The fentanyl patch wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court on March 5 by Jason Pellazari, who claims that his mother, Betty J. Pellazari, died on March 8, 2009, after applying a pain patch the night before. The lawsuit claims that the patch itself was defective, allowing too much of the powerful fentanyl gel to enter her body.

A coroner determined that Betty Pellazari died due to fentanyl toxicity, with excessive fentanyl in her blood. The lawsuit claims she used the patch as directed and was found dead the next morning by her boyfriend.

The Mylan fentanyl patch is a generic version of the Duragesic patch, which is manufactured by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The pain patch is prescribed to patients suffering from chronic, severe pain. It is designed to slowly deliver a dose of the powerful painkiller Fentanyl, which is an opioid that is considered 100 times more powerful than heroine. If too much of the medication is delivered or if the fentanyl gen contained in the patch comes in direct contact with the skin, it can cause a fatal fentanyl patch overdose.

The fentanyl lawsuit charges Mylan with failure to warn of the risks and negligence in designing and inspecting the patches to make sure they were safe for the public. The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $400,000 for loss of support and guidance and other costs.

There have been a number of reported problems with fentanyl pain patches due to manufacturing issues since the brand name medication was first introduced by Johnson & Johnson in 1994. At least six different fentanyl patch recalls have been issued by Johnson & Johnson and companies manufacturing generic versions of the patch, raising questions about whether the powerful painkiller can be safely made.

Hundreds of fentanyl pain patch overdose deaths have been associated with different versions of the patch, and dozens of pain patch lawsuits have been filed against the various manufacturers.

Out of the first four fentanyl patch wrongful death lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson to go to trial over problems with their Duragesic patch, plaintiffs have been successful in each case, with juries awarding a combined total of more than $36 million in damages.

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The lithium-ion cells used in the Tumi Mobile Power Pack can ignite or explode while charging, posing a fire hazard. This hazard is only present for units that have not been charged. To date, there have been two reports of consumers experiencing small fires during their initial charge. No injuries have yet been reported.

The recalled Mobile Power Pack is a mobile device that receives an AC charge in a compact battery pack that will then give five DC charges to small electronic devices, including mobile phones, MP-3 players, Blackberries, and PDAs. The power pack is black and silver and is rectangular in shape. The front of the pack has a small circular control panel and displays the word “Tumi,” which is engraved on a silver button located near the bottom of the device. Style number 14362 is printed on the power pack packaging.

The recalled Tumi Mobile Power Pack was manufactured in China—a country long associated with recalls of dangerous consumer and children’s products, food items, and medications, to name a few—and was sold by Tumi retail stores and department and specialty stores nationwide and online at www.Tumi.com, from August 2007 through March 2008. The recalled power pack retailed for $135.

The CPSC advised that if the unit has not been used and has never been charged, please do not try to charge the unit. Contact Tumi customer care for instructions on how to return the power pack and receive a free replacement power pack. If you have charged the unit previously without incident, you can continue to use the product.

Tumi customer care can be reached, tool-free, at 1-800-530-0069 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-800-530-0069      end_of_the_skype_highlighting between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; at the firm’s Web site at www.Tumi.com; or by email at customercare@tumi.com.

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the fine is the second largest it has ever levied for medical errors. The VA was cited for lacking procedures to ensure and verify the treatments were done correctly, failing to properly train staff and neglecting to immediately report mistakes.

“This substantial fine emphasizes the high significance of violations at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center that resulted in close to 100 of our nation’s veterans receiving substandard treatments,” NRC regional administrator Mark Satorius said.

The men underwent brachytherapy, a common surgical treatment that involves implanting tiny radioactive iodine pellets, often called “seeds,” in the prostate to kill cancer cells. Men who undergo only that type of treatment typically have low-risk prostate cancer.

VA officials reviewed medical records and conducted tests on 116 veterans implanted with the seeds from 2002 to 2008 and found that 97 received the wrong doses. Most of the men got far less than the prescribed dose, while others received too much radiation to nearby tissue and organs.

“The lack of management oversight, the lack of safety culture to ensure patients are treated safely, the potential consequences to the veterans who came to this facility and the sheer number of medical events show the gravity of these violations,” Satorius said in a statement.

The Philadelphia VA Medical Center, established in 1952, shut down its prostate cancer program as a result of the botched treatments.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has 30 days to pay the fine or challenge it.

Richard Citron, director of the medical center, acknowledged that “there were clearly missed opportunities in oversight from 2002 to 2008.” He added that it was the VA that discovered the errors, closed the program, reported its findings to the NRC and cooperated with the investigations that followed.

“I am troubled anytime my fellow veterans may not receive the level of care they earned and deserve,” Citron said. “But issues with the brachytherapy program do not reflect the high level of health care offered in Philadelphia or throughout the VA system.”

The highest fine ever imposed by the NRC was $280,000 in separate cases in 1987 and 1994.

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The father of Jeffrey Thompson, 29, is holding a press conference today to discuss the wrongful death suit against Franklin, Tenn.-based National Seating & Mobility.

“It’s incomprehensible,” said attorney Jon Friedmann, who represents Thompson’s parents, Charles and Susan. “They want the servicing companies like National Seating & Mobility to better train their personnel so nobody else ends up like Jeffrey.”

The suit stems from a Dec. 10, 2007 wheelchair repair session at Thompson’s home. Two technicians working on Thompson’s wheelchair did not remove him from his chair or disconnect the battery while doing the repairs, the suit says.

At some point, “the wheelchair abruptly ‘jumped’ while the repairmen were working on its electrical wiring, causing Jeffrey to become stuck under the table he was sitting at,” the suit said.

Thompson injured his legs and began to experience “uncontrollable seizures,” according to the suit and Friedmann. The technicians called Thompson’s personal care assistant, who instructed them to call 911, Friedmann said.

Thompson was hospitalized and died the next day from his injuries, the suit says.

“One would think you would just take him out of the wheelchair or disconnect the battery,” Friedmann said. “That’s what so egregious about this.”

The company’s attorney, Donald T. Giglio, referred questions about the suit to spokesman Bill Noelting, who declined comment. Friedmann said Thompson’s family tried unsuccessully to settle with the company for about a year. Court records show the suit was filed on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court.

Thompson was rendered a quadriplegic at age 17 when a car he was riding in crashed at a rotary, Friedmann said. As an adult, he established himself as an outspoken advocate on handicapped accessibility issues, Friedmann said. He was also a volunteer at the Boston Center for Independent Living, where he spoke out about accessibility issues at the MBTA. In 2006, the T infused $300 million into upgrades to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by the BCIL over accessibilty issues.

Friedmann said any settlement money would go to the JPT Foundation, a non-profit set up in Thompson’s honor to address handicap-access issues and help people with disabilities.

Find a Wrongful Death Attorney.

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) informed the FSIS that products subject to recall in Canada may have been exported to the United States. This public health alert was initiated after positive test results and an investigation by CFIA in response to a listeriosis illness outbreak. At this time, no confirmed linkage has been made between the products subject to recall and the reported illnesses. This is an ongoing investigation and as more information becomes available, FSIS may proceed with a recall action.

Implicated products, produced by Siena Foods LTD, in Toronto, Ontario, include, but are not limited to, “Cacciatore Salami, Mild,” “Coppa,” “Prosciuttini,” “Prosciuttini Hot,” and “Prosciutto Cotto.” The individually wrapped products have variable weights and a “Best Before” date through June 22, 2010, as well as the establishment number “Est. 212″ inside the CFIA mark of inspection. Of note, the original brand and/or best before dates may not have been transferred at the deli counters to consumer packages. Persons who may have purchased any of these products and do not know the original brand and code are advised to check with their retailer or supplier to determine if they have the affected product.

Listeriosis, the food borne disease caused by the Listeria pathogen, is dangerous and can often be deadly, causing serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. In pregnant women, Listeriosis can result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or birth of a baby suffering from the infection.

