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. Americans see […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

The Food and Drug Administration is the government agency charged with evaluating, approving, and monitoring the safety of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, radiation treatments, and other health-related products that play a large part in our lives. Most of us view the FDA as a watchdog agency that protects our […]

Even under the best of circumstances, in a reputable hospital with doctors you trust, hospitalization is inherently traumatic. Most likely, this is a new or infrequent experience, and you are stressed out, not knowing what to expect. Before admission, you stumbled in a haze of preparations – taking special medications, fasting, scrubbing […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. It makes […]

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 […]