Toyota Owners: Check your Floor Mats. It Could Save Your Life

Many of you might be wondering why checking your floor mats could save your life. After all the idea of a floor mat being dangerous seems a bit silly at first. That however, was not the case for a family driving on a California highway with a stuck accelerator and no brakes. This is what happened to passengers in San Diego in August and has now promoted Toyota to recall 3.8 million vehicles the biggest U.S. recall due to floor mat hazard. Apparently the removable floor mats found in many Toyota vehicles have the potential to cause accelerators to get stuck, leading to crashes. Toyota is working with the National Highway Safety Administration to fix the problem and that for now owners should remove the floor mats and not replace them until the problem is fixed. If the floor mat is under the pedal, this may lead to the accelerator getting stuck and lead to possible car crashes and injuries. So check those mats and stay safe!

For more information on this big recall, you may visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_floor_mats

 

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a defective consumer product, please contact a defective consumer product attorney right away. They will advocate for your rights and help you get the care you need.

Yasmin Birth Control is a Money Maker but is it truly Safe?

Every one might remember the catchy “We’re Not Gonna Take it” and “balloons” commercials for the Yasmin or Yaz Birth Control pill. We may even remember all the benefits the pill was said to provide the consumer with, but what we may not remember is the listing of the dangerous side effects the Yasmin or Yaz pill could cause. This is because the commercials for Yaz overstated the pill’s effectiveness and understated the serious side effects that go along with it. This violates the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as well as the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines.

The marketing by Bayer Healthcare for Yaz or Yasmin was great. It brought in millions of dollars for the company and it may have been some of the company’s best marketing. What the company failed to market or to take into consideration is that all birth control pills including this one have serious side effects including: blood clots, stroke, heart attack, and even death. These commercials failed to let consumers know the seriousness of these side effects and now the company may pay in a big way.

For more information on Yasmin or Yaz you may click on this link.

More info

If you or someone you love may have experienced a serious side effect from taking Yaz or Yasmin, please contact a medical malpractice lawyer right away. They will make sure you get the care you deserve and that your voice is heard.

Tylenol voluntarily recalls Some Medications due to Possible Contamination

Tylenol has recently decided to voluntarily recall more than a dozen infant and children’s medications due to possible contamination.  Bacteria was detected in one of the inactive ingredients and though it was not detected in the finished product, Tylenol decided to recall the products after consulting with the Food and Drug Administration as just a precaution.  B cepacia bacteria was detected in a portion of raw material that was not used in the finished product, but as a precaution Tylenol decided to pull any product containing this raw material from the shelves and recall it. These recalls were made between April and June of 2008 and include the following Tylenol products: Children’s Tylenol plus Cold MS suspension grape, Children’s Tylenol Suspension Grape, Children’s Tylenol Suspension Bubble Gum and Strawberry, Infant’s Suspension Drop 1 ounce grape, and Children’s Tylenol plus Cough and Runny Nose Cherry. The recall is only on liquid Tylenol products.

If you have questions about this recall, please call the McNeil Consumer Call Care Center at: 1-800-962-5357.

For more information about this and other recalls you may click here or here.

More info.

If you feel that you or a loved one has suffered due to a defective consumer product, please contact a Posted on Categories blog, Dangerous DrugsTags , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment on Tylenol voluntarily recalls Some Medications due to Possible Contamination

Is your Teen Safe Driving Their Own Car?

Many teens especially in this country consider it a right to have their own car when they are old enough to drive and have passed their test. A new study reported by MSNNBC,  from researchers at a Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Companies though finds that one in four teens that drive their own cars are more likely to get in an accident than those that share a car. This study also found that parents who set clear rules and guidelines about driving are less likely to get into a car accident. This is why it is important both as a parent and a teen to know about driving safety and to know the rules and guidelines you should follow as a teen driver. Some of these rules may include:

  • Signing a contract with a parent about responsible driving

Signing a contract with parents will let both teens and parents know the rules and guidelines and are prepared to face the consequences if that contract is broken.

  • Choosing a car that your teen can handle driving

Choosing a car that is the right size and type for your teen and one that have received plenty of practice on and know how to use will help make them safer.

  •  Not using a cell phone while driving

Cell phones being used while driving just create more distractions and result in even more accidents than those that do not use cell phones while driving.
 

