Blog
“Food Poisoning” or Something Else? How to Tell.
by Hal Kleinman
on February 20, 2012
When I was in college, “food poisoning” was code for “I had cafeteria ‘mystery meat’ last night.” As I got older it became “I ate too much Mexican food (or Italian, or barbecue… you get the picture). As an attorney who specializes in “food poisoning”, I know there is no “poison” involved, unless there is [...]
In Major Win, Copper Mine Contamination Case Set for Trial
by Leah Barron
on February 17, 2012
People in the small northern Nevada town of Yerington have won a big court victory in the form of a ruling that allows a class action lawsuit over severe contamination from an old Anaconda copper mine to move forward. This is major news for beleaguered residents, who have been fighting for years—with little success—to have the [...]
Text Messages Can’t Hide Pennsylvania Child Abuse, Judge Rules
by Howard Janet
on February 16, 2012
In a ruling that could affect all child abuse cases in Pennsylvania, a judge has ruled that text messages sent between a husband and wife dealing with abuse of a child are not confidential. The ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Walsh brings the ancient legal doctrine of “spousal privilege” into the 21st [...]
Five Tips to Dramatically Reduce Your BPA Exposure
by Leah Barron
on February 13, 2012
Anyone who has shopped for baby products in the last few years knows how concerned parents are about shielding their young children from Bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure. Parents’ BPA fears have been so strong that the chemical industry agreed in 2011 to no longer use the chemical in any baby bottles or sippy cups. Parents—and indeed all [...]
No Need to Dump Fruit Juice, But Limit Amounts
by Elisha Hawk
on February 9, 2012
Don’t dump your child’s fruit juice just yet, although you may want to cut back. That’s what I’ve gleaned from recent reports claiming unusually high levels of arsenic in apple and other fruit juices being sold in the U.S. Some consumer groups are claiming the U.S. needs to halt foreign juice imports because they’re unsafe. A [...]
Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid and Similar Drugs Linked to Dangerous Diarrhea
by Rob Jenner
on February 8, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that certain stomach-acid medications can trigger the development of a bacterial infection that can cause a dangerous form of diarrhea. The elderly are particularly susceptible, the agency said. These drugs include such popular medications as AcipHex (rabeprazole sodium), Dexilant (dexlansoprazole), Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium), Omeprazole, Prevacid (lansoprazole), [...]
Hard-Cooked Eggs Recall Expanded to Specific Salad Products
by Hal Kleinman
on February 6, 2012
I previously blogged that Michael Foods, a Minnesota food company announced a recall of more than one million hard-cooked eggs distributed to institutions in 34 states because of potential Listeria contamination. The recalled eggs were not sold directly to consumers, but sold to other food processors who then sold to consumers. Since my last blog, [...]
Hard-Cooked Eggs May Be Contaminated with Listeria
by Hal Kleinman
on February 5, 2012
Michael Foods, a Minnesota food company announced a recall of more than one million hard-cooked eggs distributed to institutions in 34 states. Although there are no reported cases of illness, testing revealed that some of the eggs may be contaminated with Listeria bacteria. Listeriosis can cause serious, even fatal, illness. The deaths of 21 people were [...]
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell
by Hal Kleinman
on February 3, 2012
In October and November, 2011, an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections began to appear in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio and Tennessee. The CDC and the state health departments have been working together to identify the source of this outbreak. Yesterday it was announced, after months of investigation, that Taco [...]
Frustrated McCook Field Resident: “Something Must be Done”
by Leah Barron
on February 1, 2012
The McCook Field Neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio has been declared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be one of the worst hazardous waste sites in the nation. On a recent visit, one resident expressed her concerns to me about the contamination. “We used to live in a part of California where there was a lot [...]
