Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

A man was fleeing from Texas police at speeds topping 100 mph, when he crossed into oncoming traffic, ran through stop signs before his pickup smashed into another driver’s car in an intersection.

The 1999 wreck left a 7-year-old boy comatosed for a week, in the hospital for a month and in physical therapy for five years.

The man was later charged with using his truck as a deadly weapon, jumped bail and disappeared. He left behind a $300,000 auto insurance policy, money the family hoped would pay for their son’s medical bills.

But Nationwide Insurance, declined to pay, saying man violated his insurance contract by leading police on a wild chase all but guaranteed to end in a horrific wreck. Two courts have agreed with Nationwide.

Now the Texas Supreme Court will decide who deserves the law’s protection: a family whose car was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an insurance company with a reckless and irresponsible client.

Continue reading " Texas Family Fights Insurance Company Over Car Wreck " »

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents

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About 500 mourners attended a funeral service for the seven people who died this week in northern Mexico when their vehicle plunged into a river off an unfinished bridge that apparently lacked warning signs or barriers.

The mourners gathered at a west Dallas church, around the seven caskets containing the remains of three adults and four children who died in the accident, which occurred early Thankgiving morning as they drove from Texas to visit relatives.

The family were two miles from their destination, the village of El Mezquite, according to the uncle of one of the victims.

Continue reading " Dallas Funeral for Mexican Bridge Crash " »

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Posted In: Car Accidents

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Two inspectors who were fired from the inspector general's office at the Texas Education Agency are suing the agency, claiming wrongful termination after they tried to investigate fraud and waste in the TEA, according to officials.

The men want to be reinstated and are seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit contends that the alleged retaliation against and firings of the two men violated their rights under the state's whistleblower law and also violated their free speech rights under the Texas Constitution.

According to their lawsuit, they were systematically prevented from investigating fraud, waste and misuse, including allegations of:

— Falsification of student attendance records.

— Contractors who "may have been influenced to overcharge TEA and/or school districts."

— A "suspect contract" involving the commissioner of education and an education service center.

— Violations of law regarding job openings.

Continue reading " Texas Education Agency Whistleblower Fraud Case " »

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Wrongful Termination

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Nearly 1 ½ years after a girl's feet were severed on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the amusement park has reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the teenager's family, who had sued the park for negligence.

The amount of the settlement wasn't disclosed, but it is noted that the girl's unpaid medical bills total nearly $500,000 and that Kentucky law allows recovery for future lost income, as well as pain and suffering.

Continue reading " Six Flags Settles Lawsuit " »

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Personal Injury

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A man who was left quadriplegic when weightlifting equipment at his gym crashed onto his neck was awarded $11 million in a lawsuit stemming from his injury. A U.S. District court awarded the money to the man, who has been awarded a total of $18.6 million following seven years of litigation.

The 39-year-old former Marine was doing squats on a machine at Gold's Gym in Venice when the horizontal bar of weights bearing a couple hundred pounds of weight fell on his neck. The machine did not have adjustable safety stops installed.

Continue reading " Quadriplegic Awarded $11.3M in Lawsuit " »

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Posted In: Personal Injury

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A widow who sued the U.S. government over her husband's death at the Marion VA Medical Center has accepted a settlement of almost $1 million.

The Kentucky man died in the hospital after gallbladder surgery last year. His widow, sued alleging medical negligence and accusing the government of failing to adequately check the background of her husband's surgeon, before hiring him.

Continue reading " Marion VA Medical Center Liable in Wrongful Death " »

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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The Food and Drug Administration said that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer.

Agency officials said they had discovered melamine at trace levels in a sample of infant formula. It was also discovered in several samples of dietary supplements that are made by some of the same manufacturers who make formula.

Melamine contamination became a major scandal in China after it was added to milk to disguise test results that measure protein levels. Since it was discovered in infant formula in September, it has sickened more than 50,000 infants and killed 4.

Continue reading " Melamine Found in U.S. Infant Formula " »

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Posted In: Toxic Injury

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The city of Milwaukee's appeal to force a former lead paint manufacturer to pay for the cleanup of 11,000 contaminated properties was rejected.

