On January 1, 2012, 214 new laws went into effect in the state of Illinois. Most laws are highly industry-specific, and will have no bearing on real people or the way they live their lives. But a few govern each of us directly. Others will have a direct impact on our comfort and safety, even… Read More
Product Recall Safety Information Not Reaching Consumers
The products liability attorneys of Passen & Powell often speak out on the frequent failure of various types of companies to provide adequate, timely information to U.S. regulators, and the failure of those regulators to adequately supervise these companies, follow up on the information they receive, and issue prompt, necessary recalls. But when recalls are… Read More
Study Finds Alcohol is Deadliest Drug
When many people think of deadly recreational drugs, what most often comes to mind are things like heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamines. But is something we encounter every day – alcohol – actually more deadly than these frightening substances? Our Chicago accident lawyers have long suspected that the answer is “yes.” Now, researchers in Britain… Read More
One Cause of High Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums
Over the years, Americans have become used to the constant cry of proponents of tort “reform”: medical malpractice insurance premiums are too high, they are driving the increase in medical costs, and our society thus must punish medical malpractice attorneys and deny justice to their clients to protect doctors and the public. At first blush,… Read More
Study Shows Doctors Protecting Colleagues, Not Patients
Doctors are sworn to protect their patients. They are also subject to ethical rules, both from the American Medical Association and many state medical boards, requiring them to report dangerous or incompetent colleagues. Yet a new study shows that doctors who are aware that their colleagues are not fit to practice medicine do not report… Read More
Toyota Again Puts Spin Before Safety
Our Toyota car accident attorneys have commented on the rash of evidence coming to light of the negligent safety practices at Toyota Motor Corporation. Just when many had become convinced that Toyota had turned a corner, and that we had learned all there is to learn about the auto company’s misdeeds and its disregard for… Read More
Overstretched FDA Asks Doctors to Police Pharmaceutical Advertising
In yet another sign that the FDA is incapable of carrying out its duties to ensure the health and safety of the American public, the FDA has now announced that it will be relying on doctors to police the pharmaceutical companies’ advertising. The American pharmaceutical industry spends literally billions of dollars – around $20 billion… Read More
Drop Side Crib Recall Linked to Wrongful Deaths of Infants
Our Chicago personal injury lawyers routinely monitor government recalls of dangerous products, which place the public health and safety at risk. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, announced earlier this month that it will at last move to ban the manufacture and sale of drop side infant cribs. Drop side cribs, which have been… Read More
Traumatic Brain Injuries Rising at an Alarming Rate
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently released new data on traumatic brain injuries in the United States. This new information comes as the CDC updates its in-depth 2004 survey of brain injury in the United States with a new report, titled “Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalization, and Death.” … Read More
Passen Comments on Medical Peer Review Abuse in Malpractice Context
Medical malpractice reform, part of a larger “tort reform” effort, remains a hotly debated issue as health care continues to take front and center. Various reforms have been offered and continue to be debated. One such tort reform measure, which has gone under the radar while receiving steady traction, has been the creation of medical… Read More