September 2006

Gavin Law Firm Representing Railroad Workers in Cumulative Trauma Claims
By: William P. Gavin

Gavin Law Firm has undertaken the representation of numerous former and current railroad workers from the transportation crafts seeking compensation of cumulative trauma done to the joints and backs of the workers over many years of employment.

The job of a conductor/brakeman required the worker to get off moving locomotives and cars onto ballast along the railroad's rights of way and in railroad yards. These workers were also required to walk long distances on steeply sloped ballast surfaces. As a result, many such workers have developed degenerative conditions in their feet, ankles, knees, and hips.

Locomotive engineers and firemen have also developed degenerative conditions in their low backs and necks as a result of long term exposure to repetitive trauma from riding on rough-riding locomotives over tracks that were often poorly maintained. The degenerative conditions include degenerative disc disease, herniated intervertebral discs, and arthritis of the spine.

Gavin Law Firm Successful in Asbestos Trials against Illinois Central Railroad Company
By: William P. Gavin

In two separate trials recently, Gavin Law Firm recovered more than $850,000.00 in jury verdicts on behalf of five former employees of Illinois Central Railroad Company (ICRR) who were injured when they were exposed to asbestos, diesel exhaust, and other toxic substances during their employment with the railroad. The jury trials were held in Salem, Marion County, Illinois in March and May 2006.

William Gavin and Rachel Lewis of Gavin Law Firm appeared at the trials on behalf of the five plaintiffs. Four of the five plaintiffs suffer from asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos. One of the five plaintiffs developed lung cancer in addition to asbestosis.

ICRR maintains that it did not know that asbestos could be harmful to its employees until approximately 1982. There is abundant evidence that not only did ICRR know as early as 1937 that asbestos would cause asbestosis in its employees and that ICRR knew how to prevent the development of asbestosis by limiting and eliminating asbestos exposure. This same evidence also demonstrates that ICRR did not implement any steps to protect its workers and, in fact, acted to conceal the hazards of asbestos from its workers.

Diesel exhaust was also a topic of the trial in March 2006. One of the plaintiffs demonstrated that he was exposed to diesel exhaust during his employment and that diesel exhaust is a lung carcinogen. ICRR denied that diesel exhaust is a lung carcinogen despite U.S. government declarations identifying diesel exhaust as a potential carcinogen. Diesel exhaust contains many of the same carcinogenic chemicals as cigarette smoke in addition to particulate matter.

Ford Recalls 220,000 Cars

Ford Motor Co. recalled 220,000 vehicles from the 2005 model year amid fire worries from a battery cable rubbing against the frame and concern that a fuel tank strap could separate after tens of thousands of miles. Ford said it has received four reports of fires. In the first recall, Ford said chafing of the cable caused the exposure of wires to the vehicle frame, causing them to become electrified in some cases or carry the potential for heat damage or fires. In other models, Ford's investigation found that the strap's manufacturer changed to a weaker grade of steel that could not meet Ford's durability requirements. Ford was concerned that at mileage levels of 100,000 or more, the strap would separate and cause the fuel tank to drop.
(ITLA Vested Interest December 2005)

Ford Offers Fire Shields for Limousines

Ford Motor, acknowledging for a second time that fuel tanks in some of its large sedans pose an increased risk of explosion in rear-end collisions, offered to provide protective fire shields to owners of Lincoln Town Car stretch limousines. Ford will not offer the fire shields to millions of individual owners who drive cars with the same fuel system, saying the problem is specific to limousines. Safety advocates have called on the automaker to recall the three million Ford vehicles that have the same fuel system, which was built into recent models of the Town Car, Crown Victoria, and Mercury Grand Marquis. The auto-maker has begun notifying Town Car limousine owners by mail that it will provide the protection kits free of charge but that it will not pay for installation. The company said nearly 32,000 Town Cars were affected.
(ATLA Law News Digest - October 6, 2005)

Proof of Ligament Injury after Whiplash Trauma

Much of the research on whiplash injuries over the last few years has focused on the ligaments of the spine as the source of chronic pain and loss of function. Ligament injuries are problematic for two reasons: first, such injuries can be impossible to detect using plain x-rays or CT scans; and, second, torn ligaments can cause permanent disability if untreated.

A 2004 study found that the transverse ligament could be injured from rear-end collisions. A new study from Norway adds some exciting new insight to the nature of ligament injuries from auto collisions, and provides some new information on the role of head position at the time of collision.

