Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

January 18, 2011

TCU Fort Worth Law Suit For False Claims of Safe Campus

As a Fort Worth Sexual Assault and abuse attorney, I am providing this update for the TCU lawsuit involving rape and sexual assault on campus.

According to a lawsuit the student filed against the university, Texas Christian University officials should have known that two athletic recruits accused of raping an art student had criminal histories and posed a threat on campus.

The woman who filed the lawsuit, alleged that she was was drugged and then gang-raped by three athletes in 2006 while visiting a dormitory room. The three were arrested and were permanently separated from the university.

Attorneys representing the woman in her lawsuit maintain that if TCU officials did not know, they should have known that, the attackers, Jones and Taylor had criminal histories and that Jones had had his probation revoked in connection with an assault causing bodily injury in a 2005 Collin County case.

The three athletes, Behling, Taylor and Jones were arrested in October 2006 after the woman reported that Taylor sexually assaulted her. Taylor lured her to his dorm room on the pretext of repaying money he owed for a hamburger. There, the woman told police, she was given a drink that caused her to pass out. Then she was attacked repeatedly by the athletes.

January 17, 2011

Houston Doctor and Clinic Busted for Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Medical Malpractice attorney, I am providing the jury verdict and a win for the good guys.

Jurors awarded $10.1 million in damages to the family of an overdose victim, hoping the verdict strikes fear into other “pill mills” that have turned Houston into a national center for prescription drug abuse.

“Our verdict shows how much our community is against these pill mills and wants things to change,” said juror Lauren Simmons, after finding gross negligence led to the overdose death of Michael Skorpenske of Conroe.

Skorpenske, 54, died July 7, 2007, two days after his only visit to the Family Medi Clinic in The Woodlands where he received a prescription for three potent drugs: hydrocodone, xanax and soma.

He had sought help there for chronic pain he suffered from a motorcycle injury and a fall at a petrochemical plant.

According to records, the clinic’s director, Dr. Maurice Conte, had prescribed this same drug combo at least 3,800 times between 2006 and 2007 at more than 17 pain area clinics that he supervised. Dr. Maurice Conte, was forced to surrender his license to the Texas Medical Board after Skorpenske died.

Conte, who repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination during the four-day trial, was found grossly negligent and slapped with the stiffest penalty: $9.05 million.

January 16, 2011

Sheriff Charged in Texas Nurse Whistle-Blowing Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Fort Worth Nurse license attorney, I am providing the latest update to a story I had commented on involving 2 nurses in West Texas.

A state grand jury in Winkler County, Tex., has indicted the sheriff, the county attorney and a hospital administrator for their roles in orchestrating the prosecution of two whistle-blowing nurses after they had reported allegations of malpractice.

The sheriff, Robert L. Roberts Jr., and county attorney, Scott M. Tidwell, each face six counts, including misuse of official information and retaliation, which are third-degree felonies. Stan Wiley, the administrator of Winkler County Memorial Hospital, in the West Texas town of Kermit, was indicted on two counts of retaliation.

Read full story here at the New York Times.

January 15, 2011

Texas Supreme Court to Answer: Is Builder Liable for Bridge’s Guardrail Gap?

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The law is always changing when it comes to accidents, and as a Fort Worth Car Accident attorney I read with interest this car accident case which is now in front of the Texas Supreme Court.

Seven years ago, near Fredericksburg, Courtney Foreman of Cedar Park drowned after construction work left a 15-foot gap in a bridge guardrail room enough for her car, sliding on wet dirt and gravel, to hit the Pedernales River.

She was 18. But a lawsuit against the construction company that followed those plans was thrown out, only to be reinstated on appeal.

Now the case is before the Texas Supreme Court, which will determine whether the Allen Keller Co. had a duty to protect drivers like Foreman from a potentially dangerous situation. The answer could have repercussions for Texas contractors, construction firms and accident victims.

January 14, 2011

FDA Multaq Dronedarone: Risk of Severe Liver Injury

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Product Liability and Defective drug attorney I am reporting this latest warning from the FDA involving the drug, Multaq.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it has received several reports of liver damage with Multaq tablets, including two cases in which patients had to have their livers removed.

