Philadelphia Top Injury Lawyer Blog

In the wake of Johnson & Johnson's recall of popular children's pain and allergy medicines, Blacksmith Brands, Inc. has just recalled four defective children's medicines sold in Philadelphia and across the nation. Philadelphia parents are warned to immediately stop using PediaCare Multi-Symptom Cold, PediaCare Long Acting Cough, PediaCare Decongestant and PediaCare Allergy and Cold medicines. The recalled PediaCare medicines were manufactured at the same facility implicated in the earlier Johnson & Johnson recall of 40 children's medicines, the largest recall of over-the-counter medications in history.

Food and Drug Administration investigators have uncovered a lengthy list of violations at the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania pharmaceutical plant where the recalled medicines were manufactured. Numerous manufacturing defects and quality control problems have been discovered, including higher concentrations of active ingredient than specified, inactive ingredients that do not meet testing requirements, and contaminants, most notably metal particles.

Philadelphia pediatricians warn that personal injury reactions to the contaminated medicines may include rash, diarrhea or vomiting. Philadelphia parents are cautioned to seek immediate medical attention if their child develops adverse symptoms after taking one of the recalled drugs. Parents should stop using the recalled drugs immediately.

In a Congressional hearing into the children's Tylenol recall last week, Food and Drug Administration officials strongly criticized Johnson & Johnson officials for failing to act quickly when problems were discovered with its over-the-counter drug operation. While drug companies are required to notify the FDA of consumer complaints within three days, Johnson & Johnson waited nearly a year to do so. The FDA began pressuring Johnson & Johnson to act in February when it was apprised of quality issues with over-the-counter children's medicines, yet the company did not recall defective products until April 30, and then only under extreme FDA pressure.

Adverse drug reactions can cause serious personal injury to infants and children. If your child becomes ill after taking a defective medicine, seek the advice of a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer.

A Philadelphia woman waived her preliminary hearing this week in the fatal hit-and-run car accident that took the life of a high school senior from Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania. Nineteen-year-old Stephanie Phillips is charged with an accident involving death or personal injury, a felony, and driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license. By waiving her hearing, Phillips admitted there is evidence to try the case in court. Phillips is free on bail awaiting a July arraignment in Montgomery County Court. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.

According to police, while traveling east on Germantown Pike near Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, Phillips' car struck 17-year-old Denise Cotteta but did not stop when the girl stepped into the dark roadway on March 28. Phillips told police investigators she "panicked" after hitting the high schooler who died at the hospital. When police stopped Phillips' car not far from the accident site, she admitted her part in the personal injury accident. Philadelphia personal injury attorneys note that had Phillips stopped and stayed at the accident scene, she would not have been charged with a felony as investigators have determined that Cotteta walked into the car's path. However, leaving the scene of a personal injury car accident is a felony.

Eyewitnesses said Cotteta was among a group of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School students who had been partying to celebrate the school basketball team's state championship win. While some of the students had been drinking, investigators said Cotteta's blood alcohol level was well below the legal limit.

Philadelphia car accidents are never black and white. As this case shows, investigation by law enforcement authorities and Philadelphia personal injury lawyers is often required to discover all the facts of a personal injury car accident. This accident shattered two young lives. Philadelphia personal injury lawyers work to help put the pieces back together.

Up until 10 years ago security guards patrolled Philadelphia's SEPTA rail yards 24 hours a day to protect SEPTA property and keep wayward pedestrians from danger. Had SEPTA kept those security guards on patrol at its Wayne Junction rail yards in Germantown, an 11-year-old Philadelphia boy would probably still be alive, said a former SEPTA security officer.

Jewels Angelo was electrocuted and killed Saturday when he entered SEPTA's unguarded Germantown rail yard and touched an electrified mechanism on top of a train car. Former security guard David Waters, who patrolled the rail yard in the 1990s, said that had security guards still been in place, they would have kept the boy from entering the dangerous Philadelphia rail yard and most likely would have been able to save his life.

