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Did You Know? Firm partners Nancy La Vista and Julie H. Littky-Rubin have been named to the Florida Top 50 Women Super Lawyers list for 2012.
No more than five percent of attorneys in the state are selected by Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
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CONSUMER ALERTS IN THE NEWS
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Toyota Recalls 154,000 Lexus Vehicles Due To Accelerator Risk
Toyota is recalling 154,036 certain model year 2010 Lexus RX350 and RX450H vehicles, manufactured from November 28, 2008, through September 1, 2010. The accelerator pedal on the vehicles can get stuck if trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death. Read more here.
Volkswagen of America, Inc. Recalls More than 13,000 Audis for Sunroof Panels
Volkswagen is recalling 13,172 certain model year 2012 Audi Q5 vehicles, manufactured from June 21, 2011, through December 9, 2011. Some vehicles may be equipped with a front sunroof glass panel that is susceptible to breakage in extremely cold weather/temperature conditions. Should the sunroof glass break, while the car is in use, the falling glass could cut or injure the driver and/or passengers. It could also distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash. Learn more here.
Nearly 73,000 Big Foot and Mirada Tires Recalled by TBC Corp.
TBC Corporation is recalling certain Mirada Cross Tour SLX and Big Foot/Big O/S/T tires, manufactured from January 2009 through January 2011. The tires possess a manufacturing anomaly, which may result in a crack or separation in the lower sidewall. With continuous usage, the crack/separation could grow and rapid air loss may occur, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. Learn more here.
Stryker Orthopaedics Recalls Its Rejuvenate and ABG II Modular-Neck Stems
Stryker Orthopaedics recalled its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck stems, a medical implant that is designed to give surgeons greater ability to adjust patient alignment in the hips and legs. The recall was issued due to the potential risks specifically associated with these two modular-neck stems. Risks include the potential for fretting and/or corrosion at or about the modular-neck junction, which may result in adverse local tissue reactions, manifesting with pain and/or swelling. Stryker Orthopaedics' decision to voluntarily remove Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck stems and terminate global distribution of these products comes after continued post-market surveillance. Read more here.
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FIRM CASE RESULTS & UPDATES
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Clark Fountain's Investigation Leads to Client's Full Recovery of Insurance Coverage
Clark Fountain was able to recover the entire policy limits in a major automobile accident case where the client, an 18-year-old high school student, sustained serious and significant injuries, including closed-head trauma and 10 fractured/lost teeth. He also developed post-traumatic stress syndrome and seizures following the crash. However, liability was hotly contested. The driver and the passenger of the other vehicle blamed our client entirely for the accident. Both of the witnesses also said that our client was solely responsible for causing the crash. Additionally, the investigating officer faulted and cited our client for causing the accident after a month of investigations. However, after Clark Fountain conducted a separate investigation of the accident scene and of the vehicles, we were able to persuade the insurance carrier that the driver of the other vehicle was speeding at the time of the accident, thereby causing and/or contributing to the collision and our client's serious injuries.
Clark Fountain Partners' $6.32 Million Arbitration Award Featured in Top Florida Verdicts & Settlements 2011
Nancy La Vista and Timothy Murphy's $6,320,000 arbitration award for clients Belinda and Scott Burns against radiation oncologist Ronald Wood, M.D. was featured in the Daily Business Review's special publication, Top Florida Verdicts & Settlements 2011, which published in June.
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LEGAL INSIGHTS
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DOT Initiates New $2.4 Million Pilot Program to Combat Distracted Driving
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is set to invest an additional $2.4 million in a pilot program to analyze whether "increased police enforcement coupled with paid media and news media coverage can significantly reduce distracted driving over a widespread area." According to a recent report by U.S. News & World Report, distracted driving is responsible for 3,000 deaths annually - with teens and young drivers being at particularly high risk. Read more here.
Using Electronic Records May Lower Doctors' Risk of Being Sued
Doctors who start using electronic health records are less likely to get sued than their colleagues who stick with traditional paper records, according to new findings from a healthcare study in Massachusetts, which were reported recently on Reuters and Yahoo! news services. Dr. Steven Simon from the VA Boston Healthcare System and his colleagues found that using electronic health records (EHR) was tied to an 84 percent lower chance of getting sued. Their study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Read more here.
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