Missouri Injury Law Blog

As a St Louis car accident lawyer, an issue that always comes up is what type of safety precautions was the injured victim taking, such as wearing their seat belt. Jurors want to know that the claimant took reasonable safety precautions. However, in most cases, if the injured victim was not wearing their seatbelt, that shoudl be excluded form evidence. See Missouri Car Accident Attorney Article: Can the Plaintiff's Failure to Wear a Seatbelt be Used Againt Them?

Recently, int he St Louis area, a female passenger was killed and a male driver was injured in a single-vehicle crash in Jefferson County, Missouri this past Friday night.

Police have said that Keith Kimberly lost control of his Chevy Camaro while going around a curve on Lonedell Road just before 10:30 p.m. Police believe that Kimberly attempted to overcorrect and ended up swerving into a utility pole.

Angela Long-Larue, 36, of St. Louis was pronounced dead on the scene by Rock Township emergency personnel. Kimberly made it out of the wreck in better shape and was transported to St. Anthony's Hospital with only moderate injuries.

According to the crash report, neither Kimberly nor Long-Larue was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. This wreck demonstrates what we already know: every hour someone dies in America simply because they chose not to buckle up. Despite the fact that safety belts are the most effective means of reducing fatalities and serious injuries, sadly, many adults and children simple don't feel the need to use them.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those between the ages of five and 34. An astounding 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. The CDC says that adults who do not use safety belts may think that their behavior only affects them, but they are wrong. Studies consistently show that there is a correlation between adult belt use and child belt use. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), when a driver is buckled, 94 percent of the time children in that vehicle are buckled; but, when a driver is unbuckled, only 30 percent of child passengers are buckled. What parent wants to pass along such a dangerous habit?

Beyond the physical harm of not wearing seatbelts, there's a monetary impact as well. Vehicle crash costs skyrocket when occupants aren't wearing seat belts, because unbelted victims sustain more severe injuries. Of the people who survive car crashes, unbelted victims stay three-to-five times longer in a hospital and incur two-to-seven times the medical costs of those wearing safety belts, according to the NHTSA.

As was the case here, many people incorrectly believe they are in less danger when driving on slower, back roads. According to NHTSA research, 75 percent of all traffic deaths and injuries occur within 25 miles of victims' homes, at speeds of less than 40 miles per hour. A good example of just how dangerous such crashes can be is that being thrown against a dashboard in a 30 mile-per-hour crash is like striking the ground after falling from a third-floor window.

For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident, call one of our Missouri and Jefferson County car accident attorneys today at 314-863-0500.

Source: "St. Louis woman killed, driver injured in single-vehicle crash," by Daniel Mueller, published at KMOV.com.

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A series of two race car crashes that took place over the weekend at the Missouri State Fair resulted in injuries to nine different people, some of whom were innocent bystanders.

The first Missouri car accident happened during the Battle of the Badges charity race which involves old police cars being raced around a large outdoor track. Five people suffered injuries when an off-duty police officer lost control of his car and crashed through a crowd of people gathered on the infield of the track. The point of the race was to raise money for the Special Olympics.

The second incident to rain on the festive occasion happened the next evening when a 15-year-old racecar driver lost control of his vehicle. The teen's car overturned several times following the crash. The injuries were severe enough to justify transportation by helicopter to a hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

The Missouri Highway Patrol has said it is continuing its investigation into the cause of the Sedalia Missouri auto accidents. In the meantime, some fairgoers have said the organization behind the event should built a stronger barrier fence to ensure that fans remain protected in the event something goes wrong. A spokesman for the fair said it is too early to talk about safety changes and precautions. The representative said that no decision would be made until Missouri Highway Patrol completes its report.

Beyond the injuries that occurred due to the two separate car crashes, those headed to the fair should be aware of the dangers associated with the many rides. Though they may look fun, thousands of people are injured on these types of rides every year.

Wooden roller coasters are typically responsible for the most injuries with neck and back injuries happening most often, usually affecting riders sitting towards the rear of the ride. Abdominal and thigh related injuries due to overly tight restraints can also occur.

The fair and the companies that provide these rides have a legal duty to provide a safe experience for all who use them. The National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials (NAARSO) provides safety bulletins on some of the rides you may see at the Missouri State Fair.

If you or anyone you know has been injured because of the negligence of others, whether it's at the state fair or in the course of a normal day, it's important to understand that you have a legal right to recover for your injuries. For information on how to protect those legal rights, call one of our Jefferson County car accident attorneys today at 314-863-0500.

