As Spring is around the corner, it’s a great time for purchasing some fun outdoor activity equipment like a bicycle. Yet, you’ll want to be sure to check on the track record of your purchase, especially in light of a recent recall of Fuji’s Women’s Cruiser Bicycles due to a fall hazard.

To date, there have been twelve accidents involving the Fujii bicycle in which the bike frames have broken. Two of these cases involved injuries including: a head injury, scrapes and bruises.

The recall is limited to the Fuji Saratoga Women’s Bicycles. Currently, there are nearly 11,000 units on the market or in the homes of buyers. These bicycles were imported from Advanced Sports Inc. of Philadelphia and made in China. The specific type of hazard is that the bike frame is likely to break down the center of the down tube during use, causing the rider to lose control and fall. The bicycles were sold nationwide between November 2007 and December 2011. The recall is limited to the Fuji women’s cruiser bicycles, 2008 through 2010 models, including the Saratoga 1.0, Saratoga 2.0, Saratoga 3.0 and Saratoga 4.0. The serial numbers begin with ICFJ7, ICFJ8, ICFJ9, ICFJ10 and ICFJ11.

It is important to keep in mind that it is unlawful to resell a recalled product. Consumers with these bicycles can return the bicycle to an authorized Fuji dealer for a replacement.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

LED Night Lights are a household name that many are familiar with. Whether used for a toddler, an elderly person or one of any age, LED Night Lights have been known to provide an advantage for those who need to light up a room from the dark to provide evening light during sleep hours. Recently however, approximately 225,000 LED Night Lights manufactured by AmerTac have been recalled. So, if you have this type of night light, you should immediately stop using the light and remove the night light from the wall socket.

Apparently, there is an electrical short circuit in the night light which can cause it to overheat, smolder or melt, creating a fire hazard. AmerTac has received 25 reports of the night lights smoking, burning, melting and charring. The specific model numbers of the night light in the recall are, as follows.

• Amerelle              models 71190 or 71190A
• Amertac              model 327895
• Everyday Basics  model 076092

These particular night lights were sold at hardware stores, home centers and showrooms from March of 2009 through October 2010.  The concern with this particular recall is that there is no way to get this information out to the high number of people who have the night lights because the night light is already in their home.  This is why it is important to keep in tune with recall information, such, as provided on our website.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

Avandia has been a popular drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, but Avandia lawsuits have been stacking up since the results of a 2007 study were published demonstrating over a 40% increase in health issues among people who take Avandia.

In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration approved Avandia to increase insulin insensitivity in patients suffering from diabetes. Today, approximately 1 million people use Avandia.

The crux of the lawsuit stems from the contention that GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Avandia, knew of potential health risks but failed to inform the public about the risks. Consequently, people were not able to make an informed decision about using Avandia.  Reported side effects include:

• Heart Failure
• Heart Issues
• Body Swelling from Fluid Retention
• Weight Gain
• Low Blood Sugar
• Fractures (usually in the hand, foot or upper arm in females)
• Anemia
• Ovulation
• Liver Failure
• Death

According to the law, drug makers must inform consumers about side effects associated with their drugs.  Failure to display this information in the package insert and inform physicians is against the law. It is for this reason that lawsuits are being filed against Glaxo Smith Kline.

When you choose to file an Avandia lawsuit, your personal injury attorney will do everything in their power to support the validity of your claim. If you win the lawsuit, you will be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries, including loss of income, medical expenses and pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved safety label changes for the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. Stains are designed to reduce blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol.  These drugs are marketed under brand names, as follows:

• Lipitor (atorvastatin)
• Lescol (fluvastatin)
• Mevacor (lovastatin)
• Altoprev (lovastatin extended-release)
• Livalo (pitavastatin)
• Pravachol (pravastatin)
• Crestor (rosuvastatin)
• Zocor (simvastatin)
• Advicor (lovastatin/niacin extended-release)
• Simcor (simvastatin/niacin extended-release)
• Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe)

The FDA has determined that there is no longer the need to patients taking the drugs to have regular Liver Enzyme monitoring. Furthermore, the FDA has determined that monitoring liver enzymes does not prevent serious liver injury. Now, however, there has been a new change to the label to warn of the risk of increased cognitive side effects, as well as, increased blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels due to reports of adverse events. At the same time, the FDA feels that these risks are smaller than a cardiac event which can result from high levels of bad cholesterol.

