Southern California Injury Law Blog

Last year, thousands of dogs and cats either died or became seriously ill due to eating contaminated pet food, but of course no one knows the exact number of pet owners who lost their pets. Last month, all parties involved in the litigation process have tentatively approved a 24 million dollar settlement agreement. The big question remains, though, how did this all happen and how can we prevent it in the future?

The pet food crisis started off slowly, with one or two brands being recalled. Day after day more brands were being added to the list until over 150 brands of cat, dog and animal food had been recalled. It was the largest recall in FDA history. After it was announce, the calls were at record numbers complaining of problems with their animals and concerned over what labels to be aware of and thrown out. Slowly over time, cats and dogs were becoming seriously ill or dying unexpectedly.

Within two months of the first cases, the toxicologists had traced the deaths to two specific ingredients that were not supposed to be in the animal food—melamine and cyanuric acid. Melamine is used to make fertilizers and plastic materials and cyanuric acid is a by-product of melamine synthesis. But why were these unapproved chemicals in the animal food supply? Officials from Menu Foods believe that the Chinese supplier was trying to artificially increase the protein content of the food by adding the melamine to the wheat gluten in the pet food. The Chinese knew that the inspectors would only be testing for protein content, not toxic chemicals.
Sadly, bad decisions and greed led to the painful death of thousands of innocent animals. Now these pet owners have a small victory of being compensated for real expenses related to the illness or death of their pet. Veterinarian bills, burial costs, time off work—any documented expense will be reimbursed. For those without documentation, they will be able to recover up to $900. Even though their economic damages are reimbursed, what is the value of a beloved pet? If you’re like most pet owners, your pet is practically a member of your family. It is unclear whether emotional losses will be accepted.

Menu Foods, the largest contributor to the settlement fund and pet food manufacturer, distributes pet food in over 100 brands. Other defendants included Del Monte, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and others. In addition, ingredient suppliers, specifically Chinese defendants were affected.
If you have experienced either economic damage or emotional loss from this tragedy, the website of Menu Foods will have third party contact information on its website after May 30th. On that date, the U.S. District Court in New Jersey will have a court hearing and get the judges final approval.

The settlement fund, although not perfect, is part of closure needed for the pet owners that suffered through this ordeal. Even though this won’t bring their pet back, it will compensate them for the medical expenses and hopefully change the trade practices of food manufacturers and improve quality control of foreign imports.

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In local Orange County high schools, May is a time for state exams, field trips and of course senior proms. However, in several high schools across California recently, there were some new events happening on campus—simulated car accidents, “dead students” walking around and of course the grim reaper roaming the school grounds. Why you may ask? The program, developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, (MADD), travels around the state to educate teens of the dangers of underage drinking and not driving. In 2006 alone, 714 young people were killed during prom or graduation from alcohol related traffic accidents.

The MADD program is called “Every 15 minutes”. The statistics are stark. Each 15 minutes someone dies from an alcohol-related crash in the United States. With cooperation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept, Mission Hospital and the CHP, a mock accident scene is created on the campus. Bloodied kids, gravesites, and DUI arrests are all designed to educate kids that one bad decision can destroy the rest of your life, or someone that you love.
In California alone, underage drinking costs the citizens over 7.3 billion dollars. The costs include medical care, pain and suffering, work loss and other problems resulting from youth alcohol addiction. Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who start drinking after age 21. Traffic accidents are the main cause of personal injury in youth but other alcohol related injuries can be caused from alcohol poisoning, petty crime and high risk sex.

Right now you may be thinking, “Not my child”. However, frightening statistics reveal teen surveys stating that over 80% of 12th graders have tried alcohol in the past year and 66% had drank alcohol in the past month. Alcohol is the drug of choice for most teens and that’s why there’s’ a lot of underage drinking going on. More importantly, depending on the amount they are consuming, this could cause irreparable damage to their brain, possible dependence and maybe unwanted consequences in their lives.

The brain continues to develop throughout your twenties. This is why drinking, especially heavy drinking is so detrimental to young people. The part of the brain that controls reasoning and cognitive ability take the longest to mature and these are the areas that get damaged the worst. Memory loss and spatial operations are also damaged. In addition there are studies that show that early drinking behaviors can lead to alcohol addictions.

