Product Liability

November 1, 2011

Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants Risks Outweigh Benefits

A group of medical researchers and scientists have determined that the potential risks from metal-on-metal hip implants may outweigh any health benefits provided by these devices.

This is because of higher revision rates are linked to the newer hip replacement designs and the mounting and growing concerns about metal ion blood poisoning, known as metallosis.

The California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF) has released an assessment of the benefits and effectiveness of using metal on metal hip replacements as an alternative to total hip arthroplasty, and they concluded that the relatively new metal hip implants may not be worth the risk.

October 28, 2011

Yaz, Yasmin & Ocella Pulmonary Embolism Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella Pulmonary Embolism attorney and Texas Medical doctor, I am providing this blood clot side effect update.

Women taking pills containing the hormone drospirenone were 74 percent more likely to experience clots than those on low- estrogen pills, according to the latest Food and Drug Administration report.

There is an FDA conference in December that is going to examine and address the health risks associated with birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. Thousands of patients have already filed a Yaz or Yasmin lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer Corporation. The injured plaintiffs claim that the drugmaker aggressively highlighted the birth control pills benefits while minimizing the serious side effects such as Yaz deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke and death.

October 27, 2011

Texas Vaginal Mesh / Bladder Sling Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Transvaginal Mesh recall attorney and Texas medical doctor, our law firm is fielding many calls from concerned women regarding the complications they are suffering as a result of a defective mesh medical device that has been implanted.

watch the abc news video here

One of the most frustrating things our potential clients tells us is that they do not know what type of device has been implanted. To complicate matters even more, there are about 11 manufacturers of these Vaginal Mesh devices in the United States and also each company has several models and types of vaginal mesh product.

October 25, 2011

Texas Vaginal Mesh / Bladder Sling Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Vaginal Mesh / Bladder Sling attorneys are currently evaluating and investigating the latest medical device tragedy to be afflicting women of a certain age.

Countless women who had a vaginal mesh or bladder sling medical device implanted to treat pelvic organ prolapse have experienced life altering internal injuries, urinary problems and other significant medical complications as a result of problems with the mesh, which may actually provide no real benefit over other surgical methods of treating pelvic organ prolapse.

Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit Update

October 24, 2011

Bladder Cancer Risk Actos: Recall Not Recommended in Europe,

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As an Actos Blader Cancer attorney and Texas medical doctor, I am providing this latest update regarding the diabetic drug, Actos.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued an update on the safety concerns for Actos on October 21, indicating that the drug is still a valid diabetes treatment. But, due to the Actos bladder cancer risk, it should only be used when other treatments have failed. This update is similar to the latest one issued by United States regulators.

Watch the ABC News report here.

October 23, 2011

J&J Vaginal Mesh Approved by FDA Based on Recalled Device

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Johnson & Johnson Gynecare TVT Trans Vaginal Mesh injury attorney and Texas medical doctor, I am providing this timely update.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the world’s second-biggest health-care products maker, is facing many lawsuits over its Gynecare TVT vaginal implant. The Gynecare TVT implant is based on a similar device pulled from the medical device market more than a decade ago for safety reasons.

The lawsuits are the latest to implicate the shoddy and perfunctory approval process for medical devices at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has cleared faulty hip implants and malfunctioning defibrillators.

October 19, 2011

Consolidation of Plavix Lawsuits in Federal Court

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Plavix Dangerous Drug attorney and Texas medical doctor, I am providing this Plavix litigation update.

Plavix manufacturers Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis are calling for the centralization and consolidation of all Plavix lawsuits filed in federal courts throughout the United States on behalf of users of their blockbuster blood thinner who allege that side effects of Plavix resulted in serious personal injuries and even death.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will hold a hearing On December 1, to determine whether at least 13 lawsuits over Plavix filed in New Jersey, New York and Arizona should be centralized before one judge for coordinated handling during pretrial proceedings.

October 18, 2011

Cochlear Implant Recalls and Injuries

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Medical Device Product Liability attorney and board certified medical doctor, I am providing this important update regarding Cochlear Implants. Cochlear Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of hearing implants, an Australian company, recalled its latest range of devices after a recent, unexplained increase in failures.

The voluntary recall of the Nucleus CI500 implants, which Cochlear says are the slimmest titanium hearing implants available, will affect many patients.

The company said it identified an increase in the number of Nucleus CI512 implants failing in recent weeks. Chief Executive Chris Roberts said the company has stopped manufacturing the Nucleus CI500 line, which made up 70% of the company’s sales of implant units for fiscal 2011. Cochlear has about 65% of the global hearing-implant market.

October 17, 2011

CooperVision Contact Lens Recall Class 1 Status

by Dr. Shezad Malik

According to the FDA, silicone oil is the cause of problems with Aviara contact lenses sold by CooperVision, which were removed from the market in August after a number of consumers suffered torn corneas, hazy vision and other potentially serious complications. Nearly two months after problems were first announced, contact lens giant CooperVision Inc. and federal health regulators have amped up public warnings about nearly 780,000 recalled contact lenses, urging users to return the potentially defective products and to seek medical care if they show symptoms of harm.

The FDA announced on Friday that it was classifying the CooperVision Aviara contact lens recall as a Class 1 medical device recall, which is the most serious category the agency can use to label a recall. The class 1 designation means that the FDA believes that use of a device carries a reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death.

More than 778,000 CooperVision Aviara contact lenses were impacted by the recall, which was not widely publicized until the FDA criticized the company last week for failing to take sufficient steps to make sure consumers were aware of the contact lens problems.

October 17, 2011

Yaz Birth Control Coma and Blindness

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Yaz Birth Control Coma and Blindness Injury attorney and Texas medical doctor I am providing this YAZ, Yasmin and Ocella update.

ABC’s chief law and justice correspondent, Chris Cuomo, interviews Carissa Ubersox, a former pediatric nurse who started taking Bayer’s Yaz birth control pills when she wanted to look her best for her wedding and “saw commercials suggesting help with bloating and acne.” Two months after Ubersox started to take Yaz birth control pills, she developed massive blood clots in both lungs and fell into a coma that lasted for two weeks. When she woke up, she was blind.

All birth control pills come with some risk of developing blood clots, and Bayer “cites its own studies as proof that Yaz is just as safe as other birth control pills.” However, Dr. Susan Jick of the Boston University School of Medicine has authored an independent study involving a million women that finds Yaz’s risk to be two to three times higher than other birth control pills. ABC reports that two Bayer-sponsored studies find no difference in risk, while four independent studies all find increased risk.