It wasn’t until last year that Howell found out what was causing his disease. He says that even after receiving treatment for his condition, he has problems walking and experiences weakness and numbness in his legs. Due to a number of fall accidents, Howell broke an ankle and a rib. He must now use a walker and is unable to drive. Howell also lost his job working as a mechanic and receives disability.

While humans need zinc, too much of it can lead to calcium deficiencies, bone loss, anemia, and nerve damage, which can become permanent if excessive consumption of zinc goes on for too long. Howell is not the only person who has sustained injuries from using denture cream. There are dozens of people who say their nerve damage was caused by using Poligrip or Fixodent, which is made by Proctor & Gamble. Considering that about 40 million Americans use adhesives to keep their dentures in place, the health risk link is cause for concern.

Although the American Dental Association says it doesn’t know of any cases confirming that nerve damage is caused by dental glue, an article published in “Neurology” in 2008 linked high levels of zinc in Super Poligrip to “profound neurological disease” in patients that were examined.

GlaxoSmithKline just recently started including a warning with its Super Poligrip denture cream noting that too much zinc may cause health issues. Newsinferno.com reports that there are already scores of people that have been damaged by using denture creams and have filed their dangerous drug lawsuits.

Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Drug manufacturers are supposed to make products that are safe for people to use. When an over-the-counter product or a prescription drug leads to dangerous side effects that a pharmaceutical company failed to warn against, those who were injured as a result may be able to obtain personal injury damages by filing a North Carolina dangerous drug lawsuit.

Zinc in denture adhesives blamed for nerve damage, Reporter News, January 18, 2010

North Carolina Man Says Poligrip Left Him Disabled, Plans Lawsuit, NewsInferno, February 3, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Poligrip, GlaxoSmithKline

Zinc poisoning, Medline Plus

American Dental Association

One neighbor who witnessed the South Carolina dog attack and ran to Cunningham’s rescue says she thinks the dog was trying to play with the boy and got excited when the 7-year-old ran away. Cunningham sustained buttock and facial injuries and part of his right ear was severed during the South Carolina dog bite incident.

While hospital staffers were able to reattach the boy’s ear and stitch up his wounds, doctors have said that the boy likely will have permanent scars. Ravion’s mother, LaQuantra Cunningham, says her son had nightmares after the dog attack.

Police have cited Luis Muniz, dog owner for allegedly violating the city of Rock Hill’s ordinance that dangerous dogs must be muzzled or contained. Muniz told journalists that his family has given the pet to animal control and told police to euthanize the dog.

North Carolina Dog Bite Injuries
Dog bite injuries can be very painful and, depending on the severity of the injuries, can result in extensive scarring and permanent disfigurement. Kids are especially prone to serious, disfiguring injuries. Dogs can more easily reach their faces during an attack and a child who sustains dog mauling injuries may have to wait until he or she is fully grown before undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery. In the meantime, the child must grow up with scars and other disfiguring injuries, which can negatively impact the self-esteem and affect one’s social development.

You may be able to hold the dog owner liable for your dog bite injuries, which can be extremely costly to treat and recover from.

7-year-old attacked by neighbor's dog, Charlotte Observer, January 19, 2010

Boy, 7, requires more than 100 stitches after pit bull attack in Rock, Herald Online, January 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Dog Bite Prevention, CDC

Dog Bite Treatment, MedicineNet

The couple filed their Charlotte police brutality lawsuits in Mecklenburg Superior Court. They say that the city of Charlotte and Jackson violated their constitutional rights.

According to their North Carolina injury complaints, the 26-year-old police officer pulled them over after midnight on December 28 (Radio transmission from that night document Jackson telling dispatchers that he didn’t need police backup). He made them drive to a church parking lot, where he allegedly fondled the woman while pretending to search her. When the couple protested, Jackson threatened to arrest the boyfriend. He then ordered the man to pull down the woman’s bra and fondle her.

