Skechers, a toning shoe manufacturer, claims that their toning shoes will improve the bottom half of your body. On its website, Skechers touts the key element to shaping up with their toning shoes:  the curved bottom that “guides you back to the body’s barefoot stride” and “adjusts your stride to naturally align your body’s center of gravity.” The makers of these so-called toning shoes say the shoes can give wearers shapely abs, butts and legs.

But a number of health professionals are claiming that toning shoes, sold by MBT, Reebok, Avia, New Balance and Skechers, are not delivering on their marketing promises. The shoes could cause a number of injuries to consumers because the design of the sole forces the wearer’s leg muscles to stretch with every stride. The curved soles of toning shoes may destabilize the wearer since, at any given time, only a small portion of the sole makes contact with ground. The wearer may experience loss of traction on smooth sidewalks or on slippery or wet surfaces, increasing the risk of falling.

Dr. Barbara De Lateur of John Hopkin’s School of Medicine warns that wearing toning shoes can change the way a person walks and may present difficulties for people who have issues with balance. The instability that the shoes create makes muscles in the core, back and legs work harder. Unfortunately,  strains and sprains of muscles or fractures in the leg, foot or ankle may result. A number of injuries have already been reported.

As for the claims that toning shoes make a better workout, the American Council on Exercise says otherwise. It tested three popular brands against standard running shoes “calorie to calorie.” Those wearing the toning shoes compared equally to those wearing the standard shoe: each runner burned about five calories per minute. The Council also tested the muscle activity in the back,  abs, buttocks and legs and found there was no difference between standard running shoes and toners.

Skechers is currently facing a class-action lawsuit in California that accuses the company of making unfounded claims about the health benefits of its toning shoes. The lawsuit also alleges that toners pose a risk of injuries to legs and ankles due to the instability and bulkiness of the design. New Balance is also the subject of a lawsuit filed by a California woman who claims that the shoes don’t work.

In February 2011, Dave Duerson, a former NFL safety for the Chicago Bears and a two-time Super Bowl champion, ended his life because he feared that he had traumatic brain injury (TBI) stemming from the many concussions he suffered as a football player. Posthumous testing of Duerson’s brain, which he donated to research,  confirmed that he was suffering from life-altering injuries to his brain, injuries that were often invisible to others. But the effects of TBI can produce persistent behavioral challenges, including severe depression, lack of concentration, mood swings, and in Duerson’s case, suicide.

A brain injury may be sustained in a variety of situations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  over half of all brain injuries are caused by falls (35%)  and motor vehicle accidents (17.3%),  with over 1.7 million people sustaining TBIs every year. Fortunately, nearly 80% of patients seen in the ER are treated and released from the hospital. However, 52,000 people will die and 275,000 will be hospitalized as a result of a TBI.

Traumatic brain injury is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Most TBIs are concussions or other forms of mild TBI. Severe TBI may involve an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia. A brain injury may affect the way the a person thinks, feels and acts and can change functions within the body, such as temperature, bladder and bowel control. For those with significant brain injury, special services may be required  including in-home care, neurological assessment and counseling, financial assitance as well as physical therapy.

What can you do to prevent concussions or other forms of TBI? There are a number of ways to reduce the risk of injury:

1. Wear a seat belt every time your drive/ride in a motor vehicle.

2. Use a child safety seat, booster seat or seat belt (according to your child’s weight, height and age) every time your child rides in a motor vehicle.

3. Wear a helmet, and make sure your children wear helmets when playing contact sports, skating, riding a bike, skateboarding or snowboarding.

4. Protect seniors from falls by removing trip hazards, installing grab bars in showers and bathrooms and improving lighting in the home.

5. To keep children from falling out of open windows, install window guards. Place safety gates at the tops and bottoms of staircases when youngsters are in the home.

