Southern California Injury Law Blog

IF YOU SUSTAINED SERIOUS ACCIDENT INJURY, A RECENT STUDY PREDICTS YOU WILL STILL HAVE PAIN IN THE YEARS TO COME

2008-05-05T19:20:33Z

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.

KNEE INJURY VICTIM RECEIVES $500,000 SETTLEMENT

2008-05-02T18:53:03Z

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.

IF YOU DIE FROM A FAULTY MEDICAL DEVICE YOUR RIGHTS HAVE NOW BEEN SEVERELY LIMITED

2008-05-02T18:20:43Z

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.

WHERE'S THE SAFE BEEF THESE DAYS, NOT IN THE RESTAURANTS YOU GO TO.

2008-05-01T18:25:42Z

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.

RECORD HEAT L:AST WEEK REMINDS US TO PROTECT OUR ANIMALS AND DOGS IN THE CAR

2008-04-30T18:50:55Z

Recently here in Orange County, California, temperatures have skyrocketed up into the 100’s. One unfortunate statistics that goes way up during the late spring and early summer months is leaving your babies and young children in a locked, unventilated car. Nationally In 2007, there were over 749 incidences that caused personal injury to 962 kids, sadly, 187 fatalities occurred. This was the highest fatally rate to date.

Last May, Hayley Wesley left her daughter, Madison in the back of her car for three hours. Her child died of hyperthermia. This week the prosecutor’s office in California sentenced her to three years in jail. However, when you are responsible for the death of your child, I’m sure she will feel guilt for the rest of her life for this tragic error in judgment.

Since the early 1990’s, there has been a tenfold increase in young children’s deaths due to hyperthermia. One theory to explain the increases is that since the introduction of front seat airbags, children no longer sit in the front seat of automobiles. In addition, cars have grown larger; people drive more vans and SUV’s which are harder to view in the back. However, by far the most common excuse for this tragedy is that the caregiver or parent just “forgets” their child.

In a study done recently by Injury Prevention Journal, over 47% of children’s caregivers had forgotten that the child or children were in the back of the car. What’s even more disturbing is that 21% of the these children were left intentionally in the car by the parent. Parents and caregivers need to be educated on the dangers of extreme temperatures that rise quickly in a locked automobile.

In the average closed car, the temperature will increase 19 degrees Fahrenheit in only 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, the increase is 29 degrees and so on. After one hour, the temperature has risen to 45-50 degrees over and above what the temperature is outside. Cracking the window does not have a big factor in cooling the interior of the automobile.
Whether there is a change in a routine or feeling overloaded, sometimes parents do and will forget their kids. Fortunately, some technology devices have recently been created to prevent these types of tragedies. One keychain-type device, developed by a NASA engineer is called the “Child Presence Sensor”. It fits on your key chain and when you exit the car without removing your child from their car seat, the device will beep. Another simpler device is the “Baby Safety Line”. It literally is a colored plastic line that attaches a hook to your baby’s seat on one end, to your ignition keys or dashboard on the other. For a full review of technology devices, visit www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat/technology.html
California is one of only 12 states that have laws against leaving children unattended in cars.

It is illegal to leave a child under the age of six years in a car alone, except if there is another person 12 years or older. For our families sake, let’s all slow down a little as we enter into the summer season. Keep your kids hydrated with plenty of water, keep your vehicle cool and don’t leave your children unattended for any amount of time.

GUN SAFETY IS FOR EVERYONE. LET'S PROTECT OUR FAMILIES

2008-04-18T21:05:37Z

40% of American households with children have guns. Every day at least 3 children die due to accidental firearms’ deaths. On the other hand, the second amendment does allow homeowners the right to bear arms and protect our property. The Supreme Court is now dealing with this exact issue; how do we protect our rights and balance our freedoms without harming our families. The issue specifically deals with the law banning guns in Washington DC, but the high court’s ruling-which is expected in June- could have far-reaching consequences in states like California.

Gun ownership is perceived to be a fundamental right here in the U.S. In fact, a recent CNN opinion poll revealed that 65% of Americans surveyed believed they had a right to own a gun. But along with ownership comes responsibility, and way too many guns are getting in the hands of children who are too young or untrained. This combination can lead to accidental deaths or personal injury. If it has lead to touch your life accidentally or intentionally, we want to here from you. A personal injury attorney will help you through your troubled times. But to my story of sensless injury read on.

