Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

I am getting tired of writing this post. I feel like I write some version of it every month....

The Hannaford supermarket chain, which has stores in New England and New York, is recalling ground beef with a sell-by date of December 17 or earlier, as it may be contaminated with salmonella. The precise amount of beef being recalled is undetermined.

The ground beef recall was made after receiving reports of fourteen ill people, ten of which reported purchasing ground beef at Hannaford stores in Maine, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont between October 12 and November 20. Seven of the fourteen people were hospitalized.

Among the varieties being recalled are Hannaford's regular ground beef and its Taste of Inspirations Angus and Nature's Place brands, with content ranging between 73 percent and 90 percent lean.

The chain has approximately 170 stores in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, and all the beef affected by the recall has been removed from stores.

Dogs are people too. Pretty much. For many of us.

So we report here on Proctor & Gamble Company has retrieved a single production lot of dry dog food as aflatoxin levels, above the acceptable limit, have been detected. This product has already been retrieved from store shelves.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring by-product from the growth of Aspergillus flavus and can be harmful to pets if consumed in significant quantities. Pets who have consumed this product and exhibit symptoms of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums, or diarrhea should be seen by a veterinarian.

The affected dog food is as follows:

• Product Name: Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry dog food with Use By/Expiration Dates of February 5 or February 6, 2013
• Version: 7.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12784177I6; UPC Code: 1901402305
• Version: 8.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177D2 and 12794177D3; UPC Code: 1901410208
• Version: 17.5 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177K1 and 12794177K2; UPC Code: 1901401848

The affected product lot was distributed to a limited number of retailers located in the eastern United States: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. These retailers have already removed this product from store shelves.

While no health effects related to this product have been reported, P&G retrieved this product from the shelves as a precautionary measure. Consumers who purchased the affected dog food should stop using it, discard it, and contact Iams a replacement voucher.

No other dry dog food, dry cat food, dog or cat canned food, biscuits/treats or supplements are affected by this announcement.

Dogs matter. I'm glad Proctor is doing the right thing by making sure our animals are safe.

Serious Concern with Bio Gaudiano Olives

Last week it was recalled smoked seafood that was recalled for possible Botulism, this week it is olives.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled Bio Gaudiano brand Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds, and is warning consumers not to eat them. All sizes and lots of Bio Gaudiano Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds are being recalled, as this product has been linked to a botulism outbreak in Europe.

While there are no illnesses reported in the United States, health authorities in Europe have reported two cases of botulism involving hospitalization. The consumption of the affected product, from Italian manufacturer Bio Gaudiano, has been linked to these illnesses.

Botulism is a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, that can cause many different symptoms. Symptoms can include general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing, difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and/or constipation. Although cases are rare, botulism attacks the nervous system, and in its sever forms, can cause respiratory failure. Symptoms usually begin 18-36 hours after eating contaminated food, but they can occur as early as six hours or as late as 10 days. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.

The FDA has asked that anyone finding the recalled Bio Gaudiano Brand Organic Olives dispose them in a sealed contained in the trash, so that people and animals, including wild animals, cannot consume the tainted olives.

According to information FDA has received from Pure Italian LLC, the U.S. distributor of this product, the product was initially distributed only to Massachusetts retailers. The 314 ml glass jars may have been sold at SoWa farmers market in South End, Mass. Additionally, the following stores in Massachusetts may have repackaged and resold the almond-stuffed olives in containers that do not carry the Bio Gaudiano name: Foodies Fresh Market, Boston, Mass.; Russo's, Watertown, Mass.; and Fresh Choice Supermarket, Framingham, Mass.

CONSUMERS, BEWARE!

• Smoked Seafood Recall - Botulism

Wells Enterprises is voluntarily recalling a limited number of packages of its Blue Bunny® Personals® ice cream, due to a mispackaging incident.

On a limited number of packages, the lid indicates the product as Blue Bunny Super Chunky Cookie Dough ice cream, while the carton itself indicates the product as Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic ice cream. The product contained in the is Super Chunky Cookie Dough. The ingredient statement on the carton does not declare wheat, which is an ingredient in the Super Chunky Cookie Dough product. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat and/or have gluten sensitivities may be at risk from consuming these products.

The mispackaged Blue Bunny ice cream was distributed in 5.5 fl oz. The cartons affected are indicated by Lot Number 10009 “Best Used By” date 10/1/2012, - UPC 0 70640 00463. The lot number and UPC can be found printed on the side of the carton.

The affected product was shipped to the following states: Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Wells Enterprises became aware of the packaging error after receiving a report from a store that the lid and cup were for different products. The allergy alert and recall relates only to the above mentioned mispackaged Blue Bunny ice cream. No other Blue Bunny ice cream products are affected.

