Second Quarter 2005 Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles

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...

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...

Associated Press, "Merck tried to alter Vioxx in 2000; Drug maker wanted to reduce heart risks, internal document shows"

          Merck & Co. researchers privately sought to reformulate Vioxx in 2000 to reduce its cardiovascular side effects, even as the drug maker was publicly playing down a study that highlighted the pain reliever's potential heart attack risk, an internal company document shows. More...

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...

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...

Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Widow crusades against maker of Zoloft"

          Kimberly Witczak is curently in federal court challenging Pfizer Inc., the maker of Zoloft and the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world. More...

Associated Press, "Patients call doctors after Guidant recall"

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Reuters Health, "Lindane Poisoning Can Cause Severe Illness"

Lindane, a lotion used to treat lice, can cause vomiting and seizures if accidentally swallowed, investigators report. Because of its poisonous nature, More...

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...

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...

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...

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. More...

Inside Bay Area.com, "Welders sue over toxic exposure; Workers claim contractor should have known about manganese health hazards"

          Dozens of welders who worked on the Bay Bridge's new eastern span have sued their employer and the makers of materials they used, claiming they've developed serious illnesses from exposure to manganese fumes and other toxins. More...

The Argus (California), "Bay Bridge welders sue, claim exposure to toxins"

          Dozens of welders who worked on the Bay Bridge's new eastern span have sued their employer and the makers of materials they used, claiming they've developed serious illnesses from exposure to manganese fumes and other toxins. More...

Associated Press, "Antidepressants in pregnancy can affect babies; Study: Newborns at increased risk for drug-related symptoms"

          Women who take Prozac or certain other antidepressants late in pregnancy raise the risk that their babies will suffer jitteriness, irritability and serious respiratory problems during their first couple of weeks, researchers say. More...

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...

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...

Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska), "Pills prescribed by psychiatrists have triggered safety concerns"

          Studies suggest that antidepressants, such as Paxil, and strong acne medications, such as Accutane, can heighten a teenager's chance of attempting suicide. More...

Associated Press, "Panel backs bill permitting more Vioxx lawsuits"

          More Vioxx users who were allegedly injured by the drug will be able to sue the manufacturer under a bill passed by a Senate panel on Monday. More...

Inter News Serive, "Toxic Lice Treatment Under Scrutiny"

A group of experts will study the effects on human health of four toxic chemicals including the widely used lice treatment lindane to consider their potential inclusion on a list of products banned under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants POPs More...

San Jose Mercury News, "Drug warnings worry parents"

          When your child is being treated for severe depression, the last thing you want to hear is that their medication might make them suicidal. More...

The Boston Globe, "Merck told sellers to avoid talk of Vioxx heart risks; Lawmakers blast drug makers tactics"

          Merck & Co. trained an army of employees visiting doctors' offices to avoid discussing negative studies about Vioxx despite mounting evidence that the arthritis painkiller caused heart attacks and strokes, according to company documents released yesterday at a congressional hearing. More...

The Associated Press, "Vioxx aggressively marketed despite concerns; Merck used code-named projects to boost sales, report finds"

          Merck & Co. sales personnel, using projects code-named "Offense" and "XXceleration," took extensive measures to boost sales of the painkiller Vioxx amid brewing safety concerns. More...

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...

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...

Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), "Even babies getting treated as mentally ill; Prescriptions on the rise even though they haven't been tested on children"

         There's no doubt that mental-health drugs can help troubled youngsters, whether they're on the government insurance program for the poor or not. More...

The New York Times, "Vioxx Trials May Clear Up Merck Picture"

          The financial future of Merck & Co. should start to become clearer in the coming weeks as the first of what promises to be hundreds of trials begins over claims that the drug maker's Vioxx pain medication contributed to patient' death or disability. More...

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...

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...

The Wakefield Observer (Massachusetts), Lawmakers unveil carbon monoxide legislation

          In response to the death of 7-year-old Massachusetts resident Nicole Garofalo, lawmaker's recently unveiled legislation that will require every resident to have a carbon monoxide detector in their home. More...

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.

The New York Times, "Lawyers Set To Bring More Suits"

          The government's decision to force Pfizer to withdraw the pain drug Bextra and add warnings to the label of a similar drug, Celebrex, has galvanized the informal network of lawyers pursuing death and injury suits aimed at the two drugs and their chemical relative, Vioxx. More...

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...

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...

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...