Each year more than 16,000 children are injured with guns and since 1990, more than 5,000 kids have died. Many of these incidences are from kids finding guns in a drawer, in a closet or an unlocked gun cabinet in the home. Moreover, in 72% of unintentional deaths and injury cases the firearm was stored in the residence of the victim, relative or friend. The NRA has created a program to teach kids safety in and around guns. Their motto is: “If You See a Gun: Stop! Don’t Touch. Leave The Area. Tell An Adult.” Don’t trust that your child may learn this safety in their school. Talk to your kids about gun safety and never point a gun at anyone.
Common Sense about kids and guns, www.kidsandguns.org/ a safety organization that educates gun owners and children about safety tips has the following recommendations:
Parents who own a gun:
· Unload your gun and lock it up
· Lock and store ammunition separately
· Hide keys where children can’t find them
All Parents:
· Ask if guns are safely stored at places your children visit or plays
· Talk with your children about guns
· Teach young children not to touch guns, and to tell and adult if they find one
I
n addition, Project ChildSafe is a nationwide program that helps ensure safe and responsible firearm ownership and storage. You can search their website for California law enforcement links for a location near you that will give you a free gun ownership safety kit. Visit www.projectchildsafe.org/

Gun ownership varies from state to state, but in California, we have one of the lowest ownerships rates, only 21.3% of households. Only 5 other states have lower rates. However, Orange County does have the second highest registration of assault weapons here in California, next to Los Angeles County. Be aware that if you own a gun, in most cases you are responsible for its proper use. One rare case in 2003 held the gun maker liable for a Californian boy that was shot by his babysitter. However, the jury did spread liability around; gun maker, distributors, parents, etc.

The California Firearms Law of 2006 does protect homeowners from using guns for self defense purposes and to defend themselves from personal attack that would cause them bodily harm. It is your right to keep a gun, but for our kid’s sake, keep it locked and stored safely to avoid any potential personal injury.

One other really effective method of securing a gun is a trigger lock. It works on a combination that only you know. It prevents even a loaded firearm from accidental discharge. It can be unlocked in seconds allowing the protection function of the gun in the home and finally, cannot be broken off even with sledge hammers applied to it. It is a great way to protect your family, and also protect against stolen guns being used in later crimes.

CALIFORNIA BRAIN INJURY TREATMENT FROM ACCIDENTS ADVANCES

2008-04-04T18:50:47Z

Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI is a serious brain injury that occurs as a result primarily of motor vehicle accidents or falls. When the head and brain are subjected to rapid acceleration and deceleration, tearing of the nerve fibers occurs, along with bruising of the tissues and subsequent swelling of the area. Moreover TBI’s are so serious that many patients will sustain long-term physical, cognitive or psychological complications for several years. It is one of the most common causes of disability and death in adults.

]]> Automobile accidents are the main cause of TBI in people under the age of 75. Of the 1.9 million people who sustain this type of injury, 235,000 are hospitalized with serious injury and 50,000 will die. Until recently, doctors took a “wait and see” attitude because symptoms of TBI can be subtle and may not appear for days or weeks following a personal injury to the brain.

Here in Orange County, California at the University of Irvine, and other TBI research centers, new treatments are rapidly changing the way TBI patients are treated in the emergency room. Since your brain controls everything we say, do, think and feel, it is imperative to react as quickly as possible to save cognitive function.

One such treatment is hypothermic treatment. In January’s Journal of Neurotrauma, new evidence concurs that hypothermic treatments immediately following severe personal injury to the brain, 24-48 hours will significantly reduce the negative side effects of this type of trauma. In addition, children with this type of injury were especially helped. This is exciting news due to the fact that this type of personal injury to children is the leading cause of death under the ages of 14. As children’s sports become more competitive and aggressive, there are unfortunately more cases of TBI in children.

Another significant finding here at a research facility in California was the correlation between severe head trauma and the use of beta blockers. In a recent study researchers showed “significant improvement” of the TBI patients after immediate use of beta blockers. These findings are impressive and give hope to future victims of this type of personal injury.
If you have experienced any type of serious personal injury involving a traumatic head injury due to a motor vehicle accident, fall or other means, discuss your injury with a professional attorney. Over 50% of all serious, long-term complication can occur weeks after the initial accident. You need someone on your side working for you and that allows you to focus on your recovery. Each accident is different and you need someone on your side looking out for your long term recovery.

