5 Surprising Confessions of a Surgeon – ABC News

5 Surprising Confessions of a Surgeon – ABC News.

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MAYFLOWER, AR, EXXONMOBIL PEGASUS PIPELINE OIL SPILL

On March 29, 2013, residents of 22 homes in a subdivision in Mayflower were evacuated after thousands of gallons of oil spilled from the Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Pegasus pipeline running through the area.  What caused the 20-inch pipeline carrying Wabasca Heavy Crude from Western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast to burst remains a mystery as of April 3, 2013, but the company has apologized for the “inconvenience” to those displaced by the disaster on Good Friday leading into to the Easter weekend.  The pipeline was built in the 1940s.

The (estimated) 12,000-barrel spill has been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a “major spill.”  One barrel holds 42 gallons.

Although residents have been advised to expect evacuations of less than two weeks, the reality is that the effects of the Mayflower Oil Spill will reverberate through the community for much longer.  Residents have already expressed fears that the spill will have a long-term impact on property values.  Time will tell whether Lake Conway, located near the spill, was contaminated, but there have been reports of oil-soaked birds, including ducks, in the area.

Some residents have indicated that they did not even know the pipeline ran through their neighborhood.  At a town meeting held following the disaster, residents unsatisfied with the oil company’s response to questions were angry.

ExxonMobil has promised to compensate families who have been damaged by the spill; The Brad Hendricks Law Firm is here to make sure they do, too.

After an oil spill, cleanup and removal of the contamination is an obvious priority; however, there are many issues which need to be dealt with in a Oil Spill case.  Those affected by an oil spill may be entitled to:

• Damages for any health effects that may result from this spill. A number of people have reported respiratory problems already.

• Damages if the value of your property has been reduced because of the contamination. This information has to be reported by Sellers and Buyers may be unwilling to purchase your property in the future, and will be unlikely to pay fair value. It is likely that your property has suffered a loss of value.

• Damages for the inconvenience and concern caused by this spill.

• Punitive damages may also be available.

The Brad Hendricks Law Firm invites those affected by the Mayflower pipeline oil spill disaster to contact our firm to discuss these issues.  Our attorneys, paralegals, and staff stand prepared to help, but The Brad Hendricks Law Firm also pledges its financial resources to stand against ExxonMobil to right this wrong.  If The Brad Hendricks Law Firm does not win, our clients will owe us nothing.

Our firm offers representation to those who do not want to be part of a class action lawsuit, but who want the individualized representation necessary to address their specific damages.  If you or a loved one has been harmed by the ExxonMobil Mayflower Pipeline Oil Spill, and you want an attorney who will fight for you, call The Brad Hendricks Law Firm today toll free, at (800) 603-5100.

What Debt Collectors Will Not Say, but the Debtor Should Know

In recent years, as America’s economy has floundered, many people have found themselves considering bankruptcy.  A unifying theme that recurs in almost every consultation with a prospective client includes tales of the incessant calls made by bill collectors.  Those calls can make an overwhelming time seem unbearable.

In 2011, Reader’s Digest magazine published an article entitled “13 Things a Debt Collector Won’t Tell You.”  Michelle Crouch, the author, summarized a behind-the-scenes perspective of the debt collection industry offered by debt collectors and former debt collection agency employees, which we at The Brad Hendricks Law Firm believe includes some truly candid insights to keep in mind if you or a loved one falls into difficult financial times and are being hounded by debt collectors:

1. The more money the collector is able to collect, the larger his or her bonus check will be.
2. Debt collectors may hound you for the full amount of your debt, but most collectors are, in fact, authorized to settle on a reduced rate that may be 15 to 35 percent lower than the total debt.
3. Often, collection calls come from debt collection companies that have purchased large debt portfolios from original merchants or credit card companies for pennies on the dollar.  What they may later collect from you is simply icing on the cake.  More importantly, though, the fact that the portfolios are purchased for so little by the debt collector means that many of them are willing to accept a reduced amount to settle your debt in full.
4. Debt collectors will not voluntarily inform you that the statute of limitations associated with the debt may have already expired.  It is important to avoid making any promise to the caller until that information is known.  We have seen cases in which debt collectors have called trying to solicit payments on debts that are between 15 to 20 years old.  The statute of limitations in Arkansas for the typical credit card debt is 5 years.  Any promise to the creditor to pay even a reduced payment may revive the debt so that the statute of limitations no longer bars collection.  Be aware of this, and it could be your greatest defense against a debt collector.  The statute of limitations for most debts, under Arkansas law, ranges from two to five years.
5. Debt collectors are not allowed to call you at work.  Ever.  If they call after you have asked them to stop, you may have a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  You may be able to recover your damages, attorney’s fees, and costs from the collector.  Keep in mind that the statute of limitations for a claim under the FDCPA is one year from the alleged violation of the Act by a collector.
6. Debt collectors will not tell you that the FDCPA also prohibits them from threatening to have you arrested, using profanity, or calling between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Dealing with debt that has gone into collections can create massive amounts of stress for a debtor and the debtor’s family.  Much of the stress comes from a general lack of knowledge of how the debt collection process works and the laws governing debt collection. 

