Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

This week the Transportation Department served Toyota with legal documents demanding that they produce certain documents related to the recent massive Toyota product recall in the United States. The government wants to know when and how Toyota learned of the safety defects in millions of its vehicles involving the entrapment of gas pedals by floor mats and "sticky" gas pedals. Toyota has 30 -60 days to respond to the government's request for the production of the documents.

Although Toyota has denied any electronic defect which would cause sudden engine acceleration, many believe that neither the floor mat issue or "sticky" gas pedals would cause a vehicle to accelerate to high speeds. Many Toyota owners have testified that the gas pedal did not stick but rather that there was a sudden, sustained and unexplained acceleration of the vehicle. It has been estimated that since 2000, there have been in excess of 30 automobile accidents resulting in death as a result of this problem.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of being involved in an automobile accident or truck accident involving a Toyota product, call one of the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP.

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.

Our Atlanta attorneys frequently receive calls from Georgia citizens seeking help when a large health insurance company denies benefits for a procedure or test their doctor has ordered. Many times these decisions are made by nonqualified employees of the insurer who have never even seen the patient. Doctors routinely complain about this second guessing by health insurance companies.

Healthcare reform is a controversial topic today. In almost all of the proposed bills the actions of these large health insurers in second guessing doctors will be curtailed. So, it is not surprising that on Wednesday the nation's biggest health insurers acknowledged funding TV ads designed to kill or water down the health-care overhaul measure.

This admission came after a published report said the spots were paid for in secret to avoid a public-relations fiasco.

The trade group America's Health Insurance Plans said it put up funds at the behest of its members. AHIP represents the nation's largest insurers, including Aetna Inc. Cigna Corp, Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Wellpoint Inc. AHIP acknowledged paying for the ads after a story appeared in the National Journal's online editions late Tuesday.

Citing health-care lobbyists, the National Journal said each insurer secretly put up at least $1 million and that the organization as a whole contributed $10 million to $20 million dating back to last summer.

The Journal reported that AHIP solicited the funds and funneled them to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to underwrite the ads. Two business coalitions set up and subsidized by the chamber were responsible for the ad, the story said. AHIP started funding the ads last summer as the industry came under fire from lawmakers and the Obama administration over high profit growth and abuses.
AHIP did not fund the entire effort, the story indicates, as the chamber spent $70 million to $100 million on the ads.

Buying a used car can expose a consumer to unknown dangers and problems. Recently, consumer groups and the attorneys general from 40 states called upon the Federal Trade Commission to update what they contend are outdated and inadequate protections for used car purchasers.

The changes being urged would involve adding information to the Buyer’s Guide such as whether a car suffered damages in a crash or flood or was bought back by an automaker as a lemon. A Buyer’s Guide is required to be placed in all used cars. But, the Buyer’s Guide has not been significantly improved since 1985.

The National Association of Attorneys General says it is time to protect buyers from rebuilt wrecks that are may be unsafe, are overpriced or both. The attorneys general association said that requiring more information would cost little and would result in an effective and efficient federal double-faceted assault on used-car fraud.

Not unexpectedly, the National Automobile Dealers Association opposes adding such information claiming it would impose significant, costly, and in some cases, impossible burdens on used car dealers.

Currently, this information is available to consumers through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, which requires all states, insurance companies and junk yards, to report vehicles so badly damaged they were considered totaled and not worth repairing. Consumers can check vehicle identification numbers for a small fee at a government website. However, many consumers don’t know that this information is available.

Whistleblower litigation is an area in which the attorneys at Finch McCranie LLP specialize. These cases are generally brought under The False claims Act which Congress adopted during the Civil War to solicit the help of ordinary citizens in fighting contracting fraud. The law encourages citizens to bring suit on behalf of the U.S. government by ensuring that a portion of any damages or civil penalties will be shared with the person bringing the lawsuit.

Since Congress strengthened the law in 1986, whistleblower lawsuits have recovered almost 20 billion dollars, of which more than 2 billion dollars has gone to citizens.
In recent years these lawsuits have especially targeted Defense Department and health services fraud.

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a major case testing when whistleblowers who discover fraud in federal programs may sue in the name of the United States and collect some of the settlement. The case revolves around the issue of when whistleblower lawsuits might be kept out of court under a provision aimed at opportunistic lawsuits based simply on information publicly available.

The False Claims Act prohibits citizen lawsuits arising from public disclosures "in a congressional, administrative or (Government Accountability Office) report, hearing, audit or investigation." The question Monday was whether that exemption relates only to federal reports or blocks a lawsuit bringing a claim based on information publicly available in a state or local report.

The case before the Supreme Court is a North Carolina case in which an employee of a state conservation district alleged fraud tied to the county's participation in a federal disaster relief program. A federal trial judge rejected the lawsuit holding that a county audit had documented some of the problems. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reversed, saying only federal administrative reports, audits or investigations would have precluded a suit under the False Claims Act.

The United States Department of Justice has adopted the position that only federal reports would preclude a whistleblower lawsuit under the “prior disclosure” doctrine and argued this position at yesterday’s hearing.

Thirty states have joined the side of the North Carolina county urging the court to rule that the case should be thrown out.

Medical malpractice is a serious problem in Georgia and the United States. While limits on recoveries for innocent victims is being pushed by large insurance companies, there are many issues that are being ignored. One is the lack of information available to the public about incompetent doctors and hospitals.

More than 20 years ago, Congress created a federal database to track incompetent and unprofessional health-care practitioners. The database, compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes some 460,000 records of malpractice lawsuits whose judgments total $69.7 billion. It includes information on 23,788 patient deaths, 8,100 major permanent injuries and 3,896 cases that resulted in quadriplegics, brain damage or lifelong care.

This is information that is critical to patients selecting doctors and hospitals. However, much of the data is closed to the public. Although the full database is open to hospitals, managed care organizations and state licensing agencies, the public can view only limited information, such as the lawsuit's allegation and the patient's health. The doctors' names remain hidden.

For years, the American Medical Association, an organization supposedly having patient welfare as one of its purposes, has argued that the data bank should remain closed to the public.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, is a physician and director of the Health Research Group for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. He argues that this information is crucial for the public and that efforts to suppress it are merely intended to protect doctors.

He points out that in the state of Oklahoma alone, the data contains among other things, 28 lawsuits concerning a procedure on a wrong body part with a total of $2.9 million in payments, nine suits concerning sexual misconduct for a total of $166,000 in payments, and three suits concerned assault and battery.

This is information that the public needs to have. Without it, you or a loved one may be unknowingly treated by a doctor who is incompetent or has criminally assaulted a patient.

Our Georgia product liability lawyers have filed many lawsuits against foreign manufacturers for dangerous products introduced into commerce in the United States. In these actions it is sometimes very difficult to find and serve the manufacturer in a foreign country.

This problem has now come into the spotlight as the result of the Chinese wallboard epidemic facing many unsuspecting consumers across the United States. The problem is enormous. By some accounts as many as 100,000 homes across the United States, built between 2004 and 2008, may contain defective and potentially dangerous Chinese drywall.

The wallboard has been determined to contain excessively high levels of sulfur. Homeowners have reported that the fumes from the wallboard cause illness and corrode the copper in home wiring, fixtures and appliances.

Until several years ago, most drywall used in the United States was made in this country. But when the housing boom increased demand, many sellers turned to China to meet the demand and due to lower costs.

Many insurance companies are refusing claims from homeowners to remediate the wallboard problem. While some owners have been forced to move from their toxic homes, many simply cannot afford to do so and the houses are not saleable.

While many lawsuits have been filed and undoubtedly many more are to come, it will be very difficult and expensive to identify the Chinese manufacturers and serve them with legal papers in China. Some attorneys are reporting that it is costing approximately $25,000 per case just to serve legal papers on one company. In many cases more than one Chinese manufacturer may be involved.

A bill now before Congress would place these foreign manufacturers in the same position as domestic companies. The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act now before the United States Senate would require foreign manufacturers that export to the U.S. to agree to abide by U.S. law and be held accountable in state and federal courts; and, to appoint an agent in at least one state where the company does business to accept the service of legal papers for any lawsuits or regulatory claims.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) points out that the list of recent examples of Americans injured by defective foreign products is shocking.

