San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer

Jury Awards 10 million in Heparin Case

Beth Janicek — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:50:37 GMT

In Houston, Texas, a jury recently awarded 10 million in a medical malpractice case against Methodist Hospital and the doctors who treated John German. He sustained an amputation of his left leg above the knee, all the toes on his right foot and all of his fingers following heart surgery. The lawsuit claimed the hospital nurses failed to properly monitor him after he had been administered Heparin. He had a reaction commonly referred to as HIT, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The hospital claimed the nurses had not done anything wrong and had helped save Mr. German’s life. Apparently, the jury did not agree.

The jury award will help provide for the extensive medical care Mr German will have in the future.

As he stated,” It’s like closing a painful chapter in my life, even though I have to live every day like this.”

The hospital intends to appeal the case. Hopefully, the verdict will stand on appeal. I have blogged in the past about the devastating damages which result from HIT and the importance of the medical community to be vigilant in monitoring patients following heart procedures. This Texas jury has sent that message to the medical community.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

DUI or Texting while driving which is worse?

Beth Janicek — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:18 GMT

Though most people have accepted that texting while driving is dangerous, a quick trip around your local city will provide you with more than enough evidence that it is still rampant. If you’re still a skeptic, take a look first-hand look at the possibilities of texting while driving.

Even outside of the car texting is proving to be a huge distraction to the simplest of tasks, even walking down the street. Doctors are now citing texting as the culprit for ankle sprains, bumps and bruises people incur while using the oldest form of transportation known to man.

In a car, you are a danger to not only yourself but to those around you and that is the biggest point being proven in the latest study by Car and Drive Magazine on the subject. Here, two people who work for Car and Driver Magazine (people who you’d assume know a thing or two about driving) are tasked with extrapolating the inherent dangers in not focusing on the road and in particular, technology use. In this experiment these two people are given the task of observing a red light at both 35, and 70 mph speeds. Then, things are "kicked up a notch" as the two drivers are observed in modified situations while typing a text, reading e-mail and under the influence of alcohol. You'd be surprised by the results. One driver nearly tripled his reaction time to the red light while reading an e-mail at a mere 35 mph. At 70 mph, a reaction time was more than doubled while typing and sending a text. In all instances, the extra distance traveled was far above the norm which speaks volumes to the many "rush hour" accidents that are experienced from gridlock on a highway.

In the sort of game that no one can win, texting and e-mailing fared worse than driving while impaired. With all the focus on drunk driving it’s quite possible that some safety educational resources should be split on informing the public on the dangers of using alcohol and technology while driving. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found technology to be all over the top 5 in their “Top 10 distractions for Drivers” list.

Only six states have currently banned the use of cell phones while driving and 24 states do not have any regulations on cell phone use while driving. Hopefully it won’t be long before more safety measures are put into place to curb the abuse of textind and irresponsible driving.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Pharmaceutical company claims controversial laxatives are safe

Beth Janicek — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:02:54 GMT

Six months ago, the pharmaceutical company C.B. Fleet pulled two laxative drugs from store shelves. Now, according to the Lynchburg (VA) News and Advance, the company is seeking to reintroduce thousands of cases of the recalled drugs onto the market.

C.B. Fleet, which is based in Lynchburg, is currently facing 38 federal lawsuits concerning the laxatives. The suits were recently consolidated into one federal district court (the Northern District of Ohio) in order to share pre-trial proceedings and discovery. The lawsuits allege that the recalled drugs caused serious kidney damage. Other lawsuits remain in state courts where jurisdiction rules allow.

The drugs are Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda E-Z Prep Bowel Cleansing System. Both were over the counter products classified as oral sodium phosphates. C.B. Fleet officials maintain that, when used as directed, the recalled drugs are safe. There have been discussions about making these drugs available by prescription.

The drugs Visicol and OsmoPrep are available by prescription only and the FDA is requesting a Box Warning be added to the label. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in December 2008, concerning oral sodium phosphates. The FDA linked them to acute phosphate nephropathy (an acute kidney injury involving a buildup of calcium phosphate crystals). The agency specifically warned that oral sodium phosphates should not be used for bowel cleansing without a prescription due to these serious risks.

The FDA also reported that acute phosphate nephropathy had developed in patients after use of an oral sodium phosphate even when the patients had no identifiable factors putting them at risk for such a kidney injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Nestle Withholds Information from FDA

Beth Janicek — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:38:58 GMT

Recently released inspection reports from a Nestle USA cookie dough factory show that the company repeatedly withheld information from Food and Drug Administration inspectors USAToday.com.

The inspection records were made public after Nestle’s Toll House refrigerated, prepackaged cookie dough was pinpointed as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak. There have been 69 people in 29 states have been sickened by the outbreak.

