Personal Injury

July 31, 2009

Defective Drugs: Byetta Lawsuits and Acute Pancreatitiis

Byetta which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes, has side effects that could increase the risk of serious and potentially life threatening pancreatitis.

Reports have found an association between Byetta and pancreatitis. Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co., the manufacturers of the defective drug have failed to adequately warn about the risk of the serious and potentially fatal injury.

Byetta lawsuits are being investigated for users diagnosed with:

* Acute Pancreatitis
* Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis
* Necrotizing Pancreatitis
Potential cases are being evaluated throughout the United States.

July 30, 2009

Jury Awards $3.5 M in Elmore County Traffic Fatality

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury deliberated less than an hour before awarding $3.5 million to the family of a man who died when his van was crushed between two logging trucks in a January 2008 accident in Elmore County.

A Chilton County jury ordered Ken Gorum Trucking and Gary Fruge, the driver of the logging truck, to pay $3.5 million to the family of James Sanderson.

Attorneys Benjamin E. Baker and J. Cole Portis entered evidence that the Gorum truck was being operated at a high rate of speed and with defective brakes in violation of Alabama law.

July 30, 2009

Texas Investigating Scrub Tech in Hepatitis C Medical Malpractice Claim

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A surgery technician at the center of a hepatitis C scare in Colorado involving the alleged swapping of patients’ clean needles for her dirty ones is being investigated in Texas because she previously worked in a Houston-area hospital.

Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay from May 2005 to October 2006, was indicted in Denver last week on 42 criminal counts. Prosecutors allege 19 people contracted the disease after she swapped the needles.

The Texas and Harris County health departments launched an investigation earlier this month that is still in the early stages, according to officials of both agencies. They said the investigation began after they learned Parker worked in Houston.

Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas health department, said the focus is on whether Parker had hepatitis C while at Christus St. John. Only then would patients be notified, she said.

July 29, 2009

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: Doctors Caused Leg Amputation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Steuben County couple has sued a Fort Wayne orthopedics firm, alleging a missed diagnosis for a blood clot caused the wife to lose her leg.

Filed in Allen Superior Court this week by Jeanette Presley and Allen Presley, the lawsuit against Orthopaedics Northeast seeks compensatory damages and comes after the couple received a ruling from the state’s Medical Review Panel that Orthopaedics Northeast failed to comply with appropriate standards of care, according to court documents.

July 29, 2009

Defective Drug: Yasmin Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yasmin lawsuits are personal injury cases that seek settlements for women injured after taking Yasmin (drospirenone), a contraceptive pill also prescribed in the treatment of moderate acne and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) for menstruating women. Yasmin may also be sold under the brand name Yaz, a form of drospirenone manufactured and distributed by Bayer.

Produced by Berlex Laboratories, Inc., Yasmin has been reported to cause a variety of serious side effects since its FDA approval in May 2001. Women injured after taking Yasmin will likely be entitled to compensation by pursuing a Yasmin lawsuit.

July 29, 2009

Baxter Contaminated Heparin Class Action Lawsuit Still Open

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Patients who were harmed because of heparin contamination still have time to bring claims against the makers of the heparin products. Patients may have been exposed to contaminated heparin through injections, pre-filled syringes or IV bags. It is important for people affected by contaminated heparin to hold those responsible accountable for what happened.

Heparin is a blood thinner, used in a variety of procedures, including dialysis and cardiac procedures. In early 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of certain Baxter heparin products after the agency received reports of adverse reactions linked to the products. Within a month, hundreds of reports detailing severe reactions to heparin surfaced worldwide. The recall was later expanded to include more products and other companies.

The FDA discovered that the contaminant was oversulfated chondroitin sulphate (OSCS), the reactions to OSCS can be extreme; with large doses of heparin, it can result in death.

Injuries linked to contaminated heparin include nausea, vomiting and flu-like symptoms to anaphylactic shock, coma and even death.

July 29, 2009

Veteran Blinded During Routine Operation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge has awarded $749,000 to the estate of a World War II veteran who lost much of his vision during surgery at the Veterans Administration medical facility in Jackson, MS.

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said in a footnote to Monday’s 18-page ruling that he was inclined to award more money for Charles West’s suffering, “which clearly has been extreme,” but was limited by Mississippi’s pain-and-suffering cap in such lawsuits.

West, claimed in his suit that he suffered damage to the corneas of both eyes during a blepharoplasty, a procedure to remove sagging skin between the eyebrow and the eye lid.

July 29, 2009

FDA Warns Against Bodybuilding Products Containing Steroids

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Federal regulators warned consumers on Tuesday not to use body-building products that are sold as nutritional supplements but may contain steroids or steroidlike substances, citing reports of acute liver injury and kidney failure.

The Food and Drug Administration said it issued the warning because of increased reports of medical problems in men who had used such products.

But except for naming eight specific supplements sold by a single company, the Food and Drug Administration did not provide much clear guidance to consumers on what other products to avoid. The F.D.A. acknowledged that it did not know how many products its warning affect

July 28, 2009

Defective Drug: Accutane Lawsuits and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Accutane has been a controversial acne medication because of the serious risk of side effects and suicides attributed to it. The FDA warned physicians prescribing the acne medication to be aware of any signs of depression their patients might display. Accutane manufacturer Hoffman-LaRoche did not warn patients and healthcare professionals of the potential risks involved with Accutane until after the FDA made this advisement.

In October 2001, Congressman Bart Stupak expressed his concerns about Accutane following the suicide of his son who was taking Accutane. Accutane manufacturer has warned physicians that the acne drug can possibly cause “depression, psychotic symptoms, and rarely suicide attempts,” but still the company maintains they believe the drug is safe. In addition, Accutane carries high risk of serious birth defects, including deformed babies, miscarriage, premature birth, or death of the baby.

July 28, 2009

Suit Filed in Death of Tot Left in Car

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The parents of a toddler who died July 1 in a locked minivan outside a Bucks County daycare center – forgotten there for more than six hours – have filed a negligence lawsuit against the center and its owners.

Daniel Slutsky, 2, died of hyperthermia in the back seat of a van belonging to his neighbor, Rimma Shvartsman, a co-owner of Fairy Tales Daycare Center in Penndel.

In the suit, filed in Philadelphia, Gil and Lyudmila Slutsky seek an unspecified amount of damages, saying Fairy Tales and its owners “were under a legal and moral duty to provide competent and safe care” for their son.

Law enforcement authorities are still investigating the death, and Bucks Count District Attorney Michelle Henry has not ruled out possible criminal charges.