Articles Posted in Product Liability

According to medical experts, a medical study underway is expected to reveal that side effects of metal-on-metal hip replacements can cause genetic damage, which could lead to an increased risk of cancer.

According to the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper, a study to be presented next month at the British Hip Society conference will include findings that suggest the metal particles released by the grinding of metal-on-metal hip replacements could cause chromosomal changes, which may lead to kidney cancer and bladder cancer.

The findings are the latest nails in the coffin over the safety of the once-popular hip implant designs. These hips have been the subject of massive recalls and product liability lawsuits filed by individuals who allege that they are subject to failure within a few years after surgery.

Plaintiffs from Louisiana have filed a lawsuit against Pfizer that alleges the drug maker intentionally hid the link between their popular antidepressant Zoloft and congenital birth defects when the drug is taken by pregnant women.

The two Zoloft birth defect lawsuits were filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by Terry and Nelda Rolling and Joseph and Meg Mitchell.

The complaints involve children born with congenital birth defects after the mother’s use of Zoloft during pregnancy.

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against ALZA Corporation by the family of a Utah woman who died in 2010, after using one of the company’s fentanyl pain patches.

The fentanyl patch lawsuit was filed by the family of Janine Ward last month in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court. The complaint names ALZA Corporation, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, as a defendant.

According to the claim, the fentanyl patch, also known as a transdermal patch, was defectively designed and leaked fentanyl gel when applied to Janine Ward’s skin.

A Texas plaintiff has filed a federal complaint against Biomet Orthopedics over problems with their M2A Magnum metal-on-metal hip replacement system, which she says failed shortly after being implanted.

The complaint was filed by Carol St. Cyr in January, alleging that the Biomet M2A Magnum hip replacement she received was defectively designed and manufactured.

According to allegations raised in the product liability lawsuit, the metal head and acetabular cup of the Biomet hip replacement grindr against each other, causing premature failure and leading to metal blood poisoning from cobalt and chromium fragments; a condition known as metallosis.

The plaintiff lost the trial of a Levaquin lawsuit. The man suffered two ruptured Achilles tendons after taking the popular antibiotic.

The jury determined that the drug maker failed to adequately warn consumers and doctors of the risk of tendon damage from side effects of Levaquin.

A Minneapolis jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson failed to provide sufficient warnings about the risk of Levaquin tendon ruptures, but found that the company was not responsible for injuries suffered by the 78 year old plaintiff.

According to a Johnson & Johnson lawyer, J&J properly warned of the risks of its antibiotic Levaquin and shouldn’t be held liable for tendon injuries sustained by a 78-year-old man.

Clifford Straka, tore two Achilles tendons after taking the drug for pneumonia, sued J&J and its Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical unit in 2008. Straka said his doctor wasn’t aware when she prescribed the drug that Levaquin was linked to an increased risk of tendon damage in elderly patients.

Johnson & Johnson denies liability

Product liability lawsuits against generic drugs are facing a tough uphill battle, which usually ends in dismissal, as exemplified by the Fosamax update below.

U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano, has dismissed claims against Watson Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of generic versions of the popular osteoporosis drug. Plaintiffs had alleged that their generic version of Fosamax caused femur fractures to develop suddenly, with little or no trauma at all.

Following a court order on January 17, Watson Pharmaceuticals has been dismissed as a defendant in several Fosamax lawsuits. These were filed by plaintiffs who suffered an atypical femur fracture after taking generic versions of the drug.

According to St. Jude Medical Inc. its Riata defibrillator leads have a higher failure rate than was disclosed when it stopped selling the product.

Riata has an insulation failure rate of 0.63 percent, more than the 0.47 percent disclosed last December, according to a recent warning letter to doctors.

Extractions of Riata leads were linked to two patient deaths and a serious injury. Devices with the flaw, caused when the insulation surrounding the wires is penetrated, may also fail to deliver electric shocks when needed, the company said.

Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, has filed a motion to consolidate all federal Zoloft birth defect lawsuits. Pfizer requested that they be centralized before one judge for pretrial litigation as part of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL.

On January 18, Pfizer asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to create a Zoloft MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuits