Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

Dram Shop Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: North Carolina Dram Shop Laws Receive Attention After Tragic Accident

November 29, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A heartbreaking drunk driving crash in Charlotte, NC that severely injured a young couple and killed their unborn child and the drunk driver shed light a law that is meant to prevent bars and restaurants from serving alcohol to already intoxicated customers.

The innocent North Carolina couple was driving home in October of 2010 when police say a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit crashed into them going more than 100 miles per hour. The drunk driver had just left a bar in south Charlotte where he had been served at least 10 drinks.

The couple spent more than a month in the hospital and the wife lost the baby and more than 40% of her own blood. Extensive surgery was required for both the husband and wife in addition to many months of rehabilitation after the accident.

Earlier this month a jury in Charlotte returned a $1.7 million verdict against the bar, finding that the restaurant was negligent in serving alcohol to a person it should have known was drunk. Though the bar has not been found criminally liable, saying an investigation by the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board found that the bar had not served alcohol to the drunk driver after he was “visibly intoxicated,” the civil standard is less stringent.

The innocent couple sued the bar under North Carolina’s law that makes establishments that serve alcohol to obviously drunk or underage customers who then cause death or injury to others liable. The laws, known as dram shop laws, are on the books in all but seven states. Some have criticized the North Carolina law for being vague; not specifying exactly what owners of such establishments should do to ensure they are not liable for the actions of their patrons.

Wrongful Death Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina :: Young Woman in North Carolina Dead After Terrible Car Crash

November 27, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A North Carolina two-vehicle crash that led to the death of a young mother has resulted in charges for the other driver according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The man was charged with misdemeanor death by a motor vehicle and failure to stop at a stop sign.

The accident happened when the other driver’s Chevy truck crashed into the Ford truck driven by the young mother at the intersection of Northam Road and Snead Road in Rockingham, NC.

The young mother was driving a friend and her three children when the wrecked occurred. The friend suffered neck injuries and two of the children had to be treated at the Carolinas Medical Center for injuries they sustained in the accident. The young mother was ejected from the Ford after being hit on the driver’s side. The other driver only had minor cuts and bruises.

The charges leveled against the other driver carry a maximum penalty of 150 days in jail given that there are no indications at this point that drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision.

This crash demonstrates just how dangerous something so small as running a stop sign can be. Other drivers do not stand a chance when a fast moving object slams into them. The man responsible for the terrible crash has been charged with several crimes and also faces the possibility of additional civil suits as a result of the accident.

Nursing Home Negligence Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: North Carolina Nursing Home Rating System Under Fire

November 22, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The ABC11 I-Team recently revealed a series of problems with the existing nursing home rating system in North Carolina.

The federal government ranks nursing homes on a system ranging from 1-star for the worst to 5-star for the best such facilities. The news station report revealed that almost half of the homes in North Carolina’s biggest counties are providing subpar service to their needy North Carolina residents.

This low ranking means that almost half the facilities in such populated parts of the state are unsanitary and could even place patients’ health at risk. The report discovered serious violations including failure to report abuse, failure to properly secure residents during transport and even one facility that had room temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees which resulted in one resident dying from hypothermia.

However, even the best facilities can still have serious problems. One woman told reporters that she’s angry after her mother’s death at the Kindred Transitional Care Rehabilitation, one of the top-rated nursing homes in Raleigh, NC. She claims that the staff at the home neglected her mother and never provided the care she needed.

An investigation showed that while the nursing home may have had a 4-star rating, the simplistic system failed to reveal serious past problems at the facility. Just two years ago the state fined the home more than $200,000 for putting residents in “immediate jeopardy to health and safety”. In 2009, another investigation by the state turned up a series of violations that the home then had to take action to correct.

Yet despite the importance of some of the information, the Medicare website where such rankings are found, www.medicare.gov, contained none of it. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid responded to this news by saying that recent changes to the site should help to improve the depth of information available for concerned patients and their families. Though that’s great news, it doesn’t help the families who already placed loved ones in homes while relying on faulty ratings.

Even now, many patients’ rights advocates complain that the Medicare website lags in providing accurate information for caregivers. Given high staff turnover at such facilities, nursing homes can deteriorate quickly and it can take time for resulting problems to appear on the rating website.

Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: New Research Reveals Dangers of Yaz/Yasmin Birth Control

November 20, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

It sounds like it’s been a week of bad news for the maker of the birth control drugs Yasmin and Yaz as Bayer AG announced in its most recent financial report that it had agreed to pay a combined $750 million thus far to settle thousands of claims regarding its birth control drugs causing blood clots.

Adding insult to injury, a new study has found increased risk of blood clots with the use of birth control pills such as Yaz and Yasmin. According to the most recent study published in the journal Contraception, women who take oral contraceptives containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone are more likely to suffer from potentially fatal blood-clotting complications compared to those who were taking another type birth control.

