Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

These are North Carolina medical malpractice statistics of interest. Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics are from 1998-2009.

• There are an average of 566 medical malpractice lawsuits filed in North Carolina each year, or one-quarter of one percent of the lawsuits filed in North Carolina. For those who think malpractice lawsuits are increasing in number: there were 496 malpractice lawsuits in 2009, the last year studied.
• ƒ Said another way, from 1998 through 2009, the number of all civil case filings in North Carolina
  averaged 228,037 per year. The medical malpractice filings accounted for 0.25%
  of all civil cases.
• Okay, but North Carolina juries award a ton of money when the plaintiff wins a medical malpractice lawsuit. No, not really. In the 54 malpractice cases in which the plaintiff won at trial and received money damages, the median jury award was $320,000. Underscoring the point, 10 of these malpractice verdicts were below $10,000. Not exactly runaway juries.
• Doctors are fleeing North Carolina? Not quite. Between 1998 and 2008 (the last year for which statistics were available), the total population in North Carolina grew by 18.3%, while the physician population increased by 29.1%. Maybe not every doctor has gone to Texas yet.
• 4% of medical malpractice lawsuits go to verdict. Plaintiffs win 22.33% of the time. If you consider cases with multiple defendants, 86% of doctors prevail at trial.

Volvo is issuing a recall? Volvo? Not Volvo. A recall? Alas, we can all relax. it is the good kind of recall.

Volvo will "recall" 700 employees it had laid off in Virginia. You can find the full happy recall story here.

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog has news and commentary on personal injury news around the web.

Another Tylenol recall? Are you serious? Johnson & Johnson announced today another Tylenol recall for - shocker - a “musty or moldy odor.” This recall is for 34,000 bottles.

J&J says the risk to users who take the Tylenol subject to the recall is "remote." That is easy for them to say. But I suppose they are probably right, based on what I read about the science during the last Tylenol recall.

The culprit was J&J Fort Washington, Pennsylvania which is making a powerful bid towards worst plant ever status. This plant would make a great Saturday Night Live skit. I'm sure a lot of wonderful people work there but, my goodness, someone was screwing something up there.

• The last Tylenol recall (the probably silly lawsuit that came out of it with links to the original story)
• The Johnson & Johnson disaster

Honda has issued a recall of 2011 Odyssey minivans to repair a problem with the Odyssey's front windows. Honda reports that the Odyssey's windows come off their tracks and bend, which prevents the window from being raised or lowered.

This is not a huge deal, we are talking about 2,800 Honda Odysseys total. But it is not a feel good vibe for Honda who is still reeling from the tragedy in Japan.

For any Odyssey in this recall, Honda will fix the problem. The recall is expected to begin on April 15 (or thereabouts). Honda Odyssey owners can reach Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.

Candy Dynamics issued a recall of a single lot of Toxic Waste® Short Circuits™ Bubble Gum. Apparently, this gum puts the "T" in toxic. The recall came after the FDA found elevated levels of lead in the gum.

Everyone is reporting there have been no injuries and that is probably the case. But, let's not kid ourselves: injuries from lead don't show up in 5 minutes.

Pfizer has issued a recall for its generic citalopram SSRI antidepressant and its generic prostate drug finasteride because of a label switch.

The recall includes citalopram 10-milligram tablets in a 100-count bottle and finasteride 5-milligram tablets in a 90-count bottle. Both of the recalled medicines carry the lot number FI0510058-A on the label.

Pfizer - I say Pfizer, it is actually their subsidiary Greenstone - naturally blames someone else for the recall, saying "incorrect labels [may] have been placed on the bottles by a third-party manufacturer.

A Propecia class action lawsuit has been filed in Canada and there is talk of similar litigation in the United States. The basis for a potential Propecia lawsuit are studies indicating that Propecia - which is a prescription drug for hair loss - may cause some men to lose sex drive, suffer from erectile dysfunction, and decreased ejaculate volume while on Propecia.

