In May 2012, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled the Banzai Falls in-ground pool slide. They determined the slide is defective and can deflate suddenly, causing the user to crash to the ground. In addition, they found the slide is unstable and can topple over—even when weather conditions are calm. Finally, they determined the slide contains insufficient warnings and instructions.
The recall was prompted by reports of three people who were injured when the slide suddenly deflated as they were sliding headfirst into the pool. One woman, Robin Aleo, broke her neck and was paralyzed and unable to breathe. She died the next day. Two other people were also severely injured. One man broke his neck and became a quadriplegic. Another woman fractured her neck.
Toys R Us, who was named in a 2011 wrongful death lawsuit for fatal injuries sustained by Robin Aleo on the Banzai slide, never tested the slide to determine if it met federal safety pool slide standards. Toys R Us maintained that since the Banzai Falls in-ground pool slide was an inflatable product, the regulations did not apply.
However, a Salem Massachusetts superior court jury disagreed and held Toys R Us liable for fatal injuries sustained by Robin Aleo on the Banzai pool slide. Her husband, Michael Aleo, was awarded a $20.6 million settlement.
The product recall and Toys R Us’ wrongful death lawsuit may pave the way for additional litigation. When individuals are harmed by an unsafe product, such as the Banzai Falls in-ground pool slide, manufacturers and sellers of products may be held responsible. Since the CPSC noted design flaws with the slide as well as problems with the warnings and safety instructions, product liability lawsuits could follow.
We at Denena Points, PC Trial Attorneys feel for those whose loved ones have sustained injuries and death caused by the Banzai Falls in-ground pool slide. If you own one of these slides, we urge you to stop using it and take it to the nearest Wal-Mart or Toys R Us for a refund. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective product or the negligence of others, contact an experienced Houston personal injury attorney toll free at 877-307-9500 for a free case review. Alternatively, you can download a free copy of the book Danger in the Park: Your Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe on a Roller Coaster for more information.
When it is determined that a product is defective, it means that it has the potential to harm the person using that item. Whether it is a flaw in the design, the manufacturing or the lack of proper posted warnings about the merchandise, it is of the utmost importance that the product not be used, so that injuries can be avoided.
Many people do not realize that a product is defective until after an injury occurs. And sadly, it usually takes an injury—or more than one—for either the government to step in and recall the product, or for the manufacturer to voluntarily pull it from the shelves.
In the case of the Banzai inflatable water slide injuries, the product was recalled after reports of serious injuries and even deaths as a direct result of the item malfunction. On numerous occasions, the inflatable slide reportedly deflated while users were on top of the six-foot-tall product, causing them to either come crashing down onto the cement or to strike their head or neck on the side of the swimming pool as they came down the slide.
Whenever an injury like this one occurs, there are specific steps that must be taken in order to preserve the claim. The Houston defective product attorneys at Denena & Points urge all injured parties to do the following:
The lawyers in our office understand that these steps can be difficult to take at a time when all you want to do is regain your health. That is why we offer a complimentary case evaluation where we sit down with you and your family to discuss your legal rights and provide you with common-sense options to handling your Houston defective products case on your behalf. Call Denena & Points at 877-307-9500 to schedule your appointment today.
What was supposed to be a fun, hot-weather toy turned out to be a potential life taker. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the inflatable Banzai water slide was banned from shelves after it was discovered that the defective product could cause serious personal injury or even death.
Banzai water slide injuries are happening nationwide, and nearly 21,000 of the 6-foot-tall slides were pulled from the market after it was determined that the slides can rapidly deflate with no warning, causing users to hit the ground or the side of the pool.
What types of compensation are available?
The slides were sold at Wal-Mart and Toys R Us and customers who purchased the slides, which retail for around $250, are entitled to a full refund, simply by bringing in the two original safety warning notices from the slide.
But what if my child was injured on a Banzai slide?
If you or your child was injured while using the Banzai inflatable water slide, your family may be entitled to different types of compensation. Typically, when the Houston defective products lawyers in our office handle cases involving dangerous toys or products, we focus on obtaining compensation for the following:
If you or someone you love has been injured by a Banzai inflatable water slide, contact the Banzai waterslide injury attorneys at Denena & Points immediately by calling us toll-free at 877-307-9500 or by filling out our online form.
