The FDA issued a warning today today  that consumers should not take the diet supplement Hydroxycut due to its potential to cause liver damage. Here is a link to the FDA notice.

I’ve been down this road before in the ephedra litigation. One of the things that would shock most consumers is that many over-the-counter diet supplements aren’t tested before release to the public.  The synthetic ephedra products caused a trail of carnage to consumers. Looks like we may be in for another round.

David Sugerman

Today, I received an email from a family member living with the grief following this Oregon dune off-road vehicle accident.  According to the family member, the original news report incorrectly indicated that Mr. Leach’s sand rail lacked a rollover cage. I repeated the inaccurate report back in September.

The family member took issue with my failure to correct the record. As I explained privately, I didn’t know until today that the report was inaccurate, and so I’m correcting it here. Mr. Leach’s sand rail had rollover protection.

As I said in the original story, it’s not about finding fault, so much as promoting safety for Oregon Dunes off-road riders. As well, my heart goes out to the family members and friends touched by this terrible accident.

David Sugerman

Back on the kleptocracy, and it looks like the Chamber of Commerce is working to keep its position at the trough by threatening to go to war with the incoming Obama administration. It seems that the Chamber is concerned about how new or revised regulations that reverse the Bush-era’s kleptocracy may affect the Chamber. The Chamber, of course, opposes the rules, claiming that they will benefit plaintiffs’ trial lawyers.

Classic diversion tactic, as the Chamber fails to take responsibility for its role in the financial meltdown. In fact, the Chamber got paid handsomely to lobby against regulation.  In their rush to demonize trial lawyers, the Chamber always forgets to mention its role in lobbying for failed insurance giant, AIG. I’m going to guess that when and if the real story of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gets told, trial lawyers will be the least of their concerns.

Meanwhile, let’s be clear about a few things. Americans of all backgrounds, ages, races, and political persuasions voted for change. The kleptocracy is over. No more feeding at the trough. It’s time to put regulations in place because taxpayers–and our children–are going to pay for your greed and the lack of oversight that got us here. It’s time that corporations paid their fair share of taxes. It’s time to make sure that juries decide product safety issues. It’s time for equal pay for the same work, regardless of race or gender. In short, the Chamber of Commerce’s time at the trough is over.

David Sugerman

This one sent a bit of a chill down my spine, as I have a number of friends, clients, and acquaintances who are insulin-dependent diabetics. Apparently, a labelling error by Covidien, Ltd. has led to a recall of over 400,000 disposable syringes. The error reportedly could result in insulin doses more than double the intended level. Affected products were apparently sold at Sam’s and Wal-Mart.

I don’t like to play fear-monger, but it seems like this is enough of a danger to insulin-dependent diabetics that getting the word out is a good thing.

David Sugerman

For any of us who have had to place a child in daycare, there’s that haunting fear in the background about whether our children will be safe. Unfortunately, it’s easy for unregistered childcare providers to operate in Oregon. Under the applicable rules, small operators do not need to be licensed. But even those care centers that should have a license can apparently operate without getting licensed.

This is one more example of the frightening effects of deregulation. We’re told that regulation is bad and that taxes and government services are worse. And so there is no one watching to make sure that daycare providers comply with the law. While it might seem like apples and oranges, I can’t help but think about the link between this sad story and the FAA inspectors who faced retaliation for blowing the whistle on safety problems at Southwest Airlines.

I suppose that if I were looking after my own self-interest, I would welcome this era in silence. After all, I’m the guy that gets the call to represent the profoundly injured child or the whistle-blowing airline employee. So deregulation, which means more injuries, is good for the trial lawyers. Ain’t that a great irony?

David Sugerman

{Edited 4/1208}

This could be any of us. At the Portland Airport, you’re a passenger being dropping off curbside. You say your good-byes and go to grab the bags from the trunk. Most days, you walk off into the terminal.

Tragically, Dr. Joel Hopkin suffered life-threatening crush injuries when a wayward car set of a chain reaction, ending with a car crushing Dr. Hopkin against his car, as he unloaded his bags.

According to reports, Mr. and Mrs. Kerr started the chain reaction when Mrs. Kerr left their vehicle to look for an arriving air passenger. When she left their car to look for the passenger, Mr. Kerr climbed across into the driver’s seat. When he climbed over the middle, he apparently knocked the car into gear. Mr. Kerr may have panicked and hit the accelerator. The Kerr vehicle struck a vehicle in front of it, propelling that vehicle into Dr. Hopkin.

David Sugerman

This news account of a teenager’s serious injury at a North Portland Junkyard suggests that one or more participants didn’t get their stories straight. Were the teens working for the company, or were they merely operating the yard’s front-end loader and other heavy equipment without being paid on the payroll?

It doesn’t really matter. The account and various quotes provide another reminder that teenagers often fail to appreciate risk. That’s part of the reason why we have child labor laws. Children often can’t understand or fully appreciate the risk of injury from work.
Front-end loaders, car shredders and other large machines do amazing work. But safety isn’t something trusted to a teenager’s common sense. Seems like the owners of the yard have some explaining to do. It looks like these kids were engaged in child labor on the payroll, or they were working under the table. Neither possibility reflects well on the owner and manager of the yard.

Let’s at least hope that the injured teen heals fully and recovers his health.

David Sugerman