If someone taking statins notices side effects, they should report it to their physician for an alternative approach. These side effects include:

• unusual fatigue or weakness
• loss of appetite
• upper belly pain
• dark-colored urine
• yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.
• memory loss and confusion.
• increases in blood sugar levels

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced concerns over the use of HIV or hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitors and certain cholesterol-lowering drugs. It has been discovered that people using this combination of drugs may experience higher blood level of statins, increasing the risk for muscle injury and more serious related injuries, such as, rhabdomyolysis, that can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure, which can be fatal.

HIV protease inhibitors are a class of prescription anti-viral drugs used to treat HIV. HCV protease inhibitors are a class of prescription anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C infection. A side effect of taking HIV protease inhibitors is increased cholesterol and triglyceride (fat) levels. Therefore, some patients taking HIV protease inhibitors may need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines such as statins.

The labels for both the HIV protease inhibitors and the affected statins have been updated to contain the appropriate information about the drug-drug interactions. People who took the drug and experienced an injury prior to the label change may be entitled to a personal injury lawsuit to compensate for their losses. While no form of compensation can compensate for the serious injury or death of a loved one, financial compensation through a lawsuit may alleviate strains.

People who take the drug after the label change are accepting the risks associated with the drug and are therefore, not likely to be entitled to compensation.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

Cardiac Science Powerheart, CardioVive, CardioLife; GE Responder and Responder Pro; and Nihon-Kohden Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs): Class I Recall

If you experience sudden cardiac arrest and are neither responsive nor breathing, your physician is likely to treat you with an external defibrillator to rescue you from death. However, there are times that external defibrillators will fail, particularly in the case of a defect. Such is the case for several models of Cardiac Science’s Automated External Defibrillators.  Traditionally, Automated External Defibrillators have been a wonderful life saving tool, saving the lives of thousands over the years since the invention.

Yet, emergency medicine, cardiology, and risk manager at hospitals were recently notified of a Class I Recall for select Cardiac Science Automated External Defibrillators.  The issue is that it has been identified that a component in the Defibrillator may unexpectedly fail due to a defect. This can lead to serious consequences and potential death, particularly since the unit’s self-test may not detect the failure or an impending failure.

The affected defibrillators were manufactured and distributed from July 1, 2011 through December 30, 2011. This means that people may have suddenly died or become seriously ill if the affected models were used to treat them for sudden cardiac arrest.  The affected models include:

• PowerHeart 9300A, 9300E, 9300P, 9390A, and 9390E
• CardioVive 92532, 92533
• CardioLife 9200G and 9231
• GE Responder and Responder Pro
• Nihon-Kohden AEDs

Hospitals are in the process of returning any models in the affected lots to the manufacturer for replacement.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

If you are one of the estimated 14 million taking an antipsychotic drug, you may want to heed this warning. While the benefit of a drug are measured to identify that the risks are outweighed, you’ll likely want to be more cautious about your diet if you take an antipsychotic drug. Life with a behavioral disorder, such as, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, can be problematic without the aid of antipsychotic drugs.

Both obesity and diabetes are side effects that have been linked to antipsychotic drugs as of late. These metabolic disorders can be life threatening when left untreated so a proactive approach with proper diet is the best way to avoid the risk.

The journal Molecular Psychiatry recently published a report demonstrating the biochemical changes triggered by the antipsychotic drugs. It is surmised that the vast majority of antipsychotic drugs interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein called SMAD3. This protein is a component in a cellular conduit known as the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) pathway. The TGFbeta pathway regulates cell growth, inflammation, insulin signaling- among other biological processes. There were two antipsychotic drugs that did not contribute to metabolic side effects activated SMAD3.

