May 2nd, 2012
A new ruling in the Maryland Court of Appeals has made it easier for a person attacked by a pit bull – or even a pit bull mix – to take legal action against the owner of the dog. The ruling has declared pit bulls “inherently dangerous” as a breed, and renders the owner of a pit bull strictly liable for any damages resulting from a dog bite. Landlords that rent to pit bull owners are similarly liable.
This is not the first time Maryland has come down harshly against pit bulls and their owners. In Prince George’s County, pit bulls are banned altogether. A 1997 law was passed declaring that residents could not own or harbor pit bulls or pit bull mixes in the county. If you were caught with one, you ran the risk of being arrested and serving six months in prison.
Dog bites can be traumatic events for victims, causing serious injury and disfigurement. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 4.7 million Americans suffer from dog bites every year – many of them children. Depending on the severity of the bite, a dog can damage facial nerves, penetrate bodily organs, or even sever a finger. Dog owners should be held responsible for the financial losses and emotional trauma their pets have inflicted on others.
If you or one of your loved ones has been injured by a dog bite in Maryland, please contact the Yost Legal Group today for a free consultation with an experienced dog bite injury lawyer. As the victim of another person’s negligence, you have a right to compensation for your losses.
April 24th, 2012
In some states, drivers are now required to go hands-free when talking on their phone to prevent traffic accidents, and texting is strictly prohibited in many other states. However, the laws surrounding headphones in the car can be murky. Some states ban drivers from wearing headphones entirely, while others allow only one ear to be covered by headphones. Others allow headphones to be worn in both ears with no restrictions.
The headphones law can get even more complex. For example, in the state of Georgia, it is illegal to wear headphones or earbuds while driving, but Bluetooth headsets and other hands-free headset devices are still allowed.
No matter what the legality is in your state, it is important to remember that listening to music through headphones while driving can be a serious distraction that impairs your ability to:
- Hear traffic sounds, such as a siren
- Concentrate fully on the road
- Steer correctly (if the headphone wires become tangled)
If you have been injured in a car accident because of someone else’s distracted driving, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area today using the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.
April 23rd, 2012
Every year, over 1.7 million people suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Researchers have scrambled to find ways to limit the amount of inflammation that occurs at the time of impact in order to lessen the subsequent damage to the brain. Out of the 275,000 people who are annually hospitalized with TBI, around 85,000 are left with long-term disabilities, and 50,000 die from their injury.
A scientist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas has performed studies that demonstrate how estrone – one of the three naturally-occurring estrogen hormones in the human body – can reduce cell death and inflammation in the brain.
The study confirmed that after a traumatic brain injury, estrone provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses that promote cell survival in the brain. Based on the results of this study, researchers believe that giving a patient an estrogen injection shortly after their brain injury can increase repair mechanisms and limit the amount of damage the brain suffers.
If you have suffered a brain injury because of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact Bush Lewis, PLLC today to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced Texas brain injury lawyer.
April 20th, 2012
An increasing number of high school football players are suffering from major traumatic brain injuries, including subdural hematomas (which involve blood on the brain). According to a report from the University of North Carolina, thirteen out of every 1.1 million high school football players suffer from subdural hematomas. If this number seems small, keep in mind that this is the highest number tallied since brain injury stats were first collected by UNC in 1984.
Researchers believe that today’s modern style of play is behind the increased number of serious injuries. Young players are using their heads more, perhaps modeling their strategy after many of the hard-hitting pros. Defensive backs seem to suffer the brunt of these major brain injuries; they account for a full 34.6% of the catastrophic TBIs recorded between 1977 and 2011. Meanwhile, tackling accounted for 59.8% of the injuries (19.1% involved tackling “head down”).
Coaches, high schools, committees, and related organizations claim they are doing everything possible to minimize the level of risk that players are exposed to. For example, a new rule was established this year requiring a player to sit out for a full down if his helmet falls off unrelated to a foul. Parents are encouraged to play a role by knowing how coaches are teaching kids to block and tackle, and knowing about the science of concussions.
If your child has suffered a brain injury because of someone else’s neglect or recklessness, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced brain injury lawyer in your area today using the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.
April 19th, 2012
On Wednesday afternoon, a flatbed tractor-trailer collided with several passenger vehicles on I-95 South in Fairfield. The truck accident caused the tractor-trailer to spill its load of bricks and cement paving stones, creating major traffic delays. The driver of the truck and four other people were quickly hospitalized, but only sustained minor injuries.
According to authorities, the truck and the two cars collided with each other and then crashed into the median divider on I-95. The truck’s load of stones and bricks spread across two full lanes of southbound traffic, and three lanes of northbound traffic. To make matters more dangerous, the truck’s gas tank was punctured, causing fuel to spill onto the road. Around 50 gallons of fuel are believed to have leaked into the storm sewer.
In a wreck of this magnitude, people usually sustain far worse injuries – even death. Tractor-trailers must be operated with the utmost care, adhering to a wide range regulations in order to ensure traffic safety. When someone’s negligence leads to a malfunctioning vehicle or a reckless driving maneuver, they can and should be held responsible.
If you or one of your loved ones has been injured or killed in a Connecticut truck accident, please contact Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP today to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced Connecticut truck accident lawyer.
April 13th, 2012
Everyone stresses when tax season comes around, but April 15th is statistically far deadlier for some people. According to 30 years of car accident data collected by a University of Toronto professor, April 15th – or whatever weekday that income tax returns are due each year – is more dangerous for drivers than the exactly same weekday a week before or after. Around 13 more people die in car accidents in the U.S. on tax day than these other days.
The leader of the study, Dr. Donald A. Redelmeier, believes that deadline stress is a key factor in these extra deaths. Redelmeier’s earlier research was also the first to unravel the dangers of driving while using a cell phone. He says that researchers can use the tax day information to learn about a link between stress and car accidents that is relevant every day of the year.