According to Waters, 250 to 300 security guards provided overnight security at Philadelphia-area SEPTA transit stations in the 1990s. A decade later, financial problems shut down the security operation. Currently, the transit company has a team of roving guards that patrol SEPTA stations. A SEPTA spokesman said the transit company has no plans to reinstate guards at Philadelphia rail yards, despite the presence of hazardous equipment capable of inflicting severe personal injuries.

Utilities, transit authorities, manufacturers, business firms, commercial establishments, retail stores, even homeowners have a public safety responsibility to protect Philadelphia residents from coming to harm on their property. When a person suffers serious personal injury or is the victim of a wrongful death as a result of negligence, the victim's family can file to recover damages. If you believe someone in your family has been the victim of a wrongful death, contact an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.

As Philadelphia motorists head into Memorial Day, one of the busiest driving weekends of the year, drivers should be aware of the steps they should take if they are involved in a Philadelphia car accident. Making the right decisions and following correct procedures after a Philadelphia car accident can be critical to preventing additional personal injuries and speeding resolution of medical and auto repair bills. When serious personal injuries occur, following recommended procedures will protect your legal rights.

Seek safety. If possible, move your vehicle out of traffic. Get yourself and others to a safe area along the side of the road and away from traffic. If there is no safe place to wait for help, stay in your vehicle and keep your seatbelt on.

Call for help. Call 911 and tell the operator what happened, the location of the accident, the medical condition of accident victims, damage to vehicles involved; and your cell phone number. If possible, keep the line open while waiting for help to arrive.

Exchange information. Exchange information with the other driver, including his name, address and phone number. Write down the make, model, color and license plate number of other vehicles involved and record insurance company names and contact information. If there were passengers in the other vehicle, get their names and contact information.

Document the accident. Record the date and time of the accident, weather conditions, location and direction each vehicle was traveling. If you have a camera phone, take pictures. Get names and contact information of any eyewitnesses.

When a car accident results in serious personal injuries, contact an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.

A tragic multiple truck accident not far from Philadelphia shut down a 26-mile stretch of the New Jersey turnpike for nearly 8 hours this week. The 3-truck accident, which occurred near Chesterfield, NJ, south of Trenton, involved a box truck, a dump truck and a tanker trailer loaded with 8,000 gallons of volatile kerosene. Accident investigators believe the box truck rear-ended the tanker, pushing the vehicles into the path of the dump truck. The box truck driver was killed and the tanker driver remains hospitalized with serious personal injuries.

Commercial trucks are responsible for more than 12% of Philadelphia vehicle collisions. This week's crash on the New Jersey turnpike was unusual in that it involved three trucks, perhaps because it occurred at 1:00 a.m. when truck traffic is heavy and automobile traffic is light. In the majority of Philadelphia truck accidents, a truck collides with one or more cars. A car is no match for a truck and fatalities and severe personal injuries are frequent in such collisions. When trucks and cars collide, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys investigate log books, GPS data, black box data and engine computers to identify actions taken by the truck driver prior to and during the crash. Frequently, truck driver exhaustion, failure to track cars that wander into the truck's blind spot and truck maintenance issues are found to be contributing factors in truck/car accidents.

When truck accidents occur, a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer with expertise in investigating and litigating truck accidents is aware of the many demands trucking companies may put on their drivers. Pressure to meet delivery deadlines can cause truck drivers to disobey federal safety rules and drive more hours than allowed, resulting in driving errors, aggressive driving or lack of concentration. If you or a loved one suffers personal injury in a truck accident, consult an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.

The Washington state maker of a popular defibrillator used for first aid by many Philadelphia businesses, manufacturers and emergency response teams has recalled more than 12,000 automated external defibrillators. Generally included in the equipment carried by EMT vehicles, portable defibrillators are a relatively recent addition to the first aid equipment installed on manufacturing plant floors, in doctor's offices, at recreational centers and swimming pools and in corporate and business settings. Portable defibrillators are also often carried with traditional first aid kits in police cars.

