Product Liability

October 6, 2016

Dallas, Texas DePuy Pinnacle Hip Failure Trial Underway

The third bellwether DePuy Pinnacle Hip Failure trial has started this week. Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics division are exposed to seven alleged defective metal on metal hip cases consolidated in Dallas, Northern District of Texas.

Metal on metal hip implants have a high failure rate including those manufactured by Biomet, DePuy, Encore, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Wright and Zimmer.

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Failure $502 Million Verdict

Earlier this year, a Texas jury slammed DePuy Orthopedics over its failed Pinnacle metal hip implants, awarding $500 million. The DePuy Pinnacle hip implant is a metal-on-metal implant system that was found to fail prematurely, releasing particles of metal into surrounding tissue leading to inflammation and infection.

Why do Metal on Metal Hips Fail?

According to orthopedic experts, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to painful revisions for failing metal on metal hip implants.

Metal on metal hip replacement and hip resurfacing, leads to particle debris from the cup and ball surfaces causing implant failure. As the implant patient moves, the surfaces of these two components grind against each other. The friction and abrasive wear and tear leads to debris production.

Metal-on-metal hip implants, where both the femoral component and the cup are made of metal Continue reading

August 19, 2016

Prevacid side effects trigger lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

nurse A recent medical study has shown that people who have taken Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI), such as Prevacid, may be at an increased risk for chronic kidney disease.

A 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that people who were taking the anti-ulcer medication Prevacid may be 20 to 50 percent more likely to experience chronic kidney disease than those not taking the medication. The study indicated that taking the medication more than once daily or for longer periods of time, increased the risk.

Concerns about Prevacid and other Proton Pump Inhibitor medications reach back to 2006 or before but the new results indicate that the risk of kidney failure is higher than previously thought. Researchers indicate that many patients taking the medications could have been discontinued without any adverse effects and that many prescriptions may have been given without a clear, medical diagnosis.

August 18, 2016

Xarelto Bellwether Trials Picked

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge in Louisiana has selected two lawsuits to serve as the first test trials amid more than 7,200 cases challenging the safety of Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen’s blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto.

The first trial, slated to start in February, involves claims Xarelto caused a Louisiana man to develop gastrointestinal bleeding, according to an order Friday from U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The second trial will involve Joseph Orr, the husband of a woman who used Xarelto for about a month before she died from bleeding in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage). The cases will go to trial in Louisiana.

August 17, 2016

Bellwether trials selected in ongoing testosterone litigation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

With thousands of lawsuits involving testosterone products currently pending, eight of those cases have now been selected by a federal judge for early trials. Known as bellwether trials, these first lawsuits may provide insight into how juries will react to evidence and testimony in the more than 5,500 cases currently pending. In all of these lawsuits, plaintiffs are alleging use of testosterone products like Androgel have led to serious and even deadly side effects like heart attack and stroke.

U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly is currently overseeing around 5,500 lawsuits involving testosterone replacement therapies in the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs in those cases have been prescribed testosterone products originally approved by the FDA to treat specific medical conditions that lead to a drop in testosterone levels in men. However, the drugs have also been used off-label to treat a wide range of symptoms related to the aging process, such as energy loss, decreased muscle mass and reduced libido.

The manufacturers of product like Testim, Axiron, and Androgel have touted their products as ant-aging formulas for a large percentage of men that suffer the symptoms associated with lower testosterone levels. The drugs come in a variety of forms, including patches, pellets, gels, and injections. While the products can indeed bring relief to men suffering from severely low testosterone levels, they can also increase the risk of heart attack, pulmonary embolism, stroke and death, particularly in men with a history of cardiovascular problems.

August 16, 2016

Jury awards $70 million in Risperdal lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The latest and largest Risperdal jury award is the fifth instance where juries found that the makers of Risperdal did not provide adequate warning of Risperdal’s risks to patients and doctors.

A Philadelphia jury awarded Andrew Yount $70 million after he suffered from Risperdal side effects. The Tennessee boy started taking Risperdal in 2003 when he was just five years old and developed gynecomastia (male breast growth) just one year after taking the anti-psychotic medication.

During the trial, it was the boy’s father testimony that convinced the jury that the giant drug company intentionally falsified, concealed or destroyed evidence. Attorneys’ representing Yount argued that Janssen, the manufacturer of Risperdal, knew about the link between Risperdal and gynecomastia yet decided to withhold that information. Yount’s attorneys provided Janssen’s internal documents that showed it purposely limited the medical community’s understanding of the risks associated with Risperdal.

