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Women who take certain over-the-counter painkillers during the early stages of pregnancy are more likely to give birth to infants with rare birth defects, a new study suggests.

The study, which has been published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows that women who took painkillers such as naproxen (the drug used in Aleve) or aspirin during pregnancy were three times as likely to have children with birth defects such as amniotic band syndrome (a condition that leads to clubfoot) or anaphthalmiaand microphothalmia (conditions where children are born with abnormally small eyeballs, or no eyeballs at all), Reuters reported.

Additionally, the study found that the use of these painkillers early in one’s pregnancy increased the risk of spina bifida by 60 percent, and that the risk of developing a cleft palate increased from 30 to 80 percent.

In the study, interviews were conducted with 15,000 women who had given birth to babies with birth defects and 5,500 women who had given birth to babies without defects. The interviews included questions about any painkillers they ingested during the first stage of their pregnancies.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anophthalmia and microphthalmia occurs in one out of every 5,300 U.S. births. Amniotic band syndrome is even rarer, occurring in approximately one out of every in 10,000 births.

Co-author of the study Martha Werler noted that although the results do not prove that painkillers are the sole cause of these rare birth defects, they are a warning sign. She also recommended that further research be conducted.

If you or someone you know has a child who has been harmed by painkillers, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation.

Birth Defects

Both plaintiffs and defendants in asbestos lawsuits agree that asbestoscauses 80 to 90 percent of all mesothelioma cases. You would think that it naturally follows that 80 to 90 percent of mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs do not have to prove to a jury that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma. Until recently, that was not the case. Instead, through a legal process called reverse bifurcation, most if not all mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs had to first prove in court that their mesothelioma diagnosis is tied to past asbestos exposure. Once this was proved – and it usually was — most cases settled out of court.

Now, as reported by the Legal Intelligencer, after nearly a quarter of a century of trying asbestos lawsuits with reverse bifurcation, the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court’s mass torts program for asbestos began “straight-through trials” of asbestos cases in which it is uncontested that plaintiffs have mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure.

“Straight through trial” basically means that the plaintiffs do not first have to prove to the court – with documents and records and other evidence – that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma. Instead, the court takes for granted that it did, in which case most lawsuits settle out of court. So far though, even those that have gone through to trial have ended favorably for plaintiffs. One such mesothelioma patient and his family won $4.5 million in a recent trial verdict.

It’s good news for mesothelioma victims and not so good news for some defendants who make or have made asbestos-containing products. Examples of companies that had ready defenses to disprove asbestos exposure from their products as the cause of mesothelioma in a plaintiff include break pad manufacturers and insulation companies. These defendants would use reverse bifurcation to fight off taking responsibility for the victim’s illness. Hopefully, more states will follow PA’s lead on this.

If you or a loved one has suffered from asbestos exposure and later developed mesothelioma, call an asbestos attorney at Sokolove Law today for a free consultation.

Asbestos

A new study financed by a section of the National Institutes of Health has made the first potential connection to an individual’s genetics and susceptibility to eventually developing deadly asbestos illnesses such as mesothelioma.

The study, which was recently published online in Nature Genetics, found evidence that people with BAP1 gene mutations may have an increased chance of developing multiple cancer types such as mesothelioma, breast, ovarian, pancreatic and renal cancers. The study highlighted two U.S. families with members who have the BAP1 gene mutation. Both families also have “a high incidence of mesothelioma.”

Dr. Joseph R. Testa, another study co-leader and the Carol and Kenneth E. Weg chairman in Human Genetics at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said the study was the first to “demonstrate that individual genetic makeup can greatly influence susceptibility to mesothelioma.”

While only a first step, the discoveries noted in this study could one day lead to fundamental progress in mesothelioma care. Thanks to Drs. Carbone and Testa and their crew for the hard work. We hope this is just the beginning of bigger breakthroughs to come.

Living with the day-to-day hardships of mesothelioma – whether it is you or a loved one who has been diagnosed with the illness – is both emotionally and financially taxing. If you feel that a company or former employer may be responsible for the asbestos exposure that led to an illness, contact a mesothelioma attorney to learn about filing amesothelioma lawsuit.

