2010 June Archive

Delta Airlines is apologizing for a switch of youngsters that sent them to the wrong cities last year, according to a Florida Times-Union article. The children were minors and in the custody of the airline’s unaccompanied minors program. Delta blamed the mix-up on a paperwork swap that incorrectly routed the children on wrong connecting flights in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The boy ended up in Cleveland instead of Boston, and the girl was sent to Boston instead of Cleveland.
The girl has been identified by a Boston television station as Kieren Kershaw, 9, who was heading from his home in Spokane, Washington to Boston to visit his grandparents. The young girl was also alone. Kieren said the airline employees apologized and fed him and gave him donuts.

Do you have rights as an airline passenger? Since airline deregulation in the late 1970s all of your rights are in the small print on the back of your airline ticket. You are entering into a binding agreement when you buy that ticket.

Kieren’s grandfather, Larry Kershaw, said the airline failed to even ask the boy’s name to match the paperwork, after they are being paid to watch him. He asks how you can mix up a boy and a girl.

Delta Airlines admits the children were in their custody at the time. An investigation is underway.

Delta has made some amends. Besides apologizing to the families, the airline sent the children to their final destination at no cost, refunded the children’s tickets, and gave the family credits for future travel. And don’t forget the donuts.

On Tuesday, June 8, the Florida Supreme Court heard Oral Arguments in a nursing home arbitration case, according to a Health News Florida report.

The nursing home industry increasingly prefers arbitration instead of lawsuits to settle difference. Skilled Florida nursing home abuse lawyers know that residents or their power-of-attorney are presented with the agreements upon admission. They mandate settling differences or lawsuits before a panel that will arbitrate the differences instead of going before a panel of jurors in a courtroom. Trial attorneys and consumer groups believe that the jury system should not be circumvented by this artificial arbitration alternative.

In the case before the court, Gayle Shotts challenged the arbitration clause of the nursing home, Winter Haven Inc., where he uncle lived and died. She filed a lawsuit saying the arbitration agreement was unconscionable and against public policy. She said she didn’t understand what she was signing.

Courts in Florida have treated arbitration clauses differently depending on where they are. In June 2008, the Second District Court of Appeal (2DCA) found that a nursing home arbitration agreement signed by the individual or their power-of-attorney was neither unconscionable nor against public policy. In the Shott case, the arbitration was to follow the AHLA/NHLA rules, which sets a higher standard of proof. The 2DCA severed the terms while the 4DCA declined to sever and the arbitration.

So when there is a difference at the lower court level, the highest court of the state must intervene.
The outcome of this case may determine how much limited liability a nursing home has when the resident signs an agreement. If you have been presented with an arbitration agreement, look at the capping of non-economic damages or pain and suffering, and preventing punitive damages or the awarding of attorney’s fees. All of that is designed to circumvent your rights to go to court under our U.S. Constitution. Decide if it is fair to decide the outcome of a case of negligence by signing away your loved one’s rights in advance of them entering the home. If most people understood what they were signing, they would simply refuse to do so. Stay tuned to this decision. The Shotts court docket is here.

What is the BP oil spill going to cost Florida? After the Deepwater Horizon spill, now in day 50, a University of Central Florida economist crunched the numbers and says 39,000 jobs could be cut, mostly in tourism and fisheries and $2.2 billion economic impact. Remember that Florida is already seeing about 12 % unemployment – one of the worst in the nation. And the state’s budget shortfall for next year was estimated to be $6 billion.

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday activated a loan program in the state that will allow small businesses to tap into up to $25,000 to offset oil spill economic losses in Florida. And the governor has asked for another $200 million from BP that would go for advertising to lure tourists to Florida and to conduct monitoring of the spill. So far, the Tallahassee paper reports that BP has cut about 1,600 checks totaling $5 million to out of work Floridians with most checks coming in under $5,000.

A BP VP says that the company has paid out about $48 million through its 25 claims offices that have opened, 10 of them in Florida.

Let’s all hope that the current does not bring the oil to the Atlantic coast beaches.

Meanwhile, one animals.change.org report says that BP is escorting reporters off the beach who want to take pictures of the oil-soaked animals. The death toll so far estimated by the Fish and Wildlife Services is 527 birds, 235 sea turtles and 30 mammals, including dolphins. The New York Daily News is reporting that BP contractors have been ordered not to share their pictures of the dead, dying and injured wildlife.

“They know the ocean will wipe away most of the evidence” one reporter told the paper.

Insurance companies that offer health care coverage have been given a larger presence in the American health care scene now that all Americans will need to be covered by private health insurance. One would assume that insurance would also be invested in health in general. That assumption would be false.

Harvard researchers found that giant health and life insurers hold nearly $2 billion in fast-food stocks. Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, KFC and Taco Bell are favored holdings by the industry because of the returns they pay.

It is no mystery that consuming a lot of fast-food can lead to health problems – obesity, cardiovascular disease, and poor health of children. Ironically, the new health care bill will require fast-food establishments about 200,000 of them, to post their calorie counts on their menus.

Published in the American Journal of Public Health, a new article says that insurance company holding from the U.S., Canada and Europe amount to at least $1.88 billion.

Among the largest owners are Prudential Financial, Northwestern Mutual and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance and European-based ING, reports Public Citizen.

• Northwestern Mutual owns $422 million in fast-food stock, including McDonald’s
• Mass Mutual owns $366.5 million including McDonald’s
• NG has $406 million in fast-food holdings including Jack in the Box, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands which owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC.

“Our data illustrate the extent to which the insurance industry seeks to turn a profit above all else,” says Dr. Wesley Boyd, senior author. “Safeguarding people’s health and well-being take a back seat to making money.”

If you think it through, promoting fast-food will eventually led to more health care payouts, so perhaps big insurance should put its money in health instead of fast-food for the fast-buck.

We’ve come to think of them as a routine way to deliver babies, but C-sections or cesarean sections are a major surgery where a doctor cuts through a woman’s abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby. The woman must remain in the hospital for awhile as she tries to get out of bed to walk, which at first, is extremely painful. Estimates say that up to one-third of New York C-sections are unnecessary.

The rate of cesarean sections is increasing annually – from over 10% in 1975 to the highest rate ever in 2007 – 31.8%. Besides the danger of major surgery to women, a government study from 1999 to 2002 finds an increase in neonatal mortality of 69% following C-section births compared to vaginal delivery. That translated to 17,000 infant deaths in the U.S.

The Health Research Group at Public Citizen is alarmed at the trend and is encouraging women not to put themselves through unnecessary surgery and risk potential birth injury, unless there is an emergency.

In an article in Public Citizen News, the authors say that doctors should encourage VBACS’s or a vaginal birth after C-section. Traditionally it was thought that, once a C-section, always a C-section, out of fear of a ruptured uterus, but the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology revised those guidelines six years ago. In fact, some hospitals believe a VBAC is safer than enduring more C-sections.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen encourages the use of midwives for low-risk woman. Midwives can deliver in a hospital or at home and are less likely to turn to surgical intervention.

A doula, or labor support professional, is also someone who will advocate for the patient and deter unnecessary C-sections, says Wolfe. And in the old adage, follow the money trail – doctors make more money when they perform a C-section, and they take less time.

Tar balls and clumps of tar were reported to be washing up on white-sand beaches around Pensacola last week and now come reports that some small specks of oil have been seen as far west as Fort Walton, Beach.

However, based on Wall Street Journal article, Pensacola Beach has been hardest hit with a sheen of oil reported about one to seven miles off shore as of Saturday, June 5. Volunteers are roaming the coast with good intentions and gloves and garbage bags trying to gather what they can of the oil. Escambia County has about 36 miles of beach along the coast and more oil is expected over the next three days, according to the Florida Deepwater Horizon Response team, which is located in Tallahassee.

Even singer Jimmy Buffet was in Pensacola Beach Saturday. He plans to open a 162-room Margaritaville Hotel in a week. The plans are still a go, he said Saturday.

A commissioner for Escambia County, which includes Pensacola Beach call BP’s promise to spare no effort in helping his area deal with the oil spill “absolutely false.” Gene Valentino said the BP cleanup effort so far is inadequate, though the company is training volunteers and local residents in cleanup.

Escambia County is seeking reimbursement for the $3 million it’s spent on cleanup so far from a $25 million fund set up by BP, a woefully inadequate amount before we see the light of day through the crude oil polluting the Gulf.

On Sunday, June 6, Escambia County officials said they want BP to step aside and let the county deal with its own cleanup. Two protests took place in Pensacola Sunday against BP including vigil for the 11 workers who lost their lives when the Deepwater rig exploded April 20.

Recent satellite imagery shows a narrow bank of oil within the Loop Current which is current that could carry oil around the southern part of the state and up the east coast of Florida.

As of last Wednesday, the oil had washed up on 140 miles of Louisiana shore.

The timing for Florida couldn’t be worse as this is the beginning of the tourist season just as school is letting out. It is unclear at this time just how severe oil spill economic loss in Florida will be.

And to add fuel to the fire of resentment toward oil companies and the president, federal regulators on Wednesday June 2, approved a new Gulf of Mexico oil well, the first since the president lifted a ban on drilling in shallow water while extending the ban on well deeper than 500 feet of water.

