Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

We have previously written several posts about the drug Mirapex, the compulsive gambling it can lead to and the lawsuits Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC attorneys have filed to help victims of this drug recover their lives.

When bringing these claims, as in any personal injury lawsuit, it is important to document the actual damages that the drug has caused a person. Those damages can take many forms: actual money spent on compulsive behaviors like gambling and excessive spending, bankruptcy, money spent on medical costs to seek out alternative forms of treatment for the underlying cause (restless leg syndrome – RLS, Parkinson’s Disease, or other conditions), among others.

However, the damage can go beyond the money that has been lost in the past. Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC Mirapex attorney Brian D. Cook has also seen situations where the compulsive behavior has gone beyond the excessive spending and even lead to allegations of theft on the part of the individual because of an inability to control the urge to gamble or because of the need to cover up lost money due to compulsive gambling. This alleged theft can even lead to being fired from one’s job. The damage isn’t just what has happened to someone in the past, but now the inability to continue working at their job in the future or to find a new one. On top of the future harm, the shame and humiliation of losing one’s job due to behavior they would never dreamed of prior to being on Mirapex is something that these people should be compensated for as well.

Continue reading "Mirapex Lawsuits: Attorneys see damage from the drug affecting victims into the future" »

In recent news, and in what could be devastating to Toyota Motor Co.’s efforts to reassure the public about the safety of its vehicles, a university professor now claims to have been able to independently duplicate the sudden acceleration phenomenon in Toyota vehicles. Unfortunately for the vehicle manufacturer Professor David W Gilbert from Southern Illinois University reported to Congress last month that he was able to duplicate the claims of sudden acceleration by altering particular vehicle’s electronic software system. This is contrary to the claims of the company that is has “fixed” the issue by changing a part included in the brake pedal assembly system.

As has been extensively covered by media from around the world the Toyota recall issued emanated from sudden acceleration issues with certain models from both Toyota, and the manufacturer’s luxury brand, Lexus.

Toyota is apparently attempting to refute the claims made by Mr. Gilbert using research from the Stanford University Center for Automotive Research. It has also been indicated that the car company has retained another firm to investigate the link between the sudden acceleration and the Toyota models in question. The company, “Exponent,” the firm that has been linked to this investigation has stated that there is no correlation between the electronic systems in the vehicles in question and the sudden acceleration problems.

For more information about the rights of consumers when their rights may have been violated please call John A. Bahe, Jr. directly at (866) 587-0002 or e-mail him at john@bccjlaw.com.

Owners of Toyotas who have had their vehicles repaired after being recalled have complained to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that they have continued to experience sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) after the repair. This information adds fuel to the fire of those who doubt that the SUA problem is mechanical and is actually an electronic issue. However, Toyota continues to maintain that the issue is not electronic of software related. I posted about this a few days ago here.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

An early Sunday morning Louisville, Kentucky car wreck on Dixie Highway that claimed the lives of three men is being investigated for alcohol and drug involvement by the Kentucky State Police. The car crash also injured two other men in the vehicle.

Brian C. Butt, Michael A. Butt and Dereke Chism were all ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Bruce E. Butt and Nathan A. King, the driver of the car, both survived the wreck. King was airlifted from the scene and is in critical condition. All three of the Butts were brothers.

Witnesses reported to the KSP that the car, a 1998 Mazda 626, was traveling very fast of U.S. 31W southbound. It entered a curve, sideswiped a wall and then left the roadway, struck a guardrail and then flipped multiple times before coming to a rest on its roof. The wreck happened at about 4:40 a.m.

Our sympathies and condolences go out to the friends and family of the deceased and injured victims. These deaths unfortunately add to the increasing number of fatalities on Kentucky roadways as I have been reporting on here at kentuckyinjurylawyerblog.com. Let's hope the injured men make quick and full recoveries and can get back to her normal lives as soon as possible.

A crash like this raises many questions, such as whether there are causes other than driver error. It is imperative that a full investigation take place to determine if there were any factors at play causing this tragedy that are not readily apparent and to preserve evidence.

Although the KSP is conducting an investigation to determine the cause, and they typically good job, it is often important for someone involved in this type of accident to do their own investigation. Hiring a lawyer experienced in handling car wrecks can assure a victim of such a wreck, or the family, that their interests and rights are being protected.

A lawyer experienced in handling car and truck wrecks will know what to do to uncover any underlying causes that do not appear on the surface and may go unrecognized in other investigations. For instance, I have seen many accidents where it first was thought and reported that a seat belt was not in use, but later the facts indicate the seat belt was in use, but failed to work properly.

For more information on this subject and the rights of those injured or killed by another's careless and reckless activity in car accidents, crashes or wrecks, contact Louisville, Kentucky attorney Will Nefzger by clicking on this link: e-mail Will. You can also find out more information about me and my firm by clicking on the Website link at the top of this page and going to my bio page.

We've posted before about Toyota bragging about saving money and showing more concern about profits instead of people. Now, another story has surfaced documenting that Toyota's success in blocking a 2008 recall of its Sienna model, linked by NHTSA to 98 injuries caused by tailgate collapses, was categorized as a "win" for the company.

