|
|
| |
| September 27,
2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "E.
Coli Is Found in Third Bag of Dole Spinach;
Another package has tested positive for the
bacteria linked to the nationwide outbreak" |
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Tuesday
that the outbreak had expanded to 183 cases in
26 states and Canada. Ninety-five people have
been hospitalized, and of those, 29 have developed
a serious kidney complication called hemolytic
uremic syndrome. An elderly Wisconsin woman has
died. More...
Learn more about
e. coli poisoning injuries and spinach
contamination lawsuits. |
| |
| September 23,
2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "5
more E. coli cases blamed on spinach; Total
number sickened raised to 171 in 25 states,
CDC reports" |
The
outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach
was blamed for another five cases of illness
Saturday, raising the number of people sickened
to 171, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported. More...
Learn more
about e. coli poisoning injuries
and spinach contamination lawsuits.
|
| |
| September 23,
2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Drug
Safety Overhaul Is Urged" |
The
FDA spends far more time on approvals than
on follow-ups, a review finds. Calls for reform
include warning labels and limits on ads.
The government's
drug safety system is seriously out of balance, devoting too much attention to
approving new medications and not enough follow-up to uncovering risky side effects,
a blue-ribbon scientific panel concluded in a major report released Friday. More... |
| |
| September 22,
2006 |
Associated Press, "Health
officials still can't track new drug safety;
Panel says labeling, advertising restriction
needed and FDA needs resources"
|
Two
years after the withdrawal of the painkiller
Vioxx, federal health regulators still lack
the resources necessary to track the safety
of new drugs and respond quickly to any problems
that might crop up, a panel of experts said
Friday. More...
|
| |
| September 22, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Government Oversight
of Prescription Drugs Needs Overhaul" |
A
blue-ribbon scientific panel convened after the
Vioxx debacle has concluded in a report released
today that the government's system for protecting
the public from dangerous side effects of prescription
drugs needs a sweeping overhaul to better monitor
risks and provide early warnings to doctors and
patients. |
| |
| September 22, 2006 |
Associated
Press , "Two
more deaths possibly linked to e. coli tainted
spinach" |
Two
more deaths were under investigation Friday for
possible links to tainted spinach, one in Maryland
and one in Idaho. The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown,
Maryland, reported an 86-year-old Hagerstown
woman died last week after becoming infected
with E-coli. More...
Learn more about
e. coli contaminations and poisoning
injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September
22, 2006 |
Los Angeles
Times, "Blue
Cross Faces Fine for Voiding Policy" |
In
the first sanction of its kind, California's
top HMO regulator fined Blue Cross on Thursday
for illegally canceling a woman's medical policy
because she did not disclose corrective surgery
she had 23 years earlier. More...
|
| |
| September 22, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Spinach
contamination crisis continues" |
Thursday's
developments:
-- The number of people sickened by E. coli climbed to 157. Of those,
83 have been hospitalized and 27 have suffered a form of kidney failure.
One person has died. More...
Learn more about e. coli poisoning injuries
and spinach contamination lawsuits. |
| |
| September 21, 2006 |
San
Jose Mercury News, "E.
coli spinach contamination outbreak reveals
lapses in food inspection" |
The
expanding E. coli spinach outbreak, which
now has sickened 146 victims in 23 states,
is prompting calls for an overhaul of how
food inspection is done in the United States,
with a focus on getting rid of a patchwork
approach that leads to loopholes and leaves
the industry mostly policing itself. More...
Learn
more about e. coli spinach contaminations
and poisoning injury lawsuits.
|
| |
| September 21, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Lab
Definitively Links E. Coli Outbreak
to Contaminated Spinach" |
A
New Mexico laboratory was able to isolate potentially
deadly bacteria in a bag of spinach that had
sickened a resident -- a step hailed Wednesday
as a significant break in the search for the
source of a nationwide E. coli outbreak. More...
Learn more about
e. coli spinach contaminations and poisoning
injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 21, 2006 |
E.
Coli Spinach Contamination Case: Sacramento
Bee, "Spinach
firm has permit troubles" |
No
evidence of link between wastewater woes, E.
coli outbreak
The
spinach-packaging company in the cross hairs
of an investigation into a nationwide E. coli
outbreak has struggled to manage its wastewater
and is in violation of a state water disposal
permit, according to public records and state
officials. More...
Learn more about
e. coli spinach contaminations and poisoning
injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 21, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "E.
Coli Pervades Salinas Harvest Area" |
The
bacterium that has sickened people across the
nation and forced growers to destroy spinach
crops is so pervasive in the Salinas Valley that
virtually every waterway there violates national
standards. More...
Learn more about
e. coli contaminations and poisoning
injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 20,
2006 |
Associated
Press, "Lawsuit
over Comair crash cites airport signs, taxiway
names" |
The
family of a Canadian woman killed in a central
Kentucky plane crash last month filed a lawsuit
citing inadequate airport signs and confusing
taxiway names and alleging that pilots were negligent
in taking off from the wrong runway. More...
Learn
more about the Comair Lexington Kentucky
airplane crash and lawsuits filed by
families of victims of the tragedy. |
| |
| September 20, 2006 |
MSNBC.com, "Concentrated
produce industry highlights risks; Company
at heart of E. coli outbreak works with vast
network of suppliers" |
It
appears the competitive advantages of the Salinas
Valley produce industry have spawned outsized
risks. In the latest case of produce-related
food poisoning, deadly pathogens apparently
traveled from the fertile valley to supermarkets
across the country, sickening at least 146
people in 23 states, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. One person
has died and 76 others have been hospitalized,
some with kidney failure. More...
Learn more
about e. coli contaminated spinach
and bacteria poisoning injuries and
lawsuits.
|
| |
| September 20,
2006 |
MSNBC.com, "Ortho
Evra Birth-control patch label warns of blood
clots" |
Oral contraceptives
may be a safer option for some women, FDA says
Women were warned Wednesday
that their risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs may be higher if they use
the birth-control patch instead of the pill. More...
Learn more
about ortho evra injuries and lawsuits. |
| |
| September 20,
2006 |
Associated
Press, "Investigators
find E. coli in spinach package" |
The
E. coli outbreak spread to two more states Wednesday,
and investigators reported finding contaminated
spinach in the refrigerator of one victim. Learn
more... |
| |
| September 20,
2006 |
Associated
Press, "Third
Baby Dies From Heparin Drug Overdose in Indiana" |
A
third premature infant has died after being accidentally
given an adult-sized dose of heparin, a blood
thinner medication, at a hospital last week. "We
are all saddened by this news and our hearts
are with this family, and all the families who
have been affected," Methodist Hospital
spokesman Jon Mills said in a news release Wednesday. More... |
| |
| September
20, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "E.
Coli Tainted Spinach Scare May Have Wider
Impact" |
Much
food lore has sprung from the Salinas and nearby
valleys, this fecund farm country that stretches
from oak-studded hills to the fertile bottom
land and packing plants of Salinas and King City.
This is Steinbeck country, and the National Steinbeck
Center on Salinas' Main Street pays homage to
the farming themes of "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Cannery
Row." More...
Learn more
about tainted spinach and e. coli injuries
and lawsuits. |
| |
| September 19, 2006 |
Associated
Press , "Comair
Air Crash: Lexington, Kentucky tower chief
was criticized in FAA e-mails" |
The
day after the plane crash that killed 49 people,
high-ranking officials with the Federal Aviation
Administration suggested that the Lexington air
traffic manager was a "renegade" and
speculated he would be fired for having only
one controller on duty at the time. More...
Learn
more about the Comair Disaster and the
rights of families of victims of the
crash. |
| |
| September 19,
2006 |
The
Boston Globe, "Couple
sues over illness linked to spinach" |
A
couple who say their teenage daughter became
ill after eating bagged fresh spinach has sued
Chiquita Brands International. The parents, referred
to as John and Jane Doe in the suit, claim their
daughter contracted an E. coli infection after
eating spinach sold under Chiquita's Fresh Express
brand two weeks ago. The girl remains hospitalized
in stable condition after undergoing dialysis. More...
More about
e. coli contaminations and injury cases... |
| |
| September 19,
2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Spinach
growers were warned about produce safety" |
State,
federal officials concerned by 20 reports of
tainted greens
Just 10 months before
fresh spinach started sending people to the hospital, state and federal officials
warned Salinas Valley growers and packers to clean up their act after a decade
of deadly E. coli bacteria breakouts. More...
Learn more about e. coli and injuries from
tainted spinach and spinach injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 19,
2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Number
of E. Coli Cases Rises to 114" |
Some growers
decry what they call the government's too-strict
advisory on spinach consumption, citing financial
losses
California farmers voiced
frustration Monday at the government's continuing advisory that consumers avoid
all fresh spinach. But federal authorities defended their action, as the tally
of those sickened in a nationwide E. coli outbreak rose to 114. More...
Learn more about e. coli and injuries from
tainted spinach and spinach injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 18,
2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "FDA
Says Spinach Tampering Not Suspected" |
Tampering
is not suspected in an outbreak of E. coli linked
to fresh spinach, federal health officials said
Monday as they probed for a source of the contamination
and warned consumers not to resume eating uncooked
spinach products. More
information on e. coli spinach contamination
and injuries...
Learn more
about e.coli spinach contamination, injuries
and lawsuits. |
| |
| September 18,
2006 |
Tampa
Bay 10 News, "E-Coli
spinach narrowed to at least one manufacturer" |
So
far, one company has been positively linked to
an outbreak of e-coli in spinach. One person
has died and nearly 100 others sickened by the
bacteria in 19 states. More... |
| |
| September 18,
2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Spinach
probe of Salinas Valley; Feds tracking cause
of E. coli outbreak" |
The
number of people connected to an outbreak of
the bacteria E. coli across the country rose
to 109 Sunday, and federal authorities announced
they will investigate farms in Salinas Valley
seeking evidence of what caused the outbreak. More... |
| |
| September 18,
2006 |
Associated
Press, "Spinach
E. coli outbreak spreads" |
The
number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak
traced to tainted spinach rose to 109, as federal
officials announced more brands recalling their
products. More... |
| |
| September 18,
2006 |
News24 [South
Africa], "U.S.
Spinach E. coli outbreak spreads" |
Popeye
ate it all the time, but now millions of bags
of spinach are being pulled off supermarket shelves,
including right here in the Coastal Empire. This,
after an outbreak of E. coli was linked to the
vegetable. Grocery stores started pulling the
bags off the shelves Friday morning. More...
Learn
more about e. coli spinach injury lawsuits. |
| |
| September 17,
2006 |
News3
Mempis, "E-Coli
spinach infects 60 people; Spinach pulled from
grocery stores" |
Supermarkets
across the country are pulling bagged spinach
off their shelves after an e-coli outbreak. Ten
states have reported e-coli outbreaks from tainted
spinach bringing the number of infected to 60
cases total, including one that proved to be
fatal. More... |
| |
| September 16,
2006 |
WTOC11 [Savannah,
GA], "Spinach
Scare Shocks Country" |
Popeye
ate it all the time, but now millions of bags
of spinach are being pulled off supermarket
shelves, including right here in the Coastal
Empire. This, after an outbreak of E. coli
was linked to the vegetable. Grocery stores,
like the Kroger off Mall Boulevard, started
pulling the bags off the shelves Friday morning. More...
Learn
more about e. coli spinach injury
lawsuits.
|
| |
| September 16,
2006 |
CBS2
Chicago.com, "Answers
Are Being Sought For E. Coli Spinach" |
There's
still not a case of E. Coli E. Coli reported
in Illinois, but the spinach scare is certainly
having an impact on restaurants in Chicago. At
the Bella Bacino restaurant on Wacker Drive,
patrons can enjoy pastas, sandwiches and even
pizzas -- but not this one. More...
Learn more
about e. coli injuries and lawsuits. |
| |
| September 14, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Anti-Rollover
Tech Required by 2012" |
New
automobiles will be required to have anti-rollover
technology by the 2012 model year, which should
save thousands of lives annually, the government's
traffic safety agency said Thursday. More... |
| |
| September 13,
2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Vioxx-Like
Risks Linked to Another Pain Pill" |
A report says diclofenac increases
the chance of a heart attack. The FDA calls
for further review.
The widely used pain
reliever diclofenac poses the same cardiovascular risk as the withdrawn drug
Vioxx and should not be used by people with heart disease or high blood pressure,
researchers reported Tuesday. More...
|
| |
| September 13,
2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Comair
Says It Had Outdated Airport Chart" |
Comair
was using an outdated chart of Lexington's Blue
Grass Airport when one of its planes took off
on the wrong runway and crashed, killing 49 people,
and the airline is now urging pilots to use "extreme
caution," according to an e-mail obtained
by the Associated Press. More... |
| |
| September 12, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Controllers
Raised Concerns Before Crash" |
Months
before the Comair jet crash that killed 49 people,
air traffic controllers at the Lexington airport
wrote to federal officials complaining about
a hostile working environment in the tower and
short-staffing on the overnight shift, according
to letters obtained by The Associated Press. More... |
| |
| September 12, 2006 |
Courier-Journal (Louisville,
Kentucky), "Comair:
Airport diagrams incorrect; Pilots urged to
be extremely cautious" |
Diagrams
of Lexington's Blue Grass Airport issued to Comair
pilots last week did "not accurately reflect
actual airport signage," the company said
in a memo to pilots in which it urged them to
use "extreme caution." More... |
| |
| September 12, 2006 |
Guardian
Unlimited (UK), "Comair
Warns Pilots About Airport Signs" |
Comair
has begun warning pilots to use "extreme
caution" when navigating runways at the
airport where a crash killed 49 people last month,
saying some diagrams aren't accurate, according
to an e-mail obtained Monday by The Associated
Press. More... |
| |
| September 12, 2006 |
Lexington
Kentucky Herald-Leader, "Victim's
family sues Comair" |
The
family of a 39-year-old man from Lafayette, La.,
has sued Comair Inc. over the crash of Flight
5191. Bryan Keith Woodward, an electrician, had
gone to Kentucky with Jamie Hebert and their
two daughters, Lauren Hebert, 15, and Mattie-Kay
Hebert, 11, attorney David Wise of Chicago said
yesterday. More... |
| |
| September 8, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "FAA
imposes 'no nap' policy for air controllers" |
National
directive comes after crash in Ky. killed 49
out of 50 on board
Air traffic controllers
who nap during break times could be suspended for up to 10 days under rules the
Federal Aviation Administration has begun enforcing nationally since the deadly
crash of Comair Flight 5191. Learn
more... |
| |
| September 8, 2006 |
Kansas
City Star, "Pilot
may have called the wrong flight number before
Lexington, Kentucky crash of Comair Flight
5191" |
In
addition to departing from the wrong runway and
initially getting on the wrong plane, one of
the pilots on Comair Flight 5191 to Atlanta might
have made a third mistake: In talking to the
control tower before the fatal crash, one of
the pilots called out the wrong flight number
and city. More
about problems leading to the crash of Comair
Flight 5191... |
| |
| September 6, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Group
says children's lunch boxes still tainted
with lead" |
Lab
test results announced Tuesday by an environmental
group found that several national chain stores
continue to sell lead-tainted children's lunch
boxes a year after the group sued more than
a dozen lunch box makers over the toxin. More...
