Are Hybrid Cars Safer Than Standard Vehicles

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There used to be this perception that hybrids were, aside from their obvious fuel efficiency benefits, a little wimpy and unsafe. This was not an unfounded perception. In the past, fuel economy came at the expense of vehicle weight, a major factor in the safety of a vehicle that stands true even today. However, it seems some things have changed.

Research conducted recently by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), is showing that the table have turned, and hybrids are proving to be safer than their standard counterparts when it comes to shielding their occupants from personal injuries in vehicle crashes.

Hybrid Safety

Researchers say that, on average, the odds of being injured in a crash are an impressive 25% lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models. They confirm that one of the big factors in this is that technology in hybrids has allowed engineers

“Hybrids on average are 10% heavier than their standard counterparts. This extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes that their conventional twins don’t have.” says Matt Moore, HLDI vice president and an author of the report.

He notes other factors, such as:

  • Method Factors – How the hybrids are being driven.
  • Time Factors – When people are driving them
  • Demographic Factors – Who are driving them

Researchers included controls to reduce the impact these differences may have had on the results. In the study, HLDI estimated the odds that a crash would result in injuries if people were riding in a hybrid versus the conventional version of the same vehicle.

The study included more than 25 hybrid-conventional vehicle pairs, all 2003-11 models, with at least 1 collision claim and at least 1 related injury claim filed under personal injury protection or medical payment coverage in 2002-10. Researchers found that hybrids’ injury odds were 27% lower than their standard counterparts for collision claims with a related personal injury protection PIP claim and 25% lower than their twins for collision claims with a related MedPay claim.

Hybrids and Crashes

There are definitely multiple factors in why hybrids are safer. As mentioned above, they are generally driven differently by those who chose to drive hybrids. As it stands the demographics for hybrids skew older and thus are less prone to being seen speeding or involved in DUI stops. Also, there are fewer of them on the road at night as compared to standard vehicles currently. Certainly, this may change as hybrids become more prevalent on the roads, but as it stands the statistics and engineering are solid.

The physics behind hybrid accidents

As anyone can tell you, when two vehicles that differ in size and weight collide, the people in the smaller, lighter vehicle will be at a serious disadvantage. It’s the physics of force that’s been around for hundreds of years. When two objects collide, any two objects, the bigger, heavier object will push the smaller, lighter one backward on impact.

Greater force means greater risk of personal injury for people in smaller vehicles. Even in single-vehicle crashes, heavier vehicles have an advantage because they are more likely to move, bend, or deform objects they hit.

You see, it’s actually partly due to their engineering. Hybrids have to weigh more because the lithium-ion battery packs and other components used in dual-power systems in today’s modern hybrids weigh much more than standard vehicle engine components. Two of the same model of car, one standard, one hybrid, can have about a 450 to 500 lb differential. A serious disparity when it comes to personal injuries in a car accident.

Hybrids and pedestrians

Not all of the news was bright. HLDI conducted a separate analysis of the data that shows hybrids may be as much as 20% more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes with injuries than standard vehicles.

“When hybrids operate in electric-only mode pedestrians can’t hear them approaching,” says Moore, “so they might step out into the roadway without checking first to see what’s coming.”

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been working diligently with safety advocates. Earlier this year Congress gave the agency three years to come up with a requirement for equipping hybrids and electric models with sounds to alert unsuspecting pedestrians.

Seattle Car Accident Attorneys

This finding is going to be important to people who are both concerned about safety and fuel efficiency. This is particularly important for parents who want a safe car that shows their kids the importance of carbon emissions and conservation.

“Saving at the pump no longer means you have to skimp on crash protection,” Moore says.

If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of these types of intersections then the best thing you can do is contact an experienced personal injury lawyer. Call Phillips Law Firm for a free consultation and review of your legal options.

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What Effect Does A Brain Injury In A Car Accident Have On My Child?

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One of the hardest things about being a personal injury attorney is seeing the grief of parents as their child suffers through a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that they sustained in a car accident due to a negligent, reckless, or drunk driver.

Though there is some satisfaction in finding justice and compensation to help with medical bills, any family dealing with a child suffering from TBI will tell you, that’s far from where the struggle ends. We have written articles about childhood head injuries, how they can effect emotional development, and how they may even lead to violent tendencies later in life.

Now there have been some more comprehensive studies that show childhood TBI victims may suffer even more dire consequences to their ability to learn that may effect how well they achieve throughout their lifetime.

Children and Brain Injuries

Children often suffer mild brain injuries many times throughout their lives resulting from a fall. About 1 in 30 newborns will have a traumatic brain injury by age 16, some researchers have found. Researchers also know that the impairments after these injuries persist until at least five years after the accident. However, experts confirm motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of severe brain injury in kids.

Now, two Australian research studies have been released recently that examined the impact of traumatic brain injury in children as young as 2 years, and found that these injuries affected cognitive function, IQ and even behavior for some time.

One, conducted by the University of Melbourne lead by Dr. Vicki Anderson, evaluated 40 children who had a traumatic brain injury. The accidents happened when they ranged in age from 2 to 7. They divided them into three groups by severity of their injuries.

The categories were:

  • Seven had mild injuries.
  • Twenty had moderate injuries.
  • Thirteen had severe injuries.

