Personal Injury

April 19, 2011

Veterans’ Case Toxic Tort Claim Over Agent Orange Dimissed

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has dismissed an Agent Orange petition in a case originally brought by Vietnam veterans more than 30 years ago. This is a sad and tragic verdict for our men who gallantly fought for this country and who have been severely impacted by the diseases brought on by toxic exposure.

After their disability claims were denied, five veterans in 1979 filed a challenge to a 1978 Veterans’ Administration publication suggesting that only limited claims could be brought based on chemical exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants during the Vietnam War.

The Federal Circuit, after recounting the labyrinthine history of the case, ruled that it lacked jurisdiction because there was no court avenue for procedural challenges to Department of Veterans Affairs regulations until the 1988 Veterans’ Judicial Review Act.

April 18, 2011

Will Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella Be Recalled?

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Texas Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella Dangerous Drug Side Effect Attorney, I am providing this litigation update for current clients and potential new victims.

Many women who have suffered by side effects of Yaz and Yasmin birth control are expected to call for Bayer to issue a Yaz and Yasmin recall at an upcoming shareholder’s meeting. They claim that the popular birth control pills may be responsible for the death of more than 190 women in the United States. Bayer will hold its annual shareholder meeting on April 29 in Cologne, Germany.

Lawsuits against Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals continue to be filed on behalf of women who claim to have suffered serious injuries as a result of Yaz or Yasmin (generic: Ocella) birth control pills. Consumer groups and some members of the medical community are questioning Yaz side effects and the increased risk for blood clots and strokes. Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are considered “fourth generation” combination birth control pills. They contain a newer type of synthetic progestin called drospirenone. This contraceptive is one of the most popular contraceptives and has been heavily marketed to women throughout the United States promoting its use in treating premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

In the latest study of teenage girls and birth-control habits suggests the oral contraceptive Yaz is more popular with teenage girls and young adults than ever before. In the study, Yaz was named “by far” the most popular oral contraceptive for US women aged 13-18. The study was based on the behaviors of more than 3 million American women between 2002 and 2009.

The FDA has at least 190 reports of Yaz and Yasmin deaths in the United States that were linked to the use of the highly successful birth control pills. That number is likely to be a fraction of the actual number of deaths from Yasmin and Yaz, as it is acknowledged that only about 1% to 10% of all adverse events associated with the use of medications are ever reported.

Bayer’s line of drosperinone-based oral contraceptives, Yaz and Yasmin, have been found to carry an 80% increased risk of thrombosis events than older birth control pills by some studies. Thousands of women throughout the United States have filed a Yaz lawsuit or Yasmin lawsuit against Bayer, alleging that the drug maker failed to adequately research the risks associated with the medication or warn women that they may be exposed to an increased risk of serious and potentially fatal side effects when using the birth control pills. Lawsuits also allege that Bayer engaged in deceptive and misleading advertisements that were directed to consumers and the medical community.

The Yaz and Yasmin lawyers at Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm represent women throughout the United States who are pursuing a lawsuit over an injury or death that may have been prevented if Bayer had recalled Yaz and Yasmin or provided adequate warnings. Potential Yaz and Yasmin recall lawsuits are being reviewed for women who have suffered an injury or death as a result of a:

* Stroke or Heart Attack
* Pulmonary Embolism
* Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
* Gallbladder Disease

April 17, 2011

Texas Titanic About to Hit The Fosamax Iceberg?

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Every day, we are hearing a lot of bad news about the osteoporosis drug Fosamax. Made by Merck & Co., Fosamax has been a successful bone disease treatment on the market for over a decade. In January 2009, medical studies were released that hit the drug and its manufacturer hard. The first study links Fosamax to osteonecrosis, of the jaw, and the second, links Fosamax to esophageal cancer. Are these reports the Titantic that is about to hit the Fosamax iceberg?
$fosamax_femur_fracture.jpg$

Fosamax works by attacking cells in the body responsible for bone breakdown, which can help patients dealing with osteoporosis. At the same time, if the drug is too efficient, it can cause the bone to grow too dense, which takes up inner bone space where bone marrow is found. Bone marrow is responsible for bone healing and growth, so without enough marrow, the bone will die. If you do break a bone that has been subjected to Fosamax and similar drugs it won’t heal.

Medical studies linking the drug to esophageal cancer report that many of those affected had used the drug for over two years. One thing is certain – we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Fosamax injuries. Currently there are over 1,000 Fosamax lawsuits in litigation, and as more studies are done to confirm the allegations against the drug, we may see even more patients coming forward.

