Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co recalled about 12,000 units of Mylicon drops to relieve gas for infants. According to this article, certain bottles of nonstaining Mylicon gas-relief dye-free drops were recalled because some bottles could include pieces of metal. The recalled children's product was sold in 1-ounce plastic bottles that were distributed to stores and pharmacies after Oct. 5. They were sold over the counter.

The recalled bottles are from lot numbers SMF007 and SMF008, which are printed on the bottom of the box and on the lower-left side of the sticker on each bottle.

The companies said that some bottles could include metal fragments that were generated during the manufacturing process.

Continue reading " Child Product Recall Issued For Infant Gas Medicine " »

A man was killed in a Middle Paxton Twp. auto accident on Saturday, October 11 after he lost control and was ejected from his vehicle. State police at Harrisburg said, the man, whose name was withheld pending notification of his family, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on state Route 322, two miles east of state Route 325.

Police say the man was driving east on state Route 322 at about 1:30a.m. when he lost control of his 1995 Plymouth Voyager. The vehicle slid sideways for 153 feet, hit a guardrail, spun and ejected the driver, who most likely died instantly.

Dangerous auto accidents involving minivans are not an uncommon occurrence. Minivans roll over frequently due to their higher center of gravity and narrow wheelbase compared to regular sedans. Despite their high rollover risk, minivans do not have proper roof structures and most do not meet the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration roof safety standards for automobiles.

Continue reading " Middle Paxton Auto Accident Claims Driver’s Life " »

Ricky Lee Smiley, 43, of Centre Township was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a Pennsylvania school bus crash on Sept. 26, 2006 that killed a teacher's aide. The West Perry School Board member was found to be guilty of a summary charge of careless driving in the head-on crash between the bus Smiley was driving and a Ford Explorer driven by Susan E. Switaj, 39, of Landisburg.

Things could have been much worse for Smiley. The jury that deliberated about 90 minutes acquitted Smiley of a homicide by vehicle charge, a third-degree felony that could have meant up to 12 months in prison. The lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter that Smiley was convicted of constitutes a first-degree misdemeanor.

Bus accidents are among the most dangerous of all motor vehicle accidents in Pennsylvania. The added weight and lack of maneuverability of busses makes them dangerous when traveling at high speeds, and it doesn’t take much for a driver to lose control of them. When the busses are carrying schoolchildren, matters get nothing but more complicated. School buses are not equipped with restraint systems, and small children can be utterly defenseless during a bus crash.

If you or someone you love has been involved in a school bus accident in Pennsylvania, please contact Cherry Fieger and Marciano, LLP today for a free consultation with one of our experienced Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bus crash lawyers.

A National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) investigative hearing on a fatal bus crash in Texas began on Tuesday. According to this article, there were no motor safety officers on duty when the unsafe bus crossed the US border into Texas. Hours later it caused a fatal bus crash that killed one man and injured 47 others.

According to NTSB investigator Pete Kotowski, "no safety inspection was conducted.”
The bus was returning to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico when it crashed near Victoria, Texas. The driver veered off the road and overcorrected, which caused it to flip and strike a guardrail.

NTSB regulator Debbie Hersman, who chaired the hearing, said loopholes were used to put the bus on the road even though, by federal safety standards, it was an unsafe or defective motor vehicle.

She also said federal government systems used by enforcement and registration officials are not adequate to detect which passenger-carrying vehicles fail to meet federal safety standards.

Continue reading " Unsafe Bus Enters United States Without Safety Inspection " »

A veteran Bucks County police chief and a young officer were seriously injured in a workplace fall on Oct. 16 when they fell down an open elevator shaft at a Bucks County Winery.

Tinicum Township Chief James Sabath, 48, and Officer Mark Compas, 26, suffered numerous broken bones in the 30- to 40-foot plunge at Sand Castle Winery, Tinicum Officer William Mooney said.

According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sabath and Compas were on routine patrol at about 11 p.m. Thursday when they spotted the security gate of the 72-acre winery open, Mooney said. They continued up the winding, paved drive to the massive, castle-like winery building, and saw a side entrance open, Mooney said.

"It was pitch black," he said. Sabath apparently stepped through the doorway and fell down an open freight-elevator shaft to the wine cellar, at least 30 feet below, sustaining serious injuries on the job.

"He was screaming for help, and when the other officer rushed to assist, he fell in," Mooney said.