|
| |
| September 6, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "34
Are Hurt When Bus Rolls Over on Off-Ramp" |
A
bus traveling from New York to Boston rolled
over on an interstate offramp in Auburn, injuring
34 people, authorities said. More... |
| |
| September 5, 2006 |
USA
Today, "Airport
construction projects have created dangers
before" |
Dan
Silverthorn had just touched down when his single-engine
Beech C23 jolted violently and careered off the
runway on its belly in a shower of sparks. From
the air, the veteran pilot couldn't tell that
the runway at Higginsville, Mo., had a fresh
layer of pavement that ended abruptly, creating
an 8-inch ledge that ripped the landing gear
from his plane like the pull-tab from a sardine
can. More... |
| |
| September 2, 2006 |
USA
Today, "1st
victims of Ky. Comair Flight 5191 plane crash
buried" |
Clark
and Bobbie Sue Benton were supposed to be vacationing
in the Caribbean. Instead, they were buried in
this south-central Kentucky town, five days after
they were killed when Comair Flight 5191 crashed. More... |
| |
| September 2, 2006 |
Louisville
Courier-Journal, "Suits
filed in Comair crash; Millions might be
paid in each death" |
As
the first lawsuits were filed yesterday by families
of Comair Flight 5191 victims, aviation law experts
said plaintiffs can expect to recover several
million dollars each, depending on earnings and
life expectancies of those who died. More... |
| |
| September 1, 2006 |
Cincinnati
Enquirer, "First
Comair suit filed" |
A
lawsuit blaming Comair for a deadly crash at
the Lexington airport was filed Friday, less
than a week after the nation's deadliest airline
disaster in five years. More... |
| |
| September 1, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Family
Sues Over Deadly Comair Crash" |
The
family of a woman killed when Comair Flight 5191
took off on the wrong runway and crashed in flames
sued the airline Friday, blaming it for the nation's
deadliest airplane disaster in five years. More
on the Lexington Kentucky Comair/Delta Airplane
Disaster... |
| |
| August 31 , 2006 |
USA
Today, "Comair Flight 5191 jet
crash spotlights controllers' shifts" |
Democratic
lawmakers are demanding an investigation into
the practice of allowing air-traffic controllers
to work two shifts in 24 hours, a practice denounced
by sleep experts. More... |
| |
| August 31, 2006 |
USA
Today, "Comair
controller slept only 2 hours" |
Two
congressmen called for an investigation into
the staffing at airport control towers after
investigators revealed that only one controller
was on duty when Comair Flight 5191 crashed in
Kentucky and that he had had just two hours of
sleep between shifts. More... |
| |
| August 31, 2006 |
Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, "Kentucky
-- Cockpit warning system could have prevented
crash" |
A
cockpit warning system used by only a few commercial
airlines might have prevented the deadly Comair
jet crash last weekend if the plane had been
equipped with the $18,000 piece of technology,
a former top federal safety official says. More... |
| |
| August
30, 2006 |
Baltimore
Sun, "Potential
hazards to consumers from flavoring agent
unchecked" |
Agencies
yet to assess risk of inhaling vapors of chemical
linked to workers' lung disease
Millions of Americans
are exposed regularly to vapors released when they heat products containing the
same synthetic butter flavoring blamed for destroying the lungs of workers in
popcorn and flavoring factories. But public health activists say no one in government
has stepped up to assess whether consumers are at risk. More... |
| |
| August 30, 2006 |
FDA
MedWatch, "Alaris
SE Infusion Pumps recalled due to risk of
overinfusion at ten times intended infusion
rate" |
FDA
and Alaris Products notified healthcare professionals
of a recall of defective infusion pumps due
to a design defect called "key bounce" that
may cause potential over-infusion of medications
and result in an infusion rate at least 10
times the intended infusion rate. More...
|
| |
| August 29, 2006 |
Washington
Post, "Group
Says FDA, Advisory Panels Show Bias Toward
Drug Approvals" |
The
panels of experts assembled by the Food and Drug
Administration to advise it on whether to approve
new drugs and medical devices are often biased
in favor of recommending approval, according
to a consumer group's analysis released yesterday. More... |
| |
| August 29, 2006 |
WHIO-TV, "Kentucky
Fatal Plane Crash May Prompt Delay By Delta" |
Delta
Airlines has announced that because of the crash
investigation in Lexington, Ky., it might ease
up on Comair. More... |
| |
| August 29, 2006 |
CNN: "FAA:
Tower staffing during plane crash violated
rules" |
The
Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday acknowledged
that only one controller was in the tower, in
violation of FAA policy, when a Comair jet crashed
Sunday while trying to take off from the wrong
runway in Lexington, Kentucky. More... |
| |
| August 28, 2006 |
Free
Internet Press, "49
Killed, 1 Survivor In Kentucky Plane Crash" |
Forty-nine
of the 50 people aboard Delta Flight 5191 were
killed when the aircraft crashed Sunday morning
shortly after takeoff from Blue Grass Airport
in Lexington, Kentucky, according to Fayette
County Coroner Gary Ginn. More... |
| |
| August 28, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Kentucky
Crash May Imperil Comair's Survival" |
The
deadly Kentucky crash involving a Comair flight
could make the regional carrier's survival even
tougher. More... |
| |
| August 28, 2006 |
WFMZTv.com, "Pilot
Took Wrong Runway in Plane Crash" |
The
sole survivor of a commuter plane crash in Lexington,
Kentucky is in critical condition this morning.
Comair jet co-pilot James Polehinke was the only
survivor pulled from the burning wreckage of
a crash that killed 49 people yesterday. The
plane crashed after attempting to take off from
a runway that was too short for commuter planes.
A witness described what he saw. More... |
| |
| August 28, 2006 |
WMCTv.com, "Runway
Mistake Caused Fatal Crash" |
NTSB
investigators confirmed Sunday night that the
crash of a Delta-Comair commuter flight from
Lexington, Kentucky to Atlanta came after the
jetliner took off on the wrong runway. 49 people
died. More... |
|
| August 27, 2006 |
Reuters, "Kentucky
plane crash kills 49, co-pilot survives" |
A
Comair jet crashed and burned in a Kentucky pasture
on Sunday after a failed takeoff on a short runway,
killing all but one of the 50 people aboard,
authorities said. More... |
| |
| August 27, 2006 |
Bloomberg
News, "Delta
Air Regional Jet Crashes in Kentucky; 49
Dead" |
A
Delta Air Lines Inc. Comair commuter plane crashed
shortly after takeoff at Blue Grass Airport in
Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 and critically
injuring one. More
information... |
| |
| August 27, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Newlyweds
Among Plane Crash Victims" |
A
newlywed couple starting their honeymoon, a Habitat
for Humanity board member and a businessman who
took an early flight to get home to his children
were among the victims of Comair Flight 5191,
friends and relatives said Sunday. More... |
| |
| August 23, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Lens
Care Solution Is Faulted" |
Federal
disease control experts and leading eye doctors
have formally concluded that ReNu With MoistureLoc
from Bausch & Lomb was the only contact lens
solution contributing to an outbreak of potentially
blinding fungal eye infections earlier this year. |
| |
| August
22, 2006 |
Reuters, "Recall
of Bausch & Lomb ReNu with Moisture Loc
curbs outbreak of rare eye infection" |
Bausch & Lomb
Inc.'s global recall of a popular contact lens
solution in May appears to have stopped the spread
of a serious eye infection but U.S. scientists
still don't know what caused the outbreak, according
to a study released on Tuesday. More... |
| |
| August
22, 2006 |
13Wham.com (Rochester,
NY), "CDC:
Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc Contact
Lens Solution Caused Infections" |
After
a months-long investigation, federal scientists
have determined that Bausch & Lomb's ReNu
with Moisture Loc contact lens solution caused
an outbreak of a fungal eye infection. No other
product was implicated in their report. More...
|
| |
August
22, 2006 |
|
U.S.
traffic deaths hit a 15-year high in 2005 with
more people killed while riding motorcycles
and in larger vehicles, government figures
released on Tuesday confirmed. More...
|
| |
| August 22, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Ritalin,
other stimulants to carry cardiac warnings" |
Federal
drug regulators have ordered that strong warnings
be put on the labels of stimulants like Dexedrine
and Ritalin to caution against their use in adults
or children with heart problems and to alert
doctors that the drugs cause 1 child in 1,000
to experience hallucinations. More... |
| |
| August 16, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Merck
suffers 2 setbacks in Vioxx cases" |
Merck & Co.
suffered two major legal setbacks over the withdrawn
painkiller Vioxx on Thursday when a federal jury
here ordered the drug maker to pay $51 million
to a heart attack victim, and a state judge in
New Jersey overturned a November verdict favoring
the company. More...
Learn
more about Vioxx injuries and Vioxx heart
attack lawsuits. |
| |
| August 7, 2006 |
The
Legal Intelligencer, "Suit
Against Infants' Tylenol Gets $5 Million
Verdict" |
A
wrongful death action filed by the family of
a dead 1-year-old against the makers of Infants'
Tylenol resulted in a $5 million verdict from
a Philadelphia jury last month. The plaintiffs
claimed their 1-year-old child died from acetaminophen
toxicity after being given dosages of the concentrated
over-the-counter drug for three days. More... |
| |
| August
3, 2006 |
San Francisco
Chronicle, "Ford
Issues Recall, Sees 2Q Loss"
|
Ford
Motor Co., already reeling from business setbacks,
recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport utility
vehicles and vans Thursday amid concerns about
potential engine fires. Ford said
the recall was tied to the speed control deactivation
switch system, which could corrode over time,
overheat and ignite. It builds upon one of
the largest recalls in U.S. history. More...
|
| |
| August 3, 2006 |
USA
Today, "Ford
recalls 1.2M trucks over fire hazard; almost
6M vehicles recalled for issue" |
Ford
recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport-utility vehicles
and vans on Thursday amid concerns of potential
engine fires, expanding upon one of the largest
vehicle recalls in history. Ford Motor said the
recall was tied to the cruise control deactivation
switch system, which could corrode over time,
overheat and catch fire. More... |
| |
August
2, 2006 |
|
A
federal judge on Monday spurned a request from
tire makers who wanted a ban on releasing detailed
information about tires and their safety history. More...
|
| |
| August 2, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Ford
Issues Recall, Sees 2Q Loss" |
Ford Motor
Co., already reeling from business setbacks,
recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport utility vehicles
and vans Thursday amid concerns about potential
engine fires. Ford said the recall
was tied to the speed control deactivation switch
system, which could corrode over time, overheat
and ignite. It builds upon one of the largest
recalls in U.S. history. More... |
| |
| August 1, 2006 |
Bloomberg
News, "Trial:
Lung disease blamed on Wyeth drug" |
A
Wyeth drug used in the now-withdrawn fen-phen
diet combination caused a Michigan woman to develop
a sometimes-fatal lung disease, her lawyer told
a jury. More... |
| |
| July 29, 2006 |
Forbes, "Sanofi-Aventis
adds warning to antibiotic Ketek after FDA
discussions" |
French
pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis said
it has revised the prescribing information
for its antibiotic Ketek following discussions
with the US Food and Drug Administration.More... |
| |
| July
28, 2006 |
Deseret
Morning News, "Popcorn
butter flavor risky to workers? EPA
is accused of withholding results of study
on vapors" |
The Environmental Protection
Agency has been withholding the results of
a 2003 study that may indicate potential health
risks from inhaling artificial butter flavor
vapors from microwave popcorn, a group of scientists
and former Occupational Safety and Health Administration
officials say. More...
|
| |
| July 26, 2006 |
The
Los Angeles Times, "Limits
Sought on Worker Exposure to Flavor Agent" |
Emergency
safety standards are needed to counter a widening
outbreak of lung disease among workers exposed
to a common ingredient in microwave popcorn,
health experts and labor unions said Tuesday. More... |
| |
July
24, 2006 |
|
Bridgestone
Firestone North American Tire LLC said it is
taking additional steps, including sending
letters to current owners of certain Ford Explorers,
to make sure tires recalled in 2000 and 2001
have been taken off the road. More...
|
| |
| July
22, 2006 |
Detroit
News, "Check
tires: Tire maker will warn owners that
some tires recalled in 2000-01 may still
be on the road"
|
Firestone announced a renewed recall effort
Friday for its radial tires, mainly spares,
still remaining on the Ford Explorer and similar
SUVs from the 1990s. More...
|
| |
July
21, 2006 |
|
Bridgestone
Firestone North American Tire, seeking to finish
the massive tire recalls it began six years
ago, said it would notify owners to bring in
200,000 recalled tires that may still be on
vehicles or used as spares. More...
|
| |
July
21, 2006 |
|
Bridgestone
Firestone today renewed its recall of defective
tires made for the Ford Explorer and other
SUVS in the late 1990s, as two more lawsuits
were filed against the company in Los Angeles. More...
|
| |
| July
21, 2006 |
CNN, "Firestone
tires recall linked to recent deaths; Firestone
announces renewed recall after recent deaths
and injuries in rollovers involving SUVs"
|
Firestone
announced a renewed recall effort Friday for
its radial tires, mainly spares, still remaining
on the Ford Explorer and similar SUVs from
the 1990s. More...
|
| |
| July 21, 2006 |
Washington
Post, "Medication
Errors Harming Millions, Report Says; Extensive
National Study Finds Widespread, Costly Mistakes
in Giving and Taking Medicine" |
At
least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured
or killed each year by errors in prescribing,
dispensing and taking medications, the influential
Institute of Medicine concluded in a major report
released yesterday. More... |
| |
| July 20, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Report
Finds Drug Errors Hurt 1.5 Million" |
More
than 1.5 million Americans are injured every
year by drug errors in hospitals, nursing homes
and doctor's offices, a count that doesn't even
estimate patients' own medication mix-ups, says
a report that calls for major steps to increase
patient safety. More... |
| |
| July 19, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Approval
of Antibiotic [Ketek] Worried Safety Officials" |
In
an internal review, a federal drug safety official
concluded that a controversial antibiotic made
by a French drug company should be withdrawn,
according to e-mail messages exchanged among
top agency officials. More...
Learn
more about Ketek injuries and lawsuits. |
| |
| July 17, 2006 |
News-Democrat, "Collinsville
woman settles lawsuit for $7 million; Husband
died in camper fire caused by faulty refrigerator" |
A
Collinsville woman whose husband died in a camper
fire due to a faulty refrigerator has settled
a lawsuit for $7 million, and her attorney suspects
that as many as 12,000 recreational vehicles
have similar refrigerators which could cause
fires. More... |
| |
| June 13, 2006 |
Associated Press, "Stability
Control Gear Cuts Auto Deaths, Study Finds"
|
Ten
thousand fatal automobile crashes a year, or
nearly one-third of such accidents in the U.S.,
could be prevented if more vehicles were equipped
with technology that helps to keep them from
rolling over, the insurance industry says in
a study released today. More... |
| |
| June 13, 2006 |
Reuters, "Connecticut
urges probe into Jeep Grand Cherokee" |
Connecticut
urged federal regulators on Tuesday to probe
possible acceleration flaws in late-model Jeep
Grand Cherokees after a 52-year-old man was run
over and killed by one in a car wash. More... |
| |
| July 12, 2006 |
CNN Money, "Toyota's
totally bizarre recall; Why would Toyota
issue a recall designed to make vehicles
less safe?"
|
This fall,
Toyota will voluntarily recall nearly 160,000
Toyota Tundra pickups so that they can be made
less safe for children riding in the front seat. More... |
| |
| |
| July 10, 2006 |
Daily
Journal, "Merck
Feared $437 Million In Lost Sales; Testimony
Targets Firm's Knowledge of Vioxx's Risks" |
Merck & Co.
anticipated it could lose nearly a fifth of a
projected $2.5 billion in Vioxx sales if its
marketing campaign failed to neutralize consumer
concerns about cardiovascular risk associated
with its once-popular painkiller, a marketing
expert testified. More... |
| |
| July 8, 2006 |
The Record (Bergen County, NJ), "Fatal
Rollovers Cause Still Unknown"
|
Authorities
said Friday they had no new developments in
their investigation of a New Milford woman's
death in an SUV rollover Wednesday night. More...
|
| |
| July 7, 2006 |
Tire
Blow Out: St. Petersburg Times (Florida), "Tiremaker
Settles Suit with Widow" |
The
widow of an Inverness man who was killed in
a 2001 accident when his tire blew out and
caused his Ford minivan to flip on Interstate
75 has settled with the tire manufacturer,
despite the company's insistence that it was
not liable in the crash. More...
|
| |
July 6, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Vioxx
'a Hazard,' Doctor Testifies" |
Patients
who took the painkiller Vioxx were at risk of
heart attacks and strokes -- something shown
by studies conducted years before the product
went on the market, a doctor testified Wednesday. More... |
| |
| July
5, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Study
documents Tylenol liver toxicity; High doses
could cause organ damage" |
The
highest recommended dose of Extra Strength Tylenol
sharply increased liver enzymes in healthy adults
in a clinical study, an early sign of possible
organ damage. More... |
| |
| July 5, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Another
Merck Drug Is Under Legal Attack; Trial lawyers
may file hundreds of suits over an osteoporosis
remedy linked to jaw decay" |
As
Merck & Co. defends itself against a deluge
of litigation involving its pain reliever Vioxx,
the pharmaceutical giant also is fielding the
first of what could be another wave of lawsuits
involving Fosamax, its second-biggest seller. More... |
| |
| June 23, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "More
defibrillators, pacemakers recalled" |
Boston
Scientific Corp. on Monday said it is recalling
some defibrillator and pacemaker models that
could fail because of an electrical flaw. The
recall is the latest in a string of product problems
Boston Scientific inherited when it bought Guidant
Corp. in April for $27 billion. More... |
| |
| June 20, 2006 |
Salt
Lake Tribune, "Fosamax
lawsuit brings risks to light" |
Pamela
Hines went from an active lifestyle of running
five miles a day and working full-time to being
unable to eat most foods and feeling constant
pain. The 52-year-old Sandy woman was diagnosed
last year with osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ),
a disfiguring condition that leads to the breakdown
of the jawbone and loss of teeth. After having
a tooth extracted, she became deeply concerned
when her mouth failed to heal. After visiting
several doctors, one told her she might have
ONJ - and that it could be linked to her taking
the popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax, for stronger
bones. More... |
| |
| June 13, 2006 |
Reuters, "Connecticut
urges probe into Jeep Grand Cherokee" |
Connecticut
urged federal regulators on Tuesday to probe
possible acceleration flaws in late-model Jeep
Grand Cherokees after a 52-year-old man was run
over and killed by one in a car wash. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Guidant
Weighed Warning Doctors" |
Newly
unsealed court documents show that Guidant Corp.
drafted a letter warning doctors of a dangerous
electrical malfunction in some of its devices
designed to restore a normal heartbeat, but the
letter was never sent. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2006 |
Bloomberg
News, "Fen-phen
maker is aiming to settle 4,000 Texas claims" |
Wyeth
is settling thousands of Texas fen-phen diet
drug cases, including one that resulted in a
$1 billion verdict, the company and lawyers for
the plaintiffs said Thursday. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2006 |
11Alive.com (Atlanta,
GA), "'Defect'
Blamed in Toddler's Death" |
A
toddler was killed Tuesday night in front of
his Cobb County home when a minivan, with its
engine off, rolled over him. According to police,
another child had been able to shift the minivan
out of "park" setting the vehicle in
motion. More... |
| |
| June 6, 2006 |
Chicago
Tribune, "New
warning for canned tuna; Mercury risk for
pregnant women too high, Consumer Reports
says" |
The
chance that canned tuna will contain high levels
of mercury is great enough that pregnant women
should never eat it, according to new recommendations
from a leading consumer group. More... |
| |
| June 5, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Merck
Admits a Data Error on Vioxx" |
In
an admission that could undermine one of its
core defenses in Vioxx-related lawsuits, Merck
said yesterday that it had erred when it reported
in early 2005 that a crucial statistical test
showed that Vioxx caused heart problems only
after 18 months of continuous use.