A jury in Massachusetts found that a nursing home was negligent in causing an eye injury, awarding $400,000 for the Plaintiff's pain and suffering during the 45 days between the injury and his death. They did not find that the injury caused his death.

The Plaintiff's nursing home neglect lawyer said he thought the verdict was high given that the victim was so old. This attorney did a great job, I'm sure, securing this verdict and should be commended for taking the case. But I don't think it was a "high" verdict. Who would trade $400,000, that they don't get, to spend their final 45 days in misery?

This nursing home verdict never would have been possible if a trial judge had not vacated an arbitration agreement the patient executed when he was 91 years old and suffering delusions. The nursing home arbitration agreement had sought to prevent his estate from filing a civil suit if killed or injured by the nursing home's negligence.

A lawyer for the nursing home calls the arbitration agreement "voluntary." I could not disagree more.

Here is the story on the case.

Boston Medical Center has reached a settlement of $900,000 with the family of an 86-year-old woman who died after falling in an operating room following hip surgery. The family's lawyer alleged in a lawsuit that the hospital staff did not take the appropriate precautions when the woman was put in her hospital bed. One driving force for settlement: a Massachusetts state inspection found that deficiencies in procedure contributed to the death.

The family of a New Hampshire woman crushed by another car at a Massachusetts car wash has agreed to a settlement of their accident lawsuit. The woman died in 2007 after being struck by a car driven by defendant, who still faces criminal charges. The victim's 12 year-old daughter thankfully survived the collusion.

The Boston Herald has the story.

The family of a CVS pharmacy clerk who was stabbed to death by a shoplifter cannot pursue wrongful death claim against CVS because a provision of the Massachusetts workers’ compensation law prohibits employees from seeking damages for work-related injuries, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found this week.

Very sad case but not a surprising outcome as workers compensation law is fairly well settled on this issue in most jurisdictions.

My two volume treatise Insurance Settlements is now available from James Publishing. The book discusses how to position a lawyer's car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice or product liability case to the best possible settlement at every step along the way (until the state's high court affirms the judgment).

Click on the James Publishing link. If you have any comments on the book, please email me at ronmiller@millerandzois.com under the subject "Insurance Settlements Comments."

Our lawyers are reviewing Byetta claims after the FDA announced this week that the diabetes drug has been linked to severe pancreatic problems in dozens of patients. On Monday, the FDA warned patients taking Byetta to discontinue use if they develop symptoms of the disorder. Further the FDA said that doctor prescribing Byetta should consider other prescription options for patients with a history of pancreas problems.

Since Byetta was introduced into the United States in 2005, more than 700,000 patients have used the Byetta.

Our lawyers are now exploring potential Byetta lawsuits. If you would like to discuss your case with a Byetta lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consulation/case evaluation (or even to answer any question you may have). For more information on Byetta and the concerns with Byetta, click here.

Last week, Digitek manufacturer Actavis Totowa recalled over 65 different drugs made at their New Jersey manufacturing plant. The list of recalled drugs (in some form or another) includes such generic drugs as Bellamine, Buspirone, Carisoprodol, Oxycodone Meperidine, and Rifampin. This strengthens the conclusion that the New Jersey plant that made these drugs may be the cause of irregularities in Actavis medications.

In April 2008, Actavis recalled Digitek, a drug prescribed to treat heart failure and irregular heartbeat because it was discovered that Digitek tablets appeared to have double the thickness – and likely double the active ingredient – listed on the label. When Digitek is given in abnormally high doses it can lead to digitalis toxicity which, paradoxically, worsens the problems Digitek is intended to treat, causing nausea or lower blood pressure and other side effects from the Digitek overdose that can lead to the increased risk of stroke or a heart attack.

If you would like to speak to a Digitek recall lawyer about a potential Digitek lawsuit, call 1-800-553-8000. For more information on the Digitek overdose recall or a free consultation on your potential Digitek case, click here.

Zimmer's Durom Cup hip implants are likely to be the subject of a good number of lawsuits from patients with the Zimmer implants. But they will not be the only ones. Apparently, Zimmer’s own shareholders may agree that Zimmer left its hip implant on the market way too long. Last week, shareholders of Zimmer stock filed a class action in Indiana. Interestingly, the lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who purchased stock between January 28, 2008 and July 21, 2008. This tells our Zimmer hip implant recall lawyers that these shareholders believe that Zimmer knew or should have known and issued a recall on or before January 28, 2008.

If your Zimmer Durom hip resurfacing cup was defective, call our Zimmer hip implant lawyers at 1-800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation.

More information on the Zimmer Hip Implant Recall
History of the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Recall
More information on the Zimmer hip implant recall lawsuits

Jury Verdict Research(r) study reports that rotator cuff injuries reached a 7-year high in 2006 with a compensatory award median of $72,667. This is almost 50% higher than previous reported settlements and verdicts in rotator cuff injury cases.

Our lawyers have never understood while the national data in these cases was so low. Washington D.C. rotator cuff injuries have averaged well over $100,000 for rotator cuff settlements and verdicts so we have never understood why the national average was as low as it has been. In any event, for whatever reason, rotator cuff verdicts are on the rise.

Our lawyers handle rotator cuff injury cases throughout the United States. Our lawyers have handled scores of rotator cuff injuries in car and truck accidents, typically in side collision or "T-bone" accidents. Our lawyers believe that insurance companies do not give fair value in most rotator cuff injury cases and our lawyers will fight to get you the financial compensation you deserve. Call a rotator cuff lawyer to protect you at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation and case evaulation.

Related Posts

What Is the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim? (how the value of rotator cuff and other person injury settlements are calculated)

Sample Demand Letter (sample letter demanding settlement in a personal injury case)

Handling Your Claim Without a Lawyer (tips and pratfalls)

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog reports that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court - Massachusetts' highest court - ruled last week that doctors can be held liable for medical malpractice that reduces a patient's chance of survival even if the patient's chances of recovery were already below 50 percent.

Huge ruling for malpractice victims that recognizes that people are making great sacrifices just to add a few percentage points to their chances of living and living well (working out, eating right, taking medications, etc.) and the law should recognized that a 49% increased chance of dying is a harm by any measure.

Lawyers representing Digitek overdose victims have filed nine lawsuits in New Jersey against Actavis Totowa LLL and its parent company Actavis Group, alleging a manufacturing defect in Digitek, namely that some Digitek tablets have contained twice the active ingredient of the drug. Digitek recall lawsuits have also been filed in West Virginia and California.

Our Digitek recall lawyers are reviewing these Digitek overdose cases in all 50 states expecting that a consolidated class action lawsuit will be appropriate (as opposed to this scatting of individual cases). If you want to discuss your case with one of our Digitek lawyers call us at 800-553-8082 for a free consultation or click here for a free Internet consultation.

The Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog has a post on how some people are still not wearing seat belts, citing fatality statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that found that more than two-thirds of young people killed in nighttime car crashes were not wearing a seat belt.

The good news is that seat belt use is still rising; total belt use rose 1% to 82% in 2007. Still, three states - Arkansas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire - have less than 70% of vehicle occupants wearing seat belts. As we mentioned in a post last week, New Hampshire still does not require motorcycle occupants to wear a helmet. New Hampshire needs to heed its motto: "Life safe or die." (Or something like that.)

On Friday, there was an article in the Boston Globe on the Baxter heparin cases discussing the issue that heparin is manufactured in China. Miller & Zois attorney Ron Miller, who is handling heparin cases, is interviewed for the article.

The family of Chelmsford woman who died a day after thyroid surgery at Brockton Hospital was awarded $14.5 million by Middlesex County, Massachusetts jury in a medical malpractice case this week after five hours of deliberation. Pursuant to favorable provision of Massachusetts law, the award included more than $5 million in interest.

Plaintiff’s decedent was a 30 year-old woman who went to the doctor because of a lump on her thyroid gland. Her surgeons did a biopsy on the benign lump but in recovery someone noticed that her abdomen was swollen and her stomach and legs had turned blue. She apparently developed abdominal compartment syndrome from air that had gotten into her stomach.

The doctors did what they should have done initially. The operated again and released the air. Unfortunately, the surgeons immediately closed the wound immediately without letter all of the air escape. She was flown to Boston Medical Center for surgery but died later that day.

I cannot imagine how this case went to trial. Often the doctor’s medical malpractice lawyers defend these cases on the basis of the difficulty of diagnosis of abdominal compartment because it often occurs in patients with other causes of circulatory or respiratory failure. So the plaintiff’s medical malpractice claim is usually defended on the basis that the doctor did not diagnose abdominal compartment syndrome because the patient’s symptomology was consistent with other problems and the patient died or suffered severe injury before the condition was uncovered. In this Boston medical malpractice case, diagnosis was not the problem. Instead, it was the conduct after of the doctors after they knew of the condition that led to the medical malpractice.

One more comment about the case: when the woman was in trouble, they transported her by helicopter to another Boston hosptial. If I'm getting elective surgery, I much rather do it at the hosptial where they are going to be sending me if a problem does occur.

You can find the Boston Globe story on this case here.

Welcome to our blog covering injury law and policy throughout the United States.