Long term consequences can be as mild as headaches, dizziness or trouble concentrating, or as serious as seizures, infections and cognitive disabilities. Over 5.3 million Americans cannot perform daily activities due to severe head trauma and need lifelong help.TBI can also increase your risk for Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. Depending on your age, type of injury and severity, all patients will have some sort of lasting side effects.

In the future, doctors will be able to use stem cells to improve our memory and cognitive function following traumatic brain injury. But for now, drive defensively and stay safe to avoid any unfortunate accidents.

POOL DROWNING ALWAYS BAFFLES THIS AUTHOR AS A PREVENTABLE KILLER

2008-03-19T22:12:36Z

Orange County, California has a beautiful, mild climate with many sunny days and an average temperature of 70 degrees. With all of this sunshine, many residents head to the backyard or community pool for some fun in the sun. However, in California, drowning is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 14 and it is a silent killer.

]]> Nine people drown each day in U.S. pools. Moreover, for each person who drowns, four are hospitalized for near drowning trauma. Near drowning episodes can cause serious personal injury such as hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain which in turn can cause permanent serious neurological disabilities. A child can drown in as little as one inch of water, and drowning is usually quick and silent. After as little as two minutes under water, a child will lose consciousness and within four to six minutes, irreversible brain damage most likely will occur.

A recent example of a family tragedy here in Orange County was the Looney family. The one year old toddler slipped away from his mother and headed for the backyard pool. Even though he was only missing for “a few minutes”, a drowning can happen in a matter of seconds. This is the most common scenario; toddler or child slips into a neighbor or their own pool for fun and drowns. On the other hand, kids also can drown when there are several people around.

Another tragic example is the case of little Aurora Pruitt in Orange County last year. This 4 year old was in a pool with 15 children and 5 adults were watching them. They only noticed her at the bottom of the pool when the kids came out for lunch. Adults around the pool are fine, but there should always be someone who is the official “water watcher”.

Water Watcher is a water safety campaign developed by Safekids.org to raise public awareness of the dangers of unsupervised children in the backyard pool area. Since most kids are only “out of site” of the parents for less than 5 minutes. Sadly, 75% of pool accidents occur with one or both of the parents nearby.

In addition to swimming safety, entrapment is growing concern for owners of older pool whose drains may not be in good working order. Parents should advise their children to stay away from the strong suction around drains and avoid serious personal injury. Loose fitting swim suits, long hair and thin body parts can all become entangled in the hot tub or swimming pool drain.
If you are a pool owner and have a backyard party, remember you can be held liable if someone is injured in your pool. Here are a few safety tips to consider avoiding problems:
· Always have a dedicated adult watch swimmers at all times
· When pool is not in use, consider installing a gate or fence to protect children from entering the pool area
· Teach children after 4 years of age how to swim, float and get out of the pool.
· Don’t depend on flotation-type “float ties” as a substitution for child safety
· Always remove pool toys after use to dissuade children from returning and being enticed to re-enter the pool area
· Keep your pool’s equipment maintained properly to avoid entrapment
· As a pool owner, stay current in infant CPR and first aid.

Unfortunately we have had to represent parents against those who do not protect our children in apartments, and elsewhere. If you need our help please call for a free consultation. In the event the pool your family uses is dangerous, write a complaint to management or contact us to prevent a tragedy before it occurs. Call anytime 1 888 752-7474.

CHECK OUT YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IN ORANGE COUNTY TO PREVENT FOOD ILLNESS OR INJURY

2008-03-18T18:30:21Z

Everyone enjoys going out to eat; no cooking, nice atmosphere, relaxing with your friends. But how clean is your favorite restaurant? Did it get an “A”, “B” or “C” rating during its last inspection? If your favorite restaurant is in Orange County, it does not have an A, B, C rating system like Los Angeles and San Diego counties, only violations. Do you know to ask the restaurant for its lists’ of violations’? Not many people do, but it just may change your eating out habits.

]]> For consumers here in Orange County, restaurants must only post a decal stating that they meet the minimum standard for food safety. Your favorite restaurant may have several major and minor violations and no one would know until they are closed, or at least have a temporary suspension.

Last year, California’s new retail food code became effective to protect the citizens of this state from potentially life-threatening food borne illness. The Orange County Health Care Agency’s 55 inspectors do have a huge job on their hands, though. They need to inspect some of our 12,000 restaurants each year. If you would like to check your favorite restaurant for violations, visit their website at www.ochealthinfo.com for full disclosure.

