A prominent heart surgeon in Jonesborough, Tennessee, stood in front a judge this week accused of orchestrating a plan to use his surgical team to feed a drug habit.
According to prosecutors, Doctor William Walker wrote several prescriptions for a variety of high-powered drugs to his nurses and surgical techs. His team would then get the prescriptions filled and hand the pills back over to the doctor.
Walker faces 37 felony charges but will not spend a day in jail even if he is convicted. At most, Walker will spend one to six years on probation.
District Attorney General Tony Clark says, “Tennessee unfortunately leads the nation in prescription drugs [abuse]. East Tennessee leads the state.”
Tennessee officers note that state laws are not in tune with the growing problem because prescription drug cases are often hard to prosecute.
Doctor William Walker and three members of his surgical team were fired from their positions at City Medical Center. Although Walker’s license is still active now, it could be revoked after the case is resolved by the Department of Health.
Drug Fraud in Florida
In the state of Florida, drug fraud is taken more seriously. Stronger penalties are enforced in cases concerning “pill mills.” A pill mills is defined as a doctor, clinic, or pharmacy that distributes prescription medication inappropriately for non-medical concerns. Investigators believe that Florida has one of the highest rates of pill mills. If you or someone you love has been charged with drug fraud, contact Steven A. Bagen immediately for a free consultation.
A Jacksonville man was charged with drunk driving and a hit and run accident. Oscar Adolfo Gomez was driving with his children, ages 5, 6 and 9. Police said that they stopped Gomez because he was weaving all over the road around 9 p.m. on Friday. When police questioned him after being pulled over,they noticed the strong alcohol odor and slurred speech. They also matched his car to the same one that was involved in a hit and run accident earlier that evening.
The victim of the hit and run was brought to the scene and confirmed Gomez’s car as the one that rear-ended hers earlier. Already plagued with a long record of traffic violations, Gomez was charged with a DUI causing damage, carless driving, a DUI while accompanied by a minor and leaving the scene of an accident.
Gomez fell asleep in the patrol car during the investigation after he told police that he had three beers and had taken codeine.
Horace Robinson, 60, drove his car into the side of a Wal-Mart store on Southwest Archer Road on November 1. Robinson was driving a gray PT Cruiser convertible by himself when he drove his car into the side of the store at 8:40 a.m. Officials are not quite sure why Robinson drove into the Wal-Mart, though rescue officials say that witnesses saw Robinson stop at the stop sign to the west of the main doors and slowed down and then accelerated into the side of the building.
In a news release, rescue officials said that Robinson “did not appear to have been wearing his seat belt, which may have caused him to slide down under the dash.” Robinson had to be extracted from his vehicle and was unconscious for most of it but he woke up later in the process. He was taken to Shands at the University of Florida. Robinson was reported to be in stable condition.
Robinson had a wheelchair symbol on his license plate that indicated the driver of the car had a permanent disability and needed a disabled person parking permit. This is just another reminder to wear your seatbelts!
Kristin Leigh Cruz, 37, of Hawthorne County was severely injured when her small car overturned several times early Friday morning. She was driving a 2005 Volkswagen Golf eastbound on the four lane when she went into the center median and rotated counter clockwise. Her car over turned many times while crossing over westbound lanes. The accident happened at 2:14 a.m on Southeast Hawthorne Rd. east of Alachua County Rd 325. Cruz was taken to Shands at the University of Florida.
Cruz was the only person involved in the accident. She was wearing her seatbelt and alcohol was not a factor reports FHP Trooper Matthew B. Cranston. Luckily she was ok although critically injured.
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is most often caused by a sudden impact that can change your life in an instant. A traumatic brain injury can effect everything from your ability to get out of bed in the morning to your personality and how you interact with others. A brain injury is vastly different from a broken leg or a punctured lung. It is an an injury that can potentially limit every element of your life. If you or someone you know has developed a traumatic brain injury, it is important to understand what it means and whether or not you have a personal injury case.
Unfortunately, brain injuries do not heal like other injuries. Recovery may be a functional recovery which means it is based on mechanisms and can remain uncertain. No two brain injuries are alike – consequences may be very different and healing process may be as well. Additionally, symptoms may appear right away or weeks after the injury. What is scarier is that the one who received the traumatic brain injury may not even realize that a brain injury has occurred.
Initial symptoms of a traumatic brain injury could include:
Headache
Dizziness
Loss of consciousness
Blurred vision
Confusion
Memory Loss
Seizures
Paralysis
Coma
Types of Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injures are divided into two categories: open head injury and closed head injury. Open head injuries occur when skull has been fractured or the membranes surrounding the brain have been distorted. These types of injuries are serious and may require surgery to extract pieces of the fractured skull and implant synthetic fragments.
