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TJX (TJ MAXX) SETTLES WITH BANKS OVER DATA BREACH
Posted by: Micah Adkins
September 15, 2009
Topic: ID THEFT, DATA BREACHES AND CREDIT REPORT DISPUTES

TJX, the parent corporation of the retailer TJ Maxx (among others), announced on September 2, 2009 that it had settled with four banks over a 2006 data breach.  According to Dan Kaplan, a writer for SC Magazine, TJX will pay the four banks some $525,000.00.   The data breach exposed as many as 94 million credit and debit card users to identity theft and unauthorized charges.  FULL Story.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, or have discovered unauthorized charges on your credit or debit card, then you may be entitled to money damages.  Contact attorney Micah Adkins for a free and confidential consultation.  

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MERCK
Posted by: Micah Adkins
September 04, 2009
Topic: DANGEROUS DRUGS

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Banks Reorder Transactions & Consumers Pay Insufficient Fund Fees
Posted by: Micah Adkins
August 24, 2009
Topic: CONSUMER PROTECTION

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IS YOUR PRESCRIPTION INFORMATION REALLY PRIVATE?
Posted by: Micah Adkins
August 15, 2009
Topic: ID THEFT, DATA BREACHES AND CREDIT REPORT DISPUTES

In a NY Times article written by Milt Freudenheim, attention is brought to a little known provision of the economic stimulus package.  No it does not have to do with more money for the healthcare industry.  Full Story

Instead, the provision is aimed at protecting patient's personal information from marketing companies.  The new rules would limit pharmacy benefit managers and others from disclosing patients' personal health information.  While CVS Caremark and Walgreens will still be allowed to sell patients prescription data to drug manufacturers, they may only do so if the patients names are removed.

Do the new rules do enough?  I say no.  Why?  Because drug marketing will still be permitted as long as the marketing companies only promote drugs that are already being used by the pharmacies' customers.  Pharmacies may also continue to sell patients' personal drug information to other pharmacies without the patients' consent.

If you have discovered that your personal information has been shared without your permission, then you may be entitled to money damages.  Contact attorney Micah Adkins for a confidential consultation.

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TEXTING WHILE DRIVING INCREASES RISK OF CRASH
Posted by: Micah Adkins
August 11, 2009
Topic: CAR ACCIDENTS

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LIMITED BRANDS AND SKILLED HEALTHCARE GROUP INC POTENTIAL INVESTOR FRAUD
Posted by: Micah Adkins
August 04, 2009
Topic: SECURITIES LITIGATION

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FDA WARNS OF HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH E-CIGARETTES
Posted by: Micah Adkins
August 04, 2009
Topic: CONSUMER PROTECTION

The Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has issued a warning to consumers about the potential health risks associated with the use of electronic smoking devices ("e-cigarettes").  According to the FDA, the battery operated e-cigarettes are designed to be used like a traditional tobacco packed cigarette and are sold without any age restrictions.  While the products do not contain tobacco, the products may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic for humans. 

The FDA has expressed concerns that the use of e-cigarettes will increase nicotine addiction among young children and will ultimately lead to the consumption of other tobacco products.  After all, the e-cigarettes are being sold in kid friendly flavors, chocolate, mint and strawberry.

The e-cigarettes are not packaged with warnings like you would find on a traditional pack of cigarettes.  One FDA sampling of the e-cigarettes in its lab revealed diethylene glycol (active ingredient found in anti-freeze) and carcinogens.  Currently, the FDA is involved in litigation regarding the FDA's ability to regulate the e-cigarettes under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

If you or a loved one have used an e-cigarette and suffered catastrophic injury and required hospitalization, your legal rights may have been violated.  Contact attorney Micah Adkins for a free consultation.

Attachments:
ecigarettes_0709.pdf

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CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT NOTICE - SURIN & THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
Posted by: Micah Adkins
July 06, 2009
Topic: CONSUMER PROTECTION

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT NOTICE

If you are a consumer who used a credit card or debit card to make a purchase at Surin West, Surin of Thailand, Mountain Brook or Surin 280 between December 4, 2006, and September 28, 2007 and you were provided an electronically printed credit card or debit card receipt containing more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card num- ber, you should read this notice. Your legal rights may be affected. This notice pertains to three class action lawsuits, Thomason v. Surin of Thailand, Mountain Brook, Inc., CV-07-SLB-1710-S, Kanakis v Surin 280, LLC, CV-07-SLB-1711-S, and Iradji v. Surin West, Inc., CV-07-SLB- 1712-S, In The U.S. District Court, for the Northern District of Alabama.

The lawsuits allege that the Defendants willfully violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) by providing consumers with credit card and debit card receipts containing more than the last five digits of the credit card or debit card numbe rs. The Defendant denies that it willfully violated any laws. The Plaintiffs do not allege any actual damages as a result of the alleged FACTA violations. The parties agreed to a settlement to avoid the uncertainty and the costs of a trial and to provide benefits to class members. The defendants have agreed take additional measures to ensure compliance with the FACTA provisions pertaining to the truncations of the credit card account numbers and the expiration dates on receipts provided to consumers.

The Defendants will also provide a minimum of 50,000 vouchers. Each Class Member will be entitled to one voucher, which will be good for one order of pot stickers, one order of crab angels, one bowl of hot and sour soup or one bowl of coconut soup. The proposed settlement also provides that each of the 3 named plaintiffs will receive a $2,000.00 incentive fee ($6,000.00 total).

The Court has appointed as Class Counsel Micah S. Adkins and Richard A. Bearden of the law firm MASSEY, STOTSER & NICHOLS, P.C. and Archie C. Lamb of THE LAMB FIRM, LLC. Class counsel have requested a fee of $100,000.00. Class Counsel's fee will be paid by the Defendants. The Defendants are represented by David R. Donaldson of DONALDSON & GUIN, LLC and C. Lee Reeves of SIROTE & PERMUTT, P.C.

You are not responsible for any attorney fees, unless you decide to hire your own lawyer. You do not need to do anything to participate in the Settlement other than coming to one of the restaurants and asking for a free voucher. You have the right to object to the Settlement by filing an objection on or before July 21, 2009 with the Clerk of Court at the following address:

Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse 1729 5th Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35203

If you file a timely objection, you will have the right to appear at the hearing scheduled on August 5, 2009 at 10:00 at which time the Court will consider final approval of the settlement. The hearing may be rescheduled without further notice.

For additional information or copies of the settlement agreement and other documents, please visit http://www.surinwest.com/classaction or http://www.surinofthailand.com/classaction.

Source: Published in The Birmingham News

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FDA Inspection Reveals Adulterated Synchromed? II Insulin Pumps
Posted by: Micah Adkins
July 01, 2009
Topic: DANGEROUS DRUGS

Under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the "Act"), 21 USC Section 321(h), the federal government has the authority to regulate devices that are intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or are intended to affect the structure or function of the body. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts inspections of manufacturing facilities that manufacture such devices. Recently, during an inspection of a Medtronic Inc. manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico, FDA inspectors discovered adulterated Synchromed® II Insulin Pumps. In other words, the pumps were not manufactured in conformity with with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements of the Quality System regulation. See 21 C.F.R. Part 820. According to the FDA, the manufacturer's failure to follow CGMP has resulted in infections by users of Synchromed® II Pump serial numbers NGP319205H and NGV416698H. Click HERE for the FDA warning letter sent to Medtronic.

The FDA's warning letter cites additional adverse events associated with the MiniMed Paradigm® Insulin Pump. Specifically, the FDA's stated in pertinent part: Our inspection also revealed that your MiniMed Paradigm® Insulin Pumps are misbranded under section 502(t)(2) of the Act [21 U.S.C. 352(t)(2)], in that your firm failed or refused to furnish material or information respecting the device that is required by or under section 519 of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 360i, and 21 C.F.R. Part 803 - Medical Device Reporting (MDR) regulation. Significant deviations include, but are not limited to, the following:

5) Failure to report to FDA no later than 30 calendar days after the day that you receive or otherwise become aware of information, from any source, that reasonably suggests that a device that you market: (1) may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury; or (2) has malfunctioned and this device or a similar device that you market would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury, if the malfunction were to recur, as required by 21 CFR 803.50(a).

Incidents of diabetic ketoacidosis resulting from use of the MiniMed Paradigm® Insulin Pump have been reported by Medtronic through MedWatch. Diabetic ketoacidosis can be life threatening, require hospitalization and can cause serious injury.

If you or a loved one has used a Synchromed® II Insulin Pump or MiniMed Paradigm® Insulin Pump and have suffered a serious injury and required hospitalization, your legal rights may have been violated. For a free consultation contact attorney Micah Adkins.

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HOW DO I OBTAIN A FREE CREDIT REPORT?
Posted by: Micah Adkins
June 24, 2009
Topic: ID THEFT, DATA BREACHES AND CREDIT REPORT DISPUTES

The Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") provides consumers with the right to request a credit report from any of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies ("CRAs")(e.g., Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) for free one time in a twelve (12) month period. 15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(2). The CRA must provide the consumer with a the credit report within fifteen days of receiving the consumer's request. 15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(2). Further, even when consumer demands for their credit reports increase, CRAs, by law, must have the requisite ability to meet the reasonable anticipated consumer requests. 16 C.F.R. 610.2(e) and 3(c).

The CRA may request additional identifying information from the consumer prior to sending the report, but the CRA may only do so to process the consumer's request, process a simultaneous transaction as requested by the consumer, update the consumer's personal identifier, or comply with any of the other requirements of the FCRA.

A consumer may request all three credit reports online at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/, by telephone at 1-877-322-8228, or via mail at:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Our firm helps consumers get their credit reports and resolve consumers' disputes with CRAs for inaccurate or incomplete information contained in their credit files.  For a free consultation, contact attorney Micah Adkins.

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