Personal Injury

May 14, 2010

Accutane Lawsuit Settled on eve of Trial

A man who claimed that he developed severe bowel problems from Accutane, an acne medication, has reached a pre-trial settlement with Roche Laboratories, the drug’s manufacturer.

Roche has asked Madison County Circuit Judge to approve the Accutane settlement, according to a report in The Madison Record.

The plaintiff, Peipert alleges that Dr. Daniel Goran prescribed him Accutane to treat his acne, and that the drug caused him to develop the debilitating condition, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The case was set to go to trial on April 19, but start of the trial was delayed due the potential settlement with Accutane manufacturers.

May 14, 2010

Yaz Yasmin Birth Control Claims

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Popular birth control pills taken by millions of women might be causing serious side effects, that in some cases have led to death. That’s the claim of a growing number of lawsuits.

Yaz and its sister drug Yasmin are big sellers marketed to women under 35. Hormones in all birth control pills can cause blood to thicken, but there are more than 1,000 lawsuits saying Yaz and Yasmin cause more blood clots than others.

Read the full story here

May 13, 2010

According to Scientists Oil Spill in Gulf Underestimated,

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Scientists and environmental groups are raising questions about 5,000 gallons per day estimate. They also criticize BP for refusing to use scientific techniques that would give a more precise figure.

BP has repeatedly claimed that measuring the plume of oil gushing from the broken well would be impossible.

The issue of how fast the well is leaking has been unclear from the beginning. For several days after the April 21 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, the government and BP claimed that the well on the ocean floor was leaking about 1,000 barrels a day.

May 12, 2010

OK Jury Finds Botox Maker Negligent, Awards $15 M

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An Oklahoma City jury has ordered Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox Cosmetic, to pay $15 million to a local doctor who claimed she suffered botulism poisoning from the product.

Dr. Sharla Helton claimed in her lawsuit that the illness she suffered as a result of Botox injections in 2006 caused her to quit her job. The jury said they ruled against Allergan Inc. because their Botox product did not have adequate information about side affects on its warning label. Nolan Clay, NewsOK.com 05/12/2010
Read Article: NewsOK.com

May 11, 2010

Teva & Baxter Ordered to Pay $500 M in Hep C Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Baxter Healthcare Services were ordered to pay a combined $500 million in punitive damages to a Nevada man who contracted Hepatitis C during an outbreak two years ago.

The Clark County District Court jury in Nevada ordered Teva to pay $356 million and Baxter to pay $144 million in the largest jury award in Nevada history.

Read full Reuters story here.

May 11, 2010

Atmos Responsible for Multiple Violations in Blast at Mesquite Texas Home

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Atmos Energy failed to meet minimum safety regulations in connection with a home explosion in Mesquite, according to a state investigation.

The Texas Railroad Commission investigation found that Atmos should phase out the type of steel natural gas lines used in the area. The company has decided to replace each of the 680 lines in the area of Town East Estates subdivision.

Read the full story at the Dallas Morning News.

May 9, 2010

Attempt to Contain Gulf Oil Spill Plagued With Problems

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The effort to contain the oil spill that has poured millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico encountered a setback, according to officials. This means that oil will continue gushing into the ocean for possibly months.

Workers earlier maneuvered a containment dome over the remaining leaks on the seabed to funnel the oil to the surface, where it would be collected by a drill ship.

Read the full story here at the New York Times.

May 6, 2010

BP Oil From Gulf Spill Lands in Louisiana

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Oil from the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico came ashore on a chain of islands off the Louisiana coast today as the Obama administration accused BP Plc and its agents of making “very major mistakes” in the negligent drilling operation.

BP engineers were to lower a huge metal chamber over the ruptured seabed well, which has been gushing oil a huge amount per day since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded two weeks ago off the Louisiana Coast, killing 11 workers.

Read the full Reuters story here.

May 5, 2010

BP Gives Gloomy Outlook on Gulf Oil Spill

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In the worst case, the disaster could grow at 12 times the rate of current estimates, BP officials say at a Capitol Hill briefing.

BP officials told congressional representatives that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could grow at a rate more than 10 times current estimates in a worst-case scenario — greatly enlarging the potential scope of the disaster.

Most of the handful of congressional Democrats and Republicans who met with representatives from BP, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton in a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill walked away unimpressed.

Read full LA Times story here.

May 4, 2010

After Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Devastation Predicted For Region

by Dr. Shezad Malik

With each day that the leaking oil well a mile below the surface remains uncapped, scientists and energy industry observers are imagining outcomes that range from bad to worse to worst, with some forecasting a calamity of historic proportions.

Executives from oil giant BP and other energy companies, meanwhile, shared their own worst-case scenario in a Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, saying that if they fail to close the well, the spill could increase from an estimated 5,000 barrels a day to 40,000 barrels.

Read the full Washington Post Story here.