Vioxx & Risky Drugs not Recalled

Vioxx is now off the market in Wisconsin and elsewhere having been subject to recall. Though Vioxx was known for years to pose a serious risk of heart attack and stroke, Merck still sold Vioxx. BusinessWeek has an article discussing this, which also gives readers The Inside Dope On Drugs other than Vioxx.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Blue Cross Sues Doctors

Instead of worrying about fewer and fewer medical malpractice cases being filed each year, Wisconsin doctors should be more concerned about lawsuits like the one recently filed by Blue Cross Blue Shield which is suing doctors for not joining its PPO network in Montana. Someday doctors will figure out that it's not victims' lawyers taking their money but the insurance companies.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Eliot Spitzer for U.S. Attorney General

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer should be the U.S. Attorney General. Spitzer is the greatest ally consumers have in the U.S. Watch for the truth about the insurance industry to surface as he exposes liability insurance companies like Hartford, AIG, and ACE, insurance broker Marsh & McLennan, and disability and health insurance outfits like Cigna, Coventry, First Health Anthem, UnumProvident, Aetna and UnitedHealth. Insurers and politicians they support have wrongly pointed to personal injury lawyers as the source of high rates, but the truth will come out with Eliot Spitzer proving it.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Insurance Corruption

As far back as November 2002, I raved about Eliot Spitzer being a true legal hero and a trial lawyer standing up for the public. I've also informed readers about AIG and its obnoxious CEO Maurice Greenberg. For a long time, Greenberg has lied about the tort system and called for "tort reform" that would help him and his company profit at the expense of those suffering injuries at the hands of another's negligence. Finally, the two have met in an insurance corruption case. Perhaps, the public will now learn the truth about insurance companies and stop believing the lies consistently told by some about "tort reform."

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Frivolous Lawsuits

Frivolous lawsuits filed by out-of-control personal injury trial lawyers! This was the T.V. ad that caught my attention this morning along with bright images against a dark background flashing the words "frivolous lawsuit" and "personal injury trial lawyer." Here's an article about the message. What is an “out-of-control personal injury trial lawyer?” And why would any "personal injury trial lawyer" file a "frivolous lawsuit?" Seems pretty foolish since we only get paid when if they win. Frivolous lawsuit talk big business is typical, but ironic given that businesses file four times as many lawsuits as individuals represented by trial attorneys and judges find such businesses engage in frivolous litigation far more often than individuals. It's common sense though if you realize that business lawyers get paid to litigate and personal injury lawyers only get paid to win.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Vioxx

Vioxx was finally recalled yesterday. Vioxx was known for years to pose a triple of risk of cardiovascular adverse events like heart attacks. The American Heart Association, National Stroke Association and Arthritis Foundation asked Merck, the drug's manufacture, to test whether Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. On September 17, 2001, the FDA sent Merck a "Warning Letter" that required Merck to stop misleading marketing of Vioxx.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Tort Reform

Tort Reform is a label the Chamber of Commerce and other corporations like Wal-Mart and Home Depot have put on legislative proposals meant to punish people by taking away victim's rights when it comes to the civil justice system. Tort Reform outfits like the American Tort Reform Association are creating such proposals in order to protect corporate profits at the expense of individuals harmed by the negligence of corporations. An outstanding website www.corpreform.com is dedicating itself to exposing the truth about tort reform. Use it to learn more about tort reform.


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Attorneys & the law

Attorney Clarence Darrow once said "The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business." I wish members of Congress understood this better instead of playing politics with your constitutional rights.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Malpractice & high costs are not related

Explosive medical care costs are the cover story in today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The story relates to a federal report written to Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan. The report specifies the reasons why we have high medical costs and medical malpractice litigation is not a reason.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wrong Number Scam

Stock market con artists are pumping penny stocks (garbage) by using a "wrong number" scam. The SEC warned today that the scam is sweeping the country and involves small thinly traded stocks. The message is from a woman who claims to be calling a friend and is confiding "inside information" about a stock that will "shoot up." It's a scam that people are falling for and anyone getting the call should keep the name of the stock, the date and time of the call, the number called, and the number from which the call was made, if available. E-mail the info to Enforcement@sec.gov or call 1-800-SEC-0330.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Sam's Club E. coli Recall in Waukesha, Wisconsin

E. coli bacteria hit close to home striking patrons of Sam's Club in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which I shop at. Yesterday, Carneco Foods of Columbus, Nebraska (a venture between Tyson Foods and Carneco Holdings) recalled 497,000lbs of frozen ground beef and beef patties that may have the bacteria, which can cause horrible injuries, O157:H7 a strain of E. coli.