When an individual's heart stops beating, a defibrillator will often be used to "shock" the heart with an electronic burst that, hopefully, will start the heart beating again. According to the recall statement issued by Cardiac Science of Bothell, Washington, the recalled defibrillators "may not be able to deliver therapy during a resuscitation attempt, which may lead to serious adverse events or death." In plain language, the defective defibrillators won't generate enough juice to restart the heart.

The recall of Cardiac Science defibrillators involves devices manufactured or serviced between October 19, 2009 and January 15, 2010. According to news reports, the product defect was discovered by Cardiac Science quality control measures. The company says it has not received any complaints or reports of malfunctions in the field. However, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys point out that if a person failed to be revived with use of a defective defibrillator, the failure might be attributed to fate, not a defective product malfunction, particularly if the individual rendering first aid has no formal medical training. Since this is one of the express purposes for which the defibrillators are marketed -- i.e., the provision of first aid by average citizens in commercial and residential emergencies -- a product defect of this nature could make the manufacturer liable for personal injuries or death that might occur from use of this medical device.

During rush hour this morning, the Philadelphia driver of a minivan lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a parked car on Ben Franklin Parkway. The force of the Philadelphia car accident triggered a chain reaction that damaged two additional vehicles. No serious personal injuries were reported, and the accident is under investigation. It is not yet known what caused the driver to lose control.

Driver error is sometimes found to be the cause when a car veers out of control and causes property damage or a personal injury accident. Other times, the problem is mechanical failure as was the case recently with Toyota's accelerator problems. Many Toyota vehicles as well as other manufacturers' cars and trucks are equipped with a black box attached to the engine that records vehicle performance data during a crash. Used by automakers to solve problems, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers now regularly request that black box accident data be shared. While many automakers comply, Toyota typically had not.

In the wake of the recent Toyota recall, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee has released a draft bill of legislation that would increase vehicle safety for Philadelphia citizens. The proposed legislation would require all new cars and trucks to be equipped with black boxes to aid car and Philadelphia truck accident investigators. The legislation would also eliminate the cap on civil penalties that limits automaker liability. If made into law, the measure would also beef up National Highway Traffic Safety Administration authority, enabling it to order immediate vehicle recalls if it believed a vehicle posed an "imminent hazard of death or serious injury."

Philadelphia personal injury attorneys support any measure that allows the victims of personal injury car accidents to obtain facts about car crashes. Black box findings could be a real help to Philadelphia personal injury investigators working to reconstruct car accidents.

We are so used to the nearly miraculous things that modern medicine can accomplish that we often forget there are risks in even the simplest procedures. Philadelphia parents were shocked to hear that a healthy 6-year-old boy died in the dentist's chair this week. Jacobi Hill died following anesthesia for a routine procedure to cap several teeth. The Virginia first grader went into cardiac arrest at the Virginia Commonwealth University dental clinic and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Crystal Lewis, the young boy's mother, said her son had asthma but had been approved by his pediatrician for the dental procedure. The cause of death is unknown and under investigation.

Doctors, dentists and other medical professionals are not omnipotent. They are human, and humans make mistakes. While not all mistakes constitute medical malpractice, when a medical professional's error or negligence results in personal injury to a patient, medical malpractice may have occurred. Philadelphia patients may suffer serious, sometimes fatal or life-changing personal injuries due to an incorrect diagnosis or improper treatment. Specific tests may not have been ordered or the correct medication may not have been prescribed. An incorrect dosage or the wrong medicine may have been administered. Hospital staff may fail to follow a doctor's orders or may omit critical steps in standard care protocols. Many things can go wrong.

Modern medicine and medical care are such complex procedures that numerous avenues may have to be investigated by Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys before responsibility can be assigned in a medical malpractice case. Care for a single Philadelphia patient can include the primary care physician, emergency room staff, nurses, hospital workers, medical device technicians, laboratories, operating room facilities, pharmacists, physical therapists, and more. A breakdown or omission at any point in this complex system can have devastating effects for Philadelphia medical patients. If you have been injured by suspected medical malpractice, contact a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney for a free case evaluation.