Specifically, the Boston University School of Medicine reported last week that the use of Avodart, Proscar and Propecia may be associated with loss of sex drive and depression. Their finding? Fifteen percent of men on Propecia had decreased sexual drive, ejaculatory disorders, and erectile dysfunction compared with 7 percent of those who took placebos. That is the kind of study that gets you past Daubert - a real hurdle for plaintiffs - on causation and gets plaintiffs' class action lawyers interested in filing lawsuits.

I don't think there is much dispute that Propecia does decrease sex drive and function in some men. I think the battleground, if there is a rash of lawsuits, is going to be over whether the problems are permanent or whether these problems resolve just by discontinuing Propecia.

Are Propecia lawsuits going to be the next big thing? I have no idea. Our lawyers are not reviewing potential Propecia lawsuits at this time.

The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed a directed verdict for a hospital in a nursing medical malpractice action in which the plaintiff suffered IV infiltration - leakage of fluid from an IV into the patient's tissues from an IV line - and burn injuries.

The directed verdict from the trial court struck Plaintiffs' expert from testifying as to the standard of care even though the expert had already been accepted as an expert on the nursing care given by the hospital. Had the expert been permitted to testify, she would have testified as to the standard of care for IV infiltrations and that the hospital breached that standard.

The Mississippi high court also make a good call for plaintiffs on the question of the collateral source set off when the amount of the liens/bills have been reduced. I analyzed an Indiana case that went the other way here.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner Recall. Sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit. But for the same reason toilet bowl cleaner works on your toilet, it does not work so well on your skin.

Scotch issued a recall for 74,760 bottles of Instant Power Toilet Bowl Restorer because its cap can leak, causing it to do the same thing to your skin that it does to your toilet.

There have been no injuries reported. Scotch has received seven reports of the bottles subject to the recall leaking and damaging property.

Instant Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner was sold in stores nationwide including Menards, True Value Hardware, Ace Hardware and Gebo's between February 2009 and January 2010 for about $5 per bottle.

Also in the recall is Instant Power Toilet Bowl Restorer. This toilet cleaner comes in a gray plastic bottle with an orange cap, and has a model number 1803.

Lasko will recall 4.8 million Lasko box fans due to a potential fire hazard associated with the fans. Apparently, an "electrical failure" in the fan's motor may cause a fire. Lasko has received seven reports of fire, including two house fires and one barn fire but, thankfully, no injuries.

April 17, 2012 Post Script: Plaintiffs' lawyers tried to file a class action lawsuit alleging consumer fraud claiming that Lasko delayed notification of the problem to allow many owners' warrantees to expire. But a Pennsylvania federal judge dismissed the lawsuit (with leave to refile).

Depakote birth defect lawsuits are gaining the increased interest of lawyers around the country. Including us. (Welcome to Epilepsy Foundation readers.)

Like Topamax, Depakote is an anticonvulsant used to prevent epileptic seizures. In 1978, the FDA approved Abbott Laboratories' New Drug Application (NDA) for Depakene. In 1982, the FDA approved Abbott's NDA for Depakote which was also marketed to doctors as a medication for limiting or eliminating seizures.

After years on the market, the FDA required Abbott to include a “Boxed Warning” alerting doctors and patients - most notably, mothers and women of child bearing age who might become pregnant - of the risk of birth defects as a result of Depakote use. There are also risks on the box now about hepatotoxicity and pancreatitis. These are serious and potentially fatal conditions. But our lawyers are focusing on Depakote lawsuits that involve birth defects such as spina bifida, craniofacial defects, cardiovascular malformations, and similar malformations in young children whose moms were taking Depakote when they were pregnant.