With all of the side effects of underage drinking, it is even more surprising that many parents are the ones buying and providing alcohol to their kids and friends. The situation has come to the attention of the Mission Viejo City Council and they are proposing an ordinance to fine parents up to $1000 if they are caught supplying alcohol to children under 21. If the proposal passes, it will be the first in Orange County.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries

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It’s almost summer and time to hit the road for your vacation. Millions of families will be on road trips with their kids and pets. But according to the Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA), over 40 million pets are expected to hit the roads this vacation season with their owners and they will not be properly restrained, causing potential safety hazards and possible personal injury. Currently there are over 71 million Americans who own pets and over 80% of them admit to never using a restraint device to keep them secure.

The restraint laws for children and adults are quite clear, but for animals such as dogs and cats, they are allowed to roam freely inside the vehicle but must be restrained in the back of a pick-up type vehicle unless the sides of the truck are at least 46 inches high. Another potentially new Californian law was introduced this week in Sacramento. California Assembly Bill 2233 would make it illegal to carry your favorite pet on your lap. It passed the assembly and now is facing a senate vote.

Traveling with pets can be dangerous for both your pets and yourself. Many things can cause driving distractions; including talking on your cell phone, music, eating, children and of course pets can become a distraction while driving. They may see another dog, move around, or just see something that irritates them. These can all be distractions for the driver. Of course if the driver must stop instantly, the dog or cat can become a flying projectile, injuring themselves and possibly someone in the car. For example, an unsecured 60 pound dog could hit a window, backseat or another passenger with a force of 1,200 pounds in a 30 mile-per-hour collision.
One alternative to keeping your pet safe while driving is to either secure them in a restraint device or keep them in a crate. These devices will limit distractions and keep your pet safe. Although your pet may not like them at first, after taking them on short rides, they will eventually get used to them.

Restraint devices are designed to anchor your dog to a firm place in the car. Most systems will still allow the animal the ability to move, stretch, lie down and of course, stick their nose out the window of the car. After anchoring the system to the automobile’s passenger restraint systems, the harness will fit over the upper back and chest of the animal. For a complete selection of restraint products for your pet, visit the Pet Products Manufacturing Association at www.appma.org and search restraint products. Also you can shop at any larger pet retail store.

Remember, it is your responsibility to keep your pet safe, whether you’re in your automobile or not. Since so many people drive with their pets now, some insurance companies are now even covering personal injury to one’s pet. Check your policy to see if you’re covered.
For all the reasons that we buckle up our children and ourselves, let’s not forgot about the “other” four legged members of our family as well.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries

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It’s almost summer and time to hit the road for your vacation. Millions of families will be on road trips with their kids and pets. But according to the Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA), over 40 million pets are expected to hit the roads this vacation season with their owners and they will not be properly restrained, causing potential safety hazards and possible personal injury. Currently there are over 71 million Americans who own pets and over 80% of them admit to never using a restraint device to keep them secure.

The restraint laws for children and adults are quite clear, but for animals such as dogs and cats, they are allowed to roam freely inside the vehicle but must be restrained in the back of a pick-up type vehicle unless the sides of the truck are at least 46 inches high. Another potentially new Californian law was introduced this week in Sacramento. California Assembly Bill 2233 would make it illegal to carry your favorite pet on your lap. It passed the assembly and now is facing a senate vote.

Traveling with pets can be dangerous for both your pets and yourself. Many things can cause driving distractions; including talking on your cell phone, music, eating, children and of course pets can become a distraction while driving. They may see another dog, move around, or just see something that irritates them. These can all be distractions for the driver. Of course if the driver must stop instantly, the dog or cat can become a flying projectile, injuring themselves and possibly someone in the car. For example, an unsecured 60 pound dog could hit a window, backseat or another passenger with a force of 1,200 pounds in a 30 mile-per-hour collision.

One alternative to keeping your pet safe while driving is to either secure them in a restraint device or keep them in a crate. These devices will limit distractions and keep your pet safe. Although your pet may not like them at first, after taking them on short rides, they will eventually get used to them.

