Florida Personal Injury Blog - Toxic Substances

Restaurants a Major Source of Food Poisoning

K.C. Bouchillon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:40:00 GMT

According to the Centers for Disease Control, food contamination or "food poisoning" injures millions of Americans each year, resulting in 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.

Obviously, restaurants are a major source of such contamination. Though the industry is heavily regulated, restaurants regularly fail inspections, often for serious violations.

Before you go to a restaurant, check it out. The results of restaurant inspections are often available online. For example, here in Polk County, you can go to the following link to see how the county's restaurants fared in the most recent inspections:

www.ledgerdata.com/restaurantinspection/

Check it out. It's a real eye-opener.

If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of food poisoning, give me a call.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by K.C. Bouchillon

Deadline for Chinese Drywall Class Action Lawsuit

Joe Saunders — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:08:37 GMT

Now that one of the major manufacturers of the contaminated Chinese drywall has agreed to accept service of a class action lawsuit, the time to act is now. If your home has been contaminated by Chinese drywall and you're contemplating a lawsuit, you must contact a lawyer so that your home can be inspected. The inspection will determine if the Chinese drywall in your home comes from Knauf. If the inspection proves positive for Knauf Chinese drywall, your claim has to be submitted to the class by December 2, 2009. There will be no extensions for this deadline so the time to act is now!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Time Running Out on Chinese Drywall Class Action Lawsuit

Joe Saunders — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:03:43 GMT

The deadline for inclusion in the Chinese drywall class lawsuit against defendant Knauf is only a few weeks away. If your home has been affected by Chinese drywall and you'd like to participate in the class action lawsuit, now is the time to contact a lawyer so that a home inspection can be scheduled to determine if the Chinese drywall in your home was manufactured by Knauf. Once this deadline passes, you may miss the opportunity to recover damages against the company for the damage to your home. Names of those affected by the Knauf Chinese drywall must be submitted no later than December 2, 2009.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Chinese Drywall Class Action Lawsuit Deadline Looming Against Defendant Knauf

Joe Saunders — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:47:05 GMT

The class action lawsuit against one of the largest Chinese drywall defendants, Knauf Tianjin, has a very tight deadline for those to join the omnibus class action lawsuit, December 2, 2009. Knauf, one of the main importers of the Chinese drywall into the US, agreed to accept service in the United States. However, the December 2nd deadline will not allow any exceptions.

If you suspect you have a Chinese drywall problem in your home and you want to participate in the Chinese drywall class action lawsuit, you must call an attorney immediately. Failure to act promptly may result in the forfeiture of your legal rights concerning Chinese drywall problems.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Chinese Drywall Defendant Agrees to Accept Service of Class Action Lawsuit

Joe Saunders — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:51:46 GMT

Chinese drywall defendant Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. has agreed to accept service of process concerning a Chinese drywall class action lawsuit in which Knauf is being sued for manufacturing and importing the contaminated Chinese drywall into the United States.

This is a major victory for the thousands of homeowners who've had their homes contaminated with the drywall. The agreement means that all the drywall lawsuits can be consolidated into a class action and the homeowners won't have to pay the $15,000 fee for each lawsuit filed in the court.

However, Chinese drywall homeowners must submit proof that their home has been contaminated with the drywall and secure a lawyer to represent them by December 2, 2009.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Erin Brockovich Focuses On Florida Cancer Cluster Case

Eddie Farah — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:28:00 GMT

Environmental crusader, Erin Brockovich is coming to Florida to speak to residents and health officials and to host a Town Hall meeting Thursday night to talk about the cancer cluster at the South Florida community known as The Acreage.

Brockovich was played by actress, Julia Roberts in a film with the same name about Brockovich’s efforts in uncovering toxic water pollution in California.

These days she has formed a company that investigates corporate wrongdoers and advocates for the truth.

She and a New York City law firm are investigating environmental links to brain cancer cases at The Acreage neighborhood in Palm Beach County and will offer residents options for legal action tonight.

The cause of the suspected cancer cluster remains a mystery.

The state health department began an investigation in May into the suspected cluster or unusually high number of children and adults with brain tumors or brain cancer. A second phase of that investigation is underway by the state which has found elevated levels of radiation at ten homes that also have brain tumors or cancer.

The state DEP has also found four private wells with drinking water that didn’t meet state standards for safety because of elevated levels of radium, a measure of radiation.

Some residents have blamed heavy pesticide use on orange groves. Pratt & Whitney, the rocket and jet engine company worked nearby on Beeline Highway and is responsible for leaks and spills on its 7,000 acres dating back 30 years. In the 1980s the company has its own on-site cancer scare.

The company is cleaning up petroleum in groundwater, various metals and volatile organic compounds as well as a chemical solvent the company used which is a likely human carcinogen called 1,4-dioxane, jet fuel, and PCBs.

