Product Liability Lawyer Blog

February 24, 2014

Major Chicken Provider Shut Down for Unsanitary Conditions

Foster Farms, a chicken processing plant in California, didn’t open re-open its doors last week after it was shut down by officials because of an alleged cockroach infestation, report NBC. Officials with the company state that they needed more time to address the problem before opening in good faith.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down the plant last week after allegedly finding live cockroaches for the fifth time in the last five months. These same officials lifted the suspension, but officials with the company said that they would need to remain closed longer. There is no schedule for re-opening at this point.

Our food poisoning attorneys understand Foster Farms was already closed because of two salmonella food poisoning outbreaks last year. The outbreaks were related to the company’s chicken, including a current outbreak that has already sickened more than 200 people in 23 states, as well as Puerto Rico. Even with this outbreak and the illnesses, as well as a federal shutdown threat, Foster Farms kept its doors open and has neglected to issue any recalls.
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February 22, 2014

Actos Bladder Cancer Bellwether Trial Begins

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A federal jury is preparing to hear a bellwether case regarding the alleged cancer-causing diabetes drug Actos, manufactured by Asia’s largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

The plaintiff in Terrence Allen et ux. v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. et al alleges damages in excess of $75,000 after he says he developed bladder cancer because of his use of the drug for treatment of Type II diabetes. The drug was approved by the FDA for U.S. sales in 1999, but the plaintiff alleges the drugmaker knew then that the drug, with a brand name of Pioglitazone, caused bladder cancer. This risks, it is alleged, were downplayed to federal regulators and actively concealed from doctors and patients.

The trial, one of the first of some 3,000 cases pending across the country, is taking place in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana (Lafayette). Other plaintiffs are watching closely, as the outcome here could affect those in thousands of other cases. As our Boston Actos bladder cancer attorneys understand it, the trial, expected to span about six weeks, has gotten off to a rough start for the defense.
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February 20, 2014

Maine’s Relaxed Import Drug Law & Risk of Dangerous Drugs

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Concerns regarding defective drugs in New England are heightened, following Maine’s recent passage of a law that allows residents there to import prescription drugs from overseas.

The policy’s staunch critics include the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer’s of America, the Maine Pharmacy Association and big-name drug manufacturers such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. The problem, they say, is that when drugs are imported from overseas, quality control standards may not apply.

Part of it, of course, is that, undoubtedly, cheaper prescription drugs from other countries cut into profits. But our defective drug lawyers in Boston believe these firms do have a point.
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February 16, 2014

CT Scans: Benefits Outweigh the Risks?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As researchers continue to search for the cure for cancer, it continues to impact families across the nation. Officials believe that it may soon surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S. According to The New York Times, one of the most alarming culprits of this disease is our own medical practices.

The truth of the matter is that the use of medical imaging with high amounts of radiation, CT scans in particular, has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. The radiation doses of CT scans (a series of X-ray images from multiple angles) are 100 to 1,000 times higher than conventional X-rays.

Our product liability attorneys in Boston understand that more than 60 million CT scans — also known as “cat” scans — are performed each year in the United States. Compare this to the just 3 million in 1980. A CT scan can deliver doses of ionizing radiation at least 50 to 250 times greater than a traditional X-ray. Doctors have always assumed, however, that the benefits outweigh the risks. Still, researchers at the National Cancer Institute estimate that 29,000 future cancer cases could be attributed to the 72 million CT scans performed in the country in 2007.
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February 16, 2014

Biomet Looks Ahead as Defective Hip Cases Move Forward

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Biomet recently announced its financial results for the second quarter, indicating an increase in consolidated net sales and announcing the commercial launch of the company’s G7™ Acetabular System in 2014.

The financial release indicated that the report contained forward looking statements and that the company’s actual results could be affected by “the results of the ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Justice” and “the impact of product liability litigation losses.”

Product liability litigation is a concern for Biomet as it is expected that bellwether Biomet hip lawsuits will take place in 2015. Our defective hip implant lawyers in Massachusetts know that the judge assigned to the cases pending against Biomet recently established the schedule for moving these bellwether trials forward. Bellwether cases are an integral part of multidistrict litigations and can make it easier for plaintiffs and Biomet to negotiate reasonable settlements.
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February 10, 2014

Leukemia Drug Iclusig Expected to Resume Marketing Amid Safety Concerns

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A new leukemia drug hit the market last year – and approval was promptly suspended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amid concerns that it caused the potential for life-threatening blood clots and a severe restriction of the blood vessels.

The drug, known as Iclusig and ponatinib, has reportedly been linked to a number of fatal strokes and heart attacks, as well as incidents of blindness and a loss of blood to the extremities severe enough to warrant amputation. Our Boston product liability attorneys have learned that in some instances, death resulted less than two weeks after patients started their prescriptions.

Those who died were in their 20s and were not at any heightened risk for heart disease.
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February 5, 2014

Acetaminophen Dangers Highlighted in Recent Reports

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Acetaminophen is far and away considered one of the safest drugs on the market. It’s the active ingredient in Tylenol, and tens of millions of people take this popular pain reliever and fever reducer every week with no major problems.

But did you know that over the last 10 years, some 1,500 Americans have died after accidentally consuming too much acetaminophen? That breaks down to about 150 cases a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new series of reports indicate the in large quantities, particularly when taken in combination with alcohol, the drug can significantly damage and possibly even decimate the liver.
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February 4, 2014

Faulty Hip Replacements Result in $56 Million Settlement from Biomet

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Biomet Inc., a medical device manufacturer based in the U.S., has agreed to pay a minimum of $56 million in order to settle a multi-district lawsuit stemming from defective metal hip replacements.

Court filings in the case of In Re: Biomet M2A Magnum Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, from the U.S. District Court in Northern Indiana, detail an extended legal battle that began in 2012 and now involves nearly 1,000 plaintiffs.

Our Boston defective hip replacement lawyers hope that more plaintiffs will come forward now that the settlement agreement has been announced.
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February 3, 2014

Report: FDA-Approval Doesn’t Guarantee Drug Safety

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers its stamp of approval on a wide range of medications and treatments each year, that green light is no guarantee that a drug won’t be harmful.

A recent annual report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices revealed that there was a 16 percent increase from 2011 to 2012 in the number of domestic reports to the FDA of serious, disabling and fatal adverse events associated with the use of therapeutic drugs.

Startlingly, the research firm also reports there was a nearly 48 percent increase in the number of patient fatalities arising from adverse reactions to approved drugs – from about 31,000 in 2011 up to nearly 45,500 in 2012.
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January 31, 2014

FDA Requests Reports on Defective Tobacco Products

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Officials with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently unveiled a new online tool to let consumers report problems with any tobacco products. The Safety Reporting Portal (SRP) has been updated and now contains a new category for tobacco products. Under the update, health care professionals and consumers are provided with a standardized way to inform the FDA of suspected health or safety issues regarding tobacco products, according to Convenience Store News. Before this tool, people could only report these kinds of products to the FDA by using MedWatch, which does not ask questions specific to tobacco products.

There is no known safe tobacco product, but FDA can play a role in helping prevent certain unexpected health consequences from tobacco products, such as those that occur from defective tobacco products, or health or safety problems beyond those normally associated with tobacco product use, according to the FDA’s Ii-Lun Chen, M.D.

Our defective products lawyers understand that consumers should always report products that have been contaminated, defective or damaged. You can report products that don’t seem to smell or taste right. You could wind up uncovering something much more dangerous.
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