In 2007, Orange County restaurant’s had over 20,000 major and 163,000 minor food safety violations. These violations can be as small as no hot water to rats and cockroaches in the food preparation area. Proportionately, violations occurred all over Orange County, but some communities had more than their share of closures. Westminster had the highest, followed by Foothill Ranch, La Palma, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach and Capistrano Beach.
Ethnic restaurants are always interesting and fun to “experience” the culture and atmosphere of cultural eating. However, these types of restaurants; most predominately in the Asian and Latin immigrant communities had the worst major violations.

The centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 76 million people get sick each year due to food poisoning. Over 325,000 people need to hospitalize with their symptoms and 5,000 die. Most food borne illnesses go unreported to health departments, because people are unsure whether the food from the restaurant caused their symptoms or the flu.
Most food borne illnesses are caused by viruses (67%), bacteria (30%) and parasites (3%). Viruses such as Hepatitis A are highly contagious and can spread rapidly. For example, common bacteria’s like E. coli, salmonella and botulism are common culprits to contaminated meats and fresh produce. Parasites are less prevalent in the U.S., but can be pervasive in third world countries.

Depending on what type of poisoning you have, your symptoms can develop immediately or up to 7-10 days after eating the contaminated food. It is important to see a doctor if you have severe abdominal pain, diarrhea that lasts more than two days and a fever of 102 or higher.
If you suspect that you were poisoned or injured due to the unsanitary conditions of a restaurant, don’t hesitate to call a personal injury attorney as soon as practical. Food poisoning is not just “a little diarrhea” but could cause neurological/kidney damage or worse, death.
So the next time you eat out, check out the restaurant online to have a safe, healthy eating experience. For further information on storing and cooking foods at home, visit www.calpoison.org for tips on staying healthy during the upcoming BBQ season.

HIV AND HEPATITIS STILL INCREASINGLY LINKED TO MEDICAL FACILITY EMPLOYEES AND USE OF USED NEEDLES

2008-03-14T18:34:12Z

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas and sadly could potentially spread HIV and Hepatitis C around the globe. For patients who were treated at the Las Vegas Endoscopy Clinic and others around the Las Vegas metropolitan area, these people live in fear that they could have contracted HIV or Hepatitis C through the staff reusing needles leading to unhygienic conditions at these facilities.

]]> Since the state health inspectors and the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, have begun inspecting other outpatient surgical facilities, four other clinics have been cited for similar violations. An unnamed source has said that this may have been discovered in Nevada, but that it is a common occurrence in other clinics around the country. In the drive for profits and completion among clinics and it is a cost-cutting short cut.

The state inspectors and clinic workers are trying to contact some of the 40,000 known exposed cases of the virus; but they can’t locate 1,400 of the people due to wrong contact information. Since the discovery of the clinic’s potential wrongdoing, this has led to the biggest public health media notice due to the potential personal injury via a viral epidemic. The facility had been operating since 2004, and since the virus can remain dormant for several months; many people already infected most probably don’t know it.

To date, six persons have come forward with typical Hepatitis C symptoms, but most incubation times for this illness range between 3-6 months but it could take up to twenty years. That is a lot of lot of emotional terror to not know if you have the flu or a chronic condition!
Hepatitis C is caused by blood borne exposure to the HCV virus. The disease causes inflammation of the liver. Other symptoms might include nausea, vomiting and fatigue, but these signs might mimic flu symptoms. Hepatitis C occurs in two parts; first is known as the acute stage. This is where the symptoms are present. The second stage is known as chronic.75% of people infected at the acute stage will develop chronic Hepatitis and this is a debilitating disease. Currently, over 80% of the Americans that carry the virus do not know that they have it.

What makes matters worse; many people infected with hepatitis C are also infected with the HIV virus. Drug injections are the primary method of transferring these lethal viruses and that’s why the CDC has had standard guidelines for health workers in place for several years to prevent such epidemics from occurring.

The CDC’s guidelines are clear that each needle and syringe should be used only once. However, in a recent survey of from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, AANA, one in 100 healthcare workers did in fact reuse needles. It’s no wonder that since 1999, there have been 14 major outbreaks due to unhygienic needles. These type of outbreaks are common in third world countries but it is appalling that it is occurring here In the United States.
To date, 5 of the Las Vegas clinics have been closed and fined a mere $5,000. Officials had estimated that they believe 4% of clinics’’ patients did have Hepatitis B and 1% had HIV, it is a frightening scenario what might occur in the future.