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research gathered data on 573,680 women between the ages of 10 and 55 between 2001 and 2007. The study looked at women who were new users of combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs), and compared the rate of blood clot related events among women who did or did not take contraceptives containing drospirenone. Overall, the study found that women who took birth control pills containing drospirenone were 77% more likely to experience blood clot related conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Deep vein thrombosis is when a blood clot becomes lodged in the veins of the leg; this can lead to a pulmonary embolism when part of the clot breaks away and travels to blood vessels in the lungs. The study also found that women who take birth control pills containing drospirenone had double the risk of suffering a blockage in their arteries.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest financial report from Bayer indicates the company has put aside an additional $262.5 million to settle Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits over blood clots. This follows a Bloomberg report over the summer that found that Bayer had reserved $610 million to settle cases, leading to an average of nearly $212,000 per case.

Car Wreck and Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Charlotte, NC Woman Seriously Injured After SUV Runs Her Off the Road

November 1, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent report in the Shelby Star revealed that a woman involved in a weekend car wreck on Polkville Road in Charlotte, NC is still in the trauma unit at Carolinas Medical Center recovering from her injuries.

According to North Carolina Highway Patrol, a woman in a car heading North on Highway 226 said she swerved to avoid a SUV that was in her lane. She ran off the right side of the road, overcorrected, and hit another car head-on.

The driver who swerved said that she and her daughter were bruised and shaken badly, but otherwise unharmed. The driver is eager to locate the SUV that ran her off the road and hopes that police are able to find the person responsible quickly.

The car that was hit head-on rolled five or six times following the impact. The woman’s husband, who was not in the car at the time, said his wife suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and a broken back. She had to be airlifted from the scene of the accident due to the severity of her injuries.

Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Charlotte; Mecklenburg County; NC :: North Carolina Motorcyclist Seriously Injured After Being Hit By Bus

October 30, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to Fox Charlotte, a CATS bus in Charlotte, NC and a motorcycle were involved in a crash on the 1500 block on N. Tryon Street at 10:25 one night earlier this week.

The bus was making a left turn from N. Tryon Street onto Dalton Avenue. The 1999 Yamaha Motorcycle was traveling south on N. Tryon Street when the bus turned in front of it. According to police, the motorcyclist was transported to the Carolinas Medical Center by MEDIC with life-threatening injuries.

The bus had 12 passengers on board at the time of the crash. One passenger was transported to the Carolinas Medical Center by MEDIC with minor injuries. The crash is being investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departments Major Crash Investigations Unit and no charges have yet been filed.

According to statistics published by the CDC, if a motorcycle rider is involved in an accident, the likelihood of injury or death is incredibly high: a whopping 98% of accidents involving another motor vehicle resulted in serious injury to motorcyclists. Of that stunningly large group, 45% escaped with only a minor injury meaning the majority weren’t so lucky and suffered serious, likely life-altering injuries.

The most common injuries inflicted on motorcyclists include concussions and brain damage. The dangers associated with such head traumas can be greatly reduced by wearing a helmet; in fact, numbers show that wearing a helmet can reduce a rider’s risk of death by 37%.

Other common injuries include the breakage of joints in elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and wrists. Soft tissue damage or “road rash” is also common because of how the body slides across the surface of the road following a crash. This kind of injury can be avoided by wearing the proper riding apparel such as a riding jacket and sturdy pants.

The best way to avoid injury is to not be involved in an accident in the first place. This is best achieved by being wary of other drivers, not taking unnecessary risks, and obeying the rules of the road at all times.

As North Carolina personal injury attorneys we have represented many personal injury claimants. Injuries sustained by motorcyclists can be very painful and require significant time and medical attention to recover from. Given the vulnerability of motorcyclists, all drivers should be extra vigilant in watching for and yielding to motorcycles when out on the state’s roadways.

Trucking Accident Lawyers in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina :: North Carolina Tractor-Trailer Wreck Caused by Debris From Earlier Accident

October 25, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to reports, traffic was backed up earlier this week on I-85 in Rowan County, North Carolina between exists 83 and 84 when a UPS truck crashed and a second tractor-trailer crashed on the axle from the first truck.

A UPS driver was headed northbound on I-85 early in the morning heading out of Charlotte, NC when a gust of wind caught the back of the trailer and caused his vehicle to veer. The truck then smashed into a guardrail which knocked the back axle off the trailer.

Only moments later, another tractor-trailer, came down the same northbound lane and hit the axle resting in traffic. The second truck then ran off the side of the road into an embankment. The driver of the second tractor-trailer complained of back injuries and sought medical attention for his injuries.

The UPS driver whose axle caused the second truck to wreck has been charged with failing to maintain lane control.

Wrongful Death Lawyers in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC :: Another Major Drug Recall Related to Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

October 23, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A company with the same founders as the specialty pharmacy linked to a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak is recalling all of its products after federal inspectors said it must improve its sterility testing process.

Officials with the FDA have said that a routine inspection turned up inadequate quality assurance related to Ameridose’s sterile products. The FDA was quick to say that it has not discovered any infections linked to the recalled products from Ameridose. In a statement, Ameridose declared it issued the recall “out of an abundance of caution.”

Ameridose makes several injectable drugs which can be used in anesthesia or to correct acid imbalances in the body during critical care. Ameridose agreed to shut down for inspection in October after contaminated steroids from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) were linked to a growing fungal meningitis outbreak.

The FDA warned that six drugs produced by Ameridose were already on the FDA’s list of drugs in short supply. According to the FDA, the Ameridose recall could exacerbate one or more of the shortages of these drugs. Given the shortages, the FDA is working with manufacturers of the six drugs, asking that they ramp up production if they are willing and able to do so.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been reports of 386 fungal meningitis cases throughout the country related to the NECC recall. The CDC also announced that there have been 28 deaths in the following states, including one here in North Carolina: Florida (3), Indiana (3), Maryland (1), Michigan (7), Tennessee (11) and Virginia (2).

Wrongful Death Attorneys in Charlotte, NC :: What Caused the Fungal Meningitis Outbreak?

October 18, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis has many in the medical community desperate to get to the bottom of the cause. Possibilities abound and everyone appears to have a theory. Could it have been some moldy ceiling tiles? What about the dirty shoes of a careless employee? How about a contaminated ingredient?

There are many ways the fungus could have gotten inside the New England Compounding Center, a pharmacy in Massachusetts that has been blamed for the outbreak. The steroid injections made by the compounding pharmacy have already been recalled after leading to the death of 28 people and sickness in nearly 363 more (http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/10/30/fungal-meningitis-outbreak-toll-now-28-dead-363-sickened).

So far regulators from both state and federal agencies have been quiet about what problem may have led to the contamination. It has been revealed that inspectors found fungus growing in more than 50 vials from the pharmacy. FDA investigators remain on the scene in Farmingham, Massachusetts in an attempt to better understand what went wrong.

Despite the lack of information, outside experts tend to agree that dirty conditions in the plant are likely to blame. This could include a number of possible sources of contamination, including faulty sterilizing equipment, tainted ingredients or sloppiness on the part of employees.

One problem for the pharmacy is that the drug used in the steroid injection is made without preservatives meaning there is no additive that is able to kill germs lurking in the medicine. Given this lack of preservative, it’s critical that the drug be manufactured under incredibly sterile conditions.

Though compounding pharmacies aren’t as tightly regulated as major manufacturers, they are supposed to follow certain basic rules including cleaning the floors and all other surfaces daily, monitoring the air supply in “clean rooms” where the drugs are actually made, ensuring that employees wear gloves and gowns and testing samples from each lot. These rules of standard practice exist in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a national standards book for compounding medicines that is written by a nonprofit scientific organization.

To make the steroid used in this case, a chemical powder from a supplier was mixed with a liquid, sterilized through heating, then pumped into vials. It’s possible that the powder was contaminated, either at the New England Compounding Center or another location. Given the vast amount of the medicine produced, the time it would take to make the batches might allow the medicine time to be contaminated. It’s also possible that if a worker took a break for coffee or to go to the bathroom that they could have hurried back into the lab without properly washing up, thus introducing contamination.

Wrongful Death Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina :: Suspicious Deaths Prompt FDA to Launch Investigation Into Monster Energy Drink

October 16, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the agency launched an investigation concerning five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack linked to consumption of the Monster Energy Drink. The Monster Energy Drink is a heavily caffeinated soda that has grown in popularity in recent years among those eager for a boost, especially young people.

Reports indicate that several people suffered adverse reactions after consuming the drink which contains a whopping 240 milligrams of caffeine. To put that number into some perspective, one Monster Energy Drink contains about seven times the caffeine in a typical 12-ounce can of soda.

The FDA issued a statement saying that it was taking the reports of death seriously and will begin a thorough investigation to determine if any action should be taken. Although the FDA caps the amount of caffeine in soda at 0.02 percent, there is no such limit for energy drinks, something that may need to change in the future. Though a response from the regulatory agency is a good thing, the timing leaves something to be desired as reports first surfaced back in 2004. The agency says so far there’s no proof that the drinks directly caused the deaths or injuries.

The FDA’s announcement follows quickly on the heels of a report that a wrongful death suit was filed in California by parents of a 14-year-old girl who died after consuming two cans of the Monster Energy Drink in less than 24 hours. The child’s parents argue that the soft drink company failed to properly warn consumers about the dangers associated with consuming its products.