So what happens the next time there’s a wreck on Highway 183?

 

So, what do we do if it happens again?

With all the oilfield traffic in Gonzales County, it should come as no surprise that driver mishaps should occur on a frequent basis, if not a daily basis.

When motorists were held in gridlock while traveling south of Gonzales last week on U.S. Highway 183, they soon discovered they would have to find a new way to get where they needed to go. Without a doubt, this was a great inconvenience to all of them.

Traffic was backed up more than 15 miles last Friday afternoon after an 18-wheeler ran off the road near Hochheim.

According to a report from DPS officer Matthew Southall, at 1:07 p.m., a 2007 Freightliner driven by Wallace Witham, 51, of China Grove, was headed south on 183 and tried to make a left turn onto state Highway 111 when it overturned onto the passenger side, sliding off the roadway and onto the median.

The accident caused the tanks the trucker was carrying to spill oil across the road, and police subsequently blocked off 183 for the next several hours. The resulting bottleneck extended as far north as Circle G Truck Stop at state Highway 97, just a mile south of Gonzales.

Perturbed drivers were forced to either wait in the makeshift parking lot, or turn around and seek an alternate route to their destinations until the mess was finally cleaned up, which DPS reported was around 4:30 p.m.

The Texas Department of Transportation, which is shepherding a major overhaul of Highway 183 from south of Gonzales to the DeWitt County line, said it has no contingency plan in the event of another accident that may block the highway.

So, what do we do if it happens again?

Be sure you have a good book to read in your car – you’ll be stranded there for quite a while.

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source: The Gonzales Inquirer (Ford, 1/27)


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Many Texas highways will soon get 75-mph speed limit

Good news for Texas leadfoots:

The speed limit will soon rise from 70 to 75 mph on nearly 1,500 miles of highway. The new limit was approved Thursday by the Texas Transportation Commission after studies on the roads determined that the change would be safe.

For Fort Worth-area motorists, the changes affect only out-of-town trips. For example, on a trip to Austin, drivers can save a few minutes by driving 75 mph on Interstate 35 south of Hillsboro. Same goes for those traveling to Abilene. They can go 75 mph on I-20 west of Weatherford.

But before you put the pedal to the metal, wait until you actually see the new speed limit signs, which will be posted in the coming days or weeks.

"The new speed limit is not official until the signs go up," warned Carol Rawson, Texas Department of Transportation traffic operations director.

Where will the new speed limits be?

I-10: 289 miles, El Paso, Gillespie, Kerr, Kendall, Bexar, Guadalupe, Caldwell, Gonzales, Fayette, Colorado, Austin, Jefferson and Orange counties.

I-20: 423 miles, Crane, Ector, Midland, Martin, Howard, Mitchell, Nolan, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, Erath, Palo Pinto, Van Zandt, Smith, Gregg and Harrison counties.

I-27: 109 miles, Lubbock, Hale, Swisher and Randall counties.

I-30: 139 miles, Hunt, Hopkins, Franklin, Titus, Morris and Bowie counties.

I-35: 106 miles, Webb, Medina, Atascosa, Bexar, Hill and Cooke counties.

I-37: 130 miles, Nueces, San Patricio, Live Oak, Atascosa and Bexar counties.

I-40: 166 miles, Deaf Smith, Oldham, Potter, Carson, Gray, Donley and Wheeler counties.

I-44: 11 miles, Wichita County.

I-45: 143 miles, Walker, Madison, Leon, Freestone and Navarro counties.

Four other highways in Central Texas got the new speed limit late last year, all in the Austin area -- I-35 from Georgetown to Salado, and Texas 130, Texas 45 and U.S. 281 -- and a number of roads have had it for several years. Once the signs are up, Texas will have 3,063 miles of highway with a 75-mph limit.

And, of course, Texas is famous (safety advocates might say infamous) for its 80-mph limit on 521 miles of I-10 and I-20 in far West Texas.

That's a grand total of 3,584 miles where drivers can go 75 mph or faster.

While the higher threshold may be fun for speed freaks, state officials caution that being allowed to go fast doesn't necessarily mean you should.

But for those who feel comfortable driving 75 mph, tests conducted by state engineers have concluded that the roads are designed for that speed and that under current conditions the overwhelming majority of traffic is already going that fast -- illegally, for now.

"People should know we didn't make these decisions in a vacuum," said Texas Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows of Fort Worth.

For the complete run-down, view here.

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source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Dickson, 1/26)

25,000 unsafe toys seized at Port of Houston

Consumer safety inspectors at the Port of Houston have seized more toys deemed unsafe for children - largely because of choking hazards and lead paint - than almost any other consumer product imported to the United States, second only to fireworks.

The toys, 25,000 of them, are among 117,000 foreign products like mattresses, electronic devices, lighters, bike helmets and all-terrain vehicles confiscated in Houston by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from 2010 through 2011.

