Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer

FDA Addresses Medical Errors And $4 Billion Pricetag

Eddie Farah — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:29:47 GMT

As we look at saving money on health care spending, Americans should consider drugs, specifically the huge cost of medical errors involving prescriptions.

Medication interactions, a mix-up in the pharmacy such as switching out the wrong prescription, an inability read a doctor’s handwriting, all can lead to drug dosage errors which cost us all about $4 billion a year, not to mention lives and injuries.

Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is trying to identify the most serious threats to better understand and get a handle on the problem. Consider this- errors with medication happen often - about 1.5 million errors every year according to a two- year-old study by the Institute of Medicine.

A recent Hearst Newspaper group investigation, "Dead By Mistake" profiles many who lost their lives through medication errors.

It so astonishing that even the new FDA commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, who is a doctor, was stunned by the numbers. She announced a new plan called “Safe Use Initiative” by saying it “doesn’t require a new scientific discovery or a budget appropriation.”

In holding public hearing and gathering information from the public about that problem, the FDA would be wise to speak with personal injury attorneys.

Every week we hear of the adverse events that can occur from drugs, even when they are used as directed of prescribed. Consider Tylenol that can cause liver damage when taken in excess, and the devastating outcomes of drugs when they are not.

Public Citizen is onboard with this scrutiny of package labels, and inserts, and instructions given to dispensing pharmacists. Dr. Sidney Wolfe says that about 99.5 percent of pamphlets are missing critical information.

While medication is supposed to make us feel better and perhaps save lives, patients and doctors forget almost every medication eventually has a side effect. The presumption of safety needs to be challenged.

Instead of relying on a “Pill for every Ill” Americans need to remember that “safe medication” is an oxymoron. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

25-Year-Old Loses Life In I-95 Explorer Rollover

Eddie Farah — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:27:55 GMT

It seems like we are reporting on these Ford Explorer rollover deaths on a weekly basis. Now there has been another.

A 25-year-old Orange Park woman lost her life on I-95 Saturday.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Kathleen Lugo was heading south on Interstate 95 in Flagler County when she lost control of her 1999 Ford Explorer SUV and crashed Saturday afternoon around 3:15 p.m. Lugo reportedly tried to pass slow traffic and when she moved to the shoulder of the road she lost control and rolled several times. Not wearing her seat belt, Lugo was ejected from the Explorer and taken to Halifax Hospital where she was pronounced dead. No one else ws injured.

Our condolences go out to the family of this young woman who has left us all too soon.

In 2002, Ford installed a fully independent rear suspension in the Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer leading to more stability to the Explorer which has a high center of gravity and a tendancy to roll.

In 1999, Explorers involved in rollover had non-independent rear suspensions and many of the tires were found to be defective. And in May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about the incidence of tire failures and separating tread in Explorers, Mountaineers and the Mazda Navajos with Firestone tires.

An accident investigator will need to be involved in this case if there could be a cause of action concerning a faulty tire as well as any defects in the Explorer or in dropoff in the pavement along the side of the interstate which may have caused Lugo to lose control of the vehicle as there are still many unanswered questions here.

The one thing that is not unanswered is that seat belt use saves lives. It is now the law in Florida and young drivers have the worst record in using seat belts.

Fortunately in 2009, the second generation of Ford Explorers built from 1995 to 2005, had five among the seven top spots traded in the “Cash for Clunkers” program, with the 1998 model at the top of the list.

That’s little consolation to the family of Kathleen Lugo, but it may mean that one less person loses their lives in these notoriously unstable vehicles. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Headphones, Pedestrians and Railroad Tracks Don't Mix

Eddie Farah — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:35:44 GMT

This is a very sad story to report out of Auburndale, Florida.

An 18-year-old high school student was walking along Amtrak train tracks wearing headphones and apparently didn’t hear an approaching train traveling from Miami to New York.

The conductor says he tried to alert Robert Lopez with no response. When the train got within 20 feet of Lopez, he tried to jump off the track, but it was too late. Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Our condolences go out to his family for this very tragic and avoidable accident.

This is not an isolated incident.

Just last week, a 24-year-old man was struck and killed by a train in Litchfield, Minnesota. His headphones and music player were found at the scene.

