Archive for January, 2009

Johnson & Johnson has issued a voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to reports of a moldy smell that can cause nausea and sickness.

The company is recalling all product lots of the product last month after consumers complained of a musty, mildew-like odor that triggered nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

According to Johnson & Johnson, a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is responsible for the odor. The chemical is believed to result from the breakdown of another chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.

The side effects are believed to be “temporary and non-serious.”

The recall only affects the specific lots cited.

All of the recalled products carry the UPC #0045-0838-21 and the Code #8382100. The lot numbers of the recalled products are 07CMC011, 07DMC022, 07DMC024, 07FMC032, 07FMC033, 07GMC038, 07GMC039, 07HMC045, 07HMC051, 07HMC053, 07JMC064, 07JMC069, 07JMC070, 07JMC071, 07XMC055, 07XMC058, 07XMC062, 08AMC002, 08AMC005, 08CMC026, 08DMC029, 08EMC037, 08EMC039, 08FMC044, 08FMC045, 08GMC050, 08GMC053, 08GMC063, 08GMC065, 08JMC103, 08JMC109, 08JMC110, 08JMC111, 08KMC124, 08KMC127, 08KMC131, 08KMC132, 08XMC093, 08XMC094, 08XMC095, 09AMC010, 09CMC041, 09EMC075, 09EMC079, 09EMC076, 09GMC096, 09GMC097, 09GMC099, 09JMC118, 09JMC126, 09KMC133, 09KMC134, 09XMC114, and 09XMC116.

The Super Bowl represents the No. 1 at-home party event of the year. Believe it or not, it’s even bigger than New Year’s Eve.  In addition, The Nielsen Company ranks the Super Bowl 8th among the highest beer selling occasions for the year.

With that being said, we remind you to please drink responsibly. Be mindful of these statistics before getting behind the wheel:

• Alcohol-related car crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes.
• In the United States, drunk driving is the leading criminal cause of death.
• More than 17,000 people are the victims of drunken driving accidents every year.
• Approximately 40% of all motor-vehicle fatalities are alcohol-related.
• Frequent drunk drivers are responsible for almost 60% of alcohol-related fatalities.
• In 2008, drivers between the ages of 16-20 were involved in 1,719 drunken driving accidents

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A recent study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that elderly drivers (70+) are safer than they were a decade ago.

Here’s what the study found:

• Between 1997 and 2006, fatalities fell 21% despite a 10% rise in the number of those in the age group.
• The study also shows that more and more elderly individuals 70+ driving has risen from 18 million in 1997 to more than 20 million by 2006.
• The miles traveled by those over 70 increased by 29%.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 70+ age group is the fastest growing bracket in the country. Approximately 37 million Americans are aged 65 and up.

Researchers note a number of factors that may have contributed to the decrease in fatalities. A healthier lifestyle, safer cars and roadways, and driving patterns were all mentioned as possible factors for the drop in deaths.

Previous data had shown an increasing risk of death for the elderly getting behind the wheel. Current data included all fatal crashes on public roads that resulted in the death of a driver or a passenger within 30 days of an accident.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

As the baby boomer generation grows older, technology companies are stepping up their efforts to help aging Americans spend more time living independently rather than in nursing homes.

The International Consumer Electronics Show in Law Vegas featured an entire section dedicated to high-tech senior living with motion sensors as the main attraction. Tiny sensors in doorways, the shower, the toilet, and the bed were all being showcased in an effort to increase the quality of life for the aging generation.

By analyzing the data recorded, researchers and caregivers might be able to recognize behavioral problems that could signal medical problems. Unlike medical warning badges worn by seniors, the sensors’ success doesn’t rely on the cooperation of the patients. 

Researchers are also making adjustments to a more advanced monitoring system using virtual-reality silhouette images to allow observation of posture, gait and other movements. The silhouettes are an alternative to more invasive video cameras.

The motion sensors and simliar devices are thought to be the norm in the next decade.

The director of the Center for Aging Services Technologies, Majd Alwan, mentioned the significant financial savings by delaying institutionalization by a year or more. He also mentioned the benefits in quality of life for the senior.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home neglect practice.  Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team has successfully represented abused and neglected residents in almost every county.  We know Wisconsin.

The criminal case against Paul G. Porter was delayed so that two cases can be combined when he returns to Milwaukee County Circuit Court in February. Porter was charged with drunk driving and injuring group home residents in a crash last Thanksgiving.

After spending the holiday with their families, the disabled residents were supposed to be picked up by Porter and taken back to their respective group homes in Milwaukee and Brown Deer.

Unfortunately, Porter had been smoking marijuana and drinking beer at one of the group homes before he began the pick-up service. Just before midnight, Porter crashed the van into a parked car.