6. Never operate a motor vehicle while you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

7. Use shock-absorbing materials, such as cedar mulch or sand, under and around your child’s play equipment.

In the event that you or a loved one suffers an injury to the head, look for the warning signs of TBI, and immediately seek medical attention  if any of the following symptoms are present: numbness, excessive drowsiness, severe headache, weakness in arm/leg, dizziness or loss of speech, slurred speech, loss of consciousness or confusion, vomiting or nausea or inability to find the right word. This is only a partial listing of symptoms listed on the CDC website, and is not meant to represent medical advice. Symptoms can appear days or months after an injury, and are often recognized when the victim begins to resume her/his daily schedule.

If you, a family member or friend has sustained traumatic brain injury, you may need an attorney to represent you. The experienced and compassionate attorneys at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik can help you now! Call 810-720-4000 for a free consultation.

U. S. Coast Guard statistics show that July was the month of the year 2010 with the greatest number of personal watercraft incidents: 1140 accidents and 108 deaths.  The total number of personal watercraft-related accidents in 2010 was 4607, including 672 deaths. The year 2011 is shaping up to be a similar year as many seek  to escape the oppressive heat of the summer on personal watercraft.

The number of personal watercraft fatalities are second only to those involving open motorboats. At the top of the list of injuries occurring in 2010 and involving personal watercraft, are broken bones, lacerations, scrapes and bruises, concussions, and hypothermia. The least publicized injuries are those to the groin and abdominal area.  Victims are seriously and permanently injured when they fall off the backs of their personal watercraft and suffer severe damage from the jet nozzle. Because injuries to the vagina, anus and rectum have received little attention from the media, most operators and owners of personal watercraft are unaware of the dangers. Those who rent personal watercraft are often given little instruction on how to operate the vehicle and race away without the benefit of supervision or training.

While some safety experts are calling for manufacturers to redesign and improve personal watercraft by adding a reverse thruster, braking-type system to help slow the vehicle when approaching a hazard and install protective seatbacks that would prevent the driver or passenger from falling directly behind the craft into the jet nozzle, operators of personal watercraft can take some simple precautions to prevent accidents:

1. Pay attention at all times while operating the craft.

2. Seek knowledge and training on how to safely operate the vehicle prior to leaving the dock. Log on to PWCSafetySchool.com for information.

3. Do not use alcohol while operating the craft.

4. Use a proper lookout.

5. Avoid congested or hazardous waters.

6. Load the craft properly.

If you or a loved one are injured in a personal watercraft accident, you may need an attorney to represent you. The experienced and compassionate attorneys at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik can help you now.

Many hospitals around the country are advertising robotic surgery as a means of attracting patients to their facilities, as robotic surgery represents state-of-the art technology to consumers who seek quality medical services. The truth is robots have been used to perform surgeries since the mid-1980s. Perhaps the most widely known robotic surgery, performed for several decades, is abdominal or gallbladder surgery, where a video camera and long-handled surgical instruments on a tube are inserted through a small incision. With the aid of a video monitor, human surgeons watch the magnified images as they guide the instruments.

But do robots make better surgeons than humans? Robots are merely computerized systems, with arms capable of interacting within an environment. They assist surgeons who sit at control consoles that display three-dimensional images on video screens and allow the surgeons, using computer controls, to easily maneuver the surgical instruments inside the body. Currently, more than 800 hospitals across America and Europe offer some type of robotic surgery for prostate cancer, hysterectomy, and heart surgeries.  Although widely used, robotic surgeries present advantages and disadvantages.

Some advantages of robotic surgery are that most procedures are simpler, minimally invasive with less pain and scarring, as incisions are smaller than those in traditional surgery. Recovery periods are generally shorter as healing is faster, so hospital stays are shorter, by about 50%, than those associated with conventional surgery. However, some studies have shown that recovery times for laparoscopic prostate surgery are about the same for both traditional and robotic surgery, with no real improvement in functional outcome, i.e. impotence or urinary functions.

