Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Radiation has become a significant tool in diagnosing and treating patients. Radiation is routinely used to treat cancer and many of the routine diagnostic imaging tests use radiation to discover what is ailing patients. Complications and injuries occur when patients are unnecessarily over exposed to radiation.

Radiation battles cancer by eliminating the cancerous tumor. It kills the genetic material that allows cells to grow and multiply. With all radiation treatments, radiation must enter and exit the body through healthy tissue causing damage to the area surrounding the tumor. Typical injuries associated with radiation include redness, soreness, and skin burns comparable to sun burn. Injuries that occur from over radiation are much more severe and include damaging the blood vessels that provide nourishment to the skin. Over radiation destroys healthy cells creating severe wounds that are unlikely to heal. After soft tissue damage, over radiation can cause bone death most commonly in the head and the jaw. Finally, over exposure to radiation can lead to organ failure and death.

Patients suffering from severe and repeated over exposure to radiation have suffered crippling injuries with the majority ending in death. A woman with breast cancer underwent targeted radiation treatments and suffered a gaping wound in her chest that refused to heal even after numerous attempts through surgery to cure the injury. Eventually the woman died when her breast cancer resurfaced because the radiation was not effectively treating the disease.

Another man was left blind, death, unable to swallow, severely burned, nauseated and unable to breathe after several repeated doses of radiation that was not targeted to his tumor. Patients are receiving inappropriate doses of radiation in the wrong areas of the body with some receiving treatments specifically designed for other patients. With radiation there is always some damage to healthy tissue but the injuries should never be crippling or life threatening. Unusual injuries should be immediately reported to doctors before it is too late. In today's health care it is almost impossible to avoid radiation but radiation is a tool doctors to diagnose and treat not harm and kill.

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Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

Philadelphia cancer patients and others across the country undergoing targeted radiation treatments to beat cancer may actually be harming their bodies and causing severe and permanent injuries.

Targeted radiation treatments allow doctors to more efficiently and accurately attack a tumor; however studies have shown that this new form of radiation has opened the door to more frequent and severe errors. Software glitches, inexperienced technicians, and the lack of a failsafe are just some of the factors that are causing patients to suffer unjustly from overexposure of radiation.

People are exposed to more radiation than ever before and over half of all cancer patients undergo some sort of radiation to diagnose or treat the disease. A new type of radiation called Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or I.M.R.T. is a directed beam of radiation that doctors can lead directly to the patient's tumor. This new technology can help spare healthy cells and allow doctors to treat patients with radiation where it would have been too risky in the past.

The I.M.R.T. is completely computer controlled. With the help of an oncologist software designs a treatment specific to each patient set to undergo the radiation. Oncologists can selected the designed treatment or work with the software to modify it. Next the technician or oncologist responsible for administering the radiation enters the dose of the radiation, followed by the location of treatment and finally prompts the machine to guide the radiation directly to the tumor.

While there is no failsafe system installed in the machines there are still opportunities for medical physicists to notice and prevent any radiation mistakes before they occur. First a test run is supposed to be conducted to ensure that the radiation amount and location are accurate. Second, during the radiation the monitor of the machine displays the amount and location of radiation but these monitors are not always watched as the technician usually focuses their attention on the patient.

Doctors are relying too heavily on the computer software when administering I.M.R.T. and failing to notice the signs the treatment is not appropriate for their patients. The software has no failsafe system to ensure that the doctors and technicians are administering the radiation properly and not causing serious and permanent harm to patients. Unfortunately for patients the risks and injuries of this new technology are currently outshining the benefits and healing capabilities.

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Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

The Food and Drug Administration has launched an investigation to reports that patients in Philadelphia hospitals and other hospitals nationwide have been over exposed to radiation during routine tests and procedures.

A typical CT scan exposes patients to radiation levels about equal to 400 X-rays but reports have surfaced that in some cases patients have received radiation levels equivalent of 3,200 X-rays. None of the patients knew about the overexposure until they begun to lose their hair.

The increasing popularity and effectiveness of diagnostic tests that involve radiation has exposed more people to more radiation then in the past. In the last thirty years a typical person's exposure to medical radiation has increased seven-fold. Ionizing radiation, which is used in imaging exams, increases the patient's lifetime cancer risk and can also cause skin burns, hair loss and cataracts.

