Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
EPA Decides to Keep Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water - Friday, September 26, 2008
The Environmental Protection Agency reached the conclusion that perchlorate, an ingredient found in rocket fuel and polluting almost 400 sites across the country, should remain in the public's drinking water. Perchlorate has been linked to developmental health risks in babies and fetuses, as well as believed to interfere with thyroid function in high enough levels. These high levels have been found in 35 states so far.
The EPA states in a document that a clean-up mandate for perchlorate will not offer "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems." Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator of water adds, "We know perchlorate in drinking water presents some degree of risk, and we're committed to working with states and scientists to ensure public health is protected and meaningful opportunities for reducing risk are fully considered."
However, Democrats and environmentalists believe the EPA's judgment is based more on politics than sound science. Lenny Siegel, director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, says the decision is based on "concern that a more stringent standard could cost the government significantly."
There is a belief that the Pentagon may face liability if a national drinking water standard is set by the EPA forces state water agencies to clean perchlorate out of their drinking water. The Defense Department used perchlorate in testing missiles and rockets for decades. As a result, most of the perchlorate contamination is due to aerospace and defense activities. The Pentagon denies they have influenced the EPA's decision, and that they have worked for years cleaning up perchlorate at its facilities.
Perchlorate has been found in groundwater in California and the Southwest, as well as the Colorado River, which is a source of drinking water for more than 20 million people. Many states have acted on their own to set drinking water standards with perchlorate. California allows six parts per billion and Massachusetts allows two parts per billion.
California Makes Texting while Driving Illegal - Thursday, September 25, 2008
It is now illegal to send or read text messages while driving in California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law on Wednesday, September 24. Motorists in California have been required to use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones since July, while drivers below the age of 18 may not use any electronic devices.
The new California law states that first time offenders will be fined $20 and repeat offenders must pay $50 for using any electronic device, not only cell phones, to send and read messages beginning next year.
California joins seven other states and the District of Columbia in banning text-messaging and the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.
There have been reports of several accidents across the nation that are the result of a driver using their cell phone, either to text or to talk. A study conducted at Harvard University estimates that accidents resulting from inattentive drivers using their cell phones kill 200 and injure nearly half a million people a year.
Strict Hospital Rules Sought for Heparin Use - Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Joint Commission, an independent, non-profit organization that "accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States," told hospitals that they need to take strict measures to prevent errors that have injured and killed patients when given blood thinners, such as Heparin. This safety alert comes after several high profile overdoses in recent years.
According to U.S. Pharmacopeia, there were almost 60,000 reported medication errors between 2001 and 2006. Almost three percent of these, or nearly 1,700, resulted in patient injury or death. In addition, the alert shows that since 1997, there were 28 deaths and that knowledge of other deaths is the reason for the alert. This does not include the deaths that resulted from tainted lots of Heparin at the beginning of 2008.
The Joint Commission suggests hospitals could begin using bar code technology or computerized drug orders, as well as for the hospitals to more closely monitor patients who are taking blood thinning drugs. They also say hospitals need to make sure that adult-strength Heparin is placed away from units given to children. Actor Dennis Quaid's new born twins nearly died when given adult dosages of Heparin earlier this year. Several infants in a Corpus Christi, Texas hospital were given overdoses of the drug last July.
Joint Commission investigators have said they will begin making unannounced visits to hospitals to make sure they are complying with the measures. Those that fail to follow these new guidelines may see their accreditation revoked.
If you or a loved one has been sickened by an overdose of a blood thinner, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.
E. Coli Kills Colorado Boy - Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A three-year-old Arapahoe County, Colorado boy died last Friday from an E. coli infection, according to Tri-County health officials. However, they are uncertain what caused the infection in the first place, and are uncertain as to which strain of E. coli the child had. Though several E. coli scares have rattled the country this year, the deadly strain of the bacteria is rare.
E. coli, the common name for Escherichia coli is commonly found in the intestine. The presence of E. coli that sickens people is usually contracted through undercooked meat or contact with feces. Fruit and vegetables washed with dirty water may also contain the presence of E. coli.
The child attended a private day care center, and an agency spokesman says that there is a chance that fecal contamination spread to toys or food is a possibility due to young children having their diapers changed. However, the parents of other children at the daycare have been notified that an investigation is still on-going. Investigators are hoping to get stool samples to find out the source of the contamination.
E. coli is a usually harmless bacterium but can cause food poisoning, diarrhea, vomiting, urinary tract infections, kidney failure, brain damage and death.
Blown Tire Eyed in South Carolina Plane Crash - Monday, September 22, 2008
The Learjet crash on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina, which killed four people and seriously injured two popular musicians, may have been caused by a blown tire during takeoff according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Travis Barker, the drummer of pop-punk band Blink-182 and disc jockey, Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein were injured, while two of their close friends, as well as the pilot and co-pilot were killed.
NTSB member Debbie Hersman states that the cockpit voice recorder indicates the crew reacting to a noise that sounds like a blown tire, and then vainly trying to abort takeoff. However, Hersman noted that the investigation is ongoing and that no single cause for the crash has been determined.
Barker and Goldstein, were in South Carolina playing a free show on Friday, September 19. The plane was due to fly to Van Nuys, California when it crashed later that night. The NTSB believes the blown tire may have occurred at a point on the runway giving the crew very little time to abort takeoff. The Learjet, reportedly shooting sparks as it flew down the runway, crashed through light towers and antennae, and then crossed a road and into an embankment where it burned. Witnesses who were driving on the road state Barker and Goldstein were ripping their burning clothes off and trying to extinguish the flames.
Doctors at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in South Carolina say the two suffered second- and third-degree burns, but are expected to make a full recovery, which may take as long as a year.
Air travel is consistently the safest mode of travel. This includes small jets like the one that crashed. However, plane crashes are often catastrophic in nature, which few walk away from. Many of the problems associated with plane crashed can be attributed to mechanical or pilot error. Obviously the NTSB will have to investigate further to determine what the cause of the blown tire – if it was in fact a blown tire – was before rendering any detailed scenarios.
If you or a loved one has been in a plane crash you feel may have been caused by another party's negligence, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
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