurricane Katrina: Lawsuit Proceeds Hospital today in LA

2010-01-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

From the USA Today:

Once the power blinked out, Althea LaCoste's lungs were on their own. She struggled to breathe without the help of a respirator, and even a team of nurses hand-bagging air into her ailing lungs couldn't save her, according to court documents. LaCoste, 73, died before she could be evacuated from Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina.

LaCoste's death 4½ years ago is at the center of a civil lawsuit being heard here that could have far-reaching implications for hospitals across the country. The lawsuit against Methodist Hospital is the first civil suit alleging negligence of a hospital staff in Katrina's aftermath.

Here is the article: Link.

I disagree with a hospital industry's statement in that article that:"A verdict against the hospital would open up a Pandora's box for other unrelated incidents," Also, a professor remarked: "The LaCoste lawsuit could make hospitals across the country liable if their power gets knocked out by snowstorms, tornadoes or other calamities, says Edward Sherman, a Tulane University law professor following the case."

Here, you have a case not relating to medical malpractice, in a state where the laws are different that those of any other state. As one authority explains: Great differences exist between Louisianan civil law and common law found in all other American states. Property, contractual, business entities structure, much of civil procedure, and family law are still strongly influenced by traditional Roman legal thinking. Louisiana law retains terms and concepts unique in American law: usufruct, forced heirship, redhibition, and lesion beyond moiety are a few examples.

Second, it's one thing to read the pleadings, the issues, and the allegations/admitted facts. It's quite another to suggest that a snowstorm will now cause liability to arise in say Iowa because of one jury verdict in Louisiana.

If you do nothing else this year, read The Great Deluge. It's a detailed look at what happened just before, during, and after Katrina not only in New Orleans but in the Gulf South.

Seroquel: Delaware Cases Dismissed

2010-01-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

Last week, Judge Slights granted So far, six Delaware Seroquel cases have been tossed.

Two test cases in the federal multidistrict litigation in Orlando have also failed to withstand AstraZeneca summary judgment motions based on Daubert challenges to plaintiffs' experts. All eight Seroquel cases that have come up for trial, in other words, have ended with pretrial wins for AstraZeneca.

Source here.

Powerful Opinion Piece on Georgia's Victims of Medical Wrongdoing

2010-01-09T18:28:00.001-08:00

This is a must read. I take it whole cloth from http://georgiajustice.blogspot.com/:

In Georgia, Middle Ground for Victims of Medical Wrongdoing?
How many hoops should you have to jump through to get justice? It's a fair question that many people struggle with. Yesterday, the CEO of a Georgia medical services company suggested - in an opinion piece submitted to a GA newspaper - that to be sure that Georgians who have been harmed by negligent medical care are worthy of justice we should subject them to one more hoop. Not coincidentally, it's a hoop that benefits only medical professionals and insurance companies – the only two interest groups that profit when injured patients are prevented from securing justice.

What the author of the opinion has proposed is that, instead of allowing victims of medical malpractice the same Constitutional Right to Trial by Jury enjoyed by all other Georgians, people harmed by medical wrongdoing/malpractice would have to get permission to have a jury trial from a “screening panel” comprised of members of the medical and insurance industries, the same industries that want to avoid compensating injured patients. This approach is wrong and adds an unnecessary, ineffective layer to our civil justice system.

The fact is all medical malpractice cases brought in Georgia have already been through multiple screening hoops. The first hoop is that you have to have had something very bad happen as a result of malpractice. Your next hoop is that you have to find a lawyer willing and able to take your case. That lawyer will tell you that there is another, special hoop that protects only professionals charged with negligence. In order to pass through that hoop, the patient must find a medical professional willing to publicly criticize their colleague and sign a document swearing that malpractice happened. So far your case has been screened three times: Something bad happens. You find a lawyer who will invest in helping you find justice. And, you find another doctor who agrees that there was malpractice and is willing to say so. Then there’s a fourth screening before you can have a jury hear your case: the judge must screen the case, too.

Our Founding Fathers created the world's best independent screening panels when they imbedded the right to a trial by jury in our Constitution. You are entitled to a jury of your peers, not a two step process, the first of which is a trial by jury of the defendant's colleagues. We trust the people of our communities to fairly resolve our disputes when we are unable to resolve them ourselves.

The CEO cites an approach tried in Maine as being the right fit for us here in Georgia. He fails to mention that this approach is regularly criticized by the Supreme Court of Maine as being inadequate and harmful to the people of Maine. He cites, as a reason for needing “screening panels,” a Georgia case involving a plastic surgeon who carelessly destroyed the blood supply to a woman’s face and left her horribly disfigured. He suggests that this woman – who was horribly injured through no fault of her own and who successfully navigated all of the legal hurdles to hold the wrongdoer accountable for herself and other patients – has not done enough. He says she needs to clear yet another hurdle to prove herself worthy of a jury trial. The suggestion is outrageous and it serves no purpose but to deny those who have been harmed their fair measure of justice.

Why should patients who have been harmed by medical malpractice have to go through two trials when everyone else only has to go through one? Why should medical professionals get special treatment? It's a question with an obvious answer: They shouldn't.

Sim-Fast Recall

2009-12-14T05:18:00.001-08:00

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a nationwide recall on cans of Slim-Fast ready to drink beverages because of a possible contamination with Bacillus cereus, a microorganism that can cause infected people to suffer from diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

The recall involves all Slim-Fast ready to drink beverages in cans, regardless of flavor, best-by date or UPC number, the FDA said. No other Slim-Fast products are affected by the recall.

The company is in the process of identifying and correcting the production issue and will resume production and shipment as soon as the problem is remedied.

Consumers who have recently purchased ready to drink Slim-Fast beverages in cans are urged to discard them immediately and contact the company at 1-800-896-9479 for a full refund.

ATV Accident

2009-09-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

In metro Atlanta, a man was severely injured in an ATV accident and was transported to Atlanta Medical Center via lifeflight out of Newnan, Ga. A landing zone was set up at Cedartown High School. The male subject involved was very combative with rescue workers and EMS. Lifeflight was in the air transporting him to AMC at approximately 9:15 PM.

Travel responsibly on designated roads and trails or in permitted areas.