While there are distinct advantages to robotic surgery, there are several disadvantages patients should understand. First, there is a good deal of time required for a surgeon to master the technology involved with robotic surgery: there is a steep learning curve. The high cost of buying and operating the equipment, $1million and up, makes these devices unaffordable to smaller hospitals, and the cost of a surgery may be higher than a conventional procedure. There is less space for health care professionals to assist in the operating room, as the cart holding the device occupies a good deal of space.  Finally, some surgeons feel hindered by the lack of tactile sensation, as the natural feel of operating is lost.

While health care facilities and manufacturers of robotic devices are heavily promoting robotic surgery, more research is needed to compare the benefits of conventional vs. robotic surgery. Patients should educate themselves about the risks and benefits of each type of surgery and chose a physician who has performed many procedures using robots.

As a followup to our April 20, 2011 blog about the importance of lawnmower safety, we are again stressing the urgency of operating lawnmowers with the utmost of care, especially when young children  may be present. In a tragic accident, a 5-year-old West Michigan girl died May 17, 2011 when her father ran over her with his riding tractor.  The father of the girl said he did not see his daughter until his machine hit her and ran over her. The Kent County sheriff’s office investigated the accident and says that the child may have run out of the house to play during the evening hours, and then tripped in the grass, making it difficult for her father to see her. The sheriff’s office stated that the man may not have been paying attention as he was operating the tractor, was looking in another direction, and he”never noticed her until the tractor was on top of her.” Another report states that the tractor may have rolled sideways or backward over the child, which may indicate a failure of the lawn mower manufacturer to install adequate safety systems, such as rollover protection or a “no mow in reverse” system, that may have contributed to this accident.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik have extensive experience in handling lawn mower-related accidents and injuries. If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury as a result of a defective lawn mower, contact us at 888-905-4632 for a free consultation.

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a warning to consumers to stop participating in a new activity called water walking.  Water walking is the newest craze among children and teens, is popular at malls, carnivals, amusement parks, resorts and even at children’s birthday parties. Water walking involves a large, transparent plastic ball, sometimes called a hamster ball,  that is large enough to hold one person. An individual climbs into the ball as it is inflated with a blower through a zipper opening. Then the zipper is closed, making the ball essentially air-tight. The ball, with the individual locked inside, can then roll around on various surfaces, including grass, ice, water and pavement.

While water walking may sound like a fun-filled activity, several non-fatal, but serious injuries have been reported in the relatively short period of time this product has been available. In one instance,  a child was inside a ball for only a few minutes before becoming unresponsive, and emergency medical treatment was sought. Because the ball is airtight, the air supply inside the ball may be inadequate as the oxygen becomes depleted and carbon monoxide increases. In another case, a person fell from from an above-ground pool, while inside a ball, onto a hard surface and suffered a broken bone. The risks to water walking “riders” include suffocation, as there is no emergency exit available from inside the ball, and a potential for drowning if there is a leak or puncture when the ball is used in open water.  Brain injuries, skull fractures, spinal cord injuries and even death can occur if the head comes in contact with a hard surface. Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, involving lung, heart or breathing issues may experience an exacerbation of their symptoms while locked inside a water walking ball.

The CPSC has informed state amusement ride officials about the potential dangers associated with this product. While some states have already banned water walking balls, others have allowed water walking balls to be marketed and sold to amusement parks and to private individuals as well.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury water ball-related, contact the experienced injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik. Call us at 888-905-4632. We can help you!

Warmer weather is just around the corner. Soon the buzzing sound of lawn mowers will be heard throughout cities, towns and the countryside, a sure sign that summer has arrived. Just as the power lawn mower provides a convenient and easy way for homeowners and lawn services to mow lawns, the power mower can also be one of the most dangerous tools around the home, especially for children and adolescents.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2007, nearly 210,000 people, including 16, 200 children under age 19, were treated for lawn mower-related injuries. Lawn mower-related injuries often require a team of doctors with various specialties to perform reconstructive surgeries on hands, feet and faces. Patients may experience long and painful recovery periods. The lawn mower operator or those nearby may be at risk for serious injuries; deep cuts, loss of fingers or toes, burns, injuries to the eyes and broken bones. These simple precautions must be observed to help prevent injuries from occurring:

- Children should be at least age 16 to use a ride-on mower. Children under 12 should never operate a push mower.

