California Injury Attorney Blog

As infant safety lawyers, we have litigated what are always tragic cases involving infant death. In the past several years we have been at the forefront of infant product recalls involving cribs and basinettes and have posted on the dangers of crib bumpers.

In the early 1990's. the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a recommendation that infants be placed on their backs to sleep. This is said to have reduced the number of deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). However, infants continued to suffer tragic deaths in increasing numbers while sleeping in cribs. These deaths have been caused by such things as suffocation and entrapment due to defective cribs, basinettes and the like.

Earlier this week, the AAP has taken a step that we have been advocating for some time. We have represented unsuspecting parents whose babies needlessly suffocated in cribs due to bumpers, positioners and other materials left in the crib.

The AAP has now said put nothing in the baby's crib, but the baby. This means no pillows, blankets, bumpers or other things that could entrap the baby or cause suffocation.

In a policy statement called "SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment," the AAP has taken further steps to protect infants.

Updated safety recommendations include the importance of breastfeeding and immunizations that are both said to reduce SIDS. In addition, bumper pads should not be used in cribs. They AAP says there is simply "no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment."

Sadly, we are well-aware of the dangers of crib bumpers, having represented families dealing with the tragic death of infants who have been injured or suffocated in cribs with bumpers and other causes.

Other recommendations include the importance of placing babies on their backs when putting them to sleep, using a firm mattress for regular sleep, putting babies to sleep in their parents' room but not in the same bed, removing all soft objects from the bed such as blankets and toys, not using wedges or baby positioners, using awake time for tummy time to avoid babies developing a condition that results in the baby having a flat head.

California's preeminent consumer rights law firm, Hersh & Hersh has led the way in infant safety, having been at the forefront of the largest crib recall in the nation's history and other important infant safety actions. Please contact our office for a free consultation with one of our attorneys, for any matter involving defective products and devices, medical implants, infant safety, auto and other motor vehicle accidents and the like.

As defective medical device lawyers, we have posted in recent months about the serious issues with defective hip replacement devices. These hips are metal-on-metal hip replacement devices that were manufactured by several companies. But one hip device made by Johnson & Johnson has now failed in over twenty-five percent of patients by the sixth year after it was implanted.

The National Joint Registry of England reported that the general failure rate with metal-on-metal hip implants is nearly ten percent, but that the removal or replacement rate for the Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) from DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. is over double that percentage. These statistics have led the company to recall the device.

Johnson & Johnson is the largest manufacturer of hip implants. Metal-on-metal devices have a higher failure rate than other types of hip replacement devices. There are over 2,000 lawsuits now pending against the company regarding the failure of these devices.

The six year mark seems to be a particular milepost with the failure of these devices as the risk has been shown to increase at a sharp rate at the point in patients. What the statistics are showing is that after the sixth year of implantation removal rates are 4.7 percent generally for patients that have received any type of hip device. But the rate for metal-on-metal in this same period of time is 14 percent. Cemented devices account for only three percent of cases requiring removal. The use of the metal-on-metal hip replacements is declining, which is expected, given the fact that these are not performing as well as other hip devices are performing.

The New York Times reported in late August that the federal government is also receiving a major uptick in complaints regarding failed hip replacements. The NYT reports that between January and August of this year, the the federal Food and Drug Administration received over 5,000 complaints about metal-on-metal devices. This accounts for more complaints than the agency received in the prior four years combined.

The anticipated scale of the defective hip implants is likely to become a costly medical problem -- similar to that of the recalled Medtronic heart device several years ago. In addition to the need for additional surgeries, patients have suffered serious injuries from metallic debris that is being produced with this type of implant. Tissue damage can be severe so that even if the device is replaced, patients have great difficulty walking.

As is so often the case, there are safer alternatives that surgeons are now turning to in light of the problems with the metal-on-metal replacements. But for those patients that have been implanted with the defective hips, the shift to other devices comes too late and they have a higher likelihood of tissue damage and additional surgeries for replacement.

If you have been implanted with a DePuy or other metal-on-metal hip contact our injury law firm immediately. If you have not yet experienced symptoms, but would like to know your rights Hersh & Hersh can help. Contact us to arrange a free consultation with one of our highly experienced defective medical device litigation attorneys.

Recently, we posted on the serious dangers of what is called mild traumatic brain injury. These injuries are not visible on an MRI, but can cause life long impairments in adults and children. Now the CDC has issued a statement that even mild traumatic brain injuries can result in life-long impairments.

As brain injury lawyers having represented the victims of MTBI, we are well-aware of the dangers of these injuries and the need for the public to be aware of them. As noted by the CDC, "symptoms may appear mild, but the injury can lead to significant life-long impairment affecting an individual′s memory, behavior, learning, and/or emotions."

The CDC's statement about these brain injuries was part of a release of some sobering statistics about US youth and brain trauma. The CDC reports that over the past decade, head injuries resulting in emergency room visits have risen by 60 percent. These head injuries are mainly due to accidents involving kids playing football, soccer, and basketball, riding bicycles and playground activities.

As California personal injury attorneys , we are very aware of the devastating effects these injuries can have. And the numbers are rising. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2001 there were over 150,000 cases of traumatic brain injury in American youth. But the numbers climbed to nearly 250,000 in 2009.

The agency attributes this rise in head injury emergency room visits to greater awareness for both parents and sports coaches who now know that these injuries can be subtle and devastating at the same time. Perhaps the recent press reports regarding the long-term impact of these injuries for professional football players, for example, have also raised awareness.

The CDC also notes that children are more vulnerable to these injuries due to the chemical changes that occur in the developing brain after an injury. The majority of these injuries are occurring in boys. The primary age span is from 10 years to 19 years of age. Not surprisingly, boys are getting injured with more frequency in football and girls in soccer.

Football accounts for nearly 60 percent of the deaths that have resulted from traumatic injuries over the past 20 years. Over ten percent of the deaths that resulted from football were said to have been caused by kids going back into a game after a concussion. This has led over 20 states to require students to stay out of games after a head injury to ensure for their safe return to the field.

The San Francisco, California injury law firm of Hersh & Hersh provides free consultations with one of our experienced attorneys to evaluate your potential case. If you or your child have been injured and believe you might have suffered any form of traumatic brain injury, please contact our law firm to talk with us about your situation.

The stunning story last week of a man whose car plunged 200-feet in a Los Angeles forest ravine is truly remarkable. He beat the odds and survived for six days in the wilderness and with injuries.

In the case last week, the injured man is lucky to be alive. He is recovering from broken ribs and a broken arm, as well as a dislocated shoulder. His family would not give up in their search for him and went on a hunt that tracked cell phone usage and witness interviews to find him. The trauma surgeons are amazed by his fortitude and resourcefulness.

But his accident is actually the type of accident that is being studied. The renown researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) are studying the causes of what are known as single vehicle accidents. In this case, the man reported to authorities that he swerved to avoid oncoming lights and went up on the side of the road and then over the edge and down into the ravine.

The current studies underway at VTTI's Center for Injury Biomechanics are researching the causation mechanisms of traumatic road departure motor vehicle accidents. The studies will take place over a period of two to four years and will involve the study of passenger vehicles and motorcycles crashes.

According to VTTI, there are about 10,000 people who are fatally injured in road departure crashes often due to "collisions with trees, poles, side slopes, and other hazards." The studies will look at guide rails, signs and other devices that might play a part in these accidents. The hope is to reduce the severity of these crashes by studying
the conditions under which road departures occur, such as happened in the Los Angeles accident and to reduce both the severity and frequency of these crashes. In addition, the biomechanics of injuries resulting from these accidents will be studied.

Sadly, another vehicle went off the road in the same location. The man in that vehicle was deceased as the second driver clung to life and survived.

The California injury law firm of Hersh & Hersh has worked for the safety and well-being of consumers for four decades. If you have been injured in a bus, car, or other motor vehicle accident, contact our law firm for a free consultation with one of our lawyers.