South Florida Personal Injury Blog

Nicaraguan workers sued Dole and Dow Chemical Company after they claimed that working in the fruit fields left them sterile. The 150 agricultural workers in the Central American nation said said that they were irreparably harmed by exposure to a potent pesticide, says Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski. They worked for Dole and allege that the manufacturer of the pesticide was Dow.

According to Fort Lauderdale accident attorney Alitowski, the workers won their verdict in a Nicaraguan court. Altogether, they were awarded $97 million, or about $650,000 per worker if each were compensated equally. However, Broward injury lawyer Alitowski notes that there might be variation among the amount each worker was awarded; for example, a 45-year-old mother of four might receive less money than her 20-year-old counterpart, who had not yet had the chance to get married or build a family.

In any case, the Dole employees attempted to enforce the verdict in a federal district court in Florida. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck refused to recognize the decision of the Nicaraguan court largely on the basis that it was inherently unfair to the American businesses and that the Nicaraguan government had specifically sought out to boost its citizens’ claims at the expenses of fairness and due process of the law. He wrote that the Nicaraguan court “applied a law that unfairly discriminated against a handful of foreign defendants with extraordinary procedures and presumptions found nowhere else in Nicaraguan law.” In general, although U.S. states are supposed to give full faith and credit to the public acts of other states (such as verdicts for civil damages and family law matters, like divorce decrees and child support or alimony obligations), those are far easier to enforce than a verdict from a foreign court.

There were other allegations of fraud, as well. An attorney in southern California is the subject of an investigation amid claims that he engaged in unethical practices, such as coaching witnesses to make misleading or false statements. The matter remains pending before the California Bar at this time, however, and there is not a decision at this time on whether the allegations are accurate.

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Broward personal injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski is familiar with product liability claims, such as the recent class action lawsuit filed against the manufacturer of a drywall product used in the United States. Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, along with 84 Lumber, and other companies are facing a lawsuit that alleges that they sold or distributed defective drywall. According to the homeowners affected, the drywall used in the construction of their homes contains large amounts of synthetic gypsum. Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Alitowski says the homeowners believe that the gypsum breaks down after a short period of time.

According to the lawsuit, the synthetic gypsum releases sulfur compounds when it breaks down, an event that may be even more likely in the Florida summer heat. The gypsum is synthesized from coal byproducts at power plants. The sulfur components are trapped between the layers of drywall inside the walls of a home, the lawsuit alleges. Sulfur dioxide gas is released into the air due to the heat and Florida humidity, which in turn causes metals to oxidize, is the theory of the plaintiffs’ case, says Broward injury attorney Alitowski. The lawsuit says that the sulfur dioxide makes consumers sick, oxidizes copper wiring, and may even oxidize other metals (such as jewelry) exposed to the harmful gas.

Plaintiffs in surrounding states have filed similar class action lawsuits against China-based drywall manufacturers, but this may be the first time a U.S. manufacturer has been accused of creating a defective, gypsum-seeping drywall product. The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturer failed “to exercise ordinary care” regarding the product and that, further, the companies breached their implied warranty of merchantability and their implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

Georgia-Pacific, however, claims that the family that first filed the lawsuit never contacted their business with complaints. The company spokesman says that, “Georgia-Pacific, like other domestic manufacturers, has been using synthetic gypsum for years, and to date to our knowledge we have not received any complaint that those products using synthetic gypsum may be associated with a house experiencing the problems reported with Chinese wallboard."

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Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski has learned that federal regulators from the Food and Drug Administration, the government agency which oversees prescription drugs, food safety, cosmetics, and other goods, has recommended that consumers immediately cease usage of Zicam nasal treatments due to consumer safety issues. The Zicam products include gels and swabs designed to alleviate nasal cavity congestion. They are advertised as over-the-counter products effective at treating symptoms of the common cold. Zicam also makes flu, multisymptom, and allergy products.

The FDA issued its warning after determining that at least 130 people have lost their sense of smell after using the drug, which contains zinc gluconate. It is not clear whether the loss of smell is permanent or only temporary, an issue that may still be under investigation at this point in time, says Broward injury attorney Alitowski. Regulators said that the other Zicam products, such as chewable tablets and a mist taken orally, are not affected by the recommendation, as the FDA has not determined that the product, when taken in other forms, affects sense of smell. Some of the people affected reported that they lost their sense of smell after just a single dose of the over-the-counter medication, while others reported that they were not affected for several treatments. It is also possible that affected consumers did not immediately realize the problem, due to the effect of congestion on sense of smell, nor is it clear whether any of the affected users plan to file product liability lawsuits against the manufacturer.

The FDA recommendation also highlighted the importance of smell for safety reasons: "The loss of sense of smell can adversely affect a person's quality of life and can limit the ability to detect the smell of gas or smoke or other signs of danger in the environment." Additionally, because smell is heavily associated with taste, a decreased or nonexistent ability to smell has far-reaching effects.

Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Alitowski reminds consumers that it is important to follow the FDA consumer advisories. The agency has recently issued advisories related to the dangers over topical anesthetics, especially during laser hair removal, and the possibility of depression or suicidal thoughts associated with the prescription asthma medication Singulair.

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