Washington Injury Attorney Blog

Nineteen Alabama hospital patients were sickened and nine have died from a bacteria infection. Authorities fear the bacteria was introduced into their blood stream from a tainted IV solution. State health officials believe that intravenous (IV) feedings may have been contaminated with bacteria and that was transmitted to patients.

All of the ill patients and those that died were infected with the serratia marcescens bacteremia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention food the bacteria in bags that provided intravenous feeding to patients though the CDC has not yet confirmed this bacteremia was the cause of the deaths.

Serratia marcescens is often associated with catheters, urinary tract infections and wound infections and it is responsible for 1.4% of nosocomial bactermia cases in the United States. The bacteria is found commonly in the environment especially in moist conditions such as bathrooms.

The IV solution was recalled by the manufacturer after the outbreak was discovered on March 16.

Hospital acquired infections affect 1.4 million people worldwide every year. It is estimated that 1 in 10 hospital patients are harmed while receiving care in a hospital. Enhanced cleaning of ICUs and vigilance in the use of gloves and hand washing can reduce the risk of infections like MSRA.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to medical malpractice including hospital malpractice.

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Source:
CNN.com
Contaminated IV solution suspected in 9 patient deaths in Alabama
By Tom Watkins, CNN

Continue reading " Bacteria in IVs may have caused 9 hospital deaths " »

A Los Angeles County Department of Health study reports that there were 356 cases of the deadly superbug carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) in hospitals and nursing homes in Southern California in a seven month period in 2010.

CRKP can be deadly in up to 35% death rate of infected patients according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. It often affects people with health problems including alcoholism, lung disease and diabetes in hospital and nursing home setting.

CRKP is a bacteria that is antibiotic resistant and only responds to an antibiotic named colistin, though it is an antibiotic that can cause serious side effects including kidney damage.

Hospitals have seen their infection rates decline when the staff does not follow proper hand-washing procedures. Other precautions such as promptly removing ventilators and catheters as soon as a possible also reduces infection risk.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious illness due to medical malpractice and the family of those who have died.

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Continue reading " Virulent hospital infection appears in California says LA County Dept. of Health " »

The Seattle Times reports that a East Bremerton man from was killed in a car jack accident on Sunday afternoon.

According to the report, the accident occurred around 4PM in the 3100 block of Aegean Boulevard Northeast. Apparently the car slipped of the jack and crushed the man.

The man's girlfriend and a neighbor used a second jack to raise the Honda off of the man but he was dead from crushing injuries.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that approximately 10,000 people are injured every year in accidents involving hoists or jacks. Car jack accidents happen when people are repairing cars or trucks or changing tires.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury law firm that represent people who have been injured due to the negligence of others including in work-related accidents, auto accidents and slip, trip and fall accidents.

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The results of a study of 6,500 nurses and nurse managers, "The Silent Treatment" found that 58% of study respondents said that they fail to speak up when they see medical errors such as procedural shortcuts, incompetence and disrespect amongst their co-workers.

The study found that while checklists and other safety tools help identify problems which allows for the identification and avoidance of medical mistakes, that poor communication can kill, especially when the care is critical such as in the intensive care unit (ICU) and in the operating room.

The study, which was done by the Americal Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN); AORN, the professional association for nurse education; and Vital Smarts collected data from 681 study participants in hospitals througout the United States.

The Silent Treatment shows how nurses’ failure to speak up when risks are known undermines the effectiveness of current safety tools. It then focuses on three specific concerns that often result in a decision to not speak up: dangerous shortcuts, incompetence, and disrespect.

Procedural shortcuts include things like ineffective hand washing, not changing gloves and failing to check armbands.

Concerns about incompetence include not speaking up when a colleague is not as skilled as he/she should be on procedures, protocols or medication.

Concerns about disrespect undercuts a professional's ability to discuss concerns about errors with their fellow employees and undercuts the nurse or nurse manager's professional opinion.

The study is concerning because the research shows that less than one in 10 nurses or nurse managers speak up to share their concerns

Source:
The Silent Treatment

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to medical malpractice and the family of those who have died with their wrongful death lawsuits.

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As a Bellevue personal injury attorney representing patients who have suffered serious burn injuries, we are happy to see a breakthrough in the treatment of burn injuries.