The woman says that after what Jackson did she can’t live by herself anymore and she has moved out of Charlotte. She started seeing a therapist and continues to have nightmares. She is scared of getting into a car again for fear that another cop will sexually assault her. She says she is scared of what might happen when Jackson gets out of jail.

These are the first Charlotte police brutality complaints against the city over Jackson’s alleged actions. They likely won’t be the last. One alleged victim, a teenager, says that after pulling her over, Jackson made her get into his car and took her to a location where he sexually violated her. Other victims have made similar allegations.

Cops who sexually violate or physically assault someone under the guise of doing their job are committing a crime and abusing their power as police officers. Do NOT be afraid to report the incident and contact a Charlotte, North Carolina personal injury lawyer to explore your legal options.

Couple sues city, former officer, Charlotte Observer.com, January 23, 2010

North Carolina Police Brutality?: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cop Accused of Multiple Sexual Assaults, NorthCarolinaInjuryLawyerBlog, January 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Communities United Against Police Brutality

Top 5 Police Brutality Videos, Huffington Post, July 30, 2008

So far, there has been one related death involving a 6-month-old Iowa baby who was fatally injured as a result of strangulation and entrapment. The CPSC and Dorel Asia have received 31 reports of drop side accidents. Six of them involved kids who became entrapped between the mattress and the crib’s drop side. Three babies sustained bruises. There have also been 36 reports of cribs’ slats breaking. Two children became entrapped because of this. Fortunately they were not injured. Seven babies sustained scratches and bruises.

Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled cribs and contact the manufacturer for a free replacement kit.

This latest crib recall comes just one day after the CPSC and Carmia Furniture recalled 1,000 Diana cribs due to worry that the slats on the drop-sides might detach, potentially causing the child to become entrapped in the crib or fall to the ground. There have been 18 reports of the slats detaching from the cribs rails.

Over the last few years, the entrapment, suffocation, and fall hazards posed by drop-side cribs have become issues of great concern to parents, guardians, and child safety advocates. Since December 2005 more than 2 million drop-side cribs have been recalled. At least 11 infant deaths have occurred because of drop-side crib defects. And there are those, including manufacturers, who are calling for a ban on the manufacture of drop-sides cribs.

Drop-Side Crib Defects
While drop-side cribs offer the convenience of allowing a parent easy access to their child because one side of the crib can be lowered, these cribs have proven prone to hardware warping, slat breakage, and drop-side detachments. These product defects can create an opening between the drop side and the crib mattress that a child can easily become entrapped in, which may lead to suffocation if the infant or toddler stays trapped for too long. A drop-side that detaches or drops suddenly can also cause fall accidents, which can lead to head injuries and other child injuries.

It is inexcusable for your child to get have gotten hurt because a product manufacturer was negligent. You may have grounds for filing a North Carolina products liability lawsuit involving injuries to a child.

Dorel Asia Recalls To Replace Cribs; Pose Strangulation and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC, January 19, 2010

Major manufacturers propose ban on drop-side cribs, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Report: Drop side cribs can be dangerous, ABC, June 24, 2009

Dorel Industries

This impairment can make recovery more difficult and cause relationship problems for the TBI patient. According to head injury specialist Professor Roger Wood from the University of Swansea, family members reported that following a TBI accident, the patient exhibited a lack of love or warmth that strained their relationships.

Wood and colleague Clair Williams asked TBI patients to fill out a neuropsychological test questionnaire that helps identify who has low empathy. Williams and Wood found that TBI patients generally scored low results for empathy. They also found that TBI patients have a harder time identifying not just what someone they saw in a video or photograph might be feeling, but also they were more likely to have problems describing and identifying their own feelings.

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury is devastating enough without compounding its effects with a decreased ability to feel and empathize. TBI victims and their families lose so much in terms of what their lives and experiences with one another would otherwise have been like if only the brain injury accident never happened.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina traumatic brain injury attorneys represent victims and their families with claims against the parties responsible for causing the TBI. Traumatic brain injuries can occur during car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, pedestrian accidents, slip and fall accidents, or as a result of medical malpractice or some other type of negligence.

