Through an integrated campaign of press releases, posters, and various programs, the three partners are not just stressing this message to the thousands of fans who will actually be at the stadium for this year’s Super Bowl, but to the millions of people who will be attending Super Bowl parties this weekend. By emphasizing the need to select designated drivers and taking car keys away from intoxicated fans, the goal is to get everybody home safely after the game and to prevent drunk driving accidents in Florida and throughout the United States.

For the ninth year in a row, the NFL’s Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign has teamed with beer and concessionaire companies at every NFL stadium across the country to encourage fans to participate in its designated-driver program. Throughout the season over 175,000 fans made the commitment to be designated drivers. And Responsibility Has Its Rewards actually has tangible rewards as randomly selected designated-drivers from the AFL and NFL Championship teams will attend this year’s Super Bowl.

According to NHSTA statistics, in 2010, over 10,000 people were killed in in motor vehicle in which at least one driver was intoxicated. The Jacksonville personal injury law firm of Farah & Farah applauds any program which promotes safety and accident prevention by keeping drunk drivers off of our roads. We encourage you to enjoy the game and have fun this Super Bowl Sunday, but please, be responsible.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that the Bell helicopter dropped and hit a 50-foot tree before it crashed in a remote wooded area. The family of the pilot says he was a decorated pilot in Vietnam and flew about 200 missions of this type a year.

Our condolences go out to everyone involved here. There are no winners in this tragedy – Mayo Clinic loses a cardiac surgeon, the pilot is lost to his family, and also the heart transplant technician to his family. Let’s not forget about the person who was waiting for a viable heart to gain a chance for a healthier life.

A Jacksonville wrongful death lawyer at Farah & Farah is available to consult with you or a family member who has lost someone due to the negligence of others. The law gives the victim a right to pursue civil litigation against the wrongdoer. Ultimately, it will be up to a jury to decide if it was a reasonable decision to fly that morning and if a reasonable person would have made the same choice under the same circumstances. Farah & Farah can help you understand the reasonable standard in a complimentary consultation on your case. Call us at 1(800) 533-3555 to start the conversation.

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-01-23/story/family-sues-company-whose-helicopter-crash-killed-transplant-mission

The worst offenders are some of Florida’s top employers in the fields of tourism, retail, and construction, yet there has reportedly not been one single civil action brought against employers to enforce the minimum wage law.

Reportedly there are 3,036 wage violations reported each year to the state’s Wage and Hour Division.

The Miami-Dade County’s Small Business Development agency has cracked down on the country’s anti-wage theft ordinance, which was passed in September 2010. So far, $400,000 has been recovered in unpaid wages in Florida, which will go to 313 workers who had the money illegally withheld. A Department of Labor crackdown has recovered close to $16 million in unpaid wages, which will go to 24,000 workers in six Florida counties.

While this is good news for employees, a state Senate committee of the legislature is working on a bill that would ban local ordinances from cracking down on anti-wage theft. The bill is supported by the business lobby the Florida Retail Federation, which states that laws already exist that address wage theft.

Farah & Farah has an experienced team of Florida labor law lawyers who will be on your side to help you resolve wage and hour disputes, workers’ compensation, and social security disability. Call us at (800) 533-3555 so we can get started on your case.

Source: http://floridaindependent.com/66083/wage-theft-epidemic; http://www.florida-wageandhourlaw.com/

The FDA does not require these companies to do clinical trials before the mesh is marketed to doctors and the public, unlike the more stringent review required of drugmakers. Instead, mesh is grandfathered in under a process called 510(k), which is an FDA approval for marketing only – no assurances for safety are required. It’s basically an exchange of paper with the manufacturer claiming the medical device is substantially similar to one already on the market. The problem is one of the first meshes used as a “predicate,” the ProteGen, was taken off the market for being defective. You would think that would spark an internal FDA investigation to see if the defect was present in the meshes that followed. That never occurred.

Most recently, the FDA asked 35 manufacturers of mesh for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence to conduct three-year follow-up studies on women who receive the permanent implant. With all of the news about transvaginal mesh side effects and complications, it may be difficult to find a patient population to follow for three years. And with thousands of complications already reported, it seems that these women are walking into a potentially life-altering situation to have permanently implanted mesh when it is nearly impossible to remove if there are complications.

