The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that over 8,000,000 Americans are injured every year in slip and fall accidents. In the state of California, negligence must be shown on the part of the property owner where the accident occurred in order for them to be held legally liable for injuries. The fact they own the property does not automatically assign responsibility to them for injuries that occurred on their property.

Slip and fall accidents are generally considered premises liability cases which is a legal term that refers to the responsibility of property owners for accidents that occur on their property. Property owners are responsible for maintaining their properties in a safe condition or, at the very least, warning people of the existence of potential safety hazards.

A slip and fall accident can result in minor scrapes and bruising or cause a life-threatening head trauma, or life-altering spinal cord injury. The experienced premises liability attorneys at The Cochran Firm will work together to make certain you are fully compensated for the injuries you have suffered by recovering costs of your medical expenses, income losses, loss of enjoyment of life and your pain and suffering.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a slip and fall accident in Sacramento, California or the surrounding area, please contact The Cochran Firm today and learn how you can be financially compensated for your injuries and losses suffered.

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It is difficult to determine how many cases of elder abuse occurs in Alabama nursing homes because there is a lack of a uniform system for reporting nursing home abuse and nursing home residents are unable or unwilling to report their abuse.

Alabama nursing home abuses cover injuries that result from falls, dehydration or malnutrition, medication errors, bedsores, physical, emotion and sexual abuse, and general neglect. Residents of nursing homes are also being financially exploited by caretakers who prey on their vulnerabilities.

Alabama's nursing care facilities are among the worst nationwide. Perpetrators of Alabama nursing home abuse must answer to federal and state laws that are supposed to protect the elderly and defenseless nursing home residents.

Signs of nursing home abuse and neglect include bruising, chronic infections, broken bones, increased anxiety and depression, heavy sedation medication and unnecessary physical restraints. The attorneys at The Cochran Firm will work as a unified, highly trained team to investigate allegations of nursing home abuse and bring those responsible to justice and hold them legally responsible for the damage they have done.

If you suspect that your elderly loved one has suffered nursing home abuse, you should take immediate action and contact The Cochran Firm in Mobile, Alabama. Our experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys are dedicated to aggressively pursuing all instances of nursing home abuse and neglect for our clients.

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Many intersections in Las Vegas are equipped with video cameras, so in many instances an accident at an intersection is recorded. One third of all car accidents occur at an intersection and typically involve left-turning vehicles attempting to cross on-coming traffic, failure to yield, and failure to obey stop signs and traffic signals.

Other factors that contribute to the high incidence of car accidents at intersections may include faulty design of the road or faded or missing stop signs and defective traffic lights. It is important to have an experienced automobile accident attorney working for you to investigate the circumstances of your accident to protect your legal rights and get you the financial compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and also is a very popular tourist destination; as a result, Las Vegas roadways are congested and present drivers with many challenges, especially those unfamiliar with the city.

The Las Vegas automobile accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm are experienced in handling a wide variety of claims involving automobile accidents and there is never a fee charged to consult with an experienced car accident attorney at The Cochran Firm.

If you have been involved in a car accident at an intersection in Las Vegas, Nevada, please contact The Cochran Firm today for help with your claim with a quick evaluation of your case and fair compensation for your accident.

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Wrongful death is a legal term that is used to describe a death that has occurred due to the negligence or intentional actions of an individual and, in addition, the wrongful death entitles the deceased's survivors and beneficiaries financial compensation for their loss.

No one is ever prepared for the sudden death of a loved one and nothing can come close to replacing that loss. When the loss is compounded by the knowledge that the death was caused by negligence, or wrongful or intentional actions of another, family members have the legal right to seek just financial compensation and should not hesitate to do so.

The circumstances of the tragic death may vary and can be the result of a car or truck accident, a workplace injury, medical malpractice or the use of a defective or dangerous product. Pursuing a wrongful death claim through the justice system is a complicated process, but the assurance that negligent behavior or intentional acts will be punished is well worth the effort.

The Cochran Firm can guide you through this emotional, stressful time with their knowledge and expertise in the field of wrongful death law. Financial compensation may include payment for medical, funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support for the survivors, the loss of future earning potential of the deceased, and payment for the pain and suffering caused by the loss of a loved one.

If you live in the Dallas, Texas area, please contact The Cochran Firm if you are suffering the loss of a loved one due to someone else’s actions to learn what you can do to protect your legal rights and obtain the financial compensation to which you are entitled.