This was a horrible story that resulted in the death of an 86-year-old man, Matthew Ogden. When Officer Marcus Kilpatrick was chasing a motorist for, of all things a tinted window violation, he rammed into Ogden’s pickup ejecting him from the vehicle and killing him. A News4Jax report states that Kilpatrick was only injured slightly in the 98 mph crash in a 40 mph zone. Ever since the January incident, Kilpatrick has been on desk duty taken off the streets which is a good thing. In January he pleaded no contest to culpable negligence. Now he has been fired after waiving his right to a hearing to challenge the decision to let him go. Sheriff John Rutherford wanted him out of the sheriff’s office and off the roads for good.

While initial reports were that Kirkpatrick had his lights and sirens on, later reports said that was not certain. Witnesses said they did not see any lights. Kilpatrick violated the law when he chased the suspect for the dark window violation. He’s been sentenced to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service. All the family of Ogden wants is for the sheriff’s office to change its vehicle chase policy. After the Ogden family sued the city and won a $200,000 judgment, all they still wanted was to change the policy. JSO says the wreck was the result of one officer; not a failure of the entire system. Kirkpatrick is lucky he was not charged with vehicular manslaughter as the average citizen would. Some accident lawyers in Jacksonville would say that a change in policy, or at the very least, an airing of what the policy is would do a world of good for both law enforcement and the public, who is increasingly afraid of officers who speed.

British Petroleum is making a peace offering to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is working with Visit Florida to brainstorm an ad campaign to keep tourists flocking to Florida beaches. Florida officials are reportedly disappointed that the BP grant is only for $25 million, according to a St. Petersburg Times report.

In a statement, Crist bragged that “Florida continues to be a great value for families, business travelers, and international visitors seeking an enjoyable vacation experience. In spite of negative images and reports people may be hearing about Florida’s beaches and fishing grounds, this campaign will tell the world how they can see live images of Florida beaches and businesses.”

Given that oil is still spewing from the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster with no immediate end in sight as BP unsuccessfully tries capping and containment operations, the President is sending out another signal. Standing with former Senator Bob Graham, who opposes drilling, the president vowed to punish those responsible for the worse environmental catastrophe in history.

But Mr. Obama signaled he wants to make drilling for oil safer, not prohibit it. And President Obama is disappointing many by saying that no new drilling will take place until new regulations are put in place that would prevent any future catastrophes.

That is a disappointment to U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor from Tampa who has said that building rigs close to Florida’s beaches appears to be a dead proposition. Sen. Bill Nelson said, “The White House needs to bag this ill-advised plan to expand drilling in new areas along the Gulf Coast.” Nelson notes that the Gulf only contains about three percent of the world’s oil, not enough to even put a dent in our dependence on foreign oil.

Some Florida Coast oil spill lawyers and residents of the state have questioned whether or not there will ever be enough trust in another giant oil company to allow drilling off U.S. shores. And eventually, one day when the leak in the Gulf is stopped, that will be the question before a presidential study commission, co-chaired by Sen. Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency director William Reilly. Lifting a moratorium on future drilling would require cooperation from Congress.

According to Health News Florida, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says that sedation for children in the dental chair is safe. But if curious consumers ask questions, the AAPD has also sent memos to its members telling them how to answer questions.

Those questions might arise after four deaths of children in the dental chair. Three deaths have occurred in Florida. In 2006, Dasia Washington, 10, from Pompano Beach made the headlines. Two dentists lost their careers. She had been given nitrous oxide, lidocaine, and epinephrine and was strapped to a board to keep her still. But Washington thrashed about. Her death was blamed by a lack of oxygen. She had asthma and head and facial deformities that caused her breathing problems. The dentists say they didn’t do anything wrong. More recently, Dylan Stewart of Cedar Key, 5 died in April and Cory Moore, 9, of Tampa died in February 2009 after sedation or anesthesia in the dental chair.

The memo provided by Health News Florida, says dentists are supposed to say: “The health, safety and welfare of children is a top priority…Our deepest condolences go out to the family … (and) Deaths due to sedation and/or anesthesia are extremely rare…”

Rare makes no difference when it’s your child. The professional Academy says that pediatric sedation is safe but can product complications if the drugs interact with other medications or if there are underlying medical conditions. There are no national statistics kept on pediatric dental chair deaths. Though thought to be very rare, nobody knows for sure. If you or a loved one has experienced an adverse event at the dentist (besides tooth pain) and sedation or anesthesia was used you will want to know if the practitioner was appropriately trained. Experienced Jacksonville medical malpractice attorneys conduct thorough investigations into serious injury and fatal medical professional errors to ensure that an injured victim’s rights are protected.