posted by on Dec 25
The ingestion of Zoloft during pregnancy led eight different couples to parent children born with various birth defects, according to a recently filed lawsuit that name the drug’s manufacturer as a defendant.Hope Lower, Cindy and Gene Bendickson, Marianne Buneta and Jason Gultch, Monica and Roosevelt Jones, Carlisa and John Black, Mary Schulze, Norneesa Knowles and Sharon Jones and Antoine Bossier filed a lawsuit Nov. 4 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Pfizer.
posted by on Jul 17
Most infamous product liability lawsuit of the year is turning out to be against Triad Group and their contaminated alcohol wipes. The alcohol wipe lawsuits are mounting, forming what’s known in legal circles as as precursor to an actual alcohol wipes class action lawsuit. The alcohol prep pads and swabs were recalled earlier this year after it was found that some were contaminated with bacillus cereus.
The Triad alcohol prep pads were distributed to hospitals as part of kits, and also to chain drugstores for home use. Adults as well as newborns have been infected with bacillus cereus after using Triad alcohol wipes, and the lawsuits filed point to the prep pads as source of the serious infection in plaintiffs. It’s yet to be known whether the mounting cases against Triad will form a tainted wipes class action lawsuit.
In this most recent case, there is a new birth injury lawsuit filed after a premature baby was infected in the hospital after being treated with Triad alcohol prep pads. The plaintiffs in the case say it was tainted alcohol wipes that caused a serious infection which then led to cerebral palsy in the newborn.
posted by on May 17
Procter and Gamble developed a new type of diaper and began selling the Dry Max technology this past March 2011. After just two months on the market, the diapers have caused rumblings of a Pampers Dry Max class action, already in the legal system and before a judge.
The new technology allowed diapers to be thinner, which in turn meant that in a landfill, the disposable diapers took up less room than traditional disposable diapers.
But parents are concerned that the Dry Max technology is causing their babies to have diaper rash and, in some cases, chemical burns. Several Pampers Dry Max lawsuits have already been filed.
A judge will decide whether the lawsuits merit a Pampers Dry Max class action lawsuit, and in the meantime, complaints continue to roll in at Procter and Gamble’s call center.
P&B claims the Dry Max diapers are safe, and that one in four babies have diaper rash. To attribute a common ailment to their new diapers is a misguided notion, say representatives of the giant corporation.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will investigate the allegations listed in the Pampers Dry Max class action. Their results will be made public and then the status of the class action will be determined.
posted by on May 15
Hip implant class action lawsuits are all over the news, but now the FDA is looking into new danger posted by metal on metal hip implants: hip implant metal poisoning caused by cobalt and chromium from the device, leaking into the bloodstream. When the metal on metal hip implant seeps into the body, a situation called metallosis occurs, where the body is slowly poisoned by microscopic pieces of metal. In this case, it would be chromium and cobalt.
Metallosis causes pain, weakness, numbness, shortness of breath, and damages organs. Hip implant metal poisoning is a new phenomena, and it’s only recently that the FDA has asked that companies manufacturing the devices to perform research.
A quarter of a million hip implants are performed each year in the United States. About one third of these are metal on metal hip implants. Usually, the metal on metal type is used for younger people, who plan on being very active after surgery. The other option besides metal on metal hip implants is metal on ceramic.
Some people have even chosen to have the metal on metal hip implants removed, and have experienced a release from pain, which has been described as a burning fire.
posted by on Jan 31
Women who received breast implants in the 1970s and 1980s may have been part of the now famous breast implant class action that is just now coming to a close. Last December 2010 was the cutoff date for new cases and the company that made the silicone implants up until 1992 has since gone bankrupt. That was Dow Corning, a major corporation, which has since paid out $1.2 billion to plaintiffs in the Dow Corning class action settlement. That case was first filed in 1998, clearly showing that any breast implant class action lawsuit takes years to come to an end.
Back in the late 1908s, when the first breast implant class action began to take shape, the problem was leaking silicone from the implants. The medical and scientific communities were never in total agreement over whether the leaking silicone caused the health problems reported by plaintiffs, but Dow Corning settled nevertheless. Hundreds of thousands of women joined the breast implant class action at the time, which was 1998, six years after the implants were pulled from the market by the FDA.