Specifically, there is data suggesting that:

• Infants whose mothers took Depakote during the first trimester were more than 12 times more likely to have spina bifida than mothers who were not on Depakote; (Note: all of this data is for valproic acid. Valproic acid is the active and key ingredient in Depakote.)
• Babies whose mothers took Depakote were also 2.5 times more likely to have a heart defect;
• Depakote users who became pregnant were five times as likely to have a baby with a cleft palate or a penis abnormality;
• Children of moms on Depakote were more than two times as likely to have an extra digit on their hand; and
• Mothers on Depakote are seven times - seven times - more likely to have premature fusion of the skull during fetal development which limits brain growth.
• They found women who took Depakote early in their pregnancy had two to 12 times the risk of having a baby with one of six specific birth defects compared to women who took no epilepsy drugs.

Can you see why plaintiffs' lawyers are predicting a lot of Depakote lawsuits? You would think there would have been a recall. But instead of a recall - which still has not happened - this problem has festered on for years. How on earth is this possible? I have no idea. Ultimately, this may prove to be the tip of the iceberg in terms of birth defects from Depakote.

Continue reading " Depakote Birth Defect Lawsuits " »

What are the attorneys' fees on $75 trillion?

If you live in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, California, or Colorado, you Bologna's first name is R-E-C-A-L-L. Yesterday, a recall was issued for 23,000 pounds of Lebanon bologna products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause serious health consequence for all of us, most notably the very young and very old.

Each package of Bologna was made in December and has a label with establishment number “EST. 474” inside the USDA mark of inspection. You can get the details here.

Look out for:

• Whole chub packages of “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot codes “01351” or “06337” and best-by date of “Feb. 14 2011,” “Feb. 15 2011,” “Feb. 16 2011,” or “Feb. 28 2011” printed on the package.
• Half chub packages of “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot codes “01351” or “06337” and best-by date of “Apr. 6 2011,” “Apr. 7 2011,” “Apr. 16 2011,” or “Apr. 19 2011,” printed on the package.
• 12-pound bulk boxes of sliced “SELTZER’S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA” with lot code “01351” and best-by date of “Apr. 21 2011” printed on the package.

Lebanon bologna is a semi-dry sausage that looks like salami. So check out what you think is your salami too.

There is a recall of more than 985,000 drop-side cribs with "crib trigger lock and safety peg" hardware. This is an odd recall in that this crib was already recalled in 2008. Why the re-recall?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Delta Enterprise have word of a second death from these cribs. What's bizarre is the death was in 2009. 2009? There has to be a back story here. Another child got trapped and suffocated when the drop side of the crib detached.

This sounds like a no doubt about it product defect case. The company admits that missing safety pegs can cause the crib's drop-side rail to separate from the track, creating a gap where a baby can get lodged and suffocate.

The problem is people pass down and reuse cribs. No one really knows who the manufacturer is. There has to be a better way to track and notify people about this stuff. But, honestly, I'll admit I don't know what that is.

The recall involves the following crib models:

4320, 4340; 4500, 4520, 4530, 4532, 4540, 4542, 4550, 4551, 4580; 4600, 4620, 4624 - production dates 01/06 thru 11/07, 4640, 4660, 4720, 4735, 4742, 4750 - production dates 01/95 thru 12/00; 4760, 4770, 4780, 4790; 4820, 4840, 4850, 4860, 4880, 4890, 4892; and
4900, 4910, 4920, 4925-2, 4925-6, 4930, 4940, 4943, 4944, 4947, 4948, 4949, 4950, 4958, 4963, 4968, 4969, 4980.

• IKEA Crib Recall
• Car seat recall
• Baby monitor recall
• Swing set recall
• Another baby crib recall

H&P Industries/Triad Group has issued a recall of povidine iodine prep pads used to prevent infections in cuts, scrapes and burns and in preparation for surgery. Instead of killing all bacteria, these alcohol prep wipes may be contaminated with a dangerous bacteria, improbably called Elizabethkingia meningoseptica. This is a bacteria that causes potentially life threatening infections in humans, including meningitis (in infants) pneumonia in patients on ventilators and necrotizing fasciitis.

These alcohol wipes are marketed under Cardinal Health, Medical Specialties, VHA, Triad, Triad Plus, North Safety and Total Resources.