Traumatic Brain Injury leads to problems with emotional processing, Psychology Today, January 3, 2010

Inability to empathize following traumatic brain injury, Cambridge Journals

Related Web Resource:
Traumatic Brain Injury, MedlinePlus

One alleged victim, a 17-year-old girl, says that Jackson made her pull over and get into his car. He then allegedly drove off and committed sexual acts on her. Another woman, 21, claims that she was a victim of a similar sexual police brutality crime involving Jackson.

A third victims says that Jackson fondled her twice. The first time was during an unlawful search on November 2, 2009. She says that on December 29, he stopped her and fondled her again. The man she was with tried to call 911 for help but Jackson unlawfully arrested him for delaying and obstructing a cop. The charges against her companion, who was thrown in jail, have been dropped.

Two other women say that Jackson stopped them for speeding on the night of December 28, 2009. They claim he asked them to get out of the car and obtained their consent to search them. The women say the searches were improperly conducted. Now, the District Attorney’s Office wants to file additional sexual battery charges against Jackson for the improper searches.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Rodney Monroe says that oversights in the hiring process led to Jackson’s hiring. He says the CMPD was not aware that before Jackson joined the police a restraining order had been issued against him. The CMPD’s hiring process was revamped two months after Jackson was hired.

North Carolina Police Brutality
Sexual assault is a crime. When a cop sexually assaults someone while “doing his/her job,” not only is the act a crime but it also police brutality and a violation of the victim’s civil rights. Police are never allowed to use excessive force of any kind. Unfortunately, many victims are too scared to report police violence or they may not even be aware that what happened to them was wrong.

2 more women say police officer assaulted them, Charlotte Observer, January 8, 2010

CMPD Chief: Mistakes Made Hiring Accused Officer, WSOCTV.com, January 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Police Brutality, Human Rights Watch

North Carolina’s new rating system went into effect in 2007. The Division of Adult Care Licensure began issuing star ratings last year but previous penalties for inadequate care weren’t factored into the assessments.

While the rating system provides a guide for family members seeking to find the proper assisted living facility for their loved one, it is still important for relatives to visit prospective nursing homes, talk to workers, and observe the facilities and the residents. North Carolina nursing home negligence continues to be a problem at a number of facilities and it is the sick and elderly patients that suffer.

Bedsores, sudden weight loss, unexplained weight gain, poor hygiene, unexplained bruises, bedsores, fall injuries, change in the patient's behavior, mood swings, and depression are some signs that a nursing home patient may be the victim of abuse or neglect. A sick or elderly person can die because of nursing home negligence.

Elder-care ratings get tougher, Charlotte Observer, January 5, 2010

NC adds 4-star rating for adult-care homes, Daily Comet, January 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Star Rating Program, NC Division of Adult Care Licensure

Nursing Homes, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

The defendants named in the Fayetteville, North Carolina wrongful death complaint are Bayview Financial L.P., Bayview Loan Servicing LLC, Palomino of Fayetteville Inc., and Sophia and Bill Agapion.

According to the Fayetteville, North Carolina wrongful death complaint, a court order had been issued to the mortgage company and the Agapions to stop criminal activity at the shopping center. State law also allowed them to evict the club for such offenses.

The Reyes’ North Carolina wrongful death attorney says that the 31-year-old might still be alive today if only the defendants had followed the court order. He cites inadequate security in the parking lot and at the club.

Last year, Fayetteville police sued Bill, Palomino, and Bayview. The complaint claimed that the shopping complex was a public nuisance. The lawsuit contended that a number of clubs on the property, including South Beach, Palomino, and Crazy Dave’s Cabaret, were a burden because of the number of assaults, break-ins, drug crimes, and shootings that occurred at the three night spots and in their parking lots. In March, three weeks after Reyes was killed, a judge ordered all three clubs, and a fourth one, permanently shut down.