Dow Corning class action settlement claims ranged from $5,000 to $25,000. Women claimed the leaking implants had caused autoimmune disease and other medical complications.
Beginnings of the end of the 1990s breast implant class action lawsuit come just as news of a possible link between implants and a rare form of cancer hit the airwaves. Just last week, Federal health officials reported that there were 60 cases of anplastic large cell lymphoma in women who had implants. The rare form of cancer showed up in women who had both silicone and saline-filled breast implants.
60 cases out of an estimated5 to 10 million women who have breast implants today is a medically noteworthy statistic. The FDA is following the reviewing the cases, and is going to require that Allergan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson’s Mentor Corp., makers of today’s breast implants, put a warning about the risk of a link to cancer.
posted by on Jan 17
GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug company and manufacturer of some of the world’s top selling drugs, announced today that it would set aside billions of dollars for legal costs. The GlaxoSmithKline class action is costing the company most of its fourth quarter profits, as it faces rising numbers of lawsuits over Avandia and Paxil.
Today’s amount set aside for legal costs totals $3.4 billion, and that comes no less than six months after another announcement of billions of dollars worth of legal fees. Last summer, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would spend $2.36 billion for legal defense and ongoing Federal investigation over off label marketing charges and alleged doctor payments regarding Avandia and Paxil.
That means the GlaxoSmithKline class action and Federal investigations in the United States have so far cost the company $5.76 billion in legal fees, settlements, and other legal costs.
Avandia was once the top selling diabetes drug in the world, but has fallen off since discovery of possible serious health concerns. In 2007 a doctor’s analysis revealed a 43% increase in risk of heart attack in patients taking Avandia. Since then, GlaxoSmithKline class actions have been on the rise. And judging from today’s announcement, GlaxoSmithKline doesn’t see an end to legal woes anytime soon.
GlaxoSmithKline also faces allegations of marketing Avandia for treatment of things for which it was not FDA approved. Doctor payments for promoting Avandia are also under investigation, as this practice is against the law in the United States. The British drug company is facing GlaxoSmithKline class action in the US as well as legal woes in the UK. The FDA has severely restricted use of AVandia and in Europe it has been banned altogether by the European Medicines Agency.
posted by on Dec 18
Johnson & Johnson faces another possible class action lawsuit, this time over failed hip implants. The De Puy Articular Surface Replacement was recalled and now the company faces what seems like a De Puy lawsuit in every state. The subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, called De Puy Orthopaedics, faces major uphill legal battles for its failed hip implants, which had been described previously as the breakthrough implant for hip surgery patients.
The Articular Surface Replacement was supposed to last fifteen years and create more natural movement for the patient. The ASR implant was also supposed to last longer than older types of implants. However, they lasted hardly at all in many patients who have formed several De Puy lawsuits in several states.
Major news agencies are now picking up the story as they scrutinize the process that allowed the faulty hip implant to reach operating tables around the world. The FDA had approved the ASR hip implant, but why? The answer lies in the fact that approval processes are very fast and easy for devices that are very similar to already approved devices. In fact, if it’s similar to an approved device, the new product such as the De Puy hip implant, doesn’t even have to be tested.
The system creates loopholes, where totally new and untested developments can be bundled onto already-approved devices ( in this case, implants), and approved without testing. And this is how the faulty ASR came to be found in patients’ bodies, alleges the De Puy lawsuit. About one third of the roughly 93,000 ASR De Puy hip implants worldwide were implanted into US patients, says representatives at De Puy.
But there’s no independent database where doctors could track success and failure rates of the ASR implants, so they had no idea that others were failing, even as they were operating on more patients and implanting the ASR system. The entire process is under intense scrutiny thanks to the Dr Puy lawsuit formed in nearly every region of the US.
posted by on Oct 21
A Graco Lawsuit Forming Over Baby Strollers
Graco, maker of baby products, most notably strollers, has recalled several products in the past year. Most recently, a baby stroller recall yesterday may start up another Graco lawsuit over baby deaths and injuries. The Quattro and MetroLite baby strollers were recalled yesterday after four baby deaths were attributed to the products, starting in 2003.