Both female patients were 70 years old, and they had been taking the drug for 4.5 months and six months, respectively.

The FDA said it would add a new warning about the risk for liver damage to the label of Multaq. Multaq already carries a black box warning, the most severe type, stating the drug can cause severe complications, including death, in people with recent severe heart failure and should not be used in those patients.

Sanofi-Aventis SA, the manufacturer of the medication, will send a letter to US doctors telling them that two patients taking the Multaq (dronedarone) medication have suffered liver failure.

Multaq, cleared for sale in 2009, treats atrial fibrillation, a rapid and irregular beating in the heart’s upper chambers affecting an estimated two million people in the US, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

According to the FDA, patients taking the drug should call their doctor if they experience symptoms such as itching, yellow eyes or skin, dark urine, loss of appetite, or light-colored stools,

January 8, 2011

DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers and MDL Court Meeting in January

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth DePuy Hip Recall and Injury Attorney I am providing this DePuy Litigation update.

The DePuy Product Liability Attorneys involved with the DePuy Recall and class action lawsuits are scheduled to meet with the federal judge that is presiding over the multi-district litigation (MDL) on January 20th.

In December, a U.S. Judicial Panel ruled to consolidate all federal DePuy hip recall lawsuits in the Northern District of Ohio. The meeting scheduled for January will allow the Judge to select which attorneys will serve in leadership roles for the plaintiffs and the defendants.

Over 100 DePuy hip recall lawsuits have already been transferred to the MDL Court, and thousands more are expected to be filed or transferred in the coming months.

The claims are being consolidated in an effort to reduce the burden on the court system. All of the cases that have been and will be filed under the MDL will have similar allegations against a common defendant, DePuy Orthopedics and its parent company Johnson & Johnson. Many claims will be seeking similar damages resulting from similar injuries and much of the same discovery will be applicable to a majority of the claims.

DePuy ASR hip implants were recalled by DePuy last year after it was discovered that the metal on metal implants had an extremely high rate of failure, but most of damage had already been done. Over 90,000 people world wide were implanted with the defective devices between the 2005 launch and the recall some five years later. It is estimated that about 35,000 defective DePuy hips were implanted in the United States alone.

Patients implanted with a recalled DePuy hip implant may still be at risk for problems related to the release of small particles from the metal-on-metal devices, even if they have not experienced pain or other symptoms. Therefore, if you have received an implant involved in the DePuy hip replacement recall, do not wait until you experience symptoms of DePuy hip problems to learn your legal rights.

January 4, 2011

Fort Worth Car Crash Leads to Death of Promising Young Soldier

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Car Accident attorney, I am writing about this tragic loss of life in a car crash just before New Years day.

Spc. Clinton Young, on leave for Christmas, and was to return Jan. 3 to finish training at the 14th Military Police Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He died just before New Years day when a collision knocked him off an overpass on U.S. 287 in southeast Fort Worth, where he was standing after his car crashed into a guardrail.

His mother, Ruby Young said she was on the phone with her son moments before he was killed. “He loved his family very much and his family dearly loved him,” his mom said. “But we’d like people to know that Clinton was proud to serve his country. He wanted to be a soldier.”

Ruby Young said she was told that her son lost control of his car on a U.S. 287 overpass and smashed into the guardrail. An 18-wheeler then crashed just past her son’s vehicle, blocking the road.

Another 18-wheeler stopped in the road because the driver couldn’t get around the wreckage. Then a vehicle slammed into the second truck’s trailer and careered into Clinton Young, who was standing next to his vehicle.

The collision threw him over the guardrail and he fell dozens of feet onto East Loop 820, Fort Worth police reported. My thoughts and prayers are with this young man;s family at this time of need.

January 1, 2011

Dallas Bard Recovery and G2 IVC Filter Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Dallas Product Liability attorney and Bard Recovery and G2 IVC Filter lawyer, I am writing an update about this latest FDA warning regarding the Inferior Vena Cava filters.As I wrote previously in my blog, there are serious and fatal complications of the widely used Bard inferior vena cava (IVC) filters.