If you or a loved one has been repeatedly contacted by debt collectors, we have included some things for you to keep in mind when dealing with the collector.  If negotiating with the creditor fails, you may have other options.  Call The Brad Hendricks Law Firm at (501) 588-0549 or (866) 676-5096 to schedule a free consultation with a member of our Bankruptcy Department, led by Lyndsey Dilks, to discuss those options and whether you might be protected under the law.

Lyndsey Dilks joined The Brad Hendricks Law Firm in 2008 and was specifically recruited to create and develop the firm’s Bankruptcy Department.  Lyndsey has been named as one of the Best Bankruptcy Attorneys in Little Rock by Soirée Magazine.  Her practice is devoted exclusively to Bankruptcy matters.  Caroline Lewis joined the firm in 2009 and has assisted the Bankruptcy Department in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases since 2011. 

Injured by Hip-on-Hip Metal Implants?

The Food and Drug Administration announced recently that it is gathering and reviewing information related to metal-on-metal hip implant systems.  According to the FDA, “[h]ip joint deterioration can lead to symptoms such as pain, stiffness or difficulty walking. When symptoms do not respond to conservative treatment, patients may be advised to undergo total hip replacement or hip resurfacing. Patients may receive a “metal-on-metal” hip implant in which the “ball and socket” of the device are both made from metal.”

Unfortunately, recent developments outlined in medical journals and other literature suggests that many metal-on- metal implants are defective.  A recent study indicated that up to 50% of patients with a metal on metal implant may be forced to undergo revision surgery within six years of receiving the implant.

These implants are defective and fail due to a design flaw for two principle reasons.  First, the device slips or the shell does not sit in place in the hip and it resists bone growth. Second, the friction of the metal on metal (metal hip ball and metal hip socket) causes microscopic shavings and metal debris to be released into the surrounding tissue and blood. This can lead to a painful, inflammatory reaction in the tissue and high blood metal content. For these reasons our firm is expanding representation to include other metal on metal hip implants.

Many doctors are recommending that patients with a metal on metal implant undergo blood testing to determine whether their patient has high levels of cobalt or chromium in the patient’s blood stream. You may want to consider asking your doctor to perform such blood tests.

If you have received a hip implant since 2003, or if you have been advised to undergo an additional hip replacement surgery, you should contact your doctor immediately to determine which hip replacement device was initially implanted, even if you are currently experiencing no adverse symptoms or side effects. Complications from these devices can occur at any time.

If you have a metal-on-metal hip replacement implant, please call The Brad Hendricks Law Firm today to discuss your rights and potential claim.  at (501) 588-0549 or (866) 676-5096.

For all your legal needs, and for your peace of mind, you can count on us.

REBLOG – Guest Column: Tort reform would be a bad thing | The Rock River Times

Guest Column: Tort reform would be a bad thing

By David Soll

We have all heard the term “tort reform.” First, a “tort” is a non-criminal civil wrongdoing that is caused either on purpose or through negligence in which the act, intentional or otherwise, has caused physical, mental or monetary damage. You, the injured party, has the legal right to sue the wrongdoer for damages.

To use one layman’s example, if you are harmed by people who run a chemical company that have decided to save a few dollars by dumping their company’s toxic goo into the ground — and that goo reaches the water table and directly results in your cancer diagnosis — you can sue for the pain and suffering you would not have otherwise endured if not for the negligence of that chemical company.

Read More:  Guest Column: Tort reform would be a bad thing | The Rock River Times.

Have a Happy (and Safe) July 4th

As part of its Impaired Driving Prevention Campaign, which lasts from June 10 – July 6, 2012, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has again announced statistics regarding the number of accidents that occur each year as the United States celebrates its independence:

10,228 people were killed by impaired-driving crashes in 2010, a total that represents 31% of all traffic-related deaths in this country.

On average, an alcohol-impaired driving fatality occurs every 51 minutes.

In 2010, 392 people died over the Fourth of July holiday period (6:00 p.m. on July 2 – 5:59 a.m. on July 6). 

39% of the crashes in 2010 involved at least one driver or motorcycle driver with a blood alcohol concentration of at least .08.

