Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

April 27, 2016

Abilify gambling side effects trigger lawsuits

Recent studies linking compulsive gambling to Abilify have triggered lawsuits across the country. A FDA report showed that from 2005 to 2013, at least 54 compulsive behaviors were reported by patients, including 30 reports of compulsive gambling.

Reports of compulsive gambling have since been on the rise – more than 29 reports were made to the FDA in 2014 alone.

In January 2016, Sean Brazil, a former Abilify user, filed a lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb in New York federal court. Brazil says he developed a compulsive disorder problem after taking the antipsychotic drug Abilify and that U.S. users weren’t warned about the risk of compulsive gambling. Brazil began taking Abilify in 2004 and soon after that began compulsively gambling. The compulsive gambling continued until nearly a decade later when he was taken off Abilify.

April 27, 2016

Drunk Driving Car Accident Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Accidents involving drunk drivers can lead to serious injuries. From death to permanent injuries, these accidents may involve complicated legal situations that require an experienced attorney.

car accidents In one recent case a woman’s life was tragically ended when a drunk driver struck her vehicle. Police say the suspected drunk driver was driving a SUV that rear-ended a minivan with three passengers. The three passengers in the minivan were hurt and had to the hospital.

One of the three passengers dies shortly after arriving at the hospital.

April 27, 2016

Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits Triggers Investigation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Side effects from transvaginal mesh have triggered lawsuits across the United States.

Women in these lawsuits have claimed that after receiving the mesh implant, they have suffered injuries that include bleeding, infection, organ perforation, inability to engage in sexual intercourse, pelvic pain or severe vaginal pain, vaginal scarring, fistulas, erosion of mesh through the vagina, recurrent incontinence or prolapse, need for correctional surgery, urinary tract infections and neuromuscular problems. Spouses of some of the plaintiff have even included loss of consortium in their claims.

The mesh is usually made of synthetic polyproplyne and is used to support the urethra in cases of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and to support bulging organs in cases of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Transvaginal mesh was approved by the FDA in 1996 for stress urinary incontinence procedures and in 2002 for pelvic organ prolapse.

April 25, 2016

Slip and fall lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Slip and falls can cause serious injury to a person. This is why a competent attorney is crucial whenever somebody suffers an injury from a slip and fall.

In one recent case, a shopper at Lowe’s filed a lawsuit against the company after the shopper was seriously injured in a slip and fall. In this case, the shopper lost her sense of taste and smell after injuring her head.

Lowes, like most major employers, fought this case tooth-and-nail. However, the jury of the Hendrickson v. Lowe’s (case number A-13-687418-C) case ultimately awarded the plaintiff with $16.4 million. The award came as jurors concluded the company’s negligence caused Kelly Hendrickson to slip and fall in water in the garden department of its South Fort Apache Street store as she was looking at palm trees.

April 25, 2016

Bair Hugger lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming system, a system used in operating rooms across the country, may increase patients’ risk of developing sepsis, MRSA, and other serious infections, particularly after hip and knee replacement surgeries.

Lawsuits filed across the country allege that the heat generated by the device can redirect air circulating during surgery. This redirection may cause bacteria and other contaminants on the floor to become airborne. The airborne contaminants may increase a patients’ risk of developing MRSA or other infections, according to the lawsuits.

Many of the lawsuits filed are by patients who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery and were left with serious deep joint infections. In some cases, these infections required additional surgeries and painful recoveries such as the removal and replacement of the artificial joint.

April 18, 2016

Risperdal Male Breast Growth Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Multiple lawsuits have been filed in the United States against the makers of Risperdal for failing to warn patients that it may cause male breast growth, a condition known as Gynecomastia.

Risperdal was approved for sale in the United States in 1993 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It commonly used to treat irritability in people with autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

The makers of Risperdal began marketing the drug to treat children as early as 2003, years before the FDA approved such action by the drug-maker. The makers of Risperdal also recently faced accusations that it was paying physicians to speak favorably of the drug, sponsor golf outings, and offering other incentives encouraging doctors to prescribe Risperdal to adolescents and children.

April 15, 2016

Zofran lawsuit reveals birth defect side effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Several lawsuits filed against the makers of Zofran, GalxoSmithKline, suggest that Zofran may cause birth defects.

In 1991 the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Zofran to treat extreme nausea arising from radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and for some post operative procedures. However, FDA never approved Zofran as a safe drug for pregnant women to use.

Nonetheless, Zofran manufacturers almost immediately began marketing the drug as a “safe” solution to nausea, vomiting, and morning sickness during pregnancy.

April 14, 2016

Taxotere permanent hair loss lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Although hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy, permanent hair loss is not. However, as lawsuits against the makers of Taxotere are beginning to reveal, that is not always the situation.

The FDA approved Taxotere (docetaxel) in 1996 for treatment of breast cancer. Taxotere has since been used to treat several other types of cancers including non-small lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, and head and neck cancer. While Taxotere is an effective cancer drug, lawsuits filed against the makers of Taxotere allege that the drug causes permanent hair loss.

Cancer patients who filed the lawsuit say that the makers of Taxotere failed to inform them or their doctors that a potential side effect of the drug could be permanent hair loss, also known as Taxotere alopecia. Although the Taxotere label has always mentioned hair loss as a possible side effect, there was no mention that the hair loss could be permanent.

April 12, 2016

Talcum Powder Lawsuits

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Hot on the heels of a record $72 Million Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer verdict in February, the next talcum powder ovarian cancer injury trial has begun this week in St. Louis Circuit Court.

J&J Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer lawsuits

Talcum Powder lawsuits increase across the U.S.

Gloria Ristesund filed her claim against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011. Ristesund used the J&J’s talcum-based baby powder products for more than 40 years for feminine dryness.

April 6, 2016

Bard IVC Filter Injuries – How to Avoid

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Bard IVC Filter Injuries can be avoided and I’ll detail how. C.R. Bard and Cook are the two major manufacturers of retrievable Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters. Retrievable Bard and Cook Inferior Vena Cava filters have come under fire over the past 6 years as more information has come to light over the increased risk with these defective medical devices.

Bard IVC Filter injury lawsuits are increasing across the United States.

Case in point, Amber Nordin, from South Dakota earlier this year filed a personal injury and defective product liability lawsuit against C.R. Bard, because of the Bard company’s Eclipse blood clot filters broke apart and embedded inside her internal organs.