Restraint devices are designed to anchor your dog to a firm place in the car. Most systems will still allow the animal the ability to move, stretch, lie down and of course, stick their nose out the window of the car. After anchoring the system to the automobile’s passenger restraint systems, the harness will fit over the upper back and chest of the animal. For a complete selection of restraint products for your pet, visit the Pet Products Manufacturing Association at www.appma.org and search restraint products. Also you can shop at any larger pet retail store.

Remember, it is your responsibility to keep your pet safe, whether you’re in your automobile or not. Since so many people drive with their pets now, some insurance companies are now even covering personal injury to one’s pet. Check your policy to see if you’re covered.
For all the reasons that we buckle up our children and ourselves, let’s not forgot about the “other” four legged members of our family as well. But most of all let's not have an accident that could cause injury or death to another or to our family.

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Pain is the natural side effect from any type of personal injury recovery, including car accidents and major trauma injuries. Unfortunately for the majority of those accident victims, the pain never goes away. We have cataloged the typical injuries from accidents for your use. This is something that accident survivors have always known but now a major pain study by the University of Washington has come to the same conclusion. In fact almost 63% of all trauma patients still experience moderate to severe pain one year later.

This study included 3047 patients ages 18-84. They all had experienced acute trauma from an accident. The researchers followed the people for over one year and discovered most of the pain was reported in the joints and extremities (44%), back (26%) head (11%) and neck (7%). Moreover, 59% of those patients with injury-related pain had three or more painful areas one year after injury.

Pain can rob you of your family time, work productivity and quality of life. Since pain is a component of your claim for damages in a personal injury lawsuit, it is important to choose the best qualified attorney in your area. In Orange County, California, you have the advantage of one of the top-rated personal injury firms in the state, Allen, Flatt, Ballidis and Leslie.

Other findings worth noting in this March 2008 study were that more interventions are needed to decrease chronic pain when treating trauma patients. Pain levels at the 3 month marker were indicators on how long pain severity would continue. Basically, if you had severe pain after three months of a single trauma, most probably you would be experiencing at least moderate pain in one year’s time.

In addition, other recent studies have shown patients with specific injuries like pelvic fractures and lower extremity injuries will most likely experience chronic pain five to seven years after the injury. Of course, this can eventually lead to various forms of disability, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The information for early pain management options should be available to patients so that they can choose the best treatment according to their injury and lifestyle. But where can a person go to get unbiased information? First, always keep a good line of communication open with your doctor and then start with the following resources:

A general overview of evaluating Health Information on the Internet can be found at, http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/evalhealthinfo.html.
A comprehensive non-profit organization called the American Pain Foundation has several resource guides for managing and understanding your pain. Here are a few helpful links:
Pain Resource Guide,
Discussion Guide for you and your doctor,
Pain Treatment Options,
Options for Managing pain,
Pain relief: OTC options.

Take care, drive defensively and stay safe.

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A victim of an auto accident had a serious knee injury arising from an impact with the dash board of his vehicle. His injury necessitated multiple surgeries, and kept him from working in his occupation. Michael Mazal of Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie was successful in negotiating a settlement of the case for $500,000. This represents the largest settlement for a knee injury in the firm's 30 year history.

Congratulations to Mr. Mazal and the entire litigation team of the firm.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries

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Imagine having your loved one experience a serious personal injury, or worse yet, die during surgery due to a malfunctioning medical device that the doctor had just implanted. Normally in cases like this, survivors are able to sue the medical device manufacturer for some type of damages due to the defective device and get it banned and to protect others so that they wouldn’t be affected. Well, as of last month, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, in an 8 to 1 decision, that patients injured by medical devices can’t sue the manufacturer.

Seems hard to believe, but true. What’s more unbelievable is that the legal theory behind this ruling is that the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, the agency that approves the safety of drugs, medical devices and other consumables is doing a good job. With thousands of current recalls on medical devices, not to mention questionable pharmaceuticals and the record number of food contamination outbreaks, do we really trust the FDA is doing the best job possible to protect us?

