Product Liability Lawyer Blog

October 2, 2016

U.S. is Costly Place to Have Joint Replacement Surgery

In this heated presidential election season, we are hearing about a lot of healthcare issues in terms of insurance and whether there should be a universal healthcare system or private insurance. One of the issues that is brought up from time to time has to do with the fact that Americans seem to pay more for drugs and medical procedures than people in other countries.

According to a recent news feature from Family Practice News, a trade publication for primary care physicians, having a total knee or total hip replacement surgery in the United States costs more on average than it does in a group of six other countries in the industrial world. The price was higher in the U.S. by a long shot. For example, the average price of a total hip replacement in the U.S. was $29,000 as compared to the same procedure in Switzerland at just over $20,000, and this was the next most expensive country in the group of six selected as part of the study. Continue reading

September 28, 2016

A Knee Replacement Surgeon Discusses his Own Medical Procedure

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Knee replacement surgery has become the most common elective surgery performed in the U.S. on an annual basis. There are an estimated 600,000 procedures performed each year. While an orthopedic surgeon may perform multiple operations in a single day, when he or she finds out they need to have a total knee replacement procedure performed on them personally, it is a very new experience.

A recent news feature from Medscape involves a very experienced knee replacement surgeon discussing his own total knee replacement surgery and recovery. This surgeon is 59-years-old and has been performing knee replacement operations for quite some time. He estimates that he performed more than 3,500 total knee replacements over the course of his career. It would seem that the procedure is entirely routine, but that is only the case when he is operating on other people. Continue reading

September 25, 2016

Exploding Cell Phones Leads to Recall Confusion

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from CNN Money, there is significant confusion when it comes to the recent recall of Galaxy Note 7 smart phones manufactured by Samsung after some of the models exploded. The reason for the confusion in part is because there are two different suppliers of batteries, and the company has chosen not to call this a recall, but rather a return and replacement program. While the company may wish to use this more innocuous sounding description, federal regulators have chosen to stick with the more familiar name, calling it a defective product recall.

However, before we look at the more confusing aspects of this recall, lets look at what we do know. We know that these smart phones that retail for over $900 are bursting into flames and basically exploding while people are holding them. The company says that the problem only occurs while the phones are charging, but since many people charge their phones while using them to talk, text, and use other apps, this poses a significant danger. Continue reading

September 22, 2016

Massive GM Recalls Following Death

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from USA Today, General Motors has just announced they will recall 4.3 million vehicles as result of a problem with the airbag control system. There has been one death as well as several injuries linked to this particular airbag issue.

The problem is related to the software that controls airbag deployment in the front of the vehicle. The software issue caused the system to go into test mode when the vehicle was in motion as opposed to when it was first turned on and all of the system runs a test and diagnostic mode. While it is not exactly clear how this happens based upon reports, the computer may have be able to disengage the seat belt retention mechanism when the airbag was in test mode. Continue reading

September 19, 2016

Custom Artificial Knee Saves Patients from Losing Leg

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the United States alone, more than 600,000 people undergo a single or bilateral total knee replacement operation each year. This incredible figure makes total knee replacement the most common surgical procedure performed each year. Next in line is the total hip replacement operation, of which there are between 300,000 and 400,000 performed annually in the U.S. Between the two procedures, it is clear to see that joint replacement (arthroplasty) is big business.

While the vast majority of operations go well, there is always a risk of infection following a major surgery. Infection can destroy the artificial knee and cause a patient to need an above the knee amputation. It is important to understand that no matter how much effort a hospital puts into sterilizing everything and making sure there are no germs present in the operating room, infections, including staff infections, are going to happen, and it is not necessarily anyone’s fault. Continue reading

September 17, 2016

Pradaxa Hopes to Grab Market Share as Xarelto Antidote Fails FDA Approval

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Pharmaceutical industry experts have been buzzing recently about the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s rejection of approval for Xarelto. Specifically, the decision is being lauded by Boehringer Ingelheim, the makers of Pradaxa, according to a recent news feature from FiercePharma.

First, let’s look at what these two drugs do. Xarelto and Pradaxa and competitors (along with Eliquis and Savaysa) are in the big money market of New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). This new class of drugs is designed to treat patients who suffer from various potentially deadly clotting disorders that are not caused by a heart valve defect. Patients who suffer from one of these medical conditions such as atrial fibrillation (Afib) must take a blood thinner or anti-clotting agent to prevent dangerous clots from forming, which may result in a painful death. Continue reading

September 15, 2016

Smoothie Café Chain Linked to 55 Confirmed Cases of Hepatitis A

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from News 3, there have been 55 confirmed cases of hepatitis A linked to smoothie chain in the mid-Atlantic region. These 55 cases are all in Northern Virginia, and now there are additional cases being assessed, including cases in Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and even states out west like Oregon and Wisconsin.

The state department of health and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have traced the source of the contamination to strawberries that were all imported from Egypt. Upon being made aware of the contaminated strawberries, the company voluntarily stopped using all strawberries sourced from Egypt. Continue reading

September 12, 2016

FDA Rejects Approval of Xarelto Antidote

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The makes of Xarelto (Bayer and Johnson & Johnson) took a major hit this week in terms of the future of there flagship drug. Xarelto is a member of a relatively new class of drugs called New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). NOACs are used for patients who suffer from a series of medical conditions including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and atrial fibrillation (Afib). Afib is a serious medical condition that causes an irregular heartbeat when the patient does not have a heart valve defect.

In addition to Xarelto, Pradaxa, Eliquis and Savaysa are members of this new class of NOACs. Traditionally, before these medications were on the market, patients would take Warfarin (Coumadin) as a blood thinner. Warfarin is known to work and is relatively safe as long as patients do what they are told to do by their doctors. However, since patients do not always do what they are told, the drug is not always so convenient to take and may result in a serious internal bleeding disorder. However, if a patient does suffer from internal bleeding, a doctor can prescribe a reversal agent (antidote) to allow the patient to clot normally so the bleeding will stop. Continue reading

September 10, 2016

A Look at One New Hip Replacement Procedure

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent article from NBC News takes a look at one new hip replacement procedure now being used and the history of advancements in hip replacement surgery in general. These days, a total hip replacement has become the second most common surgical procedure in the U.S., with the first being a total knee replacement. Each year, more than 300,000 hip replacements are performed in the U.S. alone.

If you went to get a total hip replacement around 20 years ago, you would expect to be spending around two weeks in an an inpatient rehab center following surgery. During this time, a therapist would help you out of bed using lifts and then help you get to an exercise room where you would be told to perform a series of exercises each day. There are two main reasons for this: The first reason is that if a patient was in bed the whole time, he or she would be a high risk for developing a serious and potentially deadly clotting disorder known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Continue reading

September 8, 2016

McDonald’s Recalls Millions of Fitness Bands in Happy Meals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

These days, McDonald’s have been seeing a decline in profits as more are turning to healthier food options for themselves and their families. This is not say the company and its competitors are not making a ton of money, but their numbers are not as good as they were a decade ago.

For this reason, the company has been working towards providing healthier options while still keeping the old standards. To some extent it has been working. One of the thing they were doing to make parents feel the restaurant chain can promote a healthier lifestyle for children despite their old image problem, is to include a fitness band in Happy Meals. These are essentially a very cheap version of the Fitbit and other popular fitness watches that have flooded the market in the past few years. Continue reading