Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
New Spill in Bay Area - Friday, November 9, 2007
Although not nearly so voluminous as the spill released by the Exxon Valdez, wildlife experts believe that the San Francisco Bay area could be contaminated for years following the spill on Wednesday of 58,000 gallons from a container vessel bound for South Korea.
The ship was not a tanker, but when it struck a pylon supporting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog, its hull was gashed, releasing its heavy fuel into the water.
Not only is the spill bad for wildlife, but it is bad for beachgoers. At least eight beaches in the area were closed until the spill could be contained. Perhaps the most serious impact of the spill is likely to be the damage to fish stocks which will have a cascading effect on the livelihood of area fishermen.
If your community has been affected by a toxic chemical spill as a result of a trucking or shipping accident, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with an experienced toxic tort lawyer.
Cruise Ship Runs Aground in Virginia - Thursday, November 8, 2007
This morning, a small cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Virginia, stranding dozens of holidaygoers. The ship, the Spirit of Nantucket is one of the newest ships owned and operated by Cruise West. The Spirit of Nantucket operates only on the East Coast, where her shallow draft is used to navigate smaller channels and waterways. Apparently, though, her draft was not shallow enough, and the negligence of the steersman caused it to strike a sand bar near Knott's Island, Virginia, in the Intercoastal Waterway.
Cruise ship accidents are unfortunately common, and though all boating accidents have a relatively low fatality rate, they can be discommoding, and there is no reason why you should have to suffer the loss or ruination of your vacation because of the mistakes of the cruise operators. If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of a cruise ship or boating accident, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a maritime accident attorney in your area.
Bayer Pulls Trasylol at FDA's Request - Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A month and a half after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel voted to keep Bayer's Trasylol on the market, Bayer voluntarily pulled it. The drug, an anti-bleeding agent, had been found, in two studies published in 2006, to double the risk of kidney failure after being used in patients undergoing heart-bypass surgery. The panel recommended that additional studies should be conducted to prove whether the drug was really dangerous. Apparently, Bayer already knew the answer to that question.
After consulting with the FDA and its equivalent bodies in Germany and Canada, and facing declining profits from the drug as patients voluntarily refused it in the wake of the published studies, Bayer AG decided the withdrawal was the best course of action.
Although the drug is not being taken off the market, it is already too late for some people, as nearly five million people have been given the drug over the past 14 years. If you or someone you love has suffered kidney failure, or if you've lost a loved one due to the defective prescription drug Trasylol, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a defective drug lawyer in your area.
State Farm Files Harrassment Claim to Stop Katrina Investigation - Tuesday, November 6, 2007
With its policies for defrauding policyholders already exposed in another case, State Farm is trying to prevent the fallout of what could be a highly damaging case on its handling of Hurricane-Katrina-related claims in Mississippi. Its most recent tactic is filing a claim against the attorney general of the state of Mississippi, Jim Hood, claiming that hood's ongoing criminal investigation violated the corporations' constitutional rights.
Many have come under fire for the slow progress of rebuilding after the 2005, with many homeless, and devastated areas still in need of cleanup. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has suffered criticism for its poor initial handling of the disaster, and its inability to get displaced persons back into their neighborhoods and homes, but more and more attention has been shifting to the cabal of insurance companies, which practiced bad faith both in the selling of policies and in settling claims.
Now the company is making bad faith claims of its own, saying that the AG's investigation is "in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment." This follows a complex deal between the insurance company, the state, and a personal injury lawyer representing 640 clients who had difficulties getting their claims settled. In January, Hood agreed to drop the criminal investigation if State Farm settled the claims with the 640 clients. However, Hood reopened the investigation when State Farm did not follow all the provisions of the agreement specified, but instead followed guidelines set by the Mississippi Insurance Commission, guidelines it felt were more favorable.
Whether a corporation really has constitutional rights is a debatable issue, but what seems clear is that State Farm violated the terms of its agreement with Hood, and therefore should not be surprised if Hood feels free to resume his investigation.
If you have been suffering because of the bad faith practices of an insurance company, you can see how difficult it is even for the state to deal with their wily practices. Do not face them alone. Contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a bad faith insurance lawyer today.
State Farm Files Harrassment Claim to Stop Katrina Investigation -
With its policies for defrauding policyholders already exposed in another case, State Farm is trying to prevent the fallout of what could be a highly damaging case on its handling of Hurricane-Katrina-related claims in Mississippi. Its most recent tactic is filing a claim against the attorney general of the state of Mississippi, Jim Hood, claiming that hood's ongoing criminal investigation violated the corporations' constitutional rights.
Many have come under fire for the slow progress of rebuilding after the 2005, with many homeless, and devastated areas still in need of cleanup. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has suffered criticism for its poor initial handling of the disaster, and its inability to get displaced persons back into their neighborhoods and homes, but more and more attention has been shifting to the cabal of insurance companies, which practiced bad faith both in the selling of policies and in settling claims.
Now the company is making bad faith claims of its own, saying that the AG's investigation is "in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment." This follows a complex deal between the insurance company, the state, and a personal injury lawyer representing 640 clients who had difficulties getting their claims settled. In January, Hood agreed to drop the criminal investigation if State Farm settled the claims with the 640 clients. However, Hood reopened the investigation when State Farm did not follow all the provisions of the agreement specified, but instead followed guidelines set by the Mississippi Insurance Commission, guidelines it felt were more favorable.
Whether a corporation really has constitutional rights is a debatable issue, but what seems clear is that State Farm violated the terms of its agreement with Hood, and therefore should not be surprised if Hood feels free to resume his investigation.
If you have been suffering because of the bad faith practices of an insurance company, you can see how difficult it is even for the state to deal with their wily practices. Do not face them alone. Contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a bad faith insurance lawyer today.
Medtronic knew about defective leads 7 months before recall - Monday, November 5, 2007
We now know that Medtronic knew about problems in its Sprint Fidelis leads as early as February. However, despite the fact that these problems were obviously serious, leading the Minneapolis Heart Institute to inform Medtronic that the leads may be faulty, the company did not issue a recall until over seven months later, and, in fact, never actually issued a recall, but, still stinging from the recent recall of its defective defibrillators, instead attempted to avoid the damaging word by referring to its action as a "voluntary suspension of sale."
The Minneapolis Heart Institute learned of six cases in which patients were receiving painful, unnecessary shocks from their defibrillators, sometimes as many as 14 shocks in an hour. These cases occurred over a very short period of time and were all due to broken leads. By the time Medtronic announced its recall, five people were known to have died as a result of the faulty product, and in the interim between when the company learned of the problems and when it announced its recall, thousands more people received the leads.
If you or someone you love has received an injury as a result of the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis lead or any other defective medical device, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer in your area.
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