What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation torts.

The most common types of personal injury claims are road traffic accidents, accidents at work, tripping accidents, accidents in the home, defective products (product liability) and holiday accidents. The term personal injury also incorporates medical and dental accidents (which lead to numerous medical negligence claims every year) and conditions that are often classified as industrial disease cases, including asbestosis and peritoneal mesothelioma, chest diseases (e.g., emphysema, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic obstructive airways disease), vibration white finger, occupational deafness, occupational stress, contact dermititis, and repetitive strain injury cases.

If the negligence of another party can be proved, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation from that party.

Side-Curtain Airbags - Are they safe for children?

How do they work?

The curtain airbag activates instantaneously in the event of a side impact crash, deploying from the top of the door rails above the side window. They form a cushion between the driver or passenger and the window and stay in place if the car rolls over to protect their head.

Why do I need them?

Research conducted in the USA estimates that head protecting airbags can reduce driver deaths in the event of a side impact crash by close to 40%*. Without them, in a side impact crash there is little to protect your head from striking the side of the car or rigid objects like trees or poles.

How are curtain airbags different to other types of airbags?

Curtain airbags are one type of head protecting side airbag. There are other kinds too, such as combination head and torso designs.

Combination head and torso airbags mostly activate from the seat, but some types deploy from the door, offering you good protection to both head and body in side impact crashes. However, combination designs are less effective than curtain airbags in rollover crashes.

Most people have heard of driver airbags (or frontal airbags). While these come as standard in many cars, they do not protect you in a side impact crash. Also, side airbags without the combination of head/torso design only protect the chest and thorax area, not the head.

How dangerous are side impact crashes?

Side impact crashes at intersections account for approximately 22% of all major crash types where people are killed or seriously injured.

However, according to IIHS spokesperson Russ Rader, "Even if a head curtain airbag covers the rear seats where children are most likely sitting, it won't necessarily offer them any protection. Most children are too short to receive any protection from a curtain-type side airbag."

A Surge in Avaulta Transvaginal Mesh Claims

With the thousands of injured woman injured as a result of the transvaginal mesh complications we beg the question: why did the FDA approve it in the first place?

If you are suffering injury as a result of a defective implantation call our office right away at 1-800-Now-Hurt

Brand names of Bard’s transvaginal mesh patches include:

• Avaulta Plus™ BioSynthetic Support System
• Avaulta Solo™ Synthetic Support System
• Faslata® Allograft
• Pelvicol® Tissue
• PelviSoft® Biomesh
• Pelvitex™ Polypropylene Mesh

Dangers of Yasmin/Yaz/Ocella

Yasmin is a type of birth control originally developed by Berlex Laboratories (a U.S. affiliate of Schering AG, Germany) that was first approved for use in 2001. In 2006, the drug company, Bayer, acquired Berlex and marketed a more recent version of Yasmin, called Yaz. Ocella is a generic version.

Yasmin/YAZ/Ocella contains two types of hormones: an estrogen and a progestin. The estrogen is “ethinyl estradiol.” The progestin is “drsp” or “drospirenone”. Yasmin/YAZ/Ocella is the first type of birth control to contain drsp. Yasmin contains 3 mg drsp and 30 mcg ethinylestradiol per tablet. YAZ contains 3 mg drsp and 20 mcg ethinylestradiol per tablet. The drug prevents ovulation by working against the usual body chemistry of a woman of childbearing potential by suppressing endogenous gonadotropins and, thereby, inhibiting ovulation and altering other changes associated with the menstrual cycle.

The manufacturers of Yasmin/YAZ/Ocella have touted its latest creation as a “pill that goes beyond the rest,” and promises multiple additional benefits above and beyond unwanted pregnancies. They also claim that this latest drug creation is as safe as other types of accepted birth control pills that are on the market. In light of these promises made in slick advertising campaigns, the new product has made Bayer/Berlex millions of dollars. For example, in 2008, sales of YAZ reached $616 million (an approx. 18% U.S. market share), and Yasmin sales reached $382 million (an approx. 11% U.S. market share). It is now the best-selling oral contraception pill in the United States.

However, in putting the interest of corporate profits over public safety, Bayer/Berlex’ advertisements have focused almost exclusively on the positive affects of its newest drug creation. It has continually omitted or minimized the very significant risks associated with or increased by the novel drug, including heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), strokes, gallbladder disease, hepatic adenomas or benign liver tumors, and other serious injuries and sudden death. These life-threatening risks include, but are not limited to, those risks that Bayer knew or should have known are associated with or increased by the unprecedented use of this new hormone, drsp.

Bayer has also improperly encouraged the use of Yasmin/YAZ/Ocella in circumstances other than those in which the drug has been approved and over-stated its benefits. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has repeatedly reprimanded Baxter/Berlex for marketing the drug in a way that minimizes these very serious side effects, thereby misleading millions of women and their prescribing physicians about the safety of this new type of birth control.