Third Quarter 2005 Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles

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...

Reuters, "Strattera to carry suicide warning for children"

          The Food and Drug Administration Thursday advised doctors and care givers to monitor children and adolescents being treated with Eli Lilly and Co.’s Strattera drug for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. More...

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...

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...

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...

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...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Vioxx Judge Reprimands Merck Lawyer"

          The judge hearing a product liability suit against Merck & Co., the manufacturer of painkiller Vioxx, reprimanded the drug maker's lead lawyer Thursday for violating pretrial instructions barring comments about lawyers in front of the jury. More...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Second Trial Underway Against Vioxx Maker"

          A lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack told jurors Wednesday that the man had an active lifestyle but was stricken within two months of beginning to take the painkiller. More...

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...

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...

New Jersey Law Journal, "Class Action Could Mean Billion-Dollar Exposure for Merck"

          After Merck & Co.'s devastating loss in Texas several weeks ago in the first Vioxx case to go to a jury, the nation's eyes now turn to Atlantic City, where New Jersey's first case is set for trial on Sept. 12. More...

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...

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...

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...

The New York Times, "Maker of Vioxx Reports Progress of Suits"

          With the number of Vioxx-related lawsuits soaring, the drug maker Merck may consider offering settlements to plaintiffs in a few cases, the company's general counsel suggested yesterday. More...

The Associated Press, "Vioxx Case Tally Nearly 5,000 and Growing, Lawyers Say"

          The tally of lawsuits against Merck & Co. in state and federal court over its painkiller Vioxx is nearly 5,000 and growing, lawyers said in federal court Thursday, less than a week after the drug maker suffered a stinging defeat in a state court in Texas. More...

International Herald Tribune, "For Merck, Global Legal Woes"

          Patients worldwide who suffered heart attacks or strokes while taking the painkiller Vioxx are preparing to sue its maker, Merck, exponentially increasing the company's potential liability. More...

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...

The Associated Press, "Documents: Merck Tried Reducing Vioxx Risk"

          Merck & Co. sought patent protection for a way to reduce cardiovascular problems in Cox-2 inhibitors, the class of drugs that includes Vioxx, as early as 1998 -- a year before the popular pain killer was introduced, newly disclosed documents show. More...

Bloomberg, "Glaxo's Paxil Antidepressant Linked to Suicide, Researcher Says"

          GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Paxil antidepressant is linked to a higher risk of suicide attempts in adults, according to a review of 16 studies by researchers in Norway and published in BMC Medicine journal. More...

The New York Times, "Jury Finds Merck Liable in Vioxx Death and Awards $253 Million"

          In the first verdict of a Vioxx-related personal-injury lawsuit, a Texas jury found the drug's maker, Merck, liable and awarded $253.5 million to the widow of Robert Ernst, who died in 2001 after taking the painkiller and arthritis medicine. More...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Jury to Begin Deliberating in Vioxx Trial"

          Deliberations await jurors who have heard more than a month of often complex testimony about Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx and whether it led to the 2001 death of a Texas man. More...

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...

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...

Los Angeles Times, "Pathologist Deals Blow to Merck in Vioxx Lawsuit"

          Jurors in the Vioxx trial heard testimony Monday from a pathologist who said the death of a man taking the drug was more than likely caused by a heart attack - damaging Merck & Co.'s defense in the first Vioxx liability case to reach trial. More...

National Law Journal, "Silica case seen as breakthrough"

          Lawyers who defend mass torts hope to build on momentum they picked up since a federal judge in Texas confirmed their belief that something is rotten in the state of medical screening in these cases. More...

San Francisco Daily Journal, "Welders Sue Employers Over Health Damage From Manganese"

          Southern California became the latest battleground this week in a nationwide fight over manganese, a mineral used in welding that plaintiffs claim causes severe neurological damage with prolonged exposure. More...

Business Wire (Press Release), "18 Southern California Welders File Mass Tort Lawsuits for Injuries Caused by Exposure to Welding Fumes"

          Eighteen welding rod workers filed a mass tort lawsuit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against Airco Inc., Caterpillar, Inc., More...

United Press International, "Welding-disease link testimony allowed"

          Plaintiffs in lawsuits against welding companies will be able to raise the possibility welding fumes can cause Parkinson's disease, a report said. More....

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...

New York Times, "Judge Denies Merck Request at Vioxx Trial"

          A state court judge ruled Thursday night that the coroner who conducted the autopsy of Robert Ernst, who died after taking the painkiller Vioxx, can testify in the lawsuit that Mr. Ernst's widow has brought against Merck, the maker of the drug. More...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Texas Coroner Deposed in Vioxx Trial"

          Lawyers on both sides of the nation's first Vioxx-related civil trial on Tuesday deposed the coroner who autopsied a man who died of an irregular heartbeat eight months after beginning a regimen of Vioxx. More...

New York Times, "Cardiologist Testifies Vioxx Contributed to Man's Death"

          The painkiller Vioxx probably led to the death of Robert Ernst, a cardiologist told jurors on Monday in the first Vioxx lawsuit to reach trial. "I think to a reasonable medical probability Vioxx was a significant contributing factor in causing this event," said Dr. Isaac Wiener, an expert witness called by the plaintiffs in the case. More...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Associated Press, "Man Awarded $2.7 million for Popcorn Plant Injuries"

          A former popcorn plant worker who claimed his respiratory illness was the result of a harmful chemical used to make butter flavoring has been awarded about $2.7 million in damages. More...

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...

Associated Press, "Merck failed to test safety of Vioxx on heart; No studies conducted before drug went on market, company official says"

          Merck & Co. didn't do any significant studies on whether Vioxx could cause heart attacks or other serious cardiovascular problems before the popular painkiller went on the market in 1999, the company's top epidemiologist testified Wednesday. More...

The New York Times, "At Vioxx Trial, a Discrepancy Appears to Undercut Merck's Defense"

          In a 2001 letter to doctors, Merck seriously understated the heart risks faced by patients taking its painkiller Vioxx, according to evidence presented Tuesday in the first Vioxx lawsuit to reach trial. More...

Associated Press, "Testimony Begins in Vioxx Case; Merck scientist takes the stand -- plaintiffs' lawyers say the firm downplayed safety concerns"

          Merck & Co.'s top epidemiologist took some verbal punches Monday as the plaintiffs' lawyer in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial said the company downplayed concerns about the drug's safety for years before taking it off the market in 2004. More...

Associated Press, "Did Merck target doctors critical of Vioxx? Plaintiff's lawyer alleges company circulated list of 'physicians to neutralize'"

          Merck & Co.'s marketing team targeted doctors viewed as unfriendly toward Vioxx to bring them into the fold, neutralize or discredit them, the plaintiff's lawyer in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial alleged Tuesday. More...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

CNN, "A lot at stake for Merck in Vioxx suits;
First trial set to start in Texas; analyst says liabilities could hit $25 billion for drugmaker."

          The first Vioxx lawsuit against Merck & Co. begins Monday in a Texas state courtroom and the implications could be huge for the embattled drugmaker. More...

Associated Press, "Jury Selection Begins in First Vioxx Trial"

          About 120 potential jurors filled out questionnaires Monday as jury selection began in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial. More...

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...

Associated Press, "Judge Denies Request for Delay in Vioxx Trial"

          A judge on Tuesday declined to postpone the first wrongful-death trial related to the painkiller Vioxx but said he would check questionnaires filled out by potential jurors for evidence that they were biased by pretrial publicity. More...

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...

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...

Newsday, Detection: It's the law -- Getting guidance; New York City residences now must be protected against carbon monoxide

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...