Toyota and semi-truck crash | One fatal injury | FHP investigation | Trinity | New Port Richey | Pasco County

PASCO COUNTY – According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a Toyota collided with a semi-tractor trailer on SR-54, east of Mitchell Ranch Road in Trinity / New Port Richey. The driver of the Toyota traveled across the center median into the path of the semi-tractor-trailer. The driver of the Toyota died from the impact of the crash.

 

Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating.

FDA updates Tramadol warning label to account for suicide, overdose risk in some patients.

NATIONAL - According to The Boston Globe /Bloomberg News (5/26) reports, "Johnson & Johnson strengthened warnings about the risk of suicide with its Ultram and Ultracet painkillers after deaths were reported in patients who have histories of emotional disturbance or drug abuse."

Accident ♦ GOLF CARTS ♦ Davis Islands ♦ City of Tampa ♦ Davis Blvd. ♦ Tampa General Hospital

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY - The Civic Association of Davis Islands will be asking the City of Tampa to make golf carts are street legal. Ironically, the islands do not have a golf course on them. Some residents believe that they should be able to drive golf carts in their community on Davis Islands. However, some disagree and have a concern that mixing golf carts with a high volume of auto truck traffic could be a recipe for disaster. Be that as it may, city leaders will soon decide whether to give the green light golf carts on the island.

Florida law does allow municipalities to designate areas where local roads are open to golf carts. Currently, a golf cart drivers must be at least 14 years old. A street legal cart, it must have safety equipment such as turn lights and seatbelts.

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Pinellas County MAN INJURED in bus crash PSTA bus rear-ended by school bus

ST. PETERSBURG — A St. Petersburg man riding as a passenger in a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Bus was hospitalized with minor injuries after the PSTA bus was rear-ended by a school bus.

According to police, the crash happened near 66th Street and 30th Avenue N. There were no children on the school bus, and nine passengers on the PSTA bus.

The injured were transported to St. Petersburg General Hospital. The crash is under investigation.

BROKEN ARM ♦ Children’s Injuries ♦ BROKEN LEG

STATEWIDE - As a parent, the most important thing in your life is your child, and you will do anything to protect him or her from personal injury. With smaller bodies and a lower pain tolerance, children are prime targets for serious injury and even wrongful death. 

If your child’s injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, then you should consider consulting with a personal injury attorney to help you file a personal injury claim for your child. If you have questions about what led to your child’s injury, consulting with a personal injury lawyer may put your mind at ease.

Over 14 million children’s injuries are reported every year in the United States. The top causes of children’s injuries include:  

• Automobile accidents (number one cause of children injuries and wrongful deaths)
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Slip and fall injuries
• Sports injuries
• Dangerous products 

We have two (2) staff licensed private investigators at the TRIPP LAW FIRM. Early investigation is important to discover and protect important evidence that may be lost or destroyed. Call us NOW. We are available 24 hours a day. Home and hospital appointments are available upon request. There is no cost for your initial consultation, and there are no fees or costs until we recover. Don’t delay, call us TODAY toll-free at (888) 392-LAWS (5297).

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Car accident | BRAIN INJURY | Traumatic Brain Injuries lead to depression | AMA study

More than half of all people who suffer a traumatic brain injury will become depressed in the year after the injury, a rate eight times higher than in the general population, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Only about 45 percent of those who do become depressed are likely to receive adequate treatment.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, call the TRIPP LAW FIRM - Personal Injury Law for a confidential consultation at NO CHARGE.  Call us at (888) 392-LAWS (5297).  We have staff available 24 hours a day. www.trippfirm.com

JURY VERDICT | Jury awards $14 MILLION in asbestos case | DADE COUNTY

DADE COUNTY - According the the Miami Herald (5/21, Morales) reports, "A Miami-Dade jury has awarded a Sarasota man more than $14 million after deciding that the asbestos he inhaled in the 1970s caused his deadly abdominal cancer.

Jurors found that chemical giant Union Carbide was negligent for selling asbestos fibers to other companies, which had used the fibers to make joint compounds used by construction companies -- such as the one William Aubin's family owned."