The Court of Appeals ruled that NL Industries Inc. does not have to pay the city costs of cleaning up the inner-city homes. The city sought $52.6 million for the program, which involved replacing old windows.

The Milwaukee County jury ruled last year the widespread presence of lead paint in Milwaukee homes was a public nuisance, but NL Industries did not "intentionally and unreasonably engage in conduct" that caused it and was not negligent.

Continue reading " Milwaukee Loses Appeal in Lead Paint Lawsuit " »

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Posted In: Toxic Injury

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Medicare paid a Pennsylanvia hospital $6.15 million in the 2003 to treat some of the Erie hospital's oldest, sickest patients. Now the hospital will pay $1.9M to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit that claimed the hospital submitted Medicare claims that exceeded its actual costs.

Seven hospitals have reached settlements in connection with the lawsuit, filed in 2005 by an independent hospital consultant from New Jersey. Saint Vincent is the only hospital in this region named in the suit.

Continue reading " Hospital to pay $1.9M in Whistleblower Suit " »

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Posted In: Medico-Legal News

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Diabetic supply maker Bayer Healthcare, a unit of Bayer AG, has agreed to pay $97.5 M to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to several diabetic suppliers and caused them to submit false Medicare claims, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Bayer agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement -- which allows companies to continue in the federal Medicare program while requiring steps to safeguard against fraudulent behavior -- as part of the settlement, the department said.

Continue reading " Bayer Healthcare Dinged For $97.5M in Kickback Settlement " »

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Posted In: Medico-Legal News

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The family of a construction worker who fell to his death received a $440,000 settlement. In 2005, a Texas man aged 23, was part of a crew working on a building in Mesquite. He and another worker entered a wooden box, which was then lifted by a SkyTrak device to the second story. They were working when the box tipped over and both men fell to the ground. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Continue reading " Construction Worker Death Case Settles For $440k " »

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

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A panel of the Texas Medical Board has temporarily suspended the license of Eli T. Anderson, M.D., license #E6214, of Houston , after determining that Dr. Anderson's continuation in the practice of medicine presents a continuing threat to the public welfare.

The action was based on evidence the board received that Dr. Anderson tested positive for a cocaine metabolite in June, 2008, while undergoing drug testing required as a condition of his placement on five years deferred adjudication probation for possession of cocaine, a third degree felony, in Clay County, Texas, in June, 2005. In 2007, Dr. Anderson was again arrested in Lubbock for possession of drug paraphernalia. In addition, at the Board's temporary suspension hearing, Dr. Anderson admitted on the judicial record that he had used cocaine since 2002, and that he had used cocaine as recently as November, 2008.

Continue reading " Texas Medical Board Suspends License of a Houston Doctor " »

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Posted In: Medical Licensing , Medical News , Medico-Legal News

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A Texas woman who broke her knee when she slipped on peanut shells in a Temple restaurant recovered $96,750 after a jury found her partially responsible for her injuries. The 2006 incident occurred at Texas Roadhouse, where patrons are given buckets of peanuts and encouraged to drop the shells on the floor. The woman, then 31, said she fractured her knee in three places after she slipped on a shell that may have still contained peanuts.

Continue reading " Restaurant Patron Who Slipped on Peanut Shells Gets $97k " »

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Posted In: Premises Liability

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A congressionally mandated scientific panel has concluded that Gulf War syndrome is real and still afflicts nearly a quarter of the 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the 1991 conflict, according to a recently released report.

The report concluded that two chemical exposures were direct causes of the disorder: the drug pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas, and pesticides that were widely used -- and often overused -- to protect against sand flies and other pests.

"The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is a result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time," according to the 450-page report presented to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.

Continue reading " Gulf War Syndrome New Report " »

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Posted In: Toxic Injury

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One of Philadelphia's bellwether cases in litigation over whether the maker of the drug Paxil failed to warn about an increased risk of suicide from its drug has been dismissed following a Common Pleas Court judge's decision to grant summary judgment on statute of limitations grounds.

Collins v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline survived summary judgment in March when defendant GlaxoSmithKline argued that the doctrine of federal pre-emption precluded the plaintiffs from pursuing their state products liability claim.

While Judge Tereshko, coordinating judge of the Complex Litigation Center, denied summary judgment on the grounds of federal pre-emption in March, Tereshko granted summary judgment on the grounds regarding Pennsylvania's statute of limitations.

The judge's order dismissed all of plaintiffs claims of wrongful death, survival, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, strict liability under the Maryland Products Liability Act, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, loss of consortium and punitive damages.

Continue reading " Paxil Test Case Fails Statute of Limitations " »

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Posted In: Product Liability

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Two units of Johnson & Johnson must pay $16.6 million to the family of a Chicago-area woman who died after using a Duragesic pain-patch, a state jury found, dealing the company its fourth defeat in as many trials since 2006.

The woman aged 38, died in February 2004 because the patch she was wearing delivered a fatal dose of the narcotic fentanyl, the device's main ingredient.

The Duragesic-brand patch is made by Alza Corp., a Mountain View, California, company owned by New Brunswick, New Jersey- based Johnson & Johnson, the world's biggest maker of medical devices. The product was distributed by another Johnson & Johnson unit, Janssen Pharmaceutica. The jury deliberated for less than two days.

Continue reading " J&J Units Must Pay $16.6 Million for Fentanyl Death " »

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Posted In: Product Liability

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Thirty-four veteran San Francisco police officers alleged in their lawsuit that the SFPD was passing them over for promotion to inspector because of their ages.

The officers, who have been on a waiting list since they passed an inspector's exam in 1998, were stymied by "unchecked age bias that pervades the culture of the department," according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Instead of promoting longtime officers to a position that offers more responsibilities and higher pay, the Police Department began to assign some of its sergeants last year to inspectors' jobs at its investigations bureau. The sergeants are younger and less qualified and have never taken an inspector's exam, the suit said.

Continue reading " 34 S.F. Police Officers Sue For Age Discrimination " »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination

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The Yamaha Rhino, was a hit in the off-road-vehicle market, promising to go "almost anywhere" with an "amazingly high level of comfort and ease." Now, federal safety regulators are investigating the vehicle following reports of some 30 deaths involving it, including those of two young girls last month.

Yamaha faces more than 200 lawsuits in state and federal courts, many alleging the Rhino's design is unsafe. Yamaha has settled some but recently beefed up its defense and says it may start to fight rather than settle.

Yamaha stands behind the design of the Rhino, a two-seat vehicle that looks a little like a cross between a golf cart and all-terrain vehicle. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said its investigation of the utility terrain vehicle, or UTV, was prompted by the number of accident reports and the lawsuits.

Many injury claims, Yamaha said, result from improper operation, modifications such as removing the protective "roll cage," or failure to use a helmet and seat belt.

Read earlier post.

Continue reading " Consumer Product Safety Commission Investigates Rhino UTV " »

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Posted In: Product Liability

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A 59-year-old man lumbers through a junkyard he helps manage; he bumps into a desk and the man is almost blind in his right eye and has trouble with depth perception and peripheral vision.

This unfortunate man blames a doctor for a botched retina reattachment operation in August 2007. But lawyers tell him it is economically unfeasible to litigate his complicated case, or that time limitations are an issue.

For that, he blames medical malpractice reforms of the 2004 Nevada Legislature.

"With this new malpractice law in place, I cannot even get a lawyer to go after who is responsible for what happened," the Las Vegas resident said. "There is hardly any protection for the consumer any more. Now everything is in favor of doctors."

Voters overwhelmingly approved Question 3 in 2004. Physicians called it the "Keep Our Doctors In Nevada" initiative.

Continue reading " Nevada Medical Malpractice Crisis " »

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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Four pharmacists at the University of Texas Medical Branch filed suit claiming that the medical institution is discriminating against them because of their nationalities.

The pharmacists claim that their superiors used their Nigerian origins as a reason to overlook them for raises, compensation and promotion, despite each individual's education and professional work histories.

The plaintiffs complained that their discrimination was on the basis of their national origin; also stating that the plaintiffs are American citizens.
The complaint said the Pharmacy Department gave the plaintiffs 1 percent raises while their colleagues received two percent raises.

Continue reading " Nigerian Pharmacists Sue UTMB Over Discrimination " »