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26
Jan

Youth In Raleigh Charged In Connection With Fatal Accident

January 26, 2012

Several young people in Raleigh, North Carolina, are learning the hard way that you don’t have to be the person behind the wheel in a fatal accident to be responsible for a wrongful death. According to WRAL News, three teens and a young adult have been charged with crimes in connection to a fatal single vehicle accident that happened earlier this month.

The accident happened on the morning of January 7th on Rainwater Road in Wake County. The driver, a 16-year-old boy, and several of his friends illegally acquired alcohol for an underage drinking party. After attending the party and drinking for several hours, the driver and the 17-year-old female victim got into his Jeep to head home. Reports from the accident show that the vehicle was traveling at 75 MPH in a 30 MPH zone when the boy lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree. The female victim in the passenger seat died at the scene.

In the weeks following the crash, not only has the driver of the Jeep been charged in connection with the girl’s death, but also, so have the 21-year-old man who bought the alcohol for the teens, the host of the party, and the minors who contributed money to have the alcohol purchased.

The North Carolina wrongful death lawyers with HensonFuerst may be able to help you if you have lost a loved one because of the negligence of a drunk driver. Contact an experienced attorney today.

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19
Jan

Fayetteville Hospital Could Lose Federal Funding

January 19, 2012

A Fayetteville, North Carolina, hospital is at risk of losing it’s funding from Medicaid and Medicare tonight in response to the death of a mentally ill patient. Reports from ABC 13 News say that the 27-year-old patient died after being put in a chokehold by a security guard at the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in October of last year.

Video from a surveillance camera at the hospital shows the patient being tackled to the ground by security and choked. When the patient stops resisting and is released, he lies on the ground, unconscious for nearly three minutes before any effort is made to resuscitate the man. He was later declared dead, but a criminal investigation did not begin until a coroner ruled the death a homicide.

The hospital could potentially lose as much as $23 million a month if its funding is cut.

This is not the first time the hospital has faced scrutiny. The Fayetteville Observer reports that the State Department of Health and Human Services began investigating the facility in December of last year after a cancer patient died less than an hour after being involuntarily discharged from the facility. The hospital also has numerous complaints for extremely long wait times and mistreatment of patients.

The North Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorneys with HensonFuerst would advise anyone who believes they’ve been harmed by a doctor or staff member  to immediately contact a lawyer to discuss the claim.

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12
Jan

Strong Storm Leaves Path Of Destruction In Western North Carolina

January 12, 2012

A powerful storm system that blew through western North Carolina Wednesday evening is being blamed for injuring at least 15 people and destroying more than a dozen buildings in two counties. According to WRAL News, the storm possibly spawned tornadoes that are believed to have touched down in Rutherford and eastern Burke Counties.

Spokesman for the Rutherford county sheriffs department, Sergeant Dwayne Wright, told reporters that the town of Ellenboro was hit the hardest. By Thursday morning, ten people had been treated for injuries, of which, two victims suffered serious harm. Wright added that at least 10 buildings had been leveled within a three-square-mile area.

The storm then moved northeast, where within minutes, the town of Icard was being pummeled with high winds and rain. Witnesses stated that they could “hear it rumbling, and knew there would be real bad damage.” Dozens were injured and nearly 75 homes suffered damage to varying degrees.

The storm skipped east before dying off in the town of Hildebrand, where reports of uprooted trees and roofs torn off buildings were piling up by Thursday morning.

Hundreds are still without power according to Burke County Fire Marshal, Mark Pitts.

While no one can be blamed for injuries that occur because of a natural disaster, insurance companies often play this to their advantage in order to pay you less for your injuries and losses. The North Carolina personal injury lawyers with HensonFuerst would advise a victim to never take a settlement from an insurance company without first consulting an attorney.

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9
Jan

Making Teen Driving Safety a 2012 Resolution

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Elizabeth Molloy, from WRAL.com

Car wrecks are the leading cause of death among North Carolina teens, and crashes are surprisingly common. In NC, teenage drivers are involved in car wrecks approximately every 24 minutes.

