Sarasota Personal Injury Lawyer - Miscellaneous

Will NY Child Victim Act Fail Because of Political Back Room Deals?

Joe Saunders — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:08:12 GMT

This morning, I received an alarming email about the NY Child Victim Act and those who'd try to thwart its passage. From the email, it appears there's a lot of political games being played in Albany that would kill the Child Victim Act and unfairly prevent childhood sex abuse victims from pursuing justice in court. Here's a link to the full story:

http://tiny.cc/OWzMK

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Man's Best Friend is also a Bed Bug Hunter

Joe Saunders — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:48:24 GMT

Just when you thought dogs are the perfect pet, you discover they can be helpful in spotting those pesky bed bugs. Dogs are being trained to sniff out bed bugs and are actually quite good at finding bed bugs. There are even dog training schools in Florida to help rid our homes, hotels, motels, and dormitories of the blood-sucking insects.

Since chemicals that kill bed bugs also pose a health risk to humans, dogs are the next best thing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Internet Drug Ads Catch Attention of FDA

Joe Saunders — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:10:58 GMT

It was just a matter of time before large pharmaceutical companies began marketing their products on the Internet. With huge marketing budgets, drug companies have turned to the Internet to attract consumers. However, the FDA is attempting to crack down on these types of ads warning drug companies that they must comply with agency regulations concerning warnings, disclaimers, and truthful claims about the drugs themselves.

The FDA has issued warnings to the makers of Plavix and Tysabri regarding their Internet ads. In both cases, the ads fail to disclosed FDA required safety information. Rather, the slick ads provide a "click-through" to the drug companies' websites.

This is good news for consumer safety. Drugs and medical device marketing practices need to be as regulated on the Internet as they are in traditional media.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Venice Bishop to Hold Two Masses for Sex Abuse Survivors

Joe Saunders — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:27:04 GMT

In keeping with April's designation as Child Abuse Prevention Month, Bishop Frank Dewane will offer two masses for sexual abuse survivors. Many bishops have done this throughout the country as part of the Bishop's Conference response to the sexual abuse scandal that has been rocking the Catholic Church since 2002.

While the masses are a gesture, what else will be done to respond to the survivors? Many who were victimized by a Catholic priest when they were young have never returned to church and frankly, aren't ready to do so-some will never do so. I'm hoping this is just one small aspect of an outreach program to victims. Those who've survived such a betrayal of trust and authority need and deserve much more than a mass or two. They need the church authorities, namely the bishop to stand with them on abuse issues. One major step in the right direction would be a real effort at transparency. Make public those secret documents that reveal the coverups, criminal behavior, and the lack of effort to reach out to victims. In some states like New York, the church is actively engaged in trying to stop victims efforts to pursue justice by lobbying against a bill called the Child Victims Act. This is decidedly unhelpful and sends surivors the wrong message.

In Minnesota, the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Diocese of Winona fought victims (and won) in court to keep the names of priest abusers secret. This isn't pastoral and it won't bring about healing. If the church wants to rid itself of this scandal it needs to try a healthy dose of transparency. Let victims heal. Stop trying to bar them from the courts. Until that time comes, survivors will perceive the church as protecting predators rather than healing survivors.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

EPA Holds Bed Bug Summit

Joe Saunders — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:37:42 GMT

It sounds funny but it's really pretty serious. The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a two day meeting to discuss the growing problem of bed bugs. The problem had subsided since World War II, but there's now an alarming increase in the reporting of bed bug infestations in hotels, motels, hospitals, college dorms, and private residences.

The stubborn, hard to kill insects live in the dark climes of mattresses, sheets, sofas, and upholstered furniture. Many of the summit participants point to a dearth of chemical agents that kill bed bugs and their eggs. Bed bugs reproduce rapidly and once they gain a foothold, are extremely difficult to extinguish.

The EPA is not the only federal entity concerned with the bed bug problem. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C. plans to introduce legislation dubbed Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act, in order to find solutions to the growing public health concern.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Clergy Abuse Claims on the Rise

Joe Saunders — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:37:59 GMT

In spite of what the Catholic Church's public relations operation says, an independent study has said that priest abuse claims in the United States actually rose 16% over the same period last year. This in spite of the fact that 2 dioceses, Lincoln Nebraska and Baker Oregon refused to participate in the study. Interestingly, the study notes that 40% of the new claims cited abuse from clergy not previously reported as abusers.

