Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

A recent round of medical reports suggest that too many Americans are being over treated and that more tests and treatment does not always produce better health outcomes. (Chicago AP, L. Tanner, 3/12). Several reasons including patient demand of excessive testing, and doctors practicing defensive medicine to avoid lawsuits are cited.

New evidence and guidelines are recommend and encourage physicians to have more thorough conversations with their patients about risks and benefits of tests and procedures.

As a medical malpractice attorney, I fully support new guidelines encouraging more doctor patient conversations.

Harmful errors in radiation given to 97 veterans with prostate cancer at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center have been in the news for months, but this week the Department of Veterans Affairs was fined $227,500 as a result of these egregious errors. (Philadelphia AP, J. Lobiglio, 3/17). The fine is “the second largest it has ever levied for medical errors,” and “the VA was cited for lacking procedures to ensure and verify the treatments were done correctly, failing to properly train staff and neglecting to immediately report mistakes.”

The victims underwent brachytherapy, a common surgical treatment typically used only on law-risk prostate cancer patients, which involves implanting tiny radioactive iodine pellets, in the prostate to kill cancer cells. After reviewing medical records and conducting tests on the 116 veterans who underwent the procedure between 2002 and 2008, officials concluded that 97 had received incorrect dosages of radiation.
As a medical malpractice attorney, I have continuously been disturbed by the medical negligence that harmed 97 veterans in this situation. I am, however, pleased that the VA was hit with the second largest fine for these careless and harmful errors.

This week, Honda Motor Co. announced a recall affecting about 410,000 Odyssey minivans and Element small trucks because of problems with the brake pedals. (Detroit AP, T. Krishner, 3/16). The recall includes 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements from the 2007 and 2008 model years. As a products liability and car accident attorney in Chicago, I encourage consumers to be aware of the problem and take action to repair the breaks as soon as possible.

Honda says “the brake pedals can feel soft to drivers and must be depressed closer to the floor than usual before the vehicles will fully stop.” Although the breaking condition worsens over time, it only affects some of the vehicles.

The source of the problem is a part in the stability control system that can let air into the breaking system. Honda says owners should take their vehicles to a dealer as soon as they get notification from Honda. Letters will go out at the end of April. Until then, if you drive a vehicle be aware of breaking function and begin slowing the vehicle in advance of the desired stopping point.

As a products liability and personal injury attorney in Chicago, I urge parents to pay attention to recalls affecting products they may be using for their children and replace the recalled products as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary injuries. This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of 1.2 million high chairs because they pose a falling hazard to children. (Washington AP 3/18). Graco Children’s Products, Inc., of Atlanta, manufactures the recalled product identified as the “all Harmony –TM high chairs. The CPSC cautioned that consumers should cease using the product immediately.

The regulatory agency said "screws holding the front legs of the high chair can loosen and fall out and said cracking plastic brackets can cause the high chair to tip over unexpectedly." Thus far, 24 injuries have resulted causing “bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline fracture to the arm and cuts, bumps and bruises and scratches to the body." Consumers can locate the model number can be located on the underside of the foot rest.

Toyota’s woes continue as “investigators from Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspected a wrecked 2005 Prius in a suburb of New York City on Wednesday to see if its event data recorder or the car would point to a problem with braking or acceleration.” (Harrison, NY AP, J. Fitzgerald and D. Stumpf, 3/17).

The Prius driver “told police that it sped up on its own as she eased forward down her employer's driveway on March 9 and hit a wall across the street. She was not hurt and authorities have said there is no indication of driver error.”

Although Toyota has recalled more than 8 million cars because their gas pedals could become stuck or be held down by floor mats, the Prius is not on Toyota's recall list for sticky accelerators, but was repaired because of floor mat problems This accident seems to suggest further recalls may be necessary.

In response, both the government and Toyota are evaluating more than 60 complaints from Toyota drivers who say they had their recalled cars fixed and still had problems.

As a car and truck accident attorney in Chicago, I am weary of the Toyota recalls and think they may be more information that will soon become known. Seemingly, there are problems with some Toyota models that are not yet corrected.

The Food and Drug Administration announced this week that it is “adding its strongest warning to the label for Plavix after reports that some patients cannot process the blockbuster blood thinner…Plavix is prescribed to heart disease patients to prevent dangerous blood clots, which can cause heart attack, stroke and death.” (Washington AP, M. Perrone, 3/12).

The FDA said in a statement Friday “that certain patients with a genetic variation cannot metabolize the drug, putting them at increased risk for heart attack and stroke.” Admittedly, these risks are as grave as they come, thus patients on this drug should consult their doctors immediately.

Fortunately, a generic test can identify patients who do not respond to Plavix. Other blood thinners, including Aspirin, are recommended by the FDA for patients who do not respond to Plavix.

As a personal injury and products liability attorney in Chicago, I encourage patients on Plavix to consult with their doctors to make sure they are not increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

General Motors Co. announced this week that it “is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.” The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico” (Detroit AP, 5/2).

Although the automaker stated that vehicles are still safe to drive and do not lose their steering, they warn it may be harder to steer when driving at speeds under 15 mph. GM spokesman Alan Adler said “the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until motors can be replaced by dealers. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could be surprised when the steering becomes more difficult.”

GM promptly told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. The automaker plans to fix older models first because the condition usually does not develop until after 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving.

As a chicago attorney with experience with recalled vehicle injuries, I am pleased that GM acted promptly to take care of what appears to be a minor problem with just 14 accidents and 1 injury reported. As always the NHTSA website is a reliable source for updated information.

As a medical malpractice attorney in Chicago with experience in medial drug products liability, the recent ruling of the Australian court with regards to the drug Vioxx intrigues me.

An Australian court ruled Friday, “the once-popular painkiller Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attack and was unfit for consumption” (K. Gelineau, 3/5, AP). This ruling opens up claims for many other litigants in lawsuits against the U.S. company Merck & Co. Although the drug was removed from the global market in 2004 after research indicated the risk of stroke and heart attack, millions consumed the drug before it was taken off the market.

The Australian judge found “that Merck Sharpe & Dohme failed in its duty of care by not warning Peterson's doctor about the drug's potential cardiovascular risk, and by its sales representatives emphasizing the drug's safety.”

The Food and Drug Administration is “cracking down on baby food manufacturers and other companies for misleading nutrition labeling on their products, the beginning of a larger effort to set stricter standards for the labels” (M. Jalonick, AP Washington, 3/5). Recent warning letters sent to 17 food companies highlighted unauthorized claims made regarding health and nutrient content.

The agency communicated to big name companies including Nestle/Gerber, Beech-nut, First Juice, Inc., Want Want Foods, and PBM products. Although there is nothing wrong per se with the baby food, the agency is concerned that labels on the products make claims regarding heath and nutrition that are not empirically supportable.
The agency said back in October “that nutritional labels from food manufacturers may be misleading consumers about the actual health benefits of cereal, crackers and other processed foods and sent a letter to companies saying it would begin cracking down on inaccurate food labeling. On Wednesday, the agency said it would soon propose new guidelines for calorie and nutrient labeling on the front of food packages.”

In response to the letters, companies have fifteen days to propose solutions to the label issues. As a products liability attorney in Chicago, I am pleased that the FDA is addressing these labeling issues quickly.