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A medical error during a surgical procedure can lead to permanent and lifelong injuries or wrongful death.

Surgical medical malpractice leading to injuries and wrongful death can occur when the surgeon, nurses, anesthesiologist or surgical technicians fail in their obligation to maintain the highest standards of care required of their profession. This can result in the wrong surgical procedure being performed, medical instruments being left inside the patient, or a failure to recognize or correct an unforeseen occurrence that arises during surgery.

Surgical medical malpractice is a leading reason for medical malpractice and negligence claims being filed against healthcare professionals and facilities each year. Almost 12,000 people die every year due to unnecessary surgery. Surgical complications due to surgical errors can include post-surgical infections, anesthesia-related brain injuries and retained foreign bodies.

Our medical malpractice attorneys at The Cochran Firm think surgical medical malpractice is very serious whether your claim involves unnecessary surgery, botched surgery, wrong-site surgery or post-surgery problems. The Cochran Firm employs a network of medical and legal experts to develop a strong case for their clients to ensure the best outcome possible.

If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina and you or someone you care about has been the victim of surgical medical malpractice, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a no cost to you confidential consultation to determine how to proceed with your claim.

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All property owners have a legal obligation to provide a reasonably safe environment for people who access their property.

An injury or wrongful death that is caused by the negligent design, maintenance or functioning of a property presents the injured party with the legal right to financial compensation from the property owner, landlord or those responsible for the functioning of the property.

Injuries may result from falls on wet, slippery or icy surfaces, an elevator or escalator malfunctioning, improper lighting, or a failure to provide adequate security in malls, hotels or parking garages that result in physical assaults causing injuries and fatalities.

The Minneapolis premises liability attorneys at The Cochran Firm have assisted clients throughout Minnesota in filing negligence claims for injuries and have been very successful in litigating for fair and just financial compensation for them. A premises liability claim asserts that the property owner created the dangerous condition that caused your injury or knew about the dangerous condition that led to your injury and did nothing to correct it.

Minnesota premises liability laws are complex so if you have been injured on someone else's property, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation where our highly skilled attorneys and investigators will work as a team to protect your legal rights and make sure those responsible are held legally accountable.

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A large commercial truck can weigh over forty tons, while the average passenger vehicle weighs only approximately three thousand pounds. It is easy to understand why the occupants of an automobile involved in a collision with a truck are the ones who suffer the most serious injuries and are most often killed.

Many truck accidents are caused by truck driver error, resulting from demanding deadlines and too many hours behind the wheel with no rest. Typical causes of truck accidents involve speeding, alcohol and drug use, reckless and aggressive driving, mechanical failure and poor equipment maintenance, hazardous road or weather conditions and cargo overloading or shifting cargo loads.

The victim of a truck accident may be confronted with many critical needs, such as emergency medical care, loss of income, possible long-term care costs, and legal actions initiated due to the truck accident and its aftermath. You should be financially compensated to the fullest for all your medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost income caused by the truck accident.

To ensure your legal rights to financial compensation from the trucking company responsible for the truck accident are protected, you should contact The Cochran Firm today located in Jackson, Mississippi, and in the tragic event you have lost a loved one in a fatal truck accident, The Cochran Firm can help you pursue a wrongful death claim.

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Construction workers confront some of the most hazardous working conditions every day they report to work. According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction site accidents account for the greatest number of worker fatalities of any industry.

Construction workers can suffer serious injuries even though there are regulations, statutes, ordinances and industry standards that are supposed to provide a reasonably safe working environment.

The many dangerous conditions inherent at a construction site make it almost impossible to prevent all injuries from happening. Falls from scaffolds and other elevations, being struck by heavy machinery, electrocution, exposure to asbestos and other hazardous substances, and injuries caused by defective or other unsafe equipment occur with alarming frequency.

If you have been injured in a construction site accident, the experienced construction site accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm can help you and make certain you understand just what your legal rights are and what financial compensation you can expect for the injuries you have suffered. The severity of construction site injuries often makes it impossible for a worker to resume their previous occupation and this must be taken into consideration when determining the extent of financial compensation due to the loss of future income potential.

If you have been injured in a construction site accident and live in the Chicago, Illinois area, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you to learn how to proceed in securing your future and the future of those you love.