Previous researchers have found that head position can be an important risk factor in whiplash; patients who have their heads turned at the moment of the crash are much more likely to be injured. This is due to the fact that combined extension of the neck with rotation places severe strains on the ligaments of the spine.

To investigate this issue, the authors of this recent study performed MRI's on 92 whiplash patients and 30 healthy control subjects. All of the whiplash patients had normal x-ray results one week after the collision. The MRI was performed an average of six years after the collision.

The authors found significant difference between the whiplash patients and the control subjects:

• For all the neck structures considered, the chronic whiplash patients had significantly more MRI high-grade changes that the controls..."
• The alar ligament was the most commonly injured structure, as 66% of the whiplash patients showed significant damage to the ligament.
• The patients who had the head rotated at the instant of collision had more often high-grade MRI changes of the alar ligaments than those with the head in a neutral position. A total of 61.7% of the patients with rotated neck position had alar ligament grade 3 lesions, as opposed to only 4.4% in the patient group with neutral neck position.
• The association between head position and high-grade lesions (grade 2-3) of the alar ligaments was more pronounced in rear-end...than in front collisions.
• High grade lesions to the transverse ligament were also more common among patients with the head turned at the instant of the collision. Similar results appeared for the tectorial membrane, although with rather few high-grade changes.
• Severe MRI changes in the transverse ligament and the posterior atlanto­occipital membrane were considerably more common in front-end that in rear-end collisions.
  

This study provides some very important findings relevant for those who represent whiplash injury patients:

1. Front-end collision can cause ligament injury from hyper-flexion. The authors write that, "front-end collisions should be included in the definition of potential causes of a whiplash trauma, not only rear-end or side impact."
2. Head position is an important risk factor in whiplash injuries, as a turned head at the time of impact dramatically increases the chances of ligament injury. When working with whiplash patients, it is critical to take a careful history, with particular emphasis on the position of the occupant's head at the time of impact.
3. MRI exams of the ligaments of the upper cervical spine can be a useful tool in diagnosing chronic whiplash pain. The authors of this study looked for increased signal intensity in the affected structures.
   

The authors conclude their study, "the difference in MRI-verified lesions between [whiplash] patients and control persons, and in particular the association with head position and impact direction at the time of the accident, indicate that these lesions are caused by the whiplash trauma."

Dr. Dale Fischer, D.C.
Lebanon Chiropractic Clinic
110 West St. Louis Street
Lebanon, IL 62254
(618) 537-4407
www.reducepain.com
(Article taken from Injury Briefing - December 2005)

Gavin Law Firm Adheres to the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Members' Code of Conduct

1. No ATLA member shall personally, or through a representative, contact any party, or an aggrieved survivor, in an attempt to solicit a potential client when there has been no request for such contact from the injured party, an aggrieved survivor, or a relative of either, or the injured parties' union representative.
2. No ATLA member shall go to the scene of an event which caused injury unless requested to do so by an interested party, an aggrieved survivor, a relative of either, or by an attorney representing an injured party or survivor.
3. No ATLA member shall initiate a television appearance or initiate any comment to any news media concerning an event causing injury within 10 days of the event unless the member forgoes any financial return from the compensation of those injured or killed, provided, however, that an individual designated by a bar association to state the official position of such bar association may initiate such media contact to communicate such position.
4. No ATLA member shall personally, or through an associate attorney, file a complaint with a specific ad damnum amount unless required by local rules of court. If such amount is stated, it shall be based upon good faith evaluation of facts which the member can demonstrate.
5. No ATLA member shall personally, or through a representative, make representations of trial experience or past results of litigation either of which is in any way false or misleading.
6. No ATLA member shall personally, or through a representative, initiate personal contact with a potential client (who is not a client, former client, relative or close personal friend of the attorney) for the purpose of advising that individual of the possibility of an unrecognized legal claim for damages unless the member forgoes any financial interest in the compensation of the injured party.
7. No ATLA member shall file or maintain a frivolous suit, issue, or position. However, no ATLA member should refrain from urging or arguing any suit, issue, or position that he believes in good faith to have merit.
8. The ATLA Board of Governors has condemned attorneys or legal clinics who advertise for clients in personal injury cases and who have no intention of handling the cases themselves, but do so for the sole purpose of brokering the case to other attorneys. Any ATLA member who enters a contract of representation on behalf of a claimant shall, at the time of retention, fully advise the client, in writing, of all relationships with other attorneys who will be involved in the presentation, the role each attorney shall play, and the proposed division of fees among them. The client shall also be promptly advised of all changes affecting the representation.
9. No ATLA member shall knowingly accept a referral from a person, whether an ATLA member or not, who obtained the representation by conduct which this code prohibits.

