Personal Injury Law

FDA warns of risks with Soladek vitamin solution

Posted on March 29, 2011
Federal health officials are ?warning consumers not to use Soladek vitamin solution because it may contain dangerously high levels of vitamins.? (Washington AP, 3/28). As a Chicago personal injury lawyer with expertise in products liability cases, I too urge consumers to stop using Soladek immediately...

FDA cracks down on J&J plants linked to recalls

Posted on March 22, 2011
Federal officials said ?that the consumer health unit of Johnson & Johnson will be barred from resuming operations at a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant linked to millions of bottles of defective medicines until it meets quality standards.? (M. Perrone, AP Health Writer, 3/10)...

FDA warns of birth defects with Topamax

Posted on March 15, 2011
The Food and Drug Administration has issued an incredibly important warning to female consumers. The FDA is ?warning women of child-bearing age that the epilepsy drug Topamax can increase the risk of birth defects around the mouth.? (Washington AP, 3/4)...

NRC sanctions Pa. doc in flawed cancer treatments

Posted on March 04, 2011
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ?has sanctioned a doctor who performed nearly 100 botched prostate cancer procedures at Philadelphia's VA Medical Center.? (Philadelphia AP, 2/24). Previous blogs discuss the concerning pattern of medical care provided by Dr...

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Doctors want teenagers banned from tanning salons

Posted on March 01, 2011
The American Academy of Pediatrics ?wants teenagers banned from tanning salons to reduce their risk of skin cancer.? (Chicago AP, 2/28). This stance is part of a policy statement released in the Journal of Pediatrics to encourage bills regulating tanning by minors, a core group of consumers...

Study suggests Harmful medical devices get approved too easily

Posted on February 22, 2011
A new analysis says ?most medical devices recalled recently because of deaths or life-threatening problems were approved under rules that don't require human testing.? (L. Tanner, AP Medical 2/14). As a products liability attorney in Chicago, I am a strong advocate of thorough and adequate testing of all medical devices...

Malpractice Bill Raises Issues About a Lawsuit

Posted on February 14, 2011
Barry Meier reports in the New York Times, that Georgia Representative and retired obstetrician, Phil Gingery, is ?sponsoring a Congressional bill to sharply cut in medical malpractice awards was involved in a $500,000 settlement of a malpractice lawsuit?brought by a pregnant woman who charged that inappropriate care caused the loss of her fetus and other complications...

Glaxo adds safety restrictions to Avandia label

Posted on February 08, 2011
GlaxoSmithKline says it ?has updated the labeling of its diabetes pill Avandia to include safety restrictions ordered by federal health authorities because of the drug's links to heart attack.? (Washington AP, 2/7). The Avandia drug has been the subject of scrutiny lately due to its involvement in thousands of lawsuits, a Department of Justice investigation, and its ban from European markets...

Nutrition info migrates to front of packaging

Posted on February 01, 2011
In a new labeling system introduced by grocery stores and certain food makers, ?nutritional information will migrate from the back to the front of packaging.? (NY AP, 1/24). The voluntary labeling system contains what the Grocery Manufactures Association and Food Marketing Institute are calling ?Nutrition Keys,? which lists calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugars per serving...

Breast cancer drug may slow lung cancer's march

Posted on February 01, 2011
A new study has found that the breast cancer drug ?tamoxifen may stall the progression of non-small cell lung cancer in those who take it after breast cancer treatment. (M. Healy, LA Times). Tamoxifen is the ?oldest of a wide array of medications that block the action of the hormone estrogen in the body...

FDA warns of liver damage reports with Multag

Posted on January 17, 2011
Federal health officials are ?warning doctors and patients that a recently launched heart drug from Sanofi-Aventis SA has been linked to liver damage in a handful of patients.? (Washington AP, 1/14). As a Chicago area personal injury attorney, I urge all consumers to consult medical professionals before using this drug...

More young people are winding up in nursing homes

Posted on January 09, 2011
An analysis of federal data shows that ?about one in seven nursing home residents in the U.S. is now under the age of 65.? (M. Sedensky, Sarasota AP, 1/7). This marks over a 20 percent increase over the past eight years. This increase in younger residents is creating challenges for facilities, caregivers, and patients...

A blood test that may revolutionize cancer treatment

Posted on January 05, 2011
A possible revolution in cancer treatment is looming on the horizon with a blood test ?so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor's office.? (M. Marchione AP Medical, Boston, 1/2)...

Pfizer recalls more bottles of Lipitor over odor

Posted on December 28, 2010
Pfizer announced this week that it is ?recalling a lot of 19,000 bottles of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor, citing a consumer complaint about an "uncharacteristic" odor.? (NY AP, 12/21). This recall is the fourth recall since August. The drug maker asserts that an outside manufacturer supplied the bottles, though it declined to identify the manufacturer...

Eli Lilly suspends cancer study on safety concerns

Posted on December 21, 2010
Eli Lilly says it ?suspended a late-stage study of tasisulam as a potential skin cancer treatment because of safety concerns, but the company will continue studying the drug candidate in other cancer studies.? (Indianapolis AP, 12/13). Although Lilly did not disclose any details of specific safety issues, the researchers were studying the drug?s ability to treat metastatic melanoma patients...

Pfizer pulls Thelin from consumer markets, citing Liver damage.

Posted on December 12, 2010
Pfizer, Inc. says ?it is pulling its blood pressure drug Thelin off the market and stopping all clinical trials because the drug can cause fatal liver damage.? (NY AP, 12/10). The drug, Thelin has been sold in Europe, Canada, and Australia as treatment for ?pulmonary arterial hypertension? ? high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery...

ANATOMY OF A BIRTH INJURY CASE

Posted on December 06, 2010
Parents who come to Hurley McKenna & Mertz seeking consultation regarding a potential birth injury case often have a common history. The mother usually has experienced a difficult delivery of her child, the family has a sense that the mother and child received negligent medical care from their obstetricians and nurses, and they have a child with severe deficits, a brain injury and often a diagnosis of cerebral palsy...

FDA questions effectiveness of weight loss pill

Posted on December 06, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration says ?a pill to treat obesity from Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. helped patients lose weight, though it didn't meet all the criterion set forth by the agency.? (Washington AP, 12/3). As obesity is becoming an epidemic in America, the drug must be both effective and safe...

J&J issues wholesale, retail recall of Benadryl

Posted on November 29, 2010
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson is announcing ?another product recall, this one involving Children's Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets, Junior Strength Motrin Caplets, and Extra Strength Rolaids softchews. ? (AP Medical, 11/23). This recall is at both the wholesale and retail lever...

Merck drug drops cholesterol to new lows in study ? Discussed at the AHA Conference in Chicago

Posted on November 20, 2010
Help may be on the horizon as an experimental drug study indicates that it may offer a new way to fight heart disease. (M. Marchione, AP Medical, 11/17). The drug, anacetrapib, ?dramatically dropped bad cholesterol while boosting so-called good cholesterol to record levels...

New Report details how hospitals can be risky places

Posted on November 20, 2010
As a medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, I join Medicare?s new chief in his plan to increase the quality and safety of medical care. Medicare's new chief ?called for more steps to improve patient safety Tuesday, in the wake of a government report that said one in seven hospitalized Medicare patients is harmed during their stay...

Product recall: Duro Extend Capsules

Posted on November 08, 2010
Duro Extend Capsules for Men were recalled this week. The drug is manufactured by Intelli Health Products of Miami. The capsules were recalled ?because they contain an unapproved new drug analog that may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels...

$11.5 million awarded to Chicago woman who lost unborn baby in negligence lawsuit

Posted on November 01, 2010
A DuPage County jury recently ?awarded $11.5 million to a Bolingbrook woman who lost her unborn baby and her small intestine because of negligence by staff at Edward Hospital in Naperville.? (Chicago Tribune, Serena Maria Daniels, 10/27). The mother, a 30 year old woman, had been taken to the hospital in November of 2004 complaining of abdominal pains...

Alarms set off by radiation from thyroid cancer patients

Posted on October 24, 2010
Congressional investigators say ?cancer patients sent home after treatment with radioactive iodine have contaminated hotel rooms and set off alarms on public transportation.? (Washington AP, 10/20). According to reports, these patients have come into close contact with ?vulnerable people, including pregnant women and children, and the household trash from their homes has triggered radiation detectors at landfills...

Abbott pulls Meridia off the Canadian market

Posted on October 19, 2010
Abbott Laboratories announced today its plan to pull its weight loss drug Meridia off the market in Canada. (AP New York, 10/15). According to Health Canada, the health department of Canada, says the product is being voluntarily withdrawn from Canadian markets...

Drug Maker From China Pleads Guilty

Posted on October 08, 2010
GeneScience Pharmaceutical, a Chinese company, and its chief executive ?plead guilty on Wednesday to federal charges of illegally distributing human growth hormone in the United States, capping a three-year investigation targeting the company? (10/6, NY Times, D...

Council approves shorter hours for new doctors

Posted on October 03, 2010
The Chicago Based Council for Graduate Medical Education announced this week that its board has approved new rules, and ?Sleep-deprived rookie doctors will be getting shorter work shifts, along with stricter supervision.? (Chicago AP, 9/29). Council CEO Thomas Nasca says, ?the new rules aim to ensure patient safety and a humanistic learning environment for doctors-in-training...

Amgen recalls anemia drugs due to glass flakes

Posted on September 27, 2010
Amgen Inc. is ?recalling some lots of its Epogen and Procrit anemia treatments because they may contain glass flakes.? (Thousand Oaks, CA, AP, 9/24). Epogen is a drug that treats anemia, and is used in patients with chronic renal failure who are on dialysis...

FDA mulls pulling diet pill linked to heart attack

Posted on September 20, 2010
Federal health scientists are ?considering pulling Abbott Laboratories' diet pill Meridia off the market, based on data that it increases heart attack and stroke.? (Washington AP, 9/13). Prior to a meeting where outside experts will give their judgment as to the drug?s heart risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted its safety review of Meridia online...

After Adverse Effects, Roche Ends Trials of Diabetes Drug

Posted on September 13, 2010
The drug maker, Roche, ?has stopped giving patients its experimental diabetes treatment taspoglutide in late-stage clinical trials because of a high rate of adverse reactions, a major blow to a drug once expected to have $2 billion-a-year potential.? (Reuters on NYTimes...

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