*
Travel only in areas open to All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use.
*
On switchbacks, avoid roosting around the apex of the turn when climbing or brake-sliding during descent, both of which gouge the trail. Never cut switchbacks.
*
Drive over, not around obstacles to avoid widening the trail.
*
Cross streams only at designated fording points or where the trail crosses the stream.
*
When possible, avoid mud. Save wet, muddy trails for another day when they are dry. If you do come upon mud on the trail, don’t widen the trail by going around it. Drive through it by going easy on the gas to avoid wheel spin, which can cause rutting.
*
Comply with all signs and barriers.
*
Buddy up with two or three riders. Riding solo can leave you vulnerable if you have an accident or breakdown. Designate meeting areas in case of separation.
*
When winching always inspect your equipment, use the right winch for the situation, find a good secure anchor, and never winch with less than five wraps of wire rope around the drum.
*
When using a tree as an anchor, use a wide tree strap to avoid damage to the trunk of the tree.

Source here.

Also, here's a list of FL Trucking Companies:

Able Cargo Transit Inc - Sorrento, Florida
Able Boat Transport - Tampa, Florida
Affordable Hauling - Clearwater, Florida Trash Removal, Clean-up
AGA Trucking - Homestead, Florida 702-612-0527
AJ & Kalila Trucking Inc - Jacksonville, Florida 347-204-7580
AK Transportation - Royal Palm Beach, Florida
All Around Transport Services Inc - Riverview, Florida
All Coast Intermodal Services - Jacksonville, Florida
All-Cargo Express - Ft Lauderdale, Florida
All Star Delivery Systems - Miami, Florida Same Day Dada, Broward & Palm Beach Counties
Allianz - The Diligent Movers - Move4Less.com - Salt Lake City, UT (MI, FL)
AM Express Auto Transport - Miami, Florida
American Freight Express - Coral Springs, Florida
American Transloading Services, Inc - Coral Gables, Florida
American Xpress Inc. - Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Anchors Away - Myakka City, Florida
Armellini Express Lines, Inc - Palm City, Florida
Arlington Heavy Hauling Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Arnold Transportation Services - Jacksonville, Florida
ATEC Systems Ltd - Altamonte Springs, Florida
Atlantic Marine Transport - Navarre, Florida
Aviation Express - Ocala, Florida
Bestway Refrigerated Service Inc - Plymouth, Florida
BOATS EXPRESS - Clearwater, Florida
Boat-Transport-Movers - Tampa, Florida
Bonus Transportation, Inc - Sorrento, Florida
Capital Cargo International - Orlando , Florida
Cargo Services Express Inc - Miami, Florida 305-888-1188
Serving Tri-County, Dade-Broward and Palm. Local Pickup & Deliveries,
Storage, Airline Transfers, 2-Man Deliveries, Unpack/Remove Debris. 24hr.
Carroll Fulmer & Co., Inc - Groveland, Florida
Chain Express Corp - Miami, Florida
Coast to Coast Trucking Inc - Cocoa, Florida
Core Carriers Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Crown Logistic Service LLC - Jacksonville, Florida
CSX Intermodal - San Diego, California Jacksonville, Florida
CTL Distribution Inc - Mulberry, Florida
Cypress Truck Lines Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Davis Express - Starke, Florida
Door-to-Door Car Shipping - Orlando, Florida 888-91-9800
Automobile Transporting Service
Double D Truck Specialties - Lake Alfred, Florida
Estes Brothers Transport - Seminole, Florida
Express Boat Transport - Apopka, Florida
Express Transporters - Brooksville, Florida
Exxact Express - Lakeland, Florida
First Class Moving System - Melbourne, FL
Florida East Coast Industries - St Augustine, Florida
Florida Expedited Delivery - Orlando, Florida
Faith Enterprises - Winter Haven, Florida
Florida Freezer - North Fort Myers, Florida
Florida Freight Systems - Jacksonville, Florida
Florida Moving Systems - Melbourne, Florida
Flynn Transportation Services - Boca Raton, Florida
Freight Operations Systems - Miami, Florida
Gold Coast Freightways Inc - Miami, Florida
Galto Trucking & Brokerage Inc - Roselle, Florida
Goodson Integrity Transportation - Jacksonville, Florida 904-759-4887
Green Goblin Express Inc - Lakeland, FL 863-815-3886
Griffin Moving & Storage - Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Hart Transportation Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Hope Trucking Inc - Spring Hill, Florida
Hughes Trucking Inc - St Petersburg, Florida
Hutchens - Clearwater, Florida
Hurley Trucking Inc - Sanford, Florida (407) 324-7649
ICS Logistics - Jacksonville, Florida
I&J Transport Services Inc - Hialeah, Florida
Q ILS Cargo Corp - Miami, Florida 305-718-3799 IATA, IAC, FMC
Impress Auto Transport - Hollywood, Florida
Indian River Transport - Winter Haven, Florida
Integrity Revolution Trucking - Tampa, Florida 813-918-8505
Inter Florida Container Transport - Florida 305-889-0931
Intermodal Trucking Company, LLC - Tampa, Florida
Jameson Logistics - New Port Richey, Florida
Jantogal Transport - Miami, Florida
Jet Stream Transportation - Lake Worth, Florida
John Beaumont Trucking - Sanford, Florida
Joule Yacht Transport Inc - Clearwater, Florida
Justus Boat Transport - Orlando, Florida
Kamp Trucking Inc - Palm Bay, Florida
KB Yachts of Florida Inc - Broward, Florida Shrink Wrap Marine Transport
LCT Transportation Services - Florida
Magnum Freight Corp - Miami, Florida
Marine-Movers - Tampa, Florida
Marlin Gas Transport, Inc - Florida
MC International Freight Forwarders - Medley, Florida
MC International Transportation - Miami, FL Intermodal Container Transport
McKenzie Tanklines - Tallahassee, Florida
Movex Load Consolidators Inc - Tampa, Florida
Southline Transport - N Ft Myers, Florida 239-225-5934
National Transport - Cocoa Beach, Florida
Nelson Motor Freightways Inc Miami, Florida
Nex-Day Auto Transport - Every City, Every State
Oakley Transport Inc - Lake Wales, Florida
Omespa & Sons Transportation - Miami, Florida (305) 322-6819
Patriot Express Delivery - Lakeland, Florida 863-709-0791
PenserSC - Jacksonville, Florida
Patterson Freight Systems Inc - Plant City, Florida
Peninsula Logistics Inc - Sorrento, Florida
Pony Express - Florida
Pretend Transport - Lake Helen, Florida
Progressive Intermodal - Miami, Florida
Pronto Cargo - Miami, Florida
QDS Logistics Inc - Tampa, Florida
Quality Distribution - Tampa, Florida
Rally Transport - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Raven Transport - Jacksonville, Florida
Rountree Transportation - Jacksonville, Florida
Safeway Logistics - Miami, Florida
SDM Freight Movers - Lakeland, Florida
Seaside Carriers Corp - Edgewater, FL 386-428-1108
Seminole Transport - Atlanta, Georgia & Ocoee, Florida
Servi Cargo - Miami, Florida
Shelton Trucking Service - Altha, Florida
Shore to Shore Freightlines Inc - Ft Myers, Florida
Sinna Voyages LLC - Miami, Florida
Sonop Inc Transport - Fleming Island, FL Flatbed w/Forklift for local p/u and deliveries around Jacksonville, Florida
Sorenson Moving & Storage - Melbourne, FL
Southland Trucking Inc - Trenton, Florida 352-463-7526
Specialized Transportation Services - Temecula, CA
Terminals: CA TX FL MD PA
Specialty Mobile Transport - Mason, Florida
SR Carr Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Steele Transport Inc - Florahome, Florida
Suddath Relocation Systems - Jacksonville, Florida
Sun Transportation Inc - Lake Wales, Florida
Sunbelt Transport Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Sunco Carriers Inc - Lakeland, Florida
Super Transport Inc - Boca Raton, Florida
Taz Transportation Inc - Miami, Florida 305-553-1405
TC Trucking of NE Florida - Florida, Missouri, Illinois 904-266-1183
TDT Logistics Inc - Lake City, Florida 386-752-1093
Trailer Bridge - Jacksonville, Florida
Transportation Resources Inc - Winter Park, Florida

