Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

July 14, 2010

Washington High Court Dumps Notice for Malpractice Lawsuits

The WA Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to require 90 days’ notice before suing a doctor. The court’s 6-3 decision said the waiting period violates the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government.

The courts already have procedural rules for filing civil suits, and adding a 90-day notice “conflicts with the judiciary’s power to set court procedures,” Justice Charles Johnson wrote for the majority.

The ruling sides with two separate plaintiffs who had medical malpractice cases thrown out by lower courts over notice issues. Those cases were sent back for further action. Associated Press, Seattle Times 07/06/2010
Read Article: Seattle Times

July 13, 2010

Blast at BP Texas Refinery Foreshadowed Gulf Disaster

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The 2005 BP plant disaster in Texas City has taken on new relevance, because the investigations that were done in its aftermath reveal so much about the company that is responsible for what’s happening now in the Gulf. Government probes, court filings and BP’s own confidential investigations paint a picture of a company that ignored repeated warnings about the plant’s deteriorating condition and instead remained focused on minimizing costs and maximizing profits.

According to a safety audit BP conducted just before the 2005 blast, many of the plant’s more than 2,000 employees arrived at work each day with an “exceptional degree of fear of catastrophic incidents.” What BP has — or hasn’t done — to improve conditions at the Texas City plant since the explosion is also laid out in the documents. Ryan Knutson, ProPublica’s Lisa Schwartz, Nicholas Kusnetz and Sheelagh McNeill contributed to this report., ProPublica 07/06/2010

Read Article: ProPublica

July 13, 2010

Texas May Require Utilities to Replace Steel Gas Lines

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Natural gas utilities might have to dig up neighborhoods across Texas to replace hundreds of thousands of steel service lines to prevent explosions.

The Texas Railroad Commissioner will propose that utilities replace the lines, which bring natural gas from pipelines under neighborhood streets to homes.

Texas has at least 525,000 steel lines, maybe a million. Regulators targeted the service lines after several deadly home explosions. The problem is that the old service lines are made of rigid steel, which can shift and corrode. ELIZABETH SOUDER , The Dallas Morning News 07/06/2010
Read Article: The Dallas Morning News

July 12, 2010

NYTimes says patients should seek Avandia alternatives.

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The New York Times (7/5) editorialized that the recent controversy over the diabetes drug Avandia — with “two major studies” saying it “raises the risk of cardiovascular ailments” and the third yet-to-be-published study that “seemed to exonerate” the drug — should probably lead patients to ask their doctors about alternatives.

The paper said that as expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration work to deliver a more definitive judgment, it would throw its lot with the views of safety specialists, who focus solely on risks emerging after the drug is in use, rather than the opinions of those “who approved the drug as safe and effective in the first place.”

Read the full story here at the New York Times.

July 11, 2010

Fort Worth Man Settles Sex-Abuse Suit With Roman Catholic Diocese

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A man who accused a priest of sexually abusing him when he was 14 has settled his lawsuit with the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese.

At the man’s request, terms of the settlement were confidential. The suit, filed last year in state district court, accused the Rev. Rudolf Rentería of abusing the boy in the rectory at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Arlington on Mother’s Day weekend 1981.

According to the suit, Rentería offered to let the boy spend the night at the rectory. There, Rentería fondled him and attempted anal intercourse, the suit says. An additional report of sexual misconduct dating to 1985 surfaced in 2000, according to the lawsuit, which accused the priest of having an “impulsive sexual attraction to boys.” DARREN BARBEE, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 07/02/2010
Read Article: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

July 10, 2010

Pipelines in Texas Natural Gas Explosions Were Not Properly Marked

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Two Texas natural gas pipelines that exploded last month, killing three people, had not been properly marked, according to state records.

Incident reports filed with the commission by the pipeline operators and excavators involved in each event confirm that neither pipeline was properly marked before the digging.

State law requires that companies wanting to excavate call a national 811 number to state where they plan to dig and request information about pipelines and anything else underground that might be struck. AMAN BATHEJA, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 07/02/2010
Read Article: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

July 9, 2010

Residents Blame Drilling Process for Fouled Well Water

by Dr. Shezad Malik

While most of the discussions about the environmental impact of natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale have centered on air quality, questions are now being raised about its potential impact on water quality as well.

Drilling critics have expressed concern that a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing in which millions of gallons of water and sand laced with chemicals are pumped into the ground to free up natural gas — has the potential to contaminate groundwater supplies. ELIZABETH CAMPBELL and AMAN BATHEJA, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 07/02/2010
Read Article: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

July 8, 2010

Avastin Causes Significant Kidney Damage in Some Patients.

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Los Angeles Times (7/1, Rick) reports that Avastin (bevacizumab) “can cause significant kidney damage in some patients,” according to a new study.

Researchers, “reporting in this month’s issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology…wrote that patients on Avastin were at increased risk of severe protein loss from the kidneys, which can lead to permanent damage.” Altogether, “patients on Avastin were at a fourfold risk for protein loss and kidney damage, depending on dosage and the type of cancer.”

Kidney problems are the second serious condition linked to the cancer drug. Last year it was found that some patients on Avastin were at elevated risk of intestinal perforations.

July 8, 2010

Wrongful Termination Suit Filed Against Trash Hauler

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A California man has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, Coastside Scavenger, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated by new owners because of his “whistleblower” reputation.

Jose Castellanos claims in his lawsuit that after his two sons were fired from Coastside in 2008 for complaining of mistreatment, his bosses began to criticize him and suggest he quit.

He was fired last summer, and says that his boss “went out of her way to malign his reputation to prospective employers.” Julia Scott, San Jose Mercury News 07/06/2010
Read Article: San Jose Mercury News

July 7, 2010

PG&E Agrees to Settlement Over Fatal Car Accident

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Utility provider PG&E has agreed to pay $5 million to the mother of a 20-year-old woman who was killed in a car accident involving one of the company drivers.

Mary Bernstein and a friend were killed in the wreck in 2006 when John Mayfield, a diabetic, blacked out a the wheel after forgetting to test his blood sugar. Under the terms of the agreement, PG&E agreed to record the resolution as a judgment, rather than a confidential settlement.

Mary’s mother Lisa has also said she will petition California legislators to pass regulations that require companies to more closely monitor their fleet drivers. Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News 07/06/2010
Read Article: San Jose Mercury News