- Do not wear loose fitting clothing that can become entangled in mower parts. Do wear sturdy shoes-not sandals or gym shoes- when mowing.

- Before you begin mowing, pick up sticks, stones and other objects from the lawn to prevent injuries from flying debris. Use a collection bag for grass clippings or install a plate over the opening where grass clippings are released.

- Wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

- Shut off mower before refueling, making repairs or adjustments. Allow engine to cool before refueling. Refuel and start the engine outdoors-not inside a garage.

- Never carry passengers on a riding mover. A riding mower is designed to carry one person.

- Beware of slopes, holes and hidden hazards. Generally,  it is safer to mow slopes in a up and down pattern, but do not attempt to mow a steep slope where the mower loses traction.

- If you prefer a push mower, use a mower with a control handle, that when released, will prevent it from moving forward.

- Avoid pulling backward or mowing in reverse unless essential. Be extra careful to look for children behind you.

- Blade settings and adjustments to dislodge debris should be done by adults only. The mower should be off and the spark plug removed/disconnected to prevent injuries.

- Children should be away from the area you are mowing.

If you observe all of these precautions, chances are you will prevent a lawn mower-related injury from occurring. However, lawn mower manufacturers may fail to install adequate safety systems, such as rollover protection or “no mow in reverse” systems, that contribute to a wrongful death or serious injury. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik have extensive experience in handling lawn mower-related accidents and injuries. If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury as a result of a defective lawn mower, contact us at 888-905-4632 for a free consultation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new advice for breast implant recipients: there may be an association between both silicone gel-filled and saline breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare form of cancer.  ALCL is lymphoma, a type of cancer involving the cells of the immune system, not to be confused with cancer of the breast tissue.  Breast implants are placed in the body behind the breast tissue or under chest muscle. Over time,  a scar capsule forms around the implants separating it from the rest of the breast.  Breast implant recipients should understand that they may have a small but significant risk of ALCL developing in the scar capsule adjacent to the implant. Of the 34 cases reviewed, the median age of  patient was 51, with the youngest 28 and the oldest 87. In the study, 24 silicone and 7 saline implants were involved. Three implants were unspecified. The review looked at the time frame from implant placement until diagnosis of ALCL, which ranged from 1 to 23 years, with 8 years being the median. However, until there is a large, comprehensive study, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the fill of an implant (saline versus silicone) or the texture of an implant (smooth versus textured) increase a woman’s risk of developing ALCL.

Most cases reviewed by the FDA were diagnosed after patients experienced pain, lumps, swelling or asymmetry that developed after their surgical site around their implants were fully healed. Their symptoms were attributed to a collection of fluid, hardening of the breast area around the implant or masses surrounding the implant. When the fluid and capsule around the breasts of these patients were examined, a diagnosis of ALCL was made.

The physicians and researchers at the FDA advise women with implants to be vigilant in monitoring their breasts for any changes and to continue to receive regular breast screening evaluations. While the FDA is not recommending that women who are having no symptoms remove their implants or seek immediate medical attention, those with silicone gel-filled implants should get periodic MRI’s to detect ruptures.

The United States Justice System is among the best in the world. If you, a friend or your loved one has been seriously injured by a corporation or person, and you are unable to reach a settlement, generally you or your loved one will receive a just result in our court system.

