Legal News

Tainted Heparin: Counterfeiting is Suspected

Posted on March 20, 2008
Chicago, IL: While scientists close in on the identity of a mystery contaminant that's been showing up in tainted heparin from China, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: that the mystery substance was mixed in with the real thing to increase yield.

Lucky to be off Duragesic Pain Patch

Posted on March 20, 2008
Tucson, AZ: After five years of suffering mental and physical side effects from chronic back pain medication, Frank begged his doctor to prescribe a non-narcotic painkiller. The adhesive Duragesic pain patch sounded ideal but didn't take long for his situation to worsen.

Zetia/Vytorin: “He was a good man and his life was cut short.”

Posted on March 20, 2008
Parachute, CO: Melissa Cruz's father was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996. That's why today she continues to wonder why in 2002 his doctor prescribed him Merck/Schering-Plough's Zocor, then added Zetia about a year later, and again in 2007—the same combination of anti-cholesterol drugs used in the companies' Vytorin.

Recalled Icy Hot Patch: Burning Questions

Posted on March 20, 2008
Chattanooga, TN: The TV ads featuring Shaquille O'Neal made the Icy Hot Pain patches look slick and convenient. "For pain across your whole back, Icy Hot has it covered." And why not? Rather than struggle with creams and ointments, the simple application of a patch, which initially provides a cooling sensation, followed by soothing heat, sounds blissfully easy...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Endoscopy Patients Anxious about Hepatitis B, C and HIV

Posted on March 19, 2008
Las Vegas, NV: Since news broke about the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, patients of the clinic have written to LawyersandSettlements to express their anger, concern and frustration about their predicament. Many say they feel violated and suffer from anxiety about their possible health problems.

Bayer Now Facing 68 Trasylol Lawsuits

Posted on March 19, 2008
Los Angeles, CA: A number of lawsuits have been filed against Bayer AG for the drug Trasylol that was used in patients undergoing heart bypass surgery from 1993 until it was voluntarily suspended by Bayer in November 2007. Before the drug was taken off of the market, there were 19 lawsuits worldwide claiming that the drug had injured or killed those who were administered it during their surgery.

Chantix on Minds of Illinois People as Smoking Ban Ensues

Posted on March 19, 2008
Morris, IL: As Illinois approaches becoming a smokeless state in public places, the minds of Illinoisans have turned to smoking cessation drugs and methods for stopping the harmful habit. Some of the popular smoking cessation drugs at the moment are Chantix and Zyban...

Providence, RI Railroad Worker Loses Life by Amtrak Train

Posted on March 19, 2008
Providence, RI: A one-time employee of Amtrak who was working there in the capacity of a contractor, was killed, while two other railroad workers sustained injuries. Sixty-five year old Gary Graves lost his life on March 13th 2008 while completing some track work on a contracted basis for Amtrak.

Vytorin: “My Heart Attack could have been Prevented”

Posted on March 19, 2008
St. George, UT: About two years ago, Deloy's doctor prescribed Vytorin to lower his cholesterol. "My doctor was taking it as well so that was good enough for me," says Deloy. "Then I saw ads on TV about how great it was and that reassured me even more—it takes care of what your mum gave you and what your wife gives you...

Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Posted on March 19, 2008
Darlington, SC: The family of Mary Terry has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after she died of extreme malnutrition and neglect in the month of February 2008. The two members of her family that have jointly filed the wrongful death lawsuit are Andrew Gurley and Clarence Sims...

Mechanic’s Diagnosis: Mesothelioma

Posted on March 19, 2008
Clanton, AL: "My daddy was a mechanic for more than 50 years right here in Clanton," says Reginia Minor. "He owned Brand's Garage and drove a truck for as long as I can remember. But in May, 2000 he developed what we thought was lung cancer; he was scheduled for chemotherapy but he didn't make it: the doctor confirmed that it was mesothelioma...

PPH: Surprise Diagnosis

Posted on March 19, 2008
Memphis, TN: James Sullivan took Fen-Phen for three years. He knew about the lawsuits against this diet drug in the late 1990s but didn't pursue it because he lost weight, he was feeling great. "I wasn't diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (better known as PPH) until November, 2006," he says...

Disgruntled Car Owners will have their Day in Court

Posted on March 19, 2008
Kansas City, MI: General Motors Corp. may be held responsible for hundreds of thousands of disgruntled car owners' out-of-pocket for car repairs thanks to Dex-Cool antifreeze. The bright-orange coolant used in many GM vehicles over a period of about 10 years has come under fire for not only breaking down well before the promoted five-year, 150,000 mile window, but for laying at the root of millions of dollars of needless repairs incurred by vehicle owners.

Asbestos Mesothelioma: Some Interesting Questions

Posted on March 18, 2008
Bethesda, MD: The worst thing about asbestos mesothelioma, a relatively rare but evil cancer that affects 2000 Americans every year, is that you did little if anything to bring it on. With asbestos mesothelioma, you could have acquired your death sentence simply by getting up in the morning and going to work...

Chantix: One Man’s Compelling Story

Posted on March 18, 2008
New York, NY: One has only to read the revealing essay by writer Derek De Koff in New York Magazine, to get a true appreciation for the risks, and the reality of Chantix—a smoking cessation medication that has resulted in thousands of adverse affect reports to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and several actual suicides.