46% of the fatalities were between the ages of 18 and 34

In 2010, more than 80% of the alcohol-impaired fatalities occurred between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. during the July 4th holiday

NHTSA provided these safety tips:

Plan a safe way home before the fun begins

Before drinking, designate a sober driver

If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely

Use your community’s sober ride program

If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact the police

“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

Remember, whether you’ve had way too many or just one too many it’s never worth the risk to drive impaired. If law enforcement pulls you over for drunk driving, you will be arrested.

More information on the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement crackdown can be found on www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.

This post is brought to you from The Brad Hendricks Law Firm as a service to provide legal and other information of public interest. If you have any questions about this or any other post, please contact our firm at (501) 221-0444 or (800) 603-5100 or email us. Our firm provides legal counsel in the areas of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Social Security, Bankruptcy, Business Law,Employment Law, and Family Law, among others.

ReBlog: Click It or Ticket

Monday, May 21 a seatbelt enforcement mobilization effort called Click It or Ticket will begin. The effort will involve LRPD, Arkansas State Police, and other officers joining together to closely watch for seatbelt violations, day and night.

View article…

Source:  Today’s THV

This post is brought to you from The Brad Hendricks Law Firm as a service to provide legal and other information that may be of interest to Arkansans, our clients, and visitors. If you have any questions about this or any other post, please contact our firm at (501) 221-0444 or (800) 603-5100 or email us. Our firm provides legal counsel in the areas of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Social Security, Bankruptcy, Business Law, Employment Law, and Family Law, among others.

ReBlog: Great Hang Up: Stone Co. plans to stop distracted driving

The Mountain View Police Department and the Stone County Office of Emergency Management are hoping to bring a mobile unit to the state for combating the problem of distracted driving.

View article…

Source: Today’s THV

This post is brought to you from The Brad Hendricks Law Firm as a service to provide legal and other information that may be of interest to Arkansans, our clients, and visitors. If you have any questions about this or any other post, please contact our firm at (501) 221-0444 or (800) 603-5100 or email us. Our firm provides legal counsel in the areas of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Social Security, Bankruptcy, Business Law, Employment Law, and Family Law, among others.

Protect the 7th Amendment – Oppose HR 5

Do you believe in the Constitution? Is the Bill of Rights important to you and your family? If the answer to these questions is yes, you should be aware that the 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution is under attack. The 7th Amendment guarantees every citizen’s right to a jury trial. It guarantees that, when disputes arise between the people and the powerful, it is a jury of your peers which decides the issues.

While the powerful dominate the legislature with money and influence through lobbyists, they cannot buy juries. They buy campaigns. They buy politicians. They cannot buy the ordinary citizens that make up juries all across this country. This is why, as you read this message, lobbyists, through the Congress, are attempting to pass a bill which is designed to tie the hands of juries across the United States. It is a top-down, one-size-fits-all "tort reform" bill which would dictate to every State, including Arkansas, what juries have the right to decide.

This week, U. S. House leaders will bring to the floor HR 5, legislation that would limit the legal rights of injured patients and families of those killed by negligent health care. This bill is so outrageously broad that it covers not only cases involving medical malpractice, but also cases involving unsafe drugs and nursing home abuse and neglect.

Up until now, there has been so much opposition to the bill – not just from the public interest community, but also from Tea Party folks – that House leaders haven’t had the nerve to bring this bill to a vote.  Now, they have decided to force the issue.

The key provision of HR 5 would establish a permanent across-the-board $250,000.00 "cap" on compensation for "non-economic" injuries suffered by patients. Non-economic damages compensate for quality of life injuries like permanent disability, loss of a woman’s reproductive system, disfigurement, trauma, loss of a limb, blindness or loss of the value of life itself.  Former-President Clinton vetoed a similar bill in 1996, explaining it this way:

The legislation would make it impossible for some people to recover fully for non-economic damages. This is especially unfair to senior citizens, women, children, who have few economic damages, and poor people, who may suffer grievously but, because their incomes are low, have few economic damages.

This kind of bill has already passed in numerous states across the nation and, despite what its proponents claim, it has had absolutely no effect on the rising cost of healthcare. Doctors’ malpractice premiums have not gone down. The effect has only been to deprive citizens of their rights.

This is so important because medical errors have reached epidemic levels in this country. 98,000 deaths per year are caused by preventable medical errors.  Further insulating health care providers from accountability in front of a jury of their peers will take away the only deterrent against carelessness and a "profits over patients" mentality.

