Posts Tagged ‘attorney’

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday, against Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer chips. The suit says Intel violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws by engaging in a global campaign of illegal conduct revealed in emails, in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for chips. Over the last several years, Intel has landed exclusive agreements from large computer makers in which they agreed to use Intel’s chips in exchange for payments totaling billions of dollars. Intel also threatened and punished computer makers that they thought were working too closely with Intel competitors. Threats included cutting off payments the computer maker was receiving from Intel, directly funding a computer maker’s rivals, and ending joint development ventures. “Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market,” said Attorney General Cuomo . Andrew Cuomo “Intel’s actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices. These illegal tactics must stop and competition must be restored to this vital marketplace.” To secure exclusive agreements, Intel paid hundreds of million dollars in “rebates” to individual computer makers. The payments for exclusivity that Intel provided could make the difference between profit and loss for a computer maker. The suit alleges Intel’s behavior was detrimental to consumers and to the entire marketplace for computers. Intel repeatedly pressured computer makers to guarantee it specified market share of their sales, which prevent computer makers from responding to consumer demand. With more competition, consumers would have had more choices, lower prices and better products. The suit seeks to bar further anticompetitive acts by Intel, restore lost competition, recover monetary damagessuffered by consumers and the government, and collect penalties. In May, the European Commission fined Intel a record $1.45 billion for violating antitrust rules and other practices used to exclude competitor AMD from the computer chip market. Intel is planning to appeal the fine.

Gadolinium is an important element during MRI or magnetic resonance imaging sessions. An MRI allows doctors to conduct visual examination of the internal organs without subjecting a patient to any invasive procedure. But for the physician to get clear images of the internal tissues and organs, a dye or a contrast agent is first injected into the patient, particularly into the area where the organs to be viewed are located. This whole process has saved millions of lives, but there are occasions where MRI injuries can occur because of the contrast agent injection.

The dye or contrast agent that we are talking about here is gadolinium. Colorless, this liquid is actually made up of metallic crystals which give it the luster that allows doctors to identify damaged internal organs. Indeed, a good MRI is not possible without this agent, but there have been many cases linked to this substance that put it in a bad light.

If you or someone you know just had an MRI, there is a chance that symptoms like skin inflammation, muscular weakness, or even joint pains can occur. All these signs are considered as MRI injuries. In short, the very substance that makes MRI work has now become its worst defect.

Moreover, gadolinium can also turn certain ailments from bad to worse. Take the case of patients who are already suffering from kidney problems. These people need to get MRI in order for doctors to effectively evaluate their conditions. But by getting injected with gadolinium, kidney patients can face deadly nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD) or nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). Patients who are lucky enough to survive these complicated MRI injuries can experience a lifetime of pain in both ribs and hip areas, eye spots, and skin problems.

Also, gadolinium can severely affect patients who already have other inflammatory illnesses. This substance can contain certain amounts of toxicity which, no matter how low or moderate, can trigger MRI injuries not just in the eyes, skin, and joints, but also in the internal organs.

If you have been suffering from MRI injuries brought about by gadolinium, you have become a victim and not just a patient. And you should know that you have the choice to engage an experienced lawyer who specializes in this type of case.

Don’t delay in getting the help of an MRI attorney and seeking appropriate compensation from concerned parties. For your assistance, you can contact the law firm of Jim S. Adler & Associates by calling 1-800-505-1414 or by filling out the free case review form at www.JimAdler.com.