August 15, 2016

Abilify Compulsive Gambling Side Effects Triggers Divorce

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Some people might it difficult to believe that Abilify can cause an addiction to gambling. In fact, one former Abilify consumer, who we will call Tony, developed such a compulsive gambling issue that his wife left him.

“I was on this medication for five years and my gambling addiction was so bad I lost my business and my wife,” says Tony. “Had I known that Abilify can cause gambling and sexual compulsions I would never have taken the drug. I can live with the weight gain but I’ll never get my wife back.” Tony stopped taking Abilify nearly a year ago. He no longer has a gambling addiction but he is now bankrupt and divorced.

Three major studies concluded that Abilify patients were able to control their gambling impulses when they discontinued the drug or had their dosage substantially reduced. The British Journal of Psychiatry in 2011 published a study that examined three Abilify patients who were addicted to gambling. Six months after taking it they were switched to another anti-depressant, and all of them no longer had a compulsion to gamble. A report in JAMA Internal Medicine (2014) found a substantial association between Abilify and gambling problems after studying the medical records of 1,580 patients reporting impulsive behavior issues. Also in 2014, the medical journal Addictive Behaviors published a study that found the same results.

August 15, 2016

MDL sought for cases linking Taxotere to permanent hair loss

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Taxotere lawsuits on the rise Plaintiffs’ lawyers have requested a new multidistrict litigation for lawsuits alleging that Sanofi SA’s chemotherapy drug Taxotere can cause permanent hair loss in women, particularly those being treated for breast cancer.

In a July 22 motion, lawyers for two plaintiffs asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to send Taxotere litigation – currently comprising 33 lawsuits in 16 federal courts – to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

A growing number of lawsuits filed against the makers of Taxotere allege that the company failed to warn patients that Taxotere may cause permanent hair loss. The lawsuits also claim that the drug manufacturer actively encouraged doctors to use Taxotere despite its risks and despite the availability of other, safer cancer treatments.

August 11, 2016

Invokana lawsuits on the rise as safety concerns increase

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The number of lawsuits filed by people who say they suffered serious side effects after taking Invokana (canagliflozin) continues to grow in Philadelphia amid rising safety concerns. Attorneys are also investigating other drugs in the Type 2 diabetes drug class known SGLT2 inhibitors.

While attorneys across the country are filing lawsuits on behalf of local plaintiffs, Pennsylvania is seeing a large number of cases. Dozens of cases made their way to Philadelphia. An attorney family with the cases told a reporter at the Legal Intelligencer that more than 150 suits are pending in Missouri and Illinois.

Attorneys say a judge may consolidate the cases if the volume continues to grow.

August 10, 2016

Increase in Zofran lawsuits over birth defects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Many women who took Zofran during pregnancy had no idea that it was prescribed off-label, or in other words it wasn’t approved by the FDA to treat morning sickness.

The majority of women who take Zofran only take it in the first trimester and only for a few days to alleviate nausea during early pregnancy. But morning sickness can be dangerous for a small percentage of women so they continue using the drug throughout their pregnancy.

One woman, Marquita Smiley, took it a few times a week into her second trimester, according to a news article published on June 1, 2016 in the Brimmingham News. During her 5^th month of pregnancy an ultrasound showed her baby’s heart was underdeveloped. Just days after her son was born he had open-heart surgery and at two months of age he had a heart transplant. When Smiley say a an ad claiming that Zofran causes heart birth defects, she filed a lawsuit against the makers of Zofran. Smiley says if she had known of the risk of birth defects, “I would not have placed him at risk,” she told the newspaper.

August 9, 2016

Cordis TrapEase and OptEase IVC Filter Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

IVC Filter lawsuits A device known as a vena cava filter (IVC filter) was implanted by doctors in hundreds of patients who are unable to take anticoagulants (blood thinners) in order to prevent blood clots from moving to the lungs. But recently two IVC filter devices named Cordis OptEase and Cordis TrapEase have came under scrutiny after lawsuits reveal potential design defects.

The Cordis Optease IVC filter is an egg-shaped wire device and Cordis TrapEase IVC filter is a star-shaped wire device. They are both implanted in a blood vessel called the inferior vena cava, which separates the heart and lungs. The filters are designed to catch blood clots before they enter the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism.

The Cordis TrapEase IVC filter is supposed to be permanent, but studies have linked it to a 50% risk of fracture within four years. In another study, researchers warned about an “extremely high risk” of fracture within 2-3 years.