Transstar Logistics Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
TRT Carriers Inc - Jacksonville, Florida
Truck Lease Services Inc - Winston-Salem, NC/Charlotte, NC/Jacksonville, FL
Truckaboat USA - Boca Raton, Florida
T.J. Wagner, Inc - Mattapoisett, Massachusetts & Odessa, Florida
Universal Express - Boca Raton, Florida
Vista Transportation Co Inc - Belleview, Florida
Watkins Motor Lines - Lakeland, Florida
White Lion Moving and Storage - Boca Raton, Florida
Windy Hill Foliage Inc - Marshfield, Wisconsin Eustis, Florida
Your Transport Company Inc - Zephyrhills, Florida

Banning Texting While Driving: Part II (Savannah)

2009-09-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

The national association representing state highway safety officials on Sunday threw its support behind a growing movement to ban text messaging by drivers, reversing its previous stand.

The Governors Highway Safety Association had come out against new laws banning texting behind the wheel on the grounds that such legislation would prove impossible to enforce. "Highway safety laws are only effective if they can be enforced and if the public believes they will be ticketed for not complying," GHSA Chairman Vernon F. Betkey Jr. said in July.

But as more officials raise the alarm about the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers, the GHSA has reversed its thinking. It points out that laws enforcing seat belt use and drunk driving laws also faced challenges, but are now common practice.

"If every state passes a texting ban, it will send a message to the public that this dangerous practice is unacceptable," Betkey said in a statement Sunday at the association's annual meeting in Savannah, Ga. "We can begin to change the culture that has permitted distracted driving."

Link here.

NY to Ban Texting While Driving

2009-09-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Starting Nov. 1, text messaging addicts will have to keep their fingers off the keypad when behind the wheel. New York state will become the 18th state to ban texting while driving.

The law will prohibit drivers from text messaging because of the dangers presented by cell phone use while driving. Drivers will be fined a maximum of $150 if they are pulled over for violating the law. Previously, only talking on a cell phone while driving was illegal.

For some Ithaca College students, not being able to text while driving may be an adjustment. Junior Sarah Craig, a New York resident, said she tries not to text when driving because she realizes it can be dangerous but still finds herself doing it

at times.

“It depends on the level of importance of something, but if I’m trying to talk to someone and I feel that it’s important, I’ll stop at a stop sign and text them real quick,” Craig said.

Source here.

Actiq

2009-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

Actiq is a powerful narcotic painkiller in the form of a lollipop that is manufactured by Cephalon, Inc. The drug is delivered to the bloodstream by a lollipop-like lozenge; when placed against the inner cheek, pain is relieved in minutes. Actiq is also administered by transdermal patches and by injection. The active ingredient, fentanyl citrate, is a highly addictive narcotic which is approximately 80 times more potent than morphine.

The FDA approved the Actiq lollipop in 1998 for treatment of severe pain in cancer patients. However, Actiq is apparently being prescribed to thousands of people for off label treatment of non-cancer related pain. It has been estimated that in the first half of 2006 approximately 99% of the 187,076 Actiq prescriptions filled in the U.S. were not for cancer patients.

The Actiq lollipop has been associated with the deaths of at least 127 people. There have been another 91 FDA reported incidents of severe side effects. Side effects have ranged from dehydration to respiratory problems along with further issues associated with the highly addictive nature of the narcotic. Forty-seven of the deaths have been linked to addiction, misuse, or overdose. Two deaths have reportedly involved children who mistook the Actiq lollipop for candy.

Fatal GA Crash

2009-09-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

A man accused of driving an SUV that crashed through a Douglasville home, killing a 60-year-old man, has been charged with vehicular homicide and drunken driving.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that 47-year-old William Stuart had a blood alcohol level of .19, twice the legal limit, after ramming his SUV through a house Saturday night and killing George Michael Bryant.

The wreck also injured several family members who were gathered at the house for a birthday celebration.

A judge denied bond for Stuart at a hearing Tuesday.

Authorities said Stuart's SUV slammed into mailboxes and bushes and hit a parked vehicle before barreling into the Bryant home.

Stella Awards - a Fraud on the Public?

2009-09-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

From lawyer Rick Kuykendall:

Having practiced law in Alabama for many years, I will tell you that when Jere Beasle writes, people read. Here's a post of his on the Stella Awards, and how many of the 'awards' are simply false:

The annual Stella Awards list, a list of the years seven “most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S.,” is nothing more than a fraud on the public. The so-called awards deal primarily with fiction, and many of the lawsuits listed never happened. The examples of what they describe as frivolous lawsuits are at best gross misstatements. The Stella Awards are just part and parcel of the carefully planned efforts designed to destroy the civil justice system. Once these awards are announced, they take on a life of their own. That’s because of the Internet. Unfortunately, the media never bothers to investigate the validity of the cases mentioned in the awards, and then write stories that keep the myths alive.

