Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

August 16, 2009

Yasmin, Yaz, Ocella Side Effects and Lawsuits

Yasmin and Yaz are two types of birth control oral contraceptive pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare, and the generic, Ocella, is marketed and distributed by Barr Laboratories, Inc. Yasmin and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound, ethinyl estradiol, that has been used in oral contraceptive “The Pill” since the 1970s, but the progestin in Yasmin and Yaz is new. Yasmin and Yaz both contain drospirenone, a “fourth generation” progestin – no other birth control oral contraceptive pills contain drospirenone, except for a recently approved generic version, Ocella.

If you have side effects from using these medications you can report them to the FDA.

August 16, 2009

Researchers Say Women Should Take Safest Birth-Control Pill

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Doctors should prescribe the birth- control pills that are the least likely to cause blood clots, according to a study of more than 3,000 women published today in the British Medical Journal.

Oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel and a low dose of estrogen, such as Bayer AG’s Microgynon 30, were associated with the lowest risk of blood clots in the leg or lungs, researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands found. Birth-control pills containing desogestrel, cyproterone acetate or drospirenone carried about 1.5 to 2 times the risk of clots, they found.

August 15, 2009

Yaz Information and Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yaz prevents ovulation and causes changes in the cervical and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus and harder for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus.

Yaz is used as contraception to prevent pregnancy.

Yaz is contraindicated if you are pregnant or if you have any of the following conditions: a history of stroke or blood clot, breast or uterine cancer, abnormal vaginal bleeding, kidney or liver disease, an adrenal gland disorder, severe high blood pressure, migraine headaches, or a history of jaundice caused by birth control pills.

August 15, 2009

Yaz and Yasmin Lawsuits to be Consolidated in Federal MDL

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A motion/petition has been filed with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation by plaintiff attorneys to consolidate and centralize all federal Yasmin and Yaz suits in one court for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

There are currently at least 40 federal court cases pending against Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation involving their Yaz and Yasmin birth control. The lawsuits all contain similar allegations that inadequate warnings were provided that Yaz and Yasmin side effects may increase the risk of potentially life-threatening injuries like heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder disease, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) and sudden death.

August 15, 2009

FDA Warns of E-Cigarette Risks

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about potential health risks associated with electronic cigarettes.

Also known as “e-cigarettes,” electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices designed to look like and be used in the same manner as conventional cigarettes.

Sold online and in many shopping malls, the devices generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. They turn nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user.

August 14, 2009

Hydroxycut Law Suit Filed in WV Against Iovate

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A WV Kanawha County woman has filed a lawsuit against the makers of popular weight-loss product Hydroxycut, alleging that they falsely marketed their products as safe and effective dietary supplements.

In a suit filed last week in Kanawha Circuit Court, Rhonda M. Hawkins maintains that Ontario-based Iovate Health Sciences, Inc., and its subsidiaries and related companies defrauded the public by advertising that Hydroxycut products worked and had no adverse health effects.

August 14, 2009

Defective Product Chinese Drywall Cases on ‘Rocket Docket’

by Dr. Shezad Malik

With thousands of homeowners claiming their houses and health are deteriorating from sulfur-emitting Chinese drywall, a federal judge in New Orleans is intent on fast-tracking a handful of cases for trial, attorneys say.

The first of these bellwether lawsuits could be tried by the end of the year, a timetable that encourages homeowners to think settlement. In contrast, drywall maker and defendant Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin welcomes home inspections and is investigating “practical solutions” but denies any health effects from its drywall.

About 600 tainted Chinese drywall lawsuits have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation under U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon for pretrial issues. With the help of plaintiff and defense steering committees, Fallon will select five cases to test the waters.

“He is moving extremely fast, which is the right thing because people are living in homes that are toxic to them,” said Victor Diaz, a partner at Podhurst Orseck in Miami and a member of the MDL plaintiff steering committee.

August 14, 2009

New Study: Birth Control Medications and Risk of Blood Clots

by Dr. Shezad Malik

More than 100 million women use the oral contraceptive pill worldwide. Many types of pill are available and the choice of which one to use is important to the women who use them and their doctors. Two linked studies assess the risk of venous thromboembolism in women taking the combined oral contraceptive.

All oral contraceptives are effective in preventing pregnancy if they are taken correctly, so the choice of which one to use rests on the profile of side effects.

Venous thromboembolism is one of the most serious side effects, and although it is rare, it can cause death (in about 1-2% of all cases of venous thromboembolism in women taking the pill).

New research suggests that many women do not use the safest available types of oral contraceptives, with many of the most popular birth control pills, such as Yaz and Yasmin, carrying a higher risk of blood clots.

The study, published today in the British Medical Journal, found that oral contraceptives containing desogestrel, cyproterone acetate or drospirenone were up to twice as likely to cause blood clots in women as birth control pills containing levonorgestrel and low doses of estrogen.

The study found that switching to the safer forms of birth control, like Bayer AG’s Microgynon 30 that contains levonorgestrel, reduced health risks while keeping the same level of pregnancy prevention.

August 13, 2009

Routine Complication From Surgery Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A hospital patient suffers excruciating pain from what turns out to be a routine complication from elective surgery.

As her condition deteriorates, she and her family plead to see the doctor. But no doctor examines her until the next morning, when she goes into shock, is rushed into intensive care and dies.

Then, after her death, the hospital deletes portions of the woman’s medical file in what the woman’s family says is an attempt to cover up its horrendous mistakes.

August 13, 2009

Merck Faces First Trial of Claim That Fosamax Attacks Jawbone

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Merck & Co., the drugmaker facing 900 lawsuits over claims that its osteoporosis drug Fosamax causes the death of jawbone tissue, goes to trial tomorrow in a case that may affect all the others.

The trial in New York of the first case of the group, filed by Shirley Boles, 71, will be one of three so-called bellwether cases that may point the way to out-of-court settlements.