Oklahoma Injury Lawyer Blog

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.