Wyeth: Did Pristiq Mis-Step Violate ERISA?

Posted on March 18, 2008
Madison, NJ: To be an employee, or a former employee of a drug company can serve to be a double-edged sword. While the billions of dollars major drug companies routinely rake in from sales of boffo drugs can have a positive impact on your stock holdings, the opposite can be true when a drug goes off the rails...

Man Survives Plane Crash, Fights Insurer in Court

Posted on March 18, 2008
Nipawin, SK: Returning home from a teachers' conference should have been the easiest part of Gint's trip but the erratic behavior of the pilot lead to an airplane crash. For Gint, the crash was followed by a year long nightmare as he continues to fight with the insurance company.

Best Buy Price Match: An Insider’s View

Posted on March 18, 2008
Beverly Hills, CA: Customers of Best Buy stores have been having difficulty with the chain's Price Match policy, which appears to promise a practically universal price match in Best Buy promotion and marketing, but contains so many exclusions in the fine print that the effective usefulness of the policy is gutted.

Our Daily Meds: This New Book is an Eye-Opener

Posted on March 18, 2008
New York, NY: A new book about the pharmaceutical industry slams drug makers, and makes the case for a nation hooked on prescription drugs—which is exactly what Big Pharma wants. Our Daily Meds' - How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves Into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs by Melody Petersen is a blockbuster new book by the former New York Times health reporter.

New York ERISA Suit Ends in Settlement

Posted on March 18, 2008
New York, NY: Eight years of litigation has passed and a settlement has finally been approved. A judge in federal court granted a settlement of $14 million in a class action lawsuit against New York Life Insurance Co. (NYL) that violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974...

Bear Stearns: The Bear is Silenced, The Investors Buffaloed

Posted on March 18, 2008
New York, NY: At news that JP Morgan, with an assist from the Federal Reserve had scooped up beleaguered Bear Stearns at a fire sale for $2 a share over the weekend, the financial world suddenly felt the cold wind that they had been hearing off in the distance for months...

Vytorin: “No one could tell me why I had a heart attack.”

Posted on March 18, 2008
Dalton, GA: Until a year ago, Larry Matthews had a normal life in this area near the Georgia-Tennessee border. He was physically active at home and at work, and like many men of a certain age, was keeping an eye on his cholesterol and blood pressure. That was before Vytorin, the combination Zetia/Zocor (simvastatin) anti-cholesterol drug from Merck/Schering-Plough, changed things for the worse.

Back Pay Hearing is Delayed

Posted on March 18, 2008
Lafayette, LA: Police officers, city marshals, and firefighters for Lafayette filed a lawsuit against the city for back pay owed in the form of unpaid wages. However, the hearing for the ongoing lawsuit has been postponed since there are questions regarding the amount in which the employees are owed...

Books for Less Case Closed

Posted on March 18, 2008
Pittsburgh, PA: Books for Less has recently been embroiled in a legal battle with twenty-one prior employees. Thirteen of the twenty-one employees had been in the employ of the book giant's Blawnox warehouse. The twenty-one involved in the lawsuit will receive a portion of a joint settlement of $180,000...

Avandia Experiment may have Killed Mom

Posted on March 17, 2008
Memphis, TN: When Sharon's mom first started taking Avandia for her diabetes, the drug was still experimental. Now, Sharon's mom is dead from congestive heart failure and Sharon herself is worried, after having taken Avandia for more than a year for her own diabetes.

Bextra, Bextra! Read All About It! First trial to be heard in May

Posted on March 17, 2008
San Francisco, CA: Nearly four years after Bextra was taken off the market for cardiovascular risk, the first Bextra trial is scheduled to be heard May 5th. On the heels of the mammoth $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement, the Multi-District Litigation (MDL) Court for the Bextra/Celebrex litigation is finally ramping up in California.

Vytorin: When the Snake-oil Salesman Comes Calling…

Posted on March 17, 2008
Cleveland, OH: They proved endearing to some, downright obnoxious to others. But the most annoying aspect of the allegedly fraudulent Vytorin TV ads featuring actors dressed to look like food, was that the ads promised the moon, while the product itself appears to have delivered little more than a lump of coal.

Hepatitis C in Nevada

Posted on March 17, 2008
Las Vegas, NV: As is often the case when news of a health violation breaks, the news gets worse before it gets better. Not more than a week after it was revealed that an outpatient clinic in Nevada had been investigated with regard to six cases of hepatitis C potentially caused by the re-use of syringes, comes news that the patients of six other centers may be at risk.

Thimerosal, the Polings, and John McCain

Posted on March 17, 2008
Seattle, WA: With the recent news of the Polings' settlement against the federal government regarding the fact that the vaccine preservative Thimerosal aggravated an underlying mitochondrial condition that caused Hannah Polings' autism, other families are looking to see how they can also receive damages for their children's autism...

Yamaha Rhino Rollover Slices Man’s Leg to the Bone

Posted on March 17, 2008
Atmore, AL: When Mike purchased his Yamaha Rhino in September 2007, he had no idea that within four months, the vehicle would be sitting idle in his mother's garage after a rollover accident left him with a seriously damaged leg.

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.