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Read our latest blogs about North Carolina and South Carolina accident, medical malpractice, slip and fall, wrongful death and brain injury cases. If you have sustained a serious injury resulting from an accident, medical malpractice or nursing home abuse, a Carolina accident attorney from our office can help you.

Wrongful Death

7/2/2009
Rick Shapiro
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Michael Jackson’s Physician’s Potential Liability for Prescribing Controlled Substances per the California State Board of Medicine

Michael Jackson's name is filling the headlines every day as people are not only mourning the great performer, but are interested in the cause of his death. One of the things police are clearly investigating is whether there was any wrongdoing by one of his personal physicians. Since Michael Jackson was in California, the issue of whether controlled substances were improperly or illegally administered would be governed by the Medical Board of California as well as California State law. One of the Business and Professions Code sections in California states that "No physician and surgeon shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Board for prescribing or administering controlled substances in the course of treatment of a person for intractable pain." (Business and Professions Code Sec. 2241.5(c). Clearly, the State Board of Medicine allows a physician, such as Michael Jackson's physician, to administer controlled substances if the late singer suffered from intractable pain, but based on many first person reports of his last several weeks, it is dubious whether he suffered intractable pain. Demerol is a controlled substance and there are allegations swirling that he may have been injected with Demerol in his last days, or a drug called Diprivan, which is often used in veterinary anesthiology.

Right now, without the toxicology results of the autopsy, now one knows what drugs were in Jackson's body-everything is mere rumor.

Based on a position paper of the Medical Board of California in effect in 1994 and revised in 2007, it would be difficult to charge a physician for a violation of the Code of California based on prescribing a controlled substance for pain based on this provision also:

"A physician and surgeon may prescribe for, or dispense or administer to, a person under his or her treatment for a medical condition dangerous drugs or prescription controlled substances for the treatment of pain or a condition causing pain, including, but not limited to, intractable pain. (b) No physician and surgeon shall be subject to disciplinary action for prescribing, dispensing or administering dangerous drugs or prescription controlled substances in accordance with this section." Another portion of the State Board pain guidelines states that the above section "does not affect the power of the Board to discipline a physician and surgeon for any act that violates the law, including gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, or incompetence … prescribing on the internet; failure to keep complete and accurate records of purchases and disposals of controlled substances; writing false or fictitious prescriptions for controlled substances, or prescribing, administering or dispensing in violation of the pertinent sections of the Health and Safety Code.

Clearly, criminal investigators with the State of California will be looking at all of the above points to be sure that Michael Jackson's personal physician or physicians followed proper procedures in whatever drugs were administered. What could investigators charge a physician with?

It is unclear but the investigators would be looking for inaccurate or incomplete records of controlled substances administered, administering a drug that was not properly prescribed (this would be highly unusual) or for that matter the possibility that a physician administered illegal drugs that were not ever prescribed for Michael Jackson, again a highly improbable circumstance.

Other provisions mentioned by the State Board of Medicine on the topic of pain guidelines notes that there is no minimum or maximum number of medications which can be prescribed to a patient under federal or California law.

From the evidence that has been leaked to the media or press up to this time, July 2, 2009 there seems to be little to no evidence of physician wrongdoing that contributed to Michael Jackson's death, but clearly the autopsy will have toxicological results which will show exactly what drugs, and what levels of medications or drugs, were in Michael Jackson's body at the time of his death. Even if high levels are found, it will be very difficult for any investigator to prove a violation of the State Board of Medicine pain guidelines with regard to such physicians and their liability under law.

Michael Jackson's Doctor- Potential Liability For Prescribing Controlled Substances/Drugs-Analysis of California State Board of Medicine Regulations

Exclusive - Jackson & Diprivan - FDA Issued Alert Two Years Ago

Greenville-Outer Banks-Rocky Mount NC Personal Injury Lawyer

Heavy Rains in North Carolina Cause Serious Car Wrecks

Date: 08/16/2010

When the skies open up a dump a ton of rain on our roadways, caution is the name of the game. Unfortunately, not all drivers adhere to this principle which leads to some bad car wrecks. A major rainstorm in North Carolina (NC) led to two car wrecks that resulted in serious injuries and loss of life.

A car was driving down N.C. 43 when it hydroplaned, crossed the center line, and wound up getting hit by a dump truck. As a result, two people were killed and a young child was injured, according to enctoday.com.

On the same day, another car hydroplaned at the intersection of U.S. 17 and Weyerhaeuser Road leading to eight injuries including injuries to three toddlers and two teenagers.

