Injury News

It seems that bone marrow stem cells could possibly be used to construct artificial skin. A new study conducted using burn wound models in the skin of pigs, which has been known to be anatomically and physiologically similar to human skin, shows that repairing burn wounds with tissue-engineered skin combined with bone marrow stem cells may produce artificial skin.

Skin, which is the human body’s largest organ, helps protect the body from disease and physical damage. When the skin has been damaged through burns or disease, the body can often react slowly to repair them. Victims of severe burns often die from infection and loss of plasma. Skin grafts were designed to help prevent such problems.

The artificial skin showed promising results. When it was grafted onto the burn wounds, the new skin, which contained stem cells, showed better healing, less wound contraction and better development of blood vessels.

When you think of medical malpractice claims you usually think of dramatic mistakes, like the amputation of the wrong limb or removal of the wrong organ. While these medical malpractice claims are usually the most publicized, they are not the most common.

Probably the most common and unnoticed medical mistake involves prescriptions. Often times prescriptions are filled and the adverse side effects are never explained clearly to the drug taker. In some cases, pharmacies unknowingly fill the wrong prescription for a patient. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies reported that 1.5 million medical malpractice prescription drug errors occurred in 2006.

Experts say you should always double check with both the pharmacy and your doctor when filling or refilling a prescription. Generic drugs can look alike so it is important to know exactly what it is you’re taking and exactly what the dosage should be.

Tax time is upon us and I’m not looking forward to sifting through old receipts, computing numbers and ultimately having to fork over more money to the government. I had a very angry outlook on this whole situation until some informed me that even illegal immigrants pay taxes. That’s right, the U.S. government requires everyone who earned a living in the U.S. to pay taxes, regardless of citizenship.

What got me thinking was that if I were an illegal immigrant working here in the U.S., I probably wouldn’t pay taxes. So why do these non U.S. citizens willingly pay taxes to a government that would just as soon deport them as give them a refund? The majority of illegal immigrants are trying to show the U.S. government that they are contributing members of our society who abide by its laws, well, except for that pesky immigration law.

This made me feel a little better about filing my taxes, well, that is until I saw exactly how much I owed.

Criminal attorneys are those men and women who help us out when we’ve committed a crime. It could be anything from small offenses to the really big ones that can land you in jail for life. That’s why finding the right criminal attorney is very important.

Most criminal law attorneys specialize in one specific area, so finding one that works for you is key. Do your research, many larger firms will have entire departments devoted to aspects of criminal law. Find out how long your lawyer has been practicing that specific type of law and what is his or her record.

There are also many free legal programs across the U.S. Most law firms will offer you a free evaluation for your case. Take advantage of these to get to know just exactly what you’re getting involved in.