Over 93% of car accidents occur because of human error. Clearly, a small change in driving behavior can lead to the death of another motorist – or, conversely, a saved life. If you have been injured, or if one of your loved ones has been killed because of another driver’s negligence, you deserve justice and fair compensation.
Please contact an experienced car accident attorney today using the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory.
April 12th, 2012
Defective leads transform the potentially lifesaving implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) into a lethally defective product. When leads, the wires that carry electricity from the ICD to the heart, are defective, the result may be unnecessary shocks, additional surgery, even premature death. To protect patients with defective leads, it is crucial that information about the defect is publicized to doctors and patients alike so that appropriate action can be taken.
However, some charge that St. Jude Medical concealed the defects in its Riata and Riata II ICD leads. The Riata and Riata II leads are coming under increasing scrutiny after a paper published in the journal Heart Rhythm showed they were associated with four times more fatalities due to lead failure than leads manufactured by a competitor. This study comes after several others showing that the failure rate for Riata and Riata II leads may be much, much higher than reported by St. Jude. Although St. Jude reported that the lead failure rate was 0.47%, imaging of patients who received the leads suggests the rates might be much higher, 15-30%. This had led to charges that St. Jude has been concealing the actual failure rate of the Riata and Riata II leads, which it stopped selling in 2010 and replaced with a new lead designed to address the Riata failures.
We will likely not know if St. Jude has been concealing the incidence of Riata failures until victims come forward with lawsuits that compel the company to reveal internal records. A lawsuit can mean not just compensation for your injury or the loss of a loved one, it can expose potential misconduct that should not be allowed to continue in this type of medical device manufacturer.
To learn more about your legal rights and options after a problem with defective ICD leads, please contact a local personal injury lawyer today.
April 10th, 2012
On March 28th, 2012, the New Hampshire Senate passed a bill titled “SB 406”, which is designed to establish an early offer program for patients who have been injured by medical malpractice. This bill’s status is currently pending in the House.
Under SB 406, patients would not have to wait years for a suit to end without guarantee of payment; they would be given the option of entering into a settlement with their medical provider that covers:
- Costs
- Lost wages
- Damages for pain and suffering
As long as there is an agreement between both parties, the payment will be made and the entire process will be over in a matter of months, instead of the years it typically takes to resolve medical malpractice lawsuits.
This program is purely voluntary, but it is meant to benefit patients who need immediate financial help to recover from their injuries. However, it should be noted that the maximum payment patients can receive under the bill for pain and suffering is $117,000, which some would argue is hardly enough to cover a lifetime of debilitating harm. Depending on the extent of your injuries, pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit may still be the more beneficial route in the long run.
If you have been seriously injured because of a medical professional’s negligence, please contact Van Dorn & Curtiss today to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced New Hampshire medical malpractice attorney. We can help you weigh your options and protect your legal rights.
April 10th, 2012
Pradaxa was originally met with high praise. Shortly after its approval, three major cardiovascular health organizations added it to their care guidelines simultaneously. Many convenience benefits made Pradaxa, the first blood-thinning drug approved since 1954, a clear winner over the effective but troublesome warfarin, which, incidentally, is also used as a rat poison.
Unfortunately, the Pradaxa honeymoon was not to last. In recent months, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) alerted the medical community that it had received reports linked of 256 deaths linked to the drug since its approval. As a result, the EMA urged doctors to prescribe the drug with caution. Of particular concern were the elderly and those who have kidney problems, who may have a hard time eliminating the drug from their system.
The FDA has not yet issued a safety communication about Pradaxa, although it says it is reviewing reports of serious or fatal bleeding events. However, the FDA says it still believes the drug’s benefits outweigh its risks. The FDA also downplayed the reported bleeding events as being due in part to the newness of the drug, which is often known to increase adverse events reporting.
If you have been hurt or lost a loved one, you may be able to persuade the FDA to take stronger action in the case of this drug. Please contact a local personal injury lawyer today to learn more about your rights.
April 10th, 2012
Multaq was a drug with great promise to help patients with atrial fibrillation, the most common form of irregular heartbeat. However, the drug has been shown to have serious risks, and after two clinical trials were stopped early because of patient deaths and other serious side effects, the FDA has restricted the indications and usage for Multaq. Although investors hoped the drug would become a blockbuster, especially as an aging population would include increasing numbers of patients with atrial fibrillation. Safety concerns, though, have significantly limited the number of patients for whom this treatment seems appropriate.
An early study of possible mortality risk for patients with permanent atrial fibrillation was stopped after patients taking Multaq suffered twice as many deaths as those taking a placebo (pill with no active ingredients). Because of the small sample size and timeframe, this was dismissed as potentially due to chance. Last year, though, another study, this time a larger one, has been halted early because of the high number of deaths in the group taking Multaq. The study, known as PALLAS, reported increases in a number of adverse cardiovascular events, including:
- Death risk overall: 1.94 times more likely in Multaq users
- Death specifically from arrhythmia or sudden death: 3.26 times more likely in Multaq users
- Stroke: 2.32 times more likely in Multaq users
- Hospitalization for heart failure: 1.81 times more likely in Multaq users
As a result of the risks associated with this dangerous drug, the FDA revised its guidelines for the use of the drug. Multaq remains approved for patients with persistent or paroxysmal (occasional) atrial fibrillation, but not permanent atrial fibrillation patients. In addition, doctors are being asked to use an electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor patients’ heart rhythms every three months.
Sadly, though, it is not known how many people may already have suffered serious heart damage from this dangerous drug. If you have been hurt or lost a loved one due to Multaq, please contact a local personal injury lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
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