Mesothelioma

Medical liability cases against obstetricians and other doctors who participate in the birthing process are most often spurred by errors in clinical judgment, miscommunication between doctors, and technical mistakes.

All of these errors can potentially result in a birth injury occurring that may remain with the newborn child for their entire lives.

According to a study released this month by CRIGO Strategies that analyzed more than 800 OB medical liability cases filed between 2005 and 2009, the three most common allegations in the lawsuits were as follows: Delayed treatment of fetal distress, improper execution of vaginal delivery, and improper management of pregnancy.

“Obstetrics has some unique vulnerabilities, most often involving situations in which a sequence of errors or oversights cascade into a crisis that can put mother and baby in jeopardy,” said Robert Hanscom, CRIGO’s senior vice president.

Obstetrician errors can result in a number of birth injuries that can affect the mother and/or the child being born. Among the more serious birth injuries a newborn can suffer from is cerebral palsy, which can affect a newborn for the rest of his or her life and often relegate them to a wheelchair and constant medical care.

If you or your child was born with a birth injury that can be attributed to medical error, such as cerebral palsy, there may be legal options available to you. Contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn about your options regarding a lawsuit against the doctors who caused your injury.

Birth Injury

Aside from legal ads on TV, many Americans don’t know what asbestos is or where it can be found, let alone that exposure to this dangerous material can result in the development of an asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma. In fact, mesothelioma occurs in such a small number of patients – it’s estimated that only 2,500-3,000 new patients are diagnosed every year – that the disease is often referred to as an orphan disease. And while new mesothelioma treatments can alleviate symptoms and improve a patient’s quality of life, to date there is no proven cure for the disease.

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that despite these known health risks, asbestos is still not banned in the United States and is manufactured and used every day.

But you can help change this. There are a number of easy ways for you to join the fight to ban asbestos and beat mesothelioma forever, and it all begins with one simple goal: raising awareness.

Each year, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) recognizes September 26 as National Mesothelioma Awareness Day in order to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos exposure and raise much-needed financial support for research towards improved treatments of the disease. The first Mesothelioma Awareness Day was started in 2004 by a group of volunteers and every year since has been larger and more widespread.

Want to participate, but don’t know where to start? Here are some ideas:

• Write a letter to Congress urging them to ban asbestos. We have a pre-written letter on our homepage you can sign and send digitally in minutes. (Yes, your representatives really receive them and sometimes they’ll even write you back!)
• Spread the word! You can click the Facebook and Twitter buttons on the top or bottom of this page to easily share the news about Mesothelioma Awareness Day with your friends.
• Join MARF’s social media campaign. They have ready-to-use facts and updates for you to share online.
• Plan or attend a fundraising event. You can check MARF’s event calendar to see if there’s anything planned in your area, and if there isn’t, they have otherideas how you can become involved – both on 9/26, as well as throughout the year.
• Make a donation to a non-profit organization like MARF or the Asbestos Disease Organization (ADAO).
• Check out the Mesothelioma Resource Center’s list of ways to raisemesothelioma awareness, which include contacting local news outlets, meeting local government leaders, fundraising and more.

Whether it’s the click of a mouse or a dollar in a donation jar, you CAN make a difference on National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. By raising awareness, we can save lives through safety education and prevention, as well as gaining support for the movements to ban asbestos and secure additional funding for improved treatments.

So take action and spread the word! Together, we can ban asbestos and beat asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma

With Mesothelioma Awareness Day coming up on Monday, September 26th, we thought it apt to highlight the top ten products we were surprised to find that are still being manufactured today with the use of the known carcinogen, asbestos. Asbestos exposure has long been known to cause mesothelioma as well as other cancers and diseases. Mesothelioma Awareness Day is an annual day devoted to raising awareness about mesothelioma and raising funds for mesothelioma research.

In this post — the first in a series of Mesothelioma Awareness Day posts designed to help raise awareness – we present our top ten asbestos-containing products to be aware of:

Baby powder? Baby powder!

Baby powder and other adult cosmetic powders and talcum powders often contain talc. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans” and talc not containing asbestos as “not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans.

2. Cigarette Filters

As if smoking cigarettes wasn’t already bad enough, asbestos has been known to be present in the filters.

3. Hair Dryers

Check with the manufacturer of your specific model, as some hair dryers have asbestos-based insulators.

4. Mittens

Are your hands really that cold? Some fire or heat-proof mittens have linings that contain asbestos.

5. Yarn

Typically, you don’t have to worry about the yarn you’re using to knit a scarf, unless it’s known to contain heat-proof threads, which contain asbestos.

6. Popcorn Poppers

As with hair dryers, most small electronics and appliances manufacturers have discontinued the use of asbestos. If yours is an older model or if you have concerns, contact the manufacturer.

7. Brake Pads

Many automotive parts are still manufactured with asbestos today, especially brake pads, to help prevent overheating.

8. Cork Board

If you have an old cork board and you can’t verify its safety with a manufacturer, think twice before tacking up your next picture or note.

9. Duct Tape

Many electrical tapes contain asbestos to help prevent melting or catching fire.

10. Rope

Although many ropes are asbestos-free, some that are heat or fire resistant do contain asbestos.

When asbestos fibers are inhalable, they are breathed into the lungs where the microscopic fibers embed into the tissue and accumulate. The inhalation of asbestos fibers is the leading cause of mesothelioma.

Speak to an Asbestos Attorney Today

For those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer that can be linked to asbestos exposure caused by a product or former employer, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney to learn more about your rights, and to see if pursuing a mesothelioma settlement is in your best interest.

Asbestos

Imagine a hammock that more and more people keep piling into without anybody getting out. The weight would quickly become too burdensome to bear and, sagging with a tangle of limbs and torsos, the rope would break. That’s what companies whose livelihoods were once asbestos dependent are like. With billions paid in asbestossettlements each year, the financial strain of numerous personal injury lawsuits from employees exposed to asbestos is too much for any corporation to hold.

What’s best for both the injured employees seeking compensationas well as the companies themselves is for the hammock to hold, or at least have a safety net in place. That’s why more and more of those companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcies to reorganize their assets and debts as well as put aside money for injured asbestos workers into what are known as asbestos bankruptcy trusts. More and more of these have been established as more and more companies have filed Chapter 11’s over the past two decades.

The only problem with asbestos bankruptcy trusts is that the asbestos workers who are ill from asbestos exposure — whether with asbestosis, mesothelioma, or some other type of asbestos-related cancer — don’t receive what they need and deserve, which is the full value of their settlements. The system was created to makeasbestos claims easier to file, often requiring no more than adiagnosis and a form to fill out. Yet, the amount of money that actually makes it to the injured worker is typically less than one third the amount of the settlement, according to a study by the RAND Corporation.

Now, there are around 50 different asbestos bankruptcy trusts paying out billions in asbestos claims each year. However, there are still many solvent companies liable for asbestos exposure injuries.Mesothelioma lawsuits are being filed against these solvent companies as regularly as the spinning of a well-oiled wheel. The companies have lawyers scrambling for ways to limit their liability and avoid taking responsibility for the widespread tragedy of asbestos-related cancer and other illness. To that end, defense lawyers want access to detailed records from asbestos bankruptcy trusts, allowing them to see who is paid how much for what specific illness.

Lately, Republicans in Congress are looking at the issue, deciding whether to make changes to these asbestos bankruptcy trusts. As reported by the National Law Journal (subscription required),asbestos lawyers and mesothelioma attorneys argue that the corporate defense lawyers want this reform only to expose the spokes of that well-oiled wheel so that they can throw in sticks.

There is no telling how soon or in what way Republicans in Congress will act on this issue. Meanwhile, if you have mesothelioma or another asbestos-caused illness, you may have a claim against an existing or future asbestos bankruptcy trust. If you were exposed to multiple asbestos products that were manufactured by different bankrupt companies, you may actually qualify for compensation under several trusts.