Premises Liability
A property owner or overseer can be sued for North Carolina premises liability or wrongful death if there was a history of crimes committed on the property or in the area and the defendant did not do enough to protect patrons, visitors, and others from becoming the victims of similar crimes. Premises owners must provide proper security so that violent crimes and petty crimes do not cause injury or death.

Man's estate sues Palomino nightclub, others over slaying, FayeObserver, December 30, 2009

Suspect arrested, charged in bar shooting, ABC Local, January 11, 2009

On November 30, police arrested Beason. The 24-year-old linebacker, who is one of the football team’s captains and the leading tackler, denied the assault and drug allegations. He was charged with aggravated assault over the incident, but the misdemeanor charge was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Frye’s North Carolina injury attorney, however, says that his client will continue pursuing his claim.

According to the Charlotte, North Carolina injury lawsuit, Beason's bodyguard told Frye, 29, that the football player wasn’t happy with his comments and wanted to talk to him. Frye says he suggested to Beason that they talk outside.

He says Beason punched him on the face. After he fell to the ground, he claims he was kicked and then hit on the head. Frye says he didn’t fight back. In his North Carolina personal injury complaint Frye claims that Beason admitted to striking the plaintiff.

Frye is seeking damages greater than $10,000. He says he sustained a facial fracture and a crushed nasal cavity, and he suffered swelling on the left side of his head from the alleged assault.

Charlotte, North Carolina Personal Injury
Persons who have been injured during an altercation or are victims of violent crimes may have grounds for suing an assailant for North Carolina personal injury. This claim is separate from criminal charges filed by prosecutors. This means that even if charges are dropped or a person is found not guilty by a jury, you still may be able to obtain personal injury recovery.

Aggravated assault charges dropped against Panthers' player Jon Beason, Global Grind, December 11, 2009

Pro Bowl LB Beason charged with aggravated assault at strip club, Gaston Gazette, December 1, 2009

Man files civil lawsuit against Panthers' Beason, Charlotte Observer, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Jon Beason, NFL

Carolina Panthers

Types of Personal Injury Damages, Justia

The 66-year-old woman was diagnosed with breast cancer after taking Provera and Prempro for 11 years. According to the civil jury, the three drugs contributed to causing Kendall’s breast cancer. Jury members also found that Pfizer failed to adequately warn consumers about the dangers linked to using the hormone replacement medications.

This dangerous drug verdict comes just one month after another jury ordered Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, now owned by Pfizer, to pay $75 million to a woman because she developed breast cancer after taking Prempro. Connie Barton took the hormone drug from 1997 until 2002 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Barton underwent a mastectomy to remove her left breast to combat the disease. She says she started taking Prempro because her doctor told her it could prevent dementia and heart disease.

Prempro and Premarin are used to treat menopause. The drugs are used by millions of Americans women who have menopause. They were told that using the HRTs could prevent major illnesses. Provera is used to treat secondary amenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, and endometrial hyperplasia.

However, recent findings have linked Premarin and Prempro to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Plaintiffs have filed some 13,000 products liability lawsuits against Pfizer claiming the hormone replacement drugs caused cancer and other issues.

Cancer is a serious illness. If a pharmaceutical drug caused your cancer, you may be able to obtain dangerous drug compensation from the negligent pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug and/or failed to tell you about the associated risks.

Pfizer Ordered to Pay $34.3 Million in HRT Lawsuit, MedPage Today, November 24, 2009

Menopause, as Brought to You by Big Pharma, NY Times, December 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Pfizer

Hormone Replacement Therapy, Medline Plus

Plyler died in March 2008 when a tree fell on the car that she and her daughter Taylor, then 14, were riding in. Plyler, who was crushed in the freak accident died from her injuries. Tyler survived the falling tree accident but was injured.

