Monthly Archives: February 2012

Are Fine-Print Amusement Park Waivers of Liability Actually Enforceable?

Posted on February 29, 2012 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

A waiver of liability is a clause in a contract that purports to relieve one party from responsibility for the injury of another. Many people may not realize that many amusement park tickets are contracts containing waivers of liability in the fine print. So what happens if a person suffers a personal injury while at an amusement park where the ticket contained a waiver of liability? In general, waivers of liability are upheld when the person is engaging in an activity inherently dangerous, such as skydiving or bungee cord jumping. The theory is that the person is assuming a risk of injury when participating in an inherently dangerous activity. In an amusement park, waivers of liability are upheld only regarding general park risks and will not protect a company from negligent behavior that results in personal injury. For example, assume a seat belt was loose on a ride and a…
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Warmer Months are on the Way, Leading to a Rise in Recreational Injuries

Posted on February 27, 2012 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

The State recently announced that two Myrtle Beach attractions, Pavilion Nostalgia Park and Broadway at the Beach, are looking for workers for the upcoming $14 billion summer tourist season. Although it may not yet feel like summer, this announcement makes it clear it is never too early to start talking about the season and safety concerns for summer activities. Summer months bring more injuries to emergency rooms than any other season, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System estimates biking to be the most dangerous summer sport. Biking accounts for over half a million injuries annually from tendinitis, planter fasciitis, abrasions, fractures, sprains, strains and concussions leading to brain injuries. Experts recommend that not only children but all individuals wear helmets at all times while using bicycles, rollerblades and skateboards. Swimming and diving are also major causes of summertime accidents and personal injuries. Locals and…
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Johnson & Johnson Takes its FDA-Banned Defective Hip Implants Overseas to Sell

Posted on February 24, 2012 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

Pharmaceutical companies not only release defective drugs upon the unknowing public, but defective medical products as well. The New York Times reported that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson decided to sell its defective DuPuy hip implants to unknowing consumers overseas, since the artificial hip implant was banned by the FDA for sale in the United States in 2010. The reason for the FDA ban on the hip implant is that it was faulty by design. Marketed under the name ASR (articular surface replacement device) by the DuPuy orthopedic division of Johnson & Johnson, the all-metal hip replacement implant had a high premature failure rate in patients. The faulty implant also sheds tiny particles of metallic debris, crippling the very people it is supposed to have healed. Hip implant surgery is extremely invasive and the recovery time is long and painful, even when the surgery goes well. It is unconscionable that…
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Posted in Defective Drug Recalls, Defective Products | Tagged , , | 1 Comment