Through the course of the 10 year study, researchers compared the children with brain injuries to healthy children. The children were tested on several measures, including their IQ, cognitive skills, and social and behavioral skills. They were also tested on their adaptive ability such as their response to daily demands and any learning difficulties.

Researchers found that recovery from traumatic brain injury can continue for years after the initial injury. The kids with the most severe brain injuries had the most significant results, showing lower IQs of between 18 and 26 points. Children who had moderate-to-severe TBIs scored lower on IQ tests by about seven to 10 points. Mild traumatic brain injuries didn’t seem to significantly affect IQ.

A child’s home environment can positively influence recovery if the child lives in a stable, caring home.

“A quality home environment and access to appropriate rehabilitation is critical to maximize outcomes,” Anderson said.

Long Term Effects Of Minor Accidents

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), TBIs occur after a blow or bump to the head. The CDC says that young children under 4 years old are particularly at risk of experiencing a TBI, which can occur from a fall, a car accident, deliberate child abuse, sports or being hit with a moving object. The agency says that about one-third of children who survive a TBI will have lasting damage.

The second study was led by Louise Crowe, a postdoctoral research officer at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne. His team followed a group of 53 children who had sustained a TBI before they were 3 years old as well as 27 non-injured children. They followed up with these children when they were between 4 and 6 years old. The average time since the injury occurred was 40 months.

This study found that children who had moderate-to-severe TBIs scored lower on IQ tests by about seven to 10 points. However, though the test subjects with mild and moderate-to-severe TBIs showed no significant decrease in IQ, they were associated with an increased risk of behavior problems.

“Many people think that the soft skull of a baby may give them some advantage because if they fall they are not likely to sustain a skull fracture. Also, because a baby’s brain is growing so quickly, it seems like the brain may be able to fix an injury,” Crowe said. “In reality, the soft skull and growing brain of a baby put them at a greater risk of future problems.”

Researchers in this study also stressed the importance of a strong, stress-free environment with ample support from the parents to increase the chances of a strong, lasting, and balanced recovery.

“Children from cohesive family environments and children whose parents had lower levels of stress showed better recovery,” Crowe said. “Why this is so is unclear, but it may be due to a parent spending more time with their children, and children also growing up in a less stressful environment.

Washington Brain Injury Lawyer

As you can see, the main cause of TBI in kids is car accidents and depending on the severity of the injury, this can be a life altering injury affecting their future potential, employment, and quality of life. It can also lead to antisocial and potentially violent behavior. This is bad for both the child and parents.

Also, researchers confirm that long-term care and a solid, stress-free environment at home with ample support and time spent on recovery is key to returning the child on a positive road for the rest of their lives. This requires compensation far beyond what insurance companies feel as if they are required to pay because it may mean that one or both parents need to quit their jobs to care for the child full time as well as physical therapy, mental therapy, and moving out of the city or other high stress environments.

If you or someone you know has suffered from a traumatic brain injury then some of the best advice they can get is to find experienced legal council that can properly negotiate with insurance companies and medical care providers to assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call the brain injury attorneys at Phillips Law Firm for a free consultation on your legal options.

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How Dangerous Is It For My Teenager To Drive With Passengers?

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Teen car accidents in Washington State are not only a giant concern for parents, but also legislators. Washington State is one of the more active members of the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which brought Graduated Driver Laws (GDL). These laws set guidelines as to how teenagers can drive at night, with passengers, and at what ages they can do these things.

Though the details vary by state, they stay under the same general principles of young driver safety and graduated system of licensure over a period of time.

  • Learner Stage: supervised driving, cumulating with a driving test
  • Intermediate Stage: limiting unsupervised driving in high risk situations
  • Full Privilege Stage: a standard driver’s license

These laws have come under attack as some studies have shown that they do not address maturity, which can vary from person to person and can be the difference in some of the most dangerous situations, namely, driving with passenger distractions.

Passenger Distractions

Teenagers can be an excitable lot, particularly when they’re in the car experiencing a freedom they had been previously deprived. As you’ll see, there are lots of reasons for these distractions and they can vary by gender, but what is not under dispute is that passenger distraction is considered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as one of the biggest causes of teen car accidents.

Since car accidents are the leading cause of death for people 16 to 25, this has made passenger distractions a huge concern for traffic safety officials and advocates. This week has also perhaps marked a turning point as two studies came out showing some of the causal factors involved in passenger distraction.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm both published their studies in the Journal of Adolescent Health. They don’t specifically show the danger of distraction, that was already know, instead they help us understand the factors that may predispose teens to drive with multiple friends and how those passengers may contribute to crashes by distracting the driver and promoting risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, or weaving.

“Knowing this, we can develop programs that work in tandem with current Graduated Driver Licensing laws,” said study author Allison Curry, PhD, director of epidemiology at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention.

The first study surveyed 198 teen drivers. For the most part teens in this study generally reported strong perceptions of the risks of driving, low frequencies of driving with multiple passengers, and strong beliefs that their parents monitored their behavior and set rules.

However, the teens who are most likely to drive with multiple passengers shared the following characteristics:

  • Considered themselves “thrill-seekers.”
  • Perceived their parents as not setting rules or monitoring their whereabouts.
  • Possessed a weak perception of the risks associated with driving in general.

Teen Passenger Distraction Risk By Gender

The State Farm study analyzed 677 teen drivers involved in serious crashes and compared the likelihood of driver distraction and risk-taking behaviors just prior to the crash when teens drive with peer passengers as opposed to when they drive alone.

Researchers found that both male and female teen drivers with peer passengers were more likely to be distracted just before a crash as compared to teens who crashed while driving alone. However, 71% of males as compared to 47% of females said they were distracted directly by the actions of their passengers.

The study found males with passengers were nearly 6x more likely to perform an illegal maneuver and 2x more likely to drive aggressively just before a crash, as compared to males driving alone. Females rarely drove aggressively prior to a crash, regardless of whether they had passengers in the car.

“Teen passengers can intentionally and unintentionally encourage unsafe driving,” said Dr. Mirman. “It’s best to keep the number of passengers to a minimum for the first year.”

The study authors also emphasized the important role parents play in supporting safe driving among teens and their passengers.

“Combined with Graduated Driver Licensing laws that limit passengers for the first year of driving, involved parents are an effective strategy to protect teens from a dangerous and preventable crash risk – driving with their friends,” said Chris Mullen, research director at State Farm

They recommend parents set a house rule of no non-sibling teen passengers for the first six months of driving and only one non-sibling passenger for the second six months.

When combined with a study conducted by the University of California, which (amongst a ton of other valuable information) revealed the causal behaviors cited in teen passenger distraction car accidents by gender as you can see in the chart below.

Washington Car Accident Lawyers

The attorneys at Phillips Law Firm support any effort that keeps teenage drivers and their families safe. We have seen how the terrible grief over the loss of a loved one torn away at the beginning of their lives due to a car accident can rip apart families and send shockwaves through a community.

Phillips Law Firm represents families of victims who have been injured or died in car accidents in Washington state. We are skilled attorneys in wrongful death lawsuits and personal injury lawsuits with years of experience that they will use to assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call today for a free consultation.

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Do I Have A Black Box EDR On My Car?

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Accident investigation is a science. They use a ton of different tools including measuring ribbon, markers, and witnesses, as well as read wreckage and debris like a fortune teller reads tea leaves. But they are about to get a whole new tool in the form of a little black box.

You’ve probably heard of them being on airplanes, trains, and charter buses, but Electronic Data Recorders (EDRs) also occupy many other commercial vehicles and even some newer consumer vehicles. However, the black box data on many consumer vehicles has been considered proprietary to the car manufacturers and thus, not commonly used as evidence in determining fault, yet, that may soon change.

Legislation and Recalls

Government officials are now in the process of getting through rules that would require every new car sold in the U.S. include a ‘black box’ data recording devices similar to those used on buses and trucks now. The idea was endorsed this week by the U.S. National Research Council, following the closing of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) closing of the 2010-2011 investigation of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles.

In 2010, Toyota conducted the world’s largest automotive recall, pulling nearly 10 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles from countries around the world. The car manufacturer insists that the problem was caused by gas pedals getting stuck under floor mats, which forced the car surge forward for miles as the drivers unsuccessfully attempted to brake and shift out of gear to no avail until the car finally decided to stop or they ran into a large object.

Many believe that the problem could have been rooted in errant electronic throttle control systems. In one of first cases, in Washington State, the parents of a young man who died from what was ruled as speeding, worked with Toyota, through their attorney, to obtain and examine data from the black box in his truck. Though Toyota vehemently resisted, they finally provided them with 5 seconds leading up to the crash showing that their son did not or was unable to brake before the accident.

The National Research Council (NRC) concluded that the safety agency was right to close its investigation after the NHTSA (assisted by NASA) was unable to find an electronic cause (or otherwise) of the Toyota sudden acceleration defect. However, the NRC suggested that the NHTSA must become more familiar with today’s sophisticated automotive electronics.

“Failures associated with electronics systems—including those related to software programming, dual and intermittent electronics hardware faults, and electromagnetic disturbances — may not leave physical evidence to aid investigations into observed or reported unsafe vehicle behaviors,” said the National Research Council.

A New Standard

The NHTSA has been working on a standardized system for recording data nearly a decade now. In 2004, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) came out with its first EDR, the IEEE 1616, which showed that it could be produced. In 2010, the organization rolled out their second generation of that model, the IEEE 1616a, and it looks as if that is quickly gaining favor with upper officials and may become the standard amongst the whole vehicle industry for cars driven in the United States.

The engineering group says that the IEEE 1616a aims to preserve the data quality and integrity needed to meet federal collection standards, while protecting consumers’ privacy. Built on more than a decade of MVEDR research and development by organizations including federal agencies, industry trade associations, and global automotive, truck, and bus manufacturers.

New safeguards on the IEEE 1616a are:

  • Data tampering – modification, removal, erasure, or otherwise rendering inoperative of any device or element, including MVEDRs;
  • VIN theft – duplication and transfer of unique VIN numbers, a process known as “VIN cloning”, enabling stolen cars to be passed off as non-stolen;
  • Odometer fraud – rolling back of vehicle odometers, resulting in the appearance of lower mileage values; and
  • Privacy – prevention of the misuse of collected data for vehicle owners.

“According to the World Health Organization, someone dies in a motor vehicle crash once every minute, and road crash fatalities have claimed 30 million lives globally since 1896,” said Tom Kowalick, Chair of the IEEE P1616a Working Group. “As millions of drivers today face ongoing automotive recalls for electrical and onboard computer issues, [EDRs] are playing an increasingly critical role in the analysis of the scientific data collected from these vehicles.”

Personal Injury and Black Boxes

In a personal injury case, as mentioned above, the accident investigation is extremely important. The reason for this is, in order to seek personal injury compensation there must be some record of negligence. Driving under the influence (DUI) is traceable through breathalyzer, field sobriety tests, and blood tests, however, other reckless behaviors such as speeding, tailgating, erratic driving, or distraction may need witnesses or only be told by skid marks.

With an EDR, the speed of the vehicle, braking, and immediate electrical history can help determine the cause of the crash and in turn, the person who caused it. This will go a long way in helping determine and expedite your settlement. Certainly, this information could at times work against the victim, as can any data, however, we are confident that the new rules will help get victims the justice and compensation they deserve.

Seattle Car Accident Lawyers

Phillips Law Firm has helped thousands of Washington residents and their families get the compensation they deserve after a serious car accident. If you or someone you know gets injured in a car accident you need an experienced representative to deal with the insurance companies to assure you the best settlement. Call the Seattle car accident attorneys at Phillips Law Firm for a free consultation.

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How Toxic Is My Office?

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When it comes to worker’s compensation in Washington State, generally all we hear about is people being injured on the job after falling, getting burned by fire or chemicals, or getting caught in machinery. However, the reasonable expectation of a safe work environment does not end with construction sites, mines, and factories. Though certainly less injury prone of an environment overall, office environments carry their own potentially deadly hazards, namely toxins.

There are tons of different kinds of injuries that can happen that mitigate receiving L&I benefits in an office setting including carpal tunnel, falling filing cabinets, etc. However, what many workers don’t realize is that they could be injured just by breathing the toxic air around them.

Common Office Toxins

If you are reading this in your office, all you need to do is look around and see the various toxins. You’re sitting in them, typing on them, and all the while breathing them in. Now, this isn’t meant to freak anyone out because it’s something we all have to live with, but they exist. The difference between a safe work environment and an unsafe work environment is the levels of toxins.

Common office toxins are:

  • Cleaning Products – According to Copes, custodians and janitors exposed to high levels of some types of cleaning products experience stronger cases of asthma.
  • Radon – Basements and rooms under ground level are at risk for this natural radioactive gas. Radon is second only to tobacco as a leading cause of lung cancer.
  • Photocopiers – These machines emit low levels of ozone that can cause dizziness, fatigue, and respiratory problems.
  • Mold and Mildew – Water and moldy food can also be causes for poor indoor air quality. Water leaks can cause bacteria and mold to grow and old food introduces fungus and spores into the workplace.
  • PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) – These are industrial toxic chemicals, used to retard flame in consumer electronic plastics and furniture. Over the past 30 years, PBDES have been found in blood, breastmilk, and umbilical cord blood. Lab animals exposed to these toxins show deficits in learning and memory over time. PBDEs affect thryroid levels in laboratory animals and in wildlife, and may cause birth defects.
  • PFCs (polyfluorinated compounds) – This is a group of toxic chemicals released from carpeting, paint, furniture glues, water repellents and coverings, and other sources. It has been found that they build up in the body over time, and can take years for the body to metabolize and eliminate.

Certainly there are different factors such as environmental hypersensitivity and allergies that need to be taken into account, but for overall worker health the reduction in toxic chemicals in the workplace needs to be a conscious effort.

PFCs and PBDEs in the Workplace

In Washington State, the legislature has already addressed PBDEs by ordering a reduction in 2006. This effort, though not culminating quickly enough for workplace safety advocates like those at Phillips Law Firm and L&I, is currently making an impact. However, these types of moves always lead to other concerns, namely PFCs.

A new study from the journal Environmental Science and Technology reports that researchers found concentrations of a PFCs called fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) in office air that were 3-5 times higher than those reported in previous studies of household air, suggesting that offices may represent a unique and important exposure environment.

Effects from these compounds in animal studies have shown:

  • Reduced lipid metabolism
  • Reduced liver health
  • Lower rates reproduction
  • Weaker immune system
  • Lower birth weights
  • Higher cholesterol

What can the typical office worker do to limit exposure? Telecommuting when possible, working in outdoor areas, or bringing toxin-sucking plants to the office can all reduce the quantity of exposure to such chemicals.

Toxic Printers

One of the biggest concerns for alert office workers has been printers. There are some workers that have not changed printer cartages, but those who have know that the stuff that makes us able to see our work on paper is a black, powdered, toxic chemical that gets everywhere. They know that if you breath that fine powder, it can seriously effect your health.

Last week, Australian researchers confirmed those fears with a report showing that laser printer emissions are as bad for the lungs as a lit cigarette. Toner particles join the cloud of invisible office toxins that researchers have been identifying in recent years, which is causing office workers to slowly develop compromised immune systems, chronic headaches, and respiratory distress.

Now, researchers are using sensors that pick up particulate smaller than one micron, or about one-50th the diameter of a human hair. In fact, exerts found that when someone has a large job going, the air quality sensors go through the roof.

Workers Compensation Lawyer

As you can see there are some serious air quality and toxic hazards for workers in climate controlled office spaces, particularly for pregnant women as many of these agents can cause birth defects. Many companies have begun testing regularly for radon, asbestos, and other toxins that have been proven extremely hazardous over the past few decades, however, there are also extremely apparent ones such as printer dust that can seriously effect a worker’s overall health. These toxic effects can be extremely hard to prove to Washington State L&I and may require legal help in seeking compensation for injuries and illnesses on the job.

