Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Mandatory arbitration clauses are contained in almost every consumer transaction agreement, and financial and employment contracts. We have previously written about the fact that these mandatory arbitration clauses benefit only big business. As a result of the unfair nature of these clauses, there has been a movement within the United States to prohibit their inclusion in many consumer, financial, and employment contracts.

The increasingly conservative United States Supreme Court has recently been upholding a wide range of mandatory arbitration clauses. Just recently, the Supreme Court agreed to decide during the next term whether a class-action ban in a cell phone arbitration agreement is unconscionable. This is one of the most controversial issues in arbitration.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a steady stream of arbitration cases during the past decade or so. The decisions have generally been pro-arbitration., even though lower courts appear to be increasingly skeptical of claims that arbitrations offer greater efficiency and lessen costs of court litigation.

The most important case pending before the Supreme Court is AT&T v. Concepcion, which is the cell phone class-action ban case.

Also pending before the Supreme Court is the case of Rent A Center v. Jackson. In that case, Jackson, the plaintiff sued his employer for race discrimination and retaliation. The trial court granted the employer's motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration according to a clause in Jackson's employment contract.

Jackson appealed, arguing that the arbitration agreement was unconscionable and that the issue of unconscionability must be decided by a court, not an arbitrator. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed that the threshold issue of unconscionability is for a court to decide.

While these cases are pending , Congress has begun to address the arbitration problem. Currently pending is a bill, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009, which would ban pre-dispute arbitration agreements in employment, consumer and franchise contracts. This legislation has been introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia and Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. The legislation has garnered substantial support, but other issues such as health care reform and financial reform have placed it on a back burner.

This is very important legislation as the Supreme Court seems intent on upholding these patently unfair and unconscionable clauses.

Medical errors kill and maim thousands of citizens every year. Now, under the new health care reform legislation, something is finally being done to protect innocent potential victims of medical errors.

The new healthcare legislation, which was so vehemently opposed by many as being the destruction of healthcare, puts hospitals on notice that they must improve the safety and quality of care for patients or risk large fines.

The health care reform statute contains dozens of provisions designed to protect patients. These include including fining hospitals in an effort to reduce medical errors, hospital-borne infections and costly preventable readmissions. It is estimated that these three problems alone cost billions of dollars annually.

When considered individually the costs and extent of these problems is staggering.
Preventable readmissions cost the health care system about $25 billion every year, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In an effort to alleviate this problem, beginning in 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services will publish each hospital's readmission track record. A “readmission” is defined as a patient returning within 30 days of discharge. High readmission rates tend to indicate hospitals are ignoring patient issues or engaging in premature discharges.

In an effort to stem this issue, beginning in 2012, Medicare will stop paying hospitals for preventable readmissions tied to certain health conditions such as heart failure or pneumonia. In 2014, the policy will be expanded even farther.

The second penalty for hospitals addresses hospital-acquired conditions stemming from medical errors or infections.

The government currently gives hospitals an incentive payment for reporting their performance in areas such as patient satisfaction and care tied to treatment of conditions such as heart failure, pneumonia and hospital-borne infections.

Under the new statute, beginning in 2012, hospitals will be reimbursed according to their score. Higher scoring hospitals will receive higher payment and vice versa.
In 2015, the government will start reporting each hospital's record for medical errors and infections relating to Medicare patients.

About 15 million injuries result every year in the United States due to inferior medical treatment. These include more than than 30,000 people who die annually from catheter-related blood stream infections.

In 2015, Medicare will reduce its payments by 1% to hospitals with the highest rate of medical errors and infections. The government will also no longer pay hospitals for treatment when a Medicaid patient is harmed during a hospital stay.

It is anticipated that these financial incentives and penalties will greatly reduce injuries to patients and save millions of dollars at the same time.

From a consumer, patient and taxpayer perspective, these new common sense provisions are a big win.

An outbreak of 19 E-coli related illnesses in Michigan, Ohio and New York may be linked to shredded romaine lettuce sold to grocery stores for use in salad bars and delis, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yesterday, the FDA announced a recall of the potentially dangerous produce.

Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can be extremely harmful. Strains of E. coli can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and other illnesses.

The lettuce has been recalled by Freshway Foods, a closely held company based in Sidney, Ohio, according to the FDA press release. Twelve of the 19 people with confirmed cases of E. coli have been hospitalized, including three with potentially life-threatening complications.

