Miscellaneous

• Iowa Ranks Among Top Ten States For Child Well-Being

  Steve Lombardi | July 25, 2007 10:10 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  In a recent report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Iowa was ranked number seven out of all U.S. states for "taking care of its children." This annual Kids Count report ranks each state in ten categories.Among these categories are child death rate and number of teens who are not in school or working. Iowa tied for first with Nebraska and Utah in the category regarding children living...

• Conflict of Interest Causes $250,000 Fine for Wells Fargo

  Steve Lombardi | July 25, 2007 12:01 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The National Association of Securities Dealers discovered that an analyst who was seeking a job with Cadence Design Systems Inc. was writing a series of reports for the company. NASD said this was a conflict of interest and fined Wells Fargo Securities LLC $250,000 for not disclosing the information. NASD also issued Douglas van Dorsten, former research director for Wells Fargo Securities, a...

• Farming and Auger Accident in Wisconsin

  Steve Lombardi | June 30, 2007 9:39 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Injury by farming equipment has long been a source of making farming the most dangerous occupation. When considering the age of farm children who spend unmeasured hours toiling to do farm chores, it's not surprising when another is injured. Augers causing injury is something I'm quite familiar with having sued Beatrice the manufacturer of this type of equipment. In Dodgeville, Wisconsin in Iowa...

• Onychectomy (declawing)

  Steve Lombardi | June 30, 2007 8:57 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  This is about Orly Degani and animal rights.Let me start by saying, to a degree I'm not against animal rights or the activists that try to advance those rights. The City of West Hollywood passed an ordinance that prohibits declawing of cats. Meow...., (West Hollywood Mun. Code, sec. 9.49.01.010(g) adopted Ordinance No. 03-656, adding chapter 9.49, entitled "Ban on Onychectomy (Declawing)"....

• Smoke Detectors Essential to Fire Safety

  Steve Lombardi | June 27, 2007 8:53 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  More than 330,000 residential fires occur each year, causing about 2,700 deaths per year. Residential fires are the second leading cause of death in the home. Victims of residential fires most often die of smoke and toxic gas inhalation not burns. Installing smoke detectors properly can significantly reduce the risk of fire-related injury.There are two types of smoke detectors available for...

• New Jersey Tire Importer Recalls 450,000 Tires

  Steve Lombardi | June 26, 2007 9:12 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The company Foreign Tire Sales of Union, New Jersey has been ordered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall radial tires made for pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans. They recently admitted that the Chinese manufacturer of the tires, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, had stopped placing a safety 0.6 millimeter layer of rubber (called a "gum strip") in the tires to prevent separation....

• Hand Sanitizers Dangerous for Young Children

  LLFClerk LLFClerk | June 20, 2007 9:03 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Hand sanitizers are thought to be a safe way to kill germs quickly without water. However, small children may think sanitizers look like water and some have fruity smells, so they think it is okay to drink. Many sanitizers are alcohol-based and a small amount consumed by a child could result in serious problems.Tammy Noble, a nurse and spokeswoman for the Iowa Poison Control Center, says there...

• FDA Questions Safety of Avandia

  LLFClerk LLFClerk | June 19, 2007 9:34 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Patients need to be informed, ask questions and protect themselves. Avandia (rosiglitazone) is a drug used by patients with type 2 diabetes. The FDA has recently discovered that patients taking Avandia show an increased risk of heart attack and other heart-related deaths. The FDA has not yet issued a recall, however, since they are continuing to conduct tests on the safety of this drug.The FDA...

• Boston Scientific Defibrillator Suits will Proceed to Trial

  LLFClerk LLFClerk | June 18, 2007 9:25 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Boston Scientific is currently involved in 1,600 product-liability lawsuits related to claims involving the Model 1861 defibrillator. The issue concerns a flaw that could cause the Model 1861 defibrillator not to produce a life-saving jolt. Guidant Corp. (purchased by Boston Scientific in 2006) discovered this flaw in 2002, but did not warn patients until the recall in 2005. This flaw proved...

• MoisturePlus Contact Solution Recall

  Steve Lombardi | May 30, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Do you wear eye contacts? Are you suffering from pain in the eye or a mild irritation? Have you been using MoisturePlus contact solution? Are you aware there is a voluntary recall underway by the company that sells this product?Know your rights, monitor your health and seek legal advice early from a qualified lawyer. The insurance industry spends billions of dollars to convince the average...