The FDA is increasing oversight into CT scans, nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopies. CT scans are the most common form of radiation imaging that provides medical professionals with 3-dimensional images of the bodies. In a nuclear medicine study a radioactive substance is passed through the patient's body and monitored by doctors and a fluoroscopy is a diagnostic tool that provides doctors with a continuous internal image through the help of a radiation-emitting device.

Currently there are no indicators on any radiation emitting device that informs doctors or technologists that the patient is receiving inappropriate amounts of radiation. The industry has failed to implement a failsafe system and unfortunately patients are paying the price.

A Massachusetts firm has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine for importing toys with dangerous levels of lead paint. The firm was fined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for violating federal law and importing the noncompliant toys. Imported toys include Curious George, Thomas and Friends and Winnie the Pooh.

The CPSC alleged that the company should have known that the toys did not meet the lead paint standard in 2002 but imported the tens of thousands of toys anyway. The company also did not immediately report the contaminated toys to the government and distributed them to retailers. By agreeing to the settlement the company denies any wrongdoing.

Lead poisoning is especially dangerous with children because they are much more susceptible to ingest higher levels of lead than when compared to adults. Dangerous levels of lead poisoning can lead to brain swelling, kidneys problems, coma, convulsions, and even death.

A clinical trial is currently being conducted at MossRehab in Philadelphia that allows paralyzed people to walk again. The study puts 14 wheel bound chair patients in a revolutionary robotic exoskeleton that allows them to stand, walk and even climb stairs.

The exoskeleton, ReWalk is manufactured by Argo Medical Technologies and doctors are hoping that this study will lead to approval by the Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2010. The lightweight device has an upper body harness, full leg supports and a backpack. The supports in ReWalk have motorized hips and knees and motion sensors placed in the shoulder sense changes in gravity and tell the device when to take a step. This device can only be used by people who have full use of their arms as leg motion is guided with the help of crutches. When fully charged the device can last for three hours.

The participants in the study are ecstatic about the freedom the ReWalk gives them; some haven't stood in twenty years. Doctors see the other benefits of the device, exercise. It is extremely difficult for those paralyzed at birth or later in life from a spinal cord injury to get exercise and the lack of exercise makes their bones weak and brittle. Using ReWalk will reverse the effect in patients while giving them the added bonus of freedom from the wheelchair.

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Cutting-Edge Robotic Exoskeleton Allows Wheelchair-Bound to Stand and Walk

Investigations have confirmed that an apartment owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority is contaminated with asbestos. The Health Department took samples in the local apartment and has confirmed that there is asbestos in the basement. An anonymous tip alerted The Health Department and has potentially uncovered a huge problem with the way the PHA conducts business.

The investigation has revealed that the PHA is not properly disposing of asbestos and hasn't been for years. Workers have claimed that they were routinely told to dispose of asbestos by placing it in dumpsters and even sealing it up in building walls. There have even been reports of PHA workers burning asbestos off pipes with a blow torch.

When inhaled asbestos fibers are extremely dangerous and can lead to a number of lung problems including mesothelioma. Asbestos is by law only to be removed from buildings by licensed and trained contractors who place the asbestos in sealed bags and dispose of the asbestos in a specialized landfill. The PHA has agreed to properly remove the asbestos from the apartment. An investigation has also been launched by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

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Proof Positive: Health inspection finds asbestos in apartment cleared by PHA

Philadelphia parents who own a Graco stroller should immediately stop using the product until they can confirm the defective stroller has not been recalled by the manufacturer. After several reports of children having their fingers lacerated or amputated by a defective hinge Graco has recalled 1.5 million strollers.

The recalled strollers were manufactured between October 2004 and February 2008 and sold under the model names of Passage, Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems. Two different styles of hinge mechanisms were manufactured for the recalled models but only one style is being recalled. The plastic jointed hinge mechanism with indented positioning notches is the dangerous and defective hinge and parents should stop using the stroller with this hinge immediately. Owners of the defective stroller should contact Graco for a free repair kit.

The strollers were sold nationwide at retail stores for between $80 and $90 and travel systems were sold for between $150 and $200. The model number can be found just above the rear wheels on the lowers inside position of the rear frame.