The parents of Garrett Dunsford soon realized they were not alone when their six-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Among the community of 50,000 they found others and have rallied them to come forward creating a web site and keeping track of cancer cases in their community. They believe at least 70 families have suffered from brain cancer or tumors.

To see a map of the affected area, click here.

Full disclosure, accountability and a high profile presence might persuade the state to speed up its research and give residents some answers that they desperately need

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Tobacco Makers Sue U.S. over Free Speech

C. Todd Alley — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:37:43 GMT

A group of tobacco manufacturers, including RJ Reynolds, Commonwealth Brands, Inc., National Tobacco Co., and Lorillard, sued the U.S. Government in August claiming the new federal law passed in June called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act unconstitutionally restricts their ability to communicate with consumers and unfairly limits their ability to promote new tobacco products. The new law gives the FDA broad powers for the first time for approving all new tobacco products (but not products already on the market), requires larger warnings on cigarette packages, and places harsh restrictions on tobacco advertisements. The Plaintiff tobacco companies say the new law goes too far in restricting their commercial free speech rights.

“While the act is purportedly intended to reduce youth tobacco use, a number of its provisions broadly restrict all speech by plaintiffs about tobacco products,” according to the complaint. Plaintiff Tobacco companies called some of the restrictions “egregious,” saying that Americans have “been well-informed of the harms of tobacco use” for decades.

Noticeably absent from the lawsuit was tobacco giant Philip Morris. Interestingly, Philip Morris was a very enthusiastic backer of the new law and has been in favor of FDA regulation. So if not all of Big Tobacco is rallying behind this lawsuit, what’s the true motivation for this suit? The answer’s clear. Philip Morris is the largest tobacco producer in the U.S., holding over 50% of the cigarette market share in the U.S. Meanwhile, RJ Reynolds and Lorillard control 28% and 11% of the market, respectively. And because the law adds new limits on the ways cigarette manufacturers can promote new products, RJ Reynolds and Lorillard adamantly declared that Philip Morris’ dominance will continue.

So is this lawsuit really a question about free speech and the government’s rights to limit advertising harmful products? Is it a question about the government’s role in protecting public health? Or is it just a handful of tobacco companies who see the new advertisement restrictions undercutting their bottom line?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by C. Todd Alley

Chinese Drywall Homeowners Receive Property Value Reduction in Lee County

Joe Saunders — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:14:39 GMT

Homes that have been affected by the Chinese Drywall debacle in Lee County will receive a 50% reduction in their market value according to Ken Wilkinson, Lee County property appraiser. According to a story in the News-Press, 1,086 homeowners in Lee County were sent letters informing them of the reduction in market value due to the Chinese Drywall problem.

The residents that receive the market value reduction have had to meet the criteria established by Florida's Department of Health.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Chinese Drywall Townhall Held in Lee County

Joe Saunders — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:57:18 GMT

Chinese drywall concerns led many Lee County residents to attend a town hall style forum to hear experts discuss the problem in Cape Coral yesterday. The attendees heard presentations from Jason Robertson of Urban Habitats, U.S. Building Consultants Inc., Forensic Investigator and Consultant Spiderman Mulholland. The growing Chinese drywall contamination problem began in Florida a few years ago and has affected thousands of Florida residents and many others across the country.

The contaminated Chinese drywall had been imported during the construction boom and has led to a federal investigation of the issue. It's estimated that approximately 36,000 Florida homes are contaminated with the tainted drywall. According to Spiderman Mulholland, who called the problem the biggest environmental disaster in US history,

"I believe we won't fully know what we're dealing with for at least another year or two," he said, adding that medical experts predict it will take about 3 and a half years before the adverse health effects caused by hydrogen sulfide and other chemicals in the drywall will be thoroughly understood.

Physical evidence suggests Chinese drywall causes health problems and could even threaten lives, and chemical treatments are ineffective, Mulholland said.

"If you have Chinese drywall in your home, you need to get it out," he said. "It would be nice to leave the drywall in and just fix the problem, but that's not going to happen, not if you want to get back the value of your home."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Asbestos Defendants Attack National Cancer Institute

Robert Blanchard — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:43:53 GMT

In what amounts to a manufactured controversy, Ford Motor Company and other asbestos defendants are seeking depositions about changes to the NCI website that addressed the dangers of asbestos. See news article at this link. Ford is attempting to intimidate the Institute so they won't publish accurate information about the hazards of asbestos. They also seek to disqualify as an expert witness one noted physician who has been brave enough to take on the powerful industries that seek to avoid responsibility for the mesothelioma caused by their asbestos containing products. Dr. Arthur Frank is not only the highly regarded Chairman of Environmental and Occupational Health at Drexel University, he also contributes all of the money he earns testifying in court to an account run by the University. Given his credentials, the Courts will see the industry attempts to block his testimony for what they are, baseless and self-serving.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Blanchard