The massive explosion which leveled JJ's Restaurant has been traced to the kitchen area of the restaurant. The Kansas City Star recently reported a natural gas leak was ignited by two pilot lights in the restaurant's kitchen.
The Feb. 19 explosion killed one person and injured 15. It happened more than an hour after a construction contract called 911 to report that he had hit a gas line near the restaurant.
Federal authorities recently cited a Salina, Kansas-based roofing contractor after a worker was paralyzed from a fall injury.
OSHA officials say that the worker was injured on Oct. 3, 2012 when he fell more than 20 feet from the roof of a commercial jobsite in Hoisington.
"Falls remain the leading cause of death and injury in the construction industry, and companies who perform this type of work must take responsibility for protecting their workers on the job," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
In our last post we discussed a recent compounding pharmacy recall sparked by a FDA inspection. There have been at least 20 disease outbreaks caused by defective pharmaceuticals since 2001. These outbreaks have been mostly traced to the almost wholly unregulated compounding pharmaceutical industry.
The problem caught the nation's attention last year when hundreds were sickened by a fungal meningitis outbreak caused by pharmaceuticals manufactured in an unsanitary compounding pharmacy.
Conditions at a Florida compounding pharmacy have prompted a federal recall of the pharmacy's specialty drugs. Authorities say that patients should not take drugs manufactured by The Compounding Shop, a specialty pharmacy located in St. Petersburg, Florida.
This is one of the most recent of a series of defective drug recalls prompted by increased federal attention on the compounding industry.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have benefited from hip replacement devices. Hip replacement devices help alleviate pain and restore mobility - ideally for significant amounts of time. Like any implant procedure, hip replacements involve some amount of risk for patients. But, at least until now, the benefits of a successful procedure outweigh those dangers for most patients.
In recent years, medical device companies have raced into a new corner of the implant market: metal-on-metal hip replacement systems. Unlike the other four types of approved hip replacement systems that combine ceramic and polyethylene components, these new devices use entirely metal parts.
Continue reading Costs And Benefits: Metal-On-Metal Hip Implants Are A Step Back
Comments: Leave a comment
This is the third and final entry in our series on the newly public documents disclosed by the first of thousands of lawsuits against DePuy Orthopedics. These documents reveal the company's consistent decision to ignore big safety concerns about its metal-on-metal hip replacement device - choosing instead to make as much money as possible from the defective implants.
Thousands of patients suffered as a result of this decision. The DePuy system is dramatically more likely to fail within five years of an initial implant procedure - subjecting patients to follow-up revision surgeries. A design defect also caused the DePuy system to shed metal particles into patients' bodies. These particles can damage bone and tissue, resulting in severe complications.
Continue reading DePuy Hip Implants: 10 Revelations From Trial Documents, Part 3
Comments: Leave a comment
This is the second post of a three-part series dealing with recently uncovered evidence in the DePuy hip replacement trial. DePuy's defective ASR metal-on-metal system caused numerous injuries to thousands of patients and many more Americans will suffer complications from this device in the near future.
Continue reading DePuy Hip Implants: 10 Revelations From Trial Documents, Part 2
Comments: Leave a comment
An estimated 10,000 patients have filed lawsuits against DePuy Orthopedics after the company's hip replacement system caused serious side effects and complications. That system, known as the Articular Surface Replacement or ASR, suffers from several design defects. As a result, an estimated 40 percent of patients will require follow-up surgeries within five years and many more will face side effects from the release of metal particles into the body.
A highly anticipated trial began in late January to resolve the first of these lawsuits. During the trial, a number of DePuy's internal documents became public for the first time - providing a new look at the company's efforts to keep selling the ASR system despite widespread concerns about patient safety.
Continue reading DePuy Hip Implants: 10 Revelations From Trial Documents, Part 1
Comments: Leave a comment
Federal officials are looking into whether the use of robotic arms during surgeries is safe. The Associated Press reports that there have been several high-profile patient injuries reported in connection with the so-called da Vinci surgical robot.
It is unclear whether the use of these spendy robotic arms during surgeries actually helps patients. Some surgeons say that the robotic arms help improve patient outcomes because surgeons tire less while using one of these robots and robot hands don't shake. Some patients have also reported reduced healing time after receiving robot-assisted surgery.
Toy manufacturer Dunecraft recently announced a recall of 95,000 units of its marble-like toys which expand in water. The manufacturer said that at least one baby had to have emergency surgery after swallowing one of the small toys. The superabsorbent polymers in the toys create suffocation hazards among other risks to children.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission also announced an investigation into this class of unsafe children's products.
Humphrey, Farrington
& McClain, P.C.
221 West Lexington Ave.
Suite 400
Independence MO 64050
Phone: 816-398-7435
Toll free: 888-353-0491
Fax: 816-836-8966
Independence Law Office
© 2013 by Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, P.C.. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
Privacy Policy | Legal Marketing® by FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business.