IPersonal injury should not be caused by a healthcare worker, don’t hesitate to call a professional personal injury lawyer and discuss your case with them if it has happened to you. What should can do to safeguard yourself? Although most ethical doctors do in fact use new needles each time, I would ask. Who knows, your life could depend on it.

DON'T BE ONE OF 400,000 TO FALL VICTIM TO HOME FIRES. SAVE YOUR HOME AND FAMILY FROM PERSONAL INJURY BY INSTALLING FRESH SMOKE ALARM BATTERIES

2008-03-11T19:41:31Z

Here in Orange County we are fortunate to have pleasant weather all year around. However, it really will be springtime soon and that means spring forward for Daylight Saving Time. Yes, it’s that time of the year, and while I’m sure you all turned your clocks forward, did you also change your smoke alarm batteries? Working smoke alarms double your families’ chances of surviving a home fire and unfortunately, there are on average 400,000 residential house fires each year here in the United States.

]]> Every 32 minutes someone has suffered personal injury due to a house fire, and every 162 minutes, someone has died. Most fire victims die due to smoke inhalation and not burns, but more importantly, these can be prevented if you keep your smoke detectors in working order. Smoke alarms buy families valuable escape time, but they can’t save you unless they are in working order! Unfortunately, about two-thirds of fire deaths take place in homes with no smoke alarms or with non-working smoke alarms. The most common reasons why alarms did not work were missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

If you have suffered a personal injury due to a house fire or any other type of a fire emergency, don’t hesitate to contact a professional personal injury attorney as soon as practical.
For best results, most households should install smoke alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, and inside bedrooms. Replace batteries annually, and test the smoke alarms monthly. Statistics show that even though household fires are increasing each year, deaths and injuries are down significantly, due to in large part to more household with good detectors.

What type of detector is best for your home? While shopping for smoke alarms, you should be aware that there are two main types; ionization and photoelectric. While both types are effective smoke sensors, ionization type detectors respond quickly to flaming fires, while photoelectric type detectors respond sooner to smoldering fires. Since you as a consumer can’t really predict what type of fire that may break out in your home, many safety standards groups, including the National Fire Protection Association recommends installing both types for overall security.
Consumers should also consider interconnected smoke alarms. Interconnected alarms are connected to each other by a hard wire or by wireless technology. If one alarm is triggered, all interconnected alarms in the home sound, alerting consumers to the fire earlier.
Many residential fires are preventable, and here are a few safety tips from www.firesafety.gov/

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS ARE DEMONSTRATED TO BE SAFER THAN AUTO DRIVERS!!

2008-03-10T21:20:04Z

With oil prices reaching $100 per barrel, who wouldn’t want to find transportation alternatives to gas guzzling automobiles. In the last decade, motorcycle dealers have seen a 24% increase in sales. Moreover, the motorcycle industry reports that each year over 1 million units are sold so motorcycles are here to stay. Orange County as well as California in general, has lots of open spaces and country roads—places motorcyclists love to be!

]]> Are Motorcyclist risk takers, reckless drivers and prone to disobeying traffic laws? Is this our culture’s perception of motorcycle drivers or unjustified biased? According to a new study out by the University of Southern California (USC), the facts are that a vast majority of motorcycle accidents are not the fault of the cyclist. Additionally, three quarters of all motorcycle accidents involves a collision with an automobile and two thirds of those accidents, it was the automobile driver that was at fault. In most cases, motorists do not typically look for motorcycles.

Unfortunately, with the increase in sales comes an increase in the number of motorcycle crashes and fatalities. 2004. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, (NHSTA), there has been an 89% increase in motorcycle fatalities since 1997. In fact, motorcycle fatalities have increased for the eighth straight year. Each year more than 5,000 fatalities occur and tens of thousands are injured. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, don’t hesitate to call a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

Let’s look at some of the causes and educate drivers to avoid potential personal injury to fellow drivers. Motorcyclists are 32 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than drivers of other vehicles. With those odds, there must be some incentive to take such risks. Many riders are reducing stress by riding rural roads. It may be a beautiful scenic drive with the wind on your face, but these are where most accidents happen. Also, since driving motorcycles has become a popular mode of transportation fairly quickly, many drivers are not properly educated on the dangers of cycle riding and easily lose control.