Porter and five of the six passengers suffered minor injuries. The police weren’t contacted until more than 90 minutes later, after two of the passengers walked a mile and a half to their group home.

Before being taken into custody, Porter had a full can of beer in his pocket and a blood-alcohol level of 0.24.

Porter was an employee of Mt. Castle Corp. The Milwaukee-based company runs nine residential facilities for developmentally disabled adults in Milwaukee, Brown Deer and Mequon.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home neglect practice.  Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team has successfully represented abused and neglected residents in almost every county.  We know Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Journal and writer Dean Mosiman will be honored with an award by The American Society on Aging for their work on the seven-part series, “Elder Abuse: A Silent Shame.” 

The series covered the gaps in the public safety net that is supposed to protect seniors from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.  One of the stories covered a PKS client. Click here to read the entire story.

The award is given out to those who significantly increase the awareness of aging issues in local or regional media in the U.S. Mr. Mosiman and the WSJ will be presented with award at the 2009 Aging in America Conference in Las Vegas.

Approximately 535,000 Stork Craft baby cribs were recalled in the U.S. after the metal mattress-support brackets were found to crack and break. This could cause the mattress to collapse and create a gap where a child could get trapped or suffocate.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is aware of 10 incidents of support brackets that broke. The cribs were sold at J.C. Penney, Kmart, Wal-Mart and other stores around the country. They wre also sold online at amazon.com, babiesrus.com, costco.com, and walmart.com. They were available between May 2000 through this month.

About 16,000 Taggies Sleep ‘n Play baby garments were recalled because the snaps on the garments can detach, posing a choking hazard. In July 2008,  the company recalled two Taggies Sleep ‘n Play style baby garments, including the Butterfly Applique and the Fun Dog Print. The recall has been expanded to include the Dinosaur Applique and the Pink Toss Print styles. The garments are one piece coveralls with snaps down the front.

RN No. 27829 is on the care label sewn into the garment. The products were sold at Babies R US, Buy Buy Baby, Dillards, Nordstrom and other specialty stores nationwide.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Fraud and bunco schemes cost individuals thousands of dollars. A bunco scheme is a scam in which an unsuspecting person is cheated out of something, usually money. Often, the “victim” is not certain a crime has been committed, or is too embarrassed to take action.

Con men and women often seek out older persons as victims, making nursing homes vulnerable.

These types of schemes can and do occur in nursing homes/long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities. They’re considered forms of abuse.

Recently, two women were arrested in Florida for attempting to defraud an elderly man of $5,000 cash. They told him one of them fell in his garage and was injured. They convinced him that if he didn’t pay they would sue him.

In a separate incident, three people used a 77-year-old man suffering from dementia to apply for credit cards. They rang up $30,800 worth of merchandise. They were eventually apprehended.

In Oregon, police arrested a woman on charges that she forged $11,000 in checks and defrauded an elderly woman living in a residential care facility.

State and federal law give you the right to manage your own money or to choose someone you trust to do this for you. Be very careful in managing your money or how you choose who manages your money. Make sure that you’re giving your life’s savings to someone you can trust.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home neglect practice.  Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team has successfully represented abused and neglected residents in almost every county.  We know Wisconsin.

Kellogg Co. is recalling 16 products as a precautionary measure after officials confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia peanut product facility. The facility, owned by Peanut Corp., ships peanut products to Kellogg Co. and 84 other food companies.

The products include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies.

The investigation is not limited to peanut butter. Baked goods and other products that contain peanuts are also part of the investigation. Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials are also focusing on peanut paste. Officials are concerned because peanut paste can be used in dozens of products, from baked goods to cooking sauces.

Peanut Corp. has recalled 21 lots of peanut butter made at the plant since July 1 because of possible salmonella contamination.

Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho and North Carolina have reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died. Exact causes of death haven’t been determined. The outbreak has been reported in 43 states and sickened hundreds of people.

The CDC has said that the bacteria responsible for the outbreak – typhimurium – is common, but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) along with the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) have recently released improved regulations that mention an increased level of care that must be performed by skilled nursing facilities (SNF’s) with regards to pressure sores.

These new regulations cite ways in which the facilities must prevent and treat pressure ulcers, which are defined as either avoidable or unavoidable, with respect to whether or not the nursing facility has made an appropriate preventive effort.

In short, the amended Medicare law are to insure the quality of care and to prevent and treat pressure ulcers. If a nurisng home fails to abide by these new regulations, they will be held accountable.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home neglect practice.  Our nursing home abuse and neglect trial team has successfully represented abused and neglected residents in almost every county.  We know Wisconsin.