The larger point is that juries should decide on a case-by-case basis what an individual has the right to recover. The 7th Amendment exists for a reason.  The jury system has always brought balance to our society by providing a level playing field for ordinary citizens against powerful interests; a place where facts and evidence prevail; where ordinary citizens have a voice.  The powerful, of course, can’t stand this level playing field, which is why they are attempting to use the power they have in Congress to impose their will on every jury in America, thus stripping all of us of our constitutional rights.

You can make a difference. Call your Congressman and tell him that you oppose HR 5.

                                                Sincerely,

                                            

TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY
THAT YOU SUPPORT OUR CONSTITUTION,
AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE SHOULD, TOO

Congressional District 1

Rep. Rick Crawford (R – 01)
1408 Longworth Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Toll Free: NONE
Phone: 202-225-4076
Fax: 202-225-5602
Contact Form: http://crawford.house.gov/Contact/
Web: http://www.house.gov/crawford
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/RepRickCrawford
Twitter: @reprickcrawford

Congressional District 2

Rep. Tim Griffin (R – 02)
1232 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Toll Free: NONE
Phone: 202-225-2506
Fax: 202-225-5903
Contact Form: https://griffin.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Web: http://griffin.house.gov/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/RepTimGriffin
Twitter: @RepTimGriffin

Congressional District 3

Rep. Steve Womack (R – 03)
1508 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Toll Free: NONE
Phone: 202-225-4301
Fax: 202-225-5713
Contact Form: http://womack.house.gov/Contact/
Web: http://www.house.gov/womack
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/RepSteveWomack?v=wall
Twitter: @rep_stevewomack

Congressional District 4

Rep. Mike Ross (D – 04)
2436 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Toll Free: 800-223-2220
Phone: 202-225-3772
Fax: 202-225-1314
Contact Form: http://ross.house.gov/Contact/
Web: http://ross.house.gov/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/RepMikeRoss
Twitter: @repmikeross

2002-03 Jeep Liberty Airbag Investigation Upgraded

2002-03 Jeep Liberty Airbag Investigation Upgraded

In September 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defect Investigation launched a preliminary investigation into 387,356 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty SUVs after it received complaints of airbags deploying without proper cause, which in turn caused injuries and increased the risk of accidents.

In the announcement, the NHTSA indicated that the investigation might evaluate mechanical, electrical or engineering issues to determine whether a recall of nearly 400,000 vehicles would be appropriate.  At the time, the NHTSA indicated that Chrysler Group and Jeep might issue a recall of their own to address the issue.

The complaints that motivated the investigation included the following:

Complaints involving the front driver and passenger airbags suddenly deploying without a crash.

Four complaints involved owners alleging that the driver frontal air bag deployed without a crash.

Three complaints involved owners alleging that both the driver and passenger frontal air bags suddenly deployed without a crash.

Some owners noted that the air bag light had been illuminated, or had intermittently illuminated prior to the deployment.

Six of the seven owners stated that their vehicle was being operated on a residential roadway when the airbag deployed.

Three of the owners alleged that they were travelling on a highway at speeds of 45 mph or greater when the air bag(s) deployed.

Five of the seven complaints alleged an injury incident.

Inside Line (September 28, 2011).

When the investigation was launched, ODI had received 32 early warning field reports involving 10 accidents causing injuries.

On January 31, 2012, the NHTSA announced that it was upgrading its investigation to an engineering analysis, a step in a process that could lead to a recall if regulators determine that a manufacturer needs to address a safety issue.

According to Reuters:

NHTSA said it had identified 87 reports of inadvertent driver or passenger front airbag deployment, resulting in 50 alleged injuries, including burns, cuts and bruises to the upper body, according to documents filed online.

Forty-two of the 87 incidents involved the driver front airbag deploying without a crash, occurring at vehicle startup and while driving on the road, according to NHTSA. The remaining 45 involved both the driver and passenger front airbags, NHTSA said.

Some drivers noted that the airbag warning light had illuminated just prior to airbag deployment, while others did not observe one, NHTSA said.

An inspection conducted by Chrysler indicates an internal electronic chip that controls airbag deployment failed, possibly due to a voltage spike. The automaker, which is controlled by Fiat, is in the process of identifying possible root causes, NHTSA said.

NHTSA initially opened a probe into the Jeep SUVs in September after receiving seven consumer complaints.

A Chrysler spokesman said the U.S. automaker was cooperating with the investigation.

Contact an Experienced Product Liability Attorney

The Brad Hendricks Law Firm is experienced in the area of products liability and has the knowledge and resources necessary to represent our clients aggressively and efficiently.  If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries because of an airbag deployment or other automotive defect or recalled auto part, please call The Brad Hendricks Law Firm at (501) 588-0549 or (866) 676-5096 for a free consultation.