According to research, the most common mistakes that cause teen wrecks are speeding, inattention and distraction, and failure to yield. And while drunk driving is still rare among teens, it accounts for some of the most tragic and memorable motor vehicle fatalities.

One recent example—Wake County’s first in 2012—is the death of 17-year-old Millbrook High School student Elizabeth Molloy. According to an article on WRAL.com, the driver was 16-year-old fellow student Garrett Prince, who lost control of his 1999 Jeep SUV while driving 75 mph in a 30 mph zone, and ended up hitting a tree. Prince could face charges of felony death by motor vehicle, provisional DWI, careless and reckless driving, having an open container of spirituous liquor, speeding, and possession of marijuana. Jared Sink, man in the neighborhood where the wreck took place witnessed the crash and pulled Molloy from the burning wreck, said what probably everyone is thinking:  ”[It's] just absolutely tragic. To all the young people out there, there’s no taxi that’s more expensive than someone’s life.”

Parent/Teen Driving Agreement

Teens know that underage drinking is illegal, but that doesn’t stop some of them from drinking. They also know—in theory—that they shouldn’t get into a car with someone who has been drinking, but many of them disregard that advice. Why? Sometimes because the teen doesn’t have the confidence to stand up to peer pressure…or because they are afraid to call their parents for an alternate ride home…or because they don’t realize that a taxi is a viable option.

Those are some of the reasons why a Parent/Teen Driving Agreement can be an important tool. The University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol have created sample Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. It’s a formal agreement between parents and teens. It includes specific things that both parents and teens agree to do. Parents have found that driving agreements work well to keep teens safe when they first begin to drive on their own by making expectations clear.

The agreements are valuable once your child is old enough to be out with friends, even if he or she is not actually driving. An agreement should outline parental expectations for safety, such as never riding in a car with an impaired driver, always wearing a seatbelt, obeying the speed limit, and avoiding distractions, including texting, talking on a cell phone, eating, or applying make up. That’s the teen side of the agreement. The parent side of the agreement should given the child options for how to get out of a potentially hazardous situation, and outline how parents will support their child’s efforts to stay safe.

For example, agreeing that if a child ever feels unsafe, he or she can call home at any hour and request a ride home…without risk of punishment. (As much as parents might want to lash out at a child who has been drinking or at an unauthorized party, the goal is to get the child home safely. A strongly negative reaction from a parent might cause the child to avoid calling in the future, and possibly getting into a dangerous or fatal situation. That’s not to say that discipline can’t be taken for any rule-breaking, but the ride home should be calm and concerned—any discussions or repercussions should wait for the next day.)

We’ve done some of the research for you and attached links to three separate Parent/Teen Driving Agreements. Look at all of them, take what you like from each, and create your own custom agreement. We like the first one, from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center because it allows teens and parents to write their own agreement items in their own words—that means teens aren’t just skimming over the task without thinking. And any additional minute of thinking about driving safety is another opportunity to keep our children safe.

Sample Agreement 1:  University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center

Sample Agreement 2: North Carolina State Highway Patrol

Sample Agreement 3: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles

PROJECT IGNITION

Project Ignition, funded in part by the National Youth Leadership Council, helps students, teachers, and communities address teen driver safety. Students themselves design and lead awareness campaigns–every year, 25 grants are awarded to high schools across the country. The teams often find their inspiration from personal tragedy, but their powerful messages reach across county and state lines. Some examples of the kind of service-learning encouraged by Project Ignition are holding a mock crash on campus, and learning and applying the physics of crashes from a science class, including the potential effects of velocity and crashes on the human body.

