Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

August 20, 2009

Fleet Phospho Soda and Kidney Damage

Fleet Phospho Soda, a laxative product used for varying applications, was the subject of a December 2008 consumer alert from the FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration). The alert warned that the use of phosphate-based laxatives such as Fleet Phospho Soda could result in kidney failure, even among individuals who do not have a medical condition that puts them at risk for kidney failure.

Fleet Phospho Soda is available without a prescription, it is a non-prescription laxative. It is widely used to clean the intestines before a colonoscopy and other medical procedures.

The Phospho Soda works by drawing fluid from the rest of the body into the colon; if an individual does not consume enough water or other fluids during Phospho Soda use, he or she may become dehydrated. The individual’s level of phosphate salts in the kidneys may also become too high — a development that can result in a type of kidney damage called acute phosphate nephropathy (APN).

August 20, 2009

Yaz and Yasmin Linked to Pulmonary Embolism, Heart Attacks and Strokes

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yaz is a relatively new oral birth control medication. But an unfortunate number of patients have found, Yaz also causes serious, and life-threatening side effects including pulmonary embolism (blood clots to the lung), heart attack and stroke.

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. – the drug’s manufacturer – before being regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a recent mandate, marketed Yaz which minimized these very serious side effects, and misleading millions of women about the safety of this medication.

If you’re taking the prescription medication Yaz or Yasmin, also manufactured by Bayer, and have had any of the side effects associated with these compounds, you may be entitled to compensation.

August 20, 2009

Court Overturns $53 M Awarded in Wrongful Death Nursing Home Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The state Court of Appeals has overturned a $53 million damage award to the family of an Albuquerque woman who died in a nursing home.

The court ordered a new trial. The daughter of 78-year Barbara Barber filed a lawsuit alleging her mother died in December 2004 of gastrointestinal bleeding that went untreated by the nursing home staff.

In tossing out the jury verdict, the appeals court said a district judge was wrong in a pretrial finding that ManorCare Inc., a Toledo, Ohio-based company, was the employer of the nursing home’s staff. The court said there was conflicting evidence on that issue. ManorCare contended that a subsidiary company owned and operated the Albuquerque nursing home, which was sold in 2005.

August 19, 2009

Yaz Lawsuits and Gallbladder Problems

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Reports are now surfacing that women using Yasmin and Yaz birth control pills are developing gallbladder problems. Some women have had to undergo gall bladder removal surgery due to gallstones. Gall bladder disease includes inflammation, infection, stones, or obstruction of the gallbladder. There are two main types of gallbladder disease: cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and cholelithiasis (gallstones).

We are currently evaluating and representing women who have suffered from gallbladder complications while on Yasmin birth control including gallbladder removal.

August 19, 2009

Federal Lawsuits: Yasmin/Yaz Responsible for Blood Clots

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Recent reports have noted possible dangers of Yasmin/Yaz in persons with some preexisting conditions. Federal lawsuits filed recently allege that since Yasmin and Yaz have been available, there have been over 50 related deaths and hundreds of serious health concerns due to complications with the medicine.

Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits filed allege that Bayer failed to adequately warn about the increased risk of serious heart and health problems associated with their birth control when compared to other available pills. They not only minimized the blood clot risk with Yaz and Yasmin, but also heavily marketing the drugs through deceptive advertisements designed to encourage doctors and patients to use their birth control pill over other available forms that may not present as great of a risk.

August 19, 2009

Avandia Death Risk and Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Avandia, an oral medication produced by GlaxoSmithKline, improves control of blood glucose levels in individuals with type-2 diabetes. Despite its ability to make insulin receptors more sensitive, Avandia does have some serious associated risks, as it can increase the chances that patients’ develop:

* stroke
* congestive heart failure
* heart attack
* liver toxicity
* severe allergic reactions

August 18, 2009

Update on Yaz and Yasmin Side Effect Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A panel of federal judges will hear arguments later in September to determine whether all federal lawsuits against Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation over serious and potentially life threatening side effects of Yaz and Yasmin birth control should be centralized and consolidated in one district for coordinated handling as part of an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation.

According to a notice recently issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, a hearing will be held on September 24 to consider whether the cases filed in various federal districts throughout the United States involve sufficiently common questions of fact and whether consolidation is appropriate.

August 18, 2009

Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit From Food Poisoning

by Dr. Shezad Malik

January 2008, Courtney Rohn dashed in for a takeout order at a Homestead restaurant.

A day later the 32-year-old mom died at Homestead Hospital. An autopsy showed that she died of a bacterial infection in the blood.

Now her family has filed suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against El Toro Taco, in connection with Rohn’s takeout order. The lawsuit alleges the bacterial infection was caused from food poisoning and was exacerbated from Rohn having her spleen removed.

Rohn’s mother and stepfather, Margaret and Walter Armstrong, are alleging two counts of negligence, two counts of strict liability and violations of The Florida Food Safety Act.

August 18, 2009

Yaz and Yasmin Blood Clot Risk

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yasmin was first approved by The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001 for women to use as birth control.

In 2008, the FDA issued Bayer Corp. a warning letter regarding false claims made in two Yaz television commercials. These false claims involved the ability of Yaz to treat premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and all types of acne. As a result, the company stopped running the ads, and later embarked on an advertising campaign that corrected the deceptive claims made in those commercials.

Yasmin has been associated with:

– Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
– Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
– Heart Attack
– Stroke
– Death

August 17, 2009

Paxil Side Effects and Birth Defects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

New studies point to an increased risk of Paxil birth defects in babies whose mothers use the antidepressant during pregnancy. According to the findings of two studies, women who were taking Paxil during their first trimester were one and a half to two times more likely to have a baby with a heart defect than women who were taking other antidepressants or women of the general population.

A study published in the February 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that maternal use of the antidepressant Paxil increased the risk—by as much as six times—of a birth defect known as persistent pulmonary hypertension, or PPHN.

Babies born with PPHN have difficulty circulating oxygen through their bodies because of constricted blood vessels in the heart and lungs.