When Companies Put Profits Ahead Of Consumer Safety...

Even though pharmaceutical and medical product manufacturers must follow strict Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations to ensure public health and safety, the well-being of consumers is not always at the forefront of profiting companies. In an attempt to increase profits, these companies conduct only the minimal safety tests, or they rush through production resulting in potentially dangerous side effects never being revealed. When any person or business puts making money before the health and safety of their consumer, they must be held liable for their negligence.

Many well known drugs on the market have been recalled due to dangerous side effects that were unknown to the FDA at the time they were approved. Regrettably, the FDA's post-market trials often come too late. This results in tens of thousands of people suffering life altering injuries, and sometimes death from dangerous or unlabeled side effects, false advertising or misrepresentation, or drug contamination. For that reason, class actions lawsuits against the manufacturers of Avandia, Chantix, Effexor, Paxil, Vioxx, and Yasmin are currently pending.

Each year, millions of people rely on a variety of medical devices to improve the quality of their lives, trusting that these devices are safe and beneficial. Yet many are faced with defective medical devices that often result in debilitating injuries, pain and suffering, and death.

The FDA has recalled over 100,000 Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer, and DePuy artificial hip and knee implants. These implants have been known to loosen, detach, dislocate, and cause infection from metal residue. Additional surgical procedures are required to correct the damage done by defective products. There is a class action lawsuit in place to secure compensation for those who require it.

Other medical devices recalled by the FDA include Medtronic infusion pumps, Boston Scientific coronary stents and catheters, and Synthes USA vertebral body implants.

Educate yourself on medical implants and prescription drugs. Speak to your doctor about the risks and the potential side effects involved. Find out if you risk further health complications by using a certain product. Research the manufacturer's safety record, its success rate, and the amount of time it has been on the market. Also be sure to ask your doctor whether or not they receive compensation from the manufacturer for prescribing the device or drug.

The consequences of pharmaceutical and medical product negligence can result in catastrophic injuries, emotional and financial hardships for the victim and their family, and death. If you have sustained injury, or if a loved one was killed, as the result of negligence by a pharmaceutical or medical product company, you and your family may qualify for compensation. Contact the Defective Product Attorneys of The Glassman Law Firm at 314-446-6000 to discuss your legal rights and options.

Huge Trucking Accident Verdict Highlights Trucking Company Failures

We all know that people travel more over the holidays, many using our interstates to travel to see their family and loved ones. This holiday season, in addition to ensuring you drive safely, truck drivers and trucking companies need to do their part to ensure their drivers are well qualified and operating their tractor-trailers safely and within the law. All too often, this is tragically not the case.

As a Missouri trucking accident attorney, I was interested to learn about the trucking accident case described here:.

 A Missouri family was recently awarded a $7 million dollar verdict over a fatal tractor-trailer crash. This verdict was rendered against the trucking company for its driver’s negligent failure to drive in his lane, and the company’s failure to properly investigate and train its employee.  The article states that the tractor-trailer driver was “overtired, wasn't qualified, wasn't trained and had two previous license revocations that should've prevented him from getting the job.” The fatal truck crash occurred less than three weeks after the trucking company hired the driver. "[The trucking company] broke every rule in the book with respect to safety and safe driving," the article quotes.

Just what are these rules that the trucking company broke? At trial, a trucking industry expert testified to the multiple failures on the part of the trucking company that the accident exposed:

• The driver never should have been permitted to drive because he had received two license revocations for substance abuse, which disqualified him from driving a commercial vehicle.
• At the time of the crash, the driver lacked adequate knowledge and experience to drive a tractor trailer.
• The trucking company failed to have a training system in place to educate and train truck drivers who lacked experience before putting them on the road.
• The trucking company violated federal trucking regulation FMCSR § 395, by assigning the driver a trip that he could not complete within the maximum allowable hours of service.
• The driver was in violation of the maximum hours of service regulations at the time of the fatal crash.
• The driver falsified his log book to cover up his hours of service violation.
• The trucking company failed to monitor the driver and other truck drivers to ensure compliance with hours of service regulations.
• The driver violated a fundamental rule, FMCSR § 383.113, by permitting his trailer to cross the center line when negotiating a curve in the roadway, which caused the fatal collision.

This list points to inexcusable, systemic failures on the part of the trucking company that led to the fatal crash and justified the jury's outrage, as reflected by its verdict.

This case points to an important question: Just how often are trucking companies in violation of the law? On my trucking accident website I explain this in detail, “Missouri is a prime example of how these trucking companies recklessly disregard the law. In 2005, the Missouri Highway Patrol issued 4,183 tickets to truckers who violated the hours-of-service regulations or driver logbook regulations, and this number does not include the big-rig drivers who were simply let off with warnings instead of citations. Imagine: the Missouri Highway Patrol catches more than 11 semi drivers breaking the law every day!” This practice is damaging, dangerous, and potentially fatal.

It is clear that trucking companies must be held accountable for unsafe trucking practices such as failure to investigate driver’s background, failure to train drivers, and practices contributing to violations of the maximum hours of service regulation. For more information on Missouri trucking accidents, please visit my website: www.glassmanlegal.com.  The Glassman Law Firm is dedicated to assisting victims of trucking accidents and committed to making the trucking industry accept responsibility when they violate federal safety regulations.

Video Caption: The Glassman Law Firm investigates not only a truck driver's driving record, but his medical history, in order to assess his fitness to operate a 40 ton, 16-wheeler on the highways of our state.

Be safe and take good care. ~ Stephen Glassman, St. Louis trucking accident attorney

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