Alpharetta Personal Injury Attorney Blog

There Are About 40,000 Injuries That Take Place In The Bathroom Every Year

Some areas of our homes have a tendency to be more dangerous in certain situations because of the nature of their construction and the kind of furnishings they contain. One of these rooms is the bathroom.

One of the most common causes of bathroom accident injury occurs every year to young boys when the toilet seat falls on them while they are using the toilet.There are about 40,000 bathroom injuries every year related to the toilet. Every year hundreds of unattended small children drown in bathtubs and toilets. Inquisitive little fingers seem drawn to cleaning supplies, medicines, and other products stored in bathroom closets and cabinets which can cause serious injury and even death to children. The bathroom is almost exclusively made up of hard surface areas with porcelain, marble, or tile. After showering and/or bathing, surfaces in the bathroom including the floors are often wet or slick and can lead to impact injury from a slip and fall.

CPSC Recalls Defective Flushmate Toilet Product That Is Causing Consumer Injury

Now a new source of personal injury has entered the bathroom scene, exploding toilets! On June 21, 2012 the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Flushmate issued a recall for Flushmate 3, a pressure assisted flushing system, due to impact and laceration hazard. According to the the CPSC report, this toilet flushing system has been experiencing an inordinate build-up of pressure that is causing the product to burst near the vessel weld seam and in turn bursting the toilets porcelain tank. While this product was developed to be environmentally friendly by helping reduce the amount of water needed to flush the toilet, it's important that products such as this also be safe for use. When a product shows itself to be defective and begins to cause injury, those injured may have recourse to file a product liability claim against the manufacturer and/or the retailer for recovery of damages for injury and pain and suffering.

Continue reading "A Bathroom Can Be A Dangerous Place In The Home But Add A Defective Product And Personal Injury Is Sure To Result" »

J & J Says Announcement To Discontinue Pelvic Mesh Linked To Market Changes Not Safety

Johnson & Johnson has announced that it will stop selling 4 different mesh implant products over the next 3 to nine months. According to a recent report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution J & J made the decision to phase out these products because of a changing market. They hold to the claim that these products are safe and effective even though the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that these mesh implants have shown to cause problems with higher rates of pain, bleeding, and infection. Over the past few years there has been an explosion of product liability lawsuits related to pelvic mesh implants.

Bloomberg News reported in March 2012 that J & J marketed their vaginal mesh 3 years before U.S. regulators had approved it & there are presently more than 550 lawsuits against J & J by women who claim they have been injured because of the mesh product.

One woman who believes she was a victim of this new implant technology, Lana Keeton of Miami, has had to undergo 17 surgeries related to her mesh implant since 2001. Mesh implant products have been used successfully in other types of surgeries, but it is the use of them for surgeries involving pelvic organ prolapse in women which seemingly has not performed well. In 2010 approximately 185,000 women had surgical procedures in which they were treated with surgical mesh. It is estimated that approximately 75,000 women in just the last year have undergone organ prolapse surgery using the mesh implants.

FDA Reports Pelvic Mesh Holds No Advantage Over Traditional Surgery

The FDA reported that some women, approximately 10%, who had the mesh implants developed erosion of the mesh within 12 months following their surgery. More than half of this group then required follow up surgery with some needing as many as 3 follow up surgeries to fix the problem. In their study, the FDA determined that the mesh implants did not offer any better outcome or benefits than the traditional method of using stitches. In January the FDA had ordered J & J and 5 other companies to start tracking and recording the complication rates of their products.

Continue reading "Johnson & Johnson Discontinues Sale of Pelvic Mesh Following Increase In Product Liability Lawsuits" »

Bicycle Ride Across Georgia Is A Family Friendly Historic Event

BRAG (Bicycle Ride Across Georgia) has its beginnings in 1980 with the first riders starting in Savannah and ending in Columbus after traveling a route that encompassed 300 miles. At that time it was called "Georgia's Annual State Bicycling Event." Of the 120 riders who participated in that first ride, 60 completed the full ride. It was also during this first event that they began a tradition of having host towns with overnight layovers where they camped out on the town's football field. Every year different routes would be planned out and various towns greeted the riders with enthusiasm, food, and entertainment. Over the years participation in the event has grown up to the present day. This year in 2012 the Roswell Patch reported there were 1500 cyclists participating in the 8 day ride across Georgia.

