Drug Injury Lawyers Blog

January 25, 2013

First of DePuy Hip Lawsuits Go to Trial

The first defective medical device lawsuit over a DePuy hip implant has gone to trial. The plaintiff, Loren Kransky, is seeking damages for injuries he says he sustained from the faulty replacement system.

The retired prison guard contends that debris from the implant’s metal parts caused metal ions to enter his bloodstream. He says his doctor told him he had to undergo hip replacement surgery or risk poisoning.

Kransky is one of thousands of plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson, which owns DePuy Orthopedics, over the faulty hip replacement systems that have been linked with an excessively high rate of failure. The medical device makers recalled the devices belonging to the ASR systems in 2010.

January 16, 2013

NuvaRing Lawsuits Grow in Number As Women Seek Compensation for Serious Side Effects

by Altman & Altman

Women are continuing to file defective medical device/drug injury cases against Merck & Co. Inc. and its subsidiary N.V. Organon over serious side effects caused by the hormonal birth control NuvaRing, The flexible plastic ring, which contains progestin and estrogen, has been linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and death. These are serious health issues for a product that is supposed to prevent pregnancy to be associated with.

One reason for the greater risks is that the progestin in NuvaRing is desogestrel, which is a third-generation hormone. According to some studies, desogestrel isn’t as safe as its predecessors, which are used in other birth control brands. (Desogestrel had even been linked to a higher risk of blood clots as far back as the 1990’s, yet, according to many plaintiffs, the two drug manufacturers did not warn patients about this possible side effect for years. Some are saying that they would have never opted to use NuvaRing if they’d known there could be such serious complications involved.)

At the moment, there is a NuvaRing Lawsuit Multidistrict Litigation taking place in Missouri in Federal Court. Your NuvaRing case can be brough to this litigation regardless of which state you live in, or, it may be to your benefit to pursue your lawsuit separately. The best way to figure out whether you have grounds for a drug injury lawsuit over your NuvaRing injuries to contact an experienced products liability firm to explore your legal options.

January 11, 2013

DES Lawsuit Against Eli Lilly is Resolved with Settlement

by Altman & Altman

Just two days into trial, a drug injury settlement has been reached in the DES lawsuit filed by four sisters against Eli Lilly & Co. This could pave the way for more settlements filed by scores of other women.

In Massaachusetts alone, 51 women have filed Boston DES injury cases against over a dozen companies that marketed or made diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic estrogen also called DES that was given to pregnant women for years. The Melnick sisters’ dangerous drug lawsuit was the first one to go to trial.

Over the years, thousands of DES lawsuits have been filed claiming the drug is the reason why women, who were the babies inside the pregnant mothers who were taking the hormones, would later go on to develop cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, and fertility issues. Many of these cases have been settled.

January 4, 2013

Melnick Sisters’ Boston DES Lawsuit Against Eli Lilly Goes to Trial

by Altman & Altman

Four sisters are about to get their day in federal court in Boston against Eli Lilly & Co., a former manufacturer of diethylstilbestrol (DES) after the drug allegedly caused them to later develop breast cancer. This is the first DES lawsuit of many to go to trial and jury selection is scheduled to start today. There are still about 50 DES lawsuits pending in Boston against over 12 drug makers after a federal judge was unable to come up with settlements for them.

The siblings, Michele, Donna, Francine, and Andrea, have also each had fertility issues, miscarriages, or reproductive tract issues that have long been believed to be linked to prenatal DES exposure. It wasn’t until 2008, however, that one of them found out about a study that identified a higher incidence of breast cancer in the daughters of women who took the drug while pregnant. Their older sister, Mary Ann, is the only one that they say was not exposed to DES while in their mother’s womb, and she is the only one of the five sisters who hasn’t had breast cancer or fertility problems.

It was in 1971 that the Food and Drug Administration advised doctors to cease prescribing DES to pregnant women. The advisory was issued after a study reported an increase in the risk of these women’s daughters later developing a rare vaginal cancer. Thousands of DES lawsuits have since been filed over allegedly related incidents of cervical cancer, fertility issues, and vaginal cancer. Many of them have been settled.

The four Melnick sisters have all had to undergo different treatments, ranging from surgery to having a lump removed to chemotherapy, a full mastectomy, and radiation. They contend that Eli Lilly failed to provide any warnings that taking DES could injure the babies. They believe that the drug was never properly tested before it was put into the marketplace.

Meantime, Eli Lilly, in court documents, is claiming that there isn’t any evidence, even medical records, showing that the Melnick sisters’ mom, Frances Melnick, even took DES. Frances and her physician are both deceased.

