| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS, Uncategorized

South Florida Parents Concerned Over Tylenol Recall of Defective Products

Tylenol has announced a recall of some of their children’s and infants products due to test results showing possible bacteria in an ingredient used in its products. As WPTV NewsChannel 25 reported, many South Florida parents are concerned about the recent recall due to the defect, including Kameca Richards of West Palm Beach, who uses Tylenol when treating her three-year-old daughter’s illnesses.

According to the Sun Sentinel, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the maker of Tylenol, is voluntarily recalling 21 lots of pain, cold and cough medications for children and infants. The affected medications were produced between April and June. Purchasers of the recalled Tylenol products will receive a free coupon for a replacement.

 
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McNiell said that it has not received any complaints so far and that it is considering this a low risk recall. However, while McNiell stated that it believes that none of the affected products were put out on retail, it encouraged concerned parents to contact their health care providers.

If you believe your child may have ingested the affected products, you should consult with your physician immediately. You can also take measures to prevent your children from being affected by these recalled products. For a list of affected products and for more information, go to the Tylenol.com website and click on “Children’s Tylenol News.”

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, Uncategorized

Parents Sue for Wrongful Death of Teen While Under General Anesthesia

In March 2008, 18-year old Stephanie Kuleba of Boca Raton, Florida went in for breast augmentation surgery. However, during surgery she suffered and died from malignant hyperthermia, a condition in which a person goes into cardiac arrest from a reaction to certain drugs used for general anesthesia.

On Wednesday, September 23, according to the Palm Beach Post, Joanne and Thomas Kuleba, parents of Stephanie, have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Steven Schuster and other doctors for failure to properly treat their daughter. The Kulebas are seeking damages and calling for a ban on general anesthesia being administered at outpatient centers because they believe that outpatient centers are ill-equipped to deal with emergencies.

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The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that there were 1,669,026 plastic procedures performed in 2008, of which 307,230 were procedures for breast augmentation; by far the most popular plastic surgery procedure. Moreover, teenagers 18-19 years old accounted for 8,983 of these procedures, about three percent of total patients. An ASPS story cited a 2004 study showing that less than one fourth percent of office-based surgeries resulted in death. Though this number seems small, the fact that kids are now electing to have plastic surgery at a young age shows that this is a matter of growing concern.

There is no doubt that advances in technology and developments in plastic procedures in recent years have made it safer, less expensive, and in some cases less invasive and with a shorter recovery time. However, as this story shows, even surgeries which by today’s standards are considered “routine” can have severe consequences. Despite the fact that Florida is filled with professional, reputable and distinguished doctors, things can go wrong and there are always risks involved when you go under the knife.

There are many precautions you can take before undergoing surgery. The most important step is to talk to your doctor about risks involved, learn as much as you can about the procedure, and be sure to notify the doctor of any conditions or health risks you have before undergoing any kind of surgery.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | AVIATION ACCIDENT, Uncategorized

Plane Crash in South Florida Everglades Claims Family

Bruce Barber, a money manager based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and his wife and child were identified as passengers aboard a plane which crashed in the Everglades, south of the Palm Beach County line and west of Highway 27, according to WPTV NewsChannel 5. The plane was reportedly returning from Gainesville back to Fort Lauderdale when the accident occurred on Sunday evening.

There is speculation that the plane was heading back from the Florida-Tennessee game, as Barber was a known fan of the Florida Gators. The pilot reported some trouble on the Piper A32 single-engine plane before the crash.

Earlier, WPTV reported that two bodies were found and that there had been no confirmation as to whether Barber was on board. The names of the victims had not been announced, although the plane was registered to Barber. However, according to a WPTV update, a family friend stated that Barber, his wife Karen and son Payton were all on board. Phil Marsh, a friend of the family, was also on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the plane accident to identify the cause, using airboats to conduct their search.

An NTSB table shows that there were 1,559 General Aviation Accidents last year, of which 275 were fatal. This is only a small decrease from the 1,650 accidents in 2007. However, the trend shows an overall steady decline in general aviation accidents since 1989, which reported 2,242 accidents, of which 432 were fatal.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | AUTO ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized

South Florida Auto Accident Kills Man, Injures Three

On Saturday, September 19, three people were injured and a man was killed in an auto accident near Boyton Beach, Florida. The accident occurred at about 11:15 a.m., according to the Palm Beach Post.

According to the Palm Beach Sherriff’s Office, which overseas 14 districts in one of South Florida’s largest counties, the man, whose name was not released, was driving his Hyundai Sonata westbound on Le Chalet Boulevard near Military Trail when his car veered to the left and ran into a palm tree in the median. The crash is still under investigation.

The three other three passengers in the car, two women and one man, were injured and taken to the JFK Medical Center in Lake Worth. So far, no updates have been available as to their condition. The man who died was taken to Delray Medical Center.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized

South Florida Worker Injured In Sewer Vault

On Friday, September 11, a South Florida water and sewer worker was injured when he fell into a sewer vault. The man, Andre Brown, was backing his truck up on the 1800 block of NE 150th street in Miami when he stepped outside to see if he had enough room. Upon heading out, he stepped onto a sewage vault valve box. The vault was covered with rotted plywood and he fell 10 feet into the vault through, injuring his leg, the Miami Herald reported.

Members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were brought in to rescue Brown from the sewage vault. The hazardous materials and rescue teams led the rescue, which involved providing oxygen to Brown while monitoring the vault for any dangerous gases. The teams were able to pull Brown to safety after about a half hour. He was then taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in serious condition.

The Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial, which treats resuscitation, emergency surgical intervention, treats about 5,000 patients a year. In the 2007-2008 year, Jackson Memorial had 49,389 hospital admissions for inpatient services.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | AUTO ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized

Auto Accident with Tanker Causes Florida Turnpike Closure

On Monday, September 14, a gas tanker on the Florida Turnpike crashed with a van near Okeechobee Road, causing the tanker to overturn. The auto accident occurred on the southbound lanes at about 2:30 a.m. The Turnpike was closed for about nine hours.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the van was pulled over on the side of the road due to a flat tire, JustNews.com reported. The tanker tried to swerve to avoid the vehicle, but in doing so jackknifed, causing the tanker to overturn.

Both the driver of the van, Emilio Martinez-Rodriguez, and tanker’s driver were taken to the hospital. Due to the accident, Martinez-Rodriguez was launched out of the vehicle and suffered serious injury. The tanker contained 9,000 gallons of gas, so fire rescue sprayed foam on the spill to prevent ignition. The truck was finally moved from the road at about noon, after fire crews emptied the gasoline from the tanker.

According to the Miami Herald, because the valves which are normally used to empty the tanker were damaged, the emptying process was more difficult. Crews had to drill through metal while pouring water on the site to prevent fire or sparks from causing an explosion.

The area had to be inspected by environmental experts to determine the safety of the road. If the gas cannot evaporate quickly and soil needs to be dug up, further delays on the Turnpike will be required.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS, Uncategorized

Parsley Contamination In Florida Due to Salmonella

California-based company Muranaka Farm Inc. is recalling over 1,000 cases of parsley which were distributed to over 10 states throughout the U.S. due to possible salmonella contamination. The company decided to recall the cases of 60-count parsley, bunched with a rubber band, lot code 0023909, when a sampling aided by the FDA showed signs of bacteria.

The Palm Beach Post reported that 60 cases of Parsley were distributed to Florida. There were also 35 cases delivered to Colorado, 574 to California, 278 in Texas, and 30 in Arizona, to name a few. So far no illnesses have been reported.

According to WebMD, there are 40,000 cases of salmonellosis reported every year in the U.S. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Most of the time, salmonella passes with time and with minor treatment such as drinking fluids to prevent dehydration, but in some cases it can lead to Reiter’s syndrome, which can lead to arthritis.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | CRUISE SHIP ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized

Cruise Ship Passenger Rescued Off Coast of South Florida

On September 3, a 34-year-old man who fell off a Carnival cruise ship was later rescued by a Disney cruise ship about 30 miles off the coast of Port St. Lucie, Florida. According to a story by InjuryBoard.com, the man was aboard the Carnival Sensation and was treading water for about an hour and a half. The Disney Wonder and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to notification that the man had gone overboard and the man was rescued at about 12:45 a.m.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office determined that the man jumped off the boat from a stateroom balcony, according to MyFoxOrlando. One passenger said that they heard the man arguing with a woman, threatening to jump, shortly before he fell overboard. The Carnival ship stopped, and the crew attempted to send a rescue vessel, but it tipped over. The man was eventually brought back to Port Canaveral. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Injury Board reports that Carnival has had eight people go overboard this year, and 38 since 2000, which is the most of any cruise line, according to Ross Klein, who runs the Cruise Junkie website. Incidents such as this are not uncommon to cruise lines. Last year, ABC News reported on a Florida woman, Jennifer Ellis Seitz, fell over the balcony of the Norwegian Pearl on Christmas night. A week later, an employee of the Carnival Sensation went overboard off the coast of Florida.

An expert also told ABC that in 2008, 16.8 million people took cruises, with 11 million being Americans. The concern is that most of these accidents occur on large commercial ships which carry thousands of people onboard. As ticket prices go down and trips become more popular and more available to younger guests, issues with excessive drinking and lack of supervision and safety become a great concern. However, cruise lines have responded with security cameras and increased training for personnel on board.

Cruising is especially an important issue in Florida, with its many ports in Tampa, Miami, and Canaveral, among others, and availability of cruises from all the major lines such as Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Because all cruise lines are not impervious to accidents, groups such as International Cruise Victims have formed to aid cruise victims by pushing for legislation and providing a forum for discussion and reporting on cruise accidents.

It is important to note that the handling of Cruise Ship Cases is a specialized area of Personal Injury Law. Most personal injury attorneys do not handle these cases on a regular basis and as such are not aware of the specific laws concerning cruise ship negligence cases. For example, in a typical personal Injury or negligence case, pursuant to Florida Stautes an injured party has four years from the date of injury in which to pursue his claim in a court of law. On the other hand, in a Cruise Ship negligence claim, the passenger ticket is viewed as a valid contract and contains a clause which places limits on the time and place of an injured passenger’s claim for injury. Pursuant to contract, an injured passenger has only one year from the date of injury in which to file a claim in a court of law for their injuries and most passenger ticket contracts also mandate that any lawsuit for personal injury must be filed in a specific forum; which is usually Miami Federal Court. Our firm is fully aware of the intricasies of cruise ship cases and has successfully represented numerous clients who have been injured in cruise ship accidents in the Miami Federal Court System.

| lazaruslaw-2 | 0 Comments | AUTO ACCIDENTS, DUI DRIVER, Uncategorized

New Evidence Found In Former MLB Player’s South Florida Auto Accident Case

A new videotape has been found which may aid former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz’s DUI manslaughter case which was to begin this September. In 2007, at about 3:19 a.m. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police claim that Leyritz was drunk and ran a red light, causing an auto accident and killing 30-year-old Freida Veitch of Plantation.

According to the Miami Herald, the videotape, recorder a half block from the accident from a light pole, reveals a time stamp which is sooner than what has been alleged, and could aid Leyritz’s defense by casting doubt on the toxicology results. The defense says that the earlier time span from which the accident occurred would call to question the effect that alcohol had on Leyritz’s driving.

If convicted, Leyritz could face 15 years in prison. He is currently out on bond awaiting trial which, because of the surfacing of this video, may be postponed until as late as January. Leyritz faced legal troubles earlier in July when his ex-wife accused him of domestic battery.

This story Jim Leyritz is unfortunately one of many similar stories of late putting the spotlight on the consequences of drunk driving in South Florida. In March, professional football player Donte Stallworth pled guilty to DUI in an auto accident in Miami Beach, which resulted in the death of a pedestrian. In July, actor Jeffrey Donovan, star of USA’s hit series ‘Burn Notice’ was also arrested in Miami Beach on suspicion of DUI when he almost hit a police car.

South Florida has been a hot spot for celebrities for many years, from professional athletes to stars of the stage and screen. Florida’s beaches and cities known for their nightlife such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami attract visitors from all over the world. However, average citizens and celebrities alike are all subject to the same laws and regulations. Every person is innocent until proven guilty in our legal system and each case must be looked at under its given circumstances. Florida’s laws are in place to assure us that our streets are safe, and that those violators, whether an everyday resident or a high-profile celebrity, will be punished fairly and without any preferential or unreasonably harsh treatment.