Source: "Crashes during races at MO State Fair injure 6, including infield bystanders," published at KCTV5.com.

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Number of Pedestrian Deaths on the Rise

Drunk Driver Hits Horse-Drawn Carriage Leaving One Rider Dead, Several Injured

St Louis Pedestrian killed in hit and run crash, is an unfortunate incident that I see all too often as a St Louis wrongful death lawyer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a report on the subject of pedestrian deaths. The report, prepared by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, found that there were some 4,280 pedestrian deaths in 2010, a number which represents a 4% increase from 2009. The report broke down exactly where the fatalities took place and what kinds of people were most at risk of dying. However, the report did not go very far to explain why the number of deaths is on the rise.

The problem is not just a national one, a recent report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned the death of a pedestrian who was hit by a car and killed early last month. The woman was crossing the street in the 4100 block of North Grand Boulevard when the accident happened. Police said the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and fled the scene after the collision.

Advocates for walking claim the numbers from the NHTSA don't tell the whole story. They point to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control which said that almost two thirds of Americans are now taking regular walks and that this group increased by six percent since 2005. So it's possible that the increase in deaths has more to do with an increase in the total number of people out walking around. It's clear that better data is needed to help explain what's going on.

The NHTSA data was able to show that despite the recent upswing, the nearly 5,000 deaths in 2010 represented a 13% decrease from 2001. Seventy-two percent of all deaths occurred in an urban setting. Surprising to some is that 80% of all those killed died in non-intersection locations while 68% of those who were killed died after dark. One contributing factor to the pedestrian deaths appears to be alcohol, with 1/3 of those who died reported to have been under the influence of alcohol.

Again, walking advocates point out that drunk drivers represent a bigger danger to pedestrians than pedestrians who have been drinking. While it is everyone's responsibility to be safe and aware of their surroundings, pedestrians would not be at such great a risk if drivers were not driving at such high speeds in such heavy cars and with so little regard for the safety of those around them. For instance, speed is a critical factor in terms of pedestrian safety. If an automobile is going 20 miles per hour, the average person walking has a 90 percent chance of surviving.

One of the groups advocating for change, Transportation for America, released its own report back in 2011, saying that pedestrian deaths are the result of the national neglect of pedestrian safety in policy and road design. The report correctly pointed out that most pedestrians die on major roadways that were designed for speeding cars and have no place for those on foot or on bicycles. The increasing tendency to move traffic to major thoroughfares with shopping, dining and other important attractions are often built with little or no consideration given to pedestrians. Space is often dedicated to more lanes while crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes are merely an afterthought.

Rather than lay blame at the feet of pedestrians, it may be better for the NHTSA to look more closely at what can be done to encourage a safer driving environment for everyone. Drivers have an enormous responsibility for the safety of pedestrians given the size and speed of vehicles and their capacity to cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries. For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident, call one of our Jefferson County car accident attorneys today at 314-863-0500.

Source: "Pedestrian deaths rise; NHTSA rules planned," by Jayne O'Donnell, published at USAToday.com.

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Distracted Driving is Dangerous, but what about Distracted Walking?

When people feel ill or experience medical symptoms, they count on their doctors to diagnose and treat the problem. Despite extensive schooling and experience, doctors can and do make mistakes when assessing symptoms, considering their underlying cause, diagnosing the condition, and prescribing treatment. In addition, they may fail to treat a symptom that appears insignificant or choose an erroneous treatment that fails.

Unfortunately diagnosis errors frequently occur in medical checkups and treatment. How frequently? The Diagnosing Diagnosis Errors: Lessons from a Multi-institutional Collaborative Project report cited various polls and studies that found the following:

1. 10-30 percent of medical errors are diagnosis errors

2. A review of 53 autopsies revealed an average rate of 23.5 percent of missed major diagnoses

3. One in six people surveyed in a Harris poll had personally experienced a misdiagnosis error

What does the law have to say about medical diagnosis errors? In general, delaying or failing to diagnose a disease is actionable if the delay or failure results in injury or progression of the disease beyond the expected progression should it have been diagnosed earlier or correctly. Proving that a worse prognosis resulted in the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is often difficult.

Attorneys on both sides will likely look at what diagnosis a reasonably prudent doctor would consider when presented with the same symptoms. Is the patient's actual diagnosis one that reasonably prudent doctors would consider under the same circumstances and when presented with the same symptoms? From there, they'd need to find out if the doctor considered the patient's actual diagnosis. If the patient's doctor did not consider a diagnosis that reasonably prudent doctors would consider, then a case for medical negligence might be warranted. In addition, if the diagnosis was listed as a possibility but the doctor failed to rule it out with follow up tests, negligence may have occurred.

