Injuries and even deaths from bicycle accidents have become very frequent in Gainesville and the surrounding area recently.  However, the death of a young man who was just getting started in life and from all reports was well liked is particularly striking.

The injured were taken to both Shands at the University of Florida and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

If you are unfortunate enough to be injured in a collision on  I-75 you should contact the accident attorneys at the Law Office of Alba & Dubose right away to recover the compensation you deserve.  Gil Alba and J. Mark Dubose have over 30 years of experience representing the injured and their families.  Put that experience to work for you.

Franck’s has issued recalls of the products.  But because the CDC said the root cause of the contamination was not known and the infections have been so serious causing vision loss, the federal agency issued the warning to avoid any product labeled sterile from Franck’s.

Although the investigation is ongoing, Franck’s continues to compound sterile products.

It is not the first time Frank’s products have been alleged to harm those they were meant to help.  In 2009, Franck’s  improperly mixed a supplement for 21 polo horses that contained far more selenium than required. The horses all died.

In March the California Department of Public Health was notified of nine cases of fungal eye infections from one surgical center.  All  involved patients who had undergone eye surgery and to whom the Franck’s-produced Brilliant Blue-G dye was administered. Almost immediately,  Franck’s recalled all of its Brilliant Blue-G dye, according to its website.  The dye is used by surgeons to highlight internal features of the eye during surgery.

More cases were discovered and included products containing the corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide.  On March 29, Franck’s also recalled two lots of that preparation. The company website said the recall affected nine physicians and 13 prescriptions, and all the product was identified.

CDC tests confirmed the presence of several bacterial and fungal contaminants in sealed bottles and syringes of the dye.

The fungi that caused the infections are common, but the type of infections seen in the outbreak are very rare. Once introduced into the eye fluid, the fungi blooms and causes infection which can damage vision.

Of the 33 cases identified, 23 of the patients suffered partial to severe vision loss and 24 required additional eye surgery, according to the CDC report.

Contact our experienced personal injury and products liability attorneys if you would like to discuss your potential claims for injury resulting from a defective product.

Gainesville Moped Accident Attorney

A Gainesville man was killed and a woman critically injured Thursday when the moped they were on was rear-ended in southeast Alachua County.  Neither was wearing a helmet.

The driver of a Mustang said she didn’t see the moped, which was traveling at a slower speed, according to Florida Highway Patrol. The car hit the moped from the rear, throwing the driver and passenger off the bike.

If you or a loved on has been injured in an accident involving a moped, contact the experienced moped accident attorneys at Alba & Dubose PA.

Gainesville Auto Accident Attorney

A Newberry woman on her way to work died in a three-vehicle crash on Archer Road early Friday morning.

Phyllis Kelley Pumphrey, 54, a long-time and well respected oncology nurse practitioner at UF at Shands, was killed as she traveled westbound in a 2002 Volvo S90.  A Kia Sorento coming from the other direction crossed the center line and struck Ms. Pumphrey’s  car, according to a Florida Highway Patrol media release.

The Kia then spun around and struck another vehicle traveling behind the Volvo.

The crash occurred at about 6:45 a.m. on Archer Road a quarter mile east of Southwest 122nd Street otherwise know as Parker Road.

Friends, co-workers and patients all were shocked by her tragic death and an outpouring of wishes for her family from all were quickly posted on various websites.   Patients and their families were particularly poignant in their description of her compassion and professionalism in dealing with patients of all ages and from all walks of life who are being treated for conditions that are very often terminal.

Crash data reveals the worst intersections in Alachua County for accidents, injuries and accidents by traffic volume.

Gainesville Personal Injury Attorney

Significant changes in Florida’s personal injury protection laws were signed into law last week.  The insurance industry claims the  changes will help reduce fraud.   Obviously, they are not really concerned about fraud.   Their only goal is to create vastly increased profits due to changes to the PIP statute.   However, will it help accident victims?  No.  Most accident victims will see a 75% reduction in PIP benefits even though they will continue to pay the same premium for this state-mandated coverage. The essence of the changes for policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2012 is:

-The accident victim must seek treatment within 14 days of the accident.

-The insured is allowed to seek the full $10,000.00 in PIP benefits only if they are diagnosed with an “Emergency Medical Condition (EMC)”

-EMC is defined as:

-Acute symptoms of sufficient severity such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in:

SERIOUS jeopardy to patient health

SERIOUS impairment of bodily function

SERIOUS dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

-Only an M.D., D.O., P.A or ARNP is authorized to make the diagnosis of EMC

-Massage therapy even by a licensed massage therapist and acupuncture treatment is not reimbursable at all under the new PIP statute

-If the insured is not diagnosed with an EMC or if the insured wants to seek treatment initially with a chiropractor, the patient only gets to use up to $2,500.00 of the PIP benefits they have paid for.

-The insured gets $0 in PIP benefits if he/she seeks treatment beyond the 14 days after the motor vehicle accident no matter the seriousness of the injury.

-The insurance company gets an additional 60 days to pay benefits if it “suspects” insurance fraud. There is no definition or test as to what “suspect” means in the statute

-The bill allows the insurer to use Medicare coding policies and payment methodologies to further reduce bills

-An insured must sit for an examination under oath (EUO) as a condition precedent to receiving benefits. In other words, before the provider gets paid for his/her services, the patient has to sit, if requested by the insurance company, for an EUO

And finally, probably most importantly, considering the purported reason for the new rules being the desire to reduce fraud and thus save customers money, the bill failed to incorporate the Senate’s 25% rate rollback for consumers.

In the end, the insurance companies got a guaranteed benefit while the citizens of Florida got no guarantees at all.