A key component to receiving fair compensation is choosing an experienced personal injury lawyer who has the resources and commitment to represent you. Personal injury refers to both psychological and physical injuries that a person suffers as a result of someone’s negligence, their intentional actions, or strict liability. Negligence simply means failing to act as a reasonable or careful person or business would act under the same or similar circumstances. For example, if you are injured in an auto accident, caused by a driver who was on the phone or texting while driving, then you would suffer personal injury as a result of that driver’s negligence. Intentional actions refer to a person who purposefully and deliberately sets out to harm another individual, such as in an assault. Strict liability means that an individual or corporation may be held financially responsible if they produce, sell or distribute a defective or unsafe product that kills or injures someone.

While these scenarios may or may not also result in criminal charges brought against the offending party, generally they result in civil penalties. Civil penalties may include compensation for lost wages and medical bills as well as money damages for pain and suffering.

Types of Personal Injury Cases:

Car, Truck and Motorcycle Accidents

Construction, Industrial and Work Place Accidents

Hospital and Medical Error

Nursing Home Negligence

Defective/Unsafe Products

Airplane & Cruise Ship Accidents

Not All Attorneys are Equally Qualified to Handle Personal Injury Cases

In order to prove your case in a court of law, you must be able to show that your injury was caused by the negligence of another party. The personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik will help you to determine if you have a valid claim. After your case is carefully analyzed and evaluated, our attorneys will discuss with you the best course of action to follow. Filing a law suit may not always be in the best interest of the client. Virtually every case handled by the Law Offices of Henry Hanflik is on a contingency basis; that means our office advances the costs necessary to handle your claim.  A fee is charged only when we make a recovery on your behalf.

Call us now for a free case evaluation at 810-720-4000 or toll-free at 888-905-4632.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Even an occasional cigarette or breathing second-hand smoke can cause serious and immediate damage to your body, altering your DNA and increasing the risk of developing cancer. In fact, nearly one-third of all cancer deaths involve cigarette smoking. Exposure to cigarette smoke may cause cardiovascular disease and trigger a heart attack or stroke, because the smoke rapidly damages blood vessels throughout the body, making blood more likely to clot. Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 different chemicals and compounds, hundreds of which are toxic: seventy are known to cause cancer. These chemicals found in tobacco smoke inflame the delicate lining of the lungs, reducing the ability of the lungs to efficiently exchange air, leading to chronic pulmonary lung disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Of course the longer a person smokes, the more damage is created by the toxic chemicals that can weaken the immune system and reduce your body’s ability to fight off cancers, including those  cancers that are not associated with smoking. If you are trying to become pregnant, women should avoid all exposure to tobacco smoke, as chemicals in the smoke interfere with how your fallopian tubes function, and increase the risk for miscarriage or low birth weight. Men should be aware that chemicals in tobacco smoke can damage the DNA in sperm and may reduce fertility or adversely affect fetal development. Diabetics should understand that tobacco smoke interferes with the regulation of blood sugar levels, putting them at higher risk for heart, lung, kidney and eye diseases and increased problems with circulation and nerve damage.

The report explores why cigarettes are addicting, and concludes that cigarettes are designed to addict. Cigarettes produced today deliver nicotine more rapidly to the heart, lungs and brain, making them more addictive than ever before. Nicotine is the leading ingredient that causes addition, but certainly not the only ingredient that promotes dependency and addiction. Cigarette manufacturers seek to “improve”  the design of their products by adding more powerful compounds to affect the nicotine receptors in the brain and thus sustain the additive effects of cigarettes. Adolescents are at greater risk for addiction to cigarettes as their bodies are more sensitive to nicotine. Smoking “light” or low-tar cigarettes did not significantly reduce the risk of smoker-related diseases. Rather, these versions of cigarettes may have interfered with campaigns that encourage people to stop smoking.

“It is never too late to quit” smoking tobacco products. The report states that the risk of developing smoker-related diseases begins to drop as soon as an individual quits. Fortunately, there are medications available, both over the counter and by prescription, to help a smoker to “kick the habit”. To learn more,copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.