Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

September 7, 2008

Texas Nurse Licenses-No More Paper

Austin, Texas:The Board of Nursing (BON) will discontinue issuing wallet-sized paper licenses for nurses renewing their licenses beginning September 1, 2008. The BON will continue to issue paper license certificates for:

* Graduate nurses who pass the NCLEX® exam and obtain their initial nurse license in Texas;
* Nurses who hold licenses in other states and are obtaining a Texas nurse
license for the first time; and
* Nurses who receive full authorization to practice as advanced practice nurses.

September 6, 2008

FDA Reports Potential Problem Drugs

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The FDA in an effort to improve communication with doctors and patients on prescription drug safety, began posting a list of medications under investigation for potential problems.

The list is a compilation naming 20 medications and the potential safety issue for each drug. The listings will be updated for each calendar quarter.

Drugs will be placed on the list based on reports the FDA receives and if FDA safety reviewers determine that a reported problem with a particular drug deserves a closer look, that medication will be on the list.

September 5, 2008

Woman files HRT suit in Marshall Texas

by Dr. Shezad Malik

MARSHALL TEXAS– California resident Canstanza Raspa claims that her development of breast cancer, resulting surgery and mastectomy are the result of 10 years of hormone replacement therapy.

Raspa filed a product liability suit against hormone replacement manufacturers Wyeth, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Upjohn Inc. on Sept 3, in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants are liable for claims of fraudulent concealment, negligence, strict products liability, defective marketing, in adequate warnings, negligent misrepresentations, fraud, and breach of express warranty.

September 4, 2008

Doctors Sued for causing Painkiller Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A 77 year old Boston woman crashed her car leading to the death of a bystander. Now the dead man’s widow is suing the doctors, alleging that they should have warned the negligent driver not to drive while taking the prescribed pain medicines.

Jane Berghold, the driver, crashed it through a hospital entrance last year killing two people. She plead guilty to criminal charges, and settled a civil lawsuit.

September 1, 2008

Medical Malpractice Jury Blames Hospital for Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Plaintiff attorneys are seeking a new trial in a medical malpractice case in which a jury found a hospital negligent in a patient’s death but awarded $0 survival damages because the jury said “no amount of damages will adequately punish” the hospital.

A 24 year old man died after his brain abscess was not timely treated by the Pittsburgh hospital staff. The jury found that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Shadyside’s care of the patient fell below the standard of medical care and was a factual cause of harm to the plaintiff. The jury awarded $2.5 million in Wrongful Death Act damages, but awarded zero dollars in Survival Act damages.

August 31, 2008

Texas Supreme Court: No duty to Warn

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An employee alleged that Brookshire Grocery Company caused her back injuries when the worker Barbara Goss was trying to step over a “lowboy” cart.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled against her: To the extent that stepping over a lowboy is dangerous, it is a danger apparent to anyone, including Goss. A lowboy stands about 42 inches high, measures about two and a half feet by five feet, and rolls on four wheels.

Goss stepped over one as she entered a freezer, but on the way out her shin struck the lowboy and she hurt herself grabbing a shelf to stop her fall.

August 30, 2008

Texas Bus Accident Negligence Lawsuit Filed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Another lawsuit has been filed in the Texas bus crash that killed 17 people earlier in August 2008. The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Cham Nguyen, who alleges that negligence on the part of the owner and driver of the bus, as well as the vehicle’s manufacturer, caused her death.

The August 8th 2008, bus accident was the nation’s deadliest since 2005. The charter bus, which was taking a group of Vietnamese Catholics to a religious festival in Missouri, blew an illegally treaded tire, skidded off the highway and overturned. In addition to the deaths, 38 people were injured.

August 29, 2008

Avandia Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Diabetes patients who use the drug Avandia face an increased risk of serious and potentially fatal injuries of heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, bone fractures or death.

Federal lawsuits have been consolidated in an MDL (Multi-District Litigation) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Avandia is a type 2 diabetes medication which is used to control blood sugar levels. Until 2007, it was one of the best selling medications in the United States, with annual sales in excess of $2 billion.

August 28, 2008

$8.75M Settlement in Staten Island Ferry Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The family of a man who was killed in the October 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash settled its case against New York City for $8.75 million. This ferry crash killed 11 people and many ferry passengers were injured.

August 26, 2008

Lilly, Amylin Disclose More Cases of Byetta-Related Pancreatitis

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Last week, the FDA said it had received reports of six new cases of pancreatitis – including two deaths – associated with the diabetes drug Byetta. Today, Amylin and Eli Lilly said that they had reported four additional deaths to the agency as well, which the FDA hasn’t yet made public.

The companies, which co-market the drug, chose to disclose the additional information in order to “provide context” about each of the cases, according to Amylin President and Chief Executive Daniel Bradbury.