Legal News

Trasylol: “Making Everybody Scared”

Posted on February 26, 2008
Como, MS: Christine S. says she and her husband watched the 60 Minutes Trasylol article in shock. When the report ended, she says they looked at each other and said, "That sounds like Mother, doesn't it?"

Job Discrimination Cases have Lawmakers Scratching their Heads

Posted on February 26, 2008
Washington, DC: Supreme Court justices are now scratching their heads due to two new job discrimination cases that have fallen into their laps. They are wondering exactly how well federal law protects employees from retaliation by their employers when they make claims of discrimination...

Nadar's Public Citizen Seeking Black Box Warning for Botox

Posted on February 26, 2008
Los Angeles, CA: Many are willing to go great lengths to achieve beauty, which even means gambling with their lives. With new evidence that Botox allegedly causes paralysis and even death in some of those who swear by the toxic boost, those who religiously receive the injections are said to be risking their lives to look good.

Baby Suffers Chemical Burn Injury

Posted on February 26, 2008
Crofton, MD: Nancy J. was told that her baby suffered a chemical burn due to IV infiltration while she was in the hospital, but the burn was superficial. Apparently, calcium had leaked out of her vein and burnt her skin. One month later, the plastic surgeon told her that the burn injury might have caused nerve and/or muscle damage.

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Vytorin Makers in Marketing Mess

Posted on February 26, 2008
Washington, DC: On February 15, 2008 a House Committee suggested that Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp., the manufacturers of Vytorin, were aware of the negative ENHANCE study results nine months before it was made public, yet the giant drug companies continued to market the popular heart drug/ cholesterol medicine...

Daniel Troy - Bush Administration's Preemption Gang - Part II

Posted on February 26, 2008
Washington, DC: In the fall of 2004, Daniel Troy left the FDA armed with the preemption policy he put in place. Now a partner at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, Mr Troy works for a firm that he told Lily Henning of the Legal Times on September 20, 2005, "represents pretty much almost every company" in the brand-name drug industry.

Botox: Risk of Injury and Death Tough to Swallow

Posted on February 25, 2008
Washington, DC: Imagine drowning out of water. That's what aspiration pneumonia could feel like as a result of the migration of a Botox treatment into an area of the body it was never meant to treat. So far 16 deaths have been reported from the use of Botox.

Is Your Kidney Failure Due to Trasylol?

Posted on February 25, 2008
Nashville, TN: If the February 17th edition of 60 Minutes on CBS wasn't enough to condemn Trasylol in the eyes of Americans, the publication of two additional studies slamming the safety of Trasylol should convince any remaining doubters regarding the mounting evidence that Trasylol leads to an increase in death and kidney failure.

Ezetrol: Zetia by Any Other Name…

Posted on February 25, 2008
Toronto, ON: Canadian visitors to LawyersAndSettlements may wonder about all the recent uproar around Zetia, Merck Pharmaceuticals' costly and quite possibly ineffective anti-cholesterol drug, and its offshoot Vytorin, the combination Zetia/simvastatin (Zocor) drug produced jointly by Merck/Schering-Plough...

Icy Hot: So Hot, It Hurts

Posted on February 25, 2008
Jacksonville, TN: The promise of 'powerful relief at the point of pain' has gone just a little awry for some 200 consumers who report suffering first, second and third-degree burns and a host of other skin irritations from Icy Hot Heat Therapy products.

Mutual Fund ERISA: Individuals Can Sue for Losses

Posted on February 25, 2008
Washington, DC: A landmark Supreme Court decision that could have wide-ranging implication for mutual fund ERISA lawsuits was handed down earlier this week.

Yamaha Rhino Rollovers: Critics Complain About High Center of Gravity

Posted on February 25, 2008
Norton, OH: Robert M. does not own a Yamaha Rhino. He does own a Yamaha Grizzly, one that was involved in a rollover accident last year. He has been riding ATVs for over 20 years and says that the Grizzly had too high a center of gravity—a complaint that has also been made about the Yamaha Rhino...

Daniel Troy - Bush Administration's Preemption Gang - Part I

Posted on February 25, 2008
Washington, DC: Judging by the line-up of current and former Bush Administration attorneys representing the pharmaceutical industry against private citizens in courts all over the country, no conflict-of-interest regulations apply to attorneys who work for Bush.

Governor of New York Adamant About Family Leave

Posted on February 24, 2008
Albany, NY: Governor Spitzer of New York is adamant about his state providing its own family leave provision. Recently, in a State of the State address he warned lawmakers that New Yorkers need protection when they need to take time off to care for loved ones...

Supreme Court Decision May Not Shield Medtronic Sprint Fidelis from Legal Action

Posted on February 24, 2008
Washington, DC: Make no mistake about it: the recent Supreme Court decision in Riegel v. Medtronic is exactly what the plaintiffs' attorney Allison Zieve calls it: "Pretty bad for patients, pretty good for industry profits." In dismissing a state court lawsuit against Medtronic for the failure of an Evergreen balloon catheter, the Supremes gave Medtronic and other medical device manufacturers a shield against state legal action for any medical device that received pre-market approval (PMA) from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Nursing Home Abuse: “Common but Underreported”

Posted on February 24, 2008
Sandusky, OH: When people move their loved ones into nursing homes, they do so believing that their family members will have a better quality of life in the nursing home than they would have on their own. They believe that their loved ones will be well looked after, that their needs will be met and that they will be safe--nursing home abuse is not even considered...