The Plyler family’s North Carolina wrongful death attorneys have claimed that the city of Charlotte was aware that the tree’s root system was decaying yet failed to warn the public that the tree was dangerous. Meantime, Charlotte’s lawyers had argued that the city was unaware that the tree roots were rotting.

The terms of the Charlotte wrongful death settlement is confidential and settlement amount still needs to be approved by the Charlotte City Council. Attorneys for both sides say that the money will cover Taylor’s college education. Plyler’s son and husband were also awarded damages.

Getting hit by a falling tree, especially a large one, can cause serious injuries to victims. Just last week, a 33-year-old man filed a personal injury lawsuit against the city of New York, Central Park, and the Central Park Conservancy for the spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries he sustained when a limb from one of the trees in the park struck him last summer. According to statistics, between 1995 – 2007, more than four hundred people were killed in accidents involving falling limbs or trees.

Premise owners can be held liable for North Carolina premises liability or wrongful death if there is a hazard on the property that could have or should have been remedied but wasn’t and, as a result, causes injury or death. Rotting trees are more at risk of falling when the soil is soggy or the winds are high. It is a premise owner’s responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Settlement Reached In Wrongful Death Lawsuit, WSCOTV, December 7, 2009

City settles suit over fatal tree accident, Charlotte Observer, December 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Kay Plyler, Death Notice, Charlotte Observer, March 14, 2008

Recognizing Tree Hazards, Trees are Good

Police say Eames fell through the gap between two bridges as he jumped over a concrete barrier to avoid being hit by an oncoming vehicle. Unfortunately, a 30-foot drop to Crabtree Creek awaited him on the other side of the barrier and Eames died from injuries he sustained during the fall accident.

In October 2005, 26-year-old Todd Fletcher died when he fell off the Inner Beltline Bridge while also helping North Carolina car accident victims. Fletcher’s father, Done Fletcher, filed a North Carolina wrongful death claim over the tragic accident.

According to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, the NDCOT did put up a fence to prevent people from going over the edge on the Inner Beltline side, but there is no such barrier on the Outer Beltline side where Eames’s North Carolina fall accident happened. The opening that separates the two bridges is about five feet.

Eames’s father, Caroll Eames Sr., is quoted in the NewsObserver.com as saying that he feels that the state “took my son’s life away.” Eames Sr. says that the state must have known that area was a safety hazard.

Luis Jesus Coyt, a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the North Carolina car crash that Eames Jr. was assisting with also fell off the Outer Beltline bridge. He sustained minor injuries.

Currently, the NCDOT lacks guidelines requiring that all bridges have standard protective rails. In several instances, fences were added to certain bridges after pedestrians had already fallen.

North Carolina Premises Liability
Property owners and managers can be held liable for North Carolina premises liability if a hazard on a premise contributed to causing personal injury or wrongful death and that danger could have or should have been remedied.

Accident spurs state to study bridges, NewsObserver.com, December 1, 2009

Good Samaritan falls from I-440 bridge, dies, CharlotteObserver, November 28, 2009

NC DOT begins bridge study after fatal plunge, WECT, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Department of Transportation

North Carolina Bridge Information

Green was injured in January 2005 in a North Carolina pedestrian accident when he was struck by a car as he crossed a highway north of Louisburg. A local paramedic declared him dead after feeling for a pulse. The worker never attempted to resuscitate him.

The paramedic then asked a county paramedic to check Green for a pulse. The second paramedic, however, said he trusted the first paramedic’s judgment and did not check the victim.

The North Carolina personal injury lawsuit accuses Perdue, then the Franklin County medical examiner, of ignoring signs that Green was not dead, including eye twitching and chest movement. Green was placed in a body bag and transported to a morgue.

It wasn’t until 2 ½ hours later when a North Carolina Highway trooper asked the medical examiner to help figure out from which direction the auto had struck Green did Perdue realize that the victim was still alive.