An example of how these myths orginate is this year’s runaway First Place Stella Award winner. Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who supposedly purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home, was the winner. On her first trip home, from a football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver’s seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski was supposed to have sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn’t actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set. It was reported that an Oklahoma jury had awarded the woman $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. It was also said that Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home. The e-mail that announced the award concludes: “Are we, as a society, getting more stupid?”

The truth is that this sort of nonsense relating to a Winnebago lawsuit never even happened. But, the media bought the story hook, line, and sinker, and never even bothered to check it out. Scores of articles – the vast majority buying the Winnebago story as gospel truth – resulted across the country. Apparently, few journalists bothered to do any research to determine whether they were true. Among outlets falling for the hoax were the New York Daily News, CNN and U.S. News & World Report. In fact, the story actually spread around the world. Readers in Canada, England, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and even Vietnam heard about this fictitious lawsuit that never happened. To his credit, Los Angeles Times reporter Myron Levin, who wanted to learn more about the lawsuit, called Winnebago and found out there was no Grazinski lawsuit. He also learned that the company had not changed the owner’s manual to avoid a swarm of copycat claims as claimed by the Stella awards.

The next time an “Internet tale” makes you believe things are even worse than you thought, check it out. Especially when the story suggests that the American court system is stacked against wealthy Corporate America. If you want to check out the “Stella Awards” and decide for yourself whether they are on the level, a good place to go is www.snopes.com, an excellent site that investigates urban myths. Simply search for “Stella Awards” and find out if the lawsuit stories are true or false.

From Augusta:Car Crash news

2009-08-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

-A weekend crash leaves a Thomson teenager dead, and his co-worker behind bars charged with DUI and vehicular homicide. It's the fourth traffic fatality in a week along the same stretch of I-20, in Warren County.

Last weekend medical problems led to a two car accident that killed three from Martinez. This weekend, less than two miles away another teenager lost his life. This time alcohol is to blame.

These markings and skid marks tell the story of a deadly car accident early Saturday morning.
19-year-old Curtis Evans Jr., better known by family and friends as Monster, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say the truck Evans was riding in lost control and flipped after being rear ended at top speeds.

Read the rest here.

Injury Cases and Medicare Set Aside Information

2009-08-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

In cases involving Medicare beneficiaries, attorneys for both the plaintiff and defendant are required to report certain information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition, any case settlement or judgment must reimburse Medicare where the Trust Fund has made conditional payments for medical costs. Under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, attorneys have been settling cases involving liability claims without completing a Medicare Set Aside (MSAs) to account for future medical costs. However, attorneys representing claimants in workers' compensation cases have been preparing MSAs on a case-by-case basis.

It has come to our attention that some defense firms and insurance providers are now claiming that CMS requires MSAs in liability cases pursuant to Section 111 reporting requirements included in the Medicare, Medicaid & SCHIP Act of 2007 (MMSEA), Public Law No. 110-173. This is false. Section 111 contains reporting requirements for responsible reporting entities(1) (RREs) only. Section 111 does not impact or change the requirements for plaintiffs' attorneys.

Moreover, statements from CMS, and other federal entities, make clear that the agency does not require set-asides for liability claims. Since the MMSEA's passage, CMS has held several Town Hall teleconferences to discuss the Section 111 requirements. During the March 24, 2009 call, Barbara Wright, CMS' Acting Director of the Division of Medicare Debt Management, made several statements reiterating that Section 111 has no impact on liability MSAs.(2) For example:

* In response to a question as to whether liability set-asides will be required under Section 111, she said "the point is the set-aside process is totally separate from the Section 111 reporting process. As we've said in more than one call we don't anticipate changing our routine recovery process." (Transcript, pg. 24)

* When explaining that worker's compensation agreements use a formal review process which makes set-asides recommended, she said that was in contrast to liability agreements. Liability "does not have the same formal review process although our regional offices will consider review of proposed liability set-aside amounts depending on their particular work load and whether or not they believe significant dollars are at issue."
(Transcript, pg. 24).

In addition, CMS also has released several Alerts explaining Section 111, which do not indicate any intent to require MSAs for liability claims. For example:

* "Unless you are a business entity which qualifies as [a required reporting entity (RRE)] for purposes of Section 111, you do not need to initiate any specific actions in connection with Section 111." (CMS Alert, 2/23/09).(3)

* "The new Section 111 requirements do not change or eliminate any existing obligations under the MSP statutory provisions or regulations." (CMS Alert, 2/23/09).

Moreover, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provided Congress with an "objective and non-partisan analysis" analysis of the MMSEA. As there was no legislative history regarding the bill, the CRS research report is the most reliable analysis of the MMSEA, including the Section 111 reporting requirements.

CRS' analysis of the Section 111 reiterates that it is a reporting requirement, and makes no mention of the need for set-asides in liability cases. The Section 111 analysis states, in part:

This provision requires an insurer or third-party administrator for a group health plan (and in the case of a group health plan that is self-insured and self-administered, a plan administrator or fiduciary) to (1) secure from the plan sponsor and participants information required by the Secretary for the purpose of identifying situations where the group health plan is or has been a primary plan to Medicare, and (2) submit information specified by the Secretary. If an insurer or third-party administrator for a group health plan fails to comply, then a $1,000 per day civil monetary penalty will be imposed for each individual for which information should have been submitted.(4)

If CRS believed that the legislative language implies any Congressional endorsement of liability set-asides, it would have been included in this analysis.
We hope this information will be useful in your settlement negotiations.

From the AAJ

Jekyll Island Beach Bash 8/20-22

2009-08-13T05:02:00.000-07:00

For the 2009 Beach Music Festival the event has added a Barbecue Competition, sanctioned by the Georgia Barbecue Association. Now Jekyll Island's Beach Music Festical is Jekyll Island's Beach Music Festival and BBQ Beach Bash. Enjoy music on the beach and grab some delicious barbecue.

Check out the BBQ Competition page for an agenda, competition registration form, and general competition rules and regulations.

Web page here.

AIG in the News

2009-08-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Former AIG chief executive, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, and five other defendants, have agreed to pay $115 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The development comes days after Greenberg and former AIG chief financial officer Howard Smith reached an agreement to settle accusations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they had altered AIG's financial records from 2000 to 2005 to inflate the insurer's earnings.

Source here.

GA: Voter News

2009-08-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel this week announced that the State of Georgia has asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its May 2009 objection of preclearance for two critical voter verification processes utilized in the November 2008 General Election.

The State’s voter verification process checks five criteria provided by new voter registration applicants with information in the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) database or the Social Security Administration database. These criteria include first name, last name, date of birth, driver’s license number, or last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by their county registrar to provide proof of citizenship.

