Articles Posted in Product Liability

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

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.

Continue reading

If you are a patient taking Avandia and have suffered a heart attack or stroke, you need to seek legal advice as the time for filing a lawsuit may be running out, . Avandia is used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus but studies have linked Avandia to an increased risk of adverse heart events.

Avandia was found to have an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, the problems it causes are similar to those caused by Vioxx. Avandia is believed to increase a certain subset of cholesterol that also increases the risk of heart attacks.

The FDA issued a safety alert in May, 2007, based on different studies, and found that people with underlying heart disease are at an increased risk of one of those events [heart attack or stroke] if they are taking Avandia. There was a meta-analysis, where researchers looked at different studies, and that showed a 30 to 40 percent greater risk of a heart attack in patients treated with Avandia than people treated with a placebo or other diabetes therapies.

Continue reading

Introduced in the U.S. in July 2002, NuvaRing is a vaginal contraceptive ring that is over 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy when it is used properly.

NuvaRing birth control works over the course of three weeks by slowly releasing hormones into a woman’s body. While NuvaRing needs to be removed during the fourth week of a month (to allow for menstruation), the contraceptive effects of this birth control device continue to persist.

Currently, over 1.5 million women in 32 countries, including the U.S., the Netherlands and Australia, use NuvaRing.

Continue reading