Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

November 24, 2008

Melamine Found in U.S. Infant Formula

The Food and Drug Administration said that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer.

Agency officials said they had discovered melamine at trace levels in a sample of infant formula. It was also discovered in several samples of dietary supplements that are made by some of the same manufacturers who make formula.

Melamine contamination became a major scandal in China after it was added to milk to disguise test results that measure protein levels. Since it was discovered in infant formula in September, it has sickened more than 50,000 infants and killed 4.

November 23, 2008

Milwaukee Loses Appeal in Lead Paint Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The city of Milwaukee’s appeal to force a former lead paint manufacturer to pay for the cleanup of 11,000 contaminated properties was rejected.

The Court of Appeals ruled that NL Industries Inc. does not have to pay the city costs of cleaning up the inner-city homes. The city sought $52.6 million for the program, which involved replacing old windows.

The Milwaukee County jury ruled last year the widespread presence of lead paint in Milwaukee homes was a public nuisance, but NL Industries did not “intentionally and unreasonably engage in conduct” that caused it and was not negligent.

November 22, 2008

PAGCL and Shoulder Pain Pump Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The use of intra-articular pumps, to deliver medication to the shoulder following arthroscopic shoulder surgery has been linked to the development of a painful and debilitating condition which causes the loss of cartilage in the shoulder.

The medical condition, is known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis, PAGCL, and has no consistently successful treatment and often results in permanent shoulder pain.

STATUS OF SHOULDER PAIN PUMP LITIGATION: Lawsuits are currently pending and potential cases are still being reviewed by Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm.

Motions have been filed to consolidate all Federal shoulder pain pump lawsuits and transfer the cases to one court for pre-trial proceedings.

November 22, 2008

Hospital to pay $1.9M in Whistleblower Suit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Medicare paid a Pennsylanvia hospital $6.15 million in the 2003 to treat some of the Erie hospital’s oldest, sickest patients. Now the hospital will pay $1.9M to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit that claimed the hospital submitted Medicare claims that exceeded its actual costs.

Seven hospitals have reached settlements in connection with the lawsuit, filed in 2005 by an independent hospital consultant from New Jersey. Saint Vincent is the only hospital in this region named in the suit.

November 21, 2008

Bayer Healthcare Dinged For $97.5M in Kickback Settlement

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Diabetic supply maker Bayer Healthcare, a unit of Bayer AG, has agreed to pay $97.5 M to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to several diabetic suppliers and caused them to submit false Medicare claims, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Bayer agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement — which allows companies to continue in the federal Medicare program while requiring steps to safeguard against fraudulent behavior — as part of the settlement, the department said.

November 20, 2008

Roche Loses $12.9 M Three-Case Accutane Verdict

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Roche Holding AG must pay $12.9 million to plaintiffs who blamed the Accutane acne medicine for their inflammatory bowel disease, a New Jersey jury ruled, handing the company its fourth trial loss in the case.

Roche didn’t give proper warnings to doctors for three Florida residents about the risks of Accutane, which was a substantial factor in their illness, a state court jury found yesterday in Atlantic City. The judge combined three lawsuits into one trial. With three earlier losses for individuals, Roche has now lost jury verdicts involving six plaintiffs.

November 20, 2008

Construction Worker Death Case Settles For $440k

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The family of a construction worker who fell to his death received a $440,000 settlement. In 2005, a Texas man aged 23, was part of a crew working on a building in Mesquite. He and another worker entered a wooden box, which was then lifted by a SkyTrak device to the second story. They were working when the box tipped over and both men fell to the ground. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

November 19, 2008

Texas Medical Board Suspends License of a Houston Doctor

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A panel of the Texas Medical Board has temporarily suspended the license of Eli T. Anderson, M.D., license #E6214, of Houston , after determining that Dr. Anderson’s continuation in the practice of medicine presents a continuing threat to the public welfare.

The action was based on evidence the board received that Dr. Anderson tested positive for a cocaine metabolite in June, 2008, while undergoing drug testing required as a condition of his placement on five years deferred adjudication probation for possession of cocaine, a third degree felony, in Clay County, Texas, in June, 2005. In 2007, Dr. Anderson was again arrested in Lubbock for possession of drug paraphernalia. In addition, at the Board’s temporary suspension hearing, Dr. Anderson admitted on the judicial record that he had used cocaine since 2002, and that he had used cocaine as recently as November, 2008.

November 19, 2008

Restaurant Patron Who Slipped on Peanut Shells Gets $97k

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Texas woman who broke her knee when she slipped on peanut shells in a Temple restaurant recovered $96,750 after a jury found her partially responsible for her injuries. The 2006 incident occurred at Texas Roadhouse, where patrons are given buckets of peanuts and encouraged to drop the shells on the floor. The woman, then 31, said she fractured her knee in three places after she slipped on a shell that may have still contained peanuts.

November 18, 2008

Gulf War Syndrome New Report

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A congressionally mandated scientific panel has concluded that Gulf War syndrome is real and still afflicts nearly a quarter of the 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the 1991 conflict, according to a recently released report.

The report concluded that two chemical exposures were direct causes of the disorder: the drug pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas, and pesticides that were widely used — and often overused — to protect against sand flies and other pests.

“The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is a result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time,” according to the 450-page report presented to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.