Fen-Phen Victims Get the Last Word

Posted on February 24, 2008
Lexington, KY: In 1997, the diet drug Fen-phen was removed from the market due to its prevalence to cause heart problems and primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). The company was required to pay out billions of dollars in settlements to those who had taken the diet pill and had later developed health conditions that were determined to be a result of taking the drug.

Overtime: between a rock and a hard place

Posted on February 24, 2008
Houston, TX: "There are a lot of things going on with Walgreens that aren't right, especially overtime issues," says pharmacist Donna S. (not her real name for fear of retaliation). She has worked at the huge pharmacy chain for 20 years and estimates she is owed close to $250,000 in overtime pay!

Truck Accident: Dealing with the Aftermath

Posted on February 24, 2008
Fountain Valley, CA: When people think about truck accidents, they usually think about the physical injuries involved. They imagine the physical consequences but do not consider how they will be treated by the truck's owners after the accident. Unfortunately, how victims are treated after an accident can be almost as difficult to endure as their physical injuries...

Asbestos Exposure: “None of us had a Clue”

Posted on February 23, 2008
St. Petersburg, FL: Steve S. had a job back in the 1980s removing asbestos from a huge General Electric plant. Now, his chronic cough is getting so bad that his doctor wants Steve to have lung tests next week. What really worries Steve is that his uncle has been diagnosed with mesothelioma—a form of cancer that is directly linked to asbestos exposure-- and their symptoms are identical.

Congressman Turns up the Heat on the FDA Over Accutane and Others

Posted on February 23, 2008
Washington, DC: Rep. Bart Stupak is turning up the heat on the FDA over the type of protection they are providing Americans when it comes to unsafe drugs. One of those drugs that Stupak is especially concerned about is the acne medication, Accutane.

Botox Could Leave You Breathless

Posted on February 23, 2008
Washington, DC: Recent concern over adverse effects, including deaths stemming from injections of Botox and Myobloc for both cosmetic uses and muscular conditions appear to carry much more weight in Europe, than it has in the US.

Defective Products vs. The Supreme Court. They Fight, You Lose

Posted on February 23, 2008
Peachtree City, GA: On February 21st the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in concert with Rinnai America Corp, announced a voluntary product safety recall involving the defective product Rinnai EnergySaver Direct-Vent Wall Furnace, due to a potential carbon monoxide hazard.

Chantix: Complaints Keep Coming In

Posted on February 23, 2008
Freemont, NC: With every day that passes, more and more people are writing to LawyersandSettlements with their complaints about Chantix. Most of the complaints involve serious side effects, including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.

Possible Good News for Those Taking the Oral Form of Fosamax

Posted on February 23, 2008
New York, NY: Previous research has found a possible connection between the drug Fosamax and osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). However, a recent study conducted within the US that involved over 7,000 patients found that the use of drugs such as Fosamax, or bisphosphonates, has very little effect on ONJ when taken orally...

Transgender Law to Possibly be Compromised

Posted on February 23, 2008
Baltimore City, MD: A heated debate is allegedly taking place in Maryland in regard to a law intended to safeguard rights for transgendered people. The law offers shielding for the transgendered for the areas and services of: public accommodations, provision for taxis and cable, housing and jobs...

Legal Issues Imminent for Makers of Duragesic/Fentanyl Patches

Posted on February 23, 2008
Raritan, NJ: Duragesic/Fentanyl patches have been the object of recall on two separate occasions in less than one week. The first recall was from PriCara and Sandoza, recalling all patches of 25 microgram/hour. The patches were produced by Alza.

Trucker Loses Leg and Career

Posted on February 22, 2008
Williston, ND: Cory has been hanging around trucks for 25 years; driving them, repairing them, loading them. Never once did he come close to a truck accident. His luck ran out just before Christmas thanks to the inattention of another driver.

California Overtime: “Why are they getting away with this?”

Posted on February 22, 2008
Santa Ana, CA: "Can you imagine being in a huge building, and they lock the doors and they have this woman who's been given enormous power over you saying over the loudspeaker that if you laugh you will not go home, and you're sweating because they've turned off the air conditioning and it's so hot in there?" asks Cathy Merino...

Future Testing Set for Chantix the Smoking Cessation Drug for Other Purposes

Posted on February 22, 2008
San Francisco, CA: Further testing will soon be underway for the smoking cessation drug Chantix. Dr. Selena Bartlett, originally from Australia, with Dr. Markus Heilig of the US, will be heading up a research project regarding the drug. The two doctors will be conducting the study using human participants to test the effectiveness of Chantix on other addictive behaviors such as alcoholism and gambling.

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