Since the inception of the most recent Peanut Butter outbreak, everyday reveals new and more troubling facts with more widespread and adverse consequences. Recently it’s been the criminal investigation, congressional hearings, an FBI raid, insurers trying to avoid coverage and then Peanut Butter Corp. Of America seeking bankruptcy.

Now, there is concern that Wiscosin’s West Side Soldiers Aide Society unknowingly sent U.S. troops boxes of high protein snacks which may contain contaminated peanut butter. The group was trying to help when they received word that the soldiers were loosing weight. After the products had been shipped, Sams Club called the group to report that the products may be contaminated. It has been reported that Officials don’t know if the packages have arrived yet because the soldiers are in a remote area in Afghanistan, but they are hoping  to reach them before the peanut butter does. Sadly, the saga continues.

Louisianians today are much like the rest of America…looking to cut back on expenses and save wherever they can to make ends meet in this terrible economy. Many people are making the bad choice to cut their insurance coverage. Cost-conscious consumers are dropping collision coverage, raising deductibles and reducing the amount of their coverage. Unfortunately, that also means some are dropping their liability insurance coverage completely. That means more uninsured drivers out there for us to encounter on the roads.

Nationally, there were 13.8% uninsured drivers on the roads in 2007. According to the Insurance Research Council, considering current unemployment projections, that percentage is expected to rise to 16.1% by next year. That means almost 2 in every 10 cars you meet on your way home from work will be uninsured.

That makes it even more important for you to make sure you keep adequate uninsured motorist coverage on your automobile policy. This coverage provides compensation for your injuries, medical bills and lost wages should you be the victim of a driver who has no liability coverage.

Check with your insurance agent, uninsured motorist coverage is cheaper than you think and will come in handy when you run into one of those 2 in 10 drivers with no insurance coverage at all.

As a trial lawyer who has been practicing for over 20 years, I think about safety quite a bit.  A lot of us think of our home as a place of comfort and a place to “get away from it all.”  However, according to the National Safety Counsel (2003) reports, 1 out of every 19 people experience an injury in their home each year, and there are more than 54,000 people in the United States who die each year as a result of an accidental home injury.

According to the Home Safety Counsel’s research, almost one-half of all Americans have not taken a single action to prevent injuries in any area of their home.  I encourage you to go to the Home Safety Counsel web site to look at the different home safety tips that will help protect, you, me, our children, our parents, and our visitors from injuries in our home.  At the end of the day, common sense tells us that prevention is better than a cure.

Are you sick and tired of other people judging Louisiana, its citizens, its culture, its institutions? I know I am.

Recently, the Manhattan Institute for Legal Policy ranked Louisiana as having the worst legal environment in the nation considering our courts’ treatment of scientific and technical evidence, its discovery process, summary judgment or dismissal rate, and its judges’ competence.

This “ranking” was then touted by several state newspaper editorials as further evidence that, once again, Louisiana has hit rock bottom on all existing lists of good things.  Really? I beg to differ. There are many good things in our state and its court system.

Louisiana is consistently ranked in the middle of all 50 states even by conservative, business-oriented studies such as the U.S. Tort Liability Index and the Annual Boardroom Guide to State Litigation Climates. We all support economic growth, improving our business climate and inducing new business to our state. However, there must be a balance maintained and the integrity of individual rights insured. Too many of our citizen’s rights and access to the court system have been undermined or eliminated under the guise of so-called “tort reform”.

We still believe in electing our judges and have them face public scrutiny for their rulings. So-called reformists would have judges selected and appointed by a small, elite group of individuals. That’s not a legal system designed with ordinary citizens in mind.

So, thanks but no thanks to the Manhattan Institute’s ranking and criticism of Louisiana and its court system. We’ll let you know when we want to close the courthouse doors to only the select few just to improve our spot on your list.

Big difference between garden variety negligence and knowingly selling a product that is contaminated. During Congressional hearings last week on the Peanut Butter outbreak, the President of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA)  refused to testify. He appeared before the House Energy & Commerce Committee where E-mails revealed a disturbing pattern of placing profits over safety and ignoring reports showing their product was contaminated with salmonella.

Federal authorities, started an investigation last month and the FBI raided the company’s plant last week. Some reports suggest prosecutors could use the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $10,000 if prosecutors prove there was an intent to defraud or mislead. Federal anti-conspiracy, mail fraud or wire fraud charges could also be on the short list if prosecutors believe they can prove PCA knowingly distributed an adulterated product.