There will not be many injuries or lawsuits from this alcohol wipe recall. But there may be a few very serious or fatal injuries that may be very good claims.

A Hyundai coffee cup holder recall has led to a class action lawsuit filed against Hyundai on behalf of anyone who has spilled coffee in their Hyundai.

Hyundai has set aside $750 million in reserves to pay these claims.Walter Olson is apoplectic. Phillip Howard is inconsolable.

Continue reading " Hyundai Coffee Cup Recall " »

Bristol West is a private passenger automobile insurance company that is focused in Florida but provides bodily injury and physical damage car insurance to drivers across the United States. Dealing with Bristol West is the same as dealing with Farmers Insurance, who bought Bristol West in 2007.

The Bristol West name is slowly being extinguished. Bristol West is merging into Foremost, another Farmers insurance company.

Hyundai will recall 190,000 Elantra sedans because of an air bag defect. The recall is for Elantra model years 2007, 2008 and 2009. The center console has a sensor that detects the weight of the passenger. Pretty high tech. The purpose is to disable the right airbag if the passenger is not the appropriate weight. Of course, high tech needs to actually work. With these Hyundai Elantras, if the sensor is even slightly compromised during ordinary use, the airbag may deploy without considering the weight of the passenger. Hopefully, not a huge deal and one that Hyundai can fix with this recall.

Suzuki will recall of 1,350 Suzuki QuadSport ATVs due to electronic defects in the ATV that may cause an accident. Apparently, the regulator/rectifier circuit board can fail and cause the engine to stall while riding the ATV because of insufficient battery charge. Not suprisingly, this problem makes you more likely to have an accident.

So far so good: 11 reports of circuit board value from the vehicles in the recall but no injuries.

Girl's Chelsa sleeveless sundress imported by Matilda Jane from China and sold at in-home sales events (I'm picturing Goji for HBO's "Big Love" fans) and online from February 1-25th. The problem is the button may come off, presenting a chocking hazard. There is one report of an "incident", whatever that means.

At some point, toy manufacturers need to realize that it really is not that hard to make a toy that is not a choking hazard.

There is a recall of more than 10,000 pounds of Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meat balls. I don't think this will be a federal case but the Lean Cuisines are reportedly studded with bits of hard plastic. The recall follows complaints from consumers in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Assuming these pieces are not large, you would not think this will be a huge problem.

These Lean Cuisines have the number "P-7991" and the case code "0298595519P," with a "best before" date of November, 2011. These Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meatballs entrees were packaged on October 25, 2010, and shipped to distributors and retail stores east of the Rocky Mountains.

Suzuki has announced a recall of 29,000 Suzuki ATVs due to the risk of fire. Apparently, some ATV users have reported to Suzuki that the plastic fuel tanks on the ATVs can develop holes, causing fuel to leak.

This recall covers all 2008-2010 LT-A450X model Suzuki KingQuad ATVs and also 2009-2010 LT-A500X, 2008-2010 LT-A750X, and 2011 LT-A500X and LT-A750X models made before December 11th.

Our firm would only review Suzuki ATV claims where the leaking fuel caused injury. Hopefully, we don't receive any such claims because there are no actual fuel leak injuries.

A New York law firm has announced it is investigating the Board of Directors of Lubrizol Corporation for possible breaches of fiduciary duty in the wake of an announcement of the sale of the company to Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett).

What on earth is the basis for this claim? The transaction became public, oh, about 20 seconds ago. The basis for the investigation appears to be that one analyst set the target price for $148. Another analyst predicted not to worry because the sky is falling. For any prediction, I could find an analyst.

Here is what we do know: the $135 a share purchase price represents a 28% premium over Lubrizol's closing price on Friday; higher than anything Lubizol has ever sold for in its history.

I think that Lubrizol shareholders should be giving Warren Buffett and the Board of Directors of Lubrizol a hug instead of a lawsuit.

(Conflict note that has nothing to do with this post: I have an interest in Berkshire Hathaway.)

Post-Script Note: Apparently, the West Coast does not want to be left out. This law firm also wants to help suffering Lubrizol shareholders who only made 28% on their money today.

The average car/truck/motorcycle accident verdict in New York is $837,020, which is stunningly high compared to most other jurisdictions.

Why is this? Are New York jurors just that much more generous than, say, jurors in Maryland?

The answer is that New York's no-fault accident law requires that plaintiffs suffer a “serious injury" before a lawsuit can be brought against the at-fault driver. While there is some question that having a magical threshold that needs to be crossed is going to be fraught with great flaws, there is no question that this New York scheme, as desultory as the justice it might bring, keeps minor personal injury car accident cases out of court.

What's my point? My point is that this completely distorts average car accident verdicts in New York. I read Metro Verdicts Monthly and Mealey's which provide a lot of individual verdicts in car accident cases in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It is amazing how many jury verdicts there are for $10,000 when, if you look at the case, is really not such a bad result. New York has none of these cases deflating their average.

Continue reading " New York Car Accident Verdicts " »

Kia has issued a recall for some 2006-1008 Kia Optimas because their shift cables may have been installed improperly. This recall includes 70,115 Kia Optimas built from September 29, 2005 through June 13, 2007. The problem that precipitated this recall is that the shift cable in the Kia Optima may detach from the shifter assembly, leaving the car's driver unable to shift the transmission using the gear lever.

In April, Volkswagen will recall 12,600 Volkswagen Routan minivans because the ignition key may move while the van is moving, causing the engine to shut off. Apparently, the 2010 Routan minivans' ignition keys slip into the accessory position turning off the engine. VW estimates that 378 of the vans have defective ignition switches.

What strikes you about this recall? For me, it is the fact that it begins in April. If someone gets hurt in the meantime, what exactly does Volkswagen say to them? I'm sure they would pay them a lot of money. But what would they say to them?

Little Pet Vet costumes and Dr. Littles costumes is recalling last year's Halloween costumes. If your child was playing doctor or nurse, the stethoscope accessory has plastic ear pieces at the end of the stethoscope that can be pulled off which pose a choke hazard to young children.

My economic experts (that would be me) have calculated the cost of this recall: zero. Is anybody going to send back last year's Halloween costume?

If you have questions, contact the company's website. No. Wait. The company does not have a website. But you can email them.

Sunbeam has announced the recall of 159,000 wine bottle openers sold by QVC from November 2010 through December 2010. The wine bottles can break when opened with the recalled opener. The risk of that? A wine bottle breaking in your hands can't be a good thing.

Sunbeam has received 52 reports of wine bottles breaking, including 22 injuries. I wonder how many people got hurt using this recalled wine opener and never reported it to Sunbeam. My best guess: a lot.

An even more pressing question is how QVC stays in business in the Internet era.

Our lawyers are investigating potential Topamax lawsuits. The plaintiffs’ Topamax lawsuits allege that Ortho-McNeil failed to identify the risks associated with Topamax causing injuries to unborn children. The lawsuits allege that Ortho-McNeil knew or should have known about this years ago. Instead of researching the harm Topamax can cause, this drug was pushed on doctors for weight loss, alcohol dependence, eating disorders and mood and anxiety disorders. Apparently, the "people at risk for seizures" market was just a little too small.

How did doctors get the idea to prescribe Topamax for these patients? Topamax drug reps who pushed Topamax for people that didn’t need it and might be harmed by it. Most notably: pregnant women. Topamax increases the risk for the development of cleft lip and cleft palate. Topamax use, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy where the risk for birth defects is at its highest, has been shown to cause debilitating malformations.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning this month regarding the use of Topamax during pregnancy. New medical studies have shown conclusive evidence that Topamax treatment increases the risk of developing genital malformations and oral clefts (cleft lip/palate) during pregnancy. In response to this the FDA has placed Topamax in Pregnancy Category D which places pregnant women at high risk for developing serious birth defects.

There is now little question that there is an increased risk of oral clefts in children whose moms were exposed to Topamax during pregnancy. Topamax lawsuits revolve around the idea that Johnson & Johnson/McNeil should have followed up on the animal data that would have given them a clue there was a problem and they should have done more to make sure Topamax was safe and should have issued a Topamax recall years ago.

If you think you have a potential Topamax lawsuit and would like to speak with a lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or get a free on-line consultation.

You get into a car accident. You curse out the at-fault driver. You shouldn't have. But you did. Is the defense going to have the opportunity to put on this evidence or cross examine you with it? The Maryland Accident Lawyer blog writes about a recent decision in federal court in Maryland that answers this question (for this judge, under these facts).

The Supreme Court refused yesterday to hear an appeal from a Jets season ticket holder who sued the Patriots and Bill Belichick for secretly videotaping Jets signals during games. The Jets fan is - and this will shock you - a lawyer who likes to file class action lawsuits.

A U.S. District Court judge and a federal appeals panel dismissed the lawyer's class-action lawsuit and the 3rd Circuit readily agreed. The problem: the lack of damage proved fatal to the claim.

Surprisingly, because this is exactly the type of case that should be occupying the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court refused to hear arguments in the case.

This is laced with sarcasm because I think these kinds of lawyers, who are not only stupid but dead on arrival, bring down the whole profession.

No, not Honda. After Toyota stepped down (and down) from the Golden Child throne, we thought we could turn our lonely eyes to Honda. But no. Honda is recalling 35,000 2007 and 2008 Civic hybrids to fix an electrical problem.

The problem is that these cars' electrical components may fail causing the headlights to turn off or the engine to stall.

Toyota, apparently resented the challenge to its status as Recall King, and immediately issued a recall for Toyota sport utility vehicles and trucks because of faulty tire pressure monitoring systems. This Toyota recall includes some versions of the 2008 through 2011 Toyota F-J Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra.

I'm kidding about most of this, particularly the part about Honda. I think Honda makes a great car.

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog provides a list of attorney related blogs in Maryland.

IKEA is in the recall business this year. IKEA has issued a recall for 128,000 coffee and tea makers. The problem is that pressure from the metal pot holder can cause the coffee or tea maker to break, posing a laceration and burn risk.

IKEA recalled a large number of baby cribs less than a month ago.

Mazda has issued a recall for 52,000 Mazda6 sedans because of a potential obstruction in the Mazda6's evaporative system. What is the obstruction? The evaporative canister vent line in some 2009 and 2010 Mazda6s makes a cozy home for some spiders that clog the line. The problem is that the clog leads to excessive negative pressure in the car's gas tank, which can cause the tank to crack.

I have been trying to think of a witty joke or metaphor but nothing is coming to mind. You will have to make up your own.

Update: I support animal rights and I support PETA. But they are stone crazy, right?

Burlington Coat Factory is issuing a recall of 7,460 slow cookers sold at Burlington Coat Factory because the cooker's control panel can overheat and melt, creating a risk of fire. Burlington has received 60 reports of the panels overheating but no injuries have occurred.

Burlington Coat Factory sells slow cookers? Really?

Ford will recall 25,000 2010 Ford Ranger trucks because of problems with fuel leaks and electrical shorts that could lead to fires. Ford told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- who is already displeased with Ford - that it is calling back these 2010 Ford Ranger trucks with 2.3L engines to inspect a fuel line for chafing.

This is the second recall for the same Ford Rangers. Stating the obvious: when you are issuing a do-over recall, that is a bad thing.

This Ford recall also involves about 10,000 other pick-up trucks/crossover vehicles to fix a software problem that could lead to an electrical short and overheating, potentially causing a fire.

Like the Ford F-150 recall, people don't appear to be getting hurt by these defects. But they are not doing a lot for consumer (or investor) confidence in Ford. We are all rooting for Ford to straighten these issues out and make good, safe cars and trucks.