Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer

Heparin Pricetag has Doubled

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:14:33 GMT

Heparin was recalled earlier this year due to patient injuries and death in the United States. It is believed that raw supplies from China were contaminated with a substance chemically similar to heparin. The components are assembled in the U.S. to make the finished drug product. The heparin recall has forced the price to double recently.

Illinois-based APP says it's tripled production in recent months to supply the half of the U.S. market that Baxter used to serve and avert product shortages. It also says its costs for China-sourced crude heparin have risen 500% since early 2007, that it absorbed all the increased costs last year and that recent price increases don't cover all of the higher expenses.

The FDA has mandated that drug suppliers do more testing to make sure their heparin is not contaminated. 81 people may have died from allergic reactions to the contaminant.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Motorcycle Accident Kills Scandia Man

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:35:20 GMT

A 47-year-old man has died following a motorcycle accident on Sunday evening. He was a resident of Scandia.

The victim

was driving a motorcycle about 8:30 p.m. Sunday on Manning Trail North about a mile north of Minnesota 97 when he apparently lost control and went off the road.

He died of his injuries at a local hospital that evening. It is unknown what cause the accident or if anyone else was involved. The police are still investigating the accident. There is no information on whether the victim was wearing a motorcycle helmet. Minnesota law only requires helmet use by those under the age of 18.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Salmonella Outbreak May Be Linked to Recalled Cereal

Jenny Albano — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:32:54 GMT

The FDA announced that 23 people have been diagnosed with salmonellosis in 14 states and may have been caused by the same strain of salmonella found in the recalled Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat Malt-O-Meal cereal.

These recalled cereals were sold across the U.S. under the Malt-O-Meal brand and under private labels such as Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality. The products have best by dates from April 8, 2008 through March 18, 2009.

Salmonellosis exhibits flu-like symptoms including, but not limited to, diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Symptoms usually begin 12-72 hours after infection, and typically last 4-7 days. If consumers have consumed the recalled cereal and experience these symptoms, see your doctor immediately.

The cereal was recalled on April 5, 2008 because the company's routine testing found salmonella in a product produced on March 24, 2008. The FDA is working with Malt-O-Meal to determine the cause of the contamination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Minneapolis Car Accident Kills Woman

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:56:54 GMT

A 26-year-old woman from Minneapolis was killed in a car accident on Friday night. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the other car was also injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The accident occurred just before 8:30 p.m. Friday night, near the intersection of 24th Street East and Park Avenue South. There were two vehicles involved, both with a single occupant.

The condition of the second driver is believed to be serious. The police are investigating the accident. They believe that alcohol was a factor. It is not known which driver had been drinking.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Chlorine Leak Injures Almost 40

Jenny Albano — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:48:24 GMT

On Wednesday, March 26, a chlorine gas leak in a pool injured 36 students and one adult. Rocori High School is the same school where two boys were killed in a shooting over four years ago.

No one was critically injured, but twelve students and the injured adult had to stay over night at St. Cloud Hospital for further treatment. The leak was found just before 2 p.m. and the building was evacuated. Officials had the leak contained within one hour and are now investigating the cause of the leak.

Nearly 20 students were in gym class when they saw bubbles coming out of the pool drain, Superintendent Scott Staska said. The water supply had been shut off for routine work in "back in the chemical room, actually," he said, and had just been turned back on. The bubbles might just have been from air in the pipes, he said. But the students began feeling sick shortly afterward.

The leak occurred during a 9th and 10th grade gym class in which some of the students were using the pool. The school opened as scheduled on Thursday, but the pool will stayed closed for investigation. Chlorine gas can damage the eyes, skin, throat or lungs but long-term health problems are unlikely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Spelt Bread Recalled Due to Wheat

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:17:45 GMT

Food for Life has issued a product recall for spelt bread that was made with wheat products. The wheat is not declared on the packaging and could pose a health hazard to those allergic to wheat. The recall involves over 2,200 cases of spelt bread.

The recalled frozen products were sold nationwide through health food distributors and natural food retailers in 24 oz. light blue packages. The products were labeled "Food For Life, Wheat Alternative Spelt Bread" or "Food For Life, Fruit Juice Sweetened Spelt Bread" with lot numbers H1847, H2042, H2136, H2435, H2872, H2974, H3224, H3460 or I0485.

The company is offering a full refund to anyone that purchased the bread. You can contact the company at 1-800-797-5090 for more information on the recall. The bread was made in a California bakery.

If you would like to learn more about product recalls, please visit InjuryBoard's Defective Products information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Doctors Remove Wrong Kidney in Minneapolis Hospital

Staff Writer — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:52:06 GMT

Surgeons at a hospital in Minneapolis accidentally removed a healthy kidney from a patient undergoing surgery for kidney cancer. The hospital made full disclosure of the glaring medical error afterwards in what has become an all-too-common occurrence at hospitals in the United States nowadays: wrong-site surgery.

The chief medical officer for Park Nicollet Health Services made the error known to the public because he felt an ethical obligation to report it. The hospital accepted full responsibility for the oversight, and assured the public that it would look into the cause of the surgical error.

According to published reports, the surgical error was discovered when a hospital pathologist examined the kidney a day after the patient's surgery, and evidently found no trace of cancer. Methodist Hospital has not released any personal details about the patient, other than that the patient is still being treated at Methodist Hospital and that doctors are trying to resolve the dilemma of what to do next.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Man Dies in Oregon Construction Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:10:28 GMT

A construction worker from Stayton was killed on Wednesday in a highway repaving project. The construction accident happened in Alsea on Highway 34. The victim was using an asphalt grinder. The grinder rolled over the man and down an embankment. It appears part of the highway collapsed causing the accident.

The victim

was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was employed by Hatch Company, a subcontractor for Knife River Corporation, and was working on a project repaving a portion of the highway damaged in the early December storm.

The construction accident is being investigated by local authorities and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Highway is open during repairs and flaggers are being used to alert drivers to the hazardous section of the road.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Woman Thrown Into Traffic on I-69 in Shakopee

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:55:41 GMT

Car accidents were avoided, but police are still searching for a man who threw a woman into oncoming traffic on Highway I-69 Monday night in an extreme case of road rage. Jennifer Boulden made a legal U-turn on Interstate 69 near Shakopee when she missed her exit. The truck driving fast behind her motioned for her to pull over. She did and the driver got out of his truck and started yelling at her. She then got out of her vehicle to try to apologize. That is when the unidentifed man smashed Jennifer's cell phone, picked her up and threw her onto the busy interstate. Fortunately she was not hit and several Good Samaritans stopped to help. One used their car to block traffic while another picked her up off the road and carried her to safety.

The man sped off in his truck but nobody got his license plate number, said Capt. Greg Muelken of the Scott County Sheriff's office. He said witnesses gave varying descriptions of the truck and man, who was in his 40s with graying hair. Anyone who saw or has information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff's office at 952-445-1411. Muelken said Boulden would not be cited.
Muelken advised drivers in a situation with an angry, honking motorist to call for help on a cell phone and not to stop except in a public area with people around. "You don't know what to expect, unfortunately," he said.

Jennifer is suffering from two herniated disks and her back and right leg were also injured. She hopes that the pickup truck driver is found so that she can ask him why he did this to her. The Scott County Sheriff's Office would like to find him as well. Jennifer described him as a white male with light-colored hair. She has said the pickup truck was blue and his passenger was a Native American woman.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

35W Bridge Collapse Victims May Be Limited in Aid

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:37:01 GMT

The 35W Bridge collapsed in Minneapolis last August and left 150 victims. 13 of those people died. Many families were left with large medical bills and the loss of income from the victims. State legislators have been busy working on a victims' compensation fund. The proposed plan my fall far short of what victims need though.

The Senate bill would limit payments to $400,000 per victim, which could leave the most severely injured with much less than they've lost. That's the state's liability limit for individuals as of Jan. 1, and Latz's bill would make it retroactive to Aug. 1, the day the bridge fell.
It wouldn't be fair to give bridge collapse victims more than other victims could get, said Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park. Bridge victims, too, might stand to recover money from private companies involved in maintaining and inspecting the structure, he added.

The House and Senate bills may need to be worked out in a committee to make them similar. The House bill calls for a $30 to $60 million fund that would not cap individuals at $400,000. The governor of Minnesota is for now backing the Senate plan.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann