First Quarter 2002 Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles

University Wire (Kansas State Collegian), "Ingredients in Weight-Loss Pills Have Dangerous Effects"

          With spring break approaching, many college students are scrambling to shed those holiday pounds. Some make a mad dash to the gym, while others might choose to lose weight in a more passive way: diet pills. The use of products such as Dexatrim and Metabolife is tempting. Just pop a pill and watch the pounds melt away, right? Remember Fen-Phen? About six years ago, it was the latest miracle pill concerning weight loss. Its use led to fatal heart valve damage in many cases. More...

The Associated Press, "$3.75B Fen-Phen Settlement Now Final, But Claims Can Still Be Made"

          A $3.75 billion settlement for thousands of people who took the recalled fen-phen diet drug combination is now final because no one challenged it by last week's deadline, drug maker American Home Products said. Until January 2, 2002, plaintiffs or their health insurers could have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the settlement, which currently includes about 295,000 people. No one did so. More...

The Baltimore Sun, "Court Date Scheduled in Maryland Diet Drug Suit; Woman Says Fen-Phen Damaged Her Heart"

          When Valerie Wright learned about a weight loss drug from a friend in her car pool, she decided to try it. Wright, a mother of three from Charles County, Maryland, lost 20 pounds when she took fen-phen for six months before it was taken off the market in 1997. But she also lost her energy and developed a heart condition that will one day force her to have heart surgery, she says. More...