The new Graco lawsuits come just short of one year after a previous Graco baby stroller recall, in January 2010. The first Graco lawsuit involved baby stroller injuries, and severed fingers due to product defect. The latest Graco recall involves possible strangulation when a baby is left unharnessed in the baby stroller. The models recalled were not made after 2007, and the baby deaths occurred between 2002 and 2005. The strollers were not recalled before because Graco maintained that if used properly (i.e. the baby was harnessed into the stroller) there was no risk of injury or death.
However, after four baby deaths and five documented injuries, Graco has decided to recall the Quattro and MetroLite baby strollers and stroller car seat combination units. Even though the strollers have not been manufactured since 2007, they are still widely used and in circulation. Part of the reason why is because of the recession. Parents are buying and selling used baby strollers, so older models of the stroller are still around.
This Graco stroller recall is a repair kit which baby stroller owners can obtain for free from Graco. The repair is supposed to protect babies left unharnessed, who may try and crawl between the tray and seat.
The earlier Graco recall was due to hinges on a stroller which severed fingers. At least five children had their fingers severed by Graco stollers. Graco also makes cribs and high chairs, both of which are also involved in separate recalls and Graco lawsuits.
posted by on Oct 12
The Lawn Mower Class Action Settlement Covers Mowers Like This One
A lawn mower class action lawsuit was settled recently, and those eligible can claim their settlements now. The actual case was concerning misleading horsepower ratings, but no safety issues.
The lawn mower class action settlement amounts up to $35 or $75 per claim, depending on what type of lawn mower was purchased. Defendants are to give up to $35 to members of the class action who purchased an eligible walk behind or push lawn mower. Those who purchased a riding lawn mower get up to $75. An extra year of extended warranty is also granted in the lawn mower class action settlement.
This settlement, which was reached on basis of false advertising and sales practices, represents an estimated $65 million in cash settlements to plaintiffs, plus the cost of the extended warranties. Defendants are numerous, from Sears to KMART to Deere. Lawnmowers models covered range also, from Tecumseh to Troy to Kawasaki.
Any lawnmower bought between January 1, 1994 and April 12, 2010 in the United States and Puerto Rico of the named brands may be eligible for claims. The lawn mower class action settlement covers gas-powered engines under 30 horsepower. You also must have had a manufacturer’s warranty at time of purchase to join the class action and get a settlement.
Engines built by the following manufacturers are covered in the settlement:
If your lawn mower was manufactured by the following:
Chances are, if you bought a lawn mower, push or ride style, between 1994 and 2001, your mower is included in the settlement. Most brands are. Some manufacturers are not included in the lawn mower class action settlement, but may be in the next couple of years.
The deadline for cash benefits was August 31, 2010. The deadline for warranty claims is June 22, 2011.
posted by on Oct 1
Similac Recall Leads to Similac Class action
A Similac recall has lead to a class action lawsuit filed in Federal Court against makers of the popular baby formula. Plaintiff is Kathleen A. Brandner who is filing on behalf of herself and her child. Defendants named in the Similac class action are Abbot Laboratories, Inc and Sam’s East DBA Sam’s Club. The baby formula lawsuit was filed in the State of New Orleans.
The Similac lawsuit alleges that makers of the baby formula deceived consumers by promoting the product as safe. Abbot Laboratories is accused of advertising a product that was in fact infested with beetles. The Similac class action alleges that Abbot Laboratories failed to implement quality control measures to stop production and distribution of unsafe baby formula.
The presence of beetles and their larvae can cause gastrointestinal problems in infants that ingest the powder, as well as problems in feeding. Abbot Laboratories has instituted a voluntary Similac recall, which affects roughly five million cans of the powdered baby formula.
The Similac recall has prompted worldwide response, even though over 99 percent of recalled cans have tested bug free. The recall affects baby formula sold in the United States, Guan, Puerto Rico and some Caribbean islands. However, countries elsewhere have responded strongly. Saudi Arabia, for example, has banned Similac.
The FDA has stated that there is no health risk from the beetle-infested products, other than stomach discomfort and possible refusal to eat.