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In December 2015, a state appellate court held that a hospital owed a duty to other drivers to inform patients about the effects of medication administered at the hospital.

According to one news source, on March 4, 2009, a patient sought treatment at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY. As part of her treatment, the hospital gave the patient an opioid narcotic painkiller and a benzodiazepine drug. However, the hospital did not warn her that the medication impaired or could impair her ability to safely operate an automobile. After leaving the hospital and driving herself, the patient was involved in an accident that injured Edwin Davis. As she was driving, the patient’s car crossed a double yellow line and struck a bus driven by Davis. In Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hosp., Davis brought suit against the hospital, alleging that the crash was the result of the hospital’s failure to warn the patient about the effects of the medication.

The court held that the hospital owed a duty to other motorists to warn the patient that the medication administered to her either impaired or could have impaired her ability to safely operate an automobile. The court reasoned that the hospital’s employees were the only people who could have provided a proper warning of the effects of the medication.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) is preparing to vote on whether to enact a proposed rule that would permit the Commission’s employees to participate in the numerous committees that create CPSC’s voluntary guidelines. The rule would also vest members with the ability to vote as committee members, while also authorizing them to lead committees subject to approval from the CPSC’s executive director.

The proposed rule was developed in response to a recommendation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), urging the Commission to investigate the feasibility of taking a more engaged and active role in the creation of voluntary standards.

The CPSC develops voluntary standards, which create safety provisions geared toward identifying the countless consumer hazards that many products pose, including goods commonly found in schools, parks, playgrounds, homes, and other prominent locations. Due to the complexity of these guidelines, a great deal of work goes into their development, revision, final proposal, and enactment. Three committees were created within the CPSC to help create standards: the American Society for Testing and Materials, the American National Standards Institute, and Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

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According to a news article, the U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear a drug-maker’s appeal in a case that cost the drug company $124 million for falsely marketing a prescription medication. By declining the appeal, the court affirmed a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that reduced the company’s damages from $327 million to $124 million, but it did not overturn a jury’s verdict that the drug company had improperly marketed the medication.

How Cases Get to the Supreme Court

Cases come to the supreme court in one of two ways. First, a case can be appealed to the court from a lower federal court ruling. These courts are called federal circuit courts. Second, a case can come to the supreme court from a state’s highest court. In either case, if the supreme court does not accept the appeal, the lower court’s decision stands.

What Happened in This Case?

The drug at issue in the South Carolina case is called Risperdal. Risperdal was introduced in 1994 for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is also given to patients with autism who suffer from irritability and aggressiveness. Side effects of the medication include diabetes, stroke, and weight gain.

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Medical devices are some of the greatest inventions of modern medicine and have helped countless sick individuals overcome painful conditions. Despite this, however, there are far too many instances in which a medical device manufacturer fails to ensure that its device is safe for its intended use. When this happens, the injured patients can bring a product liability claim against the device manufacturer to recover damages for their injuries. In some instances, plaintiffs can even successfully obtain punitive damages against the manufacturer, which are intended to punish a manufacturer whose conduct is found to be willful, reckless, and malicious and to serve as a deterrent for other manufacturers.

To prevail in a product liability claim, the plaintiffs must prove that the device was designed in an unreasonably dangerous manner or that the specific devices that the plaintiffs received suffered from a manufacturing defect that caused them to be unreasonably dangerous.

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When a person is injured, and another party is to blame for his or her injury, the injured party can file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their injuries. Whether the defendant is liable or not depends on if he or she took reasonable care under the circumstances. If they did not, the defendant was negligent and may have to pay compensation to the injured party.

Unlike on television, where trials often appear to happen just days after an accident occurs or a crime is committed, real trials are preceded by a somewhat lengthy period of what is known in legal terms as “discovery.” Generally speaking, discovery is a process by which the plaintiff and defendant exchange information about a case prior to a trial.

During the discovery phase of a personal injury case, the plaintiff and defendant are entitled to ask the other party written questions about the accident. These questions are called interrogatories.

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E-cigarettes, or vapor cigarettes, have become an incredibly popular alternative to traditional tobacco products, with over 250 different companies currently selling the devices. Many tout the electronic apparatuses as a better alternative to using traditional tobacco products because they produce less odor, cost less than traditional tobacco products, and are less dangerous when it comes to creating fire hazards.

