Mobile, Alabama Personal Injury Lawyer Blog | Long & Waite

In 2003, one Maria Alaimo, aged 47, had breast surgery – a combination of a breast lift and breast augmentation.

• A breast lift (mastopexy) is a procedure done after sagging has stretched the skin and created a flattened contour. It removes excess skin and tightens the tissue into a higher and more youthful shape.
• Breast augmentation is the insertion of breast implants under the breast tissue and perhaps under the chest muscle (pectoral muscle) to make the breasts look larger than they are naturally.

These two procedures are not typically done in combination, as many women go for the much-publicized breast augmentation who actually only need a breast lift, and usually only one or the other procedure is necessary. Alaimo had two children so presumably pregnancy and perhaps breast feeding had caused her breasts to sag and the skin to stretch.

A “Double-Bubble Deformity”

In Alaimo’s case, a “double-bubble deformity” was the result of having a combination procedure. This negative outcome sometimes occurs in a breast implant surgery when there is not enough distance between the breast crease (beneath the breast) and the nipple to accommodate the implant’s extra volume. To address the problem, the surgeon lowers the breast crease, in effect “borrowing” some skin from the diaphragm area. The borrowed skin is incorporated into the breast, forming a new and lower crease line.

The problem arises when the original crease line “remembers” where it was and creates an indentation across the lower part of the breast. This means there are two creases, giving two breast curves, one of the breast containing the nipple and one over the implant which sags below the natural breast.

$3.5 Million Award

The civil suit, in Staten Island Supreme Court, began last week with a six-panel jury. The defendant, a well-respected cosmetic surgeon named Dr. Berman, said in his defense that he had given the plaintiff clear warnings about the risks of her combination procedure. That is always done before any surgery and the prospective patient must sign an Acknowledgment Form agreeing that he or she has been informed of the risks and has chosen to go ahead with the surgery anyway.

The jury deliberated for nine hours but could not reach a unanimous decision. One juror was not convinced that the doctor was at fault. The other five thought that he had botched the surgery and committed medical malpractice. Even though it was not a unanimous decision, Alaimo was awarded $1 million for her past pain and suffering and $2.5 million for future pain and suffering.

It is evidently hard to correct a “double bubble” deformity while retaining the implants, but one has to wonder why she could not have the implants removed, thus removing the second “bubble” on each side. However, news reports of this case do not give very much medical information.

All surgery carries risk and the surgeon is legally required to advise every patient of what they are. If that is not done, or if the surgery is indeed botched, you would probably have a valid legal claim. Please contact our Mobile, Alabama office today if you have been harmed by a medical procedure and would like to schedule a free consultation.

On February 8, 2010, this space wrote about a hog farm lawsuit in Missouri and how the same plaintiffs had already sued the same company, Premium Standard Farms (PSF) in 1999 and received $100,000 each because of hog odor. Their lawyer, one Charlie Speer, is on a roll with hog farm lawsuits and stated that he has hundreds of them pending in Missouri. Based on one of his previously settled cases, he considers $1.2 million to be the standard of what he expects from his pending suits.

The plaintiffs are themselves farmers and their current second suit claims that PSF and similar farming companies should do more than comply with all the state environmental regulations – they should somehow meet special standards for the benefit of their neighbors.

On Thursday last week, the jury in this suit awarded $11 million to these plaintiffs.

Premium Standard Farms the Biggest Local Employer

While the lawsuit had been proceeding, 1,500 people had filled a school gymnasium for a meeting about the issue of hog farm odor. Some cannot smell anything. Others say the smell makes them feel sick. Water pollution in the area is attributed to local cattle farms rather than the hog farms. PSF supporters accuse the plaintiffs of filing frivolous lawsuits.

PSF began operating in northern Missouri in the 1990s, opening large farms, and it now produces 1.8 million hogs annually. During the 1980s, many farmers had filed for bankruptcy and sold their farms. The local economy was poor until PSF brought in new money and stability. Their taxes help pay for roads and schools and the employment they create has greatly improved the economy of seven Missouri counties.