This is especially important in light of efforts in NY where state legislators are considering the Child Victims Act. Many sex abuse advocates and NY victims are hopeful that the new legislation will pass with a Democratically controlled Legislature and a Governor who has publicly stated his support for the measure. The bill, if signed into law, would give sexual abuse survivors a one year window to seek justice in a courtroom. With 40% of new clergy being accused, such legislation would provide needed transparency and justice for those who suffered this terrible ordeal.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Chinese Drywall Defects Affecting Southwest Florida Homes

Joe Saunders — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:46:35 GMT

During the housing boom of 2005-06, huge building contracts such as Lennar Homes and Aubuchon subcontracted their drywall needs to Chinese companies. It all looked good at the time. Prices were cheap and the drywall was readily available. Fast forward to 2009 and the deal doesn't look so sweet. On the contrary, it smells like sulfur. There was a good reason the drywall was so cheap. It was made from waste materials from scrubbers on coal-fired power plants and emitted a sulfur-like smell that's absolutely intolerable according to the southwest Florida homeowners unfortunate enough to have homes built with this drywall. The deleterious health effects are not known at this point. What is known is that fixing the problem will be extremely expensive. Replacing drywall means gutting the house and that doesn't guarantee a cure. If you want to add injury to insult, the defective drywall causes electrical problems.

This isn't the first time we've dealt with defective products from China. Remember, they're the same ones who brought us tainted heparin, contaminated baby formula, and defective, altered drugs.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Diocese of Venice Priest Removed for Priest Abuse Allegation

Joe Saunders — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:17:06 GMT

A Diocese of Venice Catholic priest has been removed from his post for allegations of sexual abuse. The Rev. Jean Ronald Joseph has been removed from active ministry because of allegations surrounding abuse that occurred at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Fort Myers. At the time of the abuse, the victim was a minor. The abuse occurred 15 years ago when the survivor was a minor parishioner.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

New Abuse Case Involves Priest Who Worked in Florida

Joe Saunders — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:47:31 GMT

I filed another lawsuit this week against the former Rev. Richard Emerson and the Diocese of Gary. Previous lawsuits stem from Emerson's tenure in Florida when he was a priest "on loan" from the Diocese of Gary Indiana. The earlier lawsuits concerned abuse of teenage boys in the 1980's and 1990's.

The new abuse case filed in Indiana concerns Emerson's abuse of a minor in 2003. Church documents indicate that Emerson was transferred from parish to parish and asked to leave the Diocese of Orlando in 1991 due to "inappropriate attention to young boys". Emerson's boss, Bishop Melczek of Gary Indiana even wrote a letter to then Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) in 2006 stating that he knew as far back as 1992 that Emerson had such issues.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders

Venice Catholic Bishop Speaks Out on Amendment 2

Joe Saunders — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:33:28 GMT

On October 17, 2008 Bishop Frank Dewayne of the Catholic Diocese of Venice wrote a guest column in the Naples Daily News strongly supporting Amendment 2. Amendment 2 is on the Florida ballot this year proposing to make it part of the state constitution that marriage is to be defined as solely between a man and a woman.

In the column, Bishop Dewayne argues that the Amendment, if passed will serve to protect Florida's families and strengthen our civil society. Whether you agree with him or not will not be the subject of this post.

In reading the column, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Bishop Dewayne wrote a column advocating justice for sexual abuse victims. What would happen if Dewayne advocated for those injured and traumatized by sexually abusive Catholic priests? Isn't that just as important, perhaps more important an issue? Furthermore, this is an issue that directly impacts Dewayne's church. He could actually make some progress and help those who are suffering if he chose to stand up to his fellow bishops who at times covered for the sexual predator priests.

Instead, Dewayne spends his efforts on politically divisive issues that won't truly impact people's daily lives. It's too bad that the bishops don't focus the same amount of energy in healing their own flock than they do on efforts to change the constitution.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Saunders