The first cyclists began arriving in Roswell on June 5 and were welcomed at the high school where they would be camping. They spent a day layover on June 6 in Roswell getting to know the city, shopping and enjoying the city's various eateries before departing on their ride again early on June 7.

Roswell Hosts A Number Of Local Bicycle Events Every Year

This year's BRAG route through Roswell was preceded by several other local bicycling events in the Roswell area. In April the Mayor's Ride, The Historic Roswell Kiwanis Kids Bike Safety Rodeo, and the Historic Roswell Criterium all took place.

Bicycling has become very popular and is an excellent way to get out and exercise. It is also a great sport to participate in both solo and/or as part of a team or group event. With so many people taking to the streets on bicycles, we need to take a little time to also reflect on bicycle safety. Dedicated bicycle paths are not always available in many areas and bicyclists often share the roadways with cars, trucks, and other motorized vehicles.

Continue reading "BRAG Choosing Roswell For Layover In Their Annual Bicycle Ride Across Georgia In June, 2012 Brings Bicycle Safety To Mind" »

Over 250 Cases Of Poisoning Reported In Small Children Ingesting Detergent Pods

As with all retail products, laundry detergents and related household cleaning items have a lot of competition in the market place. This is the reason we are constantly seeing new and improved cleaning products from many companies hoping to catch the largest market share of sales in their corner of the industry.

One such new adaptation in the laundry industry, the detergent pod, has quickly earned a reputation as an attractive poison for small children. Recently Tide, Purex, and other companies have released detergent pods as a convenient, no mess, single use detergent. Since that time poison control centers have reported almost 250 children who have been poisoned after ingesting detergent pods they thought were candy. The children had poisoning symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, drowsiness, & problems breathing. Several of the children required hospitalization because of their breathing problems and needed to be placed on a ventilator as reported on in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Proctor & Gamble Responding To Problem By Redesigning Latch On Container

A spokesperson for Proctor & Gamble stated that their Tide detergent pods are safe in themselves when they are used as intended. Doctors are concerned about the number of poisonings because the pods seem to cause more problems than one would expect a detergent to cause. They theorize that one of the reasons for this may be because they are concentrated into such a small packet, and are formulated to work quickly. One bite size packet or pod contains a whole cup worth of cleaning power. In addition, the Tide detergent pods also come in a clear, fish bowl shape plastic container which may appear to a small child to be a candy bowl.

Proctor & Gamble has taken steps to help reduce access to the detergent pods from their fish bowl shaped container by designing a new double latch that would be difficult for a child to open. According to Consumer Reports these new lids should appear in store in July 2012. Parents also need to remember to be careful about storing laundry & cleaning supplies in areas which are not easily accessible by small children. Small children are extremely curious and just about everything they investigate goes into their mouths, usually until they are around 2 years old.

Continue reading "Bright, Colorful Detergent Pods As Inviting As Candy Have Been Poisoning Unsuspecting Children" »

Did Doctor Err By Not Following Up With Appropriate Testing?

People with worries about possible cancer symptoms depend on their doctors to investigate their symptoms and correctly diagnose and treat what they find. When Stephanie Tesoriero discovered a lump in her breast she quickly consulted with her physician at the Carol Baldwin Breast Care Center in Stoney Brook. According to the story about her case in Radiology Daily, her doctor gave her a mammography and then assured her that he believed her symptom was nothing to be concerned about and everything was "ok." He did not follow up with a sonography of the suspicious area to confirm his diagnosis. Relieved that she had nothing to be concerned about she went about her daily life

It is routine for physicians to schedule tests such as mammograms and sonograms to help them in their diagnosis when lumps are discovered in the breast so they can determine if the area in question looks like a cancer or is something else. While the doctor ordered the mammography, he did not follow through with a sonogram in this case which the medical malpractice attorney for Mrs. Tesoriero asserted delayed her diagnosis and treatment and indicated medical malpractice and negligence on the part of Mrs. Tesoriero's physician.

Unfortunately 16 months after her first visit to have her concerns about her lump checked out, the lump had progressed to the size of a golf ball and another doctor diagnosed her with breast cancer. Her story as reported by NBC News tells how Mrs. Tesoriero required a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation which, in the end, failed to stop her cancer which has now spread to her lymph nodes and bones. As of right now it looks like she will have to endure weekly chemotherapy sessions for the rest of her life, however long that may be.

Continue reading "Medical Negligence And Misdiagnosis Results In Delayed Treatment And Leaves Life Uncertain For Mother Of 3" »