Monthly Archives: October 2009

Best Halloween Costumes?

Written On October 31, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Happy Halloween everyone! These guys wearing flat-screen displays attached to their iPhones have my favorite costumes of the year.

Posted in Miscellaneous

Medical Malpractice Insurers: Time to End Their License to Gouge

Written On October 30, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Here’s an interesting opinion about one reason medical malpractice insurance premiums are so high. This is from one of the contributors to the Huffington Post:
In 1945, Congress gave the massively powerful insurance industry an astonishing gift. It bestowed on them the freedom to do what would be illegal in every other industry (save, strangely, Major [...]

Posted in Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Friday Fun

Written On October 30, 2009 By Bob Kraft

I’ve been sick all this week and my wife thought this short video illustrated the situation perfectly.

Posted in Friday Fun

Tort Reform Is Not The Answer

Written On October 29, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Tort reform is not the answer — that’s the headline of an editorial in the Des Moines Register. The editorial lays out the arguments in favor of tort reform as a way to save money on health care, but comes to this conclusion:
The truth is some Americans are injured by health-care workers. They contract infections [...]

Posted in Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Wounded Troops Face Too Much Bureaucracy

Written On October 29, 2009 By Bob Kraft

In a speech this week Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave his opinion that troops injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face too many bureaucratic hurdles. This is true of course, but applies equally to all veterans applying for medical care and disability benefits, and not only to those who have served in [...]

Posted in Veterans Benefits

New AAJ Report On Corporations Failing to Protect Consumers from Faulty Products

Written On October 28, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This press release is from the American Association for Justice:
Today, as the U.S. Chamber celebrates their annual “legal reform summit” – an event dedicated to blaming lawsuits and trial lawyers for all of our country’s ills, the American Association for Justice has released a report entitled “They Knew and Failed To,” detailing numerous examples of [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Nearly 1 Million Window Blinds Recalled for Strangulation Risk

Written On October 28, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As reported in the Chicago Tribune, nearly 1 million roller blinds and Roman shades sold by IKEA, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Hanover Direct were recalled this week because they pose a serious strangulation risk to small children. More detailed information is available from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, but here are excerpts from [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Righting Wrongful Denials of Insurance Coverage

Written On October 28, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This article from the Los Angeles Times provides a good, brief insight into what I think is one of the worst federal laws ever passed — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, better known as ERISA.
One purpose of the healthcare reform effort in Washington is to help more Americans obtain coverage, in part by making [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct

FDA Fails to Withdraw Unproven Drugs

Written On October 27, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration has never pulled a drug off the market simply because the drug doesn’t provide the benefits the manufacturer claimed it would? I have to admit I didn’t know that either, until I read an Associated Press article about an upcoming report from the Government Accountability Office. [...]

Posted in Government, Prescription Drug Claims, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Halloween Safety Tips

Written On October 26, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As Halloween approaches, I’m updating my Halloween Safety Tips article. Most of this is just common sense, but at Halloween, some of us seem to lose our a bit of our common sense and we do foolish (as well as ghoulish) things.
Halloween can be a very enjoyable time for kids and adults if “trick-or-treating” is [...]

Posted in Safety Tips

Recall of Flammable Chenille Robes from Blair Company

Written On October 23, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This important announcement is from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Blair Expands Recall To All Women’s Chenille Apparel Due to Burn Hazard; Additional Reported Deaths Prompt Re-Announcement of Robe Recall
9 Reported Deaths in Total; Consumers Urged to Stop Use of Flammable Wearing Apparel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Blair LLC, [...]

Posted in Consumer Information

Friday Fun

Written On October 23, 2009 By Bob Kraft

A tip of the hat to Tom Mighell for finding this nifty little word game. DeepLeap forces you to make words from Scrabble-like tiles as they fall into your tray. But if you’re too slow in making words, the tiles drop out of your tray and you’re penalized. It’s fun —  check it out.

Posted in Friday Fun

Crash Test of a 1959 Chevrolet and a 2009 Chevrolet

Written On October 22, 2009 By Bob Kraft

I can’t vouch for the scientific validity of this video showing a staged crash between a 1959 Chevy and a 2009 Chevy, but it’s certainly interesting. I’m old enough to have started driving not too long after 1959, and I shudder to think how dangerous those cars were compared to today’s. Some of the safety [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Featured Link – DrugWatch.com

Written On October 22, 2009 By Bob Kraft

DrugWatch.com is a helpful site that consists of a database of medications, with information about conditions treated by the drug, interactions, suggested dosage, and possible side effects. Check it out. Here is the description from the site:
Welcome to DrugWatch.com
DrugWatch.com is a comprehensive Web site database featuring extensive information about thousands of different medications and drugs [...]

Posted in Medical and Health Resources, Prescription Drug Claims

Merck Starts Revealing Payments to Doctors Who Help Market Merck’s Drugs

Written On October 21, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Drug maker Merck & Co. has revealed this week that the company paid doctors and nurses about $3.7 million to give presentations to medical groups this summer alone. I’ll give Merck credit for finally starting to come clean on the highly-charged issue of paying doctors to tout Merck’s products. I think this type of marketing [...]

Posted in Prescription Drug Claims

Addison’s Disease and Social Security Disability

Written On October 20, 2009 By Bob Kraft

A number of our Social Security Disability clients suffer from Addison’s disease. Individuals suffering from this disorder frequently experience the following symptoms:

fatigue,
dizziness, and
muscle weakness with difficulty standing up.

The course of prescribed treatment can include hydrocortisone tablets or prednisone to replace missing cortisol, fludrocortisone to replace missing aldosterone. While not all individuals who have been diagnosed [...]

Posted in Disability, Medical and Health Resources, Social Security Disability

Toyota’s Runaway-Car Worries May Not Stop At Floor Mats

Written On October 20, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Why don’t they just cut off the engine or shift into neutral? That’s what I ask myself every time I see a story about a “runaway” vehicle. The latest batch of such stories has been about Toyota and Lexus vehicles, and specifically about the floor mats catching the throttle pedal and not allowing it to [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Battle Over Legal ‘Reforms’ Has Been Costly to Families

Written On October 19, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The Houston Chronicle has a good editorial about recent insurance “reforms” in Texas and across the nation. The gist of the editorial is that these reforms are hurting, not helping, average consumers. Here are excerpts:
For 20-plus years, the insurance industry, aided by tobacco interests, polluters, developers and the medical industry, have been engaged in a [...]

Posted in Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Friday Fun

Written On October 16, 2009 By Bob Kraft

I love the Redneck Remedies at There, I Fixed It. Maybe you had to grow up in Texas or in the South to get the full effect, but these photos are definitely worth a look.

Posted in Friday Fun

Obama Proposes Extra One-Time Payment to Social Security Recipients

Written On October 15, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As a follow-up to the last post, the press is reporting today that President Obama is proposing a one-time payment of $250 to Social Security recipients and others to partially make up for the lack of a cost-of-living-adjustment in 2010. The payments would be made sometime next year, and would go to all Social Security [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Veterans Benefits