G2TM IVC Filter Lawsuits

G2™ Filter System Lawsuits allege that the G2TM Filter System possesses manufacturing and design defects which resulted in device failure. The injured plaintiffs experienced fracture and migration of the G2TM Filter.

In 2005, Bard Peripheral Vascular began selling its G2TM IVC filter. This replaced the RecoveryTM IVC filter. Despite the “enhanced fracture resistance” and “enhanced migration resistance” advertisements by Bard Peripheral Vascular, the device has still been shown to fracture, fail and migrate.

RecoveryTM IVC Filter Lawsuits

The RecoveryTM IVC filter was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002. It was placed on the market for use in 2003. Its manufacturer, Bard Peripheral Vascular withdrew the RecoveryTM IVC filter from the market in 2005 and replaced it with the G2TM IVC filter. The G2TM IVC filter is the “second generation” of the RecoveryTM IVC filter.

A recent medical report has found that 25% of all Bard Recovery IVC filters and 12% of Bard G2 IVC filters fractured. These fractured filters have the potential become dislodged and cause serious and fatal injury. 71% of the broken pieces migrated through the veins of the patient to the heart. The FDA has received more than 900 reports of adverse events, including:

* Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
* Filter Fracture, Migration or Embolization, leading to Injury to the Heart, Lung or Vena Cava
* Cardiac or Pericardial Tamponade
* Severe Persistent Chest Pain
* Shortness of Breath
* Death

December 31, 2010

FDA Warns Against Inferior Vena Cava Filters

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Product Liability attorney and Bard IVC Filter lawyer, I am writing about this latest FDA warning regarding the Inferior Vena Cava filters.

Patients who suffer from the threat of pulmonary embolism and are contraindicated for anticoagulation therapy may find themselves receiving an Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filter to prevent pulmonary embolism.

Inferior vena cava filters are an alternative treatment for patients at risk for a pulmonary embolism. They are often used when an anticoagulant is contraindicated or if such medications have not been effective. They contain a number of legs or struts that extend out like a spider to catch blood clots that may break free elsewhere in the body, such as the deep veins of the legs. But, if there is an IVC filter strut fracture, small pieces of the filter may travel to other parts of the body, such as the heart or lungs.

Since 2005, the FDA has received 921 device adverse event reports involving IVC filters, of which 328 involved device migration, 146 involved embolizations (detachment of device components), 70 involved perforation of the IVC, and 56 involved filter fracture.

These types of events may be related to a retrievable filter remaining in the body for long periods of time, beyond the time when the risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) has subsided.

RECOMMENDATION: FDA recommends that implanting physicians and clinicians responsible for the ongoing care of patients with retrievable IVC filters consider removing the filter as soon as protection from PE is no longer needed.

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

* Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm

* Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
Read more here about the IVC Filters.

These IVC Filter devices have recently come under investigation due to a high number of Bard IVC filter fractures which can cause pieces of the devices to travel through the body and damage the heart, lungs and other organs, causing embolisms and possibly death.

In a study published in November in the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Bard IVC filters were found to have a particularly high rate of problems. According to Dr. Rita Redberg in an editorial published by the Archives of Internal Medicine, both of those filters, the Bard G2 and Bard Recovery, were approved with virtually no real clinical data showing they were safe or effective.

Redberg said that researchers suggest that the number of Bard G2 filter fractures is likely to increase as they stay on the market and have been in patients’ bodies longer. She said that data indicates about 62,000 people have received the implants, and as many as 7,000 can expect to experience a Bard IVC filter fracture.

A number of Bard IVC filter lawsuits have been filed against C.R. Bard over the last year alleging that serious injuries or deaths were caused by design defects associated with these filters.

December 30, 2010

Denton Woman Wrongful Death After Being Run Over By Trailer

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Fort Worth Car Accident and Wrongful Death Attorney, I have the following accident to report.

According to the police, a 33-year-old Denton woman died after being ran over by a moving trailer.

Police said a group of people were helping friends move out of an apartment complex, when Andrea Noecker sat down on the tongue and hitch connected to a trailer. One in the group was moving a pickup truck to the street when Noecker fell off in the parking lot and was run over by the trailer.