Alabama Injury Lawyers Blog

Some people throughout the United States have received excess radiation as a result of medical imaging. Many of the scanners were GE machines. A case has been filed by our firm and others to create a medical monitoring fund to provide annual or semi-annual testing. The testing will (1) provide earlier detection of cancerous tumors resulting from the radiation; and (2) provide early detection to allow quick and decisive treatment.

GE has asked the Court to dismiss the case and is claiming that the patients' hair loss and subcellular damage are not a "present injury."

Hearing will be held in Washington D.C. this week concerning the safety and safeguards that can or should be implemented. Patients are hopeful that the hearings scheduled to be held tomorrow by the Committee on Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Health) will ask substantive questions regarding the safeguards that GE, and other CT manufacturers, have failed to include in their machines which would have ensured patient safety and eliminated this unnecessary risk. We further hope that the Committee will uncover why it has taken the overexposure of hundreds of patients to garner the industry's attention to this serious public health matter.

It has now been discovered that patients in Missouri have suffered exposure as well as patients in Alabama and California. The patients exposed to dangerous levels of radiation in Springfield, Missouri are appears to be another example of the industry's disregard for patient safety.

The law firms representing patients are Cusimano, Keener, Roberts, Knowles & Raley, LLC, Gadsden, Alabama, Watson, McKinney & Artrip, LLP, Huntsville Al, and Owen, Patterson & Owen in CA. Those wishing further information about the law suit may contact lawyers in those firms.

The United States Department of Transportation has announced new rules, effective immediately, to prohibit truck drivers and bus drivers from texting while driving commercial vehicles. Civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750 may be imposed for violations. Specifics on implementation of the ban have not yet been established.

A Virginia Tech study concluded that 80% of crashes are related to driver inattention. According to the National Safety Council, drivers using handheld devices are 4 times as likely to be involved in wrecks serious enough to cause injuries.

Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that drivers who text take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. Drivers who text are more than 20 times more likely to become involved in an accident than drivers who are not texting. Several states have already passed legislation prohibiting texting while driving.

Mike Roberts

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has expressed concern about cadmium in cheap metal jewelry, and has suggested that such jewelry and toys be taken away from children because of potential exposure to toxic metal.

In 2008, a federal ban was instituted on the use of lead in charms and jewelry. Many, however, have feared that some Chinese manufacturers simply began substituting cadmium, which is also toxic. The Associated Press reported high cadmium levels in bracelet charms and similar items in Wal-Mart and Claire?s stores, resulting in these products being withdrawn at those stores.

Cadmium can cause cancer and kidney problems. Typically, cadmium poisoning is associated with heavy industry workers, such as those involved in smelting ore or recycling batteries. Experts have not previously seen significant cadmium issues associated with children?s health issues. The president of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez Tenebaum, has suggested that children not be permitted to use cheap metal jewelry.

The problem has drawn the attention of Congress, where hearings are being requested, and legislation addressing the cadmium issue in jewelry and toys is being proposed.

Michael L. Roberts