The case of a man who was stuck with a $14,419 bill that he calls inflated and unreasonable after three days of care in a Charlotte hospital is going to be heard by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

The case, scheduled to be heard by the state's high court on Monday, is upsetting officials at the state's major medical centers.

Robert Talford argues that there should be a trial to determine whether the cost of medications was reasonable. He says the hospital, which he declined to identify, charged 24 times more for the medication than what a local pharmacy would charge.

"The cost was not reasonable since the difference in the charges for the medications was 24 times, 15 times and 11 times higher," Talford said in court documents. "The reasonable man could find these charges unreasonable."

The bill from Talford's 2007 hospital stay doesn't include another $5,556 for his room, he said.

The North Carolina Hospital Association and big hospital groups based in Durham, Asheville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Raleigh want the Supreme Court to rule against Talford and make it easy for them to collect overdue bills in court without a trial.

"While all patients receiving care are generally liable for payment for services they receive, the practical reality — especially in the current economy — is that hospitals do not receive payment from a significant number of their patients, many of whom have no means to pay," the hospitals said in arguments submitted to the court. "So it is imperative that hospitals are able to collect money from patients able to pay for their medical care without unreasonable barriers to hinder such efforts."

Talford, 68, of Charlotte, declined comment Saturday. A lawyer for more than 30 years, Talford is representing himself. His license to practice law was suspended in 2009 after the North Carolina State Bar determined he charged an excessive fee when he tried to collect one-third of a former worker's compensation client's settlement money after the client had dropped Talford as his lawyer.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, which does business as Carolinas HealthCare System, appealed the case to the Supreme Court after a divided Court of Appeals panel determined the hospital shouldn't get a court order forcing collection without a trial. Carolinas Health Care System operates nearly three dozen health care facilities in the region, including its flagship hospital, Carolinas Medical Center.

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A jury awarded $12.5 million to a nursing home resident who was attacked by a cook who works at the facility. In 2007, Sophie Schwartz, then 92, a dementia patient, was asleep in her bed at Oakdale Heights of Santa Clarita when she was awakened by a man on top of her. The man, Jose Eduard Vazquez, attempted to rape her until he was caught by another employee. Schwartz, through a guardian ad litem, sued Vazquez and the facility's owner, operator and administrator. Schwartz's attorneys claimed that Vazquez attacked Schwartz after consuming liquor on the job and he was able to enter her room with a master key provided to all employees. The defense argued that the incident was not related to hiring practices or lack of supervision.

For more information about nursing home abuse, go to www.injurylawyerdallastexas.com or call 214-855-0034.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Tuesday recalled one million packets of birth control pills over a packaging error that could put women at risk of unintended pregnancy.

The pills, about half of which were the brand name Lo/Ovral-28 and the other half were generic norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets, may be improperly arranged so that inactive pills are taken at the wrong time in the monthly cycle.

"An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence," Pfizer said in a statement.

"As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy."

The pills were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer in New York state and commercialized by Akrimax Rx Products under the Akrimax brand name in the United States.

Each packet is supposed to contain 21 active tablets and seven inactive pills.

For more information call 214-855-0034 or go to www.injurylawyerdallastexas.com.

A 12-year-old girl who sustained a corneal laceration in an incident involving a broken dog leash received a $400,000 settlement. In 2008, the girl, listed as "D.W." in court documents, was walking her dog while using a "SlyDog" brand retractable leash imported by Worldwise Inc. and purchased at a Dollar General store owned by Dolgencorp of Texas. D.W.'s parents said she was injured when the metal hook that attached the leash to the dog's collar broke and snapped back, striking her in the eye. The parents blamed Worldwise and Dolgencorp, alleging they imported and marketed the leash without adequate warnings or guidelines for itss weight limit. The defendants argued that the leash including a warning to keep it out of the reach of children and that D.W.'s parents shouldn't have allowed their daughter to walk the dog unaccompanied.  

For more information about personal injury, go to www.injurylawyerdallastexas.com or call 214-855-0034.

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Friday revoked the approval of the drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer, ruling in an emotional issue that pitted the hopes of some desperate patients against the statistics of clinical trials.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide — mostly in the United States — for problems that could make it harder to steer.

The recall affects 447,000 older vehicles in North America, and another 100,000 in other parts of the world.

The latest recall is due to the possibility that the outer ring of the engine's crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up, the company's U.S. sales unit said in a press release. If the problem isn't corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the steering wheel.

Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, he said.

In the United States, the automaker is recalling 283,000 Toyota brand cars:

• 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara
• 2004 Avalon
• 2006 Highlander HV

It's also recalling 137,000 Lexus vehicles:

• 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330
• 2006 RX400h

Toyota will mail owners a notification to make an appointment with an authorized dealer to have their car inspected once replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities.

For more information, call 214-855-0034 or jonathan@theleblanclawfirm.com or go to www.injurylawyerdallastexas.com