As part of the process for seeking preclearance, a state can ask the DOJ for reconsideration of a submission that has been denied, or request preclearance before the Federal District Court of Washington, D.C.

Source here.

Work: Should Employees Answer Emails After Hours?

2009-08-12T05:10:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Two recent lawsuits raise a question that many employees and employers have deliberated: Should hourly workers be paid for time spent responding to work calls or emails while off the clock?

The federal suits highlight the legal issues sparked by the proliferation of personal technology as well as the blurring of work and free time.

Last month, three current and former employees sued T-Mobile USA Inc., claiming they were required to use company-issued smart phones to respond to work messages after hours without pay.

Read more at the source, here.

Upcoming School Year: Flu Planning Checklist

2009-08-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

All across South Georgia, families are preparing to send their children back to school. A part of that process involves making sure illnesses and the flu don't crop up. Here's a site that give good information in the form of checklists:

http://www.flu.gov/plan/checklists.html

The FAQ area has questions and answers such as these:

How do you catch H1N1 (swine) flu?

Spread of H1N1 (swine) flu can occur in two ways:

* Through contact with infected pigs or environments contaminated with swine flu viruses.
* Through contact with a person with H1N1 (swine) flu. Human-to-human spread of H1N1 (swine) flu has been documented also and is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu. Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

Alaris Infusion Pumps Recall

2009-08-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

The FDA initiated its most serious, Class 1, recall for the Alaris brand of intravenous, intra-arterial electronic infusion pumps.

Manufacturer Cardinal Health recalled the devices after noting problems that may result in insufficient dosing or overdosing and may cause serious injury or death.

The recall is for all Alaris System, Alaris Pump module 8100, and Alaris PC 8000 and 8015 units, formerly known as Medley PC units.

Risks with the pumps include:

* Failure of the Occlusion Warning Message to adequately guide users to clear blocked IV tubing, which could result in underinfusion
* Possible overinfusion, if warnings that the programmed infusion rate exceeds the volume of therapy in the pump are ignored and the pump injects the contents of the syringe into the patient
* Failure of the Electrostatic Discharge Protection Circuitry, resulting in an unresponsive keypad, key entries without key presses, or incorrect registering of key entries
* Failure of IV tubing, resulting in fluid entering the pumping mechanism and overinfusion of therapy

The pump recall started on June 12, 2009 when the company sent a mass mailing to all Alaris System customers explaining the device errors and precautionary measures that should be taken with the device, including how to reprogram the device to ensure proper use.

Statistics on Auto Accidents

2009-08-11T17:52:00.003-07:00

Leading causes of Automobile Accidents:

Several studies have been done over the years and statistics have been recorded as a result that details the leading causes of serious auto accidents. These leading causes appear below:

1. Distracted drivers – There are innumerable distractions that can steal the attention of a driver, and loss of focus for even one second behind the wheel can prove to be deadly. Some of the most common examples of distracted driver scenarios include:

* Rubber-necking – Stopping to peer at another accident
* General fatigue
* Scenery
* In-cabin distractions – Children, pets and passengers are included
* Entertainment – Radios, CD players and now even DVD players are available
* Map-reading

2. Driver fatigue – According to the United States National Traffic Safety Administration, fatigued drivers account for approximately 100,000 auto accidents every year. As one would expect, the risk is at its highest during the night, as this is when tired people tend to either begin to drive or continue to drive well beyond the point where they should take a break.

3. Alcohol – Despite the millions of dollars that are spent on marketing campaigns designed to persuade people to stop drinking and driving, it still occurs at alarming rates. Almost 20,000 people every year are killed in the United States in auto accidents where alcohol is a factor, and that number is sadly holding steady.

4. Aggressive driving – We have all seen ‘that’ person on the highway who darts in and out of lanes, cuts people off and basically drives as recklessly as one could imagine. Even though most forget these drivers as temporary annoyances, the fact is that they do real damage on our roadways.

5. Speeding – Speed limits are laws, despite the fact that so many people blatantly disobey them with alarming regularity. The reasons for higher injury and fatality numbers when speeding is involved are many, but one of the most prominent is a basic matter of physics – it takes much longer for a driver who is going too fast to slow down or correct a mistake than someone who is traveling at a reasonable rate of speed.

6. Weather and road conditions – When someone thinks of weather-related auto accidents, they tend to consider those parts of the country that feature cold winters and icy roads. While there are certainly a high number of accidents in those areas, even parts of the country where rain is rare can cause problems when the roads are wet, as they become slippery quickly when water is dumped onto dry pavement.

Kingsland, GA Car Accident Information

2009-08-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Our lawyers are right here in Southeast Georgia. If you're in Kingsland, call us first.

If you've ever been involved in an auto accident, you know how deeply it can shake you. Sometimes that happens instantly and you can't even think. Yet, you and your passengers (as well as people in the other vehicles(s)involved) may be hurt. Then, you think about your car, your insurance, the danger you may be in on the road and about the people or place you were on your way to see. It's a lot to think about and deal with, especially if you've been injured.

No one wants to have that happen but it's good to be prepared. You should know what to do if you become involved in a collision. Here are the basics.

Help others if necessary

Give reasonable assistance to injured persons. California law requires you to give reasonable assistance to injured persons. You may have to:

* Call an ambulance
* Take an injured person to the doctor or hospital
* Give first aid, if you know how to

If you do NOT know first aid, DO NOT move the injured to avoid further injury. If, however, an injured person is in danger of losing their life or being more severely injured, you SHOULD move them.

Prevent further danger

Warn other motorists to prevent additional collisions. Some things you might do are: * Place warning flares on the roadway approaching the accident (after determining NO flammable liquids or items are nearby).

* turn on the hazard lights
* lift the car's hood to signal drivers
* arrange to get help for injured persons or request help from anyone nearby.
* call 911. Give the exact location. State if you need an ambulance or fire department assistance.

After the accident: Take pictures of the vehicle damage. Make sure that the vehicle, if towed, has all valuables removed.

Should You Buy Uninsured Motorists Coverage?

2009-08-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you if you’re in an accident with an uninsured driver; underinsured coverage protects you if you’re in an accident with someone who doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries. Both coverages are personal and portable and cover you whether you’re injured as a pedestrian, on a bike or in your car.

Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage could cover medical bills, lost wages from missed work and other related expenses. Try to purchase a relatively high level of coverage if possible.

You can also stack coverage.