Asbestos

Birth injuries such as cerebral palsy are a life-long condition. So many adults who were born with cerebral palsy must cope with it as they live their lives, maintain families, and work full-time.

With the U.S. Labor Department celebrating October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we thought it would be appropriate to take a moment to honor cerebral palsy patients who contribute so much to the workforce.

Cerebral palsy is a term used for a group of conditions that are caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain and nervous system that most often occur while the baby is still in the womb. Many times, cerebral palsy can develop due to medical negligence.

Severe cases of cerebral palsy often require regular medical assistance and can significantly hamper one’s ability to move. However, other cases may be much more manageable and allow the individual to live a mostly independent and self-sufficient life, which may include pursuing a full-time career.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month was created to help appreciate the work that disabled individuals do in the workplace every day that may otherwise go unnoticed, said Kathy Martinez, the assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy.

“Return on investment means hiring the right talent,” said Martinez. “Workers with disabilities represent all skill sets and are ready to get the job done. This year’s theme focuses on improving employment opportunities that lead to good jobs and a secure economic future for people with disabilities and the nation as a whole.”

National Disability Employment Awareness Month also attempts to instill ideas of creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace for people with disabilities so they can gain dignity, respect and self-determination through their profession.

The history of National Disability Employment Awareness Month dates back to 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” By 1988, Congress expanded it to the full month of October and adjusted the name accordingly. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy has handled awareness responsibilities for the month since 2001.

If you or a loved one have a child who suffered a birth injury and now suffers from a form of cerebral palsy that may have been caused bymedical malpractice or negligence, it may be worth considering a birth injury lawsuit. Speak to a birth injury lawyer at Sokolove Law today to learn more about the legal options that may be open to you.

Cerebral Palsy

We hear a lot about how mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are caused by “microscopic” asbestos fibers. Easily inhaled, these tiny spear-like fibers of death become embedded into the delicate linings of the lung where, over time they can lead to scarring and eventually, mesothelioma cancer.

But how small is small?

This old advertisement from the infamous asbestos leader Johns-Manville shows how impossibly small asbestos fibers are: over 1500 of them bundled together are smaller than a human hair.

What is perhaps more astonishing then the relative size of asbestos fibers is the fact that their size was once a selling point for the global asbestos industry.

Asbestos

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is getting involved in an unfortunate case of potential discrimination against a mother with a child suffering from cerebral palsy.

HUD officials announced this week that they have charged the landlords of an Iowa apartment building with violating the Fair Housing Act after refusing to properly accommodate the family, which has a seven-year-old daughter who suffered the childbirth injury.

As part of her treatment, the girl had previously received a Labrador retriever as a medically-prescribed emotional support animal. However, when the mother and daughter moved into an apartment owned by John and Nancy Meany, the landlords refused to modify a “no pets policy” for the apartment.

Despite the mother’s ability to provide documentation of the need for the dog to live with her daughter from her pediatrician and therapist, the landlords still refused to allow the dog unless they received a $200 deposit and a $25 monthly rent increase.

The mother and daughter felt the need to move, and eventually did so to another apartment that cost more and was farther away from the daughter’s school.

“Threatening parents with eviction for requesting an emotional support animal for a child with disabilities or charging more for having one is against the law,” said John Trasviña, the HUD assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity. “HUD is committed to ensuring that landlords comply with fair housing laws and provide the accommodations that may be necessary for tenants with disabilities to have the same opportunities to enjoy their homes.”

According to the HUD’s Fair Housing Act, it is “unlawful for landlords to refuse a reasonable accommodation in their rules, policies, practices, or services when needed to provide persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use or enjoy a dwelling.” Landlords are also not allowed to “impose different rules and restrictions” under such circumstances.

While this is a very unfortunate and sad situation, hopefully the HUD’s intervention will help this family get the help they need. Regardless, this situation shows the difficulties – and expenses – that come with caring for a child with a birth injury. If you would like to pursue a cerebral palsy lawsuit against the doctors who caused your child’s birth injury, contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today.

Cerebral Palsy