Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer

Construction Worker Deaths on Rise In Las Vegas

Peter Wetherall — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:15:43 GMT

Today the Las Vegas Sun reported an increase in construction worker deaths over the past 16 months�http://www.lasvegassun.com/spotlight/. �The increase in deaths outpace the national average for similar workplace injuries. � �Some construction injuries are unavoidable, after all it is the nature of the job. � How many times have you passed by a construction site and glanced up at the workers who seem to be without fear as they walk on skinny steel beams and go about their job? � � But, a workplace injury should never occur because of shortcuts or because a contractor is trying to meet a deadline.�
If you experience a workplace injury, the injury should be reported immediately and legal assistance may become necessary. � �If you want to read additional information about workplace injuries, you may find the State of Nevada's worker's compensation webpage at�http://dirweb.state.nv.us/WCS/employee.htm�helpful.�

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

FDA Adds Black Box Warning to "Conventional" Antipsychotic Drugs

Peter Wetherall — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:10:57 GMT

Today the FDA, by its new authority under the Food and Drug Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), required drug manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotics to change their label to warn about an increased risk of death in elderly patients being treated for symptoms associated with dementia (an off label use). �Similar warnings were included in the warnings of "atypical" antipsychotics in 2005. ��
Antipsychotic drugs are commonly categorized into two classes, the older "conventional" antipsychotics and the newer "atypical" antipsychotics. �Both classes of the drugs are dopamine receptor antagonists that work by blocking the naturally occurring dopamine in the brain. �
It should be noted that these dopamine blocking drugs, as well as other similar prescription medications such as Reglan (prescribed for chronic heartburn) have been found to cause drug-induced neurological disorders such as Tardive Dyskinesia, particularly in the elderly, females and diabetics. � �Tardive Dyskinesia is a severe and often drug-induced permanent neurological disorder that is characterized by involuntary muscle movements of the face, lips, hands, and feet. � It is a disfiguring condition and can be life-threatening.
Medical literature has long reported that the current warning for Reglan understates the risk of Tardive Dyskinesia to the elderly, females and diabetics. �The literature also reports that the risk of Tardive Dyskinesia increases over time. � �Yet, the warning label for Reglan has never been updated to reflect this well �documented problem, thus, creating a false sense of security in the safety of these types of drugs among prescribing doctors. Hopefully the FDA will also force a label change to reflect the very real risk of �Tardive Dyskinesia either under its new found power or through the efforts of Plaintiff attorneys who are bringing this problem to light.��

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Sentinel Initiative--The "Underfunded" FDA will Monitor Drug and Device Safety?

Peter Wetherall — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:17:22 GMT

The Sentinel Initiative was announced by federal health officials recently. � The Sentinel Initiative is designed to enable the Food and Drug Administration and others to analyze databases of health records compiled by the government, insurers and HMO's to try to identify side effects from prescription drugs and medical devices. �The current system (MedWatch) relies heavily on voluntary reporting by healthcare professionals and consumers (http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/) and self reporting by big pharma. �But, it is plagued by underreporting, reporting biases, and failure to recognize side effects as possible signals which would alert the FDA and medical community to possible dangers. � �
The Sentinel Initiative will include the development of a system called the "Sentinel System" that will enable the FDA to collect data about drugs and devices and to query that database to "mine" for side effects. � �While the current reporting system is lacking, it remains to be seen if the Sentinel Initiative will work in the current environment. �The FDA is underfunded and understaffed. �The Washington Post recently reported a "brain drain" at the FDA as scientists and staffers leave the FDA. �So, it remains to be seen if the Sentinel system will work. �After all what is the point of having a Sentinel system, if there is no one left to operate it? �

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

77 More Hepatitis Cases Diagnosed May Be Linked to Vegas Clinic

Jenny Albano — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:50:34 GMT

Seventy-seven more people have been diagnosed with hepatitis C that may be traced to a Las Vegas outpatient clinic, where all these people had been treated.

The 77 people are among about 400 former patients of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada who tested positive for the potentially deadly virus since the outbreak was made public Feb. 27, and who provided no other risk factors during follow-up interviews, said Brian Labus, senior epidemiologist with the Southern Nevada Health District.

The new confirmed cases of hepatitis C and those found earlier, brings the total number of infections linked to the clinic to 85. Investigators do not know how each patient was infected, but they do know that each patient was treated at the clinic from March 2004 to January 11, 2008. Authorities also know that these people did not test positive before they went to the Vegas clinic, but they cannot say for certain that they contacted hepatitis from the clinic.

Officials have determined that more than 300 other patients that have tested positive for hepatitis C could have contracted the virus through other means, such as intravenous drug use, blood transfusions, etc. There are also many people who have tested positive who have yet to be interviewed. Patients who were treated at the clinic were advised to get tested for hepatitis C, B, and HIV. So far no cases of hepatitis B or HIV have been linked with the clinic.

Authorities have said at least 50,000 patients may have been exposed to unsafe injection practices by clinic staff who reused syringes and single-use vials of medication during anesthesia.

Patients who were treated at the clinic in late 2007 or early 2008 will need to be tested again in a few months because a positive result may take up to six months to show up. The owners of the clinics have surrendered business licenses and paid $500,000 in fines.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

For Those Testing Positive From Endoscopy Center, New Questions Arise

Peter Wetherall — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:23:24 GMT

People who attended our Endoscopy Center informational meetings, as well as others who've learned we're handling these cases, are now receiving word of their test results. While many persons' fears have been alleviated, some have not been so lucky. As I hear reports back of positive test results from my clients and the clients of other attorneys, I can't help but think about the battle that looms ahead to determine which of those people who tested positive for Hepatitis A, B and HIV contracted their virus from the Endoscopy Center, versus some other source.