PSF May Leave Missouri

Now PSF is considering leaving Missouri and people fear another economic collapse. In the 1990s, there was a consent decree and PSF was given 11 years, until 2004, to reduce hog odors. They installed biofilters on the barns to remove odors but apparently that was not effective enough. They were given an extension until July 2010 and have been working on new technology called “scrapers”.

Now PSF has asked the Missouri Attorney General, Chris Koster, to extend the deadline again while they test the scrapers.

• “There are jobs at stake up there,” Koster said. “My job is to balance interests of the consent decree and the economic impact on the communities.

PSF has also worked on groundwater runoff and several lagoons. ““It’s important to give credit where credit is due,” said Koster.

An attorney for PSF, Jean Paul Bradshaw, says the company does not believe there is any serious odor problem.

• “All our testing shows there is not an odor from the barns,” Bradshaw said. “The company believes we are solving a problem that doesn’t exist, but we are working on it.”

In response to queries as to whether PSF would really leave Missouri, Bradshaw said, “The hog business isn’t good right now. A lot of states would like to have those jobs.”

• “Animals smell,” said Guernsey, a Missouri dairy farmer. “There are times that it smells worse than others, but it isn’t as bad as people say it is.”

However, the jury in this case decided that the plaintiffs deserved a generous award. No doubt it will be appealed.

Premises Liability law requires that property owners keep their premises safe for visitors and lawful users. When a defect on someone’s premises exists in the air rather than in buildings or on the ground, it seems to make for more controversy and claims tend to be more subjective.

If you have been hurt by another person’s negligence, you can learn more about your legal rights and options by contacting us for a free case evaluation.

U.S. regulators have received over 1,100 complaints from consumers about the power steering failures in various Chevrolet and Pontiac models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started investigating after receiving these complaints, which included 14 car accidents. Those accidents have only caused one injury, however.

GM plans to replace the motor in the power steering systems of about 1.3 million vehicles. They are:

• The 2005-2010 Cobalt;
• 2007-2010 Pontiac G5;
• 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit sold in Canada; and
• The 2005-2006 Pontiac G4 sold in Mexico.

According to a GM statement, customers who own these models will be notified when the company’s plan is ready. These vehicles can be manually steered when the power steering fails, although it takes more effort. The steering failures tend to happen in older cars whose warranties are expired.

GM, now owned by the Obama government after the Detroit bailouts, reported a 44 percent decline in Cobalt sales compared to 2008. Sales for 2009 were 104,724 Cobalt cars. In February of this year, they reported fewer sales than analysts had predicted, which could have been due to snowstorms, although that is not known.

GM Reducing the Opel Division

In efforts to increase its sales of Opel models, GM plans to triple its funding by appealing to European governments for loans and guarantees

• “European governments, not least Germany, want GM to raise its commitment to Opel as a condition to provide state aid,” said Marc-Rene Tonn, an analyst at M.M. Warburg in Hamburg.

Because of the decline in Opel sales, GM needs more funding to restructure that division and plans to reduce the Opel workforce by 17 percent and the division’s production capacity by 20 percent over the next two or three years.

According to GM Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, GM will continue scaling back its spending and reducing its bureaucracy in an attempt to increase market share in 2010 and post a profit.

If you have one of the Chevy or Pontiac models being recalled, you can contact your dealer for information about the power steering motor replacement plan.

The causes of car accidents are legion. Power steering failure at least leaves you with manual steering, although many drivers may be unfamiliar with the increased muscle it requires. Hopefully there will be no further injuries from this defect.

If you have been harmed by a defective vehicle and are wondering how to learn more about your legal options, please contact our Mobile, Alabama law office today for a free case evaluation.

In July, 2006, in Virginia, one Hector Alvarez fired up his barbecue and made steak for the family dinner. He took one bite and trouble started. The piece of steak got stuck in his throat and he had trouble swallowing and developed chest pain.

He went to the Inova HealthPlex at Franconia-Springfield that night, where he was given a CT chest scan, an EKG, and general X-rays. The films were emailed to one William J. Dunwoody III, who was the radiologist working that night at Inova Alexandria Hospital.

He first thought that Alvarez had "a large hiatal hernia". According to Alvarez’ attorney, John J. Sellinger, Alvarez said it felt as if the steak "went down the wrong way". He was given various medications but they did not reduce the pain. At about midnight, an ambulance took Alvarez to a different hospital for further treatment and doctors there continued giving him pain medication.

Delayed Diagnosis

The following afternoon, a surgeon looked more closely at Alvarez's CT scan and saw that he had a perforated esophagus. That is, he had a hole in the canal between the mouth and the stomach, evidently created by the steak as it went down. Since Alvarez felt it had gone down the wrong way, it must have moved at least partially through the hole it created and into the surrounding tissue.

The surgeon immediately ordered that Alvarez be prepared for surgery to correct the perforation. He also ordered an epidural (inside the spinal canal) catheter for pain medication delivery post-surgery.

Cardiac Arrest

The surgery was performed to repair Alvarez's esophagus but Alvarez went into cardiac arrest when the catheter was inserted and pain medication given. Sellinger states that Alvarez was weakened from having an undiagnosed perforated esophagus for about 24 hours and that "... if he hadn't been so sick when they put the epidural in, he wouldn't have arrested."

Doctors tried to resuscitate Alvarez but he suffered irreversible brain damage from interrupted blood circulation to the brain and died about two weeks later.

Alvarez's widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2007 against the radiologist Dunwoody (who did not see the esophageal perforation on Alvarez's CT scan), the Association of Alexandria Radiologists and Fairfax Anesthesiology (whose doctor did the surgery). There was a long pre-trial process, during which Fairfax Anesthesiology agreed to pay $600,000 to Ms. Alvarez.

The Radiology association chose to go to trial and must now pay $1.25 million. The jury actually awarded $2,933,500 but had not been told that Virginia has a cap on medical malpractice judgments, so the amount was reduced.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm because of a healthcare professional's carelessness, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim. Please contact our Mobile, Alabama office today for a free case evaluation.

In July 2008, one Michael Hess was on an elevated walkway in a Springfield, N.J. shopping plaza. He leaned against a metal railing, which gave way, and he fell four feet to the pavement underneath. He sustained three fractured vertebrae, a dislocated shoulder, and loss of hearing on one side. He had hit his head on the pavement and suffered from disorientation, behavior problems and loss of urination control.

In repairing his vertebrae, metal plates had to be implanted and his shoulder required surgery for correction. His MRI films revealed no bleeding in the brain, but his mental problems were attributed to a closed-head injury. He has since had to retire from his job of warehouseman.

Hess sued the shopping plaza owner, Paragano Properties in New Jersey in a premises liability suit. His lawyer, one Raymond Gill Jr., requested a restraining order to prevent Paragano from repairing the broken railing, so that it would be available as evidence. However, he lost and Paragano repaired it, no doubt for the safety of other shoppers.

Yesterday, the claim was mediated and settled without being argued to a jury. Hess was awarded $10.3 million for his medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Brain injuries are among the most disabling and can completely disable a person, depending on the location and severity of the injury. A closed brain injury is one where the skull is not penetrated. The brain can be injured by being slammed against the inside surface of the skull, as can happen with a whiplash injury. If there is no bleeding in the brain, the injury is less severe, though brain tissue may still be bruised and nerves damaged.

If you have a loved one who suffered a brain injury because of another person's negligence, please contact us for a free case evaluation. You can ask your questions and receive clear answers and sound legal advice.

Eleven poultry companies in Arkansas and Oklahoma have been sued over their waste disposal and accused of poisoning the Illinois River watershed. That watershed is shared by Oklahoma and Arkansas and the state of Oklahoma filed the suit. The trial has gone on for four months now and last week the attorneys made their closing arguments. The judge has not yet issued a ruling.

