| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | AUTO ACCIDENTS, Truck Accidents, Uncategorized | , , ,

The Principles of Physics Make Truck Accidents More Devastating

Can a Fly Really Fly 500 Miles Per Hour?

I recall having a conversation with a friend once about a fly on an airplane. The man said that he was bothered by a fly that had somehow made its way onto an airplane he was traveling on and he expressed that it annoyed him the whole trip. Then he pondered “if the fly was on his shoulder, and flew forward six rows to bother someone else, was that fly actually flying as fast as he plane?”

This conversation took place at a party where perhaps my friend had consumed an adult beverage or two so he wasn’t necessarily all there. A fly cannot travel 500 miles per hour under its own power, nor can my friend. Both were actually experiencing Newton’s First Law of Motion: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

You feel acceleration when the plane takes off and then when it reaches a constant speed, you feel no sense of speed at all.

This applies to a motor vehicle as well, when you’re traveling 75 miles per hour in a 3000 pound car on the highway, talking to others in the car, sipping a Starbucks and listening to music. All seems peaceful and at rest, when in reality you are part of a very powerful force with tremendous potential energy.

Force is defined by another of Newton’s Laws – he made laws, but he wasn’t a lawyer, imagine that – and this is the law that relates directly to the damage that is done in a vehicle accident.

The Law is stated F=ma or the Force of an object is equal to mass X acceleration. We don’t want to get very technical here, but it is important to understand the very real potential for tremendous damage when a vehicle you drive impacts another vehicle or object. And the larger the vehicle, the more damage.

When you’re driving a fully loaded SUV, you’re driving a truck. The average weight of a Cadillac Escalade is 5,552 to 5,815 lbs. The weight of an average Toyota Corolla is 2,800 to 2,875 lbs. When you plug those numbers into the Force equation there is a big difference in the effects on vehicles, property, and human bodies. All vehicles can be dangerous but trucks require even more caution.

We are only a little over 3 months into the year, and already in Florida (all vehicles) the numbers are very disturbing:

 

Total Crashes:                                    91,700

Injury Crashes:                                  38,617

Total Injuries:                                    59,310

Crashes with Traffic Fatalities:    580

Total Traffic Fatalities                     626

Commercial Vehicle Crashes:      9,475

Commercial Vehicles:                     10,262

Property Damage Crashes:          52,503

Pedestrian Crashes:                        2,203

Pedestrian Fatalities:                      128

Bicycle Crashes:                                                1,536

Bicycle Fatalities:                              31

 

 

It’s very important to be ever-vigilant of the incredible power that rests in your hands when operating any vehicle. Buckle up, be cautious, and never drink and drive.

If you are involved in an accident, it’s prudent to contact an attorney who has experience dealing with the aftermath and injuries involved. The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping the victims of vehicle crash injuries for over 20 years. They are eminently qualified to guide you through the legal and medical issues you may be facing. Call Gary and Arleen Lazarus at 954-356-0006.

| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | PHARMACEUTICAL NELIGENCE, Uncategorized | ,

“Legal” Overdoses and Injuries from Drug Interactions in Florida

Drug Dealers are not the Only Ones Dispensing Injuries and Death

Almost everyone knows someone who has had an addiction to drugs or alcohol, or both. It is far too common, and despite laws against drunk driving, illegal drugs, and a crackdown on “pill mills” there are still too many overdoses, deaths, and fatal car accidents involving alcohol and drugs.

People always attempt to find a way to get what they want.

Recently in Florida and across the country heroin has risen in popularity, possibly due to the aforementioned closure of the unscrupulous pain medication dispensaries. The drug was detected in 447 fatalities throughout the state in 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by the state’s medical examiners. That’s an all-time high, and more than double the 199 people who had the drug in their bodies when they died in 2013. The deadly surge paralleled that of another drug — fentanyl — which was detected in 538 deaths. That was an 84 percent jump from the 292 fatalities in 2013.

Fortunately Florida just passed and enacted a law to allow the drug naloxone to be sold over-the-counter. Naloxone counters the damage done by opioids like heroin and can save lives.

