June 30, 2011 in Business, Legal Articles by jferris

Salmonella Death Linked To Pastries

Pastries that bite back are rare, but that is what happened in this Zeppole story.

This case was unusual, largely because it involved a bakery, some very delicious goodies, and about 56 people who were infected with salmonella. One of those badly affected by ingesting the custard-filled confection was a 16-year-old boy who got quite ill and experienced fever, cramping and diarrhea. His stool cultures revealed the presence of salmonella.

The boy’s mother filed a personal injury lawsuit, seeking damages for his suffering and money to pay for medical expenses, not to mention lost wages. She chose to file the lawsuit, as her son was seemingly not able to make a full recovery from the bout with salmonella.

The incident was reported to the health department, who conducted an in depth investigation and noted that 10 of 26 people who had to be hospitalized were still there after several days, and one 80-year-old man died as a result of eating the salmonella contaminated pastry. The bakery where these people bought the pastries was shut down, and all products were tested for signs of salmonella. The culprit was located in cardboard boxes where the empty pastry shells had been stored.

Evidently, the boxes had previously held eggs. It was assumed that some of them may have broken open, and if infected, the sticky left over residue would have come into contact with the surface of the already baked Zeppole pastries.

There will likely be more than one lawsuit filed as a result of this incident, and in the case of the man who died as a result of eating a contaminated pastry, his family may wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In any of the cases involved here, most of the people would have large medical bills for several days stay in hospital, expenses for medications and lost wages for recovery time. The question would become how would they pay for the expenses? Most people do not have a lot of extra cash lying around these days.

The people involved in this instance, could check out whether or not they are eligible for litigation funding; an emergency lawsuit cash advance sent to a qualified plaintiff, to help them get back on their feet financially. It’s money the plaintiff may use for just about anything, but most know it’s to be used to pay medical bills and then wait for their case to be heard in court.

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It is a really good deal for plaintiffs and well worth the little bit of time it takes to go online and check out the litigation funding company’s website for more information.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit &ufding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.

June 1, 2011 in Business, Legal Articles by jferris

Pharmaceutical Company at the Center of Employment and Whistleblower Lawsuit

Medical device company Conceptus, Inc. is under fire in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston for firing a worker for complaining about a fellow salesman who was allegedly improperly enticing pharmaceutical clients.

Toby James, the whistleblower, took over Chris Orlaska’s accounts, another salesman at Conceptus. Quickly he discovered that Orlaska was allegedly improperly selling or giving away the devicemaker’s Essure kits and that some physicians were potentially illegally billing Medicaid for the free kits. After speaking with various nurses, James cross-referenced sales reports and asserts he found little data to back up the kits that were in their possession. James indicates he reported the incident to his manager, and ultimately his manager’s boss when no action had been taken. After a meeting with the boss, he says he was encouraged to email the head of human resources regarding the issue.

In a twist of events over a two-week period, James was fired and then sent a harsh letter from a lawyer that Conceptus hired. James maintains that he was protected from retaliation by the False Claims Act, Section 3730, part h, which encourages employees with knowledge of fraud to come forward by prohibiting retaliation against those employees. Section 3730 also includes the entitlement to relief for: “job reinstatement with the same seniority status such employee would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.”

The case will be an interesting one to watch unfold as pharmaceutical companies are already in a pressure-cooker situation with numerous reported fraudulent and unethical incidents plaguing the industry. Combine that with wrongdoers who have been accused of making illegitimate Medicaid claims, and it’s a toxic situation.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) established a code that outlines best practices for the pharmaceutical industry. “Pharmaceutical company representatives play an important role in delivering accurate, up-to-date information to healthcare professionals about the approved indications, benefits and risks of pharmaceutical therapies,” PhRMA stated in its “Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals”. “Company representatives must act with the highest degree of professionalism and integrity.”

Even Conceptus’ Code of Ethics from September 2010 says that, “If you know of or suspect a violation of the Code, feel uncomfortable about a situation or have any doubts about whether it is consistent with the Company’s high ethical standards, seek help.” Conceptus employees must sign an agreement whereby they acknowledge, “I am not aware of any unreported violations of the Code, and agree to report any violations or concerns in the manner described in the Code.”

Is there a double standard? Perhaps. But either way, Mr. James was very wise to seek an attorney to protect his rights.

Oftentimes, the best asset an employee has is independent legal counsel that can bring knowledge of all sides of employment law. Austin employment attorney and Austin whistleblower attorney Gregory D. Jordan has a wide range of experience in employment law and represents both employees and employers in vigorously upholding their rights. With more than 20 years of experience in employment litigation, Jordan has counseled on such topics as wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, whistleblowers, overtime and wage claims, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. To learn more, please go to http://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call (512) 419-0684.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney, Austin employment lawyer, and Austin business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit Theaustintriallawyer.com.