The Texas City injury lawyers at Denena & Points understand that 48,380 residents of La Marque and Texas City have slapped BP with a $500 billion lawsuit based on illnesses they claim they’ve contracted due to a long-term release of toxic pollutants from the oil company’s Texas City refinery. On April 6, 2010 a troublesome compressor broke down on BP’s ultracracker unit at the refinery.
While attempts to repair the compressor failed, decision makers at higher levels of BP reportedly ignored requests for money for repairs and improvements to the unit. Because of the broken down compressor, BP decided to vent gases like the carcinogen benzene mostly through a flare while it operated at a slightly lower capacity.
The 300-foot flare is designed to burn away toxins, but our Texas City injury lawyers realize that not every pollutant can be captured or burned off. The flaring of the gases officially lasted until May 16, 2010 though an email reporting that the compressor resumed operation on May 22, 2010 suggests that the massive toxin release may have continued until that date.
BP reports that at least 538,00 pounds of pollutants, including 17,371 pounds of toxic benzene, went through the flare during the period while the compressor was down. Most local residents remained unaware of any danger from the pollutants throughout the entire 1.5-month period.
At the time, the explosion of BP’s Deep Water Horizon rig out in the Gulf of Mexico vastly overshadowed the failure of a single compressor at the Texas City refinery. And BP, while required to notify Texas officials within 24 hours of the gas release, no requirement existed to notify the public at all. With its hands full with the Deep Water Horizon disaster, BP did not, in fact, notify the public while the gas release occurred.
Our Texas City injury lawyers emphasize that the amount of pollutants released and not consumed by the flare could have been significantly higher than the already alarming numbers reported by BP. Those numbers make the benzene release one of the 3 largest between 2009 and 2011. But the executive director of environmental group Air Alliance Houston mentioned that BP’s air quality monitors have repeatedly failed to register major gas releases from the plant.
And a fair amount of data indicated the ultracracker flare used to process the released gases while the compressor was down at the BP refinery might have operated at significantly less than the standard of 98% efficiency. BP emails from as far back as 2007 point to a far lesser efficiency in that flare. Our Texas City injury lawyers point out that this means that far more toxins might have been released into the surrounding environment than claimed by BP.
BP continues to maintain that the flare operated at 98% efficiency while in use. But tests of the flare by the U.S. EPA in 2007 showed that it only operated at 50% to 90% efficiency and emissions were 6 times greater than what BP was reporting. And tests by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality pointed to an efficiency of only 38% to 79%.
Our Texas City injury lawyers want you to understand that each 1% drop in efficiency could mean up to a 100% increase in chemicals released, according to the Environmental Integrity Project. So even at 90% efficiency rather than 98%, the flare might have spewed 400% to 800% more toxins into the local environment, leading to severe health consequences among susceptible individuals.
While BP emails indicate some concern about the flare within the company in 2009, no steps were actually taken to improve its efficiency between 2007 and April 2010. Requests for money to repair and improve it went repeatedly unfulfilled. And a BP environmental specialist had said that the flare tip’s old design contributed to its inefficiency.
BP’s decision to continue to operate the Texas City refinery ultracracker unit, though at a lower capacity, while the compressor was out reportedly generated between $6.7 and $13 million in revenue. Yet in December, BP settled a lawsuit in the amount of $50 million by the Texas Attorney General alleging that poor maintenance and operation led to the release of the toxic gases. And a lawsuit for $500 billion on behalf of victims affected by the gas release is pending. (Source: Harvey Rice, Houston Chronicle, 7/25/2012)
The decision making behind the directive to continue operations while the compressor was down was clearly flawed. You have to wonder what they were thinking. The settlement made with the Texas AG already dwarfs the revenue numbers resulting from that decision by a shocking margin. And our Texas City injury lawyers point out that the number tied to the pending lawsuit isn’t even on the same chart.
