Access To Justice

Investigators will begin their investigation this morning into a huge explosion at an unfinished power plant in Connecticut that killed five people and left around a dozen injured yesterday, reports the Associated Press.

The blast at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown shook homes miles away and damaged windows and foundations at nearby houses, according to news reports.

Fire marshals and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are expected on the scene today to investigate the cause of the explosion. The AP writes that the facility’s gas line was being purged of air by workers for O&G industries when the Middletown explosion took place Sunday.  The under-construction plant is meant to produce energy using natural gas.

In a press release, that CSB says it issued urgent recommendations last week that the national fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes are being purged – cleared of air – during maintenance or the installation of new piping. The recommendations come in the wake of the CSB’s ongoing federal investigation into a natural gas explosion at a ConAgra Slim Jim factory in North Carolina that killed four people in 2009.

As anyone who subscribes to cable television knows, DIY stands for do-it-yourself.  The phrase is frequently heard on the more than two dozen cable shows designed to teach ordinary Americans how to tackle home improvements.   The pattern of these shows is similar:  combine the sweat equity of an average hard-working couple with a team of experts who coach them along the way, and the job is done right at a fraction of the cost. 

Sounds good, right? Now think about applying that DIY principle to the justice system.  What if we could have a nation of do-it-yourself lawyers, who only call in the experts when they hit a snag.  Sound far fetched?  Well, it’s exactly what the chief justices of the California andNew Hampshire supreme courts wrote in an opinion piece in a recent edition of The New York Times.

Justices John T. Broderick Jr. (New Hampshire) and Ronald M. George (California) first defined the problem, that we’re already a nation of DIY lawyers:

“An increasing number of civil cases go forward without lawyers. Litigants who cannot afford a lawyer, and either do not qualify for legal aid or are unable to have a lawyer assigned to them because of dwindling budgets, are on their own — pro se. What’s more, they’re often on their own in cases involving life-altering situations like divorce, child custody and loss of shelter…an inaccessible, overburdened justice system serves none of us well.”

They’re right, of course.  In fact, studies have suggested that as many as 80 percent of the civil justice needs of society go unmet because people lack access to the system.  One of the main reasons for this is the high cost of legal representation.  Many people who go to court without a lawyer do so because they simply can’t afford one.  

Justices Broderick and George not only identify the problem, they also propose an innovative solution, one I believe is a critical reform for the legal profession—unbundled legal services.  Let me explain.

Traditionally, if a lawyer got involved in a case, they owned it.  They had to stay with it from beginning to end.  But that’s starting to change.  As Broderick and George point out, there are 41 states that now permit lawyers to get involved in only part of a case, so-called “limited scope representation.”

It’s a reform the other 9 states should adopt. Under the new rules, lawyers can be hired to help with basic parts of a case or other legal matters that require the assistance of an attorney, while the other more pedestrian parts can be handled by the litigant alone.  In this way, lawyers can focus their efforts where they are really needed, and litigants can limit the legal fees but still get expert advice regarding the complex issues. It’s win/win for the entire system.

What’s more, the proposed reform could improve access to the legal system for the increasing number of pro-se litigants who chose to represent themselves.  As the justices write:

“For those whose only option is to go it alone, at least some limited, affordable time with a lawyer is a valuable option we should all encourage…”

Lawyers offering unbundled legal services may be able to help some people who would otherwise have never hired a lawyer—just like the television DIY experts help people who might otherwise have never considered renovating their home.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada have issued a voluntary recall of certain CYBEX strollers. Children who place their fingers on the hinge mechanism when consumers are unfolding or opening the stroller are at risk of potential fingertip amputation and laceration. CYBEX Strollers has received one report of a child whose finger was fractured after placing his finger in the stroller’s hinge.

The recall involves about 1,100 strollers in the US and 90 in Canada.

CYBEX is the third stroller maker to issue a recall related to child fingertip amputations in recent months. Graco last week recalled about 1.5 million strollers; Maclaren recalled about 1 million vehicles last November.

The word  “CYBEX” is printed on the side of the strollers. The affected models include:

•    Ruby

•    Onyx

•    Topaz

If your child has been injured by this product,  please contact us.