The memo cited $255 million in wins for the company, including the Sienna issue, and minimized the injuries consumers reported.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

The Toyota recall woes continue for the company. Now, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which is located in Manhattan, have issued grand jury summonses to Toyota signaling the launch of a criminal investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun probing into what Toyota executives told investors.

Speculation as to the nature of the investigations centers around potential product safety law violations and false statements to National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding sudden unintended acceleration and the Prius' braking system. The SEC confirmed its request for information regarding the sudden unintended acceleration issue and Toyota's disclosure policies and practices.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

Toyota still refused to admit last week at congressional hearings that electronics are the cause of, or at least play a role in, the sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) defect that is the subject of the massive recall. This despite an expert's ability to reproduce SUA in field experiments by electrically short circuiting a Toyota's electronics using an external bypass system that recreates conditions, such as corrosion, moisture and manufacturing imperfections that may be culprits.

The professor, David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University, has so far been able to replicate SUA on a Tundra, Lexus, Matrix and Avalon.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.

The United States Senate Finance Committee has released a report that sharply criticizes the drug-maker, GlaxoSmithKline, and its marketing of the drug Avandia. The diabetes drug Avandia has been linked with thousands of heart attacks, and, according to federal officials the drug-maker knew full well of the risks for years but worked to keep them from the public.

The 334-page report by the Senate Finance Committee also criticized the Food and Drug Administration, saying that the federal agency that regulates food, tobacco and medications overlooked or overrode safety concerns found by its staff.

"Americans have a right to know there are serious health risks associated with Avandia and GlaxoSmithKline had a responsibility to tell them," said U.S. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat and committee chairman. "Patients trust drug companies with their health and

GlaxoSmithKline said in a prepared statement that it has extensively studied Avandia in more than 52,000 patients and none of its reports shows a statistically significant association between Avandia and heart attacks. The company supported its position by the approval is has received from the the FDA and "has been approved by an independent review board and appropriate safety boards that are responsible for assessing the safety of conducting the trial."

For more information about the rights of consumers,and when those rights may have been violated please call John A. Bahe, Jr. directly at (866) 587-0002 or e-mail him at john@bccjlaw.com.

A belt-worn breathing device that coal miners count on to save their lives during fires, explosions and entrapments was voluntarily recalled Friday because of a problem with the oxygen starter.

CSE Corp. of Monroeville, Pa., also said it had suspended production of the SR-100, the most popular self-contained self-rescuer unit in U.S. coal mines, while it investigates the problem.

CSE said it is recalling the entire production lot of more than 4,000 units sold to mining companies operating in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. However, it believes the problem may affect less than 1 percent of those units.

CSE identified the problem with the starting mechanism during a routine quality control test Feb. 17, Chief Executive Officer Scott Shearer said in a prepared statement. The company notified the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, both of which are also now investigating.

The agencies say the devices may not provide as much oxygen as they should.

The SR-100 is not an oxygen canister; it's a belt-worn pack about the size of three cake-mix boxes, weighing about 6 pounds. It contains chemicals that help recycle exhaled breath, chemically scrubbing the carbon dioxide and replenishing it with oxygen.

It's designed to provide a miner with about an hour of breathable air - theoretically, enough time to seek refuge or escape.

CSE has about 60 percent of the U.S. market for air packs, which grew sharply when regulators ordered underground coal mines to stockpile them after a series of deadly accidents in 2006.

One of those was the Jan. 2 explosion and prolonged entrapment at West Virginia's Sago Mine, which killed 12 men. The only man to survive more than 40 hours in a poisonous atmosphere, Randal McCloy Jr., later insisted the miners could not get their SR-100s to work.

The same SR-100 air packs also were used during a fatal fire at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine that same month, and several months later after an explosion at Kentucky's Darby No. 1 Mine.

An internal Toyota memo has surfaced through the recent congressional hearings documenting officials' claims that the company saved $100 million by negotiating a limited recall of floor mats with the U.S. government in some Toyota and Lexus models. The heading is titled "Wins for Toyota - Safety Group." The document highlights Toyota's efforts at delaying and avoiding government regulations and investigations.

It goes without saying that this new revelation in Toyota's ongoing saga suggests the company consciously placed profits above safety of its customers and anyone else who encountered one of their vehicles. Upwards of 40 deaths have now been attributed to crashes involving sudden unintended acceleration. One has to wonder how many people died because of the conscious decisions Toyota's management made to save money instead of focusing on fixing the problem.

Dangerous and defective products are responsible for many injuries and death nationwide. The issues involved in the Toyota recall will also result in lost value for owners of Toyota vehicles, sometimes call diminution in value. Class action lawsuits have been filed, and I am reviewing and accepting these cases.

Our profession calls this area of law products liability. Consulting a lawyer experienced in handling these matters is usually easy. Most attorneys will provide a complimentary initial consultation to evaluate a claim or case and let the person know if they can help.

Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for more information or to ask questions. Or just click here, and it will take you to a page containing contact information.