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Neglect or abuse of the elderly can take many forms and happens much more often than we would like to believe. Thousands of instances of nursing home neglect and abuse are documented in the Washington, D.C. area each year.

Signs of nursing home neglect and abuse can be bedsores, chronic infections, changes in behavior, unexplained bruises, the use of unnecessary physical restraints or heavy sedation, or missing financial assets. Do not ignore any feelings of suspicions of abuse you may have when visiting a loved one even if they do not give voice to instances of abuse. Many nursing home residents are fearful of exposing their abusers to avoid retaliation and an escalation in the abuse.

There are many complex legal issues involved in allegations of nursing home neglect and abuse which the experienced attorneys at The Cochran Firm are very familiar with and knowledgeable about. These issues may involve medical malpractice, premises liability, negligent security and even wrongful death claims.

If you know or even only suspect someone you care about has been the victim of nursing home neglect and abuse and you live in the Washington, D.C. area, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation to learn what you can do to protect the legal rights of a vulnerable older adult and get them the justice they deserve.

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Truck accidents are often serious and deadly and may involve trucks colliding with cars, other trucks, motorcycles, trains at railroad crossings, multi-vehicle pile-ups on fog shrouded highways, pedestrians or bicyclists being struck by delivery trucks on city streets, jackknife accidents, brake failures and runaway trucks on downgrades, rollovers caused by tire blowouts, unsecured and shifting loads and toxic spills that endanger communities.

Common causes of catastrophic truck accidents involving serious injuries and deaths are speeding, driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless and aggressive driving, fatigue due to demanding schedules, mechanical failure and poor maintenance of equipment, tire failures and dangerous driving conditions due to weather or road hazards.

If you have been in an accident with a truck in the Philadelphia area the experienced truck accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm will work diligently to make certain you are fully compensated for your medical expenses, your pain and suffering, lost income and lost capacity to earn in the future, and any other expenses you have had to incur due to injuries caused by the truck accident. Do not be pressured into settling for less than you deserve by the trucking company or the insurance company.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured or killed in an accident with a truck, please contact the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office of The Cochran Firm today to have your case evaluated, at no cost to you, and work to obtain the financial compensation you deserve for the injuries you have suffered.

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According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, over 1.5 million Americans suffer traumatic brain injuries every year. Of this number over 50,000 succumb to their injuries and over 235,000 are hospitalized.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by an impact to the head that causes the brain to move inside the skull. Traumatic brain injuries are frequently the result of motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, sports injuries, criminal assaults, nursing home abuse, heart attacks or electrocutions. Permanent disabilities caused by a traumatic brain injury range from the mild to the severe with the area of the brain impacted usually determining the scope of disability.

The medical expenses incurred as a result of a traumatic brain injury are often much greater than your insurance coverage because of the life-long disability and life-long care and support needed to recover and survive such a devastating injury. The highly skilled brain injury attorneys at The Cochran Firm can help you recover financial compensation from those responsible for your injuries and will evaluate your medical requirements for the present and into the future, because they have experience in litigating brain injury lawsuits and have gained substantial financial compensation and lifetime care support for brain injured clients in the past.

If you live in the Miami, Florida area and are suffering with a traumatic brain injury, please contact the skilled traumatic brain injury attorneys at The Cochran Firm today to learn how to proceed with your claim for damages.

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A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unlike any other injury because at first, the symptoms may be subtle or non-existent, and typically avoid detection by advanced hospital imaging equipment.

Victims of traumatic brain injury often go untreated for hours after their injury because there may be no obvious sign of trauma, such as in the tragic case of award-winning actress, Natasha Richardson, who suffered an undetected TBI while on a ski trip in Canada after a fall. She died shortly after returning to her hotel room to rest after the incident.

More than one million new traumatic brain injury cases are treated each year in hospitals across the country, with many more cases going undiagnosed and untreated. At the present time there are almost five million adults and children living with the consequences of having sustained a traumatic brain injury in America. The risk of a TBI is highest among young adults and people over 75 years of age. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, and falls are the second leading cause of TBI in the elderly.

The emotional stress, physical challenges and financial hardships victims of traumatic brain injuries and their families endure are almost incomprehensible.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence or conduct, please contact The Cochran Firm, located in Huntsville, Alabama today so our expert attorneys can provide the knowledge and advice you need at this difficult time in your life.

