Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Plaintiff lose a long drawn out Yamaha Rhino lawsuit. You can find the details here.

A San Mateo County jury ordered the California department of transportation to pay a 17 year-old girl injured in a pedestrian accident $12 million. As is the case in too many pedestrian accident cases, the plaintiff's injuries were catastrophic: she sustained a brain injury that put her in a permanent vegetative state. No matter what the facts are, it is just an unbelievable tragedy that happens far too often.

Plaintiff's attorneys' case rested on the premise that uncontrolled intersections with designated crosswalks are more dangerous than unmarked crosswalks because they give pedestrians a false sense of confidence that they can cross.

These pedestrian cases against state entities are tough and few accident lawyers are willing to take them. Plaintiff's lawyers in this case deserve a lot of credit.

The Maryland Medical Malpractice Blog reports on a successful medical malpractice suit in Rhode Island.

Do you own reptiles? Do you feed your reptiles rats, mice or chicks? You may be at risk for salmonella poisoning. Mice Direct issued a recall for frozen rats, mice and chicks earlier today. Mice Direct reports that possibly 30 people - not the reptiles - have gotten salmonella poisoning.

The lesson is, as always, crystal clear: it is probably not best to further the breeding of pet reptiles that eat other living things. Oh, yeah, and salmonella can cause disease and death. The symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever.

I need to compile a "top ten crazy recalls" at some point. This reptile food recall is a top ten nominee.

File this under hard to believe: a lacrosse glove recall. The reason? Brine VIP's logo on their lacrosse gloves contains lead paint levels in excess of the allowable limit.

Approximately 7,000 Brine VIP gloves, that were manufactured in Vietnam, are subjected to this recall. Three sizes of gloves are involved: 10, 12 and 13 inches. Brine VIP gloves identified with model numbers LGLVIP00WH, LGLVIP02WH, and LGLVIP03WH.

Lead paint can cause significant brain injuries in small children. I have no idea how much lead is on these gloves. I'm assuming the logo was painted on the gloves. I didn't realize anyone anywhere was still making lead based paint.

Seventy-one former Motorola employees have filed a lawsuit claiming exposure to harmful chemicals while producing semiconductors caused birth defects in their children. The plaintiffs worked at a plants in Schaumburg and Arizona between 1965 and 2007. The lawsuit alleges chemicals have caused the children suffer from birth defects leading to cerebral palsy, autism, blindness, spina bifida, language delays and epilepsy.

Five New York hospitals are participating in a pilot program to cut medical malpractice lawsuits and costs by, among other things, revealing medical mistakes early and offering quick settlements in cases where it appears there was malpractice.

Believe it or not, I don't have an opinion. I think under this paradigm more cases are going to settle but the average malpractice settlement in these cases will be less than the statistics now show. Is it worth it to get less but get it over with and be able to move on with your life? It depends on how much less.

One other interesting tidbit from one of the articles in this program: There are 900 pending medical malpractice cases in New York. That is a lot of cases but, then again, New York is a big state.

There is a recall for approximately 45,000 Antonio Flores pacifiers after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission expressed concerns about the pacificer's safety. The problem is that the pacifiers lack ventilation holes and have nipples that may detach from the base of the pacifier.

There are no injuries that have been reported. Hopefully, the company got out on the front end of this and no child gets hurt.

A Florida appeals court ruled against the Plaintiff in a claim against a surgical center. The crux of the opinion: whether the patient chose the surgery center is going to be the key to whether a wrongful death claim against the a surgery center will survive.

The Huffington Post has an article underscoring how Reglan lawsuits are swept on in the quest for pharmaceutical companies to be able to negligently hurt people and not provide compensation.

I would love to hear one pharmaceutical CEO come out and say, "Look, we make fine products. And if we screw up, we absolutely do expect to be held accountable. So you won't be seeing us try any ridiculous procedural practices to defend our cases. We will settle claims that are valid and we will fight to the last man against claims that are trumped up."

Odds of seeing this press release today is about the same as Cleveland offering LeBron another key to the city.

A Frederick County (Virginia, not Maryland) jury awarded a woman $3 million against a doctor who performed a hysterectomy. After a reduction for the cap, the woman's recovery will be $1,925,000.

Plainitff's malpractice case was that the doctor used tissue from the rectal wall to repair the woman's vaginal cuff during the hysterctomy rather than peritoneal material. Post trial motions for remittur were rejected.