We all know that big companies tend not to factor your health consequences from their actions into their decision process any more than is strictly required by law (and often less). But one would think that their own self-interest would cause them to factor potential liability numbers into their profit calculations to avoid such grossly flawed decisions as this one by BP seems to represent. Hopefully you use more sense when calculating your own household or business budgets.
Our Texas City injury lawyers remain in awe of the magnitude of the missteps apparently made by BP following the failure of the compressor in the ultracracker unit at the Texas City refinery. We also remain somewhat worried about possible health effects on ourselves and our neighbors and relatives. The winds that blow over Texas City also blow in metro Houston. And the release of pollutants during the more than 40-day period in spring of 2010 seems massive by all accounts.
Our Texas City injury lawyers will be keeping an eye on the related lawsuit against BP as some indicator of the value of your health in relation to corporate profits and responsibilities. BP was already under fire for the toxins it brought to our waters through the Deep Water Horizon devastation. Now the company faces allegations relating to toxins it spewed into the air. Learn more about some of the toxins you face every day in your water in the article linked to this post.
The Houston SUV injury lawyers remark that in a year when Ford hoped to introduce its revamped Ford Escape to the market with much acclaim, the small SUV has been dogged by a series of very serious recalls for dangerous defects. One recall that we recently discussed led the company to take the nearly unheard of step of telling owners of 2013 Ford Escapes to simply stop driving them. At once. A cut fuel line could lead to sudden engine fires, and had already done so in several vehicles.
Ford had also recalled another 10,000 of the 2013 Ford Escapes to correct a problem with carpet padding that could interfere with braking. Now the company is recalling about 485,000 Escapes and Ford Mavericks from the 2001 through 2004 model years to fix sticking accelerator pedals that can cause severe crashes.
Our Houston SUV injury lawyers wonder how these vehicles can make it all the way through the design, assembly, and testing phases without anyone ever noticing these problems. It seems it would cost Ford less money to be more diligent up front and catch the errors before they lead to damaging recalls and potentially deadly crashes.
This latest recall affects Ford Escapes and Mavericks from the 2001 to 2004 model years that have 3-liter V-6 engines and cruise control. The NHTSA has received 68 complaints regarding the defect, including 13 crashes, 8 injuries, and one fatality.
The one known fatality from the dangerous Ford Escape defect occurred in January 2012. 17-year-old Saige Bloom, whose mother was following behind in another car, found that she could not stop after she had depressed the accelerator pedal. Her Ford Escape kept accelerating into an intersection through a red light, where young Saige Bloom’s Escape crashed into a car and then rolled 3 times. Ms. Bloom died from her crash injuries.
An inspector that Ms. Bloom’s family hired after the accident found that the Ford Escape’s speed control pedal had broken and become stuck under the engine cover leaving the throttle open at near full speed.
Our Houston SUV injury lawyers note that the spate of recalls relating to dangerous defects in the Ford Escape has apparently not dimmed the vehicle’s popularity. It was the top selling SUV in the United States for the past month and was also the top selling small SUV for 3 of the 4 model years affected by the latest recall.
Some consumer advocates suggest that Ford has been slow to take action regarding this dangerous defect. The executive director of the consumer group Center for Auto Safety says that Ford knew of the sticking accelerator problem since at least 2005. Our Houston SUV injury lawyers emphasize that it’s now 7 years later, and it took the tragic and deadly crash of a teenager in January to bring attention to the problem.
Ford says that it does not yet have enough parts to truly repair the defect, but that dealers can disconnect the cruise control until the parts are available and that should prevent the snag from occurring. The cruise control cables can snag on the plastic cover on top of the Escape’s engine and cause the accelerator pedal to stick. Ford says that this can occur when the gas pedal is nearly fully depressed to the floor and where the cruise control cables have been bent or pushed from their original position.
A Ford Motor Company spokesperson points out that the cables might be bent or moved when the vehicles are serviced. Some think that the problems currently surfacing could date back to a servicing of the Ford Escapes during a 2004 recall effort. In 2004, almost 600,000 Ford Escapes and Mazda Tributes were recalled to fix an accelerator cable defect.
Our Houston SUV injury lawyers point out that the Tribute is a vehicle identical to the Escape that is manufactured by Ford for Mazda, essentially the Ford Escape under another brand name. It’s not clear yet whether Mazda will recall the Tributes affected by the problem. But it is our Houston SUV injury lawyers’ opinion that it should, since the Tribute shares the same potential for the sticking accelerator pedal defect relating to damaged cruise control cables that can lead to equally deadly crashes as in the Escape.
The NHTSA said that the 2004 recall repairs might have damaged the vehicles’ cruise control cables. And some Ford dealers had told the company back in 2004 and 2005 that some of the cruise control cables got damaged during the 2004 recall repairs.
When the parts become available, Ford has said that its dealers will replace the fasteners on the engine cover in the Ford Escape. They will raise the engine cover to make sure that there is plenty of room for the cruise control cable so that it can’t become snagged. In the meantime, owners of the Ford Escapes affected by the recall can get dealers to disconnect their cruise control to prevent the snagging cable and sticky acceleration problem.
Given the large number of complaints regarding the sticky accelerator problem and the number of years that it has know of the danger of the defect, our Houston SUV injury lawyers feel that Ford has been quite lax and slow to act to address the problem. In the intervening years, numerous crashes have occurred, resulting in a number of injuries and one tragic death. Buyers might want to consider the Ford Escape’s history of defects and the company’s safety record before rushing out to buy one of the small SUVs.
If you’re injured due to a vehicle defect that the manufacturer has neglected to address, hold that manufacturer financially accountable for the harm you and your family has needlessly suffered. Contact our experienced Houston SUV injury lawyers for a free and confidential legal consultation. We’ll listen to the specific circumstances of your case, and help you understand your available legal options and solutions. Our more than 14 years of successful case results on behalf of our injured clients speak for themselves. Take a look, call us today, and get started on your road to financial recovery.
(Source: Tom Krisher, Associated Press, Auto, 7/26/2012)
Our Houston injury lawyers are gong to write about something here that’s a bit off topic for us. But we just wanted to mention the incident as a cautionary tale in hopes that others might not lose their lives so needlessly.
Our Houston injury lawyers were horrified to learn about the needless deaths of two K-9 dogs in Bexar County overnight on Thursday. The two dogs apparently died from heat stress after being left overnight in a patrol car by K-9 Deputy Steve Benoy, who’s been placed on administrative leave while the Department investigates. (Source: Brian New, Kens5.com, July 27, 2012)
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) says that Benoy is a 23-year veteran who’s been with the Sheriff’s Office unit for 13 of those years. However fine Benoy’s service may have been in the past, it just seems inexcusable what he did to those dogs. That’s basically like leaving fellow employees marooned inside a hot car with no escape. How could someone entrusted with the care of these dogs so negligently leave them to die?
K-9s are expensive to train. They cost quite a lot. But once trained, they are loyal and dedicated workers who demand far fewer perks than human BCSO employees. One thing they would ask is to be released from their patrol vehicles on hot July days after a long day of service.
Doesn’t the BCSO have someone charged with checking to see that all K-9s have been properly returned to their kennels after work? Maybe it should have someone to check on these dogs and their handlers. This was just a senseless loss. It’s appalling to think of those poor, loyal dogs quietly expiring overnight from the heat.
And it’s not just dogs. This week in Dallas, the news has been filled with the horrific story of a small boy carelessly left in a day care van to expire from the heat. That these helpless victims are left in vehicles without recourse to bake alive in the excruciating Texas heat is a nightmare. And it must stop.
Whether the victims are small children or K-9s, entities charged with the care of those who can’t help or speak for themselves need to have someone in charge of ensuring the safety of their charges. Our Houston injury lawyers call on everyone to take a role in ensuring others’ safety.
If you see a child, an elderly person, or an animal left inside a vehicle in the Texas summer, don’t just hope that all will be well. Take the step of notifying someone or calling the police to come unlock the car and save the life inside before it’s too late. It takes very little time for the vulnerable to overheat and die in closed vehicles in the current Texas temperatures. Take a look at the linked article by our Houston injury lawyers on what heat can do just to your tires, and imagine what it can do to the body of a helpless child or dog.
Documents and information obtained by the Associated Press and widely covered in recent news reveal that Summit Structures LLC, builder of the collapsed Dallas Cowboys training center, knew in advance of the weakness of the facility and the dangers of collapse. The structural collapse injury attorneys at Denena & Points mention that Summit Structures was a subsidiary of the Canadian company Cover-All Building Systems. Cover-All declared bankruptcy in 2010, likely as a result of the huge liability costs stemming from the 2009 collapse of the Dallas Cowboys training facility.
The Cowboys were holding a rookie training session at the time that the tent-like facility collapsed. 12 people were injured in the collapse. The injuries included a broken neck in special teams coach Joe DeCamillis and a severed spinal cord in Cowboys scout Rich Behm that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Together the pair received about $34 million in compensation from Cover-All and from entities affiliated with Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones. Our structural collapse injury attorneys emphasize that it goes without saying that no amount of money can ever replace lost mobility, especially in two victims so heavily involved in professional sports.
The Cowboys organization began questioning the structural integrity of the training facility in 2007 shortly after it was built in 2003. The Cowboys wanted their engineering expert informed of measures being taken to correct the structural problems.
Notes from Summit’s legal counsel, which the counsel attributes to comments by Jeff Galland, engineering director for 52 Engineers, a company Summit employed on tits projects, stated that parts of the Dallas facility’s frame were “to slender and long” and “prone to buckling.” The notes also stated that calculations in this regard would be hidden in the analysis given to the Cowboys.
Another statement of Galland’s that the counsel forwarded specifically stated that portions of the facility’s frame were “overstressed.” Our structural collapse injury attorneys point out that even if an overstressed structure can stand for a time under ordinary circumstances, any additional force like storm winds or earth tremors will bring that structure crashing down on top of whomever is inside. And indeed that is what happened. Texas storm winds, not noted for a subtle touch, tore the structure apart quickly.
To our structural collapse injury attorneys, those statements seem tantamount to saying that they knew lives were at risk and they decided to risk them, putting profits ahead of safety. Given the hideous financial that could result (and did in fact result) from a collapse of the Dallas Cowboys training facility, one might think that Summit would chart a more careful course in the structurally troubled waters.
The Associated Press report on this incident and the damning information it found in the obtained documents points out that Jeff Galland, though titled Engineering Director at 52 Engineers, possessed no college degree and had served time in prison on drug and weapons violations.
Generally we’re not ones to hold past mistakes against a person. But those are not the credentials our structural collapse injury attorneys would look for in an engineering director or consultant.
We also note that Summit and Cover-All later announced a design flaw that could lead to collapse in windy and snowy conditions of about 35,000 of its smaller buildings. And the company was apparently known more for structures like barns, equestrian facilities, and warehouse storage buildings than large, high profile sports complexes.
So we wonder why Summit and Cover-All were even hired to build the Dallas Cowboys training facility. And why someone like Jeff Galland was consulted as the engineering authority regarding the facility’s problems with structural integrity. We must credit him with accurate assessments of the facility’s lack of structural integrity, even if he presented no viable solutions to them and Summit endeavored to hide his findings in any case.
The behavior of Summit prior to the collapse in disguising information that could have warned the Cowboys of the impending collapse of the facility seems outrageous. The clear disregard for others’ safety and danger indicated in the documents found by the Associated Press is appalling.
Substandard contractors, roofers, and others bilk ordinary homeowners every day. That someone with the financial clout of Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys organization should suffer the same fate is not the least bit reassuring. The saga of the doomed Dallas Cowboys training facility shows that any structure might have hidden defects and structural weaknesses that visitors and occupants might not know about until it’s too late.
Learn more about the training facility collapse in the linked article by our structural collapse injury attorneys.
Last week our Houston engine fire injury lawyers mentioned that Ford Motor Company had taken the nearly unprecedented step of telling new Ford Escape owners to stop driving their vehicles immediately. The warning came after the company learned of a defect in a fuel line leading to the engine compartment. The fuel lines, supplied by the TI Automotive plant in Ashley, IN, were mechanically scored, or lacerated, during production.