That statistical
analysis test does not support Merck's 18-month theory about Vioxx, the company
acknowledged yesterday. More... |
| |
| June
3, 2006 |
Baltimore
Sun, "Flavoring
perils get harder look -- Probe grows; chemicals
linked to lung disease" |
A
federal health agency says it is "greatly
expanding" an investigation of the potential
hazards of diacetyl and the butter flavoring
that contains it and other flavoring chemicals
that have been linked to nearly 200 cases of
lung disease among factory workers who make or
use the chemicals. More... |
| |
| June 2, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Drug
for Bones Is Newly Linked to Jaw Disease" |
In
the last 10 years, millions of patients have
taken a class of drugs that can prevent agonizing
broken and deteriorating bones. The drugs once
seemed perfectly safe and have transformed life
for patients with cancer or osteoporosis. But
recently there have been reports of a serious
side effect: death of areas of bone in the jaw. More... |
| |
| May 28, 2006 |
The
Oregonian, "Popular
painkiller [Acetaminophen] can be a killer
itself" |
Experts warn
against [Acetaminophen] overdosing, now the No.
1 cause of death in poison-control cases and
acute liver failure |
Plagued
by nagging colds, sore backs, throbbing heads
and life's other aches and pains, millions of
people reach for Tylenol. And if one dose doesn't
stop the pain, maybe two or three will. If you
do that, you're courting trouble: An overdose
of acetaminophen, the popular painkiller in Tylenol
and other brands, sends thousands of U.S. residents
to the hospital each year, killing hundreds. More... |
| |
| June 1, 2006 |
Los Angeles Times, "Chemical
in Plastics Is Tied to Prostate Cancer"
|
Linking
prostate cancer to a widespread industrial compound,
scientists have found that exposure to a chemical
that leaks from plastic causes genetic changes
in animals' developing prostate glands that are
precursors of the most common form of cancer
in males. More... |
| |
| May 31, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "U.S.
Reviewing Bridgestone's Steeltex Tires" |
Steeltex
tires from Bridgestone Corp. are being reviewed
by U.S. auto safety regulators after a Pasadena
lawyer claimed they were linked to accidents
that killed 57 people. More... |
| |
| May 30, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Doctor
Sues Hospital Over Wife's Death" |
A
hospital company is being sued by one of its
own doctors, an anesthesiologist who says hospital
staff failed to perform emergency surgery to
save his wife. More... |
| |
| May 25, 2006 |
Press
Release, "Connecticut
Corneal Transplant Patient Files Lawsuit
Against Bausch & Lomb For Injuries In
New York Court" |
Signaling
an expansion of the litigation against Bausch & Lomb
over its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact
lens solution and following the global recall
of the product on May 15, 2006, Lieff Cabraser
Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced that
Martin Rivera today filed a personal injury lawsuit
for damages suffered against Bausch & Lomb
in state court in New York City. More... |
| |
| May 25, 2006 |
HealthDay
News, "30%
of Eye-Infection Cases Have Required Corneal
Transplants" |
Thirty-seven
of 120 people with a severe fungal eye infection
linked to a popular Bausch & Lomb contact
lens solution have had to have corneal transplants,
U.S. officials reported Thursday.
That's 31 percent
of the Fusarium keratitis cases examined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention; eight corneal transplants had been reported by government officials
earlier this month.
Experts expect that percentage will climb even further, to perhaps 50
percent. More... |
| |
| May 18, 2006 |
New
York Times, "From
Asia to America, How Bausch's Crisis Grew
[ReNu MoistureLoc Contact Lens Solution]" |
Early
in March, Bausch & Lomb received a troubling
phone call from a New Jersey eye doctor. Dr.
David S. Chu, a specialist in cornea diseases,
alerted the company that three of his recent
patients had been afflicted with a microbe that
caused a potentially blinding eye infection.
All three, Dr. Chu said,
had used Bausch & Lomb's ReNu brand lens cleaners. More... |
| |
| May 18, 2006 |
Reuters, "Report:
Vioxx risk seen with short-term use; Data
showed all patients who took painkiller faced
increased heart risk" |
Merck & Co.
Inc. has provided new data to U.S. regulators
showing that all patients who took the arthritis
medicine Vioxx were at increased risk of heart
attacks, strokes and other complications, National
Public Radio reported Wednesday. More... |
| |
| May 17, 2006 |
Bloomberg News, "Bausch
Delayed Case Reports, FDA Says"
|
The
company did not tell regulators about eye infections
in Asia within the required 30 days.
Bausch & Lomb
Inc. delayed telling U.S. regulators about 35 cases of a blinding eye infection
in Singapore linked to its recalled ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens cleaner,
the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. More...
|
| |
| May 15, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Bausch & Lomb
Pulls Lens-Solution" |
Bausch & Lomb
Inc. said Monday it has permanently removed from
the market a contact-lens solution that has been
linked to an outbreak of fungal eye infections
that can cause blindness. More... |
| |
| May 13, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Follow-Up
Study on Vioxx Safety Is Disputed" |
Two
prominent medical researchers are taking issue
with Merck's conclusion that a follow-up study
of patients who took the painkiller Vioxx shows
that the drug posed no "statistically significant" risk
to the heart once people stopped taking it. More... |
| |
| May 12, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Number
of Fungal Eye Infection Cases Rises" |
The
number of confirmed cases of a rare fungal eye
infection that can cause blindness has climbed
to 122, most of them contact-lens wearers who
reported using Bausch & Lomb Inc.'s newest
lens cleaner, federal authorities said Friday. More...
Learn
more about ReNu contact lens solution
injuries and lawsuits. |
| |
| May 12, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "FDA
Warns of Suicide Risk for Paxil" |
The
antidepressant Paxil may raise the risk of suicidal
behavior in young adults, GlaxoSmithKline and
the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday
in a letter to doctors.
The warning letter
was accompanied by changes to the labeling of both Paxil and Paxil CR, a controlled-release
version of the drug, also called paroxetine. More... |
| |
| May 12, 2006 |
New York
Times, "Antidepressant
May Raise Suicide Risk" |
After
analyzing data from clinical trials, GlaxoSmithKline
has sent letters to doctors warning that its
antidepressant drug Paxil appears to increase
the risk of suicide attempts in some young adults.
The company said
it had changed the labeling on the drug to reflect the finding of the study,
which analyzed clinical trial data involving some 15,000 people. The study found
that reported suicide attempts were rare but significantly more common in adults
who took the drug for depression than in those who received placebo pills. More... |
| |
| May 12, 2006 |
The
Australian, "Tower
block floors shut after brain tumour alert" |
The
top floors of a Melbourne office building were
closed down yesterday and 100 people evacuated
after a seventh worker in as many years was diagnosed
with a brain tumour. More... |
| |
| May 10, 2006 |
New
York Times, "More
Eye Infections Tied to Bausch ReNu Contact
Cleaner" |
An
update yesterday from government health authorities
on the outbreak of a potentially blinding fungal
infection among contact lens users showed a sharp
increase in the number of cases involving users
of the ReNu brand of lens cleaners made at Bausch & Lomb's
Greenville, S.C., factory. More... |
| |
| May 5, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Number
of Rare Eye Fungus Cases Increases" |
The
number of confirmed cases of a rare eye fungus
that can cause scarring of the cornea has climbed
above 100 in recent days, but the origin of the
infection linked to contact lens cleaners remains
a mystery, health authorities said Friday.
Eye-care products maker
Bausch & Lomb Inc. halted U.S. sales of its ReNu with MoistureLoc solution
on April 10 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed it was
investigating a flurry of Fusarium keratitis infections in Americans using the
product. More... |
| |
| May 5, 2006 |
Reuters, "Bausch
Confirms Infections in Europe" |
Bausch & Lomb
Inc., under pressure since authorities said its
contact lens care products might be linked to
a spate of serious eye infections in Asia and
the United States, said a handful of cases of
the infection had also been confirmed in Europe.
But the company,
whose shares fell 6.3% to hit an almost three-year low, denied analysts' suggestions
that a large debt buyback announced Wednesday could leave it strapped for cash.
Harris Nesbitt analyst Joanne Wuensch said the European cases raised new questions
about the already beleaguered company. "They just can't get ahead of it," Wuensch
said.
Learn more about ReNu MoistureLoc contact
lens solution injuries and lawsuits. |
| |
| May 4, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Kaiser
Denied Transplants of Ideally Matched Kidneys;
The HMO would not authorize some patients
to receive organs from outside its new program" |
Twenty-five
Kaiser Permanente patients in Northern California
were denied the chance for new kidneys that were
nearly perfectly matched to them last year during
the troubled start-up of the giant HMO's kidney
transplant program in San Francisco, a Times
investigation has found. The patients missed
this opportunity because they were in effect
stranded between two transplant programs. More... |
| |
| May 2006 |
Trial, "Dangers
of Birth Control Patch Come to Light" |
The
Ortho Evra contraceptive patch is marketed as
an easier alternative to oral contraceptives.
But this convenience comes at a price: a greater
risk of side effects, especially blood clots.
The patch and the pill contain similar hormones,
but studies have revealed that the patch delivers
more estrogen and may be more dangerous than
the pill. More... |
| |
| May 3, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Hospital
mishap may have exposed 300 patients to HIV
or hepatitis" |
[California]
health officials are investigating a mishap at
Scripps Memorial Hospital that may have exposed
nearly 300 obese patients who underwent stomach-reduction
surgery to hepatitis or HIV.
Scripps officials said
Wednesday the patients had a "very low" risk of infection because a
registered nurse had knowingly violated operating room procedures. The female
nurse, whose name was not released, failed to fully clean a gastroscope, which
is used to retrieve other surgical instruments from the stomach. More... |
|
| May 3, 2006 |
The
New York Times, "191
Reports of Eye Infection Linked to Lens Cleaners" |
The
number of reports of a rare fungal infection
linked to contact lens cleaners has edged up
slightly in the last week, according to the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta.
The CDC said late yesterday
that it had now received 191 reports of eye infections caused by a fungus called
Fusarium keratitis, including 86 confirmed cases. That was up from 186 reports
and 73 confirmed cases last week. More... |
| |
| May 1, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "GM
to Recall About 40,000 Pickup Trucks" |
General
Motors Corp. is recalling about 400,000 pickup
trucks due to defective brake lights. The affected
vehicles are the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon
from the 2004-2006 model years and the 2006 Isuzu
i-280 and i-350. More... |
| |
| April 28, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Bausch
and Lomb Alerted to Infections in November
[2005]" |
Bausch & Lomb
Inc., which recently halted U.S. sales of a contact
lens cleaner linked to an apparent outbreak of
a severe fungal eye infection, said Thursday
it was alerted last fall to a rise in infections
among lens wearers in Hong Kong.
The eye-care products
maker suspended shipments of its ReNu with MoistureLoc solution in the United
States on April 10 [2006] when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
revealed it was scrutinizing a flurry of Fusarium keratitis infections in Americans
using the product. More... |
| |
April
24, 2006 |
|
Every summer, hundreds of drivers
experience sudden and sometimes catastrophic
tread separations mostly caused by a combination
of poor maintenance, tire damage and excess
heat. More...
|
| |
| April 24, 2006 |
The
New York Times , "Drug
Safety Still Seen as Lagging" |
More
than a year after the Food and Drug Administration
announced it had strengthened its drug safety
system, the agency still lacks a reliable system
for keeping track of emerging problems, congressional
investigators concluded in a report to be released
today. More... |
| |
| April 21, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "More
Cases of Eye Fungus Reported [Bausch & Lomb
ReNu with MoistureLoc]" |
The
number of confirmed or suspected cases of an
eye fungus that can cause scarring of the cornea
and blindness has grown to 176, health officials
said Friday. The updated Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention report lists cases of
Fusarium keratitis in 28 states. As recently
as April 9, health officials said they suspected
109 cases in 17 states. More... |
| |
| April 20, 2006 |
OpEdNews.com, "Wanted
by Pharma: Osteoporotic Bones [Fosamax]" |
The
primary action of current osteoporosis drugs
-- stopping bone "remodeling" or turnover
-- may cause rather than prevent bones from breaking.
And prevent bones from healing if they do break,
causing the very condition it's supposed to cure.
Then there's the scepter
of jaw death. There have been 2400 documented cases of bisphosphonate-related
jaw osteonecrosis since 2001, according to UPI, a potentially life-threatening
condition often triggered by dental work. Class law suits have already been filed
in two states alleging Merck, who makes Fosamax, hid the side effect for greater
profit. (Some say renal toxicity is also a side effect.)
For more information on Fosamax jaw injury dangers and lawsuits, click
here. |
| |
| April 18, 2006 |
The
Associated Press, "Fungus
has contact wearers groping for glasses" |
William
Spadafora, of Malden, Mass., is among the dozens
of contact lens wearers in the United States
left groping for glasses thanks to blurred vision
and pain from Fusarium keratitis, a nasty fungal
infection. Health authorities say most of the
victims in 17 states were using ReNu with MoistureLoc
eye solution to cleanse their contacts. More... |
| |
| April 16, 2006 |
MMN, "Fosamax
Does More Harm Than Good" |
Although
Fosamax may improve bone density, experts say
when it comes to fracture prevention, its benefit
is modest at best. In fact, some researchers
say that when taken for more than ten years,
Fosamax will actually make bones more brittle
and thus, more susceptible to fracture. And even
if patients stop taking the drug, doctors say
it can stay in the body for up to 10 years.
In a 2004 letter
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researcher Susan Ott, MD,
of the University of Washington wrote: "Many people believe that these drugs
are 'bone builders,' but the evidence shows they are actually bone hardeners." More... |
| |
| April 15, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Reaction
Time of Bausch Is Questioned" |
The
way crisis communications experts see it, Bausch & Lomb
is like a student who wrote a good term paper,
but handed it in too late to pass the course.
The company's response
mechanism has been in high gear since Monday, when the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said that it was investigating 109 reports of a rare fungal eye
infection that seemed to appear with higher frequency among wearers of soft contact
lenses who use Bausch's ReNu With MoistureLoc solution. More... |
|
| April 14, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Bausch & Lomb
Asks Stores to Pull ReNu" |
ReNu
with MoistureLoc was being pulled from U.S. store
shelves at the request of Bausch & Lomb amid
concern the contact lens solution may be linked
to a fungal eye infection that can cause blindness.The
company also began placing advertisements in
newspapers Friday suggesting consumers use another
lens care solution for the time being. More... |
| |
| April 14, 2006 |
Bloomberg
News, "Bausch & Lomb
Ads Apologize to Consumers on Cleaner" |
Bausch & Lomb
Inc. ran ads today urging that consumers use
other contact lens cleaners made by the company,
such as ReNu MultiPlus, rather than one withdrawn
after being linked to an infection that can cause
blindness. The company late yesterday said it
was withdrawing ReNu with MoistureLoc in the
U.S. and offering refunds to consumers. A full-page
color advertisement in the USA Today newspaper
also said the product had not been proven as
a cause of the infection, only that there was
a "disproportionate association" between
it and "a small number of events." More... |
| |
| April 13, 2006 |
Reuters, "Bausch
suspends lens solution, faces lawsuit" |
A
widely used Bausch & Lomb contact lens solution
was pulled from major U.S. retailers' shelves
on Thursday at the urging of the company, as
a lawsuit was filed charging that it failed to
disclose the product's link to serious eye infections
among users in Asia. More... |
| |
| April 13, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Suit
Alleges Merck Negligently Promoted Osteoporosis
Drug Fosamax" |
Merck & Co.,
which is already facing a raft of cases over
its pain reliever Vioxx, may need to hire additional
attorneys to fight a recently filed lawsuit alleging
the company was negligent in promoting its osteoporosis
drug Fosamax. According to a lawsuit filed Monday
in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Fla., Fosamax
is a defective product because it can cause osteonecrosis
of the jaw, or a rotting of the jaw bone. The
suit, which seeks class action status, alleges
that Merck concealed and continues to hide Fosamax's
potentially dangerous side effects from patients
and doctors. More... |
| |
| April 13, 2006 |
9News.com, "Lawsuits
filed regarding Fosamax" |
Another
big headache for drugmaker Merck. The company
is facing more lawsuits: alleging it misrepresented
the safety of its osteoporosis drug Fosamax.
Reports link long-term use of Fosamax to a rare
disease that can destroy a patient's jawbone.
Suits, filed in Florida and Tennessee, claim
Merck did not give enough warnings.
Fosamax is taken
by nearly 10 million men and women. Annual sales top $3 billion. Merck says jaw
disease can be caused by a number of conditions. It added a warning notice to
the drug's label last July after an FDA request. Merck is already facing 10,000
lawsuits due to its Vioxx painkiller. |
| |
| April 11, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Jury Awards Vioxx Plaintiff
$9M in Damages" |
A
jury awarded $9 million in punitive damages on
Tuesday to a man who blamed his heart attack
on Vioxx, finding that manufacturer Merck & Co.
failed to warn about the risks of its arthritis
drug and misrepresented the risks to physicians.
The damages are in
addition to $4.5 million already awarded to John McDarby, 77, of Park Ridge,
who suffered a heart attack after four years on Vioxx, a painkiller taken by
20 million Americans before being pulled off the market.
In its only other
loss in a Vioxx case, Merck was ordered last August to pay $253 million to the
widow of a man who died after taking the drug for a short time. That amount will
be reduced because the law in Texas, where the case was heard, limits punitive
damages.
The drug company
said it would appeal.
For more information about Vioxx and the Vioxx lawsuits, please
click here to visit our stand-alone Vioxx website. |
| |
| April 10, 2006 |
Newsday, "Problems
Cited with Drug Patches" |
About
12 million people use sleek medical patches that
deliver medication through the skin. But despite
the ease of use provided by the transdermal patches,
serious side effects - ranging from blood clots to
deaths - have been blamed on some of them. More... |
| |
| April 6, 2006 |
Albuquerque Journal, "Ford
Is Sued After Deadly Area Crash"
|
The
Explorer rolled over in the road and continued
into the median between the northbound and
southbound I-25 lanes. The Explorer came to
rest on its roof. More...
|
| |
| April 4, 2006 |
Appellate
Court Affirms Jury Verdict Finding Ford
Escort Defective
|
The
Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Knoxville upheld
a Cumberland County trial court’s decision
in Potter, et al. v. Ford Motor Company. More... |
| |
| March 30, 2006 |
The
New York Times, "Guidant Withdraws
Stents After Discovering Defects" |
The
troubled Guidant Corporation announced yesterday
that it would scrap Xience heart stents that
had been manufactured for sale in Europe and
for clinical testing in Japan after discovering
that some of them had defects. Guidant said the
action would result in a $15 million write-off
in the first quarter.
Guidant did not identify
the defects, saying only that they resulted from a production problem, which
it also declined to identify. The company said the production problem had been
fixed after the company found that a small number -- about 1 percent -- of the
devices being made at the plant in Temecula, Calif., were failing to meet its
specifications. |
| |
| March 24, 2006 |
Boston
Globe, "Reebok
recalls bracelets after boy dies; Canton
firm seeking 300,000 after Minn. lead poisoning
case" |
Sneaker-maker
Reebok International Ltd. said yesterday it is
recalling about 300,000 charm bracelets after
one was linked to the lead-poisoning death of
a 4-year-old in Minnesota. The bracelets, which
have heart-shaped charms with Reebok's name on
them, were offered as gifts with the purchase
of some children's footwear for nearly two years,
said Canton-based Reebok. More... |
| |
| March 23, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Panel
Advises Disclosure of Drugs' Psychotic Effects" |
Stimulants
like Ritalin [and Adderall] lead a small number
of children to suffer hallucinations that usually
feature insects, snakes or worms, according to
federal drug officials, and a panel of experts
said on Wednesday that physicians and parents
needed to be warned of the risk. More... |
| |
| March 14, 2006 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Guidant
Warns Doctors on Defibrillators" |
Guidant
Corp., which is being acquired for $27 billion
by Boston Scientific Corp., cautioned doctors
Monday to check the voltage on certain implantable
defibrillators after the company received several
reports of defective devices. The Indianapolis-based
medical device maker issued the warning for its
Contak Renewal 3 RF and Contak Renewal 4 RF models
of defibrillators, which are devices that shock
the heart back to a normal rhythm. More... |
| |
| March 9, 2006 |
Washington
Post, "Drive
to Shred Documents Puts Kids and Pets at
Risk" |
As
worries about identity theft have driven millions
of Americans to buy document-shredding machines,
safety officials and pediatricians are warning
they can be hazardous, particularly to children
and pets.
Since 2000, the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission has received 50 reports of injuries from home-shredder
machines, including lacerations and amputated fingers. Almost two-thirds of the
incidents involved children younger than 5, and some occurred even when there
was adult supervision, prompting the agency to issue a safety alert warning parents
to never allow children to operate a shredder. More... |
| |
| March 9, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Guidant
Consultant Advised Company to Release Data
on Defects" |
A
consultant to the Guidant Corporation told the
company last year that he believed it had a clear
ethical obligation to tell physicians about heart
device defects, and urged the company to overhaul
its practices, newly released court records show. More... |
| |
| March 7, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Study
Details Link of Drugs and Thoughts of Suicide" |
Antidepressant
drugs raise the small risk of suicidal thoughts
and behavior in depressed children and adolescents,
scientists at the Food and Drug Administration
are reporting today in a detailed published account
of findings they reached in 2004. More... |
| |
| March 6, 2006 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Tests
on sushi from L.A.-area eateries raise questions
about FDA mercury monitoring" |
Tuna
is arguably the most popular offering at sushi
bars. Many customers like slices of blood-red
fish slathered in a spicy wasabi sauce. Others
prefer the more simple nigiri style, which is
sliced tuna over rice.
But now a public health
advocacy group is warning about the safety of tuna sushi and questioning the
Food and Drug Administration's system of monitoring the mercury levels in fish,
based on tests on a small sample of such delicacies at Los Angeles restaurants. More... |
| |
| March 5, 2006 |
The
Philadelphia Inquirer , "Experts:
Patches + heat = danger" |
Medical
experts say medicated patches, used by 12 million
people for a range of ailments, can become unsafe
when heated by exercise, soaking in a hot tub,
or even a high fever. And they think patients
should be warned. More... |
| |
| March 3, 2006 |
Bloomberg
News, "Ford
said risky tires were OK for SUV; Replacements
for Explorer did poorly in rollover tests" |
Ford
Motor Co. approved replacement tires for its
Explorer sport utility vehicle that made it just
as likely to roll over as the originals that
Ford blamed for more than 200 deaths. More...
For more information on Ford Explorer rollovers and dangers and Ford
Explorer rollover lawsuits, please visit our Vehicle Injuries companion
website at www.vehicle-injuries.com. |
| |
| March 3, 2006 |
Washington
Post, "Jury
Awards Family $8 Million in Death; Oakton
High Student One of Two Killed by Trucker
Who Fell Asleep" |
A Fairfax County jury
awarded $8 million yesterday to the family of an Oakton High School student who
was killed in 2002 when a truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and crushed
the car the teenager was riding in. More... |
| |
| March 1, 2006 |
San
Jose Mercury News, "Birth
defects prompt limits on acne drug" |
Accutane
now requires iPledge system: mandatory monthly
pregnancy testing and documented use of 2 birth
control methods
Concerns over severe birth
defects caused by the acne drug Accutane and its generic counterparts have prompted
controversial new prescribing rules that are among the strictest for any drug
sold in the United States.
Starting today, women
of childbearing age will be required to submit to mandatory monthly pregnancy
tests and document use of two methods of birth control before pharmacists can
dispense the drug. More... |
| |
| February 28, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Internal
Turmoil at Device Maker as Inquiry Grew" |
As
the Guidant Corporation came under scrutiny last
spring for not telling doctors about potentially
fatal defects in its heart devices, the company's
public message was upbeat and insistent: concerns
about the safety of its products were overblown,
it said, and perhaps even irresponsible.
But newly released
documents show that, inside Guidant, executives were struggling to contain a
mounting crisis. The records illustrate how a series of miscalculations by Guidant,
like its misreading of doctors' tolerance for being kept in the dark and its
initial decision not to recall the devices, put the company on the defensive.
As a result, company executives repeatedly changed course. More... |
| |
| February 23, 2006 |
Associated Press, "Guidant
Cited for Manufacturing Violations"
|
Medical
device maker Guidant Corp. waited more than a
year to tell federal regulators that it had repaired
software in a line of defibrillators, according
to inspection documents released Thursday. More... |
| |
| February 23, 2006 |
Cyprus
Mail, "Boeing
faces US lawsuit over Helios crash" |
A
team of lawyers representing 11 victims of last
August’s Helios Airways plane disaster
have announced that the families have filed a
lawsuit against Boeing in the United States. More... |
| |
| February 22, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Guidant:
FDA Incorrectly Told About Fixes" |
A
Guidant Corp. executive acknowledged the medical
device maker made changes to one of its defibrillators
in 2002 and later incorrectly told federal regulators
it had no effect on the product's performance. More... |
| |
| February 21, 2006 |
Chicago
Sun-Times, "Boeing
sued over deadly crash in Greece" |
A
federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Chicago-based
Boeing Co. on behalf of the estates of two people
killed in a plane crash last year in Greece. More... |
| |
| February 17, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Clot
Risk for Birth-Control Patch Is Found to
Be Double That of Pill" |
A
new study shows that women using the Ortho Evra
birth-control patch have double the risk of developing
blood clots compared with those who take the
birth-control pill, the Food and Drug Administration
said Friday.
But the agency called
the results preliminary and said they did not require immediate action other
than advising women to discuss the risk with their doctors. More... |
| |
| February 16, 2006 |
Seattle
Times, "Toxins
Found in Fish for Sale" |
Some
fish sold at Washington groceries contains so
much mercury or PCBs that people should limit
their consumption, a study by the state Department
of Health has found. More... |
| |
February
13, 2006 |
|
A
Texas jury ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay
$29 million on Jan. 27 to a woman who was
paralyzed in a rollover accident caused,
at least in part, by a tire defect. More...
|
| |
| February 9, 2006 |
New
York Times, "Antidepressants
May Harm Infants' Lungs, Report Says" |
Expectant
mothers who took antidepressants like Prozac
late in their pregnancy were significantly more
likely to give birth to an infant with a rare
but serious breathing problem, doctors are reporting
today.
The lung disorder,
called persistent pulmonary hypertension, strikes 1 to 2 newborns in 1,000, on
average, and can be fatal. In babies exposed to antidepressants during the last
few months of pregnancy, the study found, the rate was six times as high: 6 to
12 newborns in 1,000.
In a news conference
yesterday, Dr. Sandra L. Kweder, an official at the Food and Drug Administration,
which was not involved in the research, said that the study results were "very
worrisome," and that the agency planned to search its own database of adverse
events for further evidence of risk. She said the F.D.A. would consider whether
to require manufacturers to make labeling changes and conduct postmarketing studies
to clarify the risk. More.... |
| |
| February 4, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Design
changes reduce deaths in vehicles struck
by SUVs, pickups" |
Design changes
in sport utility vehicles and pickups have reduced
deaths in cars struck by the large vehicles,
a study says. More... |
| |
| February 3, 2006 |
ConsumerAffairs.com, "Recalled
Trucks Burn As Ford Fiddles; Massive Recall
Moves Slowly as New Fires Break Out" |
Despite
a massive recall announced in September, Ford
trucks are continuing to catch fire and burn
-- some of them covered by the recall, some not.
More about the Ford fire recall. More... |
| |
| February 2, 2006 |
WSBTV.com, "Trucks
Burst Into Flames, Even When Turned Off" |
Some
of the most popular trucks on the road just burst
into flame while they're shut off in the drive
way. Ford Motor Company has a recall to handle
the problem. But some customers complain about
how Ford handles those whose trucks have already
burned up. More... |
| |
| January 31, 2006 |
Southeast
Missourian, "Health
issues from birth control patch spark lawsuits
from local women" |
Marketed
to be as effective as the pill, Ortho Evra is
the first skin patch approved by the FDA for
birth control. But several months after Jackson
resident Rachel Cook started using the patch
last year, she experienced chest pains and was
hospitalized for blood clots in her lungs.
"The doctor
took me off the patch and told me the blood clot was because of the patch," said
Cook, who was hospitalized twice more for blood clots. More.... |
| |
| January 31, 2006 |
The
Madison Record, "Glen
Carbon woman asking for $75 million from
Ortho Evra producers" |
Jennifer
McNichols of Glen Carbon is suing the maker of
a skin patch contraceptive for $75 million claiming
it caused blood clots.
Ortho Evra and its
makers Ortho McNeil and Johnson & Johnson, already targets of at least seven
lawsuits in district court in East St. Louis, were sued in Madison County Circuit
Court on Jan. 23.
According to the
complaint, McNichols had to undergo anti-coagulant therapy and vascular surgery
because of blood clots in her right calf and thigh. More... |
| |
| January 30, 2006 |
Madison
County Record, "Women
claim contraceptive didn't come with blood
clot warning" |
The
popular contraceptive Ortho Evra is the target
of seven product liability suits filed by women
claiming the drug maker failed to warn them about
the risk of developing blood clots. The suits,
filed in in U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Illinois on Jan. 23, each seek damages
in excess of $75,000 against defendants Ortho-McNeil
Pharmaceuticals and its parent company Johnson & Johnson. More... |
| |
| January 28, 2006 |
BusinessWeek Online, "U.S.
seeks Guidant documents from lawyer"
|
The
Justice Department has ordered an attorney to
turn over documents indicating Guidant Corp.
continued selling some of its heart defibrillator
models after knowing the devices could malfunction. More... |
| |
| January 26, 2006 |
Chicago
Tribune, "Some
cans of tuna are high in mercury; new FDA
findings contradict official statements by
the government" |
Newly
released government data provide the best evidence
to date that some cans of light tuna -- one of
America's favorite seafoods -- contain high levels
of mercury. Testing by the Food and Drug Administration
found that 6 percent of canned light tuna samples
contained large amounts of mercury, a toxic metal
that can cause learning disabilities in children
and neurological problems in adults. More... |
| |
| January 24, 2006 |
Herald
Salinas (CA), "Suit
over fatal truck crash settled for $4.5M" |
An
international lawsuit stemming from a 2004 fatal
crash along Highway 101 in Prunedale was settled
Monday in Monterey for $4.5 million after less
than three full days of trial. More... |
| |
| January
20, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Cancer
Warnings to Be Added to 2 Ointments; The
FDA announces that Elidel and Protopic, used
for eczema, will bear the most serious labels,
a move prompted by reports of 78 cases" |
The
labels on two prescription creams to treat eczema
will have to bear warnings of possible cancer
risks, the Food and Drug Administration said
Thursday.