Fosamax, when used over time, can cause dead jaw, and Fosamax femur fractures have been a major problem in some cases. When you have osteoporosis, your bones become extremely fragile, and fractures can happen even with just a bump or gentle fall. Most often, fractures happen in the hips, spine, and wrists. If you break your hip, you typically need major surgery to fix it, and even then, you may have problems walking for the rest of your life. With spinal fractures, the same is true, and patients generally have back pain and may have to deal with deformities.

Fosamax and the following drugs Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets, Actonel with Calcium (risedronate sodium with calcium carbonate tablets), Atelvia (risedronate sodium) delayed-release tablets, Boniva (ibandronate sodium) tablets, Fosamax (alendronate sodium) tablets and oral solution, Fosamax Plus D (alendronate sodium/cholecalciferol) Tablets, Reclast (zoledronic acid) Injections are now required to have clear warning labels regarding low-energy, or low trauma fractures of the femoral shaft (leg bone).

As a Fosamax osteoporosis attorney, I suggest discussing this drug with any elderly female friends and relatives as they may be unaware of the current crisis and the FDA’s warnings.

April 16, 2011

Fosamax Femur Fracture Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fosamax Femur Fracture attorney, I am providing this update regarding Fosamax Femur Fractures.

$fosamax_femur_fracture.jpg$

There are now many Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits filed by folks who have suffered a femur fracture or other bone fracture after taking the osteoporosis drug.The FDA added warnings about the risk of bone fractures from Fosamax and other bisphosphonate medications in October 2010, requiring drug makers to warn consumers that they should seek immediate medical attention if they experience new groin pain or thigh pain while taking the drug, which can occur weeks or months before a complete fracture of the femur on Fosamax occurs.

The Fosamax bone fracture lawsuits allege that Merck failed to adequately research their medication or provide adequate warnings before they suffered a femur fracture or bone break. Merck has asked the U.S. Judicial Panel to centralize and consolidate the Fosamax bone fracture litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, where most of the cases are currently pending and where the drug maker has its headquarters.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) included publication of a major case control study relating to bisphosphonates (particularly Fosamax) and subtrochanteric femur fractures. The researchers who authored the study concluded that patients on long-term bisphosphonates for osteoporosis therapy had a 274% higher chance of subtrochanteric femur fractures than similar matched patients. (OR 2.74.) The authors concluded “these findings provide strong evidence that prolonged bisphosphonate therapy is associated with an increased risk of subtrochanteric or femoral shaft fracture.”
Bone fracture lawsuits were excluded from the prior Fosamax MDL, which was established in August 2006 for claims filed by individuals who suffered decay of the jaw bone from Fosamax.

A popular osteoporosis drug, Fosamax® and its generic form Alendronate®, is implicated to cause spontaneous fractures.Fosamax® is a drug used to strengthen bones, for many women it has worked successfully but according to medical reports, women who have taken the drug for five years are at risk of suffering spontaneous fractures.

Fosamax and the following drugs Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets, Actonel with Calcium (risedronate sodium with calcium carbonate tablets), Atelvia (risedronate sodium) delayed-release tablets, Boniva (ibandronate sodium) tablets, Fosamax (alendronate sodium) tablets and oral solution, Fosamax Plus D (alendronate sodium/cholecalciferol) Tablets, Reclast (zoledronic acid) Injections are now required to have clear warning labels regarding low-energy, or low trauma fractures of the femoral shaft (leg bone).

As a Fosamax medication attorney, I suggest discussing this drug with any elderly female friends and relatives as they may be unaware of the current crisis and the FDA’s warnings.

Doctors are seeing many femurs fractured in patients who have been on the drug. If you have taken Fosamax® or its generic form Alendronate® and believe to have been injured as a result, please fill out the form below to contact a Case Manager.

April 15, 2011

Propecia Product Liability Lawsuit Filed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Dallas Propecia Side Effect Litigation Attorney, I want to pose the following question-how many men do you think, would trade a head of hair for the significant possibility of permanent impotence and male breasts (gynecomastia). Did not think so.

Finasteride is a highly potent inhibitor of Type II 5-Alpha Reductase, an enzyme that converts testosterone, into dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Propecia (1mg) was approved by the FDA in 1997 and is marketed as a treatment for male pattern hair loss (MPHL), as DHT has been implicated in the balding process. Proscar (5mg) was approved in 1992 by the FDA for treatment of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH – enlargement of the prostate).

Both Propecia and Proscar share the same active ingredient (Finasteride) which can aid in stopping hair loss.

Clinical studies of Finasteride for male pattern hair loss, including the Propecia clinical trials for the FDA, indicate that a certain percentage of men may experience negative sexual side effects from Finasteride, including decreased libido or sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and decreased ejaculate volume while on the medication.

In addition, prescribing information warns against possible physical changes to the body, including breast tenderness or enlargement (gynecomastia); hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions including rash, pruritis (itching) and urticaria (hives); swelling of the lips and face; testicular pain; ejaculation disorder; impotence; and male breast cancer. The official warning label for the drug in the U.S. says that sexual side effects — such as erectile dysfunction — occurred in less than 2 percent of men and that these side effects went away in men who stopped taking it. In a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court in February by two men who took Propecia claims that in the U.K., Sweden and Italy the Propecia warning label says that sexual dysfunction may be permanent.

Some men have also reported various other psychiatric, neurological and neurocognitive side effects from Propecia, including depression, sexual anhedonia, sexual anesthesia, anxiety, bipolar mood disorder, suicidal ideation, cognitive dysfunction (memory loss or difficulty with intellectual processing), slurring of speech, social withdrawal, lethargy/fatigue and listlessness, and other amotivational states.

Many men who took Propecia or Proscar for MPHL have experienced mental, physical, and sexual side effects while on the medication, then discontinued Propecia, and then fully expected to return to normal in accordance with representations made in the official prescribing information. Men worried about losing their hair may be losing far more than that if they take the popular drug Propecia.

Two new studies were published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine in March 2011. Young men are being prescribed these drugs, as hair loss treatments that may negatively impact their sexual life, possibly for a prolonged time after stopping the medication, according to Dr. Irwin Goldstein, the journal’s editor-in-chief.

A new research says 5 to 23 percent of the millions of men who take the drug may become impotent and have lowered sex drives because of the active ingredient finasteride. And the problem may linger years after they stop taking the drug.

April 13, 2011

Dallas Monster Car Accident Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Dallas Car Accident DUI Attorney, I am reporting this tragic pedestrian monster car wrongful death accident.

The parents of a Granbury college student who was struck and killed by a monster truck outside a Dallas strip club, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of the truck and the club.

The lawsuit comes after Kasey McKenzie, 23, was killed while leaving with friends after a party at the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club shortly after 2 a.m. when Eric Crutchfield, pulled his custom 2003 Ford F-250 truck out of a parking space and ran over her with both front and rear tires.McKenzie died at the scene.

The lawsuit claims that the club was negligent when bartenders served Crutchfield past the legal limit of intoxication and allowed him to get in his vehicle and drive, even though it was apparent he was drunk, according to the parent’s lawyer.

The lawsuit also claims that Crutchfield was driving with a suspended license and was so intoxicated at the time of McKenzie’s death that he didn’t know he had hit anyone.

Crutchfield’s truck had a lift kit that limited his field of vision and was not in keeping with federal and state regulations.

The Dallas resident was charged with intoxication manslaughter after his blood alcohol level was shown to be 0.18, more than twice the legal limit at 0.08, according to Dallas police spokesman Kevin Janse.

April 12, 2011

NuvaRing Birth Control Lawsuits Moving Ahead

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Defective Drugs and Product liability attorneys have submitted a proposal for the selection of bellweather trials in the federal NuvaRing multidistrict litigation (MDL).

NuvaRing is a form of birth control that releases a combination of etonogestrel and ethinyl estradiol through a ring that is inserted into the vagina once a month.

All NuvaRing lawsuits filed in federal district courts throughout the United States have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. These complaints all involve women who suffered the following injuries; stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or sudden death. The claims allege that the drug makers failed to research the birth control ring or warn about the potential increased risk of these serious problems.

The bellweather process is common in complex litigation involving a number of claims that raise similar allegations. By selecting a small group of cases for an early trial, the parties are able to get an idea how a jury is likely to respond to evidence and testimony. The outcome of these trials shapes the litigation and may lead to an agreement to settle NuvaRing birth control lawsuits by the drug maker.

To reduce the number of cases that must go through expert discovery, the parties have proposed that nine cases constitute the final trial pool. Expert discovery would then be limited to the nine cases in the final trial pool, which will occur over 2012.

As of the end of 2010, more than 730 victims had filed a NuvaRing lawsuit and the number of cases is expected to increase over the next year. The vast majority of the pending NuvaRing cases filed throughout the country are included in the MDL, but additional lawsuits are pending in New Jersey state court and other state courts throughout the United States.

April 10, 2011

Propecia Use Can Lead to Permanent Sexual Dysfunction

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A lawsuit has been filed against Merck, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The complaint alleges that the drug manufacturer warned European users that the drug Propecia may cause sexual problems in men, but did not provide American users the same warning.

According to the complaint, plaintiffs were prescribed Propecia to combat male pattern hair loss, and they suffered serious sexual dysfunction.

The lawsuit alleges that the warnings about the risk of sexual problems from Propecia differed significantly in Europe from the label warnings to users of Propecia in the U.S.

In Europe, Propecia labels stating that erectile dysfunction problems may persist after the patient discontinues use treatment with Propecia were added in 2008.

Propecia (finasteride) was approved in 1992 for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, and also is approved to treat male pattern baldness.

Last month researchers from the U.S. published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine that found side effects of Propecia were linked to sexual problems in men. Researchers indicated that the class of drugs known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors can cause loss of libido, depression erectile dysfunction, reduced semen production and growth of male breast tissue.

The lawsuit over Propecia charges Merck with negligence, failure to warn, strict product liability, and breach of warranty.

April 4, 2011

Houston Texas Pain Pill Mill Doctor Busted Again

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Dallas Medical License Defense Attorney, I am providing this article regarding a Houston Pain Pill Mill Doctor being busted again. It looks like this guy and his cronies did not learn their lesson. This is a quick fire way to lose your medical and pharmacy licenses.

A physician and two pharmacists arrested in a Houston high-volume pill mill operation, had previously faced disciplinary probes for distributing controlled drugs, and all three had been allowed to continue to work despite those allegations, according to professional disciplinary records.

For two years Dr. Gerald Ratinov, the state’s top prescriber of the pain killer drug hydrocodone, has been under investigation by the Texas Medical Board (TMB) for operating another Harris County pill mill. At that site, an unlicensed foreign medical graduate dispensed drugs and patients received pain pills without proper examinations in 2008.

During the TMB disciplinary action, Ratinov, a 76-year-old neurologist, opened the Astrodome Health Clinic in September 2010 — another site described as a pill mill, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. And at that clinic and two other sites, he supervised unlicensed foreign medical school graduates and others who illegally supplied pills.

Ratinov now faces felony charges for illegally operating three pill mills: the Astrodome Health Clinic, The Abundant Life and Weight Loss Center and the Hobby Medical Center.

20 people face charges resulting from this week’s pill mill sting, which involved three clinics and four pharmacies. The DEA, the Department of Public Safety, the medical and pharmacy boards and other agencies participated.

Two pharmacists arrested this week already had been on probation with the state Board of Pharmacy for previous prescription problems, according to Pharmacy Board records.

March 31, 2011

Fort Worth Truck Explosion Accident Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Car Accident and Truck Accident attorney, I am reporting this tragic accident that lead to a wrongful death of the truck driver, from a tanker gasoline explosion. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Raya family.

Fort Worth police have arrested and charged Louis Nieves, 23, with intoxication manslaughter after a fiery traffic accident early in the morning that killed the driver of a fuel tanker truck and shut down the freeway most of the day.

Nieves was the driver of a small red pickup truck. Police reported he was driving the wrong way on Interstate 30 when he slammed into the oncoming 18-wheeler near the Beach Street exit at 2:37 a.m.

The freeway was shut down and traffic was backed up through downtown Fort Worth after the deadly wrong-way crash. The tanker exploded after impact, killing its driver. The truck was so badly burned that the flames destroyed the tanker and damaged the surface of the freeway.

The red pickup showed significant front end damage, but did not catch on fire. Emergency crews rushed Nieves to a nearby hospital. He was treated at the hospital, released and booked into the Fort Worth jail. Officers said several people called 911 to report the wrong-way driver.

The other two lanes remain badly damaged and must undergo extensive repairs. TxDOT said the road must be resurfaced and, underneath, steel beams and the concrete support system that burned must also be replaced.

The tanker was so badly burned, there is no obvious way to determine who owns it or even to whom it was registered.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has opened an investigation into where a 23-year-old pickup driver was drinking before he was involved in a fiery crash.

Louis Nieves, 23, who was arrested after the wreck, told a reporter for WFAA/Channel 8 TV that he had drunk 10 beers before getting behind the wheel and leaving a bar on East Eighth Street near the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Family and friends identified the tanker driver as 45-year-old Alejandro Raya of Fort Worth.

The beverage commission is investigating but won’t identify the business until the investigation is further along.

Nieves, who faces a charge of intoxication manslaughter, remained in the Mansfield Jail with bail set at $90,000, according to Fort Worth police.

Alejandro Raya left a wife and three children, ages 21, 14 and 12. Alejandro Raya moved to the United States from Mexico in the 1980s. Raya was working for Petro-Chemical Transport, based in Addison, according to a company spokeswoman. Gasoline fuel that spilled from the tanker ignited, melting steel beams and concrete in the I-30 bridge over Sycamore Creek.