Both obesity and diabetes are linked to poor metabolic processes. Both conditions may be difficult to manage.  People taking antipsychotic drugs should check with their physician about being monitored for diabetes and may participate in a regular exercise routine to help prevent obesity.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

If you’ve been convicted of a serious traffic violation, such as, responsible for car accident, you may want to check the National Driver Register (NDR) website.  The National Driver Register website offers a computerized database of information about drivers who have had their licenses suspended or revoked. This website also lists people who have been convicted of a serious violation.  State motor vehicle agencies provide this information to the NDR.

The primary function of the NDR is to provide information about such individuals to motor vehicle agencies so when I person applies for a driver’s license, the State DMV can see if the name in the NDR database. If a person has been reported to the NDR as a driver with issues, the license may be denied.

The system uses the National Driver Register Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) to describe the issues associated with the driver. The NDR is filled with pointer data provided by the State agencies following license revocations, suspensions and convictions of individuals.

Car accidents are one reason why you should contact a lawyer right away. It is important to avoid admitting fault at an accident scene. It is wiser to allow a car accident attorney to provide their advice about how to proceed following a car accident.  Experienced car accident attorneys will be able to let you know everything you need to know in order to make well educated decisions about the accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

Honda had told select consumers that their hybrid cars would get 50 miles per gallon during city driving. However, a recent lawsuit win suggests that more consumers will be able to successfully sue Honda and win larger lawsuit settlements that initially expected by Honda.

A Southern California woman took Honda to small-claims court and won nearly $10,000, which was quite a bit more than the offering proposed in the Class Action lawsuit. Class Action lawsuits bring together a large group of people with the same issue and the settlement is usually less than individual claims brought against the defendant. The Southern California woman rejected the Class Action offering and opted for small claims court instead.

Honda disagrees with the small claims court decision and is filing an appeal.  The Judge believed that there were several misleading statements made by Honda in a document that was over 25 pages long. The performance of the Southern California woman’s Honda did not meet the expectations outlined by Honda. In the end, the Judge determined that Honda committed fraud, but it was not intentional.

The proposed class-action settlement would give affected owners $100 to $200 and a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new car. Legal fees in the class action would give trial lawyers $8.5 million. In the alternative of small claims court, there are no attorneys’ fees, cases are resolved very quickly, but case do require preparation.  The Southern California woman’s award was due to extra money estimated to be spent on fuel because of false advertising, the car battery costs, and lost value in the car.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.

Brazilian Blowouts have been the latest trend for women interested in straightening their hair and getting rid of frizzy hair.  Lasting for two to three months, the Brazilian blowout has been quite appealing, offering smoothed locks despite its high price tag. As of late, however, the Brazilian blowout has been under scrutiny with a link to cancer.

In the past, the product had been marketed as “formaldehyde free”. However, it has been discovered that GIB’s Brazilian blowout and other brand products may emit formaldehyde gas. Individuals exposed to formaldehyde gas may suffer with irritated eyes, throat, and vomiting. In some cases, exposure to formaldehyde gas can contribute to cancer.

GIB has been targeted by authorities for breaking several laws. First, the company must label their product as a potential carcinogenic, instead of “formaldehyde free”.  The company is also paying fines of $600.00 for violating state laws, including: statutes against deceptive advertising.

The company is also sending their product to a state-approved lab for further testing and must send safety pamphlets to salon workers who come in contact with the ingredients most often.  In the end, the price to pay for this keratin smoothing treatment may be much higher if faced with a life threatening disease due to use. Hair salon workers have an elevated risk since they work with the smoothing treatment on a daily basis.

If you or a loved one has been injured, call Marc Mabile, a San Diego personal injury attorney, at 619-702-2600 for a free consultation.