Despite these alleged benefits, some researchers have dug into whether the new alternative provides fewer health risks than using traditional tobacco products. Last month, Harvard University researchers produced results from a study in which they examined a few different types of flavored electronic cigarette products. The study involved testing over 50 varieties of flavored products and liquids marketed by the most common brands. The tests looked for a variety of chemicals, including diacetyl, acetoin, and two varieties of pentanedione.

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2015 was not a good year for the police. The news was rife with allegations of excessive force, and in many cases included videos that backed the claims up. It seemed that no city or state was spared: Baltimore, Cleveland, Ferguson, New York, Texas, Chicago. The list goes on.

In response to what they saw, citizens took to the streets, demanding accountability and a change in police tactics. There were calls for resignations. The Department of Justice jumped in to investigate. Some officers were put on leave or suspended, while others were cleared of wrongdoing.

Many police departments promised change. They vowed to look inward. Some even sent officers abroad to study police tactics in foreign countries that have been successful at limiting excessive force. The verdict at home is still out.

In some cases, civil lawsuits were filed against the officers and police departments accused of excessive force. For families who lost a loved one, like a young son, lawsuits like these are often their only vindication, especially if criminal charges are not brought or a jury acquits the police of criminal conduct.

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Food safety has become a major issue and subject of public concern recently, with widespread foodborne illness outbreaks hitting the headlines on a regular basis. In its final warning letter of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has issued a warning to Edo Sushi Express, a seafood processing company, claiming that it found “serious violations” of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (“HACCP”) standards applicable to seafood.

HACCP is a system designed to ensure food safety is addressed throughout the food production chain. It requires the analysis and control of certain physical, chemical, and biological hazards associated with turning raw materials into final products intended for human consumption. When it comes to seafood, pathogens and parasites present particular risks.

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On most weekday mornings, yellow school buses carrying kids from kindergarten to high school flood the streets of Illinois. At the same time, drivers rushing to work are looking for ways to shorten their commute and make it to the office on time. This combination can be a recipe for disaster, especially in winter weather and icy road conditions.

Of course, all drivers know that the flashing red lights on a school bus mean “stop.” But many drivers think they are smarter than the lights and can squeeze past a bus in time to avoid any sort of accident. Equally egregious is the fact that buses are poorly equipped to keep children safe. Lax federal regulations allow bus companies to bypass upgrades that can prevent injuries and even save lives.

In Illinois, all drivers must take reasonable care when driving a motor vehicle. This means they have to drive at safe speeds, avoid known distractions like texting behind the wheel, and not drive while intoxicated, which includes the side effects of prescription medications. If a driver fails to take any of these precautions, they may be held liable for their negligence by anyone injured as a result.

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En casi todas las mañanas entre semana, los autobuses escolares amarillos que transportan niños desde preescolar hasta la escuela secundaria inundan las calles de Illinois. Al mismo tiempo, los conductores que corren al trabajo están buscando formas de acortar su viaje y llegar a la oficina a tiempo. Esta combinación puede ser una receta para el desastre, especialmente en tiempo de invierno y hielo en las carreteras.

Por supuesto, todos los conductores saben que las luces rojas intermitentes en un autobús escolar significa “parar”. Pero muchos conductores piensan que son más inteligentes que las luces y se pueden rebasar a un autobús para evitar cualquier tipo de accidente. Igualmente notorio es el hecho de que los autobuses están mal equipados para proteger a los niños. Regulaciones federales leves permiten a las empresas de autobuses que eviten reformas que pueden prevenir lesiones e incluso salvar vidas.

En Illinois, todos los conductores deben tener un cuidado razonable cuando se conduce un vehículo de motor. Esto significa que tienen que conducir a velocidades seguras, evitar distracciones conocidas como textiar y manejar, y no conducir en estado de ebriedad, que incluye los efectos secundarios de los medicamentos recetados. Si un conductor no toma ninguna de estas precauciones, pueden ser declarados responsables de su negligencia por cualquier persona lesionada como resultado. Continue reading →

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