An example of stacking is Jim has limits of $100,000/$300,000 for his uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage and is insuring 2 vehicles. If he leaves them "unstacked" Jim's limits would stay at $100,000/$300,000. If Jim instead chooses to "stack" his UMBI coverages then his limits would double to $200,000/$600,000.

Since "stacking" is the application of more than one policy limit to the same loss or occurrence, if you only have one vehicle on your policy than there would not be coverage to stack. With a single car policy there is not multi-coverage to stack thus no benefit since this option would not be available to you.Ask your agent if you can stack policies.

Study: Should Children Take Tamiflu?

2009-08-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

Children with seasonal flu should not be given Tamiflu because harmful side effects may outweigh relatively meagre benefits, according to a study released Monday.

In some children Tamiflu caused nausea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration and other complications, researchers reported.

The study did not cover the current outbreak of swine flu, but it suggests that antivirals may not significantly reduce the length of illness or prevent complications in children infected with the new A(H1N1) virus, the researchers said.

Carl Henegan, a doctor at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and co-author of the study, said the current British practice of giving Tamiflu and Relenza -- the brand names for the antivirals oseltamivir and zanamivir -- for mild illness was "an inappropriate strategy."

"The downside of the harms outweigh the one-day reduction in symptomatic benefits," he said.

The research showed that both antivirals shortened the duration of seasonal flu by 12 to 36 hours.

For more, go here.

Lower Rate on Car Insurance?

2009-08-11T05:28:00.001-07:00

There are ways to shop and possibly obtain less expensive car insurance. Do you meet these in your house?

* Good grades by kids of driving age?
* Multiple cars discount?
* Drivers’ education course?
* AARP discount?

Some others that may help lower your bill:

* Taking a defensive driving course every 3 years, a savings of up to 10%.
* Driving fewer miles per year.
* Using the same company for your homeowner’s and car insurance policies.
* Going five years without an accident.
* Asking your agent, a surprisingly overlooked step.

Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

2009-08-10T16:36:00.002-07:00

Police have arrested one man for a traffic fatality that took place at Fort Argyle Road on Friday evening.

The accident claimed the life of 53-year-old Dena Lee Sargent of Bloomingdale. See Police investigating late night traffic fatality.

Savannah-Chatham police investigators said that 42-year-old Donald Lamar Pippin of Ellabell was going west on Fort Argyle Road when he struck Sargent while she was crossing the roadway.

Police say Pippin left the scene of the accident and was later found at his Ellabell home. With the assistance of Georgia State Patrol and the Bryan County Sheriff's Office, SCMPD traffic investigators arrested Pippin and brought him back to Chatham County.

Source here.

Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

2009-08-10T16:36:00.001-07:00

Chatham County: Traffic Fatality Arrest

2009-08-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

I95 Wrong-Way Crash

2009-08-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Four people died this past weekend when a pickup truck going the wrong way on Interstate 95 collided head on with a minivan headed from New York to Florida, the Georgia State Patrol said.

The patrol said southbound lanes were closed for about four hours after the accident around 6:30 a.m. in Richmond Hill.

Trooper Chris Cuddington said the pickup was headed north in the center southbound lane. The accident was under investigation, but "alcohol is going to be a factor," Cuddington said.

The truck driver, Michael Delph, 28, of Clemson, S.C., and the female driver and two men in the minivan were killed, the trooper said.

Source here.

ATV Rollover Death in the News

2009-08-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

It's a heartbreaking one, wish folks would use more common sense:

A 3-year-old girl died Saturday evening when the ATV her 8-year-old brother was driving crashed and rolled over on her, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. The boy suffered facial injuries, authorities said; the children's 10-year-old sister who also was on the vehicle escaped harm

When the ATV struck a tree, the 3-year-old was thrown to the ground and pinned beneath the vehicle after it rolled over.

Our ATV rules are the same as others:

The ATV Safety Institute's Golden Rules:

1. Always wear a helmet and other protective gear.
2. Never ride on public roads - another vehicle could hit you.
3. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
4. Never carry a passenger on a single-rider vehicle.
5. Ride an ATV that's right for your age.
6. Supervise riders younger than 16; ATVs are not toys.
7. Ride only on designated trails and at a safe speed.

Evans County, GA Superior Court Information

2009-08-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Info on the Court located in Claxton, GA:

Office of the Clerk of Courts

Evans County, Georgia

Superior Court, State Court, Juvenile Court
Gail B. McCooey, Clerk

Post Office Box 845

123 West Main Street

Claxton GA 30417

Phone: 912-739-3868 FAX 912-739-2504

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Clerk of Court Staff:

Kathy P. Hendrix, Clerk of Court

Sheila S. Blackburn, Chief Deputy Clerk

Angelina Harbaugh, Deputy Clerk

Ann Griffin, Deputy Clerk

Melinda P. Boyett, Deputy Clerk

Services

The office of the Clerk of Courts of Evans County, Georgia is staffed and structured into divisions to provide:

* Clerical, administrative and support services to the three courts the office serves;
* Management of real estate and personal property records of the county;
* Additional services required by law and as a courtesy to the citizens of the county

The three divisions of the office are listed below.

Business/Administrative Division

The Business/Administrative Division of the Office of the Clerk of Courts of Evans County provides many auxiliary services. Primarily this division is responsible for administration of the office and accounting for all funds paid into the registries of the courts is serves. Other services provided by the division are:

* Jury Management – maintaining and managing all jury pool information for the county, summoning and notifying jurors, and managing juries during jury selection and trials
* Notary Public – issuing and approving all applications for notary public for citizens of Evans County.
* Partnerships – filing and maintaining all records for partnerships within the county
* Trade Names – filing and maintaining all records
* Veteran’s Military Records OCGA 15-6-72 provides the Clerk of Superior Court shall record and index the discharge certificates (DD-214) of all former members of the armed services of the United States residing in the county, showing their discharge from military services.

There is no filing fee for this service, nor is there a fee for obtaining copies, certified or otherwise. However, to protect military discharge records against fraudulent misuse, strict enforcement of Georgia laws are followed concerning who may view and receive copies of discharge records. The following is a synopsis of the law governing the confidentiality of records.

Georgia Laws, Code Section 15-6-72.

Unsafe Truck and Bus Operators Still on Road

2009-08-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

So says the GAO:

Hundreds of tractor-trailer and bus companies ordered to shut down because of federal safety violations ranging from suspended licenses to possible drug use have stayed on the road by using different names, investigators say.