Green’s family and guardian say that wrongly declaring him dead when he was, in fact, still alive caused him to sustain injures that have left him bedridden in a rest home where he is fed through a tube and cared for 24 hours/day. Franklin County and the family reached a $1 million North Carolina injury settlement earlier this year.

Court weighing right to sue over mistaken death, Winston-Salem Journal, November 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Tort Liability

Wrongful Death, Nolo

According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill, Swaim died on July 16 from acute Fentanyl poisoning. Autopsy results show that the amount of Fentanyl he had in his blood was two times more than what is considered toxic. Goldsboro hospital had prescribed the pain patch to Swaim. Fentanyl, the medication’s active ingredient, has been linked to hundreds of overdose deaths in the US.

Swain’s death is the 11th “questionable” fatality linked to the mental hospital since 2003. In 2008, Cherry’s Medicare and Medicaid certification was revoked after patient Steven H. Sabock choked on his meds, struck his head, and than sat in a chair for almost a day without being medically treated, fed, or given anything to drink.

Swaim began his stay at the state mental hospital on July 3. He wanted the hospital to treat his suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse. He suffered from acute pancreatitis and uncontrollable mood swings. When the hospital discharged him, they gave him two Fentanyl patches.

When his mother went to the bus station to pick him up, she found him slumped in a bus seat. He wasn’t breathing. Doctors discovered one of the pain patches in his mouth.

Medical Malpractice
A medical provider can be held liable for North Carolina medical malpractice if a patient is given the wrong drug or the wrong dose of a drug. The drug manufacturer can also be held liable if it is considered a dangerous drug that unnecessarily causes injury or death. Just last year, a Florida jury awarded one family $13.3 million because her mother died from a Fentanyl overdose. The defendant in that dangerous drug case was Johnson & Johnson, which manufacturers the Duragesic fentanyl pain patch. Fentanyl is also available under a number of generic labels.

Overdose killed mental patient, News & Observer, November 24, 2009

Fentanyl Pain Patch Wrongful Death Lawsuit Results in $13.3 Million Verdict, About Lawsuits, October 30, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Fentanyl

Cherry Hospital

In his personal injury lawsuit, Bryan claims that he suffered a heart attack two years after he started taking Avandia. As a result, he says he has had to undergo multiple angioplasties, four bi-pass surgeries, and other procedures.

Bryan contends that Avandia is an unreasonably dangerous and defective prescription drug. He is accusing drug maker Glaxo of knowing about the dangerous side effects associated with Avandia. Bryan says Glaxo breached the implied warranty of fitness and caused his injuries. Bryan is not the only person to have filed an Avandia lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline.

Other injuries and side effects that have been associated with the prescription drug include:

• Allergic reaction
• Weight gain
• Inflamed sinuses
• Congestive heart failure
• Severe allergic reaction
• Stroke
• Bone fractures
• Death

Some 4 million people took Avandia in the US in 2006. The following year, the Food and Drug Administration said that clinical trial results indicated that Avandia can increase heart attack risk by more than 40% and the number of deaths associated with heart disease by over 60%.

Drug manufacturers are not supposed to make dangerous drugs that can injure or kill users. Unfortunately, there are a number of popular drugs made by renowned pharmaceutical companies that continue to injury, health complications, and death.

In another recent Avandia lawsuit, 98 people claim they sustained serious injuries after using Avandia to treat their type 2 diabetes mellitus. The plaintiffs contend that until the medication’s label was changed on August 14, 2007, GlaxoSmithKline did not properly warn that use of the popular diabetes drug could increase the chance of heart failure. In November 2007, the label was modified again to warn that Avandia could cause myocardial ischemia.

Arkansas man claims diabetes drug caused heart attack, The Record, November 19, 2009

Same pair of lawyers gather another 90 plaintiffs in suit over Avandia, The Record, November 19, 2009

Avandia, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:
GlaxoSmithKline

Avandia