Antonio Gonzalez, 38, died in a personal injury accident after his clothing became entangled in some equipment the morning of July 16, 2009, The Orange County Register reports. Gonzalez was apparently asphyxiated when part of his clothing was caught in between machine rollers at an Irvine facility. Gonzalez was taken to an area hospital but died a few days later. Officials did not say what kind of work Gonzalez was doing at the time.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Antonio Gonzalez for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Department of Occupational Safety and Heath (DOSH) 2005 statistics, there were 453 deaths relating to industrial and construction accidents in California. Out of these victims, 76, died as a result of contact with some type of object or industrial equipment.
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Miguel Figueroa, 48, and Rosanne Martinez, 40, suffered major injuries in a Tulare car accident the night of July 11, 2009, according to a news report in the Visalia Times Delta. The injury accident occurred on Highway 99 when the 2005 GMC Safari van that Figueroa was driving overturned. Both Figueroa and Martinez suffered injuries and were taken to an area hospital. California Highway Patrol officials reported that Figueroa lost control of the van and it rolled over when he tried to regain control.

My heart goes out to both the injured victims–Figueroa and Martinez. I hope and pray that they have a quick and complete recovery. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 40,000 Americans die in car accidents each year. Out of these, at least 10,000 car accident fatalities involve rollovers, officials say.
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Brookstone Pharmaceuticals is recalling all lots of its Concentrated Acetaminophen Drops that come in 16-ounce bulk containers because of misleading packaging. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, the container is comparable to the size generally used to package regular strength acetaminophen liquid preparation. That along with the absence of an integrated dosage delivery device is contributing to dosing errors among consumers. An overdose of acetaminophen could result in dangerous drug injury including liver toxicity, kidney damage and blood disorders.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has apparently received several medication error reports that document personal injuries and fatalities in children less than 3 years of age. However Brookstone officials say that they have not heard about any of these adverse effects. Customers who have this medication are asked to stop using it immediately.
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A 55-year-old woman was seriously injured in a San Diego car accident the afternoon of July 14, 2009, 10news reports. The woman was reportedly driving a Volkswagen north on Scott Street when she tried to turn onto westbound Nimitz Boulevard. She was struck by another car traveling eastbound on Nimitz Boulevard, San Diego police officials said. The injured woman was transported to an area hospital with two broken vertebrae and a fractured hip. No one else was injured.

My heart goes out to this injured victim. I wish her the very best for a quick and complete recovery. Please keep her in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were 84 fatalities and 6,516 injuries involving car accidents in the city of San Diego. In San Diego County as a whole, 268 deaths and 14,641 injuries were reported as a result of car accidents in 2007.
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A worker suffered a fatal personal injury the morning of July 13, 2009 after he became entangled in a cardboard recycling machine, CBS News reports. The worker, who has not been identified, was working at a recycling facility in the 3900 block of North Mission Road in Lincoln Heights. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department officials. The man’s death is still under investigation.

My heart goes out to the families, friends and co-workers of this accident victim who was killed while on-the-job. I offer my deepest condolences to them. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health’s (CAL/OSHA) industrial accident statistics for 2005, 76 workers died that year from contact with equipment and machinery. Totally, 253 deaths relating to industrial accidents were reported in California in the year 2005.

In this Los Angeles industrial accident, it is not clear what exactly caused the worker to become entangled in the recycling machine. At this point, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Was the injured worker trained adequately to perform his job? Was he following safety procedures? Did he have knowledge of those safety procedures? I trust an investigation by local authorities as well as CAL/OSHA officials will provide some answers. Usually these investigations take weeks if not months, to be completed.
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The University of California (UCI) Medical Center in Orange County is using defective products–particularly pain-control pumps–that have caused drug overdoses in patients, according to an Associated Press news report. A complaint filed with California health officials on July 9, 2009, states there have been five accidental drug overdoses as a result of these defective products at the UCI Medical Center since last year. The faulty medical devices resulted in one patient going to intensive care. A hospital spokesman reportedly told AP that nursing errors–not defective products–caused three of those five overdoses. He says no malfunctioning drug pumps are still in use and that safer models are being “phased in.”

