The Injury Board Regional Blogs

Study Shows Doctors Often Distort the Truth with Patients

John Lowery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:08:34 GMT

A study discussed in Friday's Tennessean shows that many physicians withhold the truth from patients to avoid being held accountable through a lawsuit:

"More than half admitted describing someone’s prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn’t fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they’d told a patient something that wasn’t true in the past year."

As a trial lawyer, I'm not surprised that this many doctors are cutting corners with the truth and/or outright lying to their patients about deadly mistakes. I would wager that, among the 5% of doctors who commit the most malpractice, the percentage is much higher.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Lowery

Captain Schettino of Costa Concordia Remains Under House Arrest

Brett Rivkind — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:07:10 GMT

An Italian Court ruled on Tuesday that Captain Schettino must remain under house arrest. He was the captain of Costa Concordia that killed at least 17 people because the captain sailed too close to island. Schettino has been under house arrest since January 17. The Florence Court rejected both sides of the argument in determining the outcome for the captain. According to Fox news “Prosecutors had argued that Schettino -- who is accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship ahead of his passengers -- is a flight risk and that he should be incarcerated rather than continue to be held under house arrest at his home in Meta di Sorrento, near Naples. On the other hand, Schettino's lawyers argued he should be freed on bail and that he posed no immediate threat of re-offending, as he was suspended from his job as ship captain.”

The captain faces 2500 years in prison if convicted. Schettino could receive an 8-year sentence for each and every one of the 300 passengers left on the ship after he selfishly abandoned. The investigation ended last week leaving 15 people still unaccounted for in this tragic disaster.

Our firm is currently assisting crewmembers and passengers who were onboard the Costa Concordia. We remind everyone that the 30 day time deadline is on Sunday, February 12, 2012, to claims for property loss. We have been helping passengers get this filed.

I have been a Miami maritime and cruise ship attorney for 30 years. This disaster is the worst disaster I have seen during this time. I previously testified in Congress about cruise ship safety, and I am hopeful I will do so again as there definitely needs to be changes made for the safety of all passengers and crew on cruise ships.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Could Inhaled Caffeine Become the New Club Drug?

David Mittleman — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:33:00 GMT

Areoshot may be caffeine addicts' biggest fantasy: by simply taking a deep breath, you can get your caffeine fix for the day or for a little while, at least. The device was created by a Harvard professor and is on the market in New York and Massachusetts as well as in France and online. It is typically sold at convenience stores, costs about $2.99 and delivers 100 mg of caffeine and B6 vitamins. Experts are beginning to worry that the convenience of the product may lead college students to turn it when they want to keep drinking without stopping.

While the creator of the product Dr. David Edwards of Biomedical Engineering at Harvard says it is safe, it has caught some negative attention from lawmakers. US Senator Charles Schumer of NY wants an FDA review of Areoshot, but Dr. Edwards says it is a typical knee-jerk response to a new product.

The Areoshot works by delivering a puff of lemon-lime flavored powder into the mouth when you press down on the lipstick size container. The airborne energy particles coat the inside of your mouth, dissolve quickly, and don't actually get into your lungs according to Dr. Edwards. Critics fear that hard-partying college students will use the product much like Four Loko drinks or so-called "blackout in a can" that laces alcohol with caffeine. Combining alcohol with caffeine can trick the body into thinking it is less intoxicated than it actually is, leading to more dangerous levels of alcohol consumption. However, Dr. Edwards says the products is simply a faster, easier way of getting a caffeine jolt at inconvenient locations to drink coffee such as at a library, at a sports game, or in an airport. Each container holds the equivalent of ten cups of coffee and has a warning label instructing users not to use more than three puffs a day (or about three cups of coffee). The problem that experts see is that it is a lot harder to drink ten cups of coffee straight than ten puffs of Areoshot, which is too much caffeine for one day.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Mittleman

1.7 million Single-Cup Brewers and 4 million T Discs recalled due to burns, children injured

Paul Napoli — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:17:26 GMT

More than 100 reports of burns and incidents involving the spraying of hot liquids has prompted the recall of Tassimo Single-Cup Brewers and the coffee or tea filled T Discs used in them.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the regulatory agency Health Canada announced that BSH Home Appliances Corp., of Irvine, CA, is recalling 835,000 Bosch Tassimo and Tassimo Professional Single-Cup Brewers in the United States and an additional 900,000 in Canada.

