State health officials indicate that at least seven people have been diagnosed with E. coli O157:H7 food poisoning, and three have been hospitalized, in an outbreak that state health investigators have tracked back to Baugher’s. However, the actual number of cases of food poisoning from the apple cider may be substantially higher, as many cases are often not properly reported.

On November 4, Baugher’s Orchard & Farm of Westminster, Maryland, announced a Baugher Apple Cider recall. State officials with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and the FDA are warning people who purchased the cider not to drink it. The recall affects Baugher’s Apple Cider in the half-gallon and gallon containers.

E. coli food poisoning typically involves symptoms such as abdominal cramps and diarrhea. For most healthy adults, E. coli symptoms resolve within a few weeks. However, more severe cases could result in hemolytic-urenia syndrome (HUS), which is associated with kidney failure and could result in death. Children, elderly and those with a weak immune system have an increased risk of HUS.

There are approximately 20 to 40 cases of Maryland E. coli O157:H7 illnesses reported each year. However, nationwide, there are about 70,000 cases of infection in the U.S. caused by all E. coli strains.

The Maryland food poisoning lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are investigating and reviewing claims for serious injuries sustained as a result of Baugher’s Apple Cider food poisoning. If you, a friend or family member have been diagnosed with hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), kidney damage or other serious injury as a result of drinking Baugher’s Apple Cider, request a free claim evaluation.

The Maryland product liability lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. have been reviewing Avandia lawsuits in Maryland since concerns first surfaced in 2007 about the heart risks associated with the drug. Potential new cases are continuing to be reviewed for individuals who have experienced side effects of Avandia, including a:

• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Liver Failure
• Bone Fracture
• Vision Loss or Blindness

Concerns about problems with Avandia first gained national attention in May 2007, when an independent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Avandia users faced a 43% increased chance of having a heart attack. The FDA required a black box warning about Avandia heart risks in November 2007.

According to the Senate report, GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Avandia, were aware of this risk for some time prior to the publication of this study. Rather than notifying the healthcare community and consumers about the potential risks associated with their drug, they actively attempted to minimize the risk, misrepresent the findings and intimidate physicians who spoke out against the blockbuster medication.

In many states, plaintiffs have only two years to act after the risks of a medication become known, due to statute of limitation laws. However, the Maryland statute of limitation allows individuals three years to bring their claim. Therefore, residents of this state still have additional time to pursue a Maryland Avandia lawsuit.

MARYLAND AVANDIA LAWSUITS

To review a potential claim for yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and case evaluation. There are no fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained. However, time may be quickly running out on your ability to file a lawsuit, so contact our Avandia lawyers now.

The Baltimore County Council passed the new ordinance in mid-December, in the wake of a number of carbon monoxide (CO) incidents in the county in recent months, according to an article in The Baltimore Sun. In addition to rental units heated by fuel-burning equipment, such as propane, all landlords with units attached to enclosed garages must also ensure that they have carbon monoxide alarms installed.

In December alone, four people in a Fullerton apartment complex were hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning, and county firefighters found lethal amounts of carbon monoxide gas in a rental home in Middle River. In addition, a string of high-profile carbon monoxide problems have plagued the Cove Village townhouse community since 2005, when three people died from CO poisoning. As recently as July, five people were hospitalized at the community, despite efforts to eradicate the CO problems.

All Maryland carbon monoxide laws require all public housing units built since 2008 to have carbon monoxide alarms installed. However, the new rule in Baltimore County expands on those requirements and requires the alarms in older units, where they were not previously required.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas, which makes it particularly dangerous, because people are unable to detect a potential leak without a CO alarm. Exposure to the gas could cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which can result in nausea and lightheadedness. It can also result in severe long-term problems, depriving the brain of oxygen and potentially resulting in brain damage or death.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there has been a nationwide increase in CO poisoning deaths since 1999. The years 2004 through 2006 saw an average of 181 carbon monoxide poisoning deaths per year associated with consumer products, up from 123 deaths per year in the years 1999 through 2001. Heating equipment and portable generators were found to be the largest contributors to CO deaths.

