Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

August 13, 2009

Hydroxycut Update: Defective Drugs and Lawsuits

Hydroxycut is a nutritional supplement manufactured and marketed by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., that claims to help consumers lose weight. “An estimated 15% of the US population uses dietary supplements for weight loss, and Hydroxycut is the top selling product in this class and market, with roughly a million units sold per year.”

Its efficacy is considered questionable. On May 1, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning after some Hydroxycut products were linked to liver damage, rhabdomyolysis, and at least one death. The manufacturer then recalled the products.

August 12, 2009

Speedy Chinese Drywall Litigation Given Thumbs up

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As investigators with the Consumer Product Safety Commission prepared for a visit to China next week to look into tainted drywall, the federal judge overseeing the massive basket of legal cases reiterated his plan to speed the proceedings along.

In a report to Congress, the federal agency — leading the investigation into Chinese drywall — said it had received permission from Chinese officials for the trip, scheduled to begin on Monday.

Meanwhile, Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who plans to begin “bellwether” trials in January, told both sides during a status conference in New Orleans on Tuesday that he expected discovery to begin in a few weeks.

The process will be sped along by the use of “profile forms” rather than traditional interrogatories that can get mired in procedural delays.

Fallon also said he wanted an agreed-upon plan for inspecting and identifying affected homes by Friday. The inspections should determine whether a home had Chinese drywall and, if so, what kind of damage was present, Fallon said.

August 12, 2009

University Settles Lawsuit Brought by Students’ Families for $500 K

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The University of Utah has settled a lawsuit brought by the families of seven Chinese scholars killed in a 2003 van rollover, cutting short a two-week trial in a Salt Lake City courtroom.

State officials agreed to pay the plaintiffs, who include three men injured in the crash, nearly $500,000, just under a ceiling above which any settlement would require legislative approval. The U.’s offer came Thursday after the victims’ widows testified, leaving the jury in tears.

When the U. agreed to host the Chinese delegation in 2002, the school assumed responsibility for arranging the scholars’ travel within the U.S., court records indicate. Attorneys for the families alleged the university acted negligently by contracting with an unlicensed travel business in New York, which in turn hired a driver unqualified to pilot the oversized van that plunged off a snow-covered Pennsylvania highway and folded against a tree.

Coupled with a settlement from the van owner’s insurer, Friday’s settlement means the 10 families split $800,000.

August 11, 2009

Hospital Staff Wrongly Declared Infant Dead Malpractice Claim Filed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A WV Kanawha County couple say both they and their newborn baby were traumatized permanently when staff at a Charleston hospital informed them the baby died only to later discover he was in fact alive.

Charleston Area Medical Center, Pediatrix Medical Group and Dr. Davangere M. Jayaram are named as co-defendants in medical malpractice suit filed by Carmela and Joseph Newhouse of Elkview. In their complaint filed July 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court, the Newhouses allege Jayaram, and staff from Pediatrix and CAMC misinformed them of the death of their son, Camren, who is now permanently injured after his premature removal from life-support systems.

August 11, 2009

Merck Faces Product Liablity 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.

“In mass litigation, all eyes are on the first trial, not only because it shows the strategy of each side, but also because it’s the first information about how jurors respond to the evidence,” said Howard Erichson, a law professor at Fordham University in New York and an expert on civil procedure.

August 10, 2009

Prescription Drugs and Defective Drug Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The side effects known to be caused by such prescription drugs as Accutane, Byetta, Chantix, Digitek, Fentanyl patches, Heparin, Nuvaring, Paxil, Levaquin Yaz/Yasmin and Ortho Evra just to name a few, were repeatedly covered up instead of having FDA approval.

If you or someone you know is taking or has taken prescription drugs in the past, and have experienced serious side effects from them, you should report a side effect to the FDA, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

August 10, 2009

Levaquin Lawsuits and Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The various Levaquin antibiotic lawsuits that have been filed in the state of New Jersey due to Levaquin side effects may be consolidated before a single judge. The alleged tendon rupture problems associated with Levaquin medicine and the resulting adverse affects are prompting many plaintiffs towards legal action.

As is the usual feature for class action lawsuits and consolidations, plaintiffs all appear to have similar complaints and allegations with regard to Levaquin (levofloxacin) and the potential for adverse effects involving tendons.

August 10, 2009

Yaz Yasmin and Drospirenone Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yaz and Yasmin are different from other combination birth control pills because they both contain a new type of progestin hormone known as drsp or drospirenone.

However, drospirenone has diuretic activity that can cause an increase in the user’s potassium levels, which can lead to dangerous health problems and is especially dangerous to users who have pre-existing kidney, liver and adrenal disease.

August 9, 2009

Yaz Side Effects and Pulmonary Embolism

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yaz birth control increases the risk of pulmonary embolism, a condition in which an artery in the lung (part of the body’s pulmonary system) is blocked by a blood clot so the blood cannot get through to the lung.

All combined-hormone contraceptives (including Yaz birth control pills) increase a woman’s likelihood of suffering a pulmonary embolism, especially if she uses the contraceptive and:

* smokes
* is over 35
* has a family or personal history of pulmonary embolism

August 9, 2009

Yasmin Generic Lawsuit Knocks out Bayer’s Patent over Birth Control Pill

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal appeals court has invalidated Bayer’s patent for the birth control pill Yasmin, allowing Teva Pharmaceuticals to produce the generic version, Ocella, without licensing the drug.

The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s finding that the use of the progestin drospirenone that led to Yasmin were too obvious a pharmaceutical development for Bayer to patent.

Yasmin is an oral contraceptive that combines drospirenone with the estrogen component ethinyl estriadol to prohibit ovulation. While many birth control pills use ethinyl estriadol in combination with progestins, Yasmin was the first to use drospirenone.