In a front-page story, the New York Times (8/5, A1, Singer) reports, "Newly unveiled court documents show that ghostwriters paid by [Wyeth] played a major role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of hormone replacement therapy in women, suggesting that the level of hidden industry influence on medical literature is broader than previously known." The articles were drafted by a medical communications firm paid by Wyeth, and were "published in medical journals between 1998 and 2005." They "emphasized the benefits and de-emphasized the risks of taking hormones to protect against maladies like aging skin, heart disease and dementia." The "supposed medical consensus" created by the papers is said to have helped sales of Wyeth's hormone drugs Premarin (conjugated estrogens) and Prempro (conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate) rise "to nearly $2 billion in 2001." That "consensus fell apart in 2002 when a huge federal study on hormone therapy was stopped after researchers found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke." Begam & Marks has a long history of fighting for the rights of those injured by defective or improperly marketed medications. If you or a family member has been injured or killed as a result of the wrongful conduct of others, please call for a free consultation.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday that Simplicity Inc. is recalling about 400,000 cribs that put babies at risk of death by suffocation. The commission said consumers should stop using the cribs immediately. An eight-month-old baby in Houston, Texas, died when it got stuck between the mattress and a defective drop-down side of the crib. The cribs were sold at department stores, children's stores and other retailers around the country from January 2005 to June 2009. They cost between $150 and $300. The commission said the cribs should be returned to the store where they were purchased. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective or dangerous product, call Begam & Marks for a free consultation.

The Arizona Daily Star (6/17) reported that an Arizona Senate panel "voted Wednesday to make it more difficult for patients hurt in emergency rooms to collect damages from the doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who cause their injuries. SB 1018 leaves in place the requirement that someone suing for medical malpractice show that the care received did not meet the professional standards expected." But SB 1018 "would bar recovery unless malpractice can be proven by 'clear and convincing evidence,' a burden more difficult to prove" than the current standard, which requires only a "preponderance of the evidence." Contact your state senator's office and let him or her know that you oppose this bill and want emergency room physicians held to the same level of proof in court to which all other doctors are held and to which every other Arizonian is held. You want to see care improved in our emergency rooms, not allowed to slip backwards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says Macy's will voluntarily recall about 33,000 hooded children's sweatshirts that pose a strangulation risk. The recall announced Wednesday covers boys' and girls' Epic Threads and girls' Greendog sweatshirts, in small and medium sizes, that have a drawstring sewn in the base of the hood. They were sold nationwide from July 2008 to March 2009 and cost between $32 to $50. Read full story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31407781/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Arizona Capitol Times reports that the Arizona´s Senate "Healthcare and Medial Liability Reform Committee met June 10 to consider bills," but "missing from the agenda was a medical malpractice reform bill" that "would raise the bar of proof required to convict an emergency room physician of medical malpractice to 'clear and convincing' evidence" from a preponderance of evidence. "It is unclear when the bill will be heard, although the measure is still slated for this session." Several Democrats in the legislature "are worried that the measure could deny citizens the ability to sue negligent physicians." This is a very important issue for all people in Arizona. We do not want doctors who provide vital care to be held to a lower standard of care than every other physician in the state.

A Kentucky jury has ordered a doctor´s insurance company to pay $3.8 million for acting in bad faith by delaying payment on aclaim it knew its client was liable for, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. According to court records, American Physicians Assurance Corp. initially offered the plaintiff Debbie Daniels $75,000 despite estimating her injuries to be worth $1 million. Daniels was left permanently disabled after her doctor botched a cosmetic procedure he suggested she have while she underwent a hysterectomy. Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier Journal. READ FULL ARTICLE:http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090606/NEWS01/906060360/1008/NLETTER01

Bruce R. Kaster, "an attorney who represents the families of Utah State University students killed in a grim 2005 van accident, told Congress on Thursday" that "courts allow companies to keep too many civil lawsuit documents secret that could save lives by disclosing dangerous defects in products." He "showed a House Judiciary subcommittee an example of one such document: a 2000 memo by Cooper Tires (which made the tires on the ill-fated USU van) that he said discusses how the company's tires lack key safety components that others offer." Presently, "the Judiciary Committee is considering the Sunshine in Litigation Act, which would make it more difficult for companies to keep secret documents used in civil cases." Kaster said, "'Tens of thousands of Americans, if not hundreds of thousands, have been killed or seriously injured by defective products that manufacturers are aware of, but the public is not,' because they manage to seal sensitive documents in court." Read the full article: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705308569/Do-courts-sanction-suit-secrets.html

A truck driver, his employer and an Illinois quarry were negligent in the death of a 13-year-old boy who was crushed by a dump truck loaded with gravel, a lawsuit filed Wednesday claims. Ryan Hennemann was crushed after the driver asked him and a friend to help him unload the truck. According to the lawsuit, the truck was overloaded and driven by an unqualified and unlicensed driver. The lawsuit names James. T. Griffen, J & C Construction Co. and Falling Springs Quarry Company. Beth Hundsdorfer, Belleville News-Democrat 06/03/2009. Read Article: http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/793831.html Untrained and unqualified drivers operating commercial trucks and trailers pose a significant risk to the public and fellow workers. Begam, Lewis & Marks has fought for years to hold companies responsible for the negligent hiring and training of commercial truck drivers, thereby helping to discourage the practice and to make our roadways safer.

Sleep scientists at Harvard University have renewed calls for mandatory sleep apnea testing of obese truck drivers due to the risk they pose on the road. They say research shows there´s a strong link between fat drivers and sleep apnea and that screening could help prevent truck crashes that kill more than 5,200 people and injure more than 100,000 each year in the U.S. Read the full Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31066019/ If you or a loved one has been injured or a loved one killed in a crash involving a commecial truck or semi, pleases call Begam, Lewis & Marks. We have the knowledge and experience to dig to the bottom to find out what happened and if the crash could have or should have been prevented.