Originally manufactured in 1938, DES was the first synthetic estrogen to enter the market. For decades it was prescribed to pregnant women to supposedly create a healthy pregnancy and prevent premature birth and miscarriage. Even after published research eventually showed that DES didn’t prevent premature births or miscarriages it would be almost two decades before the FDA advisory came out.

A recent 2011 suggests that DES daughters over age 40 are almost twice as likely to develop breast cancer than other women. Other findings have also shown a link between DES impacting an infant’s development, including its immune, reproductive, and skeletal systems.

Trial Set to Begin in Boston Over Pregnancy Drug, ABC News/AP, January 4, 2012

4 Sisters Who Had Breast Cancer Sue Drug Maker, Blaming Mother’s Medication, CBS Boston, January 3, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Another Boston Injury Lawsuit Blames DES Drug for Causing Newton Woman’s Breast Cancer, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, January 30, 2012
US Supreme Court to Consider Whether Manufacturers of Generic Meds Can Be Sued For Drug Defects, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, December 25, 2012

Plaintiff of NuvaRing Lawsuit Blames the Birth Control Device for Pulmonary Embolism, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, December 19, 2012

Boston Dangerous Drug Lawsuits: YAZ, Ocella, and Yasmin Birth Control Pills Linked to Deep Vein Thrombosis, Pulmonary Embolism, Stroke, Heart Attack, and Myocardial Infarction Side Effects, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 19, 2012 Continue reading

December 25, 2012

US Supreme Court to Consider Whether Manufacturers of Generic Meds Can Be Sued For Drug Defects

by Altman & Altman

The US Supreme Court will hear the issue of whether the makers of generic drugs can be sued for products liability despite the fact that federal law bars such lawsuits from proceeding. The case, Mutual Pharmaceutical Co v. Bartlett, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-142, involves Mutual Pharmaceutical Co.’s efforts to reverse a $21M drug injury award that a jury gave to plaintiff Karen Bartlett over personal injuries she sustained from taking sulindac, a generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

Bartlett, who took the drug to treat her shoulder pain, experienced a rare reaction to med and developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome. She is now nearly blind and has burn-like lesions on the majority of her body. Bartlett would go on to file a dangerous drug lawsuit against Mutual under state law in New Hampshire claiming that the med was dangerous and defectively designed.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., of which Mutual is an indirect unit, has responded by invoking federal law, which does not allow drugs with FDA approval to be the target of drug defect lawsuits. Per that law, generic drugs must be designed the same as their brand counterparts and come with the same labels and Mutual and other generic medical manufacturers have said that because they have to be designed and labeled exactly as their brand equivalents, it is not up to them to modify a generic drug’s design or labeling.

Earlier this year, a 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals panel of three judges was unanimous in their refusal to have federal law apply to design defect allegations. Finding that there was more than enough evidence showing that sulindac caused Bartlett’s hypersensitivity reaction that left her with permanent injuries, they upheld the jury verdict.

Now, the defendant is appealing to our nation’s highest court, contending that “scores” of courts, both state and federal, had turned down the 1st Circuit’s claim that generic drug makers can be liable under the laws of a state for refusing to cease the sale of products that have federal government approval. Meantime, Bartlett, maintains that the jury award was determined under state law and has no federal law conflict. (In 2011, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pilva Inc. V. Mensing found that federal law preempts state law claims resulting from allegedly inadequate drug label warnings about possible side effects. However, it did not offer a conclusion on whether consumers can file design defect cases against the makers of generic drugs.)

Mutual Pharmaceutical Co v. Bartlett (PDF)

Pilva Inc. V. Mensing (PDF)

Supreme Court Takes Case on Liability for Generic Drugs, The Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Plaintiff of NuvaRing Lawsuit Blames the Birth Control Device for Pulmonary Embolism, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, December 19, 2012

Boston Dangerous Drug Lawsuits: YAZ, Ocella, and Yasmin Birth Control Pills Linked to Deep Vein Thrombosis, Pulmonary Embolism, Stroke, Heart Attack, and Myocardial Infarction Side Effects, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, June 19, 2012

Bladder Cancer is A Serious Side Effect for Many Taking Diabetes Drug Actos, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, November 13, 2012 Continue reading

December 19, 2012

Plaintiff of NuvaRing Lawsuit Blames the Birth Control Device for Pulmonary Embolism

by Altman & Altman

Another woman has filed a NuvaRing lawsuit suing Merck for products liability. In her defective medical device/dangerous drug complaint, Angela Denise Washington claims she developed a pulmonary embolism a few months after she started taking the popular internal birth control device in 2004.