On Friday, the plot thickened again with PCA filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That unfortunately will complicate and delay the recovery for many deserving victims of this outbreak.

Our regulatory system, which should serve as a safety net for the public, has apparently turned into a hammock for some in the food industry.  Congressional hearings this week on the Peanut Butter outbreak again demonstrated that regulatory agencies are simply not getting the job done. During the hearing , the President of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA)  refused to testify and when offered his own product,  refused to eat it.  He appeared before the House Energy & Commerce Committee where E-mails revealed a disturbing pattern of placing profits over safety and ignoring reports showing their product was contaminated with salmonella. One document  indicated that on January 12th, just one day before PCA’s first recall, the President told his employees that they had never found any salmonella and blamed the news media for creating a stir. We now know that was categorically incorrect and thousands have needlessly suffered as a result of this reckless behavior. Hopefully the congressional spotlight  will help improve this systemic problem.

According to rankings published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Louisiana ranks last in the use of safety-belts. Why? And what can be done to improve compliance? According to NHTSA, thousands of lives are saved each year as a result of drivers and passengers wearing seatbelts.  All the statistics clearly establish seatbelt use is critical.  Louisiana needs to get onboard.  We applaud the efforts of the State Highway Commission which has several initiatives planned to encourage seat-belt use and improve Louisiana’s ranking.  We understand the Commission will proceed with media campaigns and high visibility enforcement this Spring. Let’s hope this strategy improves safety in Louisiana.

The FDA forced pharmaceutical giant Bayer HealthCare to revise their television ads about Yaz, the most popular birth control pill in the U.S.

In an unusual crackdown on deceptive drug advertising, the FDA is finally doing what it is charged to do: protect the public against unscrupulous manufacturers who look to profits over safety!

Those ads not only overstated the drug’s ability to improve a woman’s mood and clear acne, but also downplayed its potential health risks.  Bayer is now being forced to spend $20 million to run new ads during primetime shows and on cable networks in order to inform women that Yaz does not cure PMS or acne as implied in the original ads.

Bayer had over $600 million in sales of Yaz last year so they won’t have any problem coming up with the mere $20 million in truthful ads they are now being required to air. As always, Bayer did not admit that it had engaged in deceptive advertising or committed any wrongdoing.

We should urge our congressmen and senators to vigorously support a thorough revamping of and appropriate funding for the FDA so we can all feel safer about the drugs we buy and use daily.

Arbitration clauses began as agreements that were negotiated between sophisticated businesses who had long-lasting and ongoing business arrangements.  Today arbitration clauses are often buried in all sorts of pre-printed contracts that consumers execute on a daily basis.  Health insurance contracts, cell phone contracts, automobile contracts, rental contracts, finance agreements, credit card agreements, bank loans, and even nursing home admission agreements often have clauses that require arbitration, a costly process that deprive consumers of their right to seek the protections of our courts, a cornerstone of our democracy.  Many times, these arbitration agreements also prevent an aggrieved consumer from bringing or participating in class actions.  Mandatory arbitration and class action waivers allow unscrupulous businesses to cheat lots of consumers out of a little bit of money — all the while knowing that an individual consumer could never afford to compel arbitration, and even if the consumer did, the company will never have to answer for its actions in a public courtroom.

Well, that may soon change.  Congressman Henry “Hank” Johnson is set to introduce the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 this week.  The Arbitration Fairness Act would prohibit the enforcement of binding mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer, employment, and franchisee contracts.   If sophisticated corporations want to negotiate these agreements among themselves, let them have at it.  But consumers do not need to be unknowingly saddled with the expensive and unfair arbitration process when our courts are best equipped to handle disputes.  We urge Congress to pass the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 and encourage you to call your Congressman and Senator and urge them to join Congressman Johnson and vote for this important piece of consumer protection legislation.

As more cases are reported, more peanut butter products continue to be taken of the shelves. Over 1700 products have been recalled, and it is estimated that over 20,000 people could be infected with  salmonella. What products are safe and which aren’t ? And is the word getting out on which products to avoid? Most healthy adults can get very sick but usually survive and are eventually able to fight off the bacteria. The very young, the elderly and those with weak immune systems are at the greatest risk. So, before consuming any product that contains peanut butter, check on its recall status.