This is apparently not the first time that the UCI Medical Center has been in trouble. In May, the state fined the Orange County hospital $50,000 for violations, which caused a patient’s death. Last year, federal inspectors cited numerous problems regarding patient care and procedures.
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A major nationwide beef recall prompted by E. Coli food poisoning also involves 47,615 pounds of beef triangle tri tip sent to Costco warehouses in Los Angeles and the rest of California. About 380,000 pounds of potentially E. Coli-contaminated beef that has been recalled were produced by Colorado-based JBS Swift Beef Co. Los Angeles Public Health officials say their department launched an informational campaign as soon as they found out about the food recall. Officials say most of the stores contacted were aware of the E. Coli beef recall and that all of the affected products had been removed from store shelves. So far no cases have been reported in Los Angeles of people becoming ill from the recalled meat. Costco officials apparently destroyed all of the recalled beef by June 19.

The recalled beef products were distributed under the name of Morton’s of Omaha Steakhouse Classic Tri Tip and Morton’s of Omaha Rosemary, Garlic and Chardonnay Seasoned Tri Trip. Heath officials said that their follow-up calls to Costco confirmed that none of the Los Angeles stores had any of the recalled beef on their shelves.

E. Coli is a large and diverse group of bacteria mostly transmitted through contaminated food. Some kinds of E. Coli can cause diarrhea while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia. The most common symptoms of E. Coli food poisoning include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and fever. In some rare cases, an E. Coli infection can result in kidney damage or even death.
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Users of Zicam cold remedies who have lost their sense of smell as a result of using the defective drug have found themselves a Zicam lawyer in order to file for a class action lawsuit against drug manufacturer Matrixx Enterprises. According to a news article in Consumeraffairs.com, the class action lawsuits were filed in federal court in California and state court in Missouri. The California lawsuit was brought on behalf of anyone who bought Zicam while in California or from a manufacturer or other source in California within the four years preceding June 23, 2009. The Missouri lawsuit defines a class of all St. Louis County residents who bought Zicam products in the year preceding a safety warning issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June.

On June 15, 2009, the FDA warned consumers to stop using Zicam intranasal cold gels and nasal sprays after receiving more than 130 complaints from consumers whose sense of smell was completely gone or diminished from having taken these defective drugs. Apparently, zinc gluconate, one of the active ingredients in Zicam cold medications can cause irreparable and irreversible personal injury from damage to intranasal tissue.
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Federal officials have announced new rules aimed at reducing food poisoning outbreaks–especially salmonella and E. Coli infections that have been commonly occurring in the United States over the last two years or so. According to an Associated Press news report, a food safety panel established by President Obama has developed new safety standards for foods such as eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes, as well as for better coordination and communication among the agencies that oversee the nation’s food supply. The recent string of breakdowns in our country’s food safety system led to a surge in food poisoning cases.

Thousands of Americans were sickened and many killed as a result of these outbreaks involving spinach, peanut butter, pistachio nuts, beef and other contaminated food products. Earlier this year, a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products sickened hundreds nationwide and led to nine deaths. Just this last month, Nestle Toll House cookie dough and 380,000 pounds of beef produced by Colorado-based JBS Swift Co. were recalled because of E. Coli contamination.
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A series of defective product recalls have raised concerns about so-called “smart” airbags and occupant detection systems and whether the front passenger airbag in a car can be fooled into not deploying when it should or deploying when it should not. According to a news article in the Washington Times, consumer safety advocates are worried about such erroneous airbag detection, which they say could cause serious injuries and even death in the event of a car crash.

The occupant detection system of the front passenger seat is designed to signal the airbag whether to deploy, when to deploy and in some systems with how much force to deploy based on the weight of the passenger. That sounds like a pretty smart airbag. However, when these systems malfunction because of a product defect, passengers risk injury or death. Some of these systems apparently use sensors on a mat in the seat bottom to determine passenger weight. Others use bladders filled with gel. Safety researchers say that these smart systems are problematic because a number of different auto makers are having trouble getting it right.
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