Personal Injury

June 28, 2009

N.J. Crash Victim Caught in County-Insurer Lawsuits

Nicholas Anderson should be a multimillionaire.

Instead, he is penniless – and in need of medical treatment he can’t afford.

On Dec. 23, 2004, Anderson was driving home when a tire caught on a six-inch lip on the roadside and he lost control of his car. The car crashed into a guardrail, which impaled the vehicle, severing Anderson’s left leg and nearly severing his left arm. He was 18.

He sued Camden County, and last year a jury awarded him $31 million, finding that the county-maintained road was dangerous because of the drop in elevation between the road and shoulder, and because of the guardrail’s design.

“I’m in pain every day,” Anderson said.

June 27, 2009

Zicam and Shareholder Litigation Begins

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There is a big mess at Matrixx Initiatives, a Scottsdale, Ariz., maker of over-the-counter health care products. Best-known for its homeopathic Zicam Cold Remedy offerings, Matrixx hit a rough patch on June 16, when the Food and Drug Administration advised consumers to stop using two of its popular remedies.

The F.D.A. said that it had received more than 130 reports of anosmia — or loss of smell — from users of the products and that more than 800 such reports had been delivered to Matrixx. The agency told Matrixx that Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel and the same treatment in swab form could no longer be marketed without government approval.

June 26, 2009

Florida Court Awards Paralyzed Trucker $14.6 M

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Broward Circuit Court judge has ordered an insurance company to pay a paralyzed truck driver $14.6 million because of a 2007 accident.

Derry Brown Jr. of Pahokee was hauling a load of sugar in an 18-wheeler when a driver ran a stop sign, cutting him off on May 31, 2007. Brown, 64, swerved out of the way, and his truck overturned on State Road 80, just east of Lion Country Safari in Palm Beach County.

The accident cost Brown the use of his arms and legs and left him with mounting medical bills. If Brown had not swerved, the other driver would have died, Brown’s attorney, Robert Kelley, told the court.

June 26, 2009

Roche Pulls Accutane Off Market After Jury Verdicts

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Roche Holding AG, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, is pulling its Accutane acne medicine from the U.S. market after juries awarded at least $33 million in damages to users who blamed the drug for bowel disease.

Roche notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today that it was withdrawing Accutane after a “reevaluation” of its product lines showed it faced serious challenges from generic competitors, company officials said in a statement.

“In addition, Roche has been faced with high costs from personal-injury lawsuits that the company continues to defend vigorously,” according to the statement.

June 26, 2009

Caraco Digoxin Manufacturer Raided by Federal Agents

by Dr. Shezad Malik

At the request of the FDA, U.S. Marshals raided generic drug manufacturer Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd., shutting down manufacturing and seizing inventory. The action came after FDA inspections found that the drug maker was continuing to fail to meet federal safety and health requirements.

In March 2009, Caraco recalled digoxin, a heart medication, after it was discovered that some tablets distributed were thicker or thinner than they were supposed to be. This created a serious risk for consumers, as receiving too much of the drug could cause a potentially life-threatening condition known as digoxin toxicity, and receiving too little of the medication could result in injury from the underlying heart condition.

June 25, 2009

Family of Tree Trimmer Killed by Wood Chipper Sues Manufacturer

by Dr. Shezad Malik

It was just another work day for Rafael Jimenez, a veteran tree trimmer in his 24th year on the job.

But as he stuffed branches from a Chinese elm tree into a wood chipper, his right hand became entangled in the branches and Jimenez found himself being jerked toward the steel knives.

The machine, which devours a 20-inch branch in a second, consumed nearly his entire body.

His wife and four children filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that the manufacturer of the machine, Michigan-based Morbark, knew for years that its safety features were insufficient and had done nothing to prevent injuries and deaths like Jimenez’s.

June 24, 2009

Zicam Lawsuit Filed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In what could be the opening salvo in a new wave of lawsuits against the Scottsdale-based maker of Zicam, lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of 117 people who claim they have suffered loss of smell after using the popular nasal spray.

Among those suing Scottsdale-based Matrixx Initiatives Inc. include one dozen Phoenix-area residents as well as the chef of an upscale Las Vegas-area restaurant who no longer can smell or taste food.

Matrixx officials said they had not seen the lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, but a spokesman said the company believes that its nasal products are safe and do not cause loss of smell.

June 23, 2009

Rogue Cancer Unit at Philadelphia V.A. Hospital

by Dr. Shezad Malik

For patients with prostate cancer, it is a common surgical procedure: a doctor implants dozens of radioactive seeds to attack the disease. But when Dr. Gary D. Kao treated one patient at the veterans’ hospital in Philadelphia, his aim was more than a little off.

Most of the seeds, 40 in all, landed in the patient’s healthy bladder, not the prostate.

It was a serious mistake, and under federal rules, regulators investigated. But Dr. Kao, with their consent, made his mistake all but disappear.

He simply rewrote his surgical plan to match the number of seeds in the prostate, investigators said.

June 21, 2009

Hydroxycut Weight-loss Products Sued

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles accuses recalled Hydroxycut weight-loss products of causing deadly liver damage and other severe complications.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of anyone who consumed the now-banned supplements, claims the company failed to warn users of the risks of injury.

The Hydroxycut products were recalled May 1 after being linked to dozens of cases of liver damage, jaundice, and other related injuries. In one case, a 19-year-old Hydroxycut user died in 2007 after developing liver failure, but the death was not reported to the Food and Drug Administration until last March, according to the complaint.

June 20, 2009

Suit Filed Over Death of Woman Struck by Utility Pole

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A lawsuit was filed in Allegheny County Court by the mother of a 28-year-old woman who died after a utility pole struck by a tractor-trailer fell on her head.

Filed by Gloria Grate on behalf of her daughter, Marquetta Grate, the lawsuit names as defendants the city of Pittsburgh, Levin Furniture, Christopher Caudill and Penske Trucking.

According to attorney Michael Rosenzweig, who filed the complaint, Marquetta Grate was waiting for a bus on May 15 after dropping off her 3-year-old daughter at an East Liberty pre-school.