Hydroplaning is a common cause of car wrecks and can cause serious damage to your vehicle and the people inside. It occurs when a layer of water builds up between the tires of your car, truck, SUV, or motorcycle and the road surface. This leads to the loss of traction and puts the vehicle into a virtually uncontrollable slide.

In order to reduce the risk of hydroplaning, go below the speed limit when it has just rained heavily or if you are on the road when it is raining. Also, be extremely cognizant of the other vehicles on the road since not everyone obeys the speed limit, even in bad weather.

Both of the car accidents that occurred in N.C. were awful and they serve as an example of just how dangerous the roads can be after a bad storm.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (NC-VA law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard, Virginia Beach Injuryboard, and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers.

Originally posted

InjuryBoard

Emily Mapp Brannon

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Suffolk VA Personal Injury Lawyer

Virginia Seat Belt Law Loophole Allows Back Seat Passengers to Ride Unbuckled

Date: 08/20/2010

Most of us are aware of seat belt laws and the importance of buckling up when you get into the car. However, you may not know that numerous states have a loophole which allows adult back seat occupants to ride without their seat belt on. Virginia (VA) is one of those states.

Laws are on the books in VA requiring minors to wear their seat belts while riding in the back, but not for adults. This is extremely dangerous since an unbuckled adult in the back seat can become a “back seat bullet” in a car accident, according to USA Today.

There seems to be this false belief that if you are in the back seat, you are somehow safer than the people in the front. This is not the case. In a car crash, a back seat passenger not wearing a seat belt will continue to move at the same rate of speed as your car until they hit something like the dashboard, back of your sea, or windshield.

Six states took the step of expanding their seat belt laws in 2007 but Virginia (VA) remains one of the over 20 states across the country that still allows adult back seat passengers to ride without a seat belt. This needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

Seat belts reportedly save 11,000 lives every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35. It makes no sense to keep the current laws on the books enabling adults to ride in the back unbuckled. Let us hope our legislators take action and correct there glaring loophole in our seat belt laws.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers.

Originally posted

InjuryBoard

Emily Mapp Brannon

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Hampton VA Personal Injury Lawyer

7 new influenza vaccines for next flu season

Date: 08/13/2010

After the big H1N1 virus that caused the 2009 pandemic, the US Food and Drug Administration approved seven influenza vaccines for this next flu season, 2010-2011.

What is the Flu?

A flu is a respiratory illness which is caused by influenza viruses. It is contagious and the best way to prevent the flu is to receive the flu vaccine each year.

These newly approved vaccines protect against three strains of influenza, including H1N1, according to Medical News Today. Last year, there were two vaccines needed in order to protect against the 2009 H1N1 flu. According to FDA, only one vaccine is required this year.

Director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Karen Midthun, M.D., said, "The best way to protect yourself and your family against influenza is to get vaccinated every year. The availability of a new seasonal influenza vaccine each year is an important tool in the prevention of influenza relate illnesses and death."

Here is a list of the new vaccines that have been approved (Brand Names & Manufacturers):

1) Afluria (CSL Limited)

2) Agriflu (Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics)

3) Fluzone and Fluzone High-Dose (Sanofi Pasteur Inc.)

4) Fluvirin (Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited)

5) Flarix (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals)

6) FluMist (Medlmmune Vaccines Inc.)

7) FluLaval (GlaxoSmith Kline Biolgicals)

How do they figure out these vaccines that FDA recommends?

Experts from FDA, World Health Organization, CDC and possibly other institutions examine and study virus samples collected worldwide. They examine them to find strains likely to cause the most illness during the next season. Then with the strains and vaccines, the closer the match, the more protection against influenza disease.

With all this research, the FDA did approve of seven new vaccines for this season.

The Flu spreads. It can spread very easily by people coughing, sneezing or simply talking.

So who is actually at risk of getting the flu?

According to CDC, there are certain people who are at greater risk for complications if they get the flu. In this group are older people, young children, pregnant woman and people with certain health conditions.

A study completed in 1990 found that flu-related deaths estimated 17,000 during the mildest season to 52,000 during the severe season. According to the CDC, 90 percent of deaths during a regular flu season occur in people who are 65 years old or older.

The 2009 H1N1 virus caused the first flu pandemic in over 40 years. There were around 12,000 or more flu-related deaths.

The important thing here is to be preventative, especially with parents and their children. CDC says, "the single best way to prevent the flue is to get a flu vaccine each season." Now, FDA has approved several new vaccines. They should become available in September and continue throughout flue season, which in some cases can last as late as May.

Originally posted

InjuryBoard

Emily Mapp Brannon

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