NOTE TO INSPECTOR: the commercial and personal identifying info has been reomved on all labels Dozens of prescription medicine bottles in a jumble. This collection of pill bottles is symbolic of the many medications senior adults and chronically ill people take.A tactic used by many drug addicts called “doctor shopping” is where the individual goes from doctor-to-doctor getting multiple prescriptions for their particular pharmaceutical drug of choice. They fill the orders at different pharmacies and thereby skirt the laws intended to prohibit this type of activity. The State of New York just implemented electronic prescribing, which is designed to stop doctor shopping but has both pro and con opinions on whether it will help.

Doctors and pharmacists are committed and bound to follow a standard of care when prescribing or dispensing drugs. For example, if a patient fills a prescription for several hundred strong pain pills, well over the normal dosage, a pharmacy and their employed pharmacists and technicians should be aware there is a problem. Instead, in this day of drive-through pharmacies, the practice goes on and people suffer.

Despite the fact rates of painkiller addiction are lower now than ever, Florida remains the 11th state in terms of the severity of painkiller abuse; moreover, the majority of drug-related deaths that occur in Florida are still caused by benzodiazepines and oxycodone.

We encourage anyone and everyone who is taking prescription medications to do some homework on their own regarding the possible side-effects and interactions with other drugs or food. But that’s not enough. Take the time to speak with every doctor who gives you a prescription. Go inside your pharmacy and speak with the pharmacist. Information and education are the tools to staying well and avoiding drug injuries.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus is committed to help people who have suffered due to errors, carelessness, or negligence on the part of physicians or pharmacists who make mistakes related to prescription medications that hurt victims through no fault of their own.

Dangerous Prescription Drugs
| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | PHARMACEUTICAL NELIGENCE, Uncategorized |

Five Potentially Dangerous Prescription Drugs

Who Can Help When Someone is hurt by Drugs that Were Supposed to Help?

For the better part of our nation’s existence, illnesses and injuries that today would be routinely remedied with a pill or an intravenous drug killed millions of people. Advances in antibiotics particularly have saved countless lives and pain medications have made life more livable for millions of Americans. The pharmaceutical industry is to be commended for their dedication to research and development of products that has produced products that dramatically improve the quality of life for people around the world.

Dangerous Prescription Drugs

Perhaps the inverse of the adage “Every cloud has a silver lining” is true in that every silver lining has a cloud. The advancement and quantity of new drugs has produced a very complex set of effects and side effects where many patients gobble down handfuls of pills every day without really understanding what or why they are doing it.

The following drugs were developed for a specific purpose and are not necessarily dangerous if taken as prescribed. They do have the potential – as does any drug – to harm a patient if they are not taken exactly as prescribed or if they interact with other medications, chemicals, or foods that may produce negative side-effects.

  1. Prednisone or Cortisone – It is not recommended to take this drug for a period longer than two weeks. While it is a fantastic short term product for things such as poison ivy treatment, it has significant side effects, which differ depending on how the drug is taken.
  2. Methotrexate is a chemotherapeutic drug, which means that it is actually a poison. It is used mainly in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, often at the same time as cortisone drugs, which has the potential to be lethal particularly with long term use. Methotrexate is prescribed to a significant number of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
  3. Warfarin is a blood thinner, which may be needed to treat people with certain blood disorders. However, it is so potent that there have actually been incidents of people bleeding to death after suffering from a slight fall or razor cut. Additionally, warfarin may cause a weakening of blood vessels over time. The drug is often prescribed to treat people who are at risk of heart attacks or strokes.
  4. Diuretics are prescribed to make kidneys function better, and there are a number of low level diuretics that can be purchased over the counter. Essentially, they help the body to excrete excess water, providing very rapid relief. They are often prescribed to people who have cardiac problems and the reality is that diuretics are life-saving drugs. However, they also have significant side effects, particularly on the long term.
  5. Proscar is prescribed to men to treat enlarge prostate glands and also for hair-loss. Some 40,000 men a year lose their life to this form of cancer, and those numbers are rising. In fact, when a man reaches the age of 70, it is highly likely that he will have at least some cancerous cells found on the prostate, although this does not necessarily always lead to prostate cancer. The effectiveness of Proscar remains in question.