Some of Toyota’s most popular car and truck models will languish on dealer lots as the automaker suspends sales while it investigates problems with accelerators that stick on certain vehicles, according to an ABC News report.  ABC has broadcast a series of reports examining random acceleration incidents involving Toyota vehicles, including some fatalities.

The Japanese motor company told its dealers to halt sales of the following models:

•    2009-2010 RAV4
•    2009-2010 Corolla
•    2009-2010 Matrix
•    2005-2010 Avalon
•    2010 Highlander
•    2007-2010 Tundra
•    2008-2010 Sequoia
•    2007-2010 Camry

“This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized,” said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter in a press release. “We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.”

Toyota also said in the release it would stop production at three of its US factories and a Canadian facility as it works to remedy the problem with the accelerator pedal assemblies.

Last week, the company recalled 2.3 million vehicles to fix problems with sticky gas pedals that could potentially cause cars to suddenly speed up, resulting in accidents. The eight suspended models were part of that recall.

If you or someone you know has been injured by one of the Toyota recall models, please contact us.

Recalls ruled the news cycle this week as a slew of announcements flowed from the likes of Toyota, Graco, and Conair. From autos to mops to strollers, it was a tough week for consumers.

Manufacturers involved in crib recalls may soon be required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) to provide refunds and other monetary credits to their customers to get them to discard defective cribs, writes Bloomberg.  Consumers have failed to fully respond to offers of free repair kits to fix product flaws, so many defective cribs continue to be used or resold in secondary markets, according to the CSPC. Refunds or credits may provide more of an incentive to get parents to respond, says the story.

Bloomberg noted that more than 7 million cribs have been recalled since 2007. That number rose again this week when about 635,000 cribs were recalled by Dorel Asia after a 6-month-old became entrapped and strangled in a crib when its drop side hardware failed, according to an Associated Press report.  The recall involves 20 models of Dorel Asia cribs with both drop sides and fixed front rails. Some cribs were recalled because a child can suffocate or strangle when the drop side detaches; others because a child can be trapped if a slat is broken or damaged. In one of the largest US crib recalls, the CPSC last November announced a recall of 2.1 million cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing.

First it was Maclaren. This week it was baby products maker Graco that recalled about 1.5 million strollers after some children had their fingertips amputated after placing their fingers in the vehicle’s hinges. The CPSC said the strollers pose an amputation and laceration hazard to children when opening or closing the canopy.  The recall involves the Passage, Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems. The products were sold at major retailers including Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Kmart, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart, among others.

Just months after announcing one of the largest automobile recalls in US history, Toyota is facing a second major recall. ABC News reports that the carmaker issued a recall of 2.3 million vehicles this week to address potential problems with gas pedals that stick, causing cars to suddenly accelerate. In November, Toyota recalled 4.2 million cars because accelerators could become stuck under floor mats and cause vehicles to speed up, resulting in crashes and fatalities. The company says the current recall is separate from last fall’s action, in which floor mats and accelerators were replaced and changed, according to ABC News.

Also recalled this week: the Lysol Steam Cleaning Mop by Conair Corp. The CPSC said the mops pose a burn and laceration hazard to users. According to the CPSC, hot water mixed with Lysol can forcefully spurt out and rupture the housing unit.

At Sokolove Law, we’ll be watching how these events play out.

If I were in a self-help group, I’d start my story by saying: “My Name is Jim Sokolove, and I’m an ambulance chaser.   What’s worse, I’m proud of it.”

We all know that lawyers are often the butt of jokes for being sleazy.  In fact, even in a profession that has some of the lowest approval numbers among the public, personal injury attorneys—so-called “ambulance chasers”—stand out as particularly worthy of scorn.

So  you might think it’s odd to be proud of being called an ambulance chaser.  But I mean it.  I’m proud of that moniker.  Let me explain.

I started a law firm that specializes in personal injury law, and we get our clients by advertising to people who may have been hurt as the result of someone else’s negligence.

For more than thirty years, my firm and our co-counsel have helped hundreds of thousands of people who have been harmed as a result of someone else’s negligence.  It’s amazingly rewarding work, and I consider myself lucky to have made it my business to help people.  Along the way, we’ve helped to bring about some changes for the better in society.

Cars have seatbelts, laws require bike helmets, and companies dispose of toxic waste properly all because we and our fellow ambulance chasers stood up to fight for people who had been injured.  You have ambulance chasers to thank for laws requiring truth in advertising for pharmaceuticals, for disclosing toxic chemicals like asbestos at job sites, and for exposing the dangers of using tobacco.

We’ve helped to bring people together who have been victims of the same kinds of injuries.  We run online web resource centers for victims of birth injuries, asbestos-related lung cancer, and medical malpractice, where those who have been injured can form a community, share their stories and support one another.

And we are constantly identifying areas where people are being injured, and may not know about their legal rights.  For example, in the past six months, we’ve launched consumer hotlines informing people about the potential dangers associated with denture creams, and toxic building materials imported from China.  We never stop looking for corporations who are looking to make a quick buck by skimping on the safety of consumers.

Last winter, we convened a meeting of the leading attorneys in the financial services space to consider how the legal rights of those on Main Street have been devastated by the fraud and abuse on Wall Street.  In addition, we’re taking lots of cases related to wage-and-hour abuses caused by companies who are tightening their belts on the back of their employees.

We do all of this at a time when the legal industry is under enormous pressure.  To be sure, there’s still unmet demand.  In fact, nearly 80 percent of the civil legal needs of the low-income individuals and 60 percent of middle-income households remain unmet.  In the most legally advanced country in the world, that’s simply unacceptable.

So I don’t shy away from the label ambulance chaser.  In fact, to paraphrase Shakespeare’s Henry V: “If it is a sin to be an ambulance chaser…I am the most offending soul alive.”  As I said in one of my first television ads: “I’m attorney Jim Sokolove, and I help people who’ve been injured get the money they deserve.”

I’ve been doing it for more than 30 years.  And I’m going to keep at it, so long as there are people who need my help.

It’s week two of the new decade and we still haven’t figured out whether it’s “two thousand and ten” or “twenty-ten”.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that the “decade in review” news pieces that inevitably focus on celebrity deaths, scandals, and divorces have already started to fade.

While such retrospectives often do little more than rehash old news, Joanne Doroshow, the Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Democracy, did have a great piece in the Huffington Post looking back on a decade of major civil justice triumphs.  The piece is here.

Doroshow cites three in particular that are worth calling out.

•    First she talks about the Supreme Court decision in Wyeth vs. Levine, which overturned a previous decision holding that companies could not be sued in state court for killing or injuring someone just because their product was regulated by the federal government (in Wyeth’s case, by the FDA).  Wyeth was landmark because it essentially rolled back the Bush administration’s misguided attempts to use the doctrine of preemption to protect corporations from being sued for negligence.

•    Second, she points out that despite its best efforts, the Bush administration was unable in its eight years in office to cap damages in medical malpractice cases.  Despite a hue and cry from the right, and having Bill Frist (a doctor and health care executive) as the Senate Republican Leader, Bush was unable to roll back people’s right to sue and collect compensation.

•    Finally, squeaking in just below the wire was a huge setback for so-called “forced arbitration” provisions that came in 2009.  These provisions essentially require people to go to arbitration instead of suing and, surprise surprise, the corporation that is negligent is usually the one who gets to pick the arbitrator.   I’ve written about forced arbitration before.  It was a particular favorite of the credit card companies, until both the National Arbitration Forum and American Arbitration Association said they would no longer do credit card collection disputes. Then, a class action lawsuit against big banks led to a number of them agreeing to drop these clauses altogether.

All three of these are important victories for the basic notion that people who are hurt should be compensated for their injuries.  Let’s see what the twenty tens bring.

News developments that we’ll be watching at Sokolove Law:

Not-so-lucky charms: Accessory chain-store  Claire’s and retail giant Wal-Mart will stop selling Chinese-made  kids jewelry after an Associated Press investigation found that the charms and bracelets contained high levels of cadmium. Cadmium is a heavy metal that “can hinder brain development in young children, according to recent research, and is known to cause cancer,” according to the story. The AP also reported that Chinese regulators are investigating the findings and that a U.S. senator has called for hearings into the matter.