Ecoli exposure should send you to the doctor asap for treatment and testing for this strain of Ecoli. I do not recommend contacting Carneco Foods or Sam's Club. Here are the beef products in the Sams Club E. coli recall:

Northern Plains Beef Sirloin and Beef Patties 85/15 (6lb bags, code 17304, Best by 12/18/04), Northern Plains Gourmet Beef Patties (10lb boxes, cde 17304, Best by 12/18/04), Fine Ground Beef 91/09 (8 & 10lb boxes, Sell/Freeze by 7/10/04), and Seasoned Beef Patties (misformed) (7lb boxes, code 17304, Best by 12/18/04).

E. coli O157:H7 is deadly and can cause diarrhea and dehydration. Those needing more info on E Coli or Sams Club E. coli recall can see my firm site's E. coli, Food illnesses & bacteria, and Wisconsin e.coli court decision and aUSDA release, Nebraska Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products For Possible E. coli O157:H7.

Wisconsin E. coli Lawyer

Medical Malpractice & Hospital Errors Kill

Medical malpractice and hospital errors kill hundreds of thousands yet instead of funding programs designed to reduce medical malpractice, medication errors and other negligent acts, some in the federal government talk about limiting responsibility for these. Anyone interested in learning more should see CNN's story today on how Hospital errors cause 195,000 deaths.


Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Lawyer

John Edwards

John Edwards by Joshua Green is a great article showing how personal injury lawyers like John Edwards fight for the innocent against the negligent. Despite what tort reformers would like you to think, for every McDonald's coffee case there are millions of innocent victims wrongfully killed or injured who need and use personal injury lawyers to get justice. A paragraph from Green's article nicely shows us justice obtained by John Edwards:

"The defining case in Edwards' legal career wrapped up that same year. In 1993, a five-year-old girl named Valerie Lakey had been playing in a Wake County, N.C., wading pool when she became caught in an uncovered drain so forcefully that the suction pulled out most of her intestines. She survived but for the rest of her life will need to be hooked up to feeding tubes for 12 hours each night. Edwards filed suit on the Lakeys' behalf against Sta-Rite Industries, the Wisconsin corporation that manufactured the drain. Attorneys describe his handling of the case as a virtuoso example of a trial layer bringing a negligent corporation to heel. Sta-Rite offered the Lakeys $100,000 to settle the case. Edwards passed. Before trial, he discovered that 12 other children had suffered similar injuries from Sta-Rite drains. The company raised its offer to $1.25 million. Two weeks into the trial, they upped the figure to $8.5 million. Edwards declined the offer and asked for their insurance policy limit of $22.5 million. The day before the trial resumed from Christmas break, Sta-Rite countered with $17.5 million. Again, Edwards said no. On January 10, 1997, lawyers from across the state packed the courtroom to hear Edwards' closing argument, "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen," recalls Dayton. Three days later, the jury found Sta-Rite guilty and liable for $25 million in economic damages (by state law, punitive damages could have tripled that amount). The company immediately settled for $25 million, the largest verdict in state history."

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Tort Reform

Wisconsin Medical Malpractice tort deform was passed a few years ago by lawmakers. Here's a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article detailing the effect on one family.


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Summerfest

Summerfest in Milwaukee starts in just 2 days. Unfortunately, this great Milwaukee, Wisconsin event sometimes leads to accidents and injuries. Take care at Summerfest while having a good time. Summerfest has good suggestions for safety at Summerfest. Most importantly, don't drive if you have had any alcohol and don't be a passenger with any driver who's had any alcohol. Instead, use public transportation available throughout Milwaukee for Summerfest.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Mesothelioma deaths from asbestos are a national tragedy and a horrific example of this asbestos poisoning tragedy is in Libby, Montana. An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana, Uncovered a National Scandal is an excellent resource for learning about the asbestos tragedy in Libby.

Did you know -

1,900,000 to 2,400,000 people suffer asbestos-caused illness or death in the next 20 years?

Asbestos is NOT banned in the U.S. and in 2001 the U.S. used, mined & imported 26,000,000 pounds of asbestos?

It seems to me that if the Administration valued life as much as it claims, it would seek to ban asbestos so as to end the deaths from asbestos exposure rather than to ban or limit the rights of those ill or dying. On the national level, there is one Republican, Senator Richard C. Shelby, stands up against so-called absestos litigation reform and those dying of mesothelioma.

Wisconsin Mesothelioma Attorney

Medical Malpractice "Crisis" Claim Cannot be supported

Medical Malpractice is a hot topic made even hotter by physicians and insurers' unsubstantiated claims. Recently, the Pennsylvania Medical Society admitted to making unsubstantiated claims in its effort to convince voters and legislators there was a "medical malpractice crisis" and that patients rights should be limited. Fortunately, justice again prevailed. The medical society said medical malpractice insurance rates drove away thousands of doctors. Yet, the group's chair finally conceded that the state had not lost doctors but in fact gained nearly one thousand physicians in the last two years. Public Citizen, an outstanding pro-justice truth-seeking organization, (as opposed to the devilishly named "Common Good") helped to get this admission. Public Citizen 's most recent report also shows how medical malpractice payments have declined and there have been fewer jury verdicts in medical malpractice. See the Public Citizen site and read its report on facts about medical malpractice.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

World Health Organization is concerned about junk food companies aggravating global obesity vis-a-vis exports of high-fat and high-sugar food products. In a recent article, U.S. Catholic reported that restrictions on advertising junk food to kids are being fought. U.S. Catholic's article noted that opponents argue "that WHO policy should emphasize the role of personal responsibility in controlling weight." This 'personal responsibility" theme is recurring too among tort deformers and obviously there is some need for striking a balance, see e.g., overzealous personal injury lawyer.

At some point, however, we need to protect the public. For example, asbestos hazards were known for ages before the government stepped in. Asbestos manufacturers and asbestos makers fought hard to prevent this. The fact is, however, that if government did a solid job of protecting the public from dangerous products Wisconson personal injury attorneys could focus elsewhere.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin car insurance & Wisconsin homeowners insurance companies aren't the only Insurers making lots of money

Wisconsin car insurance & Wisconsin homeowners insurance companies aren't only Insurers making lots of money

Insurer profits soar in 2003 according to Business Insurance, a publication aimed at corporate buyers of insurance. According to Business Insurance, U.S. car insurance, homeowners insurance and other property and casualty insurance companies made just shy of $30,000,000,000.00 in PROFITS in 2003. That amount is near TEN TIMES the $3,050,000,000.00 car insurance, homeowners insurance and property and casualty insurance companies made just a year ago. Per that article, these insane profits are related primarily to less "underwriting losses."

Car insurance, homeowners insurance and property and casualty insurance companies definitely stuck it to those of us who PAY PREMIUMS: Per the article, net premiums increased about 10%, to nearly $406,000,000,000.00. Let's see, they raised premiums about $40.6 BILLION and claim to have made $30.0 BILLION. Where do you think the other $10+ BILLION went? Perhaps this man has it: Maurice Greenberg at AIG.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin Ranks in Top 10 for Best Insurance Attorneys Venue

Wisconsin Ranks in Top 10 for Best Insurance Attorneys Venue

Wisconsin car insurance companies, Wisconsin homeowners insurance companies, tort deformers and personal injury lawyers defending all of them must be "proud."

Wisconsin ranks in the "Top 10" as one of the best anti-justice states. Thanks to lies told by the anti-justice proponents, only nine states do better than Wisconsin at achieving goals like:

~ Deterring valid lawsuits
~ Taking Wisconsin residents legal rights
~ Accepting insurance premiums to pay fewer and smaller insurance claims
~ Filling the media with lies about frivolous lawsuits
~ Making Wisconsin jury verdicts smaller than is fair by claiming true justice is "lottery," "jackpot" or "windfall"
~ Gaining Anti-Justice political support from government officials
~ Enacting unfair damage caps in wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuits

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Senator Richard C. Shelby - Alabama Republican

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby is a Republican Senator from Alabama who understands and values Americans right to seek justice and redress in a court of law. Though I have never met him, I know he is up for re-election (Shelby for Senate) and importantly, voted against unjust class action and medical malpractice bills that had been in the U.S. Senate. Senator Shelby's also has solid statements on Asbestos Litigation Reform and Medical Malpractice Liability.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers Blog readers know that I detest Anti-Justice propaganda. In addition, it is often easier to find Anti-Justice Democrats rather than Pro-Justice Republicans like Shelby. Thank Senator Shelby for standing up for your rights and civil justice by contributing online to his campaign.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Runaway Lawsuits? Lawsuit Abuse?

Treasury secretary warns of runaway lawsuits was the headline, but look at the facts and you will see that this is not true:

-- Tort claims do not clog our courts are only 5% of all civil claims filed in state courts per the nonpartisan National Center for State Courts (NCSC).
-- Tort filings in state courts declined from '89-'98 per NCSC and 95%+ of tort cases are filed in state courts and states' populations increased from '89-'98.
-- The American Bar says the rate of federal lawsuits per capita have not changed since 1790 and the size of awards increased just with inflation.
-- 6,000 deaths and millions of injuries are prevented each year because of the deterrent effect of products liability, according to the Consumer Federation of America. For example, after jurors held them responsible companies curbed problems with defective baby cribs that strangled, flammable children's pajamas that burned easily, harmful medical devices, weak car fuel systems, cancer causing asbestos and hazardous farm machinery.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Personal Injury Lawyers, Politicians & Justice

Personal injury lawyers don't often have solid Pro-Justice Republicans to support like Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, who stand up for truth. Unfortunately, people like Arizona Senator John Kyl get in the way with things like the double tax he proposed in mid-night Thursday session seeking to twice tax (three times "C" corporations) fees earned on contingency by attorneys.

Why? The contingent fee levels the playing field for Joe Average. With it, you can hire the best lawyers available paying only after winning. Insurance companies don't like that because they can pay expensive attorneys fees, but could you? The National Law Journal just showed corporate lawyers hourly rates for ONE HOUR up to $675 here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and elsewhere: Chicago $730; Boston $735; L.A. $725; San Francisco $675; Houston $590; Miami $850; D.C. $650; Philadelphia $645; Pittsburgh $705; New York $750. Most people can't afford that or even lower lawyers fees so to render justice we have contingent fees.

Insurance companies however don't want you to have great attorneys. They want:
- Public opinion filled with other mistruths about our legal system;
- Valid lawsuits against them never be pursued;
- Your premiums but not your claims;
- Voters to think they constantly fight bogus lawsuits;
- Everyone to hate lawyers so they never hire one to get justice;
- You to think you're in good hands when you're told what your claim is worth;
- People to feel guilty for making legitimate claims;
- You to have so much guilt that you tell your lawyer "I'm not the kind of person who files a lawsuit";
- Jurors to think "the person who files a lawsuit" is a sham, dishonest and insincere;
- Minds made up before evidence is ever heard;
- Your legal rights minimized or removed;
- Their legal rights maximized and preserved;
- Wrongdoing on their part to go unchecked;
- People to feel juries give money away in a lottery jackpot justice system;
- Juries to doubt themselves so they find "No" to negligence or "No" to cause questions;
- Verdicts for damages to be far less then what is fair;
- Caps on damages to minimize how much justice a person may collect; and
- Judges who will avoid holding them accountable.

What do you want after you have been negligently injured?

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Manganese welding rods used by Wisconsin welders cause Parkinson's disease-like symptoms

Manganese welding rods

Manganese welding rods used in welding by Wisconsin welders and others are likely to blame for horrible nervous system injuries suffered by many ironworkers, manufacturing employees, workers in ironworks and others. Welders especially, however, are known to have suffered extreme Parkinson's disease-like symptoms. The following are some of the symptoms associated with manganese welding rods:

Moving slower
Shaking/tremors
Loss of balance
Physical stiffness
Leg cramps at night
Less coordination
Slurring speech
Face muscles tightening
Poor handwriting
Walking difficulties
Anxiousness & irritability
Impotence
Emotional changes
Short term loss of memory

Welders with manganese should be pathologically tested and those diagnosed with Parkinson's may want to revisit their physician, neurologist or other doctor. At my site, you can see Welders supply companies in Illinois and Wisconsin and a large list of links to Welding equipment manufacturers & sellers. Most important is a new study just out and that discusses Parkinson's disease-like symptoms relation to Manganese welding rods.


Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wrongful death lawsuits against gun sellers

Wrongful death lawsuits against gun sellers are rare notwithstanding John Grisham's good (albeit unrealistic) book The Runaway Jury, which puts gun sellers on trial after a father dies in a workplace mass murder. In fact, I know of no such lawsuits for personal injury or wrongful death in Wisconsin. Nevertheless, some want to regulate tort law to give gun sellers immunity, The New Bill to Protect the Gun Industry From Lawsuits. The proposal did not win though as those valuing justice and human life won, like the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Brady Campaign (Jim Brady was shot in an assassination attempt on President Reagan).
Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Lawyers critical of AIG Chairman's speech

Lawyers demand apology for 'terrorists' remark refers to AIG Chairman Maurice Greenberg, who I discussed here before. The American Bar Association was critical of the comment Greenberg made while speaking at Boston College (one of many schools with a law school) when he foolishly labeled as "terrorists" trial lawyers.

Attorneys with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), a lawyers group in which I am a sustaining member, called for an apology from Greenberg. The irony of this comment is that more than 1,100 of ATLA's lawyers helped hundreds of individuals and surviving families file claims with the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund without charging any fees whatsoever.

Lawyers are hated by billionaire Greenberg, see Friday, July 25, 2003 and Friday, February 07, 2003 describing Greenberg's insanity and obnoxious wealth. Even more ironic is the fact that Greenberg, AIG, and many other insurers have profited to the tune of billions of dollars as they used the 9-11 tragedy and subsequent stock market crash - see Wartime Profiteering - as an excuse to hike insurance rates while at the same time calling for "tort reform" and blaming it all on "evil" "terrorist" lawyers.


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin car accident insurance

Wisconsin car accident insurance is a necessity and the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance has a helpful publication called Consumer's Guide to Auto Insurance. Here are some of the best rates for Brookfield, Wisconsin in Waukesha County:

Example 1
Car: 1998 Plymouth Neon, 4 Cyl, 2 Door
Limits: BI/PD Liability 50/100/50
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist 50/100
Driver: age 21, female, single
7,500 mls annually
No traffic violations or car accidents 3 yrs
Progressive Northern Ins. Co. $450
State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. $474

Example 2
Car: 1997 Chevrolet S-10, 6 Cyl, 4 Wheel
Limits: same
Driver: age 21, male, single
20,000 mls per yr
No traffic accidents or driving violations 3 yrs
Progressive Northern Ins. Co. $541
State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. $603

1999 Dodge Caravan SE, 6 Cyl
1998 Pontiac Grand AM, SE, 6 Cyl, 4 Door
Limits: BI/PD Liability 100/300/100
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist 100/300
Drivers: Family, no traffic violations or car crashes last 3 yrs
Husband, 45, 7,000 mls annually
Wife, 44, 20,000 mls annually
Son, 17, single, C+ GPA
MSI $718
Badger Mutual Ins. Co. $820
Milwaukee Casualty Ins. Co. $826

Car accidents in Milwaukee Wisconsin is a link from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that I recently found helpful for info on area traffic congestion and Milwaukee car accidents.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Reform

Wisconsin medical malpractice law needs reform. Wrongful death cases ordinarily allow an adult child to recover $350,000 for the loss of society and companionship of a parent who died due to negligence. However, when a doctor, hospital or nurse causes a wrongful death by medical malpractice an adult child to cannot recover ANYTHING. Wisconsin law further provides that in wrongful death medical malpractice cases a parent does not recovery ANYTHING for the loss of their adult child.

Wisconsin S.B. 187 tries to change this law but has not passed due to opposition. The law is stuck in the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy and Senators controlling the Committee are Republicans David Zien, Chair, Scott Fitzgerald and Cathy Stepp. The Committee minority members are Senators Tim Carpenter and Spencer Coggs.


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers site feeding

I'm working on this whole site feed thing. I believe I have it up. Here's the link: Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers Blog RSS


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Medical Malpractice Insurance & Health Insurers

Personal injury lawyers in Wisconsin and elsewhere have long known that caps on damages do not stop insurance companies from increasing premiums. In addition to those authorities referred to below, a recent Insurance Journal study proves this with respect to medical malpractice. Where damage caps limiting a person's right to recovery existed, insurance premiums still went up "even though insurers enjoyed a slowdown in their payouts." So why do we have such caps in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Tort Reform or Health Insurance Reform?

Wisconsin business groups apparently want health insurance reform too since Wisconsin insurers keep raising premiums. See Business groups push health reform plan. Though I generally prefer a "free market", since insurance companies are so high on "tort reform" and "caps on damages" perhaps we should consider:

~ a moratorium on building or adding on hospitals;
~ limiting healthcare provider charges; or
~ capping insurance company profits.

At least this Wisconsin group did not try to assert the fictious cause-effect relationship between medical expenses and medical malpractice. Wisconsin medical malpractice insurance rates are some of the lowest in the U.S. yet it has very high health insurance costs as noted by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Wisconsin doctors, per a 2003 study by the American Medical Society, have the 6th lowest medical malpractice insurance premiums in the U.S.A. See Wisconsin's Business Climate from Wisconsin Dept. of Commerce. Thus, despite claims of "tort reformers" medical malpractice has nothing to do with spiraling health care costs. This fact was also proven in the Des Moines Register article Don't blame malpractice suits: Reforming health care takes a lot more than caps on liability awards showing what has always been known by Wisconsin personal injury attorneys.

The article explains how it is false to claim rising medical expenses and insurance have a relationship to such personal injury cases. The article shows:
~ 1998-2001 the number of medical malpractice claims dropped
~ 1988-1998 U.S. health care costs were UP 74.4% but medical malpractice insurance increased only 5.7%
~ Medical malpractice insurance premiums for doctors were 8.8% of their salaries of $164,300 in 1990 and were DOWN by 1997 to just 7.1% of doctors' salaries of $199,600

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney