North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

A 23-year-old man who is now a quadriplegic has filed a dangerous drug lawsuit against the makers of Rituxan. The defendants of this products liability complaint are Biogen Idec. and Genentech Inc.

Jesse Peetz started taking the immunosuppressant in 2003 to treat thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura, an autoimmune disorder that he had been suffering from since he was 11. He contends that he was unaware that the drug would make him susceptible to developing untreatable infections. He developed a near-deadly infection in 2005 that resulted in his loss of motor function.

In his dangerous drug complaint, Peetz is accusing the defendants of failing until 2007 to warn users about the risks associated with taking the immunosuppressant. He contends that in 2003, defendants began marketing Rituxan for off-label use to treat the condition that Peetz was suffering from. Off-label means that the Food and Drug Administration had not approved this particular use for the suppressant. In 2007, BIogen Idec and Genentech finally put out a warning that use of the drug could lead to untreatable viral infections, catastrophic injury, and death.

Rituxan is FDA-approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The powerful drug gets rid of mature circulating B-cells for close to nine months, which can allow for the deadly viruses. Rituxan has also been linked to several cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a deadly brain and nervous system viral infection.

Peetz took Rituxan for two years before he developed the dangerous viral inflection. Now, he depends heavily on a ventilator.

Charlotte, North Carolina Dangerous Drug Lawsuit
Just because you or your loved one took a drug prescribed by a doctor and made by a pharmaceutical company doesn’t mean that the medication is good for you. Unfortunately, dangerous drugs continue to make it out into the marketplace, posing a serious danger to people. Drug manufacturers must be held accountable for their negligence in making and designing a drug that can hurt or kill you.

Neb. man sues makers of Rituxan after infection, WTOP/AP, August 11, 2010

Lawsuit Says Rituxan Left Man A Quadriplegic, Drug Discovery and Development, August 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Rituxan

Genentech Inc.

Biogen Idec.

Edward Karkoska’s dangerous drug lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Levaquin, will go to trial, ruled a federal judge—despite efforts by the manufacturer and subsidiary Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc. to have the case dismissed. Karkoska maintains that if there had been more information available about the side effects linked to the antibiotic, his doctor would have prescribed a different medication.

Karkoska is not the only person to sue Johnson & Johnson over claims of injuries sustained from taking Levaquin. He is also not the first to claim that he ruptured his tendon because of the drug. The plaintiffs have contended that if the drug manufacturer had taken greater pains to let people know about the dangerous side effects that could result from taking Levaquin, their injuries would not have happened.

Levaquin
Levaquin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1996. The drug is used to prevent bacterial infections of the kidneys, skin, bladder, sinuses, prostate, as well as infections related to pneumonia and bronchitis. Over the years, evidence has mounted that the medication can also damage the body’s tendons. A black box warning was issued for the antibiotic in 2008, yet many doctors are still not aware that ruptured tendons is a possible side effect.

Other serious Levaquin side effects:
• Diarrhea
• Seizures
• Dizziness
• Joint pain or swelling
• Dark urine
• Yellow or pale skin
• Easy bleeding or bruising
• Skin rash
• Fever

Our Charlotte, North Carolina dangerous drug lawyers are committed to fighting for our clients’ right to injury recovery from a negligent drug manufacturer. Unfortunately, even medications that have been FDA-approved can be dangerous to ingest.

Levaquin Lawsuit Proceeds To Trial Over Ruptured Tendons, DrugAlert.org, August 6, 2010

Levaquin, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:
Read Pretrial Order #4 (PDF)

US Food and Drug Administration

Continue reading "Dangerous Drug Lawsuit Involving Levaquin and Ruptured Tendons Will Go to Trial" »

A jury has ordered Allergan to pay a woman $15 million for the personal injuries she sustained from using Botox. The plaintiff, Dr. Sharla Helton, claims that she suffered botulism poisoning after she received Botox injections in 2006 to get rid of her wrinkles.

Jury members found that Allergan was negligent in its labeling of the Botox injections, which, at the time, did not warn that botulism might be a possible side effect. The 48-year-old gynecologist and obstetrician says that because of her health issues she was forced to resign as Lakeside Women's Hospital’s medical director. She also had to sell her medical practice.

