Here is a press release we sent out:

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a 7-month-old Louisiana boy who suffocated to death in a recalled Stork Craft crib.

The family alleges a defect created a space between the crib’s drop-side rail and mattress, where the infant’s body became trapped. The baby was laid down to sleep at approximately nine-thirty PM in the evening and was found unresponsive by his mother around eight AM the next morning.

In the investigation into the child’s death, the Consumer Products Safety Commission determined the boy’s death was caused by mechanical asphyxia when he became entrapped in a gap between his crib’s mattress and drop-side rail. The CPSC determined that the gap was created when a piece of the claw on the lower right side of the drop-side rail broke, allowing the claw to disengage from the lower right side t-rail of the crib.

“Families put their faith in companies to create safe products. Consumers must be able to rely on manufacturers to act responsibly,” said Richard J. Arsenault, one of the family’s attorneys.

On November 23, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, after reports of 110 incidents of drop-side detachments, including the deaths of four infants.

“The parents are obviously devastated. As new parents, you try to protect your child from injuries. Now you find yourself in a situation where conduct over which you had no control leads to tragedy,” added Arsenault.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, LA. The family is being represented by Neblett, Beard & Arsenault of Alexandria, LA and Huval, Veazey, Felder, Aertker & Renegar of Lafayette, LA.

“If other families have been affected by this nightmare, I urge them to come forward and report their experience with the appropriate regulatory agencies. There needs to be a full scale investigation into why this happened and what can be done to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future. At the very least, we owe that to these families and the memory of these children,” concluded Arsenault.

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Interstate 10 between Lake Charles and Westlake closed after an 18-wheeler carrying butane overturned. The truck started leaking gas, forcing the closure of the interstate.

Officials say the driver of the big rig was headed west bound into Westlake Tuesday morning. They speculate the driver was taking the exit too fast, and lost control. The truck rolled over onto its side, causing the propane tank to rupture and leak gas onto the interstate. Officials estimate the cleaning process to take anywhere from eight to twelve hours, and they advise anyone planning to travel on the closed portion of I-10 to find an alternate route, such as I-210.

Why did the truck driver flip his truck? These accidents are preventable. The flipping of a truck is usually the result of the negligence in the handling of the truck and the trailer by the driver, operating at an excessive, dangerous, and unreasonable speed under the circumstances in failing to reduce his speed in obedience to the warning signs posted on the on-ramp, and in failing to properly distribute weight on a trailer for highway travel so it would not shift or change its center upon the stress of turning sharp curves.

State Police say a 6 year old boy was hit by an on-coming vehicle as he stepped off his school bus in New Roads, Point Coupee Parish, Louisiana. The crash occurred at 6pm on LA Hwy 1 north of LA 420. The young boy was killed right in front of his house. The news media reports that the driver of the vehicle was arrested and booked into the jail on one count each of negligent homicide and failure to stop while bus signals were activated.

Police say the bus driver stopped, put the lights and stop signs on. The law requires a vehicle driver to stop at least 30 feet from the stopped school bus that is loading or unloading children. This is required by law whether the vehicle is meeting the bus or traveling behind it. The driver of the vehicle shall not proceed until the bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer activated.

Wouldn’t it be nice if people started taking responsibility for their errors? I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve represented in auto accidents clearly caused by another driver who changes his story about what happened in the accident. You can get an accident report prepared at the scene by the investigating officer that clearly reflects the negligent driver admitted what he did wrong and even on some occasions has apologized to the injured person. Once their insurance company gets involved all bets are off. The accident is now “under investigation” based on what the insured is now telling his insurance company. The fear of having their liability insurance coverage dropped or rates hiked because of the accident they caused sometimes causes negligent drivers to develop amnesia, a different version of how they said the accident happened to downright lies.

And the negligent insureds are getting “mums the word” advise from their insurers. According to Insure.com, one driver apologizing to the innocent victim is a “huge mistake that can affect the outcome of an insurance claim.” More and more insurers are cautioning their insureds to be careful what they say after a car wreck or when filing an insurance claim. Wonder whatever happened to old “the truth is the best policy” moral we all learned as kids. I guess that’s too old-fashioned for this never-take-the-blame-for-anything generation.

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Two people were killed in the crash of the Strain Bus Line Coach. The bus was carrying passengers back home after an outing to a casino. The tour bus returning from an Iowa casino ran off a southern Minnesota interstate and rolled over in a ditch Wednesday, killing 2 people and injuring 21, authorities said.

 The bus, operated by Strain Bus Line Motorcoach Tours in Rochester, was eastbound on Interstate 90 just west of Austin about 3:20 pm when it crossed into the westbound lanes and flipped over, Department of Public Safety spokesman Andy Skoogman said. The bus was carrying 23 people, including the driver, Skoogman said. 20 passengers were taken to medical centers. The driver was airlifted to a hospital in Rochester. Firefighters pulled off the bus’ windshield because the 47-passenger coach had settled on its right side, blocking the door.

Bold Lines, Inc., which does business under the name Strain Tours, is an operator with six drivers and four buses and has had no accidents in the past two years, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s web site. But federal records reveal some safety problems in the past. The FMCSA reports that as a result of five inspections during the past 2 years, 60% of the company’s buses had to be pulled out of service for violations. That compares to the national average of 22%. The company also has an Inspection Selection System rating of 76; scores between 75 to 100 mean an inspection is warranted. The company has also run into trouble related to its record keeping. In February 2002, federal transportation authorities pulled the company’s buses off the road for what inspectors described as “numerous violations” of federal transportation rules related to record keeping. The company ended up paying $20,000 to settle an enforcement case concerning drug testing for drivers, according to the FMCSA. It also paid $300 to settle a case over driver duty times and record keeping.

The U.S. Department of Transportation must fast track its action plan aimed at improving motor coach safety. The plan calls for additional requirements including installing seat belts and enhancing roof strength. It would also boost regulatory oversight of new and high-risk motor coach operators. Frequency of medical exams and medical certification should be a priority.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine comparing the effectiveness of the lowly niacin, a B vitamin, with the high-priced drugs Zetia and Vytorin found that Niacin did a significantly better job of shrinking artery plaque than the billion dollar cholesterol drugs. Merck, which manufacturers Zetia and Vytorin, has had over $21 billion in sales since 2003. With profits like that its not surprising that Merck is standing behind its cash cow drugs and launched an aggressive attack on the study. They announced that through their global science strategy division they were organizing their own trial study. The problem is this is the third study to come to the same conclusion.

No one challenges ezetimibe’s (the active ingredient in Zetia and Vytorin) effectiveness to lower LDL or bad cholesterol. That was the basis on which the FDA granted approval. The larger question is whether ezetimibe prevents heart disease and death. The Enhance study published in 2008 showed Vytorin did no better job of treating clogged arteries than statins alone. A second Seas study had similar results and generated additional controversy by publishing data that Vytorin users appeared to die more often of cancer.

The American public should not be enriching the pockets of giant pharmaceutical companies to the tune of $21 billion for drugs that are not proven to be effective for the purpose patients are using them. The FDA must be more rigorous in demanding adequate research before approving these huge profit-making drugs. Imagine how patients who have been buying and taking Zetia and Vytorin feel when they could have been saving money and had similar or better results taking plain old niacin?

After 12 children had their fingertips amputated by the side hinges of its baby carriages, Maclaren USA, Inc. has recalled over a million umbrella strollers sold in the U.S. The recall covers all umbrella-style strollers sold by the company since 1999. Maclaren, a British company whose American operations are based in Connecticut, agreed to the voluntary recall after working with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission since August.

The umbrella strollers include the Volo model which costs $130 and the Techno XT model which costs $315 as well as the Triump, Quest Sport, Twin Techno, Techno XLR and Easy Traveller models. Maclaren will send protective covers to all owners for the side hinges. Until then, parents should immediately stop using the strollers and keep children away from them when opening or closing them.

The Maclaren strollers are made in China and most commonly sold at retailers including Babies “R” Us and Target.

In El Paso, Texas, police say that the driver of an 18-wheeler pulled into the path of a military bus traveling in a northerly direction on U.S. 54. The collision sent the bus spinning out of control, leaving the roadway and pointed south at its final resting spot. The bus driver was ejected and thrown quite a distance from the impact, but one of the 20 soldiers on board grabbed the wheel and maneuvered the bus to a stop. The bus driver and 3 soldiers were admitted to an Army medical center for treatment. Other soldiers were treated and released. The driver of the 18-wheeler admitted to falling asleep in his truck while parked on Stan Roberts Road. When the driver woke up, he drove his big rig into traffic on U.S. 54. The 18-wheeler driver was cited for failure to yield the right of way. For video footage, see ABC 7 KVIA.com.

In the waning hours of the Bush administration, the trucking industry successfully convinced the former president to overturn a rule which had been in effect for 60 years. That rule allowed long-haul truck drivers to drive no more than 10 hours at a time. Despite pleas from safety advocates, Bush issued the executive order giving truckers an extra hour of driving time.

Late Monday, the Obama administration’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety commissioner signed an agreement with safety and labor groups to revise the rule change. The 10 hour rule has not changed in 60 years because almost everyone except the trucking industry and the GOP agree that longer hours will lead to greater fatigue, more 18-wheeler accidents and more unnecessary deaths and injuries. No one I know wants to meet a fatigued, road-weary 18 wheeler driver on his 11th straight hour of driving coming at you fully loaded at 60 miles an hour. Kudos to the Obama administration for putting the safety of the motoring public before the financial interests of the trucking industry.

Mega-drug manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals took a $3.2 million hit in its extremely large wallet thanks to a Montana jury who found in favor of a nurse who developed degenerative jaw problems after taking Zometa.

This is the first trial in the country of a claim involving the bone-strengthening drug. Worse news for Novartis is the effect the verdict will likely have on 500 other consolidated Zometa cases currently pending in New Jersey state courts and federal court in Tennessee.

In the Montana case the plaintiff developed serious dental and jaw-related problems after taking Zometa for several years. Her condition is incurable and will result in lifelong disability. Her lawsuit alleged Novartis knew patients taking Zometa were vulnerable to a degenerative jaw disorder called osteonecrosis or bone death, particularly patients who undergo invasive dental procedures such as tooth extraction. She claimed Novartis failed to adequately warn her or her doctors of the risks.

At trial Novartis was accused of playing down the drug’s risks and obscured and delaying the release of information to the public and medical community in order to control the public relations fallout from the disclosure and maximize their marketing of the drug. Internal emails introduced at trial showed Novartis knew of the drug’s risk through its own extensive research communicated by its medical research and marketing departments to company executives who actually tried to suppress the information.

Novartis claimed their warnings were adequate and the risks were included in their labels. According to the plaintiff’s attorney the Zometa label is on a small piece of paper in tiny print that is barely readable and folded 20 times like an accordion. If the label were printed in normal 12 point font it would be 22 pages long.

This is just the latest egregious example of a drug manufacturer putting profit over patient safety. The only way the public has to put a stop to this type of activity is to bring successful products liability cases in court that forces these giant corporations to do the right thing and inform consumers and the doctors prescribing these drugs.