Fracking Boom Changing Way of Life in Pennsylvania's Northern Tier
In just a few years, the impact of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) drilling on northeastern Pennsylvania is hard to miss. Thousands of natural gas wells have been opened in that area specifically in the last five years as companies look to exploit the vast Marcellus shale formation about two miles below the ...
Newly-Filed Plavix Lawsuits Claim Drug Caused Gastrointestinal Bleeds, Cerebral Hemorrhage, and TTP
The manufacturer of Plavix continues to be named in lawsuits alleging the blood thinner caused some patients to suffer from serious bleeding side effects. Most recently, the national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP filed nine Plavix bleeding lawsuits in state court in New York.
Bleeding Side Effects of Pradaxa, Xarelto Have Some Doctors Concerned
Some heart doctors are raising concerns about a new class of heart drugs that include Pradaxa. Recently, a number of doctors interviewed by Reuters said they were hesitant to prescribe Pradaxa, as well as another blood thinner called Xarelto, because of concerns regarding the risk of stroke, serious bleeding ...
Pradaxa not Fit for a Dog, Family of Alleged Pradaxa Bleeding Victim Claims
The family of a Texas woman who died just months before her 60th wedding anniversary believes she would be alive today were it not for Pradaxa (dabigatran). According to a report from the Houston Press, Pradaxa patient Loraine Franklin fell and hit her head last December, resulting in an intracranial ...
Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuits Continue, New Complaint Filed by Tennessee Resident
Actos bladder cancer lawsuits continue, with a new complaint filed by a resident of Tennessee. The national law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, represents the Tennessee man who alleges that Actos caused his bladder cancer.
Study Linking Z-Pak to Increased Death Risk Being Reviewed by FDA
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing a new study that reported an increased risk of sudden, heart-related deaths among people using the antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin), known popularly as Z-Pak. In a statement issued late yesterday, the FDA said patients being treated with Zithromax should not stop taking ...
EMA Seeks Stronger Pradaxa Guidance for Bleeding Side Effects
Regulators in Europe have again asked Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturer of the blood thinner Pradaxa, to update the drug’s label with additional information regarding Pradaxa bleeding side effects. According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the new guidance should include more specific information on when Pradaxa must not be used, ...
Medtronic Infuse Lawsuit Alleges Off-Label Use Cause Painful Complications
A man in Louisiana has filed suit against Medtronic Inc. over injuries allegedly cause by off-label use of its Infuse Bone Graft product. The plaintiff, who received Infuse during transforaminal spinal lumbar fusion surgery, claims that the bone growth protein caused unwanted bone growth along his spine, worsening the back ...
Hip Replacement, Knee Implant Patients with Diabetes, Other Health Problems May Face Difficult Recoveries
Patients receiving hip replacement devices or knee implants may face a more complicated recovery if they are obese, or suffer from diabetes or other health woes. According to a new study published online in the journal Anesthesiology, at least 3% of all total hip or knee replacement patients will ...
Knee Replacement Patients Should Consider Nickel Allergies before Surgery
Individuals considering undergoing knee replacement surgery should ask their doctors to run a test to determine if they have a nickel allergy. Determining if a patient suffers from a nickel allergy will ensure the right knee implant is chosen for their surgery, and possibly save them from considerable pain and ...Study: Statins May Reduce Exercise Benefits in Overweight, Obese Adults
A new study has found that statins, used to lower blood cholesterol levels, may reduce exercise benefits for overweight adults.
Statins rank among the best selling drugs in the world and are typically prescribed to people with obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome (a combination of excess body fat and/or high blood pressure, blood sugar, and/or cholesterol), explained Medical News Today. Statins are prescribed to reduce cholesterol as a means of preventing blood clots, heart attack, and stroke that could lead to death.
Drugs in the statin class are known to carry a risk of causing myopathy (severe muscle damage) and should be taken with caution and at the lowest possible effective dose to reduce the risks of these side effects. Now, research conducted at the University of Missouri (MU) revealed that simvastatin—sold under the brand Zocor—stalled any positive effects from exercise in obese and overweight adults, according to Medical News Today. Continue reading
Infuse® Maker, Medtronic, Cutting Staff
Device maker, Medtronic Inc., just announced another scheduled staff cut. We recently wrote that Medtronic was laying off about 4 percent of its spinal business workforce worldwide, which amounted to about 230 of it spinal division’s 5,600 employees,
This is the third year in a row, according to Pioneer Press, that Medtronic has announced cuts. The announcement was made during a conference call and confirmed that the device maker plans on eliminating 2,000 jobs worldwide. About half will impact Medtronic’s workforce in the United States, according to the firm’s chief financial officer, Gary Ellis. Continue reading
da Vinci Robotic Surgery Case With Jury
Jury deliberations are scheduled in the first of some 26 lawsuits brought over Intuitive’s da Vinci robotic surgical system and involve allegations of injuries associated with the controversial robotic system.
Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jay Roof (Port Orchard, Washington), just handed the case to the 12-member jury after a five-week trial, according to Bloomberg News. Deliberations being this week.
Personal injury lawsuits have alleged that the da Vinci system has caused patients to suffer from a variety of adverse events, including internal injuries. Many of these injuries are the result of burns, tears, and other complications. In some cases, patients have died or suffer from chronic pain, even disability. da Vinci lawsuits fault aggressive Intuitive marketing positioned to induce hospitals to buy the costly system. Lawsuits also allege that a collaboration of design flaws and poor physician training on the da Vinci led to the injuries alleged in the litigation. At last count, some 70 deaths have been tied to the system since 2009. Continue reading
Jurors Told Intuitive Surgical Ran Like a Car Dealership
In a case involving the safety of Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic system, the jury was told that the company acted “just like a car dealership” in training doctors to use the equipment.
In addition, jurors heard that the plaintiff, Fred Taylor, had died because of the company’s practices, and that Intuitive should pay more than $8 million in damages to his estate. These remarks were part of the plaintiff’s attorney’s closing arguments in a Port Orchard, Washington state court, Bloomberg News reports. Continue reading
End in Sight for Water-Contamination Cleanup at Camp Lejeune
At Camp Lejeune, the North Carolina Marine Corps base, cleanup continues of the decades-long drinking-water contamination problem that began in the 1950s.
More than 600 polluted sites are scattered around the 170-square-mile Marine base, located at the mouth of the New River. About five-dozen sites remain to be cleaned up, according to The Associated Press (AP). The contamination comes from a variety of pollutants – leaking gasoline from the base’s fuel storage farm, and chemicals including carcinogenic pesticides, benzene, and dry-cleaning solvents, some of which were intentionally dumped at Lejeune. Continue reading
Pharmacists Distributed Cheap Drug Substitutes to Kidney Dialysis Patients, Faces Four Years in Prison
A Tennessee pharmacist just pleaded guilty to swapping a cheaper drug substitute for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved iron sucrose drug for kidney dialysis patients.
The pharmacist, Robert Harshbarger, 53, substituted a cheaper version of the drug from China, which was administered to kidney dialysis patients in Kansas, according to Kansas First News. Harshbarger was conducting business as American Inhalation Medication Specialists, Inc. and pleaded guilty to one count of distributing a misbranded drug and one count of health care fraud. Continue reading
Experimental Sleep Drug, Suvorexant, Raises FDA Concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that experimental insomnia drug, suvorexant, manufactured by Merck & Co. Inc., may be associated with dangerous side effects.
The experimental insomnia medication was found to be effective at helping patients sleep; however, suvorexant was found to have some significant side effects, such as daytime drowsiness and suicidal ideation, the agency’s advisory committee warned, according to CBS/The Associated Press (CBS/AP). The FDA released a review of suvorexant this week, in advance of today’s public meeting. Continue reading
Hidden Camera Reveals Horrifying Abuse of Canadian Nursing Home Patient
Shocking video footage taken by hidden camera at an Ontario, Canada, nursing home shows an elderly woman being subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of nursing home employees.
Four employees at St Joseph’s at Fleming long-term care home have been suspended pending investigation, the (U.K.) Daily Mail reports, after a patient’s son documented repeated abuse with a hidden camera he placed in his mother’s room. The Ontario Ministry of Health is investigating the case. While Alan Cavell, CEO of St Joseph’s at Fleming, stopped short of calling the treatment seen on camera abuse, “I would think that most people would say that it was,” he told CTV News. Continue reading
Metal-on-Metal Hip Device Tissue Damage Appears Before Symptoms
Metal-on-metal hip implant devices can cause synovitis—inflammation of the joint lining—and this significant adverse side effect can appear long before patients experience symptoms, according to a new study.
The study also found that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify synovitis, said researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery, wrote Health Canal. The research appears in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Continue reading
Man Alleges Taking Actos for Two Years Caused Bladder Cancer
A South Dakota man is the latest to bring a lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Type 2 diabetes drug, Actos (pioglitazone). The plaintiff alleges that taking Actos for two years caused him to develop bladder cancer.
Actos was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1999.
According to the complaint, the man began taking Actos in January 2009; he developed bladder cancer in May 2011, allegedly due to his having taken Actos. At the time of his diagnosis, he stopped taking the medication. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were aware that taking Actos could lead to an increased risk of bladder cancer, but failed to disclose this information to the man, his doctor, and consumers. The plaintiff is suing for extensive pain and suffering and severe emotional distress. Continue reading
