FDA Orders An Investigation For Metal-On-Metal Hip Implants
On May 6, 2011 the FDA ordered twenty-one artificial hip manufacturers to conduct an extensive investigation into whether the devices cause heavy metal poisoning in patients who receive them. Following up on medical reports of excessive levels of cobalt and chromium found in patients who received a particular type of hip prosthesis, the FDA cited medical literature linking excessive levels of heavy metal ions to cardiac and neurologic complications.
2011 Cars and SUVs with the Best and Worst Ratings?
At Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA, we know that it’s not really an accident when automobile manufacturers negligently disregard your safety by hiding known defects and continuing to make and sell defective cars, vans, and SUVs. When the design of vehicles and their safety ratings represent a decision to put profits before the safety of consumers, that is simply wrong.
Protecting Your Health: The Doctor's Visit
Few decisions are more critical than choosing the physicians who hold your health, sometimes even your life, in their hands. This is a very personal choice, one that warrants research and careful thought. But if you are new in town, or unexpectedly in need of immediate care, it may be tempting to open the Yellow Pages, shut your eyes, and point to a listing for a nearby medical practice. Or, you may be swayed by a doctor’s social standing or reputation for charisma.
Protect Yourself: Selecting an Attorney
When choosing an attorney, you should check qualifications and experience – and make sure your case will get the attention it deserves. Too often, you need a lawyer because a problem has arisen unexpectedly: A catastrophic auto accident, a business deal gone wrong, a death or injury from a defective product, or one of many devastating situations where you or a family member has been harmed by the negligence of another.
Protecting Your Health: Hospitalization
A hospital is a place where miracles happen, where human hands join science and technology to fix broken bones, remove cancerous tumors, and battle all manner of nasty diseases.
Protect Yourself: Auto Insurance Basics
Don't be dismayed by insurance industry jargon and the pages of confusing forms that auto insurance companies provide – this is not rocket science! With some basic information, you can choose confi dently an auto policy that meets your state's legal requirements, your fi nancial situation, and your unique needs. Whether you deal with an independent agent or a representative of a specifi c insurance company, understanding your coverage and cost options will help you make decisions that best protect you and your family.
The most innocent-looking toys may contain chemicals and tiny parts that could poison or choke your child.
What could be more innocent and wholesome than toys... dolls with golden curls and sky blue eyes, teddy bears that talk when you pull a string, china tea cups straight out of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, miniature beams and arches that build Eiffel Towers.
A product defect may be responsible for injuries sustained during an accident.
A car swerves out of control without warning, killing the driver and seriously injuring the passenger. A grandfather relying on his implanted defibrillator abruptly collapses from a heart attack. A child playing with a brightly-colored toy is suddenly choking, and suffers irreversible brain damage.
You should always get a copy of your medical records and x-rays, and then save them with your other records.
Most of us rely on our doctors to keep track of what we might call the technical elements of maintaining our health. After all, it is the physicians who understand and act on the x-rays, MRIs, mammograms, PAP smears, and batteries of blood tests that write our medical history from birth to death.
If you are injured by a product, saving it for evidence can be very important.
When you are suddenly taken ill or unexpectedly injured by a consumer product, your first priority is to seek immediate medical attention – especially if your illness or injury is life-threatening. In an emergency like this, when you are in pain and frantically seeking help, you will likely be confused, and may not have your wits about you.
Car accidents can cause a serious head injury that is not readily apparent.
You're driving to work with a colleague, taking your usual route, mindful of the other cars and pedestrians that make up daily traffic in your neighborhood. Suddenly, you’re broad-sided by a speeding sports car that came out of nowhere... or, stopped at a red light, you are unexpectedly rear-ended by a SUV.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves drugs largely based on information provided by drug companies.
As the FDA's website breezily explains, "The center (CDER) doesn’t actually test drugs itself, although it does conduct limited research in the areas of drug quality, safety, and effectiveness standards." So, who does conduct the research that provides so-called evidence of a drug's effectiveness? Who objectively reports benefits and risks discovered through clinical trials?
If you are hospitalized or undergoing surgery, you should have a family member or friend by your side to serve as your advocate.
No matter how prepared you think you are, a family member or friend at your side can provide more than comfort. He or she can help you navigate the health care system and serve as an advocate for your best interests if you are confused or your judgment is impaired.
One of the biggest causes of big truck accidents is a driver texting and using a cell phone.
A fully-loaded 80,000-pound 18-wheeler looms in your rearview mirror, terrifying in its sheer size, weight, and speed. Maybe it is spewing out bits of trash on the road, or rocks that could hit and pit your windshield. Then your heart races when you realize the worst: the truck driver is texting or talking on a cell phone instead of keeping his eyes on the road!
Most accidents happen at home... but you can take steps to prevent them. Unnoticed safety risks can make your home a haven for injury, especially for children and the elderly.
For most of us, our home is a safe haven, the place where we go to be protected from the dangers of the outside world. Take a walk through your house, room by room, to find out whether your home is an accident scene in the making.
While you are on vacation, burglars are still working. They could be on the job at your house!
Eager to escape the stress of the workaday world, last summer a Florida couple booked a Caribbean vacation, packed their swimsuits, and set sail on a major cruise line. They had a wonderful time wining, dining, and exploring the islands. It was a perfect vacation... that is, until they returned home.
These days, we’re accustomed to news of massive automobile recalls, like the recall of millions of Toyotas for defective brake pedals and other safety problems.
Each time, it seems auto manufacturers claim they didn’t know... and then it turns out that they did. Every time, it seems, federal enforcers such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drop the ball, incapable of acting until people die, long after safety violations are first reported.
Most Americans view what is commonly known as “food poisoning” as a rare occurrence, associated with roach-infested restaurants or snacks peddled by street vendors in foreign countries.
Even when we read about the salmonella outbreak linked to eggs that sickened 1,300 people, or 826,000 pounds of contaminated ground beef that was recalled in 12 states, or the E. coli epidemic traced to California spinach that spread to 26 states... we don’t think this can happen to us – not in the United States.
Shopping for auto insurance is like walking through a minefield... you need to know where to go for safety.
Without a map of the basics of automobile insurance coverage, shopping for auto insurance can be a minefield of confusing clauses and unfamiliar provisions. Florida auto insurance laws spell out mandatory minimum coverage, but there are numerous additional coverage options.
When an unscrupulous builder or contractor walks off the job, you could be left “holding the bag” for their debts...unless you have done your homework beforehand.
There are few things more frustrating than the singular decision to build a home, renovate your old one, or make extensive repairs. You are investing thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money, and there are hundreds of decisions to be made. Most of the decisions you will have will require special knowledge to arrive at a well thought decision. If you do not choose contractors wisely, they could walk off with your money in their pockets.
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