All Topics

• Vaccine Makers Exempt from the Law

  Robert Blanchard | February 05, 2007 10:03 AM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  As the debate heats up over the HPV vaccination for young girls (pushed heavily by Merck), it should be mentioned that the normal tort laws for injuries from the product do not apply to vaccines. They can injure and kill and there is no liability. There is a federal compensation system, however, and the whole scheme is designed to promote vaccinations. That's ok as long as vaccinations are...

• Strokes Caused by Medications

  Robert Blanchard | January 31, 2007 11:00 AM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  The suits against the makers of Vioxx, Celebrex, PPA and Ortho Evra all include claims that the medication could cause strokes. Strokes a re complicated injuries and can be very severe. The difficulty in proving such claims arises from the variety of other factoors that can lead to a stroke. Some understanding of the different knds of strokes is helpful. Strokes that involve a bleeding in the...

• Antidepressant Suicide - Prosac Paxil Effexor

  Robert Blanchard | January 25, 2007 12:49 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  According to a new study, for suicidal patients who had taken antidepressants, fluoxetine (Prosac) was associated with the lowest risk for causing suicidal tendencies, as opposed to venlafaxine (Effexor) which had the highest risk, as published in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. The aim of this study was to investigate, in a nationwide series of suicidal subjects, how...

• Speaking to a Jury

  Robert Blanchard | January 22, 2007 2:23 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  All trial lawyers should avoid overly complex, technical, and boring explanations to a jury. Not only do jurors become confused, bored, and tune you out when you do, but technical jargon strips your arguments of the personal connections necessary to be persuasive. Even if a juror knows what a subdural hematoma is--and many do not--use of technical jargon makes jurors think of impersonal...

• Johnson & Johnson Vice President Blows Whistle on Ortho Evra

  Staff Writer | December 27, 2006 11:31 AM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  The Associated Press reported a new relevation in the ongoing pharmaceutical safety scandal which Johnson and Johnson has been facing in the past year or two. Former vice president and medical doctor Joel Lippman says he tried many times to bring problems with popular drugs such as the ortho evra patch to light, and claims he was fired for bringing attention to the safety of these drug products

• Breast Cancer Mis-Diagnosis and Late Diagnosis

  Robert Blanchard | December 22, 2006 12:22 PM | 1 CommentPensacola, FL

  An international panel updated their standards on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, as reported in the October 2006 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS). According to the American Cancer Society, invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 211,240 women and will cause more than 40,000 deaths in 2005. The updated statement reflects the conclusions of a panel...

• Knee Injuries Are Common in PI Practice

  Robert Blanchard | December 20, 2006 12:00 PM | 1 CommentPensacola, FL

  Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury (ACLI) usually happen from low-velocity, noncontact, deceleration injuries or from contact injuries with a rotational component. Some sports may also produce injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) secondary to twisting, valgus stress, or hyperextension all directly related to contact or collision. We have all seen the signigicance of the ACL in athletes...

• Old Surgeons Not a Problem

  Robert Blanchard | December 04, 2006 10:05 AM | 1 CommentPensacola, FL

  When you need complex cardiovascular or cancer surgery, you have to choose a surgeon and many patients may select an older physician, assuming his experience may be needed. New research says they are right - experience helps. A study designed to address this issue used approximately 461,000 Medicare records to assess the association between age of the listed operator and surgical mortality. For...

• Doctors Need to Be Aware of Possible Condition

  Robert Blanchard | November 29, 2006 12:42 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  With the rise in obesity, there is also expected to be a rise in obesity related medical conditions. Many such conditions only require long term management, but some require instant identification and appropriate medical intervention. Such is the case with the condition known as Pseudotumor Cerebris. Overweight women of childbearing age are at risk and the condition causes and increase in...

• Tort Reform - Not a Real Issue

  Robert Blanchard | November 21, 2006 10:56 AM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  If you listen to insurance companies, they will say that limiting lawsuits - "tort reform" - is the top concern of American voters.Using their own "push polls" and fantasy arguments, corporate interest spokesmen have created the myth that this issue is some kind of national priority. Yet time and again, evidence shows that the public couldn't care less.Senator Rick Santorum made "tort reform"...