In February, a 17-year-old teen was hit and killed by an Amtrak train near his Comstock Township home in Michigan. He was crossing the tracks diagonally with his back to the eastbound train and was also wearing headphones.

No matter where you are or what your are doing, it is illegal to trespass on a railroad right-of-way outside of the designated crossing areas.

In 2008, there were 2,395 grade crossing incidents nationwide.

In Florida, there were 26 pedestrian rail trespass deaths in 2008, one of the highest in the nation.

The Florida chapter of the nonprofit rail safety group, Operation Lifesaver has launched our state's public awareness campaign to bring a “Common Sense” message to the public and reduce the number of pedestrians fatalities at rail tracks. Whether texting, talking on the phone or wearing headphones, the best advice is stay away from tracks- its just common sense.

In order to attract attention of the 18-34 age range, most likely to be killed on the tracks, the campaign includes an interactive Web site, videos and internet ads. See: www.CommonSenseUseIt.com

Other than a public crossing area- if you use the tracks to fish, take an ATV, or walk, you are trespassing.

If you need to cross the track – do so only at public crossing designated areas. Look for the crossbuck sign. Forget the cellphones and headphones when you are near the train tracks.

Modern trains are quieter than they used to be. Be sure to look both ways before crossing. You can expect a train at any time. There is no way you will be able to outrun it. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Missing Children and The Technology That May Find Them

Eddie Farah — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:28:46 GMT

According to federal statistics, there are about 115 child abductions by strangers every year in this country.

Unfortunately this week we had another in the Jacksonville area. The community of Orange Park is in shock following the abduction of 7-year-old Somer Thompson who was walking home from school. By Wednesday, two days after her abduction, her body was found discarded in a Georgia landfill.

Somer and her family are in our prayers. Nothing could be worse.

The first 24 hours after a child goes missing are crucial for finding her and entrepreneurs have been frantically working to come up with devices that allow us to track our children, similar to a way we track vehicles.

Many people think that microchips, put under the skin, help you find a child. But when put into our pets, they allow shelters to run a scanner and obtain information on the owner. They are not tracking devices.

The VeriChip Company makes VeriKid, used in Mexico where they put scanners in public places kidnapped children may be. VeriChip was primarily developed to hold a patient’s medical information and it does not contain a transmitter and is not satellite-enabled.

Wherify GPS Personal Locator combines GPS and digital wireless technologies to pinpoint a wearers position within a few feet. Parents can view satellite or street map or call an 800 number. Cost is $800 and $30 a month to monitor. Parents lock the bracelet onto the child’s wrist, which could be removed by a perpetrator.

Amber/AlertGPS is a small gadget that tells parents where their child is at all times. It features a button you child can push when they are in trouble sending out an SOS signal to five preselected people on their mobile phones and email addresses. The little square is placed in their pocket or backpack. It can also be used for speeding teenagers.

Again it's not cheap. At a cost of $379 with tracking plans ranging from $10 to $60 a month, it’s a little too costly for most parents.

GPS T80G Tracking Watch calls itself the world’s smallest watch. It contains a built-in GPS and looks like something a child would watch. It too comes with preset areas and sends out an SOS when the child leaves the area.

Lok8u is a real watch that tells time. If the watch is forcible removed from the child’s wrist an alert with location information is immediately sent to the parent’s cell phone. Parents can set up safe zones for the child. The cost is $200 with a $10 monthly monitoring fee.

There have always been bad people in the world and the community is on alert hoping and praying that this perpetrator is found soon. More than 1,000 tips have been called into investigators, but the identity of the bad guy is still a mystery.

Too bad he doesn't have a GPS device.

Maybe someday reliable and affordable technology can help us find missing children quickly. But today many parents are just relying on keeping them a little closer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Gardasil and Lou Gehrig's Disease - Two Cases

Eddie Farah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:31:59 GMT

Researchers believe that two separate cases of Lou Gehrig’s Disease in young girls that progressed rapidly following the Gardasil injection may be related to the cervical cancer drug.

More than seven million young women and girls have been given Gardasil vaccine in a three-shot series to protect against two types of virus that cause cervical cancer and two that cause genital warts.

