Texas Personal Injury Lawyers - Jim Adler & Associates - Blog

Video teaches kids safety with fantasy chicken

Jodie Sinclair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:59:14 +0000

Call your kids. Have a good laugh together around the computer watching a new Safe Kids USA video that will help them avoid accidents. Or email them the link to the video so they can watch it with their friends and email the link to others: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/nickelodeon_safe_kids_usa_chicken.

The video features a “stunt chicken” and a teen rock star. You won’t forget it. Neither will your kids or their friends. And that’s the important part. Preventable accidents kill more kids in the United States than disease. Find out more about keeping your youngsters safe at Safe Kids USA. It targets four main risk areas for kids and teaches you how to avoid them. Some may surprise you.

Video teaches kids safety with fantasy chicken

New Texas laws tighten up on teen drivers, others

Jodie Sinclair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:52:49 +0000

New laws went into effect this month for Texas drivers. Many target teens. But all drivers should take note. There are significant changes in laws affecting teen drivers. Those under the age of 18 must take a driving test with a certified official in the car to get a driver’s license. That law requires 32 hours of in-car instruction. Licensed teen drivers under the age of 18 can’t be on the road between midnight and 5 a.m. for one year after they receive their license. Safety experts say that’s the most dangerous, high-risk time for new drivers. Licensed teens under the age of 18 can’t have more than one person under 21 in the car with them unless it’s a family member. And they cannot use a cell phone to talk or text while driving. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, a 16-year-old is five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than someone in any other age group.

Anyone talking on a cell phone in a school zone is breaking the law. And that’s statewide. Anyone with a drunken driving record will have to take a blood test if arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. That new law raises fines for driving with a suspended license or without insurance up to 180 days behind bars and up to a $2,000 fine. Anyone without a license or insurance who causes an injury or death in an accident can spend up to a year in jail and be fined up to $4,000. No passenger younger than 5 can ride a motorcycle. Motorcycle riders have to complete a certified training course to get a license.

Of the 3,382 Texans killed in traffic accidents in 2008, 951 weren’t wearing seat belts. Seat belts are now mandatory for everyone in a car. That includes kids who are too big for infant seats. The new law says that kids younger than 8, or shorter than 4 feet, 9 inches have to be in a booster seat. Call the Texas Safe Riders program at 1-800-252-8255 for financial help with child safety seats if you need assistance.

New Texas laws tighten up on teen drivers, others

AARP urges training for older drivers

Jodie Sinclair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Older drivers need to retool their driving skills, says the AARP, to protect themselves and others. The agency is recommending that seniors take a driving course to teach them how to compensate for slower reaction times and changes in eyesight, hearing and physical strength. Senior drivers may not be aware those changes are affecting them, but all have a bearing on handling a car safely. AARP’s senior driving course is available online. There’s yet another program that helps seniors adjust their cars to help prevent injuries if they are in an accident. It’s called CarFit. It’s the first of its kind and it takes just 15 minutes.

CarFit checks for proper seating, line of sight over the steering wheel and distance from air bags, mirrors, gas and brake pedals and other items to make sure that seniors are safe in an impact. Bodies become more fragile as they age. They are less likely to withstand crashes as well as younger drivers. In fact, aging Americans have the highest crash death rates per mile driven. And they are on the increase. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, estimates there will be 40 million drivers over the age of 65 behind the wheel by 2020. While seniors are often the safest drivers because they don’t engage in risky behavior, bodies change over time in relation to a car’s interior so adjustments to compensate make good sense.

This drug is a potential jawbreaker

Jodie Sinclair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:31:06 +0000

It’s called Fosamax (alendronate sodium) and its maker Merck & Co. is now the target of hundreds of lawsuits across the country brought by patients who say they developed osteonecrosis of the jaw after taking the drug. Osteonecrosis is a rare disease that breaks down the jawbone. Ironically, Fosamax is taken to combat osteoporosis, a condition that thins and weakens bones especially after menopause. Osteonecrosis can develop without causing symptoms for weeks and sometimes months. Symptoms include loose teeth, exposed bone, pain in the jaw or gums, infections in the gums, loss of sensation and significant gum loss. The Mayo Clinic considers Fosamax safe for most patients. But it notes that reports of osteonecrosis associated with oral doses of Fosamax began surfacing in 2003. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved generic versions of Fosamax in early 2008. Individuals who most often develop osteonecrosis are patients with cancer or dental problems.

“Bad Drug” Warning For Reglan

Jodie Sinclair — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:45:03 +0000

Imagine being unable to stop smacking your lips, making faces or sticking out your tongue. How about constant blinking or moving your eyes, arms, legs or fingers? If you’ve taken Reglan and this happened to you, you could have Tardive Dyskinesia. It’s a side effect that is rarely reversible. Although there is no known cure, some symptoms may diminish once victims are off the drug.

In February 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) slapped a “Black Box Warning” on Reglan, the strongest alert it can put on a medication. It also ordered Reglan’s manufacturer, Wyeth, to display the Black Box warning on prescriptions for Reglan and develop a medication guide for patients that discusses the risk. The federal agency also warned that Reglan should not be taken in large doses or for more than three months.