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Medical malpractice leaves stunned families feeling unbearable grief, wanting answers to probing questions. Medical professionals do make mistakes that can cause permanent disabilities and even deaths, but not all bad medical results are caused by mistakes.

Medical malpractice can occur in your doctor's office, in an emergency room, during surgery, in the labor and delivery room, a laboratory or a nursing homes. Medical malpractice can even occur in a hospital waiting room when a delayed diagnosis or treatment results from a long delayed assessment of your medical problem.

Medical malpractice is alleged when injuries or wrongful deaths occur as a result of negligence or medical errors by doctors, residents, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, nursing homes, hospitals or other healthcare providers or institutions. Medical malpractice may involve an error in the diagnosis, treatment or management of an illness, a surgical error, a prescription error, a birth injury or other negligent action by a medical professional or institution.

Medical malpractice laws are there to protect your right to pursue financial compensation if you are injured as a result of medical negligence or error, but medical malpractice lawsuits are complex and costly.

If you think you are the victim of medical malpractice, you should consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney without delay, because there are time limits involved in how long someone may wait to bring a medical malpractice claim. The medical malpractice attorneys at The Cochran Firm can evaluate your case, determine if you have a legitimate claim, and work conscientiously to bring your case to a successful conclusion.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice, please contact the Birmingham, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today.

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According to Alabama premises liability laws, property owners can be held legally responsible for an injury caused by dangerous conditions that exist on their premises. All property owners must take appropriate action to prevent accidents from occurring on their properties.

One of the most common accidents is a trip, slip and fall accident on an icy or wet walkway, a broken stairway or a slippery floor. Slipping, tripping and falling on a wet surface or broken pavement or hurtling down a flight of broken steps can cause serious injuries. Poor lighting in a parking garage or the lack of security in a hotel hallway can lead to a physical or sexual assault that results in massive trauma or wrongful death.

The experienced Alabama premises liability attorneys at The Cochran Firm can determine whether property owner liability was a factor in your accident or assault and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost income, your pain and suffering and other costs due to your injury. Your case will be handled by our experienced premises liability attorneys who will work conscientiously to ensure your get the financial compensation and personal attention you deserve.

If you live in the Tuskegee, Alabama area and you or someone you care about was injured or assaulted on someone else's property, please contact The Cochran Firm today to learn what you can do to recover the losses you have suffered due to your injuries.

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Victims of truck accidents in Virginia find out fairly soon after the accident how difficult it is to receive fair and just treatment from the trucking company and its' multiple insurers.

If you have been involved in an accident with a truck, you probably suffered serious injuries and feel lucky to be alive. The last thing you should be doing on your own is fighting the trucking company and its' insurers for the financial compensation to which you are rightfully and legally entitled.

Trucking companies and their insurers do not want you aware of your legal options and will offer you the lowest financial compensation for your injuries possible, but the law allows recovery of present and future medical expenses, lost income, physical pain and suffering, mental and emotional anguish and other expenses incurred due to the truck accident.

In the state of Virginia, The Cochran Firm is ready to do everything to help you obtain justice and the financial compensation you deserve if you have been in an accident involving a truck, not what the trucking company will offer you.

Studies have revealed that 80% of all truck accidents are the fault of the truck driver with speeding, alcohol and drug use, reckless and aggressive driving behaviors, fatigue, cargo shifting or overloading and mechanical failure being some common causes.

If you have been the victim of an accident with a truck in the Norfolk/Portsmouth, Virginia area, please contact The Cochran Firm today for a consultation at no cost to you to evaluate your case and determine how to proceed to obtain the financial compensation you deserve.

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Train operators and their employers have an obligation to ensure safe passage for passengers, but train accidents do happen for many reasons, including engineer negligence, poor rail maintenance and operator error.

If a train operator is negligent and fails to deliver passengers in a safe manner, injures motor vehicle occupants in a collision or harms pedestrians, the train operator and train company may be found negligent and legally liable according to the laws of the state of New York.

The most common types of train accidents are collisions with motor vehicles at railroad crossings, collisions between trains, derailments and incidents involving pedestrians. People injured on the New York Subway System are usually injured by slipping and falling and collisions with other subway trains caused by human error.

Train operators and railroad employees have an obligation to the traveling public to protect the safety and well-being of their passengers by maintaining equipment and following all safety regulations and protocols. Defective railroad equipment such as faulty railroad crossing gates and signals, along with train operator error can result in catastrophic injuries and wrongful death.

