Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

In what many people are referring to as “long overdue”, the FDA has recently announced its new program called “The Safe Use Initiative” to help lower wide-ranging problems associated with drug dose errors. According to a latimes.com report, the problem of drug dosage error takes a staggering toll on consumer and patient health in addition to costing about $4 billion a year. In fact, based on a study by the Institute of Medicine in 2007, approximately 1.5 million preventable “adverse drug events” take place in the United States every year. With this information in mind, it is no wonder that the Food and Drug Administration is calling on doctors, consumers, and various other healthcare professionals to help in identifying drugs and circumstances that may be particular problems.

In its efforts to lower the deaths and severe health problems brought about by misuses of medication, the FDA adverse event reporting system and the organization as a whole are trying to determine the most serious threats, dangers, and risks, and find ways to prevent them from happening. The agency is supposed to hold public hearings to gather information pertaining to the following drug concerns:

• Overuse of acetaminophen (a pain reliever that can cause liver damage if too much is taken)


• Information given to patients (i.e. package inserts, labels and instructions that pharmacists distribute when giving prescriptions)


• Ways to lower dosage errors in liquid medications by including a spoon or cup to accurately regulate a dosage

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After suffering a stroke and additional related health problems, a 39-year-old Newark woman has filed a suit against Bayer Corp., the makers of the popular birth control product, Yaz. According to an insidebayarea.com article, the woman took Yaz, a prescription-only product, for four weeks in the summer of 2007 to help reduce premenstrual pains, which is one of Yaz’s advertised uses. She then suffered a stroke that resulted in six months of hospitalization.

In attributing her health problems to using Yaz, the woman had part of her skull temporarily removed, due to excessive swelling of her brain, until the affected portion of her skull was later replaced. The woman’s attorney stated that she also suffered a reduced IQ and is now close to being mentally handicapped in addition to experiencing a drastic change in her speech and mood.

Although Yaz is one of the most popular birth controls used in the world, it has been at the forefront of much debate and criticism for presenting additional health risks not associated with other birth-control pills. The woman in the aforementioned case and over 100 others have filed suit against Yaz’s maker, Bayer Corp.

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Recent reports of several homeowners encountering serious problems with their insurer after reporting defective materials in drywall in their homes have been quite unnerving for families throughout the United States. This is far from a simple matter. One report stated that insurers are declining to file homeowner’s claims. But this is not all. Insurers are also cancelling the policy altogether, or giving out notices that policies will not be renewed until the defective drywall problem is resolved at the homeowner’s expense.

Why are so many incidents of defective drywall taking place? According to a news.aol.com report, building materials were in short supply during the apex of the U.S. housing boom. As a result, American construction companies turned to millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall for its affordability and abundant quantity. It is far from comforting to know that an Associated Press analysis of shipping records determined that over 500 million pounds of Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 to be used in building homes.

Unfortunately, it is likely that neither the Chinese manufacturers nor the Chinese government will respond to any lawsuits or reimburse homeowners for the defective drywall. In addition, a spokesman for one homeowner’s insurer who denied their claim said that the drywall is considered a builder defect, which is not covered under the policy. The insurance spokesman also said that they consider the drywall a pre-existing condition that could lead to future damage, which is why the company will not renew the policy unless the issue is corrected.

Continue reading " Toxic Chinese Drywall: What Can Homeowners Do? " »

According to recent news reports, many insurers have been dropping policies or sending notices of non-renewal based on the existence of toxic Chinese drywall in homes. This problem, although relatively small at the moment, is having a monumental impact on the lives of homeowners. Furthermore, this issue will only become widespread, and possibly grow out of control, as insurance companies continue to process the hundreds of claims currently in the works.

While families are being told that their insurance claim for defective drywall is denied, some are also being informed that their complete insurance policy will not be renewed due to the drywall that corrodes pipes and emits sulfuric fumes.

The insurer’s actions do not seem reasonable to many citizens. State and federal agencies have found that the defective materials in the affordable Chinese drywall emit “volatile sulfur compounds” and have remnants of strontium sulfide, which can create a rotten-egg odor, in addition to organic compounds not found in American-made drywall. Not only do the fumes destroy personal possessions such as jewelry and silverware, and damage parts of a home including pipes and air conditioners, but some reports of illness due to the wallboards have been made as well.

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Dartmouth investigators are examining the death of a 100-year-old woman who was living out the rest of her years in a nursing home. Now the victim’s son is alleging that they had notified the nursing home staff that his mother had been threatened by her roommate who is in her late 90’s and requested that they be separated. The centenarian was found in her bed with a plastic bag tied around her head.

According to the son, his mother told him that her roommate had said, “I’m going to have that bed next to the window.” His mother responded, “Why do you think that?” The roommate then responded, “Because I’m going to outlive you.” After the son asked that they separate them, he was told by the nursing home staff that they were getting along fine.

Chief of operations at the nursing home stated that the roommates were offered a room change twice during the summer, but they both refused. The son said his mother did not want to leave the nursing home because it was where she had lived with her husband for many years prior to his death in 2007. The son also said that as the roommate was being wheeled away she told him, “You’re going to blame me for this … but you’re wrong.” Police have questioned several employees but have yet to name any suspects.

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It was reported on the website sfexaminer.com that families of the 10 people killed when a semi truck smashed into stopped cars on the Will Rogers Turnpike in Oklahoma have decided to file a joint lawsuit against several defendants. The defendants mentioned in the lawsuit are the driver of the truck, his employer, Associated Wholesale Grocers, ACE American Insurance located in Pennsylvania, G.D. Transport out of California, their insurer National Liability and Fire Insurance Co. located in Nebraska, Rajeev Sharma a resident of California, and Erin Alf who is from Texas.

At approximately 1:15 p.m., the 73-year-old truck driver slammed his big rig into the cars while cruising at 70 miles per hour. Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports that the driver made no attempt to avoid the devastating collision. The lawsuit contends that the driver was rushed by his employer Associated Wholesale Grocers to make a delivery and forced him to work beyond what is deemed safe and lawful. The two residents mentioned in the lawsuit were the drivers of another tractor trailer involved in the collision that had stopped traffic on the turnpike when unfortunately the worst case scenario occurred. G.D. Transport is their employer and they are accused of not training their drivers properly.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the grieving families acted this way as “a means of obtaining efficiency and economy in the administration and handling of the case, and demonstrates the enormity and gravity of the loss, and harm caused.”

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One may think that the following is a comic story, but do not tell that to the woman who fell at the “flippers of a dolphin.” According to the chicagotribune.com website, a woman has filed a lawsuit against the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Zoological Society alleging that they encouraged the dolphins to splash water onto the spectator area causing the floors to become wet. The woman alleges in the lawsuit that she slipped and fell, seriously hurting herself. She is suing for medical expenses, lost wages, and the mental and physical suffering she has experienced since the fall; totaling more than $50,000 according to her lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that the zoo “recklessly and willfully trained and encouraged the dolphins to throw water at the spectators in the stands making the floor wet and slippery” and that they “failed to provide warnings of the slippery floor, failed to provide mats when the staff knew the floor would get wet and slippery.”

“Slip and fall" cases involve accidents that occur due to negligent maintenance, or unsafe and dangerous conditions upon property owned by someone other than the accident victim. Property owners and business establishments have a duty to provide a safe environment for individuals on their premises. Common situations giving rise to premises accidents include uneven floor surfaces, poorly marked changes in elevation, slippery surfaces, broken sidewalks, uneven elevators and broken steps. A telling stat reports that overall falling is the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, after automobile accidents.

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