Consumers, hotels and food service providers should stop using these brewers immediately. The manufacturer has received 140 reports of brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers or bystanders. 37 of those resulted in second-degree burns. A girl from Minnesota, age 10, required hospitalization due to second-degree burns to her face and neck.

Consumers may have purchased the Bosch Tassimo brewer at department and big box stores nationwide or online from June 2008 to February 2012 for between $100 and $250. BSH sold the Tassimo Professional directly to hotels and food service providers. These units use a T Disc, a cartridge prefilled with coffee or tea.

Bosch Tassimo brewers are black, white, anthracite, gray, silver, red, titanium or white/gray colored plastic and have the brand name “BOSCH” and “TASSIMO” printed on the front of the unit. The Tassimo Professional only came in black and has the words “TASSIMO PROFESSIONAL” printed on the front. Only Tassimo brewers with the following model and date codes are affected by the recall:

Brand	Model Numbers That Begin With:	Date Codes Beginning with FD and Within the Range of:
Bosch®	TAS100	FD 8806 through 9109
	TAS200
	TAS451
	TAS46
	TAS651
Tassimo Professional	TAS6512CUL	FD 8905 through 9109

Owners of these single-cup brewers can obtain a free replacement T Disc holder by calling (866) 918-8763 or visiting http://www.tassimosafetyrecall.com/

Kraft Foods Global Inc., of Northfield, IL, is recalling Gevalia, Maxwell House and Nabob brand Tassimo T Discs for use in the recalled Tassimo Single-Cup Brewers, 2.1 million in the United States and 1.9 million in Canada, because a clogging of the T Disc can spray hot liquid and grounds onto the user or bystanders during or after brewing.

According to a release by the CPSC, consumers have reported 21 incidences of the malfunction. Four cases resulted in second-degree burns, including one 2-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns to the face.

T Discs with the following codes are affected by this recall:

Recalled T Discs
Gevalia	Maxwell House	Nabob	Codes ending with
Espresso	Espresso	Espresso	11213 through 12020
Espresso Decaffeinated	Café Collection Cappuccino	Cappuccino
Cappuccino	Café Collection Crème Cappuccino	Decaf Cappuccino
Cappuccino Decaffeinated	Café Collection Skinny Cappuccino	Latte
Skinny Cappuccino	Café Collection Latte	Skinny Latte
Latte	Café Collection Crème Latte
Caramel Latte Macchiato	Café Collection Caramel Latte Macchiato
Mocha
Peppermint Mocha

Consumers can receive a full refund by calling (866) 918-8763 or visiting the T Disc recall website.

Visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @NapoliBern

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Friday Legal & Safety News Roundup: February 10, 2012

Brett Emison — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:13:00 GMT

Legal and safety news from around the internet that caught my attention this week:

Justice Kennedy As Healthcare Swing Vote: Which Way Will He Go? [Lee Pacchia at Bloomberg Law]
The Citizens United Catastrophe [E.J. Dionne Jr. at The Washington Post]
Things You Can't Do on a Plane: Vol. 12 [Bruce Carton at Law.com Legal Blog Watch]
The Insurer-Insured Privilege - (A Reason to Talk to an Attorney Before You Talk to the Insurance Company) [Matt Meyerkord at Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney Blog]
Ultra-embarrassing fraternity lawsuit [Walter Olson at Overlawyered]
Another Drug Raid Video From Columbia, Missouri [Radley Balko at The Agitator]
BP - Rolling In It as the Trial Date Nears [The Pop Tort]
Why Same-Sex Marriage Bans Qualify as Sex Discrimination [Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy]
Thoughts on the Ninth Circuit's Same-Sex Marriage Decision [Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy]
No Choice, No Remedy - The Truth Behind Generic Drug Medications [Amber Racine at The Injury Board]
More iPad Apps for Lawyers [Niki Black at Legal iPad]
Why Most People Tend to Talk About Politics Only with those Who Agree with Them [Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy]
How and why to boycott Apple [Brishen Rogers at Concurring Opinions]

Follow @BrettEmison on Twitter.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

OSHA cites Manhattan contractor after worker fall at Brooklyn worksite

Paul Napoli — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:04:32 GMT

A Manhattan-based masonry contractor faces citations and fines totaling $74,500 after an investigation into a construction worker’s 80-foot fall from a scaffold.

Inspectors from the Manhattan Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) visited the worksite at 2738 86th St. in Brooklyn after a worker who was working on a 118-foot high scaffold fell 80 feet to a lower level.

“This employee is fortunate to have escaped death, but what is unfortunate is that this fall occurred in the first place,” said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens in a release. “It is effective scaffold maintenance, work practices and fall protection – not luck – that are essential to protecting workers against life-threatening falls.”

The agency cited Navillus Contracting Tile Inc. for six serious violations, serious meaning there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. OSHA proposed $36,000 in fines for these serious violations:

The scaffold platform was not fully planked and lacked guardrails.
An aluminum access platform was not secured against displacement.
Another worker was not tied off to a safe anchorage point.
Employees accessed work areas by climbing up and down the scaffold frames.

OSHA has cited Navillus for lack of guardrails on scaffolding in the past and proposed $38,500 in fines for this repeat violation.

In 2009, 54 workers died after falling from scaffolds. OSHA has developed standards for scaffolding use.

"To prevent hazards such as these, employers should implement effective illness and injury prevention programs in which they work continuously with their employees to identify and eliminate hazards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.

Navillus has 15 days to comply, meet with OSHA's area director or contest the violations.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Experiencing a "Slip and Falls" in Minnesota

Mike Bryant — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:27:00 GMT

Last February, there was a interesting story in the Minnesota Tribune about a slip and fall at Denny's. The most startling thing about the story is that the hazard that caused a woman to be injured is still present. The fall took place when a down spout was distributing water right into a handicapped spot. The water froze and a person fell getting out of their car.

It seems that Denny's would have learned and done something about this hazard. Move the spout, move the handicap spot, or maybe at least put a sign up. They know that it's there and that some ones been hurt.

The next place worth reading is the comments. There is the usual group of people blaming the lawyer or who pointed out that you can fall in Minnesota in winter. These are the jurors that Denny's is really playing to. They profit from having customers come in, you would think they would except that responsibility that comes with the money. No, it's easier and cheaper to hide from the responsibility and blame the costumer.

We are getting a lot of slip and fall calls right now. The tough thing is that most of them aren't going to be successful. The type of injury or the circumstances that caused the falls make it a likely loser:

- The Minnesota courts have been hostile to these claims. These past couple of years have given us some of the harshest rulings on falls that have been seen for a long time.

- You don't just recover because it happened on someone else's land. There are policies that have some amounts that pay for a limited amount of medical costs, but those don't involve any payments for liability without proof of negligence.

- Without a fracture or a surgery, the cost that goes into the cases, which include experts from the medical field, but also from engineers or architects, make these cases very costly. When you factor in the risks, a soft tissue injury is not going to justify the expense to pursue the case in most circumstances.

