http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/ Published by Pogust Braslow & Millrood en Copyright 2012 Wed, 09 May 2012 16:40:25 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss We will soon know how juries feel about the conduct of the manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices. The first case is set to go forward this November 2012 against Johnson & Johnson - Ethicon division over claims that its Gynecare Prolift injured women. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee will be presiding over this trial.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/update_on_pelvic_mesh_trials.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/update_on_pelvic_mesh_trials.html Medical Devices Wed, 09 May 2012 16:40:25 -0500 The Yaz story does not end with Yaz. As most Yaz users have recently learned, there is a significantly increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes when taking Yaz compared to other birth control pills. What some users may not be aware of though – is that Beyaz is basically the same drug with identical risks.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/as_yaz_goes_so_does_beyaz.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/as_yaz_goes_so_does_beyaz.html Adverse Drug Update Wed, 09 May 2012 13:58:29 -0500 A Philadelphia doctor is voicing concerns about a serious health risk posed by a class of blood pressure medications known as ACE inhibitors.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/ace_inhibitors_and_serious_swe.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/ace_inhibitors_and_serious_swe.html Adverse Drug Update Tue, 01 May 2012 14:16:09 -0500 Pradaxa is another example of a new drug gone bad. Marketed as the latest and most improved version of anti-clotting medications, it turns out to be much riskier that well-established drugs already on the market. Since 2010, Pradaxa has been prescribed by physicians to prevent stokes, particularly in elderly people who have an irregular heartbeat. A devastating acknowledgment, however, by the German manufacturer of Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim, notes that hundreds of deaths since 2010 may be the result of uncontrollable internal bleeding caused by Pradaxa.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/pradaxa_and_uncontrollable_ble.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/pradaxa_and_uncontrollable_ble.html Adverse Drug Update Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:09:01 -0500 The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has created a new MDL for Wright Medical “Conserve” hip implant cases in the United States District Court of Georgia for the Northern District. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that more than 200 Wright patients have reported adverse events associated with the Wright Conserve system hip implants. Further, the defects alleged in the Wright Conserve hip are similar to those alleged in the DePuy ASR Device, which has a pending MDL in the Northern District of Ohio.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/wrights_conserve_hips_may_be_l.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/wrights_conserve_hips_may_be_l.html Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:22:32 -0500 Transvaginal mesh or slings are common devices used to help women cope with pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. One of the more popular devices is the Novasilk mesh, manufactured by Coloplast. The Novasilk mesh is a transvaginal mesh used to help correct pelvic organ prolapse by reinforcing the weakened tissue and stabilizing the vaginal wall. Introduced to the market in 2005, Novasilk was not required to undergo testing based on its similarity to an already approved device by the FDA. Novasilk is a synthetic mesh made of polypropylene, a lightweight material that is less stiff than previous mesh designs. Similar to other mesh products, this product also does not come without the dangerous risks of erosion and exposure.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/coloplasts_novasilk_mesh_and_m.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/coloplasts_novasilk_mesh_and_m.html Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:57:22 -0500 Plavix is prescribed by physicians in order to reduce the risk of a new heart attack or stroke in patients who have a recent history of heart attack or stroke. Plavix and aspirin are both used to reduce the amount of platelets in the blood, which can clump together to form blood clots. These blood clots can cut off supply of blood to the heart or brain, causing a stroke or heart attack. Real questions remain, however, as to whether aspirin is just as effective as and safer than Plavix and aspirin used together.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/02/plavix_vs_aspirin_alone_is_the.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/02/plavix_vs_aspirin_alone_is_the.html Adverse Drug Update Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:56:19 -0500 New technology is supposed to be better than the old, but what happens if the new proves not only to be more expensive, but can show no real advancement prior to the older versions? Technology is an advancing arena but, with artificial hip and knee replacements, it is proving to not be the case.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/knee_and_hip_implants_new_not.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/knee_and_hip_implants_new_not.html Medical Devices Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:19:11 -0500 The ability to move around without pain is something most of us don’t think about, so when patients undergo knee replacement surgery they believe their pain will go away. However, if the patients are still experience pain it could be the result of a fracture, if the replacement was a Smith and Nephew-Journey knee.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/possibility_of_smith_nephew_jo.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/possibility_of_smith_nephew_jo.html Medical Devices Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:56:50 -0500 The Ortho Evra Patch provides women with a simple solution for their birth control needs. A patch applied to the skin once a month is more convenient than a pill taken every day. As with most medicines today, there are always side effects to go along with the benefits of taking a certain drug. But at what point do the risks start to outweigh the benefits and conveniences of taking it? Most hormone based contraceptives increase your risk for developing blood clots, but the risk is three times greater with the Ortho Evra Patch. This increased risk comes from higher levels of estrogen as well as the constant dosage of estrogen found in the Ortho Evra Patch but not the pill.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/ortho_evra_patch_is_it_worth_t.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/ortho_evra_patch_is_it_worth_t.html Adverse Drug Update Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:49:43 -0500 Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) are not easy subjects for women to talk about. SUI and POP are often the outcomes of weakening muscle tension caused by age or child birth. Stress urinary incontinence is triggered by the weakening of the pelvic muscles, and it can lead an involuntary loss of urine that results from physical activity. Pelvic Organ Prolapse is a condition where a pelvic organ drops and the bulges against the walls of the vagina often protruding outside the vagina.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/fda_orders_more_trials_for_vag.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/fda_orders_more_trials_for_vag.html Medical Devices Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:43:41 -0500 Yet another appellate court has condemned drug-maker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals for its conduct in failing to study and failing to warn about the breast cancer risk associated with its hormone therapy drugs.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/appellate_court_reinstates_hor.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2012/01/appellate_court_reinstates_hor.html Adverse Drug Update Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:52:57 -0500 Proton Pump Inhibitor Drugs (PPIs) like Nexium and Prilosec are among the most popular drugs in the world but perhaps they may be the most dangerous when taken over the long-term. I have written about the risks of this class of drugs multiple times in prior blogs (see blogs regarding dependency, bone fractures, infections, among others) but I believe it is necessary at this point to support Public Citizen's petition with the FDA to finally put a Black Box warning on these drugs. see www.citizen.org/petition-asking-fda-to-add-warnings-to ppis.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/12/the_dangers_of_proton_pump_inh.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/12/the_dangers_of_proton_pump_inh.html Adverse Drug Update Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:23:26 -0500 Doctors have been prescribing Fosamax for years to prevent bone loss. And last year, for the first time, the FDA required manufacturers of bisphosphonates, including Fosamax, to warn about the fact these drugs can cause a serious bone fracture. Ironically, the drug causes the very indication that the drug was supposed to prevent. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen drugs cause the very problems that they were prescribed to protect against. We had seen this before with antidepressant drugs that were supposed to prevent suicide but actually caused it.
The FDA’s action was apparently prompted by a study of more than 300 women who had suffered leg fractures while taking these drugs. And earlier this year, the FDA mandated that manufacturers of bisphosphonates include language in their labels stating that the optimal duration for patient use has not yet been determined.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/11/ironically_the_osteoporosis_dr.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/11/ironically_the_osteoporosis_dr.html Adverse Drug Update Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:07:34 -0500 Last December, Ortho McNeil-Janssen Pharmacetuicals added new labeling to its blockbuster antibiotic Levaquin. This updated black box warning, states that "Fluoroquinolones, including Levaquin, may exacerbate muscle weakness in persons with myasthenia gravis," a neuromuscular disorder. Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones have neuromuscular blocking activity and have been linked to serious adverse events in patients with myasthenia gravis, including ventilatory support and deaths. This warning is in addition to the July 2008 Black Box warning concerning the increased risk of tendonitis and tendon rupture.

]]> http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/08/more_warnings_for_levaquin_may_1.html http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2011/08/more_warnings_for_levaquin_may_1.html Adverse Drug Update Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:09:15 -0500