Personal Injury

August 3, 2009

Neurontin Pfizer Product Liability Lawsuit Dropped

After her family dropped its lawsuit in the midst of trial, Pfizer Inc. won’t face a lawsuit over claims its epilepsy drug Neurontin helped lead a Massachusetts woman to commit suicide,
Susan Bulger’s family agreed to dismiss the suit after an anonymous donor offered to put money in a trust for her 10-year- old daughter, Regina, said Mark Lanier, the family’s lawyer. The trial began July 27 and was scheduled to run three weeks in federal court in Boston.

The suit was the first of about 1,200 involving Neurontin. The family claimed Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, promoted the medication for unapproved uses and didn’t warn it could increase the risk of suicide until forced to do so by the government. Pfizer said Bulger had a history of drug abuse and had made six suicide attempts before taking her life in 2004.

August 2, 2009

Defective Drugs: Levaquin Lawsuits and Tendon Rupture

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified manufacturers of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs that a Boxed Warning in the product labeling concerning the increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture is necessary.

FDA agrees to Public Citizen’s request to issue a “black box” warning in the product label and a guide for patients warning of the dangers of tendinitis and tendon rupture with the fluoroquinolone antibiotics, but fails to send a letter to doctors warning of these dangers.

The medications involved in this action are: Cipro and generic ciprofloxacin, Cipro XR and Proquin XR (ciprofloxacin extended release), Factive (gemifloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin), Avelox (moxifloxacin), Noroxin (norfloxacin), and Floxin and generic ofloxacin.

Through its new authority under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), the agency also determined that it is necessary for manufacturers of the drugs to provide a Medication Guide to patients about possible side effects.

August 2, 2009

FDA Warning: NJOY Firm Continues to Sell E-Cigarettes

by Dr. Shezad Malik

NJOY, the electronic cigarette brand based in Scottsdale, will continue to market the tobacco-less devices despite a warning from the Food and Drug Administration that it could pose health risks.

Public health officials said last week that electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” may not be such a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes.

The FDA tested NJOY and another brand. Results showed some of the samples in both brands contained human carcinogens and tobacco impurities suspected of being harmful to humans.

August 2, 2009

Montefiore Hospital to pay $19.2 M for Medical Malpractice

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A paralyzed father of three plans to move from a nursing facility back home with his family after winning a $19.2 million negligence award against Montefiore Medical Center earlier this month.

Wilfredo Figueroa, 58, was working as a radiology technician on Sept. 22, 2004, when he was admitted to Montefiore, complaining of severe back pain.

The Bronx hospital’s staff failed to diagnose a spinal abscess- an infection on his spinal cord – which rapidly led to his permanent paralysis, according to lawyer Edward Bithorn and court documents.

August 1, 2009

Arlington Texas Asbestos Litigation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The asbestos lawsuits filed in the United States over the past fifty years constitute the longest running mass tort in the country’s history. A tort is defined as a civil action taken based on a negligent or intentional harm done that is not based on contract law.

A Rand Corporation research says that by the end of 2002, about 730,000 individuals claiming physical harm from asbestos exposure had filed suit against about 8,400 corporations and businesses. At that point, about seventy corporations had filed for bankruptcy protection over their asbestos liability.

Today, in 2009 the number of bankruptcy filings has reached one hundred. The number of lawsuits since 2002 are several hundred thousand in number and they have increased each year. Because the diseases caused by asbestos exposure have latency periods of up to fifty years, many people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago are just now getting sick.

August 1, 2009

Hepatitis C Medical Malpractice Claims Can Proceed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The central figure of an investigation into the hepatitis C outbreak might have been impaired by a stroke a year ago, but he is competent enough to face medical malpractice charges, according to the state Board of Medical Examiners.

Based on results from an examination performed by Dr. Thomas Kinsora, a clinical neuropsychologist, Dr. Dipak Desai is “borderline” in regards to his ability to assist defense attorneys in his medical board licensing hearing.

August 1, 2009

$11 M Medical Malpractice Cerebral Palsy Settlement

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An $11 million settlement has been reached between a suburban hospital and the family of a Chicago girl, now 4, whose birth injuries were so profound she can’t speak, walk or even eat.

Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood agreed to the payout this week, something Stacie Burek said will ensure her daughter receives the medical help necessary to deal with her severe cerebral palsy, a condition that has left the girl in a wheelchair with a feeding tube through her stomach.

August 1, 2009

Defective Drugs: Yaz and Yasmin Birth Control Lawsuits and Increased Risk of Strokes

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yasmin and Yaz are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. The generic brand Ocella is marketed and distributed by Barr Laboratories, Inc. Yasmin and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound, ethinyl estradiol, that has been used in the Pill since the 1970s, but the progestin in Yasmin and Yaz is new.

Yasmin and Yaz both contain drospirenone, a “fourth generation” progestin. No other birth control pills contain drospirenone, except for a recently approved generic version of Yasmin and Yaz, called Ocella.

August 1, 2009

Swim Club Lawsuit for Brain Damage Caused by Drowning

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Three years ago, James Becker was doing what many vigorous 15-year-old boys do – playing baseball, basketball and soccer.

Now he is severely disabled, must use a wheelchair and is under the constant care of his mother.

The accident that reduced James to such circumstances occurred at the Woodcroft Swim Club in Parkville on July 29, 2006, when, his family’s lawyer says, he almost drowned. His brain was apparently deprived of adequate oxygen for about 10 minutes.

His parents, William J. Becker III and Mary Becker, have filed a $40 million lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the swim club and the company that runs it, D.R.D. Pool Management Inc., accusing them of failing to both “timely recognize and respond” to the struggling boy and to properly perform resuscitation efforts.

July 31, 2009

Las Cruces NM Man Gets $1M Settlement in Medical Malpractice Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury has awarded $1 million to a Las Cruces man who alleged a surgeon was negligent in repairing a colon perforation after a colonoscopy.

General surgeon Dr. David Friedman operated on Michael Salopek in February 2005, to repair a tiny perforation he had sustained during a colonoscopy, Las Cruces attorney Marci Beyer said.

However, Friedman did not find the perforation, which continued to leak into Salopek’s abdominal area for 11 days. Medical expenses just to find the perforation totaled $165,000, Beyer said.