The FDA action follows
an agency advisory committee recommendation in February that Elidel and Protopic
carry the label warnings. More...
Click here to view our Elidel and
Protopic investigation page. |
| |
| January 20, 2006 |
Chicago
Tribune, "Cancer
risks to limit 2 eczema medicines" |
Novartis
AG's Elidel and Astellas Pharma Inc.'s Protopic
medicines for the skin disorder eczema may have
a cancer risk and should be used only when other
treatments fail, according to revised instructions
U.S. regulators approved. More...
Click
here to view our Elidel and Protopic
investigation page. |
| |
| January 18, 2006 |
Washington
Post, "Error
Rate Greatest In Hospital Radiology; Study
Cites Communication Failures" |
One
of the most dangerous times in the hospital for
patients is when they are wheeled out of their
rooms and taken to the radiology department for
a test or a procedure, according to report being
released today.
Medication errors that
harm patients are seven times more frequent in the course of radiological services
than in other hospital settings, according to the analysis by the United States
Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit group that sets standards for the drug industry. More... |
| |
| January 12, 2006 |
CBS 13,
Sacramento, "Lawsuit
Grows Over Birth Control Patch" |
Ortho
Evra is the first and only birth control patch
on the market. It's marketed to be as effective
and an equal to the birth control pill, but in
the lawsuits, many women say there are serious
health concerns that its parent company, Johnson & Johnson
knew of but purposely never disclosed.
Just a couple of
months after using the Ortho Evra patch, 37-year-old Stephanie Sanchez from Roseville
says she knew something was wrong. More.... |
| |
| January 9, 2006 |
The
Los Angeles Times , "Low
Scores for SUVs, Pickups; Only
six vehicles earn the insurance institute's
top rank in rear crashes" |
Head
restraints in several sport utility vehicles
and pickups poorly protected test dummies from
neck injuries in a simulated rear crash at 20
mph, the insurance industry reported Sunday. More...
|
| |
| January 6, 2006 |
The
Denver Post, "Death
spurs car-window debate; Springs tot choked
by glass" |
The
story of a 3-year-old taken off life support
four days after being choked by an electric car
window points out the need to eliminate certain
switches and other potentially fatal window designs
in U.S. cars, a child safety advocate said. More...
|
| |
January
3, 2006 |
|
The
widow of an Inverness man who was killed in
a 2001 accident when his tire blew out and
caused his Ford minivan to flip on Interstate
75 has settled with the tire manufacturer,
despite the company's insistence that it was
not liable in the crash. More...
|
| |
| January 3, 2006 |
Associated
Press, "Study
Shows Children No Safer in SUVs" |
Children
are no safer riding in sport utility vehicles
than in passenger cars, largely because the doubled
risk of rollovers in SUVs cancels out the safety
advantages of their greater size and weight,
according to a study. More... |
| |
| January 12, 2006 |
CBS
13 (Sacramento), "Lawsuit
Grows Over Birth Control Patch" |
Ortho
Evra is the first and only birth control patch
on the market. It's marketed to be as effective
and an equal to the birth control pill, but in
the lawsuits, many women say there are serious
health concerns that its parent company, Johnson & Johnson
knew of but purposely never disclosed. More...
|
| |
| December 30, 2005 |
Star-Telegram [Fort
Worth, TX], "Recent
court cases raise questions about trucking
safety" |
In
what one attorney says is an indication of a “disturbing
pattern of dangerous activity” by the nation’s
trucking industry, a Fort Worth waste-disposal
company became the second local trucking firm
this month to be hit with a multimillion-dollar
payout after one of its vehicles was involved
in a fatal crash. More... |
| |
| December
27, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Accidental
Acetaminophen Poisonings Rise" |
Think
popping extra pain pills can't hurt? Think again:
Accidental poisonings from the nation's most
popular pain reliever seem to be rising, making
acetaminophen the leading cause of acute liver
failure.
Use it correctly and acetaminophen,
best known by the Tylenol brand, lives up to its reputation as one of the safest
painkillers. It's taken by some 100 million people a year, and liver damage occurs
in only a small fraction of users.
But it's damage that can
kill or require a liver transplant, damage that frustrated liver specialists
insist should be avoidable. More... |
| |
| December 27, 2005 |
Bloomberg
News, "Guidant Gets FDA Warning,
Sanctions on Devices Plant" |
Guidant
Corp., the object of a bidding war, was barred
by U.S. regulators from exporting heart- rhythm
devices from its principal plant in St. Paul,
Minnesota, because of product flaws. The shares
had their biggest decline in more than seven
weeks.
The action resulted from
a September inspection report as the Food and Drug Administration probed defibrillator
failures linked to at least seven deaths that forced the recall of 109,000 devices.
After the recall, Johnson & Johnson cut $4 billion from its $25.4 billion
buyout offer, first made a year ago. Boston Scientific Corp. on Dec. 5 bid $25
billion for Indianapolis-based Guidant.
"We continue to move
forward on our due diligence with the goal of reaching a definitive agreement
with Guidant," said Boston Scientific spokesman Paul Donovan in a telephone
interview from Italy today after Guidant disclosed the FDA action. "I don't
think we're going to have anything more to say right now."
For more information
on the Guidant defibrillator failures, please see our stand-alone Guidant defibrillator
website www.guidant-recall-lawsuit.com. |
| |
| December 25, 2005 |
Reuters, "Guidant
saw some deaths from heart device: report" |
Medical
device maker Guidant Corp. projected that some
patients might die as result of short circuits
in a company heart device, the New York Times reported
Saturday, citing company records filed in connection
with a lawsuit.
Guidant did not publicize
the flaw because it appeared to have viewed the overall failure rate as acceptable,
according to the documents filed Thursday in a Texas state court in connection
with a lawsuit involving Guidant's Prizm 2 DR defibrillator.
A company report also
showed that by the middle of 2002 Guidant determined that the consequences of
the defibrillator's electrical failure, although rare, could be "life threatening," the
newspaper said. Still, Guidant continued to sell the potentially flawed devices
and did not notify doctors about the defect until last spring, when the problem
was about to reach the public, the Times said. |
| |
| December 15, 2005 |
The
Galveston County Daily News, "Ford
hit with historic $16.6M Explorer verdict" |
A
405th State District Court jury hit the Ford
Motor Co. with a $16.6 million judgment in the
case of a rollover crash that killed a boy, 13. More... |
| |
| December 13, 2005 |
Chicago
Tribune, "How
safe is tuna? Federal regulators and the
tuna industry fail to warn consumers about
the true health hazards of an American favorite" |
In
the fall of 1970, a chemistry professor in upstate
New York reached into his pantry, grabbed a can
of tuna and, on a hunch, tested it for mercury.
What he found stunned him: levels of the toxic
metal far above U.S. safety limits. Embarrassed
regulators immediately did their own testing,
which confirmed the professor's results.
Tainted tuna soon
captured national headlines and became a cultural reference point, from the butt
of Johnny Carson jokes to the lyrics of a Marvin Gaye hit: "Fish full of
mercury/Oh mercy, mercy me." Government officials characterized the high
mercury levels as an anomaly. After recalling 12 million cans, they pronounced
tuna safe to eat again.
But three decades
later, canned tuna still contains mercury --sometimes in amounts as high as those
found by the professor. A Chicago Tribune investigation shows the tuna
industry has failed to adequately warn consumers about the risks of eating canned
tuna, while federal regulators have been reluctant to include the fish in their
mercury advisories -- at times amid heavy lobbying by industry. More.... |
| |
| December 8, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "New
England Journal: Merck Concealed Data" |
Vioxx
maker Merck & Co. concealed heart attacks
suffered by three patients during a clinical
study of the now-withdrawn painkiller in a report
on the study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine in 2000, the journal
wrote in an editorial released Thursday.
The editorial, written
by the journal's editor in chief, Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, executive editor Dr.
Gregory D. Curfman and a third doctor, also alleges the study's authors deleted
other relevant data before submitting their article for publication.
"Taken together,
these inaccuracies and deletions call into question the integrity of the data
on adverse cardiovascular events in this article," the doctors wrote. More... |
| |
| December 3, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Cardiologist
Criticizes Merck Behavior" |
A
prominent cardiologist testifying against Merck & Co.
accused the drugmaker Saturday of engaging in
scientific misconduct, suppressing clinical evidence
and stifling medical discourse as it promoted
the painkiller [Vioxx].
Dr. Eric Topol, chairman
of the cardiovascular medicine department of the Cleveland Clinic, called certain
aspects of Merck's behavior "repulsive" and "appalling" during
his three-hour videotaped deposition. More... |
| |
| December 2, 2005 |
Detroit
Free Press, "Group
calls for Ford to unseal safety tests" |
A
Washington auto-safety group launched a new effort
Thursday to unseal safety tests from Ford Motor
Co.'s Volvo division, saying the tests highlight
flaws in a new standard for vehicle roof strength
backed by federal regulators and automakers.
While the contents
of the documents are well known, safety advocates say making them publicly available
would force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to rethink its
new rule for how well car and truck roofs should protect people in rollovers. More... |
| |
| November 28, 2005 |
Automotive
News, "Senators
rebuke NHTSA on tougher roofs proposal" |
Two key senators are warning federal regulators
that their effort to use tougher roof-strength
rules to block rollover lawsuits against
automakers may not be legal. More...
|
| |
| November
24, 2005 |
Kansas
City Star, "Flavoring
company close to settling; Popcorn plant
lawsuits winding down" |
More
than four years after the original lawsuit was
filed, the case involving workers at a Jasper,
Mo., popcorn plant is finally nearing conclusion. More...
|
| |
| November 20, 2005 |
Detroit
News, "[Ford]
Explorer roof called too weak" |
Many
of Ford Motor Co.'s best-selling Explorer SUVs
from the 1999 to 2001 model years likely do not
meet a crucial safety requirement intended to
protect passengers in rollover crashes, a safety
engineering firm claimed in a petition filed
with the federal government. More... |
| |
| November 19, 2005 |
Reuters
Health, "Viagra
may be useful for serious lung disease" |
Treatment
with Viagra (sildenafil) can improve exercise
capacity and functional ability in patients with
pulmonary arterial hypertension, a serious disease
involving high pressure in the blood vessels
that enter the lungs, new research suggests. More... |
| |
| November 18, 2005 |
St.
Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), "Family
blames birth control patch in girl's death;
La Crosse couple suing Johnson & Johnson" |
Parents
of a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl who died last
year are suing the makers of a popular birth
control patch for failing to warn people sooner
about serious side effects. More... |
| |
| November 11, 2005 |
The
Associated Press, "Drug
maker issues warning about birth-control
patch" |
The
makers of a popular birth-control patch warned
millions of women Thursday that the patch exposes
them to significantly higher doses of hormones
and may put them at greater risk for blood clots
and other serious side effects than previously
disclosed. More... |
| |
| November 10, 2005 |
St. Petersburg Times, "Small
SUVs Can Be Big Problem"
|
The
two-door Ford Explorer that rolled over on
the Howard Frankland Bridge and sank in Tampa
Bay is one of the most dangerous vehicles
on the road, according to insurance industry
data. More...
|
| |
| November 6, 2005 |
St. Petersburg Times, "Ford
explorer Sport Crashes Into River"
|
Mujo
Jakupovic and his wife, Amira, had been driving
east from St. Petersburg on the Howard Frankland
about 1 p.m. with their sons, 13-year-old Emrah
and 7-year-old Amar. About 200 yards from the
end of the bridge, the left rear tire of their
green, 1998 Ford Explorer Sport blew out. More...
|
| |
| November
3, 2005 |
CBS
Morning News, "Increasing
questions regarding the safety of using the
birth control patch" |
SUSAN McGINNIS,
anchor:
Safety concerns this morning about the birth control patch Ortho Evra.
An estimated four million women have used this patch as an alternative
to birth control pills. Well, now some say it's made them very ill. Cynthia
Bowers reports.
CYNTHIA BOWERS reporting:
The Ortho Evra patch came onto the market four years ago amid a glitzy
ad campaign featuring sexy models and touting convenience. It was a pitch
that appealed to millions of American women, including Philomena Ugochukwu.
But just 12 days after she began wearing the patch, the Texas mother
suffered a debilitating stroke and, two years later, remains almost completely
paralyzed. More... |
| |
| November 16, 2005 |
South
China Morning Post, "China Eastern
Airlines crash families may wait years for
result in lawsuit" |
Family
members of 21 people killed in last year's China
Eastern Airlines plane crash in Baotou, Inner
Mongolia, will probably have to wait at least
two years for a result in their civil compensation
suit lodged in a US state court.
Flight MU5210 to Shanghai
burst into flames less than a minute after takeoff from Baotou on November 21
last year and plunged into a frozen lake, claiming the lives of all 47 passengers
and six crew on board, along with two people on the ground.
The US-based law firm
representing the families, Lieff Cabraser Heimann and Bernstein, LLP, lodged
the suit in California last week against mainland carrier China Eastern Airlines,
US-based engine producer General Electric and Canadian aircraft manufacturer
Bombardier. In Beijing yesterday, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Robert
Nelson, said the crash might have been caused by the plane's
controversial design, the engine's inability to withstand ice and the
carrier's failure to request ice removal before takeoff.
"The CRJ200 hard
wing is unforgiving and may have combined with negligence by China Eastern pilots
to cause the crash," Mr Nelson said. "We have hired investigation companies.
But the problem is they haven't had any access to the plane, which is frustrating."
For more information
about this case, read
the case profile on our companion website Global Aviation.com. |
| |
| October 26, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Safety
Decoder: How to Make Sense of the Crash Ratings" |
The
Ford Escape is "a genius on anything from
dirt to gravel to granite," at least according
to a recent ad in Maxim magazine. Not
only does it have "brains for rocks," whatever
that means, it has a computer that checks for "wheel
slippage 200 times a second." More... |
| |
| October 20, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Repeated
Defect in Heart Devices Exposes a History
of Problems" |
Two
months after Joshua Oukrop's death, the Guidant
Corporation, the country's second-biggest maker
of heart defibrillators, acknowledged that it
had not told doctors for three years that one
model had short-circuited in about two dozen
cases, including the one involving him. More... |
| |
| October 11, 2005 |
Associated Press, "Ford
Explorer Sport Accident"
|
Amanda
Read Fomicheve was injured Monday afternoon
when a driver lost control of her Ford Explorer
Sport vehicle just before 1 p.m. and slammed
into the car in front of her. More...
|
| |
| October 7, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Chrysler
announces recalls affecting about 583,000
vehicles" ["Park-to-Reverse" transmission
problems] |
DaimlerChrysler
AG's Chrysler Group said Friday that it would
voluntarily recall about 300,000 vehicles with
a potential defect that could prevent the driver
from placing the transmission in "park." More... |
| |
| September 30, 2005 |
Forbes, "Cancer
Drug Might Fight Lethal Lung Hypertension" |
Gleevec,
a medication experts have hailed as a wonder
drug in the fight against certain cancers, may
also come to the rescue of patients battling
lethal pulmonary hypertension. According to a
case study in the Sept. 29 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine, a 61-year-old man suffering
from an advanced case of the disease saw his
condition improve and stabilize after taking
Gleevec (imatinib) -- even though all other medications
had failed. More... |
| |
| September 28, 2005 |
MedPage
Today, "'Wonder
Drugs' May Work Wonders for Pulmonary Arterial
Hypertension" |
The "wonder
drugs" Gleevec (imatinib) and Viagra (sildenafil)
make strange bedfellows, but they both appear
to improve pulmonary function in patients with
pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), report
researchers here. They described the Gleevec
case in a letter published in the Sept. 29 New
England Journal of Medicine. More... |
| |
| September 27, 2005 |
The
Salt Lake Tribune, "Rollover
deaths stun USU; School's field trip to a
Box Elder farm ends in a crash, killing nine" |
A
Utah State University field trip to a Box Elder
County farm ended in tragedy Monday afternoon
when a van carrying the students blew a tire
on Interstate 84 and rolled four times down an
embankment, throwing all 11 on board from the
van and killing nine. More... |
| |
| September 14, 2005 |
Bloomberg, "Ford
Loses $42 Million Texas Verdict in Rollover
Suit" |
A
Texas jury today found that Ford Motor Co. should
pay $42 million to the family of a 10-year-old
boy who was killed when he was partly ejected
from a Ford Expedition in a 2004 rollover accident. More... |
| |
| September 15, 2005 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "FDA:
Defibrillator Defects on the Rise" |
Malfunctions
in implanted heart defibrillators were on the
rise even before this summer's massive recall
by Guidant Corp., government and Harvard University
scientists reported Friday.