The verdict comes just three months after another jury ruled in Allergan’s favor in the Botox lawsuit filed by a woman seeking products liability compensation for her daughter’s wrongful death in 2007. Kristen Spears received Botox injections to treat her cerebral palsy, but Allergan’s legal team argued that she died from cerebral palsy complications and not from the drug. The jury in that case found that Allergan had provided adequate warning about the possible risks that could arise from using Botox.

Life-threatening side effects from receiving Botox treatments can include heart attacks, serious allergic reaction, arrhythmia, respiratory depression, and botulism poisoning. That said, Helton’s dangerous drug attorneys claim that there are many people out there who don’t realize that the reason they fell ill was because they were injected with Botox.

Botox is now approved for cosmetic use and for treating certain medical conditions, such as strabismus, cervical dystonia, blepharospasms, and hyperhidrosis.

Oklahoma County jury finds Botox maker negligent, awards $15 million, NewsOk, May 12, 2010

Jury Awards Doctor $15M In Lawsuit Against Botox, CBS2, May 12, 2010

F.D.A. Orders Warning Label for Botox, NY Times, April 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Botox Cosmetic

Allergan

Food and Drug Administration

Continue reading "Allergan Ordered to Pay $15 Million Dangerous Drug Verdict For Failing to Warn About Possible Botox Side Effects" »

A $110 million class action settlement was approved last week against the maker and distributor of E-Ferol. Carter-Glogau Laboratories was E-Ferol’s manufacturer and O'Neal, Jones & Feldman Pharmaceuticals distributed the supplement that was administered briefly during the mid-80's.

At least 38 baby deaths are linked to E-Ferol, which was supposed to prevent blindness known as retrolental fibroplasias, that can be caused by a vitamin E deficiency. However, The plaintiffs’ lead attorney believes that many more infants died than the ones noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vitamin E supplement was administered intravenously and marketed as a drug that could help premature babies. E-Ferol had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and was recalled after approximately just five months in the market following reports of deaths in hospitals throughout the US.

Plaintiffs have accused the defendants of deceptive marketing practices, such as promoting E-Ferol as a vitamin supplement instead of a drug and giving hospitals and giving doctors the impression that the drug was FDA-approved. Carter-Glogau Laboratories and Jones & Feldman Pharmaceuticals have said that there weren’t many laws regulating vitamins back then. The two companies haven’t been in business for nearly 20 years.

In addition to the babies that died, dozens of infants that were given the drug ended up with kidney damage, blindness, brain damage, and liver damage. The symptoms became known as “E-Ferol syndrome.”

According to the CDC, about 89 hospitals administered E-Ferol to babies. While some of them willingly notified parents that they’d given their children the supplement, others were not as forthcoming and had to be legally forced to disclose this information. Many plaintiffs didn’t even know that their children had received E-Ferol until they found out about the dangerous rug lawsuit.

The class action case was brought on behalf of anyone who was administered E-Ferol between November 1, 1983 and April 30, 1984. Heirs of victims, the estates of those that died, parents of 42 babies who died, and adults that received the vitamin supplement as infants were among the plaintiffs. The defendants’ liability insurance will cover the settlement.

Hundreds of other dangerous drug lawsuits and wrongful death complaints have been filed over the injuries that were sustained by babies who were given E-Ferol.

Dangerous Drugs
Unfortunately, there are drug manufacturers that continue to market and release dangerous drugs into the marketplace. Some of these pharmaceutical companies are trusted names in the industry. You may have grounds for filing a North Carolina dangerous drug lawsuit seeking damages for personal injury, products liability, or wrongful death.

Maker of E-Ferol ordered to pay $110 million settlement in deaths of babies, Star-Telegram, April 10, 2010

Settlement Reached in E-Ferol Case, Consumer Affairs, April 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Three jailed for selling drug that killed 38 babies, FDA Consumer/Findarticles.com, July - August 1989

The Tragic Case History of Intravenous Vitamin E, The New York Times, May 27, 1984

A Winston-Salem man says he is going to sue GlaxoSmithKline for North Carolina personal injuries that he claims he sustained from using Poligrip. Johnny Howell, 53, says he started exhibiting signs of zinc poisoning in 2004, 15 years after he started using the denture cream.

It wasn’t until last year that Howell found out what was causing his disease. He says that even after receiving treatment for his condition, he has problems walking and experiences weakness and numbness in his legs. Due to a number of fall accidents, Howell broke an ankle and a rib. He must now use a walker and is unable to drive. Howell also lost his job working as a mechanic and receives disability.

While humans need zinc, too much of it can lead to calcium deficiencies, bone loss, anemia, and nerve damage, which can become permanent if excessive consumption of zinc goes on for too long. Howell is not the only person who has sustained injuries from using denture cream. There are dozens of people who say their nerve damage was caused by using Poligrip or Fixodent, which is made by Proctor & Gamble. Considering that about 40 million Americans use adhesives to keep their dentures in place, the health risk link is cause for concern.

Although the American Dental Association says it doesn’t know of any cases confirming that nerve damage is caused by dental glue, an article published in “Neurology” in 2008 linked high levels of zinc in Super Poligrip to “profound neurological disease” in patients that were examined.

GlaxoSmithKline just recently started including a warning with its Super Poligrip denture cream noting that too much zinc may cause health issues. Newsinferno.com reports that there are already scores of people that have been damaged by using denture creams and have filed their dangerous drug lawsuits.

Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Drug manufacturers are supposed to make products that are safe for people to use. When an over-the-counter product or a prescription drug leads to dangerous side effects that a pharmaceutical company failed to warn against, those who were injured as a result may be able to obtain personal injury damages by filing a North Carolina dangerous drug lawsuit.

Zinc in denture adhesives blamed for nerve damage, Reporter News, January 18, 2010

North Carolina Man Says Poligrip Left Him Disabled, Plans Lawsuit, NewsInferno, February 3, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Poligrip, GlaxoSmithKline

Zinc poisoning, Medline Plus

American Dental Association

Last month, a jury ruled against Pfizer in the dangerous drug lawsuit filed by a breast cancer survivor who used the hormone replacement drugs Prempro, Premarin, and Provera. The verdict in favor of plaintiff Donna Kendall: $28 million in punitive damages and $6.3 million in compensatory damages.

The 66-year-old woman was diagnosed with breast cancer after taking Provera and Prempro for 11 years. According to the civil jury, the three drugs contributed to causing Kendall’s breast cancer. Jury members also found that Pfizer failed to adequately warn consumers about the dangers linked to using the hormone replacement medications.

This dangerous drug verdict comes just one month after another jury ordered Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, now owned by Pfizer, to pay $75 million to a woman because she developed breast cancer after taking Prempro. Connie Barton took the hormone drug from 1997 until 2002 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Barton underwent a mastectomy to remove her left breast to combat the disease. She says she started taking Prempro because her doctor told her it could prevent dementia and heart disease.

Prempro and Premarin are used to treat menopause. The drugs are used by millions of Americans women who have menopause. They were told that using the HRTs could prevent major illnesses. Provera is used to treat secondary amenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, and endometrial hyperplasia.

However, recent findings have linked Premarin and Prempro to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Plaintiffs have filed some 13,000 products liability lawsuits against Pfizer claiming the hormone replacement drugs caused cancer and other issues.

Cancer is a serious illness. If a pharmaceutical drug caused your cancer, you may be able to obtain dangerous drug compensation from the negligent pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug and/or failed to tell you about the associated risks.

Pfizer Ordered to Pay $34.3 Million in HRT Lawsuit, MedPage Today, November 24, 2009

Menopause, as Brought to You by Big Pharma, NY Times, December 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Pfizer

Hormone Replacement Therapy, Medline Plus

Continue reading "Dangerous Drug Lawsuit: Jury Orders Pfizer to Pay $38.4 Million To Breast Cancer Survivor Who Used Hormone Replacement Drugs" »

The family of Jefferey Scott Swaim is considering filing a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit against Cherry Hospital. Swaim, 40, was found unconscious on a Greyhound bus two hours after he was discharged from the mental hospital.

According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill, Swaim died on July 16 from acute Fentanyl poisoning. Autopsy results show that the amount of Fentanyl he had in his blood was two times more than what is considered toxic. Goldsboro hospital had prescribed the pain patch to Swaim. Fentanyl, the medication’s active ingredient, has been linked to hundreds of overdose deaths in the US.

Swain’s death is the 11th “questionable” fatality linked to the mental hospital since 2003. In 2008, Cherry’s Medicare and Medicaid certification was revoked after patient Steven H. Sabock choked on his meds, struck his head, and than sat in a chair for almost a day without being medically treated, fed, or given anything to drink.

Swaim began his stay at the state mental hospital on July 3. He wanted the hospital to treat his suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse. He suffered from acute pancreatitis and uncontrollable mood swings. When the hospital discharged him, they gave him two Fentanyl patches.

When his mother went to the bus station to pick him up, she found him slumped in a bus seat. He wasn’t breathing. Doctors discovered one of the pain patches in his mouth.

Medical Malpractice
A medical provider can be held liable for North Carolina medical malpractice if a patient is given the wrong drug or the wrong dose of a drug. The drug manufacturer can also be held liable if it is considered a dangerous drug that unnecessarily causes injury or death. Just last year, a Florida jury awarded one family $13.3 million because her mother died from a Fentanyl overdose. The defendant in that dangerous drug case was Johnson & Johnson, which manufacturers the Duragesic fentanyl pain patch. Fentanyl is also available under a number of generic labels.

Overdose killed mental patient, News & Observer, November 24, 2009

Fentanyl Pain Patch Wrongful Death Lawsuit Results in $13.3 Million Verdict, About Lawsuits, October 30, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Fentanyl

Cherry Hospital

Continue reading "Family Considers Filing North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Mental Patient Suffers Fatal Overdose" »

A 58-year-old man has filed a dangerous drug lawsuit against GlaxosmithKline because he says that the medication Avandia caused his heart attack. Kenneth L. Bryan had taken the prescription drug for his diabetes.

In his personal injury lawsuit, Bryan claims that he suffered a heart attack two years after he started taking Avandia. As a result, he says he has had to undergo multiple angioplasties, four bi-pass surgeries, and other procedures.

Bryan contends that Avandia is an unreasonably dangerous and defective prescription drug. He is accusing drug maker Glaxo of knowing about the dangerous side effects associated with Avandia. Bryan says Glaxo breached the implied warranty of fitness and caused his injuries. Bryan is not the only person to have filed an Avandia lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline.

Other injuries and side effects that have been associated with the prescription drug include:

• Allergic reaction
• Weight gain
• Inflamed sinuses
• Congestive heart failure
• Severe allergic reaction
• Stroke
• Bone fractures
• Death

Some 4 million people took Avandia in the US in 2006. The following year, the Food and Drug Administration said that clinical trial results indicated that Avandia can increase heart attack risk by more than 40% and the number of deaths associated with heart disease by over 60%.

Drug manufacturers are not supposed to make dangerous drugs that can injure or kill users. Unfortunately, there are a number of popular drugs made by renowned pharmaceutical companies that continue to injury, health complications, and death.

In another recent Avandia lawsuit, 98 people claim they sustained serious injuries after using Avandia to treat their type 2 diabetes mellitus. The plaintiffs contend that until the medication’s label was changed on August 14, 2007, GlaxoSmithKline did not properly warn that use of the popular diabetes drug could increase the chance of heart failure. In November 2007, the label was modified again to warn that Avandia could cause myocardial ischemia.

Arkansas man claims diabetes drug caused heart attack, The Record, November 19, 2009

Same pair of lawyers gather another 90 plaintiffs in suit over Avandia, The Record, November 19, 2009

Avandia, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:
GlaxoSmithKline

Avandia

Continue reading "Dangerous Drug Lawsuit: Man Claims Diabetes Drug Avandia Caused Heart Attack" »

In a 14-12 vote, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration is recommending a ban on the prescription drug Darvon. The painkiller has been used for over 50 years.

First approved in 1957, Darvon is one of the 25 most commonly prescribed medicines. It is primarily marketed these days as Darvocet. In 2007, over 20 million prescriptions for this drug were issued.

Public Citizen, a consumer group, had asked the FDA to withdraw the Drug because its risk of overdose is so high and the amount of pain relief it actually offers is low.

The drug is marketed by Qualitest/Vintage Pharmaceuticals and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. Both companies maintain that the drug is effective and safe when used correctly. They also claim that there are other painkillers where the abuse risks and known consequences are far worse.

The FDA’s safety office says it found over 3,000 reports linking Darvon to serious problems, including suicide, drug overdose, and drug dependence. The office said that its findings, however, are “insufficient” for reviewers to make a decisive recommendation. Meantime, the FDA office in charge of handling painkillers says Darvon is a weak pain reliever.

Information from the US government’s Drug Abuse Warning Network found that there were 446 Darvon-related deaths in 2006 and 503 deaths in 2007. 20% of these fatalities were suicides. These figures only referred to about 30% of the country’s population.

Dangerous Drugs
Prescription drugs are not supposed to cause dangerous side effects—although the FDA is known for approving drugs that do have such side effects, as long as they don’t happen too often. Drug manufacturers and doctors are supposed to warn users of potential health complications that can arise from any prescription medications.

Sometimes, a dangerous drug is allowed to enter the marketplace. When injuries or deaths arise as a result of a dangerous drug, the victim and his or family may have grounds to file a dangerous drug lawsuit.

FDA panel recommends ban on the painkiller Darvon, Boston.com, January 30, 2009

Darvon, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:
Petition to FDA to ban all propoxyphene (DARVON) products; prescription painkiller causes many fatalities (HRG Publication #1762), Public Citizen, February 28, 2006

Read the FDA Advisory Committee's Briefing, January 30, 2009 (PDF)

Drug Abuse Warning Network

Continue reading "Ban Painkiller Darvon, Says Food and Drug Administration Advisory Panel" »

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. will pay $62 million to 32 US States, including North Carolina, to resolve charges that it improperly marketed Zyprexa, an antipsychotic drug. This record settlement comes a few months after North Carolina and other states reached a $58 million settlement with Merck over allegations that the drugmaker downplayed the health risks associated with the use of painkiller Vioxx in ads.

According to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and other state attorney generals, Eli Lilly allegedly applied deceptive and unfair marketing practices when it marketed Zyprexa for purposes that the US Food and Drug Administration had not approved. The states are also accusing the drugmaker of neglecting to properly disclose the antipsychotic drug’s side effects to health care providers.

Eli Lilly has agreed to change the way it markets Zyprexa and will no longer market it for off-label uses, which are not FDA-approved. The drugmaker must also offer objective, accurate, and scientifically supported responses to doctor queries about off-label uses and only give Zyprexa samples to physicians whose practices are in line with uses of the drug that are FDA-approved.

From the $62 million settlement, North Carolina will receive $1.8 million.

Zyprexa
This is the brand name for olanzapine, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Seven years ago, Eli Lilly began marketing Zyprexa as a drug that could be used by children for certain symptoms (rather than conditions that had been diagnosed), as well as by elderly adults suffering from dementia. Although physicians can prescribe drugs to patients for uses that are not FDA-approved, drug companies are not allowed to market medications for off-label purposes.

Dangerous Drug Litigation
If a person uses a drug for a purpose marketed by the pharmaceutical company that is not approved by the FDA and he or she is injured or dies, the drug manufacturer may be held liable in civil court for personal injury or wrongful death. Unfortunately, there have been cases where a drugmaker has released a drug into the marketplace while knowing it was potentially dangerous and marketed the medication for profit.

Eli Lilly settles Zyprexa inquiries in 32 states, AP, October 7, 2008

North Carolina to get $1.8M in Eli Lilly settlement, Triangle Business Journal, October 7, 2008

Merck agrees to settlement over Vioxx ad claims, The Bismark Tribune, May 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Eli Lilly and Company

Zyprexa

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper

The Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology is reporting that results from a small study indicate that topiramate, a drug used to treat epilepsy, may increase the chances of a newborn sustaining a birth defect if a pregnant mother takes the drug.

The test involved 203 women that became pregnant while using topiramate. Of the 178 newborns, 16 of them had major birth defects. Four of the babies had cleft lips or cleft palates. Four of the male infants were born with genital birth defects.

The rate of birth defects among newborns whose mothers took topiramate was higher than for the rest of the population. More birth defects also occurred in newborns whose mothers took both topiramate and valproate (another epilepsy drug) and women who took topiramate in conjunction with other epilepsy drugs.

However, Andres Kanner, the associate director of the Epilepsy Center at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, says the chances that a pregnant women will have a baby with a birth defect is dependent on numerous factors, some of which were not part of this study. John Craig, the lead researcher of the study, says that additional research must be performed to confirm the results but that doctors and women that are (or are considering) getting pregnant and get migraines or have epilepsy need to be warned about the potential risks that could result from using the medication. The anti-seizure drug (Topamax is the brand name) is used to treat epilepsy and migraine headaches.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, birth defects are the number one cause of infant fatalities. Causes of birth defects include:

• Dangerous drugs
• Alcohol
• Exposure to certain environmental chemicals
• Exposure to high levels of radiations
• Birthing malpractice
• Genetics

Epilepsy Drug May Boost Birth Defect Risk, WashingtonPost.com, July 21, 2008

Epilepsy drug linked to greater birth-defect risk, USA Today, July 25, 2008

Birth Defects, HealthAtoZ.com

Related Web Resources:

Topamax

Topiramate, MedLinePlus

Birth Defects, CDC

Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology

Continue reading "Epilepsy Drug Topiramate May Increase Risk of Birth Defects" »

Drug maker Allergan is being sued for failing to warn users of the dangerous side effects that can result when using Botox. The products liability lawsuit was filed on behalf of over a dozen Botox users and family members that have lost loved ones from Botox use.

Some of the plaintiffs claim that receiving Botox injections left them with certain disabilities, such as numbness, vision problems, flu-like symptoms, allergic reactions, breathing problems, and muscle weakness. Deaths allegedly caused by Botox use involved a 7-year-old girl that was given Botox injections to control limb spasticity, a 69-year-old nurse that used Botox for shoulder and neck pains, and a 71-year-old woman that was administered Botox for wrinkles around her mouth. All three alleged wrongful deaths involved use of Botox in ways that federal regulators had not approved.

The lawsuit claims that injuries occurred from both non-approved and approved uses of Botox and is calling the drug “a highly legal toxin with serious and life-threatening side effects." It question’s Allergan’s promotion that Botox is a miracle drug.

While refusing to comment on the details of the dangerous drug lawsuit, an Allergan spokesperson claims that Botox has a remarkable safety record and that serious side effects are rarely reported.

Botox
Originally intended to treat people with crossed eyes, Botox is most often used for treating frown lines between the eyebrows. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of Botox for treating migraines.

Drug manufacturers are supposed to warn users of all potentially adverse side effects from using a particular medication or drug. When failure to provide proper warning results in injury or death, victims may be able to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death.

Allergan failed to warn of dangerous Botox side effects, lawsuit claims, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2008

Botox Lawsuit Claims Drug Has Fatal Flaws, WebMD.com, July 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Allergan

Botox

Movie star Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly filed a products liability lawsuit against drug manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corp. for negligence in the Heparin overdose of the couple’s newborn twins, Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone. Heparin is a blood thinning drug used to prevent blood clotting.

The couple is seeking over $50,000 in damages. In the lawsuit, the couple claims that Baxter Healthcare was negligent because it packages different sized-doses of Heparin in similar vials, which sometimes makes it confusing for health care workers to distinguish one dosage size from another. As a result, Heparin is an “unreasonably dangerous” drug.

The products liability lawsuit says that the drug maker should have recalled the vials with excessively large doses after three babies died last year because of similar mix-ups at a hospital at Clarian's Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Three other infants survived similar overdoses there.

Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone Quaid were given an extremely high dosage of the blood thinner while at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. They received 1000 the amount that babies are supposed to receive, which caused the twins to bleed out. Rather than receiving 10 units of Heparin, they received 10,000 units, which is usually the amount of Heparin given to adults.

Another baby at Cedars-Sinai was also was given too much Heparin. Fortunately, the Quaid twins and the third child survived. Cedars-Sinai has apologized for the mix-up, calling it a “preventable error.”

After the deaths and injuries in Indianapolis, Baxter Healthcare issued a warning to health care workers telling them that they need to check the labels of Heparin vials to prevent similar mix-ups.

The Quaid family lawsuit says that the company should have repackaged the different doses of medicine, and the warning sent to health care providers should have come with an “urgent” label so better safety procedures could have been implemented at the different hospitals.

Drug manufacturers must test their drugs before releasing them into the marketplace. They also must include the appropriate warnings of any risks or side effects. Drug makers are required to market and package all drugs in a manner that doesn’t mislead or confuse users or health care providers.

If a person is injured or killed because of the negligence of a drug manufacturer, the injured person or his or her family (if the victim is a minor) may have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the drug manufacturer and any other negligent parties.

Dennis Quaid, wife sue drug maker, CNN.com, December 4, 2007

Dennis Quaid and wife sue drugmaker over heparin labeling, USA Today, December 4, 2007

Baby James: Surviving a Medical Mistake, WTHR, February 15, 2007

Dennis Quaid's newborns reportedly harmed by medical mix-up, LA Times, November 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Baxter Introduces New Drug Safety Packaging for High Alert Medications, Baxter.com, December 3, 2007

Baxter Healthcare

Heparin Sodium Injection (PDF)

Continue reading "Dennis Quaid Sues Drug Maker Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Newborn Twins’ Overdose" »

Pharmaceutical company Merck says it will be $4.5 billion in settlements to the thousands of victims who suffered strokes or heart attacks from taking prescription painkiller Vioxx.