This year, we’d like to congratulate the two North Carolina high schools that won grants:

  • Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville, North Carolina. Title: “Increasing Your Survival Odds.” The Pine Lake Prep Project Ignition team will lead an in-depth 15-30 week integrating the NC Driver’s Ed curriculum to promote safe driving and better driver “road awareness” utilizing a five-prong approach: (1) mock accident scene, (2) speaker series, (3) student-based research projects, (4) obstacle course on site, and (5) service learning.
  • Lincoln Charter High School in Denver, North Carolina. Title:  ”As the Wheel Turns.” The Project Ignition team of Lincoln Charter believe that teen driving accidents are a rampant and tragic problem in their area. Their emphasis is to reduce the number of student drivers who exercise unsafe driving habits such as eating, allowing excess passengers, or driving while emotionally inept.

About HensonFuerst

At HensonFuerst, we’ve seen the devastating effects of car wrecks and DWI injuries far too often. It’s never pretty, but there is something particularly tragic when the injured individual is a young person who has barely had a chance to live. Our hearts go out the the family of Elizabeth Molloy, and all families touched by the catastrophe of a DWI wreck. We wish you peace.

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5
Jan

More Americans Die From Drug Overdose Than From Car Crashes

January 5, 2012

Right now in the United States, more people die from drug overdoses than from car accidents, according to new research released last month. According to WECT 6 News, the study concluded that the cause of the surge in fatal overdoses could be linked to the increased use of drugs that have potential for abuse.

The study was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over a 30-year time period. Over the span of three decades, researchers saw an increase of six times as many drug poisoning deaths. In 1980, there were roughly 6,000 deaths associated with drug poisonings. By 2008, that number had capped out at 36,500. That same year, nine out of ten poisoning deaths were drug related, with 77 percent of them being unintentional.

These findings correlate with earlier research that showed the number one type of drug abused in the United States today are legal pharmaceuticals.

A CDC health scientist involved with the study, Dr. Chris Jones, stated that the number of prescriptions that doctors are willing to write to patients today is a major contributing factor to the problem. “Between 1999 and 2010, the sales of these drugs increased fourfold.” he added.

The Raleigh drug injury lawyers with HensonFuerst are an experienced team of attorneys dedicated to helping victims who have been injured at no fault of their own by a prescription drug. If you or someone you know has experienced a similar scenario, call us today to discuss your case.

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30
Dec

Top Medical and Drug Stories of 2011

Medical stories are some of the most heartbreaking:  You trust your health to a doctor or hospital, and something goes wrong. Maybe you end up sicker than you were before. Sometimes, the error may result in death. Here is a round-up of the most important medical and drug stories of the year. (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.)
Harm Done in a Hospital
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that there was a “shockingly high rate of preventable injuries to patients,” specifically in North Carolina hospitals. Of patients admitted to a North Carolina hospital, 1 in 5 will be harmed by the medical care they receive, and about 14% of medically induced harms caused permanent or life-threatening injury.

Defective Hip Replacement Devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered all producers of “metal-on-metal” hip replacements to study the implants after thousands of patines have had the devices fail, causing tissue damage and requiring second replacements. This serious problem started with DePuy hip replacement devices, and has be expanded. Anyone with a hip replacement should check with their physician to make sure that their devices aren’t in the process of failing.

Transvaginal Mesh

Over the past three years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received nearly 4,000 reports of severe complications (including 3 fatalities) associated with surgical mesh used to treat pelvic prolapse. The most frequent complications include erosion through the vaginal wall, infection, abscesses, pain, and urinary problems.

VIDEOS
In addition to blogs, we also create videos about important health, medical, and legal topics. To see all of our available videos, please visit our YouTube channel here:  HensonFuerst YouTube Channel.  Here are links to some of our medical videos:

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30
Dec

Top Motor Vehicle Story of 2011

Of the hundreds of blogs we write each year, hand-down the number one motor vehicle story of the year is about DWD—Driving While Distracted.  The National Safety Council estimates that about 23% of all motor vehicle crashes can be attributed to talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. That’s about 1.3 million crashes per year. In fact, just talking on a cell phone—even hands-free phones—increase the risk of a crash fourfold. That statistic makes DWD the biggest motor vehicle story of this year…or any other year in recent memory.  (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.)

VIDEOS
In addition to blogs, we also create videos about important health, medical, and legal topics. To see all of our available videos, please visit our YouTube channel here:  HensonFuerst YouTube Channel.  Here are links to some of our motor vehicle and car wreck videos:

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29
Dec

Studies Show Avastin® Has Weak Results Against Ovarian Cancer

December 29, 2011

New studies are showing that a drug once used to treat numerous types of cancer may not work. According to WRAL News, recent data presented to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not only led to the organization pulling approval for the use of the drug Avastin® in the treatment of breast cancer, but now also in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

The drug was approved last week for use in advanced ovarian cancer patients despite the findings, but the drug’s manufacturer, Genentech, has stayed mum on whether the company will seek approval for the same in the United States.

Two studies in today’s newest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that the drug only slowed the cancers progression for several months and did not improve mortality rates. On top of this, patients have suffered from numerous drug side effects, including:

  • Blood Clots
  • Slow Wound Healing
  • Severe Bleeding
  • Perforations Of The Gastrointestinal Tract

If you or someone you love has suffered ill effects from drugs like Avastin®, contact the experienced team of North Carolina drug injury lawyers with HensonFuerst. They are here to help their clients in every step of the process of filing a claim to get the compensation they deserve.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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19
Dec

FDA Warns Companies of Deceptive Lap-Band Advertising

Almost everyone wants to be thin, and many people would do anything to have the body of their dreams. For people who are “morbidly obese” or who have one or more obesity-related conditions (such as diabetes or high blood pressure), one option is gastric banding.

Gastric banding, such as the popular Lap-Band, is a surgical procedure that reduces the size of the stomach. A silicone band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch that fills up faster and supposedly makes you feel full much more quickly. The band is not solid like a rubber band–it is more like a balloon that is filled with salt water (saline). The more water in the band, the tighter it squeezes the stomach. The amount of saline in the band can be adjusted because the band is attached to a long tube, ending at a small button-like knob that is placed just below the skin during surgery. A doctor can draw fluid out of the band, or add more fluid in, just by inserting a syringe into the knob.

FDA Warning

Last week, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has taken action against eight California surgical centers and a marketing firm for misleading advertising of the Lap-Band. At issue is the idea of advertising a very serious surgical procedure without proper warnings and cautions, making gastric banding look like a simple fix for a lifelong problem.

“The decision to undergo a gastric banding procedure should be done in close consultation between a patient and his or her health care provider,” said Kimber Richter, M.D., deputy director for medical affairs in the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “It is important for the patient to fully understand both the risks and the benefits of the procedure and for the health care provider to be sure the procedure is appropriate for the patient.”

According to the FDA, the risks of any surgery—including gastric banding—include the possibility of death. In addition, known complications of gastric banding include:

  • Nausea
  • vomiting or spitting-up food you just ate
  • difficulty swallowing
  • gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  • indigestion or upset stomach
  • abdominal pain
  • leaking of the gastric band
  • stretching of the new stomach pouch, so it no longer restricts the amount of food you can eat
  • moving of the gastric band from its original position, requiring another surgery to reposition it
  • erosion of the band through the stomach wall, and into the stomach, requiring additional surgery
  • stretching of the esophagus

    • Eating with a Gastric Band

    When people hear that gastric banding will force them to eat less, they may not realize exactly what that means. According to the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, you need to eat only soft foods (like mashed potatoes or baby food) for the first five weeks after surgery. Then, you will still need to ay close attention to your diet—gastric banding isn’t a miracle fix; you’ll still need to eat well. Many patients have difficulty with solid foods in the morning. In addition, eating too much food or big chunks of food can block the outlet–the outlet is about the size of a dime, so food needs to be eaten in small bits and thoroughly chewed.

    In addition, the stomach pouch can only hold about 1/4 cup of food. Visually, that’s about the size of a deck of cards. That’s the total amount of each meal—any more than that can stretch out the pouch and potentially cause health problems.

