This weekend 2 crashes took 6 lives in Southern Louisiana.  Read more here.

The first crash occurred when a vehicle southbound on LA 97 crossed the centerline and struck a northbound vehicle.  The crash sent the second vehicle into the southbound lanes, where it was struck by an 18-wheeler.

2 occupants of the first vehicle and one in the second died of the injuries sustained in the crashes.

The second wreck occurred yesterday in St. Mary Parish.  The crash, which left three dead, occurred when a truck crossed the median striking a station wagon.  The three people in the station wagon died.  The driver of the truck was transported to a local hospital with moderate injuries and faces charges of driving left of center and operating a vehicle with an invalid driver’s license.

So far in 2009, Louisiana State Police Troop I has investigated 5 fatal crashes that have taken 8 lives.

Press Release from the FDA:

“King Nut Companies, a distributor of peanut butter manufactured for them by Peanut Corporation of America, today announced a recall of peanut butter distributed under the King Nut label. No other King Nut products are included in this recall.

King Nut took this action as soon as it was informed that salmonella had been found in an open five-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter. King Nut distributes peanut butter only through food service accounts. It is not sold directly to consumers. King Nut does not supply any of the ingredients for the peanut butter distributed under its label. All other King Nut products are safe and not included in this voluntary recall.

“We are very sorry this happened,” said Martin Kanan, president and chief executive officer of King Nut Companies. “We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority.”

“Because we don’t manufacture peanut butter, we will do what we can to get this product out of distribution and will work with the manufacturer to inform others of this problem,” Kanan said. “We also distribute peanut butter from this manufacturer under the Parnell’s Pride brand, although we are not the only distributor. However, we have asked our customers to remove this brand as well.”

Kanan said that King Nut began contacting customers immediately to stop distributing all peanut butter with lot codes beginning with “8,” and immediately canceled orders with the manufacturer.

Customers are asked to take all King Nut peanut butter and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter distributed by King Nut out of distribution immediately. For more information, go to www.kingnut.com.”</em>

King Nut Company and its CEO, Martin Kanan, did the right thing today by voluntarily recalling peanut butter that it distributes.

The King Nut and Parnell’s Pride brands are typically purchased and used by large institutions like schools, hospitals and nursing homes.  The peanut butter itself was manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America and subsequently distributed and sold by King Nut to food suppliers and large institutions.

King Nut’s voluntary recall follows the announcement yesterday by the Minnesota Department of Health that it identified the source of the Salmonella typhimurium that has sickened hundreds as King Nut peanut butter.  The peanut butter that was tested by the Minnesota Department of Health was found to be a genetic match to the strain that sickened hundreds.  Kanan, while emphasizing that King Nut was not the actual manufacturer of the peanut butter, showed a lot of class by apologizing to his customers and saying that King Nut was doing everything in its power to ensure that its customers immediately stop distributing all King Nut and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter with lot codes beginning with “8.”

Kanan said that King Nut was “taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority.”  Let’s hope that Kanan and King Nut are successful in those efforts and this outbreak, which has sickened far too many for far too long, ends soon.

Here is a press release we just sent out:

Yesterday, officials in Minnesota detected the presence of Salmonella typhimurium in 5lb jars of King Nut peanut butter.  This strain of the bacteria is a genetic match to the one that has sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states.

More testing must be done, but officials from the Minnesota Department of Health say that the peanut butter is the likely source of the outbreak.

The peanut butter, which has now been recalled by King Nut, was 5-pound containers to food service companies that supply schools, hospitals and other institutions.

This report of peanut butter contamination comes almost two years after ConAgra recalled its Peter Pan brand peanut butter, which was eventually linked to at least 625 salmonella cases in 47 states.

J. R. Whaley, an attorney with Neblett Beard and Arsenault,  has represented thousands of people sickened with salmonella from eating peanut butter in that litigation.

“We are seeing the same pattern emerge in this case as we did in the ConAgra case where salmonella was found in peanut butter.”

Eating food contaminated with salmonella bacteria can cause abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever.  Most recover within 4 to 7 days.  Whaley says that because King Nut peanut butter is sold primarily to nursing homes, hospitals and schools, most of the consumers of King Nut peanut butter were those who could be most severely impacted from salmonella poisoning.

“The very young and the very old suffer most severely from salmonella poisoning.   Most victims of salmonella poisoning recover within a few days but the elderly and kids oftentimes have a harder time.  We have represented a number of elderly people whose simple act of eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cost them months of healthy living and caused them to rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills.  It can be tragic.”

“Officials from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today issued a product advisory after MDA’s preliminary laboratory testing indicated the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter.

The product is distributed in Minnesota to establishments such as long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias and bakeries. At this time, the product is not known to be distributed for retail sale in grocery stores. State officials are urging establishments who may have the product on hand to avoid serving it, pending further instructions as the investigation progresses.

Eating food contaminated with Salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Anyone who believes they may have become ill as a result of eating this product or foods made with this product should contact their health care provider.

State officials discovered the contamination as a result of product testing initiated after an MDH epidemiological investigation implicated King Nut creamy peanut butter as a likely source of Salmonella infections in Minnesota residents. The Minnesota cases have the same genetic fingerprint as the cases in the national outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states; however, laboratory results for the product sample have not yet been linked to this national outbreak. Additional laboratory results are expected early next week.

State officials are coordinating their investigation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other states. More information about the investigation – including laboratory results will be available early next week.

52 students were heading to school, when their bus was rear-ended by a Ford truck at the 4200 block of Verot School Road around 3:20 p.m.  2 students were transported to the hospital with injuries. Read about the story here.

It seems to me, like bus accidents are an all too common occurrence in this country, especially considering the fact that they transport our most precious cargo. We’ve handled dozens of these cases of the years, and it just makes you sick when you see innocent children maimed or killed by the negligence of others.

simplySmart Make-up Remover by Celeste Industries has been recalled due to contamination with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.  The bacteria can cause eye infections, respiratory infections, dermatitis, soft tissue infections, bacteremia, and systemic infections, particularly in patients with weakened immune systems.

The product was distributed exclusively for Holiday Inn Express hotels throughout the US and Canada.  The product comes in an individual packet containing one moistened towelette.

Officials are particularly concerned because of the high probability that consumers will be using the towelettes to remove eye make-up, thus exposing them to risk of infection.  The company initiated the recall after a consumer tipped them off that the towelette had an odd smell.

News coming from Baton Rogue reports an 18-wheeler tumbling off of the entrance ramp to I-110, and crashing down onto the city streets below.  The driver was attempting to enter the highway from Florida Boulevard, when the truck rolled off the onramp.

Luckily, no one was injured in the early morning wreck.

In both Chicago and Louisiana, law suits have been filed against helicopter companies over crash deaths.

The suit in Chicago arises from the crash that took four lives, including that of a 14-month-old infant.  The young girl was being transferred in a medical helicopter when it hit a radio-tower support wire, and crashed in a Chicago suburb.

Here in Louisiana, the suit arises out of the recent crash that took the lives of eight men in the swamps of Terrebonne Parish. The cause is yet undetermined. The helicopter took off from Amelia, Louisiana Sunday. Contact was lost minutes later.

Here’s some insight on these types of cases. What you see with the Louisiana crash is a perfect example of the Louisiana Civil Law term “ Res ipsa loquitur” which means “the thing speaks for itself.”

This rebuttable presumption, or inference, shifts the burden of proof to the helicopter company to prove that they were not at fault in the tragedy. This rule of evidence arises based upon proof that the helicopter was in the exclusive control of the company, and that this type of accident would not ordinarily happen unless there is negligence.

A few days ago, we told you about the FDA safety alert regarding certain diet pills.

Now, the FDA has added 41 additional drugs to the alert, bringing the total to 69.  The involved diet pills include ingredients that have not been approved by the FDA and could cause serious health implications.  According to the director of the division of new drugs and labeling compliance at the FDA, criminal charges are possible against the manufacturers of the drugs.

The pills may include Sibutramine,a controlled substance that can cause seizures, heart attack or stroke; Rimonabant, Phenytoin, an anti-seizure medication, and phenolphthalein, a suspected carcinogen.  The drugs may also contain the diuretic bumetamide.