Phillips Law Firm has a team of legal professionals dedicated to seeking just compensation for workers injured on the job. Our workers compensation attorneys will look at your case for free and give you options on what you need to do to move forward. Call Phillips Law Firm now for a free consultation.

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DePuy Stops Producing Medical Devices After FDA Warning

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One of the biggest defective medical device stories of 2010 and 2011 was surrounding the DePuy hip replacement. Why was this such a big story? Because Johnson and Johnson (J&J), the parent company of DePuy Industries recalled 93,000 units for faulty wear and tear that resulted in metal shards entering the hip area causing the surrounding tissue to necrotize (die on a cellular level) causing a tremendous amount of pain.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, the recall only came after thousands of people had already had the defective DePuy hip replacements installed in their bodies. They did this because DePuy had convinced medical professionals and the public that “metal on metal,” ball-in-socket construction was sturdier and longer lasting than the standard metal in polyurethane socket. In fact, it turned out to be the opposite.

It was only after an influx of complaints, bad press, and a scandal in Scotland, that the Food and Drug Administration took the issue seriously. J&J on the other hand has done everything it can to avoid taking responsibility. Now it seems, their backhanded tactics have backfired.

FDA Inspection

The FDA inspected DePuy Industries located in Warsaw, Indiana, on May 10, 2011, through June 7, 2011, nearly two years after the complaints started streaming in and a year after a major news story about it. The facility manufactures:

  • ASR Acetabular Cup System
  • ASR XL Acetabular Cup System
  • Pinnacle Acetabular System
  • PFC Sigma Knee System
  • Agility LP Total Ankle Prosthesis
  • Other ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, and wrist replacement devices.

After a painfully long review period of data, on December 8th of 2011, the FDA issued DePuy warning letter stating what they had discovered. It said inspectors found that many of the devices that were distributed into the market hadn’t been adequately vetted by the agency or in some cases the FDA hadn’t even told of the existence of the medical device on the market at all!

“[The devices] have no premarket clearance or approval, or have been modified in ways that could impact the safety and effectiveness of the devices,” the warning letter said.

The FDA also warned DePuy had failed to establish adequate design procedures to ensure the devices conformed to their intended use. The agency also said the company lacked a proper statistical method for detecting recurring quality problems.

These devices were being sold to the public and installed permanently in people’s bodies. This is exactly one of the tasks that the FDA is there to protect from. It is as if the company was distributing a drug that was not approved and touted benefits that had not be substantiated without determining or revealing any side effects or warnings what so ever.

FDA Action Against J&J and DePuy

Regulators have warned the pharmaceutical giant and it’s sister company against selling joint replacement products without proper approval, prompting the company to stop producing some devices under threat of possible regulatory action, including seizure, injunction and financial penalties. The regulators gave DePuy 15 business days to correct the violations.

A statement released by DePuy on Wednesday said the “company produced the items as custom medical devices for physicians. Custom devices are exempt from the rules the FDA cited in the warning.”

But the agency said the products were too standard in design to qualify for exemption.

“While DePuy believes it had complied with FDA requirements, the company has made the decision at this time not to provide custom devices,” the company statement said. “DePuy has implemented a number of actions to address concerns raised in the inspection, and has responded to all concerns raised in the warning letter.”

Problems With The ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System?

Perhaps the largest problem is surrounding the metal on metal design, which is different from the usual polyethylene cup design. The design itself has caused some serious discomfort, but there are also serious design flaws due to the metal on metal system. This has highlighted the manufacturing, design, and testing process of J&J and DePuy as a harmful profit over patient approach.

Some problems with the products reported by the customers have been:

Loose Parts – The device is a ball and socket system which is attached to both the pelvic bone and the femur bone. It has been known to become loose in the socket, in the shaft, or loose in other parts of the system causing severe pain and lost mobility.

Dislocation – The ball of the unit can completely detach, leading to severe pain, loss of movement, and requiring immediate emergency medical attention.

Femur or Pelvic Bone Fracture – The unit is attached to the pelvic bone and femur bone. Patients have complained the hard metal, though tough, causes bone fractures in these places.

Infection – Infection after a long hip surgery can lead to serious implications for the patient’s overall health. Some of the implications include the ability to fight disease, ongoing pain and fatigue, and the infection getting into the blood system and affecting other organs in the body. Having another replacement surgery may be fatal to some patients.

Genotoxicity – Ware and tear can cause units have metal loss. Microscopic metal shavings cause the chromosomes of bone marrow or white blood cells to breakdown. Genotoxic effects have been known to result in cancer or even heritable defects if toxicity reaches the reproductive organs and reproductive cells are affected. This is easier than one may think since the hip is very close to that area.

Malalignment – At the time of surgery the technicians or surgeons did not notice that the device was not aligned correctly. After the patient had started using the hip, the malalignment led to severe discomfort and pain. It can also lead to malfunction as the patient struggles with the devices malaligned movement and their natural movement.

DePuy Defective Drug Attorney

Ethical business practices put customer safety first and foremost, with proper and thoughtful design of medical devices and products, adequately extensive testing, and fast recognition of problems once they are realized. If all of these ethical procedures had been practiced, particularly the last one, then 12,000 patient’s wouldn’t be in the painful and crippling situation they are now.