NuvaRing is a vaginal ring that the user inserts close to the cervix. This is a hormonal contraceptive device that contains progestin and estrogen and it is Food and Drug Administration-approved. It. The ring releases the hormones into the body. A woman is supposed to remove the ring after three weeks and her menstrual cycle usually begins a couple of days later. Following a weeklong break, she is supposed to insert another ring into her body.

Last year, however, FDA published a birth control study that showed that compared to older birth control pills, the NuvaRing, which is an internal contraceptive, upped the risk of blood clots by 56%. There was also a study this year in the British Medical Journal that found that NuvaRing and other non-oral birth control devices generally come with a greater blood clot risk than oral contraceptives that are made of with the same hormone combination.

December 10, 2012

Recent Fosamax Study Focuses on Atypical Femur Fracture Complications

by Altman & Altman

According to a study found in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, patients who developed femur fractures linked to their use of bisphosphonates, including Fosamax, tend to experience pain before the actual fracture happens, a delay in healing, and the ongoing risk of a another fracture. This is just one more reminder of the serious side effects that can come from taking Fosamax, which is made by Merck.

The study’s authors, who include Dr. Jennifer Schneider, a physician who experienced a spontaneous thigh bone break while riding mass transit and had taken Fosamax, surveyed 81 people who belonged to an online Fosamax support group. The average participant had been taking bisphosphonates for 9.5 years, with more than half of them taking the medication to prevent bone breaks. Among the findings from their anonymously turned in medical data:

• 94% of participants had used only Fosamax and no other bisphosphonate.

December 5, 2012

Bayer Faces Mirena IUD Lawsuits

by Altman & Altman

If you have suffered serious side effects from using a Mirena intrauterine device, please contact our defective medical device lawyers right away. Approved by the FDA as birth control in 2000, and in 2009 to treat heavy menstrual bleeding, this IUD has been linked to a number of health issues, including intestinal perforation/obstruction, abscesses, infection, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterus perforation, infertility, intrauterine pregnancy, miscarriage, vaginal erosion, ovarian cysts, uterine embedment, vaginitis, ectopic pregnancy, painful periods, group A streptococcal sepsis, breast tenderness, irregular bleeding/spotting, pelvic pain, and vaginal hemorrhage. A Mirena IUD user can also get hurt should the device become dislodged, expelled, dislocated, stuck in/perforate the uterus. It may also end up outside the uterine cavity, where adhesions and scarring can occur.

Bayer Pharma AG, the manufacturer of Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills, makes this birth control product. A plastic device, which is connected to two strings, the Mirena IUD is implanted inside the uterus. It works by slowly releasing the progestogen levonorgestrel and is expected to last five years. This contraception is recommended for moms who have had at least one child. Around 2 million women are currently using Mirena, while over 15 million have used the device since it entered the marketplace.

Three years ago, the FDA sent Bayer a warning letter noting that the medical device maker had overstated the devices’ efficacy while minimizing its risks. Mirena had been marketed to busy moms as a device that not only could help them “look and feel” great but improve partner intimacy. The IUD was even promoted through “Mirena Parties” involving Mom Central community members. The FDA’s letter noted that it had not seen any evidence indicating that Mirena users were getting such benefits and wondered why the script used at these parties did not talk about the serious risks involved.

November 27, 2012

GranuFlo Lawsuits: Dialysis Patients Report Damaging Side Effects, Including Cardiac Arrest

by Altman & Altman

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Class 1 recall for GranuFlo, an acid concentrate used in dialysis, which is a medical technique that helps eliminate waste materials from the kidneys when a patient can no longer do so without assistance. If you or someone you love has suffered serious injury or health complications from GranuFlo, please contact the drug injury law firm of Altman & Altman, LLP today.

A Class 1 recall means that GranuFlo is considered to be unsafe enough that it may cause serious health issues or even death. Serious side effects linked to this compound include:

• Heart attack • Heart ailments • Very low blood pressure • Lowered potassium levels • Metabolic alkalosis • Stroke • Decreased oxygen levels in the blood • Cardiopulmonary arrest • Higher blood levels of CO2 • Death

November 20, 2012

Risk of Stroke May Go Up When Taking Yaz Birth Control Pills

by Altman & Altman

Already, quite a number of women and their families have filed Yaz injury lawsuits against Bayer Pharmaceuticals claiming that they suffered a stroke because they were taking the popular contraception. If you, too, think that your stroke may have been because you were taking Yaz birth control pills, please contact our drug injury law firm right away.

Stroke

A stroke usually involves the brain cells experiencing a sudden death due to insufficient oxygen. This can occur because the blood flow has been obstructed or the artery that feeds the brain may have become ruptured. Depending on the seriousness of the stroke, a stroke victim may experience difficulty speaking, memory problems, paralysis, bladder problems, and even death. There are two main kinds of stroke: