A range of health problems are linked to the pits on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Toxic substances have been found in the smoke. The noxious smoke plumes that wafted over the military base in Balad, Iraq, alarmed Lt. Col. Michelle Franco. The stench from a huge burn pit…
Roche Holding AG, the Swiss drugmaker, must pay $25.16 million in damages to a former user of its Accutane drug who blamed the acne medicine for his inflammatory bowel disease, a New Jersey jury ruled. Andrew McCarrell, 38, won the verdict at a retrial in Atlantic City, New Jersey. An…
The family of Kristen Spears alleges an overdose of the drug manufactured by Irvine-based Allergan Inc. killed her at age 7. Spears started getting Botox injections at the age of 6 — not to smooth furrows in her brow, but to calm spasms in her legs. The girl was born…
A Rhode Island meat company recalled 1.24 million pounds of pepper-coated salami, after officials conducting a months-long, multistate investigation of a salmonella outbreak compared shopping receipts of those who got sick. The recall by Daniele International Inc. comes amid an outbreak that’s sickened 184 people in 38 states since July.…
In Pennsylvania’s first precedent-setting decision regarding hormone replacement therapy mass tort litigation, the Superior Court has revived a plaintiff’s lawsuit by finding that the plaintiff was entitled to an exception to the two-year statute of limitations because she couldn’t have reasonably known of an alleged link between her breast cancer…
Baxter International Inc., which recalled its blood thinner heparin amid reports of allergic reactions and deaths in 2008, faces at least 30 lawsuits in Chicago by injured people or their estates. As many as 300 product-liability complaints may be filed in the Illinois state court, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Allen…
Byetta (exenatide) is a type 2 diabetes drug that is used to control blood sugar levels. It is part of a class of medications known as incretin mimetics, which imitate natural hormones that lower blood glucose levels. Last month, the FDA expanded the use of Byetta to a stand-alone diabetes…
The FDA has warned Amylin Pharmaceuticals that they have made false and misleading statements about the diabetes drug Byetta. The FDA letter was sent to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, alerting the company that federal regulators were aware of statements made by representatives that provided misleading or false information about the benefits of…
When we reviewed the litigation over AstraZeneca’s antipsychotic Seroquel in June, there was debate over whether the litigation was a bust for the thousands of plaintiffs who’d filed suits claiming the drug caused their diabetes. Delaware court judge, who had just tossed a Seroquel case on Daubert grounds, warned in…
A recent lawsuit brought by a group of Indiana National Guardsman spotlights a controversial legal doctrine that prevents soldiers on active duty from seeking compensation for injuries sustained in war zones. The guardsman allege that a mission to help clean up a water treatment plant in southern Iraq left them…