Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

September 6, 2009

6 Southern California Hospitals Fined For Serious Violations

The state orders the medical centers to pay $25,000 each in administrative penalties for incidents that in some cases led to death or injury.

Six Southern California hospitals have been fined $25,000 each in administrative penalties for serious violations that, in some cases, led to death or serious injury, according to state Department of Public Health officials.

Children’s Hospital of Orange County was fined because its nursing staff failed to ensure appropriate drainage after a child’s neurological procedure in November, an oversight that led to severe brain injury.

Dr. Maria Minon, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said the hospital “very much” regrets the incident and has adjusted protocols for patient care, increased staff training and added layers of checks and balances to minimize the chance of it occurring again.

September 6, 2009

Yasmin/Yaz Side Effects: Gallbladder Stones and Disease

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yaz gallbladder disease information and the latest news for women who have suffered from gallstones and Yaz birth control.

In addition to the other injuries caused by birth control pills Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella (including pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, pancreatitis, stroke, and heart attack), Yaz drug injury lawyers are investigating gallbladder problems.

Doctors and the medical literature report an increase in gallbladder disease among otherwise healthy adults (including young adults), and the only connection appears to be that these women are all taking one of these drospirenone-containing birth control medications.

Doctors speculate that Yaz can increase cholesterol levels in bile while simultaneously decreasing gallbladder contractions, leading to gallstones. This leads many women to have their gallbladder removed (cholecystectomy).

September 5, 2009

Yaz Lawsuits and Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yasmin/Yaz have been associated with deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), pulmonary embolism, strokes, heart attacks and, as a result of these health consequences, death.

Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits allege product liability, negligence and failure to warn claims against Bayer. There has been in recent months new medical articles have come out regarding Yasmin and Yaz.

Below is a summary of what is out there. The venous thrombotic risk of oral contraceptives, effects of oestrogen dose and progestogen type: results of the MEGA case-control study, BMJ 2009;339:b2921.

September 5, 2009

Broken-Nosed Fan Assumed Injury Risk During Pregame Warm-Up

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Every baseball fan — or at least every attorney who follows baseball — knows that under the doctrine of assumption of the risk a team is not liable for fans injured by, say, foul balls or broken bats.

Now, in a suit filed by a fan whose nose was fractured by a bat at a Brooklyn Cyclones game, a Brooklyn judge has ruled that the doctrine also extends to a bat “propelled” by a player either “warming up” or “horsing around.”

“Among the dangers to which a baseball spectator has consented to is the danger that a loose baseball bat will strike a spectator and cause injury,” Supreme Court Justice Mark I. Partnow held in Elie v. City of New York, 20244/03.

September 5, 2009

Trial Set For January 2010 on Chinese Drywall

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge presiding over hundreds of lawsuits against Chinese drywall makers and installers said Thursday that he plans to hold the first trial in January 2010 for the cases, which claim the imported products emit sulfur, methane and other chemical compounds that have ruined homes and harmed residents’ health.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon told attorneys that he expects them to pick six plaintiffs whose cases could be tried in early 2010, with the first trial starting in January.

Kerry Miller, a lead lawyer for companies named as defendants in the suits, said defense attorneys may need more time to prepare for the first batch of bellwether trials. Russ Herman, a lead plaintiffs lawyer, said he supports Fallon’s scheduling plan.

September 4, 2009

Number of Implicated Chinese Drywall Manufacturers Increases.

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The number of Chinese drywall manufacturers responsible for corrosion and potential health problems plaguing U.S. homeowners may be about to increase substantially.

With the first set of home inspections about to begin in the massive combined Chinese drywall litigation playing out in New Orleans, lawyers involved in the case were told to document the different identifying markings on wallboard found in affected homes.

On Thursday, they revealed that 36 separate variations of tainted drywall have been found — a much higher number than previously disclosed.

While some manufacturers may have more than one way of marking their product and some markings were stamped by distributors, the three dozen variations opens the door to a host of new companies publicly joining the mix.

September 4, 2009

Update: Fosamax Lawsuit Goes to Jury

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Drug executives, product liability lawyers and Wall Street analysts are closely watching a jury trial in New York over medical problems associated with Fosamax, a drug from Merck that has been taken by millions of women to offset the bone loss associated with menopause.

It is the first of about 900 state and federal cases pending against Merck in which plaintiffs claim that taking Fosamax caused them to develop a rare problem called osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Dental surgery is one of the triggers for the condition that can break down jawbone tissue, causing the gums to fall away and expose bone that looks moth-eaten, oral surgeons said.

September 4, 2009

Family of Man Killed by Taser Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The family of a mentally ill man who died after he was shocked twice with a Taser fired by a Fort Worth police officer filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the police officer.

In the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth by the parents of Michael Patrick Jacobs Jr., the family is suing for damages in excess of $75,000 from the city and Cpl. Stephanie A. Phillips, the officer who deployed the Taser. Jacobs, 24, died in police custody April 18.

Last week Tarrant County Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani ruled Jacobs’ death a homicide, saying that his death was caused after being shocked by the Taser for 54 seconds, “overstimulating his nervous system.” A Taser issues 50,000 volts with each shock that can temporarily immobilize a person.

September 3, 2009

Levaquin Side Effects Lawsuit and Tendon Rupture

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Levaquin (Levofloxacin) is a fluroquinolone antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, and is available only by prescription. On July 8, 2008, the FDA ordered the manufacturer to add a Black Box warning to Levaquin. A Black Box warning is the strongest warning available for prescription drugs. The FDA also required that a guidebook be provided to patients warning about the possible side effects.

People that have been prescribed Levaquin have filed lawsuits claiming that it causes ruptured tendons and that the defendants’ warnings about this side effect were inadequate.

Defendants Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development are denying that Levaquin is defective or unreasonably dangerous. Defendants are also denying that they failed to provide adequate warnings.

September 3, 2009

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed After Man Died During Nudist Party

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The widow of a man who drowned during a nudist party at a Penn Hills pool in 2007 has settled a wrongful death suit brought against the pool owner for $246,000.

The family of Ronald E. Daugherty sued Olympic Swim and Health Club earlier this year in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, saying the facility violated state law by not providing a lifeguard for a party held by the West Penn Naturist nudist club.

Mr. Daugherty, a 72-year-old retiree, drowned on April 14, 2007.

His death went unnoticed in the media, although the medical examiner’s office and Penn Hills police investigated. The cause of death was ruled accidental.