All Topics

• Another Austin Hit and Run Fatality

  Brooks Schuelke | November 15, 2007 3:30 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  We posted last month on a rash of hit-and-run auto accidents here in Austin, and now the problem continues. This weekend, we had another hit-and-run car wreck that left two motorcyclists dead. Fortunately, police arrested a suspect yesterday. According to one witness, the suspect driver, who has a previous DWI on his record, appeared intoxicated shortly after the wreck.

• New Tactic in War Against Auto Accidents

  Brooks Schuelke | November 14, 2007 10:17 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Last week, the Austin City Council voted to install cameras at various intersections around town to try and reduce the number of people running red lights. The vote comes following a pilot program where the city installed two cameras to determine what type of results they would obtain. And the results were amazing. A light installed at the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd and I35...

• Merck To Settle Vioxx Claims

  Brooks Schuelke | November 09, 2007 3:13 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  In the biggest personal injury news of the year, Merck has agreed to settle most of its Vioxx lawsuits. To learn more about the claims, please refer to Injuryboard's Vioxx resource page.

• Austin Police Try to Reduce Fatal Car Wrecks

  Brooks Schuelke | November 07, 2007 9:18 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  The Austin Police Department has announced a restructuring intended to reduce the number of fatalities from car and truck accidents. The reorganization will put more motorcycle officers on the street.According to APD, 175 people died in Austin auto accidents between the beginning of 2005 and the end of October. The main culprits are speeding, inattentive driving and aggressive driving.For more...

• Incentives For Adjusters to Deny Accident Claims

  Brooks Schuelke | November 06, 2007 4:12 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Under the Progressive Gainsharing program, Progressive Insurance provides bonuses to its employees based on how well the company performs. While this system may work in many industries, it provides an improper financial incentive for adjusters to deny or underpay car wreck and other claims. I'm surprised Progressive has made this information public. This type of information, once disclosed,...

• Bayer Withdraws Trasylol

  Brooks Schuelke | November 05, 2007 11:39 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration, Bayer announced today that it is suspending its global sales of Trasylol. The drug, primarily used to help with bleeding during heart surgeries, has been linked to higher instances of death, serious kidney damage, and stroke. Bayer has been under attack for problems relating to Trasylol for more than a year after Bayer failed to provide the...

• Trucking Accident Report: Truckers Can Easily Cheat on Drug Tests(2)

  Brooks Schuelke | November 04, 2007 3:44 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  The General Accounting Office has recently used undercover investigators to reveal how easy it is for truckers to cheat on drug tests. The report found that seventy-five percent of the drug testing locations didn't maintain secure testing areas, allowing truckers to compromise the results of drug tests. In addition, the study found numerous online masking agents that they were able to use in...

• College Students Beware: Recall of Frozen Pizzas

  Brooks Schuelke | November 02, 2007 7:56 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Yesterday, General Mills issued a recall of Totino's and Jeno's pepperoni pizzas (including pizzas that have pepperoni combined with other toppings) due to potential e-coli contamination. This is disasterous news for anyone that was on my college-years diet.For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

• Physicians Should Disclose Gifts From Pharmaceutical Companies

  Brooks Schuelke | November 01, 2007 9:49 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  The recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine discusses the controversial issue of pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of medical devices providing free gifts to physicians that prescribe their products. The article states that 94% of physicians have some type of relationship with the industry. The article best summarized the debate with the following quote:From a policy...

• Teen Drivers At High Risk For Car Crashes

  Brooks Schuelke | October 31, 2007 9:41 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Yesterday, the Texas Transportation Institute released the results of a study of teen drivers that concluded that teen drivers are not aware of the dangers that lead to most car wrecks. According to TTI, car crashes kill about 6,000 teens nationwide each year making car wrecks the number one cause of death for U.S. teenagers. The car accidents are primarily caused by driver inexperience...