North Carolina 18-Wheeler Accident Reminds Us of the Dangers Presented by Big Rigs
“Flash spudding” was the trending topic on Twitter on May 6 after a tractor-trailer hauling 25 tons of potatoes overturned on I-77 in North Carolina. The Twitterverse reacted promptly, describing the hundreds of yards of spud-covered highway as a scene of “mash destruction”. One user suggested renaming the stretch of road the “hashbrown highway,” while…
Read MoreBig Rig vs. Train: Accident Highlights Threats Posed by 18- Wheelers
When we talk about big rigs on the road, we use lots of statistics to illustrate the dangers they pose. The numbers don’t do the issue justice; 3,413 people died in large truck crashes in 2010, 72% were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles, 9 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths involve large…
Read MoreJohnson & Johnson Faces a Class Action Lawsuit in Canada over Their Talc Products
New talc lawsuits are being filed in courts around the U.S. The most recent was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 9, 2016, on behalf of a woman who died of ovarian cancer at the age of 58. But American women are not the only victims of…
Read MoreHow to Find Out if Your Doctor Is Good for You
On the heels of the big news that medical errors are now the third leading cause of the death in the United States, we thought it might be appropriate to write about the information available to you when choosing a doctor. Unfortunately, the type of information that patients have access to concerning healthcare providers boils…
Read MoreOrganic vs. Man-Made: Why We Didn’t Look Closely at Talc for So Long
There has been a push over the last few years for “organic” foods and products. (Try Google searching the words “organic clothing” if you need more proof.) We justify it in various ways – a return to a simpler time, the overexposure to chemicals by workers in all trades, the science that says human growth…
Read MoreFormer Panther, Good Guy Steve Smith, Grants Disabled Teen’s Wish
Aubrey Bridges is 18 and autistic. She also has a rare disorder called “vein of Galen malformation.” Her disabilities make it difficult for her to speak, but she was determined to be heard after seeing former Carolina Panther receiver Steve Smith Sr. dance in a video; she thought he’d be a fun date. She decided…
Read MoreJohnson and Johnson Dodges Bad Press through Use of Subsidiaries
Mega-company Johnson & Johnson is the brand we trust; they make Band-Aids, Listerine, and soothing creams, and they’ve been around for years. That trust is eroding. In response to allegations that talc causes ovarian cancer, the company’s official position has been outright denial. The refusal to acknowledge a problem isn’t a new issue; J&J lied…
Read MoreJohnson & Johnson’s Talc Cover-Up: a Policy Decades in the Making
In 1971, British researchers found talc particles deeply embedded in 10 of 13 ovarian tumors. Their results were the first indication of a potential link between the mineral and ovarian cancer. Eleven years later, an epidemiologist named Daniel Cramer published a study in Cancer that showed a statistical link between genital talc use and ovarian…
Read MoreNew Study Confirms Medical Errors Are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the United States
More than half of Americans have at least one of the three key risk factors for heart disease, it comes as no surprise then that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country. About 610,000 people succumb to the disease every year. Cancer isn’t far behind, with 591,699 attributed deaths in 2014.…
Read MoreDid Johnson & Johnson Market Their Talc Products Specifically to Minority Women?
By April 6, 2016, Johnson & Johnson had lost its first lawsuit over talc, and was ordered to pay $72 million to the family of Jacqueline Fox, a woman who faithfully used J&J talc products every day, and then contracted ovarian cancer. More than 1000 women have filed suits against the pharmaceutical giant, claiming the…
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