Recalled Model Numbers:
6303MYC, 6303MYC37240DNB, 7240DNB2,
7240MKL2, 7240MKL37F02GLM3 6320IVY, 6320LAU7241DDH2, 7241DHO37F04TAY3 6330CAP, 6330THR,
6330THR37255CLP, 7255CLP2,
7255CRA2, 7255CRA3,
7255CSA3, 7255GPK3,
7255GRN, 7255GRN2,
7255JJB3, 7255ORC2,
7255WLO2, 7255WLO37F07EMA3 6F00QIN3, 6F00RRY37256CLO2, 7256SPM2,
7256SPM37F08DSW3, 7F08LAN3 6F03GLN37260BAN, 7260BAN2,
7260BAN3, 7260MRA2,
7260MRA3, 7260PKR,
7260PKR27G00DLS3, 7G00DLS4 6G10CSE37270BIA, 7270BIA27G01CRL3 7235GGA, 7235GGA27E01JON2, 7E01JON37G04KRA3 7236CDR27F00LPE3, 7F00RSH37G05GPR3, 7G06WSR3 7237HOL2, 7237HOL37F01FOR37G07ABB3, 7G07BAT3

Related Sources:
Graco Recalls Strollers Due to Fingertip Amputation and Laceration Hazards

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled over a half a million units of Vicks DayQuil cold medicine because the packaging was found not to be child proof.

The 700,000 units were sold between September 2008 and December 2009 as Vicks DayQuil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps. The packaging is marketed as child-resistant but the blister packs inside are not.

The UPC for this product is 3 23900 01087 1.

If a child was to open the medicine and ingest several of the pills they could suffer from serious health problems and death. Thankfully there have yet to be any reports of a child swallowing the medication.

This latest recall comes at not the most opportune time for Vicks and its parent company Proctor & Gamble. The company has already had 120,000 bottles of Vicks Sinex nasal spray recalled after bacteria were found in the spray. The Food & Drug Administration has also sent Vicks a letter warning them about the marketing of their products with Vitamin C.

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Red Orbit News

The Consumer Product Safety commission announced the recall of 24,000 baby beds made by Amby Baby because of the risk of suffocation. Two babies died this past summer; a 5-month old in Oregon and a 4-month old in Georgia. The Motion Beds are a hammock like bed marketed to parents of babies with colic or reflux. The beds hang from a swing and have mesh and fabric sides. When a baby is put into the bed it moves up and down and swings from side to side mimicking the motion of a baby in the womb. The side to side shifting or or tilting of the hammock can cause an infant to roll and become trapped or wedged on the side against the hammock's fabric or mattress pad. This can pose a serious suffocation risk. Anyone with an Amby Baby Motion Bed should stop using them and return them for a refund. These beds were sold on line through Ambybaby.com from January 2003 to October 2009.

The drug manufacturers Pfizer and Wyeth (which is now part of Pfizer) were ordered by two Philadelphia juries to pay over $100 million in punitive damages to two women who were prescribed the hormone replacement drug (HRT) Prempro. Attorneys for plaintiffs alleged that this dangerous drug caused their clients to develop breast cancer and as a result had mastectomies performed. The defendants were found negligent in failing to warn patients and their doctors of the serious health risks while taking HRT.

Donna Kendall of Decatur, Illinois was awarded $6.3 million in compensatory damages and an additional $28 million in punitive damages. Connie Barton, also of Illinois was awarded $3.5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $75 million in punitive damages. Plaintiffs proved that Pfizer/Wyeth knew of the serious risks of its drug but failed to disclose these risks to patients and their prescribing doctors.

There are over one thousand hormone replacement therapy cases in the Philadelphia court system and all five that have gone to trial in the past three years have resulted in plaintiff's verdicts. Philadelphia juries are clearly outraged that Pfizer/Wyeth put profits over the safety of women's health. Plaintiffs assert that the drug manufacturer did not conduct adequate studies that would have revealed the breast cancer risk because the HRT drugs were producing revenues in excess of $2 billion annually.

Over six million women take HRT drugs to treat their menopause symptoms such as mood swings, night sweats, and hot flashes. Currently Pfizer is not seeking a global settlement. Plaintiff attorneys have been working hard to consolidate cases to ensure that all clients have their day in court.

Philadelphia parents should immediately stop using all Maclaren brand strollers. After several reports of children having their fingers amputated by the stroller, Maclaren in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Comission (CPSC), has recalled all makes and models of their umbrella strollers. The defective strollers have been found to amputate children's fingers when placed in the hinge where the stroller closes. The recall covers over one million strollers that have been sold nationwide in the past decade.