This is not a question we lawyers can answer. Instead we'll need to rely on medical experts to guide us. It's safe to say that not everyone who tested positive after treatment at the Endoscopy Center has a bona fide case, and the assessments of the experts as to whose virus can be reasonably linked to the Endoscopy Center will be an interesting and likely hard-fought one.

Of course, one question that may always remain for those affected and infected: "Can I ever really trust my doctors and nurses again?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Endoscopy Center Calamity - Accidental or Reckless?

Peter Wetherall — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:38:46 GMT

So was is Endoscopy Center catastrophe an "accident," or an instance of calculated, reckless indifference to the rights and safety of fellow human beings? I have my opinion as a lawyer handling these claims, and so do others from their vantage.

Brian Labus, a senior epidemiologist at the Southern Nevada Health District, is quoted in today's Las Vegas Review-Journal as saying, "This didn't happen by accident. What happened here is something that every nursing and medical school teaches its students not to do. There is nothing they can possibly say that can justify what they've done."

That's good enough for me, and the issue now becomes, where do we as a community go from here? Certainly the status quo with respect to the policing of medical labs has been exposed as not good enough.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada is Forcibly Closed

Peter Wetherall — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:00:12 GMT

The local CBS television affiliate just reported that the City of Las Vegas's Department of business licensing revoked the business license of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada this afternoon. The principals of that company have been directed to a hearing before the City Council scheduled for Monday, at which time the company will have an opportunity to appeal the Licensing Department's decision. A decision from the City Council is expected to be made within an hour of that hearing.

This is good news, given the reckless practices which occurred at this facility resulting in the exposure of at least 40,000 people to the risk of HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Hepatitis C - HIV Catastrophe at a Las Vegas Endoscopy Center

Peter Wetherall — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:53:54 GMT

Six people who underwent procedures at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada have contracted hepatitis C, which has prompted the Southern Nevada Health District to step in and require that notices be sent and testing be provided to 40,000 people who obtained treatment at the facility. An investigation determined that "unsafe injection practices related to the administration of anesthesia medication might have exposed patients to the blood of other patients."

Officials said the unsafe practices had been in place for several years and may have put others at risk. About 40,000 patients who received injections of anesthesia at the clinic are being notified of the potential exposure in letters arriving next week.

Chief health officer Lawrence Sands said anyone who received anesthesia at the clinic from March 2004 to Jan. 11 should be tested for the virus, along with hepatitis B and HIV.

"We are recommending all patients during this timeframe to get tested because we cannot determine which patients may have been exposed," Sands said.

This is a pretty big deal. On the one hand, 40,000 people will wake up tomorrow and realize that not only are they apparently at risk for Hep C or HIV, but that they could have infected a loved one. That this circumstance is the result of shoddy sterilization or injection practices is all the more troubling.

One can only hope that those either infected or distressed by this will be compensated for the harm done here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Irony of Ironies - Government Seeks Payback for Medical Malpractice

Peter Wetherall — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:39:41 GMT

I read in this morning's Las Vegas Review-Journal that in October of this year, the federal government will start declining to pay medicare benefits to providers that commit medical malpractice, or who otherwise perform deficiently. Specifically, when providers commit certain errors, the charge for that procedure or hospitalization will be rejected, as a means of motivating these providers to plain old-fashioned be more careful.

It would be amusing if it wasn't so sad that our federal government is willing and able to carve out a medical malpractice remedy for itself, even as this administration tells injured folks that their injury claims should be abolished outright or severely limited. This type of hypocrisy should make every fair-minded citizen sick. Those holier-than-thous in Washington (and some here in Nevada) tell us incessantly that medical malpractice claims are frivolous, and a blight on our civil justice system, yet have no problem carving out a unilateral remedy for medicare.

Understand, I have no problem with medicare funds (finally) being protected from hospitals and other providers who demand payment even when errors in treatment don't justify their charges. What galls me is that, when such a plan serves to bail medicare out, it's a great idea, but when the hospital (insurance) money goes to a catastrophically injured infant or other victim of malpractice, it's a frivolous and abhorrent proposition that should be drastically limited. What's good for the goose is normally good for the gander, but apparently not in the minds of the tort reform extremists.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall

Truck Accidents Different From Auto Accident Cases

Peter Wetherall — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:00:55 GMT

I attended a truck accident litigation seminar recently in order to update my practice skills, and was reminded of how different an accident case involving a truck is from the garden-variety auto case. Of the 16,000 accidents that happen every day(!) on American roads, many involve trucks, and many of these involve catastrophic injury due to the size and weight of these vehicles.

A truck going 35 miles per hour creates the same amount of impact force as a car going 138 miles per hour, so the results of many truck accidents are truly devastating for all involved. These cases are usually highly technical, and raise complex issues about liability, causation and damages. They cannot and should not be undertaken by an auto accident lawyer, at least not without the involvement of a lawyer experienced and trained in the handling of truck accidents.

Unlike regular cars and light trucks, semi-trailer trucks, truck drivers, and the companies that put them on the road are regulated by federal statutes and regulations. These federal laws govern almost every aspect of trucking, from the hours a driver can drive without resting, to the amount of insurance a carrier must carry. These are subject matters that simply do not arise in the ordinary automobile accident case, which would not typically implicate these federal laws.

Be mindful of the elevated skill set a truck accident requires if you, a friend or loved one has an accident involving a truck.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Peter Wetherall