  • Not allowing Teens to have passengers at night

More accidents can happen at night with teens and it is a good idea to eliminate more distractions but not having passengers after 9pm.

  • Making  sure Teens have plenty of sleep before Driving

If your teen has not gotten plenty of sleep and rest before driving, have them ride with a group or offer to take them where they need to go.

These tips for both teen drivers and their parents, can help make for less teen driver statistics and help your teen not to be that one in four teens in a car accident.

 

For additional information on teen driving safety, you may visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33022087/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Teen-Drivers

If you or your teen driver has been in a car accident and feel you may need your rights heard, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They will help you get your rights heard and the care you deserve.

Film about Health Care Reform and What Went So Wrong

There has been so much debate about health care reform, that now there is even a film about it. This film will be called Money Driven Medicine and is produced by Alex Gibney and is based on a book also called Money-Drive Medicine by Maggie Mahar. This film will show that the U.S. has spent more on health care when it becomes an emergency situation and less money on how to prevent diseases and sicknesses in the first place. It will talk about how we might receive more medical care, but not necessarily better medical care. Based on how the Health Care reform debate is going on now, this may be right. This country has many resources and all the technology for good medical care, but it seems as though we wait to use it until patients come in seriously ill with chronic problems or illness. If we spent more time preventing the abuse and injuries going on in nursing homes, or with consumer products, or even with driving safety than maybe we would not have to spend so much about expensive medicines and technology and there may not be as many medical malpractice lawsuits. So instead of focusing on more care, maybe the debate needs to focus on ways to prevent injuries, abuse, and sicknesses in the first place. If this country did that, maybe we could save enough money to get everyone health care and proper medical care. We need to focus more on patients and less on expensive medicines and equipment and how to cut costs. Without patients to care for, we won’t need all that, so patients need to come first. They should always be the first concern.

For more information on the film Money-Driven Medicine, you may visit: http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/about-mdm

If you feel that you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse or an injury that could have been prevented, please call a malpractice attorney right away. They will advocate for your rights and those of your loved ones to help you get proper medical care.

Tort Reform is Hurting More Than Helping

As the health care debate continues, so does tort reform. While some efforts have been made to help protect patients and their rights, there is still tort reform that is trying to cut costs and because of this there are still many people that are unable to get proper medical care and unable to fight for their rights to it. If tort reform continues the way it has, it is hurting more people than it is or will help.  Cutting costs and providing coverage for everyone is a great idea, but it is only great if it actually helps people to get the care they need and to have the services they need to fight for proper medical care if it is not given.  They are still many people being injured daily because of medical errors and malpractice. They are still many elderly being abused in nursing homes due to improper medical care. It is great that programs are trying to be put in place to cut down on medical malpractice lawsuits but what about just cutting down on the actual malpractice? If patients receive proper medical care, including checkups, treatments, evaluations and more, then we can worry less about lawsuits because the medical care will be better. Until medical errors are dramatically reduced and programs are put in place for more adequate medical care than people still need malpractice rights and lawyers to help them advocate for their rights to proper medical care. Tort reform may try to cut costs all it wants, but people still need their rights and one of these rights is their right to sue for medical malpractice. These rights are there to help those hurting.  Tort reform has only hurt more and not helped.

If you would like more information on the health care debate and tort reform, you may visit:

This link.

If you or someone you loved has been injured or denied proper medical care, contact a malpractice lawyer right away. They will help you fight for your rights and get your voice heard to help those you love.

FDA requires Strongest Warning Label on Nausea Drug

On Thursday September 17th the Food and Drug Administration required that the strongest warning label be placed on a nausea drug known as Phenegran. This new warning label is due to the fact that after Diane Levine took this drug through an IV push for migraine related nausea and it then led to infection and gangrene. This caused her to have to have her lower right arm amputated. She sued the drug company Wyeth claiming that the warning label was not sufficient enough to warn against the effects of this drug especially in an IV push. This case made it to the Supreme Court and won Diane 6.7 million dollars. This then led to the FDA requiring this strong warning. This will warn users and medical professionals about the possibility of gangrene and also to let them know that IV drugs should be used in low doses and low concentration. This warning is the FDA’s strongest and is called a “black box” warning. The Court agreed that having the Food and Drug Administration’s approval and new warnings help cut down on medical device lawsuits.

For more information on Food and Drug Administration and  improper warning labels you may visit:

This link.