A new burn wound dressing promises to help wounds heal up to 40% faster than other dressings. Developed in New Zealand by Dr. Azam Ali, the new dressing is bio-based and uses materials low-volume protein sources from New Zealand sheep wool and it accelerates wound healing and tissue growth.

The new dressing could greatly help people who have severe burn injuries due to acid or fire.

A winner of the Bayer Innovation of the Year Award in 2010, the new product is especially valuable in the developing world where ra materials would allow for lower cost manufacturing.

Congratulations to Dr. Azam Ali whose research on utilizing and re-engineering bio-based materials provides hope and healing to burn victims. With more than one million burn injuries every year in the United States and thousands occurring in Washington state, fire and burn injuries are the firth leading cause of accidental or preventable death.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious burn injuries including those who were injured in car accidents and in industrial accidents.

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Police have arrested a suspect in the Bellevue hit-and-run pedestrian accident that killed a 77-year-old Bellevue woman on Friday night outside of the Crossroads Mall near NE 8th Street and 156th St.

Witness of the Bellevue fatal pedestrian accident were able to provide police with a partial license plate number and a description of the vehicle.

KOMO News aired a story on the hit-and-run accident and a viewer called police and provided a tip about the driver. Police found the suspect vehicle and arrested a 45-year-old man. He was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of hit and run.

Washington state vehicle code RCW 46.52.020, prescribes that a driver that involved in a fatal car accident must stop at the accident scene and remain there until law enforcement has been contacted. Failure to do so can result in a class B or class C felony. A class B felony can result in a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $20,000 fine; A class C felony can result in a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and $10,000 fine.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a Bellevue personal injury law firm and we represent people who have been seriously injured in pedestrian accidents and the family of those who have killed with their wrongful death claims.

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Continue reading " Bellevue police arrest suspect in Crossroads hit-and-run pedestrian accident " »

Starting on April 1st, drivers who fail to move their vehicle over or slow down when they see flashing emergency lights will receive a $248 fine. The law which went into effect on January 1st also allows drivers to be convicted of reckless endangerment in an emergency zone and provides other penalties of jail time or suspended license.

Washington Vehicle Code RCW 46.61.212 "Approaching emergency zones — Penalty
— Violation states that motorists should attempt to move over and slow down when they see flashing emergency lights. Read the full law here.

Highway shoulder accidents occur kill approximately 2,000 people every year. Whether the emergency vehicle is on the side of the road or headed down the highway, slowing down, taking your time and pulling over, if need be can save lives.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents due to the negligence of another. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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Continue reading " Drivers who fail to move aside for emergency vehicles face $248 fine " »

A Federal Air Traffic controller has been removed from his duties at Reagan National airport after two pilots had to land their jets without clearance from the control tower. The controller on duty was the only person in the tower during the overnight shift and he told investigators that he had fallen asleep.

Pilots said they had tried to get the air traffic controller to respond for 24 minutes and received no response.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident and said they are not ruling out "human fatigue issues."

The President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Paul Rinaldi, says his association opposes having only a single person in the control tower during in overnight shifts. He said:

"One-person shifts are unsafe. Period. [The] NATCA has long been outspoken in its opposition to one-person staffing on any shift. In fact, the NATCA membership, in its strong commitment to aviation safety, adopted language in its formal constitution nearly 20 years ago opposing one-person staffing on a shift. That language remains in effect today."

Luckily, no accident resulted due to this incident. In the past decade there were three incidents of near-misses attributed fatigue on the part of the air traffic controlled.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to the negligence of another including motor vehicle accidents and air traffic accidents.

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Three workers were killed and a fourth suffered critical injuries when the shuttle van they were riding in was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train on Wednesday afternoon at a Kelso train crossing.

Killed in the accident were two BNSF employees, Chris Loehr, 28, and Tom Kenny, 58. The shuttle van driver, Steven Sebastian, 60, who worked for Coach America, was also killed in the train accident.

The injured man is Dwight Hauck, 52, who is described as a veteran conductor. The Columbian reports that he is in critical condition at Oregon Health Science University.