The Plaintiff Side

The plaintiffs claim that for several decades, the companies have disposed of their chicken waste by giving it to local farmers for fertilizer. The waste includes feathers, droppings, and bedding (straw? hay?) left behind after the chickens are taken to slaughter. This has contaminated the watershed, according to the plaintiffs, and instead of being given to the farmers, the waste should have been disposed of properly. News reports are not saying what a proper method of disposal would be.

The Defendant Side

Lawyers representing the poultry companies say that their clients did handle the waste responsibly and lawfully. They say that Oklahoma has not produced any evidence that the chicken waste has polluted the watershed; and they claim that the pollution has been caused by twelve wastewater treatment plants in the area, plus runoff from local cattle waste.

One of the poultry companies is Tyson Poultry, Inc. and Mark Hopson, attorney for Tyson, described Oklahoma’s science, used to make its case, as "... scattered dots and scattered lines of evidence that are not connected".

The Judge

The judge in this case is U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell. He ruled last year that Oklahoma may not pursue monetary damages, but may seek injunctive relief including a temporary moratorium on use of the waste on farmlands and the appointment of monitors to supervise proper disposal of the waste.

No doubt there will be a ruling on this case in the near future. If you have been harmed by another person's use of their property, you may have a valid premises liability claim. You can learn more about your legal rights and options by contacting our office for a free case evaluation.

Biogen idec, Inc. in Massachusetts and its Irish partner, Elan Corp. offer a drug called Tysabri (natalizumab). It works on the body's immune system and is designed to target only certain cells so as to protect healthy cells from any damage. It is used for multiple sclerosis (MS), to treat it when it relapses. It is also used for Crohn's disease.

In 2005, the two drug companies withdrew Tysabri from the market after three people developed brain infections and two of them died. The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) decided in 2006 that it could be placed for sale again because its benefits for M.S. outweigh the slight risk of brain infection. The FDA required stricter prescription guidelines as a way to limit the brain infection risk.

Since 2006, there have been no more reports of brain infection until recently. Thirty-four new cases have been reported (four of them just this week) and one person has died of this brain infection. It is called Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Brain cells communicate with each other with electrical signals sent along nerve cell axons (long fibers). Axons are normally wrapped in a fatty sheath called myelin. When a person has MS, their immune system is attacking the myelin, damaging it, and thereby preventing the brain cells from communicating effectively or at all. The damage causes scars known as scleroses -- hence the name multiple sclerosis. The cause of MS is unknown.

What is PML?

Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy is a viral disease involving many areas of inflammation and damage in the brain's white matter. It is very rare. It cannot be treated and can be fatal after much brain cell deterioration involving blindness, impaired speech, physical weakness, and cognitive decline. It occurs almost entirely in people with immune deficiency such as AIDS patients and transplant patients taking drugs that suppress the immune system so that their transplant will not be rejected.

Tysabri's Labeling

The labeling states that the brain infection rate is one in 1,000. "The overall picture is consistent with the rate described in the label," said Naomi Aoki, a Biogen spokeswoman. "PML remains rare." She added that the longer a person takes Tysabri, the more likely it may become that they will have PML.

So far, of the 35 PML cases, 11 have been in the U.S., 21 in Europe, and three elsewhere.

It does not appear that Tysabri is necessarily a defective drug. If the labeling is correct and if physicians follow the strict prescription guidelines and monitor their patients properly, perhaps there will never be many cases of PML. All drugs have side effects and most of the time, drug safety is a matter of appropriate and/or FDA-approved use, with the labeling information in mind and warnings observed.

However, there are certainly defective drugs on the market from time to time, which usually get withdrawn after enough cases of severe side effects are reported. It is part of the FDA's job to monitor such reports and take action when necessary.

If you have been harmed by a defective product of any kind, and wonder whether you have a fair legal claim, please contact our law office today for a free case evaluation.