In the state of California, you will need a Class M1 license which will allow you to operate any two-wheeled motorcycle or motor powered bike. Even though you must take a separate exam, emphasizing specific rules of the road for motorcyclists, no other practical exams are required.
Lane splitting or lane sharing is one of the most disputed motorcycle laws here in California. The law basically states that it is legal if a driver cuts in between cars and it is permissible so long as it is done in a safe and careful manner. The DMV considers this practice very dangerous and highly recommends against it.

The California Highway Patrol does not consider this practice illegal because it realizes that most motorcycles have air-cooled engines, unlike car radiators that are cooled by fans, and they must keep their vehicles moving to keep them safe from overheating.

Motorcycles and cars must share the roads, so here are some useful guidelines to keep safe while experiencing your new motorcycle:
· Allow plenty of space between you and all other vehicles.
· Pay attention to vehicles intending to turn left after intersections. This is the leading cause of injuries to motorcyclist.
· Always wear a helmet and safety clothing
· Never drink and drive
· Know your limitations and consider taking a motorcycle safety course to gain better skills.

ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENT PROVES KNEE INJURY OCCURRED EVEN WITHOUT SYMPTOMS FOR 4 WEEKS

2008-02-27T17:15:07Z

How do you prove that an injury, that did not show symptoms for more than 4 weeks after an accident, is accident related? That was the problem facing a recent client, whose case settled last week.

While operating his motorcycle on a roadway in Huntington Beach, an adverse driver turned left into his path causing him to have to lay down his motorcycle, hurting his knee. Liability was clear and injury at the scene did not seem to be anything more than scrapes and road rash after the accident. There was however a small bruise on the knee, that our office photographed out of caution..

]]> However, in the ensuing months, knee pain arose and had to be treated with physical therapy, and later arthroscopic surgery. Medical bills were approximately $11,000.00. The client had a good recovery although physical therapy was arduous.

The insurance company for the other driver contended that the knee injury was not related to the accident, because symptoms did not appear for weeks after the accident and no treatment was sought for more than 35 days. Despite photos of a bruise on the knee taken shortly after the accident, the defendant's insurance refused to offer more than a few thousand dollars in settlement.

We obtained the medical records previous to the accident and demonstrated that this client had no prior complaints of knee pain. Additionally he was active and we documented his active lifestyle with statements of acquaintances. The insurance company continued to refuse any reasonable settlement.

Typically, insurance companies will refuse to pay for claims when symptoms do not arise immediately after the accident. Usually these cases have to be presented to a jury. Jurors are skeptical of such claims as well, and trial is expensive. Insurance companies hire a doctor of their choosing, a hired gun, to give an 'unbiased' opinion. Their opionion is anything but unbiased, and in todays environment, jurors tend to deny claims rather than give the benefit of the doubt to the victim. We had to find more.

Help came from a meeting with the client's surgeon after arthroscope. The surgeon's records and report reflected surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The cause was attributed to the accident, because the client reported no prior history of injury to the knee and no events after the accident. The report did not discuss any specific reason for delay in onset of symptoms.

The surgeon was not a legal expert. He had not handled many legal cases of injury caused by an accident, and when informed on the position of the insurance company. the surgeon shook his head and said, why are they arguing this case. "People are hurt all the time, but symptoms do not show up immediately", he said. His clinical experience in everyday cases told him that symptoms do not arise immediately in many cases of injury caused by sports, falls, and all kinds of other maladies. He revealed that about half of his patients see him with no explainable immediate injury, but usually on questioning, they had an event within 2 or 3 months. We find many surgeons, unfamiliar with the legal system, shaking their head at the game played by insurance companies.

We predicted a trial if we could not find more. We asked him to review the case more thoroughly, and showed him photos of the injury taken by us immediately after the accident, to see if any other evidence could be uncovered to demonstrate an injury to the knee due to the motorcycle accident.

On his procedure review, and based on photos of the arthroscopic procedure, he found our golden nugget. The bruise that had been photographed by us, was in the same location as the injury to the meniscus that had to be repaired. We now had a great correlation of injury to the accident.

We arranged a mediation and shared our findings with the mediator. To our great pleasure, the insurance company agreed and settlement was reached at close to 6 figures.

Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie is proud to have been a part of this case, and we made a good impression with the doctor as well. We feel that the level of service for our clients is superior to most other practitioners who either can't or won't put in the effort to gain an advantage to settlement.

