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Medtronic Settles Charges Over Kickbacks To Doctors

Medical device giant, Medtronic Inc., is settling charges over kickbacks to doctors. The firms just agreed to pay $23.5 million to settle claims it paid physicians kickbacks in exchange for their use of its pacemakers and defibrillators, according to a U.S. Justice Department announcement yesterday. The company was accused of seeking ...

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Lawsuit Alleges Plavix Caused Oklahoma Man to Suffer Multiple Stomach Bleeds

Lawsuit Alleges Plavix Caused Oklahoma Man to Suffer Multiple Stomach Bleeds

Another lawsuit has been filed over adverse Plavix side effects. The lawsuit, filed by national law firm Parker Waichman LLP, alleges that the blood thinner, Plavix (clopidogrel), caused an Oklahoma man to suffer from multiple stomach bleeds.

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New Study Links Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Corrosion with Adverse Local Tissue Reactions

New Study Links Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Corrosion with Adverse Local Tissue Reactions

Yet another study is pointing to potential dangers posed by metal-on-metal hip implants. This time, an article published in the Journal of Arthroplasty is reporting corrosion in the head taper junction was more likely to occur in patients with 36-mm diameter metal-on-metal hip replacement, compared to those with the same ...

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Older Patients Face Heart Attack Risk Following Surgery

Older Hip Implant, Knee Replacement Patients Face Heart Attack Risk Following Surgery

An emerging report reveals that older hip implant and knee replacement patients face increased heart attack risks following surgery. The risk for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was seen in the first two weeks after these surgical procedures.

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Actos Whistleblower Lawsuit Questions Avandia Researcher’s Financial Ties to Takeda

Actos Whistleblower Lawsuit Questions Avandia Researcher's Financial Ties to Takeda

A prominent researcher has been implicated in an alleged cover-up of Actos side effects, according to a report from TheHeart.org. An Actos whistleblower lawsuit unsealed earlier this year has alleged financial connections between the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr Steven Nissen and the maker of Actos “should be considered when analyzing Actos’s ...

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Stryker Issues Voluntary Recall for Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II Hip Implant Components

Stryker Issues Voluntary Recall for Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II Hip Implant Components

Stryker Orthopedics is recalling two metal-on-metal hip implant components, its Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II modular-neck hip stems. According to a notice posted on Stryker’s website, risks associated with the Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II modular-neck hip stems include the potential for fretting and/or corrosion at or about ...

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Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Leads Vulnerable to Fracture after ICD Switch

Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Leads Vulnerable to Fracture after ICD Switch

Medtronic Sprint Fidelis leads are vulnerable to fracture following ICD switch, says a new study published in the June issue of the journal Heart Rhythm.

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Oklahoma Woman Latest to Head to Court Over Alleged DePuy ASR Hip Implant Injuries

Oklahoma Woman Latest to Head to Court Over Alleged DePuy ASR Hip Implant Injuries

Lawsuits filed by alleged victims of DePuy Orthopaedics’ recalled ASR hip replacement devices continue to pile up in the multidistrict litigation currently underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio. Most recently, a woman from Pryor, Oklahoma, filed suit alleging complications caused by a DePuy ASR hip implant ...

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Pennsylvania Health System Proposes Comprehensive Fracking Study

Pennsylvania Health System Proposes Comprehensive Fracking Study

A proposed study would examine the health effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) drilling on the people living closest to active natural gas wells.

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DEP Drilling Review Reveals Water Damage, Questionable Testing Methods

Water_Damage_FrackingA recently released drilling review found water damage and questionable testing methods in many cases when oil and gas activity were involved.

State environmental regulators found, according to a Times-Tribune/The Sunday Times report, that between 2008 – 2012, oil and gas development activity harmed water supplies for some 161 Pennsylvania homes, farms, churches, and businesses based on nearly 1,000 determination letters and enforcement orders written by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials and obtained by the media outlet. Determination letters are sent to water supply owners who seek state inspections into whether or not oil and gas drilling activities polluted their well water or impacted the water flow to their wells, according to the Times-Tribune. Continue reading

Posted in Health Concerns, Toxic Substances |

Ohio Nursing Home Employee Charged with Patient Abuse

Ohio_Nursing_Home_AbuseOn May 13 a Montgomery County, Ohio, grand jury indicted a Dayton nursing home employee on a felony charge of patient abuse.

Norma Black, 70, is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on May 28.  She is charged with hitting a patient at the Arbors at Dayton Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in Dayton, whiotv.com reports. According to the indictment, the abuse occurred in March 2012. Continue reading

Posted in Legal News |

Cell Phone Radiation Leads to New Concerns

Cell_Phone_RadiationWhile study results have been mixed over the issue of cell phones and the radiation they emit and the dangers they present, some credible experts are taking another look at the ubiquitous devices.

A nurse at the brain injury unit of a physical rehabilitation hospital told CBS58 News that in the past year she has seen more brain tumor injuries in younger patients. A Milwaukee attorney told CBS58 that his now-deceased friend “developed brain cancer on the side of his head where he typically used the cell phone.” Continue reading

Posted in Cell Phones & Cancer, Cellular Phone |

Metro-North Connecticut Collision Leaves Dozens Injured, Some Critically

Metro_North_CrashDozens were injured following a derailment and crash involving two Metro-North Railroad trains near Fairfield, Connecticut during Friday’s rush hour.

So far, 60 people have been reported as injured and five of those injuries have been classified as critical, according to The New York Times. Since, the Northeast traffic corridor has been severely hampered, with Amtrak operations between New York and Boston suspended over the weekend. Continue reading

Posted in Accident |

Bean Bag Chairs Recalled Over Suffocation, Strangulation Hazards

Bean_Bag_StuffingAbout 6,300 Anywhere Lounger Bean Bag Chairs have been recalled, according to a just-released U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announcement issued in cooperation with Powell Company, the chair’s manufacturer.

The recalled Anywhere Lounger Bean Bag Chairs were constructed without a permanent zipper closure, which allows young children to unzip the bean bag chair and to ingest or inhale the small beads inside the chair. This, says the CPSC, poses a suffocation and strangulation hazard. No incidents or injuries have been reported, to date. Continue reading

Posted in Product Recalls |

Avon Recalls Microwave Popcorn Makers Over Burn, Fire Hazards

Popcorn_MakerThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced a recall issued by Avon for microwave popcorn makers.

Some 55,000 Avon Microware Popcorn Makers that were sold in the United States are being recalled over the potential for fire and burns, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The recalled Avon popcorn makers retailed for about $13 and were sold in the United States through Avon’s website and Avon sales representatives from October through February, the AP said. Continue reading

Posted in Product Recalls |

Another Ethicon Vaginal Mesh Device Lawsuit Filed Over Serious Injuries

Vaginal_Mesh_LawsuitA Mississippi woman alleges, in a recently filed lawsuit, that she suffered injuries caused by Ethicon Inc.’s transvaginal mesh device. The woman alleges the injuries are a result of Ethicon’s Prolift and TVT sling and that these products are defective.

According to this complaint, the woman was implanted with the Prolift and TVT sling on November 20, 2008. The lawsuit alleges that the device makers knew about the risks associated with Ethicon’s Proflift and TVT sling and failed to warn the woman, her doctor, and other consumers. She is suing for negligence on three counts of strict liability (design defect, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn), breach of express and implied warranty, fraudulent concealment, and punitive damages. Continue reading

Posted in Defective Medical Devices, Transvaginal mesh |

Nevada Health Officials: 89 Affected in Salmonella Outbreak

Salmonella_OutbreakAccording to the Southern Nevada Health District, as many as 89 people may have contracted salmonella at Firefly, a popular Las Vegas tapas restaurant.

The restaurant was shut down on April 26, following a health inspection that revealed violations including improperly stored food; employees handling food without gloves; and employees preparing food next to cleaning chemicals, according to KVVU-TV. Continue reading

Posted in Food Poisoning, Salmonella |

Woman Undergoes Hip Implant Revision Surgery Over Cobalt Reaction

cobalt_hip_reactionA Denver woman, allergic to a component in one of her hip implants had to undergo revision surgery to remove and replace the medical device.

The 50-year-old woman told ABC News that said she suffered from pain and itching throughout her body, but had no idea it was her hip implant that was causing the reactions that also included migraine headaches.

Two years into the symptoms, her right hip lit up on a PET scan she underwent for an unrelated issue. The hip involved was implanted in 2008 and constructed with metal, according to ABC News. “My entire body itched,” she told ABCNews.com. “A regular allergist did some testing that didn’t show anything. Not one person along the way said, ‘I wonder if you’re allergic to your hip.’” Continue reading

Posted in Defective Medical Devices, Depuy, Metal Hip Implants |

Tougher Drunk Driving Limits Sought

Drunk_driving_limitsIn an effort to cut alcohol-related highway deaths, a more stringent drunk driving threshold is being sought.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is working to have the current blood alcohol threshold of .08 slashed down to .05, which would match a standard that has significantly cut highway deaths in other countries, according to The Associated Press (AP).

The reduced level of .05 percent amounts to about one four-ounce drink for a woman weighing under 120 pounds or two drinks for a 160-pound man, according to the AP. Continue reading

Posted in Legal News |