Pharmacy Errors – Most people over the age of 50 remember the days of the corner drug store when you knew your pharmacist by his or her first name, and your pharmacist knew the names of your kids. Today’s local pharmacies are busy mega-stores with drive-thru windows and are owned by large national corporations. The personal service seems to be gone, and high-volume of work assigned each pharmacist may be contributing to a rising rate of errors in dosage, labeling, and even the wrong pills being placed in prescription bottles.

The Right Help – The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of pharmacy errors and other drug injuries for over 20 years. If you have had a problem with your prescription drugs, Gary and Arleen Lazarus are qualified to investigate your situation and then recommend the best course of action. Please contact them at 954-356-0006.

Florida Boating Accidents
| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized | , ,

More Florida Boats Means More Boating Accidents

Who Can Help When Someone is hurt in a Florida Boating Accident?

The dictionary defines boating as “the use of boats, especially for pleasure,” and certainly sailing out into the deep blue sea or motoring across a lake is both relaxing and fun. People sometimes drop their usual inert tendency to exercise caution when they are boating, and that’s when accidents happen.

Boating has increased in popularity across the country and especially in Florida, the number one ranked state for number of boat registrations. As the number of boats grows and the waterways become more congested, the number of accidents and injuries climbs as well.

The most recent full-year report available for Florida covers 2014 –  in summary:

Even though the state’s 634 reportable accidents were fewer than the total of 734 in 2013, and injuries were down from 420 to 365, fatalities increased from 62 to 73. The top 10 counties in Florida with the most accidents per 100 boats registered were:

1 – Miami-Dade

2 – Monroe (the Keys)

3 – Pinellas

4 – Palm Beach

5 – Lee

6 – Broward

7 – Collier

8 – Volusia

9 – Brevard

10 – Okaloosa

Boating Accident Questions

So, what happens when there is a boat accident and someone is injured? Is it the same as a car accident? Is there liability and collision insurance? Who determines who is at fault? Can a regular accident attorney help?

Florida Boating AccidentsThese are all excellent questions, but the answers are not necessarily clear-cut. Boating accidents may be investigated by local police, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) or the U.S. Coast Guard, depending on the circumstances. Insurance for boating accidents is not the same as for automobiles. There are times when a passenger injured on a boat might be covered by their homeowner’s insurance, but they may not be covered.

Personal Watercraft (PWC) Accidents

Jet-skis, wave-runners, and other small and speedy watercraft are growing in popularity and unfortunately so are the accidents. Five people were killed in 2014 personal watercraft accidents, and dozens were injured. Persons operating personal watercraft may or may not carry insurance, so it is advisable to check before riding on one.

Boating Accident Answers

Different jurisdictions, different laws covering different types of watercraft, and insurance coverages that may have very wide gaps. The Florida Statutes covering “vessels” or all watercraft are mostly located in Chapters 326-328 but the laws are difficult for a non-lawyer to understand. It can be confusing!

The Right Attorney

The entire process covering boating accidents, liability, negligence, and even the possibility of criminal implications is a very specialized area of law that only a handful of attorneys in Florida have chosen as a special area for their practice. The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of Florida boating accidents for over 20 years and they are eminently qualified to investigate and then recommend the best course of action for anyone who reaches out to contact them at 954-356-0006.

edited by Carlok Bennuple

pharmacy errors
| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | PHARMACEUTICAL NELIGENCE, PRODUCT SAFETY, Uncategorized | ,

The Rate of Prescription Errors is High and Rising

Every job has a potential for making errors. Getting the wrong entrée at a restaurant happens every now and then, and I took home another person’s dry cleaning last month when the clerk handed me the wrong items. Filling prescriptions, one would think, has a very low rate for errors. That’s not entirely accurate.

Most patients who deal with buying prescriptions on a regular basis probably think that with advances in computer technology and the high level of training for pharmacists and pharmacy techs, they don’t even need to check what’s in the little brown bottles. But studies show it’s smart to check, and double-check.

Big Mistakes

One study revealed a dispensing error rate “of more than one in five prescriptions” (Journal of the American Pharmacists Association). Last year, more than 4 billion prescriptions were filled in the U.S. A 20 percent error rate would represent 800 million mistakes. Though most are relatively minor, some have led to disability and even death.

Another study concluded that error rates are actually getting higher, especially in large medical centers and hospitals. Errors included mistakes on labels and duplicate orders, but one of the most common errors was incorrect dosage for warfarin, also known as brand name Coumadin, which is a blood-thinning medication. When warfarin is administered in too-high dosages, very serious internal bleeding may occur.

pharmacy errorsFrom the results the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association study: Of 100 prescriptions dispensed, 22 had one or more deviation from the physician’s written order, for a 22% dispensing error rate. Three of the errors were judged to be potentially harmful when dispensed to a typical patient requiring these therapies. A total of 43 shoppers (43%) received verbal counseling, including 16 cases in which the shopper prompted counseling. All shoppers received written information with their prescription, covering an average of 90% of the required topics.

The results also included this very disturbing conclusion: Some 68% of the warfarin shoppers purchased aspirin without the pharmacist verbally warning about taking the drugs simultaneously. Conclusion: The dispensing error rate of more than one in five prescriptions is similar to the rate found in a similar study conducted 14 years ago, but counseling frequency has decreased significantly during the period.

Drive-Thru Counseling?

Today’s pharmacies have drive-thru windows, which obviously makes counseling with a pharmacist very impractical. Patients should understand that taking just a few minutes to discuss side-effects and interactions may prevent a harmful side-effect from happening. Patients should also carefully examine their prescriptions to make sure they received the right medication and the correct dose.

Seek the Best Help

The Law Office of Lazarus and Lazarus has represented victims of pharmacy errors for over 20 years, and we are eminently qualified to handle any situation related to injuries, sickness, or death related to medication mistakes. A call to 954-356-0006 will put you in touch with Gary and Arleen Lazarus, personal injury attorneys who will carefully listen to your story and then recommend the best course of action for your individual situation.

| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | CRUISE SHIP ACCIDENTS, Uncategorized | , , ,

Excursions from Cruise Ships can be Hazardous to your Health

Passengers who travel on cruise ships may believe that they are covered under the cruise line’s liability insurance from the moment they step foot on the boat until the time they disembark. That may not be entirely accurate.

Recently there have been several very tragic incidents involving injuries and deaths to passengers during “excursions” away from the ship.

A woman from Minnesota was killed while traveling by bus on the island of Jamaica. The victim was returning from an excursion to swim with dolphins back to the Royal Caribbean ship she had booked for her vacation when the bus she was riding in crashed.

A young boy from Italy was also killed in a vehicle crash while on an excursion from the MSC ship Orchestra.

Cruise_Ship_AccidentAnother passenger, from the Carnival ship Glory died on an excursion while visiting St. Kitts. In this incident, witnesses said the passenger was swimming or diving and experienced distress. An ambulance took over 20 minutes to arrive and the medics were unable to revive the victim, according to witnesses. The excursion may have been booked through the cruise line, but it is not completely clear if that was the case.

Cruise Ship Accidents

People tend to make reasonable assumptions that when they book their trip with a cruise line and spend a very substantial amount of time on board the ship, the cruise line will look after their safety for the entirety of the trip. Sadly, this is not true.

Cruise lines balance safety and security with maximizing profits and cutting costs. A special report by CNN said “You can’t find a cheaper vacation than spending a week on one of these “fun ships.” But the vacation comes with a hidden price. The cruise lines are working their crew members for excessively long hours and paying them extremely low wages.”

Injuries and deaths that happen on cruise ships and on excursions away from cruise ships are far too commonplace to be tolerated, and the law is murky about who may be responsible if there is any negligence or malpractice involved. Some passengers may believe the U.S. government will protect them, but according to a special notice from the Federal Maritime Commission, “It is important to know that the Commission has no authority over: passenger line vessel operations, safety issues, amenities on board vessels, or fare levels.”

So, what is a passenger to do if he or she is injured on a ship or during an excursion away from a ship, but during a scheduled cruise? The same thing every American has the right to do under the 7th Amendment, which is to pursue justice through the court.

Specialized Attorneys

Because of the special and complex nature of laws as they pertain to vessels at sea, there are very few attorneys who understand and practice cruise ship accident and negligence law. The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has been representing the victims of cruise ship accidents for over 20 years, and they are exceptionally qualified to consult on any related issue. Gary and Arleen Lazarus can be reached by calling 954-356-0006 – they will meet and discuss your concerns in complete confidence.