KITRICK, LEWIS & HARRIS CO., L.P.A.

Protecting Your Child's Tomorrow Today

2012-02-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

- Identity thieves are now targeting children’s social security numbers. To protect your children, put a freeze on their credit. That means you should check once a year with all three credit bureaus to make sure no record is associated with your child. Remember, you get one FREE report per person per year from each of the 3 bureaus. Also, call the SS Administration to verify that the number is secure.

Extra Help

2012-02-13T06:19:00.000-08:00

- There have been changes to the federal law regarding “extra help” medication for seniors. However, about 2 million eligible people have not signed on. Extra Help (also called low income subsidy), provides financial assistance on premiums, deductibles, and prescriptions. To qualify, one must be on Medicare, have an annual income less than $16,335 (married couples - $$22.065), and assets of $12,640 (married-$25,260) or less. Some assets, like a home, a car, or life insurance do not count. For further information please visit ssa.gov/pubs/10115.html.

2012-02-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

I know many people complain that the government perhaps gets too involved in our lives. But there are some outstanding US government departments and federal laws that truly protect all of us in ways that cannot be accomplished otherwise. I highly recommend that if you want to know how to get your free credit reports, which each of us should obtain once a year, you follow what is set forth in http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm..

For an excellent summary of the consumer protection laws that govern you and your family’s lives, please visit http://www.hg.org/consume.html.

If you want to know the top consumer fraud complaints and how to better protect yourself from improper conduct, the newest list is included in http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/02/fraud.shtm.

Term Limits Aren't as Important an Issue as Money and Lobbying Reform

2012-02-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

In response to Editor Terry Smith's "Wearing Thin" column in the January 26th edition of The Athens NEWS, Attorney Sean Harris points out that term limits aren't the big issue.

2012-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

Albany Law School Professor Patrick M. Connors discusses recent New York cases addressing the discoverability of social media accounts in his article entitled Disclosure of Information on Social Networking Websites:

The court concluded that the “information sought by defendant regarding plaintiff's Facebook and MySpace accounts is both material and necessary to the defense of this action and/or could lead to admissible evidence." The court recounted that plaintiff's "public profile page on Facebook shows her smiling happily in a photograph outside the confines of her home despite her claim that she has sustained permanent injuries and is largely confined to her house and bed." Based on the public portions of plaintiff's social networking sites, which contained material that was at odds with her claims and deposition testimony, the court determined that "there is a reasonable likelihood that the private portions of her sites may contain further evidence such as information with regard to her activities and enjoyment of life, all of which are material and relevant to the defense of this action."

For the entire article, please see here.

2012-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

Most people would be less than shocked to learn that $5.8 billion was spent defending claims and compensating victims of medical negligence in 2010; however, that $5.8 billion only accounts for a mere 0.3 percent of the overall health care costs in the United States. According to a report recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the United States spent $2.6 trillion in 2010 for its health care. Additionally, while overall costs increased by 3.9 percent from 2009, medical negligence costs decreased from $6.6 billion.

SHOULD I PURCHASE RENTAL CAR INSURANCE?

2012-01-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Usually, any rental car insurance is considered “excess.” That means it will be effective only after all other personal insurance is used. Such coverage can also be quite expensive. Therefore, consumers should check with their own car insurance company and/or agent to figure out what kind of rental insurance they already have in place. That would allow the consumer to sensibly deny or decline the high-priced rental insurance—offered by the car rental company—when they do rent a car.

The Ohio Department of Insurance also gives consumers some advice concerning the following four questions about Rental Car Insurance:

1. What coverage is normally offered through my rental car company?

2. What should I expect from the rental car company (i.e., what are rental car companies prohibited from doing)?

3. Are there other options for meeting my insurance needs?

4. What specific questions should I ask my insurance company or agent?

For the agency’s helpful answers to these questions, follow this link:
http://www.insurance.ohio.gov/Newsroom/Tips/Pages/AutoRentalInsurance.aspx.

2012-01-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

www.kitricklaw.com

2012-01-18T07:52:00.001-08:00

Lawsuits against bars for over-serving alcohol when a car wreck happened can be very difficult, but often justified by the fact, as in this recent tragic case:

ttp://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/17/1986089/driver-bar-sued-in-fatality.html?storylink=mrc

2012-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

There are many ways to fight identity theft, which is growing dramatically and exponentially, primarily because of the internet, our increased shopping on the computer, and our use of social media. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has an excellent page on DETER, DETECT, DEFEND: AVOID ID THEFT and it outlines the various ways you can protect yourself. That website page is

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt01.shtm

We strongly urge you to go to this page and follow the steps best spare you and your family from the curse of identity theft.