The drug maker pulled Vioxx from pharmacies in September 2004 because a clinical trial proved that using the drug for an extended period of time increased the chances of strokes and heart attacks. Thousands of people have filed personal injury lawsuits claiming they had a heart attack or stroke because they took Vioxx.

The $4.85 billion settlement amount is significantly less than what Merck could have paid had it continued with its original plan to fight every single personal injury lawsuit in court. The amount is equivalent to about a nine-month profit for the pharmaceutical giant. Previous analyst estimates had Merck paying up to $25 billion for the different lawsuits had it continued to fight the lawsuits.

In order for the settlement to go into effect, however, 85% of the plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits in state and federal courts must agree to the terms of the settlement. Plaintiffs are expected to receive about $120,000 each before legal costs from the fund.

The settlement agreement was reached between attorneys for Merck and a committee representing the plaintiffs who sued Vioxx in federal court. If the agreement is accepted by most of the plaintiffs, Merck would not have to pay more than the $4.85 billion cap—regardless of how many new plaintiffs claims and lawsuits are filed.

As part of the terms of the settlement, plaintiffs now will not have to prove that taking Vioxx caused their strokes or heart attacks. They will, however, have to prove that they took Vioxx for no less than 30 days and that their strokes or heart attacks happened within 14 days of the last time they took Vioxx. Injured plaintiffs who had more serious health problems and took Vioxx for longer periods of time will be paid larger settlement amounts.

Vioxx
More than 9.1 million prescriptions have been written for Vioxx, a COX-2 inhibitor drug used to alleviate pain. The FDA approved Vioxx as a painkiller to treat acute pain, menstrual pain, and osteoarthritis. Diarrhea, respiratory infections, high blood pressure, and nausea had been listed as the side effects.

For the first quarter of 2004, Vioxx sales reached $661 million internationally. Beginning in 2000, however, a number of started to show that patients taking Vioxx appeared to be at higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

When you take an FDA approved prescription drug, you have the right to expect that your prescription medication will treat your medical condition or illness.

Analysts See Merck Victory in Vioxx Settlement, New York Times, November 10, 2007

Fast Facts on Vioxx, ABC News.com, September 30, 2004

Related Web Resources:

Merck Loses Vioxx Lawsuit: Jury Awards $253.4 Million to Widow, NewsTarget.com, August 19, 2005

Vioxx, Drugs.com

Merck & Company

Continue reading "Merck to Pay Nearly $5 Billion to Settle Vioxx Lawsuits" »

A study released on Tuesday shows that the number of cases where serious health issues (including personal injury and wrongful death) were caused by prescription medication has increased dramatically between 1998 and 2007.

In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported 34,966 incidents where someone experienced adverse reactions to drugs. This year, the figure was 89,842. The study can be found in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The FDA defines serious side effects to drugs as including resulting birth defect, wrongful death, hospitalization, or disability. The study results come from reports made by drug makers to the FDA.

Close to 1500 drugs were named for causing serious health injuries to users. Painkillers was responsible for a large number of health problems. The drug ranked number one as a cause of death over the eight-year time frame was Oxycodone, which was held responsible for 5,548 fatalities. The study can be found in the latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Every year, millions of people in the U.S. take prescription drugs and over the counter medicines to treat different health problems and medical conditions or to stay healthy. It is unfortunate that the use of certain medications have lead to serious injuries, health problems, and the death of many users.

Here is a list of some of the potentially serious and deadly side effects that can occur from a "dangerous" drug:

• Vomiting
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Insomnia
• Kidney failure
• Birth defect
• Memory loss
• Hypertension
• Stomach aches
• Death

It is frequently not until after many victims are injured or killed because of a particular pharmaceutical drug that a drug recall is issued.

Over the years, victims of the following defective drugs have filed dangerous drug claims and lawsuits against manufacturers or other liable parties:

• Celebrex
• ReNu
• Trileptal
• Ortho Evra
• Fosamax
• Vioxx
• Bextra
• Fen Phen
• HRT
• PPA

Bad reactions to prescription drugs soar, The Washington Times, September 11, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Archives of Internal Medicine

Dangerous Prescription, PBS.org

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