A New Orleans courtroom is the setting  for a civil lawsuit that could have a major impact on how hospitals react to disasters and civil emergencies. The suit, filed against Methodist Hospital, alleges negligence of a hospital staff in the days following Hurricane Katrina after the building’s generators failed and a patient died, according to a USAToday  report. Tulane University law professor Edward Sherman told the newspaper the lawsuit could potentially leave hospitals across the country liable if their power gets knocked out by a natural disaster or other calamity.

Recent Recalls

About 2,200 LED light kits imported from China have been recalled because they present a burn or fire hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Commission (CPSC). The watchdog agency says the kits are being voluntarily recalled by Rockler Companies Inc. of Medina, Minn., which sold them at its Rockler Woodworking and Hardware and specialty shops. Defective wiring in the light kits can cause the battery pack to overheat and explode.

Peanut butter, cheese, salsa, and other foods were recalled by Parkers Farm, according to the Federal Food &  Drug Administration (FDA), because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria, a bacteria which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infection in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. No illnesses have been reported to date. The recalled products were distributed nationwide at a number of stores including Target, Whole Foods, Jewel, Price Chopper, Shop rite, Sam’s Club, Costco, and Safeway.

At Sokolove Law we’re here to protect your rights.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is teaming up with private agencies to make things a lot more clear for expecting mothers, with a brand new program called the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program or MEPREP.

A Dec. 30, 2009 FDA news release reveals that the federal agency is going to work with several other groups including Kaiser Permanente, Vanderbilt University, and the HMO Research Network Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics (CERT).

The result? More about the risks of using specific drugs during pregnancy.

Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, has stated that MEPREP will “guide regulatory policy and influence medical practice.”

Prior to this new program, the FDA relied on a “grade” system for determining the risks of various pharmaceuticals for pregnant women. This grading system often left many questions about whether a medication represented an acceptable risk for any given patient.

Grassroots pregnancy advocacy groups are duly positive about the FDA decision.

“It needs to be done,” posted jeannesager on Jan. 4, on the parent advocate blog StrollerDerby, dubbed ‘The Mother of All Parenting Blogs.’

Other big advocacy blogs are looking forward to the change, as are some of the main participants.

Vanderbilt online sources show that William Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Pediatrics, has been selected as the principal investigator representing the school’s involvement in the program.

“This [MEPREP] will allow us to look at exposures we would never have been able to study before,” said Cooper in December, according to the internal news release.

Reports also quote Gerald Dal Pan, M.D., director of the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, saying that MEPREP will “provide valuable information for physicians and patients” about using various drugs during pregnancy.

The MEPREP program is a valuable New Year’s present to American families. The hope is that this new initiative will make talking to doctors about drug regimens for expecting and new mothers more concrete, and help to prevent some of the range of birth injuries and birth defects that can be caused by side effects of some pharmaceuticals.

Learn more about birth-related  injuries at our ChildRC Blog.

News developments that we’ll be watching at Sokolove Law:

The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to study how medications taken in pregnancy affect mothers and their unborn children, according to a report from Reuters. The new study will be called the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program. Two-thirds of mothers-to-be have used at least one prescription drug during pregnancy, according to the FDA. There are few clinical trials that test the safety of medications in pregnancy due to concerns about the health of the mother and child.

A class-action lawsuit filed in Manhattan’s Federal District Court last week alleges that some New York debt collectors are using “fraudulent documents to surreptitiously win court judgments – all without the debtors’ knowledge,” writes The New York Times. The paper reports that use of the practice has been spurred by the recession and the rise in consumer debt actions.

Recent Recalls

General Motors announced a January recall of 22,000 Chevrolet Corvettes after finding problems with their removable roof system, writes The Burlington County Times. The recall applies to 2005-07 model year Corvettes and Corvette Z06 models. According to the article, GM told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the adhesive between the roof panel and the frame may separate, allowing the roof to come off while driving and posing an accident risk. GM will install a redesigned roof panel as a result. The automaker issued a similar recall in 2006.

Make personal safety one of your resolutions in the New Year. As always, Sokolove Law is here to help.