In both cases the young women died and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease progressed rapidly. Merck, the maker of Gardasil does not believe the events could have been caused by Gardasil.

Here’s what we do know. Jenny Tetlock was 14-years-old. Months after her third and final booster for Gardasil, she tripped in gym class. Soon both legs and her arms became weak. She began to limp and had trouble gripping objects and she felt pins and needles in her feet. Her muscled atrophied.

Her parents tell her story on their web site Jenny’s Journey hoping others may report similar cases to them so they can make sure the cases are registered with the federal government.

Within a year Jenny was paralyzed, a quadriplegic and used life support to help her breath. The degenerative disease did not harm her mind, which Web MD reports was as sharp as ever before she died.

Another girl, 20-years-old, saw her ALS progress the same way within four months of her first Gardasil shot. She died 28 months later.

The link between the symptoms and the shot is very suspicious to researcher Dr. Catherine Lomen-Hoerth at the ALS Center at University of California San Francisco Medical Center.

First the symptoms progressed very rapidly, more so than in a typical ALS patient. Both girls had an inflamed spinal cord she said to doctors at the American Neurological Association.

More work is to be done. Young ALS patients will be compared to these girls. The adverse events reports will be combed further to see if there are any young women who reported ALS symptoms following Gardasil. So far there are none reported.

Jenny’s parents, Phil and Barb, both college professors, are asking anyone who visits their Web site in their daughter’s honor to forward any cases of muscle paralysis following a Gardasil injection to their Web site so they can make sure that it is registered on the federal VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) Web site. They fear cases are underreported since VAERS is not generally known or easy to navigate.

And one doctor says he will now ask his young ALS patients if they received the Gardasil vaccine. He didn’t think to ask before, he says.

Our sympathies go out to the friends and families of these two young women.

Jenny was 15 when she lost her battle with the rapidly degenerative neurological disease on March 15, 2009. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

St. Johns County Chamber Joins With AAA To Get Serious About Texting

Eddie Farah — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:14:28 GMT

The government estimates that there are 5,800 deaths caused by distracted motorists.

St Johns County Sheriff’s officer, Col. Art May says he is seeing them more and more. Often it presents as a swerving car. In the past, he would have pulled the driver over, assuming they were DUI.

These days, more often than not, he quickly ascertains that the person is sending a text message causing the vehicle to swerve.

May says he has seen a sharp increase in the number of people texting and driving. So have others in the county – one reason the county’s Chamber of Commerce has become the first chamber in the state that has pledged to ask all of its member companies to sign a safe-driving pledge that their employees will not text and drive.

AAA Auto Club South originated the idea with support from the St. Johns Sheriff’s Office.

Taking a stand is not often something you see business doing. But Chamber President, Robin Burchfield, says it’s part of their involvement in the community.

All chambers in Florida will be asked to join in the effort and AAA plans to turn it into a competition to see which chamber can get the most businesses to sign the pledge.

The goal goes beyond keeping our roads safer. Florida remains one of the few states with no laws banning texting or talking on a cell phone while driving. Once again in 2009 the state Legislature failed to pass any legislation.

AAA says it will be a priority for 2010.

No doubt the fact that President Obama sign an executive order banning the nations three million federal employees and military from texting while driving has helped drive the message home, unfortunately so do the number of people killed on our roads.

Florida needs to catch up with the rest of the nation by restricting this dangerous activity while behind the wheel, and do so fast!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Ford Recall of 4.5 Million Vehicles Over Fire Danger

Eddie Farah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:23:06 GMT

Ford Motor Company has issued its largest single recall in history this week alerting drivers to a fire hazard from a faulty switch. This is the eighth recall of the faulty Fords, this time involving 4.5 million vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that 16 million Ford vehicles have been recalled over the faulty switch in the past decade.

The problem switch is made by Texas Instruments. The cruise control deactivation switch can leak hydraulic fluid, overheat and then burn, risking fire, even when the car is parked in your garage. The Windstar vans have an elevated risk, said a Ford spokesman.

Ford says it did not use the controversial switch in post 2003-models.

According to the government, Ford drivers should look for anything that appears to signal a fire danger such as malfunctioning cruise control and brake lights, antilock braking systems and brake light warnings on the dash. Another warning sign is difficulty in getting the vehicle out of the park mode.