The laws surrounding New York train accidents are complex, so it is important to have an experienced New York train accident attorney at The Cochran Firm working for you to ensure your rights are protected. Whether you were injured in train or subway accident, The Cochran Firm has the experience and dedication to seek the maximum financial compensation for your injuries and losses.

If you live in the New York area and you were injured in a train or subway accident, please contact The Cochran Firm today for a no cost to you confidential consultation.

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Describing an alcohol or drug-related collision as an accident is really inaccurate because that impaired driver made a deliberate choice to drive under the influence and put other people's lives at risk. Driving drunk or under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs greatly increases the risk of a serious accident involving injuries and fatalities and everyone who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle knows that.

A driving under the influence (DUI) automobile accident is one of the most senseless tragedies that could have been totally avoided if only another choice had been made. A startling statistic states that a so-called "first time drunk driver" offender has actually driven drunk almost ninety times before being caught.

If you were injured by a drunk driver, you have the legal right to seek financial compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and punitive damages under Louisiana law from the drunk driver. If a loved one was killed by a drunk driver, our Louisiana DUI accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm can protect your family's legal rights to a wrongful death claim.

If you live in Metairie, Louisiana or the surrounding area, and you have been victimized by a drunk driver, please contact The Cochran Firm today so you can have the benefit of our highly skilled lawyers working to ensure those responsible for your losses are held accountable.

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The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for safeguarding Americans against the dangers of defective pharmaceuticals but fails to do so in many instances, causing serious illnesses, disabilities, and deaths.

At times, drugs that have been approved to treat patients, even when taken as directed, have serious adverse side effects. People who have taken these dangerous drugs suffer blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, kidney, liver and lung damage and are often left with life-altering disabilities or fatal conditions.

In their efforts to rush new drugs into the hands of a population in need of remedies to alleviate pain and suffering, drug companies often ignore safe practices and fail to conduct adequate trials that may have exposed dangerous side effects, or may even choose to ignore the results of those trials in their quest for larger profits.

The experienced defective pharmaceutical attorneys at The Cochran Firm have the skill, knowledge, technical and medical resources, and persistence to fight for your rights against the giant pharmaceutical industry.

If you or someone you care about was injured by a defective pharmaceutical and you live in the Houston, Texas area, please contact the compassionate and determined attorneys at The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation to learn how to proceed to obtain justice and the financial compensation to which you are entitled for your injuries.

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Premises liability law is a section of Georgia law that holds property and business owners legally responsible for dangerous or hazardous conditions that may exist on their property.

If you slip and fall on a wet floor in a store, premises liability law may hold the store owner legally responsible for your injuries, depending on the circumstances. Common situations that may cause the initiation of a premises liability claim are falls on wet or icy walkways or stairs, attacks by dogs running loose and not in the control of the owner, exposure to toxic substances, an injury caused by a so-called "attractive nuisance", such as an old refrigerator left unlocked outside, or lack of adequate security measures at an apartment, hotel or mall parking garage that leads to a criminal assault. Premises liability laws also apply to private homeowners and injuries sustained on government properties such as parks and libraries.

Serious injuries can result from accidents on someone else's property including spinal cord injuries, burns, broken bones, head injuries, back injuries that can lead to paralysis and injuries that cause permanent disability or disfigurement.

The experienced premises liability attorneys at The Cochran Firm have accumulated years of knowledge and skill in litigating premises liability claims and will work diligently to successfully resolve your claim.

If you live in Atlanta, Georgia or the surrounding area and you or someone close to you was injured on someone else's property, please contact The Cochran Firm today to learn how to proceed with your claim for financial compensation for your injuries.

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In February 2008, one Ashley McIntosh, a kindergarten teacher assistant aged 33, was driving out of a shopping plaza. She got a green light and began turning on to the road. Amanda Perry, a police officer aged 22, was driving north on the road that McIntosh was entering. She had her police emergency lights flashing but did not have the siren on.

She drove through the red light where McIntosh was turning with her green light and hit McIntosh’s car on the passenger side in an intersectional collision accident. McIntosh was thrown from her car and died the following day.

This incident occurred in Fairfax County in Virginia. County prosecutors charged Perry with reckless driving, but she was found not guilty in October 2008. McIntosh’s family then sued her for wrongful death.

An Emergency or Not?