If you or a loved one have experienced a situation similar to this or have been injured due to a medical device or product, please contact a defective product lawyer right away. They will help you fight for your rights to be heard and get the care you or loved one  deserve.

Should a Price Tag be put on Good Medical Care?

There has been much debate about health care over the last few months. One of the issues that is being brought up over and over again is whether or not tort reform and limits on malpractice suits actually will save money. Some people say it does because doctors will not have to spend so much money ordering special tests and treatments for patients when it may not be needed. Should a price tag really be put on good medical care? What if a doctor did not order a test or treatment because they thought it was not needed and then later discovered that it could have helped? For situations like these that happen every day in millions of hospitals, doctor’s offices, and nursing homes in every state, we still need our malpractice rights. It is still possible that even with universal coverage those doctors may make a medical error either because they want to cut a cost or because they just did not pay enough attention. States that have medical malpractice caps and tort reform are not actually saving any more money than those who do not have them. So why should we deny patients the right to good medical care and treatment when we are not really saving any money by doing so? Everyone, even the doctors that see patients every day, should have the right to speak up if their medical care is inadequate or if there is a problem. This should be a basic right as a person and an American. Malpractice caps do not save money on health insurance so why take away a person’s right to good medical care and treatment and the right to sue if they do not receive it? The logic just does not make sense.

People in this country have the right to free speech as well as many other rights and that should always include the right to speak up about medical errors and malpractice. These rights should be totally different than the health insurance debate because there should not be a price tag on person’s right to good proper medical care.

If you would like more information on the health care debate and malpractice rights, you may visit this link.

If you or a loved one has been injured or abused due to improper medical care, contact a medical malpractice lawyer right away. They will help you advocate for your right to be heard and receive the care you deserve.

ATV Safety Tips that may Save Your Life

These days ATVs have become very popular especially among young teens and young adults. Unfortunately, if you do not know how to properly operate one or drive one, injuries can and will happen. Many people get injured in ATV accidents every day. It is important to have the proper training and know how to drive an ATV before using it to help you and your loved ones avoid serious injuries or accidents.

Here are some safety tips for riding and driving ATVs from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • Wear a helmet and protective gear and clothing
  • Do not ride tandem (or two on one ATV)
  • Do not ride on the payment
  • Do not let children ride on adult ATVs
  • Do not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Many injuries caused on ATVs are head injuries. Wearing a helmet that is certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation may help prevent serious head or other injuries. Wearing protective gear and clothing will help protect against burns or abrasions to the skin.  Most ATVs were only made for one rider. Having more than one rider causes the weight to be off balance which makes it harder to control an ATV. It is best to ride with no passengers for overall safety. Other injuries and even deaths have occurred when riders drive ATVs on paved roads, they were not designed for this kind of pavement and they can collide with other vehicles easily.  Children have been involved in many deaths and injuries when riding on adult ATVs and more likely to get injured on an adult ATV if they are less than sixteen years of age, than on an ATV made for youth.  As with driving any vehicle or operating machinery, ATVs should not be driven while under the influence of alcohol or drugs because timing and judgment can be impaired causing more injuries and accidents.

For these reasons and for the safety of yourself, your loved ones and other drivers, it is important to follow these ATV safety tips. They really just might save your life.

If you or a loved one has been injured in ATV accident and would like your rights heard for your medical needs and other expenses, please contact a personal injury attorney right away. They will help you advocate for the rights of you and your loved one.

For additional information on ATV safety, you may visit: this link.

No Such thing as a "nice bike ride in the park," with Dangerous Bike Chain

On Tuesday September 8th 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and SRAM of Chicago, IL recalled defective bicycle chains and chain connectors because they can crack while in use and cause a fall hazard to the rider of the defective bicycle. One incident has been reported in the U.S. and three incidents outside of the U.S. with these Powerlock connector links, but no injuries have been reported. The recall is specifically on defective SRAM PowerLock connector links on 10 speed bicycle chains sold individually and on some bicycles as part of the original equipment.

If you may have one of these defective chains, play it safe and stop riding your bike and contact SRAM for a free replacement PowerLock connector link.

If you feel that you may have been injured or your rights have not been protected due to this defective consumer product, contact a defective product attorney right away. They can help you get your voice heard and make sure your rights as a consumer are protected.

For additional information concerning this product you may visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the SRAM website at: http://www. sram.com.