2012-01-10T06:38:00.001-08:00

There is an estimated one billion dollars of unclaimed death benefits sitting in the banks of life insurance companies. Why? Life insurance companies use a Social Security death database to stop retirement-income checks, however they fail to use the same database to determine if the policyholders are still living or if their death benefits need to be paid out. In recent months attorneys and state officials have started investigating such insurers to discover whether they have violated laws when it comes to paying out such benefits.

If you are a potential beneficiary you can contact the insurers directly, review old income-tax returns for expenses paid to life insurance companies, and continue checking the mail of the insured for up to one year after their passing for premium notices.

For more information about this topic visit our website at www.KLHLaw.com or contact our office, 614-224-7711, to learn more about your legal rights.

2012-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Winter safety tip – be aware of static electricity at the gas pump

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/27/if-gas-prices-wont-kill-you-this-just-might.html

The Injury Board

2011-12-29T11:41:00.000-08:00

Kitrick, Lewis & Harris Co., L.P.A. is a proud member of the Injury Board. This group advocates for safety and prevention through education. Please check out their new site: http://www.injuryboard.org/

www.klhlaw.com

2011-12-28T14:21:00.001-08:00

Meso patients chosen to participate in federal mesothelioma study:
http://news.yahoo.com/three-mesothelioma-patients-chosen-reviewers-federal-program-research-180042100.html

Slugger Award

2011-12-28T08:30:00.001-08:00

http://www.ohioinjurylaw.com/articles.php?id=15&title=central-ohio-association-for-justice---improving-the-judicial-system&action=single

www.klhlaw.com

Columbus Children’s Choir

2011-12-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Our firm is proud to support a fine group of young people. The CCC is a treble choir composed of the finest young singers in Columbus and Central Ohio. Children, grades 3-12, enter the choir through auditions held each year for the following season. No talented singer is turned away. Our firm was able to donate the remaining amount needed to send the children to perform in the holiday festivities this year in Washington, D.C. We are privileged to be a part of allowing this group to perform for our President and the nation.

To help support your community, and for more information on the choir, please visit their website at:

http://www.columbuschildrenschoir.org/

www.klhlaw.com

2011-12-21T14:27:00.001-08:00

Promising new treatment for mesothelioma
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/12/15/doctors-encouraged-by-new-mesothelioma-treatment/

www.klhlaw.com

2011-12-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

PhoneGuard is a smart phone app that can be utilized on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. This app is the first of its kind with a primary focus to stop drivers from texting while they are behind the wheel. The main feature of PhoneGuard is “text block” which prevents the driver from surfing the web, texting, BBMing, or reading e-mails while driving. PhoneGuard is also equipped with speed control, allowing the administrative user to set a speed limit to help monitor how fast one drives. The panic button is also a feature of this app. It immediately sends a text message and GPS coordinates that will open a map with available phone numbers to call, or the option to call 911. Geo-Fencing, a special feature on PhoneGuard Family Pro, allows you to receive notifications if any selected phones enter or leave a geographic area, based on a zip code or a customizable radius of the area. For more features of this one of a kind app or to purchase PhoneGuard for your family members go to:

http://phoneguard.com/Default.aspx

Stop marketers from being able to call your cellphone

2011-12-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

A bill being considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would end 20 years of consumer protection preventing marketers from endlessly calling your cell phone- and using up minutes that you pay for.

Visit: www.act.credoaction.com for more details.

2011-12-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

Last year distracted drivers caused nearly 80% of car wrecks, leading to over 33,000 deaths. Texting while driving is quickly becoming the biggest distraction for all drivers. So what does this mean for the average driver? Parents must lead by example. If a young driver sees a parent texting while driving, the youth will be more likely to do so as well. So, we ask parents to get involved and pay more attention to how their own actions influence others. It is important to know the local and state laws in your area. Also, be aware of certain technology that is available. For instance, Phone Guard is a new application for the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android, and it has a number of different features that parents can use that can prevent drivers from texting, BBMing, surfing the web, and reading e-mail. For more information about this topic, please visit our website http://www.klhlaw.com/ and to see what the state and local laws are in Ohio, visit http://handsfreeinfo.com/ohio-cell-phone-laws-legislation

Senate Bill Targets Foreign Corporations That Skirt Federal Safety Standards, Legal System | Fighting for Justice

2011-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Senate Bill Targets Foreign Corporations That Skirt Federal Safety Standards, Legal System | Fighting for Justice

2011-12-07T08:03:00.001-08:00

Winter is coming. Make sure you and your car are ready.

http://www.toledofreepress.com/2011/12/01/highway-patrol-offers-winter-safe-driving-tips/

Things We are Celebrating

2011-12-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

*Technology really does make our lives better, and longer. 2011 was the year that research suggested we may be closing in on a powerful AIDS vaccine, that we came even closer to the global annihilation of polio, and that we learned renewable energy investment in the developing world had outstripped such investments in rich countries. Alongside strong economic growth in developing countries and the spread of peace, democracy, and learning, continued technological advances will underpin a healthier, wealthier, more stable, and more sustainable world in the years ahead.

*Vegetarianism in the United States may have expanded by as much

as two-thirds since 2009. As many as 5 percent of Americans now claim they don' t eat meat.

*People are healthier than ever. According to World Bank data, roughly two million children born this year worldwide will live to their fifth birthday who would have died were mortality rates what they were 10 years ago.

*The world is richer than it has ever been. Even as stagnation and popular angst gripped the U.S. economy this year, a historically unprecedented decline in levels of absolute poverty continued worldwide.

*We're getting smarter. Technological and scientific advance in

the United States and other developed countries continues at a remarkable pace this was the year, after all, that Google premiered a robot that could attend boring meetings in your place, and we discovered 21 more planets orbiting distant stars.

*We're more peaceful than we used to be. The last decade has

seen fewer war deaths than any decade in the past century. On the domestic front, violent crime continued its downward trend through the start of the recession -- from more than 1.8 million reported violent crimes in 1990 to 1.2 million in 2010.

*Freedom and democracy are spreading. That' really good news because democracies really do fight less often.

*Social networking is bringing us all closer together. Closer

communications leads to more trade and investment, making people better off both here and abroad.

*Money is not just stuck in big banks. On the strength of the

same technologies, global remittances have climbed from $132 to

$440 billion over the course of the past decade.

*There are more families and more people to be friends with than ever before. To be sure, we face the challenge of moving the world onto a more sustainable path of consumption But combined with the global spread of education, a larger population means there are far, far more potential geniuses to help figure it out. So celebrate that there are more people who are leading a higher quality of life than ever before in recorded history.

Mark and I celebrate what we know YOU can do to make the world

an even better place next year.

2011-12-05T06:23:00.001-08:00

Third party debt collectors may be violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This is a federal law restricting the use of automated equipment to dial cellular telephones. The statute prohibits using any automatic telephone dialing systems or pre-recorded voices to make any calls to a paging service, a cell phone, a specialized mobile radio service or calls that the party may be charged for the call.

Many debt collection companies use pre-dictive dialers. Predictive dialers place calls without human intervention until a connection is made, in which case the dialers then attempt to connect the recipient with a debt collector. In most cases, the debtor has not authorized automated placement of calls to his or her cell phone and often did not even provide their cell number to the defendant or original creditor.

Victims can receive statutory damages even if the defendant (bill collectors) are only negligent but have violated the TCPA.

2011-11-30T06:08:00.001-08:00

To make sure you have the safest and best holiday season, check out these Holiday Safety Tips from the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness:

http://www.weathersafety.ohio.gov/WinterFireSafetyTips.aspx

American Association for Justice

2011-11-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

WE are proud to announce:
Kitrick, Lewis & Harris Co., L.P.A. president Mark Kitrick is featured in this year's
American Association for Justice 2012 Video

2011-11-28T05:58:00.001-08:00

Corporate misconduct and corporate lawsuits abound. People often think about individuals injury claims as clogging the court docket and that the claims are for millions. These beliefs are not even close to reality. We must not forget that corporate greed and businesses suing business are major business issues that consume significant court and government time and involve massive amounts of money. For instance:

- Andarko Petroleum Corp. will pay $4 Billion to BP PLS to settle claims related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Andarko owned 25% interest in the well.

- Johnson and Johnson Scios unit has agreed to pay an $85 Million fine and plead guilty to misbranding its heart drug Natrecor.

- Kentucky settled with pharmaceutical giant PFIZER regarding its illegal off label marketing of its urology drug Detrol.

- Oracle will pay more than $199.5 Million to the GSA regarding is overbilling the federal government over 9 years. This was done through the False Claims Act.

- And Citigroup is paying $285 Million to settle SEC Fraud charges. Goldman Sachs settled similar charges last year for $550 Million and JP Morgan chase paid $153 Million this year as well.