In August 2009, a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge ruled that Perry could not claim “sovereign immunity” as a public official performing her job because she had been grossly negligent. In a pre-trial hearing, she had admitted that she had not used her emergency lights for several miles as she drove to what she thought was an emergency. (However, she did have the lights on when she struck McIntosh’s car.)

She believed she was driving to “a fight in progress”. However, according to evidence at the pre-trial hearing, the fight was actually the capture of a shoplifter. The dispatchers had sent text messages to Perry, as evidenced by tape from her in-car camera, but Perry stated that she had not seen them and therefore did not know about any shoplifter. Because an ice storm was making the airwaves busy, the dispatchers had not sent her any radio message.

The Circuit Court judge ruled that a shoplifter being captured at a grocery store miles away did not constitute an emergency for Officer Perry. For McIntosh’s parents as the plaintiffs, that meant they would just have to establish simple negligence on Perry’s part.

Fair Compensation For the Family

In the wrongful death case, Fairfax County has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the McIntosh family for the loss of their daughter. Perry herself is not personally liable, since the county pays all legal bills for its police officers.

The police department put her on administrative duties for a year but took no disciplinary action until she was found to have falsified her time cards. She was forced to resign in March 2009.

One can never get the full story from news reports. It would seem that since McIntosh was thrown from her car, she must not have been wearing a seatbelt. If that is contributory negligence, it would perhaps mitigate the policewoman’s liability. Further, if the police car’s lights were flashing, it would have been very visible to McIntosh. On the other hand, an ice storm was in progress which possibly reduced visibility. We must trust that the County and the Plaintiffs have arrived at the best settlement of the case.

If you have been injured by another driver’s negligence, you may have a valid legal claim. Please call or email our office today to schedule a free case review with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys.

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This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced the recall of about 635,000 cribs that have unsafe drop sides. They are sold by many stores, Wal-Mart, Sears, and Kmart among them. They were made by Dorel Asia, based in Barbados, although the manufacturing was done in China and Vietnam. They were selling for anywhere between $120 and $700.

The company received 67 reports of malfunction with ten involving scratching or bruising for the infants and six where babies became trapped between the drop side and the mattress. About half of them involved broken slats on the drop-side of the crib. The drop-side hardware has a tendency to break.

Circumstances of the Infant Fatality

Yesterday, January 19, an infant death was reported that had occurred in a Dorel Asia crib. According to Dorel Asia’s clarifying statement issued yesterday, when an investigator looked into this fatality, he found that the crib had earlier been used for an older child who had broken it. The parents had repaired it with duct tape and then used it for their six-month-old baby. The duct-taped area came apart, somehow trapping the baby, who was strangled.

The parents had also wrapped their baby in a thick afghan rug, something that Dorel Asia’s instructions warn against, as thick bedding can hamper a baby’s movement so that suffocation may occur. Both parents were arrested for child endangerment with death. The father also received several drug charges.

Free Repair Kit

Dorel Asia is offering a free repair kit to fix the drop-side hardware. If you have one of these cribs, you can call 1-866-762-2304 to obtain a kit and the CPSC recall announcement lists all the models involved in this recall. Meanwhile, do not use the crib.

Please contact our law office if you have been injured by any type of defective product and wonder if you might have legal recourse. We will be happy to schedule a free case review for you with one of our defective product attorneys. We have offices across the nation for your convenience.

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In the early months of 2008, the blood thinner Heparin supplied by Baxter International, Inc. was found to be contaminated. At first the situation was puzzling. It was not immediately obvious how a contaminated ingredient had got into the drug. Part of the manufacturing was done in China and eventually investigators traced the problem to over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate made in China.

Successful Research

At the time, Baxter was supplying over half of the heparin used in the U.S. The contaminated supply caused about 80 deaths and injured many other people. Baxter recalled this heparin and researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) eventually published their discovery of how the tainted heparin had evaded detection at the U.S. border and why the contaminated ingredient made the heparin so deadly.

They had discovered the exact chemical structure of the contamination. They suggested that their discovery methods could be used by federal regulators to prevent any repetition of this error. The FDA had no test that could have discovered the contaminated ingredient. Over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate does not occur naturally, although chondroitin sulfate does, and is used in supplements for arthritis.