(Trial, February 2006)

Study Links Casino Smoke, DNA Damage

Five years of research led by a University of Nevada, Reno department head in Reno and Las Vegas casinos have concluded there is a direct correlation between exposure to second­hand smoke in the workplace and damage to the employees' DNA. The researcher has said DNA damage leads to a higher risk of heart disease and cancer down the road. Funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the clinical trial followed 125 employees who work on the gambling floors of casinos in both northern and southern Nevada.

(ATLA Law News Digest - May 18, 2006)

Study Confirms Link Between Silica Exposure and Rheumatoid Arthritis

A large Swedish population based study of silica exposure and its relation to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will help our understanding of the disease process, say its authors. The results confirm those of previous smaller and less well controlled studies suggesting that silica exposure is a risk factor for RA.

Exposure to silica raised the chance of developing RA twofold for men aged 18-70 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.2) and slightly more for men aged 50-70 (OR 2.7) compared with unexposed matched controls, after adjustment for con­founding factors - age, residency, and smoking. Drilling or crushing stone, associated with high silica exposure, increased the chances further (OR 3.0, 3.3, respectively). Smoking raised the chances of RA in men exposed to silica (OR 3.7) and in the controls (OR 1.4) with adjustment for confounders. Its effect might even be synergistic with silica exposure, though confirmation would need more data.

The results are part of the EIRA study - a study of incident cases of RA in men in the general population over one area of Sweden. Self reported data on exposure to silica and smoking habit in 276 men developing clinically diagnosed RA during May 1996-June 2001 and controls from a random stratified sample matched for age, sex, and residency were compared.

Little is known about environmental factors and RA. The authors of this study speculate that inflammatory processes in RA and silicosis may be similar.

(Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 62, Number 6, June 2005)

Lawsuit Abuse Critic 'Supports His Wife' in Med Mal Lawsuit

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a known critic of "frivolous" medical malpractice lawsuits and "excessive" jury awards, has twice pushed a $250,000 cap on pain-and-suffering awards in med mal lawsuits. In 1999 Santorum's wife sued her chiropractor, claiming a botched spinal manipulation led to back surgery. In trial, Santorum testified against the chiropractor, telling the jury had had to carry the laundry upstairs for his wife and that she was humiliated by weight gain and lost the confidence to help him campaign. Santorum said medical bills, lost income, and cumulative damages added up. The jury awarded Mrs. Santo $350,000. Actual medical bills totaled $18,800 but she sued for $500,000 - twice the amount of the Santorum's proposed cap. The judge said damages amounted to about $330,000 for injuries and her "past and future pain and suffering and inconvenience."

(ABC News, ABC News November 10, 2005)

FDA Bars Imaging Drug After Death

Federal regulators removed from the market a radiological drug called NeutroSpec after 2 people died and 20 others became gravely ill moments after receiving it. NeutroSpec is injected and used to find internal infections, like appendicitis. Palatin Technologies, the drug's maker, had hoped that changing its label and sending a letter to physicians alerting them to the deaths would be enough to satisfy the FDA. But FDA officials insisted on a withdrawal, and Palatin and its marketing partner, Mallinckrodt, agreed to suspend sales.

(ATLA Law News Digest - December 15, 2005)

William R. Gallagher Joins Gavin Law Firm

Gavin Law Firm is pleased to announce that William R. Gallagher has become associated with the firm in an "Of Counsel" position.

Bill will be primarily responsible for the handling of all of the firm's Workers' Compensation cases in both Illinois and Missouri. Bill has been licensed to practice in the State of Illinois since 1976 and in the State of Missouri since 1988. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, a member of the Workers' Compensation Section Council, and an instructor at Workers' Compensation seminars sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association. Bill is also a member of the Missouri Bar Association.

He has extensive experience in the area of Workers' Compensation representing both injured employees and employers. His work as an in-house counsel, for a major insurance carrier, gives him additional insight in regard to the internal workings and procedures of the employers and their insurance carriers and knowledge of the value they place on Workers' Compensation cases. Having worked and trained in the industry, the attorneys on the opposing side are aware of his vast knowledge, experience, and reputation.

Bill's association with Gavin Law Firm will enhance its ability to provide high quality legal representation for its clients.

U.S. Mothers Deserve $134,121 In Salary

A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge, according to a new study. A mother who works outside the home would earn an extra $85,876 annually on top of her actual wages for the work she does at home, according to the study by Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts Salary.com.

(ATLA Law News Digest - May 4, 2006)

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