The Truth About Litigation:

2011-11-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

- Andarko Petroleum Corp. will pay $4 Billion to BP PLS to settle claims related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Andarko owned 25% interest in the well.

- Johnson and Johnson Scios unit has agreed to pay an $85 Million fine and plead guilty to misbranding its heart drug Natrecor.

- Kentucky settled with pharmaceutical giant PFIZER regarding its illegal off label marketing of its urology drug Detrol.

- Oracle will pay more than $199.5 Million to the GSA regarding is overbilling the federal government over 9 years. This was done through the False Claims Act.

- And Citigroup is paying $285 Million to settle SEC Fraud charges. Goldman Sachs settled similar charges last year for $550 Million and JP Morgan chase paid $153 Million this year as well.

Safety First

2011-11-21T06:18:00.001-08:00

http://www.recalls.gov/

Safety should be first when it comes to products and your daily knowledge of recalls of various products, whether it be food or drugs or any bad or dangerous products on the market. The Government has a mobile application that you can download which provides better service to you, what is called a “one stop shop.” If you go to www.recalls.gov, you will be able to use the app so you can be informed, as we believe that an informed client is the best client.

Also, there are many scams during the holiday seasons. The FDA Health Care Scams website compiles various videos and articles to allow you to better protect you and your family. Check out these two websites:

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm278980.htm

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ProtectYourself/HealthFraud/default.htm

2011-11-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Mark Kitrick wrote an article for the book Bouncebacks! that was recently published this last month. Bouncebacks! is currently being sold nationwide to emergency room physicians and other doctors, along with others in the healthcare field. To learn more about the book and to view Mark's article click on the website below:

http://embouncebacks.com/books/

Center For Justice and Democracy

2011-11-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

A recent study by the Center for Justice & Democracy finds, not only are there fewer personal injury cases being filed, but that juries award less money. So much for a “litigation crisis!”

For more on this, check out their site:

www.centerjd.org

2011-11-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

10 ways to protect yourself when taking medication.

2011-11-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

It is crucial that before you ingest any prescribed medications, you take several precautions to protect yourself from dangerous, unsafe, or poorly designed products. One is always check with your pharmacist to make sure you fully understand all possible side effects and any interactions the medication will have with any other medications you are taking. Two, read the label and understand what the drug is for and not for. Three, make sure you have the correct drug, and that you have the exact number of pills in the bottle. Four, keep you medications in a pill box that keeps track of meds each day. That way you can easily tell if you have or have not taken the medications that day. Five, if you notice any serious side effects from the medicines, call your doctor or get to the emergency room right away. Listen to your body. Six, carefully follow the directions on the label and from your pharmacist when taking any medications. Seven, keep a short diary on how the medications make you feel and if they are working for you. Update your doctor accordingly. Eight, keep the medications in a safe, dry place where no one else can get to them. Nine, regularly check the FDA website for recalls or warnings about various products on the marketplace. Ten, after a few weeks update your doctor on how you are doing with the medications.

2011-11-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

The State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection agencies, the National Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council are launching new public service advertising (PSA) campaign nationwide. All of the new PSAs direct audiences to http://stoptextsstopwrecks.org/#home , a new campaign website where teens and young adults can find out facts about the impact of texting while driving, along with tips on how to curb the behavior.

2011-11-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

Do_As_I_Say_Not_As_I_Sue_

Let’s Make a Deal: Small Firms Find Big Deals on Office Space

2011-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Our office was featured in an article about contemporaty spaces for small law firms.

"Columbus, Ohio-based personal injury and consumer protection lawyer Mark Kitrick didn’t wait. He took advantage of a generous leasing opportunity to custom-build an eclectic, eco-friendly office in the suburbs with free parking. The space, designed in the Mondrian style, offers ample light to showcase his art collection."

For the full article: http://www.abajournal.com/

Featured Photos of our office!

2011-11-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

A new report finds that the same corporations and insurance companies that want to limit the rights of families and consumers to seek justice in court, use the courtroom all the time to pursue their own agenda’s. Why should corporate America get a different set of rules than the rest of us?