The CPSC released the following recommendations in a public service announcement in late December:

• Schedule a yearly professional inspection of fuel-burning systems in your home, including furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, chimneys, flues, vents, wood stoves and fire places.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Make sure the batteries work, and replace the batteries every year at either the spring or autumn Daylight Savings Time changes.
• Use the test button at least once a month on your CO alarm to make sure it is working.
• Keep portable generators as far away from the home as possible, and make sure they are away from open doors and windows or vents.
• Only use space heaters that have been tested to the latest safety standards and certified by a nationally-recognized testing laboratory.
• Only use propane space heaters indoors if the heater is specifically designed for indoor use.
• Do not use gas or electric stoves to heat your home.

MARYLAND CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING LAWYERS

The attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential carbon monoxide poisoning lawsuits in Baltimore County and throughout Maryland. If a carbon monoxide leak was caused by the negligence of another person, such as a landlord, property owner, builder, appliance manufacturer, repair company or other entity responsible for maintenance, compensation may be available Request a free consultation with our Maryland carbon monoxide lawyers to review a case.

The hospital is encouraging patients receiving these letters to contact their cardiologist to schedule an appointment to discuss the information. These individuals also have important legal rights, and they should contact an attorney to discuss this matter in further detail and make sure that their legal options are protected.

The Maryland malpractice lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are providing free legal consultations for individuals who received a letter from St. Joseph Medical Center about the results of a prior cardiac catheterization stent procedure. Contact our lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.

Teams of staff members at 45 of the state’s 47 hospitals will covertly monitor the hand washing practices of Maryland hospital staff in an effort to improve hand washing habits at hospitals statewide. The program, called the Maryland Hospital Hand Hygiene Collaborative, was made possible through $100,000 in federal stimulus money that was part of a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at lowering the rate of Maryland hospital infections.

Hand washing has been repeatedly identified as an excellent tool in reducing the rate of hospital infections, which would result in a reduction in the number of Maryland hospital infection lawsuits. The CDC reports that there are more than 2 million U.S. hospital infections acquired each year, leading to more than 90,000 deaths annually.

State officials say the program is not designed to penalize hospital staff spotted not undertaking the best hand washing practices. Instead, the program will gather data on hygiene practices at facilities across the state to help determine where hospital staff needs the most improvement in hand washing hygiene practices. Officials also hope that the program will raise awareness for hospital hand washing hygiene.

A number of health care organizations representing doctors and patients have gotten behind the initiative. Supporters say that the program costs very little to implement, but is likely to provide excellent results in combating hospital infections.

A state law requires that all Maryland hospitals make public disclosure of any medical mistakes that result in harm to patients. The fine is the first of its kind in the state since the law was enacted five years ago.

According to the article published June 15, 2009 in the Washington Post:

In some cases, state regulators found, Doctors did minimal investigations to determine what went wrong and did not classify the errors by their level of seriousness, as required by law. A few near misses, in which patients escaped serious harm, were never investigated, documents show. Those included a reported assault on one patient by another’s visitor, an eight-day delay in getting medication to a 49-year-old man with a history of heart failure, and a case in which an antibiotic was given to a 65-year-old woman by a technician who mistook it for plain IV fluid.

Maryland is one of more than 20 states with laws on the books requiring hospitals to report mistakes or infections that could have been prevented. There is also federal law requiring all hospitals to report any disciplinary actions against doctors. However, the situation at Doctors Hospital is not unique, and appears to be occurring nationwide, according to a recent report by the consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen.

In a report released earlier this month, Public Citizen found that half of all hospitals in the U.S. avoid reporting disciplinary actions against physicians, usually by exploiting legal loopholes. The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established 17 years ago, but in that time, only half all hospitals have actually used the mandatory system.

Many hospitals avoid such reporting by levying disciplinary actions that are designed to fly under the radar of federal reporting requirements. This can include disciplinary periods of less than 31 days, requiring a leave of absence instead actual disciplinary action, or simply not disciplining physicians who have been known to make mistakes.

Doctors Hospital had reported only three errors to the state since 2005, and while other area hospitals were investigated, only Doctors was fined. Officials at Doctors Community Hospital say they plan to hire a registered nurse who will head the hospital’s patient safety program, and the state has promised to review the hospital’s progress in several months.