SLEEP APNEA CAN POSE A SIGNIFICANT RISK FACTOR FOR AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY

2008-02-27T17:11:28Z

Is it snoring or sleep apnea? Well, if you’re snoring you are disturbing your significant other’s sleep and if its sleep apnea, you have a disorder that disrupts your sleep. In any case, there are people not getting a good night’s sleep and that can lead to drowsy driving. Moreover if you have sleep apnea, one study found that you have more than a three to five times chance to be involved in a serious auto accident involving personal injury.

]]> Sleep apnea is caused by an obstruction of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is erratic and not consistent.

Most importantly, sleep apnea causes excessive daytime sleepiness and this can lead to dangerous driving behavior. According to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, 60% of adult drivers-about 168 million people- say they have driven a car while feeling drowsy. Over one third of those polled admitted to have fallen asleep in the past year while driving. Among the general population, men have more car crashes than women. However, men and women with sleep apnea in this study had similar crash rates

Over 100,000 auto accidents occur each year are directly related to fatigue. 71,000 are injured during these events and an estimated 1,500 deaths occur. These accidents are preventable and can be avoided with some general precautions taken. Of course not all drowsy driving is related to sleep apnea. Some other factors might include long work hours, stress, antihistamine use and inadequate sleep.

As you might imagine, the effects of sleepiness while driving can lead to slow reaction time, lack of coordination, and diminished decision making time. In fact, research has shown that a person awake for 17 hours straight and then tested on their cognitive skills while driving performed at about the same level as a rested person with blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent. Basically, over the legal limit in the state of California.

Sleep apnea is as common as diabetes, but since there is no test, it isn’t usually treated. Some risk factors for the disease include being male, overweight and over age 40, but it can occur with anyone. If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, memory problems, weight gain, headaches and impotency.

Living in Orange County, California, we operate on a 24/7 mentality. However, for the sake of our loved ones and the other drivers that share the road with us, try to get enough sleep each night to be safe. If you suspect that a loved one may have sleep apnea, don’t hesitate to suggest they go to the doctor and get checked. There are treatments for this disease. IF you are the victim of an unexplained accident, call us and we can investigate it for you, 1 (888) 752-7474.

The American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) has just publishes a new information booklet entitled, “Tired of the sleepiness? Tired of the snoring? It’s no joke”. It is available at no cost by linking to their website at www.sleepapnea.org/ .
Sweet dreams!

DAY SPAS ACCOUNTING FOR 41% INCREASE IN PERSONAL INJURY TO CLIENTS

2008-02-25T21:00:59Z

The joys of being pampered at a day spa used to include massages, pedicures and facials. In today’s world, spas are now transforming to become quasi medical facilities which both men and women are receiving elective, non-surgical medical procedures. Since 1997, non-surgical procedures have increased a whopping 749%, and it is a multi-billion dollar industry. Moreover, personal injury resulting from medical spa visits has increased 41% between 2005 and 2006.

]]> One such case is Kimberley Lim. She was in a mall and saw a spa and decided to get some unwanted facial hair removed with a laser. She observed everything was neat and clean. Furthermore, everyone was in white coats and she thought the personnel were medical professionals. Unfortunately, one hour later she felt like her face was “on fire” due to the extreme burning of the facial skin from an improperly used laser gun. Even one year later, she has nerve damage, not to mention scars on her face. She had to hire a professional personal injury attorney to help her solve legal problems.

Lim is one of many Californians suing the facility who did her treatment for obvious improper use of a laser gun and lack of follow-up medical treatment when an injury had occurred. It took them over 10 minutes to treat the severe second and third degree burns. But was this facility legal? Under current California state law, a doctor must own a medical spa but does not need to be on site. The laws are ambiguous and vague and that is part of the growing problem here in California.

The state law in California allows a registered nurse or physician’s assistant to give Botox injections, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion and other non-surgical treatments to unknowing patients. However, these are considered medical treatments and many believe should be at least supervised by a physician.

Senator Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, introduced bill 1423 that would require constant supervision by a physician necessary for any type of medical spa treatment. Naturally it has stalled in the California legislature due to opposition from medical spa personnel. Even though there is no statistical proof that a doctor standing behind the nurse will improve safety, it might be helpful in case something goes awry.

It will probably take some time before a compromise has resolved this issue, so how can you keep yourself safe if you choose to receive treatments from a spa? Ask if a licensed physician owns the facility. How often he or she visits and observes the quality of treatments.