The train accident occurred around 4:30pm. The van was ferrying the men to a motel after their shift and was hit as it crossed a set of tracks. The crossing where the van was hit was a private one and was marked with an X-shaped warning sign but there were no barrier crossings.

The Federal Railroad Administration reported that that there were 1,650 accidents/incidents on BNSF tracks in 2010 resulting in 134 fatalities and 1,014 injuries. 80 fatalities involved railroad crossing accidents.

BNSF officials are investigating this tragic accident. In the course of their investigation they will determine whether the crossing had an inadequate warning sign or if other factors contributed to the accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a train accident or a railroad cross accident then contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 to obtain a free consultation from a train accident attorney on your case.

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Continue reading " 3 BNSF employees killed, 1 injured in Kelso railroad crossing accident " »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been asked by a group of safety advocates, including Safety Research & Strategies (SRS), to determine if there is a problem with car seat heaters after reports that defective heaters have caused burn injuries.

The SRS group believes that seat heaters in some cars exceed tolerable levels. At the present time, there are no industry-wide standards for seat heater design or temperatures. Most drivers can sense when their seat heater is too hot but in some disabled drivers and passengers, burn injuries can result if a heater is too hot and they are unable to sense the excessive temperature.

There have been reports of defective heaters burning holes in seat covers as well as injuring drivers.

SRS asks that:

• Manufacturers put all seat heaters on a timer
  
• Manufacturers put heat limits on seat heater temperatures
  
• Allow controls which enables disabled drivers and passengers to completely disconnect seat heaters.
  

We hope this the NHTSA will seriously looking into this manner because a serious burn injury caused by a seat heater seems entirely preventable.

This information is provided by the Seattle personal injury lawyers at The Farber Law Group. We represent people with their product liability claims when a defective product has caused serious injury or death in a loved one.

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The Seattle Times reports that two boaters -- a man and a woman -- were injured in a Lake Washington boating accident when their 38-foot boat become wedged underneath the Highway 520 bridge on Monday night.

According to the report, the man was stuck below the deck until the Seattle Harbor Patrol arrived to extricate the pair.

The couple was taken to University of Washington Medical Center with undisclosed injuries.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in boating accidents and the family of those killed.

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The British Hip Society and British Orthopaedic Association says that the failure rate of the DePuy ASR hip implant may soar to 49%, four times more than its original estimate reports Bloomberg News.

Britain has a national registry that tracks patients who have had artificial joints implanted. This registry originally revealed that that within four years, 21% of the patients fitted with the DePuy ASR hip implant required a revision, or re-do surgery. A new study based on the results from four surgeons reveals that upwards of 49% of patients have to undergo a second surgery to replace their defective hip within six years of the original surgery.

Dr. John Skinner, an orthopedic surgeon and chairman of the Orthopaedic Association advisory group on metal bearing hips said that he felt that this study is "the best indicator so far of what the failure rate is likelly to be" even though the data has not undergone peer review.

Affected patients have filed product-liability, failure-to-warn and negligence civil lawsuits claiming DePuy was negligent in their manufacture and marketing of the prosthesis and that DePuy knew the implants were flawed long before the recall. In their lawsuits, victims seek damages for medical costs, pain and suffering and for lost wages.

It is recommended that asymptomatic patients seek the advice of a product liability attorney to insure that their rights are protected.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been injured by the defective DePuy hip implant.

Source:
J&J Hip Failure Rate as High as 49 Percent, U.K. Doctors Say
By Greg Farrell and David Voreacos - Mar 9, 20
Bllomberg News

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Continue reading " British orthopedics group estimates DePuy ASR hip implant failure may reach 49% " »

It was a small article in the Irish press but the words used were so strong that we had to reprint them here.

Dr. Thomas Joyce of Newcastle University has called the recall of DePuy hip implants a "medical disaster."

Ireland's Sky News quoted Dr. Joyce as saying:

"It [the DePuy recall] is the biggest disaster in the history of orthopaedics. To think here we are in the 21st century, in 2011, that we have such major failures. This has major implications around the world."

In August 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics division of Johnson & Johnson recalled the ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing Systems citing a high revision rate. While DePuy says that 13-14% of their hip implant devices will eventually need to be replaced, we've seen articles in the Irish press that predict that upwards to 50% of the devices will eventually need revision.

The reasons for the high revision rate was initially failure symptoms including severe pain, dislocation and fractures. However, over time there is concerning data that shows that the metal-on-metal design of the hip implant can cause metallosis which is metal poisoning. High concentrates of Cobalt and Chromium in the blood stream and in the tissue around the affected implant can cause necrossis, or tissue death, pseudo-tumors, as well as heart damage and cancer.

If you or a loved one has had a hip implant since 2003 and are unsure what you should do, contact The Farber Law Group, a product liability law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue, with more than 30 years experience representing people with serious injuries.

Herb Farber, our firm's founder, has two hip replacement surgeries himself, the last one in November 2010, so he understands your damages and suffering.

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The Baltimore Sun reports that a federal lawsuit has been filed against Dr. John Arthur Kieley for performing medically unnecessary laser eye surgery on patients and committing fraud by billing Medicare and Medicaid for the surgeries.

One patient who was operated on lost the vision in one eye after the surgery, a result of Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT) procedure that was "not medically necessary." Other patients had multiple unwarranted procedures performed on their eyes.

The government lawsuit claims that Kieley performed hundreds of medically unnecessary eye procedures and defrauded the government for thousands of dollars.

Besides the government charges, the patients are allowed to file a civil claim for medical malpractice for the damages suffered by unnecessary surgery. Physicians convicted of this crime should make full restitution to the victims.

Cases where doctors try to scam insurance companies and the U.S. Government for medically unnecessary surgeries are often sentenced to serve jail time. It is hard to understand why a physician who spent years of study would break their oath of, "First do no harm."

Whistle blower laws allow employees or co-workers of people who commit fraud to receive a percentage of the government's recover as a whistleblower's rewards.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by medical malpractice and the family of those killed.

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The Issaquah Reporter says that an Issaquah insurance agent is accused of first-degree theft in bilking elderly victims between the ages of 74 to 90 of money from their Bankers Life annuities. The insurance agent, who will not be named until she is charged, is accused of stealing more than $1 million to fund a lavish life style including clothes, jewelry, a trip and payments to online psychics.

The alleged thefts include:

• $130K taken from a Bellevue man, 80
  
• $25K from a Renton woman, 90
  
• $60K from a Seattle man
  
• $484,500K form a Renton woman, 74.

The agent's scheme included having the victims write checks that they thought were investing in Bankers Life but instead she had the victims write the initial and surnames of her two daughters, deposited the checks and then transferred the money into her own account.

The Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said:

"Vulnerable people trusted this agent with much of their life's saving. And she just pocked the money."

The Insurance Commissioner says that one tipoff that a broker or agent has deceived a consumer for personal gain is if the client does not receive an insurance ID card or a copy of the policy.

Financial abuse is one form of elder abuse. At The Farber Law Group, we represent victims of elder abuse including nursing home neglect.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent nursing home abuse victims and their families.

Source:
Police allege insurance agent stole $1 million from elderly
By CELESTE GRACEY
Issaquah Reporter Staff Writer

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Patricia Sorrentino-Galello of Stratford, Connecticut has filed a product liability lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics for distributing a "defective product" after her hip implant failed and she required a revision surgery. This is the first lawsuit filed against DePuy in Connecticut post-recall.

DePuy Orthopaedics recalled the ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing Systems in August 2010 in the U.S. even though their were studies in Australia and Britain several years earlier showing that the ASR hip systems had a significantly higher revision than other products.

Sorrentino-Galello's hip-replacement implant had to be removed and a new implant installed after the DePuy implant failed only three years after it was initially installed due to an infection in the hip and high concentrations of metal found in her bloodstream. Because of the faulty design of the DePuy implant, there can be metal-on-metal rubbing which releases ions of Chromium and Cobalt into the surrounding tissue and into the blood stream which can cause serious health effects.

A revision, or re-do surgery, is a difficult surgery and is much less likely to be successful than an initial hip replacement surgery because the patient's bone grows around or fuses to the hip implant. If the bone mass is damaged, the surgery is even more difficult.

