Blog Postings:
Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Explores Opioid Manufacturer’s Claims
Posted on: July 17, 2018
NEW JERSEY. According to the New York Times, Purdue Pharma has repeatedly asserted that it did not know how addictive its opioid painkillers were until years after its drugs had been on the market. Yet, a recent Justice Department report indicates that the company may have been well aware of the fact that OxyContin was being abused, even in the early days of its marketing the drug...
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Asks: How Safe is DEET
Posted on: June 11, 2018
NEW JERSEY. According to NJ.com the number of lyme disease cases in New Jersey is on the rise. In 2017, there were 5,092 cases reported in the state. According to Mayo Clinic, lyme disease often develops after a person suffers a tick bite. Not all tick bites result in lyme disease, but ticks are known carriers, especially in New Jersey. After a person is bitten by a tick, they may develop a “bull’s eye” rash, or ring of irritation around the bite. After the rash, a victim may begin to experience flu like symptoms...
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Could Having Less Money Make Your Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury Harder: Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Explores
Posted on: May 27, 2018
New Jersey. A recent report by the Atlantic indicates that having less money can actually change the way people think and can even affect a person’s memory. If this is true, could financial hardship following a traumatic brain injury due to a car accident actually make the recovery process more difficult? If money can impact memory, then could having less money because of medical bills and other expenses affect the recovery process?....
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Can You Sue for Wrongful Life? Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Weighs In
Posted on: May 22, 2018
NEW JERSEY. In the movies, it’s seen as heroism. A patient suffers cardiac arrest or stops breathing and doctors heroically move into action to bring the patient back to life. However, not all patients want to be brought back. Older patients and patients with terminal illness may have medical directives on file instructing doctors not to perform CPR or other life-saving techniques....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Discusses Civil Rights Lawsuits Following Police Brutality
Posted on: May 14, 2018
NEW JERSEY. When a teenager was stopped by the police, he made a mistake any teen in an anxiety-provoking situation could make. He hit the gas instead of the brakes. The result? The teen crashed the car. When the officer apprehended the teen, he began pummeling him. The teen’s father, believing the police officer’s actions excessive, filed a civil rights lawsuit....
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How Can I Tell If I’m Getting Proper Medical Care—Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Weighs In
Posted on: May 9, 2018
NEW JERSEY. In recent months, we’ve been hearing more and more about the many ways that maternity care falls short for pregnant women in America. The New York Times recently ran a fascinating piece about how black mothers in America are routinely denied the quality maternal care they need and deserve. According to the Times, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of maternal death in America.....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Asks: Is a New Parkinson’s Drug Deadly?
Posted on: May 3, 2018
NEW JERSEY. When Nuplazid was introduced to the market, it was heralded as a major breakthrough. The drug showed promise in helping patients who were suffering from the psychotic symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease. When drugs are given a “breakthrough therapy” designation, they may be sped through the FDA’s approval process to get the drugs into the hands of the patients who may need them the most. Some doctors believed that Nuplazid showed enough promise in helping Parkinson’s patients with psychosis, that they asked the FDA to fast-track the drug.....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Considers How Opioid Prescription Affect Worker’s Compensation
Posted on: April 11, 2018
NEW JERSEY. If you’ve injured your back or neck on the job, you may be in pain. Unfortunately, when individuals suffer from back pain, some doctors may turn to prescribing opioid drugs to alleviate the pain. Because these methods can be cheaper than other alternatives, some insurance companies may make it easier for doctors to prescribe opioids. While this might help with the pain in the short term, it could be causing workers serious problems with addiction in the long-term. According to the National Safety Council, research on opioid prescription has found that workers can suffer long-term impairment when they take opioid drugs longer than the phase where they are suffering from acute pain. In fact, opioid use can make a person more sensitive to pain in the long-term, making them more likely to use in the future, or require stronger doses to alleviate pain....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Asks: Are You Using Your Child’s Car Seat Correctly?
Posted on: April 3, 2018
NEW JERSEY. According to the New York Times, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that as many as 59 percent of child safety seats are not properly used. While many of the use errors found were minor, some were serious. As many as 35 percent of child safety seat use errors can render the safety seat’s features useless....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Asks: Do Flat-Rate Tickets Discourage Traffic Violations?
Posted on: March 26, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Traffic tickets are designed to deter drivers from making dangerous decisions behind the wheel. Speeding tickets, tickets for running red lights, tickets for running stop signs all come attached to the idea that by forcing violators to pay a fee, people will be less likely to commit the crime in the first place. We all know that speeding, running red lights, and running stop signs is a serious violation that can result in car accidents and personal injuries. The stakes are high. Despite this, New Jersey continues to issue flat-rate tickets to violators. Why is this a problem? .....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey Offers Tips on How to Survive Black Ice
Posted on: March 19, 2018
NEW JERSEY. New England and New Jersey have recently been walloped with several nor’easter storm systems. These systems bring with them snow, the potential for freezing rain, and cold weather. To make matters worse, these systems often result in drastically fluctuating temperatures. The cycle of thaw and freeze can create unique hazards on the road. Along with the stormy weather come unique driving risks. One of the bigger dangers of winter driving is black ice. What is it? And what can you do to protect yourself from accidents on it? .....
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Jeff Sheppard, Attorney in New Jersey, Explores a New Topic in Personal Injury Litigation: Can You Sue a Computer?
Posted on: March 9, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Artificial intelligence is no longer a dream of the future. According to Above the Law, you may have benefited from artificial intelligence programs as you searched for delivery last night. Companies like Google are already using artificial intelligence to power their search engine. Medical companies are starting to use artificial intelligence to scan medical records and help doctors make diagnosis and medical decisions. Yet, artificial intelligence programs are a new field and sometimes the engineers that make the programs can’t always explain how they work or why they work the way they do. This can create major problems if a computer program’s software decision making process results in a real injury to a patient or person. After all, can you sue a computer?.....
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Attorney Jeff Sheppard Weighs in: Can You File a Worker’s Compensation Claim for Mental Stress?
Posted on: February 23, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Worker’s compensation claims are most often associated with physical injuries on the job. We often think of workplace injuries as encompassing slip and falls, broken bones, and car crashes. These claims allow victims to collect money to cover their medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages. However, if you find yourself suffering from stress on the job, you may also be able to collect worker’s compensation.....
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Jeff Sheppard Discusses Florida School Shootings: Do Parents Have a Right to Sue?
Posted on: February 18, 2018
NEW JERSEY. On Valentine’s Day, a man carrying a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle stormed his former high school north of Miami, Florida and went on a shooting rampage. 17 people were killed and many more were injured. The New York Times reports that the death toll could possibly rise. When devastating school shootings happen, the country revives its national political discussion about gun control. But, is there anything victims and families can do?.......
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Jeff Sheppard Explores How Car Safety Laws Will Need to Keep up With Driverless Cars
Posted on: February 12, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Can car safety laws keep up with new technology? Wired claims that auto safety laws are outdated and that they threaten the self-driving car industry. While self-driving cars certainly can make driving a safer enterprise, it is important that they be found safe before they are released to the public. Similarly, it is important that lawmakers change the codes to reflect technological advances. According to the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, 95% of car accidents are the result of human error. However, self-driving cars also bring with them their own set of risks. For example, some self-driving vehicles continue to have difficulty navigating roundabouts. Self-driving vehicles also cannot read social cues that drivers give one another. There are many aspects of driving that cannot be monitored by a camera. Perhaps the greatest danger is not having a world of only self-driving cars, but a world in which self-driving cars and human cars try to co-exist.......
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Jeff Sheppard Discusses How Our Laws May Be Leading to Injured Babies
Posted on: February 10, 2018
NEW JERSEY. We often hear about the dangers and impact of heroin and opioid addiction. The crisis affects almost every community. However, one hidden demographic hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic are pregnant women. According to Mother Jones, 26,000 mothers suffer from opioid or heroin addiction. Babies born to addicted mothers are at greater risk of illness or injury. Women who inject heroin are more likely to give birth preterm. Babies may also be born with serious health issues. There is also a risk that the babies will be born with withdrawal. Unfortunately, laws may be making it more likely that babies will be born hurt and injured. Women who are pregnant who suffer from opioid addiction may have few resources available to them......
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Jeff Sheppard Explores What Happens When Families Sue Border Patrol for Personal Injury or Wrongful Death
Posted on: January 29, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Border patrol and ICE agents may have a tough job, but agents have come under fire recently for arresting individuals in locations that were once considered safe for immigrants. ICE and Border Patrol has reportedly been inspecting individuals at unexpected sites. ABC News reported on ICE’s recent inspections of New Jersey 7-Elevens. The inspections are part of a ramping up of efforts to catch employers hiring illegal immigrants. A place of employment may no longer be safe. In other cases, police officers have been reportedly calling ICE when drivers were not able to produce paperwork to prove their citizenship or legal residency. Other stories tell of ICE waiting in courthouses for people who have been charged with crimes.....
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Jeff Sheppard Asks: Are Bikers Safer than Drivers?
Posted on: January 24, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Bicyclists face quite a bit of bias on the road. They are sometimes perceived as risk-takers. Unfortunately, this bias can create real problems when bikers are injured in car accidents. Officers and insurance adjusters may display unconscious bias against bikers, siding with a driver even when he or she may be at fault for the crash. But are bikers safe road users? After all, drivers sometimes report that bikers roll through red lights, run stop signs, and some even cut drivers off mid-lane. Bikers who use to the road are required to abide by the same laws that govern cars......
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Jeff Sheppard Asks: Do You Live in a Toxic Town?
Posted on: January 22, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Mother Jones recently reported on a town so toxic, that residents can list dozens of people they know who have died of cancer. In the 70s and early 80s, companies disposed of PCBs in the town’s mines. PCBs are known to correlate with certain kinds of cancer. For people living near the dumping site, their health is at risk. Contamination from the mine began to leak into the town’s creek. While the Environmental Protection Agency denies any link between the town’s contamination and cancer, the residents beg to differ. While the town reported on by Mother Jones is in West Virginia, New Jersey has its own toxic waste sites. Could you be living in a toxic town?.......
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New Jersey Bomb Cyclone Affects Road Safety: 5 Blizzard Driving Tips
Posted on: January 19, 2018
NEW JERSEY. Several states were under blizzard warnings earlier this week as a “bomb cyclone” impacted the New England region. According to the New York Times, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia were all under blizzard warnings. New York was declared a state of emergency, with Atlantic City in New Jersey expected to see up to 18 inches of snow. While many roads remained open, some bridges were restricted for trucks and other large vehicles. Even if roads remain open during a blizzard, if you don’t need to drive, you shouldn’t drive.......
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New Jersey Lawyer Jeff Sheppard Discusses How Healing After Personal Injury is a Collaborative Effort
Posted on: January 15, 2018
NEW JERSEY. David Gordon Green’s recent film, Stronger, focuses on one patient’s journey of recovering from both physical and emotional wounds after losing both his legs during the Boston Marathon bombing. The film has received praise for its focus on the realities of the recovery process after serious trauma. After any difficult life event, it can be tough to know how to come out on the other side. But, according to one critic at the Atlantic, the film reveals how trauma recovery is a collaborative process involving doctors, nurses, rehabilitation specialists, loved ones, and counselors. For victims surviving the aftermath of a personal injury, having a strong team on your side can make all the difference in the world......
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Attorney Jeff Sheppard Offers Tips on What to Do After a Car Accident in New Jersey
Posted on: January 12, 2018
NEW JERSEY. The minutes, days, and weeks after a car accident occurs are incredibly crucial for victims and families. The things you do in the minutes, days, and weeks after a crash can impact you legally, financially, and can also impact your health and wellbeing. Our local personal injury attorney, Jeff Sheppard weighs in on some key things you should do after a crash.......
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Jeff Sheppard Weighs in On How Communities May Turn to Lawsuits to Fight the Opioid Epidemic
Posted on: January 11, 2018
NEW JERSEY. According to NJ.com, in 2016, 1,901 people died from opioid overdose deaths. These numbers don’t begin to take into account the number of people addicted to prescription opioids, or the many others who have turned to heroin or other drugs. Yet, local municipalities and communities are starting to fight back. According to UpNorthLive, nine municipalities in Michigan have decided to file lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. According to Michigan records, more people are dying from opioid overdoses than car crashes and guns......
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