The recalled lettuce was sold to wholesalers and food- service outlets in 23 states and Washington, D.C., the FDA said. The lettuce also was sold for use in salad bars and delis in supermarkets owned by Kroger, Ingles, Marsh Supermarkets Inc., and Giant Eagle Inc. The states involved are: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The illnesses in the three states were linked to lettuce produced by one processing plant and a New York public health laboratory confirmed E. coli in an unopened bag of lettuce from the same facility, the FDA said in its release

We have recently written about the defective heart defibrillators sold by the Guidant Corporation and the dangers they present. Last week a federal judge in Minnesota rejected a plea agreement between the federal government and the Guidant Corporation, saying that the deal did not hold the company sufficiently accountable.

The plea agreement worked out between federal prosecutors and Guidant requires Guidant to plead guilty to two misdemeanors and pay a $296 million fine.

But, the judge held that the agreement was not in the best interest of justice and failed to adequately serve the public’s interest. He found that it did not adequately address the seriousness of the offenses.

The judge found that prosecutors should have sought probation for Guidant and its parent, Boston Scientific. Probation would have allowed the court to maintain control over Guidant to ensure that agreed upon remedial steps were implemented.
The judge also suggested other provisions that might be suitable in a new plea deal, including charitable activities by Guidant to improve heart device safety and improve medical care among minority patients.

After a hearing last month, several doctors and patients wrote to the judge urging him to reject the deal and arguing that former Guidant executives should be criminally charged in the case.

The case results from disclosures in 2005 that Guidant did not alert doctors and patients that some of its defibrillators had a defect that might cause them to fail. At least six patients died.

Recently, prosecutors charged in court papers that Guidant had knowingly sold potentially flawed defibrillators. But that issue was not addressed in the plea agreement. Instead, the company agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges that related to the completeness and accuracy of its filings with the FDA.

Dangerous cribs that can injure or kill infants have been recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced last week that approximately 217,000 Graco cribs have been recalled, due to a malfunction that can entrap, suffocate or strangle infants and toddlers.

The recall includes "drop side" wooden cribs made by LaJobi.

Faulty hardware can cause the drop side to detach from the crib, creating a gap in which infants and toddlers can become wedged or entrapped, posing a risk of suffocation and strangulation.

The CPSC and LaJobi received 99 complaints about the faulty drop side. Children were trapped in two cases and later freed by their caregivers. There were six reports of children falling out of the crib due to the malfunction.

While LaJobi, as the manufacturer, is primarily handling the recall, it marks the third major recall tied to the Graco name this year. Atlanta-based Graco Children's Products recalled 1.5 million strollers in January and 1.2 million high chairs in March.

The cribs were sold, starting in February 2007 at retailers throughout the country for $140 to $200. The crib recall includes Ashleigh Drop Side, Hapton Drop Side, Jason Convertible Drop Side, Kendal Drop Side, Lauren Drop Side, Sarah Drop Side, Shannon Drop Side, and Tifton Drop Side.

Consumers should immediately stop using the cribs and contact LaJobi's recall hotline at (888) 842-2215 to receive a free hardware retrofit kit, the company said.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that on Thursday of this week the government recalled thousands of baby cribs manufactured by Simplicity and Graco, after warning that babies could suffocate or strangle in them. Apparently the problem with both types of cribs relates to faulty or defective hardware. According to the article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Simplicity crib recall was linked to at least one death and it involved thousands of cribs. The recall involving Simplicity products is for all full-sized cribs with tubular medal mattress or support frames. Allegedly, those frames can bend or detach, causing the mattress to collapse and creating a space where a child can become trapped and suffocate. The Graco branded wood cribs involve a side that moves up and down, which can break or detach, creating a dangerous gap where a child can become trapped and suffocate.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented the families of numerous consumers whose loved ones have died as a result of defective products. If you or a loved one have been seriously injured as a result of purchasing and using a dangerous product, call us today for a free consultation. We have been handling product liability cases for over 45 years.

Defective medical devices have been a major source of injury and death for years. During previous administrations device makers have been basically unregulated due to lax enforcement by the Food and Drug Administration. This abdication of responsibility may soon end.

Federal regulators say they are moving to tighten their oversight of medical devices. Specifically included are infusion pumps, one of the most commonly used pieces of medical equipment. These pumps intravenously deliver drugs, food and other solutions to patients, and have been the subject of many failures for years.

Last Friday, the FDA issued preliminary guidelines that will require producers of infusion pumps to supply the agency with more test data on them before they can be approved for sale.