The FDA’s own advisory committee found that “the agency is so underfunded and understaffed that it’s putting U.S. consumers at risk in terms of food and drug safety”. The FDA has 1,311 fewer employees than it had 14 years and a deteriorating budget with obsolete technology. Moreover, currently 80% of all drugs sold in the United States are currently made overseas and the number of inspectors has gone from 531 in 2003 to just 380 in 2006. How does this lack of inspections make our food and drug supply safer?

Last year the U.S. experienced record numbers of food and drug recalls. Many of our products are now coming from China and they have a dismal record of contaminated food and drugs. Your prior rights in personal injury cases due to defective products and product liability have been severely compromised. The FDA admits that they only are capable of inspecting 2% of the imports coming into this country. This is truly unacceptable and even the advisory committees are helpless to provide change without a major overhaul of federal funding and major budgetary increase from the congress. In an election year and with a financial crisis looming, that probably won’t happen.
Last year, the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, wrote an extensive article on the role of litigation and the release of drug information entitled, “The Role of Litigation in Defining Drug Risks”. The article, written from the doctor’s point of view, argues that often they themselves are unaware of some of the adverse side effects of some drugs. Doctors learn about new drugs from publications of clinical trials or case reports, promotional materials and FDA approval letters. Sometimes the information is limited in nature and only through the discovery process do the accurate, balanced data become known. In addition, sometimes the FDA approves drugs for a specific condition and then the drug is used for other reasons. The system is clearly flawed and needs to be fair for all involved.

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Orange County is known for top quality restaurants and award winning schools, but in recent weeks, restaurants and schools on the food distribution list of Chino-based Hallmark -Westland Meat Company are scrambling to distance themselves from the largest beef recall in U.S. history.

Last month, an explosive undercover video showed sick animals shoveled by forklifts, crippled cattle being prodded and other cruel acts. A Westland employee, working undercover for the Humane Society shot the video to expose the inhumane treatment of animals going to the slaughterhouse, but now it has opened up scrutiny to just how did this award-wining slaughterhouse, under the watchful eye of two federals agencies, succumb to probable bankruptcy and the largest recall in history.

After purchasing Hallmark meat Company in 2000, Steven Mendell wasted no time in turning the slaughterhouse into a state-of-the-art facility. The goal was to acquire one the federal government most lucrative accounts-The National School Lunch Program. Mendell invested millions in upgrades; stainless steel equipment, new floor and ceilings, and soon it became a top beef processor. In 2004, Mendell was named “Supplier of the year” for the program. Even though the company had minor violations, the firm always said that the workers involved had been retrained and all animals were being treated humanely.

Ironically, if it wasn’t for an undercover, Humane Society inspector, none of these problems would be known today. The main problem within the slaughterhouse is the killing of sick cows or “downer” cows-cows that can’t stand alone. Sick cows pose a risk of spreading mad cow disease, salmonella or E. coli and the USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, has banned their meat from entering the food supply.

Mad Cow Disease or BSE, bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a rare condition that affects people that have eaten beef from diseased cows. Although very rare, if humans eat this poisoned beef they can contract a serious and always fatal disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The huge problem with this disease is that no one knows how long the incubation period is. However, most experts agree that it takes years, if not decades to actual get the disease from the time you initially eat the contaminated food. This makes possible personal injury correlation from contaminated beef consumption almost impossible.

On average, around 250-300 cases of CJD are reported in the United States. Recently a Kansas man died of CJD after working in a meat packing plant for over 20 years.
The Department of Agriculture’s set of rules is to have veterinarian inspect any cow that can’t walk to the slaughterhouse on its own. If they can’t stand, for obvious reasons, they are not supposed to go into the food supply. It is always the veterinarian’s call as to the health of the cow. In the Westland case, the Food and Safety Inspection service determined “the food was unfit for human food due to the cattle not receiving proper inspection”. Know your rights when you have been a victim of defective products.

Unfortunately, most of the meat in questioned has been eaten. Currently 21 of the 28 Orange County School Districts have been affected. Visit www.fns.usda.gov for a complete list of schools affected. Along with schools, numerous restaurants, hospitals, and retail outlets have been involved. The whole incident is such a tragedy for the public in general. We depend on government inspectors to do their job, but as in so many cases, they are overworked, underpaid, and the innocent consumer gets the raw deal.

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Posted In: Product Liability

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