The study by the Government Accountability Office, obtained by The Associated Press, comes a year after an unlicensed charter bus carrying a Vietnamese-American Catholic group blew a retreaded tire installed on a steering axle and skidded off a Texas highway, killing 17 people in one of the nation's deadliest bus crashes. The use of recapped tires on the steering wheels is a violation of federal regulations, the study stated.

The GAO report found that at least 20 of the roughly 220 commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 by federal regulators evaded compliance by setting up shop under a new name, the same tactic used by the bus operator in the Texas crash.

The investigation found offenders in at least nine states — Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, New York and Washington. The violators owed tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent fines and had scores of violations, from operating without the proper license to failing to test drivers for illegal drugs and alcohol.

Another 1,073 commercial trucking firms are also believed to be possible "reincarnations" after incurring fines and violations, often using the same address, owner name, employees and contact numbers.

In all more than 500 of the tractor-trailer and bus companies were still operating as recently as last month, investigators said.

"These companies pose a safety threat to the motoring public," wrote Greg Kutz, GAO's managing director for special investigations, noting that there were about 300 fatalities from bus crashes last year. "We believe that these carriers reincarnated into new companies to evade fines and avoid performing the necessary corrective actions."

Source here.

Teen Drivers

2009-08-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

There is no easy cure for teenage traffic deaths and injuries, but Susan Kessler believes she has at least come up with a way to help limit the carnage: When a new driver gets behind the wheel, just slap a temporary warning sign on the car.

Kessler has developed signs for teens with learner permits and first-year licenses. They are attached magnetically to the car's sheet metal and display the words "Caution Newly Licensed."

It's not hard to imagine the signs being a nightmare to teens obsessed with what their peers think. But, Kessler, a Kennesaw, Georgia, mother of six, says the real horror is out on the highway: thousands of young people are killed and injured in traffics every year.

More than 15,000 of people have ordered the signs since Kessler and a group of other moms introduced them four years ago.

Source here. You can order the magnet sticker here.

From that site:

The CAUTION-NEWLY LICENSED® car magnet identifies teen drivers and
alerts surrounding drivers to slow down and use caution and patience.

The magnet provides an "added shield of protection" for teens
with learners permits and first year drivers.

GA Supreme Court Ruling: Online Travel Agencies Must Pay Taxes

2009-08-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Columbus in a lawsuit over hotel/motel sales tax collections that could have repercussions in Atlanta and elsewhere.

The court ruled 4-3 that Expedia Inc., parent of Expedia.com, must collect taxes on hotel room rentals based on the price a customer pays, and remit that amount to the city.

Columbus officials sued Expedia arguing the online travel site charges customers a higher “room rate” than it pays to hotels, but hotels remit occupancy taxes based on the wholesale rate of the room. The online travel providers pocket the difference. A lower court ruled in the city’s favor.

The ruling did not say whether Columbus has the authority to go after back taxes.

For more, go here.

A Growing Problem: Drivers Without Car Insurance

2009-08-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

Rose Roper said she has finally resolved issues over a wreck she and her daughter had in March 2006. She was hit a car whose driver was without insurance.

Authorities expect that kind of problem to increase as more people drop their insurance coverage in a bad economy.

Roper said the situation surrounding their accident wasn't settled until she hired an attorney.

"We had to pay out of pocket and then had to use an attorney to get our money back," said the Muscle Shoals resident. "Insurance is expensive, but I'm glad I had full coverage. I don't know what I would have done without it."

John Heid, an official with Allstate Insurance in Atlanta, said that in 2007, 26 percent of Alabama drivers were uninsured.

"It stands to reason that the increase in the percentage of uninsured drivers will result in a greater likelihood that if you're involved in an auto accident, it will be with someone who has no auto insurance," Heid said.

Alabama is among 49 states that require drivers to carry insurance, and it requires drivers to have at least liability insurance.

Still, uninsured drivers are a problem.

"We continue to write citations for no insurance," said Florence police Lt. Tony Barnett.

Carolyn Gorman, an official with the Insurance Information Institute in New York, said the problem is not limited to a few states.

"It's a national problem and one that is growing," he said.

Officials with the Insurance Research Council noted that in 2007, 13.8 percent of drivers nationwide had no car insurance. That percentage is expected to increase to 16 or higher by 2010.

Gorman said research reveals that several hundred thousand motorists are expected to drop their insurance as the unemployment rate climbs.

In a recent study by Direct General, a Nashville-based automobile insurance provider, 36 percent of drivers say they will continue to drive even if they are unable to keep their car insurance.

Read more here.

Texting Increases Risk of an Accident

2009-08-10T04:55:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

According to a report released on Tuesday, text messaging while driving increases the risk of an auto accident even more than talking on a cell phone while driving.

The study, which was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), found that texting while driving increased the risk of an accident by more than 23 times.

"Text messaging on a cell phone was associated with the highest risk of all cell phone related tasks," says the VTTI. "The tasks that draw the driver's eyes away from the forward roadway were those with the highest risk."

The VTTI also found that text messaging leads drivers eyes to be off the road an average of 4.6 seconds over a six-second interval.

"This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field (100 yards) at 55 miles per hour without looking at the roadway," the study said.

"Talking/listening to a cell phone allowed drivers to maintain eyes on the road and were not associated with an increased safety risk to nearly the same degree," it said.

Source here

Auto Accident - What to Do

2009-08-10T04:53:00.001-07:00

An earlier post addressed property damage. Here's more info:

What should I do if the other driver does not have insurance?

If the other driver caused the accident and is not insured, your own policy can pay for your personal injuries—if you have uninsured motorist or medical payments coverage, up to the specified limits as provided in your policy.

If the other driver’s insurance is not enough to pay for all of your damages, your own insurance may pay the difference—if you have underinsured motorist coverage.

If you do not have these kinds of insurance or if your damages are more than the policy’s limit, you can sue the other driver. However, even if you win the case, you cannot be sure that the other driver has the money to pay.

If you have collision insurance, it will usually pay for the damage to your car, minus your deductible, no matter who is at faul

For Laughs: Wienermobile Crashes

2009-08-09T18:16:00.001-07:00

Image by sjciske via Flickr

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile got itself into quite a pickle when it crashed into a Racine home this past month. The Wienermobile took a wrong turn and ended up on the dead-end street, Kenilworth Avenue in Racine, Wisconsin.

While trying to get turned around, the woman driving the hot dog on wheels accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and lodged the Wienermobile under a house. The Wienermobile was taken from the scene by tow truck.

