All Topics

• Infections make scar removal potentially dangerous

  Robert Blanchard | January 05, 2006 4:48 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  If you think you are developing an infection following a surgery of your skin, such as scar removal, there are some things you should know. Signs and symptoms of wound infection usually present in an escalating manner from days 4-6 after surgery and include redness, tenderness, and swelling at the surgery site. Pus may be present. If the infection is caught at an early stage, the patient may be...

• Paraplegia from Simple Surgery?

  Robert Blanchard | January 05, 2006 4:45 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  Paraplegia following a simple surgery, such as a thoracotomy, is a disaster with obvious legal implications. Most documented cases involve arterial bleeding. Unexpected paraplegia following a simple lung resection is a devastating injury. Fortunately, it rarely occurs. The incidence of paraplegia after thoracotomy is unknown but has been estimated to be approximately 0.08%. The culprit may be...

• Where are the detectors for monoxide?

  Robert Blanchard | January 05, 2006 4:40 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  Events of carbon monoxide poisoning still appear in the news, despite the availability of detectors. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion of carbonaceous material. CO at sufficiently high concentrations can kill. Commonly overlooked or misdiagnosed, CO intoxication often presents a significant clinical challenge. Most fatalities result from fires,...

• Wing Detached from Older Plane

  Robert Blanchard | January 05, 2006 4:29 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  With aging fleets of aircraft, we may see more disaters like this in the future.The right wing detached from a vintage seaplane before it plunged into the sea off Miami Beach and killed 20 people, but it was unclear what caused the wing to break off.Amateur video obtained by CNN showed the fuselage slam into the water, followed by the wing falling through the sky on fire and leaving a trail of...

• Neutro Spec x-ray die - warning too late for some

  Robert Blanchard | January 05, 2006 4:20 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  One has to wonder why the FDA so often learns of problems only after a new drug or medical device is approved and in use. Reports submitted to the FDA suggest NeutroSpec, a die used during radiographic imaging, caused allergic-type reactions within minutes following administration. Those reactions led to the death of two patients and to cardiopulmonary failure, central nervous system problems...

• More Ortho Evra Lawsuits

  Robert Blanchard | November 14, 2005 12:59 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  Blood clots from birth control are not new. But in patch form it appears you are getting more hormones and, now they find, more blood clots. I would think that lawyers looking into these cases would be wise to focus on the dosage problems rather the hormones themselves. Hormone-related litigation has so far proved difficult.More than 4 million women have used the patch since it went on sale in...

• Florida Bar Advice to the Public Needs Clarification

  Robert Blanchard | November 11, 2005 3:32 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  As part of public information provided by the Florida Bar about "what to in case of an auto accident," the Florida Bar website advises that guilty pleas in traffic infraction cases can be used in a civil lawsuit (as in a personal ijury case). However, Section 318.14(4) states: 318.14 Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; procedures.-- (4) Except as provided in subsection...

• Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Carwash

  Robert Blanchard | November 10, 2005 4:59 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  A Tampa carwash is facing a wrongful death suit filed by a man whose wife died at the business in May.Brenda Brown was waiting for her car to be cleaned at Town N' Country Carwash on May 6th when a carwash employee driving a 2003 Isuzu Rodeo rammed into her. She died two days later.Brown's husband's wrongful death attorney alleges that the carwash was negligent by not training its employees to...

• Florida Medical Malpractice Statement

  Staff Writer | November 08, 2005 1:58 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  While there are certain rules of court and procedures that affect the filing of a medical malpractice claim, in Florida, these are essentially negligence claims. Negligence is the failure of a person to exercise the proper duty of care thereby injuring someone else. Section 766.102 of Florida Statutes describes what a doctor’s duty of care is. A doctor must do what a reasonably prudent...

• Another Vioxx Lawsuit Filed

  Staff Writer | November 07, 2005 1:39 PM | 0 CommentsPensacola, FL

  An Illinois attorney has filed a lawsuit against Merck (the drug's maker) and Wallgreens.Irene Anzona was 49 when she had a stroke she believes was caused by Vioxx, a Cox-2 inhibitor used to treat arthritis pain. Vioxx was voluntarily recalled by Merck in September 2004. Anzona's attorney alleges that Merck failed to warn Vioxx users of the drug's potentially dangerous side effects, was...