KLH Video Shoot

2011-11-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

Personal Injury Lawsuits in Ohio

2011-10-26T05:45:00.001-07:00

We often hear from business leaders and politicians that there are too many personal injury lawsuits. In Ohio, at least, the number of personal injury cases filed over the last ten years has been steadily falling, as shown by the Ohio Supreme Court's summary, below:

http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Publications/annrep/10OCS/summary/14.pdf

Staying Focused While Driving

2011-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Based on recent driving statistics, of the 33,808 car crash deaths that occurred in 2009, approximately 27,046 are suspected to have resulted from distracted driving. While drunk drivers are 7 times more likely to cause accidents, distracted drivers are 23 times more likely to do so. To date, only a handful of states have instituted distracted driving laws, but the majority of them are not very strict despite the increasing traffic wrecks and casualties.

Staying Focused While Driving

Here are 3 simple things you can do to stay focused while on the road, and avoid becoming a distracted driving statistic:

Don't use your cell phone or text while driving. If it's important and can't wait, pull over. A good technique to avoid the temptation of using the phone is to keep it somewhere in the car that you cannot reach.
Avoid eating while driving, even on long road trips. Eat inside the restaurant, or visit a rest stop. Those few minutes rest may save your or someone else’s life.
Program your GPS device before driving. If you must make an adjustment to your route, pull over.

MADD: Efforts to raise awareness about drugged driving

2011-10-17T07:50:00.001-07:00

MADD announced Friday they are teaming up with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to launch a national coordinated effort to reach out to the underserved poly-abuse (both alcohol and drugs) and drugged driving victims in the country. MADD reports that, although drunk driving remains one of the primary threats on America’s roadways, killing 11,000 each year, driving under the influence often involves both alcohol and drugs, or drugs alone. The organization is teaming up to combat the following statistics according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

- Roughly one in eight weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs.

- In 2009, of the drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes, one in three tested positive for drugs.

- Once in ten high school seniors self-reported that in the last two weeks they had driven a car after using marijuana.

For more information about this campaign or to gather more information about drugged or poly-abuse driving please visit their website at http://www.MADD.org

Electric Blanket Fires

2011-10-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

There have been more than 100 lawsuits filed against Sunbeam Products, Inc. alleging its electric blankets have caused fires. Many of these fires caused significant property damage. Some caused serious personal injury or death. If you or someone you know has been victim of an electric blanket fire, please visit our website (www.KLHLaw.com) or call our office (614-224-7711) to further understand your legal rights.

FDA Recalls

2011-10-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

For those of you interested in making sure that what you are eating, what medicines you are ingesting, and what medical products or devices are not subject to FDA recalls, the easiest and quickest way to locate that information is to go to http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm.

Meet the Candidates

2011-09-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 28^th, 2011, 9:00 AM reception, 9:30-11:00 AM Program. Franklin county Consortium for Good Government’s Meet the Candidates Forum. These events will feature candidates for statewide issues, county judges, local mayoral, city council, and school board races. A map and calendar of the Consortium’s “Meet the Candidates” Forum events, directions to each event and lists of races scheduled and candidates invited to appear at each event are available at the Consortium’s Web site at http://franklincountyconsortium.com. Sites and dates may change. For complete and updated information, please visit the Consortium’s Web site or call Event Coordinator Debby Rosenthal at (614) 383‑VOTE(383-8683). Location: Jewish Community Center, 1125 College Avenue, Columbus (43209).

FDA Warning: Surgical mesh may not be best route

2011-09-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning regarding serious complications associated with transvaginal placement of surgical mesh for pelvic organ prolapse. Patients who've undergone pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or stress urinary incontinence (SUI) have suffered serious complications from transvaginal mesh. According to the FDA's warning: "Serious complications associated with surgical mesh for transvaginal repair of POP are not rare." The FDA also explained that "it is not clear that transvaginal POP repair with mesh is more effective than traditional non-mesh repair in all patients with POP and it may expose patients to a greater risk." To learn more about the warning from the FDA or symptoms associated with transvaginal mesh, read the full article at http://www.thesafetyreport.com/ Article ID: 2414

Ohio Supreme Court Decision

2011-09-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

The Ohio Supreme Court in Sutton v. Tomco Machining, Inc. has recognized a common- law tort for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy - retaliatory action- when an injured employee is fired after being hurt on the job but that employee has not yet filed a workers' compensation claim. The employee must prove that the employer lacked an overriding business justification for being fired and the employee's damages are set forth in R.C. 4123.90.

Med Pay: Ohio Supreme Court Decision

2011-09-12T08:07:00.001-07:00

A recent Ohio Supreme Court decision allows health care providers (doctors, hospitals, therapists and other health care companies) to directly bill a person's auto company under the Medical Payment ["Med Pay"] provision first, that is before billing that person's health insurance company. We find this ruling to seriously impact consumers as often consumers need their Med Pay for other more personal needs, such as deductibles, co-pays, prescriptions, out of pocket expenses, and living costs. In other words, consumers do not want their Med Pay to be used up by providers when the consumers have health insurance that should first pay their health bills.