A motorcycle accident in Upper Frederick in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania killed a man late last week. The crash at the intersection of Route 73 and Krause Road near Zieglerville occurred around 6 a.m. on Friday, May 7. The fatal personal injury crash is still under investigation. It is not known whether the motorcycle driver lost control of his vehicle in the early dawn or what may have contributed to the accident. At this time, police authorities do not believe that any other vehicles were involved in the motorcycle accident.

This motorcycle accident should serve as a warning to Philadelphia motorcycle, car and truck drivers to drive defensively and be on the alert for motorcycles now that nice weather is here. Most Philadelphia motorcyclists park their bikes for the winter. Come spring, droves of somewhat rusty riders take to Philadelphia streets. To prevent Philadelphia motorcycle accidents [http://www.rosenbaumandassociates.com/lawyer-attorney-1306328.html], motor safety experts caution motorcycle riders to review motorcycle safety and highway regulations and do a bit of practicing in empty parking lots to regain their bearings before heading their bike into busy Philadelphia traffic.

Highway signs near Philadelphia have begun flashing warnings reminding motorists to watch for motorcycle riders on freeways. Car and truck drivers should be especially aware of bikers on the roadways and give motorcycles a little extra room when following motorcyclists in traffic. Their smaller bulk can cause motorcycles to disappear into a driver's blind spot, increasing the chance of a serious personal injury accident.

Motorcycle accident claims are more complicated to litigate than auto or truck accident claims. Because of social perceptions of motorcycle drivers as reckless speeders, personal injury attorneys must address the individual motorcyclist's driving record and driving habits in addition to the facts of the accident. Experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyers know how to use accident reconstruction experts to prove that a motorcyclist was driving safely and following the rules of the road.

In a freak Philadelphia personal injury car accident, a woman driver was killed over the weekend when her car became sandwiched between two others in a tragic three-car crash. The unidentified female driver was stopped at a red light on 61st Street near Passyunk Avenue in southwest Philadelphia when a Saturn driven by 31-year-old man failed to stop and struck her from behind. The force of the crash propelled the woman's Buick into the middle of the intersection where she was broadsided by another woman driving a Kia. The second crash ejected the woman driver from her Buick, trapping her under the Kia. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The two other drivers were taken to Philadelphia hospitals in critical condition. To date no charges have been filed against either of the drivers as police continue to investigate this tragic personal injury accident.

When serious Philadelphia car accidents occur, the repercussions extend well beyond the immediate impact of the accident. Not only can families be saddled with huge hospital and doctor bills, but survivors may need extensive medical care and rehabilitation or expensive medication for months, even years. Mounting medical bills can quickly overwhelm a family's finances, particularly when the injured family member is the breadwinner and is unable to continue working.

When a Philadelphia personal injury accident victim is permanently disabled or killed, families can be devastated. While struggling to cope with the emotional loss of a loved one, they must also face the financial difficulties created by the loss of family income, the burden of mounting medical debt, and, in the case of death, unexpected funeral expenses. When another driver has caused such devastation, families can turn to an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney for possible relief. A Philadelphia personal injury lawyer will review your case without charge and tell you what your rights are under the law.

Food and Drug Administration investigators have traced the E. coli outbreak that has sickened scores of people in the Midwest to romaine lettuce sold by Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio. Yesterday, Freshway Foods issued a recall of romaine lettuce sold in 23 states from the Atlantic coast to Kansas, including Pennsylvania. Freshway Foods sells pre-cut salad mixes, fruits and vegetables to restaurants, food service outlets, wholesale and in-store salad bars. A number of the people who recently suffered personal injury illness caused by ingesting E. coli contaminated lettuce had eaten at local grocery store deli salad bars. However, the FDA reassured Philadelphia consumers that the recalled lettuce is not sold as a retail product directly to consumers so the recall does not affect bagged or fresh lettuce purchased in Philadelphia grocery stores. The FDA is still investigating the source of E. coli contamination. It is not yet known if contamination occurred during lettuce processing, transport to the processing plant or during cultivation on the farm. Freshway Foods contracts with multiple lettuce suppliers.

