All Topics

• Medtronic's Heart Stent Runs Into More Problems with Safety

  Joe Saunders | October 08, 2007 4:32 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  A new study has revealed that Medtronic's new heart stent has shown more blood clots than its rivals in comparison studies. The new device has not yet received approval for sale in the US. Use of drug coated stents to prop open occluded arteries have been popular among physicians until recently. Stents are tiny mesh tubes inserted into the artery to prop them open after they've been cleared...

• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Contaminated Beef Manufacturer

  Joe Saunders | October 05, 2007 10:18 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  A class action lawsuit has been filed in US District Court in New York against Topps Meat Co. The company has recalled more than 21. 7 million pounds of frozen ground beef patties that have made at least 28 people sick from the E coli bacteria found in the beef. One person has developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure from contracting the E coli bacteria. So far, the...

• Florida No Fault Insurance Law On Agenda for Legislative Special Session

  Joe Saunders | October 03, 2007 10:00 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  In a last minute change, PIP has been added to the agenda for this week's special session of the Florida Legislature. The law had expired October 1, but Governor Charlie Crist has added the item to the agenda. The law, which took effect in 1971, required drivers to purchase insurance to cover his or her own medical costs regardless of who is at fault in the car accident. Opponents of the no...

• Florida No Fault Auto Insurance Law Expires

  Joe Saunders | October 02, 2007 5:27 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  The Florida no fault auto insurance law expired yesterday after the Florida Legislature did not renew the law this year. As of yesterday, Florida no fault personal injury protection insurance is not required anymore. This insurance required that persons injured in auto accidents make a claim against their own auto insurance for the first $10,000 of medical bills or wages even if a careless...

• I-75 Crash Claims Two Lives

  Joe Saunders | October 01, 2007 10:10 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  An overnight crash in Sarasota near the Bee Ridge Road exit on Interstate 75 has claimed the lives of two adults. I-75 northbound was closed for hours as a result of the 12 car accident which included a tractor trailer truck. The truck was driving northbound at approximately 12:30am and had its cruise control on and set at 70 m.p.h. when the crash occurred. According to the tractor trailer...

• FDA Cites Cold Medicine Dangers for Children

  Joe Saunders | September 29, 2007 9:26 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Cold and cough medicines purchased over the counter for children under six years of age can cause serious side effects, including death, concluded an FDA analysis of the safety of children's cold and cough medicines. The FDA has had 54 reports of children's death as a result of using decongesants containing pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine and ephedrine. The FDA has told companies marketing...

• FDA Warning Issued for Pain Drug Fentora

  Joe Saunders | September 27, 2007 10:45 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Fentora, used to treat pain in cancer patients, has drawn an FDA warning as a result of deaths in patients who were given the improper dosage or Fentora was incorrectly substituted as a pain management pharmaceutical. The FDA warning stated that Fentora should not be used in cancer patients who are unable to tolerate other opioiddrugs. Fentora was approved by the FDA last year for cancer...

• Recent Food Poisoning Cases Compels FDA to Seek More Control

  Joe Saunders | September 26, 2007 9:06 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  With food poisoning and contamination cases raising public awareness of the precarious nature of our nation's food supply, the FDA will seek broader powers to monitor and regulate the manufacturing, processing, and inspection of foods, according to a Wall St. Journal report. According to the WSJ article, the FDA will seek more authority in three areas: contamination prevention, a risk-based...

• Dominican Bishop Accused of Sexual Abuse in Diocese of Venice

  Joe Saunders | September 24, 2007 4:34 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  A former bishop of the Catholic diocese of Bani in the Dominican Republic has been accused of sexual abuse by a 42 year old Cuban refugee. I don't understand why a bishop would be working as an ordinary priest in the Diocese of Venice. That is definately not the norm in the Catholic Church. Bishops simply don't become demoted and work as priests in different dioceses. I wonder if this bishop...

• FDA Warns Parents About Tainted Baby's Bliss Gripe Water

  Joe Saunders | September 23, 2007 4:50 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  The FDA has issued a warning concerning Baby's Bliss Gripe Water marketed toward infants who are teething and have colic. The bottles have been shown to be tainted with Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause diarrhea and intestinal infections. The warning comes after a six week old infant became sick after using the defective product. Baby's Bliss Gripe Water is a liquid herbal supplement...