    The Institute also recommends that you avoid high-fiber foods, including (but not limited to):

    • dried fruits
    • asparagus
    • pineapple
    • corn (especially popcorn)
    • grapes
    • nuts and seeds
    • carbonated beverages

    Glamorizing Lap-Band

    For some people, gastric banding can be a literal life-saver. But some people are attracted by what might be considered a simple way to lose weight.

    “FDA’s concern is that these ads glamorize the Lap-Band without communicating any of the risks,” says Steven Silverman, director of the Office of Compliance in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Consumers, who may be influenced by misleading advertising, need to be fully aware of the risks of any surgical procedure.”

    Gastric banding is anything but simple. In fact, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, at least four people have died of Lap-Band complications at the eight California surgical centers involved in the FDA warning. This is not a surgery to be undertaken lightly.

    If you are considering gastric banding, talk with your doctors about all the pros and cons…and ask to talk with people who have already had the surgery. There may be a support group that meets in your area. Understand that your life will change dramatically after the surgery, and not just because you might lose weight.

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    16
    Dec

    FDA Wants Blood Clots Added to YAZ Labels

    The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the labels for birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, manufactured by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, be strengthened to include more information about the increased risk of blood clots.

    This is not Bayer’s first appearance at the FDA scrutiny rodeo. In 2008, Yaz was the best-selling birth control pill in the United States, pushed by an advertising campaign said to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. You might remember these original ads:  A group of beautiful, young women in a cool restaurant or club are talking with their friend, who happens to be a doctor. She informs her friends that Yaz is birth control, but also prevents severe premenstrual symptoms and clears up acne. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  The FDA cracked down, and in 2009, Bayer was required to run a $20 million advertising campaign designed to correct its previously deceptive—and some might say irresponsible—commercial ads. Bayer’s new ads warned that nobody should take Yaz hoping that it would also prevent PMS or pimples.

    This new problem is more serious.

    According to an article in The New York Times, there has been a question of whether Yaz, which contains a synthetic form of progestin called drospirenone, is more likely to cause blood clots than other, more conventional contraceptive pills. In October 2011, the British Journal of Medicine published research showing that women taking Yaz or Yasmin had double the risk of blood clots, compared with women taking older contraceptives.

    Currently more than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed on behalf of women who were harmed by Yaz or Yasmin…including about 100 fatalities. According to The New York Times:

    In documents released recently in those lawsuits, David Kessler, a former F.D.A. commissioner working as an expert witness for the plaintiffs, said that Bayer researchers found increased reports of blood clots in women using Yasmin in the United States, compared with those using three other pills, but did not provide that information to the F.D.A. in a 2004 safety review.

    “Bayer presented a selective view of the data, and that presentation obscured the potential risks associated with Yasmin,” Dr. Kessler testified. He also said the company promoted the pill for alleviating premenstrual syndrome, when it was not approved for that use.

    To many experts and non-experts alike, blood clots are too great a risk. And many young women may not understand what “blood clots” really means. It sounds innocuous and minor, but the results can be devastating. If the clot lodges in the heart, it can cause a heart attack…if it lodges in the brain, it can cause a life-changing stroke. According to an article in the New York Daily News:

    “I can see no real group of patients that this drug benefited over existing alternatives,” said Mark Woods of New York University School of Medicine. “Without any clear benefit, and given the potentially catastrophic risk, I voted no [to keeping the drug on the market].”

    If you are a woman who has been injured after taking Yaz or Yasmin birth control pills and have questions about your rights, feel free to call the experienced attorneys of HensonFuerst. Someone is available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-4-LAWMED. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

    RESOURCES

    To read the article in The New York Times about the 2009 advertising correction, click here: A Birth Control Pill That Promised Too Much

    To read the article in The New York Times about the blood clot risk, click here: More Detail on Risk Urged for a Contraceptive Label

    To read the article in the New York Daily News, click here: Yaz and other birth control pills to get harsher labels

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