The recall comes at a surprise to many parents because the brand has a reputation for being extremely dependable. The light, compatible, upscale but relatively inexpensive stroller is very popular among young urban parents. To remedy the situation Maclaren is offering free hinge covers to protect children. Maclaren is offering a free repair kit to be ordered from the website; however parents are finding it difficult to order the kit because of excess site volume. Maclaren is doing the best they can to repair their public image and stresses that parents stop using all of their make and model folding strollers until they receive a repair kit.

If you believe that your child has been harmed by a defective stroller please contact our experienced child safety attorneys to discuss your potential products liability case today.

Our firm has filed another lawsuit involving the drug reglan. Reglan is a drug prescribed for gastrointestinal upset, and when given for an extended period of time has been known to cause serious side effects and especially a neurological condition known as tardive dsykinesia. Our client used the drug for years without being told of the potential for developing tardive dyskinesia. The lawyers at Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, and Jeck, P.C., particularly our mass tort team of lawyers, have extensive experience in handling individual drug product liability lawsuits for patients who were not warned of these side effects by the drug makers of reglan as well as the duragesic fentanyl pain patch. We welcome the opportunity to serve those who have suffered needlessly. If you or a loved one use reglan please be aware of the potential leaking of the patch which can cause serious injury or death in your family.

A Philadelphia mother recevied $2.5 million judgment against GlaxoSmith-Kline because a jury ruled that Paxil was responsible for her son's heart problems. The jury ruled 10-2 in favor of the mother citing that the drug manufacturer was negligent because they failed to warn doctors and patients of the risk to pregnant mothers.

The lawsuit is the first of hundreds to be filed in Philadelphia Court and many plaintiff lawyers are optimistic that their suits will have similar results. This particular case was difficult to prove in court because there are birth defects in 3 to 5 percent of all live births and it is hard to prove that a drug caused a birth defect in a child.

The jury's decision did not award the plaintiff compensatory damages because the jury did not find any evidence that GlaxoSmith-Kline knew about the potential side effects. Had documents surfaced that drug manufacturer knew of potential dangerous side effects but neglected to warn consumers or pull the drug off the market then compensatory damages would have been awarded.

GlaxoSmith-Kline is also battling law suits across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for a different reason. There is evidence that Paxil users have a higher tendency to commit homicidal and suicidal acts. Already the drug manufacturer has settled cases outside of court and has had to deal with accusations of suppressing research that showed Paxil can lead to suicide.

If you believe you have been harmed by Paxil please do not hesitate to contact our experienced pharmaceutical litigation attorneys today to discuss your potential case.

Philadelphia Trial Lawyers want to keep all of Pennsylvania's courthouse doors open to those Philadelphia and Pennsylvania injured victims who decide to pursue a measure of justice through our civil justice system. Whether a personal injury plaintiff brings a law suit for medical malpractice, product liability, birth injury or car accident, for the most part, state legislatures have the final say with regard to tort reform in their respective states.

However, tort reform has been brought into the national spotlight. As the national healthcare reform debate rages on, the opposition looks to tort reform as a powerful bargaining chip. Recently, President Obama said "he wants to look at a 'range of ideas' to 'put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine.'' Such a comment, in addition to other rumors circulating in the blogosphere has those of us who strive to keep our courthouse doors open, worried. The attorneys at Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck have been fighting for the rights of injured victims of medical malpractice, product liability, birth injury or car accidents for decades in Pennsylvania. Please, reach out to your Senator or Congressperson on the Hill and voice your opinion - the courthouse doors must stay open.

Following years of litigation and FDA scrutiny, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil, has removed the reservoir Duragesic fentanyl patch from the market. Duragesic is one of J&J's top-selling drugs with more than $2 billion in sales in 2005 alone. However, the reservoir design can cause leaks which has led to numerous recalls. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and therefore a leaking patch can be fatal. Our Fentanyl Patch Litigation Team has successfully prosecuted wrongful death cases throughout the entire United States representing the families whose loved ones have died as a result of leaking Duragesic reservoir patches. The FDA has investigated more than 120 deaths that may have been caused by the dangerous patch. After nineteen years of marketing and selling the reservoir design to the general public, J&J has replaced the reservoir patch design with a "new" design that they allege does not leak. However, Johnson & Johnson's "new design" is not new. Johnson & Johnson has been using the matrix technology in Europe for years. Additionally, generic manufacturers of the fentanyl patch have been using the matrix technology in the United States for years.

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