Another common diagnosis error commonly pursued in medical negligence claims involves failure to treat. This negligent behavior can happen when symptoms are dismissed as being minor, temporary, or not worth treating. While the symptom itself might appear minor, such as a bruise or intermittent abdominal cramps, if the underlying cause is serious and left unaddressed, further harm or injury could result.

What if a doctor correctly diagnoses a patient's condition but uses an unconventional treatment that fails? This too could be cause for a medical negligence claim.

However, even if diagnosis errors occurred, the law does not necessarily hold doctors legally responsible for these errors. The medical malpractice attorney must prove several key points:

• That a doctor-patient relationship existed. In other words, if a person at a cocktail party complains of chest pain to an acquaintance that happens to be a doctor, that doesn't constitute a doctor-patient relationship.

• That the doctor was negligent and failed to skillfully or competently provide treatment. Again, what would a reasonably prudent doctor do under similar circumstances?

• That the negligence caused actual harm or injury to the patient. For example, if a doctor misdiagnoses a condition and the patient immediate gets a second opinion and is successfully treated with no harm or injury as a result of the first doctor's diagnosis error, the negligence claim may be difficult to sustain.

Attorneys prosecuting diagnosis errors in medical negligence claims must prove all of the above in order to prevail. Meanwhile the attorneys defending these claims may counter by proving that the condition itself, not the misdiagnosis, caused the injury or present expert witnesses that support the defendant's diagnosis as reasonable.

These are but a few of the numerous issues surrounding diagnosis errors in medical claims, and laws vary from one state to the next. When true negligence is proven in a court of law, the judgment can serve as a wakeup call to the healthcare industry to remain true to its oath to "do no harm."

Author Bio:

Guest Post was contributed by Daniela Levett on behalf of Pryers-Solicitors.co.uk - a medical negligence lawyers practice. Daniela is a freelance writer with extensive legal background as an attorney. She enjoys writing for various online legal publications.

A family recently filed a drunk driving wrongful death lawsuit against a local nightclub and a drunk driver after the intoxicated driver slammed into the back of a horse-drawn carriage, killing one man and injuring four others.

The lawsuit names the driver of the 2006 Infiniti G35, and The Lounge Nightlife Complex as defendants. The club is named as a defendant for selling alcohol to the drunk driver and a friend who were out celebrating a birthday.

The injury and death victims were out for a similarly celebratory reason. One wrongful death victim and his wife were going for a ride in the carriage to celebrate her birthday. Sadly, the husband later died as a result of the drunk driving crash and the wife suffered a severe head injury as well as multiple fractures that will require continued physical therapy. Others injured in the crash include the operator of the carriage, a local man and an 18-year-old passenger.

The wife of the death victim was only recently released from the hospital and has months of intensive physical therapy in front of her due to the terrible drunk driving accident. She had to be told days later that her husband had died and is left only with memories of the good time they had prior to the fatal wreck.

Papers filed at the courthouse claim the driver is liable for the injuries and death that resulted from the collision due to his negligence. As proof, the family cites the fact that the young man was driving erratically while intoxicated and speeding. See, Missouri Evidence: Proving the Driver was Drunk. The family argues that the nightclub should be held liable because it sold alcohol to the driver when it was obvious to all that he was intoxicated to the extent that he represented a clear danger to himself and others. See Missouri Dram Shop: Driver Visibly Intoxicated. Witnesses have said that prior to the high-speed crash, the driver was visibly drunk and falling off the curb onto the street. He also required assistance with standing. The lawsuit requests that the driver and The Lounge pay unspecified actual and punitive damages.

For the driver the trouble is not limited to a civil lawsuit. The drunk driver has been charged with one count of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault in the crash.

Though the costs for the driver look to be steep, the price paid by the innocent victims is far higher. A man lost his life, a wife lost her husband and several others suffered horrible injuries that will stay with them for a long time to come. If you've been injured due to the irresponsible actions of another, call one of our Missouri drunk driving accident attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Driver, bar sued after fatal carriage wreck," by Robert Stanton, published at Chron.com.

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Head injuries are not something to take lightly. One of the focuses of my personal injury practice is head and brain injury cases. Physical injuries such as broken bones, cuts, and scarring are obvious, but people cannot see injury to millions of brain cells, except in the worse brain injury cases resulting in comas or very severe symptoms. Often, the symptoms of a brain injury or concussion come on subtlety over weeks or months making the problems less obvious to the injured person and those close to them. These head injury and post concussion cases require a focused and detailed approach to legally prove the head injury and show the jury the harms and losses the brain injury causes the victim every day.

