Charleston Personal Injury Law Blog

West Virginia law enforcement officials recently caught and arrested a man responsible for causing an accident and leaving the scene. The car accident resulted in three injuries. In addition to being wanted for the hit and run accident, the man was also wanted on other felony charges. He is awaiting trial for the charges he faces.

The man was driving his vehicle, with two passengers, and struck another vehicle. Before authorities and emergency service workers could arrive on the scene, the man fled, which is likely due to the warrants out for his arrest. The two passengers in his car and the driver of the car he hit were all taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries.

In 2010 alone, manufacturers sold more than 300,000 vaginal mesh devices in this country. Physicians implanted the devices in women to treat incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. The devices were approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but more than 600 women learned that FDA approval does not guarantee that a product is safe. Manufacturers did not test the devices on women before they sent them to market.

As we said in our last post, the FDA has asked vaginal mesh manufacturers to backtrack a bit and conduct clinical trials on the devices for three years. The FDA's own research has raised questions about the devices' effectiveness compared to other products. Consumer advocates and injured women have been raising questions about safety for some time.

The Food and Drug Administration "fast-tracked" the approval process for vaginal mesh products through its 510(k) system. Because the products were similar to existing products, manufacturers were not required to conduct clinical trials. After hundreds of complaints from injured consumers, the agency has directed the manufacturers to study the devices' safety and effectiveness for the next three years.

The failure rate of the devices has added to mounting criticism of the 510(k) system as well as the products. Injured women have filed more than 650 lawsuits against manufacturers. The FDA itself issued a report last summer about the adverse effects of vaginal mesh. The data showed that the devices were linked to greatly increased health risks, including death, injuries and malfunctions.

Five days of mediation sessions ended early this week when the remaining families of the victims of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster agreed to settle. If approved by the West Virginia court, this settlement marks the end of wrongful death and personal injury claims against Alpha Natural Resources, the owner of Massey Energy.

The details of the settlement agreement and the talks will remain confidential. Sources confirmed, however, that the families of the 29 miners who died as well as the seven miners injured -- or traumatized -- in the blast accepted some kind of compensation.

We were talking about the recall of a Build-A-Bear product just a few days before Christmas. The company says it voluntarily recalled the product, the Colorful Hearts Teddy Bear, after it discovered a manufacturing defect. According to a Build-A-Bear spokesman, internal testing revealed that the manufacturing facility, in China, had used "substandard" material in some production runs.

This was the third recall for the company since August 2011. Last year also saw the company settle a complaint brought by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding a 2009 recall.

An untold number of presents went unopened this year after Build-A-Bear Workshop recalled its "Colorful Hearts Teddy Bears" just days before Christmas. The company realized the bear's plastic eyes pose a choking hazard to children and notified the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission immediately. The company found the defect through internal testing, a spokesperson said, rather than a reported injury.

In fact, the company maintains that it has not received any injury reports about the bear. Nor did Build-A-Bear receive injury reports regarding the toys it recalled in November and August. Also this year, the company settled a 2009 complaint from the commission.

Charleston kids may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but parents are probably just hoping for a safe and argument-free day. Safety is always an issue when there is a flurry of activity, with gift wrap and packaging going in every direction. The hubbub is part of the fun, but adults spending the day with children should be on the lookout for hazards associated with kids' toys. Remember, just because a toy hasn't be recalled doesn't mean it's not dangerous.

Safety experts and child development professionals agree that simple toys are better. For very young children, alphabet blocks are both fun and intellectually stimulating. It's all about the safe interaction of child and toy.

The Upper Big Branch settlement announced last week answers just one question for the families of the victims and the community. The Mine Safety and Health Administration's report answered a few more questions about the accident, but it left at least one question unanswered: Where was MSHA?

Each investigation (outside of Massey's) has determined that the blast was preventable; each has determined that the buildup of coal dust was a major factor in turning a containable methane explosion into a blast powerful enough to travel seven miles, through steel ventilation doors. What the investigations disagree on is the source of the methane.