Miscellaneous

• Safety Checklist for Older Americans

  Dan Frith | December 09, 2007 6:04 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  We are heading into the end of the year and the Holidays. A great time to enjoy family and friends! Unfortunately, it is also a time when many older Americans suffer injuries from falls and fires which are two leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths among adults 65 and older. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, about two-thirds of all hospital emergency room...

• Mandatory Arbitration: Bad News for Consumers!

  Dan Frith | December 03, 2007 8:57 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Have you made a big purchase recently - maybe a car or refrigerator? Have you found the need to admit your aging father or mother to a nursing home? If you have been involved in one of these, or similar transactions, you were probably faced with a mandatory arbitration provision in the contract of sale, admission agreement, etc.What happens when you sign an agreement which contains a mandatory...

• Priest Abuse Case Settled in Alaska

  Dan Frith | November 26, 2007 9:41 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  It's a sad commentary but the Roman Catholic Church is back in the headlines and again it's a case involving the abuse of young boys and girls by Priests. A Roman Catholic religious order has agreed to pay $50 million to more than 100 Alaska Natives who allege sexual abuse by Jesuit priests. The settlement with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus is the largest one yet against a...

• Mandatory Arbitration is Bad for Consumers

  Dan Frith | November 14, 2007 6:00 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  It seems that every type of consumer transaction these days is governed by a mandatory arbitration provision. Arbitration language in these contracts prevents the consumer from exercising their Constitutional rights to bring a civil claim if their stock broker depletes their retirement account, or the nursing home fails to properly care for their mother or father, or they have a dispute with...

• Virginia Dentist Fined: 3 Year Old Almost Dies

  Dan Frith | November 09, 2007 6:00 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Here is a scary, but true, story! Kathryn Biery, a Harrisonburg, Virginia dentist lost her license over the misuse of anesthesia, which is used frequently in dental procedures. Dr. Biery, among other things, failed to complete a comprehensive pre-operative assessment of a 3 year-old girl. More importantly, the amount of Vistaril given to the young girl to sedate her prior to the dental...

• FDA Rarely Inspects Foreign Drug Manufacturers

  Dan Frith | November 07, 2007 3:10 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  If you are like me, a day doesn't go by without several unsolicited emails landing in my "In-Box" offering me low cost medicines. But just where are these medications coming from? Well, most come from outside the United States...but those foreign suppliers of medications undergo the same scrutiny by the FDA that domestic manufacturers do...don't they? The short answer is "No."The General...

• Emergency Room Negligence

  Lauren Ellerman | November 06, 2007 3:01 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Last week we read about a 39 year old man that died in the emergency room of an LA hospital, waiting for treatment. Today we learn of the family of a woman who died earlier this year after writhing in pain on the waiting room floor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, filed a $45-million lawsuit against Los Angeles County on Monday, alleging negligence, medical malpractice and wrongful...

• Medical Bill Mistakes - could cost you!

  Lauren Ellerman | November 02, 2007 3:17 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  If you buy pair of shoes from a store, you will likely know how much you are paying. Go to the hospital for a CT or spend a few days in ICU, and I bet you have know idea what you are paying. They don't generally give you a price list for services - in fact, it is the ONLY industry I can think of where there is no discussion of costs up front.So how do you know if they are charging you too much?...

• Get the Lead (Paint) Out!

  Dan Frith | October 28, 2007 10:06 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Did you know that National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ends Saturday? Childhood lead poisoning is the most preventable environmental disease in young children, but approximately 1 million children still have elevated blood lead levels. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, seizures and death, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is...

• States are different - better call a lawyer

  Lauren Ellerman | October 28, 2007 9:29 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  This week a West Virginia appeal was argued before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The case, Monongalia County, Riggs v. West Virginia University Hospitals involves whether state law can limit non-economic damages, such as damages for pain and suffering. Currently, West Virginia law limits non economic damages to $250,000. Before 2003, there was a $1 million cap.The appeal is not...