The FDA reports that over the last five years it has received reports of 710 patient deaths linked to problems with infusion pumps. FDA officials say they think the number may be significantly higher. Some of the reported deaths involved patients who suffered drug overdoses accidentally, either because a hospital worker entered incorrect dosage data into a pump or because the device’s software malfunctioned.

The FDA estimates that two million infusion pumps are used in hospital and clinical settings and hundreds of thousands more are used by patients in their homes.
The new initiative by the FDA is the result of the Obama administration trying to reestablish the role of the FDA after years of criticism by lawmakers and others that it was a rubber stamp for medical device industry.

A few years ago several top FDA scientists complained that their superiors had ignored both their recommendations and policy guidelines in approving the sale of infusion pumps. Along with reports of 710 deaths, the center also received more than 10,000 complaints annually about infusion pumps from 2005 to 2009.

A senior FDA official announced that new approach that the agency was taking toward infusion pumps might soon be extended to other types of medical devices.
The biggest makers of infusion pumps include Baxter Healthcare of Deerfield, Ill.; Hospira of Lake Forest, Ill.; and CareFusion of San Diego.

Under the infusion pump proposal, which could be completed by the end of the year, producers would be required to provide additional data to support the procedures they used to determine the effectiveness and safety of their devices. In addition, companies would have to conduct limited clinical trials to ensure their pumps were not susceptible to misuse or had design elements that could create errors.

The pump manufacturers say that most problems occur when a nurse or health care worker enters the wrong software data accidentally. FDA officials found that not to be the case. In the FDA review of pump complaints many more deaths and injuries related to the devices were the result of defective product design and engineering.

Under current FDA rules, life-sustaining devices like heart defibrillators must be subjected to clinical trials before they are approved for sale. But the FDA clears the sale of many other critical devices like pumps without clinical testing based on a manufacturer’s claim that a new device is similar to a product already on the market.

The Food and Drug Administration and Medtronic Inc have announced a recall of some of Medtronic’s Lifepak heart monitor and external defibrillators. The recall was caused by concerns that the devices can unexpectedly turn on and off.

The FDA said it considered the recall of Medtronic's Lifepak 15 emergency heart devices a Class I recall, the most serious possible. It said the defect is serious enough to cause harm or death.

Lifepak devices are used in emergency settings by hospitals, the military and others to help the heart beat normally and to monitor patients.

The recall affects Lifepak 15 devices made before Dec. 16, 2009. No patients have been harmed to date.

The defibrillators were manufactured with an internal component that could cause an electrical short that leads to the device turning off/on by itself or a power loss. A loss of power could delay or prevent delivery of defibrillation therapy.

A study of Medicare patients shows that doctors are increasingly performing costlier, more complex spinal fusion surgeries, sometimes unnecessarily, for stenosis, a common lower back condition caused by aging and arthritis.

Even more disturbing is that the findings suggest these more challenging operations are riskier, leading to more complications and even deaths.

According to surgeons, a simpler and less risky operation could cost $20,000 and the more complex one $80,000 without any good evidence the expensive one is being used appropriately in the majority of cases.

The cost to Medicare, just for the hospital charges for the three types of back surgery reviewed is about $1.65 billion a year, according to the researchers.

All the patients in the study had stenosis in their lower backs, a painful squeezing in the spine that's most common in people over 50. The researchers compared the risks for three different types of surgery for the condition: decompression, simple fusion and complex fusion.

There's little agreement about the best way to treat chronic lower back pain, and much depends on what's causing the pain.

Many times steroid injections and physical therapy provide relief, and a simple decompression procedure is as helpful as a spinal fusion and with less risk.
In a decompression procedure, the simplest method in the Medicare study, a surgeon cuts away part of the bone that's painfully pressing on nerves. It can cost about $30,000 in hospital and surgeon fees.

For a fusion, a surgeon binds two or more vertebrae together using a bone graft, with or without plates and screws. The researchers defined a complex fusion as one involving three or more vertebrae or more than one side of the spine. Fusions cost $60,000 to $90,000.

The researchers analyzed data on more than 32,000 Medicare patients who had one of the three types of surgeries in 2007.

About 5 in 100 patients who had simple or complex fusions suffered major complications such as stroke compared to 2 in 100 with decompressions. The risk of death within 30 days after surgery was different too: 6 in 1,000 for complex fusions compared with 5 in 1,000 for simple fusions and 3 in 1,000 for decompressions.
More than half the patients who had complex fusions had a simple stenosis, which usually calls for decompression alone. They did not have curvature of the spine or a slipped vertebra which might suggest a fusion is needed.

Rates of complex fusions in Medicare patients rose 15-fold from 2002 to 2007, while decompressions and simple fusions declined, the study found. Although the overall procedure rate fell, hospital charges grew 40 percent.

Aggressive marketing of devices used in complex fusions is likely playing a role in the increase according to researchers. The marketing includes ads in medical journals and lectures by surgeons on the payroll of device manufacturers.

Allegations of kickbacks to spine surgeons for using products and questionable financial arrangements to doctors as consultants have abounded in the industry. One company, Medtronic Inc., reached a $40 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in a whistleblower case that included allegations the company paid doctors to use its spine surgery products. The company denied any wrongdoing.

A provision in the new health care law requires device makers and others to file annual reports to the government on their financial ties to doctors. Patients will be able to look up possible conflicts in a government database.

General Motors Co. Is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compacts cars to repair or replace steering motors which can fail causing the vehicle to be difficult to steer at lower speeds. While this may not be an insurmountable problem for some drivers, the Georgia injury lawyers recognize that it may be a serious problem for older or elderly drivers who may surprised by the loss of the power steering and be physically unable to steer the vehicle. Under those circumstances a power steering failure could cause an automobile accident with devastating consequences.

According to an article published by the Associated Press today, General Motors told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall on Monday. NHTSA began an investigation into 905,000 of the models on January 27th after getting 1,100 complaints that the cars lost their power steering. The complaints included 14 crashes and one injury.

If you or a loved one have been injured in an automobile accident involving a recalled vehicle, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP .Our firm has been representing injured victims in products liability claims for over 45 years.

Food products are prohibited by federal law and regulations from containing misleading or false claims on packaging or in advertising. The enforcement of these laws has been lax in the past eight years or so.

Now, under the Obama administration, a pattern of more rigorous regulatory action is evolving, particularly at the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA.

In a recent crackdown on false and misleading claims on food packages, the Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 17 producers for making what it alleges are misleading statements about nutrition and health benefits.

The warning letters apply to 22 products and challenge labeling language on such issues as fat content, nutrient standards and the purported ability of a particular food to prevent medical problems. The increased enforcement was applauded by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the nonprofit advocacy group which recently released a report documenting purported labeling abuses.

Among the targets of the FDA action was a label for Mrs. Smith's Coconut Custard Pie, produced by Schwan's Consumer Brands North America of Bloomington, Minn. It advertised that the pie contained no trans fat, but did not disclose that it contained significant levels of saturated fat and total fat.

Diamond Food of Stockton was cited for making claims that its shelled walnuts warded off maladies such as arthritis, cancer and heart disease.

The agency also issued an industrywide challenge to upgrade the quality of nutrition labeling. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg released a "Dear Industry" letter in which she invited food producers to collaborate on improving nutrition information, particularly on the front of food labels, where consumers are most likely to see it.

The issue of tort reform has been embraced by many health care reform opponents as being necessary to bring down medical costs in the United States. This mantra is constantly repeated even though all unbiased studies show that the cost of medical malpractice is only a small fraction of the health care costs in the United States and that capping damages to severely injured people does little, if anything, to lower insurance costs for doctors or stop inflation of medical costs. Yet, the proponents of this so called tort reform constantly repeat this falsehood even though over 98,000 innocent people die every year in this country alone due to medical errors.

This week CNN covered a story that everyone concerned about high medical costs should view. Their reporters uncovered massive overbillings by hospitals. These outrageous billings included $1,000 for a common toothbrush. You can go to your pharmacy and buy 100 Tylenol pills for $10, yet one hospital billed $140 for a single pill. An alcohol prep pad, a piece of gauze, was billed at $44.00 by a hospital when the retail cost at a pharmacy is 23 cents. In another example a hospital billed an emergency room patient for 41 bags of IV fluid during a 2 hour visit. This of course is impossible.

Our own lawyers can tell similar stories. We had one client who was severely injured in an automobile accident and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Yet, when reviewing the bill we discovered a $25 dollar charge for a “mouthcare kit” which consisted of a plastic cup, a toothbrush, and mouthwash. Also charged for this patient who was dead upon arrival was $45 for a pillow.

These are just a few of the overbillings we have seen. In fact, CNN reported that health insurance companies rarely review hospital bills unless they are in excess of $100,00.00.

