Cleveland Wrongful Death Law Blog

People rely on Ohio's emergency responders to protect them, tend to their wounds and save their lives. The problem is that sometimes, the emergency responders are the ones that create the danger those innocent people face. Emergency vehicles sometimes cause car accidents on route to calls, and some of them are fatal.

Back in Nov. 2013, a woman's vehicle was in or entering an intersection when an emergency vehicle entered the intersection at the same time. The two vehicles collided. The woman ended up passing away due to the injuries she suffered in that crash. Her son alleged that the fire truck did not have its lights or sirens on when it entered the intersection and filed a wrongful death claim against the city of Columbus.

Last year, the federal government announced that the addiction and abuse of opioids had reached epidemic and dangerous proportions across the nation, including here in Ohio. In an attempt to combat this crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created a strategy involving five key points. Whether the plan actually reduces the number of drug injuries from these narcotics remains to be seen.

The plan involved the agency distributing $800 million in grants in 2017 for use in the prevention, support, treatment and recovery of opioid addictions. Of course, anyone who suffers from an addiction to these drugs can tell others that is only part of the battle. Doctors prescribe many of these drugs for pain after an injury. Even if they are the most effective treatment, is the potential for addiction and abuse worth it?

It appears that many environmental regulations enacted in the last decade or so are being rolled back by the current administration. Some sources say that this will increase the amount of harmful pollution that ordinary people, such as residents here in Ohio, could be exposed to as a result. It was hoped that the instances of asbestos exposure were decreasing significantly, but that could change.

The U.S. International Trade Commission reports that in July 13 metric tons of asbestos were imported. That number increased to 272 metric tons in August. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization says that is a 2,000 percent increase in just one month. The use of this toxic substance had been on a decline since the 1980s due to its carcinogenic properties, but that may be changing.

Many Ohio residents turn to dietary supplements with the specific intention of avoiding pharmaceutical drugs. For whatever reason, they use what they believe to be more natural and healthier alternatives, believing they are doing what is best for their health. Sadly, this may not be the case since the Food and Drug Administration failed to recall dietary supplements with undisclosed pharmaceutical ingredients that could cause serious health repercussions for consumers.

Research indicates that the FDA only forced or issued recalls for less than half of the supplements tainted by unapproved drugs. For example, some weight loss supplements contained an ingredient banned here in the United States. Certain supposedly natural sex supplements contained the primary ingredient in Viagra, which requires a prescription. Some muscle building products contain steroid-like or synthetic steroid ingredients. In some cases, at least two unapproved drugs were found.