Stockton Personal Injury Lawyer - General Personal Injury

Ritter Case Demonstrates Value of Jury

Larry Knapp — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:57:58 GMT

For those who are down on the Civil Justice System for whatever reason, consider the opinion of John Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck. Ms. Yasbeck's husband died under circumstances that led to medical malpractice claims. Several of the defendants, after evaluating their chances in front of a jury, chose to settle their claims. Apparently, there must have been enough merit in the claims that the settling defendants believed that choosing to face a jury would not be a wise choice. The defendants that chose to take the case before a jury were recently vindicated in as much as the jury found they were not liable.

Rather than blast the jury system that Thomas Jefferson and our other founding fathers set down for our benefit, John Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck was reported as saying "she disagrees with the jury's decision that two doctors were not to blame for John Ritter's death. But, she says she believes in the system and respects it." Too bad all the corporate tortfeasors in this country aren't willing to do the same. Rather, they spend billions trying to immunize themselves from it.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

Civil Justice System Causes Bayer Corporation to Protect the Public

Larry Knapp — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:37:45 GMT

This is the kind of publicity the civil justice system routinely fails to garner. While it is easy to target lawyers and lawsuits as the bane of all of society's problems, actions like the recent decision by Bayer to pull its drug Trasylol from the market demonstrate how important it is to have a system of redress that causes powerful corporations to consider

the potential penalty of making money on a product that is dangerous. Here the drug at issue can cause extremely gruesome problems to those who are prescribed it:

Joseph Randone, 53, died at Stony Brook University Medical Center on Aug. 8, 2006, eight months after he entered the hospital for a heart valve replacement. Bern said Randone was given Trasylol and that during surgery he suffered kidney failure - a known complication of the drug. This led to clots in both legs, which had to be amputated shortly thereafter, he said. As a result of fluid buildup Randone's corneas became severely swollen, Bern said, and his eyes had to be sewn shut. He was on dialysis because of the kidney failure and eventually also needed a ventilator and a feeding tube.

While corporate interests will continue to attack what is frankly a very easy target, the civil justice system. Hopefully the general public will be able to wade through the muck and recognize the benefit of having this type of protection. Certainly the FDA can not be expected to police these industries alone.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

Food Poisoning can lead to Injury and Death

Larry Knapp — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:17:27 GMT

Conagra Foods, Inc. is pulling its pot pies from store shelves due to injuries that are hospitalizing people. While the company is not recalling its product, it is offering to reimburse the consumer for the cost of the pie. Food poisoning can lead to system wide infection and organ failure. Thus far there have been no deaths reported.

Our office once represented an elderly gentleman who was poisoned by a local restaurant in the San Joaquin Valley. As a result of the infection, his lungs reacted by building scar tissue (a phenomena known as pulmonary fibrosis) causing him to become short of breath and requiring 24 hour oxygen.

The pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 152 cases of salmonella in 31 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 20 people have been hospitalized as part of the ongoing outbreak, but so far no deaths have been linked to the pot pies.

Conagra suggests that with proper cooking their product is safe.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

Electrocution Injures Worker in Downtown Stockton Accident

Larry Knapp — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:07:58 GMT

A jackhammer punctured a downtown electrical cable Wednesday afternoon. More than 700 homes and businesses lost power, and the worker using the tool was electrocuted.

St. Joseph's Medical Center and Stockton City Hall were among the facilities in the dark since about 11:30 a.m. The hospital was relying on emergency generators and functioning normally, a spokeswoman said, although visitors were asked to stay away until power could be restored.

The electrocuted worker was an employee of Crutchfield Construction, according to a Pacific Gas and Electric spokesperson.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Worksite Injuries and Workers Compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp