All Topics

• Allstate Can't Sell New Auto Insurance Policies in Florida

  Joe Saunders | January 17, 2008 8:20 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has suspended the license of Allstate Insurance Company from selling new auto insurance policies in the state of Florida because of their relationship with rating organizations such as AM Best and Hurricane modeling companies and industry trade groups. This is an unprecedented move in Florida and sends a clear warning to other auto insurance companies...

• Lakeland Wildfire on I-4 Causes 50 Car Crash

  Joe Saunders | January 09, 2008 5:16 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  A combination of dense fog and a wildfire from a controlled burn led to a 50 car crash on I-4 near Lakeland, Florida early this morning. There have been 3 reported deaths and a slew of injuries. As I mentioned in my tampabay.injuryboard.com blog, I wonder why the highway was not closed if the weather was so inclement that visibility was zero. For more information on this subject, please refer...

• Congress Starts Asking Questions About Dr. Jarvik

  Joe Saunders | January 08, 2008 11:36 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Dr. Robert Jarvik became known as the maker of the world's first artificial heart in the 1980's. Most recently, his face and name are splashed in tv and print media ads pitching Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor. The marketing campaign is so often used that Congress has started asking Pfizer questions about Dr. Jarvik's qualifications to pitch a cholesterol drug. The Wall St. Journal...

• FDA Warns About Botulism in Canned Green Beans

  Joe Saunders | December 22, 2007 1:01 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  The FDA is warning consumers about the potential for botulism in GFS Fancy Blue Lake Cut Green Beans manufactured by New Era Canning Company. Clostridium botulinum produces a toxin that can be life threatening. The green beans were distributed with lot numbers 19H7FL and UPC code 93901 11873, in large institutional-sized, 6 pound 5 ounce (#10) cans. New Era Canning Company has issued a...

• Older Patients Who Take Avandia Have Higher Risk of Heart Attacks

  Joe Saunders | December 13, 2007 11:33 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association older people who suffer from diabetes and take Avandia as part of their treatment regimen are 60% increased risk of heart failure, a 40% increased risk of heart attack, and a 30% increased risk of death. This is obviously not good news for Glaxo Smith Kline, the manufacturer of Avandia. Avandia is a...

• Genentech's Move to Restrict Use of Cheaper Avastin Leads to Probe

  Joe Saunders | December 03, 2007 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Genentech, the maker of Avastin, has sought to restrict access to its cheaper drug Avastin so that health officials will use a more expensive brand has lead to Congressional criticism. The restriction on the eye disease drug has led one US senator to write letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the FDA inquiring as to the propriety of Genentech's actions. Senator Kohl of...

• Salmon Spread Recall

  Joe Saunders | December 01, 2007 3:19 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Quality Plus Products, Inc., of Bellingham, Washington is recalling its 7 ounce packages of "Jackson's Quality Plus Smoked Wild Salmon Spread" because the top ingredient label does not mention eggs however; it is listed on the side label of ingredients. Those with allergies to eggs or egg products run the risk of adverse health risks if the product is consumed. This is just another in a recent...

• Dietary Supplement Recall

  Joe Saunders | November 27, 2007 3:38 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Bodee LLC has issued a voluntary recall of all its Encore dietary supplements after the FDA determined that a chemical analyis of the supplement contained harmful, undeclared ingredients. The FDA analysis showed that Encore Tabs contained aminotadalafil, an analog of tadalafil, the active ingredient of a FDA-approved drug used for Erectile Dysfunction (ED). FDA maintains Aminotadalafil is close...

• US Marshals Seize Cosmetic Eye Product

  Joe Saunders | November 18, 2007 10:45 AM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  US Marshals have seized 12,682 applicator tubes of Age Intervention Eyelash because it is an unapproved and misbranded drug that claims to increase the length of eyelashes but may decrease vision. The product, sold and distributed by Jan Marini Skin Research, may increase the risk of optic nerve damage. Damage to this nerve can lead to decreased vision and blindness. The drug has been...

• Death by Taser in Canada

  Joe Saunders | November 17, 2007 12:38 PM | 0 CommentsSarasota, FL

  Robert Dziekanski had just landed in Vancouver on his first-ever flight. He was forty years old and about to start a new life in British Columbia with his mother. According to one witness who videotaped the event, Dziekanski was acting erratically but not violently. No drugs or alcohol were involved. Yet, the police confronted him and 46 seconds later tasered him to death. He was hit with...