The product liability lawsuit names DePuy Orthopaedics, Johnson & Johnson and Milford Hospital as defendants in the case.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a product liability law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue and we represent victims of faulty hip implants and their families. Call us TOLL FREE at 1-800-244-9087 for a FREE and confidential case evaluation.

Source:
CTPost.com
Woman sues manufacturer over faulty hip implant
Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer
Published 11:05 p.m., Tuesday, March 15, 2011

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Continue reading " Product liability lawsuit filed in Connecticut because of failed DePuy hip implant " »

In August 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics recalled the ASR Resurfacing ad XL hip implant systems in the United States. In October 2010, the British Hip Society and the British Orthopaedic Association sent Orthopedic surgeons throughout Britain advice on how to care for hip replacement patients with the recalled components.

The letter informed surgeons that all patients with recalled components should be informed that their hip implant has been recalled and that the patient needs close clinical follow up and surveillance. The letter made the following recommendations:

• Patients should have a follow up appointment at least annually for the rest of their lives.
  
• Patients with worsening pain or deteriorating mobility associated with the hip, should be reviewed quickly.
  
• For patients with no presenting symptoms such as pain but with x-rays that show the hip components with high wear, follow up should be more closely.
  
• For patients with painful implants, the surgeon should determine what is causing the pain and rule out infection, loosening of components, fracture, osteonecrosis, soft tissue impingement, adnexae or pain referred from other areas of the body.
  
• Blood tests should be done to test for the presence of metals including Cobalt and Chromium which could indicate metal-on-metal wearing of the hip implant. Elevated levels of above 7ppb (ug/l or ng/ml) may be worrisome. The surgeon should be concerned when the levels are above this number.
  
• Besides x-rays, MRI with metal artefact reduction sequences (MARS) or ultrasound should be performed. These will provide the physician if fluid or pseudotumors are around the hip.

If you or a loved one has one of the recalled DePuy hip implants, make sure you are getting the proper medical care. At The Farber Law Group, we have a keen interest in supporting the victims of DePuy's recall. Herb Farber, our firm's founder, is himself a hip implant patient and will work tirelessly on behalf of hip implant patients.

Contact at us Toll Free at 1-800-244-9087.

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10,000 pounds of Lean Cuisine Simple Favorite Spaghetti with Meatballs frozen food has been recalled after plastic shards were found in the meatball portion of the meal in one production lot.

The recall was confined to a production run of just one hour. The recalled production code is 0298595519 P. This number can be found on the "proof of purchase" panel.

No injuries have been reported. For more information on the recall, call Nestle at (866) 606-8264.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a Seattle Product Liability attorney and represent people who have been seriously injured due to defective and dangerous products.

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Just days after 14 people were killed and 18 injured in a New York bus accident, a New Jersey bus accident has killed two and injured 42 others. Among the dead in the New Jersey bus accident is the bus driver who was thrown through the front window.

In the New Jersey bus accident, the driver lost control of the bus and struck a guard rail and concrete embankment. The accident took place on Monday night on the New Jersey turnpike as the bus was traveling from New York's Chinatown to Philadelphia. Some passengers reported that they heard a loud "bang" prior to the accident which may indicate there was a tire blowout.

New York City police are responding to the two deadly bus accidents by stepping up inspection of discount tour buses. So far, six tour buses have been removed from service due to problems including missing driver paperwork, inadequate brake air pressure and steering violations.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is investigating both accidents. In the New York accident, the bus driver claimed that his bus was clipped by a hit-and-run truck driver. However, witnesses claimed that the driver was both speeding and dozing prior to the accident. It has also been learned that the bus driver had a criminal record with convictions for manslaughter, grand larceny and driving without a license. In this case, he did have a valid license.

In recent years, while commercial trucking accidents have declined, the number of bus accident increased between 2004 and 2008.

These horrific bus accidents which have left 16 people dead and 60 injured need to be thoroughly investigated. Bus tour companies need to be held responsible for the drivers they hire and their safety records.

This information is provided by Washington injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent bus accident victims and their families with their civil and wrongful death claims.

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The United States Depart of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Creekstone Farms Premium Beef of Arkansas City, Kan, has issued a recall for approximately 14, 158 pounds of ground beef because of possible e-coli O157:H7 contamination. The meat was sold is large packages and was likely repackaged and sold under different brand news.

At this time, there has been no reports of associated illness.

According to the Seattle PI.com, the beef was produced on February 22 and was shipped to Western states including Washington.

E-coli O157:H7 is a bacterium which causes foodborne illness in humans that consume it . This is the most virulent form of e-coli and can cause serious illness among the old, the young and people with compromised immune system. This form of the bacterium has been known to cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) which can cause a permanent and sometimes deadly kidney disease.

Consumers should always adhere to safe ground beef preparation techniques which include:

• Washing hands with warm and soapy water.
  
• Washing knives, dishes and cutting boards that come in contact with the beef.
  
• Keep raw meat and fish and poultry from other foods.
  
• Cook ground beef to at least an internal temperature of 160° F. 
  
• Refrigerate raw meat within two hours after purchase or within one hour if the temperature is
  90° F. 

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have become serious ill due to foodborne illness.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that David Floyd, president of DePuy Orthopaedics division of Johnson & Johnson, announced that he is resigning his position after a transition period. A successor has not yet been named.

Floyd has been in a pressure cooker of a job since Depuy recalled their ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing Systems in August of 2010 because of a high rate of failures. The hip implants were recalled after studies showed that in only five years, 12 to 13 percent of patients required a repeat or revision surgery.

According to the WSJ, DePuy has placed $280 million in reserves in the fourth quarter to "cover reasonable and customary testing and treatment for people with the implants."

DePuy may be in the hot seat for years to come as the hip implants have been linked to a rare condition called metallosis which is caused by the release of metal ions of cobalt and chromium in the blood suit.

Already, DePuy is facing more than 500 product liability lawsuits from people who have suffered serious personal injuries and financial losses because of the faulty implants.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have suffered medical complications due to the faulty DePuy hip implant systems. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages including pain and suffering and for loss of wages.

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Consumer advocacy groups say that every person implanted with the now-recalled DePuy ASR hip implant needs to be identified even if the person is asymptomatic.

The DePuy ASR hip implant, manufactured between 2003 and 2010, was marketed as the hip replacement for the younger patient who sought to maintain an active lifestyle including playing tennis, walking, running and skiing.

Concerns about the DePuy hip implant are two-fold. The first is that the hip implant has failed in up to 14% of patients within 5 years of receiving the implant. The symptoms of failure include severe pain in the hip, fractures, swelling of the hip, lack of flexibility and discomfort. This failure rate may increase in ensuing years.

The long-term concerns of the DePuy ASR hip implant are even more worrisome. Because of how the implants were designed, there is a potential that there is a metal-on-metal rubbing associated with the implant. This rubbing releases metal ions of cobalt and chromium in surrounding tissue and into a patient's blood stream. Long term, metal in the body can cause a dangerous metal poisoning called metallosis. Metal in the body is known to cause cancer, heart damage, brain injury and necrosis of the effected tissue.

Because many of the DePuy hip implant patients were younger -- not the senior citizen that many associate with hip implants -- their long-term health may be affected over 20-30 years. Many patients fear undergoing a revision surgery but monitoring of a patient's overall health through blood tests and imaging techniques is important.

There are two things going on with this recall:

1. DePuy wants to minimize their financial liability and so they contact patients and attempt to buy them off offering to pay for revision surgery or for monitoring but they do not pay for things like loss of wages and pain and suffering.
   
2. The second is that many big legal firms seek to make contact with the patients and bundle a lot of cases together . They set up web-sites with names like "DePuy National Hip Registry" or "DePuy Hip Recall Registry" in the hopes that they can obtain patient's contact information.

In both of these cases, the very personal experience and damages of the DePuy hip implant recipient are often overlooked. At The Farber Law Group, we seek to represent DePuy hip implant patients because we care. The founder of our firm, Herb Farber, recently underwent his second hip implant. He s passionate about representing people who did not have the knowledge to obtain the care he received. Read his hip implant story here. He'll fight for you to insure that you get the very best representation for your case.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a Washington product liability law firm and we represent clients throughout the Northwest.

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A 16-year-old Twisp teen faces Vehicular Homicide charges for causing an accident which killed an accomplished Seattle music director. This story hits home locally but it is repeated across the nation with distracted driving a leading cause of car accidents.