Rollover Crashes

2009-08-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

From FARS:

The proportion of vehicles that rolled over in fatal crashes (21.5 percent) was nearly 4 times as high as the proportion in injury crashes (5.8 percent) and nearly 17 times as high as the proportion in property-damage-only crashes (1.3 percent).

Link and data here.

Weekend: Bridge Pic

2009-08-09T17:09:00.001-07:00

One of my favorites is this pic. The towers are 486 feet tall from the top of the footing to the top of the tower.

SE Georgia: Auto Wrecks

2009-08-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Auto Accidents are part of life on the roads. More than six million motor vehicle accidents just last year alone, and with more than two million of those accidents resulting in injury, there's a good chance that you or someone you know will either be involved in an accident, know someone involved in an accident, or be a witness to an accident this year.

It's confusing after the wreck. This post addresses a rental car:

I was in a traffic accident, it wasn't my fault, do I get a rental vehicle?

Some traffic accidents are simple. Some are not. Fault isn't usually established at the scene of the accident. The only way fault is established at the scene of a traffic accident is if a police officer witnesses the accident. For the sake of discussion we are going to assume that all the drivers involved were insured.

You have a couple of options here. Call your insurance agent and tell them you were involved in a traffic accident, give them all the details plus the name of the person that hit you and their insurance agent. Call the other persons insurance agent and tell them that their insured driver hit you in a traffic accident. You must work both sides of the fence here to get your rental vehicle quickly.
In all cases, it takes a couple of days to finally get a rental vehicle issued. If both sides drag their collective feet and will not issue a rental vehicle and you need an auto to do you job, rent a vehicle with your money. One of the two insurance companies will settle up with you later in this process.

Before a rental vehicle can be issued by either side, an insurance adjuster will be called out to look at the damage to your vehicle. If it is worth repairing, they will authorize a rental vehicle for you. If your vehicle is not worth repairing, then you will not be authorize for a rental vehicle. Instead, the insurance company will settle up with you on what they think your vehicle was worth.

Reglan News: SE Georgia

2009-08-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

FDA has placed a black box warning (the strongest FDA warning) on all drugs containing the pharmaceutical ingredient metoclopramide (Reglan), which is used in the treatment of disorders like heartburn caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The black box label warns consumers about the risk of developing tardive dyskinesia, which causes involuntary repetitive momements (twitches) with long-term, high-dose use of metoclopramide. Symptoms of tardive dyskinesia can persist long after the patient stops using the drug.

Metoclopramide can be found in Reglan tablets, oral disintegrating pills, metoclopramide oral solution and Reglan injections. All of these metoclopramide-containing prescription drugs already contain box warnings, but the seriousness of the risk of developing tardive dyskinesia (involuntary movements) will now be highlighted by the FDA’s strongest available warning.

Any patient taking Reglan or other forms of metoclopramide should have been warned of the risk of tardive dyskinesia by their doctor prior to being prescribed the drug. The risk increases the longer a patient takes metoclopramide, and with higher doses. FDA studies show that around 20 percent of patients who developed drug-induced movement disorders after taking Metoclopramide had taken the drug for more than three months.

The FDA encourages consumers to report adverse events to the FDA’s MedWatch program. You can reach MedWatch by phone at 800-FDA-1088.

Waycross, GA Lawsuit News:

2009-08-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Lawsuit pending in Waycross:

On January 27, 2009, the Superior Court in Waycross, Georgia, dismissed all of the Kevin Harmon's claims in response to our Innomed's Motion for Summary Judgment.

More news here.

Fentanyl Patch Recall News for SE Georgia

2009-08-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday it is recalling one production lot of its painkilling Fentanyl patch because some of the patches have leaks.

Watson said it recalled one lot of Fentanyl Transdermal System patches designed to release the drug at a rate of 100 mg per hour. The lot is number 145287A, and the patches were shipped to customers between April 2 and May 20. Their expiration date is February 2011.

The company said some of the patches leak fentanyl gel, which could expose patients or caregivers to the drug directly. It said no injuries have been reported, but exposure to the gel could cause difficulty breathing or a possible overdose

More information here.

Georgia News: Booster Seats and More

2009-08-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Target recalled a line of booster seats because their restraint buckle can open unexpectedly. Dorel Juvenile Group recalled its stair gates because the hinges can break. Graco Children's Products recalled doorway jumpers because strips of fabric can come lose from attached toys and pose a choking risk.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported in connection with the above recalls.

PRODUCT: Circo booster seats, manufactured in China and imported by Target of Minneapolis. The recalled seats were sold at Target stores around the country between December 2008 and June 2009.

HOW MANY: About 43,000.

WHY: The restraint buckle can open unexpectedly. The company has received eight reports of buckles opening in this manner.

More info. here.

Glynn County Courthouse Information:

2009-08-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Chamber days:

Jeff Davis: 1st and 3rd Mondays
Glynn: Tuesday
Wayne: Wednesday
Camden: Thursday
Appling: 1st Tuesday following the 1st Monday of every month, and two weeks following that date

Please note: Cell phones, pagers, and weapons are not permitted. You will be subject to search prior to entering the courthouse.

Juror Information

Please call the following number: (912) 554-7289.

SE Georgia Prosecutor Resigning

2009-08-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Edmund A. Booth Jr. announced Friday that he would resign effective midnight Sept. 3.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have served in the United States Attorney’s Office for over 38 years," Booth said. "It has been my high honor and distinct privilege to have served these past two and one-half years as United States Attorney. I look forward to the future and exploring work opportunities in the private sector.”

Booth served as Acting U. S. Attorney from February 2007 until he was appointed by Attorney General Gonzalez as Interim United States Attorney in September 2007, and President George W. Bush appointed him to his current position on Dec. 7, 2007.

Booth previously served as Interim U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia from April 21, 2001 to Nov. 16, 2001 under an appointment by Attorney General Ashcroft as extended by the Chief Judge of the district.

Source here.

CodeRED Phone Notification System News

2009-08-09T15:36:00.001-07:00

Telephones rang throughout Brunswick and the rest of Glynn County last month as authorities test the CodeRED high-speed, high-volume telephone emergency notification system.

The automated system called almost 30,000 registered home, business and cell phones with a recorded test alert message authorized by the Glynn/Brunswick E-911 Center.

The test is intended to ensure that during emergencies such as severe weather, wildfires, hazardous materials spills or evacuations, police and fire officials can quickly alert residents in the affected areas.

Brunswick, GA Car Fatality Accident Information

2009-08-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Good information here:

http://www.city-data.com/accidents/acc-Brunswick-Georgia.html