Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

September 1, 2009

New Study Shows Yaz Birth Control Pill Carries Greater Risk of Blood Clots

One of the more recent contraceptive pills to come out on the market and which became quite popular very quickly was the Yaz pill which is manufactured by Bayer. Yaz claimed that it could treat moderate acne and that it would treat the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

However, Yaz may not be as safe or as beneficial as it claims. A new British report has outlined the risks and problems associated with Yaz. While all oral contraceptives carry a risk of causing blood clots in those who take them, Yaz seems to have an increased risk of these clots. While the dosage of hormones in a birth control pill has been known to affect the occurrence of blood clots, it also appears to be that the type of hormone may increase risk as well. Nearly all oral contraceptive pills contain estrogen and progestin and the lowest doses of estrogen correspond with the lowest risk for blood clots.

August 31, 2009

Mechanisms for Yaz, Yasmin And Ocella Blood Clots In Women

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a general rule, all hormonal birth control medications are associated with side effects and health risks, and the oral contraceptive pills YAZ, Yasmin, and Ocella are no exception.

Blood clots can cause serious side effects; stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis.

A blood clot, or thrombosis, which begins in one part of the body can become an embolus, a blood clot that travels in the bloodstream. This embolus can migrate into any organ but usually migrates into the lungs, heart, or brain.

A deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is a thrombosis which most commonly forms in the lower legs’ calf veins. A pulmonary embolism, or PE is a thrombosis which forms in or has moved into the lungs. Thrombosis which develops in the heart can break off and migrate to the brain leading to strokes.

Read new British Medical Journal article on Oral Contraceptives and Thromboembolism

August 31, 2009

Nursing Home Medical Malpractice: Staff Dispensed 10 times Correct Dosage

by Dr. Shezad Malik

On Oct. 18, 2005, plaintiff Alvin Greenberg, 58, disabled, suffered from an overdose of Zyprexa. He had been administered the drug by the staff at the Green Acres Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, in Wyndmoor, where he was a resident; the order for the anti-psychotic medication had been called into the facility by his treating physician three days earlier.

Greenberg’s daughter and power-of-attorney, Alicia Greenberg, sued Green Acres, Melanio Aguirre, Greenberg’s attending physician, and Aguirre’s practice, claiming negligence, in order to recover personal injury damages. Prior to trial Greenberg settled with Green Acres for an undisclosed amount but Green Acres still remained in the action as a defendant.

Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that Greenberg was given 10 times the proper amount of Zyprexa, causing Greenberg to require an emergency room admission for Zyprexa toxicity. According to counsel, when Aguirre spoke to the nurse by telephone on Oct. 15, it wasn’t clear whether Aguirre directed the nurse to give Greenberg 25 mg or 2.5 mg of the medication. Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that both Aguirre and the nursing home were liable for the overdose because they didn’t ensure that Greenberg receive the proper dosage of the medication he required.

August 30, 2009

Texas Jury Decides Yamaha Not Liable for Teen’s Rhino Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yamaha Motor Co., the world’s second-largest motorcycle maker, is not liable for damages to the family of a Texas teenager who died while driving the company’s Rhino all-terrain vehicle.

Jurors in state court in Orange, Texas, deliberated about two hours before ruling the vehicle wasn’t to blame for the death of 13-year-old Forest “Eddie” Ray in 2007. The Rhino, a cross between a golf cart and an ATV, has been linked to 59 deaths in the U.S. The case is the first of about 500 to go to trial.

August 30, 2009

Jury Awards Whistle-Blower Student $450,000

by Dr. Shezad Malik

When she was thrown out of nursing school just 13 weeks before graduating, Sara Castle was humiliated.

Still, she knew she and her classmates weren’t getting the clinical training they needed because an instructor repeatedly dismissed students early — a practice Castle exposed, and the teacher was fired.

But Castle, too, was a casualty as Appalachian Technical College expelled her for, she asserts, blowing the whistle.

This week a jury awarded Castle $450,000 for the ordeal. The 55-year-old never finished her degree.

August 29, 2009

Family Awarded $4.4M in Suit Over Fatal Accident

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A District Court jury has awarded nearly $4.4 million to the widow and children of a UT Payson man who suffered fatal injuries in 2006 when he tried to swerve around backed-up traffic on Interstate 15 and hit other vehicles.

That amount will be reduced by almost $2 million because of a state law that caps damages against the state and because of the victim’s share of responsibility for the accident.

The family of Richard Kunzler claimed in a lawsuit that the state Department of Transportation and a subcontractor working on a bridge reconstruction project near Spanish Fork failed to post appropriate signs warning motorists about traffic delays. Vehicles were backing up to Benjamin and drivers were given insufficient warning about the construction, the suit claimed.

August 28, 2009

Chantix Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Since the Chantix black box warning was announced earlier in July 2009, the focus has been on the increased risk of suicides. Pfizer also quietly added new information to the warning label about reports of serious skin reactions, such as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, referred to as SJS, is a rare skin reaction that can occur as a side effect of several medications. It results in severe rashes and blistering of the skin and mouth.

It often requires treatment in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) or burn care unit, and it can result in death. If the top layer of the skin detaches from the lower layers and lesions cover more than 30% of the body, SJS is often diagnosed as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

August 28, 2009

Exxon Loses Second Phase of New York Water-Well Trial

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Exxon Mobil Corp. lost the second phase of a trial in which New York City accused the company of poisoning the city’s groundwater, with a jury ruling that a gasoline additive will remain in water wells for years.

The case is part of larger litigation over methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. More than 70 lawsuits filed by water providers and state and local governments were consolidated before U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin for pretrial information-gathering, according to an industry Web site.

An 11-member jury decided today that MTBE will contaminate the output of six affected wells at a peak level of 10 parts per billion in 2033. The verdict came on the third day of deliberations, less than two hours after jurors told Scheindlin they were deadlocked on a part of the case.

August 28, 2009

J&J Unit Warns of Deadly Skin Reaction With HIV Drug Intelence

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Johnson & Johnson warned doctors of reports of a deadly skin reaction and liver failure tied to its HIV medicine Intelence.

The skin condition called toxic epidermal necrolysis has killed one patient and injured another since Intelence was approved in January 2008. Another patient taking the tablets reported a hypersensitivity reaction accompanied by liver failure.

The prescribing information for Intelence was revised to include these reports and a caution that doctors stop treatment immediately if patients develop severe skin reactions or hypersensitivity symptoms, according to a letter e-mailed today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Similar side effects were seen in some study participants and have also been linked to other drugs for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

August 28, 2009

South Texas Jury Finds Yamaha not Negligent in First Rhino Rollover Trial

by Dr. Shezad Malik

It only took a few hours for Southeast Texas jurors in the first trial over Yamaha Rhino all-terrain vehicle rollovers to return a swift ruling of no negligence — a verdict in the company’s favor that could have far reaching effects.

With hundreds of Yamaha ATV suits pending in courts around the country, the victorious outcome obtained in Orange County may influence how Yamaha proceeds with similar litigation.

The product liability trial of Johnny Ray vs. Yamaha Motor Co. kicked off Aug. 18 and ended Aug. 27.

Jurors in the Orange County District Court of Judge Buddy Hahn were tasked to decide if Yamaha Motor Co. cut costs and negligently placed a defective off-road vehicle into the stream of commerce.