All Topics

• Popcorn Chemical Responsible For Lung Disease Dropped From Recipe

  David Lowe | December 19, 2007 7:32 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  The nation's leading makers of microwave popcorn are removing the flavoring chemical diacetyl from their recipes. ConAgra announced the change Monday and similar moves have been made by General Mills, American Pop Corn Co. and Weaver Popcorn Company.I have commented previously on the dangers to consumers and food industry workers, many of whom have suffered serious injuries or died due to the...

• Decline in Medical Malpractice Cases Has Brought Down Malpractice Insurance Costs

  David Lowe | December 14, 2007 2:20 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Another story today adds to the mounting evidence that medical malpractice suits are in decline and that medical malpractice insurance costs are headed downward. In Baltimore, Maryland, a consent order settlement has been reached between the State and the largest medical malpractice insurance carrier, Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society, which will result in the return of excess medical...

• Milwaukee Hospital Warns of Brain Disease Contamination

  Paul Jacquart | December 14, 2007 1:43 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Froedtert Hospital has issued a warning to nearly 100 patients who underwent surgery this week that they may have been exposed to a rare, fatal brain disease spread by surgical instruments. It was discovered that another patient who had surgery this week may have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, part of a family of prion diseases, which include mad cow and chronic wasting disease. It is thought that...

• Investigators Focus on Cause of Truck Wheel Separation

  David Lowe | November 14, 2007 7:51 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Last week I wrote about the uninsured motorist coverage issues raised by the news story about a Mequon, Wisconsin motorist killed by a flying truck tire that had come loose, crossed a highway median, and flown into the victim's windshield. The victim was later identified as Krishna Chintamaneni, the highly regarded chief of staff of Milwaukee's St. Francis Hospital. But the truck owner has now...

• Motorist Killed By Flying Truck Tire Raises Uninsured Motorist Coverage Questions

  David Lowe | November 09, 2007 9:39 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  In a bizarre tragedy Thursday evening, a Mequon, Wisconsin motorist was killed when a truck tire came loose from a truck traveling southbound on I-43, bounced over a retaining wall, and struck the windshield of the man's 2007 BMW. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner announced today that the victim, Krishma Chintamaneni, 55, died at the scene. The driver of the semi from which the tire came...

• Fatal Auto-Bicycle Collision Under Investigation In Shawano

  David Lowe | October 23, 2007 8:59 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Authorities in northern Wisconsin Shawano County are investigating a fatal bicycle-auto accident that occurred just before 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning when two bicyclists were struck by a car driven by a Shawano County man at State Highway 22, near Shady Road, in the Town of Washington.WFRV TV is reporting that the identity of the driver of the 2001 Monte Carlo that struck the cyclists is 25 year...

• Banquet Pot Pies and Salmonella

  Paul Jacquart | October 11, 2007 9:45 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  The Associated Press has reported that Con Agra, maker of Banquet pot pies, has voluntarily stopped production due to reports of consumers contracting salmonella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reportedly investigated numerous cases in Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The Banquet pot pies under investigation are of the chicken and turkey varieties and have a "P-9" code...

• Problems Persist For Brain Injury Victim

  David Lowe | October 02, 2007 7:07 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  Brain injury can result in physical limitations, such as quadraplegia or paraplegia, as well as mental limitations, such as loss of memory and other cognitive functions. An interesting and tragic account of one man's traumatic brain injury appears in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Elliot Lubar, a well known executive of a social services agency that provides counseling services to...

• Liability Insurance Hard to Find After Dog Attack

  David Lowe | September 26, 2007 6:55 AM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  A column in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Jim Stingl describes a dog owner's problem obtaining liability insurance following an incident in which her dog ran out of the yard and bit a neighbor. Because Wisconsin has a statute (174.02, Wis.Stats) that awards double damages to a victim of a dog that has bitten before, most liability insurers will refuse to insure a homeowner who does...

• Baby Crib Recall Announced After Three Infant Deaths

  David Lowe | September 21, 2007 1:36 PM | 0 CommentsMilwaukee, WI

  The Consumer Products Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of Simplicity and Graco cribs after three infant deaths. According to the CPSC news bulletin announcing the recall, "The drop-side can detach from the crib, which can create a dangerous gap and lead to the entrapment and suffocation of infants... The drop-side failures result from both the hardware and crib design, which...