If the proponents of tort reform really want to lower healthcare costs these outrageous charges might be a good place to start.

Chrysler Group LLC announced on yesterday it will replace a front airbag crash sensor in more than 355,000 minivans. Careful not to call it a “recall”, Chrysler says it’s “safety improvement campaign” covers its 2005 -2006 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans sold in the United State and Canada.

Chrysler’s “safety improvement campaign” came about because they discovered that under certain environmental conditions one of the front airbag sensors could crack allowing water to enter the sensor potentially rendering it inoperable. In a carefully worded document Chrysler sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to notify them of the “safety improvement campaign”, Chrysler said inter alia, “Until the vehicle is repaired, the airbags may not provide the enhanced protection in the event of a crash.”

As Georgia injury lawyers, we have seen and litigated many product liability cases. It is clear that, at present, in the event of an automobile accident involving Chrysler’s 2005 -2006 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans potentially the front seat passengers of those vehicles would have no protection and might be subjected to serious injuries and possibly death in the event of a head-on collision.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured as a result of a defective and dangerous product of any kind, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP to discuss your legal rights.

Recently, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP got a call from a former client who advised us that her 21 year old daughter had been having gall bladder problems that led to her having her gall bladder removed. It turned out that she had been taking one of two related dangerous drugs that have become associated with such health problems, Yaz. Yasmin became a very popular seller for Bayer Corp. almost immediately upon release to the public in 2001 (Yaz was approved in 2006). Both are oral contraceptives that combine progestin with estrogen to prevent pregnancy. Bayer’s earlier commercials for Yaz claimed it was not only an effective birth control, but that it also provided relief from PMS and acne. Although the side effects were played down in the original commercials, the FDA demanded new spots be aired that were more forthcoming about potential risks. Yasmin and Yaz share an ingredient; drospirenone, which is a component of progestin. Drospirenone has been associated with health risks that are not present in other forms of progestin. It may increase potassium levels in the bloodstream which could result in serious health issues, such as cardiac arrhythmias. This becomes a serious problem for people who suffer from obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure. Symptoms to be noted are: a sudden numbness, confusion, vision problems, speech or balance difficulties, chest pain, nausea, migraine headaches, jaundice, insomnia, depression and behavioral changes, as well as changes in the woman’s menstrual cycle.

If you or a loved one have taken these drugs and been injured as a result, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP.

Dangerous products seem to be everywhere these days. This is particularly true when it comes to pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs. This week the New York Daily News reported that a Manhattan man has filed suit against the manufacturer of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Spray that he used from 2006 to 2009. The man claims that as a result of using the product, he has lost both his dense of taste and smell. The lawsuit claims that the manufacturer knew or should have known that studies dating back to 1937 have shown that topical applications containing zinc ions can cause a loss of taste and smell. The lawsuit further claims that the manufacturers representations that the product was safe and effective were false. According to the article, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health warning last summer warning consumers to stop using all Zicam nasal products that contained zinc because they had received over 130 reports from people who claimed to have lost their sense of smell and taste after using the product.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represent victims of dangerous products ranging from electrical appliances to deer stands for over 45 years. If you or a loved on have been seriously injured as a result of using or coming in contact with a dangerous product, call us today at (800) 228-9159.

Dangerous products seem to be everywhere these days. This is particularly true when it comes to pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs. This week the New York Daily News reported that a Manhattan man has filed suit against the manufacturer of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Spray that he used from 2006 to 2009. The man claims that as a result of using the product, he has lost both his dense of taste and smell. The lawsuit claims that the manufacturer knew or should have known that studies dating back to 1937 have shown that topical applications containing zinc ions can cause a loss of taste and smell. The lawsuit further claims that the manufacturers representations that the product was safe and effective were false. According to the article, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health warning last summer warning consumers to stop using all Zicam nasal products that contained zinc because they had received over 130 reports from people who claimed to have lost their sense of smell and taste after using the product.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represent victims of dangerous products ranging from electrical appliances to deer stands for over 45 years. If you or a loved on have been seriously injured as a result of using or coming in contact with a dangerous product, call us today at (800) 228-9159.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen our share of dangerous products recalled for one reason or another; however, last week's recall of numerous Toyota models of automobiles and trucks probably sets a new record. In late 2009, Toyota issued a recall of 4.2 million vehicles because it was thought that they could interfere with the gas pedal and cause sudden acceleration. Now Toyota has issued a recall affecting 2.3 million vehicles and has suspended the sale of eight models, including their most popular model, the Camry, over faulty gas pedals that could stick and cause unexpected acceleration and result in an automobile accident.