Phillips Law Firm understands the plight of the patient and addresses each individual client’s needs. We are a group of experienced Defective Medical Device Lawyers that will take the time to listen to the patient and their needs in order to seek the proper justice and compensation they deserve. Callt Phillips Law Firm Today for a free consultation.

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How Many Pedestrian Accidents Are Caused By Music Players?

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As society progresses and technology advances we seem to all be increasingly connected and in turn distracted. Distracted driving laws are now being considered by the national lawmakers in order to curb the thousands of distracted driving accidents, but what about distracted walking?

Whether we have a cell phone in our faces or music blasting in our ears, it seems that everyone is walking around with headphones. Though there are some people who walk around wearing headphones just to avoid talking to people on the street, the majority of people are listening to something.

Be it NPR, a podcast, or music, a new study has discovered that the number of headphone-wearing pedestrians seriously injured or killed near roadways and railways has tripled in six years.

Distracted Pedestrian Injury Research

Richard Lichenstein at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children lead a team on the study published today in the online journal Injury Prevention. Researchers collected data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Google news archives, and the Westlaw Campus Research database from Jan. 1, 2004 to June 1, 2011.

They studied 116 cases in the U.S. that involved either death or serious personal injury. Researchers discovered that the number of cases rose from 16 in 2004-2005 to 47 in 2010-2011.

Out of the 116 total cases in the study, researchers noted that 34 of the reports specifically mention horns or sirens being sounded before the victims were struck denoting that the pedestrian may have been listening to their music or program loud enough to not hear it. Of course, there was no mention on when the siren or horn was sounded.

The retrospective study revealed that there was a larger proportion of male victims (68%). Of that gender group, the data showed that 67% of the victims were under 30 years of age. Of all the accidents in the study, 55% involved trains and 89% occurred in urban areas.

“The study illustrates the dangers of using devices such as music players with headphones,” researcher’s wrote. “Sensory deprivation that results from using headphones with electronic devices may be a unique problem in pedestrian incidents, where auditory cues can be more important than visual ones.”

You may have noticed the use of Google News in the study, which is a step away from traditional scientific studies, which, the researchers noted, likely over-publishes tragic events but vastly under-publishes non-fatal cases. However, it does substantiate limited records or Researchers noted that outside factors may have also been involved including:

  • Suicidal intentions
  • Substance abuse
  • Mental illness
  • Driver error

Of the 116 cases studied, more than a third of the people were younger than age 18 and two-thirds were younger than 30.

Are Music Players More Dangers Than Walking With Cell Phones?

Sure, it’s easy to blame on distraction over another for pedestrian accidents, however, in general, life doesn’t turn out so black and white. A paper due for publication in the January 2012 issue of Safety Science by a group of cognitive scientists UC-San Diego may dispute the dangers of walking with headphones.

Researchers observed pedestrians crossing the street on the campus of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. Though the data isn’t out yet, preliminary reports anticipate the researchers reporting that music players had no impact on a pedestrian’s ability to cross the street.

Women showed no difference in cautionary behavior whether or not they were listening to music, while men actually paid more attention to traffic with headphones in than without any distraction.

This is in contrast to a University of Alabama at Birmingham study that gathered test walkers into a virtual street-crossing simulator, complete with ambient traffic noise piped into lab speakers. They measured how well the subjects crossed while having a cell phone conversation with one of the researchers.

Compared to when subjects that crossed without any distraction, subjects on the phone reached the other side with less time to spare, missed more opportunities to cross safely, and had more close calls. Some even got hit by a virtual car!

Researchers suggested that even though the subjects saw the danger, the information was not absorbed. It appears as though distracted pedestrians may move their heads to look left and right before crossing, but fail to actually capture and/or process the information necessary to cross safely.

Washington Pedestrian Accident Attorney

These discoveries in no way exonerate drivers from driving distracted or just overall not paying attention, however, responsibility is a two way street. Yet, the weight of responsibility not on those walking down the street, but those driving a ton of steel at high speeds down the road.

If you or a loved one have been in a pedestrian injury accident it is important that you find legal representation right away to help you with insurance companies, health care providers, and especially legal issues. Call the Seattle Pedestrian Accident Lawyers at Phillips Law Firm for a consultation.

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What Are Propecia Sexual Side Effect Lawsuits?

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Going bald is a horrible experience. You can see your hair thin by the day and the evidence is slapping you in the face from your shower drain. This is particularly disconcerting for younger men because, though women like to say they don’t really care about a full head of hair, balding men can tell you that women actually really, really care by the sheer volume of rejection. This has inspired millions of men to take hair loss prevention drugs such as Propecia, however, many have found that there is a potentially permanent sexual side effect that can prove to turn off a woman far more than baldness.

Global pharmaceutical giant Merck first offered Propecia as “Proscar” to men because the active ingredient “finasteride” was found to reduce the size of a man’s prostate, a common occurrence as men get older. It turned out that finasteride had another side effect, it stopped hair and in some cases promoted hair growth. Executives at Merck saw dollar signs.

Merck & Co introduced Propecia on the market in 1997 and has since enjoyed blockbuster billion dollar annual profits from it. Unfortunately, as the drug stayed on the market they began getting complaints about the fact that it caused Erectile Dysfunction in some patients. Some studies have suggested that the effect has a potential to be permanent.