Even the FDA said in its July 13, 2011 Public Notification that complications are “not rare” and that the benefit of synthetic may not be outweighed by the risks it poses.

Complications include a return of incontinence and prolapse, debilitating pelvic pain, nerve and organ intrusion, mesh erosion, migration and shrinkage, repeated infections, and in some cases, death. The lawsuits representing thousands of injured women will begin being heard at some point in 2012, but meanwhile, the FDA has given manufacturers an additional three years to study the effects. Most of the public assumes that was done before the mesh was put on the market, not after. Meanwhile upward of 300,000 women will have mesh implanted as a treatment and many will not be aware of the controversy surrounding the defective product.

The Florida transvaginal mesh failure lawyers at Farah & Farah is talking to women who are suffering the complications of this defective product. Call us at (800) 533-3555 so we can offer you a complimentary consultation on your situation. The sooner you act, the sooner you might be able to find relief and compensation for your injury.

Source: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/UroGynSurgicalMesh/default.htm

Survivors plan to file a class-action lawsuit against Carnival. The back of the passenger ticket specifies what jurisdiction that lawsuit must be filed in, which is Miami. The injured passengers are asking for $160,000 per passenger, with 3,206 onboard the ship that amounts to almost $513 million. They contend the cruise line knew and even encouraged the captain to sail close to the coast as a form of advertising.

Adding insult to injury, Costa Concordia is offering a 30% discount on future cruises and other future plans with the cruise line. Needless to say, that news was not received well.

Millions of Americans board a cruise ship every year and generally things are smooth sailing. But there are times when dangerous incidents occur onboard, which can range from an assault on a passenger to a cruise ship passenger disappearance. The passenger should read very carefully the fine print on the back of a ticket which outlines your rights and restrictions. Some people opt to have extra insurance to cover a medical emergency that might require an airlift flight to a U.S. hospital.

The Florida cruise ship accident attorneys at Farah & Farah understands the restrictions the powerful cruise industry puts on injured consumers in an effort to stop personal injury lawsuits. You will need an advocate on your side to seek a fair and just compensation. Call us at (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/carnival-offers-survivors-doomed-cruise-costa-concordia-30-future-cruise-outraged-passengers-prepare-lawsuit-article-1.1010066

A question yet to be answered is whether the drug maker and distributor withheld adequate warning from doctors and consumers, thereby failing to give users informed consent about the potential risk for bladder cancer.

When used for more than one year, Actos (pioglitazone) may increase the risk of bladder cancer. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a review of data found those patients who had taken the drug for the longest period of time had the highest risk of bladder cancer.

Actos is still sold in the U.S., but sales have been suspended in France and Germany after users developed bladder cancer after long-term use of the drug. Actos is used by patients to lower the blood sugar level in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. During the first 10 months of 2010, about 2.3 million patients filled a prescription for a drug containing Actos. Doctors have been warned not to prescribe Actos to patients who have active bladder cancer.

If you have suffered adverse side effects from using Actos, the Jacksonville Actos attorneys with Farah & Farah can help you obtain compensation for your injuries and health problems. Please call (800) 533-3555 for a consultation with our law team.

Source: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm259150.htm

Mesh is frequently used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women. The synthetic material, made from polypropylene, a petroleum-based product, is implanted vaginally in a blind procedure. Thousands of women have complained of intense pelvic pain as the mesh migrates in the body and erodes through organs. In many cases, women opt to have it taken out, but this implant is intended to be permanent and there are few qualified surgeons in the country who can remove it all.

The Democrats, Henry Waxman, Diana DeGette, and John Dingell, sent a similar request for a hearing on two other defective medical devices last October, but those hearings were never scheduled. In the letter, committee members are reminded that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen a five-fold increase in the number of complications associated with transvaginal mesh.

Synthetic mesh is considered a Class II medical device, but just last week the FDA announced it was considering making it a Class III device. At the same time, the FDA sent letters to 33 manufacturers to plan to conduct three years of post market studies to get an accurate picture of the complication rate. At the present time, there is no accurate accounting of the number of complications associated with implanted synthetic mesh.