So, after years to telling people that they should purchase Med Pay when they buy automobile insurance, we are changing our opinion. First, if someone has health insurance, then it is far less preferable that the person buy Med Pay. This will save the consumer money. Second, we believe that a consumer has the right to tell his or her auto carrier NOT to pay Med Pay to any providers and that the control of where these funds go should be with the consumer, not with the health providers. Third, we strongly encourage consumers to contact their car agent and discuss these matters as soon as possible.

Contingency Fees- The Key to the Courthouse, even When They Change the Locks

2011-09-06T06:58:00.000-07:00

Recently, our partner Sean Harris wrote an article published in the Central Ohio Association for Justice journal. The article spoke about the importance of contingency fees, stating "the fees provide the key to the courthouse for poor and indigent people with meritorious claims who could not otherwise afford a lawyer." Also the use of contingency fees "level the playing field with the corporations and insurance companies that can affford to hire the best or highest-paid lawyers around." To read more click on the link below to download the full journal:

Sean Harris Article- The Communicator

Generic Drug Ruling

2011-08-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

In a major blow to consumer claims, the United States Supreme Court in Pliva, Inc. v. Mensing has ruled that generic drug manufacturers cannot be sued or be liable for failing to warn consumers of the drugs’ dangers. The Supreme Court decided, in a 5-4 ruling, that even though generic drug manufacturers could have sought approval from the FDA for a stronger warning label and are supposed to do so, the generic manufacturers’ inability to unilaterally change their drugs’ labels in advance of FDA approval meant that it was “impossible” for them to comply with both federal and state law.

What are some of the key personal implications to you? We strongly recommend that you read very closely all labels for any generic drugs you are taking or are prescribed, and then discuss all your concerns or questions with your doctor and pharmacist before ingesting these medications.

Columbus City Council Radio, Special Guest Mark Kitrick

2011-08-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Our President Mark Kitrick was featured on the August 13, 2011 Columbus City Council Radio program. Mark was brought on to the program to help us understand what type of insurance coverage we need. Many Ohioans are not aware, Ohio has the second lowest requirement for liability coverage of the "at fault driver," -the person who caused the crash. Our state only requires $12,500 per person or $25,000 for multiple people, no matter how severely a person is injured. This is why uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is so important. The coverage would take effect on from your own policy in the incident that you are hit by someone with low coverage.

For the full interview, Click: http://www.columbuscitycouncil.org/uploadedFiles/City_Council/News/Media/2011/8-13.mp3

Or visit the website at: www.columbuscitycouncil.org clicking on council news, then media, and then it's the 8/13/2011 show.

Uninsured & Underinsured Coverage

2011-08-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

As many know, we represent the Estate of Michelle Kazlausky. Michelle was tragically killed by an uninsured driver of a truck when she was riding her bicycle, along with many others, in the Pelotonia race (to find a cure for cancer) last August 21. She left behind two sons who are now living together without their mother, who was long time employee of The Ohio State University Hospital.

From this tragedy the family, led by Michelle’s twin sister, Patricia Byerly, has been educating people how important it is to buy Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage on one’s car. Many do not know but this coverage protects them when walking or riding a bike, even if not in their car or even near their car. This coverage applies when one is hurt or killed by someone who is driving a car and there is no liability insurance. It is now one year since the horrible incident and we encourage you to call your agent and make sure you have this crucial coverage.

DePuy Hip Recall Affects Thousands

2011-08-10T11:20:00.001-07:00

In 2003 the FDA approved the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System total hip replacement, a more traditional hip replacement that involves a socket and metal cap attached to the femur to preserve more of the bone. The product has been used in over 90,000 hip replacements. In August 2010, DePuy, a division of Johnson & Johnson, recalled the devices because of high failure rates. This came 2 years after the FDA began receiving complaints. About 12% of patients who received the ASR total hip replacement needed hip revision surgery. Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopaedics have already started to reach out to many recipients of their recalled product. If you have received any correspondence from either party, be extremely careful about signing any paperwork. For example, you may be signing a waiver that could prevent you from pursuing legal action against either company. If you have received an Acetabular hip replacement, please contact our office (614) 224-7711 or visit our website http://www.KLHLaw.com to further understand your legal rights.