Closed head injuries do not break the skill and are typically less severe. These types of injuries are often caused by blows to the head. Both of these types of injuries may cause mild to severe brain damage.
Do You Have a Personal Injury Case?
It’s tough to understand the intricacies and detail of personal injury law. If you or someone you know has suffered a traumatic brain injury, it’s time to contact the legal team at Bagen Law & Associates. We’ll listen to your story and provide you with honest feedback regarding your personal injury case.
A news release by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that overall crime fell 2% from 2010. The annual report will released in six months and include the complete calculations on the rates at which the crimes had been committed.
In a great turn for Florida, the report also revealed that violent crimes (murder, rape, aggravated assault) have also decreased to 3.2% overall.
There is one area of crime that has risen. Forcible sex offenses are up 1.1% from last year.
Two women were killed in a tragic car crash in Alachua County near Gainesville, Fl on October 18th. The accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. 441 and County Road 237 around 9 a.m.
Penny Wilkes, 59, was driving Chrysler minivan on U.S. 441 heading north when Ellis Hitzing, 97, hit her. Hitzing, driving a tan Lincoln Town Car, did not yield the right of way to Wilkes. Wilkes struck the driver’s side of Hitzing’s Lincoln.
Emergency help arrived at the scene of the accident shortly after it happened but neither women survived the crash. They were the only two involved in the accident.
According to Jesse Sandusky of the Alachua Police Department the investigation of the accident is still ongoing. The only witness to the accident was a man that was across the street, Sandusky said.
Posted in News by admin : October 20, 2011 - 4:29pm | Comments Off
Have you or a loved one been injured in a car, truck, vehicle accident? Do not be a victim and do not let the insurance agencies take advantage of you. You do not have to face this difficult situation alone.
For the past twenty five years Steven A. Bagen & Associates have helped thousands of cases and understand that this is an emotionally and financially trying time for you and your family. Do not delay in consulting with an experience lawyer to discuss your case, give us a call today!
The FBI released the grand jury indictment of 35-year-old Jacksonville resident who allegedly hacked into the e-mail accounts of more than 50 victims, including dozens of celebrities.
Christopher Chaney was arrested on October 12, 2011 on charges of identity theft, wiretapping, and other federal offenses.
According to federal officials, Chaney used public information to gain access into email accounts, computers, and cell phones under the control of his victims.
Some of the alleged victims include Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson, and Mila Kunis.
Chaney allegedly acted alone, received no money for his alleged acts, and rather did it for the thrill of the act.
If convicted on all counts, Chaney faces 121 years in federal prison.
According to the most up-to-date studies, drunk driving accidents claim one life every 39 minutes in the United States. One would hope that a decade of Public Service Announcements, education in high schools and defensive driving schools, as well as work by community groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) would have lessened the fatal impact of drunk driving. However, it has not and drunk driving is still an epidemic in the United States.
Here are the most current statistics available:
Tragically, the 13,470 fatalities in 2006 caused by DUI drivers were slightly higher than the 13,451 fatalities caused by DUI drivers in 1996.
In 2006, one-third of all automobile fatalities were caused by DUI drivers with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent.
Of the 1,794 minors (age 14 and below) who were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 306 (or almost one in five) occurred in alcohol-related accidents. Of those 306 fatalities, the minors riding with drivers who had a BAC at or above 0.08 percent made up one-half (153) of the fatalities.
DUI drivers (those with a Blood Alcohol Content at or above 0.08 percent) were most often driving motorcycles (27 percent), then light trucks (24 percent), then passenger cars (23 percent).
Of all DUI drivers, the lowest fatality rate occurred in large trucks (just one percent). The data does not reveal if drivers of larger vehicles are less likely to drive drunk, or if they are just less likely to die in the accident due to the vehicle they are operating.
DUI drivers are more four times more likely to be male than female.
Traffic deaths at night are four times likelier to be alcohol-related (i.e. caused by a driver with a BAC at or above 0.01 percent) than those during the day.
Of all traffic deaths in 2006 caused by drivers with a BAC at or above 0.08 percent, the majority of those drivers were age 21 to 24 (33 percent), followed by those age 25 to 34 (29 percent), and then age 35 to 44 (25 percent).
It’s shocking, terrifying and unbelievable but it’s true. Drunk driving effects everyone in the United States and beyond. Mothers, daughters, fathers, and son are falling victim all over the world. Don’t be a statistic, if you drink, don’t drive.
A prominent heart surgeon in Jonesborough, Tennessee, stood in front a judge this week accused of orchestrating a plan to use his surgical team to feed a drug habit.