Reglan is the brand name of metoclopramide, a drug used to treat GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), a severe form of heartburn and related conditions, including heartburn in diabetics (diabetic gastro paresis). Metoclopramide prevents nausea and vomiting by moving food faster through the digestive tract. Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pliva, Pharma and Baxter Healthcare sell generic equivalents of Reglan.

Reglan has also been prescribed for infants with symptoms of vomiting or esophageal reflux and pregnant women. But seniors, especially elderly women, seem to be the most vulnerable to Tardive Dyskinesia when taking Reglan.

It’s estimated that 60 million Americans have heartburn. For 25 million in the United States, heartburn is an everyday event. Attorney Jim Alder advises anyone taking Reglan, or one of its generic equivalents to contact their doctor immediately and then seek legal advice. Tardive Dyskenisia is a drug-induced disability that can cause life-long suffering.

Ghost Writers Pose Danger to Public

Hugo Aguilar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:08:28 +0000

We’ve all been led to believe that medical journals only publish studies that safeguard our health. Turns out, the journals and the public have been duped, according to court papers released in July by personal injury lawyers who are suing Wyeth, a company that manufactured drugs for hormone replacement therapy. Wyeth is now facing 8,400 lawsuits from women who claimed the drug caused their illnesses.

A story in The New York Times on August 5, 2009 broke the news about the ghostwritten articles. It revealed that many of them, published in medical journals between 1998 and 2005, “emphasized the benefits of hormone replacement therapy and de-emphasized” their risks.
According to the paper, Wyeth paid a medical communications firm to write the articles and submit them to doctors who then attached their own names to the articles, making it appear that they were the authors.

By 2001, Wyeth’s sales of Premarin and Prempro had soared to nearly $2 billion. But the very next year, a huge federal study on hormone therapy was halted after researchers found it increased the risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke in postmenopausal women who took the drugs.
Doctors have been able to rely on medical journals for information about drugs before prescribing them. While Wyeth defends its drugs and the articles written about them as being well researched and medically sound, it’s clear that the company worked with ghost writers to maintain market dominance of the Premarin family of drugs, among its best selling brands.
While medical journals may be called into question as unimpeachable sources now that the ghostwriters’ role has been revealed, victims can rely on personal injury lawyers to press their claims

Be a Star on the Ultimate Reality Show

Hugo Aguilar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:56:49 +0000

It’s easy. Run a red light! Of course, you may not live to see yourself on video. And you may kill someone else. But hey, fame has a price.
Seriously, folks, the tremendous impact of these videos will change your mind about running red lights no matter how late you are for an appointment or how long you’ve been waiting at an intersection for your turn to drive on. They will curl your hair. All of them were shot by cameras installed at intersections in major cities. And they’re nothing to scoff at. According to the Federal Highway Administration, drivers are more likely to be killed or injured in red-light running crashes than in any other kind of accident. And red-light accidents are on the rise nationwide.

*LMK-TTYL

Hugo Aguilar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:17:23 +0000

Try typing this into a tiny device with your thumbs at 60 miles an hour while you drive. Or even 30 miles an hour. No wonder texting while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk.
Actually, it’s far riskier than anyone imagined. A new study released this July by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute measured the time that drivers had to take their eyes off the road to send or receive text messages. The drivers they tested make this news even scarier.
One hundred long haul truck drivers, in trucks that researchers rigged with cameras that recorded them while they drove, showed that drivers had their eyes off the road for nearly five seconds while texting. That’s enough time at highway speeds to cover the length of a football field. Researchers say the results are typical of anyone who texts behind the wheel of any vehicle. The study was commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. According to CTIA, The International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry, “texters” sent 110 billion messages last year. Polling data from the AAA Foundation for Safety shows that 87% of people consider texting behind the wheel of a car dangerous yet many admit they do it anyway.

*Let me know talk to you later

Widget

Hugo Aguilar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:47:33 +0000

“DROWNING SEASON” HAS ARRIVED!

Hugo Aguilar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:40:22 +0000

Never heard the term, you say? It’s pretty common among EMS personnel, lifeguards and child activists when they talk about the small, lifeless bodies they see every summer lying by swimming pools or on beaches. That’s why so many dread the season. And so many work hard to make parents and caregivers understand the awful truth: A child can drown in 20 seconds or less.

How is that possible? The physiology is simple. People who are drowning hold their breath as long as they can. Then, they automatically breathe in. Water surges into the lungs and stomach, diluting the blood. The blood imbalance causes the heart to stop. The entire process takes 12 to 20 seconds from start to finish. First, there’s panic and a struggle to return to the surface followed by a period of calmness when the body lies limp in the water. Then, water is swallowed. There’s a terminal gasp. The victim falls unconscious and dies.
It’s a scenario that Attorney Jim Adler, a former lifeguard and water safety instructor, dreads. Adler, a member of the Joint City County Commission On Children in Houston and Safe Kids Coalitions in Houston and San Antonio is replacing some of his regularly scheduled TV commercials in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio this summer with a public service announcement about drowning to make sure that parents know the “cold, hard truth” to save their little ones from one of the quickest killers around.