Sometimes on Cruise Ships, Shit Happens…

November 21st, 2009. By Hunter West

They fall all over themselves to make sure you have a good time. But they might not be doing the one thing that would pretty near guarantee you one:

 

Cleaning the public restrooms. And the problem with a gastrointestinal outbreak on a cruise ship is that you’re often thousands of miles in the middle of nowhere.

 

Make no mistake—compared to other bathrooms of the world, cruise ship bathrooms appear to be sparkling. I’ve been in them. So have you. And compared to the bathroom at the airport, or at the restaurant where you had dinner before your flight to meet the ship, cruise ship rest rooms appear to be so clean you could eat off the floor.

 

Well, almost. But not quite.

 

The problem is the pesky norovirus, which is a tough old bird that survives on just about anything for weeks at room temperature. And you know those alcohol-based hand sanitizers Read the rest of this entry »

“Oops” Not Welcome Here (your Hospital…your Drug Store…)

November 20th, 2009. By Hunter West

There are some jobs that should be held to a higher standard. Like holding public office, or serving as a priest, or acting as someone’s surgeon. Maybe you’re about to amputate a limb…and the patient assumes you know the correct one to remove. 

Well, as experience has taught us—not always. 

Here’s a couple of examples of ‘oopsies’ that are unforgivable. Imagine if this happened to you… 

Oops #1: Wrong Kerry, Wrong Test

Kerry Higuera was three months into her pregnancy when she started to bleed. Fearing a miscarriage, she headed to her local emergency room. It seemed the prudent thing to do. 

According to CNN she was put in a room that February morning last year in Arizona and was told to wait until a nurse came by to get her. 

Soon enough a nurse poked her head in and said, “Kerry?” Kerry said yes, she was Kerry. Well, off they go to the CT scan room. “Is this really what I need to have done,” asks a reluctant Kerry, assuming that radiating her abdomen containing a three-month-old fetus can’t be healthy. The answer was yes. “This is what the doctor wants…” 

You can imagine Kerry’s panic when, soon after having the CT scan on her abdomen Higuera was visited by the emergency room physician, two radiologists and someone representing the Read the rest of this entry »

What You Should Know About Drug Studies

November 19th, 2009. By Kristine B

In light of the recent release of the results from the ARBITER 6-HALTS trial regarding Zetia and Niaspan, there may be questions about what drug studies are and why they are important. This week, Pleading Ignorance examines drug studies: what they do, what they don’t do and what you should know about them.

Drug Studies: What They Do (Timing is Everything)

The names of the drug studies are impressive, aren’t they? Names like ARIBITER 6-HALTS, ENHANCE, RECORD and so on. The fancy thing is that all the letters in the names mean something (an acronym!)—but no one ever remembers what the heck they mean, save of course the folks conducting the test. So the catchy name is fine for the rest of us. (By the way, ARBITER 6 HALTS stands for “Arterial Biology for the Investigation of the Treatment Effects of Reducing Cholesterol 6–HDL and LDL Treatment Strategies“—say that fast 6 times). Once you’re beyond the name though, it’s important to know at what point in time the study is being done—after all, the studies are designed to show something. The timing in which the drug is tested will clue you in to what information the researchers are looking for.

Drug studies that are done before the drug is approved by the FDA (known as clinical trials), are done to prove…

• that a new drug is at least as effective as an older drug
• that the new drug is more effective than just standard therapy alone, or
• that the benefits of the new drug outweigh the risks (see, they’re watching out for you!)

If the studies are done after the drug is approved, they may be done to… Read the rest of this entry »

Asbestos News Roundup: 11.19.09

November 19th, 2009. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news, asbestos lawsuits and the latest asbestos hot spots-places where asbestos has been found-and that you should be aware of. 

Asbestos Settlements

Buffalo, NY: A settlement of more than $3 million dollars has been awarded to a local union boilermaker for injuries resulting from exposure to asbestos on the job. Earl W. Tredinnick, III, 61, of Elma, New York, who worked as a Local 7 Union Boilermaker between 1967 and 2002 developed mesothelioma in the fall of 2008, and brought suit against various companies responsible for a variety of asbestos-containing products. (PRWEB)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Oakland, CA: Lehman Brothers has agreed to spend $3.7 million to complete the demolition of more than 90 buildings at the former Oak Knoll Naval base. Lehman, now bankrupt, had partnered with  SunCal Companies in a planned 960-unit residential development project in the East Oakland hills area. After touring the site in October, the financial company agreed to release funding that will pay for contractors to remove asbestos, trash and debris from barracks, homes, garages and other structures. The buildings will be levelled. (Oakland Tribune) 

Asbestos Scams

Syracuse, NY: Frank Onoff, a key player in a decade-long asbestos removal scam in central New York, has pled guilty in federal court and agreed to cooperate in the case filed against Read the rest of this entry »

Army Corps of Engineers gets “F” for Katrina

November 19th, 2009. By AbiK

The folks who lived through Katrina probably have a few other “F’s” to toss in the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers as well. But the “F” I’m talking about is for “Failure”—failure to prevent devastation…failure to properly maintain the navigation channel that flooded…failure to take action when they knew damn well there was a problem and it was inevitable that a disaster like Katrina would happen.

Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr’s ruling that the corps’ failure to properly maintain a navigation channel thereby leading to massive floods came with some harsh words:

“It is the court’s opinion that the negligence of the corps, in this instance by failing to maintain the MR-GO properly, was not policy, but insouciance, myopia and shortsightedness.”

Take that, ACOE.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the lawyers involved in the case at Mass Torts Made Perfect in Las Vegas—John Andry. I have to admit, it had been a while since I really thought about Katrina or its victims—heck, I live on the other side of the country and well, as with most disasters (and most people), if it hasn’t affected you directly, you sadly forget. And you never really understand first-hand what the victims must have endured. So that’s why this lawyer, John Andry, intrigued me. You couldn’t help getting swept up in how he was describing the way things happened with Katrina…how it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Andry drew diagrams for me, explained the devastation, shared the stories of family and friends he personally knows who lost everything. See, Andry’s a local boy—not some out-of-towner who just comes in on a ego trip because he knew the case would generate a lot of press. No, this guy actually teared up as he was telling me and my colleague, Michelle, about the case. With him, this Katrina disaster is personal—and it shows.

Talking with Andry was a good reminder that those who were affected by Katrina are still living with Katrina—and always will be. This ruling, while a landmark one and one that will clear the way for others to seek damages, will never take away their loss. But at least now there is finally some accountability.