Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles First Quarter 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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Plaintiff lawyers find hope in welding-lawsuit ruling"

          Lawyers who are suing Lincoln Electric Co. and other firms for damages relating to illnesses allegedly caused by welding fumes say a Cleveland judge's latest ruling will allow their claims to go forward. More...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

NorthJersey.com, "Prenatal Exposure to Antidepressants Linked to Birth Defects"

          Prenatal exposure to antidepressants has been linked to feeding problems, seizures, heart disorders and birth defects in newborns. More...

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...

TimesOnline (UK), "Prozac and the unborn baby; Pregnant women on antidepressants face a difficult decision"

        For a fifth of all pregnant women on antidepressants there is the added concern about the risk their medication poses to their unborn child. Experts agree that a severely depressed mother can be a greater risk to her unborn child than antidepressants, as she might fail to eat properly or engage in harmful behaviour. Indeed, babies of very depressed mothers can have lower birth weights and more pre-term complications. More...

New York Times, "Guidant Reparation Is Criticized"

          Guidant Corp.'s program to pay $2,500 to patients to replace a heart device that has had malfunctions is nowhere near sufficient to cover costs of the procedure, say plaintiff attorneys who are in consolidated litigation with the company. More...

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...

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...

NewsInferno.com, "SSRI Antidepressants Linked to Serious Lung Disorder in Newborns"

          Last week a study published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reported that nearly a third of infants born to women taking anti-depressants suggesting that expectant mothers may want to consider limiting the use of these powerful drugs during pregnancy. More...

RxPG News, "SSRIs linked with increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns"

          A University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine collaborative study with Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center found an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) in newborns of mothers who used certain commonly prescribed antidepressants in late pregnancy. More...

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....

Associated Press, "Journal Article a Wild Card in Vioxx Trial"

          A top medical journal's criticism of a study cited in Vioxx lawsuits is expected to play a part in the retrial of the first federal Vioxx lawsuit — but it's not clear if it will be a legal hand grenade or a nuclear warhead. More...

CBS News.com, "Antidepressants During Pregnancy"

          Two new studies have linked the use of Prozac and other similar antidepressants during pregnancy to a higher risk of complications, such as serious respiratory disease, in newborns. More...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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....

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...

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...

         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...

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...

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...