James A. Goodyear, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, says that because Pennsylvania doctors win a defense verdict in 85 percent of malpractice lawsuits that go to trial, it may be that "too many claims are advancing that shouldn't."

Alternative view: good malpractice lawsuits settle before trial.

The Idaho Court of Appeals affirming the dismissal of a legal malpractice case against a Sandpoint attorney who bought the cause of action against him through bankruptcy proceedings.

The case was a complete mess. The client went bankrupt, the trustee continued to pursue the case. The underlying case did not sound too impressive: the lawyer was accused of failing to properly prepare a counterclaim and properly plead fraud or request punitive damages.

Tween Brands has issued a recall of their metal necklaces, bracelets and earrings due to high levels of cadmium, which is toxic if ingested by children. Walmart had a similar recall in the spring.

Nineteen different styles of children’s jewelry are included in the recall which were sold online and at Justice and Limited Too retail stores.

According to Jury Verdict Research, the average personal injury jury verdict in Tennessee is $273,821. Using the median verdict, which deflates the impact of large verdicts, the number falls to $17,536.

John Day provides some additional data about Tennessee car accident verdicts. The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter, he reports, looked at 130 car accident lawsuits that went to trial in Tennessee. The average plaintiff's verdict was $60,552 in the 93 (71%) lawsuits in which the plaintiff prevailed. Factoring in the losses, the average verdict was $43,318.

Average verdict statistics are interesting but, in the end, the axiom that every case is different really does ring true. Average statistics are just that, averages. If you want more information on the value of your case, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online case evaluation.

There will be no immediate Avandia recall. An FDA panel voted to allow Avandia to remain on the market. Twelve members voted to withdraw Avandia.

At this point, we all know the question is not if Avandia is going to be withdrawn from the market but when and by who. I don't expect an Avandia recall because it would be too helpful to plaintiffs' lawsuits. I expect a soft withdrawal in the not too distant future.

One minute, Avandia lawsuits are dismissed as ridiculous. The next minute, figuratively at least, everyone and their mother are piling on and looking for cover... and providing tons of fodder for plaintiffs in the Avandia lawsuits.

Last week, the New York Times reports that an FDA official "harshly criticized" a major clinical trial for Avandia, saying that numerous cases of patients suffering heart problems were ignored during the clinical triall. Dr. Thomas Marciniak said the signs pointed to the claim made in the Avandia lawsuits that Avandia causes heart attacks and strokes in patients, but they were not noted as occurrences.

If you want to join the Avandia lawsuit, call 800-553-8082 or get more information about the Avandia lawsuit online here.

A lawsuit has been filed over the recall of millions of bottles of Children's Tylenol. The lawsuit alleged Johnson & Johnson of fraud and racketeering for "not recalling all of its children's drugs."

This is not an accident or injury lawsuit. It is a lawsuit filed on behalf of consumers. Our lawyers are not handling these cases.

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Accutane lawsuits arise out of the allegation that Accutane, an acne medication that has been available for almost 30 years, causes serious bowel problems, Crohn's Disease, and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Our lawyers are reviewing these claims. For a free consultation, call 800-553-8082 or get more information online.

Accutane lawsuits have been going on for some time now. But interest in these lawsuits rose dramatically after a $25 million verdict against the manufacturer of Accutane earlier this year. The lawsuit played out like a novel. The Plaintiff got a $2.62 million verdict only to have an appellate court take away the verdict. A new jury heard the case and tacked on an additional $23 million. That is a strong message.

There are over 1,000 Accutane lawsuits now pending. If you think you may have a claim, find out if we can help you. Get a free online no obligation consultation.

The Philadelphia Phillies mascot is the defendant in a lawsuit stemming from a fan's injuries at a minor league baseball game. Plaintiff's lawsuit alleges that the "Phillie Phanatic" climbed on top of her during a game in 2008 which causing Plaintiff arthritis to get worse which, Plaintiff believes, caused her to need a knee replacement.

Exacerbation of prior arthritis claims are incredibly tough because it so hard for the doctors to really state strong opinions as to whether a trauma accident caused her injuries to worsen. I also imagine there are liability problems. In these kind of case, I always fear the lawsuit is filed in part because it is a case against the Phille Phanatic and that sounds a little interesting so let's bring a case we otherwise would not. Again, I have no facts to support this but it does make you wonder when you hear cases with these kinds of facts.