215 Lexington Ave. 18th Floor
New York, NY 10016
1-877-WISE-LAW
(1-877-947-3529)
1-212-213-3111
New York, NY 10016
1-877-WISE-LAW
(1-877-947-3529)
1-212-213-3111
The following articles can help you learn more about issues related to personal injury litigation. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact our injury lawyers.
For years, insurers and doctors have contended that jury awards and settlements have created an insurance crisis in medical malpractice. A recent study released by the Center for Justice and Democracy, a consumer advocacy group in New York, which was compiled from regulatory findings by insurers to State regulators, found that net claims for medical malpractice paid by fifteen of the leading insurance companies in the United States have remained flat over the last five years while net premiums have surged 120 percent.
Of the fifteen companies examined three are publicly traded. The stock prices of those companies have risen more than 100 percent since May of 2002. It has been stated by a former state insurance commissioner of the State of Missouri that "in recent years, medical malpractice hasn't been unprofitable, but it’s been phenomenally profitable." Data from Physicians Insured Association of America, the trade group representing physician-owned insurance companies indicates that 75 percent of malpractice cases closed in the year 2003 were dismissed, 24 percent were settled, and 5 percent were tried, of which the majority resulted in verdicts in favor of the defendant.
The Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, has stated that the numbers reflected in the study cast a completely different picture than the public and many public officials have assumed. They have the potential to change the perception that personal injury lawyers are the culprits and insurers and the doctors are the victims. It is hoped that the quality of this study conducted by the Center for Justice and Democracy, turns the public’s and politician’s attention to the fact that rising cost for medical malpractice insurance are generated largely by poor investment performance of the insurance companies portfolio and unrealistically high for insurance premiums.
So who benefits by blaming personal injury lawyers and high verdicts for a crisis in medical malpractice? Obviously the insurance industry since the propaganda justifies unrealistically high premium charged to the medical community.
Weiser & Associates has entered into a joint venture agreement with George Fleming & Associates – a law firm in Houston, Texas – to represent individuals who sustained personal injury as a result of taking the popular diet drug, Fen-Phen.
Fen-Phen is the common name for the combination of the drugs Pondimin and Redux. The manufacturer, American Home Products, marketed the drug as a cure for being overweight. Fen-Phen acts to change the level of serotonin in the brain, thus helping to block the impulses that tell us we are hungry. However, by affecting the serotonin level in the brain, the drug causes damage to the aortic and mitral valves in the heart, causing blood to regurgitate into the ventricle and left atrium. The drug was removed from the U.S. market when the Mayo Clinic released a study in 1997 stating that Fen-Phen caused serious heart valve disease.
The study also documented cases of the drug causing primary pulmonary hypertension, which is a fatally progressive narrowing of the blood vessels of the lungs. George Fleming & Associates has tried and settled numerous Fen-Phen cases in a number of states and has obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts for its clients. Mr. Fleming and Mr. Weiser believe that many people who took the drug are not aware of its potentially dangerous effects and may not have yet taken an echocardiogram to determine if they have any heart valve damage. If you or someone you know has taken Fen-Phen and can document it, call the Fen-Phen Attorneys of Weiser & Associates at 212-213-3111 for a free consultation.
Weiser & Associates, P.C., is proud to announce that The Marquis Who’s Who Publication Board has once again selected Martin J. Weiser to be included in its 2006 edition of Who’s Who in American Law. The Board stated that inclusion in the edition is limited to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their fields of endeavor and who have, thereby, contributed significantly to the betterment of contemporary society.
After a five week trial in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, a jury of six awarded the Estate of Dennis Rodd, a volunteer firefighter in Coram, Long Island, $2,200,000.00 in damages. Martin J. Weiser tried the case for the plaintiff. The five defendants were represented by prominent law firms in New York City and Long Island. This jury verdict was published in Newsday and The New York Jury Verdict Reporter.
Our firm was recently retained by a family living in an apartment building in upper Manhattan. All of the family members, including the children, have suffered from a multitude of health problems over the past two years. Family members suffered from chronic eye infections, asthma, and skin allergies. During the spring of 1999, the family discovered black mold in portions of the apartment.
Complaint was made to the landlord on a number of occasions after discovering the mold, but the landlord and the managing agent failed to take any action in order to remove it. At the request of a local church group, Micro Ecologies, Inc., entered the premises, took samples of the mold, and had it tested by an independent laboratory. The mold was found to be a fungus known as penicillium. Further testing showed massive quantities of penicillium in the air of the apartment.
Penicillium is known to possess various toxins, which can cause significant irritation and adverse health reactions. The health problems suffered by each of the family members appear to be clearly related to the presence of the mold. The environmental investigator for Micro Ecologies, Inc., is confident that the mold formed as a result of dampness and cold transmitted to the inside walls of the apartment due to inadequate insulation.
On February 28, 2000, NBC’s investigative reporter, Ralph Penza, interviewed Martin Weiser in conjunction with a six o’clock news special, which aired that day. It would appear that the existence of penicillium mold in damp and poorly insulated buildings is a common problem in the City of New York that is not being addressed by landlords and managing agents.
Sixteen million Americans have diabetes, but a third are unaware they have it.
A diabetic has too much blood glucose, or sugar, because the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, a hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy. Too much glucose weakens cells and can eventually damage eyes, nerves, kidneys, and the heart and circulatory system.
Today, people can get good help diagnosing and managing diabetes – and live long, healthy lives. Teams comprised of physicians, dieticians, dentists, ophthalmologists, podiatrists, pharmacists, and others can provide counsel, therapy and medications. Diabetics can also reduce health risks by managing weight, controlling diet, taking medications, exercising, stopping smoking, reducing stress, and staying positive mentally.
If Something’s “Wrong”
Diabetics learn to stay in close touch with their bodies. When something doesn’t “feel right,” they get help immediately. After a 46-year-old diabetic male died from a major infection, his family won a malpractice verdict. His doctor failed to order blood tests or emergency room treatment, even though the patient reported high fever, low blood pressure, rapid pulse, and back pains.
On August 8, 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the manufacturer of Baycol was voluntarily withdrawing it from the market. Baycol, a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, has been linked to 52 deaths. Studies indicate that Baycol may cause rhabdomyolysis, a disease that is known to destroy skeletal muscle tissue. Reports of fatalities from the use of Baycol appear to be most prevalent among elderly patients who used the drug in combination with Lopid (another lipid-lowering drug), or in high doses.
Statistics indicate that as many as many as 700,000 Americans may have taken this drug. Early symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, weakness, fever, dark urine, fatigue, and nausea. As muscle tissue degenerates, components of the tissue are released into the bloodstream. The kidneys may not be able to filter out these components, thereby causing renal failure. Many people who took Baycol are unaware of the link between this drug and their present symptoms and illness.