A veteran of class action and complex litigation, Arsenault’s firm is actively involved in the pending lawsuits against the makers of the recalled painkillers, and continues to investigate additional claims.

Darvon, Darvocet and other forms of propoxyphene where pulled from the U.S. market by the FDA in November 2010 because of serious, potentially fatal heart-related problems and overdose risks, which were determined to outweighed the drugs’ benefit.

Louisiana Super Lawyers are designated through a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process that incorporates peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5% of lawyers in Louisiana receive this prestigious acknowledgment.

Arsenault and Walker have been selected for inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers each year since 2007. They are recognized for their professional contributions in the areas of personal injury litigation and mass tort/complex litigation.

The cause of the crash in under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, FAA and Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier this year, DePuy Orthpaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, initiated a worldwide recall of its ASR hip replacement products because of higher-than-expected failure rates. It has been reported that 1 in 8 patients implanted with the recalled hip systems will have to undergo revision surgery within 5 years. A veteran of complex and class action litigation, Arsenault is a frequent speaker and chair of legal conferences. Arsenault’s firm has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson DePuy and continues to investigate other claims against the makers of the recalled ASR hip replacement systems.

The crash left one 18-wheeler demolished, the second 18-wheeler was pushed into four-wheel vehicles and the third 18-wheeler exited the highway and ended up in the woods. One 18-wheeler driver had to be cut from the cab of the wrecked big rig.

Eastbound lanes of I-20 were closed while crews cleaned up the debris and leaked diesel fuel. The wreck caused a huge traffic back-up on both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-20 near Shreveport.

The 18-wheeler, marked with the company name Texas International Express LLC, was traveling north about 5 miles north of Pearl River when its front left tire blew out, said Trooper Nick Manale, spokesman for State Police Troop L. The driver, Juan Torres, 37, of Montgomery, Texas, lost control of the rig, and the tractor-trailer rumbled across the median and struck the southbound pickup nearly head-on, police said. After impact, the pickup and 18-wheeler slid off the highway, coming to a halt in the treeline on the west side of the interstate, Manale said.

Troopers specializing in vehicle inspection were brought in to determine whether the 18-wheeler had all of the required equipment and whether that equipment was properly installed, police said. Federal Motor Carrier SafetyRegulations require an 18-wheeler driver to perform a pre-trip inspection and a end of the day report. A driver cannot operate a commercial motor vehicle until he has inspected his equipment including the tires for good working order.

§392.7 Equipment, inspection and use.

No commercial motor vehicle shall be driven unless the driver is satisfied that the following parts and accessories are in good working order, nor shall any driver fail to use or make use of such parts and accessories when and as needed:

Service brakes, including trailer brake connections.
Parking (hand) brake.
Steering mechanism.
Lighting devices and reflectors.
Tires.
Horn.
Windshield wiper or wipers.
Rear-vision mirror or mirrors.
Coupling devices.

[33 FR 19732, Dec. 25, 1968, as amended at 60 FR 38746, July 28, 1995]

At the convention, Arsenault will also chair two other programs 1. Recent Tort and Maritime Developments and 2. The Gulf Coast Oil Spill Litigation.

Last month, Arsenault and Galligan co-chaired the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Gulf Coast Oil Spill Litigation Conference in New Orleans, which attracted hundreds of attorneys from across the country as well as members of Bloomberg Business Week and the Wall Street Journal.

Later this month, Arsenault will serve as Chair of the HarrisMartin Publishing’s Oil Spill Symposium in New Orleans. In addition, he was recently named Co-chair of the American Association for Justice’s Gulf Oil Spill Litigation Group, where he will lead educational programs and provide litigation support to attorneys who represent victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Litigation Group will hold its first meeting at the AAJ Annual Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia this July.

With a diverse career spanning three decades, Richard Arsenault is recognized as a leading lawyer in the areas of maritime law, serious personal injury and mass tort/complex litigation. He is a frequent speaker and has published numerous articles on various legal topics. Because of his unique experiences and expertise, Arsenault has been featured by the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, NPR, CBS, BBC and other major media.

The sixth annual national test gauges driver knowledge by administering 20 questions taken from state Department of Motor Vehicles exams. Kansas drivers ranked first in the nation (82.3 percent average score); New York drivers ranked last (70 percent average score).

Overall, the test scores indicate a large number of licensed American drivers continue to lack knowledge of basic rules of the road. Eighty-five percent could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a steady yellow traffic light, and many remained confused by the appropriate safe following distances. Is it any wonder that car accidents, especially those involving serious injuries and fatalities continue to be a serious problem? With this number of ill-prepared drivers we certainly cannot expect insurance rates to decline anytime in the near future.

We need to wake up to these realities and formulate better training for young drivers, stricter testing for new drivers and elderly drivers with health issues, as well as re-training for drivers who have a record of causing multiple auto accidents which involve injuries to others.

Preliminary investigation suggest that an 18-wheeler with a flat bed trailer was pulled over onto the shoulder of the road out of the lanes of traffic when an SUV that was proceeding east bound on the outside lane drifted off onto the shoulder and rear ended the 18-wheeler. The two occupants inside the SUV sustained life threatening injuries. The female passenger was airlifted to LSUMC where she was later pronounced dead. Her name has not yet been released pending notification of her family. The driver of the 18-wheeler was not injured.