MARYLAND HOSPITAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS

Our Maryland medical malpractice lawyers investigate potential claims for mistakes and errors that result in serious physical harm at area hospitals. To review a potential claim on behalf of yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.

This week, the Maryland House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider new legislation which would make it easier for individuals who were injured by elevated lead levels to obtain compensation through a Baltimore city lead paint lawsuit.

The Baltimore City Lead Poisoning Recovery Act, House Bill 1156, is designed to enable property owners and victims of lead poisoning in Maryland to file a lead paint lawsuit against the various manufacturers who used the additive in paint they sold under a “market-share liability” theory. This would allow Baltimore City lead poisoning victims to file a lawsuit, even in situations where it is impossible to identify the specific manufacturer who caused their injury.

According to an article in the Maryland Daily Record from March 6, 2009:

[Baltimore City Del. Samuel I. "Sandy"] Rosenberg’s proposal would require poisoned individuals or landlords suing to recover remediation costs and lost rent to show that the lead-pigment manufacturers listed as defendants made, produced marketed or sold their product in the relevant Baltimore area before the poisoning occurred. If a judge or jury finds for the plaintiff, damages would be apportioned among the lead-pigment manufacturers based on their share of the relevant market.

Supporters of Rosenberg’s measure say it would make it easier to recover damages because the plaintiffs could recover against manufacturers to the extent they contributed to the general risk of lead poisoning. Many plaintiff attorneys say it is nearly impossible in Maryland to recover damages in these cases because of the immense difficulty in proving that a specific paint caused the poisoning.

A similar bill was defeated last year by corporate lobbying groups, but that legislation would have allowed lead paint victims throughout the state to file lawsuits without identifying the specific manufacturer of the paint used in the property. The current legislation would only apply to Baltimore City, which has the largest number of reports of lead poisoning in Maryland, accounting for roughly 70% of the elevated lead level blood tests were found for the entire state in 2007.

In recent years, the overall number of Maryland lead poisoning cases are down, but problems associated with lead paint continue to cause substantial health issues in Baltimore City. If young children or infants inhaled lead paint dust or ingested paint chips that flaked off of the walls, it could lead to long term health issues throughout their life, including:

• Brain Injury
• Damage to the Nervous System
• Seizures or Convulsions
• Decreased Growth Rate
• Mental Retardation
• Coma
• Death

BALTIMORE LEAD PAINT LAWYERS

If your child, a friend or family member have been diagnosed with elevated lead levels or lead poisoning in Maryland, request a free consultation and claim evaluation with our Baltimore Lead Poisoning Lawyers.

Throughout the United States, there have been 654 confirmed cases of peanut butter food poisoning, giving Maryland only about 1.5% of the nationwide toll in the outbreak.

Over 650 cases of food poisoning and
9 deaths nationwide have been reported.
At least 10 cases occurred in Maryland.

Only six states have not had any citizens affected by the salmonella outbreak at all: Montana, Alaska, New Mexico, Louisiana, Delaware and South Carolina. The largest number of reports come from Ohio, who has 94 cases. In other mid-Atlantic states near Maryland, Virginia has 21 reports, New Jersey has 23 reports and Pennsylvania has 19.

The Maryland salmonella outbreak has been linked to contaminated peanut butter, peanut paste and peanuts processed by Peanut Corporation of America. Investigations have determined that Peanut Corporation was aware that their product may have been tainted with bacteria that causes food poisoning, yet continued their shipments.

The peanut products produced by Peanut Corporation of America were used as ingredients in thousands of consumer products sold throughout the United States. They were also used in large tubs of peanut butter sold to nursing homes, schools, hospitals and other food service locations, though there is no indication that these large tubs were distributed to Maryland.

Our Maryland food poisoning lawyers are reviewing potential peanut butter lawsuits for any individuals who have been diagnosed with salmonella poisoning after eating any products that contain peanut butter. This could include peanut butter crackers, peanut butter cookies, ice cream with peanut butter or a number of other products.

If you, a friend or family member have suffered symptoms of food poisoning, request a free consultation and claim evaluation. Salmonella typhimurium symptoms could include:

• Diarrhea
• Abdominal Cramps
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever

CONTACT A MARYLAND FOOD POISONING LAWYER