Doctor, is there an alternative to this surgery? This may be the best question you ever ask. Consumer Reports has listed 12 surgeries you may be better off without. The conclusion: "before you have these invasive procedures, check out safer alternatives." Among the 12 surgeries are Angiography, Cesarean section, Enlarged-prostate procedures, Surgery for back pain and Surgical weight loss. ...
My thanks to Charles T. Hall of Raleigh, North Carolina, for his post on his Social Security News blog: "The New York Times has an article (registration required) that demonstrates the human costs of delaying filing a claim for Social Security disability benefits -- and the human costs of delay in adjudicating disability claims at SSA. This formerly middle class family was thrust into dire...
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is bringing actions when employers treat pregnant employees unfairly. EEOC attorney Jean Kamp is quoted in a news article: “Employers must heighten their awareness of pregnancy discrimination, especially as more women enter the labor force and work/life issues take on greater importance.â€The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is...
Sometimes judges get tangled up in abstractions when the simple facts and proper path is clear. If I handed a gun to a 6 year old and said "Go out and play," isn't that a clear violation of a state law as well as very negligent? Or, is that just a parental decision? A Florida appellate court has ruled it is just a business owner's managerial decision to order an employee to drive a motorcycle...
In Justice is a new television series on TV. A real, live Circuit Judge has reviewed an episode for the St. Pete Times. I liked the review better than the premise of the show. This could start a new career for Judge Babb, writing reviews of local trials. If so, I will need to jazz up my courtroom style - I can't take the risk of being labeled a dim light on the horizon. In Justice is a new...
Food and Drug Administration Warns of Possible Birth Defects Tied to Mothers' Ingestion of Paxil.Agency Requiring Updated Product LabelingEarlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration alerted health care professionals and patients about early results of new studies for Paxil (paroxetine) suggesting that the drug increases the risk for birth defects, particularly heart defects, when women...
FDA Updated Warning regarding recalled Guidant implanted defibrillators states no change in the FDAs recommendations from July 2005.The Food and Drug Administration has updated its July 15, 2005 warnings regarding the recall of VENTAK PRIZM® 2 DR and CONTAK RENEWAL® Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators. FDA's warning stated that Guidant Corporation had recalled the above defibrillators...
Automobile negligence and liability is an area of the law for which Texas has no specific legislation. Cases dealing with this subject matter are forced to rely on the common law and case law for negligence. A driver of an automobile generally owes a duty of care to other drivers, pedestrians or anything that may be affected by the operation of that vehicle. The operator of a motor vehicle...
Not only do Americans pay much more for medical treatment than anyone else in the world, they also bear the brunt of the most medical errors, according to a survey covering the USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Almost 7,000 patients were consulted.The survey supported by The Commonwealth Fund finds that one-third of U.S. patients with health problems reported...
Construction workers in Federal Way were using a forklift to set a wooden wall into its foundation Friday morning when a cable snapped, dropping the wall onto two workers, killing one and injuring the other.A 41-year-old Renton man broke his leg and was taken to St. Francis Hospital, Hwang said. The other workers were able to scramble out of the way. The Department of Labor and Industries...