Consumers who purchased entertainment center model names Arts and Crafts, Vineyard Manor, Lake Cottage, Studio One, West Indies and Plantation Cove were not aware that their $1500. plus purchase posed a risk for injury and property damage until recently. The models were sold at Value City Furniture, Rooms Today and American Signature Furniture stores from late 2002 through end of 2009.

Since then, four adverse events reports were filed, including a child whose fingers were hit by a falling shelf, an adult who had to receive stitches in their mouth and two other parties who experienced property damage- all following the fall of a shelf on the entertainment center.

The centers’ shelves can detach falling onto people or releasing objects on the center into the air or floor such as a T.V.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recently issued ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor a landfill permit, despite those who are concerned about mounting waste piles that have accumulated at the property over the course of many years such as the pile known as the Easterly’s Pile. According to a 2010 IDEM inspection report, the Easterly pile contains 274,000 cubic yards of basic oxygen furnace sludge, burnt lime and rubble. It is situated roughly 200 feet from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan.

It has been determined that the company will move some of the company’s rubbish to the approved landfill, while the rest will be recycled. Under state law, a mill can stockpile waste for recycling for up to six months. After six months, waste is presumed to be an open dump which is illegal.

Companies that store rubbish negotiate with recyclers to purchase their rubbish. The company with the rubbish or a company they send the rubbish to may “prepare” the rubbish, with the goal to keep useful chemical agents and get rid of harmful ones. Once the useful chemicals are sold, they may be used in manufacturing products for daily use.

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received a Defect Information Report from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The report disclosed defects on roughly 138,000 Lexus vehicles.

Lexus believes that a change in the manufacturing process has led to the risk of foreign material contaminating some of the valve springs. If this occurs, the engine may cease while driving, posing a risk for serious injury and death. Though the risk is suspected to be rare, it is important for manufacturers to disclose such risks. It is not known for certain if a person driving an affected Lexus would receive a warning sign (engine noise) before the engine would cease.

The report shows that the problem may affect Lexus vehicles powered by 4.6 and 5.0 liter V8 and 3.5 liter V6 engines in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 GS, IS and LS models in the U.S.

It is not uncommon for medical and legal issues to be intertwined. Whether related to best practices for patient care, patient housing, financial needs, benefit eligibility, child-support coverage, guardianship, or criminal related medical issues, there is likely to be a need for patients to have the support of a lawyer when contending with critical illness. Yet, this is often the last thing that a patient thinks about when facing a life threatening illness.

It is for these reasons that a partnership developed between lawyers and doctors at Wishard’s Pecar Health Center two years ago with the help of the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic and Indianapolis Legal Aid Society. Since then, numerous partnerships have surfaced in several Indiana areas. In fact, the partnership that initially focused on Wishard’s Pecar Health Center has recently discovered that approximately 30% of the legal cases they manage relate to housing issues that will people contend with. Guardianship is also a big concern.

On June 15, the American Medical Association’s resolution passed in the House of Delegates to support these kinds of partnerships. Some of the types of legal issues that ill people may contend with include, but are not limited to:

With over 350 million MySpace and Facebook users, it is important to understand that there are criminals in these virtual cities. So, we all must protect ourselves. Here are some fast facts.

  • When you invite others such as friends of friends or everyone to participate in your wall, messages, invitations, photos and any other open information may allow access to private information for criminals. Limit your social networking profiles to friends,
  • Hackers can gain unauthorized access to a site’s underlying coding which may breach the security in the platform. In doing so, your security may be compromised.

Asbestos has been used for decades by many individuals in select industries, including: construction workers, cement workers, plumbers, pipe fitters, insulators, furnace workers, roofers, power plant workers, oil refinery workers, miners, processing plant workers, manufacturing plant workers, railroad workers, shipyard and submarine veterans of war.  Workers were not aware that asbestos exposure put them and their families at risk for contracting mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, until the risk turned into a reality for thousands.

Mesothelioma is suspected to develop in 3,000 people annually after it is undetectable for up to 50 years after contact with asbestos and cancer. Initial symptoms may include: weight loss, fever, night sweats, cough, breathing difficulty, chest pain, and ultimately swelling of the abdomen, bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and a lowered red blood cell count. Mesothelioma can affect the abdominal, lung and/or heart linings. Many die within a year following diagnosis.

Recently, twenty six defendants settled a mesothelioma case for an undisclosed amount. However, a settlement offer by Union Carbide was rejected by the plaintiff. Instead, the plaintiff and associated family members went to trial against Union Carbide.

SENATE BILL No. 85 has passed as of July 1st, 2010 which now prohibits a person from disclaiming property interests if the person is delinquent in child support payments. As of July 1, 2010, a disclaimer of an interest in property is barred if the person is delinquent in child support payments. Lawmakers believe this addition to child support laws will increase collections and possibly federal IV-D funding which is based on total child support dollars collected by the state.

Indiana Enforcement Action for Child Support Delinquency

This new addition is only one of the many ways that Indiana enforces child support laws. According to Indiana law, enforcement action must take place when a person pays less than the awarded amount or fails to pay child support, including:

In Indiana, laws already restrict the sale of methamphetamine and related over-the-counter drugs such as select cold medicines which contain meth. Today, Indiana lawmakers are taking meth restrictions to the next level with the introduction of a proposal that would not allow pharmacies to sell pseudoephedrine without a prescription from a physician. Indiana lawmakers believe this proposal will curb meth use by limiting the ability for meth makers and users to obtain this harmful ingredient.

And rightfully so! Over 10 million Americans have tried meth and 1.4 million are regular users. Habitual methamphetamine use is linked to elevated risks for mood disturbances, violent behavior, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, crime, unemployment, as well as child abuse and neglect. So, any laws that would limit the availability of meth are highly desirable to lawmakers in Indiana and the public. The proposed Indiana law can have a positive economic impact on the state. Currently, the economic cost of methamphetamine use nationwide is $23.4 billion, according to the RAND Corp.

This summer, Indiana legislators will examine current regulations to determine if the proposal will fit in with regulatory criteria. Indiana is one of the more progressive states interested in curbing the economic burden associated with meth use. Also, The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse has recently granted a request for a $1.86 million fund to be used by the UCLA School of Dentistry for the study of oral health consequences associated with methamphetamine use. This is because a condition known as meth mouth is often evident in meth users who have used meth for only a short period of time.  In this way, dentists may provide a vehicle for the early detection of meth use to prevent more costly side effects associated with long term use reaching the general public.

Sixty two dietary supplement products have been removed from the nationwide and international market following an investigation uncovering that the supplements contain steroid or steroid-like substances that were not approved by the FDA. The recalling firm is Bodybuilding.Com, Meridian, ID. The recall began in November 2009 and is still ongoing, including:

  • D-DROL capsules, D-Drol Complex 52.5 mg,
  • Bergamottin 25 mg

If you’ve been using Qualaquin (quinine sulfate) to prevent leg cramps, treat leg cramps or for restless leg syndrome, you need to know that two people using Qualaquin and 36 others have experienced serious life threatening side effects between April and October 2008. This link was discovered after the FDA reviewed its Adverse Event Reporting System for the April through October time period. It is not clear how many others since October 2008 have experienced life threatening side effects or death from Qualaquin use. It is also important to know that Qualaquin is not FDA-approved to prevent or treat night time leg cramps.

The problem with the drug seems to be linked to the active ingredient called quinine. The serious side effects listed in the report, include:  

  • Low blood platelet levels (thrombocytopenia)
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