Nestle has voluntarily recalled all refrigerated cookie dough products produced at a Danville, Va. factory and warned consumers not to eat raw Toll House cookie dough.

According to the inspection reports, the FDA was refused access to certain documents in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

A February 2007 inspection found several health and safety violations at the Danville plant, including improper storage of equipment, leaks, and a hole in a steam line. When the FDA returned in December 2007 to follow up on the violations found in February of that year, the inspectors were denied the right to take photographs, and denied the right to review production records or complaint files.

In 2006 the FDA investigators were also not allowed to take photographs or review a complaint log, pest-control records, or information pertaining to an environmental testing program. The 2006 inspections found insects in the manufacturing area, dirty equipment being stored as clean, and more leaks.

This seems to be similar to the problem consumers were having recently with contaminated peanut butter and pot pies. Texas law allows a consumer to sue the manufacturer and/or seller of a product when the product is harmful. A few of the theories a consumer can pursue against a manufacturer or seller include suing for strict liability, breach of warranty, or deceptive trade practices.

Any person who suffers physical harm as the result of ingesting a food or beverage product that contains a foreign object or is otherwise contaminated may be able to recover money damages. The consumer does not have to prove that the defendants failed to take every precaution available, nor does the consumer have to prove that he had a contractual relationship with the defendants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Bill to make road safer for Cyclist is vetoed

Beth Janicek — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:04:22 GMT

Four million bicyclists in Texas have to be a bit more careful after a bill ensuring safe passing was vetoed by Governor Rick Perry. Texas, a state with a reputation as one of the most unfriendly places to ride a bike, was set to gain a little breathing room on their roads, creating safer streets for not only bicycles, but also pedestrians, highway construction and maintenance workers, people on horseback, motorcyclists, and moped riders, to name a few.

SB 488, or the “Safe Pass” bill, would have required motorists to give a clearance of at least three feet to bicyclists and other vulnerable road users when passing on highways. Governor Perry, who recently broke his collarbone in a mountain biking accident, shocked supporters of the Safe Pass bill by vetoing it along with 35 other bills up for vote this session. This veto came as a surprise to the Texas community with 30,000 active cyclists and an estimated four million residents who ride or own bicycles.

Perry commented on the veto saying that many already have operation regulations, and state law restrictions:

“While I am in favor of measures that make our roads safer for everyone, this bill contradicts much of the current statute and places the liability and responsibility on the operator of a motor vehicle when encountering one of these vulnerable road users,” Perry said in his veto message. “In addition, an operator of a motor vehicle is already subject to penalties when he or she is at fault for causing a collision or operating recklessly, whether it is against a ‘vulnerable user' or not.”

Texas has registered close to 1000 deaths due to vulnerable road users this year alone. The Texas state legislature, in an impressive bipartisan effort, rallied tremendous support behind the Safe Pass Bill. BikeTexas, the Texas Bicycle Coalition, expressed extreme disappointment with the Governor’s veto. AAA, AARP, Texas Motorcycle Rights Association and Texas Towing and Storage Association also voiced disappointment with the veto.

Rick Perry himself is known in the community as an avid street biker.

Quite a bold move for the bike-riding Governor now sharing the road with dissapointed voters in 4,000 pound motor vehciles.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Boaters Beware!

Beth Janicek — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:55:49 GMT

With Memorial Day behind us and the Texas heat in full force, more and more people will be found out on the lake. Once summer hits, I personally hit the lake almost every weekend and I am aware of the boating laws and responsibilities but was totally naive to something called “boaters hypnosis.” According to an article entitled “Boat Safe without the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol” describes boater’s hypnosis as follows:

Boaters are exposed to significant “stressors.” These are wind, sun, glare, noise, motion from the water, and vibration. Research has proven that as little as four hours of exposure to these stressors produces “boater’s hypnosis.” Boater’s hypnosis is a type of fatigue that slows operator reaction time comparable to that exhibited by an intoxicated person.

In 2007 the top five primary contributing factors in accidents were operator inattention, careless/reckless operation, passenger/skier behavior, excessive speed, and alcohol use. The article “Boat Safe without the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol” states that a recent study conducted in four southeastern states estimated that alcohol was a contributing factor in 51% of motorboat fatalities in these states. On average the subjects were males, 21 to 40 years of age, and were in small open motorboats and non-powered craft. Important to note is that the study found that passengers had the same risk of dying as the driver, regardless of whether the boat was underway. The article also states that a boat operator with a Blood Alcohol Concentration above 0.10 is more than 10 times more likely to be killed in a boating accident than a boat operator who has not consumed alcohol.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a person who either appears to be impaired and/or has a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher while operating a boat can be arrested for Boating While Intoxicated (BWI). A person arrested for BWI may be jailed for up to 180 days, be fined up to $2,000, or both. The person’s driver’s license may also be suspended.

The Handbook of Texas Boating Laws and Responsibilities website conveys the rules associated with boating accidents and casualties. An operator involved in a boating accident must:

· Stop his or her vessel immediately at the scene of the accident and…

· Assist anyone injured or in danger from the accident, unless doing so would seriously endanger his or her own vessel or passengers and…

· Give, in writing, his or her name, address, and vessel identification to anyone injured and to the owner of any property damaged by the accident.

In addition, vessel operators involved in an accident must report the accident by the quickest means possible if it has resulted in:

· Death or…

· The disappearance of a person from a vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury or…

· Injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid or…

· Property damage exceeding $500 to all vessels, docks, etc. involved in the accident.

Boating is a fun, popular activity during summer months, but due to other peoples' carelessness it can become very dangerous. Therefore, it is extremely important to learn how to prevent accidents, as well as to review all pertinent safety tips, laws, and regulations regarding boating.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

O’Connor Senior Killed in Rollover Accident

Beth Janicek — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:18:12 GMT

James Peterson, an 18 year old senior at O’Connor High School, was killed after losing control of his truck on Loop 1604, flipping his truck several times, and hitting a guardrail near Hausman Road. Petersen was partly ejected and crushed in the accident that killed him instantly.

Three other high school students riding with him were injured. One of the teenagers was in the cab of the truck, and the other two were riding in the bed of the truck. All three remained in stable condition Tuesday evening at University Hospital.

It is unclear what caused the truck to careen off the road and roll down the embankment, but authorities said that both people were ejected from the truck’s bed during the accident.

Driving in the bed of a truck is very unsafe and can be illegal. Texas law states:

A person commits an offense if the person operates an open-bed pickup truck or an open flatbed truck or draws an open flatbed trailer when a child younger than 18 years of age is occupying the bed of the truck or trailer.
An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $200.
It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the person was:
(1) operating or towing the vehicle in a parade or in an emergency;
(2) operating the vehicle to transport farm workers from one field to another field on a farm-to-market road, ranch-to-market road, or county road outside a municipality;
(3) operating the vehicle on a beach;
(4) operating a vehicle that is the only vehicle owned or operated by members of the household;
(5) or operating the vehicle in a hayride permitted by the governing body of or law enforcement agency of each county or municipality in which the hayride will occur.

This car accident is a horrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the Peterson family and all of the families involved.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Wrong-way Drivers

Beth Janicek — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:28:29 GMT

Around 3:15 a.m. on the morning of May 28^th, a man driving the wrong way on Interstate 10 at Boerne Stage Road collided with a tractor-trailer. The impact caused the vehicles to burst into flames. Fortunately both drivers got out of their vehicles in time to escape the flames. The wrong way driver was transported to University Hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Police are investigating whether alcohol played a role. All lanes of I-10 on the far Northwest side of San Antonio were closed until 9 a.m., forcing rush hour traffic off of the main lanes.

Driving the wrong way on freeways has been a troublesome problem ever since the 1950s when the highway system was founded. Accidents, such as this one, have lead to many studies on this persistent problem. A study performed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) showed that the vast majority of wrong-way drivers correct their mistakes before causing a crash by simply turning around and heading in the right direction. However, for unknown reasons, some drivers head straight into oncoming traffic with devastating consequences.

According to an analysis by retired FHWA traffic engineer Dennis Eckhart using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Accident Reporting System, on average about 350 people are killed each year nationwide in wrong-way freeway crashes. That figure includes those killed on divided highways, as well those killed due to someone driving the wrong-way on one-way traffic ways such as freeway ramps. 1,753 people were killed nationwide from 1996 to 2000 in wrong-way crashes.

The Texas Transportation Institute part of the Texas A & M System did a study called “Wrong-Way Driving on Freeways in Texas: Problems, Issues, and Countermeasures.” The study found that the most frequent origin of wrong-way incidents is the freeway exit ramp. Some statistics they found regarding wrong-way driving are:

Crashes tend to be more severe and have a greater proportion resulting in death or serious injury than most other crash types on freeway facilities.
Elderly drivers are over-represented compared to their proportion of the driving population and their proportion of involvement in other crashes.
Male drivers are significantly more likely to be involved than female drivers
Between 50 to 75 percent involve an impaired wrong-way driver who had been drinking or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Crashes are more prevalent during non-daylight hours, particularly the early morning hours following midnight.

The researchers reviewed crashes that had specific information on wrong-way origin available and developed a list of typical problem locations. The study showed:

Most of the collisions occurred in the inside lane (i.e., leftmost) of the correct direction. This seems logical when you consider that the wrong-way drivers are staying as far to the right as possible just like they normally would if they were going the right way.
Several locations with left-side exit ramps produced multiple wrong-way crashes during the analysis period — this finding suggests that further countermeasures might need to be considered at locations with left-side exit ramps.
Another problem type occurs when a one-way street, typically in a downtown area, transitions directly into a freeway section. Several locations with this configuration experienced multiple wrong-way crashes during the analysis period.
In a few situations, staged construction freeways had wrong-way crashes during the time period when only the frontage roads were in place. The large offset distance between the frontage roads and lack of main lanes may create a confusing situation that needs to be carefully considered for appropriate countermeasures.
The majority of crashes occurred in major urban areas, with slightly more than 60 percent in the three largest metropolitan areas — Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio

These studies highlight the importance of staying alert while driving. You never know when someone will be driving the wrong way in your lane.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Nursing Home in Oklahoma Lost its Certification Due to Violations

Beth Janicek — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:38:27 GMT

Care Living Center in Edmond, Oklahoma is having its certification pulled because of deficiencies found by state health inspectors, resulting in more than two dozen Medicare and Medicaid residents being forced to move. Officials said that the deficiencies centered on medical and nursing neglect.

Mary Fleming, the state health department’s director of survey, said examples of neglect included some residents who were not being turned or cleaned and in some instances were not fed. Inspectors found one resident with 17 pressure ulcers and who was not receiving appropriate treatment ordered by a physician. Fleming also said that there was no one to answer residents’ call lights and that staff members were not trained appropriately.

“They were not following doctor’s orders to care for medical problems, like not monitoring blood glucose for diabetics, not monitoring blood pressure for residents with hypertension or strokes, and not putting people in isolation that had infectious diseases.”

In addition, two residents had wandered away from the facility and were found several blocks away.

Home administrator, Vincent Dike, said the new owners, Quality Health Care LLC, only took over the nursing home in November and needed more time to correct the problems.

Dike said, “This facility had problems in the past before the new management came in, but we worked aggressively and corrected most of the deficiencies. We were hoping within the next visit that we would be in good standing. But to our surprise, they said ‘We have given you three chances, and that’s all the state allows you to have.’”

The federal agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, allows a maximum of three revisits to a facility, and then they terminate. The facility can work out the deficiencies and apply for recertification, but it will be a long process.

The facility is losing Medicaid patients and Medicare patients. The termination does not affect 18 of the facility’s private pay residents, but Dike said that the owners may find it difficult to keep the doors open.

I would like to see the Texas regulatory agency, TDADS, be this aggressive with facilities. It is very difficult on the residents to move facilities, but it is in the best interest of the residents for these regulatory agencies to be vigilant in protecting the vulnerable patients.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

FDA Only Conducted Half of Food Safety Audits

Beth Janicek — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:40:57 GMT

According to new documents sent to Congress, the Food and Drug Administration only conducted about half of the state food safety audits it promised to do in the two years before the recent peanut salmonella outbreak. The documents show that the agency did not do any of the required audits of the state-run food inspections in five states during 2007-2008. In addition the FDA was unable to say whether audits were conducted at all in an additional 11 states. Georgia and Texas, which were linked to the wide-ranging peanut recall earlier this year, were included in that 11. Only 14 states received 100% of the audits promised.

FDA audits are to ensure that food is inspected properly by states that contract with the FDA to perform safety checks. The FDA has admitted that the food safety program is a turnaround project.

Stephen R. Mason, acting assistant commissioner for legislation at the FDA, said the recent salmonella outbreak “has highlighted limitations in our current approach and has prompted internal discussions on potential enhancements to the audit program.”

In 2000 the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the FDA, said that the agency needed to place a high priority on better evaluating the effectiveness of state inspections of food production facilities. In response to those recommendations, the FDA set a standard that 7% of all state inspections should be audited by the federal agency. The FDA acknowledges that it has fallen far short of that goal.

In 2006-2007 audits were not done at all in Arkansas, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and in 2007-2008 audits were not done in California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Only 9% of the promised audits were done in California during 2006-2007, in which time an E. coli outbreak in spinach caused three deaths and more than 200 illnesses.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said “Although FDA has not been able to fulfill the goal of conducting 100% of the audits expected under FDA’s internal auditing policy, FDA has audited each state at least once, has good knowledge of the state programs and state inspection personnel, and works to improve the programs as needed.”

Congress has since vowed to step up oversight of the FDA. Several members have introduced bills to overhaul the agency, such as proposals to separate its food safety and drug oversight duties, as well as to significantly increase funding.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek