By: Darrell Castle Zofran has been linked to birth defects when taken in the first trimester of pregnancy! Video transcript Have you had a baby born with a serious birth defect? And did you take Zofran for morning sickness during the first trimester of your pregnancy? Hi I’m Darrell Castle and I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee. And consuming the drug Zofran in the first trimester of your pregnancy for morning sickness has been associated with serious birth defects in babies. Defects such as: hole in the heart (heart defects), cleft palate, cleft lip, some babies born with only one kidney. Did you have a baby like that? Did you take Zofran? Well folks,
As a bankruptcy lawyer in Memphis, TN, I meet a lot of clients who are embarrassed to be in my office. They didn’t think they’d ever need a bankruptcy. They seem ashamed and worried we’ll treat them badly. It upsets me, but not for the reasons they think. I feel terrible because bankruptcy simply SHOULD NOT be shameful this day and age. In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen news about bankruptcy filings from energy companies, rappers, and even religious groups. In some cases, these filings are happening because the organizations did actual harm and now have to pay for the damages. The clients I see every day aren’t like that. I see parents trying desperately to make ends
By: Darrell Castle You could have a death machine in your home and not even know it. I don’t tell you that to freak you out, just to keep you on your toes when buying and using potentially dangerous products. It’s not even necessarily the products themselves that are dangerous, but the potential defects products can have that turn them from a useful device to a hazardous one. There are three types of defects to watch out for. Design Defect Since you’re probably experiencing this frigid Memphis winter like me right now, let’s use the popular electrical space heater as an example. Many families have an electrical space heater they use to heat their bedroom at night while they’re sleeping.
It feels wonderful in Memphis today, but enjoy it while you can because the ice storm is coming, or so we are told it is. The high on Friday is 34 degrees with a 100% chance of precipitation, meaning a high potential of icy streets late Thursday and into Friday. That will be followed by a chance of snow on Sunday and Monday. In Memphis, if there’s an inch of snow or ice on the ground, the city almost all but shuts down. Though snow and ice hits Memphis every year, it’s not frequent so drivers must always adjust. The Weather Channel offers driving safety tips in snow and ice. To avoid an accident this weekend, and for the
If medical bills have put you in debt, you’re not alone One in three Americans have problems with medical debt – that’s no small number. And the scary thing is, it affects people not only without health insurance, but also people who actually carry it. It’s important to take control of your medical bills because, if left unpaid, they really can have long-term financial consequences. Lexie Verndon from Kaiser Health News offers some tips that can hopefully help you avoid or alleviate medical debt – Attempt to negotiate the prices of service with your doctor by asking if he or she will accept the price that Medicare pays for the treatment, which can be considerably cheaper. In general, just have
As product liability lawyers in Memphis, we’ve been thinking a lot about tire safety this week. While as drivers we may not worry about our tires very often, we depend on them to perform perfectly at all times. On Monday, July 30th, a Ford F350 pickup blew a tire while heading west on I-40 near a Brownsville exit. The truck crossed a median and was hit head-on by a tractor-trailer. The terrible crash – caused by just one bad tire – took the lives of three Louisville men and injured two others. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims’ families. May the two men still recovering be able to heal completely from their injuries. Please consider your own
Investigators believe a tire failure caused the horrible I-40 bus accident that killed 8 people on Wednesday, October 2. The crash, in which a church bus drove across the median into oncoming interstate traffic and struck an SUV and tractor-trailer, killed both the driver and his wife along with 6 other victims. And while it might have appeared the crash was caused by the driver losing control of the vehicle, investigators say it’s not quite so simple. Apparently the tire itself failed, which threw the bus sideways. “It’s extremely, extremely difficult to maintain control of that bus after the (wheel) rim hit and was pulling it in that direction,” said Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Miller. When a tire fails,
Watch out this weekend, Memphis: St. Patrick’s Day has arrived, and it coincides with March Madness. Between the two, Tennessee state troopers expect the streets to be more dangerous than usual. They have set up 50 checkpoints across the state to check for impaired driving, and plan to have patrols out checking bars and watching the highways. Last year, TN authorities made 18 DUI arrests on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Many more people than that most likely got away with driving drunk. But when it comes to drunk driving statewide, 2012 has proven so far to be a more dangerous year than 2011. State troopers have already arrested over 1,000 drunk drivers – a 47% increase from this time last
By: Darrell Castle There’s a chance you could leave where you are right now, get in your car and quickly find yourself in a car accident. Memphis is a driving city. There are many cars on the roads filled with people going back and forth from home and work. With countless cars traveling dozens of miles on any given day, the probability of car accidents stays high. It’s just math. It’s important to be prepared for a car accident. It could happen to you. Be sure you know what to do – and what NOT to do – at the scene of a wreck, especially if you’re injured. Here are 5 things you MUST do if you’re injured in an
Recently CNN reported many Americans are too financially devastated to afford bankruptcy. The article cites rising attorney fees and filing costs following the passage of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. But the article does offer some hope to people wanting to get out of debt: Brewer, of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said sometimes it’s just a matter of rearranging priorities. “If the need is crucial enough, consumers usually find a way to come up with the money,” he said. The article lists options like selling some possession or asking friends and family for help. It also discusses the possibility of taking a second job or using tax returns – a very