Oklahoma Injury Lawyer Blog

The Manda Packing Company has recently recalled nearly 500,000 pounds of meat. Recent reports indicate that the recall is due to a possible contamination from Listeria monocytogenes.

Although there have been no reported cases of illness stemming from the potentially contaminated meat, Listeria is a very serious infection. Anyone who believes they may have purchased meat from the Manda Packing Company should be sure to check their refrigerators and freezers for contaminated products.

Meats involved in the recall include roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef, and pastrami. Potentially contaminated meats have a sell by date between May 13 and June 9, 2013, as well as an establishment number of "EST. 8746A." A full list of recalled products, provided by the USDA, is available online.

This recall has proved problematic, because many of the meats involved in the recall were sold at deli counters, were customers do not receive the sell by date and establishment number of a product after they make a purchase. If you have any questions concerning the recall, call Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety Josh Yarborough at (225) 344-7636, ext. 59.

Surgeons commonly refer to their mistakes as "never events," and for good reason. The mistakes that surgeons make should never happen. Unfortunately, a recent article reports that such 'never events' remain a frequent occurrence.

According to a recent study conducted by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, every year approximately 4,000 'never events' occur in the United States. These events may include "leaving a sponge or instrument inside a patient, perform at incorrect procedure, or operate on a wrong body part or even a wrong patient." While some instances of 'never events' can go undetected for the rest of a person's life, 1 in 15 such events will lead to the patient's death.

Studies have shown that the use of simple precautionary procedures such as operating-room checklists and marking the surgery site in ink are helpful in preventing surgical errors, however they are not universally employed. According to the leader of the Johns Hopkins study, Martin Makary, such incidents will continue to occur until a public accounting of surgical errors has been made.

Most hospitals currently report surgical errors on a voluntary basis, which leads to many errors being missed. When errors are not reported, surgeons are more likely to repeat them. In the Johns Hopkins study, for example, 12% of the doctors made at least two surgical errors, if not more.

In November of 2011, 16-year-old boy purchased a Monster energy drink before going to church to participate in volunteer work. After consuming the beverage, the boy suffered from cardiac arrest and collapsed. The boy's mother, Angela Wheat, is now suing the makers and local distributor of Monster.

According to legal documents, "Shortly after consuming the Monster Energy drink, [he] collapsed and lost consciousness while working with other church members to clean the church." The boy was immediately given CPR, and taken to the hospital for treatment. Attorneys for Wheat claim that the boy's consumption of the energy drink is the sole cause for the cardiac arrest he suffered.

Wheat is seeking over $75,000 in damages. She claims that the drink's packaging had a "design defect and failure to warn." Wheat further alleges that the company was negligent, and participated in unfair and deceptive trade practices.

According to a report released by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") in 2012, during a three-year time span there were three deaths that may have been connected to the consumption of a high-caffeine beverage. This lawsuit is the first of its kind for Oklahoma, although a number of similar lawsuits have been filed across the country by parents of teenagers who died after consuming a Monster energy drink.

When an unresponsive 42-year-old woman was brought to the emergency room with what looked like a drug overdose, doctors needed to insert a breathing tube as well as a pacemaker to revive her. Blood tests taken later indicated that she had five times the safe level of blood pressure drug Verapamil in her system. However, as The New York Times reports, she overdosed on grapefruit juice, not medication.

Dr. David Bailey has recently released a list of medications that are affected by grapefruit. This list includes 85 drugs that are currently on the market. Drugs run the gamut from cholesterol-reducing drugs to birth control pills. Scientists are currently debating how often such reactions actually occur, because in many instances doctors do not ask if patients have recently consumed grapefruit or grapefruit juice.

According to Dr. Bailey, these reactions are predictable and therefore avoidable. "The bottom line is that even if the frequency is low, the consequences can be dire," stated Dr. Bailey, "Why do we have to have a body count before we make changes?"

If you are currently taking prescription medications, check the list online to determine whether grapefruit could cause potential complications.

I noticed in today's Dallas Morning News that Debbie Branson, a personal injury attorney, is the newest board member for Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Is it ironic that a personal injury/medical malpractice lawyer is serving on a hospital board?

It shouldn't be. Med mal lawyers (at least the good ones) are advocates for patient safety, which should go right in line with the hospital.

Did you know some NFL players are getting Kevlar retrofitted into their helmets? I sure didn't (mind you, this is a press release on Yahoo's Finance site, via the manufacturer):

UNEQUAL Technologies®, the premier provider of head and body armor for soldiers and athletes, congratulates the Pittsburgh Steelers on their 35 to 7 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Several Pittsburgh Steelers players' helmets were fitted with Unequal's patented Concussion Reduction Technology (CRT™) -- a patented composite for head trauma made with military grade technology and fused with DuPont™ Kevlar® that is five times stronger than steel and considered the world's best shock suppression material.

CRT™ saw action in the Steelers' helmets when James Harrison, their star All-Pro linebacker, was injured in a collision with a Houston Texans player and suffered an orbital fracture in his right eye socket. There was no timetable for his return. Unequal was contacted to put CRT™ in Harrison's helmet. Subsequently, Harrison was cleared to play ahead of schedule and returned to the lineup against the Baltimore Ravens, where he decimated Ravens' QB, Joe Flacco, with four incredible sacks.

After the victory over the Ravens, Mr. Harrison called Rob Vito, Unequal's CEO, to thank him for putting Unequal CRT™ in his helmet, proclaiming it was the first time he did not experience post-game head pain or ringing in his ears. Harrison said CRT™ was incredible protection and gave him the confidence to stay aggressive on the field.

A few thoughts:
1) That was Harrison's first time that he did not experience post-game head pain or ringing in his ears??
2) If this actually reduces the chance of a concussion (and other head trauma), why aren't high school and college players using it?

Did you hear about Google having to settle for half a billion dollars with the Department of Justice? Google allowed ads on their site for Canadian pharmacies. It's big business because consumers can buy their prescriptions for so much cheaper there. Medical Billing and Coding has a nice graphic detailing our high cost of drugs (note that there is nothing mentioned about our "lawsuit crisis" that insurance companies and their politicians keep touting):
Created by: Medical Billing and Coding

I remember my 9th grade biology teacher telling us to avoid antibacterial soaps because our bodies actually need bacteria. She also mentioned that there's a risk of creating bacteria that would be even more harmful. It turns out, there's more to the story:

The antibacterial Triclosan found in Dial's Complete Hand Soap may be causing more harm than good. We don't even know if it's safe to use in soap and now it's even in toothpaste (Colgate Total). It's everywhere. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the chemical is present in the urine of 75% of Americans over the age of 5. The NY Times article states that studies have shown that it may alter hormone regulation and that the "F.D.A. has already said that soap with triclosan is no more effective than washing with ordinary soap and water, a finding that manufacturers dispute."

The FDA is reopening the comment period on the proposed "gluten-free" food labeling rule. Right now, the proposed criteria is that "gluten-free" food can't contain more than 20 parts per million or more of gluten. If I had celiac disease, I wouldn't touch processed foods that are supposedly gluten-free - just stick with real food.

I've dabbled with the Paleo Diet a few times. It's definitely an effective way to get back into shape. One of the main aspects of the diet is to avoid gluten. My asthma also seems to be better when I just eat real food.