You can take your vehicle to a dealer for a complimentary installation of a fused wiring harness that eliminates the risk of fires, according to NHTSA. The safety recall should officially begin the week of October 26^th. Other resources include the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline a 1-888-327-4236 or http://www.safercar.gov.

Models included in the recall include: 1995-2003 Windstars, 2000-2003 Excursion diesels, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-Super Duty diesels, 1992-2003 Econolines, 1995-2002 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Rangers and 1994 F35 motorhomes.

For the sake of your family, bring your vehicle in for the repair.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Separate Incidents Kill Two Elderly Drivers

Eddie Farah — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:44:00 GMT

A question we often get in Florida is - how old is too old to drive?

This generally comes from the adult children of elderly drivers who are concerned that they may be liable if they don't take their elderly parents car keys away. No, they cannot be held liable unless they own the car. But there is the nagging knowledge that they should help their parent make this important transition in life.

Not to discriminate against our elders, certainly there are young people who don’t drive safety, but a couple of cases this week bring the question into sharp focus.

Grace H. Ross, 90, was driving south on Eulace Rd in Jacksonville around 11 a.m. Tuesday when she turned left onto Timuquana in front of a semi driven by 33-year-old Patrick P. Mowry. Ross was taken to Shands Hospital and pronounced dead. Her 94-year-old passenger, Dennis M. Ross suffered serious injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Everyone was wearing their seat belts and the driver of the truck was not hurt.

In another accident, everyone was wearing their seat belts too. Margaret M. Wolosin, 88, of St. Augustine tried to turn onto U.S. 1 when the driver’s side of her car was hit by an oncoming pickup truck. Wolosin died after being taken to Flagler Hospital. The truck driver and his passenger were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

We are so sorry for the loss of these two women. This sort of accident can happen to anyone at any age of course. In fact, the Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports the 2008 crash statistics show that the crash rates for people over the age of 65 are lower than for people under the age of 40.

What can adult children do? Someone with an unsafe parent driver can confidentially report them to the department. In 2008 there were 7,677 referrals in all. The state can ask someone to take an eye exam or a medical exam. Or the person could be asked to retake the driver test. Younger people can be reported too, but generally seniors are the ones reported.

Oftentimes, the elder driver will realize they need to give up their license, even though we live in a car culture and it puts them at a distinct disadvantage. Loneliness, isolation and depression can accompany the decision to give up a license. Our communities are not set up to accommodate someone without a car, and Americans have a different approach to caring for elders than the Europeans do.

If someone you know needs a ride, give them one. It’s as simple as that. After all, if you are lucky, one day you'll be there too.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

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

Overloaded SUV Rolls And Kills 8-Year-Old boy

Eddie Farah — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:33:00 GMT

An eight-year-old boy was killed Saturday when an SUV, fill with kids going to a church event, rolled on I-95.

The single-vehicle crash occurred 4:45 p.m. near the Volusia and Flagler county line. The ten children onboard were members of a church choir from Orlando heading to Jacksonville.

Once again, the vehicle that rolled was a Ford Explorer, and once again we are hearing that a rear tire blew, forcing the driver to lose control and overturn. The front two passengers were wearing seat belts. No word on where the boy was sitting, but he was the only one killed.

Three young people were airlifted from the scene.

This story is reminiscent of the Explorer SUV rollover in June that killed four high school students. The vehicle was overcrowded, with 11 passengers in this overcrowded Explorer, there were just not enough seat belts for all of the young passengers. That means it’s very likely someone will exit a window in a rollover.

A rear tire blew in both accidents. Did overloading cause stress on a worn tire? Since the passengers were 10 children, it's unlikely that weight played a role, but not having seat belts for all passengers certainly did. With a third seat, a Ford Explorer SUV can carry eight passengers at most.

Then there is the issue of the Ford Explorer SUV. The year of this vehicle is not mentioned, but before the 2006 model, stability control was not an added feature. A high center of gravity, a bad tire, an overloaded vehicle, and not enough seat belts to go around is a very bad combination all around and a young boy had to pay with his life.

We are very sorry for the loss of this young boy and send our prayers to his family and friends. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah