Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Johnson & Johnson Must Pay $72 Million For Talcum Powder Linked to Ovarian Cancer

March 7, 2016 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Cassidy Carroll of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

A little over a week ago, the Missouri Circuit Court announced that, Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of health-care products must pay $72 million to the family of a woman claiming the company’s talcum powder caused her fatal ovarian cancer. For the first time, monetary compensation was awarded in response to Johnson & Johnson’s failure to warn consumers of the cancer-causing potential of its talcum-based products decades ago.

Currently, Johnson & Johnson is facing 1,200 lawsuits claiming that studies on talcum-based products, such as Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products, have shown a link between talcum and ovarian cancer. In 2013, a North Dakota federal jury found that the use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum-based body powder contributed to a woman’s developing ovarian cancer, but awarded no damages.

FDA Recalls Dietary Supplements Due to Dangerous Undeclared Ingredient

October 30, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Jacob Exline of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

On August 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported a recall of 13 different dietary supplements produced by Novacare, LLC due to an undeclared ingredient, salicylic acid, which is harmful to consumers if swallowed. The FDA performed a sample analysis, found the salicylic acid, and subsequently marked the products as unapproved new drugs. The Novacare products are used to aid in weight loss and are taken orally in capsule form. While the products have not yet been reported to have caused any injuries, they should be immediately returned to the Utah-based company.

Salicylic acid is a drug used to treat skin problems such as pimples. However, if swallowed, it is toxic and harmful to consumers. Salicylic acid can cause nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal irritation, loss of hearing, and sweating as well as severe reactions of blurred vision, mental confusion, cerebral edema and cardiorespiratory arrest (which could be life-threatening). The FDA states that those who are allergic, elderly, have a history of stomach problems, or consume three or more alcoholic drinks a day have a higher risk of toxicity.

Dangers and Safety Concerns of Haunted Houses

October 23, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Jacob Exline of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

There is blood everywhere. A masked man is coming straight for you with an ax. Are you in danger? Maybe, but not for the reasons you think. It’s October and you’re at a haunted house. The masked man may not hurt you, but there are plenty of risks of injuries. Haunted houses walk a fine line by creating real fear without following through with the expected dangerous outcome. However, every now and again that line is crossed, whether it be negligent or intentional.

In 2014, there were multiple reports of injuries caused by haunted houses. Injuries can be caused by a myriad of things – slip and falls, trampling, exposed screws and nails, unstable props, actors going too far in their scares, and many other things. In Arlington, TX, a teenager was poked in the eye and required surgery when an employee “popped out of nowhere” and came too close to her eye.¹ In California, a woman fell and broke her leg when a moving wall knocked her down.² Also, in South Carolina, a woman suffered a concussion and minor cuts when a vertical pole fell and struck her on the head.³ The California woman is suing the haunted house for negligence due to defective and unsafe premises. An employee dressed as a clown from an Illinois haunted house was arrested after following patrons around the parking lot, making lewd and inappropriate comments and gestures while poking and touching them.⁴

Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect: What Can You Do?

October 22, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Are you concerned that a family member is being abused or neglected at a nursing home? Mistreatment at the hands of a caregiver can happen in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes. The mistreatment may take the form of physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or even financial exploitation. Signs of elder abuse differ but each type of abuse has distinct signs associated with it.

Physical abuse can be detected by visible signs on the body, including bruises, scars, sprains, or broken bones. More subtle indications of physical abuse include a fear of certain caregivers.

Emotional abuse often accompanies the other types of abuse and can usually be detected by changes in personality or behavior, such as being emotionally agitated or extremely withdrawn. The elder may also exhibit behavior mimicking dementia, such as rocking or mumbling.

The Return of Safe Food? – A New Law Overhauls the Handling and Processing of Food

September 25, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Jacob Exline of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Food-related injuries and death are often overlooked by the American consumer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 48 million people get sick from foodborne illnesses yearly and almost 3,000 of those people die.¹ The need for reform of the rules and procedures for the handling and distribution of food is evident by the increasing amount of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Most recently, both Blue Bell Ice Cream and Sunland Peanut Butter had to shut down their production facilities and recall thousands of products from the shelves of retailers.

In response to this growing issue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released details of a new law that requires businesses in the food industry to comply with stronger and safer food regulations. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which has been in revisions since 2013, is aimed at reforming the way facilities handle food and assess and respond to hazards that often lead to recalls and illnesses.

SAFE, CLEAN WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT: Why “Thirst Project” is So Important

September 14, 2015 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

This is about the importance of clean water to sustain health and life; how we as Americans assume (often mistakenly) that we will always have it; and an extraordinary young man named Seth Maxwell who founded Thirst Project, which is dedicated to the simple but powerful idea that clean water is everyone’s right. We take many things for granted as Americans. One of them is clean water. To drink. To cook. To bathe. To wash things. Clean water will always be there for us…at least that’s what we think. But many Americans are learning the hard way that what we take for granted can be taken from us. For example, the drought in California. The water shortage it has caused is nothing short of frightening. Not enough water to grow crops, or put out fires. Not enough water to pipe to communities. If the drought is not resolved soon–and no one thinks it will be–then California families will find other places to live. They will conclude that, without water, it is just not safe to live in California anymore. And so the state that everyone once wanted to live in will be a state that many will want to leave. For their own safety. Another example are the water supplies throughout the United States that today are badly contaminated by years of industrial chemical dumping. These are millennia-old aquifers flowing underground, which, for as long as there have been humans on the planet, have supplied them life-giving water. But, over the last 100 years, polluting companies have badly damaged these aquifers by dumping millions of gallons of toxins and allowing them to seep ever deeper into the ground until they render the water in the aquifer unusable. Some of these aquifers can be cleaned up–but it will take decades, typically. Some aquifers, for all practical purposes, will never be cleaned up. I have worked as a lawyer for many hundreds of families who were devastated to learn that their aquifer had been taken from them by chemical contamination. They had to find another way to try to get clean water. It is a horrible betrayal of what they thought it meant to be an American. Yet, for all the unsettling news about our access to clean water here, we are in dramatically better shape than much of the rest of the world. Beyond the United States, there are an estimated 1 billion people who do not have access to clean water. 1 billion people. The number is almost too large to even comprehend. Yet, unlike Americans, many of these 1 billion are not shocked or angry to know that they have no clean water. Sadly, they never had clean water in the first place. They grew up with no expectation that clean water would be there for them….let alone a belief that clean water was their right. And so they drink and cook with and bathe in water that is not fit for humans. Because it is all that they have. The consequences are as predictable as they are devastating: for these people, water is not the source of healing and nourishment, as it was intended to be; instead, it is the reason people get sick and die–especially, children. Children die by the thousands around the world each day for the shockingly simple reason that there was no clean water–or no water at all–for them to drink. Thirst Project was founded by a man named Seth Maxwell and 7 of his college friends. They are young people armed with determination, energy, brains, and an unflinching passion which recognizes that people everywhere–not just in America–have the right to clean water. Their noble and ambitious goal is to “eradicate the global water crisis.” They do it by mobilizing young people–mostly high school and college-aged–to raise money and awareness, all aimed at building freshwater wells in developing countries and communities. As a result of their efforts, the Thirst Project is the world’s leading youth water activism organization. One of their projects has focused on Swaziland, a country whose 1.25 million population is ravaged by a lack of access to clean water, which contributes significantly, for example, to the fact the life expectancy is only 48-years-old, and the mortality rate of children under age five is a shocking 80/1000. In 2012, Maxwell and his Thirst Project partners embarked on a mission to raise $50 million to supply the entire country with clean water. The entire country. Which will make a profound difference and save, literally, tens of thousands of lives. Thirst Project is doing its good work through projects in many other countries as well, such as India, Uganda, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Kenya, and Columbia. I invite you to read and learn more about Maxwell and his Thirst Project and to find a way to join them in their important work. Because once we say–as we must–that everyone else in the world has the same human right to clean water that Americans do, and once we recognize–as we must–the terrible price that is paid when that right is violated, then we realize that there is work to do…and it’s all of our jobs to do it.

Is Your Food Safe?-How to Protect Yourself From Foodborne Illness

July 17, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Gregory Zimmer of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

The Food and Drug Administration is hard at work. The first half of this month has already had 3 recalls of nuts tainted with Salmonella and 2 recalls of pet food due to Listeria contamination.¹ These recalls follow the highly publicized multistate Listeria outbreak from affected Blue Bell ice cream products which resulted in 10 hospitalizations and 3 deaths.² While the FDA catches many issues before they are widespread, you may still be at risk. How do you know if you are one of the unlucky few who are affected, and what do you do next?

Foodborne illness typically present symptoms hours or days after contaminated food is consumed, but people can sometimes develop illnesses up to 2 months later.³You can check here⁴for recent and ongoing food recalls.

Is it Time to Hang-Up the Keys?-What to Do About Elderly Related Traffic Accidents

July 15, 2015 | Ed Manzke

Co-authored by Gregory Zimmer of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Maybe…but perhaps not for the reason you think.

In Greenfield, IL, an elderly driver blew through a shed with his SUV, flew into the air after hitting a tree stump, and landed in a home’s kitchen.¹ In Wisconsin, another elderly driver managed to hit 9 vehicles in a grocery store parking lot, all on camera.² In Michigan, a third elderly driver reversed out of a CVS pharmacy drive-through and landed in a neighboring pool after plowing through a wooden fence.³ These sensational stories from the past few months are examples of a perennial favorite of the nightly news cycle-the dangerous and/or deadly incompetent elderly driver.

Is US Environmental Decision-Making Morally Bankrupt?

July 10, 2015 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Co-Authored by Norman B. Berger

A comparison of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, with our Supreme Court’s recent decision on power plant emissions raises troubling questions regarding the moral core of our environmental decision-making.

The Pope wrote passionately about how it is the poor who bear the brunt of power plants recklessly spewing toxic chemicals into the air:

LIFE-SAVING REGULATION OF TOXIC POWER PLANT EMISSIONS DECLARED INVALID BY US SUPREME COURT

July 8, 2015 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Co-Authored by Norman B. Berger

If a new environmental regulation requiring power plants to reduce toxic emissions would prevent 11,000 premature deaths every year; prevent many thousands more illnesses every year; and produce benefits that outweigh the costs by as much as $80 billion every year, would you say that’s enough reason to have the regulation?

Of course you would. But a majority of the US Supreme Court recently said that all of that wasn’t enough. Or, more precisely, that it didn’t matter. And so it declared invalid the life-saving regulation. The Court’s decision is just the latest sad example of how this country’s institutions will protect the “right” of powerful business interests to pollute our air and water, even though their pollution is badly injuring–and even shortening the lives of–American citizens. (And this is to say nothing about the power plants’ role in greenhouse gas emissions which are choking our planet and threatening to permanently displace millions this century).