Continue reading " Two Policemen Injured in Fall Down Elevator Shaft " »

The parents of Stephen Komninos, a 22-year-old developmentally disabled man that died following a choking accident last year, have filed a Haddonfield wrongful-death lawsuit against the Haddonfield group home where the man lived since the age of 8.

According to the article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the family alleges that their son died because an employee left him unattended. Their son choked on a bagel while the employee in charge of him was in a convenience store.

The Pennsylvania wrongful death case, filed in Superior Court by the victim’s parents, claims that Bancroft NeuroHealth put Komninos in the care of an 18-year-old employee, Adam Allibone, who should have known that Komninos needed to be closely monitored at all times.

Komninos, who had severe behavioral disorders and was nonverbal, was supposed to be on his way to an after-school program in October when the Bancroft employee who was driving him stopped at a Stratford convenience store to buy a cigar. Bancroft has said Allibone stopped to buy Komninos a bagel as a reward for having a good day.

Continue reading " Wrongful Death Suit Follows Choking Death of Disabled Man " »

A recall on Monday of nearly 1.6 million cribs, triggered by the suffocation of two 8-month-old infants, has prompted a government agency to urge parents to inspect older drop-side cribs for safety problems.

Both of the suffocations involved infants who got stuck in a gap created when the movable side came off of its guide track.

The incidents, which involved Delta Enterprises cribs, were related to safety pegs that are intended to prevent the drop side from lowering too far and slipping off the track. If these pegs are not installed or if they fail to engage, the drop-side can detach and create a dangerous gap where babies can get stuck.

"We ask parents to inspect your crib from time to time and tighten up the hardware," Nancy Nord, acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said in an interview Tuesday. "It's very important that parents understand they need to inspect the integrity of the hardware."

One 8-month-old infant died because the safety pegs were missing and the crib's side detached, leaving a gap. The infant got stuck in the gap and suffocated. In the second case, another 8-month-old child died in one of the defective cribs after a spring-loaded safety peg failed and allowed the side to detach.

Nord urged parents to make sure that moving parts on cribs are functioning smoothly and securely and cautioned them not to try makeshift repairs.

The Delta Enterprises defective crib recall included 985,000 drop-side cribs of various models, because of the potential for missing safety pegs. These cribs were manufactured in Taiwan and Indonesia and sold by major retailers including Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target.com, between January 1995 and September 2007. The recall also included 600,000 cribs of various models with spring-loaded safety pegs. These cribs were manufactured in China and sold between January 2000 and January 2007.

The recall doesn't affect any cribs now in retail inventory.

The company will offer consumers replacement safety pegs or spring peg kits.

"We're erring on the side of caution," said Jack Gutt, spokesman for New York-based Delta Enterprise said Monday. "Anyone who calls and has these cribs that were constructed in these time periods, we're going to send anybody and everybody either additional safety pegs or the retrofit kit."

Continue reading " Defective Cribs recalled after infants suffocated " »

Studies show the chemical bisphenol A, found in baby bottles, has been linked to cancer, diabetes, and early puberty. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, three state attorney generals urged eleven makers of plastic baby bottles and formula to stop using the chemical.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and his counterparts sent letters to bottle-makers such as Energizer Holding Inc.'s Playtex Infant Care and formula producers including Abbott Laboratories Inc. and Wyeth, Blumenthal's staff said. Some companies have already replaced the chemical in their bottles.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been used for decades to help stiffen plastic to make many baby bottles and food-storage containers and to line metal cans. Although the FDA claims the chemical is safe, research from other agencies has identified serious health risks when the chemical leaches into food and beverages. Labels on baby bottles and formula containers are not required to say whether they contain bisphenol A.

According to the article, Blumenthal told the companies to immediately eliminate this dangerous chemical from our children's food.

Adults exposed to higher levels of BPA are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease or diabetes, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month.
Animal studies reviewed by the National Toxicology Program this year also linked the chemical to developmental changes in fetuses and young children.

Continue reading " Studies link chemical in baby products to cancer, diabetes, and early puberty " »

Sandy Morgan, a 38-year-old college graduate from Aston PA, died in March 2006, after 5 weeks in the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton, PA. She was serving time for shoplifting at Wal-Mart. Morgan’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the jail and the company who runs it, GEO, as well as Crozer-Chester, the hospital that released her a few weeks before the arrest.

According to this article, Morgan was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at age 18 and also suffered from hyperthyroidism. She was declared incompetent to stand trial so she waited in jail for 5 weeks. It was only a couple weeks before her arrest that she was committed by her family to Crozer-Chester Hospital, where she was forced to take her psychotropic medication. Her initial psychiatrist suggested she be sent to Norristown State Hospital for more treatment and to help her stay on her meds. Several days later, another psychiatrist, Usha Kotihal, inexplicably took over Morgan’s care and determined that her mental state had improved; she no longer posed a threat to herself or others, and could be sent home. It was nine days after her release that police arrested her at Wal-Mart, charged her with retail theft, defiant trespass, and disorderly conduct, and sent her to jail.

Upon arrival to George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Morgan did not disclose her schizophrenia or hyperthyroidism, but a physician’s assistant determined her to be “mentally retarded or mentally ill.” According to the policies of the GEO Group Inc., which ran the jail, mentally unstable inmates should be transported immediately to a hospital.

Psychiatrists at the jail determined her to be schizophrenic and prescribed medication, but they did not know of her hyperthyroid condition. According to the article, none of them contacted her family to ask about medications she’d been taking nor did they contact the doctors who treated her at Crozer-Chester. A caseworker for Morgan indicated that she spoke with a mental health liaison at the Correctional Facility and told him about both of her conditions; however, the liaison said he did not remember speaking to the caseworker. Morgan’s family also claims to have made calls to the jail explaining their sister’s conditions.

Continue reading " Woman’s death in Delco jailhouse leaves unanswered questions " »

A 36-year-old woman was seriously injured last week when a hit and run driver struck her car and pushed her into oncoming traffic. Not only was the driver driving a stolen car, but he was also under the influence of Xanax during the auto accident.

According to an article in the Delaware County Times, Michael Fabrizio, 21, stole a vehicle parked in Drexel Hill that its owner left running. He then picked up a 16-year-old boy and while driving at a high rate of speed in Upper Darby, smashed into a 1999 Hondo Civic. The Honda was then pushed into oncoming traffic and hit a van head-on. Fabrizio fled the scene of the accident.

Fabrizio is being charged with recklessly endangering a person, receiving stolen property, aggravated assault by vehicle under the influence, accident involving death or personal injury, accident involving damage to attended vehicle, duty to give information and render assistance, and driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the 36-year-old driver of the Honda civic suffered severe long-term injuries, including fractures to her femur, collarbone and sternum, and injuries to her head. Although police noticed a baby seat in the back of the woman’s car, luckily her children were safe at home. The driver of the van injured his hand.

Chitwood said it was a “miracle” that the victim survived, and that had the children been in the car they would have died.

Continue reading " Hit and Run Driver Seriously Injures Woman " »

Cephalon Inc., a Frazer, PA–based pharmaceutical company plead guilty in federal court for marketing 3 drugs for uses other than they were approved for. According to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News, Cephalon has agreed to pay $437 million in fines, forfeitures, interest, and civil claims for distributing these misbranded drugs.

Cephalon, which develops and markets drugs to treat cancer, epilepsy, and sleep disorders, to name a few, marketed Actiq, Gabrivil, and Provogil for uses other than what was approved by the US FDA. Although doctors may prescribe drugs for uses other that what has been approved by federal regulators, pharmaceutical companies may not promote “off-label” uses.

The Philadelphia Daily News reported that the off-label marketing began in January 2001 and continued through 2006, but the plea agreement stated that the conduct went from January 2001 to October 1, 2001. Cephalon has not admitted any wrong doing as part of the civil settlement tentatively approved last November. US Attorney Laurie Magid said, “…The company put patients’ health at risk for nothing more than boosting its bottom line.”

Actiq, dispensed as a lollipop, is only approved for cancer patients and is a highly addictive narcotic. Cephalon marketed it for maladies including migraines and injuries. Gabrivil is an anti-epilepsy drug used to treat seizures, but was promoted as a remedy for anxiety, insomnia, and pain. Provogil is for excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy and sleep apnea. This was promoted for the treatment of sleepiness, lack of energy, and fatigue.

US Attorney Magid also said that authorities had reports that patients who had been taking the drugs for off-label issues were harmed or even died. However, she did not say at this time if the off-label use was the result of the marketing.

After reports of seizures in patients without epilepsy taking Gabrivil, Cephalon was ordered by the FDA to send warning letters to doctors. They also then stopped promoting the drug.

Cephalon was also instructed by the FDA to stop promoting Provogil off-label, but according to authorities, they ignored the letter. The feds said in the plea agreement that Provogil sales increased from 146.2 million in 2001 to $691.7 million in 2006.

Continue reading " Drug maker completes $437 million settlement over off-label drug marketing " »