The CDC estimates that 1.7 million people in the country sustain a traumatic brain injury every year, and these injuries contribute to a third of all injury-related deaths in the United States.

Children, especially those between the ages of 0 and 4 and the ages of 15 and 19, are the most likely to sustain these injuries, which is why education about the dangers of head injuries is so important. Because of the long-term effects that head injuries can have, parents should learn all they can about this common childhood injury.

In children, head injuries often occur while they are playing. Falls on the sports field, tumbles while riding a bike and trips while climbing outdoors are all common causes. For this reason, children should wear protective helmets whenever possible. Parents need to make sure that helmets are being used when their children participate in rough sports events or when riding wheeled toys, such as bikes, scooters and roller skates. Head injuries also frequently occur as a result of car accidents, especially when children are not properly restrained. Proper use of child safety seats can help protect children against serious brain injury in a car accident.

Though head injuries affect all children, a recent Reuters article mentioned the findings of a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine which shows the treatment for such injuries may not be uniform across the different races. Researchers looked at brain injuries and treatment of children and discovered differences based on the race of the injured child.

According to the research, white children get CT scans more often following minor head injuries than the children of the other races. The study found that 42% of white children brought in for minor head trauma got CT scans while only 28% of black and Hispanic children brought in for minor head trauma received such scans.

Some may think this means that hospitals are giving better treatment to white children, but the results indicate that unnecessary CT scans can actually be dangerous to the children receiving them. In this case, more treatment is not better treatment and can actually lead to medical mistakes and dangerous radiation risks.

So what's the reason for the gap? Researchers are not sure, but think that parental anxiety levels play a role in the rate of CT scans given to children. Such anxiety is understandable given that what makes head injuries so scary is the fact that you cannot see what is going on inside your child's head. What may appear to be a minor fall could actually be the start of a serious brain injury. That is why all head injuries should be checked by a skilled doctor, just to make sure there are no long-term effects.

If the injury was caused by another individual, parents should also consider talking to a lawyer about any further steps they need to take to protect their child's rights. St. Louis personal brain injury lawyer Ben Sansone is an experienced Missouri injury trial lawyer practicing in all areas of personal injury including brain injury and medical malpractice. For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured, call one of our Missouri head injury attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Important facts about child head trauma," by Courtney Caligiuri, published at WPRI.com.

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What began as a routine interstate bus trip ended in a disastrous bus accident for dozens of passengers. A Megabus which left Chicago bound for St. Louis slammed into a concrete bridge support which stood next to Interstate 55.

Shortly after 1:15pm, the double-decker Megabus was southbound on I-55 near the city of Litchfield, Illinois. According to police, the bus left the roadway and began driving through the center median before crashing into the bridge support. The bus was carrying 72 passengers and two drivers when the bus crashed about 60 miles northeast of St. Louis.

It took two hours to extricate the driver and four of the passengers. Six passengers had to be airlifted by helicopter to nearby hospitals in serious condition, and at least four-dozen other passengers sustained severe personal injuries of some type. One 25-year old woman, a native of India who was pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Missouri, died at the scene of the Megabus accident giving rise to a wrongful death bus accident claim. Company officials said her parents were also on board though the extent of their injuries remains unknown.

Right now, authorities believe that the bus accident was caused by a blown right rear tire, which sent the bus veering out of control. As a bus accident attorney, we have handled cases involving negligent maintenance of trucks that results in crashes and injury. See Madison County Illinois Bus accident. Megabus officials said Friday they are working with state and federal investigators to determine whether all safety protocols were followed in the accident. The blue double-decker vehicle, built in 2011, passed a full preventive maintenance check less than a week ago, company spokesman Ronald Hauser said. He would not say whether the driver performed an inspection before leaving Chicago the morning of the accident. Such an inspection is required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of all commercial interstate drivers.

Even if it is determined that the tire separation was the cause of the Megabus accident, the driver and Megabus may still be held responsible for the passenger injuries and the wrongful death of the grad student. That's because by law, drivers are responsible for maintaining the safety of their vehicles (including adequate tire pressure), and bus companies are responsible for the actions of their drivers.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2009 alone, over 20,000 people were injured and another 254 were killed nationwide in accidents involving buses. Because of their immense size and weight, buses can be particularly dangerous when involved in accidents with smaller passenger vehicles.