The U.S. Department of Transportation along with Consumer Reports magazine reports 63% of the respondents to a poll under the age of 30 admit that they have used a handheld cell phone while driving and 30% report sending a text message from behind the wheel. Compare those numbers with adult drivers; only 41 percent report using a hand held cell phone and only 9% report texting while behind the wheel.

The DOT has created a website, Distraction.Gov which deals with the issue of distracted driving and provides resources to educate drivers. The problem of distracted riving is a serious one with 20% of all injury crashes in 2009 involving distracted driving.

Car accidents are still the leading cause of deaths for teenagers. It's obvious that parents need to continue teaching their teenagers about the perils of distracted driving.

Check out the Distraction.Gov web-site for informational brochure, a parent-teen driving contract and a parent-teen distracted driving flyer.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

Read Washington's cell phone laws:

Vehicle Code RCW 46.61.667 - Using a Wireless Communications Device While Driving
Vehicle Code RCW 46.61.668 - Sending, Reading, or Writing a Text Message While Driving

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Bremerton police report that a 39-year-old construction worker was seriously injured in a construction accident on the Manette Bridge project around 8:00am on Saturday morning.

The man suffered a life-threatening head injury when he was struck in the head by a wench while working beneath the bridge. The man was either on a small tug or a barge at the time of the on-the-job accident.

The man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle by life flight helicopter.

The Washington state office of Labor & Industries is investigating the accident because it occurred on-the-job. An employer must report to L&I any accident which results in in-patient hospitalization or results in death within 8 hours of the accident.

Almost half of all work-place injury accidents occur to workers under the age of 45 While worker's compensation covers some costs, in the case of serious injury, disability or death, the family of the injured should seek the counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney who can insure the worker's rights are protected.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in construction accidents and the family of those killed.

Source:
Worker seriously injured in accident at Manette Bridge construction site
Kitsap Sun
Reported by: Rachel Pritchett
Mar 5, 2011

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The Department of Health and Human Services issued the results of a study that found, in a random sampling of 260 nursing homes, almost all the nursing home had one more employees with at least one criminal conviction.

Using FBI criminal history records, the DHHS found that nearly half of the nursing facilities employed five or more people with at least one conviction.

The study found that the 44% of those with convictions had been found guilty of property crimes including burglary, shoplifting and bad check writing. Investigators also found that seven registered sex offenders were employed in five different nursing homes.

Most states require nursing home facilities to perform either an FBI or state-wide criminal background check on prospective employees even though there is no Federal requirement to do so. However, nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding are prohibited from hiring employees found guilty of "abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents." This policy seems like closing the barn door after the cow has already gotten out.

The DHHS recommends that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) work with the states to develop background check procedures and ensure that States conduct background checks consistently.

It is clear there needs to be a policy which disqualifies people who have been convicted of certain crimes from working with patients at nursing homes.

Nursing home residents often fall prey to all sorts of abuse and exploitation. Nursing home abuse is a serious problem across the nation and it takes many forms from financial exploitation to sexual abuse, bedsores, prescription abuse and neglect.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to nursing home abuse and neglect and the family of those who have died as a result of this abuse.

Source:
NURSING FACILITIES' EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General
March 2011

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The Washington Bureau of Labor and Industries is investigating the death of Allen Clifford, 69, of Sedro-Woolley, who was found crushed to death under his truck's rear wheel.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the on-the-job accident occurred in an industrial park south of Port Townsend. According to the report, Clifford had phoned in a report of truck trouble around 6:00am Wednesday morning from Sunshine Propane. An employee of Sunshine found Clifford crushed under the truck's rear wheel at 7:44am.

The Bureau of L&I is investigating the industrial accident since it occurred in the course of Clifford's employment.

Clifford's family will most likely be entitled to his workers' compensation benefits.

The family may be well-advised to contact an experienced workers compensation attorney who has experience with third-party claims and wrongful death. A personal injury attorney representing the family can look into what caused the fatal workplace accident. A Washington skilled personal injury attorney can help maximize net compensation to the victim's family.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in on-the-job accidents and the family of those killed.

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