Jurors "also found that four of the compound manufacturers, including Georgia-Pacific, share some of the responsibility for causing Aubin's illness."

JURY VERDICT | Jury awards $29.1 MILLION to widow in tobacco case | BROWARD COUNTY

BROWARD COUNTY - Accoring to the Bloomberg News (5/20, Van Voris) reported, "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must pay $29.1 million to Connie Buonomo, the widow of a Florida man who started smoking at age 13 and died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2008, a jury in Fort Lauderdale said.

The unanimous verdict today by six state jurors includes $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages." Jurors in Florida "have delivered more than $230 million in verdicts for smokers and their families since February 2009."

BLACK BOX ♦ Truck in Fatal Crash Lacked Recorder ♦ Truck driver may have been on cell phone

Federal investigators say there was no electronic recorder on a truck that crossed the median and killed the truck driver and 10 others.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesman said, “along with lacking a recorder, the manual log kept by the driver was destroyed in the fire caused by the crash.” The manual log is generally one part of the investigation that is looked at to determine how long a driver had been on the road.

The truck crossed the median striking a van carrying a group to a wedding. Two young children survived the crash.

The investigation revealed that the truck driver’s cell phone was active around the time of the crash.

TOY RECALL | Toy dart guns recalled after two deaths | WARNING to PARENTS

NATIONAL - The AP (5/17) reported, "The asphyxiation deaths of two boys prompted the government Monday to announce the recall of 1.8 million toy dart gun sets. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said a 9-year-old boy in Chicago and a 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee died after they chewed on the one-inch, soft-plastic darts, which slipped into their throats."

The CPSC said that New Jersey importer Henry Gordy International "refused to recall the dart set so Family Dollar Stores worked with the agency on recalling the product."

TO REPORT AN INCIDENT TO THE CPSC CLICK ON LINK BELOW:
https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

JURY VERDICT | $29.1 million in damages over nursing home death | 28 million in punitive damages

NATIONAL - Recently a jury has awarded $29.1 million in damages against a nursing home. The jury found the nursing home staff guilty of elder abuse in the death of the plaintiff.

In response to "hearing testimony about the company's finances,” jurors determined the companies should pay $28 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff’s estate in addition to the $1.1 million in compensatory damages.

A spokesman for the defendant said that they "will contest the verdict."

TEEN DRIVING | Statistics | TEEN CAR CRASHES | Personal Injuries

NATIONAL – Recent studies have shown that teens that own their own cars are more likely to get into accidents than teens who share the family car. 

Twenty-five percent of teens who have their own cars have been involved in crashes compared to eleven percent who shared the car. Teens who had parents, who set clear rules, were half as likely to have accidents as teens with uninvolved parents.

Accountability is the key ingredient.

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TV ADS – Drug Advertisements on TV - The FDA rolls out "bad ad program" to identify misleading pharmaceutical marketing claims

NATIONAL - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced "it will begin asking doctors to keep an eye out for misleading drug advertisements as part of the agency's latest effort to police the pharmaceutical industry's multibillion-dollar marketing machine."

Specifically, the FDA's "'bad ad program ' urges doctors to report ads and sales pitches that violate FDA rules." And, "as part of its new program, FDA will offer doctors training at medical conferences to help spot misleading ads.

Have you or a loved one been injured by a prescription drug?

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NHTSA opens new Toyota probe STEERING -RELAY ROD

NATIONAL - According to The Washington Post (5/11, Whoriskey) reports NHTSA is "opening a second investigation into whether Toyota delayed notifying government authorities of a dangerous defect, this one affecting the steering systems of nearly 1 million sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks. The probe...comes a little more than a month after the agency fined the automaker $16. 4 million for waiting at least four months before notifying safety officials about a 'sticky pedal' defect. ...The new investigation involves a problem with the steering-relay rod on Toyota 4Runner SUVs, Toyota T100 pickups and Toyota pickups affecting some 1989 through 1998 models."

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JURY VERDICT ♦ $36 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT ♦ $36 million malpractice verdict

A Florida resident who was left partially paralyzed after a botched steroid injection was recently awarded a $36 million malpractice verdict.

The jury awarded her this verdict because her former pain management doctor used steroids that destroyed tissue in her spinal cord.

She was being treated by the doctor for personal injuries suffered in a 2000 car crash.

VETERANS DISCRIMINATION - Dept of Justice is cracking down - DENIED JOB

According to The National Law Journal, "The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is cracking down on employers that discriminate against returning injured soldiers, who are having a hard time getting their old jobs back, either being demoted, or denied work altogether. DOJ is suing employers nationwide - almost on a weekly basis - for failing to promptly re-employ returning service men and women, in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Most recently, a USERRA lawsuit was filed on May 5 against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), alleging that it failed to promptly re-employ US Air Force reservist . . ."

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FDA uncovers quality control problems at plant responsible for manufacturing recalled children's medicines.

According to the CBS Evening News  - "We're learning more tonight about last weekend's recall of children's medicine" manufactured by a unit of Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Consumer Healthcare.

The company voluntarily "recalled 43 over the counter medications, including Tylenol [acetaminophen] and Motrin [ibuprofen] for children and infants." Now, according to a recently released federal report, "inspectors found more than 20 manufacturing problems at a Pennsylvania plant, which has been shut down."

The report, which the FDA "sent to McNeil last Friday, before the recall, said the company had used raw materials with known bacterial contamination to make certain lots of infants' and children's liquid Tylenol," the New York Times.

"Samples of finished products tested negative for bacteria, however, and the risk to consumers was remote, agency officials said."

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Nissan recall to address potential Infiniti air bag problems.

NATIONAL - Nissan said yesterday that the company "will recall nearly 135,000 Infiniti G35 sedans and coupes to address a problem that could lead to the air bag not deploying in a crash."

Nissan "said the recall involves G35 Coupes from the 2005 to 2007 model years and G35 Sedans from the 2005 to 2006 model year."

The NHTSA said the company "had not yet provided the agency with a plan to fix the vehicles."

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FDA is investigating Children's Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin, Zyrtec RECALL

The Food and Drug Administration continues to investigate. 

Further action by the FDA is pending.

The FDA is still gathering information. 

The recall is the fourth product recall McNeil has issued in the past year and the second major recall issued in 2010. In January, the company recalled several hundred lots of a number of adult and children's medicines, including Benadryl, Motrin, Rolaids, Simply Sleep, St. Joseph Aspirin and Tylenol, after consumers reported moldy smells coming from the pills that were manufactured at a plant in Puerto Rico; some cases of nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea were associated with the recalled products.

RECALL NOTICE: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm210443.htm

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PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT ♦ GULF BLVD ♦ MADEIRA BEACH

MADEIRA BEACH - A Tampa woman suffered serious injuries when she was struck by a van on Gulf Boulevard in Madeira Beach.

The woman was not in a crosswalk and was in the median when she was struck by a northbound van. She was transported by Sun Star ambulance to Bayfront Medical Center where she is reportedly in serious condition with multiple injuries including broken ribs.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department continues their investigation.

Wave Runner ♦ JET SKI ACCIDENT ♦ TAMPA BAY ♦ FATAL ♦ Courtney Campbell Causeway ♦ Rocky Point

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY – A Jet Ski accident near the Bahama Breeze restaurant claimed the live of one. The accident happened on the north side of the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa.

Tampa Police said that an out of state resident was operating a jet ski on the north side of the Courtney Campbell Causeway when his jet ski was struck by a second jet ski.

The injured man was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he later died.

OSHA is INCREASING PENALTIES for SERIOUS Safety Violations ON THE JOB INJURY

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is increasing penalties for serious safety violations, contending current fines are too low to have a deterrent effect.

OSHA's average penalty for a serious violation has been around $1,000.

Under the agency's new policy, the average fine for a serious violation - one that could cause death or serious injury - will increase to between $3,000 and $4,000.

Have you suffered an on-the-job injury?  CALL the TRIPP LAW FIRM - Personal Injury Law for FREE telephone consultation.  (888) 392-LAWS (5297)  We are available 24 hours a day.  CALL NOW  - don't guess what you are entitiled to. 

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