Pregnant women are about 20 times likelier than others to be infected, with about one-third of all Listeriosis cases occurring during pregnancy. Listeriosis can kill fetuses, prompt premature births, and can lead to hearing loss or brain damage in newborns and neurological effects and cardio respiratory failure in adults.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact the CFIA, toll-free, at 1-800- 442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735. Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

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The settlement with Learjet Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and other companies involved in the ownership, operation and making of the jet will pay for college for Chris Baker’s 3-year-old son and establish an annuity giving him more than $17 million over his lifetime.

It also will pay Baker’s widow more than $7.6 million.

Otilia Baker and her son attended the brief hearing before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel.

Strobel said the settlement was in the best interest of the youngster, who rested his chin on a chair while his mother and their attorney, Brian Panish, spoke with the judge.

“It’s a very sad case, but we’re glad they were able to avoid a trial and receive full compensation,” Panish said after the hearing.

Baker was killed in a plane crash in Columbia, S.C., in September 2008. The crash killed four people and left Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM seriously injured. DJ AM later died of a drug overdose.

Baker and the estate of DJ AM have settled their cases involving the crash for undisclosed terms. The details of the settlement with Baker’s family required a judge’s approval because it involved a child.

Federal investigators have yet to determine the cause of the crash but said the plane’s reverse thrusters - devices on the back of jet engines that divert their thrust forward to help slow the plane or force it backward - were not in the right position.

The pilots were trying to abort takeoff at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport when the accident happened.

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Circuit Judge Larry Anderson granted summary judgment to the City of Dothan in a wrongful death suit brought by Mary Downing, whose husband was killed by an intoxicated driver in January 2007, just minutes after she had been stopped and released by police officers.

The lawsuit alleges police officers should have arrested Tabitha Farmer on the evening of Jan. 13, 2007, for driving under the influence near downtown Dothan. Later the same evening Farmer’s vehicle struck and killed the 60-year-old Downing, crushing him against the wall of the outside of the building at Southern Family Market, now Bruno’s.

Attorneys for the City of Dothan filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming Alabama law protects the discretionary decisions of officers, so long as those decisions are not made maliciously, fraudulently, or in bad faith.

“The plaintiff has not put forth any evidence that the officer acted willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, or in bad faith, or beyond his or her authority, or under mistaken interpretation of the law,” Anderson wrote in his ruling, dated March 5.

Farmer, 27, pleaded guilty to murder in Downing’s death, and was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison. Prosecutors convicted Farmer of the murder charge because she was under the influence of an inhalant after she’d apparently been “huffing” in the car.

Farmer and Southern Family Markets remain defendants in the wrongful death suit.

“The court’s ruling points to the Alabama Legislature’s answer to the problems caused when law enforcement is not allowed to make their own decisions,” Dothan City Attorney Len White said in a written statement.

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The Coil Nailers could have a faulty feeder that can allow nails to be ejected sideways, posing a serious injury hazard to the user or bystanders. To date, the firm has received 37 reports of nails being ejected sideways, including 15 reports of injuries. The injuries were primarily in the eye region, including five reports of partial blindness.

The recalled Coil Nailers are used to project nails into drywall, wood or other materials. The model number is NV83A2 and can be found on the body of the product. Only those units manufactured between October 2002 and September 2005 are included in this recall.

The manufacturing date can be identified by the serial number engraved at the end of the handle. The first digit represents the month: 1 for January, 2 for February, 3 for March, 4 for April, 5 for May, 6 for June, 7 for July, 8 for August, 9 for September, O for October, N for November, and D for December. The second digit represents the year: 2 for 2002, 3 for 2003, 4 for 2004, and 5 for 2005.

The recalled Coil Nailers were sold for between $350 and $400 at Lowe’s, Home Depot, other home improvement and building supply stores, and online at Amazon.com nationwide from November 2002 through March 2006.

The CPSC is warning consumers to immediately stop using the recalled Coil Nailer and contact Hitachi Koki U.S.A., Ltd. for a free repair. Hitachi Koki U.S.A., Ltd. can be reached, toll-free, at 1-800-706-7337 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday or at the firm’s Web site at www.hitachipowertools.com

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