Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

Every year Halloween festivities and traditions result in a plethora of injuries (from costume related trauma to flame burns to broken bones), most of which can be prevented, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). To help trick or treaters stay safe and remain free of haunting injuries that can linger well past the holiday, the CPSC issued a simple three point safety checklist. The checklist targets three primary factors that often result in injuries on Halloween: using caution around open flames; making sure children are visible while trick or treating; and choosing safe costumes. The points below summarize the guidelines.

Guard against burn injury and fires:

• Only use flame retardant material when selecting costumes or other accompanying items.


• Use battery operated devices. Don’t use open flame candles, lanterns, or pumpkins. They are a regular source of fires each year. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) claims the holiday is among every year’s top five days that produce the most accidental fires.

Be visible and aware:

• Walk with flashlights or other glowing devices when out after dusk.


• Equip costumes and outer wardrobes with reflective tape for maximum visibility.

Find the right fit:

• Avoid fall hazards by choosing costumes that fit correctly; tailor them if necessary. They should never drag along the ground.


• Make sure any components of a costume that are worn on the head do not restrict an individual’s sight or breathing ability.

With awareness and risk education, Halloween can be fun and safe holiday for everyone who celebrates it. If you or a loved one has been injured during a Halloween accident in Pennsylvania that you think was the result of another party’s negligence, contact the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia with Anapol Schwartz at (866) 735-2792 for a free consultation.

Currently, Johnson & Johnson is facing hundreds of lawsuits by women who allege they have been seriously injured by vaginal mesh implants made by the corporation. The company, one of the world’s largest health manufacturers of health products, was able to keep the mesh products on the market regardless of potential safety issues due to a highly criticized part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process. The process glitch exists in a loophole that stipulates that if a product, or prototype, has been previously approved by the FDA then other comparable products require a lesser degree of safety testing, as reported by Bloomberg News.

However, amidst a plethora of headlines regarding defective and dangerous medical recalls and lawsuits, physicians, government officials, and the general public are pressuring the FDA for alterations on the antiquated system. In the instance of vaginal mesh, the agency kept passing the implants manufactured and sold by Johnson & Johnson with little to no testing, based on the product’s comparability to the ProteGen formerly made by Boston Scientific Corp which was removed from the market for safety issues. In lawsuits, affected women report continual pain and bodily harm from the products and in some cases multitudes of medical operations in attempt to correct resulting damages.

The Transvaginal Mesh products are used by women to treat pelvic organ prolapse as well as incontinence. While the FDA claims it cannot accurately estimate the amount of women with the implants since their first availability in 1998, it claims approximately 300,000 were utilized in 2010 alone. Last month, a panel of physicians (mostly pelvic surgeons) advised the FDA that the products should be re-listed as high risk and tested more in order to remain on the market.

Even though the FDA seems to be moving toward that decision, according to Bloomberg, its director said it could take as many as three years to implement the new standards, and until then, the products in question will remain available to the public. If you or a loved one has been injured by vaginal mesh implants in Pennsylvania, contact the transvaginal surgical mesh attorneys in Pennsylvania with Anapol Schwartz at (866) 735-2792.

This past June, government officials in France and Germany removed the diabetes medication Actos (pioglitazone) from their markets after a study by French researchers discovered a correlation between the drug and an elevated risk of bladder cancer. However, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public cautionary statement about the risk and updated the warning information on the product’s label and patient information, Actos and other drugs containing pioglitazone are still available on the U.S. market.

Actos is a leading medicine in a small class of drugs to treat blood sugar levels in Type II diabetes. The FDA said that from January 2010 to October 2010, approximately 2.3 million people received prescriptions for Actos or another drug with pioglitazone. In 2009, Actos sales in the U.S. were around $3.4 billion, as reported by The New York Times. Other drugs it is used in tandem with are Actoplus Met, Actoplus Met XR, and Duetact. The FDA’s warning claims that the Actos bladder cancer risk is highest for individuals using the drug on a long term basis, over a year, and in larger increasing dosages.

An increasing amount of individuals in the U.S. have started a class action lawsuit against the company that makes Actos. Users affected or injured by drug claim that the company did not adequately investigate the drug prior to releasing it on the market and also failed to inform the public of its serious dangers. If you’ve used Actos, or have been harmed by the drug (or any drug containing pioglitazone), contact the Pennsylvania dangerous drug attorneys with Anapol Schwartz at (866) 735-2792 for a free case review with an attorney.

As part of National School Bus Safety Week, observed October 17 to October 21, Pennsylvania held its own component to the initiative with the fifteenth annual Operation Safe Stop. On Wednesday, October 19, the operation served as a community effort to educate, monitor, and enforce vehicle violations involving the passing of stopped school buses.

Under Pennsylvania state law, vehicle drivers are required to stop a minimum of 10 feet away from a school bus that has its red lights blinking and its stop sign protracted. Drivers are mandated to halt whether they are approaching the bus from behind, passing in the opposite lane of traffic, or navigating a crossing where a bus is stopped. Vehicle operators must stop until the warning lights have halted, the stop sign has been retracted, and all children have either exited or entered the bus to a safe location. There is only one exception to the rule: if physical blockades, like grassy areas, steel rails, or concrete medians separate traffic in opposite lanes, vehicles in the lanes opposite of the stopped bus can proceed.

Adhering to school bus traffic rules may seem obvious, but tragic accidents occur too often as a result of these kinds of situations. Back in late June of this year, 23 people (15 kids and eight adults) were injured in a Harrisburg car accident involving a bus and another vehicle. According to reports, after the vehicle attempted to pass the bus under unsafe circumstances, the two collided, causing the bus to flip over on its side.

If your child has been injured in a school bus accident that you believe occurred as a result of negligence or recklessness, contact the Pennsylvania school bus accident attorneys with Anapol Schwartz. Call (866) 735-2792 for a complimentary consultation with an attorney.

After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned in June that the diabetes drug pioglitazone (known as brand name “Actos”) presents an increased risk of bladder cancer for ongoing users, the start of a class action lawsuit involving dozens of affected individuals quickly followed in September.

Specifically, the drug is prescribed to adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to assist with the regulation of blood sugar. From January 2010 to October 2010, the FDA reported about 2.3 million individuals with prescriptions that contained the substance. In addition to Actos, pioglitazone is also found in Actoplus Met, Actoplus Met XR, and Duetact.

The FDA issued the following guidelines regarding Actos, and any other medical products containing the drug:

• Do not prescribe it to patients with bladder cancer.
• Use the drug with discretion with an individual with a medical history of bladder cancer.

Other than the stated primary risk, the agency also gave consumers and patients the following instructions:

• Do not use the drug if you are receiving treatment for bladder cancer.
• Immediately notify your health care professional if you experience any of these symptoms: red appearance of the presence of blood in your urine, an urgency to urinate or pain while doing so, or pain in your back or lower abdomen.

Those using any products with pioglitazone, or the primary drug Actos, are instructed by the FDA to speak with their health care provider at once. If you believe you’ve been injured by exposure to pioglitazone, contact the Pennsylvania Actos attorneys with Anapol Schwartz at 1(866)735-2792 for a free consultation.

In a large alert for active parents across the country, 411,700 single and double style jogging strollers were recalled for potential choking and strangulation hazards by the company B.O.B. Trailers Inc. from Boise, ID. In Canada, 27,000 products were also called back for the same reason.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) release, the hazard exists when an embroidery patch of the company logo detaches from the canopy, which may present a choking danger for a child. The company has reported six accounts of the loose patch becoming lodged in a child’s mouth, while choking and gagging incidents were alleged in two of the accidents. In these reports, the kids were sitting in an infant chair affixed to the defective stroller. And in both cases involving trauma, the patch piece was removed from the affected child’s mouth with no reported injuries, B.O.B. told the CPSC. The strollers were sold at Babies ‘R’ Us, REI, and other retailers across the nation, including major online stores like Amazon.com, from November 1998 to October 2011. They were made in China and Taiwan.

The recall, made in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, adds to a previous one for 357,000 products back in February of 2011. The previous recall was in response to a defect involving the canopy, but with regards to a strangulation danger due to a loose drawstring.

Customers of the product are instructed to stop use at once until the defective patch has been safely removed; the company should be contacted directly for directions on how this is properly done. Has your child been injured by a defective product in Pennsylvania that you think was the result of manufacturing flaws? Contact the defective product attorneys in Philadelphia with Anapol Schwartz at 1-866-735-2792 for a complimentary case review today.

While fractures, broken bones, and other more tangible sidelining injuries have often received the most attention by organized sports officials, concussions have always posed an insidious yet serious danger. Due to a recent increase in concussion awareness, including a very high profile class action lawsuit in which former National Football League players are suing the league for turning a blind eye toward the problem, this important issue is getting more and more focus. A new Pennsylvania bill joins the growing initiative by implementing new safety measures to battle traumatic brain injuries in young athletes.

The suggested law, the Safety in Youth Sports Act, provides additional rules for educating parents, training athletic coaches, and sets protocol regarding when an athlete is permitted to return to the field or court following a potential concussion.

Specifically, the bill mandates:

• Student athletes, as well as parents, will be educated on the subject prior to participation in any sports teams or events.
• Coaches will be required to complete a yearly course on the prevention and treatment of concussions and brain injuries.
• Coaches will be required to remove any player suspected of, or showing signs of, a concussion during gameplay, and that player may not return to activity until provided written clearance by a doctor or certified medical professional.

Many Pennsylvania schools already have similar systems and guidelines in place, according to Penn Live, so the new law will affect the approximate 20 percent of those that do not employ certified trainers or other related resources for sporting events. Concussions are a serious threat to athletes of all ages and performance levels and can occur in most any sport. If your child has suffered concussion injuries during participation in organized sports, contact a Philadelphia sports injury lawyer with Anapol Schwartz at 1-866-735-2792.

Classes are back in full swing, which means there are droves of teen drivers out on the roads commuting to and from school, sports practices, and many other extracurricular activities. But many of them are inexperienced drivers, which often leads to mistakes behind the wheel that can quickly become tragic. Whose job is it to educate and train these youngsters to know the safe rules of the road? The responsibility almost always falls on parents, according to AOL Auto Blog.

According to research done at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), parents who establish rules, describe to kids the importance of rules, and then honor consequences when rules are broken, possess the most power over their children’s well being.

Some of the most effective and important guidelines that parents can put into place for their high school drivers mirror some of the related state legislature across the nation. These rules may include some of the following staples:

• Limiting how many passengers are allowed in a teen’s car: This reduces the potential for distraction.
• Enforcing household curfews: Many teen accidents occur after dark.
• Training kids to use seat belts: Start them as soon as they are old enough to wear one so it becomes second nature.
• Enforcing strict household penalties for speeding: If your teen is caught speeding (by the police or you), the punishment should go much further than a police issued ticket. Household punishment such as grounding or the loss of other valued privileges can deliver an even stronger and more lasting message.

According to statistics, teens are among the most likely drivers to be involved in accidents. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident that you believe was the fault of another driver’s negligence, call 1-866-735-2792 to speak to a Wilkes Barre PA car accident lawyer with Anapol Schwartz.