Oklahoma Injury Lawyer Blog

Nothing against insurance adjusters themselves, but don't take legal advice from them! They work for the insurance company of the person that hit you. They are not on your side.

I've had several people in the last week tell me that "the insurance adjuster said to be careful not to run up too high of a bill, so I didn't bother to go to the doctor."

The rule is straightforward: if you are hurt, go to the doctor.

Rant off.

Becker's Orthopedic & Spine Review have an excellent article on 5 Reasons Why Controversy Surrounds Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements.

The article cites:

• Patients can develop soft tissue reactions to wear debris - a Dr. Markel is quoted: "Even though subspecialty surgeons were reporting these findings and that some patients were having problems, it wasn't enough to make a dramatic change in the market."


• The popularity of metal-on-metal could wane - Basically, just because one design was defective, doesn't mean they all are.


• Alternatives to metal-on-metal also have difficulties


• New Technologies are available


• The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons supports the hip replacements with cautioning of the risk

The article helps shed light on the various Depuy Hip Injury Lawsuits.

The McDonald's "Hot Coffee" movie is headed to Sundance:

Hot Coffee (Director: Susan Saladoff) - Following subjects whose lives have been devastated by an inability to access the courts, this film shows that many long-held beliefs about our civil justice system have been paid for by corporate America.

It seems like I hear clients mention the "McDonald's lady" or the "coffee case" every month. It's synonymous with frivolous lawsuits and why our system needs "tort reform." Mind you, very few people have actually heard the facts:

• The plaintiff, Stella Liebeck, was the passenger in the car


• The judge in the case reduced the $2.7 million in punitive damages to $480,000. BUT, the parties entered into a confidential settlement


• McDonald's required the coffee to be held at 185 degrees; even though there's a burn risk at 140 degrees


• McDonald's "quality assurance manager" testified that despite the fact that burns would occur with the excessively hot coffee, McDonald's had no intention of reducing the holding temperature


• Liebeck's previous settlement offer? She had offered to settle her claim for $20,000


• Liebeck suffered 3rd degree burns over 6% of her body

I had a client ask this recently. It looks like we're going to need file a car accident lawsuit to get the other driver's insurance company to do anything.

Guess what happens if you get into an accident that is your fault?

Your insurance company steps in! The insurance company's lawyers will handle the case as well. The insurance company will also pay any type of settlement that is negotiated.

I posted two blog posts last year detailing issues with denture cream and the zinc contained in some of the products:

Denture Cream Causing Neurological Problems? (June 9, 2009)

If you use a denture cream, make sure it doesn't contain zinc. (June 25, 2009)

KOCO recently did a story titled Special Report: Denture Cream Dangers (click the link to view their video story).

The gentleman profiled in the news story woke up one day with his legs numb. He had been making his living as a handyman; now he's confined to a wheelchair.

What caused the nerve damage?

His denture cream. It contained large amounts of zinc, which in turn, causes low copper levels in the body. The big problem is that the damage is likely permanent.

The troubling part:

Oncologist Dr. Vikas Bhushan said a few years ago, a patient came to him for a pre-leukemia condition but his tests didn't show pre-leukemia. Bhushan told his assistant: "'This is some kind of poisoning' is the word I used or a toxin that's causing all this."

His tests showed one big thing.

"We found his zinc levels super high and his copper levels were undetectable," Bhushan.

Exactly the same thing that Carl Halligan says is wrong with him. Bhushan said the patient was using denture cream, so he got on the phone with the maker of the product.

"The initial response was 'This is a trade secret. We can't let it out,'" Bhushan said.

A trade secret? But Dr. Bhushan had a patient with possibly irreversible nerve damage.

"I said, 'Look, I have a patient here who's having severe problems because of zinc toxicity. Just tell me if this has zinc in it. There was a silence, and he said, 'Yes, there is a lot of zinc solid in it,'" Bhushan said.

Wait, what?!? The manufacturers knew that this was a problem, but failed to warn anyone.

ABC News has an informative video about the Depuy Hip Implant Recall:

The hip system was designed and marketed for more active and younger patients. The system allows for a better range of motion. The problem though, is that the hip replacement system fails. Within 5 years, 12% of the systems have failed. The two main parts of the system rub against each other. This obviously causes severe pain, but it also may shave off the chromium and cobalt metal particles into the patient's body.