This recent incident was the fifth fatal accident for Megabus in the past two years, according to the Department of Transportation. In February, a Megabus driver was acquitted of homicide charges for the deaths of four passengers when his double-decker bus crashed into a low overpass in upstate New York back in 2010.

Megabus drivers have been cited for speeding 35 times in the past two years, including 14 occasions where the driver was traveling more than 15 mph over the speed limit. During those same two years, a driver was cited for failure to inspect or use emergency equipment, six buses were cited for no or defective emergency doors and more than 50 citations were issued for failure to properly log a driver's time on duty.

Sadly, the problem is not limited to Megabus. The Department of Transportation moved earlier this year to shut down 26 bus companies operating in the Northeast after declaring them "imminent hazards to public safety."

For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a bus or truck accident, call one of our St. Louis accident attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Megabus pledges cooperation in crash investigation," by Marlon Walker, published at STLToday.com.

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Guest Author Post:

Many people enjoy spending summer evenings and weekends boating on various bodies of water, allowing people to cool off and relax with friends and family. Unfortunately, when boats are mishandled or experience a malfunction, devastating boating accidents can occur, causing serious injuries and property damage.

According to the United Sates Coast Guard's Boating Safety Resource Center, there were 4,588 boating accidents in 2011. These accidents resulted in 3,081 injuries, 758 deaths, and over $50 million in property damage. In Missouri alone, there were 128 reported accidents, 17 of which were fatal.

Recognizing the Cause of the Accident

Just like any vehicle, boats require careful maintenance and handling for them to perform correctly. When an unfortunate boating accident does occur, there are many possible causes of the collision. Some of the most common of these include:

• Boat malfunction
• Driver error
• Driver intoxication
• Lack of safety equipment
• Disregard of no-wake or danger zones

If you were injured in a boating accident that was caused by another party, you might be curious about your legal options in the wake of this incident. Identifying the cause of the accident and the responsible party may be difficult, but it is often crucial for legal action to be successful. Working with specialists, law enforcement officials, and a qualified Clearwater personal injury lawyer can help victims determine fault, file appropriate paperwork, and potentially, pursue compensation.

Potential Consequences of Boating Accidents

Because of the location of most boating accidents, many boating accident victims are exposed to additional dangers that result from an inability to get quick medical attention and an increased risk of drowning. Some additional outcomes of a boating accident include:
• Broken bones
• Head injury
• Brain damage
• Internal organ damage
• Spinal cord damage
• Amputations
• Boat damage
• Property damage (docks, boats, or homes)

Medical expenses and repairing damaged property can be incredibly expensive following a boating accident, and without taking legal action, boating accident victims might be forced to shoulder all of these expenses on their own.

Legal Options

Victims may want to hold the individual responsible for their accident accountable for their losses. In order to do so, it is necessary to file a lawsuit against the negligent party that outlines the extent of damages suffered, the requested compensation, and their part in the accident. Working with an attorney can simplify this process and help victims fight for the compensation they need.

If you are from Missouri or Illinois you have either hit or swerved to avoid a deer or know someone who has. That time of year is coming again, the fall, when the deer are roaming and cause car accidents, especially in some of the wildlife corridors in St Louis County. So which is safer, swerving or just driving right through the deer?

Most injuries on the road involving animals do NOT occur not when a driver crashes into the animal, but instead when the car crashes following a near-collisions or impact with the animal. It's the evasion, the swerving to avoid hitting the animal that actually causes most of the car accident injuries to drivers and their passengers. It's how a driver reacts when he sees an animal on the road that will be the determining factor in the severity of the ensuing accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 173 fatal accidents involving animals in 2009, the most recent year that statistics were available. That same year there were 12,000 car accidents that resulted in injuries involving animals. Perhaps even more shocking is that according to the Insurance Industry for Highway Safety, 1.5 million accidents involving deer occur each year across the country and result in $1 billion in damages.

Much of the accident data reported by the NHTSA involves accidents with larger animals because minor accidents do not have to be reported to the police or to insurance companies. The NHTSA says it has studies showing that 77% of animal-related accidents involve deer while cattle were involved in 10% of accidents. Horses and dogs each make up 6% of the animal-related car accidents.

According to experts familiar with the subject, state highway troopers and researchers, swerving to avoid a collision may actually be more dangerous than simply hitting the animal. Law enforcement officials urge motorists to avoid sudden evasive maneuvers if they are not able to check the surrounding lanes beforehand. If it's safe to make a lane change then the experts say go ahead, but if you're not sure what is going on around you then swerving is usually the wrong choice.