The investigation should include why the 18 wheeler was on the shoulder of the interstate. Was it creating a danger for motorist? Did the 18 wheeler driver properly display warning devices for a his tractor/trailer on the shoulder? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Part 392.22: “Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles”  require the 18-wheeler driver to take immediate steps to protect the motoring public. .

Federal safety officials have said that in the Nissan situation, the wiring that holds the airbags in place may wear down enough to interrupt the signal to deploy the airbags. It appears from this preemptive action, Nissan has learned from the mistakes Toyota made and is erring on the side of caution and consumer safety.

Reasons for Louisiana’s increase may include the brief absence of a motorcycle safety program offered by the state. An estimated 2000 people took the course when offered by the Department of Education. Other reasons include a longer riding season than states with harsher seasonal weather and a higher number of alcohol-related motorcycle deaths.

Motorist also have to keep a vigilant outlook for the much smaller motorcycle. Increased awareness of approaching motorcycles and the elimination of distractions such as text messaging and cell phone will help the driver of a car visualize the motorcycle before it is too late to avoid a crash.

Food Safety Law Firm Investigates Major Outbreak Of  E. coli Linked To Lettuce

Richard J. Arsenault of Neblett, Beard & Arsenault in Alexandria, Louisiana, says the latest cases of food poisoning undermine public confidence in our nation’s food supply.

As another outbreak of E. coli spreads across the nation, prompting a multistate recall of lettuce products, a nationally known law firm involved in food safety litigation has called for stricter enforcement of food processing rules and regulations.

“E. coli in any food product is unacceptable, and once again we’re seeing an outbreak in a popular and widely distributed food item,” said food safety lawyer Richard J. Arsenault, founding partner at Neblett, Beard & Arsenault in Alexandria, Louisiana.

“This type of recall undermines the public’s confidence in our food supply,” Arsenault said. “It’s imperative that the safety of our food become a top priority.”

On May 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a multistate recall of shredded romaine lettuce sold by Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio. Tests run by the New York State Public Health Laboratory in Albany discovered the presence of the E. coli 0145 in a package of romaine lettuce.

The recalled romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, restaurants, delis, and institutions under the brand names Freshway and Imperial Sysco — in the following states: Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Consumers who purchased romaine lettuce from in-store salad bars and delis including those at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores in the states previously listed should throw the product away, according to a recall notice on the FDA site. Bulk, prepackaged romaine or bagged salad mixes containing romaine that were purchased in supermarkets are not included in the recall; Freshway Foods does not produce those products, according to the FDA.

So far,  victims of the illnesses are mostly college students in Ohio, Michigan and New York, but the outbreak may expand as the recall spreads public awareness of the hazard. As of May 7, there are 19 individuals that have become ill from E. coli O145 with as many as ten other illnesses the CDC suspects are linked. Many of the victims have been hospitalized and three of the victims have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life threatening complication. The food safety attorneys at the law offices of Neblett, Beard & Arsenault are currently investigating claims on behalf of E. coli victims who believe their illnesses are part of this multistate outbreak.

Fruits and vegetables, like romaine lettuce, can carry pathogens from the soil or water, or become contaminated during processing. Leafy greens are the produce most often associated with foodborne illness. It is not yet known how the lettuce may have become contaminated with E. coli 0145.

“E. coli” is part of a diverse group of bacteria, many of which are harmless or even beneficial; however, shiga toxin-producing strains like E. coli 0145 and E. coli 0157 can be dangerous.  These serotpes produce a poison that can cause the blood to improperly clot resulting in organ failure.

“While studies show that outbreaks of E. coli 0157:H7 are on the decline, it is troubling to think that outbreaks linked other E. coli strains could be taking O157’s place,” concluded Arsenault.

Those state health investigators have many tools at their disposal to determine the cause of the sicknesses and I hope that every weapon at their disposal to find the culprit at Central is used. One of the weapons that health officials can use is Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) technology. PFGE allows scientists to perform DNA “finger printing” of a particular strain of disease-causing bacteria isolated from patients and from suspected food.

When common PFGE patterns are detected, health authorities are able to begin narrowing in on common foods consumed to detect an outbreak.Sometimes the same PFGE is found at the plant, warehouse, manufacturing, slaughterhouse or facility.

I would suspect that we will hear a lot more from state health officials in the next several days about these genetic fingerprinting and other results of their investigations. When and if a common PFGE pattern is found, health officials will start to narrow in on the food-borne pathogen that caused these sicknesses and deaths.

Clearly the economy played a large role in the decline of motorcycle deaths in 2009. A study by the National Governors Conference cautions against putting too much stock in the national decrease as there is much more work that needs to be done to improve motorcycle safety.

The State of Louisiana suspended its motorcycle-safety program, the Motorcycle Safety Awareness and Operator Training Course, for the last six months of 2009 for budgetary reasons. An estimated 2,000 people per year took the course offered by the Department of Education. Louisiana law does not require any special motorcycle endorsement for a driver’s license. Louisiana traditionally ranks higher in the number of alcohol-related motorcycle crash deaths compared to the rest of the country. With only a helmet and leather to protect them from injury, motorcyclists are generally considered more vulnerable in crash studies.

The cause of the fire has not been determined but an investigation will be carried out according to the Coast Guard . The Coast Guard advised that four helicopters, four boats and a plane were helping in the search. This tragic accident reminds us of the dangers that offshore workers face every day as they work providing us with energy-producing oil and gas.

We pray for the workers and their families, especially for those who have been injured, and we pray that the missing workers are safe and soon located.