Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

August 1, 2009

Defective Drugs: Yaz and Yasmin Birth Control Lawsuits and Increased Risk of Strokes

Yasmin and Yaz are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. The generic brand Ocella is marketed and distributed by Barr Laboratories, Inc. Yasmin and Yaz contain the same estrogenic compound, ethinyl estradiol, that has been used in 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 pills contain drospirenone, except for a recently approved generic version of Yasmin and Yaz, called Ocella.

August 1, 2009

Swim Club Lawsuit for Brain Damage Caused by Drowning

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Three years ago, James Becker was doing what many vigorous 15-year-old boys do – playing baseball, basketball and soccer.

Now he is severely disabled, must use a wheelchair and is under the constant care of his mother.

The accident that reduced James to such circumstances occurred at the Woodcroft Swim Club in Parkville on July 29, 2006, when, his family’s lawyer says, he almost drowned. His brain was apparently deprived of adequate oxygen for about 10 minutes.

His parents, William J. Becker III and Mary Becker, have filed a $40 million lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the swim club and the company that runs it, D.R.D. Pool Management Inc., accusing them of failing to both “timely recognize and respond” to the struggling boy and to properly perform resuscitation efforts.

July 31, 2009

Las Cruces NM Man Gets $1M Settlement in Medical Malpractice Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury has awarded $1 million to a Las Cruces man who alleged a surgeon was negligent in repairing a colon perforation after a colonoscopy.

General surgeon Dr. David Friedman operated on Michael Salopek in February 2005, to repair a tiny perforation he had sustained during a colonoscopy, Las Cruces attorney Marci Beyer said.

However, Friedman did not find the perforation, which continued to leak into Salopek’s abdominal area for 11 days. Medical expenses just to find the perforation totaled $165,000, Beyer said.

July 31, 2009

Defective Drugs: Byetta Lawsuits and Acute Pancreatitiis

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Byetta which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes, has side effects that could increase the risk of serious and potentially life threatening pancreatitis.

Reports have found an association between Byetta and pancreatitis. Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co., the manufacturers of the defective drug have failed to adequately warn about the risk of the serious and potentially fatal injury.

Byetta lawsuits are being investigated for users diagnosed with:

* Acute Pancreatitis
* Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis
* Necrotizing Pancreatitis
Potential cases are being evaluated throughout the United States.

July 31, 2009

Jury to Decide Negligent Deportation of Illegal Immigrant

by Dr. Shezad Malik

During the early hours of a steamy July 2003 morning, Martin Memorial Medical Center chartered a private plane and sent 37-year-old Luis Jimenez back to Guatemala without telling his relatives in the U.S. or Guatemala — even as his legal guardian frantically sought to stop the move.

The man’s guardian, also his cousin, is suing the hospital for essentially deporting Jimenez, who was an illegal immigrant. The hospital, which spent more than $1.5 million on his care over three years, says Jimenez wanted to go home.

July 30, 2009

Jury Awards $3.5 M in Elmore County Traffic Fatality

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury deliberated less than an hour before awarding $3.5 million to the family of a man who died when his van was crushed between two logging trucks in a January 2008 accident in Elmore County.

A Chilton County jury ordered Ken Gorum Trucking and Gary Fruge, the driver of the logging truck, to pay $3.5 million to the family of James Sanderson.

Attorneys Benjamin E. Baker and J. Cole Portis entered evidence that the Gorum truck was being operated at a high rate of speed and with defective brakes in violation of Alabama law.

July 30, 2009

Texas Investigating Scrub Tech in Hepatitis C Medical Malpractice Claim

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A surgery technician at the center of a hepatitis C scare in Colorado involving the alleged swapping of patients’ clean needles for her dirty ones is being investigated in Texas because she previously worked in a Houston-area hospital.

Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay from May 2005 to October 2006, was indicted in Denver last week on 42 criminal counts. Prosecutors allege 19 people contracted the disease after she swapped the needles.

The Texas and Harris County health departments launched an investigation earlier this month that is still in the early stages, according to officials of both agencies. They said the investigation began after they learned Parker worked in Houston.

Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas health department, said the focus is on whether Parker had hepatitis C while at Christus St. John. Only then would patients be notified, she said.

July 29, 2009

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: Doctors Caused Leg Amputation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Steuben County couple has sued a Fort Wayne orthopedics firm, alleging a missed diagnosis for a blood clot caused the wife to lose her leg.

Filed in Allen Superior Court this week by Jeanette Presley and Allen Presley, the lawsuit against Orthopaedics Northeast seeks compensatory damages and comes after the couple received a ruling from the state’s Medical Review Panel that Orthopaedics Northeast failed to comply with appropriate standards of care, according to court documents.

July 29, 2009

Defective Drug: Yasmin Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Yasmin lawsuits are personal injury cases that seek settlements for women injured after taking Yasmin (drospirenone), a contraceptive pill also prescribed in the treatment of moderate acne and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) for menstruating women. Yasmin may also be sold under the brand name Yaz, a form of drospirenone manufactured and distributed by Bayer.

Produced by Berlex Laboratories, Inc., Yasmin has been reported to cause a variety of serious side effects since its FDA approval in May 2001. Women injured after taking Yasmin will likely be entitled to compensation by pursuing a Yasmin lawsuit.

July 29, 2009

Baxter Contaminated Heparin Class Action Lawsuit Still Open

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Patients who were harmed because of heparin contamination still have time to bring claims against the makers of the heparin products. Patients may have been exposed to contaminated heparin through injections, pre-filled syringes or IV bags. It is important for people affected by contaminated heparin to hold those responsible accountable for what happened.

Heparin is a blood thinner, used in a variety of procedures, including dialysis and cardiac procedures. In early 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of certain Baxter heparin products after the agency received reports of adverse reactions linked to the products. Within a month, hundreds of reports detailing severe reactions to heparin surfaced worldwide. The recall was later expanded to include more products and other companies.

The FDA discovered that the contaminant was oversulfated chondroitin sulphate (OSCS), the reactions to OSCS can be extreme; with large doses of heparin, it can result in death.

Injuries linked to contaminated heparin include nausea, vomiting and flu-like symptoms to anaphylactic shock, coma and even death.