Last month, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a report indicating that the number of hospitalizations from medication side effects increased by more than half between 2004 and 2008. Antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, benzodiazepines, corticosteroids, insulin and blood thinners attributed to more than 2.7 million hospital stays and emergency room trips in 2008. In...
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OSHA Issues Warning about Dangerous Hair Products
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a hazard warning about hair smoothing and straightening products in hair salons. The hazard warning tells hair salon owners and workers about potential exposure to formaldehyde from the dangerous product. The formaldehyde in hair products such as the Brazilian Blowout...
Read MoreProfessional Boxer Guilty of Assault in Maryland
Professional boxer Ronald Boyd is behind bars in Maryland after a conviction of first-degree assault last month. The conviction comes approximately one year after police arrested Boyd outside a Prince George’s bar for choking and repeatedly punching his wife. Court documents said Boyd choked her to the point of taking her feet off the...
Read MoreFBI Employee Sued for Pedestrian Accident
In what witnesses described as a road rage accident is now the center of a lawsuit against a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee. The vehicle-pedestrian accident occurred on the morning of March 23 near 14th and F Streets Northwest in DC. A man was unloading...
Read MoreGovernment Agency Closes Bus Company Involved in Fatal Crash
On the same day in March that the Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation investigated passenger bus safety, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) shut down the Super Luxury Tours bus company in connection with a fatal bus accident in New Jersey. In...
Read MoreVirginia Jury Awards Plaintiff $212 Million in Botox Case
In one of the biggest Botox-related litigation awards yet, a U.S. District Court jury awarded a Virginia man $212 million late last month. The award represents $12 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages for the plaintiff. The 67-year-old plaintiff filed the lawsuit against Allergan, Inc., the maker of Botox, alleging...
Read MoreDefendants Trying to Pass the Buck on Liability in Wrongful Death Case
Defendants in a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit are fighting each other over liability in a 2004 steam explosion that killed two men on 17th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. After six years of disputes amongst the various defendants, including the federal government, the case is showing signs of moving forward. The parties...
Read MoreWorkers Throw Asbestos Tiles in Open Dumpster
Virginia Beach residents are worried that more than just spring may be in the air. Workers remodeling a grocery store in Virginia Beach alarmed residents when they threw asbestos-ridden floor tiles in an uncovered and unsealed dumpster. Residents are worried that the wind could easily disperse the asbestos fibers in an open container. Once...
Read MoreStudy Sheds Light on the Effectiveness of Medical Liability Reform
The New England Journal of Medicine released a study on the effectiveness of medical liability reform. The study examined both the perceptions and realities of traditional approaches toward safe and high-quality health care. Doctors and insurers think malpractice claims are excessive. However, estimates indicate that only two to three percent of patients injured by
Read MoreMaryland Cracking Down on Work Zone Speeders
Every year, approximately 1,400 people suffer injuries in Maryland work-zone car accidents. The latest incident occurred last month when a vehicle struck a state highway worker as he directed traffic around some utility work. The worker suffered severe injuries, including
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