Featured Stories
Boston Scientific Transvaginal Mesh

Tennessee Woman Alleges Boston Scientific Transvaginal Mesh Product Caused Painful Injuries

More reports of painful injuries are being linked to transvaginal mesh. This time, a Tennessee woman has filed a lawsuit against Boston Scientific over its Advantage Transvaginal Mid-Urethral Sling System.

Read More

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 ...

Read More

Indiana Woman Alleges Serious Injuries From Transvaginal Mesh Products

Indiana Woman Alleges Serious Injuries From Transvaginal Mesh Products

Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm, just filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman who suffered injuries after receiving transvaginal mesh implants. The lawsuit suit alleges that the transvaginal mesh created an unreasonable risk and directly caused her injuries.

Read More

Lawsuit Alleges Bi-Lateral DePuy ASR Hip Implant Resulted in Elevated Chromium and Cobalt Levels, Need for Revision Surgery

Lawsuit Alleges Bi-Lateral DePuy ASR Hip Implant Resulted in Elevated Chromium and Cobalt Levels, Need for Revision Surgery

DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent, Johnson & Johnson, continue to be named in lawsuits by metal-on-metal hip replacement recipients who suffered severe injuries, including elevated chromium and cobalt levels, allegedly due to recalled ASR hip implant devices. Most recently, the national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP filed suit on ...

Read More

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.

Read More

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Division to End Sales of Gynecare Prolift, Three Other Transvaginal Mesh Devices

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Division to End Sales of Gynecare Prolift, Three Other Transvaginal Mesh Devices

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Inc. division revealed yesterday that it will end sales of its Gynecare Prolift device and three other transvaginal mesh products. The plan to stop selling the four products was set forth in a letter filed by the company in the Ethicon transvaginal mesh multidistrict litigation ...

Read More

Failing DePuy ASR Hip Implants Sending Hundreds of Australians Back to the OR

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.

Read More

Scientist Calls for Federal Regulations for Fracking Pollution

Scientist Calls for Federal Regulations for Fracking Pollution

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) drilling should be governed by federal regulations because its pollution has no awareness of state boundaries.

Read More

Medtronic Plans Layoffs, as Infuse Bone Graft Controversy Continues to Weigh on Spinal Business

Medtronic Plans Layoffs, as Infuse Bone Graft Controversy Continues to Weigh on Spinal Business

Medtronic’s spinal division continues to take a huge hit thanks to the controversy surrounding its Infuse Bone Graft product. According to a report from MassDevice.com, the company’s latest earnings report stated that the division saw Infuse sales decline 26% in the first quarter of 2012, and now Medtronic is talking ...

Read More

Medtronic Infuse Lawsuit Alleges Off-Label Use Cause Painful Complications

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 ...

Read More

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

Posted in Nursing Home Abuse |

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

Posted in Defective Medical Devices, Metal Hip Implants |

Man Alleges Taking Actos for Two Years Caused Bladder Cancer

Actos_Bladder_CancerA 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

Posted in Actos, Legal News, Pharmaceuticals |

Parker Waichman LLP Takes on Credit Card Companies, Fights for Small Business

Credit_Card_Companies_AbuseNational law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, and co-counsel just filed an objection to the passage of a proposed $7.25 billion settlement of a price-fixing case brought against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over credit card transaction fees. Co-counsel—both based in Little Rock, Arkansas—are Duncan Firm P.A. and Thrash Law Firm P.A.

The settlement has drawn criticism from trade associations and retailers that argue that the settlement grants credit card companies too much leeway to raise future rates, according to Bloomberg News. Continue reading

Posted in Legal News, Press Releases |

GranuFlo, NaturaLyte Maker Faces Center Closure Following Patient Deaths, Poor Infection Control Standards

GranuFlo_DialysisA dialysis center owned by Fresenius Medical Care North America has shut down following infection-related deaths and hospitalizations.

The Bessemer Kidney Center is one of one dozen dialysis centers in Alabama that are owned by Fresenius Medical Care. This center was shut down earlier this month following two patient deaths and other patient hospitalizations that occurred over a matter of days, according to AL.com. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alabama Department of Public Health are investigating. Continue reading

Posted in Legal News, Malpractice, Pharmaceuticals, Product Recalls, Recalled Drugs |

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 |