About 20 of every 1,000
defibrillators implanted are malfunctioning, and defects led to 31 deaths between
1990 and 2002, concluded research sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration. More... |
| |
| September
7, 2005 |
CNN/Money, "Ford
recalling 3.8 million vehicles; Trucks and
SUVs recalled for cruise control switch that
could cause fires" |
Ford
Motor Co. is recalling about 3.8 million trucks
and SUVs to fix a cruise control switch that
could overheat and burn even when the vehicles
are not running. More...
|
| |
| September
7, 2005 |
NewsInferno.com
(NY), "Missouri
Jury Awards Former Popcorn Plant Worker $15
Million for Injuries Caused by Chemicals
Used to Make Butter Flavoring" |
On
Friday a former popcorn-plant worker was given
$15 million for his claim that his exposure to
butter-flavoring fumes led to severe respiratory
problems. The case was filed by Stephen McNeely
a 35-year-old machine operator from Carthage,
Missouri, who filled popcorn bags with salt and
butter flavoring. More... |
| |
| September 2, 2005 |
The
Gazette (Colorado Springs), "Suit:
Birth control to blame for brain clot" |
Not
long after Amanda Bianchi began using a birth-control
patch, she started getting incapacitating headaches,
numbness in her hands and ringing in her ears. More... |
| |
| August 30, 2005 |
MSNBC.com, "GM
recalls 800,000 pickups, SUVs; Automaker
cites potential brake problems"
|
General
Motors Corp. said Tuesday it was recalling about
800,000 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks
in 14 northern states because corrosion was affecting
the antilock brake system, leading to more than
200 low-speed crashes. More... |
| |
| August 29, 2005 |
Automotive
News, "Ford
loses appeal of $47 million verdict in LS
seat-latch lawsuit" |
The
Georgia Court of Appeals has let stand a $47.7
million verdict against Ford Motor Co. stemming
from the failure of the back-seat latch in a
2000 Lincoln LS. The award included almost $14
million in punitive damages. More... |
| |
| August 25, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "FDA
Expanding Inquiry Into Heart-Device Company" |
The
Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that
it would conduct an extensive inspection of the
manufacturing facilities of the Guidant Corporation,
a maker of implantable heart devices that is
under scrutiny for the way it disclosed product
problems. More... |
| |
| August 15, 2005 |
WFMY
News (Greensboro, NC), "Ford
Trucks Catch Fire, Not Attention; Laura Voos
saved the house but not the truck" |
Owners
of thousands of Ford light trucks have a bigger
concern than high fuel prices, their vehicles
could catch fire. Even though they've been warned
and offered a repair, CBS News reports that some
of the owners are not doing anything about it. More... |
| |
| August 12, 2005 |
The
Associated Press, "N.C.
patients discuss surgical-tool fiasco" |
Patients
whose surgeons unknowingly used instruments washed
in hydraulic fluid instead of detergent held their
first group meeting, sharing stories of delayed
recoveries and distrust of their doctors.
About 50 people attended
the meeting Thursday, organized by a freelance medical writer who was among 3,800
patients to undergo surgery with instruments washed in the fluid in late 2004
at two hospitals owned by Duke University Health System. More... |
| |
| July 28, 2005 |
Star
Tribune (Indianapolis), "Guidant
promises openness" |
While
defending its actions over a recent spate of
recalls of its heart devices, a Guidant Corp.
executive acknowledged that the industry is entering
a new era of disclosure, with doctors demanding
more information on product safety than ever
before. More... |
| |
| July 24, 2005 |
The New York Post, "Patch
Gals Suing; Birth-Control Danger"
|
Ten
women are uniting to sue the maker of a popular
birth-control patch, saying the device caused
them to suffer strokes and blood clots, The Post
has learned. More... |
| |
| July 23, 2005 |
Star
Tribune (Indianapolis), "FDA
gives Guidant recall urgency" |
The
Food and Drug Administration said late Friday
it has given a pacemaker safety advisory issued
last week by Guidant Corp. its most serious classification
as a product recall.
The federal regulatory
agency classified Guidant's action on nine models of pacemakers as a Class I
recall, meaning the FDA has decided there is reasonable probability that if the
devices malfunction it could result in "serious adverse health consequences
or death." More... |
| |
| July 23, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "A
Wider Inquiry on Fires in Ford Trucks" |
As
Ford Motor faces numerous lawsuits and tries
to determine why hundreds of its trucks have
burst into flames, federal authorities have widened
their investigation into whether a faulty cruise
control switch is causing the fires. More... |
| |
| July 22, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Guidant revises safety recommendations
for some defibrillator models" |
Guidant
Corp. said Friday one of its recent recommendations
for correcting problems with some of its defibrillators
may actually increase the risk of malfunction
in three models implanted in about 21,000 heart
patients.
The company said a programming
change it suggested to physicians in June may "significantly increase" the
risk that a magnetic switch in the Ventak Prizm, Vitality and Contak Renewal
devices would become stuck and prevent them from providing treatment.
The company said Friday
it found that a malfunction had occurred in one of the devices after it was reprogrammed.
In that instance, the patient was not injured, but had to have the device replaced.
Guidant said it is now investigating other instances of malfunction, including
a possible injury. |
| |
| July 20,
2005 |
Associated
Press, "Missouri
Man Wins $2.7M for Lung Injuries" |
A
former popcorn plant worker who claimed his respiratory
illness came from a harmful chemical used to
make butter flavoring has been awarded about
$2.7 million in damages. More... |
| |
| |
| July 18, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Guidant
issues warning for 28,000 pacemakers; Faulty
seal could lead to malfunction, heart failure,
manufacturer says" |
Guidant
Corp., already under fire for problems with its
implantable defibrillators, on Monday warned
physicians replacements might be needed for nine
pacemaker models made between 1997 and 2000.
The safety advisory, which
affects 28,000 devices in use worldwide, heightened concerns among heart patients
and raised new questions about the wisdom of a planned $25.4 billion acquisition
of Guidant by New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson. More... |
| |
| July 18, 2005 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Semi
crashes on I-80, killing 3" |
Three
people were killed and 10 others injured Monday
when the driver of a tractor trailer lost control
on Interstate 80 in Fairfield and plowed into
seven vehicles, authorities said. The accident
happened at 8:47 a.m. and closed the four westbound
lanes of I-80 just east of Highway 12 for nearly
90 minutes as emergency workers tended to the
injured and cleared the roadway. More... |
| |
| July 17,
2005 |
Great
Falls Tribune (Montana), "Widow
sues for 'popcorn lung'" |
The
widow of Centerville's "Popcorn King" Dennis
Yatsko has filed a lawsuit in District Court
against the manufacturers and distributors
of popcorn oil and popcorn butter flavoring,
claiming the fumes caused his death. More...
|
| |
July 17, 2005 |
The Associated Press, "Birth-Control
Patch May Pose Health Risk"
|
About
a dozen women, most in their late teens and early
20s, died last year from blood clots believed
to be related to the birth-control patch Ortho
Evra. Dozens more survived strokes and other
clot-related problems, according to federal drug
safety reports obtained by The Associated Press
under a Freedom of Information Act request. More...
|
| |
| July
17, 2005 |
The
Detroit News, "Danger
Under the Hood; A little girl dies; attention
turns to a faulty Ford part; More than 500
fires reported in pickups, SUVs; probe centers
on cruise-control switch" |
On
Friday, a family filed a wrongful death suit
in a Georgia state court against Ford Motor Co.,
alleging that a defective cruise-control deactivation
switch in the F-150 caused the fire that killed
Blake Washington.
The noise woke Tanika
Washington just before dawn, a sound like heavy raindrops beating on the roof.
But when she sat up in
bed, she realized it was the crackling of fire. More... |
| |
| July 17, 2005 |
The
Detroit News, "Safety
Agency Widens Investigation; NHTSA awaits
Ford's internal report into the questionable
part, which is in 16 million vehicles" |
With
reports of vehicle fires mounting, Ford Motor
Co. is racing to meet a mid-August deadline
to provide federal investigators with details
of its analysis of faulty cruise-control deactivation
switches. More...
|
| |
July 16, 2005 |
The Associated Press, "Drug
company spends millions to promote
the patch"
|
The
popularity of the birth-control patch continues
to grow, fueled by millions of dollars in advertising. More... |
| |
| July
15, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Lawsuit
blames father's death on defibrillator" |
The
family of an elderly man who died when the heart
defibrillator implanted in his chest allegedly
failed is suing the device's maker and wants
to expand the suit to thousands of patients nationwide.
Although the lawsuit
was filed on behalf of Bobby Smith's eldest son, his attorneys said about 24,000
patients nationwide have received defective implants and said they will seek
to make their suit against Guidant Corp. a class action. More... |
| |
| July 14, 2005 |
Reuters, "Graco
Recalls 1.1 Million Baby Strollers; Products
'fail to latch properly and unexpectedly
collapse while in use'" |
Graco
Children's Products Inc. has agreed to recall
more than 1.1 million strollers because of a
risk of collapsing, the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission said Thursday. More... |
| |
| July 12, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Government
probes Ford SUVs, Mustangs; NHTSA looking
into throttle problems with 2002 Explorers,
Mountaineers" |
The
government has opened an investigation into the
acceleration of some Ford Motor Co. sport utility
vehicles and the company's Mustang sports car,
officials said Tuesday. More... |
| |
| July 7, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Volkswagens,
Fords, Toyotas Recalled" |
Volkswagen
AG is recalling nearly 40,000 Jetta sedans in
the United States because fuel could leak and
start a fire, federal safety regulators said
Thursday [July 7, 2005]. More... |
| |
| July 2, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Guidant
defibrillator recall becomes more urgent" |
More
than 20,600 Guidant Corp. cardiac defibrillators
recalled last month have a malfunction that could
cause serious injury or death, federal regulators
said Friday in classifying the devices as the
most urgent recall priority. More... |
| |
| July 1, 2005 |
Click2Houston.com, "NHTSA
Requests More Documents In Ford Fire Investigation" |
The
federal government is ordering the Ford Motor
Co. to hand over more information in the ongoing
probe into fires happening in certain trucks
and sport utility vehicles. The development comes
as the Local 2 Troubleshooter investigation into
the fires prompts action from a member of Congress,
the station reported Friday. "It's
important that we get to the bottom of this," U.S.
Rep. Ted Poe said. More... |
| |
| July 1, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "FDA
gives heart implant recall highest warning
-- not urging removal of Guidant devices;
patients should contact doctors" |
A
malfunction in some of the Guidant Corp. defibrillators
recalled last month could cause serious injury
or death, the government said Friday [July 1,
2005] in classifying 20,000 of the devices as
the most urgent type of recalls.
The Food and Drug Administration
is not urging that the recalled defibrillators be removed. But it used Friday's
action to urge patients to contact their doctors to decide appropriate next steps. More... |
| |
| June 27, 2005 |
Seattle
Times, "Rush
toward new weight-loss drugs tramples patients'
health" |
Melum,
39, took weight-loss drugs so she could feel
healthier and keep up with her two boys, now
11 and 13. The drugs nearly killed her. After
being prescribed Redux and a drug combination
known as "phen-fen," Melum developed
heart damage so severe that in 2002 surgeons
had to cut open her chest and heart and install
an artificial valve. More...
|
| |
| June 23, 2005 |
Los
Angeles Times, "SUVs
Improve in Rollover Ratings; Regulators credit
the popularity of 'crossover' vehicles, which
have lower centers of gravity" |
Car
manufacturers are doing a better job designing
sport utility vehicles to resist rollover accidents,
U.S. safety regulators said Wednesday. More... |
| |
| June 22, 2005 |
The
Recorder, "Faulty
Defibrillator Opens Guidant to Enormous Lawsuits
-- Again" |
There's
nothing like a short circuit inside thousands
of people's chest cavities to jumpstart plaintiff
lawyers and shock the heart of a corporate defendant.
That has become clear
over the past month, with a medical-device maker that was already squaring off
with several local plaintiff firms suddenly the target of new -- and possibly
costly -- litigation by some of the same lawyers. More... |
| |
| June 21, 2005 |
Tennessean.com, "Judge
slashes damages against carmaker" |
A
Davidson County judge has drastically reduced
the punitive damages against DaimlerChrysler
in connection with an infant's death after a
June 2001 minivan accident. More... |
| |
| June 20, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Patients
call doctors after Guidant recall" |
Nervous
patients called their doctors Monday to have
potentially faulty implanted heart devices checked
out after the company offered to replace thousands
of them because of flaws.
For 44-year-old Alan
Black, the potential for a short circuit in his defibrillator was enough to convince
his doctor to schedule replacement surgery for June 30. The Lock Haven, Pa.,
resident got his device in 2002. More... |
| |
| June 17, 2005 |
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, "Singer's
mom sues SUV maker" |
The
mother of the late hip-hop music star Lisa "Left
Eye" Lopes is suing an automaker alleging
it ignored warnings that its SUV was prone to
roll over. More... |
| |
| June 17, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "FDA
recalls Guidant heart defibrillators; More
than 38,000 implanted devices could malfunction" |
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration will recall
more than 38,000 faulty cardiac defibrillators
implanted in patients because of potential malfunctions
in the devices, the manufacturer Guidant Corp.
said Friday.
Indianapolis-based Guidant
said it was voluntarily advising physicians about the safety of several defibrillator
models and that regulators had indicated the move would be classified as a recall. More... |
| |
| June 16, 2005 |
BizJournals.com, "Lawsuit
blames TI, Ford in woman's death" |
A
lawsuit filed by the family of an Iowa woman
who died in a fire last month claims Ford Motor
Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. are guilty of
negligence. More... |
| |
| June 13, 2005 |
National
Law Journal, "Integrity
agreements could spark litigation" |
On
July 1, 2003, medical device maker Guidant Corp.
pledged its commitment to comply with a tough
corporate integrity agreement after it admitted
to 10 felonies and paid a record $92 million
for covering up thousands of cases in which its
aortic stent malfunctioned. More... |
| |
| June 11, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Concert
with Secretary of State Brings Attention
to Deadly Disease" |
A
musician long before she became an academic and
then a world-famous diplomat, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice took to the Kennedy Center concert
stage Saturday to accompany a young soprano battling
PPH, an often-fatal disease. Rice's rare and
unpublicized appearance at the piano marked a
striking departure from her routine as America's
No. 1 diplomat. A pianist from the age of 3 she
played a half-dozen selections to accompany Charity
Sunshine, a 21-year-old singer who was diagnosed
with pulmonary hypertension a little more than
a year ago. More... |
| |
| June 7, 2005 |
KPRC
Click2Houston.com, "Flames
From Ford Pickup Destroy Neighboring Homes:
Investigators Not Sure If Recalled Speed
Control Switch Sparked Fire" |
A
northeast Harris County homeowner scrambled
to get his family and a neighboring family
out of their homes early Tuesday morning after
he discovered his pickup truck was on fire,
Local 2 reported. More...
|
| |
| June 2, 2005 |
The
Legal Intelligencer, "Wyeth
Seeks Mistrial in $200M Damages Suit" |
The
pharmaceutical manufacturer Wyeth has asked a
Philadelphia judge to declare a mistrial after
a jury last week awarded a total of $200 million
in potential damages to two Utah women who claimed
that diet drugs once marketed by Wyeth caused
their heart valves to leak. More... |
| |
| June 2, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Heart
Device Sold Despite Flaw, Data Shows" |
When
the Guidant Corporation told doctors last week
that a popular implantable heart defibrillator
had failed in a small number of cases because
of an electrical flaw, it also said that it had
fixed the flaw in devices produced after mid-2002.
But now data provided
by Guidant to a Minnesota hospital suggests that the company continued to sell
the potentially flawed devices for months after it changed the way it made the
device and had begun selling the new ones. More... |
| |
| May 25, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Advocates
Push to Make Cars Safer for Kids" |
Child-safety
advocates sought support for a bill that would
require auto makers to install technology in
vehicles to help prevent children from being
accidentally strangled by power windows or backed
over. More... |
| |
| May 24, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Defibrillator
Maker Didn't Reveal Problem" |
The
maker of an internal heart defibrillator is acknowledging
it waited three years before telling some 24,000
patients and their doctors about an electrical
problem that caused a small fraction of the implanted
devices to short-circuit.
The admission by
Indianapolis-based Guidant Corp., first reported Tuesday by The New York Times,
came about after a Minnesota college student died on a spring break bicycling
trip in March.
The death of 21-year-old
Joshua Oukrop, who had a genetic heart disease, is the only one known.
Guidant disclosed
the flaw in its Ventak Prizm 2 Model 1861 to Oukrop's doctors and told them about
25 other cases in which the defibrillator had malfunctioned, the newspaper reported.
It did not, however, issue an alert to physicians until it learned the newspaper
was preparing a story on the defibrillator. |
| |
| May 15, 2005 |
The
Mountain Press, "Family
remains hospitalized after Wyoming accident" |
A
Seymour couple and their oldest son remain hospitalized
here more than a week after the family survived
a single-vehicle accident just outside Buffalo,
Wyoming. More... |
| |
| May 17, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "Toyota
Recalling 750,000 Truck, SUVs" |
Toyota
Motor Corp., in one of its largest safety recalls
ever, said Tuesday it is recalling more than
750,000 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles
because of problems with the front suspension
that could hinder steering. More... |
| |
| April 27, 2005 |
USA
Today, "Ford
truck fire problems widen; More Fords have
suspect switch" |
The
cruise-control switch that led federal officials
in March to begin investigating 3.7 million Ford
pickups and SUVs because the switch was linked
to engine fires is on at least 6 million additional
Ford vehicles, the company acknowledges.
So far, no engine fires
have been definitively linked to the cruise-control switch in the seven additional
models, including the 1997-2002 Explorer and the 2001-02 Escape. But the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration is monitoring reports of fires in those
vehicles and could expand its investigation to include some or all of them, according
to two people with direct knowledge. More... |
| |
| April 25, 2005 |
Reuters, "GM
Recalls 2 Million Vehicles, Most Sold in
U.S." |
General
Motors Corp. on Monday said it was recalling
more than 2 million vehicles to fix a variety
of potential safety defects, most of them on
cars and trucks sold in the United States.
GM, which led the auto
industry in U.S. recalls last year, said the largest of the latest safety actions
included nearly 1.5 million full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles
from the 2003-2005 model years with second-row seat belts that may be difficult
to properly position across passengers' hips. More... |
| |
| April 21, 2005 |
Tri-City
Herald (WA), "Prosser
Pastor, Son Killed in Arkansas Car Accident" |
As a Prosser congregation struggled Wednesday
night with the news one of their pastors
had died in an Arkansas car accident, many
found comfort in the message the man spent
much of his life sharing. More...
|
| |
| April 20, 2005 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Jury
Awards Family Millions in Ford Suit" |
A
Madison County jury has awarded nearly $43.8
million to the family of a 74-year-old Missouri
man who died when the gas tank in his Ford-produced
Lincoln Town Car caught on fire after the car
was struck from behind by another vehicle. More... |
| |
| May 15, 2005 |
The
Mountain Press, "Family
remains hospitalized after Wyoming accident" |
A
Seymour couple and their oldest son remain hospitalized
here more than a week after the family survived
a single-vehicle accident just outside Buffalo,
Wyoming. More... |
| |
| April 14, 2005 |
Reuters, "Maytag
recalls 636,000 vacuum cleaners; Hoover handle,
tool area can overheat, causing fire hazard" |
Maytag
Corp. agreed to recall about 636,000 Hoover vacuum
cleaners due to defective on-off switches that
can overheat the handle and tool area of the
vacuum, causing a fire hazard, the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
Maytag has received reports
of 249 vacuums overheating, with one report of a minor burn injury, the CPSC
said in a news release.
The units recalled are
models of Hoover Self-Propelled Upright Vacuum Cleaners. Consumers should stop
using the vacuums immediately and contact Maytag to schedule a free repair, the
CPSC said. Consumers can contact Maytag at 800-250-6075.
The vacuum cleaners were
sold from May 1998 through July 2000 for $259 to $279, the CPSC said. |
| |
| April 6, 2005 |
The
Oregonian, "Carmaker,
families settle suit over van wreck that
killed 5 firefighters: Victims' attorneys
call the vehicle that rolled in 2002 in Colorado
unsafe; Ford Motor Co. officials defend it" |
A
lawsuit over a deadly 2002 rollover accident
that killed five firefighters was settled Monday
for an undisclosed sum. More... |
| |
| April 4, 2005 |
Medical
News Today, "Statins,
Other Cholesterol Depletors, May Disrupt
Hypertension Development: UCSD Study" |
Novel
calcium block attacks cause, rather than symptoms,
of idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPAH),
also called primary pulmonary hypertension. More... |
| |
| April 2005 |
Trial
Magazine (ATLA), "Power
Windows Can Kill" |
Small
children can easily trip the window switches
in many vehicles sold today, getting caught and
even killed by a swiftly closing window. Better
options could and should be used. More... |
| |
| March 31, 2005 |
Reuters, "Hyundai,
Kia, recall 30,000 SUVs in U.S.; Problem with
anti-rollover devices cited" |
Hyundai
Motor Co. Ltd. and Kia Motors Corp. are recalling
more than 38,000 sport utility vehicles on the
U.S. market because of a problem with their electronic
stability program, or anti-rollover devices,
federal safety regulators said Thursday.
The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration said vehicles from the Korean automakers affected
by the recalls included 30,558 Hyundai Tucson and 7,619 Kia Sportage SUVs. Both
are from the 2005 model year.
The problem with
the electronic stability program may cause the engine on the SUVs to reduce power
automatically, and it could also cause a brake on one of the wheels to be applied
without brake pedal activation by the driver, NHTSA said in an advisory on its
Web site, the agency said.
"Brake application
caused by inadvertent ESP activation may result in a crash," the agency
said. |
| |
| March 31, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Lawsuit
Documents and a Study Raise Questions on
the Safety of Ford Explorer Roofs" |
A
new study and documents from a recent lawsuit
against the Ford Motor Company raise fresh questions
about the safety of roofs on Ford Explorers.
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen released
a study on Wednesday that accuses Ford of ignoring
evidence that stronger roofs would lead to fewer
injuries. More... |
| |
| March
26, 2005 |
The
Kansas City Star, "Flavoring
maker must pay couple $15 million" |
A
former popcorn-plant worker and his wife were
awarded $15 million Friday after a jury found
that exposure to butter-flavoring fumes led to
his severe lung problems. More... |
| |
| March 23, 2005 |
Associated
Press, "U.S. Agency to Investigate
More Than 3.7 Million Ford Motor Co. Pickups,
SUVs for Defect" |
The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
said Wednesday it would investigate more than
3.7 million Ford Motor Co. pickups and sport
utility vehicles for a defect in a cruise control
switch that led to a January recall.
The agency said it
would examine Ford F-150 pickups from the 1995-1999 and 2001-2002 model years,
and Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 1997-1999 and 2001-2002
model years.
NHTSA officials said
they have received 218 complaints of engine fires from the cruise control switch
in those models. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
The new investigation
does not include the 2000 model years of the vehicles, which was covered by the
January recall of nearly 800,000 vehicles. Ford said the cruise control switch
could short circuit and cause an engine compartment fire when the vehicle was
parked or being driven, even if the cruise control was not being used. |
| |
| March 21, 2005 |
KPRC
Click2Houston.com, "1999
Ford SUV Suspected Of Sparking Deputy's House
Fire" |
A
Harris County deputy's home in northwest Harris
County caught fire Friday morning and investigators
think his Ford sport utility vehicle, parked
in the garage, may have sparked the blaze. More... |
| |
| March 19, 2005 |
Times-Union
(Jacksonville), "Defects
in Explorer blamed for fatal crash; $10.2
million awarded" |
A
Jacksonville jury returned a $10.2 million verdict
against Ford Motor Co., finding defects in its
Explorer's roof and seat belt systems. After
the four-week trial, the jury said the death
of a Jacksonville woman could have been prevented
if the roof had not collapsed. The plaintiff's
attorneys are calling the verdict the first in
the nation finding fault with the popular SUV's
roof. More... |
| |
| March 15, 2005 |
Reuters, "GM's
Blazer Ranked Deadliest Car on U.S. Roadways" |
The
two-door Chevrolet Blazer from General Motors
Corp. has the highest driver death rate of any
passenger vehicle on U.S. roadways, a research
group with links to the insurance industry said
on Tuesday. More... |
| |
| March 15, 2005 |
The
New York Times, "Is
the Car Unsafe, or the Driver?" |
One
way of reading the new report by the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety is that the Mercedes
E-Class sedan has the safest design of any car
or truck and the two-door Chevrolet Blazer the
worst. Another way to read the report, to be
released Tuesday, is that E-Class drivers tend
to drive more carefully than Blazer drivers. More... |
| |
| March 9, 2005 |
San
Francisco Chronicle, "Couple
warns some Land Rover seats are dangerous" |
A
Danville, California couple plans to launch a
foundation warning drivers of what they consider
the danger of inward-facing "jump seats" in
some Land Rover SUVs after settling a lawsuit
with the company over the death of their 9-year-
old son, who was partly ejected in a rollover
crash. Joey Moore was wearing a lap belt in one
of the two third-row, fold-down seats in his
parents' 1995 Land Rover Discovery in the July
2001 crash on Highway 50 in El Dorado County. More... |
| |
| February 22, 2005 |
Crossvilee
Chronicle, Tennessee, "$7
million awarded in Ford Motor Co. lawsuit" |
A
Cumberland County record $7 million judgment
was returned by a jury in a product liability
lawsuit against Ford Motor Company filed by a
Morgan County woman who suffered permanent injury
in a 2002 traffic accident. The lawsuit centered
around a seat that Betty and Martin Potter claimed
broke during a crash and resulted in Betty Potter
suffering a broken back that has left her a paraplegic. More... |
| |
| January 26, 2005 |
Medical
News Today, "Study
Finds Long-term Treatment with Bosentan Improves
Outcomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" |
Pulmonary
arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating
disease that carries a poor prognosis. Untreated,
about half of patients die within two years.
Only recently have specific medicines for this
disease become available. While effective, the
first available therapy, epoprostenol, proved
difficult for patients to use because it is delivered
on a continuous intravenous basis rather than
in a pill form. More... |
| |
| January 12, 2005 |
The
Detroit News, "Automakers
find safety means sales - As new technology
becomes widespread, savvy consumers come
to expect it" |
Here's
another sign that times have definitely changed
for the auto industry: safety is selling. More... |
| |
| December 28, 2004 |
The
Washington Post, "A
Lethal Combination" |
The
many factors in the crash that killed 16-year-old
Lauren Sausville on Dec. 3 came together in a
split second, on a curve that would claim her
life. More... |
| |
| December 24, 2004 |
Daytona
Beach News-Journal, "Deltona
man warns of truck fires" |
A
Deltona man whose Ford pickup caught fire in
his garage, extensively damaging his home, is
warning others that it could happen to them,
too. More... |
| |
| December 17, 2004 |
BNational
Law Journal, "Lawsuits
Over Tire-Tread Separations Gain Momentum;
Tires 6 years and older, regardless of
mileage, are a danger, actions allege" |
Auto
accidents allegedly caused by tire-tread separations
are sparking lawsuits across the country, with
plaintiffs charging that tire manufacturers are
selling tires without warning consumers of the
potential risk when the tires get older. More... |
| |
| December 15, 2004 |
Tri-City
Herald, "Families
work to prevent van accidents" |
A
year ago today, two Prosser High School students,
Belen Campos and Corinne Bardessono, died when
a 15-passenger Ford van carrying them slid on
black ice on Highway 395 near Ritzville and rolled. More... |
| |
| December 13, 2004 |
The
National Law Journal, "Tire-tread
separations at center of lawsuits" |
Auto
accidents allegedly caused by tire-tread separations
are sparking lawsuits across the country, with
plaintiffs charging that tire manufacturers are
selling tires without warning consumers of the
potential risk when the tires get older. A handful
of cases have settled, and about 25 lawsuits
are currently pending in several states, including
California, Florida, North Carolina and Texas,
according to attorneys involved in tire litigation. More... |
| |
| October 28, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Study
Backs Systems to Aid Auto Stability" |
A
new study by the insurance industry says that
the stability systems available in some cars
and trucks can greatly reduce the likelihood
of an accident. The technology, which applies
brake pressure to help a driver maintain control
of the vehicle, was found to reduce the chances
of a fatal crash by 34 percent, according to
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. More... |
| |
| September 24, 2004 |
Detroit
Free Press, "U.S.
keeping crash data secret" |
Federal
auto safety officials are backtracking on a pledge
to give consumers access to detailed data on
which cars and trucks may be linked to deaths,
injuries and property damage. The reason: Tire
makers have sued to prevent its release. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) says it will hold off indefinitely on
releasing the information while the lawsuit by
the country's largest tire makers is argued and
decided, which could take months, if not years.
Consumer advocates have been clamoring for the
release of such data since the 2000 Ford-Firestone
rollover debacle. More... |
| |
| August 20, 2004 |
Religion
News Service, "Lawsuit
filed over van rollover deaths" |
The
estates of five young people killed in a single-vehicle
church van rollover accident last year have sued
Ford Motor Co. and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, claiming
Ford was negligent in manufacturing its Econoline
E-350 15-passenger van, and Enterprise knew the
vans were dangerous. More... |
| |
| August 17, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Safety
Gap Grows Wider Between S.U.V.'s and Cars" |
The
gap in safety between sport utility vehicles
and passenger cars last year was the widest yet
recorded, according to new federal traffic data.
People driving or riding in a sport utility vehicle
in 2003 were nearly 11 percent more likely to
die in an accident than people in cars, the figures
show. More... |
| |
| August 16, 2004 |
Detroit
News, "Feds
link injuries to weak roofs; Auto industry
will challenge new drive to toughen regulations" |
A
new federal study that could have major implications
in the growing debate over vehicle roof strength
found a strong link between fatalities and injuries,
and the severity of crushed roofs in rollover
accidents. Automakers have contended for years
that theres no solid evidence of a correlation
between roof strength and the likelihood of injury
and death in rollover accidents. More... |
| |
| August
12, 2004 |
Associated
Press, "Wyeth
Agrees to a Fen-Phen Pact" |
More
than 40,000 former fen-phen users who contend
the diet drugs caused minor heart-valve damage
would be compensated faster -- but get substantially
less money -- under a proposed deal to speed
review of less-serious cases in the protracted
litigation. More... |
| |
| August 11, 2004 |
The
Dallas Morning News, "Big
rigs, big risks on highways" |
The
truck had two bad brakes and a tired driver.
It carried a load of cars. And it slammed into
the back of an SUV carrying two young boys and
their fathers. One of the dads was a firefighter,
the other a state trooper whose job was to keep
bad rigs off the road. Everybody died. More... |
| |
| August
10, 2004 |
New
Jersey Law Journal, "New
Jersey Judge Readies First Batch of Fen-Phen
Lawsuits for Trial" |
Calling
the drug manufacturer's protests "overblown," a
Bergen County, N.J., judge last week consolidated
five fen-phen diet drug cases as the first of
5,800 to go to trial in New Jersey. More...
|
| |
| August 10, 2004 |
The
Wall Street Journal, "Safety
Data Give SUVs Poor Grade In Rollover Tests" |
More
than a third of the most popular 2004-model sport-utility
vehicles show a tendency to roll over, federal
car-safety regulators said yesterday, giving
auto makers another dent in their SUV lines. More...
|
| |
| August 9, 2004 |
The
Associated Press, "Lawmaker
calls for stronger guardrails on highways" |
A
lawmaker called for stronger guardrails along
Florida's highways Monday after a church bus
plunged into a canal and killed three children.
State Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, said highways
should be lined by barriers similar to those
used to keep airplanes on aircraft carriers. More... |
| |
| August 9, 2004 |
Associated
Press, "Government
releases new rating system for vehicle rollovers" |
The
government's traffic safety agency is expanding
its rollover rating system for cars and trucks.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's
old rollover ratings were based on height and
width as well as a test that includes a sharp
turn at up to 80 kph (50 mph) Five stars are
given to vehicles that roll over 10 percent of
the time or less, and one star to vehicles that
roll over between 40 and 50 percent of the time. More... |
| |
| August 7, 2004 |
Detroit
Free Press, "U.S.
regulators to gauge rollover risk; Vehicles
to be ranked good to bad" |
U.S.
safety regulators will begin predicting the probability
that a vehicle will roll over, cause of more
than half the fatalities for sport-utility vehicles. More... |
| |
| July 29, 2004 |
Philippine
Daily Inquirer, "A
Roof-Crush Lawsuit" |
Despite
multimillion-dollar lawsuits arising from rollover
accidents involving sport utility vehicles in
the United States, SUVs and pickup trucks continue
to outsell passenger cars. A series of lawsuits
have charged General Motors, Ford and other auto
manufacturers with failing to protect occupants
in rollovers of SUVs and pickups. More... |
| |
| July 28, 2004 |
Tri-City
Herald (Washington), "Large
vans focus of lawsuit" |
Tim
and Frances Bardessono couldn't help but notice
the large number of 15-passenger vans on the
road as the Prosser couple drove to Seattle.
Their daughter, Corinne Bardessono, 15, was killed
in December when the 15-passenger Ford van she
was riding in hit black ice on Highway 395 near
Ritzville and rolled. Belen Campos, 17, also
died in the accident. The two girls were classmates
at Prosser High School. More... |
| |
| July 27, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Suspension
Failure on Saturn SUV's in Rollover Tests
Prompts Inquiry" |
The
suspensions on two Saturn Vue sport utility vehicles
broke during rollover tests performed by the
government last month, causing the left rear
wheels of the vehicles to collapse. The suspension
failures occurred in separate tests of the two-
and four-wheel-drive versions of the Vue, which
is made by General Motors. More... |
| |
| July 22,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Wyeth,
Fen-Phen Lawyers Propose New Settlement" |
Former
fen-phen users seeking compensation for heart
problems under a national class-action settlement
would get payments sooner but would receive less
under a proposed new agreement between drug maker
Wyeth and claimants' attorneys. The new agreement
must be approved by a federal judge after some
details are ironed out over the next couple weeks. More... |
| |
| July 13,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Popcorn
worker's lawsuit claims lung damage" |
A
woman who worked at the Pop Secret microwave
popcorn plant in Iowa City has sued several
companies that manufacture butter flavoring,
claiming that inhaling the flavoring gave
her a rare lung disease. More...
|
|
| |
| July 9, 2004 |
The
Washington Post, "27
Fires Linked To Oil Changes In Honda CR-V" |
At
least 27 Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicles from
the 2003 and 2004 model years burst into flames
shortly after getting their first oil changes,
according to records provided to the federal
government by the manufacturer. While no injuries
were reported, many of the vehicles were destroyed,
usually with 10,000 miles or fewer on their odometers. More... |
| |
| June 30, 2004 |
Los
Angeles Times, "Power
window reforms sought in wake of deaths" |
At
least seven children nationwide have died since
March 30 from strangulation or asphyxiation after
their necks were caught by power windows. The
rash of deaths has prompted safety advocates
to increase pressure on Congress to enact measures
that would require vehicles to have safer power-window
switches. "We are devastated by these fatalities," says
Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars,
a consumer advocate group that has strenuously
pushed for tougher vehicle safety. "Congress
can stop children from being needlessly killed
by dangerous power windows." More... |
| |
| June 24, 2004 |
Washington
Post, "Car
Window Deaths Anger Safety Groups" |
At least seven children have died nationwide
in the past three months by getting strangled
in automobile power windows, prompting
safety advocates to charge the auto industry
and the government with dragging their
feet in making relatively simple changes
to reduce the danger. More...
|
| |
| June 17,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Lawsuits
could mount in popcorn factory lung problems" |
Several
lawsuits have followed a federal study that
found breathing problems among popcorn plant
workers exposed to butter flavoring, and lawyers
say more lawsuits may be on the way. Earlier
this year, a jury ordered the company that
makes the flavoring to pay a worker in Joplin,
Mo., $20 million in damages. Eric Peoples,
32, of Carthage, Mo., claimed he had developed
bronchial obliterans, more commonly called "popcorn
packer's lung." More...
|
| |
| June 16, 2004 |
Good
Morning America, "One
Wrong Move: Car Window Switches Can Be Deadly
for Children" |
Matthew
Chappell was serving in the Middle East with
the U.S. Air Force when he got the bad news.
His 4-year-old daughter was killed in an accident
involving a car. More... |
| |
| June 16, 2004 |
CNN
Money, "Behind
the rollover ratings: NHTSA's SUV rating
system doesn't say much" |
If
you're shopping for a new sport utility vehicle
and you want to buy one that's less likely to
roll over in a crash, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration's five-star rollover resistance
ratings can be helpful. More... |
| |
| June 13, 2004 |
Newsday (New
York), "GM's
Stabilitrak" |
General
Motors says the addition of its stability enhancement
system to 15-passenger vans is preventing accidents.
The assertions come at a time when the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration is restating
its warning of the rollover risk of 15-passenger
vans. More... |
| |
| June 10,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Worker
says breathing butter flavoring damaged lungs" |
A
worker at the Sioux City factory that makes Jolly
Time microwave popcorn has filed a lawsuit claiming
that butter flavoring he breathed on the job
damaged his lungs. Kevin Remmes, of Sioux City,
claimed that the manufacturers of the flavoring
didn't provide instructions for its handling
and use. The flavoring contains diacetyl, a chemical
linked to a rare respiratory disease known as
bronchiolitis obliterans, commonly known as popcorn
packer's lung. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2004 |
Reuters, "Ford
likely to hit speed bump with rollover suit" |
The
$369 million in damages slapped on Ford Motor
in an Explorer rollover case by plaintiff Benetta
Buell-Wilson last week may expose it to more
legal setbacks and highlight the automaker's
inability to put one of the worst crises in its
100-year history behind it, experts said. More...
|
| |
| June 8, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Some
Popular SUV's Fare Badly in Rollover Tests" |
The
rear-wheel-drive version of the Ford Explorer,
the nation's best-selling sport utility vehicle,
tipped up on two wheels during a rollover test
performed by the government, according to results
released Monday. The news comes less than a week
after a woman paralyzed in an Explorer rollover
accident won a $369 million judgment against
the Ford Motor Company. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2004 |
The
Detroit News, "Van
rollovers spark driver training, fixes; Churches,
schools abandon, modify 15-passenger vehicles" |
In
Metro Detroit and across the country, fears about
the stability and safety of 15-passenger vans
have prompted owners churches, child-care centers
and white-water rafting operators to rip out
seats, arrange special driver training and even
install dual rear wheels. Some owners have gone
a step further, trading in the vans for small
school buses and other vehicles. More... |
| |
| June 8, 2004 |
The
Daily News of Los Angeles, "Tire
Failure Leads to Two Fatal Crashes" |
Three
people from Tehachapi and Rosamond died in two
separate weekend crashes on Highway 58 after
tread came off tires on the vehicles in which
they were riding, officials said Monday. More... |
| |
| June 4, 2004 |
Daily
Journal, "Rollover
Case Yields Punitives of $246 Million" |
A San Diego, California jury added $246
million in punitive damages to the $122
million the panel had awarded in compensatory
damages to a woman paralyzed by a rollover
accident in her Ford Explorer. The plaintiff's
lawyers in the case said the verdict against
Ford Motor Co. was the first in which a
jury decided that poor design of the Explorer
caused injuries in rollover crashes. The
combined monetary award totaling $368 million
is the second-largest verdict against an
automaker. More...
|
| |
| June 3, 2004 |
Free
Press News Services, "Jury
orders Ford to pay $122 million" |
A
San Diego, California jury ordered Ford Motor
Co. to pay at least $122 million to a woman paralyzed
in an SUV rollover accident, the first setback
in a string of lawsuits involving the Ford Explorer,
the nation's best-selling sport-utility vehicle.
The final award could be much higher. The award
issued late Tuesday covered only compensatory
damages. The jury began deliberations Wednesday
on punitive damages. Ford said it will appeal. More... |
| |
| June 2, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Regulators
Question the Stability of Big Vans" |
Federal
regulators released a report yesterday
that raised new questions about the stability
of 15-passenger vans and how they are used.
The report comes two days after three members
of a Bronx church group were killed and
nine were injured in the rollover of a
large van at the Canadian border. More..
|
| |
| June 2,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Third
trial set this month in popcorn flavoring
lawsuits" |
The
third trial involving claims that butter flavoring
used at a popcorn factory caused disabling lung
injuries to workers is scheduled to begin later
this month. The lawsuits of four former employees,
and a spouse of one of the employees, have been
combined for a trial that is scheduled to begin
June 14. More... |
| |
| May 17,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Texas
judge affirms $1 billion award in diet drug
case" |
A
Texas judge has affirmed a jury's award of more
than $1 billion in damages against drug maker
Wyeth to the family of a woman who took Pondimin,
part of the now-banned weight-loss combination
fen-phen. A jury in Beaumont, Texas, granted
the award to the family of Cynthia Cappel-Coffey,
who died in 2003, a year after she was diagnosed
with primary pulmonary hypertension, a condition
her attorneys said resulted from taking the drug. More... |
| |
| May 5, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Few
SUVs Win Highest U.S. Safety Ratings" |
General
Motors' sport utility vehicles generally have
poor ratings in the government's frontal crash
tests but perform well in side-impact crashes,
according to results released Wednesday. The
2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Buick Rainier, GMC
Envoy, GMC Envoy XUV and Oldsmobile Bravada each
earned three out of five stars in the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's frontal
crash tests. But they earned five stars on the
side-impact tests. Three stars means there is
a 21 percent to 35 percent chance of serious
injury in a similar real-world crash. NHTSA conducts
the front-impact test at 35 mph and the side-impact
test at 38.5 mph. More... |
| |
| May 4, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "In
Door Safety Cases, Ford Settles and a Mother
Struggles" |
Deborah
Seliner says she does not remember the accident,
just one moment when she was driving her used
1997 Ford pickup along Highway 6 near College
Station and the next moment when she was in the
dark carrying on a conversation with someone
she decided was God. She was begging him, "God,
please, if that is you, let me live for my babies." Her
truck, she found later, had blown a rear tire,
sending her off the road onto a grassy divider.
The truck rolled over, ejecting her, even though
she had apparently been wearing a seat belt,
through the open driver's side door and hurling
her 20 yards onto the pavement.
More... |
| |
| May 1,
2004 |
Associated
Press, "Settlement
is reached in popcorn plant trial" |
Attorneys
announced a confidential settlement Friday just
moments before a jury was set to announce a verdict
in the second of a series of suits from people
who claim a butter flavoring used at the popcorn
factory where they worked caused disabling lung
injuries. Details of the settlement were not
disclosed, but the attorney for sick worker Linda
Redman said he was pleased. More... |
| |
| April
28, 2004 |
The
New York Times, "Texas
Jury Rules Against the Maker of Fen-Phen,
a Diet Drug" |
A
jury in a state court in Beaumont, Tex., ruled
yesterday that the pharmaceutical company Wyeth
should pay $1 billion to the family of a woman
who died from lung disease that the plaintiff's
lawyers said was caused by a diet drug the company
made in the 1990's. More... |
| |
| April
28, 2004 |
The
Associated Press, "Family
Awarded $1 Billion in Diet Drug Case" |
A
jury awarded $1 billion to the family of a
woman who once took the Wyeth-made diet drug
Pondimin, part of the now-banned weight-loss
combination fen-phen. The New Jersey-based
drug company said Tuesday it would appeal the
jury's huge award, which included $900 million
in punitive damages. More...
|
| |
| April
13, 2004 |
Monterey
County Herald, "Danger
for Popcorn Workers; Health Workers Try to
Determine Extent of Illnesses" |
"We
know that butter flavorings are very widely used," said
Dr. Gregory Wagner, director of the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Healths
Division of Respiratory Disease Studies. "What
we don't know is how much injury has occurred." More... |
| |
| April
12, 2004 |
Times-News (Twin
Falls, Idaho), "Slender
at a price... Diet Drugs Users Seek Compensation
for Heart Damage" |
On
July 8, 1997, the Food and Drug Administration
issued a public health advisory that revealed
some unnerving findings at the Mayo Clinic. Twenty-four
of the clinic's patients had developed heart
valve disease after taking Fen-Phen. Five of
them ended up in open-heart surgery, and eight
more ended up developing pulmonary hypertension,
a sometimes fatal disease of the heart and lungs. More... |
| |
| April 11, 2004 |
The
Detroit News, "Thousands
killed, hurt as auto roofs collapse" |
Penny
Shipler remembers the Chevrolet Blazer rolling
over and over, then the sound of the roof crashing
down over her head. When it finally stopped,
she tried to move. "I was thinking get out,
I had to get out," she said. "I thought
I was getting out." But the Nebraska woman
was paralyzed, her spinal cord crushed on impact
with the metal roof that caved in around her. More... |
| |
| April
11, 2004 |
Patient
Care Law Weekly, "Popcorn
worker awarded $20 million in lawsuit over
lung damage" |
Eric
Peoples cradled his wife and wept after a jury
agreed that vapors from butter flavoring at the
microwave popcorn factory where he once worked
had permanently ruined his lungs. Peoples said
his tears didn't only come out of satisfaction
with the $20 million verdict. He also was thinking
of the 29 other former workers at the Gilster-Mary
Lee plant in Jasper who have cases pending against
the same butter-flavoring manufacturers. More... |
| |
| April 10, 2004 |
New
York Times, "Viagra
may get a role as a lung medication" |
Viagra
is only one of several drugs approved or being
developed for the lung disease. Some doctors
and insurance companies say that it has not been
proven effective in rigorous clinical trials,
whereas other drugs have. Pulmonary hypertension
patients use the drug every day and in higher
doses than men who use it before sex, they say,
potentially raising new risks. More...
|
| |
April
10, 2004 |
The
Tribune (Port St. Lucie/Fort
Pierce, FL), "Ohio
man's lungs crippled by vapors at popcorn
plant, doctors say" |
A
coughing fit jerks Keith Campbell's body tight,
as if he's being strangled by invisible demons.
When the spasm passes, he leans his head back
into his worn orange recliner and closes his
eyes to let the dizziness pass. More... |
| |
April
4, 2004 |
|
In
1989, a co-worker's grief thrust Tab Turner
into an area of trial law that changed his
career. An attorney with Friday Eldredge & Clark
in Little Rock, Turner was handed the case
of Kelly Klemestrud of Memphis, brother of
an employee at the law firm. Klemestrud suffered
brain damage when his Ford Bronco II rolled
over. Turner, 30 years old at the time, refused
Ford's initial offer of a $100,000 settlement. More...
|
| |
| April
4, 2004 |
Medical
Letter from the CDC & FDA, "EPA
examines link between microwave popcorn and
lung disease" |
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
studying the chemicals released into the air
when a bag of microwave popcorn is popped or
opened. Exposure to vapors from butter flavoring
in microwave popcorn has been linked to a rare
lung disease contracted by factory workers in
Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
has said it suspects the chemical diacetyl caused
the illnesses. More... |
| |
| April
4, 2004 |
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), "Snack
Food: Is It Hurting Workers Who Make It?" |
WHAT'S
KNOWN: Vapors from butter flavoring used in microwave
popcorn put factory workers at risk for developing
lung disease.
WHAT'S FEARED: These dangers could also affect workers who make candy,
snack cakes and potato chips that use the flavoring. More... |
| |
March
23, 2004 |
|
A
federal jury awarded $52 million in damages
Friday to the family of a young Nevada boy
who was killed nearly 10 years ago when a Ford
pickup truck rolled over him because of a defective
parking brake. More...
|
| |
March
4, 2004 |
|
A
jury on Thursday awarded $12.5 million to the
family of three people who burned to death
when the fuel tank of their Ford F150 pickup
truck exploded in flames after a collision.
The Jackson County, Missouri jury deliberated
for five hours before returning its verdict
against Ford Motor Co., which the lawsuit claimed
had failed to shield the fuel tank properly,
and Pennsylvania trucking company Sher Express. More...
|
| |
| February 9, 2004 |
CBS
News, "Firestone
Tires Under Fire Again" |
William
Robbins survived not one, but two accidents where
his Firestone Steeltex tires exploded out of
the blue. "Looks like a hand grenade went
off inside of it," says Robbins. More... |
| |
February
5, 2004 |
|
A
Ford Explorer Sport Trac, a small SUV, earned
the lowest score among 28 vehicles in the first
group to be rated for their rollover propensity
using a new track test. More...
|
| |
February
5, 2004 |
|
For
the first time, some truck-based sport utility
vehicles received as many as four out of five
stars in rollover ratings, according to 2004
model ratings released yesterday by federal
regulators. But the higher ratings may not
necessarily mean the vehicles have become safer,
because the government has changed the way
it tests them. More...
|
| |
February
5, 2004 |
|
The
Ford Explorer Sport Trac got the worst rating
among 14 vehicles subjected to a new government
safety test designed to predict the likelihood
of a rollover during a sharp turn. The federal
auto-safety agency, which announced the ratings
Wednesday, uses a system in which five stars
is the best score and means the likelihood
of rollover is less than 10 percent. More...
|
| |
February
1, 2004 |
|
The
Ford Explorer has been the target of hundreds
of product liability lawsuits, but Ford Motor
Co. successfully has defended the popular sport
|