This most recent E. coli personal injury outbreak has public health experts criticizing food safety procedures. Critics charge that inadequate testing has led to an unprecedented number of food-borne personal injury illness incidents in recent years. In the wake of recent E. coli contamination of beef products, Wal-Mart last week announced that it will now require its beef suppliers to test for additional contaminants beyond testing required by the FDA.

E. coli causes severe diarrhea and abdominal cramping that often necessitate hospitalization. While most healthy adults recover within a week but E. coli can kill. Children are particularly vulnerable. The current E. coli outbreak involves a rare and particularly toxic strain of the bacteria that is not included in standard food safety tests. If you are concerned that you may have been infected with E. coli from tainted lettuce, contact a Philadelphia personal injury attorney about your rights.

Philadelphia parents are understandably upset and confused by this week's sudden defective product recall of the pain and fever medications most used by parents, doctors and hospitals to treat children when they become ill. Over the weekend pharmaceutical behemoth Johnson & Johnson, Inc. announced a voluntary recall of infant and children's liquid Tylenol and Motrin, two of the country's most popular children's pain relievers. Other drugs the company markets for children and infants, including infant and children's Zyrtec and Benadryl, popular allergy medications, were also recalled. (Click here for more information from the drug manufacturer.)

According to information released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in issuing the recall Johnson & Johnson cited manufacturing deficiencies that could affect the quality, purity or potency of the children's drugs involved. In a press release, Johnson & Johnson warned parents in Philadelphia and across the U.S. that the recalled drugs may contain higher concentrations of active ingredients than is specified on the package. Inactive ingredients that failed to meet Johnson & Johnson's internal quality control standards may also be evident in recalled medications. Some recalled children's medications may also contain tiny particles, the press release noted, although the content of those particles was not revealed.

The FDA said that so far it has not received any reports of children getting sick or dying from the tainted medications. However, doctors and Philadelphia personal injury lawyers warned parents to watch for and immediately report to their pediatrician or a hospital any worrisome symptoms, including rash, diarrhea or vomiting. If you suspect that your child has become ill or been made sicker from using one of the recalled drugs, contact an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation. The FDA said that parents can safely use generic versions of the recalled drugs, but reminded parents to carefully check for correct dosage amounts when switching drugs.

If our last post we shared some of the tricks of the trade Philadelphia personal injury attorneys use when investigating car accidents and truck accidents. Investigation is crucial in determining fault and responsibility when serious personal injury car accidents occur. Today, we continue our list of Philadelphia personal injury car accident investigation tips:

Was either driver talking or texting on his cell phone? Police can subpoena cell phone records to determine if calls were made or received during the accident time. Personal injury lawyers can gain access to these records when a legal action is implemented.

Were the car's headlights on? Because headlights make a car more visible in low light, this question is particularly important when car accidents occur during twilight or early dawn hours. Investigators examine the light bulb filament inside the headlamp. The filament would be cold if the headlights were off and would crack or snap into pieces on impact. If the headlights were on, the filament would be hot and would stretch and twist on impact.

Where in the roadway was each car? The location of each car in the roadway at the time of the accident helps Philadelphia personal injury attorneys determine whether either driver was changing lanes, preparing to turn, trying to avoid an obstruction in the parking lane or had, perhaps, ventured outside his lane or over the median. Measurements between the point of impact and lane barriers help investigators determine each vehicle's path prior to and during the accident.

Was either driver drunk or driving impaired? While field sobriety tests are not administered by police in every auto accident, they are usually conducted if the officer has reason to suspect alcohol or drug impairment. When sobriety tests are not conducted, personal injury lawyers may canvass accident witnesses or friends and associates of the drivers to determine whether either driver engaged in alcohol or drug use just prior to the accident.