Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

July 5, 2009

County Settles in Cyclist’s Death After Crash

Santa Clara County has agreed to pay $2.3 M to the parents of one of the bicyclists killed when a former sheriff’s deputy drove his patrol car into a group of cyclists.

The payment settles a lawsuit filed against both the county and the deputy by the family of cyclist Matt Peterson, 29, who was killed in the crash. Negotiations are still ongoing in civil suits filed by the family of the other cyclist who died, Kristy Gough, 30, and with Christopher Knapp, 21, who suffered two broken limbs but survived.

July 4, 2009

Jury: Home Depot Liable for $1.5 M in Accident

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Cobb County, Georgia jury has awarded a Home Depot customer and his wife $1.5 million in a personal injury case stemming from a forklift accident inside a store.

According to the complaint, in November 2005 shopper Larry Reece fell and suffered neck and spine injuries after a pallet of plywood fell 24 feet from a forklift.

The wood hit a barricade that knocked over Reece, who wound up trapped under the plywood.

As part of the verdict, Reece’s wife was awarded $30,000 for loss of marital relations, said the couple’s attorney, Jeff Shiver. Shiver said medical expenses for Reece’s neck injuries were about $120,000, including surgery to repair herniated discs.

July 3, 2009

Texas Patient Awarded $10 M in Medical Malpractice Claim

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Harris County Texas jury has ruled in favor of a Houston man in a medical malpractice case, awarding him $10 million in damages stemming from a lawsuit against Methodist Hospital and the doctors who treated him there.

John German developed gangrene that required the amputation of his left leg above the knee, all the toes on his right foot and all of his fingers in the aftermath of heart surgery in 2002 .

“It’s been a long time coming, but I feel vindicated,” said German, who was a 32-year-old mechanic at the time of the care.

July 2, 2009

Roche Pulls Accutane Off Market After Jury Verdicts

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Roche Holding AG, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, is pulling its Accutane acne medicine from the U.S. market after juries awarded at least $33 million in damages to users who blamed the drug for bowel disease.

Roche notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today that it was withdrawing Accutane after a “reevaluation” of its product lines showed it faced serious challenges from generic competitors, company officials said in a statement.

“In addition, Roche has been faced with high costs from personal-injury lawsuits that the company continues to defend vigorously,” according to the statement.

About 13 million people have taken Accutane since it went on the market in 1982. The medication was Roche’s second-biggest selling drug before the patent expired in 2002 and rivals started selling generic versions. Roche’s prescription market share of the drug is now below 5 percent, the company said.

July 1, 2009

Texas Asbestos Lung Mesothelioma Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In Texas, Asbestos been used in the petroleum industry in everything from pipe insulation to gaskets to the clothes workers wore. Asbestos causes cancer when breathed into the lungs, often in the form of Mesothelioma.

The fire benefits of asbestos were such that their use in Texas did not stop with the petroleum industry. The substance was used in building materials for homes, schools and buildings.

The state of Texas is in the top 10 when it comes to asbestos claims. At last count, it was placed seventh among all the states for the highest number of asbestos lawsuits filed and that number is expected to rise dramatically as the disease progresses.

July 1, 2009

FDA: Varenicline (marketed as Chantix) and Bupropion (marketed as Zyban, Wellbutrin, and generics)

by Dr. Shezad Malik

FDA has required the manufacturers of the smoking cessation aids varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban and generics) to add new Boxed Warnings and develop patient Medication Guides highlighting the risk of serious neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients using these products. These symptoms include changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and attempted suicide. The same changes to the prescribing information and Medication Guide for patients will also be required for bupropion products (Wellbutrin and generics)that are indicated for the treatment of depression and seasonal affective disorder.

July 1, 2009

Texas Company to Pay $3M to Black Workers

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An East Texas company must pay black workers more than $3 million in back pay as damages in a class action lawsuit charging racial discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Ron Clark said Lufkin Industries Inc. must pay the workers $3.1 million as well as 5 percent interest to compensate them for acts of discrimination dating to 1994.

A bench trial in 2005 found that the company unlawfully made initial assignment and promotion decisions that discriminated against black workers.

“Lufkin Industries has been profiting for years from its policy of unlawful discrimination,” wrote Clark, who succeeded Cobb on the bench in the Eastern District of Texas. “At the same time, as Judge Cobb found, Lufkin’s CEO was indulged with a corporate jet and pilot and in 2002 a paycheck three times that of the president of the United States.”

June 30, 2009

EEOC Suit Claims Kmart Fired Man for Using a Cane

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Kmart Corp., alleging that the discount retailer fired an employee at a store after discovering he uses a cane to help him walk and stand.

Alonzo McGlone worked as a greeter at the Kmart store in Norfolk in September 2004, according to the commission, which filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. It charged that Kmart discriminated against McGlone and violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to let him use a cane and denying him work because of his disability, a debilitating back impairment known as spinal stenosis.

June 30, 2009

Yaz Class Action Law Suits in Progress

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Yaz® birth control pill has been on the market since 2006. Yaz is taken orally once daily to prevent pregnancy.

Yaz differs from other birth control methods because it contains a progestin hormone called drospirenone, which can increase potassium levels in the bloodstream.

Yaz has been linked with serious adverse heart problems. In a letter sent to the manufacturer of Yaz, the Food and Drug Administration warns of blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and gall bladder disease in Yaz users.

The FDA says, “Yaz has additional risks because it contains the progestin, drospirenone which can lead to hyperkalemia in high risk patients, which may result in potentially serious heart and health problems. Women taking Yaz must be concerned about the drug interactions that could increase potassium, in addition to the drug interactions common to all combination oral contraceptives.”

June 30, 2009

MRI Gadolinium Induced Kidney Failure

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Ever since the issue of MRI health risks began circulating, Gadolinium kidney failure has been debated—especially with its link to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and increased risk for MRI and kidney failure when used in association with MRI for persons with compromised kidneys.

However, a new study casts a certain amount of doubt. The study: High-Dose Gadodiamide for Catheter Angiography and CT in Patients With Varying Degrees of Renal Insufficiency: Prevalence of Subsequent Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and Decline in Renal Function, was recently undertaken at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

“The purpose of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and nephrotoxicity among patients with differing degrees of renal dysfunction who are exposed to high doses of gadodiamide,” said Mellena D. Bridges, MD, lead author of the study.