One rule of thumb that the experts agreed on was that if the animal is shorter than the hood of your car and there is no opportunity to change lanes, it's probably best to hit the animal. If, on the other hand, the animal is taller than the hood of the car, then it's best to avoid hitting the animal if at all possible. Sadly, when most drivers are confronted with a sudden decision they make the wrong choice which can lead to deadly consequences.

For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident, call one of our Missouri car accident attorneys today at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Swerving can be worse than hitting animal on road," by Sue Manning, published at MiamiHerald.com.

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Siri and other voice apps may be coming to a steering wheel near you

Recent figures from USA Today show that there is concern among manufacturers and regulators that consumers have grown tired of the constant recall notices arriving in their mailboxes. The increased numbers of recalls, while a good thing, is causing consumers to be exhausted and ignore some notices, possibly to their detriment. Last year alone there were some 2,363 product recalls in consumer products, medical devices, drugs and food. This number represents an increase of 14% from just a year before.

While the increased number of recalls is good in terms of notifying consumers of potential dangers, it creates a worry that consumers will tire of the repeated warnings, perhaps not taking them as seriously. One bit of good news is that the messages are increasingly reaching consumers, as regulators have been successful in spreading the word of product issues through social media and other forms of communication.

Regulators have had to be creative because if consumers aren't listening then they must come up with new ways to warn about dangerous. As a result, consumer protection agencies are trying to vary the methods that they are using to contact consumers. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are now being used by government agencies to get the word out about potential recalls rather than simply mailing notices which are more easily discarded as junk mail. Authorities are also not giving up on the more traditional means of contact like telephone calls.

USA Today found that most retailers believe that the existing national recall system is flawed and that the country would benefit from a more uniform system. The FDA and USDA have different standards for recalls, each with its own unique set of requirements. These variances make it difficult for manufacturers and retailers to fully comply with all the specific rules for each recall.

Product recalls should be of concern to all consumers as they can warn you of potentially life-threatening dangers lurking in your own home. Always pay careful attention to any notices you receive as they could save your life or the lives of those you love.

If you or someone you know has been injured because of a company's failure to provide a safe and healthy product, you need the help of a St. Louis products liability attorney experienced and ready to help protect your rights and recover damages for your injury. Contact products liability attorney Ben Sansone today for a free initial consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Surge in products being recalled may be numbing consumers," by Christopher Doering, published at USAToday.com.

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Who doesn't love a new gadget? Whether it's the latest iPhone or a new laptop, we all love our technology. Sometimes, though, this rush can be to our determent. A good example of the danger of rushing involves the da Vinci Surgical Robot.

According to the manufacturer, Intuitive Surgical, the device makes a surgeon's job much easier, allowing smaller incisions and increased recovery time. The manufacturer says the da Vinci Robot can be used to treat obesity, endometriosis, throat cancer, prostate removal, kidney cancer, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder removal. The robot has four arms: three for surgical instruments and a fourth with an attached camera. It claims to give doctors an increased range of motion and to provide a less invasive way of achieving many traditional surgeries. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately there's more to the story.

While the benefits touted by the manufacture may be true to an extent, there have also been reports of serious injuries related to the use of the robot. Part of the problem appears to be a rush to train surgeons who are being put in control of the powerful machines before they are ready. Patients who have been injured by the robots have begun filing med mal lawsuits and recently requested that a panel of federal district court judges consolidate the litigation before a single federal court.

A few years ago the Wall Street Journal ran a big article on the Robot which mentioned the previously little known problems associated with the device. The article recounted how one patient was so badly injured by the da Vinci that she required four additional surgeries to repair the damage caused from the machine. In other cases, two patients suffered severely lacerated bladders.

Plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against the manufacturer claim that complications from the procedures include tears and burns to the uterus, intestines, and blood vessels, as well as vaginal cuff dehiscence - a separation of the vaginal incision, after which abdominal or pelvic contents leak out through the opening. A 2009 study noted that vaginal cuff dehiscence with small bowel evisceration after hysterectomy may be occurring more frequently with the advent of similar robotic laparoscopic hysterectomies.

The Robot itself does not appear to be to blame; it's actually the doctors and their lack of training that's the problem. Intuitive Surgical only offers two days of free training for two surgeons at each purchasing hospital. Any more training and the hospitals have to go out of pocket to pay. Such a short time does not come close to meeting the training needed to properly operate such a complicated device. The Reviews in Urology journal said that a surgeon should perform up to 200 cases to be proficient with robotic surgery, far more than can be done in a only two days of training.

Intuitive Surgical says that it is up to the hospitals to create guidelines for training their doctors. Given the increasing number of lawsuits associated with the product, patients can only hope the doctors and the maker of the robot work out a solution that ensures the safety of those preparing to go under the knife.

If you or some you know has become sick or injured because of a doctor failing to provide an appropriate level of care, you need the help of a St. Louis injury attorney skilled in medical malpractice to help protect your rights and recover damages for your injury. Contact med mal attorney Ben Sansone today for a free consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Use of surgical robots booming despite hefty cost," by Carol Ostrom, published at SeattleTimes.com.

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A man has filed a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the maker of Pradaxa. The drug company is being sued by the man who claims his father died as a result of side effects he experienced while taking the blood-thinning drug. Melvin Giles, Jr. sued Boehringer Ingelheim in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to the suit, Giles' father was prescribed the drug as a blood thinner. The medication is usually used to reduce the chance of blood clots developing and leading to a stroke in patients who present special risks for such problems. Giles' father was given the medication in February of 2011 and in June of that same year suffered severe internal bleeding and died as a result. His son claims that the bleeding he suffered was the result of Pradaxa.

Giles claims that the drug maker either knew or should have known about the potential for the drug to cause such serious complications. The suit cites as proof the 932 incidents reported to the FDA between October 2010 and March 2011 related to side effects of the medication. Some 120 of these reports involved death from Pradaxa bleeding, and 500 were severe and life-threatening bleeding events related to the medication. These numbers have gone on to spike and according to a new report from the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP), the U.S. Food & Drug Administration received 3,781 adverse event reports associated with Pradaxa in 2011, more than were associated with any other drug the agency monitors.

Pradaxa also led in reports of deaths (541), hemorrhage (2,367), kidney failure (291) and stroke (644), according to ISMP's most recent report. Pradaxa was also a suspected cause of 15 reports of liver injury made to the FDA.

The problems with Pradaxa began in 2011 when the drug became the subject of an investigation in New Zealand after as many as five elderly patients died as a result of internal bleeding. Another 36 patients reportedly suffered similar bouts of serious internal bleeding but managed to survive. These reports came on the heels of similar news in Japan that regulators asked Boehringer Ingelheim to notify doctors about potentially deadly bleeding associated with the drug.

Pradaxa was heavily marketed when it was first introduced as a safer alternative to traditional blood thinners such as warfarin. The benefit was that Pradaxa does not react with certain foods in the same way that warfarin does which can increase the likelihood of bleeding. The problem is that warfarin bleeding can be controlled and even stopped by administering vitamin K. The danger of Pradaxa is that there is currently no known antidote for Pradaxa-caused bleeding, making injuries associated with the product far more deadly.

If you or someone you know has been injured because of a company's failure to provide a safe and healthy product, you need the help of a St. Louis products liability attorney experienced and ready to help protect your rights and recover damages for your injury. Contact products liability attorney Ben Sansone today for a free initial consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Wrongful Death Suit Filed After Pradaxa Bleeding Death," by Elise Kramer, published at InjuryLawyer-News.com.

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The FDA made a major announcement earlier this month which will make medical devices a lot like mass-produced consumer devices such as cars and microwaves. The new rule currently under advisement would require that each medical device manufactured be given a unique code which will help with tracking and hopefully assist the agency in catching safety problems earlier.

While similar codes are already found in almost all consumer products, the barcodes have been noticeably absent from such critical medical devices. The rule says that device makers will begin by placing barcodes on their riskiest devices, like implants or pacemakers. Over-the-counter or incredibly low-risk devices, think bedpans, will not be given a tracking code.

The FDA will then place all the codes in a public database which they hope will allow doctors and regulators to detect problems more quickly and notify affects patients in much less time about any dangers. Companies and hospitals will be able to access the database and quickly pull products that are affected by recalls or other problems. The codes will also benefit the device makers by helping to prevent counterfeit or stolen products from entering the supply chain.

The plan is for the code to be printed on labels for the device and also to be found in the devices themselves. The FDA is projecting the program will cost U.S. companies approximately $500 million to implement the proposal over the next ten years.

The rollout has been much slower than anticipated, with this announcement coming some five years after Congress first instructed the FDA to introduce such codes. The agency said it took its time rolling out the rules by testing a pilot program and by coming up with standard international codes that would work with regulators abroad, including those in Canada, the European Union and Japan.

Currently the public will have 120 days to comment on the proposed rule and the FDA will consider the feedback before making a final ruling which will likely happen in the next six months.

If you or someone you know has been injured because of a company's failure to provide a safe and healthy product, you need the help of a St. Louis products liability attorney experienced and ready to help protect your rights and recover damages for your injury. Contact products liability attorney Ben Sansone today for a free initial consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "FDA Proposes IDs To Track Medical Device Safety," published at HuffingtonPost.com.

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Guest Author, see below for credentials.

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you are entitled to file a personal injury claim against the person who was responsible for the accident. However, getting the compensation you deserve is not always straightforward. You will need to convince a court that the defendant's negligence or carelessness caused you to be injured. Here are some tips that you can follow to maximize your chances of winning your personal injury claim.

1. Document everything. You need to have evidence that you can present in court to support your claim. Take photographs of the scene of the accident, consult your doctor about your injuries, and make detailed notes soon after the accident so that you don't forget what happened. If any bystanders witnessed your accident, get their contact details so that you can call upon them to support your claim in court.

• After a car accident, it is vital that you get the other driver's address, phone number and insurance details. Photographing the damage to your car is a good idea as it visually demonstrates the severity of the accident.

• After an accident at work, find out what health and safety policies your employer has in place. If they were breached, you could be entitled to compensation. Speak to other employees to find out whether they have also faced dangerous situations at work.

• After a slip or fall, take photos of the obstacle that tripped you. Property owners have an obligation to protect the public from hazards on their premises. The aim of your photographs is to demonstrate how they have failed to meet this responsibility. Include an everyday object, such as a coin, your hand, or your mobile phone, to give an indication of the size of the obstacle or slippery patch of floor. If you don't have a camera, make a note of what caused you to fall. Ask witnesses for their contact details so that you can call on them to verify what happened.

2. Seek medical advice as soon as possible after an accident, even if you don't think your injuries are serious. Don't hesitate to go back to your doctor if your condition worsens or does not improve. Report all your symptoms in as much detail as possible and make sure that the doctor makes a note of them. You should keep a record of how much time you have been forced to take off work, as well as the costs of your treatment.

3. Hire a personal injury lawyer. A lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases will use their professional expertise to maximize your chance of success. Once you have chosen a personal injury lawyer to represent you, hand over all of the evidence that you have gathered so that they can work out how best to use it to support your case.

Claiming compensation for an injury is not always easy, but it is a worthwhile thing to do. Not only will you get the compensation that you are entitled to, but you will also cause the person responsible for the accident to reflect on their behavior and become more careful, therefore reducing the chance of a similar accident happening to someone else.

Author Bio:
Guest post contributed by Alison Mackenzie, for HCA Lawyers. Alison is a law student and freelance writer. She enjoys writing about various areas of law and personal claim cases.

A recent report by the Consumer Federation of America reveals that some insurance companies are using claims software that allows them to manipulate payments, thereby paying consumers less than they deserve after a car accident.

The report found that popular injury evaluation software used by many insurance companies comes with provisions that allow the insurers to lowball consumers. These software programs include the CSC Colossus package which allows insurers to manipulate claims payments. The software can be used to reclassify personal injuries as less serious when compared to the diagnosis of a doctor.

Over the past 15 years, many insurance companies in the United States have implemented such software to streamline claims processing procedures. However, as this Consumer Federation indicates, the new software may be used for more than just improving efficiency. The report says that the claims processing software has allowed many insurance companies to increase profits by providing unfairly low offers to consumers. Insurers were able to adjust Colossus to produce virtually any claims' payment reduction they wanted, whether or not it was warranted. One executive said that Colossus could be "tuned" to achieve a particular level of savings, such as 15 percent, for all claims.

Auto accident victims in Missouri should be especially concerned because so many insurers use the CSC Colossus system. The report estimates that more than 50% of the 20 largest auto and property insurers in the United States currently use the Colossus system. Even those that do not use Colossus use similar products that are sold by competitors.

There's no sign that this will be fixed any time soon, meaning that millions of auto accident victims are likely to continue to be at risk of such manipulations. Insurance companies are doing what they can to maximize profits, even if that happens on the backs of accident victims across the country.

The best way to ensure that you are appropriately compensated for lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and medical bills is to hire an experienced Missouri car accident lawyer. For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a car accident, call one of our Missouri car accident attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Report: Insurers Can Manipulate Computer Systems to Broadly Underpay Injury Claims," published at ConsumerFed.org.

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