Even now, dozens of boxes of toy bears imported from China are parked at an inspection station on North Wayside Road.

"If the bear's nose and eyes can be easily pulled off, those small parts could choke children," said David McCabe, the compliance investigator at the port as he pulled parts from a toy bear to test them in a cylinder. "Anything that fits in the cylinder is too risky for children to play with."

Nationwide, 19 investigators assigned to the busiest ports have confiscated, among other things, toy guns, cars, trucks, helicopters and dolls containing lead paint, lead content, phthalates and small parts deemed dangerous. Phthalates are chemicals used in plastics and other products.

"In response to the lead in paint recalls in 2007, CPSC started to place investigators at key ports of entry full time," said Carol Cave, the director of the Office of Import Surveillance and Inspection.

Faced with a swell of concern and 45 million children's toys and products recalled about five years ago, Congress in 2008 boosted the budget of the CPSC and required it to set up a website where consumers can both register complaints and read reports posted by others.

"We think the products being turned back stopped people from shipping stuff here in the first place. Now they're not sure if they are able to get in," said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Chicago-based Kids in Danger, a consumer advocacy group. "It's a very effective program to keep unsafe toys from our children."

Lead is believed to cause both brain damage and behavioral problems in children. A number of studies have linked phthalates to early puberty in girls, genital defects and reduced testosterone production in boys.

In 2010, there were 17 toy-related deaths and 181,500 injuries among children of 15 or younger, according a CPSC report. Eleven of the deaths were from asphyxiation or choking.

Most seized products come from China, although collaboration with the Chinese government has reduced the number of recalls, officials said. CPSC established an office in Beijing last year to make it easier to communicate with Chinese officials about safety problems, like toxic metals in toys.

Currently, 45 percent of imported consumer products and 90 percent of toys sold in the United States come from China and Hong Kong.

Products from South America like jewelry also are stopped for containing lead or cadmium.

The Port of Houston imports more foreign waterborne tonnage than any other U.S. port. McCabe is responsible for inspecting 150 shipments a year, or one every other day.

With the ongoing Panama Canal expansion project, the number of containers handled by the Port of Houston through the canal could grow by 15 percent in the next few years, according to the Houston Port Authority.

Determining whether a foreign shipment should be destroyed is a stringent process.

CPSC investigators first test the product with tools in the field and send product samples to labs in Maryland.

"The lab will use a device that mimics a child's strength to try to pull the eyes and noses from the bear, which can produce a precise result," said McCabe.


As personal injury lawyers, we here at The Cole Legal Group can try just about any accident or injury case under tort law - which includes civil wrongs and economic or non-economic damages to a person’s property, reputation, or rights.


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source: Houston Chronicle (Wang, 1/23)

Johnson & Johnson settles Texas Risperdal case for $158 million

In the state's largest-ever Medicaid fraud recovery, Johnson & Johnson agreed Thursday to pay Texas $158 million to settle a lawsuit over its efforts to get the schizophrenia drug Risperdal on an approved list for the state's poorest patients.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and a Pennsylvania whistleblower sued Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in 2004 over allegations the drug company used faulty research and trips, meals and other perks to convince Texas health officials to put Risperdal on the state's medication algorithm, which determined which drugs were dispensed at state-run hospitals and institutions.

“Today’s agreement sends a strong message that the state will pursue those who defraud Texas taxpayers,” Abbott said in a statement. “Johnson & Johnson’s scheme to profit from the Medicaid program by overstating the safety and effectiveness of an expensive drug and improperly influencing officials ended up costing taxpayers millions of dollars.”

In preceding medical trials, Risperdal — a drug which can lead to diabetes and excessive weight gain, especially for children — was found to be no better or safer than other generic versions, despite its significantly higher price tag.

Attorneys for the state of Texas argued Janssen marketed the powerful antipsychotic drug for use in children, even though the medication was approved only for the very narrow purpose of treating adult schizophrenia. The lawsuit also alleged the company offered trips and kickbacks to state health officials.

The whistleblower, Allen Jones, uncovered the details while working as an investigator at the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General. He was represented by Dallas attorney Tom Melsheimer and Austin attorney Tommy Jacks, both part of the firm Fish & Richardson.

“We are proud to have aided the courageous efforts of Allen Jones, a man who helped shine a light on the dark and corrupt practices that impacted taxpayers across Texas,” Melsheimer said. “He uncovered a terrible effort to push a mind-altering drug on children at the most vulnerable time in their lives.”

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source: Texas Tribune (Rich, 1/19)

Texas court begins trail of $1b Risperdal marketing suit

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas prosecutors want jurors to award the state $1 billion in a lawsuit that accuses Johnson & Johnson of overstating the safety of an anti-psychotic drug and influencing its use in the state's Medicaid program. The company, facing similar claims in other states, is promising to vigorously defend itself when both sides lay out their cases during opening statements Tuesday.

The lawsuit accuses Johnson & Johnson and several of its subsidiaries of fraud by making false or misleading statements about Risperdal and the drug's safety, cost effectiveness and superiority in the 1990s. Risperdal is a pill for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.

The suit was originally filed in 2004 by whistle-blower Allen Jones, a former employee with the Office of Inspector General in Pennsylvania, and Texas later joined the case. Jones has said he learned of Johnson & Johnson's actions in Texas while investigating similar claims in Pennsylvania.

The suit is among dozens of pending state and federal cases alleging illegal marketing practices and kickbacks in an effort to boost Risperdal over competing drugs. And a verdict against the company wouldn't be the first.

Last year, a South Carolina judge ruled that Johnson & Johnson must pay a $327 million civil penalty after a jury found it guilty of overstating the safety and effectiveness of Risperdal. In 2010, a jury found that the company violated Louisiana's Medicaid Fraud Act and was fined about $258 million in damages.

Johnson & Johnson has denied the claims in Texas's lawsuit and said it follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules.

"We are committed to ethical business practices, and have policies in place to ensure that our products are only promoted for their FDA-approved indication. If questions are raised about adherence to our marketing and promotion policies, we act quickly to investigate the situation and take appropriate disciplinary action," the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company and its subsidiaries said in a statement.

Jones' attorney and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office, which is representing the state, declined comment before the trial began.

Risperdal and similar antipsychotic drugs have been linked to increased risk of strokes and death in elderly dementia patients, seizures, major weight gain, onset of diabetes and potentially fatal high blood sugar.

Jones accuses several doctors who were state officials in Texas' mental health department of giving Risperdal preference over other antipsychotic drugs. One is accused of accepting honoraria from Johnson & Johnson to urge doctors in other states' Medicaid and mental health programs to use Risperdal.

The drug company and its subsidiaries are also accused of promoting misleading interpretations of research studies and paying millions of dollars - much of it to decision-makers - to influence the creation of state mental health medication guidelines favoring Risperdal.

The company also is accused of falsely saying the drug was safe to use with children and other populations when federal regulators had not approved its use with those groups.

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source: Seattle Times (AP, 1/10)

F.D.A. Orders Surgical Mesh Makers to Study Risks

The Food and Drug Administration issued an order on Wednesday requiring makers of implantable surgical mesh used to treat urinary incontinence in women to study its risks.

The move comes after years of reports of serious injuries linked to the devices, including infections, pain and other complications. It follows a recommendation in September by an F.D.A. advisory panel that the agency require such studies.

The move Wednesday by the agency is similar to one it took last year when it ordered producers of all-metal artificial hips to undertake patient studies. The mesh products and the hips belong to a class of implantable devices that manufacturers do not have to study in patients before they are marketed or closely follow in patients afterward.

Female incontinence is often caused by two conditions. One is called pelvic organ prolapse, in which muscles that support organs like the bladder weaken, allowing them to descend and press against the vaginal wall. The other, stress urinary incontinence, is also caused by muscle weakening.

In 2008, the F.D.A. issued a warning that the use of vaginal mesh was associated with complications but said at the time that such problems were rare. However, from 2008 to 2010 there was a fivefold increase in adverse event reports related to the use of vaginal mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse, said Dr. William Maisel, the chief scientist of the F.D.A. division that oversees medical devices.

Dr. Maisel emphasized that the order Wednesday did not cover all uses of surgical mesh to treat incontinence. He added that the safety of such devices when surgically implanted through the abdomen was “well established.”

The top producers of vaginal mesh include Boston Scientific, C. R. Bard, Ethicon and W. L. Gore & Associates.

In 2010, about 185,000 women underwent procedures in which mesh was implanted vaginally to treat urinary incontinence.

That same year, researchers reported in a medical journal that about 15 percent of the women treated with vaginal mesh experienced potential complications. The study, which appeared in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, also concluded that mesh did not provide greater benefits than the traditional surgical treatment in which a patient’s own ligaments are used to strengthen the vaginal wall.

Dr. Maisel said he expects that mesh manufacturers, once studies are started, will follow patients for about three years to determine the frequency and severity of complications.

Over the last year, the F.D.A. has increasingly used its authority to order manufacturers to conduct emergency studies. But the effectiveness of that procedure in preventing patient injuries is questionable because by the time the agency acts, a device has been on the market for years and been implanted in hundreds of thousands of patients.

Also, while the F.D.A. in May ordered makers of all-metal hips to conduct postmarket studies of their risks, the agency and company officials are still discussing study designs, Dr. Maisel said.

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source: New York Times (Meier, 1/4)


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