These fuel lines with the cuts on their surface could split, leading to fuel leaks. The fuel leaks could cause the spilled fuel collected near the engine to catch fire. Indeed 3 vehicles, one owned by a Canadian customer, and two being driven by Ford employees, have already experienced the dangerous engine fires.
Engine fires are a very serious hazard. They can lead to catastrophic wrecks and fatal injuries among those trapped in a vehicle that suddenly catches fore under the hood. So if you own one of the new Ford Escape SUVs affected by the recall, don’t take chances. Stop driving it at once.
The affected Ford Escapes are all 2013 models with 1.6-liter engines that were manufactured at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant between October 8, 2011 and July 11th. You could find out your vehicle’s manufacture date and plant of origin by contacting your Ford dealer. TI Automotive has since repaired the manufacturing flaw that led to the cut fuel lines and continues to produce the fuel lines for the Ford Escape SUV.
Ford says that only about 4,800 of the 11,500 Ford Escapes subject to the recall have been sold. The rest remain on dealer lots. Ford Escapes with 2.0 and 2.5-liter engines are not subject to the engine fire danger or the recall.
Our Houston engine fire injury lawyers note that the redesigned Ford Escape, along with the retooled Ford Fusion, was one of the automaker’s two key product launches for the 2013 model year. Ford is taking steps to minimize the danger from this early recall.
And if you own one of the Ford Escape SUVs subject to the recall, the company will come pick up your vehicle and take it to the dealer for a free repair. Ford will also provide a loaner vehicle for you to use while your vehicle is being repaired. The company has allotted $660 per recalled vehicle to defray rental, transportation, and other costs from the defect.
If you have a new 2013 Ford Escape with a 1.6-liter engine, don’t delay. Our Houston engine fire injury lawyers suggest that you stop driving the vehicle immediately. And find out from your dealer if it is one of the SUVx that might have a cut fuel line. Then let Ford make the necessary repair. Sudden engine fires are far too dangerous and potentially deadly a risk to leave things to chance.
If you’ve already experienced an injury from a sudden engine fire or other vehicle defect, you deserve financial compensation from the manufacturer to defray the burdensome expenses that follow such a needless injury. We have the experience and legal knowledge to protect your rights and win your recompense from the big manufacturers.
Contact our Houston engine fire injury lawyers today for a free legal consultation and case evaluation. We could help you understand your available legal options and counsel you to a successful financial recovery against the manufacturer responsible for your harm. Call us toll free at 877-307-9500 or reach us through our online contact forms.
The Texas dialysis injury attorneys at Denena & Points remark that GranuFlo is a concentrated powder product that gets mixed with water. The resulting acid solution combines with a bicarbonate solution in the dialysis machine to create “dialysate.” The dialysate passes through the machine’s artificial kidney to cleanse the patient’s blood.
Our Texas dialysis injury attorneys point out that GranuFlo has been linked to 941 sudden cardiac deaths in 2010 at 670 dialysis centers in North America that are owned by Fresenius, the maker of GranuFlo. Fresenius, based in Germany, owns 50 dialysis centers in New Jersey alone. The company provides dialysis services to more than 2 million patients across the globe and also sells dialysis machines and other products to its own dialysis facilities and others.
The FDA recall of GranuFlo for cardiac death risks said of the dialysis product that “[t]here is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” The FDA issued its highest level of recall, a Class 1, against the product, but did not require that GranuFlo be removed from the market. The reason is a shortage of available alternative products that could be used t help the millions of patients worldwide in need of dialysis.
Our Texas dialysis injury attorneys note that the need for dialysis services has burgeoned along with the obesity epidemic. Obesity leads to diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney failure. Kidney failure requires dialysis treatments to compensate for the loss of the kidneys’ services as blood cleansers. Patients usually need dialysis treatments 3 times a week for several hours each session. Medicare (your tax dollars) pays for most of these treatments in the 400,000 U.S. dialysis patients at a cost of around $20 million annually.
Instead of yanking the product from the market, the FDA has required that Fresenius re-label GranuFlo and update its operating manuals for the dialysis machines that use the product. The cardiac death risk related to GranuFlo seems to stem from the increase in bicarbonate levels that the product causes in the blood stream. Where patients already had higher levels of bicarbonate in their blood prior to dialysis, the GranuFlo treatment apparently heightened the risk of cardiopulmonary arrest and sudden cardiac death by 6 to 8 times. Sudden cardiac death presents a leading cause of death to U.S. dialysis patients.
Fresenius has strongly recommended to physicians at its centers that they test their patients’ blood chemistries, particularly for bicarbonate levels, monthly, and tailor their individual prescriptions for dialysis chemicals to appropriate levels. Our Texas dialysis injury attorneys emphasize that Fresenius did not send similar warnings to non-Fresenius owned centers that use GranuFlo until some 5 months after it had warned its own centers of the danger. The FDA is investigating this troubling delay that could have endangered other patients’ lives.
Fresenius is the largest for-profit dialysis treatment center chain in the United States. But ownership of dialysis treatment centers is becoming increasingly consolidated among a few for-profit chains. The 2nd largest for-profit dialysis chain is Davita.
The growing concentration of dialysis services into a few hands is raising questions about safety and accountability. The concern is particularly strong where one of the chain operators also makes the products that it and other centers use. As recently as May, more than a quarter million dialysis patients, slightly more than half of whom received treatment in Fresenius facilities, were using GranuFlo as part of their treatments. Sales of the product reached more than $80 million per year. (Source: Lindy Washburn, The Record, NorthJersey.com, 7/22/2012.)
If you or your loved ones require dialysis treatments to clean your blood following kidney failure, you might not have any alternative to use of the GranuFlo product until other alternative products become more widely available. Your treating physician should be testing your blood chemistry regularly for elevated bicarbonate levels and adjusting your treatment dosage as needed in order to minimize your risk of cardiopulmonary arrest and sudden cardiac death from your dialysis treatments.
If you or a family suffered a cardiac incident or injury from your dialysis treatment, the adverse consequences could be catastrophic for your family. Our dedicated Texas dialysis injury attorneys could help you make a full financial recovery for your harm from those responsible for your injury.
Contact us for a free and confidential legal consultation regarding your options and eligibility for financial compensation stemming from the recalled dialysis product. Our Texas dialysis injury attorneys have almost 15 years of reliable experience holding negligent companies accountable for the suffering they and their products have caused to innocent victims.
Let us help you too. Call us toll free at 877-307-9500 or use our online contact forms at your convenience. Get the full financial recovery you deserve when a dangerous product or company delay regarding known risks has endangered your life or the life of a family member.
Deck collapse injury lawyers note that a 12-foot high wooden deck in midtown Kingston, NY collapsed on Friday night. The deck was identified as being between 6 and 8 years old.
Initials reports indicated that up to 8 people had been injured in the collapse. Only one person, a woman who was a tenant in a 2nd floor unit in the building, had to be hospitalized for injuries. The other victims of the sudden collapse were her neighbors.
Another deck stood below the collapsed deck and may have helped to break the victims’ fall and minimize their injuries. No one was on the 1st floor deck when the 12-foot high deck collapsed.
Reports indicated that the 2nd floor deck mostly detached from the house but did not completely fall. The house, between Prospect St. and Broadway in midtown Kingston, NY, was listed as belonging to a John O’Rourke. O’Rourke’s father apparently lives on the 1st floor of the house. News accounts indicated that rotten wood in the upper deck might have been the cause of the dangerous deck collapse accident. But the house itself remained undamaged by the incident.
Our deck collapse injury lawyers reiterate that the deck that collapsed was less than 10 years old, perhaps even as young as 6 years old. For deck safety, many recommend that decks be replaced at least every 20 years. But weather conditions, nearness to the sea and ever present humidity, and other variables can increase the rate at which the wood in your deck ages or rots.
As this injury accident in Kingston indicates, you can’t rely on estimates regarding the age of your deck for safety. Thorough yearly inspections are a key element to your safety and the safety of your guests on your deck.
Learn about some key elements for maintaining deck and balcony safety in our deck collapse injury lawyers’ report on the subject. The report is available free to our readers for download from this web page.