Toyota is working with CTS Corp., which manufactures gas pedals for Toyota, to redesign the pedals and to find a remedy for what is believed to be a condensation problem which can cause the pedal to move slowly or in some cases get stuck.

In the meantime, there are thousands of potentially dangerous vehicles of the road which could suddenly accelerate and cause serious injuries to the occupants and others or even cause the wrongful death of innocent people.

If you or a loved one is injured as a result of the sudden acceleration of a Toyota product, call one of the Georgia injury lawyers immediately for a free consultation. In all of these cases, it is crucial that the automobile be preserved so that it can be inspected by experts.

Georgia residents purchasing Alli diet drugs on the internet may be at serious risk. Counterfeit capsules of the diet drug Alli which are being sold online can pose a serious health risk to some users according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA warned consumers this week that fake versions of the over-the-counter drug are being sold, mainly online
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According to the FDA the counterfeit pills contain excessive amounts of sibutramine, a prescription drug and controlled substance that can place people with cardiovascular disease at risk for higher blood pressure, heart attack or stroke. The fake pills contain at least twice as much sibutramine as would normally be recommended.

Symptoms of excess sibutramine can include heart palpitations, sleeplessness, anxiety, dry mouth, nausea and shakiness.

The FDA further cautioned that analysis shows that the counterfeit pills lack the active ingredient orlistat found in the authentic Alli product. This ingredient prevents a portion of the fat eaten from being absorbed.

According to the manufacturer of Alli, consumers should watch for these signs in determining whether the product they are buying is fake:

• LOT code information is missing from the top of the box.

• The expiration date includes month, day and year (example: 06162010), instead of only the month and year (example: 05/12).

• The seal on the bottle should read "SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION" in white ink on the real Alli bottle; this statement is not present on the fake product.

• The counterfeit capsule is slightly larger, and its content is powdery; the genuine capsule is shaped more like a pellet.

The personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP see suffering and loss on a daily basis through the clients we assist. However, rarely have we seen death, destruction, and suffering on a scale as that which is occurring in Haiti as a result of the tragic earthquake.

This week, in a non- partisan effort to help alleviate this terrible situation, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton joined forces to lead the effort to raise funds for relief. They issued a call for monetary donations to assist those who have been devastated by this tragedy. The lawyers at Finch McCranie have answered the call and made sizable donations to the relief effort.

Former Presidents Bush and Clinton have issued a call for many Americans to meet this challenge by donating even a small amount to the relief effort. We are urging everyone to join us in responding. Please give to the effort. As the former Presidents point out, even a small donation multiplied many times will go a long way towards alleviating the pain and suffering being endured by innocent men, women, and children in Haiti.

Mandatory arbitration agreements deprive citizens of their right to seek redress in the courts of this country. Many large businesses place these clauses in their consumer agreements as a requirement. It has been consistently shown that the arbitrations which flow from these clauses are skewed in favor of the large corporations. Simply put, arbitrators know that they will not continue to receive business from these companies if they rule against them.

Recently, public pressure has forced many credit card companies to remove these unfair clauses from their contracts. However, they remain in many business agreements which consumer sign every day.

The American Association for Justice won a small victory last month in the long war over mandatory arbitration. Congress banned defense contractors from including in their employment contracts any provisions that require arbitration. This legislation arose from the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, a former employee of defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root who reported being raped by her coworkers in Iraq.

Now, the American Association for Justice is focusing on nursing homes. The group's top lobbyist Linda Lipsen, the executive vice president for public affairs, was speaking at the American Association for Justice’s headquarters about its 2010 agenda in Congress. Asked whether it plans to fight mandatory arbitration broadly or industry-by-industry, Lipsen said the group wants Congress to pass the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 this year. The act would ban mandatory arbitration in all consumer and employment disputes. Lipsen singled out the nursing home industry as the likely centerpiece of the group’s push.

“When you bring your mother to the only nursing home in your area, and you’re looking at a 500-page document… you’re going to sign whatever it is you have to sign to get your mother into that home,” Lipsen said.

Bills to prohibit such provisions in nursing home contracts have been introduced in the House and Senate, but they did not receive votes in 2009. The Arbitration Fairness Act will protect all citizens’ right to access to the judicial system. It is sorely needed and we urge the Congress to pass it.