The problem was further worsened by reports that Propecia may potentially also cause male breast cancer, a potentially deadly disease as men are neither encouraged nor trained to search for signs.

This has lead to a class action lawsuit from men around the country, taking Merck to court over their alleged erectile dysfunction, lowered quality of life, and emotional distress, amongst other things.

Propecia Lawsuits

It has been long drawn out process, but Merck has finally agreed that all Propecia lawsuits filed in federal district courts throughout the United States should be heard by one judge for pretrial proceedings. This is called a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), which is first presented to a U.S. Judicial Panel who decides where the trial will ultimately be held. This is expected to happen at a hearing scheduled for March 29, 2012 in San Diego, California.

The pharmaceutical company’s legal team has suggested that the judicial panel should transfer all cases to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, where 41 of the 53 lawsuits over Propecia have already been filed.

Many Propecia MDL plaintiffs have proposed that the proceedings be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York or the Western District of Washington. However, the defense’s attorneys claim that moving the cases to the Eastern either of those venues would be inefficient due to the judge’s lack familiarity with details and issues in a number of other Propecia erectile dysfunction cases.

Issues with Propecia

Propecia has warnings about the sexual side effects issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They say, “Men reported one or more of the following: less desire for sex; difficulty in achieving an erection; and, a decrease in the amount of semen. Each of these side effects occurred in less than 2% of men.”

However, Propecia studies are showing that the instance of erectile dysfunction may be more prevalent than merely 2% and lawsuits suggest that Merck may have know about it without properly informing the FDA or the public.

Merck has been forced to provide additional warnings to men in certain other countries, indicating that post-marketing reports have shown that some men experience sexual problems that persist.

Filing A Propecia Lawsuit

One of the hardest problems with filing a Propecia lawsuit is admitting that this drug has adversely effected your sex life. A lawsuit can be a distressing in itself, but many men feel as if it’s necessary in order to teach Merck a lesson that they can’t mess with people’s lives for profit.

Many men filing lawsuits have experienced:

  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Male Breast Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Lowered sexual desire
  • Lowered amount of semen
  • Lowered quality of life
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Lack of confidence

By filing a Propecia lawsuit you can receive the compensation you deserve. Depending on your situation, you will either have an individual lawsuit or be added to the MDL already in progress. After a quick interview, the experienced Phillips Law Firm attorneys will be able to tell you your options and help you seek justice.

Propecia Defective Drug Lawyers

If you or a loved one are taking Propecia or any other derivative of Finasteride it is important that you contact legal council that has experience in protecting patients from giant pharmaceutical companies. Call Phillips Law Firm for a consultation on your legal options.

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Some Good News For Victims of SCI in Car Accidents

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Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in a car accident. It is not only a highly emotional experience waiting and hearing the news as to whether you or your loved one is going to walk or function normally again, but it stays through the exhausting and expensive therapy that follows.

An SCI is a long process of physical therapy, retraining muscles, and adjusting habits just to transition back into some semblance of a normal life. Regardless of whether this is mere recovery or learning to live with paralysis, there is one guarantee, life will never be the same.

However, though spinal cord understanding and research is slow in developing, hope comes from the medical community periodically. We like to highlight these pieces of research because it makes us think of our clients, past and current, that are struggling with SCI, but are learning to cope and over come until a cure is found.

Spinal Cord Research

There is still a massive argument over the function and utilization of embryonic stem cells. Though the arguments against are largely philosophical, the scientific community is pretty united in the future of stem cells. Ask the vast majority of SCL victims of car accidents that struggle every day with paralysis or back pain and they will tell you, their hope for recovery outweighs their prior assumptions about the technology. Yet, for patients that are still on the fence, this new research uses only adult stem cells.

That’s why SCL victims may be hopeful for new research at the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Ann Parr is a U of M neurosurgeon, professor, researcher, and part of a team focused on spinal cord injuries and stem cell research.

“It is a really exciting time right now in the field of spinal cord injury,” she said.

Her team is trying to develop a treatment that could someday help people like Jablonski.

Her lab is currently creating oligodendrocyte cells cells from mice in the lab. These are cells that insulate the nerves in the spinal cord and brain. After a spinal cord injury there are many nerves that are actually preserved and may have the ability to function again. However they’ve lost their insulation.

“[Without oligodendrocyte cells] they’re sort of like bare wires,” Parr elaborated. “If we could replace the oligodendrocytes in the injured spinal cord that they may actually allow these nerves to function again,” said Parr.

Her research begins with adult skin cells, which she converts to stem cells, then transforms them into the insulating oligodendrocyte cells. This method is better, because using a patient’s own cells reduces the risk of rejection that can come with using embryonic stem cells.

She said there are also many drugs in clinical trials that could minimize cell damage immediately after a spinal cord injury. Doctor Parr said there are promising drug therapies that could be available within a year or two to help treat those with new spinal cord injuries.

Though hopeful, she said, “It could be years before research like hers leads to an approved treatment for those already living with a spinal cord injury.”

Faster Regeneration

According to the Foundation for Spinal Cord Injury Prevention, Care, and Cure, spinal cord injury in a car accident is the most common way of suffering a spinal cord injury. When these serious life threatening injuries happen, cellular degeneration begins in about 24 to 36 hours and could result in more serious irreversible permanent damage.

Anterograde degeneration – The part of the axon that remains connected to the cell body may degenerate a short distance (e.g. a millimeter or less), but usually it survives at least in the short term.

Orthograde degeneration – The degeneration of a nerve fiber that has been separated from its nutritive center by injury or disease, characterized by segmentation of the myelin and resulting in atrophy and destruction of the axon.

The overall term for these types of degeneration is Wallerian Degeneration. When this happens, oligodendrocyte cells as described above, become extremely important. You see, SCI regeneration is extremely slow, in fact, some of the slowest in the body and this is because the nerves lack oligodendrocyte cells.

By being able to construct oligodendrocyte cells in the lab that the body won’t reject, the degeneration process can be stopped and reversed. This can potentially increase the likelihood of recovery tenfold.

Washington Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

SCI victims of an auto accident are seeing positive strides in treatments in the last decade related to stem cells. Even the mortality rate and degree of recovery has increased slightly and goes up every year. However, all treatments cost money and the medical bills can pile up throughout a lifetime into hundreds of thousands of dollars (sometimes millions). That’s why compensation is so important.

Phillips Law Firm is a full service law firm with a substantial track record of success Personal Injury Litigation. We take the time to fully assess the injured party’s case in order to assure that the victim receives the compensation they deserve. Call our Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation.

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What Can I Eat To Help Me Recover From a Personal Injury?

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Aside from the pain, discomfort, and stress that a victim of a personal injury in a car accident endures, it is perhaps the boredom that could be the most detrimental. Boredom can lead to not only depression and a potential of reinjury as people try to get up and resume their normal life, but it can also lead to eating…a lot.

For some people who suffer personal injuries, they have found some serious weight gain and no way of working it off. However, this is not to say that eating with an injury is bad. We all need to eat right? It’s just WHAT you eat that’s the problem.

For years there have been tons of physical therapists, nutritionists, and personal trainers that swear that a specific diet can help injured people recover. Now the scientific community has finally proved them right.

Can A Certain Diet Help Me Recover From An Injury?

Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London conducted research published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience to see what foods actually aid in personal injury prevention and recovery. Researchers found that victims should consider a fish dinner full of omega-3 fatty acids in order to speed up recovery and help damaged nerves regenerate.

A healthy diet of fish is nothing new and studies have proven that cultures with a diet of a lot of fish are considerably healthier overall. It’s only been in the last few decades that the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids have been revealing how important they are to the body’s normal growth and development. However, the body doesn’t produce omega-3 fatty acids naturally, they have to be consumed in foods such as oily fish or in supplements.

The study first focused on peripheral nerve cells, which transmit signals between the brain and the spinal cord and the rest of the body. The researchers simulated damage in mice by stretching the cells or starving them of oxygen and then enriched the cells with omega-3 fatty acids. The result was decreased cell death and significant protection.

Researchers also induced with sciatic nerve damage on test mice (located in the lower back, the sciatic is generally the largest nerve in mammals and a common injury point in car accidents). They found that after introducing omega-3, the injury recoverd more quickly and more fully. The muscles on the mice were also less likely to waste following nerve damage.

Foods That Heal

Now that the official research is in showing real tangible results on a scientific physiological level, that doesn’t mean that decades of observation need be ignored. Through the ages, homeopathic remedies have been formulated through observation and many of these are related to both topical applications, but also diet.

According to experts some great healing foods are:

  • Almonds (fat/protein, zinc)
  • Apples (flavanoids – protect cells from oxygen damage, prevent inflammation
  • Broccoli (vitamin C, fiber, antibacterial)
  • Curry (anti-inflammatory)
  • Garlic (allicin – anti-inflammatory, improves macrophage function)
  • Grass fed beef (protein, vitamin, minerals)
  • Olive oil (Anti-inflammatory – works like ibuprofen)
  • Papaya (vitamins A, C and papain – enzyme that increases immune function)
  • Pineapple (bromelain – analgesic)
  • Salmon (omega-3’s)

Dietary considerations for a better recovery:

Protein

  • Experts always recommend an increase (non fatty) protein. This can compensate for any potential muscle loss due to lack of use.
  • Rather than one big steak or chicken breast at dinner, divide the meals into smaller portions. Protein should be eaten 4 to 6 times per day.
  • Protein should consist of lean poultry, fish, eggs, lean beef, cottage cheese, or whey protein powder.

Carbohydrates

  • Carbohydrates are found in vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes (nuts), and oats.
  • Avoid sugars and refined carbs (artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, and most of the things that make junk food taste great). Don’t eat junk.
  • Watch carbohydrate intake post surgery and if there is an extensive recovery, too many refined carbs could put the patient in danger of diabetes.

Fats

  • Fats help in reducing inflammation, but there are good fats and bad fats. Omega-3’s are the hallmark fats for reducing inflammation. Monounsaturated fats are also helpful.
  • Good fat sources include: Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines), flaxseeds, nuts, olive oil, avocados, pumpkin/sunflower/sesame seeds.
  • Watch out for bad fats that can hinder healing by increasing inflammation: Trans fats, omega-6 fats and saturated fats.

Puget Sound Personal Injury Attorney

Phillips Law Firm is a law firm with a substantial track record of success Personal Injury Litigation. We take the time to fully assess the injured party’s case in order to assure that the victim receives the compensation they deserve. Call our Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation.

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