Slip and fall cases probably bother me the most because jurors are harsh, the judges seem not to care, and often they involve businesses that make the customer the scape goat. They invite people on the property and don't make sure they are safe. It's really a case that shouldn't be as hard and as unjust as they really are.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant

What You Need To Know About Complyig With Pennsylvania Teenage Driver Laws

Scott Cooper — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:11:11 GMT

Recently, Pennsylvania enacted laws "Lacey's law" which dramatically change the requirements for young drivers first obtaining their licenses. There is now a three stage program for a driver to obtain a full unlimited license. Below is a link to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania summary of the requirments and what a driver needs to know in order to be fuilly compliant with Pennsylvania’s new laws and the three state process.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/young_drivers/yng_drv_fact_sheet.pdf

It is a well known fact that teenage drivers are, unfortunately, more likely to be involved in a car accident or wreck involving injury and death. This fact exists not only in Harrisburg, Central Pennsylvania, and the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania but all over the country. Becoming aware of the new laws will help reduce this risk.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Scott Cooper

"Team InjuryBoard" Road Racers to do Double Duty for Downs Syndrome

Doug Landau — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:03:00 GMT

After their successful participation and fundraising for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (which cares for maimed, disabled and diseased marine animals, as depicted inthe hit movie "WInter's Tale") the "Team InjuryBoard" running lawyers will once again toe the line for a wonderful cause and "exercise their legal rights" ! In town for the Association for Justice meeting, these lawyers will also be running for charity in addition to blogging about safety and representing injured and disabled clients. This Sunday is the 34th annual Runner's Den Classic Road Races at Paradise Valley Mall, 4568 E. Cactus Road in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to the usual prizes for top finishers in the 5km and 10km. races, for those hardy souls who race in BOTH events, there are Awards to Top Ten Male and Female combined time "Double Down" finishers. Doug and Melissa Landau are entered in the infamous "Double Down" combined 10k & 5k, as Mrs. Landau is a long distance specialist with several half marathons to her credit, and the "Triathlon Trial Lawyer" needs to get in shape for several National Championship races and the Sprint Triathlon World Championships in New Zealand in October.

Proceeds from the race go to "Sharing Down Syndrome - Arizona" According to their web site, the Mission of Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona is "to educate and empower, but especially give hope to individuals who have Down syndrome (and their families who love them) so these children may grow up to become independent self-advocates. We promote positive acceptance, understanding and inclusion is embraced by all as we celebrate each life."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Michelin Has Knowingly Been Selling Defective Tires, But Won’t Own Up

Mike Ferrara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:52:30 GMT

After almost two years of a series of bad faith efforts to keep information about its defective, dangerous tires private, Michelin North America has been ordered by a federal judge in Atlanta to pay plaintiff’s attorney’s fees for deliberately holding up a case against the company.

In November 2009, in Bates v. Michelin North America, Michelin was sued for negligence and liability for a tire-related rollover crash that rendered the driver a quadriplegic, with permanent spinal and brain injuries. The crash happened when the left rear Uniroyal Laredo tire of the driver’s 2001 GMC Jimmy suffered a tread separation, causing a loss of control and a rollover. The driver was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Although the plaintiff’s attorneys requested numerous documents and data relating to Michelin’s tire safety testing, the number of tires being returned for manufacturing defects, etc., Michelin deliberately held up the discovery process, first by claiming confidentiality issues were involved, and then by producing a series of meaningless documents that didn’t contain any of the requested data.

“In sum, Michelin’s bad faith conduct caused serious prejudice to the integrity of the legal process and to Plaintiffs’ orderly, effective development and proof of their case,” U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, of the Northern District of Georgia, wrote in her 61-page decision. “The pattern of abuse by Michelin is extremely troubling…“First, Michelin made multiple misrepresentations to the Court that it had produced documents as ordered by the Court when it in fact had not. Second, Michelin repeatedly refused to produce documents in direct violation of the Court’s January 3rd, June 3rd and June 24th Orders. Third, Michelin intentionally engaged in an extremely narrow, unjustified interpretation of the Court’s Orders in order to limit, or altogether avoid, producing relevant and useful documents in response to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests.”–SafetyResearch.net

Judge Totenberg also acknowledged that Michelin’s Laredo tire was “defective and unreasonably dangerous.” Although the court has yet to decide whether the Laredo tire caused the accident in question, it just couldn’t look worse for Michelin at this point.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara