On Wednesday, April 25, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier finished hearing testimony for the first part of a trial intended to determine who is guilty for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This portion of the trial spanned eight weeks and was not heard by a jury, and its purpose is to figure out what caused the blowout and whether BP, the well owner, acted with gross negligence. While “negligence” is a failure to exercise caution that would normally be expected of a reasonable person, a finding of “gross negligence” would mean that BP’s actions [...]

Pharmacy errors occur when the wrong medication is given to a patient at the pharmacy. These mistakes are more common when there is more pressure on pharmacy personnel such as long lines at the counter or lack of staff on duty. Pharmacy errors can lead to serious harm when pharmacists fail to ask each patient the right questions. To protect yourself from the serious consequences of pharmacy errors, it is important to know how to detect them. Here are some of the most common types of pharmacy errors: Wrong Medication or Dosage The patient is given the wrong medication or [...]

Following an April 2012 decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the dietary supplement ingredient known as DMAA has been removed from all dietary supplements manufactured in the U.S. The last of 10 manufacturers found to be using the ingredient in its dietary supplements as a workout booster, USPlabs informed its customers DMAA had been removed from its products on April 16, 2013. USPlabs had been under pressure to remove the ingredient after 86 illnesses, including at least five deaths, had been reported to the FDA and linked with DMAA use since 2008, according to the New York [...]

A lawsuit brought on behalf of a Colorado high school football player injured during a 2008 practice has resulted in a jury award of $3.1 million against helmet manufacturer Riddell. While the jury rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the helmet was defective, it held Riddell responsible for “failure to warn” of potential dangers associated with its use. The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment sets the safety standards that most helmet manufacturers use. However, critics have argued that because NOCSAE is funded largely by industry-supported organizations, inherent conflicts of interest create a situation akin to “the fox watching [...]

Ever since the Food Safety Modernization Act was enacted two years ago, there has been quite a bit of interest on the part of food safety organizations regarding how the FDA would react in terms of implementing the new law. Consumer-driven food safety organizations that remain watchful have gone so far as to file suit against the FDA for missing its deadlines. In all, thus far, seven deadlines have been missed since the law was implemented. In the end, it looks like the FDA perspective is set to win the day. After the bill became law, the agency was somewhat [...]