The FDA did ask for some new manufacturing standards after the problem was traced to China. The reason Baxter used a manufacturing plant in China is that enzymes from pig intestines are used and China had enough pigs to meet the demand. However, China also had an epidemic of pig disease at the time that reduced their supply and they compensated by making a synthetic ingredient. Twelve Chinese companies were found to be responsible and subsequently, contaminated heparin was found in ten other countries besides the U.S.

Hundreds of Lawsuits

Many lawsuits were filed, including class action suits, some for wrongful death, some for product liability. In Illinois alone, there were about 300 product liability suits. New claims are still being filed. Complaints state that Baxter and its supplier, Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC, were negligent in allowing the contaminated ingredient to be used. They are demanding monetary damages for those who were injured by the tainted heparin and compensation for the survivors of those who died.

Defective products are constantly in the news. Defective vehicles have been recalled recently by Toyota and this space wrote about that on November 30, 2009. The recall was subsequently expanded. On December 30 this space wrote about the Tylenol recall being expanded.

If you have been hurt by a defective drug or any type of defective product, you may have a basis for a legal claim. Please contact us today if you would like to schedule a free case evaluation.

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The 8th District Court of Appeals in St. Louis has overturned a district court ruling from 2008 that blocked over 100 lawsuits filed against drug companies by women or their surviving family members who claim hormone replacement therapy caused breast cancer from being sent back to the state court in Minnesota, as well as those that were dismissed in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The appeals court ruled that the cases belonged in state court and that the district court judge did not have the jurisdiction to dismiss them. Furthermore, the appeals court said dozens of cases the lower court ruled should not have been part of the litigation since they mirrored claims that are pending in California.

Thousands of lawsuits were filed against a dozen drug companies, including Barr Laboratories Inc., Mead Johnson & Co., Pfizer Inc., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now part of Pfizer), and others over hormones prescribed to treat symptoms of menopause. One of the drugs focused on in the lawsuits is Prempro, a drug that combines estrogen and progestin.

The 8th Circuit granted a new trial requested by Upjohn Co. and Wyeth in November. The drug companies were challenging an Arkansas jury verdict that awarded a Little Rock plaintiff $27 million in punitive damages and $2.75 million in compensatory damages in February 2008. The jury had concluded that Wyeth did not adequately warn that Prempro and another drug, Premarin, carried an increased risk of breast cancer.

In October, 2009, a Philadelphia jury awarded a Peoria, Illinois woman $75 million in punitive damages and $3.75 million in compensatory damages when a link between hormone treatment and her breast cancer was found.

Pharmaceutical companies go to great lengths to deny their drugs harm patients and then work even harder to avoid paying out damages. We can help you get compensation and justice.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or become ill from taking a prescription drug, please contact the experienced pharmaceutical injury attorneys at the Cochran Firm for an initial consultation. We serve clients nationwide.

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In January 2005, a southbound Los Angeles commuter train was carrying people to work in the early morning when it collided with an SUV left on the tracks. The train jackknifed and since there were train tracks on both sides of it, it hit two other trains. One was a parked freight train and the other was a second commuter train traveling northbound. A fire broke out because of spilled diesel fuel. Eleven people were killed and 180 were injured.

An Empty SUV Left on the Tracks?

The man who had parked the SUV on the tracks was apprehended on an L.A. street, wandering around and mumbling “I’m sorry”. He was charged with eleven counts of murder with “special circumstances”.

His defense attorneys claimed that he had planned to commit suicide but suddenly changed his mind and jumped out of the SUV. He apparently had previously slit his wrists and stabbed himself in the chest a few times and hoped to finish the job by having his SUV hit by a train. However, some witnesses stated that he inflicted those injuries on himself after the train crash.

L.A.’s Second Worst Train Accident

This was the worst train accident in Los Angeles’ history until another one happened in 2008. Needless to say, it was followed by dozens of lawsuits. California’s statute of limitations allows only six months for a person hurt in a train accident to file a claim. Eventually 186 lawsuits were filed, some for wrongful death and some for personal injury.

Last week the commuter rail agency, Metrolink, agreed to pay approximately $39 million to settle all but one of the lawsuits. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has vacated the trial date previously set for the one last claim and has urged the parties to settle it.

You can read more about train accidents on our Questions About Train Accidents page.

If you have been hurt in a train accident, you may have a valid legal claim. Please call or email our law office today to schedule a free case evaluation. One of our attorneys will be happy to listen, answer questions, and advise you of your options.

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