That list includes deadly blood thinner, children’s jewelry made from lead, a variety of food products contaminated with dangerous chemicals, 60 million packages of contaminated pet food and substandard tires that failed and killed people.

Two major consumer groups, Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) support the proposed legislation.

Our Atlanta consumer lawyers often have to inform wronged consumers that they have no remedy under the law. We see this very often in the investment, credit, and banking areas. Legislation that, if enacted, will provide greater protection to investors was approved by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

At the same time, the full House approved a bill to accelerate restrictions on abusive practices by credit card companies that had been signed into law last May. That law was scheduled to take effect in February, but many banks and credit card companies are taking advantage of the delay by raising rates and fees before the practices are unlawful. The House voted to make the new law effective next month, but Senate approval is not certain.

The bill is part of an effort to overhaul the financial regulatory system in response to the crisis in the financial markets. It would provide new powers and increased resources to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Importantly, it would give the SEC authority to end mandatory arbitration agreements that investors must sign with their brokers and financial advisers. It would establish a whistle-blower program for Wall Street employees designed to ferret out corruption in the financial sector. Similar provisions have been very successful in other areas such as health care and government contracting fraud.

However, the House committee also approved a very controversial measure which would permanently exempt companies worth less than $75 million from the auditing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This provision had been actively supported by the White House. Supporters have argued that the stringent auditing provisions were overly burdensome for small companies.

Consumer groups were obviously upset that this controversial provision had been added to legislation that is designed to help protect investors.

On Wednesday of this week, the House Financial Services Committee of the United States Congress voted for a bill to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) by a vote of 39 to 29. The proposed agency, which is part of a larger financial overhaul developed by the Obama Administration and Congress this year, will now move to the full House floor for a vote.

Consumer advocates such as Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, have long advocated for stronger regulatory oversight to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial products and practices.

The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency would ensure that credit; deposit and payment products and services are offered in a fair, sustainable and transparent manner. The CFPA would also create baseline federal consumer protection standards that would apply whether the product is offered by a big bank, small bank, or non-bank lender or other financial company. States would have powers to create and enforce new consumer protection standards.

As the bill moves to the House floor for a vote, increased efforts are being made by financial industry lobbyists to water it down with more exemptions, weakened powers for examination and enforcement, and more restrictions on the role of states in consumer protection.

Consumers Union applauded the vote and issued a statement that “for years, do-nothing federal bank regulators stood by while risky financial products that triggered the mortgage meltdown grew and flourished. This bill rejects business as usual and creates real oversight of banks and lenders to protect consumers.”

Doctors who have committed crimes are still being paid by taxpayers for doing work for the Food and Drug Administration according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This work ranges from conducting research for the agency or overseeing the safety of patients in clinical trials. The report takes the FDA to task for slowness in debarring ,( disqualifying ), health professionals who have been convicted of crimes.

The FDA has the authority to debar doctors from overseeing the safety of patients in clinical trials if those health professional flout federal regulations. It is required to disqualify doctors who are convicted of fraud or other crimes. However, it takes the agency an average of four years to disqualify a doctor according to a report issued by the independent Government Accountability Office.

In one instance, according to the article, it took the FDA 11 years to debar a doctor who had been convicted of 53 counts of criminal offenses including bribing an employee to conceal information about the attempted suicide of a clinical-trial patient and prescribing a drug without a license.

Types of misconduct that can get doctors disqualified include submitting false information to the FDA, forging patient consent forms and not reporting when a patient has an adverse reaction to an experimental drug.

The report discloses that even when the FDA bars a doctor from participating in a clinical trial for a drug, that doctor is still allowed to oversee patients in experimental trials that involve medical devices. And, a doctor disqualified from overseeing trials involving medical devices can still participate in drug trials.

The article points out a case in which it took the FDA about five years to disqualify an Alabama doctor who pled guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to more than four years in jail related to a clinical drug trial.

The GAO report recommends that the FDA be given debarment authority for medical devices, and that regulations be rewritten so any doctor debarred from one area of agency regulation is barred from participating in all others.