Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A Boot to the Head Can Make You Even Less Socially Adept - Friday, February 1, 2008

For those of us growing up listening to Dr. Demento, the Frantics' "Tae Kwan Leep" sketch with its famous line, "A boot to the head," was a favorite and it was impossible not to play along. Now it turns out that doing so may have only exacerbated the problem that led us to Dr. Demento in the first place. Children who suffer brain injuries are more likely to have behavioral and social problems. Researchers at the Brain Injury Research Centre at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have determined that unidentified brain injuries are often linked to learning disabilities, and what they describe as "social and vocational failure." This may include simple maladjustment, but it can also lead to substance abuse--such as alcoholism—joblessness, and homelessness. If a child does suffer a brain injury, it is best to have the injuries addressed with therapy, even if the injury does not seem severe.

If someone you love has suffered a brain injury as a result of someone else's negligence, or even a boot to the head, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a local brain injury lawyer.

Labels: brain injury, children

Zyprexa Manufacturer Considers $1 Billion Fine - Thursday, January 31, 2008

After revelations that it promoted potentially harmful off-label uses of its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, manufacturer Eli Lilly is considering agreeing to a $1 billion fine to stop criminal and civil investigations into their marketing practices for the drug. This would be the largest fine ever paid by a drug company for breaking federal laws that impose limitations on the marketing and promotion of medicines.

Because it has serious side effects, Zyprexa is only approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder, but according to documents, Eli Lilly encouraged doctors to prescribe it to patients suffering from mild bipolar disorder who had previously been diagnosed with depression, as well as those suffering from age-related dementia. The pharmaceutical injuries associated with Zyprexa include diabetes and diabetic coma, pancreatitis, and as much as a doubling for the risk of stroke in elderly dementia patients.

The fine constitutes only the government's response to the severity of Eli Lilly's breach of marketing guidelines, and does not address the loss you or someone you love may have suffered as a result of the company's dangerous attempt to enrich itself at the expense of patients. To make sure the company feels your loss, and to help you and your family recover from the damage done by the drug, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a local defective pharmaceutical lawyer who can represent you.

Labels: defective pharmaceutical, psychiatric treatment

Can Doctors Be Objective when They Own Stock in Medical Products? - Wednesday, January 30, 2008

In addition to the problem that the Food and Drug Administration maintains ties too close to drug manufacturers, there is the additional danger that doctors, who are often big investors in drug and medical device technology, will be swayed more by their financial ties than what is good for patients.

A recent example of this particularly corrupt form of medical malpractice is the spinal replacement disk, Prodisc, which was approved for use in treating people with spinal injuries in August 2006. Doctors from about half of the research centers that conducted studies on the disk had financial ties to the disk, a fact that Synthes Spine Co, the disk's manufacturer, did not disclose when it submitted the studies that were used to approve the disk. In addition, it seems that an unusually large number of patients were not included in the study's results, and many of the patients whose results were not included had poor results from the disk. One of these patients, who sued her doctor, receiving a settlement for an undisclosed amount last year, said the surgeon "seemed more concerned with the prospects for the Prodisc" than for her recovery.

The job of doctors is to try and improve the lives of their patients, not profiteer off your misery. If you believe a doctor is using the sickness of you or a loved one to enrich him- or herself, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with an experienced medical malpractice attorney in your area.

Labels: corruption, medical malpractice, spinal injury

Texas Man Claims Battery, Psychological Damage in Defective Defibrillator Leads Suit - Tuesday, January 29, 2008

An eastern Texas man has filed a product liability suit against Medtronic for the shocks he received as a result of the defective Sprint Fidelis leads installed with his implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD). His claim is not only that the shocks caused him pain, but it caused him severe anxiety, fear of death, and emotional and psychological suffering. The level of suffering is so severe, that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress, has heart palpitations and "other debilitating injuries," including an increased risk of cardiovascular events that may lead to premature death.

He is seeking damages for product liability, breach of express and implied warranties, negligence, violation of consumer protection statutes, and negligent misrepresentation of the product. The case claims that the Sprint Fidelis leads were unreasonably dangerous, and led to severe and life-threatening injuries even after removal despite proper use.

The suit goes even further than many product liability cases, claiming that the shocks constitute "civil battery," and that Medtronic engaged in intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment of themselves at the expense of their customers' lives. In keeping with the severity of the claims, the suit asks for punitive, exemplary, and compensatory damages, a declaratory judgment, restitution of profits, attorney fees, and other moneys as requested.

Although the Sprint Fidelis leads were "voluntarily" recalled, thousands of Americans still have them implanted. Although sometimes when they fail, the leads cause the ICD to sound a warning, other times, as in this case, they deliver a series of painful shocks, and in still other circumstances they may fail without sign or warning until a life-saving shock is needed but cannot be delivered. The failure rates for the leads may be as much as 2.3 %, but patients are not encouraged to get the leads removed because the operation could be very dangerous, even more dangerous than the threat posed by the leads.

If you have suffered as a result of a defective medical devices, such as the defibrillator leads, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with an experienced product liability lawyer in your area.

Labels: defective product, implanted defibrillators, negligence, psychiatric treatment

Research Shows Subjective Factors Best Predictors of Whiplash recovery - Monday, January 28, 2008

In research that could be a blow to insurance companies' goal of creating an objective standard for soft-tissue injuries (so they can underpay them), data presented at the World Congress on Neck Pain shows that the best predictors for whiplash recovery are subjective components such as pain and positive expectations for improvement.

One part of the claims process reform instituted by insurance companies during the 1990s was an attempt to bring down costs on soft tissue injuries—especially traumatic brain injuries and neck and spine injuries, often called "whiplash" injuries—as a result of auto accidents. One method that they used to do this was the creation of a database of doctors, treatments, and costs that sought to prevent insurance companies from overpaying claims on these injuries, or, in some cases, to allow insurance companies to underpay the claim. This database was predicated on the basis that medicine is an objective science and that treatments can be compared evenly from person to person. However, this new study shows that treatments cannot be compared, that the main factors indicating how well a person will recover from a whiplash injury are dependent not on objective standards, but on subjective ones, only measurable by the patient.

If your insurance company is telling you that you are not as seriously injured as you know you are, and is trying to underpay your claim, you need help from a bad faith insurance lawyer who can stand up for you against the corrupt practices of the company. Contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a local lawyer who can take up your case.

Labels: auto accident, bad faith insurance, spinal injury