Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

February 12, 2009

All Peanut Products From Texas Plant Are Recalled

Texas health officials ordered a recall of every product ever shipped from a Plainview peanut processing plant since March 2005 after inspectors discovered contamination.

Inspectors found dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in a crawl space above a food production area at the Peanut Corp. of America’s Plainview plant, according to authorities from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The plant’s air handling system was not completely sealed and was pulling debris from the infested crawl space onto exposed food products in production areas.

February 11, 2009

Court Awards $1.4M in Taser Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal court has ordered Taser International to pay $1.4 million to lawyers for the family of a California man who died after police officers repeatedly shocked him with stun guns.

February 10, 2009

Florida Doctor Loses License in Live Birth Abortion Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Florida doctor’s license was revoked in the case of a teenager who planned to have an abortion but instead gave birth to a baby she says was killed when clinic staffers put it into a plastic bag and threw it in the trash.

The doctor, Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique, was not present when the baby was born, but the Florida Medical Board upheld Department of Health allegations that he falsified medical records, inappropriately delegated tasks to unlicensed personnel and committed malpractice.

February 10, 2009

F.D.A. to Restrict Prescriptions of Narcotics

by Dr. Shezad Malik

According to federal drug officials, many doctors may lose their ability to prescribe 24 popular narcotics as part of a new effort to reduce the deaths and injuries that result from these medications inappropriate use.

A new control program will result in restrictions on the prescribing, dispensing and distribution of extended-release opioids like OxyContin, fentanyl patches, methadone tablets and some morphine tablets.

February 10, 2009

Yaz Birth Control Pill and Advertising

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals has just introduced a new $20 million advertising campaign for Yaz, the most popular birth control pill in the United States.

But the television ads, are not typical spots promoting the benefits of a prescription drug. Instead, they warn that nobody should take Yaz hoping that it will also cure pimples or premenstrual syndrome.

As part of an unusual crackdown on deceptive consumer drug advertising, the Food and Drug Administration and the attorneys general of 27 states have required Bayer to run these new ads to correct previous Yaz marketing.

February 10, 2009

Texas Medical Board Disciplines 33 Doctors

by Dr. Shezad Malik

At its February 5-6 meeting, the Texas Medical Board took disciplinary action against 32 licensed physicians; in addition, the board has issued one temporary suspension since its last meeting.

The actions included 11 violations based on quality of care; seven actions based on unprofessional conduct; one mediated agreed order modifying a prior order; three actions based on other states’ actions; four actions based on inadequate medical records violations; two actions based on impairment due to alcohol or drugs or mental/physical condition; one advertising violation; and four voluntary surrenders. The board also accepted the voluntary surrender of one surgical assistant’s license.

At its February 5-6 meeting, the Texas Medical Board issued 399 physician licenses.

February 9, 2009

Botched Abortion Leads to National Shock

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A woman aged 18, went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for the doctor to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated get her ready for the procedure.

The doctor did not arrive in time. According to the woman and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby girl.

What happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic’s owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant’s umbilical cord. The woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

February 8, 2009

Aftermath of 9/11

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A new study finds that almost a quarter of a sample of people exposed to toxic dust after the 9/11 attack in New York City still suffer from diminished lung capacity.

The rate of lung problems is about 2.5 times more than would be expected in people who smoke, according to co-author Dr. Jacqueline Moline, director of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program Clinical Center.

February 7, 2009

Layoffs Lead To Employee Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

More workers are being let go as corporate layoffs have accelerated in recent weeks. And more often, people are looking around and complaining that they have been unfairly or improperly dismissed.

Former employees of Lehman Brothers, say they were not given the required 60 days’ pay before their jobs vanished, while Dell is being sued over allegations of age and sex discrimination against workers.

February 6, 2009

Emotional-Distress Suit Against GE Over Toxic Building

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A N.J., judge has blocked an attempt to dismiss a toxic-tort suit over a mercury-contaminated building, rejecting defense arguments that the plaintiff’s expert proofs of emotional distress were inadmissible net opinions.

In Schley v. General Electric Co., L-251-07, former owners and residents of 722 Grand St. in Hoboken, N.J., seek damages from GE, a previous owner. The plaintiffs claim physical injury and emotional distress allegedly caused by contamination so severe that authorities ordered them to evacuate the building.