Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys Blog

An article on Health.com recently reported that some antiseizure drugs used to treat epilepsy, depression, chronic pain, migraine, bipolar disorder, and other conditions have a higher risk of suicide and violent death than other drugs in the same class.

The article lists the anticonvulsants drugs in question as gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), tiagabine (Gabitril), and valproate (Depakote). But experts caution that patients should not stop taking the drugs without consulting their doctor.

The warnings come after a new study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The findings are similar to a 2008 review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that found that taking anticonvulsants roughly doubled the risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, although the absolute risk was less than half of 1 percent. According the FDA analysis (which included 11 anitconvulsants), the risk that a person taking those drugs would exhibit suicidal behavior or have suicidal thoughts was about 1 in 230, compared to about 1 in 450 in people taking a placebo. Following their analysis, the FDA required that the label of all anitconvulsants carry a warning about this increased risk.

In an effort to be as responsive to our clients’ needs as possible, the law office of O’Connor Law has added a live chat feature to our website (www.oconnorlaw.com). Now if you have a question at any time of the day, you’ll be able to reach us through a simple click of the mouse. Let the experienced attorney team at O’Connor Law get you the justice you deserve.

Consumer Reports issued a safety warning on the Lexus GX 460, prompting Toyota to suspend sales of the new 2010 model.

This week Consumer Reports announced an increased risk of rollover during a turn after discovering the problem during routine tests. The shopping guide warned shoppers not to buy the GX 460 until the problem is fixed. According to CNNMoney.com, approximately 5,000 GX460s have been sold in the three months since the model has been on sale.

Lexus Group vice president and general manager, Mark Templin, responded by saying, “We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified.”

On Monday, a tragic accident on Route 54 in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, claimed the life of a female motorcyclist.

The RepublicanHerald.com reported that a 41-year-old Coaldale woman was killed when a pickup truck drove into the path of her motorcycle. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured.

Motorcycles are everywhere, but sometimes they can be hard to spot. Now that riding season is upon us, the law offices of O’Connor Law want to remind all drivers to share the road. Be aware of your surroundings and take an extra look around before turning or maneuvering your vehicle. It could save someone’s life.

Now that spring is finally making its debut here in Pennsylvania, we’ve noticed that more motorcycles are enjoying the pleasant weather by taking to the road. So we were alarmed when we read the following article on ClutchAndChrome.com about a tragic accident in Arizona. Four people were killed and five seriously injured after a dump truck plowed into eight motorcycles stopped at a traffic light:

http://www.clutchandchrome.com/news/news/worst-motorcycle-accident-ever-seen-by-arizona-safety-officials

Unfortunately, more than half of all motorcycle fatalities involve another vehicle. And more often the motorist, not the motorcyclist, is at fault. Now that riding season is upon us, the offices of O’Connor Law want you to be careful when you take to the roads on your motorcycle. But if an accident should occur to you or someone you care about, our experienced team of motorcycle accident attorneys is available to get you the justice you deserve.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall of one million infant slings by Infantino. The CPSC is urging consumers to stop using these slings for infants younger than four months of age due to a risk of suffocation. Three reports of infant deaths occurred in these slings in 2009.

The affected slings include the “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo”. The slings are soft fabric baby carriers with a padded shoulder strap worn by parents and caregivers to carry an infant. “Infantino” is printed on the plastic slider on the strap. “Infantino,” “SlingRider,” and the item number are printed on the instruction/warning label inside the baby sling carrier.

Consumers should not attempt to fix the carriers. Consumers should stop using the recalled slings immediately and contact Infantino to receive a free replacement product.

According to an article on the WashingtonExaminer.com, public safety experts are concerned that headphones used to listen to digital music players are becoming a fatal distraction for pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists.

The article gave examples of some recent accidents, including a jogger who was killed by a tractor trailer after crossing against a light while wearing earphones and a 14-year-old girl who was hit by an Amtrak train when she walked across the tracks while listening to an iPod.

Since digital players are relatively new, the article points out that few studies have been conducted to prove a link between earphones and fatal accidents. But cities around the world are shedding light on the potential danger. London began warning residents of “iPod zombies” after seeing an increase in cyclists’ deaths. In the U.S., San Francisco has ads warning walkers, “Do you want Beethoven to be the last thing you hear?”

Today the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), along with Graco Children’s Products, announced a recall of approximately 1.2 million Harmony High Chairs. The high chair can become unstable or tip over if screws holding the front legs of the high chair loosen or fall out, or if the plastic bracket on the rear legs cracks.

Graco has received 464 reports of high chairs tipping over. There are 24 reports of injuries, including bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline fracture to the arm, and cuts, bumps, bruises, and scratches to the body.

The recall involves the Harmony High Chair, manufactured from November 2003 to December 2009. The high chairs were sold at retailers nationwide for between $70 and $120. Model numbers can be found on the CPSC website: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10171.html.

The New York Times has reported that the drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, Avandia, is causing heart attacks and heart failure in diabetics. As a result, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending that the drug be pulled from the market.

In 2007, a study by the Cleveland Clinic showed that heart risks could be associated with the use of Avandia, however a definite link could not be proven. Now the New York Times reports that in the third quarter of 2009, Avandia was linked to 304 deaths.

The reports say that if patients being treated for diabetes were given a similar, safer pill, called Actos, that nearly 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure could be avoided every month.

In December, we blogged about the efforts of Tennessee congressman John Tanner to reduce the backlog of social security disability claims. Now, NWTNToday.com reports that H.R. 4532, the “Social Security Disability Applicants’ Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010” passed the house by an overwhelming vote of 412 to 6.

The bill was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tanner, who is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. In the article, Chairman Tanner is quoted as saying, “One of the top priorities of this Subcommittee has been helping the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been waiting years for a hearing on their disability case due to large claims backlogs.”

Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, another sponsor of the bill and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee of Social Security, is quoted as saying, “Filing for disability benefits isn’t easy, but this bipartisan legislation will continue to ensure that applicants get the support they need in order to get their Social Security benefits.”