Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit Filed by West Virginia Resident
Actos (pioglitazone) continues to be named in lawsuits alleging long-term use of the type 2 diabetes drug caused patients to develop bladder cancer. Just last week, the national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP filed suit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals on behalf of a West Virginia man who developed bladder cancer ...
Failing DePuy ASR Hip Implants Sending Hundreds of Australians Back to the OR
Roughly 1,000 people in Australia have had to undergo revision surgeries because of failed DePuy ASR hip implants. According to TheAge.com, DePuy Orthopaedics has heard from more than 4,000 people in Australia and New Zealand seeking help with the recalled metal-on-metal hip replacement devices.
Smith & Nephew Says Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Controversy Slowing Sales of Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System
Medical device maker Smith & Nephew has reported a drop in sales of its metal-on-metal hip implant devices. According to the company, hip implant sales were down 2 percent during the first quarter of 2012, largely because its Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System suffered from an association with other metal-on-metal hip ...
FDA Gives 7 Companies Go Ahead To Market Generic Plavix
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) just gave seven companies the go-ahead to market generic Plavix. Plavix is a blood thinner prescribed for the prevention of blood clots, heart attacks, and which has been linked to serious side effects such as the heart attacks and strokes it is supposed to ...
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.
Research Suggest Fracking Chemicals Can Pollute Aquifers
A new study suggests fluids used during the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process could migrate through underground fractures and contaminate water aquifers.
First DePuy ASR Hip Implant Lawsuits Head to Trial in December, January
The first trials involving lawsuits filed against DePuy Orthopaedics by recipients of its recalled ASR Hip Implants will begin later this year, and early next year. The first is slated to start on December 3, 2012 in state court in Las Vegas, Nevada. A second DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit ...
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 ...
1,000+ Australians Join DePuy ASR Hip Implant Class Action Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit filed in Australia over DePuy Orthopaedics’ recalled metal-on-metal ASR Hip Implants has signed up more than 1,000 plaintiffs. The attorneys representing the Australian ASR Hip Implant lawsuit plaintiffs recently told The Courier-Mail that damages in the lawsuit are expected to be worth more than $200 million. One ...
Study Finds SSRI Antidepressant Side Effects Outweigh Their Benefits
A new study is raising more concerns about the safety of commonly used antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake (SSRI) inhibitor antidepressants. Investigators who conducted the study, which is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, posit that increased knowledge of the negative effects of SSRIs and other antidepressants could reduce ...
Bottles, Pacifiers, Sippy Cups Linked to Thousands of Child Injuries
Baby bottles, pacifiers, and child sippy cups are essential items but they pose serious risks of injuries to small children.
According to a report from HealthDay News, these common and ubiquitous products are responsible for more than 45,000 serious injuries to children since the early 1990s. The report indicates that many children were admitted to hospital emergency rooms due to cuts and other injuries suffered when a baby fell with one of these items in their mouths or through another means. Continue reading
FDA Announces New Gilenya Restrictions for Heart Patients
U.S. health regulators have issued new restrictions for Gilenya, Novartis AG’s’ pill for treating multiple sclerosis. According to a Drug Safety Communication issued by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday, Gilenya is now contraindicated (FDA advises against its use) in patients with certain pre-existing or recent (within last 6 months) heart conditions or stroke. The agency also said Gilenya should not be prescribed to patients who are taking certain antiarrhythmic medications.
The FDA launched a Gilenya safety review late last year, after a patient died within 24 hours of taking their first dose of the drug. As part of its review, the agency also analyzed postmarket data reported for Gilenya, including other deaths from apparent cardiovascular origin or of unknown origin. While it couldn’t definitively conclude that Gilenya was related to any of the deaths, the FDA said it has concerns about the cardiovascular effects of the drug after the first dose. Continue reading
Brooklyn DA Accused Of Overstating Child Abuse Arrests In Ultra-Orthodox Community
The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, is being accused of exaggerating child abuse arrests in the ultra-orthodox community of Haredi. Many criticize Hynes for actually protecting child predators.
We’ve long been writing about the issue of sex abuse cases in close-knit ultra-orthodox Jewish communities nationwide, recently writing that the Brooklyn DA was facing heat over his handling of sex abuse cases and describing a number of cases of apparent sex crime cover-ups. As we’ve said, convincing child sex abuse victims to speak is difficult in the ultra-orthodox community because rabbis enforce a rule against reporting fellow Jews to secular authorities. Defying the rabbis can result in families becoming outcasts, ruining prospects for marriage or running businesses. Continue reading
Hospira Recalls Hydromorphone Injections that may Contain more than Intended Volume
Hospira, Inc. just announced that it s recalling, at the user level, one lot of its Hydromorphone Injection over reported complaints that one of its Carpuject’s contains more than 1 mL label fill volume, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) just announced.
Involved in the recall is Hydromorphone Injection, USP, 1 mg/mL (C-II), 1 mL fill in 2.5 mL Carpuject™, NDC 0409-1283-31. This is a prefilled glass cartridge that is used with the Carpuject Syringe system. The affected lot number is 07547LL and the expiration date is July 1, 2013. Continue reading
New York City Named In Injury Lawsuits From Neglected Trees
New York City has been named in a number of personal injury lawsuits over neglected trees. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed over deaths or injuries linked to falling tree limbs in New York City.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuits were resolved in the past decade or so without court involvement and, in many cases, involved trees whose dangerous conditions were ignored. As a matter-of-fact, the City of New York has been quietly paying millions of dollars in damage claims and many more such claims are expected. Continue reading
Alabama Da Vinci Surgical Robot Lawsuit Seeks $270 Million for Botched Hysterectomy
Another lawsuit has been filed by a victim of an allegedly botched surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot. This time, an Alabama woman is claiming that Intuitive Surgical, the maker of the da Vinci Robot, suppressed complaints and concealed rates of complications associated with the robot from the public and federal health regulators. She is seeking $270 million in damages.
The Alabama complaint is just the most recent of several lawsuits have been filed around the country alleging that da Vinci Surgical Robot design flaws, coupled with a lack of adequate training on the part of surgeons who use the device, have caused serious injuries to patients, including: Continue reading
16 Now Sick In Dog Food Salmonella Outbreak
The number of those sickened from the ongoing and growing dog food Salmonella outbreak has now reached 16. Since we last reported, two more people have fallen ill after exposure to the Salmonella-tainted dry dog and cat food, according to federal health officials.
The new cases include one from the United States, where the illnesses have spanned nine states. The other case was reported in Quebec, Canada, said MSNBC. Of those reported being sickened, five have required hospitalization. Sicknesses have also been reported in North Carolina (3), Missouri (3), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (2), Alabama (1), Connecticut (1), Michigan (1), New Jersey (1), and Virginia (1). Continue reading
Riata Defibrillator Lead Patients Left with Few Good Choices
People relying on the Riata and Riata ST models of cardiac defibrillator leads face a dangerous and life-threatening dilemma: should they choose to have the fault-prone and recalled medical devices removed in place of a different, safer model; or do they trust that its defects won’t harm them as they have for hundreds of others, including at least 22 people who’ve suffered fatal injuries?
According to a Wall Street Journal report over the weekend, more and more patients and their surgeons are realizing that the risks involved with removing the potentially faulty Riata and Riata ST leads are not as grave as waiting and worrying for them to fail. Since questions have been raised on the safety of the Riata and Riata ST, even those still functioning properly to maintain a recipient’s heart rhythm and rate, surgeons and patients around the world face the same dilemma but now some hospitals and surgeons are taking a proactive but risky approach. Continue reading
Case Study Links Green Tea Extract in SlimQuick to Liver Injury in 24-Year-Old Woman
A case study released late last month has detailed a case of liver injury in a woman who used the SlimQuick weight loss supplement. The study, published April 27 in the World Journal of Hepatology, linked the patient’s drug induced liver injury to green tea extract contained in SlimQuick.
While green tea extract is thought to improve health due to antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects, the study authors point out that it is known to have pro-oxident effects, primarily due to epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). According to the report, a number of studies have linked EGCG to hepatotoxicity: Continue reading
Fall Risk Prompts Kolcraft Bassinet Recall
Fall risks have prompted a recall of 46,000 Kolcraft Tender Vibes and Light Vibes Bassinets, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced.
The recalled Kolcraft Bassinets were manufactured in China; distributed and manufactured by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc., of Chicago, Illinois; and sold at mass market and independent juvenile specialty stores, nationwide and online, from July 2008 through May 2012. The recalled bassinets were manufactured from July 2008 through May 2010 and retailed for between about $50 and $100. Continue reading