The transvaginal mesh failure lawyers in Florida of Farah & Farah are talking to women who are experiencing complications following the placement of transvaginal mesh for pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence. These cases will move forward sometime in 2012 to bring some remedy to the thousands of injured women.

As with many product liability actions, there is a limited time period within which to talk to an attorney. Farah & Farah have an experienced and compassionate staff who understand how to listen. Call us at 1(800) 533-3555 to start the process.

Source: http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/democratic-committee-leaders-call-on-committee-republicans-to-hold-hearings-on-dangerous-medica

The 30-year-old man was on a scooter Friday, January 6, going to his construction job around 5:40 a.m. when he was hit by an SUV from behind. The collision happened on Old Moultrie Road, and the driver was arrested a short time later. The crash victim spent a week in the intensive care unit at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine with doctors not certain of his future.

With severe scrapes from road rash and internal injuries, including brain swelling, he recovered enough to receive some outpatient therapy, but years of rehabilitation lie ahead. On Wednesday, January 18, he celebrated his son’s first birthday, according to an article by News4jax.com.

Traumatic Brain Injury

As with most traumatic head injuries, cognitive skills, including memory and reasoning, are affected. Devastating head injuries are costly and when you are disabled, paying for the medical and rehabilitative costs associated with your accident, as well as lost wages, is overwhelming. The news includes information on how the public can contribute to this hit-and-run victim’s ongoing care.

In the case of devastating injuries resulting from an auto accident, an experienced Florida auto accident injury attorney can determine the at-fault party who will be responsible for all of the costs associated with the crash. In this case, the hit-and-run driver did not have any insurance, but may be ordered to pay restitution as a result of a criminal conviction.

The St. Augustine hit and run accident attorneys with Farah & Farah will explore all of the avenues to bring justice to a victim of an auto accident or a hit-and run collision.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Hit-and-run-victim-returns-to-family/-/475880/8282092/-/12bwhup/-/index.html

Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of this young girl. Please keep the family in your prayers. Her school was devastated upon hearing the news, and counselors were made available to students.

Dangerous Intersection?

Parents claim the intersection of West Beacon Road, just south of Camphor Drive, is a dangerous intersection because of the speed of traffic and the lack of crossing guards. Lakeland Police are investigating what condition led to this tragic death.

None of the school children on the bus were injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation, but that accidents usually involve pedestrians near a school bus. The state reports that between 1998 and 2002, there were four children killed while preparing to get on or depart a school bus.

Oftentimes, it is the carelessness of motorists who fail to stop when in the vicinity of a school bus that leads to the fatalities of school children. If you or someone you love has been injured in a pedestrian accident, the Lakeland pedestrian accident attorneys with Farah & Farah can help you obtain compensation for your injuries. Call 1(800) 533-3555 for a free consultation.

Source: http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/232774/8/13-year-old-Katlyn-Rickman-killed-after-Lakeland-school-bus-crash

There were no real world crashes that resulted in fires in the Chevy Volt, but fires occurred days after the federal safety tests and could be replicated in laboratory tests. The NHTSA did crash a Chevy Volt retrofitted with a General Motors steel reinforcement, which proved effective against a steel pole intrusion into the battery compartment. The investigation into the Chevy Volt should be concluded soon, according to the automaker.

About 8,000 Volts have been sold in the U.S. and beginning in February, consumers can bring their vehicles into the dealerships to receive the fix while General Motors avoids a massive auto recall.

Defective Vehicle

A vehicle can be defective in its design or in its manufacture. When the defective component of the vehicle has the potential to cause consumer injuries, the injured victim can file a product liability action against the manufacturer, the designer, or anyone involved in distribution. You should not have to go it alone if you are injured by a defective vehicle. Farah & Farah’s Florida auto defect attorneys are ready to answer your questions at (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2012/Statement+of+National+Highway+Traffic+Safety+Administration+On+General+Motors%27+Plan+to+Address+Potential+Fire+Risk+in+Chevy+Volts; http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/01/09/gm-exec-volt-investigation-likely-to-end-soon/